Home is where your heart is

by Lizzy_Zenin

Summary:

After seven years of absence, Yuta Okkotsu returns to Japan to solve a case that brings the whole sorcerer world upside down: a new sorcerer killer, who is sadistically murdering other sorcerers.
And his only clue is the absence of cursed energy at the crime scene.

Yuta will not only have to solve and face this case of the sorcerer killer, but he will also have to discover his connection with two twins, a girl named Yurika and a boy named Yuudai, who bear a chilling physical resemblance to him but with beautiful honey-colored eyes, the same shade of eyes that had the woman he loved the most in his past, Maki Zenin.

The woman who left him without explanation seven years ago, the woman who was the love of his life.

 

What dark secret is hidden behind the murderer? What connection does Yuta have with those two children? What happened seven years ago for Maki and Yuta's destinies to be separated?

This version is a translation

Notes:

I had to get this idea out of my head, so I hope you like it.

Sorry for any spelling mistakes this story may have.

Chapter 1: 01. Seven years ago

Summary:

I apologize if this fic contains errors, English is not my original language.

This fic is set 7 years in the future. So everyone here is an adult, Maki is 25 and Yuta is 26 And the twins (Yurika and Yuudai) that appear in this fic are 6 years old.

Notes:

I apologize if this fic contains errors, English is not my original language.

Don't worry if you don't understand what happens in the first chapter, you will gradually understand as the story progresses.

This fic is set 7 years in the future. So everyone here is an adult, Maki is 25 and Yuta is 26. And the twins that appear in this fic are 6 years old.

 

So this first chapter is set on July 1, 2027.

Seven years later

Currently

That feeling of love always felt so real, because it was genuine. But the human mind likes to deceive us, just as it likes to annoy us by combining between dreams those memories that once made us happy.

That green-haired woman took her boyfriend's face in her hands, looked into his eyes with curiosity, those honey-colored eyes shone strangely. That was a rare shine and it was much more rare in someone without curse energy.

A smile appeared on her thin lips. "So don't be late, don't make me wait and come get me, Yuta Okkotsu..." Maki whispered before kissing him on the lips.

Those words sounded in Yuta's head while everything went completely dark.

"Yuta Okkotsu..." a voice called him in the dark.

Maki's sweet voice faded in that darkness, until it became a distant and ephemeral memory that his mind liked to bring up from time to time just to torture him.

All that happiness vanished suddenly as he returned to reality.

That dream was recurring and even a morning torture that happened very occasionally to that man.

Yuta Okkotsu, who was currently 26 years old, was a special grade sorcerer considered on par with Gojo Satoru.

Yuta had spent the last seven years of his life traveling the world, but not on a pleasure trip, but researching wizards, curses, and cursed items outside his native country.

But he never thought that he would return to Japan, that place that had undergone a drastic change in its society of sorcerers. With a new hierarchy dominated by Satoru Gojo, who was at the top above everyone else.

That place where seven years ago, the word love had lost its meaning. It's been seven years since he stopped hearing from Maki Zenin. The love of her life.

“Mr-Mr. Okkotsu” the voice of an assistant dressed in a tailored suit, began to wake up that black-haired adult.

That young brown-haired attendant named Kasumoto was too nervous to have to wake up such a dangerous man. The reports revealed that Yuta was a sorcerer to be feared, not only because of his rank, but because of how cold and sadistic he had become over the years.

Yuta opened his eyes little by little, which made that assistant feel afraid and even jump slightly in surprise, it seemed that the sorcerer had woken up in a bad mood since even in the darkness of his room he felt the heavy cursed energy that this gave off

That attendant swallowed before trying to respond politely, "Good morning my lord..."

Yuta slowly sat down on his futon, raised his left hand to his forehead and silently thought about that green-haired woman he lost seven years ago, or rather, who abandoned him.

"Maki..." Whisper. He felt an emptiness in his chest.

That assistant only remained motionless to one side of that imposing man, who combed his long bangs back and arranged his black hair.

“Sir-sir”.

“What's going on? And stop calling me sir! I'm not old enough for you to repeat that word so many times! Saying it just once is enough” Yuta answered seriously, although he was "calm" his voice sounded impressive.

“I'm sorry about that”  that attendant bowed to the ground putting his forehead on that tatami “It won't happen again.”

“And? Why did you come to my room to wake me up? I have a terrible headache due to jet lag,” he growled “what time is it in this damn place?” he asked as she covered her bare torso with the Yukata she wore to sleep.

“It's past noon, my lor” the servant censured himself so as not to repeat that word  “And the reason why I came to wake him up is because Mr. Gojo wants to see him, he wants to invite you to have lunch”

Yuta sighed heavily. "Ok. Could you please open the windows so that light enters this horrible room” he order without further ado.

"Right away!" That assistant got up from his place and ran to the sliding door and made the servants who served that clan pass through.

Those traditionally dressed servants opened the sliding doors that that room had.

The light penetrated that place too quickly, revealing the luxurious but traditional room where they were. Fine shojis with traditional drawings, as well as a fine tatami adorned that place.

Yuta got up from his futon, stretched and began to change his clothes behind that traditional screen with a beautiful drawing of a sakura.

The sorcerer rejected the traditional clothes that he had been given to dress more modernly, while the servants of that residence began to lift the futon, as well as the trays from the previous night's dinner and other things that were on the floor, such as medicines for sleep, some cigarettes with their respective ashtray and other personal things.

“GGRR! DON'T TOUCH YUTA'S THINGS!” Rika came out in a threatening manner, at the same time that a servant was going to touch a necklace with two rings that were next to the futon.

That girl screamed in horror when she saw that curse approaching her furiously.

"NOT RIKA! DON'T YOU DARE HURT THEM! THEY ARE PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR US, I WILL PUNISH YOU IF YOU DO SOMETHING TO THEM!” Yuta scolded raising his voice, his furious look was such that it scared the servants more than the presence of said curse.

That threatening feeling could be perceived throughout the room, that made that curse squeal and become small, like a scolded puppy that later disappeared.

The maid was trembling with utter fear.

“Sorry, Rika is a very possessive curse” Yuta approached that poor girl.

He take that necklace with two engagement rings. One that was Rika's and the other for Maki, the one who could never give it to her.

Yuta squatted in front of that maid, whom he stared into her eyes.

That girl wanted to cry when she saw the eyes so empty of that man that not even with his smile full of mercy did he finish calming down.

“So, please, avoid touching my personal belongings, especially these two rings”  that necklace was hung on his neck "If not, I'll be the one in charge of killing them instead of Rika, thanks" he stood up once he finished saying that.

All those present were silent. The rumors were true, Yuta was now a very feared man.

"Now," he spoke to his personal servant, that man in a suit who was the one who woke him up, "Guide me to Satoru."

"This way, Mr. Okkotsu." The attendant opened the sliding door for his master to get out of there.

"Where will I see Satoru san?" Yuta asked once he was out of that traditional room.

"He is waiting for you in the main room that overlooks the large garden. Mr. Satoru wanted to have lunch outdoors this time," the assistant commented.

“Okay, Katsumoto guide me through the long path please, I want to continue exploring the Clan residence” Yuta commented giving that order.

"Follow me here..." answered the man in a suit and began to guide him through those traditional but luxurious corridors.

 

 

 

Both men had been silent for a while as they walked through those corridors.

All the way, Yuta made sure that no other servants came following them and even took notice of all that space.

After turning down a long corridor and stopping in the middle of that place next to a large window, Yuta began to speak.

"Katsumoto, what have you found out about what I sent you to investigate about the Zenin twins?" He ask seriously.

The attendant stopped, swallowed and his body trembled as he felt his master's furious gaze. This awkward interrogation had just begun. Katsumoto turned as fast as his body would allow him.

“The truth, my lord”  the words barely came out “There has been no great progress... everything is at the same point.” he replied with fear.

“BUT I SENT YOU TO INVESTIGATE A WEEK AGO! AT LEAST YOU SHOULD HAVE FOUND MORE INFORMATION!” Yuta sounded annoyed at such a response.

“ I know and I was trying hard in all this sir! I've been researching, just as you ordered me to do, tirelessly, but all the records on sorcerers throw me the same information about the Twins! One of them is married and the other is dead!” The assistant answered, checking his device.

“But do you at least know which twin is the one that is dead and which is the one that is still alive?! Do you know what happened to Maki Zenin?” Yuta asked insistently. Something inside of him wanted answers. He wanted to know why Maki had abandoned him seven years ago.

The assistant shook his head. —“The records do not specify anything else specifically my lord, I have searched in all the databases, but in all the records I get the same information and incidentally some things are omitted, such as the exact names of those involved and the dates on which some things supposedly happened” —he paused slightly while reviewing the information. —“I have not been able to convince Mr. Ijichi to allow me to review the reports from six years ago to date, nor He is an easy subject to hack...”

“And about the twin who is still alive... What information is there about her? Did you at least investigate who she is married to or where she lives?” Yuta asked anxiously. He needed answers. He needed to know if that woman was Maki and to know who she had abandoned him for.

The assistant sighed in discouragement. “From the little information that I was able to gather, it stands out that said twin is said to be currently living in Kyoto, although the truth is that it seems that she doesn't let herself be seen often” He adjust his tie because what he was going to say it made him very uncomfortable.

“Although it is rumored that perhaps she could have married a non-sorcerer... although this information is somewhat contradicted by one of the last official records of the clans, where it is said that this twin married another Zenin... Someone from his own family, something like a cousin or nephew.” he answered with some fear.

Yuta was surprised to hear that. “SOMEONE FROM THE SAME ZENIN CLAN?!”  He blurted out furiously, that seemed the most unusual in case that woman turned out to be "his Maki".

“Had she sunk so low as to marry into her own clan so she could be on her level? I doubt it. She wanted to exterminate them... but if her plan was to exterminate them from the inside, there is that slight possibility of marrying someone of the same lineage as hers just to become a leader... but” Yuta mentally questioned while his hand she was going to her chin.

“And did you investigate this information directly with them? With the Zenin's?” He asked, staring at the man in the suit.

Katsumoto slightly shook his head. "I researched it directly from the few files the clan sent to the headquarters about their census they did a few years ago. They are not very accessible either and the information they provide is not reliable either, but they definitely do not want to cooperate with the Gojo clan —Sigh —Much less Mr. Satoru and Mr. Ijichi let someone outside of them investigate further than what happened six years ago, when Mr. Satoru assumed the final position in the world of sorcerers” Katsumoto spoke somewhat discouraged.

Yuta breathed out in frustration. "I guess I'll have to convince Ijichi to let me see the files. I definitely wouldn't want to threaten him." He crossed his arms.

"Do you have any idea how you'll do that?" Katsumoto asked, looking at how thoughtful Yuta was.

“Yes, but for the moment I just want you to continue investigating, I need you to review all the civil records in Kyoto, as well as the marriage certificates and even the death certificates. I need to know what happened to the Zenin twins. I need to know if Maki or Mai are still alive. I also need to know what exactly happened seven years ago” — Yuta ordered, walking ahead of the assistant. — “I still find it very suspicious that they would send me around the world on such a risky mission all of a sudden, as well as it also seems very strange to me that they will return so unexpectedly to this fucking country…”

"Sir, can I ask you a question?"

“Tell me?”

"Why are you so interested in know about Maki Zenin?" Katsumoto asked nervously.

The sorcerer stopped suddenly, he felt his heart ache at such a question, he turned and stared at him, that look was so dark that it was scary.

Yuta fastened his necklace with those two rings and pressed them tightly on the space between his palm and his chest. "Because I have a pending score to settle with her," he said coldly. She had the aura of a killer.

“I understand...”

After that slight exchange of information. Both men continued walking through those traditional corridors. Where the servants who started bumping into each other bowed every time they saw Yuta pass by.

They were almost to reach the mentioned area.

When Yuta was caught by a woman he hadn't seen in years.

This woman had jet black hair, had a half ponytail tied with a nice white ribbon and wore a beautiful kimono in red and black colors, with beautiful gold borders and prints, worthy of a high society lady.

But what most caught his attention about that woman was the scar that stood out on the middle of her face.

Yuta's face changed from a gloomy one to one of happiness when he finally saw some old acquaintance and more than that he had not seen any of his "friends" or his "companions" in years, much less had they shown signs of life.

Ever since he landed in Japan a few days ago, he really felt lonely.

"Utahime sensei?!" Yuta named with great joy.

That woman didn't react the first time, it wasn't until they repeated her name out loud again, which was when she turned to that boy who was calling her.

"Utahime-sensei!" How long, I finally see a familiar face!” Yuta commented, quickly approaching her.

That woman was too surprised to see that boy. "And who are you?" she asked timidly.

That question confused Yuta too much. “Sensei, don't you remember me?”

"Not really... Have we met before?" Utahime asked with a somewhat nervous tone of voice, she really looked confused.

“Yes, we met almost ten years ago hehe, I was a student of Gojo Sensei” Yuta commented with a smile. “Well, when he met me I was a few centimeters shorter than Gojo and at that time time I had very messy hair.”

That seemed useless, since Utahime shook her head slightly in denial.

"Sensei, do you really not remember me? Don't you remember any of my classmates either?” Yuta asked a bit discouraged.

That woman quickly exchanged a glance with one of her personal servant.

Her countenance was still one of pure nerves.

"Well, if you were a student of my husband Satoru, then at some point I'll end up remembering you hehe" Utahime commented with a nervous giggle.

“Husband? End up remembering? Utahime sensei, did something happen to him?” Yuta asked very confused.

“Excuse me”  That lady made a slight curtsey  “I suffer from a bad memory ever since I was attacked by one of those things... Those horrible things... What were they called?...” she put a hand to her chin trying to steady herself. remember that word

"Curses?" Yuta asked.

“If that! As I said, I only remember certain things Hehe... an apology for not being able to remember who you are...” Utahime looked a little sad for saying that.

"There's no reason to apologize sensei." Yuta took pity on him. "Still, I'd like to ask you a few things," he was interrupted.

"Until I find you!  You were taking too long! You know I hate waiting!” a man shouted, that voice was accompanied by a suffocating cursed energy that filled that corridor.

Everyone looked at that man who was dressed in a fine blue yukata, worthy of a leader.

"Yuta, I was going to go look for you in your room to drag you out of there!" Gojo commented with a grimace. That man with white hair, continued to look very jovial even with traditional clothing and his almost 37 years.

"Dear, don't scold your guest, it was my fault, he bumped into me and we entertained ourselves talking" Utahime intervened with a shy smile, she seemed to fear her husband when he got angry.

Gojo sighed looking at his wife and their familiar.

“Well, if my Utahime says so”  he kissed her forehead and caressed that scar with his thumb “Then I believe her” he smiled “you saved yourself for this occasion, Yuta” he said jokingly.

Utahime hugged her husband and kissed his cheek several times.

Yuta felt that too strange interaction between those two. And more because he remembered that Utahime sensei hated Gojo. Maybe he was wrong about that, he thought to himself.

Perhaps it could be due to that "amnesia", which caused her to be like this with Satoru, but it seemed that nothing was as she remembered anymore.

That scene also made Yuta feel uncomfortable. Because, for a moment, all the good memories he had with Maki hurt from the bottom of his heart. Causing his gaze to divert to the side.

Those gestures were noticed by Gojo, who adjusted his dark glasses.

“Well Yuta, come with us, I want to talk to you”  Gojo ordered as he began to walk where he had arrived and his wife, who surprisingly, was three steps behind him. Something that Utahime sensei might not have allowed in the past.

"Yes" Yuta replied dryly. And before taking another step, he said goodbye to his assistant.

"Katsumoto, now go do what I order" Yuta commented with a very serious face.

His assistant only made a slight bow. "Okay," she commented nervously, "Anything, feel free to call me."

Yuta just nodded his head and went after that marriage that, for some reason, gave him a strange feeling that something wasn't quite right.

And that suspicion was noticed by Gojo, who turned over his shoulder to make sure that Yuta was following him.

Satoru carefully looked at Yuta, who was now only ten centimeters shorter than him with the six eyes. Besides that he could currently even be considered more attractive than the leader of the Gojo clan.

Deep down, Satoru felt that Yuta was a threat...

 

 

That lunch passed with "tranquility"

The one who spoke the most was Satoru, while Utahime remained eating in almost absolute silence the whole time next to her husband.

Yuta really found all that strange and more than years ago, Satoru didn't seem interested in being the leader he is now.

What yes, it seemed that that albino still kept his good and sour sense of humor, since he even made jokes or comments that he knew would make Utahe angry. But this time she didn't avoid them, on the contrary, she just laughed awkwardly or called him "my love" in a way that didn't seem to be herself.

"What the hell happened to Utahime sensei to make her submissive now?" Where are the others? And panda, Inunaki, Megumi and the other kohais? Where are they? What happened to you? They'll be fine? And above all... Maki, what happened to you?” Were the questions that bombarded Yuta's head, who was taken out of his thoughts quickly.

“And tell me, Yuta, how did you feel here in the Gojo residence?” Satoru asked with the usual joy.

Yuta finished drinking his coffee. "With this jet lag thing, I feel horrible... the time change is affecting me because I can't sleep unless I take pills or smoke a little" he replied dryly.

"Sooner or later you'll end up adapting," Satoru said as he added too much sugar to his coffee.

Yuta wanted to finish this quickly. " Let's get down to the main topic of this conversation, so tell me Satoru san, why did you call me to return to Japan against my will?"

"Wow, you have changed," Satoru answered with a touch of mockery. "Where did the shy and somewhat cheerful boy you were before?"

“She took that boy...” Yuta's words were blunt, but he knew who he was talking about.

“How gloomy” Satoru replied to such words

“But yes, let's get down to business” he settled into his chair. “You see, as you know, now that I'm the one who controls the world of sorcerers and with all this being on top, leaves very little time to solve special grade quests. So I need your help for a specific mission and more than you've become an expert abroad “ he put his elbows on the table and his hands came together to hold his chin.

“A mission? You brought me here after years alone for a mission? Don't you have more special category sorcerers who can do it for you?” Yuta asked seriously.

"The only ones left now are just you and me..." Satoru replied, leaning back in his place.

“The only ones? What happened to Yuki?” the black-haired man raised an eyebrow at such an answer.

"She disappeared... or rather, we think she fled the country." Gojo began to play with his fork.

"And all the others? Where are my friends?” Yuta asked seriously.

“I don't know, I haven't seen them in years. Anyway, they should be out there safe and sound... or so I hope" Gojo replied without interest.

That really seemed too strange to Yuta. But Satoru didn't seem to want to cooperate.

"Then, what is this mission about?" Yuta asked with a touch of impatience.

"That's the attitude I knew you'd have! I'm glad you're already interested in this,” Satoru commented with a big smile.

"I just want to finish soon to get out of this country... I no longer have anything to unite me here, my soul and heart no longer have a reason to be in these lands" Yuta answered quickly.

Satoru smiled smugly. As if he knew some deep secret or worse.

“Well, if your heart no longer has a home here, then I know that you will do this mission without fail!” He take some fruit dipped in too much sugar before continuing. “The mission is very simple, I want you to investigate a ‘murderer’ and delete it for me”

“A murderer? Satoru san, you know I'm not a policeman or a detective..." Yuta replied dryly.

“It's not a common assassin, but rather a ‘a new sorcerers killer" Satoru answered with a big smile as he played with a strawberry. He pierced it with the fork until it spilled all its red juice as if it were blood.

The black-haired young man's eyes widened upon hearing that revelation.

Satoru sighed. "Yeah, I know, that sounds hard to believe." He simply waved his hands.

“And what clues do you have about this murderer?” Yuta asked with some curiosity. Nothing fit in this new Japan. Nothing was set as "ordinary"

Satoru smiled again  “We think it's a ‘ghost’” he brought some pineapple to his mouth.

"Rather, you would have meant a 'curse,' right?" Ghosts can also enter the category of apparitions or curses depending on their level” Yuta corrected.

"Nope" he replied with a pout, "This we are facing is neither a curse nor an apparition," Satoru answered, sticking his fork into some more fruits, letting their juices drip out in a disorderly manner.

“So?”

“We believe that he is a person without cursed energy and that he possesses enormous strength” Gojo finished that sentence with a big smile. "You have someone in mind, don't you?"

Yuta's heart wanted to stop at such an answer.

He only knew one person with those characteristics, but he felt that this was a bad joke, because a part of him did not want to have hopes about "that woman" whom another part of him thought believed that this woman was "dead". "

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇━━━━ ◈

Somewhere in Kyoto.

“Tell her your...”

"You better tell her!  You are the older!”

“Fearful!”

"Rude!

In a house in Kyoto, about six-year-old twins were arguing.

They were a girl and a boy with white skin, coal-black hair and eyes as golden and sweet as honey and who were at that moment in the living room of their house, looking at the hole in the sliding glass door that led to the garden.

They were thinking about how to fix that mess they caused so much in the yard, like breaking their mother's favorite vase.

Both of their clothes were full of dirt and they had one or the other scratch on their arms.

Those two little ones had gotten into a little big trouble, first by running around a small curse in the form of a fly, which had entered the patio of their house, because it had been chasing the Little boy.

Once it stayed in the yard, the curse began to bother the neighbor's cat, and this animal, in its eagerness to free itself, began to run over the flowers and the small garden that the mother of those two children had.

Seeing all the fuss that this curse was causing. Those two little ones had devised a plan to capture that little thing and eliminate it, but in their plan, they did not calculate the damage.

They used some of their toys like their baseball bats, as well as their garden tools.

When they finally managed to hit that curse with the bat, which entered the house due to the strong blow they had given it.

That curse went through that glass door, and the children had no choice but to run into the house once they heard that that curse hit something that ended up breaking on the floor.

And there it was, the fly curse had collided with their mother's favorite cactus, so strong was the blow that both the curse and the cactus fell to the ground, causing that thorny plant to come out of the ground.

“I caught it!” Shouted the little boy once he caught it under his bucket of sand.

“Oh no! Mom's favorite flowerpot!” the little girl shouted when she saw that disaster.

“Oh no! We're in trouble..." replied the very scared boy. "Mom is going to punish us! What do we do?”

"Tell her the truth" the girl suggested.

"Are you sure?" the boy asked fearfully.

"I am, if we explain to him, maybe he won't punish us for a long time" the girl replied.

"I hope so..." the boy sighed.

"So, you tell her!" said the girl pointing at her brother.

“What? Why me?! You better tell him what happened! You're the oldest!” reproached the boy.

"But you were the one who put together the plan!" scolded the girl.

"But you were the one who hit the curse with the bat!" It was your fault!” The boy got even angrier.

"Well, this wouldn't have happened if you weren't a magnet for curses!" reproached her twin.

"Idiot!" the boy yelled.

“fearful!” the girl shouted  “One of us must tell Mom!”

"Tell me what?" A female voice came from behind them.

Those children hadn't heard their mother come in, they didn't even feel her because said woman lacked cursed energy. Which made her practically invisible to curses and sorcerers.

It even made her invisible to her children, who were already beginning to develop their gifts and powers as sorcerers.

Both children jumped in fright and turned to see their mother, who was standing behind them with her arms crossed over her chest.

“I heard everything, Yurika” She began to name them   “Yuudai, do you have anything else to tell me?” asked Maki Zenin, who was the mother of those twins.

"It's just that..." Yurika joined her little fingers.

"We can explain it!" Yuudai exclaimed, waving his little hands.

“Good! I hear! Tell me what happened here” Maki commented without ceasing to have her arms crossed.

“It's that this curse at first, was chasing a boy who goes to our school and Yurika called it attention to leave him alone” Yuudai commented.

“Yeah! Since mommy is also a curse hunter, it was easy for me to get her attention, but I didn't think she would chase the ‘crybaby” of Yuudai and so this curse stayed outside the house bothering the neighbor's cat, who crushed your garden plants for escape from the curse” explained Yurika.

"And by wanting to help the cat, we ended up chasing the curse through the garden," Yuudai commented.

"We swear mommy, this curse was very fast!" Yurika explained, moving her little hands in an example.

"So we made this plan to capture her, but we miscalculated the blow" Yuudai said, moving his feet anxiously as he lowered his little head and looked at the floor.

“We just wanted to be like your mommy, in saving people and exterminating curses so that they no longer bother animals and people”  Yurika commented, also lowering her little head and looking down at the ground.

"Sorry for breaking the window and your favorite vase" they said at the same time.

Maki sighed, she couldn't be strict to such a scene, she knew that her children weren't bad children, she knew that they were a little naughty, but their cause was good and just.

Their mother crouched down on one knee and placed a hand on each of her twins' heads, stroking their thick black hair.

“Thank you for taking capture of the curse, you have saved a child and a cat from it... just next time, you better tell me before you make any plans, okay?” Maki caressed theirs cheeks.

The children nodded yes.

“And good? Where is the curse?” Maki asked curiously.

“Down the bucket” said Yuudai pointing to that red object that was beginning to move slowly.

“Ok, then leave this to me” Maki commented, pulling her children back, making them better hide behind the sofa.

She accommodated her glasses and went for one of her many weapons. She took a small dagger.

Maki quickly raised that bucket and how skilled she was with weapons and so fast that it was lethal, she exterminated that thing in no time.

Her children were fascinated by that and by the way, they admired their mother too much for being so strong and skillful.

“Ready!! Now that thing won't hurt anyone else" Maki commented with a smile.

"But what are we going to do with the hole in the door?" Yurika asked.

"And with the cactus?" Yuudai asked.

Maki sighed as she stood up. “Well, I'll have to call someone to change the glass in the door and for the cactus, mmm I have an idea, your go get the gardening tools, the gloves and bring the broom by the way and the dustpan," she said with a smile.

"Right away!" said those two in chorus.

And so those children helped their mother with that disaster.

That cactus was moved to another spare flowerpot, the good thing that Maki had several because she knew that something like this could happen with two very naughty children.

“Mai was right, cacti are resistant” Maki commented once she observed that nothing had happened to that plant and the three pink flowers that it had on the tip of its head were still intact.

"This cactus was a gift from Aunt Mai?" Yurika asked curiously.

"That's right, she gave it to me as a gift when you two were born" Maki answered with a smile.

"Mommy, are we going to meet Aunt Mai someday?  Your twin?” Yuudai asked with a touch of innocence.

His mother sighed at such a question. "I wish that could come true, I know she would have loved to see them grow up" she replied trying not to sound sad.

"Mommy, where is Aunt Mai?" Yurika asked curiously.

When Maki was going to answer that, her cell phone began to ring.

It was an incoming call from Mei Mei.

"Mommy, who's calling?" Yuudai asked curiously.

“It's Grandma Mei” she made a sign with her fingers that even her children laughed “Children, Why don't you go pick up your toys from the living room?, Aunt Nobara will be back from Tokyo very soon” Maki commented, taking her phone.

Those two kids ran into the living room while their mother was on that call.

“Yeah? Now what happens?” asked Maki with a bit of annoyance.

"My dear, I was just calling you to let you know that another mission has come up for you," Mei replied from the other end of the phone.

“It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since my last mission and I'm really tired today. Besides that I want to spend time with my children" Maki commented with a grimace on her lips.

"I know, but you know you still have a debt to pay me" she heard himself say through that speaker.

“But I have already paid my debt to you years ago! I think it's fair to take a vacation with my children, don't you think so?”  Maki said with annoyance.

That answer made Mei giggle mischievously over the phone.

“And that I didn't charge you the interest on your past debt, but even so, this mission is super important that you do it, besides the debt I'm talking about is about your children... you know that if you want me to continue protecting them you still have to work for me for a few more years, because I bet that if you weren't under my protection… ‘they’ would have already gone for your children..." Mei commented with a serious tone.

Maki pursed her lips, she knew exactly what Mei was referring to and more than that her children could be in danger in this new world of sorcery.

Hearing them laugh, seeing them grow and taking care of them, had made her mature and more than that they were the only family she had left... especially since Yuta... abandoned her while she was pregnant.

Maki remembered that guy. Deep down she still missed him and she still had feelings for him since he was her first and only love.

But the resentment she had for what he had done to her seven years ago made her try to bury those feelings, as well as help her forget and move on. She though she sometimes wondered where he was, what she would look like now and if she already had someone else.

Maki looked once more at her children who were playing in the living room, shouting and laughing with joy.

She had to do that mission for them.

"Okay, Who should I kill now?" She answer coldly.

 

Chapter 2: 02. Kyoto

Notes:

Sorry if there are any mistakes, as I said English is NOT my original language.

The Next Day

 

"Yuta..." that voice again called him from the darkness.

This man truly regretted that day, the last day he was with Maki. Which his dreams always made him remember with pain. Perhaps it was the guilt he carried for not going to look for her when he should have.

If he had only seen the signs that she had been leaving for several days, he would have understood that nothing was right.

It seemed that she wanted to tell him something important. But her lips only managed to say his name in a whisper that seemed to hurt every time she called his name.

“Yuta, don't be late..." again he heard that voice calling him.

“Maki" whispered Yuta as his eyes slowly opened at feel the touch of a palm on his shoulder.

“Sir, wake up, we are arriving at our destination..." Katsumoto was waking him up carefully, he was really afraid of that sorcerer.

Yuta had fallen asleep halfway through the bullet train ride, he had not finished reviewing the paperwork about the mission, due to the fatigue still caused by the jet lag.

“Where are we?" asked Yuta, rolling his eyes a little and combing his hair back. He felt a little numb, sleeping in those seats with a table in the middle of those four seats was really uncomfortable.

“Sir, we have already arrived in Kyoto and we must get off before this train advances to its next destination" commented Katsumoto, while he finished arranging the papers that were on the table, as he was also hastily taking the hand luggage, as well as the sword of this sorcerer.

Yuta sighed heavily and looked at the station through the window. "Kyoto..." he whispered when he saw where they were.

He had returned to the place where his heart had been broken.

Yuta went down with his assistant. He stopped for a moment to observe that place that was almost exactly as he remembered it.

The station had changed very little in those seven years, perhaps just a bit more modernized.

The station had changed very little in those seven years, perhaps it had only been modernized a little more.

He looked to the side, down the aisle where you get on that transport. Remembering that there were many people at the station that day. That day where Maki abandoned him.

And there, under a clock that they had on the platform, he remembered what happened that day.

 

Flashback

"Come on Maki! We can start a life outside of Japan! Yuta sounded very excited.

She swallowed. "I can't, Yuta... I... there's something I have to tell you," she said in a very low voice and her gaze looked restless. She seemed to be afraid as her hand trembled in the grip of Yuta's hand.

“This is our chance to see the world! If we take this train that will be leaving soon, we'll make it to Haneda airport! Please... let's do this together," he answered still holding her hand and looking at her.

Maki pursed her lips for a moment before speaking. “Okay... Let's do it together” she scratched her cheek a bit “but before getting on the train, do you think you could buy me a bottle of water, please? I feel a little dizzy”

Yuta kissed his girlfriend's forehead “If that's the case, then I'll be right back!”

A smile appeared on Maki's thin lips “Yuta don't be late...” she whispered before kissing him on the lips and releasing his hand.

That was the last kiss he would feel from her.

Yuta didn't take more than ten minutes to return with that bottle of water, but in that place, there was only her suitcase, but there was neither Maki nor her luggage.

"Maki?"

He looked for her with his eyes all over the platform, among all the people who were still waiting for the next train.

"Sir, didn't you see a you green-haired girl with glasses who was next to this suitcase?" He asked the train security officer.

“I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone with those characteristics”

"Excuse me, haven't you seen where the girl who was here next to this suitcase went?" He asked another boy who was very close to them since they arrived at the station.

“I'm sorry, I was busy on my cell phone and the truth is, I didn't see where she went” that boy apologized before getting on that train.

"Excuse me, haven't you seen the girl who was here next to this suitcase? She is tall, with green hair and glasses” Yuta asked a couple that was sitting near where the two of them had been standing.

"Sorry, I didn't see it" the man answered.

"I saw that girl go by with her suitcase, but I didn't see if she went into the bathroom or left here" the woman answered.

"Thank you" Yuta answered worriedly.

The sorcerer felt a strange premonition, he didn't see Maki anywhere and worst of the case, being someone without cursed energy, he couldn't detect where she might be.

The train would be leaving the station soon. So he took out his cell phone, maybe she would be in the bathroom like that woman said, so she thought of calling her.

Once he took out his cell phone, he looked at a notification that came from Maki's phone.

Yuta felt an indescribable pain from the bottom of his soul as he read what that last message said.

—I'm sorry... I can't accompany you anymore on this trip... nor in this life...

They were the words that would end it all. She had abandoned him at that train station.

He try to reach her, but her phone was ringing offline. As if she had turned it off.

The train was about to leave the station. Yuta had to choose at that moment, between leaving for the airport or leaving it to look for her and ask her for an explanation.

And when he was about to decide what to do... a hand grabbed him by the shoulder, dragging him to his destination outside of Japan.

End of flashback

Yuta remembered that moment with such precision that he felt again with too much pain, that sensation of a thorn digging into his chest, that's how he felt that Maki took his heart with her.

He couldn't believe that after seven years, he was returning to that sad place.

"Sir, are you alright?" Katsumoto asked fearfully seeing Yuta very distracted without taking his eyes off the platform.

“Yes, i am well. Now let's go, they're waiting for us at the crime scene” Yuta answered dryly as he settled on his shoulder, his sheath where he carried his sword.

And so he began to walk along with the other assistants and sorcerers who were waiting for him at that station.

 

Those sorcerers and assistants had arrived at an old house very close to the modern part of the city of Kyoto, which marked the division between the modern and the old part of the city.

That place was located very close to a sanctuary and incidentally, it was a tourist place that some sorcerers of lower grades managed.

That scene was a total massacre.

The tatami was covered in blood, the thin sliding doors were also stained but they weren't forced at all. Apparently they had been slid normally.

That middle-aged man was lifeless on the tea table and to one side, there was also an older man.

Both sorcerers were second grade, and were recognized for some of their exorcism work in that city. Just as they were known for being the monks who took care of the sanctuary that was below that old house.

An assistant began to explain the situation “Apparently these two sorcerers were father and son, both served the still jujutsu school of this city, as well as served the Zenin clan for several years as external servants of the residence. Apparently both were stabbed with some special grade cursed item that momentarily inhibits or extinguishes cursed energy” he finish reading that first report.

"Is there seriously no cursed energy detected in the area? How do you know it was a person and not a curse?” Katsumoto questioned, surprised by the whole scene, which also other sorcerers specializing in forensic sciences were gathering evidence.

“Negative, no trace of foreign cursed energy was detected in these two individuals and we assume that it was a person because of the direct way that it attacked these two. Said person must also have used some cursed tool in the form of a sword or dagger, due to the type of cut that the corpses have and, above all, he has done it so that these two are not reborn as curses... although we have the hypothesis that who executed This crime was someone who held a grudge against them or knew them” answered a coroner, who took some photos of the bodies and reviewed those wounds a little more.

"Were there witnesses?" Yuta asked, observing the place carefully.

“We have just interviewed the other servants and assistants on duty, but they say that there was nothing out of the ordinary and more than at the time this crime occurred, it was at the time when more tourists are attending the temple”— the previous assistant began to explain —“apparently the last person who saw them alive was a miko who brought them tea, but she quickly withdrew from this room because it seemed that these two were talking about something important and she says that's why she they ran she from the place, so that she would not hear anything”

"How strange..." Katsumoto sighed at all that had happened.

Yuta analyzed the place, he really didn't feel traces of cursed energy.

"You say they were part of the Zenin clan?" He asked curiously.

“That's right sir, apparently they served as messengers, but they didn't have a very recognized role within the clan. For this reason they were allowed to be outside said residence”  answered the assistant.

Yuta sighed when he heard how they named that clan.

Perhaps they would be called to account for what happened, and if so, he could perhaps negotiate an exchange of information about Maki in exchange for finding the murderer of his servants. If that clan was interested in knowing who massacred his messengers.

Something caught Yuta's attention too much at that moment and that was a black bird feather, which was combined with the blood of those subjects.

That seemed very unusual for an almost perfect scene.

At that moment, something scared those present and that was the sound of a crow, which seemed to have entered through the large window of that room full of blood.

"A crow?" Katsumoto asked somewhat scared.

“How strange...” Yuta said in a low voice and watching that animal squawk before flying out of there.

For Yuta, that animal did not fit into the scene.

 

 

 

“Well, I suppose we'll have all the results and reports ready in a while. What do you think, Mr. Okkotsu?” asked one of the assistants as he escorted Yuta and Katsumoto out of that old house.

"Definitely, this was done by a person without cursed energy, it must have been someone who knew what time these two would meet in that room" Yuta answered coldly. "And if this wasn't 'some reckoning', it definitely could have been a sorcerers hunt."

"Why are you sure of that, my lord?" Katsumoto asked, surprised by that answer.

“Because in the first place, this was planned, starting with the time they were attacked. His murderer must have known very well his schedules and movements within this place” —he raised two fingers as he continued speaking. —“And secondly, there are no remains or signs of cursed energy in there, and as we know, there is only one way to kill sorcerers and they were both killed with a slashing pulse weapon that definitely must have suppressed their energy in order to cut their throats... in short, this murderer did it so they would never speak again... besides, a curse would not leave the a place that intact, much less would a curse would not leave the teacups intact” Yuta replied.

Katsumoto was surprised by his boss's deduction.

“In short, the results of the autopsies, as well as all the other reports from the experts as well as the interviews with all the personnel who worked with them, we will have them ready by nightfall, perhaps so you can draw more deductions and we can begin to investigate who is behind all this" commented the other attendee.

“Okay, I'll take a look at all that paperwork later, for now I want to go for a walk around the city” Yuta commented looking up.

Again something caught his attention and that was seeing several crows on the cables above them.

That really seemed very strange to him, that animal reminded him of someone specific. But Yuta decided not to take any notice of this clue for the time being.

"Would you like me to accompany you?" Katsumoto asked.

“No, this time I want to go by myself to see how much this damn city has changed. Besides, Katsumoto, you have work to do. I have given you a special mission and I want you to take advantage of the fact that we are here to fulfill it”  Yuta commented, patting him on the shoulder before starting to walk away from there.

"Okay sir, don't hesitate to call me if you need anything" replied the assistant as he watched Yuta walk away from there.

That special grade sorcerer really felt the need to take a walk around. He had a strange feeling that perhaps the killer was close.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ¤ ━━━━ ◈

 

A notification had reached that cell phone that was on a luxurious table in an outdoor restaurant.

“How I love when notifications about bank deposits arrive and more when they happen after a job well done” Mei Mei said, taking her cell phone elegantly once she put down her cup of tea.

Not only had she received a juicy bank deposit, her companion had also received a notification about a juicy amount of money for her latest mission.

“I guess this payment will make up for all the work I've had to do this day, it'll also make up for the clothes I've had to throw away because of the blood, right?”  Maki answered, before taking her cup of coffee.

“It could be said that yes, it can even be enough to give you some luxuries and tastes, those you eliminated left us with a lot of money” Mei said rubbing her middle and index fingers as a sign of money.

"Well, the only luxury I want to give myself right now is to be able to spend time with my children and give them the vacation they've been asking for so much" Maki answered, crossing her arms, leaning back in her chair, while she looked at Mei.

The woman with short silver hair gave a slight laugh “That is still under negotiation, although if missions don't come out soon, maybe you can take a vacation this weekend with your children”

“I hope so, because I'm really tired...”

“Mommy! Mommy!” Yurika and Yuudai yelled and ran to hug their mother.

"My babies!" Maki said as she wrapped her arms around both of them and covered their faces with kisses.

The sound of their laughter filled her with life.

"How was school today? Did they behave well?” Maki asked hugging her children.

"It went well!" Yurika commented happily.

"We didn't get into trouble this time" Yuudai replied with a smile.

"Besides, I had a high grade in math and sports too!" Yurika commented with great joy.

“And I passed the Japanese exam with flying colors!” Yuudai said smiling.

“Glad to hear it my loves, you both deserve a gift for your high marks.” Maki smiled, still filling her twins' cheeks with kisses.

That is until Mei cleared her throat to get that family's attention.

“Have they already forgotten about me?” Mei asked looking at that tender scene.

"Grandma Mei!"

"Grandma Mei!"

Yurika and Yuudai said in chorus, thei ran around that table to get closer to that woman.

"Look, how handsome you two look in those beautiful uniforms" Mei said with a big smile and pinching both children's cheeks.

"Thank you Grandma Mei!" they responded in chorus.

Both were wearing their school uniforms. While behind them and with their backpacks on each shoulder, came an adult Ui Ui. Who from time to time, babysitted those two at the request of her sister.

"Hey! More respect, my beautiful sister is not yet the age of an old woman to be called grandmother!” Ui called those two's attention.

“Don't worry, it doesn't bother me that they call me that. On the contrary, they have the permission to call me grandmother even though we are not related by blood. Thank you for your work Ui Ui, you also deserve an award" Mei answered with a smile that made her brother's heart almost jump out of his chest.

"Whatever you say, beautiful sister" he replied with red cheeks.

Both children just stuck their tongue out at that adult. Who just grimaced at having all the attention of his sister.

“Ha ha ha!”  Mei laughed at that gesture of those two  “I'm really glad to see you, my two small gold bars!” she said with a big smile, while she caressed the cheeks of those two children.

"You know I don't like it when you call my children that way" Maki answered with a grimace and a bit annoyed by those words.

"Don't worry dear, for me, these two are like my beautiful grandchildren and I appreciate them as much as if they were my little gold bars, because that's what they are, pure gold" she smiled superbly at the mother of those children, while she caressed them hair.

Maki could feel Mei's bad intentions saying that.

At that moment, Mei's phone vibrated as she received another notification.

She looked at those little ones and smiled tenderly at them.

“Children!, how about you go with Uncle Ui to buy some ice cream or some gift that you both want? The beautiful grandmother Mei invites with Ui's money, plus I have important things to talk about with her mother about work because I would like to talk about it in private, okay?” She commented with a smile.

Both children were excited by the idea of getting presents.

"I want a hat!" Yurika answered, jumping up.

"I do want an ice cream!" Yuudai shouted very happily, also jumping around.

"I want ice cream too!" replied his sister.

"I want strawberry ice cream! Come on!”  Yudai replied.

Maki sighed tiredly. She already knew what that talk was about when she saw Mei. But she, at the same time, wanted her children not to stray too far from her.

“Carefully! And don't get separated and above all, don't get into trouble! Always go hand in hand and stay close to Grandpa Ui! Okay?” Their mother said, giving each of them a kiss on the forehead.

"Okay!" they chorused before running out of there.

"We'll be very careful!" Yurika answered, hopping on one foot, stepping on the squares on the floor as if she were playing hopscotch.

"And we'll try not to get into trouble!" Yuudai replied with a smile and running after his sister copying her movements.

"Have fun and don't talk to strangers or follow curses" her mother commented as she watched them leave.

"We'll be back soon, mommy!" those children commented.

"Ui Ui, take them to buy what they want and please take good care of my little gold pieces” she said with a smile that melted her brother's heart.

"Yes, sister!" commented that adult, as he followed those two children who were excited about the idea of buying some gifts.

Maki felt a strange premonition when she saw her children walk away. Her heart was a little restless. She felt as if she was about to happen something.

But at that moment she decided to ignore that feeling, while she talked with Mei about her next mission.

But she could not stop thinking about the name of someone in particular in the face of such concern.

Yuta Okkotsu was the name of the one that came to mind.

 

◈ ━━━━ ¤ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked this chapter because reunions are coming.

We keep reading.

The update will be a bit slow at the moment because I'm still putting together this story without trying to neglect all the others. No wonder I'm a disaster of a writer haha.

Finally, thanks for all your support.❤️

Chapter 3: 03. A Strange Coincidence

Notes:

as i said before, english is not my main language, so i apologize if there is any mistake, sometimes the translator can fail

Please don't be too hard on me, I'm doing my best to translate this fic, if you continue to be rude to me, I'll have to cancel the translation of this and all my yutamakis fics

"Raindrops would soon fall, as the truth would begin to drench the innocent who were deprived of their happiness."

 

 

Near the shopping center

 

 

Yuta sighed when he noticed how the sky had darkened.

“It seems that it will rain son” he commented while he looked at the cloudy sky and a sigh of nostalgia came from his chest.

He had spent almost an hour walking through the center of that city.

In truth, Kyoto had changed little in those seven years. Although it still had its ancient touches, with its temples intact and its large and beautiful pagodas that emphasized the traditional sight, on its border with the modern it was too updated.

There were new shopping malls and modern buildings.

But something that had not changed in those seven years was the humid climate and the traditions of that society.

Being the beginning of July, many people could be seen on the streets due to the upcoming festivals in the city, and that meant that the sorcerers would have more work than usual due to the upcoming summer holidays, meaning a lot of trouble due to the increase in hauntings and curses.

But also all of them had to be attentive aware of the attacks that were being carried out against them. So Yuta should hurry to solve this new case of the sorcerer-killer.

That situation was causing him too much conflict and more than the environment, the memories and the circumstances were not helping him at all.

His mind filled more and more with nostalgia as he felt the tiny soft drops of rain fall on his head.

Seeing couples crossing the street holding hands as they ran to seek refuge or those students sharing an umbrella, brought back some memories of their missions and outings with Maki.

He remembered one or another kiss that had been given in the rain or under an umbrella, those that ended in a smile or in comments that ended in laughter.

Although all those good memories were overshadowed by that stormy memory of the last day he was with her.

Her sad and pale face seemed to want to tell him something with glazed eyes, it still hurt too much.

He wondered if she was still alive and where she would be. He really kept hoping to see her again even if it was one last time, he wanted to know the truth to calm her heart.

The rain began to get intense and Yuta found himself having to run to the stores that were outside a shopping center to find shelter.

He took out his cell phone and noticed that he had some messages from Satoru, who was asking him for an update on everything he had found with the case he had just been assigned.

"I have so many things to solve but I don't have the head to know how to start this..." he said to himself, ignoring that message and putting his cell phone in his pants pocket.

As he watched the rain fall something began to unsettle him.

It was a large amount of cursed energy that seemed to come from somewhere very close to where he was.

A chill ran down his spine, causing his to quickly turn his head to the other side of where he was looking.

His senses were heightened and he realized that this was an evil and dangerous presence.

Following his intuition, Yuta decided to investigate, starting to walk quickly through those streets.

Perhaps that could be a first clue to find his goal within that city.

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♤ ━━━━ ◈

Meanwhile, at another location very close to Yuta

 

"Maki, are you listening to me?" Mei Mei asked when she saw how that woman seemed not to pay attention to her and more so when she turned her head sharply towards the heavy rain that was falling outside the cafeteria to which they had currently moved, since they were chasing to their next victim, another sorcerer.

That was a strange feeling to explain. Maybe it could only be compared to the warning your body gives you that danger is near.

"You felt it too, right?" asked Mei Mei seriously.

"Yes, it was like a very heavy aura, a curse may be very close to here and I don't think it's small" Maki said somewhat worried.

Mei raised her hand to her forehead, accommodating her bangs. "Unfortunately, my crows right now can't see the whole situation that's going on out there due to the rain.”

Maki sighed in anguish, it's been a long time since she felt this worried “I just hope my children are okay...”

“They will be, they are with Ui Ui, he wouldn't let anything happen to my two beloved gold mines” Mei commented with a smile.

Maki rolled her eyes at that comment. She hated having to trust those two siblings, but she had no choice. That was her contract and she did everything for the good of her little ones.

Something inside her told her that nothing was right and she expressed it by holding her forearm hard to try to calm down and more than that she should be alert in this mission.

“It seems that our target is moving, although it doesn't seem to come alone” Mei lightly touched her hair. “Maybe you'll also have to eliminate his ‘guest’ and maybe if we find that curse we could plant it as false evidence for this mission" she commented, patting Maki's shoulder lightly to get her to go follow the plan.

Maki took a deep breath. She had to concentrate on her goal, even though mother's instinct told her that nothing was right.

And that instinct was right.

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♤ ━━━━ ◈

Things weren't going so well with those twins either.

What started as fun shopping with some ice cream, became boring once Ui Ui received that last phone call from his sister, minutes before those two began their mission before entering the cafeteria.

Those little kids rolled their eyes once they saw how Ui Ui was very engrossed with that phone call while they were walking through the aisles of that shopping center. Observing showcases with luxurious dresses and jewelry that he wanted to buy for his dear sister.

Yurika and Yuudai had developed a language that only they understood and so, they decided to play hide and seek and in an oversight of Ui Ui, they took the opportunity to escape from him.

At first it was a lot of fun, running around people and saying some nasty things about their caregiver, but soon after that it became a problem.

"We lost it, right?" Yurika asked with a smile.

"Yes, but now, ummm, I don't see Grandpa Ui" Yuudai said, looking for Ui with his eyes. "Don't you think we've strayed too far?" His smile faded.

“SOOOOO” Yurika's smile also faded.

“Where we are?” Yuudai asked, looking around.

"Let's go back this way” Yurika suggested, taking her brother's hand to try to go back the way they had come.

But that turned out to be worse as they drifted away and lost more and more among that sea of people in that big mall.

They walked for about five minutes until they reached an area where they believed they had been with Ui Ui for the last time.

"I don't remember going through this store" Yurika commented, looking around.

"Now what do we do?" Yuudai asked, very nervous when he saw that Ui Ui wasn't there either. "We're in trouble right? Oh no!, Mom is going to punish us!” He sounded worried. "And if we can't go home?”

"Let's try to go back one more time to where we came from, we must find grandfather Ui soon, I think he must be looking for us too, so I suppose he must be near here" Yurika suggested as she took his hand.

"I hope we don't get into any more trouble..." Yuudai replied with a sigh, as he took his sister's hand again and they began to walk once more.

Both children were still lost in the crowd.

The siblings tried to find their caretaker by searching for more than ten minutes, going back and forth through those halls, unfortunately those twins were also easily distracted that they even ended up playing a bit with other children in the children's play area that the mall had. Thinking that maybe in that area they could be found by their caretaker.

But time passed and hopes began to run out for those two.

And when they had finally decided that they were going to ask a policeman for help, they found themselves distracted by a strange presence that came out of the slide of that children's game.

A small curse, had stalked them and slowly approached them, seducing them with its creepy smile, falling into its hypnotic effect due to theis inexperienced education to identify special grade curses.

And under that hypnosis, both children had once again crossed the sea of people who were on that first floor at that time and ended up leaving that building, reaching the continuous alley of that shopping center.

The raindrops were the ones that got them out of that trance. That storm had begun to gain strength.

"How did we get here?" Yurika asked, somewhat scared, while looking at the place where they were waking up.

"Where are we?" Yudai asked, somewhat stunned and rubbing his eyes.

When both of them reacted, both of them had realized that they had fallen into the trap of a curse.

That little curse was just the bait, which vanished on the floor while a great curse began to emerge from the shadows in the form of a puffer fish, full of thorns and a large mouth with too many sharp teeth.

Those little ones began to take steps backwards while the rain began to fall more forcefully on their bodies.

They both began to cry, they were too scared since that curse was not a common one like the ones they sometimes saw on the way home.

"Leave us alone!" Yurika yelled, hugging her brother.

“HELP!” Yuudai cried, trembling with fear. "SOMEONE HELP US!"

But no one seemed to hear them. People kept walking in and out of the mall, mostly ignoring the presence of the curses because ordinary people couldn't feel or see them and the rain and thunder only drowned out the screams of those two.

It seemed that all was lost for those brothers.

The curse avalanched on the two children, who had been paralyzed with fear.

"Mommy!" they yelled in chorus as they hugged each other tightly waiting for the end.

Suddenly, a figure appeared to their aid. Someone seemed to have "fallen" from the sky.That person had crushed the head of that curse, which let out a horrible cry of pain, because a sword had pierced its eye, blinding it for a moment.

That man moved quickly and took those two children in his arms to take them to safety, while another "thing" seemed to fight against that curse.

"Are they okay?" asked that male voice, who had saved those twins, moving them as far as he could from that area, putting them under a covered place and hiding them among some cardboard boxes.

The tears of those children continued to flow down their cheeks. Just as her sobs were uncontrollable.

"Calm down, everything will be fine" Yuta said trying to calm those two down.

“Hide here while I take care of that thing and don't make noise, okay?” Yuta put his index finger on his lips so that those two will try to keep quiet and covered them with his sweatshirt “I'll be right back, I promise.”

Both children, still with crystalline eyes, just nodded their heads while they covered themselves with that sweatshirt and hid among the boxes.

Yuta quickly approached Rika, who still couldn't get through the tough skin of that creature that could mutate at any moment.

"Yuta! That thing is very tough!” Rika commented, who positioned herself next to Yuta, while she showed her arsenal of weapons under her arm “Which one will you choose?”

The curse in front of them roared, baring its sharp fangs and pulling out its sharp claws further. It was a huge creature and its threat level was high, so they had to kill it before it escaped and attacked someone else.

“Maybe her weakness is in the soft part of her stomach, we should attack her at the same time, maybe that way we'll be able to kill it” Yuta suggested, taking another sword since the previous one had been embedded in the eye of that curse.

Yuta quickly looked back over his shoulder, and saw how those children were still hiding but he could feel their gazes on him.

"Well, let's go Rika, we must eliminate this curse before it does more damage" Yuta commented, putting himself on guard with that sword.

The first to attack was Rika, who went straight for that curse to distract its while Yuta launched his attack, dodging a few attacks with those sharp claws as he tried to pierce through that tough skin.

Rika was still trying to hold onto that curse, trying to get past those sharp and hard spikes, while Yuta managed to successfully slip under this big puffer fish, quickly slashing its soft body, making the thing squeal in pain.

Yurika and Yuudai covered their ears before such a horrible scream, while Yuta gave the final blow and Rika was in charge of splitting that thing in two, causing the blood and remains of that curse to spread in that alley.

“I'll ask Katsumoto to send someone to clean up this mess and find out about this case” Yuta said, brushing the blood off his sword with a fine movement before putting it back in its scabbard.

Both children were surprised to see by their savior. They were used to seeing their mother being this raw when she killing curses, but seeing this man had left them shocked. They even felt a strange connection to him. Something difficult to explain but it was as if “the blood called”.

Yuta wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Two children" Rika's voice caught Yuta's attention as he remembered those two little ones.

"True!" The sorcerer turned quickly and walked towards those children, who came out from where they were hiding but with his sweatshirt still over their heads.

"Are you okay?" He squatted in front of them. "Aren't they hurt?"

Both children were still silent and looked at each other, it seemed that they shared some words mentally.

“Calm down, everything is fine now, that thing has already been eliminated” Yuta said, stretching out his hand towards them with a slight smile.

The twins slid the hoodie off their heads, letting themselves be seen. They seemed to be calmer.

Yuta raised his eyebrows a little in surprise when he saw how similar those two were to each other. But at that very moment he felt a strange sensation invade his chest when he saw them carefully and that was because they both shared a chilling resemblance to him when he was a child but with the slight difference that those two little ones had eyes as golden as the Honey.

Also both children were surprised to see that man up close. For some reason it gave them confidence and even more when they saw his physical similarities.

"Very similar between them" Rika said.

"You're right, they're both identical. They're twins, right?" Yuta asked with a smile.

Both children only said yes by shaking their heads.

"Similar to you! Yuta!” Rika screeched “Similar to you!” Her voice rose as she said those strange words, that curse seemed altered.

That made both little ones take a step back when they saw that thing.

“Do not be afraid! My name is Yuta Okkotsu and this is Rika! She won't do anything to them” Yuta made Rika vanish quickly to stop scaring those two.

"We are here to help you" he stretched out his hand towards them again but those children still looked scared and did not utter a word.

“Sorry that we scared you!”  he apologized first  “Are you alright?” He kept asking but those children only nodded their heads at the same time.

"Did that thing do something to them?" He ask calmly.

They both shook their heads.

“I understand” Yuta sighed a little when he saw that those two didn't speak, he thought that perhaps it must be because of the shock of the situation.

"What are their names?” He ask with a slight smile to try to give them confidence, while he continued to squat in front of them and stretch out their hand, but they exchanged glances with each other again while remaining silent.

"Calm down, as I said I'm here to help you, you don't have to make an effort to speak, take your time" he continued with his hand stretched out towards them and with an open palm to give them confidence.

After a few seconds, both children placed their little hands in this adult's hand. For some strange reason they felt confident with him and they didn't feel him as a threat.

The twins exchanged a few more glances, it seemed as if they were mentally communicating because they even made some faces between them and after a minute of silence, still with their little hands on Yuta's hand, the girl was the first to speak.

"My name is Yurika Fushig..." her brother interrupted her.

"Mom said not to talk to strangers!" Yuudai said in a bit of a panic.

“But I don't think he's a stranger! he saved us from that Monster!” Yurika replied, making an annoyed gesture. “Yudai Don't be fearful and ungrateful!”

"I'm not fearful! I'm just saying what mom ordered us!” Yuudai replied with annoyance.

Yuta widened his eyes upon hearing them, he even felt a chill upon hearing those names. They were the same names he had chosen for his children, if he ever had them and nd only one person knew those names. It was all a very strange coincidence, but he decided to ignore it, thinking that perhaps it was just that, a strange coincidence in a random situation in life.

Then he smiled slightly when he saw how those two were arguing. “I understand and tell me, Are you lost? Where are your parents?” Yuta asked, drawing the attention of those two again.

"We were with Grandpa Ui" Yuudai answered looking at Yuta.

“But suddenly we got lost among so many people and suddenly we were out here next to that thing” Yurika pointed to the remains of the curse.

Yuta thought that those two children were talking about an elderly person when they referred to their guardian as "grandfather"

"Well, it makes sense that they got lost and now that there are a lot of people and surely your grandfather may also be looking for you, we shouldn't worry him anymore" Yuta replied, standing up. At that moment, the stomachs of those children made some noise.

“Good! How about if I help them look for their grandfather? and by the way, how about if I buy them lunch? Would you like the idea? Surely your grandfather must be too worried, come on, we better go inside, it's very cold out here and the rain just keeps falling whit harder” Yuta take his sweatshirt and then extend his hands to them.

"We like the idea, thank you very much!" Both little ones said in chorus.

They both held on to him, each holding onto Yuta's hand as they walked back inside the mall.

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

 

Notes:

What do you think of this story?

Now yes, the meeting between father and sons happened. Only Maki's and all the others are missing🤭

I hope you are liking it♥️why are they comingtos surprises.

we keep reading

In Spanish we say "la sangre llama" (the blood called) when we feel that someone may be related to us.

Chapter 4: 04. Hamburgers

Notes:

I hope you like the chapter ♥️

And if you are not liking this fic, please, don't be rude and don't come to post your bad comments here, just stop reading and go away.

If you want to leave your suggestions or do you want to help me with the translation, please do it through my twitter @1794

Remember that the original version of this fic is in Spanish, so I cordially invite you to read the Spanish version if you don't like the English version, especially an apology again for the errors.

I'm doing the best I can with this translation, so please, instead of judging me, offer to help me

Just enjoy the chapter ❤️

Katsumoto was surprised by what his eyes were seeing, especially his eyebrows were too high.

“Now I understand why you made this strange request that I also bring him two children's sweatshirts" he commented with surprise.

What kept him in that state of stupor were those two children who were half hidden behind Yuta, each clinging to each of his legs, and who were very similar physically to their boss.

“Hehehehe! I can explain why the three of us are soaking wet" commented Yuta with a nervous chuckle as his left hand scratched the back of his neck, "Still, I'll need all your help Katsumoto”

The twins looked at each other when they saw the surprised face of that assistant, to whom Yuta proceeded to explain everything that had happened up to that moment of their meeting, while the three of them dried themselves with some clean towels brought by Katsumoto and covered them selves with their new sweatshirts.

“A special category curse was in this mall?!"Katsumoto's voice rose with too much astonishment.

“That's right, although I already took care of eliminating it, I would like you to investigate a little more about this curse. Please Katsumoto, investigate if there have been more disappearances inside this mall, maybe this curse has many more victims than we can imagine. Maybe the security and cleaning staff know something shady about this place” his hand went to his chin while he was drawing some conclusions.

“I will pass the report to headquarters, I guess they were not aware of this case and maybe they will help us to expedite all this!" suggested Katsumoto.

“Good idea and by the way, I would also like you to call the people in charge of cleaning the areas, we need trained personnel to lift the remains of that curse, so we will avoid a scandal from the civilians who are able to see the curses, especially we must avoid drawing too much attention" said Yuta in a serious tone, while looking at the people who came and went in that area where they were at that moment in that mall.

“Right away, sir!" replied the assistant, making a note on his tablet.

“And Katsumoto, there's one more thing I want you to do for me" Yuta gave a quick glance towards Yuudai and Yurika, who were sitting on a bench just a few meters away from them.

Both children looked at them curiously. Their warm amber eyes did not take their eyes off those two men as between them they spoke in hushed tones.

Above all, both siblings were curious about Yuta, as they felt a strange connection to their savior.

“Don't you feel that man is somewhat familiar?” Yuudai asked curiously as he finished drying his hair with a towel the attendant got for them.

“A little bit, although I'd say you look like him physically!” Yurika answered as she pecked her brother's cheek “Although he's not a scaredy-cat like you!” she let out a slight mocking chuckle.

Yuudai rubbed his cheek "He looks like you too! Remember that we are twins!!" he replied quietly, as he pouted in annoyance at his sister's comment.

Both children felt the stares of these two adults and again muttered something to each other, ending with a slight giggle.

It seemed that both children were already in a better mood. They were even wearing the sweatshirts that the assistant had bought for them.

“Excuse me for asking, sir, but who are those two children?" asked Katsumoto, pointing at them with his index finger.

“That's what I wanted to explain to you Katsumoto!, I need you to help me also to find the relative of these twins" Yuta put his hand to the back of his head, "You see, I saved these two children from the curse I told you about. And they say that they got separated from their grandfather in an oversight and that they don't remember much of what happened after they lost sight of him” he moved his shoulders a Little “Both only remember waking up in the alley about to be eaten by the curse”

Katsumoto's eyes widened in surprise when she heard all that. “Then you want me to notify the authorities of this mall in case the relative of these two children is looking for them?”

“That's right!, I want you to take care of that too, please!" Yuta commented with a slight smile and clasping his hands together in supplication.

Katsumoto just sighed because of all the workload he had at that moment.
 “Okay, I'll help you with this too…" he was afraid to refuse because he was afraid of his boss.

“Thank you very much Katsumoto!" replied Yuta with a big smile.

“Sir, what are you going to do in the meantime?" asked the assistant, looking curiously at the children, who for some reason, he felt looked too much like his boss physically, but he did not dare to say it at that moment.

“I'll stay with them while you take care of finding their relative" Yuta crossed his arms, "I'll stay to take care of them since they are also capable of seeing curses and we don't want them to go with the wrong people either, right? and even more so since we have a sorcerers killer on the loose... we don't know if this killer also attacks children " commented Yuta looking at his assistant.

In addition to feeling a strange connection with those two little ones, Yuta felt he was burdened with the responsibility of having to take care of them while they found the relative of those two.

“You're right!, we don't want to make a mistake and have these kids go to the wrong person or have something bad happen to them again" Katsumoto was ready to intervene as the assistant he was.

Those twins quickly fell silent once they saw how that adult in a suit approached them.

“Yurika, Yuudai, this is my assistant Yoshida Katsumoto, he will help us find your grandfather" Yuta introduced the assistant with a smile.

“A pleasure to meet you" commented Katsumoto squatting in front of them, while they were still sitting on the bench, "My lord just told me that you are looking for your grandfather, is that true?

Both children looked at Yuta, who nodded his head to reassure them. “You don't need to worry!" he smiled, "Katsumoto is a good person, believe me, he does an excellent job as a detective and also as an assistant, so we can fully trust him.”

The twins looked at each other, seemed to mentally talk something to each other and then fixed their gaze on that man in the suit.

“That's right, we were looking for our grandfather Ui”  Yurika answered.

“Do you think you could describe to me what your grandfather looks like physically? This is to look for him among the people in this place" Katsumoto smiled a little to try to reassure them.

“Grandfather Ui is a young man and is a few inches smaller than Mr. Okkotsu" Yuudai said, pointing at Yuta.

“And he has short white hair with a small fringe" Yurika described, "And his eyes are small and gray”

“And his eyebrows are thick, especially they come together in a funny way when he furrows his forehead!" Yuudai laughed a little as he made some gestures while putting his fingers on his eyebrows imitating Ui Ui when he got annoyed.

“Yes, especially when he gets angry haha, although he is always in a bad mood!” Yurika said.

“Especially when he's not around Grandma Mei, that's when he gets really crank!" Yuudai said with a chuckle.

Katsumoto wrote down all those characteristics that those children had told them. She tried to create a quick image of what that adult might look like.

On the other hand, Yuta also smiled when he heard the laughter of those two. Listening to them made him feel cheerful.

“And lastly, I must ask you something very important for me Research and that is, what is your grandfather's surname?" asked Katsumoto looking at those two fixedly.

The twins were silent and looked at each other because of that question.

After a few seconds of mentally exchanging a few words, they turned to face the assistant, but still did not utter a word.

“Don't they remember at this moment?" asked the assistant, paying attention to the gestures made by these two.

Both children shook their heads.

“I understand…" Katsumoto sighed a little, "It is understandable that they do not remember at a time like this, perhaps they are still confused and even a little dazed after what happened with that curse, however, Do you think you could tell me what your last name is?" he asked kindly.

Again these little ones looked at each other but remained silent. They pursed their lips a little. They seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with that question and could even be seen to be very nervous.

Yuta noticed all that awkwardness, so he gave his assistant a little pat to stop asking questions and stand up.

“They don't have to tell us their surnames at this time, just knowing their names I guess it will be enough to help them find their grandfather, won't it?" he nodded to Katsumoto.

“That's right! I guess with this description you gave me of him and knowing the names of the two of you I know I can find him!" the assistant stood up and smiled.

“I know you'll do a great job!" commented Yuta with a smile to reassure the twins.

“If you will excuse me, I will go ahead and give this report to the security people in charge of this place so that they can help us look for your grandfather and I will go to do other errands, for the time being I will retire” He bowed to Yuta and to those children.

“Yuudai and Yurika, I promise I will find your grandfather!" he said straightening up and adjusting his tie.

“Thank you Katsumoto, whatever you find, don't hesitate to let me know at my number" replied Yuta, patting him on the shoulder again.

“With your permission ”The assistant said goodbye once again.
 And so he began his search.

The whole situation and, above all, the chilling resemblance of those children to Yuta, left Katsumoto with a strange sense of curiosity, and he began to investigate whether those children were related to his boss.

 

“And now, would you like to have lunch?" asked Yuta with a big smile as he squatted down in front of the two.

“We'd love to!" said Yuudai very excited.

“I want to eat already! I'm starving!" replied Yurika with a grimace and rubbing her stomach"Being chased by curses always makes us so hungry!”

“As I said, I'll treat you to lunch, so tell me What would you like to eat?" Yuta asked very animatedly.

“Hamburgers!" said the twins in chorus.

That quick response surprised Yuta.

“Okay, then it's burgers" he stood up, "I think I saw a restaurant like that around here”

Quickly those twins also stood up and the next thing would come as a great surprise to Yuta, as each twin would take him by each hand.

Yuudai took his left hand and Yurika his right hand.

It seemed that with that adult they felt too confident and they expressed that with their sweet and kind smiles as they looked at him.

Yuta slowly let the air out of his chest, those smiles for a moment reminded him of Maki, as those children seemed a reflection of her.

But this was no time for the past to invade him with the memory of that woman, he had to concentrate on his mission to take care of those two.

“All right, let's go eat!" Yuta commented excitedly.

He was so infected by that happiness, that he even helped them to jump slightly, making them both burst into loud but joyful laughter.

That felt like a father having a very happy time with his children.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ 🍔━━━━ ◈

As promised, Yuta took the two of them to eat hamburgers at a family restaurant inside the mall.

The three of them were seated at a table very close to the largest window in that restaurant.

Yuta had chosen that table as a strategy, just in case those children managed to see their relative passing by at some point.

Being in that restaurant seemed like paradise for those two little ones, who seemed to have very big stomachs, as they ate and enjoyed their burgers like there was no tomorrow.

“I see they really like Burgers" smiled Yuta watching those two start eating their second burger.

Both twins nodded their heads in agreement.

“We love them!" Yuudai replied with immense happiness.

“Mom used to say that when she was pregnant with us, she craved hamburgers a lot and that's why we say this is our favorite food” said Yurika with a big smile.

“I'm glad to hear that!" Yuta replied with a slight smile that reflected nostalgia.

In the past, he had also met a girl who also loved hamburgers.

And those two children in front of him, reminded him a lot of Maki, even their gestures and smiles while eating that simple dish were quite similar to hers and that made several memories come to his mind.

A nostalgic sigh came from his chest, that exhalation was so loud that it could be heard very clearly by those two children, who decided to ask out of curiosity, since they seemed to get along too well with that man.

“Are you all right?, Mr. Okkotsu?" asked Yurika, stopping eating her hamburger for a moment.

“Mr. Okkotsu, you look a little sad, is something wrong?" asked Yuudai, also leaving his hamburger in the middle.

“Eh?” Yuta shook his head slightly, clearing those memories because of the questions those children asked him.

“I'm sorry, hehe, I just remembered someone!" he scratched his cheek a little while he kept looking at those two, "Don't worry, I'm fine," he smiled.

“And who did he remember?" the girl asked curiously.

“Yurika!, asking that is rude! Mr. Okkotsu might get angry with us!!" Yuudai reproached, giving his sister an angry look.

“I'm sorry, but I was just a little curious!" Yurika pouted apologetically.

Yuta laughed a little at the way those two twins were getting along.

“You don't have to apologize and answer their questions" he replied with a smile, as he put his elbow on the table and leaned his chin on his hand again, "I'm fine. You two just reminded me of a woman I knew in my youth" he began to explain without taking his eyes off them.

Both children smiled at each other, while paying attention to that adult.

“Can you tell us what she was like?" Yuudai asked curiously.

“And why do you say that we remind you of that woman?" asked Yurika also with curiosity.

Yuta looked at them with a big smile.
 “She was simply beautiful, she was a great and strong woman. She was wonderful in every aspect.”

“And you two reminded me too much of her, since she had beautiful amber eyes very similar to yours, and well, she was also a big fan of hamburgers, this was her favorite food" He answered with a sweet smile, since at that moment, Yuta had a slight but very pleasant memory of Maki.

 

 

Flashback

That memory that came to his mind was when he and Maki had their first date.

They had both gone to eat at a hamburger restaurant.

Yuta remembered how her eyes behind her glasses lit up once they were handed that hamburger. Especially since Maki had told Yuta that her family, the Zenin clan, was very strict with their diet, which was completely vegetarian and never let her eat junk food or sweets inside their house.

He remembered the big smile that formed on her lips once she took that first bite, he even remembered that her cheeks were red with happiness.

She was really happy when she tasted that dish. She was like a child discovering something wonderful.

Yuta let out a small chuckle at the sight of that scene, making Maki turn to look at him quickly.

“What are you laughing at?" she pouted, as she passed her napkin over her lips, "Are you making fun of the way I eat?  Because if that's why, I won't apologize!!” she wiped the captsu from her fingers with that napkin.

“I'm not laughing at that, Maki san!” Yuta raised his hands and moved them slightly to avoid being hit “I would never make fun of you for something like this!”

“So?" she raised an eyebrow.

Yuta brought his right hand to the back of his neck  “I'm just happy to see you smiling like this while eating” he answered while a big smile formed on his lips. “I would even say that you look very pretty enjoying eating your favorite food and that makes me happy, even if you want another hamburger, I will gladly buy it for you because I like to see how you smile before taking the first bite, please don't take it wrong!” he moved his hands a little.

Maki's cheeks and ears turned bright red.
“You fool! If you keep saying such things, I swear I'll throw this hamburger in your face!" she put his hamburger in his mouth to shut him up, "Now eat it before I decide to steal your hamburger!

Yuta smiled at that comment and simply proceeded to take a bite of his hamburger, while Maki kept smiling and making cute gestures for that food that he ate with delight.

They both actually looked very happy in that memory.

End of flashback

 

 

“And what became of her?" Yuudai asked, pulling Yuta out of that warm memory, "What happened to that woman?" his eyes were still fixed on the adult.

The sorcerer sighed and kept a moment of silence. He decided to take a bite of his hamburger before answering that question.

He wipes his lips.
 “I don't know...” He looked at those twins “I haven't heard from her for seven years and the truth is, I wish I knew where she is now… I would simply like to see her again to ask her so many things and tell her that I never stopped loving her... I would simply like to turn back time and never let her go” he answered sadly while a great sigh of pain came out of his chest.

Yurika and Yuudai felt that Yuta was telling the truth and also felt that he was truly sorry for his past.

Those twins looked at each other, they seemed to mentally agree on something as they nodded their heads.

Both children grasped each other's little fingers, nodded their heads once more and moved their little hands three times, thus intertwined.

They quickly let go of each other's little fingers and each child clasped their hands together as when a person make a prayer. They both closed their eyes and and their mouths said something in a very low voice. Only a "Please" was barely audible.

Those twins quickly gave three claps and made a very slight bow. Bowing very slightly forward.

It all looked like a ritual they do in the temples of that region.

It was as if both children were " requesting " some wish to "some God" or as if they were thanking some divine being.

They both opened their eyes and looked at their savior with a big smile.

Yuta looked very confused, but decided not to interrupt or ask questions until those children opened their eyes.

“What are they doing?" Yuta asked curiously.

“We are making a wish on your behalf!" commented Yurika with a tender smile.

“A wish on my behalf?" asked Yuta, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes!, Aunt Miki taught us this little ritual to ask the gods for a favor or a wish, either on our behalf or to ask them for a miracle on behalf of someone else!" Yuudai replied with a big smile.

“And since we want to thank you for saving us, we decided to make a wish in your name so that the gods will reward you!" Yurika finished the sentence.

“And what wish did you make for me?” Yuta asked curiously.

Both twins exchanged a smile, as their index fingers went over their lips.

“It's a secret!" Yurika replied, making a sign to put a zipper over her mouth.

“If we tell you, it won't come true!" Yuudai pouted.

“And only until the gods make it come true, we can reveal it to you!" said Yurika, putting her face between her little hands.

Yuta smiled tenderly before those two children and in an impulse like that of a father before his children, he stroked their heads, tousling their black hair.

“Thank you very much for that!" he thanked with all his heart that noble gesture of those two.

Those children only laughed in happiness once Yuta tousled their hair a little, making him smile too and wipe away some tears of joy that had come out of his eyes.

“Would you like another hamburger?" Yuta asked with a big smile, while the children almost jumped out of their chairs in affirmation.

Truly, that sorcerer and those children were having too much fun without knowing that this wish was very close to coming true.

Although it was also almost time to say goodbye.

◈ ━━━━ 🍔 ━━━━ ◈

Notes:

Here is a new chapter ❤️

I wanted to put this family moment between the three of them because it is almost time for them to say goodbye.

Although, there will be several surprises for both Yuta and the twins throughout the fic. Even Katsumoto will be in for some surprises.

About the little ritual of these children, I was a little inspired by how the Japanese "pray" or "ask" their gods in their Shinto temples.

And if you are wondering, if it was Tsumiki who taught them to her and she may later appear in this fic as well as several other characters.

In the meantime, let me know what you think of this fic?

What do you think was the wish or wishes Yurika and Yuudai made on Yuta's behalf? I want to read your theories.
Don't forget to leave your vote and comments ❤️

That helps a lot to know what you think of the story and it also serves as motivation.

Chapter 5: 05. Hasty Goodbyes

After eating, Yuta and those children moved out of that restaurant.

They decided to walk around the mall a few more times to see if they could find the “grandpa” of the twins.

Yuta watched the older adults passing by, hoping to see if any of them would react to the sight of these two children, but it seemed to be in vain.

Those three continued walking for another hour, going back and forth through the floors of that big mall and entering one or another store that the children asked Yuta to enter to see some things that caught their attention.

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

06:40 p.m.

After a while of walking around, the three of them decided to take a break in the play area on the firt floor.

Yuta was standing, while those two little ones played a little on the swings.

The sorcerer smiled and waved to the twins, who waved back, waving their hands happily as they soared on the swings.

He looked like a father greeting his children.

While those two children were having fun on the swings, Yuta decided to check his cell phone. He noticed that it was already close to seven o'clock at night.

Yuta checked the messages he had received during the almost three hours he had been accompanying the twins.

Among those messages, there were some from Satoru, who asked him for a first advance on that mission, but Yuta decided to continue ignoring him at that moment.

He also checked some messages about the cleaning staff that had asked to call with Katsumoto, They informed him that they were just finishing cleaning the scene where he removed the curse in that alley, because the heavy rain had complicated the job a bit.

Yuta also noticed that Katsumoto still did not send him any message. So he assumed that the assistant was still looking for the twins' grandfather.

He also noticed that he had a missed call from the other assistant who was with them at the crime scene. So he figured they must already have some leads and progress on that investigation he sent for.

Yuta sighed a little as he saw all the work he had to do, which was just beginning and solving those crimes would not be an easy task.

But for the moment, he didn't want to stress about it, so he decided to keep paying attention to those kids and his surroundings.

The twins got off the swings and ran to the bench where Yuta had taken a seat.

They both sat on either side of this man, Yurika on his right side and Yuudai on his left side. Yuta remained in the middle of those two.

“By the way, thank you very much for the burgers and for these cookies!" replied Yurika, happily wiggling her feet as she opened a package of cookies Yuta had bought for her.

“And thank you very much for the sweatshirts and the apple juice!" Yuudai replied, pointing his yellow sweatshirt while holding a plastic bottle in his left hand.

“Thank you very much Mr. Okkotsu!" said Yurika very happily and also pointing to her purple sweatshirt, "We are having a lot of fun with you!”

“It was a pleasure! and please, you can call me by my name" said the sorcerer as he passed them some napkins so that the children could wipe their faces.

“Thank you Yuta kun!" they said in chorus.

Yuta smiled at such words, he felt a great happiness to be with those two children.

At the same time it was amazing to him how well synchronized these Twins were at times. Although he was beginning to notice and get used to their differences as well, especially their temperaments.

Yurika was the more outgoing of the two. She seemed to be the leader most of the time as she was the one who spoke first when he or another adult was addressed. Also, she acted like the older sister and had a strong character.

Yuta also noticed that Yurika liked to keep her short black hair in order, as she combed it from time to time with her hands and if you watched her closely, she was only a few centimeters taller than her brother.

On the other hand, Yuudai was the calmer and more timid of the two siblings.
Sometimes he was a little slower than his sister in some movements, plus Yuta noticed that Yuudai seemed to be very skittish and even looked a little weak
at times.

So Yuta guessed that it might be because Yuudai was perhaps the younger brother or perhaps he was born sick. Also, Yuta noticed that Yuudai liked to keep his hair messy and was more careful about his steps than his sister who always walked with complete confidence.

Above all, Yuudai was the one who shared the most physical resemblance with Yuta, this one seemed to be a reflection of him as a child.

Those details and characteristics could only be detected by a person very close to them or in their case, they were only characteristics that their parents knew how to identify.

Truly, Yuta was already becoming familiar and fond of these two.

And while those children were resting on that bench, the special grade sorcerer decided to have a little chat with them to get to know them better.

Yuta put his hand to his chin, he seemed to be thinking about something as he turned to look first at Yuudai and then turned to look at Yurika.

Both children were curious about the adult's gaze on them.

“What's wrong?" Yuudai asked curiously.

“Do we have something strange on our faces?" Yurika asked, tilting her head slightly.

“I'm just trying to guess which of you two is the older brother and which is the younger" he said as he moved his hand from right to left, pointing his index finger.

Both children laughed at that hand movement.

“Let's see if you can guess!" commented Yurika, eating another cookie.

“Many people fail to guess who is the older of the two of us!" said Yuudai smiling.

“Let's see, the older sibling is..." his hand went from left to right and encouraged his movement.

Both children looked very amused at that hand, which seemed to stop at Yuudai.

“It's you!, isn't it?" commented Yuta pointing at Yurika.

That little girl let out a giggle and nodded her head.

“That's right!, I'm the oldest by seven minutes, that's what our mother told us!" she said, pointing proudly to herself,"I was the first to be born!”

“You're the older sister and incidentally the grumpiest" Yuudai rolled his eyes, stood up quickly and proceeded to steal a cookie from his sister.

“AND YOU'RE THE CRYBABY!” his sister stuck her tongue out at him, "AND A THIEF!” she shouted at such a theft, "Mommy will know about this!”

Yuudai just stuck his tongue out at her and then he proceeded to take a first bite of that stolen cookie.

Yuta let out a laugh at everything those two were doing. That behavior reminded him so much of how he and his younger sister got along, as well as reminded him of two other twin sisters he had met in his jujutsu school years, but for the moment that sorcerer wanted to know other things.

“Speaking of your mother…” Yuta called the attention of those two so that they would not go to fight.

“And tell me, Where are your parents?" he asked as he too ate a small onigiri he had bought before arriving at the playground.

Now that he was in a good mood, even his hunger had returned and even his desire to smoke had gone at that moment.

“Mommy was working with Grandma Mei" Yurika answered before taking another bite of the new cookie she took out of its package.

“Yes, and before we came here with Grandpa Ui, we meet them at a restaurant near here" Yuudai completed that answer as he finished eating the cookie he had stolen.

Yuta was already thinking of a plan B to return those children to their mother in case he did not find their grandfather in that mall.

“I see…" he raised his eyebrows a little, "Then, I suppose his mother might be near here, isn't she?" Yuta asked curiously.

Both children shrugged their shoulders.

“We don't know!" Yurika answered with her mouth full.

“Sometimes they both go to other parts of the city on the same day" Yuudai replied, putting his little hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt while wiggling his feet a bit.

“And depending on their workload, that's when sometimes Mommy and Grandma go out of town or come home very late" said Yurika before taking a sip from the bottle of juice that Yuta had also bought for her.

“So most of the time we're care of by Grandpa Ui or Aunt Noba or Aunt Miki when Mom has to go out to work" Yuudai commented, also drinking from his juice bottle.

“I see, and may I ask… What do your mother and grandmother do for a living? Because they move around the city a lot?” Yuta asked, trying not to be rude.

Both children looked at each other and then turned to look at Yuta.

“We can't say exactly, we only know that they work with many very important people" commented Yurika while she and her brother made a sign of closing their mouths. As if they could not tell because it was a secret.

“I understand!, sorry for asking about that topic" Yuta apologized and then continued to ask, "And your father?”

“Our Papa Gumi is working too, he's a veterinarian!” Yuudai commented with great happiness as he stood up a little on his heels, playing not to lose his balance.

“Most of the time, our dad is working in Tokyo" answered Yurika sitting back down next to Yuta.

“Sometimes we don't see him for months at a time, but he always comes on some important dates" Yuudai answered, also taking a seat, "Especially during the golden week and during the summer vacations to spend the July festivals together”

“And he also comes on our birthdays!" Yurika replied, waving her arms happily.

“I'm glad to hear that!" Yuta replied with a slight smile, though for some reason he expected to hear a different answer.

But he was also glad that both children had both parents.

 “So I guess you two must look a lot like your father, don't you?" Yuta asked curiously.

Both children shook their heads, causing Yuta to quirk his head at the following response.

“We don't really look like our daddy Gumi” Yuudai pouted.

That surprised Yuta too much. He was especially struck by how they called this adult with the nickname "Gumi". That was a very strange way to refer to their father, but Yuta thought that perhaps that nickname had been given to him out of affection for how little he had lived with them.

“We actually look more like our mother" said Yurika with a smile.

“Especially since we inherited the same shade of eyes as her and many say that we also have her smile" Yuudai replied, also smiling.

“You two have a beautiful shade of eyes!" Yuta complimented kindly.

That tone was as honey like the ones he remembered Maki having.

“Thank you!" they replied in chorus.

Now those children started asking Yuta questions.

“And where do you come from?” asked Yurika very curious  “Are you from this city?”

“Do you have children?" Yuudai also asked with too much curiosity.

Yuta shook his head. “I am not from Kyoto” he began to explain  “I was born in Miyagi, Sendai. Then I studied several years in Tokyo, but I went abroad for seven years” he smiled slightly  “But I had to return to Japan for work reasons, especially I had to come to Kyoto for a special job I have to do”

He scratched his cheek lightly, "And I don't have children hehe, I'm not even married. But I'm pretty sure that if I had kids, I know they would get along great with both of you!" he replied with a big smile.

That answer made those children smile, but now, they both started asking him more questions.

“And What is your job?” Yuudai asked curiously.

“Let's say I work as an investigator, I am in charge of solving some mysteries and crimes that some people I work with ask me to solve" said Yuta with a smile.

“So, you're like a detective?" Yurika asked a little too excitedly.

“Something like that" the sorcerer scratched the back of his neck.

“Yuta kun! Is your job also about eliminating those things?" asked Yuudai waving his little hands, pointing slightly at a very small, fly-winged curse, which was very close to them.

“You mean the curses?" Yuta asked curiously as he saw once again that they could see these things.

“Yes!" they both said in chorus.

“Is your job also about removing curses?" asked Yurika.

“Are you a sorcerer or some kind of sorcerer or something?" Yuudai asked curiously.

“Children, How do you know about these things?” Yuta's voice was filled with uncertainty. At the same time his face reflected immense surprise.

Yurika and Yuudai looked at each other and smiled a little.

“It's just that seeing curses runs in the family!" replied Yurika, playing a little with her hands.

“Mommy and Dad are also able to see these things!" Yuudai replied shyly.

“Aunt Noba, Grandpa Ui and Grandma Mei and other family members can also see them" said Yurika counting on her fingers.

Yuta was very surprised. Curiosity was getting the better of him. He even felt a hunch. He needed to know who the family of those twins was.

“Children, Who are your paren..." the special grade sorcerer was interrupted, as his cell phone began to ring noisily.

“It's Katsumoto! I'm sure he already has news about your grandfather" he answered quickly. “Yes?”

“Sir, a man who claims to be a relative of Yurika and Yuudai has just appeared" said the assistant over the phone.

“Really?, that's good news!, Katsumoto, Do you think you could send us a picture of that man to confirm with Yurika and Yuudai that he is their grandfather? Please!" replied Yuta looking at the children.

Those little ones looked at each other, hoping that they had already found their grandfather.

“I will try”

On the other side of the loudspeaker, Katsumoto was heard talking to that man, who besides sounding like a young person, at first seemed to refuse the request to be photographed, but after the assistant talked to him for a few more minutes, he managed to convince him.

“Ready!, sir, I just sent you a picture of the man" Katsumoto commented on his cell phone.

Yuta quickly opened the photograph. His eyebrows drew together slightly as he noticed that the man in the photograph was not an adult who would fit the description of a grandfather, as he did not look like a senior citizen at all.

He zoomed in on the image and noticed the man's facial features. He felt he looked familiar, it was as if in the past, he had seen or rather met him in person.

“Children, is this your grandfather?" asked Yuta, showing them the photograph.

The faces of those twins lit up too brightly.

“Yes, that's him!" Yuudai replied with a big smile.

“That's Grandpa Ui!" Yurika jumped up and down in happiness.

“Katsumoto, these children say he is their grandfather, although I admit he doesn't look like an old man..." Yuta commented through the phone.

“I know!, I was surprised too. Anyway, sir, at the moment the gentleman and I are meeting at the small security station located at the exit of this mall. We will be waiting for you here" explained the assistant over the loudspeaker.

“Thank you very much Katsumoto!, you've done a great job!" said Yuta ending the phone call.

Both children jumped with happiness holding each other's hands. They were happy that they had finally found their relative and would finally go home to their mother, but that happiness was dampened a bit by the thought that their day with Yuta had come to an end.

Even that adult felt the same way as those children.

Yuta was happy that at last those two would be going home after a very hectic afternoon, but for some strange reason, he didn't want to say goodbye to them yet as he felt so much empathy and a connection with those two.

But sometimes a goodbye is necessary before the day is over.

“Come on, it's time for them to go home!" Yuta commented, stretching out his hands to them.

They both nodded their heads, and each took him firmly by the hand, starting their way to the police station there.

As they walked to that station, both children prayed silently and asked their gods to see Yuta again soon.

 

◈ ━━━━ ♧ ━━━━ ◈

It took those three no more than ten minutes to reach the police station.

As they approached, they could see Katsumoto talking to the white-haired man, and the two men were accompanied by two policemen.

“That's their grandfather?" Yuta asked, still holding hands with the twins, "I thought he would be a much older person”

Both children laughed out loud at that comment.

“We just call him grandfather to annoy him, although sometimes we also call him Uncle Ui" Yurika commented, looking at Yuta.

“Yes, he is our grandmother Mei's brother, although they both look very young indeed" Yuudai answered, also turning to look at Yuta.

“I see, I guess it's genetics" answered the adult while his eyes were focused on the light-haired man.

That seemed very strange to him at first, but perhaps he thought it must be the genes of that family.

The closer they got to Katsumoto and Ui Ui, Yuta kept looking at that young adult, who seemed to have made a surprised gesture at the sight of that sorcerer.

Ui Ui could feel nervous and even averted his gaze whenever he felt Yuta's gaze on him. He would look around or try to make conversation with Katsumoto to avoid looking at Yuta.

When they were already less than two meters away from them, those twins let go of Yuta's hands and ran towards the white-haired adult.

“Grandpa Ui!" they said in chorus once they positioned themselves in front of him.

“WHERE WERE YOU TWO? I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THEM!! YOU HAD ME WORRIED!” the light-haired man raised his voice in annoyance.

That courage quickly changed to a sigh of relief. “But I'm glad you're both safe. Your mother would have killed me if I didn't come home with you”

“We're sorry!" both said in chorus, lowering their gazes.

“It's just that we lost sight of you in the crowd and we got too scared" Yurika explained, clasping her little hands together.

“But we are fine thanks to Yuta kun!” Yuudai turned slightly to look at the sorcerer "He took care of us all afternoon and even saved us from a curse!" he replied happily as Yuta approached the man.

“You don't have to worry, they are fine and by the way I must say that they are good kids" said Yuta lightly passing his hand to the back of his neck while he was still looking at that adult.

Ui Ui swallowed saliva, trying to act normal.
 “Well sir, I apologize if these two caused you any trouble" he looked at the twins with annoyance "These two are usually very naughty children. They
may have the faces of angels, but sometimes they are little demons!!" he said, putting his hands on the shoulders of those two.

Both children stuck their tongues out at the adult for that comment.

“He he, no need to apologize, we are here to help others" said Yuta with a smile as he watched the man, who avoid looking him in the eye.

“I thank you again my good man, but now it is time for us to retire” Ui Ui looked at those two children.

“Well children, it's time to go, your mother must be waiting for us and I don't want her to kill me for taking you home late" he said in a hurry as he took the hands of those two.

“Now say goodbye and say thank these gentlemen" UI ordered.

“Goodbye Yuta kun and Katsumoto kun!" said Yurika waving her free little hand.

“It was a pleasure and thank you very much for saving us and taking care of us!" Yuudai completed the sentence while also waving his free hand to say goodbye.

“Also thanks for the sweatshirts, food and candy!" said Yurika with a slight smile.

“With your permission and thank you very much, may the gods repay you" said Ui, taking a step back to start walking, holding hands with those two.

Yuta felt the need to ask the man something. So he quickly stopped him

“Excuse me!” Yuta grabbed Ui’s shoulder to stop him "Before you go, can I ask you something?”

“Yes?” Ui turned and tried to look him in the face, his expression seemed serene even though he was dying of nerves to be recognized.

“Do you and I know each other from somewhere? I feel that your face is very familiar to me... even your name is familiar to me” asked Yuta with curiosity, analyzing more closely the face of that man, who was sweating coldly.

Ui ui ui shook his head quickly.
 “I'm sorry, but this is the first time I've seen you and if I knew you, I guess I would remember you instantly" he lied trying not to let his voice give him away.

Yuta could tell that he was giving off some cursed energy that for some reason felt familiar, but at the time he didn't know who it might be from specifically.

“Could you repeat your name please? I just want to know if your name sounds me familiar" asked Yuta with a slight smile.

The children could notice the nervousness in their tutor's hands, they looked at each other and seemed to exchange a few words mentally.

“Usui, my name is Usui but these children call me grandfather Ui because of the letters in my name" he lied, keeping calm.

Yuudai and Yurika laughed a little at the lie that adult was telling. Maybe they could use it as blackmail, they thought.

Yuta sighed when he heard that name, "It's okay, sorry for the confusión!" he apologized with a slight bow.

“No problema” Ui said, bowing as well, "And again, thank you very much for taking care of my nephew and niece" he thanked quickly. “Goodbye.”

“You're welcome. Have a good trip home” Yuta looked at those children with nostalgia, somehow he had become too fond of those two.

And so, they started walking away from there.

 

 

Those three had already walked several meters, when suddenly Yuudai and Yurika looked over their shoulders and their gazes quickly went to Yuta. Who was sadly waving his hand in farewell.

The twins once again exchanged glances with each other and shook their heads affirmatively. It looked like they should do something else before they walked away from there.

“Grandpa Ui!" they shouted in chorus, stopping in their tracks and pulling the adult hard, making him stop in his tracks as well.

“What's wrong?" UI asked annoyed.

“Do you think we can say goodbye to Yuta Kun one more time?” asked Yurika making puppy dog eyes.

“We really want to say goodbye well to Yuta kun, since he saved us, protected us and took care of us all afternoon, and we really want to thank him one more time before we leave” Yuudai also made puppy eyes.

“And even more because we don't know if we will see him again someday..." said Yurika sadly.

“Please grandpa Ui! You let us say goodbye to him one more time?” Yuudai also showed his sadness.

Both children had become too fond of that sorcerer.

“Yes?, please?!" they both begged, pulling him by the hands.

Ui Ui looked at those two and then looked at Yuta, who was talking to his assistant and the officers.

He felt that it was a risky thing to do, but he thought that those three might never see each other again. So this could be the final farewell.

“Puff! Okay” Ui sighed and let them go"But go quickly, my beautiful sister and your mother must be waiting for us already" he said with a grimace.

“Thank you!" Both children started running towards the sorcerer who saved them.

Could hear the sound of his feet running happily toward his father.

“Yuta kun!" shouted those two in chorus, making him turn to look at them quickly.

Yuta smiled as he saw them coming towards him, he had never experienced that happiness before and instinctively squatted down and opened his arms, as he felt the need to embrace those two.

Both children hugged the sorcerer tightly, running their little hands around his neck.

“Is everything all right, children?" Yuta asked, looking at the two of them.

“Yup!" replied Yuudai with great happiness.

“We just wanted to thank you once again for saving us!" replied Yurika with a big smile.

“And also to tell you that we hope to see you again one of these days, we had a lot of fun with you!" Yuudai replied cheerfully.

“We hope to see you again soon so you can meet our mother too!" said Yurika happily.

While those children were saying goodbye to Yuta in that embrace, Katsumoto looked at the attitude of the twins' tutor.

He could see how Ui was looking at Yuta strangely, so Kasumoto would feel the need to investigate those children and the person who claimed to be their Tutor.

“I also hope to see them again someday and and I will be happy to meet your mother!, but for the momento!" he tousled their hair a little, causing the children's laughter to come out loudly.

“Take care of yourselves, okay? And stay out of trouble and stay away from curses" he said with a big smile as he said goodbye once again to those two.

Both children nodded their heads and hugged Yuta again. They felt that connection with this man had grown quickly and strongly.

“Yurika! Yuudai!" shouted Ui Ui calling the attention of those two.

“See you Yuta kun!" they both said in chorus, as they let go of him.

“We hope to see you again at one of the city's festivals!" Yuudai said with great joy.

“Maybe we could meet again during the Yoiyama!" Yurika replied with a big smile.

“I hope so!" said Yuta with a big smile, "Take care of yourselves”

And so, the twins quickly ran to grab Ui's hands and leave the mall.

 

 

Yuta sighed with nostalgia for the gesture of those two.

“Sir, is everything all right?" asked Katsumoto.

Okkotsu nodded his head.
 “Yes, I’m!” he had a big smile on his face.

That was the first time Katsumoto had seen him smile.

“I just have a strange feeling. Perhaps this feeling is simply due to the fact that I had a lot of fun this day with those two children. It's been a long time since I've felt this happy!" said the sorcerer, scratching the back of his neck.

“I understand sir and sorry to interrupt that happiness, but!” Kasumoto look at his tablet to read that new information that had been sent to him.
 “I have just been informed that they have found the body of another sorcerer and his companion, apparently they were killed in the same way as the two Zenin's of this afternoon and the crime scene is very close to here” He looked at Yuta seriously.

That special grade sorcerer sighed at that crude way of returning to reality, he felt that his joy was too fleeting.

Even such happiness had made him forget why he had traveled to Kyoto.

“I guess the sorcerer killer must be closer than we thought. Okay, let's go to that place" said Yuta, starting to walk beside Katsumoto.

“On this side, Mr.”" said the assistant, leading him to the parking lot.

 

 

 

Once they got into the car, Yuta leaned his head against the window while as they left the mall and headed for the new crime scene.

He looked too nostalgic and Katsumoto noticed that, looking at him in the rearview mirror.

“Are you all right, sir?" asked the assistant.

“I am, it's just that..." commented Yuta looking at the window, "For some strange reason I felt a connection with those twins. Maybe it's because of their names”

“Why do you say so, sir?" asked Katsumoto looking at the traffic light turning red and stopping for a moment. “Although if you ask me, those children could pass as if they were your children since they looked too much like you," He commented looking at Yuta in the rearview mirror.

That comment gave Yuta some amusement.

“I must confess that those two children have the names I had chosen for my children, if I ever have a son and a daughter" He sighed.
 “I guess it must be a very strange coincidence that the two of them are named like that, although it also seemed that those twins knew something about the world of Jujutsu" commented Yuta leaning his arm on the car door and bringing his hand to his face.

“Both can see and sense curses, plus they asked me directly if I was a sorcerer. A kid their age would never ask that unless he and she was the children of a sorcerer or a member of a known clan” Yuta said crossing his arms.

This surprised the assistant, who looked at him with surprise through that mirror. His eyebrows were raised because of what he was hearing.

“Do you think those two are the sons of sorcerers? Did you ask them for their last names?” Katsumoto asked, looking sideways at him in the rearview mirror, while that light changed to green and so without letting go of the steering wheel, he stepped on the accelerator a little at a time to continue driving.

“I don't know exactly, they only said that their parents and other relatives also saw curses" he slapped his forehead with his right hand "THEIR SURNAMES! I FORGOT TO ASK AGAIN FOR THEIR SURNAMES!” Yuta said in frustration.

“I remember they said something like "Fushi" or "Fuji" I don't remember very well and more that when Yurika was going to tell me her full name, Yuudai interrupted her” commented Yuta taking his hand to his chin  “I only know that his last name starts with F, I think I should have asked that man for his last name too. One way or another, I feel like I've seen that guy before, maybe years ago”

“Sir, Do you also want me to investigate those two children and their relatives?" asked Katsumoto, looking at Yuta again in the rearview mirror.

The sorcerer sighed.
 “NO" he commented seriously.
“Although I confess that I would like to see those two children again, I prefer that you continue to concentrate on finding the information I asked for about what happened to Maki Zenin and if you can, also investigate what happened to all the others.I really need to know if she is still alive or not” he seemed to have returned to his obsession.

“Understood, sir" answered Katsumoto without taking his eyes off the road, while they arrived at the place where yet another sorcerer had been killed.

But that assistant would also feel the need to investigate those two children.

So, taking the little information Yuta gave him about their names and the clue of their surname, he would begin his search for the truth to find out if those two children were related to his boss. All that investigation would be done in secret.

But Yuta's arrival in Kyoto would only alert everyone involved with his past.

Ui Ui and Mei Mei would also start to move some pieces.

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

08:00 p.m.

The night had fallen completely and these three were approaching the meeting point where they were to meet Mei Mei and Maki after their mission. Which was a success. They had ended the life of another sorcerer and in the process they had gotten rid of anything that could incriminate them.

They all agreed to meet on a main avenue that was very close to the house where Maki lived with her children.

At that time of the night, there were still many people on the street, this because being the month of July, most of the main streets of Kyoto were filled with people and colors for the Gion Matsuri.

Ui Ui stopped with those two children on the other side of the avenue. They were waiting for the pedestrian light to change to green.

“Brats!, I'll make you a deal" Ui Ui began to say in a hurry as he looked at the two women in the distance, who were talking to each other.

“What do you want now, old man?" asked Yurika.

“What kind of deal?" Yuudai asked.

“I don't want you two to tell anything to your mother or my sister about what happened this day with that curse and much less I want you to tell your mother that you met that Yuta Okktosu" said Ui Ui looking seriously to both of them. “And by the way, I want them to tell her that I gave them the sweatshirts they are wearing”

The twins looked at each other and narrowed their eyes at such words from that man. It was very strange for Uncle Ui to act that way.

But they were still willing to negotiate.

“And in exchange for not telling Mom anything, what will we get?" Yurika asked with a grimace.

“If you don't say anything, I will buy everything you ask for three days in a row" said Ui Ui seriously as the pedestrian light turned green.

The three continued walking slowly.

“Whatever?” asked Yurika with a mischievous smile as she looked at her brother.

“All we want for three days?” asked Yuudai mischievously as he looked at his sister.

It looked like they would both profit from it.

“All you want!, hurry! Please promise me!" Ui Ui pleaded because his sister had already spotted them and watched them approaching from the sidewalk where they were waiting for them.

The twins looked at each other once again and nodded their heads in agreement.

“All right! We promise!" they said in chorus.

“We won't say anything to Mom or Grandma Mei," Yuudai replied.

“But in exchange, we want you to buy us everything we want during the three nights of Yoiyama!" Yurika replied.

“That festival is very expensive!" Ui Ui reproached, looking at them with annoyance.

“Then we'll tell mom and grandma Mei everything that happened!" Yurika replied a little annoyed, crossing her arms.

“And that you lost us this day and that we were almost eaten by a curse!” Yuudai also replied, crossing his arms.

“And that we met a Yuta Okkotsu!" said Yurika in a grimace.

Ui Ui had no choice but to accept that condition.
 “Agh!, HOW I HATE THEM! All right, I'll buy them everything they ask for on Yoiyama nights!" he rolled his eyes.

Both children had a big smile of triumph.
 “We won't say anything!" they said in chorus and then ran away from Ui.

“Mommy!" Both children ran to Maki, who bent down to hug them affectionately and shower them with kisses.

“How did they behave?” Maki asked curiously, "What nice sweatshirts, did Grandpa Ui buy them for you?" she complimented with a smile.

“We behaved very well!" Yuudai replied with a big smile.

“And yes, these sweatshirts were bought for us by Grandpa Ui” lied Yurika.

“I see, they are very cute!" Maki caressed her children's cheeks.
 “And what did they do today with Grandfather Ui?" she asked, standing up and holding her children's hands.

“We went to eat hamburgers and made a new friend at the mall”" Yuudai said, smiling.

“And our new friend says he wants to meet you!" Yurika commented with a big smile.

“Did you really make a new friend? That makes me happy and if this new friend of yours wants to meet me, you could introduce me to him during Yoiyama" said Maki with a big smile.

While that mother was talking to her children, Ui Ui quickly took the opportunity to talk to Mei.

“Sister, there is something I must tell you..." whispered Ui softly in her ear.

“And what is it?" asked Mai with a big smile, she thought her brother would flatter her as usual.

But the next thing Ui Ui would whisper in her ear would make her bloodes run cold.

“Yuta Okkotsu has returned to Kyoto and that sorcerer has just indirectly met his children..." he whispered in her ear.

Mei Mei felt her soul leave her body at such news. Her eyes widened in surprise looking at her brother in disbelief.

That was definitely not a joke, her brother would never tell her lies.

“We are in trouble... this is the beginning of the end" Mei whispered as she watched Maki and her children laughing, holding hands.

“Definitely... blood will run here" said Mei, bringing her hand to her neck. “Besides, they say that blood always calls..." she said looking at those children.

“I guess the news that Yuta Okkotsu is in Kyoto won't take long to spread like wildfire, right?" asked Ui worriedly.

Mei sighed. She knew that bad news always reached the ears of everyone involved first.

“I guess that news has already reached the ears of the Zenin clan” Sigh, "May the gods take us forewarned" Mei commented, looking worriedly at her brother.

There were two truths in Mei's words.

The first; It was that Yuta and the twins would see each other again very soon as blood always turns and meets.

And the second; that the Zenin clan would learn of his return and that their new leader, Naoya Zenin would call him to account for the death of his servants outside his residence.

The truth was just around the corner.

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

Notes:

I hope you liked the chapter.

I must confess that I let out a few tears as I was writing when the children went back to Yuta.

And tell me, what do you think of the story?

I can only anticipate that the next chapter will have some surprises.

About the phrase "blood always turns around and is found" I must thank the user megumi.wife because she mentioned to me and I thought it was perfect for this chapter.

Anyway, we will keep reading ❤️

Yuta and those twins will soon meet again ❤️

And tell me, have you seen the anime episode? I loved it, but I know I'm going to cry with what's coming for Mechamaru.

Chapter 6: 06. The Zenin Clan

Notes:

I'm sure this chapter will leave you shocked/surprised and even eager to know more about this fic.

So I hope you like it.

Please note that this chapter will explain the current situation of the Zenin clan.

As a slight disclaimer, in this chapter there are mentions of blood and miscarriages (natural loss).

 

Without further ado, enjoy the reading.

 

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July 13.

10 days later.

12:20 p.m.

At the Zenin residence.

“So, The rumors are true, huh? Okkotsu went back to Japan” Naoya pronounced that name with contempt.

“That's right, sir" commented an older woman, she was the mother of the Zenin twins, walking three steps behind him.

“What has that bastard come back for? Is he already going to be appointed as the new leader of the Gojo clan?” asked Naoya as they continued walking down the hallway of their residence.

“We understand that Mr. Okkotsu has returned to help solve the case that has been unleashed around this new sorcerer killers" commented Naoya's aunt.

“So, That bastard is now a detective?  Speaking of which, How many of our subordinates have been killed in this case?" Naoya asked coolly.

“So far, four” the woman swallowed saliva with difficulty  “In the morning we were notified that the body of another of our servants had been found, who was murdered days ago...".

“Even if they were simple servants, their deaths could affect my image as the current leader of this clan" commented Naoya stopping outside a traditional room, which served as his office inside that residence, "Whoever this assassin is, it is obvious that he does not know what he is doing. The simple fact that he is acting against the Zenin clan is reason enough for him to pay with his blood" he was annoyed.

“So I'll be under the stupid obligation to see and talk to that bastard of Okkotsu” he sighed and put his hand on that sliding door.

“I want you to let Okkotsu Yuta know that I, the 27th leader of the Zenin clan, want to see him as soon as possible so that he can give me an account of this case.

“Yes, sir" commented the woman, bowing.

Naoya opened the door of that traditional room. In the middle of it and on the elegant tea table, there was a beautiful katana.

That man approached to take that weapon and admired it. That katana had an almost perfect edge.

“She has done a good job in making exact replicas of the cursed tools that have disappeared, or better said, that ‘someone’ seems to have stolen" he continued, admiring the weapon.

“I must admit that she has improved a lot and all this is thanks to her technique" commented Naoya looking at himself in the reflection of the Katana "And speaking of her, Where is Mai Chan?" he asked his aunt.

“My daughter is resting in her room, she is recovering from the loss of cursed energy, as well as from the loss of blood she had a few days ago..." the woman said this while she was outside that room. To which the servants were forbidden to enter without permission from their leader.

“I see" Naoya turned to the woman.

The Zenin leader continued, "You know?, Mai would make an excellent wife if, as well as creating weapons, she could sire an heir with that barren womb of hers.” He snorted

"Too bad the same cannot be said of Maki, who is already dead for having been a disgrace to the clan. If she were alive, perhaps she could have given me an heir that would carry our same ‘royal’ blood" commented Naoya with a certain tone of arrogance while she kept that Katana.

Those words made the twins' mother keep silent and only pressed her lips together out of the hatred she felt.

“Anyway, you may leave, I must see to other urgent matters. Go and fulfill the assignment I have given you. We must also be prepared for when Okkotsu sets foot in this house" commented Naoya looking at his aunt over his shoulder.

“Yes sir..." commented the woman, closing the door behind her.

 

 

 

 

That news would spread too fast in that residence, because they say that "the walls have ears".

And those rumors would quickly reach the ears of another victim who was involved six years ago.

“I heard that the lady lost another baby, Is that true?" commented in a low voice, a young green-haired maid, who was cleaning the floor of a corridor that led to one of the most beautiful gardens that the residence had and that only certain members of the family could enjoy.

“That's true! And I must say that it was too disgusting, the lady lost a lot of blood, the sheets looked like the scene of a massacre!" said in a low voice another servant girl, just as young but with black hair.

“Poor...”

The black-haired girl continued speaking, while she finished carving the floor “You know? I'm beginning to believe that ‘she’ is the one who causes herself  the miscarriages. It's not normal so many losses”

The other maid just shrugged "I don't think she's capable of doing that. I feel that abortions are more due to her technique. Can't she create life? That alone would explain why she has already three abortions.”

“Anyway, that good-for-nothing is not good for bearing children, but she is good for giving weapons to this stupid clan. Doesn't that sound a bit ironic?" replied the black haired maid with disgust.

“And I guess Mr. Naoya must not be having a good time with this abortion either, right?" answered the green-haired maid.

“Why do you say that?”

“I say this because Mr. Naoya must be desperate to have an heir and the deadline given to him by the former leader is running out!" the green-haired maid began to whisper as she finished cleaning the wood on the walls, "You know?, Mr. Naobito gave him only three years for Naoya to give him a grandson with some good technique, otherwise the leadership would pass to one of his older brothers" she said while wringing out a cloth.

“Well, at least we're not the only clan having trouble getting heirs" the black-haired maid commented.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I heard that the Gojo clan is also having fertility problems, that's why they haven't been able to have heirs either. Is this some kind of karma for the leaders?”

“If it is, I hope this Karma will exterminate both clans.”

“Speaking of the Gojo clan, have you heard?”

“About what?”

“Yuta Okkotsu has returned to Japan. And that he is currently here in Kyoto”

At that moment the door of the elegant room in that hallway opened noisily.

From that door a woman peeked out with short green hair, her skin was paler than usual and her eyes were as golden as honey. She was wearing a beautiful black tomesode kimono. Those clothes indicated that this woman was the wife of the leader of that household.

“You two make too much noise with your stupid mumbling!" said an adult Mai, who sounded too annoyed.

“We are sorry, my lady" apologized the black-haired maid, bowing.

“What the hell were they talking about?" asked Mai as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorway.

“I'm sorry if we woke you up" apologized the green-haired maid.

“And if you'll excuse us, we've finished cleaning up here, so we should retire”

At that moment, Mai took the Chinese porcelain teapot on the silver tray, which was left for her at the door of her room, and dropped it with full intention in front of the maids.

“Oops!, sorry! This good-for-nothing has tired hands...” Mai looked seriously at both women “So now get to cleaning up this mess and by the way I order you to tell me what you were talking about a moment ago” answered angrily.

Both maids looked at her angrily, but since she was their lady, they had no choice but to get back on their knees and start cleaning up the mess.

“So, what was the last thing they said?" asked Mai.

The green-haired girl began to speak as she picked up the pieces of porcelain.

“We were saying that there is a very strong rumor that Yuta Okkotsu has returned to Japan.”

“Okkotsu?" asked Mai with surprise. Her eyes widened like saucers, her hands went to her belly and even her breathing stopped at such news.

“That's right, my lady. There is also a rumor going around that Mr. Okkotsu was called by Mr. Naoya to discuss an urgent matter.”

“Okkotsu is coming to this residence? When?" asked Mai quickly without taking her eyes off them.

“We don't know yet...”

“We assume it will be in the next few days”

“And do you know what subject that idiot  of Naoya wants to discuss with Okkotsu?" asked Mai insistently.

Both said NO with a nod of the head

“The only thing we know is that in the next few days, Mr. Okkotsu will be coming to the Zenin residence”

“That is all we have been told”

Mai leaned against the door of her room for a moment. She felt weak both from the lack of cursed energy, as well as from the blood she had lost days ago and incidentally, that news left her in a state of Shock.

“Mrs. Mai, are you all right?" asked the black-haired girl as she quickly leaned against the door.

They both approached her, but Mai stopped them.

“Don't come near me! I'm fine!” she shouted as she regained her composure, "Now you two take care of this mess and bring me the food!" she slammed the sliding door angrily behind her.

That behavior caused both maids to look at each other in confusion.

Mai put her hands to her mouth as she looked around her large room. Which was old but very beautiful, covered with a beautiful tatami and with four walls with beautiful Japanese paintings.

That room also had a small desk, which was full of books. As well as many books on chemistry and history, there were also books on the creation of various materials. All those books were scattered on the floor and there were even books on her futon. Since Mai had to read them and use them as instructions to be able to create the tools that the clan forced her to create with certain characteristics.

That room had only a circular window that was closed with several bars and the door through which he had peeked.

Unfortunately that room was guarded most of the time by some other servant sent by Naoya.

Mai stood still for a few more minutes as her brain finished processing everything she had just heard.

“If Okkotsu is here in Kyoto and is coming to this residence, That could mean that he already knows the truth about Maki and his children?” she wondered mentally.

Her lips tightened.

Unfortunately Mai was cut off from the outside world three years ago, when they made a deal to protect Maki and her nephews. A deal that even involved Fushiguro, who resigned as the leader of the Zenin clan.

And lately their messenger, or rather, their informant with the outside, was making it too difficult for them to get close to her since a few weeks ago, since they were not letting anyone, except for Naoya and Mai's mother, near her room.

“Okkotsu can be my trump card to get out of this hellish house!" she whispered as she quickly approached her closet and searched for a small box, which she kept under the wooden boards.

From that box she took a picture of her and Maki, along with two babies. Her nephews, whom she swore to protect. That photograph was the only souvenir she was allowed to bring with her.

Inside that box were also several letters that the two of them had sent and exchanged secretly for those two years before their communication ceased.

Mai quickly pulled out some blank sheets of paper, as well as a pen she had stolen from Naoya's office.

“I don't know if Yuta already knows the truth about Maki and his children. Still, I'm going to take the risk of trying to tell him everything... I need him to know the truth and help me get out of here!" she whispered as she began to write.

On that day, Yuta Okkotsu was also moving around the city as another murder had taken place.

What he didn't expect was that he was only a few steps away from Maki's home that very afternoon.

◈ ━━━━ ♤ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

Notes:

Chan! Chan! What did you think of the chapter?

I hope you liked it and that it motivated you to continue reading this fic.

Maybe later I'll tell you about the deal that involved Mai and even Megumi.

I hope to update soon, as I am in a big dilemma, which is whether the next chapter should be divided in two or should be left in one very long chapter, as another woman will also appear and will be somewhat important to the plot.

What do you think? Split chapter or long chapter?

Anyway, Maki and Yuta are about to be reunited ❤️

Anyway, we'll keep reading.

Pd: What did you guys think of this week's anime episode? I'm crying because of what happened with Mechamaru 😭.

Still, Shibuya was never a happy arc.

Chapter 7: 07. Conversations with teacups and crows

Notes:

I'm sure that the next chapter will leave you wanting to know more about this fic. Most of all, it might leave you wanting to know more about Yurika and Yuudai's birth.

Anyway, I hope you like it.

Here a character will appear that you may not have expected.

An apology if there are any mistakes, I am translating it before leaving town

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Why is a raven like a writting-desk?

-Lewis Carol

 

 

July 13.

In another part of the city, in a luxurious residence.

02:00 p.m.

Yuta was still in Kyoto, his case was really getting too complicated and the murders of sorcerers did not stop.

This new victim was murdered in his own home.

“And with this death we add one more to the list of sorcerers brutally murdered by that mysterious murderer and all within a period of no more than 10 days" said Katsumoto sighing and looking at the crime scene they had arrived at, "With this one we now have a total of six victims”

“Although it seems that this one did try to fight for his life with all his strength to avoid being killed" commented another assistant, looking at how this victim had wounds on his hands, and had even lost several fingers.
“We have to admit that this sorcerer was the one who ended up in the worst way”

That victim was a male in his early 30s. He was of the first degree. And his technique served especially to confuse his adversary, since with his cursed energy he could distort the time and forms of the place where he would be.

That sorcerer had served the academy for years and above all was a lapdog for the top brass in its worst days.

Yuta looked at that corpse bathed in blood, it was completely decapitated with a perfect line all over the neck and also had an opening in the chest, since his heart had been ripped out.

“I feel that I have seen him before somewhere else..." commented Yuta looking at the victim's head.

“His name was Haruto Yamazaki, apparently this sorcerer was an informant. He studied at the Jujutsu academy, you may remember him because at the time you entered the academy back in 2017, this sorcerer was in his fourth year" commented Katsumoto reading the report.

“Yes, but I feel that I had also seen him somewhere else in more recent years..." Yuta really felt that he had already seen that sorcerer somewhere else, perhaps a little before what happened with Maki at that train station.

But perhaps I would remember that more clearly at another time.

“Anyway, it's the same scene, no witnesses and the killer's same mode of operation. Attack the throat and then give him a fatal stab in the heart" commented Yuta looking at the scene, "But what relationship did he have with the other four sorcerers? I really don't understand it and by the way, I feel that we are missing something" he said walking stealthily to see if he detected any residual energy.

“This case is getting too complicated, and more so because it seems that not all the victims are connected to each other and incidentally the time between each one was too short” said Katsumoto reading the previous reports.

Again, something caught Yuta's attention among the blood strewn about the room and that was a crow feather.

That piece was the sixth crime scene he had visited.

“This is very strange..." commented Yuta squatting down and looking closely at that feather.

“Sir, look at this..." stammered Katsumoto, calling Yuta's attention, who approached where his assistant was pointing.

“It is the corpse of a crow" commented one of the forensic experts, who was taking photographs of the evidence.

The animal had a wound in its chest, which could have caused its immediate death.

“What's a crow doing here?" wondered Kasumoto, very puzzled.

Yuta put his hand to his chin as he analyzed it all.

“Does this animal give off any trace of cursed energy?" asked Katsumoto, watching the animal being placed in a bag.

“It's a little confusing, but I do feel a very faint trace coming from that crow" Yuta replied.

“We will know for sure once we analyze it completely in the laboratory. We will send you the results in the evening" commented the forensic scientist.

Yuta sighed and closed his eyes in frustration. This case was eating at his mind.

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03:10 p.m.

Yuta and Kasumoto left that crime scene and decided to go to eat at a cafeteria very close to the shopping mall where ten days before they met Yurika and Yuudai.

Yuta could not stop thinking about those children and it showed in his countenance, which looked nostalgic.

“I wonder if those twins are all right and if they're not getting into trouble" he whispered as a waitress brought them the dishes they had ordered.

A chicken baguette for Katsumoto and a hamburger for Yuta. Yuta smiled a little at the sight of the dish as he remembered both Maki and the two children.

“Is everything all right my lord?" asked Katsumoto as he watched Yuta stare at his food and a smile appeared on his face.

“It is, I just had a faint memory, that's all" commented Yuta before taking the first bite of his hamburger.

“Does that memory have to do with Maki zenin? Or with those two twins he met a few weeks ago?" asked Katsumoto without taking his eyes off his boss.

“I'd say a little of both" Yuta took a second bite of his burger and took a drink. “Maki loved hamburgers and apparently both Yurika and Yuudai love them too, from what they told me, this is their favorite food" he sighed.

Katsumoto swallowed as he heard those names.

“By the way..." Yuta's countenance now looked very serious, "Katsumoto, how is your investigation going about what I sent you to ask about the Zenin sisters?" he asked coldly.

Katsumoto drank some of the tea he had ordered to try to unblock his throat. The fear Yuta was giving his on the subject made his shiver.

“I” he loosened his tie a little.
“I've found a lead on the whereabouts of one of the Zenin
twins, sir. But I was thinking of going down there this afternoon to find out if the information I've found is true so I could share it with you”

“Really?, What new information did you find out?" Yuta's eyes lit up.

“As I said sir, I still can't share with you what I found because I don't want to give you false information and I don't want to take you to the wrong place, that's why I first want to go there personally to verify first hand that what I found is true” he said seriously looking at his boss straight in the face.

Yuta felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest with what the assistant was saying.

But he also did not want to get his hopes up in vain.

“Okay, I trust you Katsumoto" commented the sorcerer with a smile.

Yuta looked towards the window and his gaze focused on a girl and a boy who were crossing the street holding their parents' hands. Those four looked too happy as they continued walking down that street that was decorated due to the floats that had passed by at noon due to the Gion Matsumi.

The sorcerer sighed with nostalgia at the sight of that scene. For he had always longed to have a family.

“Sir, is something wrong? Did you see anyone you know?” asked the assistant.

Yuta sighed as he watched the family walk away.

“I'm not going to lie to you Katsumoto. Right now I'm thinking too much about Yurika and Yuudai. And more than as I said, I felt a strange connection with them” He sigh. “I'd really like to see them again and more than that this case makes me worried. I'm afraid that that murderer will go after the relatives of those two, that's why I must hurry to solve this case and catch that wretch" he said watching as that family of four walked away from there.

Katsumoto also watched the scene. He pursed his lips and put his hand on his personal tablet on the table.

He wanted to tell his boss that he had also found super important information about those twins. Katsumoto had finally found their surnames. And by the way, he seemed to have found the names of the parents of those two.

“Sir…” Kasumoto was trying to get the courage to tell Yuta what he had discovered about those children.

“Yes?" Yuta looked at his assistant.

Katsumoto did not have the courage to tell him of his discovery.

“Would you like to order anything else?” He asked, putting the tablet aside and picking up the menu.

Yuta smiled a little.
 “Yes, I would like to order one more dish”

 

 

 

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04:00 p.m.

After finishing lunch.

Katsumoto and Yuta decided to separate.

The assistant would go to check the information he had found about Maki Zenin in a cemetery in the traditional part of Kyoto.

In the meantime, Yuta decided to go explore the city some more. This was to clear his mind because he was finding the case of the sorcerer killer very difficult to solve.

The clues didn't add up, the subjects seemed to have no connection to each other and the feathers and the corpse of that crow was a very strange point in the investigation.

Something in this case was wrong and he had no idea what it could be.

So while receiving the report from the forensic sorcerers. Yuta decided to walk around.

As the twins had told his, at that time of the year the Gion Matsuri was taking place, which was a festival that lasted the whole month of July and many streets in both the old and modern neighborhoods were filled with colors and decorations. As well as filled with people. Both residents and tourists who went to enjoy the daily festivals.

The main attraction, which took place at noon, consisted of a parade of floats, which had already concluded hours before.

But by that time in the afternoon, the festivities were not over.
 You could see people coming out and starting to set up the little food, games and candy stands along the streets where the traditional street parties were held.

Yuta bought some sweets to eat on the way while he continued exploring that part of the city where he had arrived, until he began to enter a residential area with modern houses.

The sorcerer kept walking until he realized that he had lost his way in the quiet streets.

He took out his cell phone and looked at the time, it was five minutes before five o'clock in the afternoon and the sun would not take long to start setting.

Yuta kept walking, until he stopped on a street where there were many beautiful houses but no one could be seen passing by.

“Where will I be? I think I saw a playground around here, I guess I could ask for directions there" commented Yuta taking out his cell phone and trying to understand his GPS.

“But where should I go down?" he said to himself, scratching his head.

But at that moment. Shouts caught his attention, those voices made his heart beat with joy.

“Yuta kun!" was the voice of two children he recognized quite well.

Yuta turned around excitedly and there, behind him were Yurika and Yuudai. They were wearing cute casual clothes.

“Yurika? Yuudai?” he asked with a big smile.

Those children ran to embrace him. Proving that this was not an illusion or a dream.

The twins' wish had come true.

"Seeing Yuta Okkotsu again."

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♤ ━━━━ ◈

Half an hour ago.

Meanwhile in a modern house.

04:30 p.m.

“Grandma Yuki!" shouted the twins with great joy when they saw the blonde enter the door of their house.

They both ran to greet her.

“I told them not to call me grandmother!” Yuki pouted "I'm almost the same age as your mother" she lied and smiled as she bent down to look at those two, "You'd better call me Aunt Yuki! Or Yuki one san!" she commented caressing their cheeks.

Maki rolled her eyes at the sorceress's comments, crossed her arms and smiled at seeing her children very obedient whit that woman, to whom they also owed their lives in one way or another.

“It's okay, Aunt Yuki!" Yuudai said with a smile.

“Yuki one san!" commented Yurika waving her little hands.

She stood up. “Good children, that's what I like to be called" Yuki smiled and stroked their black hair.

“But look how big you are now! I still remember when you two were babies!" she waved her hands as if she was cooing to a baby, "I still remember you as little as that”

Both children only laughed at the sorceress's movements.

Yuki continued speaking, "And tell me, do curses still bother you? Or do you already know how to defend yourselves from them" she asked curiously.

“They do keep bothering us from time to time!" Yuudai pouted.

“But Mom and Papa Gumi promised that very soon they will teach us how to defend ourselves against them!" said Yurika, waving her little hands happily.

“Very good! Then I'll teach them how to hit curses someday, too!” Yuki winked at those two. Making those kids laugh a little and look at each other.

“Tsukumo san, would you like something to drink?" said Maki, "Are you planning to stay here in the city for a few days? I say it because Megumi and the others said they would come until tomorrow to spend the first night of Yoiyama together, I say it in case you want to join us" she said looking at her guest.

“Yes and thank you, I would like some tea and maybe I will just stay these three nights here in Kyoto before leaving the country" Yuki looked seriously at Maki

“And the main reason for my visit, besides coming to see how you were, is because I want to talk to you Maki san” she commented making a quick sign with her head - I would like to tell you something ‘important’ but in private”

Seeing that language of those adults, Yurika and Yuudai each took their mother's hands and started jumping up and down happily. Both children had a feeling that someone important to them was nearby and they wanted to go and say hello.

“Mommy! Mommy! Can we go play in the park?" asked Yurika, jumping up and down.

“Yurika and I promise to behave ourselves!" Yuudai said, making puppy eyes.

“I don't know, you know I don't like them to go to the park alone" commented Maki, looking at her children seriously.

“But we want to go and play with our friends before the festival starts!" pleaded Yurika.

“Please, Mommy! Will you let us go? Yes?" commented Yuudai, making puppy eyes and clasping his little hands together.

“We promise we'll only go to the park and we won't go near the festival until daddy Gumi and my uncles arrive tomorrow!" Yurika pleaded, making puppy eyes and clasping her little hands together.

“We won't go near the festival, we promise! And We won't go near curses!" Yuudai pleaded, "Yes, Mommy? Will you let us go?”

Maki crossed her arms over her chest, a mother's instinct telling her that the best thing to do was to keep them from going out at that moment. But she also didn't want them to hear what she had to talk to Yuki about.

“Let them go Maki, besides they are children, they deserve to explore the world in their own way" intervened Yuki stroking the hair of those two, "You know that this area is very safe, besides, I don't think anything will happen to them, and by the way so you and I can catch up" she commented with a smile.

Maki sighed. She knew she should talk to Yuki.

“Okay, They have my permission to go to the park but they will only go for two hours. I want you back before the sun goes down completely, so I want you back by seven o'clock and I don't want you to go with strangers and I don't want you to go after the curses either”

“We promise!" these two said in chorus.

“All right children, go play in the park, your mother and I have some things to catch up on. I'll come get they in a little while" said Yuki with a big smile.

“Thank you Mommy!”

“Thank you Aunt Yuki!”

Maki bent down to embrace her children and kiss them each on the cheek.

“Be careful. Ok?”

“We'll be back for dinner time!" said Yurika running to the front door.

“We'll be back at seven o'clock! We promise!" said Yuudai running after his sister.

Once both children left the house, they quickly headed to the park.

 

 

 

04:55 p.m.

For some strange reason, those twins felt the need to go a certain way because they felt they would find someone special to them.

Both children first turned left and went down a street that was very close to the main avenue.

Then they went to the right and went down another street that led straight to the park, this because they felt the cursed energy of someone very special around that area.

It seemed that the phrase "blood calls" was coming true.

And there on that street near the park was that black-haired man, with whom both children had felt an immediate and special connection.

The one who was her savior weeks ago.

“Which way should I go down?" said Yuta to himself, scratching his head.

“Yuta san!" said both children in chorus, making him turn to look at them.

Both children were so happy to see him again that they ran to hug him.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♤ ━━━━ ◈

05:05 p.m.

Once those two children were out the door, those two women went to the kitchen to talk.

Yuki sat in one of the chairs they had at the small table for four people in the middle of the kitchen.

“What news do you have from Mai?" asked Maki returning to the table and pouring the hot water into the cups she had prepared for her and her guest.

Yuki sighed at such a question as Maki took a seat across from her.

“Things within that infernal clan are getting very difficult for her, this because she has not been able to give them an heir and by the way, she is being exploited to create cursed tools and weapons for them” Yuki began to explain.

“And Choso, who is still working as my infiltrator inside that residence, told me that Mai recently had another miscarriage, with this one she has lost three times in three years. Too bad his technique can't help control hemorrhages, if his blood comes in contact with Mai's, it could poison her and she could die" Yuki took her cup in her hands and blew carefully, "I don't know how to name this phenomenon but apparently she can't sire”

“Do you think it has something to do with the birth of Yurika and Yuudai? Do you think what happened "that day" has something to do with my celestial restraint getting stronger and that also made Mai's technique sharper?" asked Maki, a bit worried about her twin sister's situation.

“My hypothesis is that yes, all this has something to do with what happened on the day of your delivery" said Yuki staring at Maki.

“I'd really like to investigate all this further but because Naoya and the others within the clan won't let anyone else near Mai, it complicates everything.” She grunt a little.
“Since that conceited man became the leader, I've had a harder time keeping track of her in the face of this strange phenomenon” Yuki sipped some of her tea before continuing to speak.

“But my main assumption is that the bond, or rather the restraint that inhibited theis true natures, between the two of you was broken that day when you gave birth”

Yuki went on to explain.
“Mai's power could have been strengthened by what happened during your "death" during your gave birth. That alone would explain why her power to build and bring to reality weapons and objects was strengthened a hundred percent, although depending on the weapon she tries to create, it is the amount of energy she consumes and within that clan they exploit her too much with that subject”

Yuki sighed, put down her cup of tea and put her elbows on the table as she continued talking.
 “It's as if at the moment of your death for several minutes, she had absorbed what little cursed energy you possessed. But you, unlike her, at your "resurrection," your binding strengthened to the degree that I had Toji Zenin in my records” She put her hands to her face for a moment.

“It's a very strange phenomenon to explain, but the fact that you "died" somehow made both of you stronger. But the big difference here is that she can't create life and you were able to sire two babies without any problem.”

She moved her hands as if it were a scale.
 “She with a lot of cursed energy but with fertility problems and you being too fertile but without a drop of cursed energy, doesn't that sound a bit ironic to you" Yuki commented, staring at her hostess.

Maki sighed in frustration.
 “I need to rescue Mai from that shitty place!" she stood up angrily from her chair. “Although all this has not been easy for me either, especially now that my children are already seeing curses” She put a hand to her forehead out of frustration knowing that her sister was going through hell with the Zenin clan.

Maki was not having an easy time at all. Every day trying to pay off her debt to Mei Mei and managing her household expenses, as well as caring for and educating her children, made it very difficult for her to save money to pay Mai's ransom.

“We'll figure out a way to get her out of there.  For the moment we can't do anything. But I know there must be a solution to this problem, especially because her sacrifice is not being in vain, she is doing it to protect both you and her nephews” said Yuki looking for something in her bag.

“Speaking of your children, is there any clue yet as to which clan they inherited their techniques from? Have they not yet shown signs of having any cursed technique?" asked the special grade sorceress, taking out her notebook from her bag, ready to write down the new observations of that case.

Yuki was still investigating everything related to celestial restraints and ever since she learned that Maki was pregnant, that case had fascinated this special grade sorceress.

“Although I must say that the energy they give off is already perceptible from the moment you are a few centimeters away from them, although I feel that one of your children gives off more energy than the other. But we will find that out with time" commented the blonde looking at Maki.

The mother of those two shook her head.
 “But I have a feeling that maybe one of them has the reverse curse technique. More specifically, I think Yuudai  is the one who inherited that technique”

“Why do you suspect Yuudai? And why that particular technique?”

“Because the other day, there was a mishap here in the house with a little curse and they both had scratches on their arms and legs. The surprising thing was that the next day Yuudai didn't have those little wounds and Yurika did. So I have a feeling he inherited that technique unless he still has one more. Besides, he was the first one to see curses a few months before Yurika could do it too” explained Maki sipping her tea.

“Interesting, maybe that he saw curses before his sister did is because he was born almost dead" said Yuki noting those answers, "And what about Yurika?, Do you notice any clues about whether or not she inherited any technique?”

Maki brought her hand to her chin.
“I have yet to notice any specific technique from her. But I'm afraid she might have inherited one from the Zenin clan" she sighed.

“Yurika is a very outgoing girl, she doesn't seem to be a Zenin at all with her sweet and cheerful character" said Yuki with a smile.

She continued to write down.
“And currently, How do you perceive their cursed energies? Can they detect you?" asked the blonde with interest.

“No, they don't detect me at all . I checked that the other day” Maki took a sip of her tea “And about their energies...” she sighed  “There are days that I feel that they completely resemble Yuta's energy...” she stroked her forearm a little.

Yuki noticed how Maki's countenance changed to one of sadness at the man's name.

“Speaking of Okkotsu...”

Maki slowly turned to look at her as the blonde continued talking.

“ don't know if you've already heard, although I doubt Mei has already told you, but it is my duty to warn you that Okkotsu is back in Japan.”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Maki's eyes widened in surprise, she felt her heart leap out of her chest when she heard the news.

“I said that Yuta Okkotsu is back in Japan after seven years”

Maki forced her throat to be able to speak once more  "And what did that asshole come back for" she sounded furious.

“From what I have been told by my informants at headquarters, he was called to solve a case where "someone" is killing sorcerers who curiously served the Zenin clan and the academy years ago" Yuki commented, looking at Maki's behavior.

Maki pursed her lips at such words. It even seemed as if her breath had been cut off by that last answer, but she tried to keep a calm face.

“And I guess that "murderer" is you, isn't it?” Yuki looked seriously at Maki, "And I guess all this has to do with what they did seven years ago, right?" she asked observing how Maki didn't even flinch.

Maki took another sip of her drink before speaking. “I am" she admitted without hesitation, " But you of all people in this world, you know that I have my reasons for killing all of them”

“I know and I'm not going to stand in your way at all" Yuki sighed, "Just try not to get caught. Although you know that sooner or later the truth always comes out.”

Maki stared at the blonde who was still talking.

“Anyway, whatever happens, you know that I will only advocate for Yurika and Yuudai" She turned her eyes to her notebook, "Now, let's continue with the questions about your children" she smiled a little to change the subject.

 

 

 

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06:30 p.m.

After Yuta and the twins met on that street.

Those three spent a pleasant time together in that park.

The afternoon was being perfect and even the sky was already covering with its orange tones. Making for a nice warm family scene.

“Seriously, I'm too surprised that we met again” said Yuta while those two little ones were playing on the slide.

“We're surprised too!" Yurika commented, climbing back into the slide. Climbing carefully up those steps.

“We are sure that the gods granted our wish!" Yuudai commented with a smile as he went down the slide.

“Their Wish?" asked Yuta curiously.

Those kids just looked at him and laughed a little, that made Yuta understand what those two were referring to.

“Oh! I understand, their wish was that we would meet again" he smiled.

“By the way Yuta kun! Have you found the person you are looking for yet?" asked Yuudai climbing back up those steps to the slide.

“Did you find that woman you wanted to see so much?" asked Yurika, going down the slide.

Yuta sighed a little.
“Not yet, but I hope to hear from her very soon" he remembered what Katsumoto had told  him about going to confirm something about the whereabouts of one of the Zenin’s twins.

“Also, just today I was able to take a little break since I've been too busy with work. But I ended up getting lost in the city." he scratched his cheek lightly, "But thanks to that I saw you two again" he had a big smile on his lips.

Both children stood in front of him once they got off that slide.

“It must have been fate that made you get lost and come all the way here!" Yuudai said too cheerfully as he ran off to another game.

“We are also very happy to see you!" Yurika commented too happily, following her brother.

Both twins climbed onto a spinning sphere.

“Yuta kun, you should come to the Yoiyama tomorrow!" Yurika commented from inside the sphere.

“Yoiyama?” Yuta asked curiously as he caught up with them.

Both children began to turn the handlebars inside the sphere. But Yuta decided to help them by giving them some impulse from the outside.

That game reminded him slightly of when he and Rika played as children on a sphere similar to that one.

Both children laughed out loud at the speed. That laughter was so contagious that even Yuta started laughing along with them.

Once they began to slowly stop, the twins proceeded to explain.

“Yoiyama is a three-night festival held at the shrine in this área!" commented Yurika happily as they stopped.

“And at night there are Fireworks!" Yuudai commented happily, waving his little hands.

“Tomorrow night we are going to Yoiyama with our mother!" said Yurika excitedly.

“So we could introduce you to her! We've already told her about you!” Yuudai commented with a big smile.

“Our uncles and our dad are also coming, so you could also meet our whole family!" Yurika added.

Yuta smiled at the invitation. He thought it would be a good idea to meet the parents of the twins.
 “I promise I'll look for them tomorrow at the festival”

“Yupi!" the twins celebrated in chorus.

At that moment, the children noticed that the sky was already acquiring its dark tones and the lamps were already being lit in that park.

Night would soon fall.

They had been having so much fun that they had completely forgotten about the time.

“Yuta san! Do you know what time it is?" asked Yurika.

“Let me see...” The sorcerer looked at his cell phone, "It's five minutes to seven o'clock at night.”

“We must go!" Yuudai commented in a hurry.

“Mom said she wanted us home by seven o'clock!" his sister commented, jumping out of the sphere.

“If we don't get there quickly, he's going to scold us!" Yuudai commented, also getting off his game.

“Let me accompany their, the truth is that I'm worried about the two of you walking alone, especially when the night is falling, that's when most curses come out" commented Yuta with a smile, "And by the way, this way I can meet your mother once and for all”

“Of course, let's go!” commented Yurika taking Yuta's right hand.

“It's this way" Yuudai commented, taking the adult's left hand.

And so, Yuta began to walk with the two children to their house, which was not far from there.

As they were walking along, Yuta's attention was caught by a very particular noise.

Above them, on the light wires were several crows. They were squawking as they passed by.

“Crows..." said Yuta stopping to look at those animals.

Those birds that such feathers did not seem to fit the scenes of those crimes.

“Hello crows!" Yuudai greeted, waving his free hand.

“How cute they look on the wires!" said Yurika, looking at the crows on the wires.

This seemed too strange to Yuta, as it was very unusual for two children of his age to like these unlucky animals.

“Children, aren't you afraid of those animals?" Yuta asked curiously.

Both twins shook their heads.

“Not at all!”

“They are very skilled and intelligent animals. They are not as bad as people think” commented Yurika.

“Besides, some of them can become very obedient and can even help people" Yuudai commented with a smile.

Suddenly, the three of them watched as those crows flew away from there.

“Helping people? What do you mean by that?" asked Yuta curiously.

Both children nodded in agreement.

“We mean that sometimes crows can help find things or even help find other people" Yurika replied.

“People or things?" asked Yuta, too confused.

“Yes, Grandma Mei had one as a pet and she obeyed her in everything" Yuudai replied with a smile.

The three continued walking, while continuing to talk.

“-Your grandmother had a pet crow?” asked Yuta with some disbelief. That was very strange since such an animal is difficult to tame.

“Something like that" Yurika commented with a smile, "Actually, Grandma Mei was followed by several crows from time to time. Especially when we went out with her”

“Grandmother Mei taught us not to be afraid of them and more, as we said, they are very noble animals!" Yuudai answered.

“Even grandmother told us that in ancient times, some sorcerers and people used crows as "spies" or even used them as messengers, in order to send messages to each other without being discovered" answered Yurika.

All this began to catch Yuta's attention. That animal had to have some connection to those murders after all.

“Yuta San, we have arrived!" commented Yurika, moving the adult's hand a little to bring him out of his thoughts.

“That's our house!" Yuudai said excitedly.

After going around one more corner, the three had arrived at the twins' house.

That house was somewhat large and modern. It was two stories and seemed to have several rooms.

In front, it had a nice black fence that showed a little of the front garden on the left side and a large white wall on the right side, as well as a path to the main entrance full of pretty flowers and some lamps.

“You have a very nice home" said Yuta with a smile.

“Thank you!" answered both children in chorus, as they let go of the sorcerer's hands.

“Don't move from here Yuta kun!" said Yurika with a smile as they opened that gate and then ran towards the main gate that way.

“We'll call mom so she can meet you!" Yuudai replied, coming in behind his sister.

Both children entered the house with great excitement as the front door closed.

“Mommy, we're back!" they shouted and went inside without taking off their shoes.

“I'm in the kitchen!" they heard their mother's voice coming from that place at the back of their house.

While those children were going after their mother.

Yuta was still outside admiring the facade of that place.

The sorcerer sighed. Inwardly he longed to have a home like that.

A home that perhaps years ago he could have formed with Maki.

“I wonder where you are?" he whispered as he admired that house and remembered that girl.

Yuta began to hear footsteps. Even the voices of those children could be heard coming from the front door.

That knob turned. Suddenly a female voice caught the man's attention.

“Okkotsu Yuta!”

That voice said with surprise, making the man turn quickly to look at the woman.

 

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Notes:

I hope you liked it ❤️

What do you think of this story?

Well, in case you are wondering, Yoiyama is a festival that takes place during the nights of July 14-16 and is a beautiful night festival.

And the Gion Matsuri, is the most important festival in Kyoto and is held throughout the month of July. It is held at Yasaka Shrine, which was built more than 1,350 years ago. The festival itself also dates back more than 1,000 years.

The original purpose of the Gion Matsuri was to pray for an end to a plague of disease in 869. The prayers were ordered by the emperor and those who prayed believed that the epidemic could be stopped if the gods were appeased with a purification ritual.

Anyway, as I decided to split the chapter in two, maybe next week I will upload the other part.

We keep reading and If you really like this story, please share it with more fans of this ship.❤️

Chapter 8: 08. The clues are in plain sight

Notes:

This chapter contains some information about all of Yuta's acquaintances and friends, as well as some information about what happened to Utahime and "why" she has amnesia.

I hope you like it, especially because after everything I'm going to show you next, the next chapter will finally be the chapter you've been waiting for about the reunion between Maki and Yuta.

But before the reunion, Yuta must talk to someone important, who will make him question whether he is really on the right side. Besides, it was important to give them some context.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it ❤️

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

 

Are you sure you are working for the right side?

 

 

Continuation

“Mom, come quickly, we want to introduce you to someone!” commented Yurika pulling her mother by her shirt.

“Introduce me to someone? Who?" asked Maki curiously as she watched her children pull her to get her attention.

She turned quickly, as she was in the kitchen finishing preparing dinner for them.

“To our new friend!" Yurika replied.

¡The boy from the mall?" asked Maki curiously, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes to him! Come quickly!" Yuudai replied, pulling his mother by her right hand.

“He's out here! Come on! He's waiting for you!" said Yurika as she took her mother by her left hand.

“All right!, I'm coming!, But don't pull me like that!" said Maki as she walked toward the main entrance of the house.

The children ran to the door, they sounded super excited.

Yurika was the one who turned the knob and opened that door quickly.

“It's out there!”

“He is Our friend from the mall!”

They said excitedly but without looking out. They both stretched their arms towards the door and waved their little hands happily as if they were putting on a show.

Maki went out the front door, but saw no one.

She adjust her glasses.
“Where is he? I don't see anyone out here" She answered with confusion.

Both children came out quickly and noticed that Yuta was already gone, and it didn't take them more than three minutes in there.

The twins sighed and made long faces.

“He left..." commented Yurika sadly.

“And I don't even get to meet you!" Yuudai replied, somewhat disappointed not to see Yuta out there.

Maki looked at the disappointed faces of her children, got down on her knees and stroked their cheeks lovingly.

“Don't be discouraged" she smiled at them.
“Maybe your friend had to leave because it is too late for him to be out on the street alone" Maki said, thinking that her children were referring to a little boy.
“Maybe another day you will see him again and you can even invite him to stay with us for a day" she tried to cheer them up.

The twins looked at each other, exchanged a few words mentally and then smiled.

“Maybe another day we could invite him to eat" Yurika replied with a smile.

“Besides, Yurika and I invited him to come to the shrine tomorrow night. He promised us that he would look for us at the festival!" Yuudai said with some hope.

Maki stood up and ruffled their hair a little.

“If he promised to see you at the festival, then we'll meet him there and you can introduce him to me, okay?" replied Maki with a smile.

Her children hugged her, resting their heads on her belly and looking up at her with big smiles.

“All right!" they said in chorus.

“Good! Now go wash your hands. Dinner is ready, I made meatballs with the recipe you like so much from uncle Yuji” commented Maki making her children run back into the house.

“Meatballs!”

They shouted excitedly.

Before entering, Maki had a strange sensation. She to perceive a trace of cursed energy that felt very familiar.

She went outside her house, opening the black gate and going out to the street to check that no one was hiding in the wall.

Maki look to the right and then to the left, but there was no one there.

She felt too uneasy. That energy she sensed felt too heavy, but it was still very familiar.

It was an energy she knew quite well.

Quickly a name crossed his mind at such a sensation.

“Okkotsu Yuta?" she wondered quietly as she put her hands to her chest, "It can't be him, can it? Or is it? Is he anywhere near here?”

“Mommy!" she heard her children call out to her from inside her house.

Maki shook her head slightly to get out of that trance.
 “I'm coming!”

She quickly went back into her house. Closing the door behind her.

 

 

 

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07:10 p.m.

Near the food and candy stands that were on the main avenue.

“Wow, Okkotsu!, Look how tall you are! I even dare to say that you're almost as tall as Satoru, although I admit that now that you're an adult you're more handsome than him” commented Yuki with a big smile and with her hands inside her jacket.

Both special grade sorcerers were walking down that street where Yuta had accompanied those children to their home.

They walked down the park street and continued walking until they reached an area where there were several street food stalls because of the festival.

A few minutes ago, Yuki managed to sense Yuta's presence in the distance.
 She left Maki's house and walked around near the park because she had told Yuudai and Yurika that she would go for them. But those words were forgotten by those children.

Not seeing them in the park, the blonde began to look for them in those streets and it was there when, from a distance, she observed those children walking with Yuta until they reached her house.

A part of her, believed that maybe Yuta still didn't know who those two little ones really were. So Yuki decided to take the sorcerer away from that house to check it out and to keep Maki safe.

So Yuki take it to an area with too many people.

Yuta was embarrassed by that comment.
“Well, I did have a slight growth of about five centimeters more, but in itself, Gojo sensei is still taller than me" he scratched his cheek.

“Anyway, it's good to see you back!” Yuki stopped at a food stall “I got a little hungry. So I'm going to buy some Tokoyakis and a beer. Would you like anything?”

“Thank you!, but I'm not very hungry" Yuta commented, waving his hands and trying to be polite.

“I'm inviting and more that we have a lot to chat about to catch up on everything that has happened and more as special grade colleagues” Yuki insisted.

Yuta sighed and shrugged his shoulders, he felt that Yuki could get angry if he refused that invitation and more than he felt that she could give him super important information from all his friends and acquaintances.

“Okay, you convinced me hehe. I'd like a banderilla" He answered with a smile.

After ordering and being given their food and drinks.

They both went to sit on a bench at the edge of the food stalls.

“And what brought you to this side of town? When did you come back to Japan? And forgive me for also asking, but what were you doing outside that house?" Yuki asked curiously as she began to eat those dumplings with octopus.

Yuta took a bite of his banderilla before replying to that.

“I came back ten days ago" he wiped his lips with a napkin.

“And why I'm on this side of town, is because let's say I got lost while walking around these streets, but as fate would have it, I ran into two little friends I made a few days ago" he smiled and continued explaining.

“Let's say I saved two children from a curse and just today I met them again in these parts of city. They are nice and adorable siblings” he answered with a smile and scratched the back of his neck  “And well, they were going to introduce me to their mother, but I guess that will be another time. That's why I was outside that house.”

Yuki checked that Yuta didn't know who those children really were, so she sighed in relief for a moment.

“I see" Yuki smiled at that answer.
“Okkotsu, you always being so helpful and adorable with the children, did you know that can make you popular with the women? Maybe one day you'll end up as a stepfather" She said jokingly before taking a sip of her beer.

“And well, I don't blame you for getting lost in this area, they say that Kyoto usually has a charm that makes you get lost in its streets" she ate another Tokoyaki.

“And you Tsukumo san, What are you doing on this side of City?” asked Yuta looking at her with curiosity. “I thought you were abroad, or so Gojo sensei had told me”

“The same could be said for you, we all thought you were still overseas” Yuki shrugged.

“Let's say I came to visit an acquaintance of mine and I came to check how things were here in Japan, but I see that the sorcerers society is still the same shit even though Satoru leads it" She looked Yuta in the eyes, "And you?, there must be a super important reason for Satoru to bring you back to Japan, or am I wrong?" She took another sip of her beer.

“Well…" Yuta let out a heavy breath, "let's just say I went back to Japan for work" finished eating his banderilla.

“I suppose it's because of the case that's going around about that mysterious sorcerer killer, isn't it?" she asked before eating the last Tokoyaki from her cardboard plate.

“Yes, it's about that case" answered Yuta seriously, "What do you know about it?”

Yuki looked at him seriously.
“Well, I've only heard the rumors going around. You know, that there's a new sorcerer killer on the loose, killing in a sadistic way.” She took a sip of her drink, "May I ask, what have you found out about all this? Do you have a suspect yet? Or will Satoru scold you if you tell me anything about this case?" She asked sarcastically.

Yuki had been avoiding Satoru for three years now. Hiding abroad from time to time or avoiding being seen in Tokyo.  But she always returned to Kyoto to make sure Maki and her children were well and to continue her research.

“Actually, I could use another special grade sorcerer's opinion on this whole matter" Yuta glanced momentarily at the people walking by, and then turned his head back to look up at the starry sky.  “And more than that I confess that I feel stuck with this case”

“I'm all ears. Okay and tell me what did you find out?”

“The only thing I have found out is that the victims have been male sorcerers in the age range of 30 to 60 years old. Some of those involved worked for both the Zenin clan, as well as served the school and the higher ups at the past. There are only two victims who do not fit in with the others.”

Yuki took another sip of her beer.
 “And with all these clues, what hypothesis do you have?" she asked, staring at him.

“My hypothesis is that I stink as a detective!" he said with self-deprecation.

“I really don't know what Satoru san was thinking when he chose me exclusively to solve this mission, let alone what this assassin was thinking to carry out all of this" he sighed.
“There are only two victims that I think he may have killed at the request of a third party since they were killed in a different pattern. But the other victims, the ones that stand out in this case, it seems that they had no connection with each other, but he has killed all of them in the same way” he looked at Yuki.

“I'm not sure, but this assassin seems to be looking for a way to send a message or a warning” Yuta answered very discouraged.

“Although I must confess that I am tempted to drop this case" he looked down at his hands, making them into fists out of frustration, even breaking the stick of the banderole he was holding in his hand.

“Does the killer leave any characteristic marks on their bodies? What is his pattern when he kills them? Has he taken anything from his victims as a trophy?" asked Yuki, taking another sip of her beer. She wanted to know what Maki was doing behind everyone's back at the academy.

Yuta shook his head.

“Now that you mention it.. He hasn't taken anything from his victims. Apparently he first slits their throats with some very sharp weapon and then with some other tool or weapon impregnated with some cursed energy, he gives them the coup de grace in the chest, more specifically in the heart. We have discovered that this the killer does this so that his victims do not become curses." explained Yuta.

Yuki brought her hand to her chin as she analyzed all that information.

“Interesting..." she said very concentrated, looking straight ahead. She was drawing her conclusions.

 

After a minute of silence, Yuki spoke.

“Well, from what you say, I guess me and other sorcerers can be safe and sound. I don't think that "assassin" is coming for us" She commented with a smile.

Yuta found this answer strange. “Why do you say that? Aren't you afraid that this killer will come after someone you know? or even that killer is after you?" he asked anxiously. His eyebrows almost drew together on his forehead.

Yuki laughed a little.
 “No, not at all!” She stopped laughing and her countenance became serious, "And I say that because it clearly sounds to me that the killer already has most of his victims in his sights and his motivation sounds to me more like revenge than a random hunt.”

“How can you be so sure of that?" Yuta asked in frustration.

“From what you tell me about the main victims, his pattern seems to be more focused on silencing them and by the way of giving them the final blow in the heart to end their lives, it sounds to me like a form of revenge driven perhaps by a great hatred" She ran her thumb across her neck making a sign.
 

“Besides, Okkotsu, answer me something. Are there more victims of this murderer outside Kyoto?" She ask with curiosity.

Yuta analyzed that question. That detail had not been taken into account until that moment.

“Now that you mention it, No. All his crimes have been here in Kyoto City. No sorcerers have been reported murdered in other cities with this same pattern" he put a hand to his mouth.

“So, if this murderer has only killed sorcerers within Kyoto, that must mean that here in the city is his main motive for revenge or perhaps that murderer cannot move from here. So here the main question would be What is the reason for his revenge?" Yuki asked before drinking more of her beer.

“Now that you put it that way, it makes too much sense to me" commented the sorcerer, looking at his colleague with surprise, "But why do you think it's a revenge? What makes you so sure of that?" he asked curiously.

“Intuition”
 Yuki simply moved her shoulders.

“I just assume and associate it by the way you describe to me how this killer ends up killing them. Such a violent and direct way can only mean some kind of settling of scores" She looked straight ahead.

“There could also be the option that our killer knew these people in the past and now must silence them so that they don't reveal ‘something important about him’ or, ultimately, he is simply taking revenge because they may have hurt him in the past" she recharged at the bank.
“Those are the only reasons I can think of for someone to kill another person”

She looked at Yuta and continued explaining.
 “Even if they are sorcerers their victims, there is not much to say. Since you left the country, things in the sorcery society just went even more to shit”

“Even so, there are still things that are not entirely clear to me, but I suppose that with further investigation, the truth may come out soon enough" Yuta sighed, but with what Yuki had said, he felt he had some clearer clues about this case.

“Speaking of the sorcerer's society…" Yuta looked seriously at his senpai.

“Tsukumo san, what happened to everyone in my absence? Do you know anything about my friends? Satoru didn't want to tell me anything about them and since I arrived in Japan I haven't seen them and nobody tells me anything about all of them. Even Ijichi won't give me any information.”

Yuki sighed a little. She knew Satoru was doing things wrong and he had something to do with all this.

“Don't worry, most of them are fine and to tell the truth, I do know about the situation of some of them" she replied with a big smile as she finished drinking her beer and crushed the can with ease.

“Such as, after you left, Nanami retired from being a sorcerer and married a pretty girl who worked at a local bakery. Right now he is living a retired life in malaysia. Not to mention Kusakabe, two years after you left the country, he quit and went to another city further north in the country to take care of his sister and Mei Mei must be out there, making a fortune in her own way" Yuki commented with a big smile.

Yuta's face lit up at such an answer, "And what do you know about Panda and Toge? and about my Kohais Itadori, Fushiguro and Kugisaki? and about my Senpais like Hakari and the others? where are they all?" he asked insistently.

“Wow! Relax haha they are fine!" replied Yuki with a smile and waving her hands.

“Panda went to the field with the director Yaga" she smiled at her special grade colleague.
“Once he retired from his post, Masamichi decided that he would go to live in a quiet place far away from the city in the company of all his puppets" she replied while looking at her hands and clasping her fingers together.

“The others are living a "normal" life in different parts of the country. As I said since you left Japan things got messy at headquarters, but I'm glad those of your generation have gone their own ways and decided better to get out of there” the blonde kept talking.

“The boy from the Inumaki clan, I hear he's living here in Kyoto. But I don't know what he does for a living, but I know he's doing well and keeps a low profile”

“About your Kohais, well two of them are living in Tokyo. I understand that Kugisaki is making a living as a stylist and Fushiguro is living with his sister Tsumiki, who by sheer miracle recovered almost completely after waking up from her coma”

Yuki continued speaking with a smile.
“And Itadori Yuji, he returned to Sendai. Now he is a firefighter just like Aoi, I must say that those two fill me with pride” She looked at the sky for a moment while she continued talking.

“And I think I could say the same about Hakari and Kirara, those two are also doing well on their own. The last I heard of them was that they had some "illegal" business, something like a gambling and underground fighting place, but I know that those two know how to defend themselves and they know how to go unnoticed. Besides, I've heard that they make a lot of money" She laughed.

Yuta smiled slightly at that answer.
“It sounds like those two are having a good time”

“Yes, going against the rules was always your generation's specialty" Yuki replied, looking up at the sky, her arms leaning against the back of the bench with her legs crossed.

“And do you know what happened to the students of this city? The students of Kyoto?" Yuta asked curiously.

“Those who were Utahime's students?" Yuki asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, I'm talking about all of them. And by the way, what happened to teacher Utahime to make her lose her memory? What do you know about that?" asked Yuta with uncertainty.

Yuki uncrossed her legs and moved forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

“Of the Kyoto students, I only know that the Noritoshi boy is now the leader of his clan since three years ago. His companion, the blonde girl, I understand she moved to the United States “ Yuki moved her shoulders a little.

“The girl with blue hair and curious bangs I know is now working in a good company thanks to the recommendations of the school and the robot boy, I don't know if he is still alive, I lost track of him years ago, so I could not investigate his medical case anymore. Especially since his restriction was the most fascinating” She look at her hands.

“All of them also left the school after what happened to their beloved teacher” a long sigh came from Yuki's chest  “And about Utahime....” she paused slightly while rubbing her septum a little.

“I don't really know what happened to her either. All I know is that Utahime had an ‘accident’ seven years ago. It happened shortly after you left the country”.

“Accident? What happened?”

“I never knew the details precisely, but the only thing I learned is that Utahime was seriously injured in a mission she had days before she was to be appointed as the new director and leader in the education of the Jujutsu society.”

Yuki seemed to remember something about that "mission", she suspected that someone had sent her to kill and after Utahime recovered from her injuries, Satoru took her as his wife to protect her, as he loved her and knew that she had good ideas to reform that society.

Everyone lived in hope that she would return to her old self.

“I came to check her together with Ieiri san, who is still working for the academy, but it seemed that the reverse curse technique could not help her to recover her memory. We believe that she is under the effect of some cursed technique or that some curse of unknown category attacked her...” lamented er colleague that even her voice sound sad.

“Poor Utahime, She must be living a life that is not the one she would have wanted to live. She, Ieiri san, Ijichi san and many more people are still under the stupid laws of this world from which they have not been able to escape” She looked around, admiring the civilians passing by while she kept a moment of silence. Longing to be one of them.

“Tsukumo san..." Yuta's voice sounded mysterious.

“Yes?”

The man had been shocked by everything that had happened in his absence. But there was still a more personal matter that haunted him.

“Do you know what happened to Maki and Mai Zenin? I ask because you talked about all the others, but you didn't mention the Zenin twins at all..." Yuta looked at Yuki seriously, "What happened to them?”

Yuki pursed her lips, her hands balled into fists on her knees. She felt helplessness for those two women and how cruel life was treating them

“I would have liked for those two to have had a better destiny... they are the ones who have suffered the most with everything that happened seven years ago....” her voice betrayed frustration.

“What are you trying to say? Please Tsukumo san! Tell me what happened to Maki Zenin! What happened to the twins?” Yuta asked quickly but Yuki was still silently looking at the ground.

Yuta let out the air in frustration
"Why doesn't anyone seem to want to tell me what happened with Maki! Did something bad happen to her and Mai?" he stood up angrily and looked at his colleague.

“I admit that it was my fault for leaving seven years ago, but that's also why I came back, because I want to see her again, but for that I need to know what happened to her. But it seems that both you and Satoru and everyone at the academy are hiding so many things from me! What the hell is going on? What happened when they forced me to leave seven years ago? What happened to the twins? Why won't anyone tell me?" He asked angrily.

But Yuki was still silent.

Yuta sighed in frustration and put his hands to his face as he sat back down on the bench.

That silence between those two lasted for a few minutes, that is until Yuki began to speak once he heard what seemed to be the sobbing of Yuta, who was crying in frustration.

The blonde could tell that she could tell that in truth, Yuta still loved that woman even after years of not seeing her. But she could not tell him the truth.

“Okkotsu, answer me something. Do you really trust the people you are working for?" Yuki asked seriously.

The sorcerer peeled his hands away from his face, while wiping away some tears.

“What are you trying to say?" he asked with confusion as he turned to look at her.

“I mean, if you trust what Satoru and the headquarters told you, Do you trust all of them even though they didn't want to tell you anything about what happened seven years ago?" She asked seriously.

“I... I don't know...”

Yuki sighed a little and patted him on the shoulder.

“About what happened to your beloved Maki and her sister, that's for you to find out on your own” she stood up and stretched her arms a little.

“To be honest, I am the least appropriate person to tell you what happened with the twins. But if you really love Maki, I know that very soon you will find her, sooner or later I know that you will find the answers to all your questions” she smiled a little. That smile conveyed a feeling of peace.

Yuta only sighed at such words. He was too confused by it all. Who was he really supposed to trust? In Gojo? Or in Tsukumo? He was falling into a dilemma about who he should believe.

“And as they say, the truth is just around the corner “Yuki had a big smile on her face as she looked the street they had come from.

“My only advice…" She said, "is you not to trust Satoru or the others who are in the elite too much, it could be that they are just playing with you… Okkotsu” She reached into the pockets of her sweatshirt.

Yuta's eyes widened slightly at such words. He never imagined Yuki saying that.

“I know you are a very smart man Okkotsu, and I know you will solve this sorcerer killer case without any problems. But don't get too caught up in it either. Try to take a few days off, otherwise you'll go crazy” Yuki smiled a little and waved her finger over her head.

“My advice is that tomorrow you go to the first night of the Yoiyama, that festival always gets interesting and even more because sometimes in that celebration we can meet people we long to see again" she winked.  “Something tells me that it will do you good to come tomorrow”

The sorcerer sighed a little.
“Thank you for the suggestion. If I have time I'll take a walk and more than that I promised someone special that I would go to the festival" he said with a smile. He had remembered Yurika and Yuudai, to whom he had made that promise to go look for them at the festival.

“You're welcome! and by the way, I think you already have enough clues on the table to start finding the person you're looking for" said the blonde with a shrug of her shoulders.  “I think you are very close to discovering the truth”

Yuta analyzed all that. It seemed that with what those children had told him about the crows and what he talked about with Yuki, he now had a clearer path on what to look for next.

The sorcerer seemed to be calmer.
 “Tsukumo...”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for listening to me…" commented Yuta, still sitting on the bench and looking at his superior with a smile, "I think I know what I should do with this case and by the way I think I know how to find what I'm looking for”

Yuki smiled at the sight of the Yuta she had known when he was younger.

“I'm glad to hear that. Well, I'll be leaving for now. Okkotsu, I hope to see you tomorrow around the festival, have a rest, see you! “ She said goodbye with a smile and started to walk away from there.

Yuta stood alone on that bench. Analyzing everything he had discovered that day.

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

09:00 p.m.

After walking around the streets of Kyoto for a while longer.

Yuta finally returned to the apartment that the headquarters had given him so that he could rest and do his research.

That apartment was in one of the best buildings in downtown Kyoto and even had one of the best views.

Upon his arrival, Kasumoto was the one who opened the door to the apartment.

“I'm glad you're here Katsumoto!” said Yuta with a smile as he rushed into that big luxury apartment, "I think I know how we can put this puzzle together!” he started to explain very excited.

“Sir…" said Katsumoto with his tablet in his hands, he had some news to tell Yuta.

But Yuta was still talking very euphoric.

“I think I know how we can put together all the clues of this case! I need you to look for some files on the victims! And while you're at it, it would be good to look for information on whether there are any sorcerers who can manipulate animals, in this case, crows" he continued speaking very excitedly.

“The crows are no coincidence! They are the means by which the assassin monitor his target! I'm beginning to believe this is a two-person job and not just one!" he waved his hands back and forth.

But his assistant was silent.

“Katsumoto, are you listening to me?” Yuta sounded annoyed.

“I heard you loud and clear sir... but... there is something I must tell you" commented the assistant nervously.

“And what is it?”  Yuta stared at his assistant. He had a very serious expression.

Katsumoto took a deep breath and plucked up the courage to finally speak.      “I have managed to find the whereabouts of Miss Maki Zenin... this afternoon I went to confirm that information I had found days ago about her and today I can tell you that it is true what I have found about her”

“AND WHERE IS SHE?” Yuta rushed over to his assistant and grabbed his arms, "CAN YOU TAKE ME TO HER RIGHT AWAY? TELL ME SHE'S ALL RIGHT?

Katsumoto's gaze drifted to the ground.

“I'm sorry sir... but Maki Zenin is dead”

Yuta let go of Katsumoto, he had frozen with that revelation.

“WHAT?" that word came with difficulty out of his mouth, he felt his blood rushing to the floor.

The assistant continued speaking.
“The information I found in one of the civil registries mentioned the possible place where she was presumably buried, and today in the afternoon I went to confirm that....” He showed him the tablet, which showed a photograph of a grave.

The sorcerer was in shock. He looked like he was going to fall off.

“I am very sorry sir, but it seems that the rumors were true. Maki Zenin is dead. She died six years ago...”

Yuta felt his heart stop beating.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

In the next chapter.

“There they are!" Yuudai shouted excitedly as he saw the group of adults admiring the fireworks.

“Mom!" shouted Yurika running towards them. Calling the attention of all their relatives.

Yuta was following the twins. But the closer he got to that "family", his face began to show surprise and disbelief.

His heart skipped a beat when all those adults turned to look at him. Their mouths and eyes widened in such a way, it was as if they had all seen a ghost.

“Mom, he's our friend from the mall!" said Yurika with great joy.

“He's the one we wanted to introduce you to!" Yuudai said, catching his breath.

Both children stood in the middle of Maki and Yuta. They were less than a meter away from each other.

Yuta's brain wanted to short-circuit, because only a few hours ago he had visited "her" grave. But that woman in front of him was not a ghost.

And after seven years, Yuta and Maki finally saw each other once again.

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked this chapter!

And tell me, what did you think of the chapter? How are you liking this fic?

That's right, already in the next chapter there will be the reunion between Maki and Yuta! What do you think will happen in that reunion? 👀, I'll be reading your theories.

And tell me, how are you after the shocking chapter of the manga and the last chapter of the anime? I really have a lot of mixed feelings. Above all, because of the ending that Gojo had in the manga and finally seeing the sealing of Gojo in the anime, AND ALL THIS IN THE SAME WEEK, SERIOUSLY GEGE IS DEMENTE!

Anyway, I also wanted to thank you for the support and reception that this fic has had ❤️ I didn't think this story was going to like so much 👀 Seriously, thank you very much for your readings, comments and votes, that motivates me a lot to keep writing this story that seriously, I hope you like it and more than that comes many things in the plot.

We will keep reading ♥️

Chapter 9: 09. Reunions under the fireworks

Notes:

The wait is over, both in this chapter will be the long awaited reunion between Maki and Yuta, as well as find out when is the birthday of Yurika and Yuudai. And some more information and clues about what happened to Maki to escape of the Zenin clan.

Plus you'll see the interaction between Megumi and the others with those adorable kids ❤.

Actually, I wanted to upload this chapter last week but time consumed me. Still, I hope you like it. And I hope you enjoy it ❤

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

July 14th

03:55 p.m.

 

 

“Dad!”

Yurika and Yuudai shouted with great excitement when they saw Megumi enter the front door of that house.

Both children hugged him with so much affection and strength that even that made the adult take a step backwards, with his suitcase.

“I'm glad you're here!" Yuudai said, jumping up and down with joy.

“We missed you so much!" said Yurika looking at Megumi with a big smile.

“Yes, we wanted to see you again!" Yuudai also commented with a big smile.

“We have so many things to tell you!" said Yurika, still smiling.

Megumi let out a sigh and his face softened, a small smile appeared on his lips at the sight of those two hugging him.

The joyful way in which they addressed Megumi and the way they embraced him only showed how fond those twins were of that adult, whom they loved as if he were their real blood father.

“And I missed you guys" answered Megumi fondly stroking the heads of those childs. Combing their hair a little as Gojo sensei used to do with him when he was a little boy grumpy.

“Mom, Daddy Gumi is here!" Yurika shouted in the direction of the courtyard.

“Dad's home, come on!" Yuudai shouted.

Both children shouted excitedly to warn the other guests who had arrived.

Most of the time, Megumi still felt uncomfortable when those twins called him "Dad" even though they knew the truth about him not being her real father. But their stepfather in the eyes of the law.

“And is there no greeting for me?" asked a cheerful female voice, which had also arrived with Megumi.

“Aunt Miki!" shouted Yurika and Yuudai with great excitement when they saw her.

Both children let go of their father and went to hug Tsumiki, who had come in behind Megumi also with a suitcase.

Both adults had brought enough luggage to stay for several days as they were accustomed to do on those dates in July.

“I'm glad to see you again too, and tell me, How have you been behaving? You haven't been getting into mischief, Have you?" she asked with a big smile as she squatted down to caress their cheeks.

“We've been very Good!" Yuudai replied, letting go of his aunt and waving his arms animatedly.

“Even in school we've been doing well! We got very good grades in math and Japanese" Yurika said with a big smile while still hugging Tsumiki.

“Besides, we have a new friend!" Yuudai replied, waving his hands.

“I'm glad to hear that" Tsumiki replied as she stood up and stroked both of their hair, "For getting good grades, I'll bake you your favorite cookies" she had a soft smile on her lips.

Those words made both little ones shout louder with joy.

“Thank you so much Aunt Miki!" the twins said in chorus as they hugged her again.

Those shouts of joy made the mother of these two laugh a little at the scene before addressing her guests.

“I'm glad you're here” Maki did not take long to appear, she had entered through the glass door that led to the courtyard. “You two were the only ones to arrive so we could start preparing to leave for the festival”

Behind her came in three other adults, who were perhaps even more excited than those children to see the other guests there.

“Oh!, it's Megumi and Tsumiki chan!" said Itadori with great joy.

That athletic adult was carrying a ball in his hands as he was playing with those twins in the yard, when suddenly those little ones felt Megumi's energy a few minutes before.

“Although this time we can admit that we beat them in getting there first!" Nobara replied with a big smile on her lips. Her right hand pointed at Megumi while her left hand went to her hips.

“Tuna!" Toge raised a hand in triumph.

“What the hell are you three talking about?" asked Megumi somewhat annoyed, raising his eyebrows at such words.

Instead, Tsumiki brought her hand to her lips to try to still the knowing laughter that wanted to come out.

“We are saying that this time we beat you to Fushiguro kun" replied Itadori, clashing palms with Nobara and Inumaki.

“You always came first, but this time we beat you" Nobara clapped.

“Salmon!”

“Inumaki senpai is right, now you must fulfill the bet for being late," completed the orange-haired girl.

That made Yurika and Yuudai smile too, as they knew that between those three adults they had made a little bet and had agreed to arrive long before their father and aunt just to annoy Megumi.

“And since when did this become a stupid bet or a race to see who gets here first?" asked Fushiguro with annoyance, he even had a little twitch in his eye, "Besides, we didn't bet anything, you trio of idiots!”

“Actually Fushiguro, we had already agreed since last night! That's what you get for not reading the messages in the group chat!" replied Itadori happily while he continued playing with Yuudai and Yurika, making those two little ones jump to try to reach the ball he had in his hands.

“And by the way, we agreed that we will do this from now on for the rest of the year!" Nobara snapped her fingers.
“And it was agreed that the last one to arrive will make dinner for the others! And since we won this time!" she had a big smile on her face.
“Megumi, tomorrow you'll have to make dinner for us!" she commented in a tone of triumph.

“Salmon!" Inumaki gave a thumbs-up.

Megumi just closed his eyes at the words of those idiots.

On the other hand, Tsumiki could no longer bear the laughter and burst out laughing, because she knew that those three said that to annoy her brother. She knew that everything those three said was a lie, there was nothing of what they said in the chat.

Even Yurika and Yuudai laughed when they saw their father's annoyed face.

They were also joined by the laughter of Nobara, Itadori and Toge. In truth, the atmosphere inside that home was pleasant and cheerful most of the time.

Really, Megumi seemed very upset with that stupid prank inside her "house".

“You fell for it! We were only joking Fushiguro kun!” commented Nobara patting him on the shoulder, "You should have seen your face”

“The last one to arrive won't make dinner" replied Itadori, also going to pat him on the shoulder.

“Tuna!" Toge waved his hands before clapping him on the shoulder.

Megumi just took a deep breath to try to calm down, while Yurika and Yuudai went to hug him.

“Forgive them, Dad!" pleaded Yurika.

“They just wanted to play a joke on you!" Yuudai pleaded.

“Don't get mad at our uncles!" Yurika commented, making puppy dog eyes.

“Please don't kill them!" Yuudai also made puppy eyes.

Megumi sighed. “All right" he replied sharply, "But the next time I won't forgive them!” he only did it for those twins.

Those children hugged him more as a sign of gratitude.

A round of applause caught the attention of everyone present.

“Well, at last the whole family is together once again!" commented Maki with a smile as she looked at her guests, "It's time for us to get ready for the festival”

Her children jumped up and down with excitement when they heard those words.

They both looked at each other for a moment and exchanged a big smile. There was still one more adult to introduce them to.

That adult who was also an important member of that family.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

Meanwhile. On the traditional side of Kyoto, more specifically in an old cemetery.

04:12 p.m.

Yuta's heart stopped momentarily. His hands went slack, dropping to his sides abruptly.

His breath caught as he read the name written on that cold tombstone.

"禪院真希" (Zenin Maki).

It said that cold earthenware written with a black as penetrating as the night.

“I was too late..." His voice broke. That cry was one of pain and pure regret.

Yuta collapsed, falling to his knees as he saw that the grave was real. It was not a bad dream from which he wanted to wake up.

He read again the name carved in the stone. It had the same characters with which he knew the name of the woman he loved so much in his youth was written.

Even the tuobas tablets, which already looked very old and worn by the passing of the years, had on all of them that posthumous name that had been given to that girl. Where the word "Strength and Beauty" stood out together with her name.

“Maki! Forgive me!" Yuta began to cry inconsolably. His hands became fists.

“I should have gone after you that day! I should have gotten off that stupid train to go after you! You don't know how sorry I am!" Yuta cried out heartrendingly.

Even Kasumoto, who was a few steps away from his boss, wiped away his tears at the sight of such a scene.

He never imagined seeing that man like that. The one considered to be the successor of Gojo Satoru was breaking down in such a way that he didn't seem to be himself.

Kasumoto even feared for his life. Both because of that scene, and because of the information he had found about that grave.

“You don't know what I would give to see you one more time! Maki! I want to apologize for the idiot I was for letting Satoru drag me away! I should never have walked away from you!" his hands caressed the tombstone where the ashes of his beloved were buried.

For a moment he took the necklace with the two rings he always wore around his neck “I wanted to ask you to marry me that day! I should have told you that I loved you a thousand times more!” he tightened his grip on those rings as he continued to cry.

“Forgive me Maki, I never stopped loving you and now I've lost you forever!" his cries echoed throughout the area, and even the crows flew away.

The tears of that sorcerer were as bitter as the sea. His wailing was heartbreaking and his body wanted to die so he could be with his beloved at that moment.

Yuta clung to that tombstone as he continued to cry inconsolably. He did not want to move from there. He felt his heart wither as his tears fell on that cold stone.

Kasumoto did not want to interrupt him. So she let him cry over that grave for a while while he accompanied him in silence.

He even felt guilty because he sensed that the sorcery headquarters had something to do with it.

05:05 p.m.

After nearly 45 minutes of crying, screaming in fury and wailing from the pain of losing the woman he loved.

Yuta finally began to calm down. But he was still in a state of shock as he sat on the side of the tomb.

Kasumoto returned with a bouquet of flowers, bought some incense and borrowed a small wooden bucket and a small "shovel" in order to clean and purify the tomb as the tradition said.

“Sir" the attendant called out to Yuta to offer him a bottle of water, "would you like some water? By the way, I have brought you this" he lifted the bucket and the bouquet of flowers, "to pay proper respect to this tomb" he showed everything he had gotten.

Yuta just sighed, took that bottle and opened it to take a sip. Drinking that water that his throat needed after screaming and crying like never before. Even his eyes were swollen and even his dark circles under his eyes were super highlighted.

“Thank you Kasumoto" Yuta said in a muffled voice. He got up from the ground, shook off the dirt and took off his sweatshirt.

And just as their traditions dictate, Yuta began that ceremony, starting with the Osoji.

First he took the water from that bucket with that small shovel, in order to begin with the purification of that tomb, pouring little by little the water on that tombstone, making it acquire a tone between gray and bluish due to the moisture that penetrated into that stone.

He felt that he should do it in silence to honor Maki's memory, and as he purified the grave with that water, Yuta began to remember the good times he spent with her in life.

He remembered the first time they met, their first mission, their training, their first kiss, their first outing together, he remembered the day when they formalized their relationship, as well as their first date, he also remembered the times they slept together, as well as their first time in intimacy and sex, he remembered the three birthday parties they spent together and he also remembered the last vacation they had before separating and thousands and thousands of other memories bombarded him while he finished pouring that water that purified sins.

Once the initial part of the ritual was over. Yuta started the next step, which was the Osenko and Ohana. That consisted of putting flowers and lighting incense to place them on the supports that the tomb had in front of it.

Kasumoto helped him to light the incense, which was placed on the two pillars of the tomb.

The flowers that his assistant bought for him were beautiful and came in shades of pink, yellow and white.

Yuta arranged them in such a way that they adorned that tomb.

“These flowers remind me a lot of you Maki san" a slight smile appeared on his lips, "Although I know you never liked flower arrangements because you thought they were too cheesy and said it was a very fleeting gift" said Yuta wiping his tears and clasping his hands together in prayer.

And so he began to do that last step of the whole ritual, the Oinori. Which consisted of making prayers and giving thanks.

Kasumoto accompanied his boss in silence, clasping his hands together in prayer.

Yuta thanked Maki for making him happy during his years at the academy, just as he kept begging for forgiveness for abandoning her and not coming back for her. He asked for forgiveness for having been a "coward."

“Thank you so much for everything you gave me in life Maki san, all the good times as well as the times of struggle and challenge that made me the man I am today" he said bowing.

“I'm thankful you were my bright sky on a winter's day" he let out a sigh that carried all his pain.

“I only hope that you forgive me for having arrived too late and I want you to know that I have always loved you and that I have never stopped thinking about you and that I will always continue to love you until the end of my life. Where I hope that in the afterlife you will receive me at the moment of my death" he said once he stopped praying.

Kasumoto pursed his lips when he heard all this.

Yuta lightly stroked the earthenware where Maki's Kanji name was. Yet something was troubling the second strongest sorcerer.

“Kasumoto ...” he named his assistant. He could be seen to be calmer and cooler-headed.

“Tell me, sir?”

“When you came yesterday, did you notice if this tomb was as clean as it is now? I mean, was the grass freshly cut?" Yuta commented, looking around. Because the graves on the sides seemed a little neglected. Some of them even had grass growing all over the rock and some were so neglected that their tombstones They were broken and no longer named.

“Yes sir, also when I asked the people in charge of this cemetery about this tomb, I was told that someone paid every month to keep it clean and cared for" answered the assistant, swallowing his breath at such a question.

“And do you know who this person is? Didn't you get any more reports?" Yuta asked curiously.

Kasumoto shook his shoulders slightly.
 “Apparently, from what I have been told, these expenses are being covered by a monetary contribution from a member of the Zenin clan, who pays for the upkeep of his relative's grave every month”

“I see..." he sighed. That confirmed to him that the Zenin clan knew that Maki was dead.

Yuta approached the epitaph on that tomb to observe the information that had been placed on it.

“Zenin Maki" the sorcerer began to read aloud.

“Date of birth, January 20, 2002, date of death, October 07, 2020” He read on.

“In memory of our great friend and sister. A great Sorceress of the first grade of the prestigious academy of Tokyo. The best user of cursed weapons. We will always remember you”

That tombstone said.

Those words made Yuta's heart take more blows. He was trying to accept reality.

“Kasumoto... Do you know what caused Maki's death?” he asked, wiping away his tears.

The assistant looked at his tablet.
 “According to the reports I found at the academy," he sighed, "this one was murdered”

“What do you mean murdered?! What did they do to her? Who did this to her?” Yuta asked with a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

Kasumoto began to explain what he had found.

“Well sir, the forensic report that the sorcery headquarters has, mentions that the cause of death of Maki Zenin was a cut in the neck with a weapon without cursed energy, plus they found several other wounds throughout in her body and a stab wound with a special grade weapon in her heart. It was never known who it was and in the place where she was found there were no traces of cursed energy”

“THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! MAKI WAS VERY GOOD AT HAND-TO-HAND DEFENSE AND EVEN WITH WEAPONS! IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO BEAT HER! EVEN I ALWAYS HAD A HARD TIME KEEPING UP WITH HER! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE TOOK HER LIFE LIKE THAT!" commented Yuta with surprise as his hands went from side to side.

“I'm sorry sir, but that's what the records I found at the headquarters say about this case" the assistant explained with fear, "Although I also found a piece of information that doesn't fit with all this..." he trembled as he felt Yuta's cursed energy become very dense before that revelation.

“And what is this data?" his voice sounded furious. But even so, his heart ached because of that finding.

At that moment, this sorcerer had a strange feeling. He felt that he should test that man in suit since the doubt was sown since yesterday by Yuki.

Yuta watched as his assistant loosened the knot of his tie. He looked very nervous and the summer heat didn't help either, even though the tomb was near some trees that gave them shade.

Kasumoto began to explain nervously, "I found that the name "Maki Zenin" is repeated in two different reports with the same date and time, but issued in two different places”

“What do you mean, they are repeated in different places? What do you mean by that?" Yuta asked seriously.

“I mean that Maki Zenin's name appears both in the official report delivered to the academy by the coroner, but at the same time, it appeared on a single occasion in a medical report where it is reported that an eighteen year old girl was admitted as an emergency to a hospital in this city..." the assistant began to explain.

“And what does all this have to do with Maki? Did she really die of murder or did she die of some other cause?" Yuta asked annoyed.

“I don't know exactly, sir. Both reports are very contradictory to each other" said Kasumoto in a squeak.

“The report that the academy has as official about the death of this one, mentions that a woman of approximately 18 years old and identified with the name of Maki Zenin, was found murdered in an alley around 05:30 p.m.” his voice made an exclamation of surprise.

“But! The medical report that I found in one of the records of this city, mentions that on that day and at approximately the same time, in a private hospital in Kyoto, it is explained that a patient identified by the name of "Maki Zenin" was admitted to their facilities of emergency. Both reports are located in this same city, at the same time but a great number of kilometers away from each other” Kasumoto tried to explain as best as he could.

“So which of these two reports should I believe?" Yuta commented angrily “Are you playing games with me?”

Kasumoto gulped, "No sir, I'm not playing with you!" he shrieked in fear.

Yuta tried to calm himself down, but really his damned energy was suffocating too much.

“Okay, are you trying to tell me that Maki Zenin was in two different places at the same time on the day he died?" Yuta asked seriously.

“It seems so, sir...”

“Explain yourself" Yuta ordered coldly.

“Well...” Kasumoto began to explain, "As you ordered me, I started to search all the civil registries and hospitals in this city and I found a clue about Maki in a medical report with the same date and time as the forensic report we have in the academy" He look at Yuta seriously.

Kasumoto swallowed, looked down at his tablet and went back to explaining his findings.
“And as I explained earlier and according to the reports I consulted, on that day, October 7, almost seven years ago, a woman by the name of "Maki Zenin" had been rushed to a hospital, but at the same time, in an alley in the old Kyoto district, a report had been filed that a civilian had found the lifeless body of the sorceress "Maki Zenin". Both coincided in being women with white skin, honey-colored eyes and dark hair” He look at the grave.

“How can the same person be in two different places at the same time? And even stranger is how in one place she was reported as dead and in the other still alive?" asked Yuta bringing his hand to his mouth. He was very thoughtful about it all.

“Do you think it is a ritual metamorphosis technique? Or impersonation?" asked Kasumoto.

“I doubt it about the metamorphosis, that technique is very strange and you need a very advanced degree in sorcery to perform it" he waved his hand a little, "Unless someone has impersonated Maki, but who and why would do that?" said Yuta analyzing that information.

“That's why I'm telling you, sir, that this whole case is very strange... something doesn't add up" said the assistant.

Yuta took a long breath to try to calm down.

“All right. And tell me Kasumoto" he was very defensive
"What happened to that other "Maki"? The one who went to the hospital, Why was she admitted?" he asked annoyed. Maybe that was a lie on the part of Kasumoto and the whole headquarters. he thought.

“From the only medical report I found, it says more specifically that she was admitted to the obstetric emergency area" he commented with fear for what he had found and he really didn't know how his boss would take it.

“For what reason?”

Kasumoto took a slight breath.
 “Because of premature labor...”

Those words surprised Yuta too much. That even his eyes widened suddenly.

“WHAT?" came automatically out of his mouth. He felt his soul leave his body. That news had hit him like a bucket of cold water.

Kasumoto continued reading, "The report mentions that the "other Maki," the one who was admitted to the hospital of emergency, gave birth on October 7" he observed to Yuta, "And from the little information I found, it is said that it was a double birth”

“Double? You mean she gave birth to two babies?" asked Yuta with confusion. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“That's right, according to this information "that other Maki" gave birth to two premature babies at 33 weeks. Twins to be more exact, but the sex of the babies is not specified" Kasumoto explained.

Yuta was in shock. Was there a possibility that the Maki he loved and abandoned was pregnant at the time he left the country?

All this stirred Yuta's feelings even more, making him feel more confused and even guiltier for having left.

“What if Maki was pregnant when I left?" he wondered aloud, his eyes filled with tears again and he felt that the guilt would tear him apart and drive him to madness if it turned out to be true. “What if the real Maki was the one in the hospital and not the one in the alley?" he brought his hand to his mouth again.

But deep down, he felt that something didn't add up.

What if they were just playing with him as Yuki had said? He felt he could no longer trust anyone. It all sounded like a joke, that maybe this information was false. But at the same time, his heart had a suspicion that it was real.

“Kasumoto And what happened to that woman? And more importantly, What happened to those babies?, and Where did you get all this information from?" asked Yuta seriously.

“I apologize my lord, but I took the audacity to circumvent the protocol of the academy and to look for more things about this case on my own by abusing my authority as assistant director...”he made a slight bow, but that did not calm Yuta's discomfort.

“And about what happened with that woman and those babies.... Well…" Kasumoto swallowed saliva, "According to the reports, they..." the words could not come out of his mouth. He closed his eyes tightly to try not to cry.

“Did she die? “ Yuta asked fearfully, "Did those babies die too?”

“I'm sorry sir... but it seems that way…" said Kasumoto before falling silent and pursing his lips. Fear was stronger than anything else.

“I understand...” He ran his hands over his face, he felt frustrated  “If you say that she went in as an emergency and gave birth to those premature babies, that can only mean that all three of them died” Yuta sighed and interpreted that silence in that way.

It seemed that death only stalked those he loved.
That sorcerer once again touched the rings hanging around his neck and, in passing, he looked at the grave of that woman.

“How was it possible for Maki to be in two places at the same time on the day of her death? Which of the two pieces of information was correct? Which of the two Maki's was really the real one?” He mentally questioned himself.

And now, that pregnancy issue was a clue that kept echoing in his head.

"Now with everything you have told me Kasumoto, I have a strange feeling that maybe the person buried here is not "my Maki" said Yuta seriously.

“Why do you say that, sir?" asked the assistant, very confused.

Yuta looked at him seriously.
“I mean, how am I sure you are telling me the truth? Who is really buried here? The Maki from the hospital or the Maki who was found in that alley? And more importantly, who tipped off the Zenin clan and the academy about her death?" he questioned in a harsh voice.

Kasumoto took a breath.
“The report says that the ‘Maki Zenin’ who is buried in this place was the woman who was found in that alley”

“What makes you so sure it's her?" asked Yuta with annoyance.

“Because the one who identified the "Maki" of the alley was none other than her twin sister, Mai Zenin, she was the one who informed the academy and her clan about the death of her sister..." the assistant explained.

Then he looked at his tablet “And about the other woman and the babies she had, apparently there is no more information, it seems that someone destroyed all the documents and reports concerning her and those little ones, and that is very strange” he answered.

“Oh...”

Yuta once again dropped his hands to his sides. If Mai had been the one to identify her sister then that information was real. The one in that grave was his "Maki".

“So this confirms the rumor that "one twin was alive and the other one was dead"  dried some tears  “and the one who is dead is the Maki I love...” answered Yuta looking at the ground, he felt defeated.

Kasumoto kept silent.

Yuta felt heartbroken. Perhaps he had to accept that reality.

“Perhaps the hospital's "Maki" is due to a spelling mistake and I have to accept that the real Maki is buried here..." said the sorcerer in a low voice, "Too bad the dead do not speak and their ghosts do not appear when you want them to...

He said with a broken heart.

 

06:00 p.m.

The sky above them was darkening. And sunset would not be long in coming.

After spending a few more minutes assimilating all this information.

Yuta looked at his cell phone, he had to say goodbye to Maki since that cemetery was about to close and he had to go somewhere else.

“Maki, it's time to go... don't forget that I love you... I hope to visit you again very soon" he whispered caressing that cold stone to say goodbye.

Yuta took a few steps, remembered that there were two people waiting for him and that even if he was heartbroken, he should keep his promise to go with them.

“Kasumoto, I need you to let Satoru know that I will be taking a few days off this case. You should take a break too. This whole thing is weighing me down" Yuta walk beside him, while the assistant trails behind him.

“As you say, sir”

“And by the way, I need you to take me to a certain area of the city. I promised two little people that I would see them at a certain festival" Yuta ordered.

Those words made Kasumoto stop abruptly.
“Is you going to see those two children?, did he meet them again? Yurika and Yuudai?" he asked intrigued.

“Yes. Yesterday I met them while walking in a certain neighborhood and I promised them that today I would go with them to a festival. So I want to get there early to spend as much time as possible with them as I promised”

“I have something important to tell you about them!" Kasumoto again behaved strangely. He seemed nervious.

“What did you say?" Yuta turned around and stared at him.

“Sir, I was investigating those two children and I have found their surname! Which is Fushig!!" he was interrupted very aggressively.

Yuta let Rika free, who quickly trapped Kasumoto in her hands like a cage, threatening to crush him.

“I told you clearly that I didn't want you to investigate those children out of respect for them and their family!" Yuta shouted angrily.

“But there is something important I must tell you about them!" Kasumoto plead.

Rika let out a horrible growl in his face.

“Yuta wants you to shut up!" growled the curse with the assistant in her claws.

“Mercy!" pleaded Kasumoto, "I swear I only did it because I suspect that those two are something important to you!" he said in a cry.

Yuta looked at him with a murderous look.
“The truth, you are starting to give me enough reasons to be suspicious and think that I can't trust neither you nor Satoru nor anyone at the headquarters!" he commented very annoyed.

“Please don't hurt me, I swear you can trust me!" Kasumoto begged in tears.

“You have given me more reasons to believe otherwise..." Yuta made a sign with his head, making Rika let go of the assistant, who abruptly fell to the ground.

“Now, I order you to take me to the place I am asking you to take me to, and I want you to leave those children alone!" he turned around very annoyed, "If you want to resign from being my assistant, you can do it. Because I am also thinking very seriously about resigning from this case" he commented, walking towards the exit of the cemetery.

Kasumoto only trembled because of the fear Yuta provoked in his. Still, he decided to accompany him and take him to where he asked.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

07:20 p.m.

Night had already fallen in Kyoto and the first night of the Yoiyama festival had already begun.

There were too many food stalls and games. In addition to many families, groups of friends and couples enjoying the evening.

Most people brought comfortable Yukatas for the summer.

You could see all these people coming and going and having fun in that place.

And that was the same for that family, who went from one place to another having fun among the games and food stalls.

“Now I want to go to that game!" commented Yurika pulling her aunt Nobara's hand.

“This way! Come on, Uncle Yuji! Uncle Toge, don't stay behind!" said Yuudai, also pulling the two adults' hands.

Those two children were wearing beautiful yukatas. Yurika's was in lilac with small white flowers and Yuudai's was a green with gray dragonflies.

“Come on!, don't fall behind!" Yurika shouted excitedly and started running.

At her side was her brother, while Nobara, Yuji, Toge and Tsumiki trailed behind them.

“Run faster!, or I'll beat you!" said Itadori snatching up those children away.

“It's not fair!" Yuudai shouted.

“Yes, that's not fair! Uncle Yuji is so fast!" said Yurika sticking her tongue out at him.

“Salmon!” Toge also ran to the side of the children.

“Don't leave us behind!" shouted Nobara, who was going at the same pace as Tsumiki. Slow but sure.

These adults were also dressed in colorful Yukatas. Itadori was wearing a sky blue one. Toge was wearing a black one with a white belt. Nobara was wearing a white one with beautiful red roses and a purple belt, while Tsumiki was wearing a beautiful pastel pink Yukata with white and gold details.

 Maki, who was several meters behind them all walking at a leisurely pace, just laughed to see how everyone was having fun. She was wearing a beautiful bright blue Yukata with a pretty red bow on her back.

Instead, Megumi sighed when she saw that scene as she walked next to that green-haired woman. This man was wearing a Yutaka in royal blue.

“Those children should not wander so far away from us, it could be dangerous!" he said in a tone of annoyance and concern.

“Calm down Megumi! They know how to take good care of themselves and by the way, this area has always been very safe even with a lot of people" commented Maki, giving him a light punch on the arm to calm him down, "For a father of ‘lies’ you really behave like a real father”

Megumi rubbed his shoulder. That blow hurt even though Maki didn't use her full strength.
 “Tsk! I'm only saying that because I'm worried that something might happen to them. Besides, you of all people know that we still have to be careful with the Zenin clan." he looked at her seriously, "And not only from them, but we also have to watch out for other sorcerers and we must not let our guard down, especially now that there is a rumor that a ‘new sorcerer killer’ is on the loose”

Maki rolled her eyes.
“About that assassin, it's just a stupid rumor, I don't think he'll do anything to us" she lied and shook her shoulders disinterestedly, "And about the Zenin clan, you know they all think I've been dead for six years”

“Not all of them, and you know that very well" Megumi replied with a grimace.

Maki clicked her tongue.
“I know, you don't have to remind me that stupid Naoya found out three years ago that I was still alive and to keep his mouth shut, you had to give him your place as the next leader of the Zenin clan and by the way, Mai had to go with him to make it a fair deal" she sighed letting the air out angrily, "I really hate it! We were really careless ‘that’ day!”

“Yes, but luckily on that occasion Tsumiki had taken the children and he did not discover them, so practically neither he, nor the clan, nor the headquarters know anything about them and that is the important thing” commented Megumi looking from afar as his sister took the hands of those twins, who looked very happy with her.

“I know and believe me, I am super grateful to all of you for what you are doing for Yurika, Yuudai and me” Maki look at Megumi "Although sometimes I think you regret a little bit giving your leadership title to Naoya, otherwise you would have been the current leader three years ago" replied Maki with a sigh.

Just as those words said.

Almost seven years ago, Maki had hidden her pregnancy very well from both the headquarters and the Zenin clan, and with the help of Yuki and Mei Mei, they had removed all medical records of Yurika and Yuudai's pregnancy and birth, information that they were supposed to have kept secret. That is until Kasumoto found out that afternoon.

And to pass herself off as dead, Maki together with Mai had devised a plan to make the Zenin clan think that the older twin had been killed.

But what they didn't count on was that Naoya would one day find out that she was still alive, but so that he wouldn't say anything, Megumi intervened once again for his relatives and he gave up his title as the next leader of the clan to protect Maki and her children, but in exchange, Naoya also decided to take Mai with him so that " both would have one of the Zenin twins" and if they did not meet his requirements, Naoya would warn everyone at the sorcery headquarters to apply capital punishment to Maki and the others involved.

There were really many people behind all this. Even the Zenin clan and the Gojo Clan had also intervened a bit to separate Yuta from Maki as there were political interests involved.

Megumi sighed, "I didn't really care about that title. I never considered myself a Zenin”

Maki smiled at those words.
 “You would have made a great leader anyway, Megumi”

Megumi continued talking while still walking next to Maki. “Even so, we must be vigilant, I also heard a rumor that Okkotsu senpai returned to Japan”

“Who?" Maki feigned dementia at the sound of that name.

“Okkotsu Yuta. You of all people know who I'm talking about”

Maki rolled her eyes.
“I know who the hell you're talking about, but you know that as far as I'm
concerned, that idiot is already dead”

“And what will you tell Yurika and Yuudai the day they ask you about their real father?" He questioned seriously. “You know he is not a ghost”

“Agh!" Maki growled, "Well, they know so far that their ‘real father’ was a coward who abandoned me before they were born. Even so, I told them that I will tell them everything about him only until the day it is necessary. But for the moment I don't want to talk about that idiot, who only gives me a headache!” She replied, annoyed.

“And what are you supposed to do if one day you meet him on the street? I heard he's currently here in Kyoto" asked Megumi curiously.

Maki kept a slight moment of silence at such an answer. She really didn't know how she would react if she saw him again one day.

Would she run to hug him? Would she run to hit him? Would she say anything to him? Would he recognize her? These and more questions were running through Maki's mind.

“mmm I don't know, I guess I would kill him” she would bite her tongue a little bit when saying that  “Now Megumi, stop talking about that idiot or I swear I will hit you too”

Megumi only sighed.
 “OK”

“Dad!" the twins shouted in chorus.

Maki smiled at that Word “Well Megumi, ‘your children’ are calling you, go attend to them” she pushed him slightly.

He just rolled his eyes at that, but still he always calmly addressed and attended to those two little ones.

That small talk left Maki thoughtful and more that she had a strange feeling.

Could it be that Yuta was getting closer?

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

Almost half an hour after walking around that festival, Yuudai and Yurika would ask their mother's permission to go look for their friend. Both children felt that Yuta was already in the area.

Again it was as if the blood was calling them. Those children felt as if Yuta's energy was a kind of thread in shades of red and purple that crossed everywhere until it led them to him. That was what warned them that he was near.

“Mom, can we go look for our friend?" Yuudai asked.

“Yes, Mommy? Please! It's a super special person we want to introduce you to and he said he would come and meet us around here!" answered Yurika.

“We sense that he is already close by!" Yuudai commented.

At that moment, that family was very close to the temple where the first fireworks of the night would be launched. Those children always liked to see that show and more in that area, which was always quieter and without so many people.

At that moment, the adults were eating some traditional dishes they had bought and were sitting on the benches on the small hill outside the temple, waiting to see the spectacle over their heads.

Maki sighed a little. “All right, go, but don't take too long, the fireworks will be launched soon. So I want them here soon" she said stroking her children's hair.

“Thank you, Mommy!" the twins said in chorus and began to run through the crowd, following their instincts.

They felt that Yuta had already arrived.

“Are you sure they should go alone?" asked Megumi about to summon his shikigami in the form of a dog.

But Maki stopped him.
“They'll be fine, plus they're going to go look for a friend they made. A Little boy”

“Are you sure?" asked Megumi seriously.

“Yes, they are my children and I trust them. I don't think anything bad will happen to them!" she replied, taking a bite of her skewer.

Megumi sighed.
 “I have a strange feeling..." he said softly, accompanied by a sigh.

Maki just rolled her eyes at that comment she overheard, but decided to ignore it. Big mistake because unfortunately, Megumi was always right.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

08:25 p.m.

Yuta had already arrived at the festival. He wandered around the food and game stalls.

He watched wistfully as all the people there were having fun and tried to avoid looking at the couples, because of the pain that the memories with Maki caused him and even more so now that he had confirmed that she had "died".

As he walked, for a moment he took out the necklace where he had those two engagement rings. He looked at them in the palm of his hand and felt their metallic texture against his skin.

“First it was Rika... and then Maki...”  sigh  “Maybe I'm cursed in love” he said with discouragement, squeezing for a moment those rings.

“What if Maki was pregnant at the time I left? God, I must have been the worst boyfriend!” he lamented. That question did not leave him in peace and even more since he knew that information about the other Maki and those babies.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not notice that two small children had been chasing him for a few meters. So lost was he that not even the other cursed energy could detect him.

It was the voices and laughter of those two that brought him back to reality.

“Yuta kun!”

Those shouts made the sorcerer stop and turn to look at them.

He felt his heart recovering a little of the courage and life he had lost hours ago. He did not understand why, but whenever he met those children, he felt an inexplicable peace and joy.

“Yurika, Yuudai!” He smiled a little at the sight of them. It had taken him a few seconds to react when those children ran up to him to hug him.

He squatted down to greet them. Those children hugged him so tightly, the sorcerer let out a few tears as he stroked their hair.

“Yuta kun, are you all right?" asked Yurika when she saw him with glassy eyes.

“Why are you sad?" Yuudai asked, concerned when he saw his dark circles under his eyes.

“Why are you crying?" asked the girl.

“I'm fine" Yuta dried his tears, "I just had a bad day, it's just some adult stuff," he lied "It's nothing for you to worry about" he showed a serene smile, “I'm happy to see you again”

Yurika and Yuudai smiled at that.

“We also wanted to see you again!" answered Yurika, hugging him again.

“I'm glad you were able to come. We're glad you kept your promise" Yuudai replied, hugging him once again.

Yuta reciprocated that gesture. He felt that his heart found peace and comfort in that embrace.

At that moment, the sky began to light up and a great roar began to attract everyone's attention. The fireworks had already started.

“Quick Yuta!” Yurika took off from him and grabbed his hand.

“Our mother is over here! We want you to meet her!" Yuudai commented, also taking Yuta's hand.

“And our whole family too!" said Yurika with a big smile.

“Is your whole family here?" asked the sorcerer as he was pulled by those children, each one holding his hand.

The three of them were walking fast through the sea of people. While the fireworks continued to light up the sky.

“Yes, we also want you to meet our uncles and our dad!" Yuudai replied.

“We hope you get along well whit them!" Yurika replied.

“Maybe they will accept you as part of our family!”

“And we hope you can also come and celebrate our birthdays!”

“So we could spend more time with you, Yuta Kun!”

Those words filled the sorcerer with curiosity as they walked away from the sea of people.

“Of course I would like to spend more time with you! By the way children!" Yuta paused for a moment as he saw that they were heading to a part near the temple, "When is your birthday?”

Those children stopped to answer that question. Those three were already very close to where Maki and the others were waiting for them.

“October 7!" said the twins in chorus.

That answer made Yuta's eyes widen in surprise.

“WHAT?" It came with difficulty out of his throat. That date seemed like another strange coincidence with those children.

“We said we were born on the seventh of October!" Yuudai commented with a big smile.

“in fact, we were to be born months later" explained Yurika. "We were born a little smaller than the other babies, because we were born months earlier" she moved her hands a little as if she was cooing to a baby.

“Did they were born prematurely? Does that mean they two were born prematurely?" asked Yuta with surprise.

He remembered the case Kasumoto had told him about the "other Maki and those premature babies".

“Could they be?” he thought.

“Yup. Actually, we were going to be born by the end of November, but we got ahead of schedule" Yudai replied.

“It's better if Mom explains you about that!” Yurika began to look around.

“Okay, and one more question before I meet her mother" said Yuta with some curiosity, he felt that those children had something to do with that case of the other Maki  "What is her name?”

“When you see her we'll tell you!" Yurika smiled.

Yuudai also seemed to be looking for those adults with his eyes and making binoculars with his little hands.

“Where are they?" Yurika also looked for them with her eyes.

Instead, Yuta felt a strange hunch, the kind of presentiment you get when you sense something unexpected is going to happen.

The fireworks continued to thunder in the night sky. The noise was deafening and even Yuta began to feel dazed.

“There they are!" Yuudai shouted excitedly as he saw the group of adults admiring the fireworks while standing up.

“Mom!" shouted Yurika running towards them. Calling the attention of all her relatives.

“It's them Yuta kun!" said Yuudai pulling that adult by the hand. “Come!”

Yurika also took him by the hand, "This way," she said, running towards the adults.

Yuta was following the twins. But the closer he got to that "family", his face began to show surprise and disbelief.

His heart skipped a beat as all those adults turned to look at him.

Their mouths and eyes opened in such a way that it was as if they had all seen a ghost.

They had frozen at the sight of the person who came holding hands with those children.

Tsumiki brought her hands to her mouth. Itadori dropped the banderilla he was about to bite.

Toge's eyes widened like saucers and even his rice ball dropped.

Nobara's jaw dropped in surprise and Megumi froze.

All those adults were surprised to see that man there after seven long years.

“Mom!” Yurika and Yuudai shouted in chorus.

Maki turned around when she heard the screams of her children calling her. But quickly her face paled, it was as if all her blood had rushed to the floor at the sight of that sorcerer she also thought was dead.

“Mom, he's our friend from the mall!" said Yurika with great joy.

“He's the one we wanted to introduce you to!" Yuudai said catching his breath.

The sorcerer who returned from abroad could not believe his eyes.

He started to stop dead in his tracks. Yuta's brain wanted to short-circuit, because only a few hours ago he had visited "her grave". But that woman in front of him was not a ghost. It was the same woman he had known and loved for years.

Both children stood in the middle of Maki and Yuta. They were less than a meter away from each other.

“Mom, this is our new friend, his name is Yuta Okkotsu!" Yurika introduced.

“Yuta Kun, she's our mother, her name is Maki Fushiguro!" Yuudai said excitedly.

After seven years, Yuta and Maki stood face to face, finally seeing each other once again. It seemed that at that moment time had stopped, while over their heads the fireworks exploded, illuminating the night sky with a thousand colors.

Both children looked first at their mother, who was pursing her lips and her face was slightly red. She seemed to be upset and even her hands were balled into fists.

Then they turned their heads toward Yuta. His eyes were wide as wide as saucers and his mouth was slightly open.

The fireworks stopped flashing in the sky.

The atmosphere was so tense that no adult present spoke a word.

“Hey, what's up?" asked Yurika with a grimace.

“Why doesn't anyone say anything?" Yuudai asked, confused by the behavior of these adults.

Yuta couldn't believe what he was seeing. His Maki. The woman he loved was still alive. It was really her.

Maki looked at her children, it seemed that they were not aware of who this man really was. So she decided to pretend a little.

“It's a pleasure to, Mr. Okkotsu" she said with a hint of contempt. Her lip turned up slightly in a false smile, "I see that you are a friend of my children”

“Maki, is it really you?!" the words barely came out of his mouth.

“And tell me how did you three meet?" asked Maki, crossing her arms. Her face looked very serene even though inside she was dying of courage. “And I want you to tell me the truth, Yurika, Yuudai”

Hearing Maki pronounce those names made Yuta feel a thousand emotions. He could hardly assimilate that she was still alive and that she was now the mother of those two.

It seemed that fate hated him and was playing with him.

The twins looked at each other and then looked at their mother while at the same time clasping their little hands together, they knew that after that they might be punished.

They had no choice but to tell the truth.

“It's what, days ago when we were with Grandpa Ui at the mall..." Yuudai started explaining.

“In an oversight we got separated from him and got lost and then we fell into the trap of a curse..." Yurika completed.

Maki's eyes widened in surprise when she heard that. Megumi and the others were also surprised by what they were hearing.

Even Yuta was shocked to learn that his suspicion with that man was real.

Ui Ui in his carelessness had endangered those two. And that, made Maki clench her fists.

“But Okkotsu kun saved us from that curse!" Yuudai said, raising his voice.

“That's right Mommy!, we owe our lives to him!" explained Yurika.

“If he had never come, that curse would have eaten us and we would never have seen you again!" Yudai completed that sentence, waving his hands and raising his voice.

“Besides... grandfather Ui asked us not to tell you..." commented Yurika lowering her eyes.

“That's why we didn't tell you anything...until now…" said Yuudai also lowering his gaze.

At that moment, Maki continued to look at Yuta. Hearing what she did for her children made her let out a sigh while her hands were still folded on her chest.

“I suppose I should thank you for saving my children" she said coldly.

“I only did what I thought was right... as I have always done" replied the sorcerer seriously.

“Ha!, yes, as you say..." whispered Maki with annoyance and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Then she looked at her children. They went to hug her.

“When we get home we will talk about all this. It was very bad that they lied to me and hid what happened to them at the mall” she looked at them while her hands caressed their cheeks  “I will also talk to Mei Mei and Ui Ui.... This will not stay like this” said Maki very seriously.

“Sorry Mommy...”

“Sorry...”

“It won't happen again”

“We promise”

Said both children hiding their faces in their mother's belly.

On the other hand, Maki and Yuta kept looking at each other. There were so many combined feelings in their gazes that it was perceptible to everyone else.

Tsumiki quickly decided to intervene.

“Well, children, what do you say we let your mother talk to Mr. Okkotsu?" she said, standing in the middle of the adults.

“The night is still young and I think you two have some things to talk about before we go home" Tsumiki look at those adults first.

Then she turned and looked at the children, "What do you say we go buy some sparklers and a little more food, what do you think?" she took the twins' hands.

“But Aunt Miki, I think we're grounded" said Yurika, taking her aunt's hand.

“They are not punished yet, we will talk about that at home" Maki sighed, "Now, please children, I want you to go with your aunt to buy the flares. I need to talk to "your new friend" she said, still looking at Yuta seriously.

Both children looked at those adults. First they looked at their mother and then they looked at Yuta.

The twins could sense something between those adults who seemed somewhat defensive, but at the same time, they seemed to be hiding something else. A feeling difficult to explain.

Yurika and Yuudai looked at each other. They seemed to have exchanged a few words mentally. Then they nodded their heads in agreement.

“It's okay" Yuudai said, taking Tsumiki's hand.

“Let's go get the flares!" Yurika replied with a big smile.

“We'll be right back" commented Tsumiki, making a small signal to her brother. Who understood the situation.

Once everyone saw that Tsumiki walked away from there with those children at a fast pace.

Maki sighed and put her hands to her face, "This can't be happening!" she said in annoyance.

“I'm surprised too..." replied Yuta staring at her and they had even forgotten everyone else.

“Maki san!" shouted Nobara, who was about to approach her. But Megumi quickly stopped her by taking her by the hand.

Fushiguro also stopped Toge and Itadori from approaching those two. Making his frog Shikigamis stop him in his tracks.

“OKAKA?" asked Toge with annoyance.

“Why don't you let us approach them, Fushiguro?" Itadori asked in confusion.

“Why are you stopping us Megumi?” Nobara asked very annoyed.  “Let me go and beat up that fucking special grade sorcerer! I forgave him at the time that because of him I couldn't come to Kyoto in our school years because he won the exchange! But right now I won't forgive him for what he did to my best friend! Did you hear me Okkotsu!!" she started shouting, "I won't forgive you for ditching my best friend! You traitorous bastard!!”

Megumi intervened. “Why this reunion does not concern us!" he looked seriously at those three, "Those two have a pending account and they should talk about it in private. So we should not get involved in that conversation" He looked at Maki and Yuta, who were several meters away from them.

Nobara sighed in annoyance as he felt Megumi holding her wrist too tightly.

“Anyway  and for Maki's safety we will stay close in case she needs help and by the way, let's try to keep Yuudai and Yurika away from them. As I said those two should talk in private" he answered seriously releasing the orange-haired girl.

“All right. But if that idiot makes Maki cry again, I swear I'll hit him with my hammer!" Nobara commented, rubbing her wrist and observing how Maki and Yuta were still standing, facing each other, looking at each other seriously while their children returned.

It was time for these two to talk after almost seven years of not seeing each other.

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

Notes:

What did you think of the chapter? Surprised?

Well, I hope you liked it, the truth is that even I got excited writing and translate  these pages ❤

Already in the next chapter the two of them will have to talk. what do you think those two will talk about? Do you think the children suspect something? I want to read their theories because I see that they agree with some of you 👀

Anyway, I hope to update soon, this because as I said in a statement, soon I will leave my city in November for vacation and if all goes well and luck is on my side, for December I will leave my my country of origin for personal matters, so maybe because of all that I will be a little late in updating. But I hope to make some progress before I leave.

Anyway, what do you think of this story? I can only say that more and more revelations are coming.

I also wanted to thank you for the support this fic is getting, I can't believe it already has more than 4k hits and it already surpassed 200 votes, seriously thank you very much, if you want to support this fic you can do it by recommending it to other fans of the ship, that would help a lot ❤

Chapter 10: 10. Different versions of the same day

Notes:

It's time for Maki and Yuta to talk a little about their past and uncover some truths.

So I hope you like this chapter, which is a bit long ❤

Sorry if I made you wait a week longer than I thought, as I was out of town for "Dia de muertos" vacations in my country, I couldn't translate this chapter on time, but here it is.

With nothing more to say for the moment, it's time for Maki and Yuta to speak after seven years of absence.

The opening verse is about a song in Spanish.

 

◈ ━━━━ 🍡 ━━━━ ◈

 

"I don't expect love or hate
I have enough of my pain
I curse the episode
The worst thing is that I was the one who wrote it."

 

Song: Perdón. Artist: Camila.

 

“Why can't we go with them?” Yurika asked, with her hands folded across her chest.

“Yes! Besides, we already bought the flares and the food we want to share with Yuta kun!” Yuudai replied waving his hands impatiently.

“Because your mother wants to talk alone with Okkotsu" Megumi answered, looking at the twins.

“But Mom and Yuta are just sitting there without saying anything!” Yuudai replied, looking at the two of them.

“Maybe they are talking too quietly" Tsumiki replied, bending down a little to look at the two impatient children.

“But they haven't even moved their lips!” This little guy was very observant. Yuudai had a good eye for small details around him.

“Well” Tsumiki gave a quick glance to those two sorcerers who were standing still “Sometimes adults need a little time to find the right words to address a person they haven't seen in years or to try to start a conversation with someone they just met” she answered stroking Yuudai's hair.

“Mom and Yuta kun have known each other before?" asked Yurika, puzzled by what her aunt said.

Megumi and Tsumiki looked at each other at that question. They didn't know whether or not they should answer it. So they decided to change the subject.

“As we told them, they should not be interrupted, so let's go for one more walk around the festival" said Megumi, putting his hands behind the children's backs to try to keep them away from there.

“But Dad!" those little ones begged.

At that moment above their heads the fireworks flashed again in the sky. Making those children forget about that issue of going to their mother and real father.

“Look Dad Gumi! Look Aunt Miki!”

“The fireworks have started again!”

“Uncle Itadori, Uncle Toge and Aunt Nobara! Look how beautiful the sky looks!”

These children shouted with great joy while with their little hands they pointed to the sky, very excited to see that spectacle that they loved to watch.

Those twins were enjoying watching those fires that illuminated the sky with thousands of colors next to their uncles and their father Megumi, who were trying to keep the twins away from the other two adults who were far away from them.

 

 

Those two sorcerers had been in total silence for about ten minutes and still could not speak to each other after not seeing each other for almost seven years.

Maki and Yuta were sitting on a bench on that hill outside the shrine where their children had gathered them.

What should perhaps be a comforting reunion was anything but. It was too tense.

Each one was at the end of that bench, leaving a large space in between.

Both were silent. A somewhat awkward silence but one that at the same time revealed confusion on the part of both of them.

Maki just looked straight ahead, adjusting her glasses from time to time, trying to ignore Yuta as he watched the others in the distance.

On the other hand, the sorcerer who came from abroad was surprised. He looked at Maki from time to time, trying to check that the one next to him was not a ghost or that everything around him was not a dream or a cursed technique.

Yuta even pinched his cheek a couple of times, but the pain and burning were real.

“Em... I...” the words could not get out of Yuta's throat. There was so much to say but his mouth could not complete the sentence.

Maki let out a sigh that expressed that there was too much anger inside her.
 The air rushed out of her chest in a noise of discomfort that was only audible once the fireworks finished flashing in the sky.

“I really can't believe this is happening" she said with a grimace on her lips.

“This feels so unreal... and even more so that I come from the pantheon where …” Yuta was interrupted.

“Where is my grave supposed to be?”

“Yes...”

Maki rolled her eyes.
“Boo! Surprise! I'm not dead! And I'm not a ghost either! I might even punch you right now so you can see that I'm 100% real!" she said sarcastically, showing her fist.

“I guess I'm the person you least want to see right now, and maybe I deserve that, don't I" the sorcerer replied at her rejection. He even rubbed his arm a little at the imaginary pain of remembering her blows.

“Correct”

Maki replied dryly and stared at him. Behind her glasses you could see her eyes full of anger.

“I...”

“Believe me, I'm really upset to see you here" she replied with too much contempt.
“You come back when I was already forgetting you. I was already getting used to the idea that maybe you were already happy in another country or maybe you were already dead so I could live a quiet life here without having you on my mind”

Yuta let out the air with too much sadness when he heard that. “I'm sorry..." he apologized softly.

Maki took a breath.
 “An apology doesn't do much good..." She continued to look at him seriously.
“And from what you say about my grave, I guess everyone at headquarters must still think I'm dead, right?”

“Yes, in fact, my assistant was the one who found your grave and the information about your ‘death’ in the headquarters documents.... That's why I went to see your grave because I really believed that you had died for the reasons stated in the official reports” Yuta answered staring at her.

“To tell you the truth, I would have liked you to go on believing that I am dead." whispered Maki, averting her gaze.

Yuta looked at the floor at such an answer. He had so many things to ask her that he didn't know where to start.

“Maki ..." he was interrupted.

“Okkotsu, let's get to the point once and for all. When and why the hell did you return to Japan?” asked Maki directly.

Yuta let out a sigh as he heard her address him, calling him by his last name in a very bad way.

So he had no choice but to answer that question.
 “I returned fourteen days ago and the reason why I came back to Japan, basically I could say it was for work. Satoru ‘convinced’ me to return to help him specifically with a mission"

“Ha! So the same idiot who convinced you to leave the country, convinced you to come back? Wow, will you continue to believe and do everything that stupid man tells you and orders you to do? Do you really trust him after all he has done to all of us?" asked Maki, crossing her arms.

Yuta, upon hearing that reply, supposed that something bad must have happened for Maki to speak so badly and in such a way about Satoru.

Yuta's elbows rested on his knees and he laced his fingers together.
 “I must confess that at this point I really don't know who to believe anymore, this is so confusing because I don't know who is telling the truth anymore. Besides you are the second person to ask me that question for two nights in a row" he commented looking down at his hands for a moment.

“The second in two nights in a row?" Maki raised an eyebrow.

“Yesterday night I meet Tsukumo san in the streets of this city and she asked me the same question" Yuta answered, looking at her slightly.

“Oh”

Maki sighed when she heard that name. She was suspicious to find out that the blonde meet Yuta once she left her house.

“And with what you just said, it leads me to the following questions”  Maki took a little courage  “How the hell did you find us? Was it by chance? Did someone tell you about it? Or did you investigate on your own?"

Deep down, Maki sensed that perhaps some report concerning her and her children was not properly destroyed as Mei and Yuki made her promise.

“Although it may seem hard to believe, but meet again was purely by chance, especially since I found with  Yurika and Yuudai yesterday and they both invited me to come to the shrine today" replied Yuta with a small smile.

“Where did you find them yesterday?" asked Maki curiously.

“In a park very close to here. I was lost and by pure chance I ran into them again yesterday afternoon” he smiled slightly at the memory of that encounter. “It's hard to explain, but whenever I meet your children again, I feel a strange connection with them. It's as if they call out to me. It's been that way ever since I met them”

“So what Yurika and Yuudai say is real, that you saved them from a curse?" Maki asked with a grimace on her lips.

The sorcerer nodded.
“That's right!, about fourteen days ago I was near a shopping mall and suddenly I felt a great presence of cursed energy in an alley and that's when I saved them from a curse” he looked at those little ones who were playing together with Itadori and Toge.

Maki only sighed at that answer and looked away from where Yuta was watching, "I will definitely kill Ui Ui when I see him for having neglected them. And those children will also be punished for hiding this from me!”

Yuta smiled very slightly when he heard those words coming from her mouth. He had never imagined Maki that way and was still coming to terms with the fact that she was the mother of those little ones.

Both sorcerers were silent again for a few minutes.

Again, they looked over at the children who looked very excited as they were interacting with the other adults who were taking care of them.

Yuta's eyes focused on Fushiguro, watched as he stroked the children's hair affectionately.

“So now your last name is Fushiguro?” Yuta asked, once again breaking the ice between the two of them. I really couldn't believe that was Maki's actual last name.

She pursed her lips slightly before answering.
 “It is, I've been married for almost seven years" she replied, looking at the others.

Yuta felt too strange seeing this "family". It was as if something was wrong with them.

He felt a strange hunch with everything he had discovered that afternoon about “the Maki of the hospital”. He felt as if "this ghost" was hiding something else from him.

“I'm sorry to ask, but why did you marry Megumi? Aren't you and he supposed to be from the same family? Did you really love him?" he asked with confusion, looking into her eyes.

Maki sighed at such questions. She really didn't feel like explaining that and she didn't want Yuta to know anything about her personal life.
 “It's a long story and which is none of your business!" she replied, looking back at her children.

“It's okay. An apology for asking. I guess you must love him too much to keep your family life private" he replied with a cold tone.

“It's anything but love really... it's something you wouldn't understand" whispered Maki. Her voice was tinged with sadness.

That answer left Yuta more intrigued as they fell silent again.

As he was looking at that family and remembering what Yurika and Yuudai had told him about how they were nothing like their "father Gumi", Yuta's heart told him that maybe those two little ones were his and not Fushiguro's, besides his mental calculations about the gestation and birth of those twins didn't add up in case they were Megumi's children.

Both were his spitting image. They were his blood, that's how his being felt. And those doubts would be answered soon enough.

“You have beautiful children" answered Yuta to break the tension but without taking his eyes off those little ones.

“Thank you, they are good children, a little naughty from time to time, but for the most part they are good and obedient and I think you have noticed that" Maki leaned her hands on the edge of the bench.

“Hehe yes, I noticed it from the moment I met them" Yuta smiled at the memory of that moment.

Maki sighed upon hearing that answer.
“Although personally I wish Yurika and Yuudai had never met you…" she replied coldly.

Yuta looked at the ground when he heard those cutting words “Why don't you want me to be part of their life?”

“Because I don't want them to be interested in you!" Maki calmed her pride for a moment, "Even so, I thank you again for saving them" she looked at him.

“It was my duty to save them and perhaps all this was the work of destiny and I am partly grateful that it happened this way because I will not deny it, I also returned to Japan because I wanted to see you again" he replied without looking away from Maki, a small smile formed on his lips.

“See me again?”

“Yes, I always wished to see you once again. Although I guess that wish was also fulfilled, since Yurika and Yuudai intervened with their prayers " he scratched the back of his neck.

Yuta commented that last, remembering that those children had prayed on his behalf to the gods for him to see the woman he still loved again, and it seemed to be so.

Their gazes met, there were too many feelings reflected in their eyes.

Maki raised an eyebrow at that answer, her cheeks wanted to be stained of red by those cheesy words, but her pride and courage were stronger “Damn the time you three met so that you and I could meet again” she cursed under her breath.

“Even so, I'm happy to have seen you again" whispered Yuta.

They both fell silent again as they looked down at their twins.

Yuta really had several doubts that he wanted to resolve, especially now that he felt that the information that Katsumoto had given him in the afternoon seemed to coincide with the information from the Maki of the hospital.

His suspicions began to grow more and more, making him come to the conclusion that these two were his biological children.

That was a clue he wanted to confirm.

And after taking a breath, he plucked up the courage to ask something that had caught his attention ever since he met those children.

“And why did you choose those names for them?" Yuta asked looking at Maki again. His voice sounded too curious.

“What do you mean?" she turned her face toward him.

“I mean… Why did you name YOUR children with the names I had chosen for MY children?" He asked seriously.

Maki shrugged her shoulders.
“I confess that I was very bad at choosing names, so I decided to give them the names you had suggested once.Besides I liked their meanings” a small smile lit up her face, while she looked him in the eyes again “Yurika which means "Beautiful Lily" and Yuudai which...”

“Which means "Little Brave One or Big Hero" Yuta completed the sentence.

Maki nodded her head.
 “Yes, and curiously the names you had chosen in the past seemed to fit perfectly with my children at the time of their birth. That's why I decided to give them the names you suggested" she looked back at her twins.

Yuta had a very serious face. He even seemed to be a little upset by that decision.

“I suppose there must be some deeper reason why you gave them the names I chose for them, right?”

“What are you trying to say?" Maki was again defensive.

“What I'm trying to say is, are Yurika and Yuudai my children?” Yuta asked bluntly.

“What?" came as a whimper from Maki's mouth. She did not expect that question. She thought Yuta hadn't noticed.

“I will ask again, "Are Yurika and Yuudai my children?, Or are they Fushiguro's children?"

“Wow!, You really dare to ask that question even though it's more than obvious? Are you blind not to see whose children they are? The last name says it all!" Maki crossed her arms. “They're mine and Megumi's!" she lied.

“On the contrary, if you look at them closely they look a lot like me, especially Yuudai looks a lot like me when I was a child" added Yuta seriously.

At those words Maki pursed her lips. She even bit her tongue in anger. She was surprised how Yuta had come to that conclusion.

“And by the way, no one takes the names suggested by others for no apparent reason. And you Maki, more than anyone else knew that I really wanted to name my children, or rather our children with these names, so answer me truthfully, are Yurika and Yuudai my children? Why would you choose to give them the names that I chose to name Fushiguro's children? Did you choose them because you know that they are really mine and not his?” Her aura was heavy.

Maki stood up. “I'm too offended by these questions. I can't take this anymore, I don't even know why I decided to agree to talk to you!" she took a few steps. She wanted to get away from him “And I'm telling you once and for all, I don't want you near my children or any of us!”

But Yuta quickly stopped her by the wrist.

“Is this what you wanted to tell me that time at the train station the day you left me almost seven years ago? Did you want to tell me that you were pregnant?" Yuta asked seriously.

Maki's eyes widened when she heard those questions. But the statement he made about her abandoning him really made her too angry.

“I didn't abandon you that day!" she turned around in annoyance to confront him head-on, "Actually, you were the one who abandoned me at that station!”

“That's not true!" Yuta quickly replied.

“Of course it's true! I waited for you for over an hour and you never came back!" replied Maki in a very serious voice.

That statement confused Yuta too much.
“And when I got back to the platform you weren't there anymore! You even ended our relationship by text message!”

Maki raised an eyebrow at that last proclamation.
“What the hell are you saying? Of course it wasn't like that! I never finished
you by message since I couldn't have written you anything, because that afternoon someone stole my cell phone!” She put her free hand on her hip-“ You were the one who left me there! That's how I remember it perfectly!”

It was all too confusing. His version, which he always believed was how things had really happened, did not match her version at all.

“This is too strange, your version doesn't match mine…" Okkotsu criticized.

“And so far you realized that something was wrong with our separation?" asked Maki with a touch of irony since she had discovered the truth about the day they were separated some time ago.

“Maki, what else do you remember that happened that day seven years ago?" Yuta asked without letting go of her wrist. He felt that something didn't fit in their versions.
“Do you remember seeing anyone from the academy or the headquarters that day at the station? Do you remember detecting anyone's cursed energy or any curse?" he asked looking into her eyes.

Maki blinked slightly at such questions. She could tell Yuta's pain in his voice and in his eyes as he asked such questions.

She had indeed seen and detected more people with cursed energy that day, more specifically they were people who worked for the academy and for the clans, she even knew who they were after investigating them years later. But she couldn't and wasn't going to say anything either, as her plan for revenge might be affected.

Her eyes darted upward to the left. She was doing some remembering.
“Someone with cursed energy?" Maki said quietly.

“Do you remember any face that became familiar to you at that time?" asked Yuta without taking his eyes off her expressions.

Maki shook her head.
 “As I said that was years ago. Maybe I did feel some cursed energy, but I don't remember any familiar faces. And by the way, do you think you could let go of my wrist? You're hurting me”

“Sorry!” He let go of her wrist.

 Yuta was satisfied for the momento with that answer, maybe later he would find out the truth, for now he just wanted to hear her version. “Then tell me what you remember happened that day of our separation?”

Maki did some remembering. Yuta could notice it in her expressions, especially in her eyes as they wandered at such memories that still hurt.

“I remember that day we were going to take the train to Haneda Station, you looked so excited because you wanted both of us to leave the country on that stupid trip Satoru wanted us to take" she replied.

“I confess, I was excited for us to leave here together... but you, on the contrary, you looked very distressed... your eyes looked sad and you were very thoughtful all the time, it was as if you were trying to tell me something that was bothering you too much…” confessed Yuta with some pain.

Maki was too surprised to hear that, she thought he had never noticed her subtle signals that she wanted to tell him something important. She felt her heart skip a beat when she heard it.

“That face of yours, full of a kind of concern haunted me for years in my dreams of regret and more because I feel bad that I did not see in time the signs you were trying to give me at that time. And now that we have met once again, seven years later, I want you to please be honest and answer me with the truth” he moistened his lips a little  “What you were trying to tell me that day on the platform was that you were pregnant with Yurika and Yuudai?” He ask looking her straight in the eyes.

Maki pursed her lips. Her head turned slightly to look quickly at her children, who were being entertained by the others. They were both her little treasures.

Hearing them laugh and having seen them grow up filled her with thousands of feelings, emotions that she could no longer hide, especially now that she was in front of the real father of her children.

She looked back at Yuta. Remembering that day hurt her too much. But she felt she had to tell him the truth now that he had found her.

“Yes...” Maki whispered “That day I wanted to tell you that I had found out I was pregnant...”

At that moment Yuta's face lit up so brightly that he no longer looked like the gloomy sorcerer who had arrived in Japan almost a fortnight ago. It all seemed to make sense.

His hands went to his face. He looked too surprised.

“What happens?" asked Maki, very confused by his attitude.

“It's just that I'm surprised! I just found out that the children I saved days ago are my children!” he replied with great surprise, "I AM A FATHER!”

Maki sighed as she listened to him. “Yes, Yurika and Yuudai are your children..." she answered quietly.

“Why didn't you tell me at that moment?” He came closer to her, they were face to face, "How is it that you found out about this and you couldn't even tell me?" asked Yuta very shocked at that answer.

“I don't want to talk about it right now!" Maki replied, raising her voice slightly and averting her eyes.

“Okay, but could you tell me what else you remember from that day? Please Maki, I need to know your version of that day!" pleaded Yuta.

Maki sighed, "Okay, I'll tell you..." she sat back down on the bench.

He looked at her carefully as he also sat back down next to her. The space between them had narrowed. They were sitting closer now, but still maintained a small distance.

Maki rubbed her wrist while she continued talking.
“I remember that once you went to buy that bottle of water, a guy bumped into me and I didn't really know when he took my cell phone out of my pocket, so I remember that while I was waiting for you, my cell phone was stolen. I remember clearly that you were taking too long to come back, and I only saw people passing by, I saw the trains leaving and arriving to the platform and I even remember that I saw ...”She keep silent.

“Who did you see?" asked Yuta.

Maki remembered that someone had come to talk to her at that train station. It was someone known for both of them and that after that little chat she had with that person, all that talk made her change her mind about accompanying her boyfriend abroad, but the sorceress decided not to tell Yuta who was that person who she had seen.

“I remember I looked at the station clock and noticed that more than an hour had already passed and you were not back" Maki looked at Yuta, she seemed not to be lying, you could see it in her golden eyes.

 “I remember that I looked for you with my eyes and when I looked between the windows of the train when it started to move forward, I remember that I saw you clearly on top of it, you were in a window seat.  I had no way of communicating with you and that's when I knew that you had abandoned me”
her voice now sounded annoyed  “So in the end I decided to leave. You had left me...”

“Of course it didn't happen that way!" Yuta raised his voice, "I didn't abandon you!”

Maki also raised the light "That's how I remember things happening!”

“But it didn't happen like that!” Yuta began to explain his version of that day.
“I remember clearly that it didn't take me more than ten minutes to return with the bottle of water that you had asked me and when I came back you were no longer there, you had even abandoned my luggage on the platform”

He moved his hands from one side to the other "And when I was looking for you and asking for you to the people around me, I remember that it was at that moment when my cell phone vibrated and that was when I saw your message in which you ended our relationship" he sounded hurt.

“I clearly remember your last text message, which said "I'm sorry... I can no longer accompany you on this journey.... nor in this life..."

Maki shook her head.
“That's a lie! I wouldn't be such a coward as to break up someone by message," she answered with pure anger.
“As I'm telling you, that day I was waiting for you for more than an hour, I saw how people passed by and I even remember clearly how the train left the station and that message  was impossible for me to send it because they had stolen my cell phone! I didn't write that message! Can you believe me?" she sounded hurt.

Yuta sighed and lowered his face.
 “I find it a little hard to believe you, especially that you weren't honest enough at the time to tell me you were pregnant”

Maki sighed.
“I guess you'll never understand. Even the very people you work for have been keeping very important things from you about this separation"  declared.

“Maki, what are you trying to say with that?" asked Yuta all confused.

She stared at him
"Okkotsu, I can only tell you that behind all our separation, I am very sure that someone from the sorcery society intervened to keep us apart...” She whispered looking towards her children, who seemed to be very entertained with Itadori, who could carry both of them at the same time.

She could even notice Nobara and Megumi's gaze on her, wondering if everything was all right.

“But I see you're not as smart as I thought you were to realize the truth" Maki looked disappointed.

“What are you trying to say by that?” Yuta really looked confused.

“Forget it!" sighed Maki, rubbing her temples, "It's more than obvious that you wouldn't understand”

“If you explain it to me, I could understand” Yuta tried to approach her.

But she was very defensive.
“I told you to forget it! There's no point in me explaining it to you! It's up to you to figure it out on your own” She looked the other way “But it's more than obvious that someone set us up that day to separate us...”

“Okay, I guess I'll try to find out who it was and why”

He resigned sigh, "But it's not over yet. Maki Do you remember what was the last thing you said to me that day before I went to get the water bottle?”

Maki sighed and rolled her eyes
“Yes” her mouth went from left to right “I told you "Yuta don't be late" and in the end it took you seven years to come back” she looked at him seriously”

“I'm sorry I came back so many years later. I confess that those words still haunt me at night”

“And you didn't even have the value to go after me? Couldn't you get off the train to look for me?" she asked sadly.

“When I was going to look for you, Satoru stopped me and dragged me out of the country”

“You know?, I have a list of people I hate and Satoru is third on that list and you are second on it”

Yuta exhaled sadly when he heard that.
 “You have every right to hate me for not getting off the train and coming to search for you. That was my biggest mistake and you don't know how sorry I am for that. I am to blame for that, and it still haunts me to this day”

Maki looked at him silently, her hands folded across her chest. She looked very upset.

“Sorry for all that..." Yuta apologized once again.

“You know, it's hard to forgive you, especially since you took so long to come back," she scolded him.

“I know it took me a long time to come back because my pride was also too much in the face of the pain I felt thinking that you were the one who had abandoned me!  I tried to get over you, but I couldn't, in the end I never stopped thinking about you or loving you and that's why even against that negative feeling I came back for you!”

“Yes, you came back... but almost seven years later...”

“But I came back. And now not only do I find out that you are still alive, but I also find out that I also became a father” Yuta said this without taking his eyes off her "Maki, we can make up for lost time!”

“That's impossible because, I repeat, you came back too late!" Maki reproached harshly, "There's nothing you can do now”

“If there is something I can do!" Yuta replied, waving his hands, "And that is to protect you and our children and our friends from a very dangerous killer on the loose”

Maki tried to control her expression when she heard those words.

“Killer?”

“Maki, the main reason I'm here in Kyoto is because I'm in charge of solving a case involving a new sorcerer killer”

“A sorcerer killer?" she asked feigning surprise. Although deep down she was dying of nerves at having been discovered.

“I don't know if you've heard the rumors, but there's a new sorcerer killer roaming this town. And now that I have found you, I must take this case more seriously to catch him. I don't want anything bad to happen to our friends, you or our children" he explained.

“That's just a stupid rumor!" she said, feigning disinterest.

“Of course it isn't!” Yuta waved his hands back and forth, looking desperate because she will take his words seriously, "I've seen the crime scenes and incidentally I've checked the bodies of the victims and I can say that this killer is a threat to all sorcerers in general!”

Maki gulped.
“So this is your mission? Find the killer?" she asked, a bundle of nerves.

“That's right! This is the main reason why I am in this city”

Maki continued to ask discreetly, "And what clues do you have about this new killer?" she was too curious to know if she and Mei Mei had left clues by mistake.

“At the moment I can't tell you what I found. But the only thing I can assure you is that I promise I will protect all of you" He try to take her hand.

Maki twisted her mouth a little at that answer and pulled her hands away from him. “Okkotsu, if you really want to keep us safe, the best thing you can do is to stay away from all of us" she stood up once more.

Yuta also stood up “I don't want that! I just found all of you again after seven years... please, don't ask me to walk away just like that and les” He look at Yuudai and Yurika “And less now that I just found out that I'm a father!”

Maki sighed.
 “Yuta, I'm not afraid of that killer. Besides, I can defend myself”

“Maki, this is not a game or a simple case! Who we are going up against is not a simple killer, but someone we should be afraid of!” Yuta explained.

Maki twisted her mouth.
 “I am most afraid of all those who still rule this cursed world of sorcery. And above all, my greatest fear is that the Zenin  clan will discover that I am still alive and come after my children” She look at him seriously “That scares me more than a stupid rumor that a sorcerer killer is on the loose!”

“Maki, this is not a game, this killer is really dangerous!" explained Yuta.

“I told you, I'm not afraid of that killer! And by the way I think the best thing you could do to protect Yurika and Yuudai is to prevent them from spending time with you. I don't want them to find out that you are their biological father!" said Maki angrily.

“Why don't you want Yurika and Yuudai to know about me?" Yuta asked with confusion.

“Because that would only bring more trouble to all of us. Believe me, for almost seven years, all of us have led a quiet life away from the problems at headquarters and the crap that is currently going on in the sorcerering society. And the last thing I want is for that tranquility to be disturbed by your arrival," She replied with her arms firmly on her hips, "And as I said the best thing you can do is simply stay away from us”

“I don't want that! There must be a way for us to be together without putting you at risk with the headquarters, but at the same time, protecting you from this killer and the Zenin clan! There must be a way to make up for lost time with you and our children!”

“Believe me Okkotsu, all of us are fine as we are now, living a quiet and ordinary life. Besides, as I said, you've come too late. There is no way for you to make up for the time with us anymore” Maki was still with her pride in the air.

“Maybe the past is gone, but we can still live the future which we can build together” Yuta took a step towards her “I know you won't forgive me for leaving but I am completely sure of one thing at this moment, and that is that I still love you completely and I really want to be close to the three of you”

“Okkotsu, don't start with these ridiculous things about love...”

“Maki answer me something, do you still love me? Or do you really hate me?" he asked with his hand on his breast. Feeling those rings against the fabric and her skin.

Maki was speechless at those words, did she still love him? She felt so many things at that moment that it was all very confusing.

Besides that there was a big problem at that moment. And that was that she was the killer Yuta was looking for.

She had to try to push him away if she truly wanted to fulfill her goal as the recognized killer she was becoming.

“Maybe I don't hate you so much anymore after hearing that you saved my children from that curse. But! I Love you? puag! I stopped loving you the day you abandoned me!”

“I understand...” Yuta sighed with disappointment  “I know that at this point I shouldn't expect neither forgiveness nor love from you and even more knowing that I could have done things differently. Even so, now that I have found them, I will not give up to defend them and, by the way, to be with you and my children”

“Okkotsu...”

“Once, when I was in another country I heard a phrase that said "It is never too late to start over when you love a person" he moved his hands and put them together as if he was making a prayer  “So please Maki, I beg you to let me get close to you... and more than that we still have a lot to clarify”

Maki lowered her shoulders “Okkotsu...”

“Please let me keep in touch with you while I solve this case”

“I don't know if this is a good idea..." she was interrupted.

“Mom!”

“Yuta Kun!”

Yurika and Yuudai quickly went with them. Those children had managed to escape from their uncles.

Those twins really wanted to get close to them. So they both hugged their mother.

“What's going on? Why did they come?" Maki asked her children.

“It's just that you two are taking too long to get to know each other!" Yurika replied, looking at her mother.

“We also want to spend time with Yuta kun!” Yuudai replied.

Both twins looked at the sorcerer.

“We wanted to bring you some Tokoyakis, but Uncle Toge ate them all!" replied Yurika in a grimace looking at the other adults who were at a considerable distance from them.

“If we are taking too long to talk, it's because I was talking seriously with your new friend” commented Maki, putting her hands on her hips.

“That's right, just his mother and I were talking about various topics" Yuta answered kindly.

“You can continue talking some other time!”

“Yes, now it's our turn to spend time with Yuta kun!”

“That's why we invited him to come here!”

“We want to spend more time with him!”

The twins responded by letting go of their mother and ran to Yuta. They hugged him tightly.

Those responses from her children and the sight of them hugging Yuta caused Maki to be shocked.

“Yuta kun we couldn't save you some Tokoyakis and Onigiris! But!” said Yurika.

“But we saved you some Bengal lights to share with you!" Yuudai said, taking Yuta's hand.

“Yes!, come on Yuta, we want to share those lights with you!" said Yurika, taking the adult's other hand.

“Thank you very much, you are very considerate" he replied kindly, taking the hands of the two.

That sorcerer smiled as he saw how those children were addressing him. But he could also feel Maki's gaze.

“Mom! Can Yuta kun come to our house for lunch one of these days?" asked Yurika with a big smile.

“What?" came from Maki's throat.

“You said he could even stay with us at our house for a day!" Yuudai replied, pointing at his mother.

“When did I say that?" Maki raised an eyebrow at such words.

“You said it clearly yesterday!" replied Yurika.

“Yes!, and you promised Mom!" Yuudai replied, "And you said promises shouldn't be broken!”

“TSK” Maki clicked her tongue at the things her children were saying.

Besides, they had inherited her stubbornness.

Yuta smiled at what his children were saying.

“Children, we don't know if Mr. Okkotsu is busy these days or if he should leave town" she answered with her hands on her hips as she looked at the sorcerer, "Isn't that right?”

At those words both children turned to look at Yuta with sad eyes.

“Yuta Kun, are you leaving already?”

“Are you leaving town so soon?”

both little ones asked.

Yuta sighed and bent down to talk to them.
 “Yes, I confess I was thinking of going out of town for a few days to see some things about my work. But for your, I can postpone that trip to Tokyo for another day" he stroked their hair.

“Yeih!" both children shouted in chorus and jumped up and down in happiness.

“Yuta will be able to come to our house!" Yurika answered with a big smile.

“Besides, this way you two can talk about more things!" Yuudai replied.

Yuta smiled to see the happiness of those two little ones, who took his hands again.

“Now come on Yuta!”

“Let's get more flares!”

“We also want to introduce you to Uncle Toge and Uncle Yuji!”

“I know you'll get along great with the two of them! We also want you to meet our Papa Gumi and Aunt Miki!”

The twins replied and began to pull him.

“Hehe and I would like to talk to all of them” said Yuta walking hand in hand with the little ones”

The heart of the mother of those twins wanted to become small before such a scene. Now she felt that if her children stopped seeing that adult, they would both be very sad. And maybe she would be too.

She acted impulsively.

“Yuta!" shouted Maki, making the three of them stop in their tracks.

The adult turned to look at her quickly “Yes?” His heart skipped a beat when she heard him call.

Maki sighed with resignation. At first it was so hard for her to speak that even her fists were clenched around her body.
 “Do you think you could come eat with us the day after tomorrow at our house?” She could tell she was fighting against her pride, as her cheeks were slightly red.

That question made Yuta smile a lot.
 “Sure, I'd love to!”

Maki approached these three.

“I guess he already knows where we live, doesn't he?” She ask, looking at her children.

Those little ones just smiled, hiding their mouths with their hands.

Yuta scratched the back of his neck and smiled nervously at the question, "Yes, yesterday Yurika and Yuudai showed me where they live. I can easily find your house by now”

Maki sighed.
 “I guessed as much”

Maki's instinct knew she had not been wrong yesterday when she felt Yuta close to home.

“It will be a pleasure to have lunch with you the day after tomorrow, Maki san" Yuta commented with a smile. He couldn't take her eyes off her and that made her nervous.

“And one more thing..." Maki replied, "Please don't tell anyone about what we were talking about..." she looked at Yuta for a momento.

The sorcerer quickly identified what Maki meant.

“I promise" he said with a soft smile. Meaning that he would not say anything to anyone about having found she and the others, let alone talk about the existence of his children.

Their gazes met once again. You could feel the feelings that, even though seven years had passed, were still palpable.

Maki tried to avoid looking into his eyes. But the language of those two spoke for itself.

Those two children saw their mother's behavior in front of Okkotsu. That made them both look at each other. They seemed to assume something that perhaps they would later discover.

But for the moment, Yurika and Yuudai set about lighting flares together with Yuta, who quickly made small talk with Toge and Itadori, while Maki watched them from afar.

Maki sighed and put a hand to her chest. Now she had to be more careful in her missions and even more so now that Yuta was going to be closer to her and for that she should not raise suspicions.

She wanted to fulfill her revenge. So she would try to carry it out more carefully and that would start from tomorrow, where she would claim the life of one more victim.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ 🍡 ━━━━ ◈

At the same time that Yuudai and Yurika were talking to Maki and Yuta.

There were other adults discussing other issues.

“Why did you let them go and not us?" Nobara asked Megumi, she looked very upset.  “Our mission was to try to keep the children away from Maki and Yuta! Megumi, you're acting very strange!”

Megumi sighed.
“Because the twins wanted to go with their real parents, besides those two are taking too long and Yurika and Yuudai were starting to suspect something," he answered looking at his friend, "Besides, if I let you go, it's more than obvious that you'll make a fuss to Okkotsu and that would draw too much attention”

Nobara let out the air with too much anger because Fushiguro was telling the truth.

“Megumi is right, besides Yurika and Yuudai are already very fond of Okkotsu kun, so I see it difficult for them not to stop wanting to be by his side" said Tsumiki who was next to those two "Those kids are very stubborn in that sense”

“Besides" Megumi looked at that family, "Yurika and Yuudai deserve to start being close to their real father”

“But you as their adoptive father should intervene!" Nobara commented, waving her hands, "They want you as their real father! You should act like one!”

“I know. But remember that I am not their real father and I don't want to take away Okkotsu senpai's right to at least be near with his children in this way" he was very serious when he said that.
“We still don't know if Maki has already revealed it to him, but I want him to be close to the twins" he looked to where the three of them were.

“Even if this was a lie for their sake, sooner or later they must find out who Okkotsu really is to them” Megumi sighed as he said that “We knew this could happen at any momento”

Tsumiki lowered her gaze when she heard her brother say that. She knew Megumi's feelings, who although he seemed a very cold man, had a kind heart and yes, he loved those two as if they were his own, but he also hated having to lie to them about who he really was.

Nobara could see a side had never seen in Megumi before.

“You...” put her hand on Fushiguro's shoulder "You're mentally preparing to tell them the truth, aren't you? This is getting to you too, isn't it," Nobara asked, unclenching her fist.

Megumi looked at the ground at such a question. His silence said it all.

“I understand..." Nobara understood what Megumi was trying to say without uttering a word, "I think that when the time comes to tell them the truth, everything will change with our family”

“Yes” Megumi put his hands into the sleeves of his Yukata, "For that we must prepare”

“You know? What worries me the most is how Yurika and Yuudai will take it when they find out that Okkotsu is their real father" answered Tsumiki all worried seeing the happiness of those three "Some children can't take this kind of revelations well and may end up hating one of their parents. If not, they end up hating both of them”

“And that's not the main problema” Megumi began to explain.

“Are there still more problems?" Nobara asked worriedly.

“Yes, there will be” Megumi knew too much about the subject, due to all the rumors and reports that some of his acquaintances sent him to keep him abreast of what was going on at headquarters, with the clans and with society.

“And even more so now that Okkotsu has returned, the sorcererry world may enter into a conflict of interest because neither the current leader of the Gojo clan nor the new leader of the Zenin clan have been able to sire a new heir due to their "supposed" infertility problems, This situation puts them in a serious predicament because both clans must already name or present their next heirs this year by orders of the other clans and the higher-ups" he looked at his sister and Nobara as he continued speaking, "And I have a feeling that Okkotsu has something to do with it as well”

“Naming their next heirs?" asked Nobara with confusion.

“Megumi, are you trying to say that maybe Satoru Kun could have brought Yuta to appoint him as his new heir?" Tsumiki questioned. She was quick to understand situations.

“That is my main suspicion” he affirmed.
“So Okkotsu in this situation can enter as the perfect candidate to be the new leader of the Gojo clan, although at first his chances were low as he is a distant relative of the sensei, now his chances are too high because he has a technique that stands out among many, as well as his amount of cursed energy is the highest of all sorcerers currently registered, which makes him the second best sorcerer in special grade only below Satoru Gojo" he explained looking at those two.

“So he could enter into the strong possibility of Gojo sensei naming him as his next heir now that he has returned from abroad and the sensei has apparently declared himself incapable of having children naturally" Megumi watched Yuta in the distance with his children, observing how they shared those sparklers and laughing too happily.

“But why would that be a problema?" Nobara questioned impatiently.

“If Okkotsu senpai assumes that position, it will be a big problem if as the new leader he recognizes those twins as his biological children and once the other clans discover that he had children outside of an arranged marriage and by the way discover that he fathered them with Maki, a Zenin, that will bring problems between both families since Yurika and Yuudai, are a combination between those two clans which do not get along at all and that can only be considered an even bigger problem" explained Megumi seriously.

“What are you trying to say?" Nobara asked, "I'm sorry, but I don't know much and I don't understand some things about the clans either”

Tsumiki imagined the worst.

Megumi sighed, "What I am trying to say is that if one of the two clans could consider the birth and hiding of Yurika and Yuudai as treason..." he explained.

“And what happens in those cases?" asked Nobara, seeing the seriousness on Megumi's face.

“Capital punishment is given to all involved, including the children resulting from that relationship" replied Megumi.

“THAT'S NOT FAIR, THEY'RE JUST CHILDREN!" Nobara shouted for a moment.

“I know, that's why we must keep Okkotsu on our side" answered Megumi, "he can also be our trump card in all this if he acts correctly”

“Both to save all of us and also to save Mai. Okkotsu would have an important role to intervene with those who currently lead the sorcery world, so we need him to cooperate with us no matter what it takes, right?" answered Tsumiki looking away from Maki, who was looking at her children with Yuta.

Nobara sighed as she understood what Yuta's return meant, not only for the lives of these children, but for society in general.

“Damn Okkotsu, your return is really bringing more trouble than help...”

Those three stood watching the others. Above all, Yuta playing with his children. Enjoying that happiness before the real trouble broke out.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ 🌙 ━━━━ ◈

11:30 p.m.

After spending that evening with those children and accompanying everyone to the house where Maki lived.

Yuta decided to return to his apartment in downtown Kyoto.

But this sorcerer was in for a surprise when he saw that Katsumoto was there, who was organizing the paperwork.

“Katsumoto?" asked Yuta with surprise, entering the small dining room.

“Good evening and welcome, sir" commented the attendant, standing up and bowing slightly.

“It's a surprise that you are still here, especially after everything I shouted at you this afternoon, I thought you would resign" commented Yuta, approaching the table where the assistant was arranging some documents.

Katsumoto again took a seat.
“I must admit, I did consider resigning, but if I did I would be failing in my duty and my oath as your assistant director"

“Also, I know that you will need all my skills for everything that comes with this sorcerers killer case. And let's just say this is my way of showing you that I can be trusted, by sticking by your side even though you scare me most of the tim," admitted the assistant looking at his boss. “You can still test me one more time and you will see that I can be trusted”

“I understand and tell me how did you get this job? And why do you keep helping me despite what I did to you and yelled at you in the afternoon?" asked Yuta scratching his head.

“Well” Katsumoto lowered his shoulders a little “Let's say that by fate, I was recommended by Mr. Ijichi to enter this job in the first place” he explained “although I must admit that I have neither the skills nor the techniques nor the character to be a sorcerer like you” he looked at Yuta “but even so I wanted to be useful, that's when Mr. Ijichi saw in me the necessary skills to help people, especially to help you sorcerers in this paperwork”

He look at Yuta with serenity.  “Besides he put all his trust in me to fulfill this mission and no offense, but” Katsumoto take a breath before blurting out the truth
“Basically I was the last option left as an assistant to work with you since none of the other assistant who were going to be assigned to your command wanted to work with you, due to the rumors about you”

“What were those rumors about me?" Yuta asked curiously, taking a seat in another chair at the table.

Katsumoto stuttered a little.
 “W-w-well, rumor had it that you were a sorcerer to be feared, not only because of your rank, but because of how cold and sadistic you could be”

“Did they really say that about me?” Yuta raised his eyebrows when he heard that. “Wow! I must have really scared the hell out of all your fellows”

“Indeed. You gave us all a bit of a scare, but in the end it fell to me to be your assistant, and during these almost fifteen days I have seen that you are not as bad as the rumors said" explained Katsumoto.

“Why do you say that?” Yuta asked curiously.

“Why you have mostly a good heart. You are strong, yes. You are feared, you are. But after watching you treat those children and seeing how you cared about finding Maki Zenin, I could see that you are not evil, you were simply a person who was looking for answers to something that was taken from you" said the assistant looking at him seriously.
“That's why I dared to help you find all the information I told you earlier, even if it was against the rules of the academy”

“And does anyone else know that you broke the rules for me?”

Katsumoto shook his head.
“Try to do it as discreetly as possible and try not to leave any traces of my search. Even Mr. Ijichi won't notice that I did it”

“You have risked a lot to help me" commented Yuta with a slight smile, "I owe you an apology for the way I treated you that afternoon at the cemetery and everything else”

Don't worry sir, I accept your apology and tell me, how did it go with the Fushiguro children?”

“That's the last name you wanted to tell me earlier, right?” he slightly tilted his head back as he brought his hands to his face.

“That's right, sir. Did something happen?” Katsumoto asked.

Yuta sighed, running his hands through his hair, then leaning his elbows on the table.
“Too many things happened tonight which are too complicated to explain! But, to sum it up, I found out that Yurika and Yuudai are my biological children and by the way, I just found out that their mother is indeed Maki Zenin. The "Maki" from the hospital turned out to be the real Maki from the mysterious case you had investigated on your own”

Katsumoto was shocked to hear that.
 “So those children are the ones mentioned in the hospital report? So that means they managed to survive?" he asked, raising his voice in surprise.

“Yes, those children are the ones in the hospital report and if they have managed to survive it is because Maki has been helped by my former classmates and friends from the academy in their care and upbringing as if they were a family. It has been that way for almost seven years”

“Did he manage to find his former companions as well?" asked Katsumoto, twice as surprised.

“Indeed, today at the festival I meet all of them. There was Fushiguro Megumi with his sister Fushiguro Tsumiki, as well as Inumaki Toge, Itadori Yuji, Kugisaki Nobara and especially Maki. They were all there together with the twins tonight. They are like a family from what I could see in their Dynamic” Yuta explained.

“Maki? You say Maki Zenin was there? But isn't she supposed to be dead?" asked Katsumoto in confusion.

Yuta shook his head.
 “I am one hundred percent sure that the woman I saw today was her. She was not a ghost. Maki Zenin is still alive, although she now bears the surname Fushiguro" he sighed. He was jealous to know that the jet-haired man was Maki's husband.

“You say her last name is now Fushiguro? Does that mean she is married to her cousin/nephew Megumi?" asked Katsumoto more confused than before.

Yuta clicked his tongue.
“Short answer: Yes" He sighed. “Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to talk to him or the others because all of us adults were pretending we were just "getting to know" each other in front of the kids. But in a nutshell, Megumi Fushiguro is my children's stepfather”, He sighed with some discouragement. “Maybe I can talk to him and the others the day after tomorrow, since they invited me to lunch at their house”

“I understand, but then who is supposed to be buried in the grave we went to see in the afternoon?" asked Katsumoto with intrigue.

“Unless whoever is buried in that grave is Mai Zenin" Yuta commented before putting his hand to his chin as he analyzed everything he had discovered.

“Are you saying that maybe the twin who died was Mai and not Maki?" questioned Katsumoto as he searched for that report he read in the afternoon at the cemetery.

“It could be, although I couldn't talk much with Maki about what happened seven years ago, the whole truth was half-truth on this occasion" Yuta looked at his assistant. “Only then would the rumor that "One of the twins is alive and the other is dead"

“And by the way, this confirms us the rumor that the twin who is alive is married to someone from the same clan, the reports said it was someone from her direct family, something like a cousin or a nephew” Katsumoto was surprised by what his boss had just said and the conclusion they had reached.

“And Megumi is Maki's cousin in the second degree, although he can also be considered her nephew...” he rubbed his temples “ although Fushiguro was born outside the Zenin clan, he is still her almost direct relative”  he sighed  “All of this is so strange”

“Too much, I would say" commented Katsumoto, surprised at what he found.

“Yes it is, but now there are three mysteries to solve" said Yuta, taking a sheet of paper from the desk and began to write down in order what he had to solve.

“Three mysteries?" questioned Katsumoto.

“Yes. The first one is to find out who this new sorcerer killer is and catch him before he kills more people" he listed writing on the sheet, "The second one is to find out what happened with Maki and Mai Zenin and my children seven years ago from the time I left" he made one more note, "Here it is as Maki says, most likely someone conspired to separate the two of us and that is where the third mystery comes in" he finished writing.
“And that is to find out who is behind our separation and why they did it. Here I suppose we must also find out what else is going on in this sorcery society and at headquarters”

At that instant Katsumoto remembered something urgent that he had to tell Yuta and more that had to do with someone who was also part of the headquarters.

“Sir, I just remembered that you got a very important message!” he said, picking up his tablet.

“A message? Is it from the Gojo clan?" Yuta asked quickly. He thought it might be from Satoru.

“No, it's actually a message from the Zenin clan..." Katsumoto swallowed.

Yuta opened his eyes wide when he heard this, while his assistant began to read what the document said.

“What did they send to say?" asked Yuta.

“It says here that the current 27th leader of that clan, Mr. Naoya Zenin, wants to see you urgently tomorrow at noon. He wants to discuss with you the matter of the sorcerers who were killed and who belong to that clan...He finished reading this.

“This can't get any worse..." Yuta put a hand to his forehead.

“Do you want me to cancel?" Katsumoto commented warily.

“On the contrary, confirm my attendance as a matter of urgency. Tomorrow I will appear in front of Naoya Zenin. Maybe he can give me some information about what I'm looking for"

 

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Notes:

I hope you liked it ❤

Again I apologize if this chapter was updated a week late, I just came back from vacations for the day of the dead in my country and it took me a few hours to translate this for you, since as I said, English is not my main language, but Spanish. So I hope you enjoyed it

Maybe later Maki and Yuta will talk about more things, but for the moment, I wanted them to talk about their versions of that day when they were separated. Also later on there will be several flashbacks about seven years ago, both about the relationship between Yuta and Maki, as well as about the time of Yurika and Yuudai's birth and everything else that was going on with the other characters. That also includes Megumi and the twins, as well as what happened with teacher Utahime and Gojo.

 

But for the moment, how are you liking this fic?

Wow, I can't believe it's almost at 300 votes and already over 5k reads, seriously thank you so much for the support ❤.

And tell me, what theories do you have about who was the one who talked to Maki, was it a Man or a Woman 👀 I will be reading you. You can also leave me your theories on what you think might happen later in the story or your theories on what happened seven and three years ago.

I already gave you a clue about Yuudai, but I can assure you that he has one more, as well as Yurika who also has a technique, since very soon both will show them in this fic, so as I said I'll be reading your theories. Do you think they inherited any of the Zenin clan or any of the Gojo clan? Or any suggestions? ❤

Also, tell me what do you think will happen when Naoya talks to Yuta? I can only tell you that someone else is going to talk to Yuta inside that residence.

We keep reading ❤

Chapter 11: 11. Hard drink and letters

Notes:

I hope you like the next chapter, as it is just as long as the previous two.

I also want to thank everyone who cared about my health. I had a very heavy weekend since I was sick and that's why I couldn't upload this chapter before, but I'm doing much better ❤

So take care of the cold my dear readers, otherwise you will end up in the emergency room like me for respiratory problems.

A slight apology for the delay and in case the translation has any errors, I am transcribing this at 3 a.m. while the medication takes effect.

Without further ado, enjoy the chapter, because here Yuta will have several surprises with the Zenin clan.

This is my little gift before we get spoilers.

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"Children and drunks always tell the truth."

 

July 15.

11:50 a.m.

The water from the shower was falling against Maki's body.

She was wiping off the sweat and the small drops of blood that might have remained on her body even though she had already discarded the clothes she had worn that day to killing off her victim.

That was her relaxation routine after a "Mission".

She knew that she was already doomed and that she might not have salvation. But that didn't matter, her revenge was being carried out and by the way, she was settling her debt, which was supposed to protect her children until they were old enough to decide if they wanted to be sorcerers or not depending on whether they manifested any technique.

She had accepted the job of accepting to end the lives of others three years ago when she had made that cruel deal where her sister had to return to the Zenin clan. Maki knew that Mai's sacrifice was not being in vain and more than the lives of both of them and Megumi and all her other friends, had taken a drastic turn to protect those little ones.

Going from being a future promise for sorcery, to now being an assassin was not an easy decision at all. But it was the only viable way for a "ghost" like her to survive.

While soaping her body, she could not stop thinking about her assignments, missions and her normal work that she had from time to time. Which were divided into three:

The first was her "normal" job, which consisted of giving some classes and workouts to certain clients who were looking to have a stronger body. This was her façade for everyday life and incidentally to go unnoticed at her children's school.

Because of her restriction and her very shapely body, ordinary people thought she was one of those mothers who worked out at a gym. Which she did from time to time just to keep a low profile and to keep in shape.

But her other two trades were focused on what she did best.

The simplest missions she performed were those where she had to remove curses. Such missions were done in secret from the headquarters or were taken from some temples that did not directly serve the school of sorcery.

And her more elaborate assignments were based on "investigate and eliminate".

Some of her victims were sent to murder by third parties, who were mostly clients who in one way or another had known Mei Mei for many years and knew that working with them meant getting a juicy paycheck, since in the world of sorcery there was also a lot of competition and interests involved.

But lately the ones she was most focused on killing were the ones she had been investigating for years and who were responsible for ruining her life with the love of her life seven years ago.

It was amazing how the political interests behind her separation with Yuta were very tense even today.

As she continued to carve her body, Maki remembered how those men took their last breaths, with their throats open while blood gushed from their necks and mouths. She remembered how they all tried to scream but choked with their own pain and blood, at first it was not an easy scene to assimilate, but she had gotten used to it.

One way or another, it comforted her to see how the eyes of all those who had snatched away her happiness with the love of her life, opened in surprise to see her end her miserable existence.

Watching them struggle to stay alive, writhing on the floor, trying to get help, while she stabbed them in some other part of their body or beat them hard until their bones were broken, reminded her of how some of them gave her the same blows.

It was somewhat pleasurable to watch them try to beg for mercy before she gave them the final stab in the chest, it was an image that at first haunted her but she gradually got used to it until she overcame the nightmares.

But there were still some dreams that she could not easily forget.

Maki kept feeling the water trickling down her body, her hands ran over her skin, those caresses under the hot water made her remember the man she had met again the night before after seven years.

The one she had once loved and to whom she had given herself body and soul. The one with whom she had begotten her twins.

Yuuta Okkotsu.

To look at him once again in front of her, to have him grab her wrist, to see him in the eyes, to know that he had returned had stirred her heart a little and the feelings she thought she had buried seven years ago along with that secret she was hiding with Mai.

Maki gently rubbed her wrist. His return only made her feel confused. But she had to be firm and more that he worked for the "enemy" or rather, with those who ruined their lives and took away their happiness.

In that instant she remembered that now that job was not going to be easy for her with him in Kyoto. Now maybe Yuta would go after her, not only to be close to Yurika and Yuudai, but also to catch her as an assassin.

Maki put her face under the water of the shower, while she finished rinsing her hair and remembered what Yuta had told her the night before about "the sorcerer-killer".

She had to get the information he had so far to know if he should change her mode of operation or to find out if she and Mei Mei were doing something wrong. So for that, with that morning's victim, she had done something a little different than killing her and in the process, she had left a very strong message.

She sighed and turned off the water faucets. She would try to get all the information he had about the case out of Yuta, although deep down, she was afraid of having to pull him out of her heart, which longed to see him one more time.

“I must get him away from us...” she said softly to herself as she gently squeezed her hair “Although the children won't like that at all” she sighed again.

A knock on the bathroom door caught her attention.

“Maki san” Megumi's voice penetrated that door “I'm going out to buy some things and from there I'll pick up Yurika and Yuudai at the elementary school. Tsumiki told me to please remind you about the ingredients you want us to buy for tomorrow for the dinner with Okkotsu senpai”

The green haired girl sighed as she began to dry her body with a towel and then put on her bathrobe.

“Thank you Megumi. I think it would be ideal for the children to choose what they want to eat for tomorrow. I guess Okkotsu will like what they choose” she said without opening the door  “By the way, where are the rest of them? I haven't seen them since I came back” she started to dry her hair with a towel.

“Kugisaki, Inumaki and Itadori went out to see the floats and Tsumiki went to visit a friend who is visiting the city. So for the time being you will stay home alone" commented Megumi from the other side of the door.

“OK”

On the one hand, Megumi felt that she was hiding something from them, perhaps having seen Yuta the night before surely made her confused “Maki san, are you okay? Since last night you seem distant and today morning you left very early without telling us anything, did something happen?" he asked even from the other side of the door.

“I am, I'm just a little tired from yesterday” Maki grunted without opening the door “I just needed a few hours of sleep and don't worry, I just went out to see some clients, you know, they want me to be their personal trainer and that kind of thing, so I went to give them a private lesson” she lied.

“I thought you had gone on a mission" Megumi explained, leaning against the side of the door with his arms crossed.

“No, at the moment I haven't had any such missions to remove curses. Although I feel like I'm going to get rusty if I don't do one of those pretty soon!" she said starting to brush her hair.

In this way, Maki also kept a low facade with Megumi and the others, who only knew that she worked as a trainer and from time to time, did exorcism missions, but with people very, very close to them.

Fushiguro only sighed at that answer “Okay. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know. Try to rest as much as you can now that the house will be empty" he said before walking away from the bathroom door.

“Once again... Thank you so much Megumi…” Maki whispered. Truly without him by her side, supporting her with Yurika and Yuudai from the moment they were born perhaps she would have long since gone crazy or they simply wouldn't have managed to survive and lead a "normal" life.

Maki took her hand to the mirror, which was fogged up. Once she wiped off the steam, she looked at her tired face.

“I don't know for how long I can keep all this from them..." She whispered as she looked at the face of what he had become in the last few years.

She knew that perhaps her friends and Megumi would not fully understand why she was doing that. Perhaps they would judge her, but even so, she wanted to take revenge by her own hand since her grudge was what was driving her in all of this.

She also didn't know how long she would be able to keep herself in line and pretend in front of Yuta, especially since her ordeal with him had just begun and now that he had found all of them.

Sigh, her mind couldn't stop thinking about him.

“I wonder what that idiot Yuta is doing right now..." she said quietly to himself as she began to clean the mask she wore for her missions and to cover up her identity.

Maki and Mei had worked out a camouflage and depending on the type of victim was the type of mask she wore.

For Victims commissioned by third parties, she wore a kitsune mask that completely covered her face.

But when they were "her" victims, she wore a red half-face mask, which only exposed her honey-colored eyes, that mask, which Maki had chosen, represented the demon "Hannya".

That assassin identified with that demon of a woman who had been "betrayed" by her beloved and who was full of hatred and fury. Just like her.

As she removed the bloodstains, Maki couldn't help but have a strange feeling about the biological father of her children.

She just couldn't stop thinking about him. And that could ruin her plans.

 

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At the same time, but on another side of the city.

11:55 a.m.

Yuta had arrived at the Zenin residence.

He once again adjusted the traditional costume he was wearing for the occasion.

The main shirts he was wearing, were in light gray tones next to the Yukata that was chosen in a black color. On his shoulders he wore a tunic in a darker gray tone, where on each shoulder he wore the symbol of the still sorcererry academy in white color. This was to identify himself as a member of that school. And his footwear consisted of black shoes.

Originally, Yuta was to be dressed in an elegant black suit, but on the recommendation of Mr. Ijichi, he had to change his attire at the last minute, especially if he didn't want to get into trouble with either the headquarters or any of the clans.

That's how strict they had become in that new society.

That traditional costume had been obtained by Katsumoto early in the morning. This was also with the help of Ijichi, who had heard from headquarters that Naoya Zenin had called Yuuta Okkotsu to the clan's residence and therefore decided to intervene a little so that the sorcerer who had returned from abroad would not make any mistakes.

Even so, that news would not take long to reach Satoru's ears.

Although Yuta was not used to wearing suits of that style, that morning by protocol he had to do it and more than depending on the leader he was going to visit, he had to go according to the occasion. And apparently the leader of the Zenin Clan was very strict in that sense and wanted everything to be according to his traditions.

Katsumoto and Yuta were still inside that car, they were parked outside the main gate. Two guards from the Kukuru unit were already waiting for them.

“Are you sure you want to do this, my lord?" asked Katsumoto, swallowing saliva from the fear of that residence, which he had not yet set foot in and already wanted to run away from there because of the energy and bad vibes that he felt coming from this imposing place.

“I am" Yuta looked at his assistant in the rearview mirror, "You don't need to come with me if you don't feel comfortable”

Katsumoto shook his head slightly.
 “It is my duty to accompany you as a token of my loyalty to you. Besides, I am handling the details of this investigation as requested by Leader Naoya”

Yuta once again combed his hair. He looked a little nervous, although when he was traveling abroad, he also talked and met some important leaders and people of high ranks. But this time it was different, it was a matter of work and a somewhat personal matter.

“Okay, it's time. I will only ask you two favors Katsumoto. The first is that you just let me speak only to me. And the second is that I don't want you to say anything about the others, neither my children nor Maki's. Saying that, please!” Yuta looked at him too seriously. He looked too threatening through that mirror "Keep an eye on everything that happens around us and try not to wander away. We'll go unarmed so they'll see that we're just going to talk”

“I understand, my lord!" he replied, feeling that his life depended on it all.

Katsumoto got out of the car first and went to open the door for Yuta, who got out of the back seats, showing himself as a leader. And as he had said, he was unarmed since this was supposed to be a "peaceful" meeting.

Still if he needed any weapons or was forced to fight, Rika would be with him.

Those two guards trembled with fear when they felt the presence of this man. He had a cold and murderous look.

But they still spoke in a firm voice and tried to remain calm.

“Good morning, Mr. Okkotsu" spoke one of the guards. His legs were shaking.

“Good morning, I have come as requested by your leader" Okkotsu commented calmly. He even showed his hands to show that he was not armed.

Katsumoto did the same, showed the contents of his pockets and in passing demonstrated that he was only carrying his tablet.

The guards looked at each other when they noticed that the guest and his assistant were not carrying any weapon.

“Enter. A maid is already waiting for you to escort you to Mr. Naoya” commented the other guard as they opened the heavy traditional wooden door of that residence.

“Thank you very much" commented the sorcerer kindly as he set foot in that residence, the one that was Maki's hellish home for so many years.

Katsumoto just gulped and prayed to heaven that they would get out of there alive.

12:04 p.m.

Once inside, Yuta could see how majestic the first part of the residence was. It had a beautiful and traditional stone path, which had beautiful traditional lamps around it and you could see the gardens and spaces that surrounded it.

At the end of that path was the main hall, which was elegant and very classic. It looked as if the place was centuries old.

The twins' mother, who was Naoya's personal assistant and informant, was waiting for them in that traditional foyer.

Next to her stood a tall, stocky man with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. His pale skin contrasted with a black line running down his nose. A strange aura emanated from him, making one doubt whether he was really a human. The man remained silent.

 “Welcome Mr. Okkotsu" commented the older woman, who greeted him with a bow.

“Thank you very much for the invitation" replied Yuta with the same courtesy as he and Katsumoto bowed in greeting.

Quickly that other black haired servant also bowed. He seemed to be very attentive to his guests.

“Come with us, we will guide you to where our leader will be waiting for you, so come this way and do not separate from us at any time" said the woman guiding Okkotsu through those corridors to enter that place.

“Once again, thank you" thanked her guest again, trying to keep a straight face.

 

12:06 p.m.

That woman was three steps behind Yuta and Katsumoto, while the male servant was the one who guided them through that huge residence. Since that woman had a deep-rooted belief that she could not walk in front of any man, even if he was a guest.

Those four passed through several corridors, and so both guests were admiring that traditional place, which had a very heavy vibe.

The presence of that special category sorcerer was so overwhelming for some, that some of the clan's servants made an extreme bow as he passed by. Lowering their heads until their foreheads touched the ground.

Yuta also felt the heavy, judging gaze of those he identified as sorcerers and whom he assumed were the leading members of Maki's family.

Some of them, especially the younger and older men, just glared at him as he walked down the hallway, as was the case with Ougi, father of the Zenin twins, who did not take his dark, piercing eyes off him until they turned a corner.

And there were even other sorcerers who simply ignored him as he passed by, as was the case with Jinichi, who was wasting time in one of the gardens next to other guards while eating watermelon and spitting out the seeds.

Yuta tried to be calm, yet all those looks on him made him uncomfortable.

“Now I understand what Maki meant by this place" he thought as he saw how in some parts of that residence he could see the marked hierarchical difference between its members.

Yuta noticed how some rooms and halls were too small. He
also noticed that the clan had too many servants, among them children and women of various ages. As well as observing how there were too many men, most of them of advanced age that did not give them a good vibe.

Even with the naked eye he could see the dynamics of that clan. He assumed that those who were in certain areas that looked luxury off, were sorcerers with some special degree or rank, since where they were, they were luxurious places, super tidy and clean.

And those smaller and somewhat cluttered spaces were for the servants.

The same with children and adolescents.

Those who seemed to be the servants were dressed in white t-shirts and hakamas of various colors. While those boys and girls who wore beautiful kimonos and super elegant hakamas, must be those who "inherited" some technique or had a special talent, since they were next to the adult sorcerers or next to some servant who fulfilled their whims.

“Definitely my children are better off outside and away from the clutches of this clan..." He thought as he clenched his fists when he saw those scenes where the servant children were brought in haste and he even witnessed how a woman hit and pulled the hair of a girl for a simple carelessness with a tray.

Unfortunately, he could not intervene in that dynamic, which had accompanied that clan for centuries.

After a few more minutes in that residence. The four stopped in a hallway that led to a large and luxurious tea room, which was surrounded by beautiful gardens where only the most prominent members of the clan could enter.

The doors of that room were wide open at that moment, revealing that the meeting had not yet begun.

Another servant, who was preparing the room, came out and addressed the woman in a very low voice. It seemed that he was telling her some secret. Then he bowed and withdrew from there.

The twins' mother turned to Okkotsu.
“I have just been told that, for the moment, Mr. Naoya is finishing some important business in another part of this residence. But he will be free soon, but for the time being, you can wait for him in this room”

“With your permission my lords, we too will return in a moment with our lord" commented the dark-haired servant in a slight bow.

“Ok, I'll wait for him here, thank you very much" commented Yuta kindly, but without losing the seriousness of his face. He was too intimidating at that moment.

At that moment and before leaving down that hallway. The twins' mother stared at Yuta. It seemed that she was analyzing him.

And that made the special grade sorcerer very curious. He felt that this woman had physical features very similar to those of another person. But her eyes looked dull, as if she were dead in life.

“Sorry for asking Mr. Okkotsu, But you were my daughter's partner, right?” asked the woman coldly.

“Excuse me?” Yuta was confused by that question.

“I'm talking about Zenin Maki. You were his classmate in high school, right?" the woman asked. Her voice sounded serious, but in her eyes she could see a feeling of deep sadness.

Yuta nodded his head as he replied, "Yes”

That woman once again looked at him from head to toe and then let out a sigh, which seemed to be a mixture of disappointment and sadness “Pity…” she whispered.

The sorcerer looked at the woman seriously, trying to understand what she was saying.

Maki's mother continued speaking.
“You know?, the last time I talked to my eldest daughter was seven years ago at a train station...” her face looked a little bit off  “The last thing I remember talking to her was a little bit about you...” she looked at his face “But now I see that, my words might have been wrong that time... with your permission” she only answered that before walking down that corridor together with the other servant.

Yuta could no longer ask her any more questions, as that woman quickly left the place together with the other servant.

“What did she mean?” He whispered as he came to the conclusion that she must be Maki and Mai's mother.

He sighed as he turned his attention to the place.

“So this is where Maki san was born and raised" Yuta said quietly as they admired the place.

“It's a rather gloomy place!" Katsumoto commented quietly.

“It's like she once said at the academy" he scratched his head, "It's a place with a very heavy vibe...”

Truly, he was grateful that his children did not live there. He was also thankful that Maki was out of that horrendous place.

But, what would happen next, would shock the sorcerer it happened so fast that he was simply caught off guard and did not know at what point it happened.

For surprisingly a person grabbed him by the shoulder and with a very quick movement, imperceptible to the common eye, it was as if Yuta had been frozen in a kind of crystal and then quickly moved from place to place without him having moved a single muscle.

Now the guest sorcerer was inside the Tea room. He had been dragged there without him moving an inch. And it was all thanks to a cursed technique.

“Oh my, we have a guest!" said a very cheerful voice that gave away that he was an elderly man.

That person smelled too much of alcohol.

“Mr. Naobito?" asked Yuta confused when he saw the old man taking him by the arm. The guest sorcerer took a few seconds to understand that the man had used his technique to pull him away from his assistant and drag him into the tea room.

“Come on, boy! You and I must have a little talk. Hic!" said the old man, pulling Yuta by the sleeve of his cloak until he reached the center of the room, where there were some zaisus and in the center of these chairs without legs there was a tea table, ready for the meeting.

“Sir!" shouted Katsumoto about to enter the room where his master was pulled by the old man.

“Don't you dare take another step, man in a suit!" warned Naobito turning to see that assistant, to whom he pointed his finger while his hand was still holding a large wooden bottle full of alcohol, "Not even my servants are allowed to enter this room without my authorization, so stay there for a while, I must speak specifically with him alone!" Naobito belched.

It was amazing to see this man, who simply still alive.

Katsumoto looked at Yuta, who nodded to him.

“I'll be fine Katsumoto, please wait for me out there" Okkotsu replied, trying to remain calm.

“Yes, sir" the assistant only obeyed and watched the two from a distance.

“HEY! man in a suit! Go and get me more alcohol! We must celebrate this! Hahahaha” Naobito let out an outrageous laugh.

“It's been years since anyone from another clan or the sorcery headquarters set foot in this house! Not since that idiot Satoru came to negotiate the cancellation of Megumi Fushiguro's purchase over ten years ago!” Naobito let go of Yuta and started to sit on the floor on those zaisus with still good agility despite his advanced age, while he took a very chaotic sip from his bottle, some threads of alcohol went down the corner of his lips “Take a seat, boy!” it sounded like an order “Do you want some?” he offered.

“No thanks, I don't drink before a meeting" Yuta tried to sound polite as he sat in that chair across from Naobito.

“You don't know what you're missing, boy!" said the old man, taking another sip from his traditional gourd-shaped bottle, which was filled with alcohol, "And tell me, what has brought Gojo Satoru's successor to my house?” he asked curiously.

“Successor?" asked Yuta with confusion at the way Naobito addressed him.

“That idiot Satoru still hasn't named you as his heir? Ha! I guess it won't be long before he does, that rumor is spreading like wildfire everywhere!" commented the ex leader waving his arms.

“What rumor are you talking about?” Okkotsu asked.

“The one that says that Satoru Gojo has declared himself incapable of having children and that's why he has brought you back to be his successor!" his gaze focused on Yuta, "You really didn't know? What lie did that guy drag you back to this country with?” said Naobito with curiosity

That left Yuta confused, but later he would understand the reason for those words.

“So, are you going to answer my question about why you came here?" Naobito asked, looking at him.

His elderly face was somewhat tinged with red and his eyes looked tired. Despite being with a lot of alcohol in his system, he still looked sane. Or maybe he could be faking it. That was to take it easy and choose the right words so as not to commit an imprudence.

“Your son, Naoya Zenin, asked me to come here to discuss an important matter" said Yuta, looking at the ex leader.

Naobito stroked his characteristic whiskers.
 “So my son called you? Huh?” came another burp from the old man's mouth, "Hic! I guess it must be about that sorcerer-killer, right?”

“That's right, sir" said Yuta.

“Ha! That murderer is like a curse that follows this family!” Naobito waved his hand with disinterest while pouting  “That subject has been haunting this clan for over thirty years, I guess someone else has taken the place that belonged to ‘that guy’” - he took a sip from his bottle  “But that's something I don't care about. hic! Hahahaha”

“May I ask, sir, what do you mean by that? Why do you say this assassin thing has been haunting your clan?" Yuta dared to question.

“Because this issue is a stain on our family and more so when we must pay for our mistakes and sins. But I don't want to talk about that right now! that's for the informs to tell you" Naobito raised his voice in a tone that seemed somewhere between amused and annoyed, "And tell me boy, future leader of the Gojo clan! What has become of you over the years, do you have a wife or children at least" he took another sip of his drink.

Yuta was somewhat puzzled and thoughtful about what the former leader had said, perhaps he could investigate it on his own once he got out of there.

“Well, I have been traveling around the world during these seven years and no, I am not married and much less have children” he answered looking at the old man. He hoped that his body would not play against him and that this lie would not be discovered.

Naobito examined Yuta's face “So you always did leave the country, huh?” he drank some more. There was too much curiosity in those words.

“That's right, sir”

“I guess” he pouted slightly again  “That Satoru and the others got away with it these seven years Hahahahahaha How clever of them to take the pieces off the board Shõji!”

“Sir. What do you mean?" Yuta asked in confusion.

-“Nah, nothing important! They are just things that an old man says without importance and now that I'm just a pensioner I'm talking nonsense” Naobito answered with a chuckle while his hands rested on his knees.

That left Yuta even more confused. He had to solve that puzzle. Even so, it seemed that Naobito knew things and he should take advantage of that opportunity.

“And tell me, sir, how have you been these years? When did you retire from the leadership of this clan?” Yuta asked, trying to sound gentle.

Naobito took another sip “Don't you see me?, I'm as good as new at almost 82 years old! Maybe alcohol helps a lot to tolerate children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren! Seriously alcohol and just like soap operas, anime and certain streaming programs help not to listen to all those people” he moved his bottle from one side to the other, making the liquid come out and wet the tatami.

“And when did I retire? Well boy haha you should rather ask ‘When was it that I was forced to retire?’” he moved his hands once again from one side to the other “My ungrateful youngest son, insisted me that it was time to retire and that was three years ago, my plan was to leave this position until I died but!” he moved that bottle with joy  “This was more strong  than me hahaha that bastard knew how to buy me!” referring to the large amounts of alcohol he received daily.

“I understand...”

“But if you ask me" Naobito looked around and then looked at Yuta from the front. He leaned forward a little and made as if whispering a secret “actually my main candidate to be the leader of this house was always Fushiguro Megumi, but he apparently gave up that power” he let out a chuckle.

“Megumi was going to be leader of this clan?" Yuta's eyes snapped open and he exclaimed in surprise but in a low voice.

“Just as you hear it!" Naobito raised his voice, "hic! He had a good relationship with the Gojo clan and the Kamo clan, something that I couldn't do, but that boy did!” that ex leader made some gestures of disgust. “Overnight that boy gave that up!”

That old man seemed to be trying to remember, because even his brow furrowed more.  
“What the hell did Naoya do to make Fushiguro give up?, I have no idea!” he waved his arms violently

“So I had no choice but to pass the leadership to Naoya haha but I'm not an idiot, I gave it to him if he ONLY fulfilled one simple condition” - he raised his index finger high –“which he hasn't been able to fulfill so far”  he put his thumb down as a sign of disagreement and then adjusted his whiskers once again “Although a part of me, supposes that this must be a Karma that this ingrate will be paying for. And the truth is, I would like that idiot not to have offspring, I don't want any more grandchildren haha it's hard to put up with them”

“I see, I guess you must have a lot of grandchildren, don't you?”

“Lots of them! My other three children have already given me grandchildren many years ago and the first first born of my two eldest children have also just had children, so in theory I am already a great-grandfather. I estimate that I must already have eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren hahaha I have enough descendants for a long time!” he rested his elbow on his knee. He seemed proud of the family he left behind.

“Congratulations, I guess having a big family is a ‘blessing’ for a respectable clan like yours" replied Yuta, trying to flatter him just to be polite.

This he had learned in his travels with Miguel. Above all, with leaders who had many children it was a "compliment" to say about their vast offspring.

“Although speaking of children..." Naobito went from a very cheerful countenance to a somewhat serious one. Maybe even a little sad.

It even looked like all the alcohol had gone down in one fell swoop that he even looked like a sober person.

“There are two children in particular whom I would like to meet before I die”

“Two children?" Yuta raised an eyebrow slightly.

“That's right. These would be the children of a niece who left the clan years ago. They would be something like my nephews in second degree, or better said, like my great-nephews” Naobito commented with a look a little lost by the alcohol –“They are in theory fraternal twins since they were a boy and a girl, or so I Heard”- he pouted slightly.
“If those twins are alive, they must be about seven or eight years old nowadays, or maybe three? bah! I don't remember their ages!!" he scratched his cheek while twisting his mouth.

“Twins?” The sorcerer swallowed hard. A quick thought of his children came to his mind.

“Yes. As I said, they were twins" Naobito stroked his whiskers, "This family has had records of multiple pregnancies in the past. So we have twin pregnancies in some generations haha but this time it was very close because the mother of those children also had a twin sister”

“May I ask what became of those children? And of your niece?”

“No idea!" he shrugged, "my niece was a pain in the ass, she was a spoiled, rebellious and very unbearable girl. She was considered a disgrace in this house. And the arrival of those twins could be considered the same, although I understand that a special mixture would run through the blood of those two children. You know what I mean, don't you? Haven't you met two children like that with a mixture between clans?”

Yuta tried to look serious. “No sir, as I said I just arrived a week ago. And I don't know what you mean...”

“Right! How are you going to know them if you don't even know who I'm talking about haha! The two of them would be a mix between clans, something unheard of for my lineage!" he burst out laughing.

Yuta did know who he was referring to, but under the circumstances it was better to lie.

Naobito's laughter faded
“But now that I remember. I remember the last time I saw my niece was about seven years ago, or was it eight? Or three? I don't remember the date, but I remember I did see her one last time!”

“Do you remember the place where you last saw her?” Yuta sounded a bit insistent with that question. He had a strange feeling.

“The place?” Naobito burp.

“Yes, do you remember where you went?”

Naobito burped again  “NO. Sometimes I don't even remember what I did yesterday. HAHAHA!”

“I understand”

Yuta thought at first that maybe that leader must be lying or that maybe the alcohol made him stir and confuse memories, but he still wanted to know more.

“Sorry to ask, sir, but what happened to her seven years ago?” he asked curiously , Surely Naobito knew what else happened seven years ago.

“Hum?”

“I'm talking about the mother of the children you mentioned. Your niece...”

“Ah! Well, last I heard, he apparently got married or so I heard, once a worthless person leaves the clan they lose touch with that person” he took one more swig from his boat.

But Naobito still kept his melancholy face. He seemed to remember something else.

“But now I'm remembering... I remember that I did talk about something important with my niece on that occasion, yes...” he stroked his whiskers –“I think that was a few months after I found out she was pregnant” he brought his hand to his chin-“Yes it was about six or seven years ago to be more exact, this because I remember that at that time there were still problems to decide who would take control of the sorcererry world and I had to make my wise judgment to see if I would accept the insufferable Satoru at the top” he pouted.

“I don't remember the date exactly, but I know I talked to her around spring! if it was like May because I remember it was before someone close to her had an accident a little later that same month! A teacher or something had an accident on a mission and it shocked everyone at headquarters” he took a very long swig from her bottle.

Yuta thought that this was a sign of senile dementia or maybe it was the effect of so much alcohol in his body. Maybe in those vague memories he could discover something else.

“What else do you remember, my lord?" Yuta asked calmly.

Naobito closed his eyes, the alcohol seemed to be making him drowsy.
 “I remember joined my niece in a very crowded place. I think it was a shopping mall, NO!” He clapped his fingers together, he seemed to be trying hard to figure out where it was, "Maybe it was outside the train station, in those stairs between the mall! If that's where it was!” he rambled for a moment, he really seemed lost with that.

He took a drink and waved his hand.  
“Bah! I just remember that there was a big clock and by the way, it looked like someone had used a cursed technique because the atmosphere was charged with that feeling that domains and stuff have” he raised his face to look at the ceiling and then drink more.

“And do you remember what was the last thing you said to your niece?” Yuta began to suspect that something else had happened on the day they were separated.

“I remember saying something like "Were you really thinking of doing that leaving the country?! Ha! It's not like you to go after a man, let alone walk three steps behind one. Wouldn't that be breaking your silly ideals of being a leader? Has he already made you give up that mania? Or are you just behaving like a bitch in heat who wants to get fucked? If so, you couldn't look more pathetic and what the hell are you going to do about it now with this?"  Naobito let out a laugh

“And I think he got angry because I remember he yelled at me and made some signs before walking away...” he put his hand to his chin – “although I think she was accompanied by someone else that time, yes, she was with another girl, but I don't remember the face of that other woman. But I remember they were carrying a lot of shopping bags in their hands!” he shrugged his shoulders.

Yuta clenched his fists on his knees under that table. He was trying to calm down, but everything was making him more and more confused and upset. Someone must have definitely talked to Maki that day at the train station. But who?

“Wait a minute. She said she wanted to leave the country?” Okkotsu asked in a firm voice. He was very curious.

Naobito burped "I don't really remember, but she seemed very determined to go after someone" he scratched his forehead, "The last thing I remember is that months after I talked to her, I found out that she was pregnant with two children. Which as I said, I would like to meet them if they survived and know more about them before I die” he finished drinking from his bottle. –“Although if in the end they also died, that means it's a shame because they both could have had a lot of potential”

“Excuse my question, sir, But do you know if your niece is still alive?" asked Yuta.

“No. I understand she died seven years ago in an alley. Neither my sister-in-law nor my brother mourned the loss of their daughter. So I was the one who ordered her to buy a grave in some cemetery here in Kyoto so that she would have a place to be buried" Naobito shook his bottle to see if more alcohol would come out of it.  “Maybe I sent him to do that because I felt guilty”

Yuta understood at that moment that Naobito thought and believed that Maki was dead.

The guest acted as if he was desperate.

“Could you tell me her name, please?” Yuta had to keep pretending as if he didn't know anything

“But you knew her perfectly, boy! I'm talking about Maki! That girl was a..." Naobito was interrupted.

“I see you're both having fun" commented an annoying voice.

The current leader of that clan had finally arrived, interrupting those two. Behind Naoya entered the mother of the Zenin twins, as well as the servant who had previously guided them to that room and another servant entered.

Katsumoto was finally able to enter as well, who came in behind his hosts.

 

"Yes! A little bit!" Naobito waved his empty bottle back and forth, "I just wanted to check if the rumors about having a guest were true and I wanted to invite him to drink with me," he burped, "Bring some more sake to celebrate this”

“Forgive my old father. He likes to wander around the residence drunk" apologized Naoya as he motioned to his servants to help his father get up from there.

“You don't have to apologize, your father is a very funny man" Yuta said in a calm voice.

“The party's over so quickly, guys?" asked Naobito with a grimace, "Yeah, Okkotsu and I were having fun, hahaha!" he started to stand up with the help of those two men.

“Anyway" said Naobito once he was standing and felt his bones throbbing and aching from age, "it's time to go watch my favorite show, it was nice talking to you Okkotsu" he looked at the guest.

Yuta stood up and bowed to say goodbye to the old man, " It was a pleasure to talk to a wise man and a former leader like you, my lord" he said out of politeness.

Naobito patted him on the shoulder “I like this guy haha” sigh  “I just hope you are a good leader” he said walking away from there while one of the servants accompanied him  “I want you to bring me more alcohol and food to my room”

Naoya sighed in annoyance as he watched his father leave the room and then looked at his guest.

“I hope my father didn't say anything rash. He is a senile man who sometimes talks nonsense, especially now that he is an elderly retired leader. He keeps saying a lot of nonsense”

“You don't need to worry. Mr. Naobito was just telling me about his favorite show and some things I didn't quite understand because of the alcohol, but it was nice talking to him” lied Yuta looking at his host.

“Whatever" Naoya replied, taking a seat, "let's get down to business, I have more things to do. As the leader of this clan I can't afford to overlook certain things that only hurt my image”

Yuta again took a seat across from Naoya and Katsumoto sat behind his boss.

Instead, the mother of the Zenin twins prepared Naoya some tea and lit some incense to cover the smell of alcohol that Naobito had left behind. While the other servant was only attentive to that conversation while keeping silent.

“You know why I called you, don't you Okkotsu?" asked Naoya seriously as he took a sip of his tea.

The Maki’s mother poured a cup for Yuta.

“Thank you" he took it out of politeness, but did not drink it and without looking away from Naoya, he answered the question, "I know. I know you called me because of the case I'm investigating about a new sorcerer killer”

“Good. Then I want you to give me a detailed explanation of why this assassin has killed some of my servants" Naoya replied with annoyance, "What have you found out about all this? I want you to give me a detailed explain”

Yuta began to explain.
“In the first instance and from what we have found out at the crime scenes and incidentally, from what we have investigated from the victims, we have the main factor that this killer does not have cursed energy, so he uses cursed tools and some other weapons to finish off his victims, whom I have classified into two groups”

“Have you identified what kind of tools or weapons this criminal uses?” Naoya asked curiously. Maybe some of those weapons could be the ones that went missing from his warehouse.

“We still haven't been able to identify the weapons" Yuta said.

Naoya put a hand to his chin, he seemed to be thinking about something and his guest noticed that.

“Is something wrong?”

The leader looked at his guest, "I would like you to find out something for me”

“And what do you want me to find out about?" Yuta asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I would like you to find out what weapons or tools that murderer is using, as some of our cursed weapons and tools have disappeared from the clan's warehouse”

“Disappeared?" asked Yuta very confused.

“Rather, I am believing that ‘someone’ has stolen them. As you know Okkotsu, my honorable clan is the one that possesses the largest amount of weapons and tools both with and without cursed energy and recently in our inventory we noticed the disappearance of certain specific weapons" explained Naoya.

“Are you assuming that this killer stole your guns and tools?”

“That alone would explain why they mysteriously disappeared and the fact that it is very difficult to enter the warehouse without my authorization. So I would like you to investigate that for me, to find out if that assassin stole them or if it was someone else" he took a sip of his tea, "And maybe that will earn you a favor from the Zenin clan”

“Then would you be so kind, sir, as to give me a list of the type of weapons and tools that are missing. Maybe that will help us get an idea of what kind of weapons this killer is using”

“I'll send them to you another time. But for the moment, explain something to me" Naoya took a pose of arrogance, "You said there are two groups of victims, right? You mean this killer has two kinds of victims?”

Yuta continued explaining “That's right, we have classified them into two groups. The first, are those who have a different pattern of markings all over their body at the time of death and that group we have classified as "commissioned victims."

“What the hell does that mean?”

The guest motioned to his assistant to pass him the tablet so that he could show the leader the evidence.

“It means that these victims were ordered by a third party to be executed. In this month, four of the ten victims that this murderer carries do not match with the wounds made towards the other group and incidentally, we suppose that the operanti mode with the second group is different. The main post mortem characteristic of these four victims is that they did not have cuts on their necks and, by the way, two of them were not even sorcerers. They were ordinary people, more specifically civilians” Yuta showed the images of these victims.

Naoya looked at the evidence.
 “And then what category do the victims of my clan fall into?" he asked, annoyed.

“The second victims we have classified as "Targets" since as rumor has spread and confirmed, this assassin has killed several sorcerers who worked for both headquarters and you. Although we are still finding out if some of the victims had a relationship with each other and the killer”

Naoya looked at the images of his murdered servants. You could see the courage on his face and hands as he looked at all those people he recognized.
“And do you know if this killer is a man or a woman?”

That question struck Yuta as odd, but it was something they had not considered.
 “We still don't know the sex of whoever is acting in this case. But it stands out that it must be a person with enormous strength and great physical
prowess to kill in this way. Although we also assume that this killer may be working in conjunction with someone else”

“Regardless of whether it is a man or a woman or how many are behind, they will receive the same punishment" commented Naoya in annoyance as he returned the tablet.

Yuta kept silent at that statement. The atmosphere was tense and even more so after having shown those images.

“And are you already clear on why this guy is killing my people?” Naoya asked with an annoyed tone.

Yuta sighed a little.
 “An apology for what I'm about to say, but I'm also not very clear on what this killer is looking for”

“How is it possible that Satoru Gojo's successor would say that? Are you not taking this test and this case seriously enough?" Naoya questioned with annoyance leaping out of his mouth.

“Forgive my ignorance, but why have both you and your father named me as Gojo sensei's successor since I arrived at his residence?" Yuta questioned in confusion.

First Naoya made a gesture of annoyance “Didn't you know? Apparently Satoru is one step away from naming you like as his heir. In other words, you will be the next leader of the Gojo clan it seems" he took a sip of his tea and then sneered, "And from your pathetic look of surprise I can deduce that Satoru hasn't told you anything”

Yuta was shocked by those words.
 “What? Me as the next leader of the Gojo clan?" he blurted out with surprise that even his mouth could not be completely closed.

“Didn't you know that's why you were brought back to Japan?” Naoya questioned with a mocking smile.

“Satoru had asked me to come back because he wanted me to help him solve this case. In theory this was a mission! He had told me that he had no one else to entrust this to, but he never talked to me about inheriting the position!" said the guest.

Naoya let out a laugh.
“Are you sure he didn't have anyone else? Or rather, don't you think Satoru is testing you to see if you are worthy of being his successor? And what better than solving a case like this where you can tell the world that your heir is better than the others, don't you think?”

Yuta felt too many feelings at that instant. But mostly annoyance with Satoru. And that was reflected in his face, which was amusing to Naoya.

“I wonder what other things Satoru isn't hiding from you" he said sarcastically as he placed his elbow on the table and his hand on his cheek, "As he is surely hiding from you the fact that Maki san is dead”

Silence flooded the room. Lies were in the air. The tension was all too palpable.

“What did you say?" came out of Yuta's mouth. He had to keep pretending.

“Didn't you know that? I can tell that asshole is lying to you" Naoya smiled wickedly, "What you heard Okkotsu, my stupid cousin died seven years ago”

Yuta thought that also Naoya apparently believed that Maki was "dead" so he had to investigate further. So he had to pretend that he barely heard that news.

“What do you mean, she's dead?” Yuta stifled a scream.

Naoya smiled.
“That's right, my cousin died seven years ago. I guess she deserved it for being a whore. She died in an alley, just like prostitutes die, that's what she was, a prostitute" he replied viciously, not caring that Maki's mother was there.

Those words made the blood of the one who loved Maki with all his being boil. Yuta's hands tightened on the clothes on his knees. He wanted to hit that despicable guy.

“Beautiful on the outside but a failure in every sense of the word. Oh right, you were more than just her companion, weren't you? I guess you enjoyed her before she died like the whore she was" commented Naoya seeing if his guest was losing his temper.

Yuta tried to control himself. But the cursed energy he was giving off was too heavy. So Naoya assumed that Yuta knew nothing about Maki and perhaps he could be a pawn that he could later manipulate as he pleased. Big mistake on his part.

“I remember seven years ago, before her death, I talked to her, I remember that she looked like she was going to leave the city and at that moment I simply told her some of her truths" commented Naoya playing with his wooden cup.

“So I suppose you know about some of the things that happened at the time I left, don't you? Could you tell me what you talked to her about?" asked Yuta angrily.

“I only know what is necessary. Although ideally you should ask Satoru. He knows in detail everything that happened after your departure" Naoya answered with a big smile, "But if you want me to tell you everything I know and everything I talked to her seven years ago, you must first bring me the head of this murderer”

“Are you saying that Satoru always knew about Maki's death?" asked the guest with fury on his tongue.

“Why don't you confirm it yourself?" Naoya blurted out that venom-laden question as he stood up and looked down arrogantly at Yuta from above.

Yuta clenched his jaw. That leader was making him desperate.

At that moment, both a message came to Katsumoto's tablet, which he proceeded to open as it was of an urgent nature, likewise a servant rushed into that room and went directly to talk to Naoya in his ear. He even handed her some sheets of paper.

The Zenin leader's face tightened, he looked disgusted by what he saw. His face turned red with fury.

Another servant had been killed. This time it was a woman.

“Sir, you need to see this" whispered Katsumoto showing that message to Yuta.

The special grade sorcerer took that device and looked at the image of the victim.

This victim had the same patterns as the previous victims on her body, a neck wound and a large stab wound to the chest, but this time her eyes had been gouged out and her wrists had been detached from her hands.

But what was most striking was a note that had been left on her bare chest.

"Everyone must pay for their sins, Karma always comes and two of the three great clans are the next to fall. You awakened the demon years ago, which was born out of resentment and anger caused by your ambition and envy, it is time for you to pay the consequences."

 

“What did he mean by this?" asked Katsumoto fearfully.

Yuta observed Naoya's behavior. He knew that he had understood that message.

Naoya furiously crumpled that leaf and then threw it to the ground.

“Okkotsu, I really want you to catch this insolent killer and bring me his head no matter what it costs you and once you do it, I will answer all your questions and tell you the whole truth of what happened during your absence and by the way, I could intervene for you at some point" he said with annoyance.

“I will try to do what I can and what is in my power to solve this" Yuta commented, looking at him seriously as he stood up next to Katsumoto.

“Well, you may leave. I have more things to do” Naoya ran his hand through his hair. He really looked furious.

Once standing, Yuta together with Katsumoto made a slight bow.

“Still, thank you for the invitation to your residence" Yuta commented politely.

“Later on I will call you again, for the next time I want results” answered the leader very annoyed “You! accompany our guests to the exit” he commented to the servant who had accompanied them since they arrived. On the other hand, the mother of the Zenin twins stayed by Naoya's side.

“As you command, my lord" commented the man, bowing first to his leader and then turning to Okkotsu, "This way, my lords”

Yuta took one last look at those two. He couldn't believe how hellish that clan was. Still, he felt that the case was becoming clearer and that the past was slowly taking shape thanks to the clues that both Naobito and Naoya had said in their conversations.

The Zenin clan had something to do with that murderer. And incidentally, they also had something to do with his separation from Maki.

“Follow me this way and don't separate from me" said the servant as he guided them through those corridors where there would be no end of surprises.

That servant led Katsumoto and Yuta to another part of the residence. The sorcerer began to notice that the servant was not returning them through the corridors where they had come to that tea room and they realized that they were taking longer to reach the exit.

That was making Katsumoto, who had also noticed the change in his path, very nervous.

“Sorry but" the assistant began to speak nervously, "I think you are leading my lord and me down the wrong path...”

The servant stopped after the three passed down another hallway. Next to it was what appeared to be a small warehouse room with its sliding door.

That man turned to look at them and began to speak in a low voice “I am only guiding you to where another very important person wants to speak quickly with Mr. Okkotsu”he gave a slight knock on that wooden door. It seemed to be a signal.

“Who wants to see me?" Yuta asked with confusion.

At that moment, that sliding door burst open and a slender hand pulled Yuta by his shirt, and with the help of the servant who pushed the sorcerer with his hand, made him enter the small warehouse.

“Sir!" when Katsumoto was about to shout, at that moment, the servant covered his mouth with his hand.

“Don't shout! Please trust us! We are on your side!” He whisper “Only my lady must talk to Okkotsu for two minutes..”

Katsumoto raised his eyebrows at those words as that servant continued him to cover Katsumoto’s mouth.

And just as the assistant said, inside that warehouse was a woman, one who would be a very important piece to this whole case.

It took Yuta a few seconds to understand what had happened and where he was. The surprises for this sorcerer did not end inside that residence.

“You've changed a bit physically, but you still have that pathetic face, Okkotsu" said a female voice that sounded quite familiar to the sorcerer, "Still, there's no time!”

Yuta observed that the woman standing in front of him in that warehouse and wearing a black kimono, typical of a high society woman, was Mai, Maki's twin.

“MAI!” Yuta was interrupted as the woman would close his mouth with her hand.

He was surprised to learn that both twins were still alive.

“There's no time for meetings! We can't talk loudly either! We must hurry!  So just answer me with a yes or no by shaking your head OK?" She said reluctantly.

Yuta nodded his head yes. He took a closer look at the woman. The poor woman looked tired. She had dark circles under her eyes and Yuta noticed that her hands seemed to be stained with something black, maybe it was ink.

“Okay, have you heard from Maki yet?" asked Mai, looking at the sorcerer, who nodded his head yes

"Have you looked for her yet?”

Okkotsu again made a yes with his head.

“And you know she's still alive, right?” Mai asked, removing her hand from the sorcerer's mouth.

“I found out yesterday actually... together with Yurika and Yuudai..." Yuta whispered.

“Well! So…” Mai started to look for something in her clothes, more specifically she took something out of the fabrics of her kimono that covered her chest.

“What are you doing?” Yuta asked nervously as he watched Mai pull out some folded sheets of paper from her chest.

“You pervert! It's not what you think!" grunted Mai. The poor was not in the mood as she felt very bad and was still recovering from her loss of cursed energy and blood for the abortion she had days ago.

Those cards were handed to Okkotsu rudely.
 “I suppose you can skip the beginning of these letters. Even so here I explain to you in very brief accounts, a part of what happened seven and three years ago after you left. Keep them very well and don't read them until you have left here! did you understand??”

Yuta quickly put those letters in his clothes, hiding them very well “All right..”

“Okay, now get out! Later you'll help me get out of here, while I'll help you by telling you some of the truth. Now get out of here before you get caught" Mai opened the door of that closet and pushed it open quickly.

Outside Katsumoto and the servant watched as Yuta was pushed out of there.

Once Mai delivered those letters, even with pains very similar to colic, she left through the other door of that warehouse, running as fast as she could to get back to her room before someone discovered she was not there.

“This way my lords, we are close to the exit” the servant commented with a slight smile “By the way, my name is Choso, you can call me that way without any formality”

Katsumoto and Yuta looked at each other in confusion, but the sorcerer nodded to his assistant to follow the servant.

It took them no more than five minutes to reach the exit. They were escorted to the large wooden door.

But before he reached the exit, that servant bowed.

“Gentlemen, this is as far as I can take you. It was a pleasure to have you visit us”

“The pleasure was ours and thank you very much for your hospitality” commented Yuta with a bow.

“Have a good trip and please... take care of yourselves" whispered the servant, "Give my regards to a certain blonde woman who is very lazy”

“Sure" replied the sorcerer with a smile. He quickly knew who the man was referring to.

Both guests left that residence. They stayed there for a little over an hour.

 

 

01:37 p.m.

So they silently entered the car and Katsumoto began to drive to the crime scene to which they had been called.

A shiver ran through the assistant's body as he watched in the rearview mirror as he moved away from the area.

“I don't want to set foot in that residence again... it's too horrible a place," exclaimed Katsumoto with a sigh, "Besides, that Choso... he emanates a somewhat peculiar aura, it's as if he were not completely human...”

“No wonder they are an obnoxious clan" commented Yuta, taking out the sheets of paper that Mai handed him.

At that moment when he noticed that Katsumoto was concentrating on driving to the city without looking back, Yuta began to read those letters silently.

"Okkotsu, I don't know if by this time where you are reading this, you have already hit upon Maki, even if you haven't found her, at this point you must know the truth."

She is alive and she gave birth to your children, beautiful twins, a boy and a girl named Yuudai and Yurika ....

But there is something else you should know and that is that, in the tomb where the ashes of "Maki" are supposed to be, the body of a woman was cremated and more specifically a Zenin...

You should know that she was the first victim of all this....

It all happened seven years ago... on the day you abandoned Maki... I went looking for her, a twin sister instinct told me that Maki was in trouble..."

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

Notes:

I hope you liked it ❤❤❤

What did you think of the chapter? Do you think it was one of the three of them who talked to Maki at that train station? Or was it someone else?

What did you think of the visit to the clan? I can only say that this clan also had to do with the separation of those two and also had to do with Megumi resigning as leader.

About Maki's parents, NO they don't know anything about their grandchildren and YES, they believe their "mistake" (daughter) is dead.

About Naobito, he "found out" that Maki might have been pregnant the last time he saw her, but at the beginning he believed that it was just a rumor and months later, he was led to believe that she is dead, so he wonders if the pregnancy was carried to term or not before she "died" in the alley, maybe he is already suffering from guilt due to his age and alcoholism. And how did he know that they were twins? Well, it was through one of her informants, but this one was already eliminated by Maki. Yes, that informant is one of the victims of this sorcerer killer.

Besides, that old man kept that secret for seven years.

And about Naoya, in previous chapters, more specifically in chapter 09 " Reunions under the fireworks ", I told you the situation with Naoya. In case you don't remember, you can go back and read it.

So here, some lies will serve to continue protecting those little ones, but remember that "the devil is in the details" so there is more to come with this story.

I will also talk later about the mask Maki chose for her revenge.

As you may have noticed, the first flashback of seven years ago is coming but told by someone who lived it first hand, Mai. I can only say that there are some interesting things coming up that I hope you like. I will still be reading your theories.

I also want to thank you for your reads, votes and comments, Wow, I can't believe this fic already surpassed 300 votes and over 6 thousand reads❤ Thank you so much for the support.

I hope to be able to update before I leave my country, because as some of you may know, I will be leaving my country for a while at the end of December and I will be back until the end of January. So I hope to be able to write something before I leave or in your case, until I return to my country.

Without further ado, thank you very much for everything, we'll keep reading ❤

Chapter 12: 12. Secrets

Notes:

Merry Christmas 🎄

Well, here Vera comes to bring you one more chapter of this fic as a Christmas present from me and also to let you know that this will be the last chapter I will publish this year, since as some of you know, I will be leaving my country this Wednesday for family vacations and I will be back until the end of January.

Seriously, I want to thank you for all your support and for giving this fic and all the others I have written a chance, your votes and comments are very valuable to me ❤.

So without further ado, I leave you with the next chapter which I hope you will like as it will be narrated by Mai (The italicized parts are her words) because this is the continuation of the letter that Okkotsu started to read in the previous chapter. It would be like her POV.

There will also be some flashbacks so that you can understand a bit of the context of the story.
Any error in the translation, I will correct it next year.

✨Vera loves you ❤

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear, this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket
Takin' this one to the grave
If I show you, then I know you
Won't tell what I said
'Cause two can keep a secret
If one of them is dead 🎶🎵

 

 

 

Okkotsu, can you keep a secret? Because I'll need you to keep several for me.

Well, everything I will tell you below is what I consider the most important thing you should know about what happened after your departure. Maybe some parts will be read in a hurry, because if I were to tell you everything that happened in these seven years, I would never finish. So in the following pages I will only tell you what happened after your departure and the months that followed where Maki was pregnant and about the event that caused your children to be born prematurely.

If you have any doubts about what you will read below, it will be your mission to find the answers.

Also, it will be up to you whether you believe me or not. But I experienced all this firsthand because I was there. I am a faithful witness of what your departure provoked.

And the first thing I must confess is that I hate you for abandoning my sister. I had never felt such anguish and empathy for Maki, but that day of your departure and, by the way, receiving the news that Maki was pregnant, moved me feelings that I didn't think I had and, by the way, it was what ended up uniting us in the least thought way.

Okkotsu, Have you ever heard that twins have an intuition or a sixth sense that warns them that their twin is in trouble or that something bad is happening to them?

Well, for us as twins, there was always a connection like that. That's when I knew something was wrong with Maki....

 

Seven years ago.

 

 

 Flashback

Mai wrinkled her nose as she finished drinking that bottle of water. She had been feeling strange for a while. It was a feeling that told her she had to go out to a certain area urgently.

For a moment, she felt her cell phone vibrate.

“Who is it this time?" she said to himself quietly as she looked at her cell phone. But to her surprise, there was no message in her inbox.

Still, Mai noticed the time, it was already past noon.

“I'm sure that idiot Maki has already gone back to Tokyo with that imbécil of Okkotsu”

She told herself trying to concentrate on filling out her reports, but really, she couldn't get that weird feeling and foreboding out of her chest.

She even began to have a strange thought with Maki. It was as if her older sister was calling her from afar.

Mai felt that something was wrong with her twin and maybe she should go and find out what was going on. Although she also associated that feeling to the stress of the missions she had had in those days.

A part of Mai also felt annoyed as she had learned that her older sister had been in Kyoto on her honeymoon  with Okkotsu and Maki had not taken the initiative to “stop by to say hello” or at least let her know that she was in Kyoto that weekend.

“Idiot…” She whispered as she looked once again at her cell phone. She opened her sister's chat and noticed her last connection.

Truly, Mai couldn't stop thinking about her older sister. Worry was consuming her.

“Something's not right... Maybe I should go for a walk. Yeah, maybe I just need to clear my head. I'll go buy some things”

The younger twin decided to heed that instinct.

She grabbed her purse and told Momo that she was going out to buy some things in case someone was looking for her at the institution.

01:17 p.m.

Mai went straight to the shopping mall near Kyoto's main train station. It had been a long time since she had gone shopping in that area. She especially liked the sweets they sold there.

Mai first began to look at the shelves of the stores of various brands that had in that place. She looked at bags and accessories that could match her look, as well as some souvenirs as she knew that that train station connected to Haneda International Airport station, so that station made it a very busy one.

You could see both tourists and residents coming and going with their suitcases.

Mai was walking around those stores for about half an hour, until she decided to go in and shop at one she knew quite well.

After buying some chocolates that both she and Momo liked. Mai decided to go out to the main street that connected to the train station.

At that moment, again a bad feeling started to feel very latent in her chest, she had even detected a strange presence of cursed energy coming from inside that station.

Something told her she had to go in that direction.

And so she did, the Zenin began to walk to where her hunch told her to go.

It wasn't more than five minutes that the younger twin was walking towards that station, when one person in particular began to catch her attention in that sea of people.

The closer she got to her, the more she felt she knew her.

The wheels of a suitcase began to sound louder and louder as Mai kept walking straight towards that person she managed to recognize in the distance. It was her sister.

Mai stopped suddenly in front of her twin.
“Maki?" she named her with surprise, noticing that Maki was pulling her suitcase. She even looked confused.

Maki stopped suddenly when she noticed that someone had blocked her way, she was so distracted that she had not realized who she had run into until that voice called her name.

The older twin slowly began to raise her head and saw her younger sister in front of her.

“Maki, what are you doing here?" asked Mai with confusion and even more so when he saw her in this state of bewilderment.

But the following would surprise her too much.

At that moment, Maki dropped her suitcase and went straight to hug Mai.

“Maki, what's wrong?" asked Mai, very confused when she saw her older sister's behavior, as Maki clung to her and began to cry bitterly.

“He abandoned me...”

“What did you say?" Mai asked with too much surprise as she felt her sister trying to stifle her tears.

“I SAID YUTA ABANDONED ME! HE JUST LEFT THE COUNTRY WITHOUT ME! HE LEFT ME!” Maki screamed with a broken heart. She was breaking to such a degree that her knees buckled and she was falling on them until she touched the floor without letting go of her sister.

“I'm going to kill that bastard..." whispered Mai as she hugged Maki and tried to lift her up.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

 

That was the first time I saw Maki so vulnerable. In my life, had never seen her break down emotionally.

I had never seen her cry like that. Not even when we were beaten in the clan did I see her cry or complain like that afternoon where for the first time, I saw her shed tears and the worst part was that she was shedding them for a man.

But that day I saw that my sister had a heart. A heart that you destroyed.

Really Okkotsu, I wanted to find you, I wanted to kill you for breaking my sister's heart.

After a minutes. Maki was finally able to talk to me. We had both left that station and walked away from there. So I decided to ask her what had happened.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♧ ━━━━ ◈

 

Flashback

At that moment, they were both sitting on a bench. Mai, to help calm her sister down a bit, bought her some water and some snacks that she knew she liked.

Maki really looked devastated, with a puffy eyes. It was the first time she was heartbroken so that feeling was one of the worst she could be experiencing for the first time.

Mai sighed regretfully.
 “Maki, what happened?" she finally dared to question, "Did you and he argue?”

Maki shook her head as she lifted her glasses and wiped away her tears.

“We didn't argue or anything like that. I was just waiting for him on the platform because I asked him to go buy me a bottle of water before getting on the train” she blinked several times to clear the tears from her eyes and kept wiping her cheeks with her hands.

“And there I was waiting for him for more than an hour, some things are confusing at the moment. I just remember that some idiot crashed into me and I talked to someone else on that platform" Maki rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking confused, "But in the blink of an eye, I remember seeing him leaving on top of the train. Yuta was sitting at the window and he was leaving without me on that train to Haneda airport," she said very upset, "He left me... he just abandoned me here without giving me any explanation”

“You know?, I never liked that idiot and now with this, I have even more reason to hate him even more!" Mai sighed.

From what Maki had told her, Mai felt that something did not add up, she doubted that her sister was drugged or under the effects of any substance. Mai found that behavior a bit confusing.

“And why didn't that imbecil call you on your cell phone to tell you that he was already on the train? Why didn't you call him?" said Mai.

“Because my cell phone was just stolen... I had no way of communicating with him. Actually, at this moment I have no way of communicating with anyone else!" said Maki rubbing her temples. Her head was hurting a lot.

Mai raised her voice in annoyance "What do you mean, they stole your cell phone? When did that happen?”

“It all happened so fast that even I'm surprised," Maki still looked confused. – “As I said, a few minutes ago a guy crashed into me and apparently that's there when he stole my cell phone. To be honest, everything that happened at the station was so... strange... even at this moment I don't have the head to understand what happened in there. The only thing I know, is that Yuta left me.... He just abandoned me...”

That still seemed too strange to the younger twin. She thought that perhaps her older sister might have been under the effects of a curse or some cursed technique and more that she being a woman with a very minimal amount of cursed energy, she knew that Maki was not immune to something like that, in case she had been attacked by a curse or by someone. That alone would explain her state of confusion and delirium.

“I guess we're going to have to go file a report about this robbery" Mai sighed.

“By the way, Mai, what were you doing here? How did you find me?" asked Maki looking at her sister.

Mai shrugged her shoulders.

“I just had a strange feeling that made me come here. And I guess it was a good idea because if not, I can't imagine what madness you would have done in this deplorable state you're in. Besides! You were not good to tell me that you were here in Kyoto, I found out that you were in the city thanks to Utahime sensei who was the one who told me that you two were here”  commented the youngest of the twins crossing her arms.

“I'm sorry. This weekend was simply chaos... what was supposed to be a nice weekend with a couple... ended in the worst way... or rather, in the least expected way” Maki commented in a sigh before taking a sip of her drink.

“Yes, I guess your relationship with that idiot Okkotsu had to end sooner or later. Anyway, life goes on, I guess that even if it hurts you will have to go back to Tokyo by yourself” commented Mai while she opened a package of a sweet bean cake.

“The truth is, I don't even feel like going back to that city...”

Mai took out that dessert and took a bite. The smell of that sweet made Maki have a disgusted expression on her face.

“Seriously, that sucks... I'm going to vomit..." her face tightened into a grimace of utter disgust.

“What the hell are you talking about?, this doesn't even have a strong smell!" Mai raised an eyebrow at her twin's expression, "What's more, eat some of this, it'll do you Good!”

“Get that thing away from my face!” Maki endured the nauses“I really want to vomit...” she brought her hand to her mouth with too much discomfort.

Mai watched Maki carefully, she thought that at first her refusal to eat was due to depression because of the separation. But she could tell that her older sister had something else going on, she seemed to be hiding something as she took a messy swig from her water bottle.

“Maki, seriously, what's wrong with you? You don't look well at all. Did that idiot Okkotsu do something to you? What else happened? What's wrong with you? You look really pale and even tired, What are you hiding from me?”

Maki's voice began to crack as she sensed that Mai had detected that something was wrong with her.

“Mai is that I...”

“Maki, what's wrong with you?” She demanded to know while she kept looking at her sister's eyes.

“Mai... I'm Pregnant...”

The younger twin was completely petrified to hear those words.

“Pregnant?”

Maki sighed as she carved her eyes “I found out a few days ago that I am pregnant...”

“So Okkotsu abandoned you for this?" asked Mai very annoyed while pointing at her sister's belly, "That son of a bitch abandoned you because he found out you were pregnant?”

Maki shook her head.
 “I didn't even have the brave to tell him... so Yuta abandoned me without knowing that I'm expecting a child from him...”

Mai sighed and threw back her head.

“Maki, what the hell have you done?! What the hell are you going to do with that baby now?!" Mai questioned angrily, "A child is a big responsibility!”

“I don't know what I'm going to do right now! I feel so confused that I don't know what I'm going to do! I don't have the head to make a decision right now!" Maki shouted in annoyance.

Mai was too upset at that moment because of her sister's recklessness and it showed in her voice and in her hands, which she was shaking furiously “You know you're going to get into trouble when the clan finds out about this pregnancy! Our father is going to kill you when you find out you're carrying that idiot's child!”

Maki sighed.
 “I know. That's why Mai I ask you to keep this secret from me for the time being!" she took her sister's hand. “Please, do it as a promise between twins, don't tell anyone that I am pregnant while I decide what I will do with this baby... please... I know you hate me, but if you were in my place, I know that maybe you would do the same as me... maybe you would ask for my help as I am asking you for it right now...”

Mai sighed when she saw her older sister's expression. She really looked desperate for no one else to know that she was carrying Okkotsu's child in her womb.

The younger twin let go of her sister's hands and rubbed her temples in annoyance. She hated having to keep secrets that could get her into trouble. But if she didn't, what could happen? She didn't want to be a traitor either.

“I'll keep it a secret while you decide what to do with that bastard. I suppose I'll have to support you in whatever you decide and I guess I'll have to take the secret to my grave because if you decide to abort it anyway I won't be able to say anything”

Maki hugged her while trying to control her crying.

“Thank you...Mai” She whispered with a broken voice.

Mai sighed and put her arms around her sister to try to comfort her.

“I'll never forgive that idiot Okkotsu for leaving you like this anyway. And I'm not so happy with you right now either”

“As I said... I had neither the time nor the brave to tell him... and now he has abandoned me...”

“You are an idiot, Maki.”

“I know. I am...”

Mai sighed as her older sister slowly let go of her. She couldn't leave her in that place.

“Come, let's go to the academy" said Mai standing up.

“To the academy? With you?" asked Maki with confusion.

“I can't leave you here alone, and I don't think it would be wise for you to return to Tokyo after such a humiliation!" She took her by the hand, helping her to stand up, "and in your state, I don't know what madness you could commit!”

Maki wiped her tears at what her sister said “Seriously, thank you very much Mai…”  she let out a heavy sigh while holding her hand like when they were little girls.

But on this occasion, Mai was the one guiding her.

“Let's go!" replied Mai with annoyance as they walked away.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♧ ━━━━ ◈

 

I really couldn't leave Maki in that state. So I took her to the academy.

I didn't tell Momo the situation, I simply lied to her and told her that Maki was passing through and would be sleeping over that night with me.

Seeing her so discouraged made me feel strange. She was not her usual Maki and that hurt me.

We sisters were supposed to be there to support each other, right? We were supposed to have each other to keep secrets from each other and even to kill on behalf of our sister if needed, Right? Well I guess from that day on I was willing to do anything for Maki.

Still, Maki had an important decision to make with that pregnancy.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈ 

Flashback

Night had already fallen in Kyoto.

The academy in that ancient city used to be very quiet at night. So it was very rare that among the students would bother each other or try to meddle in each other's business.

So no one would bother those two.

Mai returned to her room along with a bag of food that Momo had bought for the sisters.

This was at Mai's request since her twin did not want to get out of bed and did not want to eat anything. And taking her to the dining room in that state was not an option.

“I asked Momo to bring us some hamburgers" said Mai sitting on the edge of her bed, which was mostly occupied by her twin.

Maki was lying down with the blankets covering her up to the top. The poor thing had been crying in that room ever since she arrived.

Mai had helped her put on her pajamas, because she really looked too discouraged and even a little out of it to do anything on her own.

It was the first time that Maki's heart had been broken, so getting used to that pain was going to be difficult, especially when she was carrying the fruit of that love.

The older twin slightly slid the blanket over her head to look at Mai.

“You must eat something, otherwise you'll get sick and I don't want to be the one who has to take care of you" Mai said, moving the bag in her hand.

“But I'm not hungry..." explained Maki, sitting up slowly and leaning her back against the wooden wall.

Mai pulled out those burgers.

“I don't care if you're not hungry!” She handed her the food roughly, "Besides, you and that baby should eat!" her voice sounded a mixture of annoyance and concern.

Maki sighed and took that hamburger and began to take a bite while shedding some tears.

“Thank you..." Maki said with some discouragement as she ate.

Mai sighed and sat down next to her, resting her shoulder next to her twin.

“Can I ask you something?”

Maki sighed, "Go ahead...” she took another bite of her hamburger.

“When did you realize you were pregnant?" asked Mai curiously.

Maki pursed her lips for a moment. She took one more bite and then swallowed to answer.

“I realized it on Friday, when I took a pregnancy test before Yuta and I arrived here in Kyoto to spend our anniversary, but..." Maki sigh, "Nothing was going our way. Our hotel was a piece of shit and by the way our room was a mess. I wasn't having a good time at all with the nausea and Yuta was glued to his phone all the time because he was desperately wanted from the sede. On top of that, that idiot of Satoru showed up out of nowhere and convinced him to leave the country at the last minute.

“That idiot convinced him to leave the country? Why? What did Gojo sensei tell them?" asked Mai, raising an eyebrow.

“I don't know. He just appeared in front of us while we were in the old neighborhood of Kioto and began to explain to Yuta that he had a very special mission for him outside of Japan and that for that reason, he should leave the country as soon as possible. I wasn't convinced of that and more than...” she put her hand on her belly –“I found out about this...”

“Did you really not want to leave Japan?" asked Mai looking at her sister, "With that proposal you would have had the chance to even get away from our damned clan”

Maki shook her head no.
“I was afraid and…” she pursed her lips.

“And what else?" asked Mai.

“Let's just say that someone managed to convince me that it wouldn't be a good idea to go after a man" commented Maki taking another bite of her hamburger. –“Maybe I have too much pride to do something like that" she said with her mouth full”

“Anyone?” Mai raised an eyebrow, "Maki, did anyone else talk to you at that station? Who was it?”

Maki swallowed and put a hand to her head, which still hurt a little when she tried to remember.
 “I don't want to talk about it...”

“Okay. And tell me, do you remember to have seen or detected any curse in the station? or did you detect any other person besides Yuta, who had cursed energy hanging around there?" asked Mai, confused by what her sister was saying and even more by the way she was holding her hand to her head.

“At this moment I'm not really sure... but I did feel some cursed energy, and maybe I did see a familiar face or two, but as I said, everything happened so fast and now that I'm trying to remember it's all so... confusing”

Mai sighed, she had come to the conclusion that maybe something had been done to Maki. She thought that maybe someone had used some cursed technique on her.

I always had a hunch about that... and months later it was confirmed by the least expected person.

“Something's wrong? Mai" asked Maki, watching as her sister looked very pensive.

Mai shook her head.
“No, it's just that I kept thinking about what you said. It seems very strange what happened to you inside the station. Unless someone used a cursed technique or a domain, what you're saying about time, it's very strange”

Maki sighed.
“I know, but I really don't want to think about it anymore. I just know that Yuta has left me. I guess our relationship is over”

Both twins were silent for a moment. Mai watched as Maki ate her second hamburger while her right hand was on her belly.

“Well? I know it's too early to ask you this but have you thought about what you're going to do with that bastard?" asked Mai as she took a bite of her hamburger.

Maki sister shook her head.
“I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Since Friday when I found out I'm pregnant, I've been analyzing and thinking about it. Besides, I thought if I told Yuta, we could make a decision together. But it looks like I'm alone in this”

Mai let out the air in annoyance. “You're  not entirely alone in this matter, because unfortunately I'm with you in whatever you decide. Although that said, only you will have the final decision on what you will do with that bastard”

“Can you stop calling my baby that?" commented Maki with annoyance.

“But that's what that child you carry in your womb is!. A bastard! A child who will have no father and whose very existence will be threatened by his mother's clan. Besides, who assures us that this spawn will not be a threat? I mean, his father is a special grade sorcerer who cursed his elementary school girlfriend and turned her into a curse. So who's to say that baby won't also be a curse?”

“It's not like that..." grumbled Maki in a low voice while caressing her belly.

“Also!, do you really want to see his stupid face on your child's face and have that illegitimate child remind you every day of your life that their father abandoned them?”

“I told you I don't know!” Maki said with annoyance, "Part of me wants to have this baby. But another part of me doesn't want it to be born. Especially not in this situation where I'll be alone as a single mother in this shitty society”

“You wouldn't be completely alone in raising him, since you have me..." commented Mai before twisting her mouth.

“And since when did you become the considerate aunt?” Maki questioned with annoyance.

“From the moment you opened your fucking mouth and confessed to me that you were pregnant”

Both twins again took a moment of silence.

Maki sighed.
 “Mai...me”

“Maki, I know you are confused, I understand, but also think very well that whatever you decide will have its consequences, because this decision will not only affect your life, but mine. I am your twin sister, you are me and I am you, so this involves both of us since theoretically, that baby is also blood of my blood”

“I know... Monozygotic twins like us share the same genetic material. Since we are supposed to be the same person... so in theory, this baby would be very similar to you as well”

Mai began to settle on the side of her bed. Tucking herself in between her covers and turned her back to her sister. As she used to do when they slept together as children.

“So whatever you decide, just let me know, OK? Take as much time as you need, but if you're going to make the decision not to have it, don't let that pregnancy progress any further" Mai said over her shoulder.

“Thank you Mai...” Maki sighed because she knew her sister was right  “I only ask you please... to keep this secret for a few more days while I decide whether to abort this baby or to have it...” she also commented getting into those blankets and leaning her forehead on her sister's back.

Mai only sighed.
“All right, I won't say anything because this is not my business" she said coldly.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♧ ━━━━ ◈

 

I really think I was very cruel with my words that night, but it was the truth. Maki had to make a decision.

I remember that time, she slept but she was still crying about it all.
I just hugged her like I used to do as a child when we couldn 't sleep.

Seeing her face so sad like that broke my heart.

Maki spent two days with me at the Kyoto school. We even went out to buy a new cell phone and file the theft report her cellphone.

That afternoon I tried to distract her a little, including both of us going out with Miwa and Momo, to whom we didn't say anything, and in the face of my sister's symptoms such as her nausea, we lied to them saying that it was indigestion from dinner.

It seems that Maki was very serious about thinking about what she would do with the pregnancy. It wasn't until a week later that she had an answer to what she would do with the baby.

She even finally returned to Tokyo and told the others that the two of them had broken up, but she didn't reveal anything about her pregnancy, and like I said, a week later Maki returned to Kyoto and asked me to accompany her to an ultrasound.

I told her that it was a bad idea, since seeing your child in that machine could make her change her mind if she wanted to have an abortion.

But she insisted that she did not want to go alone and that she needed that ultrasound so she could check if she had made the right decision.

Okkotsu, my sister momentarily thought about not having that baby, but, I can assure you that I saw it in her eyes. That desire to keep something of yours, to be able to give birth to that little token of love between the two of you.

I remember clearly seeing that illusion in her eyes when she saw that ultrasound. At that time she was about ten weeks pregnant. But we were shocked when the doctor told us that it was not one baby... they were two babies.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

 

Flashback

“You will feel some cold from the gel and you may feel a slight pressure from the transducer passing over your abdomen, so I will try to check you as quickly as I can so as not to cause you discomfort, okay?" commented the doctor who was attending Maki kindly.

“Okay" said the older twin in a whisper. She was lying with her abdomen uncovered while the doctor put the gel on her. She could even notice that her belly was only slightly bulging.

Instead, Mai was sitting next to her. She sighed as she saw that they were about to start the procedure.
 “I'll ask one more time, Maki, Are you really sure you want to do this? Is this really your final decision? You still have time to repent and not continue with this pregnancy!" she crossed her arms.

Her twin looked at her with a grimace.
“I told you I already made my decision. Only at this moment I want to see that everything is okay with my baby. Besides, you said you'd support me in this, right? And I feel like having this baby will be a good decision.”

Mai clicked her tongue.
“I admit I said it just to make you feel better that night”

Maki rolled her eyes at such a response.

“I will begin. Are you ready, Zenin san" asked the doctor.

“I am ready”

“Well, let's get started" said the doctor, placing the device on Maki's belly and beginning to analyze the first image displayed on the screen.

Mai just grimaced and her eyebrows drew together a little, at first she could not find any form to the image that the monitor was throwing. But when she saw her sister's face, she could notice that glow of longing and happiness for that baby that was growing and forming inside her.

The doctor made a few initial clicks to measure the tiny fetus on the monitor.

“From your measurements, it looks like your baby is about ten weeks old" she said, starting to move the device to better show the image.

“Ten weeks?”- Mai raised an eyebrow, quickly counted on her fingers “Wow!, you and Okkotsu didn't waste any time after Valentine's Day" she blurted out with annoyance and a touch of sarcasm.

“Shut up!" said Maki with a blush and decided to ignore her sister and she decided to talk to the doctor. “Is everything all right with my baby?" she asked curiously looking at that image.

“That is what I am checking. From its shape it seems that everything looks fine, now let's see if we can hear the heartbeat" commented the doctor beginning to listen carefully to the sound coming out of the monitor while she continued watching the screen and moving the device over her patient's belly.

From that machine began to come out the sounds of a tiny heartbeat, but something else caught the doctor's attention, since that sound seemed double, so she decided to make more movements with that device on the left side of her patient's belly to find out what caused that.

“I think I'm seeing something else around here" said the doctor, a bit puzzled as she continued to move the machine over Maki's belly.

The doctor's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise as she looked at what the monitor was revealing.

“What is that?" asked Mai with surprise when she saw the same thing that the doctor and her sister saw on the screen.

“Doctor, is something wrong? Why the surprised look on your face? Is there something wrong with my baby? Did you see anything else?" asked Maki with fear.

The doctor arranged the image in such a way that two small fetuses could be seen on the monitor.

“There is nothing wrong with your baby, or rather, your babies are in perfect condition" said the doctor, clicking a few times and showing Maki the monitor more closely.

“Congratulations Zenin san, you are having twins," said the doctor showing those two little beings on that screen while listening to the soft heartbeats coming from both of them.

Maki's eyes widened in a way that showed she was in total shock. She had even become mute with her mouth half open but no sound came out of her throat.

“Twins?" Mai said aloud, putting her hands to her mouth, "It can't be...”

 

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We were both shocked. Maki was having twins.

At first that was a bit hard news to swallow. Since we are also twins and grew up in a clan where having twins meant a bad omen.

But still, Maki decided to put all those superstitions aside and decided to move forward with her pregnancy.

The doctor initially told us that Maki should have more care due to her twin pregnancy, especially because sometimes twins can be born prematurely and often both the mother and the twins need certain care as the pregnancy progresses.

Still, we both had to prepare for the arrival of those babies.

Okkotsu, while You were abroad, enjoying the trip and perhaps meeting interesting people and places. My sister was breaking down from uncertainty and fear. Especially since we had nothing ready for Yurika and Yuudai's arrival.

After that surprise where we learned that there would be two babies instead of one, Maki made the decision to reveal that she was pregnant.

It was not easy at all for my stubborn sister, I know because she wanted to do everything by herself, but we were definitely going to need as much help as possible.

At first we kept this secret until she was twelve weeks old, that is, until she was three months old, this because a twin pregnancy belly shows much faster than a single baby.

We were not going to be able to keep that secret for too long.

So the first person we revealed that secret to was Utahime sensei.

I still remember the look on my dear teacher's face when we told her the news. It was a combination of amazement and sadness to see my sister with that little bulging belly.

Above all Utahime sensei felt sorry for Maki because she knew it was unfair what you, you idiot, had done in abandoning her. But she thought that maybe there was something else behind your departure and believed that Satoru had something to do with it.

And she was right... Satoru is involved in your separation with Maki... but that's for you to ask him.

By that third month, we needed someone from the academy to intervene on our behalf to request that Maki be suspended from doing missions for a while without penalty and to help us to keep this secret away from the zenin clan.

And the only one who could help us at that moment was Utahime sensei. Since she took Maki under her charge, turning her from a sorceress to her personal assistant at the academy. Since my teacher was second in command of the Kyoto headquarters only to the bitter Gakuganji.

I remember that those two weeks where we lived together with Utahime sensei were very friendly and it gives me too much nostalgia to remember them, because in those two weeks, my sister and I felt the love of a mother reflected in Utahime sensei, who understood us. She even went so far as to buy the first gifts for those two babies whose sex we still didn't know and that surely nowadays, due to amnesia, she must not remember that Maki was pregnant.

We really felt supported by her. Too bad that happiness didn't last long...

Okkotsu, at this point, I have a feeling that Satoru did know about Maki's pregnancy, since my sister was avoiding him too much after talking to him, just as Maki was running away from her Tokyo classmates for those two weeks where she still wouldn't tell them about her pregnancy.

Even Utahime sensei had ordered a trade saying that Maki had been transferred to Kyoto at the last minute and apparently that upset Satoru.

Also, the relationship between those two always seemed a bit complicated to me. Since apparently, they were lovers, but it seemed that Utahime's decision to take Maki away made them drift apart.

Even Maki got too upset when they named that white-haired idiot.

Even so, between the three of us, we started to plan everything for the arrival of those two babies. Utahime sensei helped us with the initial formalities at the academy and also helped us, together with Ieiri Shoko, to find a hospital where they would accept to take care of my sister with her medical visits.

By this time, only two people already knew that secret. And those were Utahime and Shoko.

But as I said, all this happiness was fleeting.

Our peace and tranquility were shattered on May 29th. I still cannot forget that fateful day.

On that occasion, Utahime sensei had been sent on a mission to the south of Kyoto and on that same mission, she was brutally attacked by "something", we never knew if it was a curse or some person who attacked her, but that really left her almost on the verge of death.

We don't really know what happened because even she was never the same woman after that.

Utahime sensei had lost her memory and unfortunately also her power as a leader and teacher.

And from that day on, the problems only began to move faster.

Okkotsu, the only thing I am sure of, is that maybe someone sent someone to attack Utahime because she knew many things about the clans ... my teacher is not a bad woman, she was just a woman with too much knowledge and power ... and that could be a threat to many men.

I remember that even Gojo sensei changed his personality once he discovered the crime that had been committed against the woman he claimed to love since he was young. He became more possessive and I can even say that he lost his mind.  Love or obsession? I really think it was a bit of both that made Satoru take Utahime as his wife soon after she regained consciousness.

As I said, I feel that someone attacked my dear teacher.... Maybe it could have been a revenge towards all of us....

Even after Utahime sensei woke up from her coma, which lasted about a month, Gojo sensei began to push aside his own students... all of us of this generation were in a limbo where uncertainty consumed us to know what would become of us, as well as the other sorcerers with the new measures that the bigwigs of that time were implementing since all sorcerers distrusted those who claimed to be their allies and were afraid of ending up like Utahime sensei or worse, ending up dead.

It is because of these same changes that teachers like Kusakabe and sorcerers like Nanami resigned without hesitation.

Even Mei Mei disappeared overnight before all hell broke loose.

But unfortunately there were others like Ieiri san who could not get out of there.

The sorcerers world was hanging by a thread and with it we and those two babies, both of whom could have posed a threat to everyone in the sorcerer society, especially the two clans that got along the worst.

Both Maki and I were running out of options. We didn't know where to turn.

We had even heard that both the Zenin clan and the Gojo clan were involved in shady things, especially since the clans were apparently taking everyone out of the game who was in their way on their way to the top.

But what would happen if a Zenin and a Gojo were to unite? Would ruin the plans of both clans? Because it was more than obvious that the arrival of those two babies would mean a threat to them and incidentally to the higher-ups.

Besides, our main fear was that we would be forced to return to this hellish residence. And with two babies on the way... it was more than obvious that the four of us would die...

Maki and I were against the clock, especially when my silly sister had already entered her fourth month of gestation and her symptoms and physical changes were becoming more and more noticeable.

We needed someone's protection and it seems that "help" came unexpectedly from the person we least expected and before I tell you who even helped us find a home and a job, I must tell you something else.

Okkotsu, Have you heard of Tsukumo Yuki?

Well, She in addition to being a special grade sorceress just like you, is also a research fanatic.

So by "bad luck or good luck" we also fell into her hands.

Maki and I had known Tsukumo since we were children, as she investigated and examined my sister's celestial restriction very closely.

That woman always found that state fascinating, I even understand that for a time, she examined another Zenin with those characteristics before he died many years ago.

To her, we were two fascinating specimens of how cursed energy could be and not inherited.

Now imagine how elated that research-crazed blonde got when she learned that Maki, a woman with a celestial restraint was pregnant with twins and that the father of those babies was a special grade sorcerer like you. That was definitely a lucky break for her research.

I still feel repulsion when I remember her face... to see her so excited while she was analyzing my sister and caressing her belly, gave me a deep rejection. But we had no choice but to accept her help and "a part of her protection".

Tsukumo made it very clear from the first moment, she would only intervene for us when we needed it, she would only return to the city in certain seasons to see the progress of the pregnancy and even said that she would fight with us against the academy and the clan only if necessary. Since what mattered most to her were those two babies.

She had even suggested that once your children were born, she could have adopted them as her children to "protect" them. She was even willing to give her surname to Yurika and Yuudai, but thanks to Megumi, that wasn't necessary. But about that I will tell you what I know in a few lines later, although I consider more prudent that on this subject, it is Maki and Megumi who tell you what happened and how they decided to get married.

But let's take it step by step, shall we? I still have another more important secret to reveal to you in the following pages.

But back to the topic about Tsukumo, she was the one who helped us to leave the academy, this happened once we told the truth to all our friends and acquaintances about Maki being pregnant and asked them about whether they were willing to leave the headquarters.

First we told Megumi, he was the first to find out together with Tsumiki that Maki was pregnant, and we revealed this news to him one day when we summoned him outside the academy.

I must say that Tsumiki, although not a blood relative of ours, she always had the tact and empathy that this stupid family lacked.

Even so, I must admit that I was a little jealous of Maki when I saw how Megumi and Tsumiki gave her all the attention in the world once she revealed that news to them.

A few days later, we revealed them to Maki's other friends, who took it with great joy and surprise to know that my sister would have your children.

Although Kugisaki, like me, wanted to kill you for abandoning Maki. And I guess she, like me, still hates you.

Once we told her friends, I revealed the truth to Momo and Miwa. Especially Momo seemed to be the only one who understood my feelings about the whole situation and she never left me alone, even when all of us, both Tokyo and Kyoto students gave up being sorcerers and decided to live a normal life outside the academy. Momo stayed by my side for the next three years.

Actually, it was Tsukumo who "negotiated" with Satoru about letting all the students go. Something that he accepted but under conditions that I still don't know.

Once out of the academy, the one who helped us financially until these days was Mei Mei....

I remember the end of June and the beginning of July were the busiest days for Maki and me.

Once we left the academy, life was not easy at all, especially for a pregnant woman. I really hated to see Maki cry in silence while caressing her belly, which was growing bigger and bigger as the months went by.

I know that she was still hurt by your departure and maybe it's something she didn't get over until years later or maybe she would have never forgotten if it wasn't for your return.

I know she still loved you and that's what hurt me the most, to see her so broken because of you. And the thought that those children might inherit your face made me upset every time I thought about it.

As I said, nothing was simple once we left the world of sorcery.

Although Ieiri san, as the last favor we were able to have from her, was that she got a part-time job for both Maki and me at a cosmetics store owned by an acquaintance of that doctor's. The money was barely enough to eat and to rent a small place for both of us.

That's when Mei Mei entered the game and made a deal with Maki, acquiring a debt that, I assume, she is still paying off.

That woman and her weird brother always gave me a bad feeling because they were people who loved to meddle in other people's business and then wanted to take advantage of the situation.

But even so, if it hadn't been for them, we would not have survived.

Mei business with Maki, I don't know the full details, but the only thing I found out is that Mei always had an eye on my sister because of her strength and ability since that twin school tournament we had in the year you weren't here in Japan.

So Mei was the one who got us our first home and helped us furnish it. She also helped us to buy the things we needed for the babies, as well as she was the one who helped us with the missing expenses for the hospital. So in theory we owe a lot of money to this sorceress.

Mei as well as Tsukumo, were doing it more for those two babies... it seemed like everyone was interested in those two... and I guess the main reason was because they were YOUR CHILDREN Okkotsu....

Having the children of two great clans was as much a threat as it was a treasure.

Obviously, receiving monetary favors from Mei and her brother meant having to pay them back with something in return, that's where Maki and I helped him with "certain" jobs.

The next two months were quiet and could even be considered somewhat joyful. It was like the calm before the storm, it was that moment of joy that we needed in our hectic lives.

I even remember that September was a very positive month even for Maki, because in that month, besides that our lives were taking a better direction. It was in that month that we found out that those Twins would actually be fraternal twins, in other words, twins of different sexes.

Since as I said, twins are a bad omen, and knowing that those babies would not be of the same sex, gave some relief to our bad luck.

I still remember when we found out that it would be a boy and a girl... with that news, I can say that Maki was relieved, but at the same time nostalgic and more that she would choose the names you wanted your children to have.

 

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Flashback.

“I still say those two babies will be boys. My grandmother always said that pointed bellies are a sign that the baby on the way is a boy, and Maki's belly has that shape" said Nobara confidently while she held in her hands that blue balloon that said "it's a boy".

“What the hell are you talking about? My sisterly instinct tells me that I will have nieces, those two babies will be girls!" commented Mai with a grimace while carrying in her hands a pink balloon that said "it's a girl".

They were both very excited because that day they would finally know the sex of those little ones. And more than those two women, who could not stand each other, had an important bet.

“Both of you could shut up!” Maki complained, who was lying on the bed while the doctor performed the ultrasound.

The doctor smiled a little at the comments of those two women who were accompanying Maki in that consultation.

“It seems that not only the aunts are very excited today. Our baby A is also very active, although this baby has always been this restless, while baby B is very quiet as usual" said the doctor as she checked these babies through the monitor. As always, you could see that one baby moved more than the other.

Maki sighed.
“I'm not just tired of listening to these two. I'm also kind of tired of hearing my children referred to as Baby A and Baby B...”

“Well, from now on you can start calling your babies by the names you choose for them" said the doctor with a smile as she wiped the gel from Maki's belly, "And more so because Baby A is a very energetic girl and Baby B is a very quiet boy”

Those words shocked Maki, Nobara and Mai alike.

“What?" came out of Nobara's mouth.

“A boy and a girl?" asked Mai in amazement.

“Congratulations Zenin san" said the doctor, showing the monitor to the three women, "Your babies are fraternal twins. So you are carrying a boy and a girl, who may have been conceived only days apart.

Maki had a soft smile on her face as she looked down and caressed her huge belly. A part of her was happy that they were a boy and a girl, but still sadness showed in her gaze.

“It seems that every aunt will have a favorite nephew and niece" smiled the doctor, looking at how Mai and Nobara were still surprised by that revelation.

“I guess it's a tie" said Nobara with a grimace.

Mai sighed.
“Since it's a tie, I guess we both have to pay equally”

“I just hope you don't want me to buy you the most expensive beauty treatment”

“The same applies to you”

Those two had to pay equally for their bet, where whoever won would be bought a beauty treatment and branded creams. But since it was a tie, both had to buy those products equally.

"By the way, Zenin san, have you already thought about the names you will give your babies?" the doctor asked curiously.

Maki's face reflected sadness at such a question, the corners of her lips dropped a little and before answering that, she let out a sigh.

“I'm bad at choosing names…”

“You are definitely terrible at choosing names!" replied Mai, rolling her eyes, "My sister has a weird habit of naming my cacti with very strange names like "Mr. Sausage" or "Mrs. M."

“Still, I have thought of two names for my babies and now that I know they will be a boy and a girl... I think I will take the ones someone once suggested for them...” explained Maki as she carefully sat on the edge of the bed “I have thought of naming them Yurika and Yuudai”

“They are nice names" said the doctor with a smile as she wrote down some things in the medical file.

When I heard those names, I couldn't keep quiet....

“Are you serious that you want your children to have the initials Y U in their names? You're not choosing those names because of that idiot?" asked Mai a bit annoyed.

That question left the atmosphere in the doctor's office very tense.

“You said it Mai, I'm bad at choosing names, even so, I feel that those two names will go with the personalities of my children, Yurika being a girl full of energy and Yuudai being a quiet boy" Maki looked at her sister seriously, "Or would you like me to name your niece and nephew after your cactus?”

 

 

 

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I could see it in her eyes, she was naming them that way because of you.

Although Maki was right, it seemed that those names would go very much according to the personalities of those little ones and more than from the womb we could tell what each one would be like.

Yurika was always a very energetic and restless little girl who moved around a lot even before she before birth. Even after she was born, her physical energy never seemed to run out, it was amazing to see her walking before she was a year old.

Yuudai, on the other hand, was a quiet child and to some degree, a bit sleepier and slower than his sister. Being smaller and somewhat weaker, he took his first steps almost until he was 14 months old.

Perhaps the fact that he was born so fearful and sickly is due to what happened one night in particular. The night that changed everything

Okkotsu, what I'm going to tell you next is one of the most closely guarded secrets between Maki and me... a secret that not even Megumi and our friends know.

So I need you to keep what you will read below in your pocket and also take it to your grave, because no one else should know and even so, I know I am taking too much of a risk telling you this. But you need to know because I know that maybe in the academy reports they have lied to you about my sister's death.

Okkotsu, Maki and I committed a crime... we killed a woman... and her remains are in that grave where the lie about my sister's death lies.

I still remember that night as if it were yesterday... everything I will tell you below happened on the night of October 6, 2020... the night before Yurika and Yuudai were born.

So I guess all these events were what caused the children to be born early... your children were born premature and maybe it was our fault that happened.

You see, before that night, our life was going normally.

Maki and I were still working at the cosmetics store, and by that time, Maki was about to enter her eighth month of pregnancy, so all the work was getting heavier and more tiring because of her big belly.

At first, I thought my sister was just tired from the pregnancy and upset from the hormones, since at times she seemed all paranoid and I even thought Maki was having delusions of persecution, since she had a hard time sleeping at night and she constantly said she felt watched all the time.

It seemed that Maki had developed a sixth sense that warned her that something around us was wrong.

We should have been more cautious, perhaps if I had seen what she saw, we would have run away or hidden better.... I regret not having listened to her in those first moments when she told me that she thought she saw someone watching us from a distance, hidden among the streets we always passed by.

Apparently, the Zenin clan did not sit idly by once they found out that you left the country. That clan loves to have control over everything that could be a disadvantage to them.

So they usually play dirty since ancient times. And by playing dirty, I mean sending in spies and eliminating the "problem".

And by playing dirty, I mean that also my damn clan was involved in your separation with Maki, they sent several grade one and two sorcerers to that station to distort time and space to make you and Maki think that you had abandoned each other.  And sending that woman to spy on us months later was just a sign to find out if their initial plan had worked.

That night Maki was more nervous than usual, I remember it was around one in the morning and on a trip to the kitchen for a late night craving, that's when we saw that someone had entered our house.

Maki's hunch turned out to be true. Someone was spying on us very closely every day.

Someone had sent someone to spy on my sister, but that spy didn't count on the fact that the two of us wouldn't sit still, much less sit with our arms crossed. Between the two of us, we would chase that woman through those cold streets until we reached that alley.

That's when we found out the truth. Okkotsu, someone intervened that day so that you and Maki were separated.

 

 

 

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Flashback.

A woman's cry of despair was heard echoing down the Street.

Several gunshots could be heard in that place. As well as the footsteps of several people running could be heard, even the footsteps became heavy over the puddles of water.

The rain had stopped a while ago, which made running somewhat dangerous due to the slipperiness of the ground.

And even the cold was piercing and painful to the lungs.

Running at full speed was somewhat difficult at that time and even more so when pregnant. But still, it was amazing to see Maki move with agility.

“I got you, you fucking bitch!” growled Maki, who managed to stab the woman with her sword. Making her bleed and scream in pain.

But the woman they were chasing did not let herself be caught so easily, she gave Maki a shove, causing her to fall roughly to the ground on her left side. It didn't matter that one of her pursuers was pregnant, she just wanted to get away from there.

“Maki!" shouted Mai while pointing her gun at the woman who was still running and was about to escape.

"I'm fine! Mai! Shoot! Stop that bitch!" the older twin shouted as she slowly stood up, using her sword as if it were a staff. Perhaps both her heavenly restraint and the adrenaline flowing through her body were helping her at that moment to hold on and stand up, facing everything. what was happening at that time.

That had been totally reckless for a pregnant woman, but Maki needed to stop the woman who could ruin her existence even more.

Several more shots were heard at that moment. Mai had managed to hit the woman's right leg, as well as her left shoulder, causing her to fall writhing in pain in the alley through which she was going to escape.

Mai ran to quickly help Maki to her feet.

“The babies! How do you feel the babies? We need to get out of here!" Mai said all worried as she saw her sister rubbing her belly.

The older twin leaned on her sister's arm as they stood up and walked together
“I'm fine... I just want to know who this woman is and why she has been spying on us for days and why she entered our house!” she held her sword tightly as they approached the woman who lay on the floor, writhing in pain.

“Please! Mercy! I can explain!" that dark green-haired woman looked at the twins, the poor was suffering too much pain from the wounds she had suffered. Besides being a person without cursed energy, there was no way to defend herself from those two.

The sisters cornered her against the wall of that alley. Causing her back and head to crash roughly against the wall.

“Who the hell are you?”

“And who sent you?”

The twins asked, each pointing their guns at the woman.

“Let me tell you what I know!" she said painfully.

“Speaks!! Who the hell are you? Who sent you to spy on us?" shouted Maki, who kicked the woman's stomach hard. "Why have you been breaking into our house?!" She kicked her again but this time in the chest

“Maki calm down, you'll hurt the babies!" Mai shouted to her sister with concern for all the effort her twin was making.

“Mai! I won't calm down until this bitch tells us what she was doing in our house! And why has she been spying on us!” Maki shouted in annoyance as she pointed her sword at the spy.

The woman's eyes were full of tears, her leg was bleeding, as was her shoulder, and the poor woman was trying to catch her breath from those kicks, which made her vomit.

Mai only looked at her sister with concern as she could see it in her gestures, her belly ached and her breathing gave her away, but Mai also wanted to know the same thing Maki did. To Know who sent that woman.

“Well, who are you?" grunted Maki.

“I-I-I-I'm an en- envoy of the Zenin clan... I'm a yes-servant just like you!" the woman commented with difficulty as she again had a bow.

“You're lying for sure because I don't remember seeing you at the residence before" said Maki very annoyed.

“Wait Maki... her face does look familiar" said Mai looking closely at the woman, grabbing her by the hair with her hand, pulling her tightly until she got close to her and releasing her abruptly when she recognized her, "Yes, I think I've seen you in the clan more than once, you're a concubine of Naoya!" she pointed her gun, "You're one of those maids who slept with that idiot!”

“Was it that asshole who sent you to watch us?" Maki kept pointing her sword at her.

The woman didn't want to talk, so Maki thrust her sword into woman left leg, "I asked you a question!”

That woman began to scream in pain, she was writhing and only then began to speak
“Yes, he sent me to make sure that his plan kept going as it had been going from the beginning. Mercy please! Don't kill me! I can explain!”

Maki pulled the sword out of her leg, the blood gushed with intensity.
 “What did you say?”

“What plan?" asked Mai, pointing her gun at her head.

“I know many things that could benefit them both!”

“What plan are you talking about?" Mai gave a twist to the revolver of her pistol.

That girl caught her breath as best she could and began to speak.
“He sent me to observe that Maki Zenin remained separated from Okkotsu Yuta…. Mr. Naoya along with other very high ranking people made a plan to separate them, I swear! I'm innocent, they're just using me!”

“What did you say?" asked Maki incredulously.

“Do you remember the day when Yuta Okkotsu left the country?" asked the girl, her voice half-breaking as she looked at Maki.

“I can't forget that fucking day...”

“Well that day the plan of Naoya Zenin as well as Mr. Gojo and more people who are behind all this started!" she began to explain, "They didn't want you to have a relationship with Okkotsu! That bothered them and incidentally affected them to assume power! They did it!”The girl cried.

"They sent several people that day to separate you of he! They used their cursed techniques on you, that's why you felt like the time lasted hours when in reality it was only a few minutes! If you had a romantic relationship with Okkotsu automatically both clans would be relatives in-laws and that would affect who would take over each clan since Okkotsu could inherit both positions because he was of special rank! A leader that could unify two clans is something unheard of! As well as begetting children who have the blood of both is something unusual!”

“Besides, seeing you two happy and in love bothered both clan lords! A Zenin and a Sugawara descendant together? To many that's something unholy! That's why Mr. Naoya sent me to keep an eye on you from the beginning at that train station with threats! And months ago he sent me back to find out what was going on with you two once he found out that all the students quit the academy after what happened with Iori Utahime! Please have mercy! Let me go! They still don't know that you're expecting Okkotsu's child! I haven't told them yet! But if you let me go I can serve you as a double spy and bring you more news of the clan! But please! Don't do anything to me!” the woman begged.

“Maki?" Mai named her sister with concern and even more so because of what she had just heard.

Maki could not believe what she had just heard. Her hands thus trembled into fists. She gripped the hilt of her sword with fury. She felt the blood running furiously through her veins. She wanted revenge.

“I swear! I can help you identify all those who separated you from the love of your life! I can keep the secret of your pregnancy! They..." The woman couldn't speak because Maki cut her throat at that instant.

“Maki No!" shouted Mai when she saw what her older sister did. So she quickly tried to restrain her as Maki also began to stab the woman's body with hatred.

“I curse you all!" cried the older twin, "You took away my happiness! I curse you all!" she cried and began to cry as her sister held her back.

“Maki, what have you done?!” shouted Mai as she moved Maki a few steps away from the woman.

“If I let her live she was going to reveal to them that I am pregnant! She was not to be trusted!" Maki stopped and began to cry, "She will be the first to suffer for this damage done to me, Yuta and our children!" she cried as they watched this woman take her last breath and the life fade from her eyes.

I knew Maki was right. That woman could give us away, but now we had a bigger problem.

“She's already dead!" Mai hugged her from the side to stop her.

“They took away our happiness..." Maki was still in shock as she saw her hands stained with blood. She wanted to continue stabbing that woman who was also an accomplice in taking away their happiness, but her sister stopped her. Maki was overexerting herself physically and that was dangerous –“They took Yuta away from me!”

“Calm down now or you will hurt your children!" Mai grabbed her side to calm her down while her sister started crying in her arms and was bending down and putting herself on her knees because of the pain of having heard all that.

“Mai... They took away my happiness with the man I loved...”Maki cry bitterly.

“I know, and now we have taken the life of one of her accomplices..." Mai whispered while her older sister stifled a scream in her twin's chest and then looked at the woman's corpse.

We had to come up with a plan to get rid of that body.

Rage, when it blinds, leaves serious consequences in its wake and my sister began to pay for them. It seemed that Maki had come out of her state of euphoria and was now seeing the consequences of her anger.

“What did I do, what did I do?" Maki began to feel sick at the sight of the blood on her hands, on her clothes and on her sword. The smell of iron made her vomit on the side of where she was crouching. –“Mai! What did we do?" she shouted in shock. Her breathing was agitated and she was all trembling watching that scene.

“You must calm down, Maki! All this can really affect the babies!" Mai grabbed her shoulders so she would look at her and try to calm down.

“But what are we going to do with her now?" asked Maki nervously once she came back to her senses and discovered what she had done.

“We must hide the body or, if necessary, get rid of it," said the younger twin, feeling how the light raindrops began to soak them. “The ideal would be to hide the corpse while we think of something”

“But where will we hide her? We are too far from home to bury it in the courtyard" asked Maki with bated breath as her back rested against the cold wall.

We were both very stressed at that moment. But I was especially worried about Maki.

I saw how she caressed her belly a lot, especially her left side... that side where she had fallen. That side where Yuudai grew inside Maki

Carrying that corpse between the two of us was a risk, especially if someone discovered us. Or in her case, I did not want to put more pressure on Maki's body, I was worried about the babies and about her. For all the effort she had made in that chase.

She may have killed that woman with her own hands, but I was her accomplice, so we were both involved in this crime. I couldn't leave her alone in this.

I remember looking around, luckily no security cameras were visible in that area.

“How about we just leave her here and that's it?" asked Maki nervously as she rubbed her belly and felt the soft raindrops fall on her.

Mai began to search through the woman's things, finding her purse, which she opened and noticed that it contained her ID.

“Even if we leave it here and someone discovers it, it is more than obvious that they will make an investigation and may notify the clan and that would mean much more trouble” commented Mai looking seriously at her sister while showing that wallet.

Maki put her hands to her head.
“Wouldn't it be easier just to leave the body here without IDs and without her belongings and pass her off as the victim of some mugging?!”

“It is also an option. But this country has a good database of its inhabitants and with the fingerprints and dental records they can find his identity and it would be a problem anyway if the clan is notified" explained Mai.

“What are we going to do? Swallow me earth!!" said Maki in frustration, "If I let her live she might have given us away! How I'd like to disappear right now!”

Hearing those words from Maki, my mind began to hatch a plan.

I looked at the body of our victim and noticed that this woman was physically similar to my sister. Same height, had the same shade of hair but she only had it a little longer than Maki, she also had fair skin, a thin nose but with brown eyes.

At that moment a macabre idea had occurred to me. Risky but perhaps it would free Maki and my nephews from the clan. Then they could finally be free.

“She looks a bit like you..." said Mai coldly.

“Everyone in the damn clan looks alike, Mai!”

“Yes, but what if we pass you off as her so that the clan thinks you died and you can gain freedom with your children" said Mai as she looked at her sister.

But Maki looked very distressed and confused by those words. She was also shivering from the cold and looked paler than usual.
“I really don't understand what you're trying to say..." her head ached.

“Leave it to me, okay? I'll sort all this out" Mai slipped the woman's wallet into her clothes to take her IDs.

“Okay, I trust you" said Maki with a sigh.

Later I would put my plan into action, but for the moment, we needed to hide our crime.

-“At the very least, let's hide the corpse in the boxes" said Mai seriously.

“Ok”

And so we did, Maki and I hid that corpse among some boxes in that alley while the rain soaked us.

And from there, we went home. I was really worried about Maki as she looked pale and was rubbing her belly too much.

“Promise me you won't tell anyone about this! And that we'll take this secret to our graves!" commented Maki worriedly once they were home.

Mai passed a towel to her sister to dry herself.

“I've been keeping all your damn secrets from you for almost eight months now. You know I'll keep this one in my pocket too and carry it to my grave since we are both accomplices" said Mai looking at her sister.

Maki took her hand.
 “Thank you... for everything...”

Mai took her sister's hand in her own “We are sisters after all...” could see the complicity in their eyes.

Maki let go of her sister's hands and began to dry her hair “Even so, those damned clans will pay me for having stolen our happiness... one by one they will fall and I will cross them off my list that I have written with their blood, including that idiot Okkotsu for playing along …” she said very upset  “If he had really loved me, he would have discovered the truth and come back for me... damned traitor... I will never forgive him”

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

 

At that moment I could see in Maki the hatred I had inside her.

I am not justifying her, I know she had every right to be upset about what was done to her and by the way, about what you did to her.

This is where I ask myself, what would you be doing at this time when Maki and your children's lives were going downhill?

After Maki finally managed to fall asleep, I couldn't sleep, I was so anxious about everything that had happened.

So I did something I knew would be risky, but it was the only solution I could find to save my sister and nephews.

Around 5 a.m. I returned to the scene of the crime, taking care not to be discovered, planted a small clue in the woman's wallet, and after that I returned home.

Okkotsu, for my sister I would be capable of anything, so I was risking even my life in this move.

I remember that night Maki again had some nightmares, as I saw her moving too much and even crying and screaming in her sleep. Ending someone's life will never be easy and I know that first hand.

But the problem came the next day.

Perhaps all the stress experienced the night before, as well as the fall that Maki had, had their consequences.

All this caused the birth of your children to be brought forward almost two months.

I remember it vividly and I still have a hard time putting it into these pages because of the shock of seeing my sister bleed like that.

It was in the afternoon, when Maki started complaining that she felt one of her babies was moving unusually and a few minutes later, she started feeling very sick.

My sister looked distressed and even a little pale. Until she began to complain of a sharp pain that suddenly appeared in her belly.

I remember it quite well because I was there the moment her water broke and the instant her water started to bleed.

It seems that the fall only caused the contractions to start early in the morning, but it was not until the afternoon that her water broke. When she was already more than seven centimeters dilated.

Okkotsu, I was present at the birth of Yurika and Yuudai. And I can tell you for sure that it was a very difficult birth.

Maki suffered too much, the whole procedure was by vaginal delivery because practically when we arrived at the emergency room, your children were already ready to be born since Maki had dilated too fast and there was no time to do an emergency cesarean.

But what worried us the most was that both babies were going to be premature and that meant that they were going to be tiny and not fully developed as they should have been.

Twins can get super small and your kids were no exception. Both were barely 30 centimeters long and weighed a mere 2 kilos.

The first to be born was Yurika and seven minutes later Yuudai was born.

The other details of this event should be Maki who should tell you everything that happened at the birth of your children, especially she should tell you what happened with her and Yuudai and why this child could be considered a very special child.

The only thing I can tell you on these sheets is that all three are alive by pure miracle, especially Yuudai who was given no hope of surviving more than a few days. But he survived and is as far as I remember, a "stable" child but in need of some care.

I wonder how they are now... I haven't seen them for three years....

That same night, after the children were born and both of them and Maki were in intensive care and the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), we were facing another big problem.

And that was to find a solution so that the children would not inherit either the Zenin or Okkotsu surname so that no clan would claim them as their own. We even wanted to prevent Tsukumo Yuki from adopting them and separating them from my sister.

That's where Tsumiki intervened with Megumi. I don't know the details because I only saw from a distance how those two seemed to discuss for "something", my intuition tells me that SHE was the one who ended up convincing Megumi to marry Maki.

So practically within days of birth your children began to bear the surname Fushiguro and even Megumi began to act as a father to those two.

Even all the rest of us took turns caring for them and attending to them both in and out of the hospital.

Now, Okkotsu you may be wondering what happened to the body of that woman in the alley? Well, what I will tell you next I know could be used against me, but you deserve to know the truth about who is in that grave.

Well, I as a sister and newly turned aunt, I had to kill two birds with one stone, so that night where my nephews were born, I also had to go to identify the body of "my sister" at the morgue.

That day seemed to last forever. On the night of October 7, I received a call from the police, saying that I had to go immediately to recognize a body that had been found in an alley and that the identification on the woman's wallet said that her name was Maki Zenin.

Remember I told you leaves that I went back to the alley and planted a "clue" on our victim? Well before I left the house I took my dumb sister's academy ID and went and dropped it in that woman's purse to pass it off as Maki.

Let's just say that most members of the Zenin clan, we have very similar traits, so that girl was somewhat similar to Maki.

I remember when I arrived there. I was nervous, but I had to do it for the sake of my newborn nephews.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♧ ━━━━ ◈

 

Flashback

The forensic slid that white sheet from the body of that woman who had one day of cadaveric evolution.

Mai froze when she saw the body of the woman who had been killed the night before. She could see the holes from the bullets she had fired at her, as well as the cuts and stab wounds Maki had given her.

Above all, the large mark on her neck stood out.

Mai swallowed saliva. Her body wanted to betray her, but she had to control herself. She had to lie. Her fist formed over her clothes as she listened to the forensic.

“Miss Zenin, do you recognize this woman?”

Mai remained silent as the forensic continued to speak.

“I have called you Miss Zenin because in the credential we found in this woman's belongings there was your number as an emergency contact" he began to explain "This woman was found by a civilian who went to throw some garbage in the dumpster in that alley and by the wounds she presents, we can deduce that it was a very violent crime, we have already ruled out that it was a robbery because her belongings were with her and she does not present sexual wounds, even so perhaps an investigation folder should be raised to find the culprit. So I ask you again, do you recognize this woman?”

Mai was still in shock, seeing that body with the crime they had committed between them had left her shocked.

“Miss, are you all right?” asked the forensic again.

Mai looked at that man “Maki...” she said with her voice half breaking because she was reaching her limit “She is my sister...” her tears began to flow from her eyes with mastery in lying.

“I understand..." the doctor covered the corpse again "Well, Miss, I think it is time for you to inform your family about this unfortunate loss. Do you have a place where we can send your sister's body to be laid to rest?”

Mai wiped away the tears of stress that fell down her cheeks.
 “I'll get one right away... I need to let my family know about this".

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♧ ━━━━ ◈

 

And so I did. I got a service to send that body directly to the crematorium and, by the way, as a "Relative" I decided not to open an investigation file.

I notified the Zenin clan, who received the news at the same time they received it at the sorcery headquarters, in both places I delivered the death certificate issued by the coroner that Maki Zenin had died in that alley.

On the other hand, I learned that the servant was considered "lost", the Zenin clan had thought that she had escaped, so they decided not to look for her anymore since she was just a servant without cursed energy. A waste of a person.

Just like that, the clan discards people who are of no use to them. And all servants fall into that category, so if they ran away or there was no news of them for weeks, they were not wanted and were presumed dead.

That day my sister had died twice. So from now on Maki was a "ghost" to both my clan and the school.

Apparently the news of Maki's "death" did not affect anyone in my clan. I learned that neither my mother nor my father cried over the death of their eldest daughter. Instead, my drunk uncle, Naobito, only contacted me to let me know that he would pay for a place in the cemetery to bury those ashes.

So if you have already found Maki Zenin's grave, you have every right to know that the woman who is buried there is the one who died in that alley. This may be confusing to you Okkotsu, but Maki is not dead, nor are your children.

They are simply growing up with a different last name and living a "normal" life.

Two days after giving birth, Maki came out of intensive care, surprisingly, her body recovered too quickly. She didn't seem to be the same as before, she even looked physically stronger and it was noticeable in her body, even her character changed a little. She seemed calmer, but at the same time, more calculating than before. However, with her children she was more serene, attentive and even affectionate.

It was as if her restriction had been strengthened and I think that also affected my technique, since now I can use my cursed energy to one hundred percent, but with its consequences... this is something difficult to explain so who could give you an answer about what happened with us two would be Tsukumo, she investigated all this.

And within days of her discharge from the hospital, Maki married Megumi at the city registry to both have a new identity and to officially give my nephews a last name.

The reports about Maki Zenin and about the birth of Yurika and Yuudai were supposed to have been removed from everywhere and with them, a new identity had been given to the three of them.

Weeks went by and those little ones started to get better.

Yurika was the first to be discharged at one month old. This was because she had no complications at birth. She was a totally healthy and very energetic child.

Even in those months when she was already at home and her twin was still in the hospital, I took care of that precious little girl. Of which, I admit Okkotsu, I became so attached to your daughter that I began to love her as if she were my own daughter.

I even introduced her as my daughter when we went shopping, just the two of us. I even went so far as to buy her a lot of clothes that matched mine and accessories. Let's just say that I spoiled her too much.

This was because I saw in her a version of me and Maki that I wanted to protect and, by the way, I wanted to pamper her as I would have liked to be pampered.

So, Yurika, she is my favorite niece. And I just hope she is well and remains a cheerful child.

Yuudai, on the other hand, took almost three months to get out of the hospital. This was due to his delicate health.

Even so, with his health complications, your son managed to get ahead, maybe it is because that little one carries your blood. We can say that his recovery was gradually improving, even our fear that he would not be able to speak or that he would have some limitation of movement or mental retardation, was discarded with the passing of the months and with the visits to medical therapies.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♧ ━━━━ ◈

 

Flashback

Seven years ago.

4 months old.

“You should have seen them, Maki! Everyone was fascinated by Yurika when we went shopping! People would peek into the stroller and exclaim, ‘How beautiful your daughter looks!’. And I would just reply with a big smile, ‘Thank you so much!’ Some even commented that she looked a lot like me and in her new dress she looked like a doll”

Mai carefully took Yurika from her crib and gently lifted her up to rest her on her chest, while the little girl lay quietly by her side. –“She obviously looked like a beautiful doll and that's thanks to me because I know how to dress her!" she said proudly as she looked at her niece.

“The best thing about having a twin sister is that, if she has children, you can pass them off as your own without having given birth to them or put on weight. And because Yurika looks so much like me, if you stare at her, I can pass for her mother when we go shopping”

As she pronounced those words, Mai hugged Yurika tenderly, pressing her cheek to her little one's. The little girl seemed happy to receive so much attention from her aunt.

Mai, without letting go of Yurika, continued speaking with great enthusiasm- “And on our last outing to the mall, we bought more clothes, we even bought some matching outfits between the two of us. So we can go out for walks as matching aunt and niece! True Yurika you like being with aunt Mai-chan?" she said with a love and happiness that had never been seen in her before.

Truly, Mai had grown fond of her niece.

Instead, upon hearing all this, Maki frowned in utter disgust.

“You have spoiled her too much, and I don't like it," Maki looked at her sister angrily. “And don't forget that you also have a nephew" commented Maki with a reproachful tone, while pointing to little Yuudai, whom she was breastfeeding.

At that moment, the two were in the room they had decorated and arranged for their babies. Mai was standing next to Yurika's crib, while Maki was sitting in a small chair to nurse Yuudai.

Maki had listened to Mai's words with a mixture of discomfort and annoyance. Mai's favoritism towards Yurika was evident and that bothered to Maki too much as the mother of those two little ones.

The younger twin sighed at such a claim and returned Yurika to her crib.

Her gaze fell on Maki with the little boy clutched to her chest. That child was barely a month out of the hospital as his recovery had been quite slow and he continued to have health problems from time to time.

“Of course I haven't forgotten about him!" Mai assured seriously, "I promise I'll also buy clothes for Yuudai the next time I go out. Although I admit that buying things for girls is not the same as buying things for boys. I always find more variety of clothes for girls, since you'll always see the shelves full of beautiful dresses and outfits!”- She crossed her arms- “Besides, if I haven't taken Yuudai out in his stroller yet, it's because his health is still delicate and I don't want to expose him to the Street”

“I don't think that's the problema!" Maki commented with annoyance at her sister's words, "I've noticed, Mai…" her gaze expressed pure maternal annoyance as she looked at her twin.

“I know you don't like my son and that's why you act as if he doesn't exist. Yuudai has been out of the hospital for a month and you haven't wanted to spend time with him” -Maki stroked her son's hair, looking at him lovingly, as she gazed at him in her arms.

Her little one stopped drinking from her breast. Maki carefully wiped his mouth with the towel on her shoulder. That child, after having been hospitalized for three months, had finally been discharged. He had gained some weight and, for the moment, was stable and had no breathing complications. Although he still had difficulties in his physical movements.

Maki adjusted her T-shirt to cover her teat and carefully proceeded to pull the air out of Yuudai, placing his little head on her shoulder as the doctor had taught her while continuing to talk to her sister.

“And the truth is, it bothers me that you leave Yuudai aside, when you clearly said you would support me in this, but since you found out he was a boy, you've been distant with him...”- Maki whispered angrily, while holding her son in her arms once she managed to burp him.

“That's not true!" Mai reproached.

“Of course it is! And I've noticed it since we were in the hospital! Since his birth you have rejected my son..." Maki glared at her. She was really annoyed with her sister.

Mai kept silent at such words because it was true.

Maki continued to gently and tenderly caress her son's thick black hair, and then lovingly took his little hand, while the baby was making small noises.

The younger twin's gaze focused especially on that boy, whom she rejected.

“I'm just getting used to him!" he answered coldly, "Besides, I'm afraid of carrying him and not knowing what to do if he starts to convulse or starts to choke because of his lung problem...”

“MAI, DON'T LIE, I KNOW IT'S BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT MY SON!” -Maki looked at her twin seriously, you could see it in her eyes, she was furious and you could hear it in her voice – “Yuudai has been at home for a month now and you always find a pretext not to go near him!  You don't want to hug him, you don't want to help me change his diaper, you don't want to help me feed him, you don't want to go out with him when he can clearly go out in his stroller! You avoid him at all costs! Why do you reject my son like that?" she questioned very annoyed, "What prevents you from getting close to him?”

A shiver ran through Mai's body when she saw Maki so upset.
 She could no longer keep that feeling to herself.

“Ok, I admit it, it's hard for me to get close to him because he looks a lot like his idiot father..." Mai reproached furiously, "I clearly can't forgive Okkotsu for what he did to the three of you. And seeing that idiot in that child's face, it makes me sick!”- The younger twin moved her hands a little.

“BUT YUUDAI IS PART OF YOU TOO!! YOU SAID SO YOURSELF THE DAY YOU FOUND OUT I WAS PREGNANT!" Maki raised her voice, "YOU CAN'T JUST REJECT HIM FOR SOMETHING THAT IS NOT HIS FAULT! BESIDES YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD HELP AND SUPPORT ME IN THIS, WITH BOTH BABIES NO MATTER WHAT AND YOU ARE NOT KEEPING YOUR WORD AS A SISTER!" she shouted in annoyance, making her son cry in her arms.

Mai kept silent when she saw her sister so angry while she tried to calm her son. She gently cradled him in her hands and kissed his head tenderly.

Tears also welled up in Maki's eyes. She looked down at her little boy and cradled him tenderly against her chest, allowing her to listen to his heartbeat so she could soothe him.

“I know Yuudai bears a great resemblance to Yuta..." she whispered, "Do you think it doesn't hurt me to remember that idiot? Seeing him in my son is painful, yes, but this little one also shares traits with both of you... especially with you... because he is the younger twin, just as you are the younger twin. Clearly, you both have similarities”

Mai pursed her lips and sobbed very lightly, her tears falling silently. She knew what she was doing wrong because she was proud.

Maki continued speaking- “And not because he physically resembles his father, I will stop loving and protecting my son.... Not to mention Yurika, she also looks like Okkotsu if you stare at her...”- she was still shedding tears, but her voice sounded calmer as she saw her son in her arms, who had already stopped crying.

“So please Mai…" Maki looked at her sister with a touch of sadness in her voice, "don't make the same mistake as our mother and the other women of the clan. Don't look down on Yuudai just because he is a man. This child is very similar to someone who, for me, was the love of my life, but who was cowardly enough to abandon me...” -she sighed as she turned her gaze to her son. “Someone I'd rather pretend is dead so that his departure hurts less…”

Mai was completely speechless at her sister's words. She was right, she was behaving like a despicable Zenin. Rejecting a helpless little being just because she resembled someone she hated of the opposite sex. Just as the women of her clan despised, hated and rejected their sons and daughters for being similar to their detestable fathers.

Maki dried her tears with the edge of the towel that was still on her shoulder, as she continued to carry her son in her arms, she was trying to hum something but the lump in her throat wouldn't let her. She was tired and what her sister said only made her feel very bad about herself.

Yuudai was trying to fall asleep, but that melody could not reach his ears.

Mai let out the air with regret, approached Maki and stretched out her hands to pass that baby.

“You're tired, go take a bath and get some sleep, I'll take care of Yuudai" she said in a soft tone.

Maki looked at her suspiciously at first.

“You want me to hug him and get close to him, don't you?" asked Mai firmly.

“Yes, but...”

“I promise I won't do anything bad to my nephew, besides, you don't know lullabies" she continued, stretching out her hands, "Come on, let Aunt Mai hug him, just once...”

“Okay, but if you hurt him, I swear I'll break every bone in your body, no matter that you're my sister..." Maki sighed and carefully passed Yuudai, who was still making soft noises.

“But if you break my bones, you lose out because you still need my help, don't you Yuudai? Isn't your mother a grumpy one when she is stinky and in a bad mood?” commented Mai took her nephew gently and began to coo him tenderly, while stroking his hair and taking his little hand. That child was already calming down and falling asleep.

Maki sighed and put her hands on her face- “Thank you...”- she closed her eyes tightly –“I'm dead... I haven't slept at all these two days...”

“Go on, go take a bath, you stink of milk, I'll stay here taking care of both of them" she commented, still cooing to Yuudai, "take advantage of the fact that Yurika is already asleep too”

“Are you sure you can handle Yuudai?" Maki asked before standing up.

“You want me to spend time with him, don't you? Besides, I've seen everything you and Megumi do in taking care of him" Mai commented quietly.

“Okay" Maki sighed and walked to the door, "I'm going to take a bath...”

Mai stared intently at Yuudai in her arms, even though that boy looked quite similar to Yuta, those golden eyes were quite similar to both of them.

“Well, at least you got our beautiful honey-colored eyes..." she caressed Yuudai's cheek tenderly, "I hope you inherited more from us than from your stupid father”

It seemed that those words were true, as Yuudai had a good eye and aim, as did Mai.

Also, that the two of them, they had a connection that only they shared as the younger siblings, those fearful children who needed their older twins to stop being afraid.

 

And so, little by little, as we lived together, I grew fond of your son.
 I even started to buy similar outfits for Yurika and Yuudai so that they could be combined every time we left the house.

Even when I took them for walks in their strollers, I pretended to be a mother to both of them.

And I admit it, at the beginning I had a hard time getting attached to your son because he is an exact copy of you. He is not to blame for my hatred of you. Still, I tried to take care of him properly, even when Maki had to go out to work. And little by little I began to love him.

Please Okkotsu, if you have already met these two little ones, I ask you to take good care of them. I watched them grow up to be three years old and you don't know how much it hurts me not to be able to be with them right now.

I watched them grow from preemies babies to healthier babies full of energy and life.

I was there when they started to crawl, and I helped them to start walking, holding their little hands and guiding them.

I was also there when they started talking.

Okkotsu, for Yurika and Yuudai I gave my freedom and I would even give my life for them to continue living a normal life.

And I know others are doing the same. Even Maki. Who I know she still loves you. And because of that love she has for you, she gave birth to your children.

Okkotsu, I'm sorry that I have been too long in these pages, even so, I lacked a lot of truth to tell you. But I will leave that task to Maki, so that she can tell you the whole truth or what you have doubts about.

I don't have enough time, but to summarize and as I said, three years ago I stopped having contact with them because I gave my freedom in exchange for the Zenin clan not finding those children and, by the way, for them to continue believing that Maki is dead. That is a matter for my sister and Megumi to tell you what happened and how it is that I am now trapped again in this hellish residence, being the wife of Naoya's bastard...

Please Yuta, I beg you, take care of my nephews and Maki. They will need you so much.

You have my permission to give this letter to my idiot sister in case she doesn't want to tell you anything you ask her.

Please Maki, put your pride aside... he deserves to know the truth too.

Okkotsu, please keep the secret I told you in your pocket and take it to your grave. If you tell anyone outside of Maki, I swear to the gods, I will kill you.

Now it's up to you to repair all this... I trust you will do so...

-Mai Zenin.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

03:50 p.m.

Okkotsu finished reading that long letter once he was alone in his room in the apartment where he was staying in the city.

He couldn't believe everything he had read on those sheets. Which he had kept very well once they had arrived at the scene of the crime.

After answering that work call, Yuta asked Katsumoto to go straight to that apartment, where he locked himself in his room to read that letter in silence.

“Thank you Mai for telling me a part of the truth... I know I must return the favor" he said quietly as he continued to take those cards in his hands.

Yuta then looked at the large window in his room, it was getting late. He could see that the sky would soon turn red from the sunset.

Reading that letter stirred up his feelings and confirmed a few things. Above all, that letter would motivate him to confront Satoru.

But, first He would talk to Maki. There also had to be a way to protect her, the others and especially his children.

At that moment, the vivid image of his children came to his mind. And with them, a very important question that he had not thought of until that moment.

“How will Yurika and Yuudai take the news that I am their real father?” - he wondered, looking at the letter "Will they accept me? Or will it be better if they don't know who I am?”

Yuta sighed.
“I missed a lot of things about my children, so I doubt they will accept me so easily. Still, there's a lot to sort out before I tell them the truth” he plopped down on the bed.

“I wonder what Maki and my children are doing right now..." he sighed, looking at the ceiling.

“Maki..." Yuta whispered that name with longing, the love he felt for her was still very strong and now, he had two more reasons to go ahead and fight for that woman. And those reasons were his children.

But it is well said that where there was fire, ashes remain.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

03:55 p.m.

“Yu...ta...” Maki whispered in her sleep.

She had slept a good part of the afternoon.

Between dreams she was remembering a little of what had happened with her and Yuta the night before. Just as she was also remembering in her sleep their last kiss. Which felt so real even though it was just a memory.

Even the giggles she heard in her sleep reminded her of the first time she held her babies without them being on ventilators. When she was finally able to put their little heads on her chest and kiss their foreheads.

Maki was still dreaming, that is until she felt that her children had crawled into her bed and hugged her.

“shuu you will wake her up...”

“You are the one who is talking...”

“It seems that mommy is dreaming again about that man she sees in her dreams" whispered Yurika.

“I wonder who that man is that mom dreams about so much..." Yuudai said quietly.

“Do you think he dreams about our real dad?”

“I don't know...”

“She's waking up already!” Yurika whispered in surprise.

“Quickly, we must pretend to be asleep too!" Yuudai whispered, closing his eyes.

Those small voices close to her, made Maki open her eyes little by little and notice that her children were lying on her sides.

Yurika was to the right of her and Yuudai to the left.

Maki felt tenderness at the sight of her children pretending to be asleep, eyes closed, while their little heads were resting on her chest.

“I know they're not asleep" she smiled and whispered as she kissed each of them on their foreheads and brought her hands to their hair to stroke them, "Yurika, Yuudai”

Both children opened their beautiful honey-colored eyes as they let out a few small laughs.

“Did you sleep well, Mommy?" asked Yuudai with a smile.

Their mother kissed their foreheads again.

“I slept well and by the way, I was dreaming about the time I first held you two after you were born" said Maki with a smile, "just as you are right now, resting your heads on my chest”

That made both children smile.

“Mommy, did you dream something else?" Yurika asked curiously.

“Why such a question?” Maki asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Why did you seem to say a man's name under your breath" commented Yurika as she sat on the side of the bed.

“Were you dreaming about that man you see in your dreams?” Yuudai also asked, sitting down on the side to look at his mother.

“Were you dreaming about our real father?" asked Yurika.

Maki sighed and stretched out her arms as she pulled the sheets off her.

“I don't remember anymore" Maki lied as she shrugged her shoulders. “And by the way, what are you doing here in my room? And Megumi and the others, where are they?" she decided to change the subject.

“We came in to see if you were awake yet" Yuudai explained.

“Yes, mostly so we can go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for tomorrow to make the food we will offer to Yuta kun!" explained Yurika excitedly.

"And Papa Gumi is in the living room with my aunt and uncle" Yuudai replied.

“Yes, Dad agreed that we should come in and wake you up" said Yurika with a big smile.

“I see, well, at least I slept enough to feel better" replied Maki with a slight smile.

“Mommy! Do you think Yuta kun could sleep over here tomorrow? We want to play with him!”Yurika said.

“It seems that Yuta kun got along well with the others, as yesterday they all seemed to be old friends" Yuudai explained.

Both kids looked super excited about tomorrow and Maki noticed that.

“Do they really love Okkotsu even though they have only known him for a few days?" asked their mother when she saw their excitement.

“Yep!”

“He saved us, we owe him our lives!”

“Besides, we feel a strange connection with him!”

“We want him to be with us longer before he returns to Tokyo”

These two explained.

Maki sighed and pursed her lips in a pout. She did not like the idea.

“Mommy, what's wrong?" questioned Yurika, looking at her mother's seriousness.

“Don't you like him?" Yuudai asked.

“It's not that. It's just that he...” Maki didn't know whether or not to tell the truth.

“What does he have?" asked Yurika.

“Yuta kun is it?" Yuudai asked.

Maki felt that this was not the time for her children to know the truth.

“Yuta can sleep here alone if he has time, we can also prepare a futon and make a space for him in the living room if he wants to sleep with us” replied Maki with a smile as she sat down on her bed –“Now, go put on your shoes. We will go shopping”

“Yeih!" shouted those two excitedly as they climbed down from their mother's bed and ran to their respective rooms.

Instead, Maki flopped on her back on her mattress. She couldn't stop thinking about Yuta.

“I guess it's not yet time for them to know the truth..." she whispered to herself.

Her heart was pounding just thinking about Yuta staying overnight in that house tomorrow.

 

To be continued...

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Notes:

Here begins my vacation hiatus ❤

I hope you liked this long and revealing chapter, or rather, Christmas present.

How are you liking this story?

I admit that this was a very long letter but very revealing, and that this story still lacks other mysteries to be mentioned, as well as other truths that will gradually come to light, but that will be revealed until next year.

So here I only wanted to put what Mai considered most important to tell Yuta.

About the mystery of what happened to Utahime sensei seven years ago and her current life with Satoru, for that part I am thinking of writing a chapter that will revolve around that mystery. But that will be for next year.

About twins being unlucky, I guess that superstition can be broken when the babies are born with opposite sexes as in the case of Yurika and Yuudai who were a girl and a boy. Although I'm still defining what cursed techniques each child will have inherited, what techniques do you guys suggest, any Gojo clan techniques or Zenin clan techniques?

And speaking of the parents of those two, what do you think will happen in the next chapter where Yuta will go to Maki's house? What do you think Yuta and Maki will talk about? Do you think Yurika and Yuudai are already suspecting that Yuta is his real father? How do you think they will react when they find out? Will they take it well or badly? Although for this revelation, there are still several more chapters to go.

I can only advance that soon there will be some jealousy from Yuta towards Megumi because those kids love and call this man "dad", because Yurika and Yuudai really love Megumi as if he was their real father 👀.

So also before long, it will be Yuta's turn to talk to both Maki and Megumi.

Just as soon, Yuta will have to confront Satoru for answers about what happened years ago. *Thriller music*
Anyway, this story still has a long way to go.

As I said, this is the last chapter I'm writing this year, I hope in the next one, I'll be able to bring you more chapters ❤
For the moment, this December 26th I will continue reading your comments while I'm still here in my country.

From the 27th onwards, I will try to read your theories and comments once I have internet abroad. And if I don't manage to connect in these almost four weeks, I will try to catch up with your comments and messages once I get back to Mexico.
Vera says goodbye, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ❤

Chapter 13: 13. A Little Piece of Africa in the Heart

Notes:

Happy Birthday to me❤🥳

Hehe As I had said, I was thinking of uploading this chapter exactly this day where today I'm celebrating one more year of life❤and what better to share with you than one more chapter of this story.

Seriously, thank you so much for all your support. I owe you all a slice of cake🍰

Without further ado, enjoy the chapter🥳

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July 16.

04:27 p.m.

“The report on what happened yesterday at the Zenin residence has already been delivered in a timely manner, Mr. Ijichi said that also the leader Naoya has already given his report to the headquarters about yesterday's meeting" said Katsumoto while holding the tablet in his hands.

“Speaking of that leader, did Naoya send the list of weapons he said disappeared from his warehouse?”

“The list has not yet been sent to us”

“I understand, it remains to wait for him to send us that list, maybe this will also help us with the investigation and we will be able to identify what possible weapons this assassin is using to carry out these attacks” Yuta sighed.

“And now that we have just mentioned this topic, is there any progress with the Sorcerer killer? What information do we currently have about yesterday's victim?” He asked while he was finishing reviewing some papers, at that moment, he was sitting in the living room of that apartment, with several papers on the table.

Katsumoto looked at the screen of his tablet-“Well, as far as yesterday's victim is concerned, we still don't have enough information about her, so for the time being we will continue investigating her to find out if she was a “target” or a “commissioned ”

Yuta sighed "Then we can only wait for the reports on this investigation, by the way, today we have no news on whether there are any new victims?”

Katsumoto shook his head.
 “Luckily, if you can put it that way, there have been no reports of casualties this morning”

Yuta relaxed his shoulders a little when he heard that as he looked out the window of the apartment where he was staying. Hearing that answer comforted him too much and more than prayed to heaven that nothing would come up that afternoon about that case.

He even looked more cheerful than usual, and the previous day, the stress of having gone to the Zenin residence and, by the way, having seen one more victim of that murderer, had left him very stressed that night.

But it seemed that also something inside him had changed after reading that letter from Mai where she told him something about what happened seven years ago.

“I guess that's the only good news of the day" he leaned his back against the chair he was sitting in and let out a sigh of relief.

“It seems so, sir”

Yuta seemed encouraged by those words and the following would seem to put him in a better mood.

At that moment, the alarm on the Sorcerer's cell phone began to ring, warning him that he should get going and get ready, since he had a very important commitment to attend to that afternoon.

“If there are no more things we need to attend to regarding this case, I guess we can take the rest of this day" commented Yuta with a smile and standing up.  “That goes for you too Katsumoto, you can take the rest of the afternoon to rest or relax. We both need a break from all this”

Those words came as too much of a surprise to the assistant.
 “Are you sure we can take a break?”

“I'm very sure, and I've already told you before, haven't I? I want to take a few days to rest from all this business. And I think it's a good idea to start from this afternoon, Katsumoto, take a few days to rest too" commented Yuta with a smile.

“Sir, are you sure you are feeling well?” asked the assistant with confusion and even more so to see him in such a good mood.

“I feel wonderful!” Yuta look at his cell phone again –“ At this moment I must hurry as I have to leave for a very important appointment I have to attend to”

Katsumoto looked puzzled at such words. But he thought that this rest perhaps it might help his boss clear his mind so that he could concentrate properly on the investigation later.

And incidentally, to calm his poor nerves as that assistant really needed a break.

“Okay, before I leave, is there anything else you need, sir? Do you need a ride to your engagement site?”

“This occasion I want to go on my own. Although I would like you to do me a small favor Katsumoto before retiring to rest" commented the sorcerer with a big smile.

Yuta's heart was beating with too much enthusiasm. He had to hurry and more than his children were waiting for him. He simply wanted to see them and Maki and spend time with the three of them.

Even so, Yuta did not tell Katsumoto that he would meet Yurika and Yuudai that afternoon. This was to protect them.

 

 

 

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05:57 p.m.

The afternoon was falling fast in Kyoto. And lunchtime was already on the table.

And that guest had arrived punctually for his appointment with destiny.

Before announcing that he had arrived, Yuta admired the plaque outside the house. The one that had the surname Fushiguro marked in a beautiful golden tone on that black stone. He sighed a little as he read that surname, which, in a way, he knew had saved his children from a cruel fate.

 

 

 

The doorbell of Fushiguro’s house rang with joy, warning that the guest had arrived.

“It must be Yuta!”

“He has just arrived!”

Yurika and Yuudai, they had been excitedly waiting for their guest all afternoon, shouted with excitement.

Those two children at that moment were in the dining room with their mother, the three of them were finishing preparing the table where they would serve the food that together with their aunt Tsumiki, had prepared to offer to their guest.

On the other hand, when Maki heard that doorbell, she felt that her heart wanted to stop.

“Let's go open!" commented Yurika with a big smile.

“I just felt his cursed energy, so it must be Yuta!" Yuudai replied excitedly.

Maki looked at her children who were very excited.
 She felt her heart break as she heard her children's footsteps speeding away down the hallway as they ran toward the front door.

“It seems that Okkotsu kun was punctual in arriving" Tsumiki commented with a big smile.

She was standing very close to the stove in that kitchen, as she was finishing preparing the food.

Tsumiki took one last look at the pans, that dish they had prepared was ready to be served. Then she turned off the grills and turned to look at Maki.

She knew Maki was the most uncomfortable with this guest.

“I don't know why I opened my big mouth..." said Maki very annoyed, a big grimace formed on her lips, she regretted her decision to invite Yuta to eat at her house.

But it was too late for regrets.

On the other hand, Megumi, who was finishing arranging the guest room in case Yuta stayed overnight with them that day, and once he heard the doorbell ring, he went to the kitchen.

The man noticed Maki's uncomfortable face and even felt Tsumiki's look of sympathy.

Tsumiki sighed for those words that Maki had said.
 “Well, well they say that when the weather is bad, you have to have a good attitude." she commented, looking at her with a soft smile while she took off her apron.

Maki let out a sigh at such a phrase said by that sweet woman.

“I just hope this ends soon and he gets out of here..." she said crumpling a napkin she was holding tightly in her hand.

Megumi put his hands in his pockets as he walked to the threshold of that dining room – “You know that we are doing this for Yurika and Yuudai, besides Okkotsu senpai has the right to spend time with his children”

Maki gave his a look of utter annoyance at those words.
“I know. But I just hope that idiot doesn't say that he is their biological father. Otherwise I swear I'll kill him, because I'm really not ready to tell them the truth" she commented, feeling the bile rising in her throat.

Megumi sighed at those words.
“You know that sooner or later Yurika and Yuudai will have to know" he commented without taking his eyes off her.

Maki sighed at the thought. She did not know how her children would take that revelation. Which she hoped would never have to be discovered.

“I know, and I just hope it doesn't happen tonight..." she whispered, taking a last breath to gather her courage and try to leave the dining room to meet Yuta.

“It's like Tsumiki says, let's put a good face to this and just pretend we are just getting to know each other, that's all we can do right now. Still, there are some things I'd like to talk to Okkotsu senpai” Megumi answered before leaving to greet that sorcerer.

Maki could not move her feet.
 “I'm not ready for this..." she said quietly, bringing her hands to her chest while she listened to her excited children and heard the voice of Yuta, who had already entered her house. So Maki decided to wait a few more minutes before leaving the dining room.

She needed a moment to take courage.

Yurika and Yuudai ran at full speed towards the front door of their house, while their aunt Tsumiki went after them to make sure that the one who had arrived was Yuta and not someone else.

Tsumiki gently opened that door and poked her head in to take a look.

A big smile appeared on her lips at the sight of the one standing outside the black gate of that house.

“Come on children, it's time for you to welcome your guest" commented Tsumiki looking at the twins as she opened the door wide for the two of them to run to greet the adult who had arrived.

“Yuta Kun!" both children shouted in chorus.

Those cheerful voices made Yuta's face light up. A big smile formed on his lips. Even his heart wanted to leap out of his chest at the sight of his children running towards him.

Both children opened the gate and quickly went to hug him.

“We're glad you came!" commented Yurika with a big smile and still hugging him.

“Yes! We've been waiting for you!" Yuudai commented, still hugging him.

“And I'm glad to see them" commented the Sorcerer of special grade, stroking with his free hand the hair of those two, as in his left hand he carried some presents in a bag, as well as a small bouquet of flowers.

“I even see that both of them are dressed for the occasion" said Yuta looking at how those two little ones were dressed.

Both twins wore the same beige and green colors on their clothes.

Yurika was wearing a nice dress in a dark green shade, along with a light beige long-sleeved T-shirt and brown socks. Yuudai, on the other hand, was wearing a pair of pants in a light beige tone, was also wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt in a dark green tone and highlighted his socks in the same color as his sister's socks.

“Thank you very much!" replied Yurika kindly.

“We wanted to look presentable for the occasion!" Yuudai replied with a smile.

“Yes, we are also dressed like this because we want you to join us for the last night of the Yoiyama" said Yurika, walking around excitedly.

“Would you like to join us Yuta kun? We are going to the same shrine and the same festival we went to the other day, where we meet you!" explained Yuudai.

“We want to see the fireworks one more time with you and dad Gumi before he and Aunt Miki return to Tokyo”" said Yurika.

“Please say yes!" Yuudai begged, clasping his little hands together.

“Plis” His sister also joined hands and both children made puppy eyes.

In truth, Yuta felt too much tenderness for those two, and he couldn't say no to that request either. It was all for the sake of spend time a little more with his children, although deep down, it still hurt him that he could not call them as such.

At that moment, the Sorcerer squatted down, passed his free hand over the heads of those two and tousled their hair a little.

“Of course it will be a pleasure to accompany you to see the fireworks once again" commented Yuta with a big smile.

Once the children heard that answer, they shouted with happiness and jumped up and down.

But for the moment, it was time to move their guest to the comfort of their home.

“Come Yuta kun, you're just in time, the food is ready!" said Yurika taking his free hand.

“Come on! Come to our house!" Yuudai also took that free hand.

And so they began to lead their guest to the entrance of their home.

Yuta admired every part of the house where his children lived, even observing how well kept the front garden was.

Both little ones led Yuta to the front door, where Tsumiki was watching with too much tenderness that scene between a father and his children.

“Welcome Okkotsu kun, come in!" commented the chestnut girl kindly, welcoming him in that small genkan they had at the entrance of that house.

“Thank you very much Fushiguro san for the invitation" commented Yuta with a bow.

“You can call me Tsumiki, there is no need for so many formalities" she commented with a gentle smile, "Besides, the idea of inviting you was actually theirs" she said pointing to her nephews.

“Still, thank you very much for the invitation and by the way, you can also simply call me by my name" commented the guest kindly.

Yuta knew that she said that to pretend that they were just getting to know each other. Although in reality, in the past Yuta had hardly spend time with Tsumiki even though he knew about her and her family relationship with her stepbrother Megumi. So that time, it could be considered as one of the first times they talked and spend time together.

“Yuta kun!" commented Yurika approaching Yuudai with a pair of white slippers.

“We bought them exclusively for you, so that you can enter the house comfortably" Yuudai said, handing the shoes to his guest.

Megumi did not take long to appear in that hallway, approaching the entrance to greet him. Standing next to Yurika and Yuudai.

“Welcome Okkotsu”

“Thank you very much for this and for letting me into your house, Mr. Fushiguro" commented Yuta with a smile as he changed his shoes and entered the house.

“You don't have to thank me, come this way" commented Megumi with a very polite tone as he watched Yuta enter and they began to guide him through the small hallway of their home to the main room.

On the way, Yuta began to admire the inside of that home.

He could see that it was an orderly and clean place. Besides, as soon as you set foot inside, you could feel a pure harmony.

Once they passed into the living room, Yuta's eyes focused on the furniture and he noticed that there were some ornaments and toys on the table.

That room also had a shelf full of books, which he assumed were Fushiguro's since he knew that he was a man who read a lot and hoped that his children would be at least good students or at least children interested in reading.

He was also struck by the large TV in the living room, as well as several traditional paintings and some small tables next to the armchairs with photographs and lamps, which gave a touch of elegance and modernity to the place.

He could even notice that this place had everything his children needed. Everything that he could not give them because of his absence.

“Mom! Yuta kun is already here!" Yuudai shouted excitedly towards the hallway since Maki was the one who was missing there.

But what most caught Yuta's attention was that cactus with three beautiful flowers on its tip, that plant was in a beautiful pot and next to it, there were several family photos.

But there was one photo where Yuta felt his heart grow small as he saw that picture of Yurika and Yuudai when they were just babies, both of whom were being held on their mother's chest.

Tsumiki noticed how that guest did not take his eyes off the picture of those two babies.

“Yes, that's how young these two children were" she answered, approaching the photograph to take it and show it to the real father of these two.

Yuta felt like crying at the sight of the photograph, but he had to control himself.

“They were very small..." said Yuta with a tender smile on his lips and feeling his eyes watering.

“And then they grew up and became very naughty children" answered Megumi looking at those two children, who were each on one side of him. Yurika on the right and Yuudai on the left.

“Dad!" they shouted in chorus.

“You're going to embarrass us in front of Yuta kun!" replied Yuudai in a pout.

“Don't say bad things about us to Yuta kun or else he won't want to come to see us!" Yurika replied with a grimace.

“But your father is right, you two are very naughty" said Maki entering the room. She felt her heart stop as she saw Yuta finally at home, "Sorry for the delay, I was just finishing setting the table”

Maki's golden gaze met Yuta's blue gaze. That was a feeling she hated to witness. She could see how Yuta was still looking at her with love.

The guest decided to break that eye contact, so he decided to deliver the gifts he had brought for that family as tradition and protocol dictated.

“I brought you some gifts" he said with a smile as he took some small boxes out of his bag.

Quickly those children approached to take the gifts brought by that guest. They were super excited to take those two traditional little boxes wrapped in elegant white paper. Their honey-colored eyes were completely lit up and their smiles were huge.

“Yurika, Yuudai, how do you say?" commented Maki, putting her hands on her hips, she was partly upset because she did not want her children to receive anything from that man, but she had to act in front of those children.

“Thank you very much Yuta kun!" said those two in chorus and very excited to open those gifts.

“Children, don't open those presents yet, it is rude to open them in front of your guest" commented Megumi looking at the twins. The twins stopped and grimaced at this call for attention.

“It's no problem to open them in front of me" explained Yuta, "I just hope you like them, they are traditional sweets”

“That they will only be able to eat them until after they attend to your guest!" said Maki addressing her children, who pouted at their mother's words.

“It's okay, Mom" commented the twins in chorus, accompanied by a noise of annoyance as they rolled their eyes.

“I'm looking you!” Maki scolded, crossing her arms at the gesture her children made.

Yurika and Yuudai better smiled and decided to obey her because they didn't want to make her angry.

Yuta let out a small chuckle at that, he was still surprised to see Maki behaving like a mother.

Then, the guest sorcerer started to take more things out of the bag he was carrying in his hand “I also brought some gifts for all of you” he handed a box to Tsumiki and Megumi as well.

“Thank you very much Yuta Kun" replied Tsumiki politely.

“Thank you Okkotsu senpai” Megumi took that present with respect.

Yuta continued speaking “And for your mother, if you don't mind, I brought her this small bouquet of flowers” he commented with a slight smile while in his hands he carried a small bouquet with some white lilies accompanied with a few roses and some gerbera beads, both in pink tones “I think that last time I didn't introduce myself properly with her and this is also my cordial way of apologizing”

Those flowers stood out for being beautiful, besides being a symbol to apologize and to show that one still felt love for that special person.

Maki pressed her lips together for a moment and her hands crossed over her chest, she couldn't bring herself to take those flowers as she exchanged a glance with Yuta. Looks that were charged with various emotions and feelings that still existed between the two of them.

She tried to keep her face from turning red while her eyes kept looking at Yuta.

That look seemed strange to Yurika and Yuudai. Instead, Megumi, in order to break the ice between those two, cleared his throat a little so that Maki could say something.

“Thank you for the flowers, but they are not necessary... just as your apologies are no longer valid..." Maki rejected proudly as she looked away.

Those words made Yuta let the air out with some sadness.

But Tsumiki decided to intervene
"Even so, they are a very beautiful present, I will put them in water and by the way I will put them in a nice place here in the house" she said taking that bouquet.

“And by the way, where are Itadori, Kugisaki and Inumaki?" asked Yuta, holding in his bag the other gifts he had brought for those three.

“Uncle Toge had to go out on a job" Yuudai replied.

“And Aunt Noba went out on a date with Uncle Yuuji" Yurika replied, waving her hands.

“Although Aunt Noba seemed upset when we said you were coming for lunch. She said that if she saw you here she was going to beat you up, so Uncle Yuuji better take her out to eat" Yuudai commented that while shrugging his shoulders.

“I don't think she likes you”

“But we really like you, Yuta kun”

These children responded with a gentle smile.

Yuta scratched her head a little at those answers “I understand. I guess she's not the only one who didn't like it at all”

“Well, come to the dining room, the food is ready" said Tsumiki with a big smile, "Children, it is time for you two to attend to your guest.”

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

The meal was served and those flowers of forgiveness were gracing the occasion, standing in a vase in the center while those six people were seated around them.

And just as the condiments could not be missing in the meal, the chats, the glances between the ex-lovers and the questions could not be missing either while that family meal was taking place.

“Maki san told me that you met Yurika and Yuudai at the mall" answered Megumi looking at his guest before putting some food in his mouth.

Yuta scratched the back of his neck, "That's right, I have a feeling that meeting them that day was perhaps the work of destiny. The truth is that if I hadn't arrived in time, I don't know what would have happened to these two children" he answered, looking at the little ones with a smile.

The twins returned the gesture with a big smile.

“Thank you very much for taking care of them on that occasion and I hope they didn't cause you any more trouble that time" commented Tsumiki looking at the guest.

“Not at all, they are very good children" commented Yuta before putting more food in his mouth.

“Even that day Yuta took us out to eat hamburgers!" Yurika commented with a big smile.

“Yeah!, even that time we met his assistant! And he was the one who bought us our yellow and purple sweatshirts!” Yuudai said, waving his little hands happily.

“Yuudai!" his sister mumbled his name, annoyed that he was revealing more information than he should.

“Sweatshirts? So the sweatshirts they arrived with that time were not a gift from their grandfather Ui?" asked Maki seriously looking at her children.

“Oops..." the boy let out, making himself small at what he had said.

Maki sighed, "I guess I should have a serious talk with "her grandfather" about what happened that day" she said very seriously.

“You don't have to scold them, those two sweatshirts can be considered a gift from me to Yurika and Yuudai, especially because it was very rainy that day and I didn't want them to get sick" said Yuta, catching Maki's attention.

Again their eyes met.

Her golden gaze seemed to challenge that blue gaze, which simply could not take its eyes off her. Above all, Yuta also wanted to intervene for his children. But Maki, she didn't want him to meddle in the lives of those two.

“And tell us Okkotsu, what are you working on?” asked Megumi to change the subject and find out a little more about what his guest was currently doing in that city.

“I guess you must be working on something too important to have an assistant of your own" Maki commented, putting her hand on her chin. She, too, wanted to know what she was dealing with.

“Yuta kun is a detective!" Yurika replied enthusiastically, "A detective who has traveled abroad!”

“And he's not just any detective, but one who also sees curses and eliminates them with great agility just like mom and dad Gumi do!" Yuudai replied, holding up his chopsticks.

“That's right!, we saw how he can fight against big curses with a sword and with the help of that shikigami that goes with him, just like daddy with his creatures!" answered Yurika with a big smile looking at Megumi.

“-Yuta kun is very skilled with the sword! We saw him kill a big curse the size of our house!” Yuudai continued to move his hand with those chopsticks back and forth, as if it were a demonstration.

“Good with the sword, huh?” commented Maki with a mocking tone, "I wonder who she learned it from?" she threw that hint in a very direct way looking at Yuta, who was almost sitting in front of her at that circular table.

Yuta disbursed a slight smile when he heard all that “Well, more than a detective, I would say that I am an investigator working for some people who entrust me with some cases” look at Megumi first.

Megumi knew that his superior would say no more at that moment, so he would try to talk to him alone later.

Then he lowered his gaze to his food and slightly moved the rice with his chopsticks- “And about who taught me to fight with the sword, I would say it was a girl I met in my adolescence, who I would say was a great teacher for me in this fighting thing and by the way, she taught me to value my life more”- his gaze turned to Maki- “I would say that she is still a woman who was very important in my life, not to say that she was the love of my life”

Maki looked too seriously at Yuta for those words, although she felt her heart pounding for that comment, her pride made her not blush.

“Yuta kun Are you talking about the woman you are looking for here in Japan?" Yuudai asked.

“-Did you find her yet? “ Yurika asked curiously, putting her elbows on the table and bringing her little hands to her face.

Maki pursed her lips again. She knew they were talking about her, then she looked at Yuta seriously, asking him through her gaze not to reveal that she was that woman. She even made a slight no by shaking her head.

Yuta could notice that nervousness in Maki, he wanted to play a little with that feeling, but he did not want to be reckless, especially in front of his children, whom he looked at with a tender smile when he noticed their remarkable curiosity about such a subject.

Their guest sighed.
 “No, I haven't found her yet..." he looked at his children, "But I hope to be able to find her very soon and tell her so many things that I've kept to myself for a long time and that I've wanted to tell her”

Both children looked at each other, seemed to mentally exchange a few words, held each other's little finger and smiled before turning to Yuta.

“We hope you will be able to find her soon”

“Yes, we will continue to pray to the gods for you to find her”

These little ones answered, releasing their little fingers, and then joined their little hands as they did that day in the restaurant, closed their little eyes, and did the same ritual as that day.

Their mouths uttered something in a very low voice. Only a "Please" was barely audible.

Those twins quickly gave three claps and made a very slight bow. Bowing very slightly forward.

Tsumiki smiled sweetly, she felt too much tenderness watching that little ritual she had taught them.

Instead, Megumi sighed and just drank some tea as he watched those two perform that ritual, from which, he had quickly grasped that the woman Yuta was referring to was undoubtedly Maki.

Maki felt that her heart skipped a beat when she saw that ritual of her children. She knew that they were so innocent and sweet in that situation.

Then he looked at Yuta, who gave him a faint smile. It was as if they had been thinking the same thing at the time.

Yuta returned his eyes to his twins “Thank you very much for your good wishes, Yurika, Yuudai" he replied with a smile and with eyes full of tenderness, which wanted to shed tears but he controlled himself.

Again his blue eyes returned to Maki. Who was still very serious about everything her children were doing for Yuta.

The atmosphere felt somewhat tense between the guest and the twins' mother, so Tsumiki decided to change the subject.

“So Yuta kun, What is it like to be abroad? How long have you been out of Japan?" she asked curiously before putting more food in her mouth.

“Well, I was seven years out of Japan, so I can say that I enjoyed being abroad a lot" he answered looking at the chestnut.

“Really?” Maki asked “And how many countries did you visit?" she leaned her elbow on the table and brought her hand to her cheek, staring at him. “And by the way, did you visit them alone or were you accompanied by someone else?”

She wanted to know what he had done in those seven years where she had stayed in Japan.

Megumi also paid attention to that conversation, she knew that the best thing to do was to listen quietly, although it bothered him how passive aggressive Maki was being with her questions and comments.

Yuta let out a slight chuckle, he could feel Maki's anger and perhaps jealousy towards him with that question. “Well, most of the time I was only accompanied by a few assistants, although I admit that in my travels I met some very interesting people and some very beautiful women”

Maki's lips tightened at that last remark, even raising an eyebrow. Then a hint of jealousy was reflected in the grimace she made with her mouth, this at the thought that Yuta might have met and even slept with other women while she took care of his children and spent various sorrows in his absence.

Yuta continued talking even after seeing the look on Maki's face when he heard that answer.
“But I confess that I would have liked to visit those countries I went to in the company of "that woman" that I am still looking for here in Japan. Especially because at the time I asked her to accompany me, but she simply abandoned me without giving me more explanations and without confessing to me that important thing that she wanted to tell me so much at the time..." he threw that answer looking at Maki.

She  moved her tongue inside her mouth and bit the inside of her cheek when she heard that answer. She had many mixed feelings at that moment and if it wasn't because they were pretending in front of their children, Maki would already be claiming to that sorcerer that she was NOT the one who abandoned him. Rather, as she had told him that night at the festival, someone had conspired to separate them. But it seemed that Yuta was an idiot to figure it out on his own.

Besides, Maki had her reasons for not revealing her pregnancy to him at that moment in that train station seven years ago, and now that he was in front of her, she felt she should  to clear things up about her previous relationship with he. Although that moment was not the right time for that conversation. So she would wait to talk to him alone, when their children were finally asleep.

Instead, Yurika and Yuudai looked at each other when they heard that answer. They both exchanged a few words mentally and even made some gestures because they didn't quite understand what was going on.

Still, they were very attentive and more than curiosity began to itch with the behavior of their guest and their mother.

Then, Yuta took a breath and continued answering those questions but now looking at the others at the table  “And I can tell you that in these seven years I visited many places and learned a lot about many cultures. I traveled and met some interesting places in India and China. I also traveled for a while in the Middle East and from there I traveled to some cities in Europe such as Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Rome and Venice"  answered with a big smile.

He continue talking. –“ I also visited places in North America like some cities in the United States and Canada, but I liked more the Latin countries. Among them I visited Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil and I can say that those areas of the world have very fascinating cultures and by the way, they have some of the rarest and most powerful special category curses I have ever seen” He sigh, he seemed to have a good memory at that moment.

“But the place I liked the most was Africa. I must say that it is the most beautiful continent I have visited and the one that has left me many teachings, both personal and professional" he held his right hand to his chest, "They say that home is where your heart is and I can say that I already carry a bit of Africa in my heart. That place is already like my second home. Because my first home is here” he looked at his children with tenderness, because he knew that he belonged there, next to them

“Really?" Maki snorted, "And what else did you learn from that country that you say is your second home?" she asked with a slight grimace.

Yuta looked at her with a smile.
 “Besides learning interesting things about curses and cursed objects, I was also able to train with very strong people. And I also learned some words and phrases in several languages, since that country has a great diversity of languages. Among those languages I learned a bit of Arabic, Afrikaans, a bit of French, a bit of Portuguese and  Spanish and other languages spoken there.

“Could you tell us something in some language of that country?" Yuudai asked with too much curiosity.

“Yes, we want to hear you say something in another language!" said Yurika excitedly, clapping her hands.

“Sure” He looked at all of them and began to speak in some Afrikaans.

-Die familie is soos die bos, as jy daarbuite is sien jy net sy digtheid, as jy binne is sien jy dat elke boom sy eie posisie het.

“And what the hell does that mean?" asked Maki, wrinkling her forehead.

Yuta smiled “The translation would be something like "The family is like the forest, if you are outside of it you will only see its density, but if you are inside you will see that each tree has its own position" he said looking at everyone at the table, “it is a phrase said in South Africa to refer to the family and how you get to know all its members once you feel part of them”

Those children seemed fascinated by the words in another language that their guest had spoken.

“Everything about your travels sounds fantastic Yuta kun, even the language stuff" said Tsumiki, surprised to hear all that.

“So you were in Africa again..." whispered Maki in a very, very low voice as she heard everything Yuta said.

“And when you were there, did you see lions?" Yurika asked excitedly.

“And elephants?" Yuudai asked with a big smile, leaning his little hands on the table.

“And crocodiles?" asked Yurika.

“Zebras, giraffes?" Yuudai asked more excitedly. “The pyramids?!”

Yuta smiled too much to see his children's excitement at hearing about that continent.

“Yes, I saw all those animals and I also visited the pyramids, I can say that they are beautiful at night. In itself, the whole of Africa has the most beautiful landscapes you can imagine”

“We want to go to Africa someday!" Yuudai replied excitedly.

“Really? Why?" asked Yuta curiously.

“The main reason is because Mom was telling us that a boy she loved in high school went on an exchange trip to that country and he would send her pictures of the places he visited while he was there, and they would talk at night and he would tell her that Africa was very interesting!" answered Yurika, resting her hands on the table.

“That's why we want to get to know Africa and more than that, it's a country that Mom also wants to know, especially a city that says all its doors are blue!" Yuudai commented with a smile and turning to look at his mother, "Right Mommy?”

Maki almost choked on her food when she heard that. She felt shame for her children to say that.

“Yes, but I told them that that boy was just a high school classmate of mine and his father's, right Megumi? That he was just an acquaintance of ours" commented Maki looking at her relative, trying to get him to save her from the situation her children were putting her in.

Megumi finished taking a sip of his tea “Yes, he was a good high school classmate, in fact he was a senpai that I always admired and will continue to respect” he said that looking at Maki.

“And may I ask, what became of that boy?" Yuta asked curiously, but he had to continue pretending to be a stranger they were just getting to know.

Maki kept a moment of silence before trying to respond to that. She took a slight breath, she wanted to scream, but she had to control himself.

“I don't know... we haven't heard from him for years, maybe he has died or simply found happiness somewhere else…"she answered dryly.

Yuta sighed when he heard that answer.
 “I understand...”

Their gazes were still fixed on each other.

They were so close, yet so far away. Yuta really wanted to clear everything up with Maki, but he knew he couldn't say it, not even in front of his children.

So there was no choice but to keep pretending until it was just the two of them.

Yuta smiled a little and diverted his gaze to his children.

“Changing the subject, I must say that this food is delicious, especially the steak tastes great, it's on point, I must say that this is my favorite dish” He flatter.

“Thank you, Aunt Miki helped us cook!" commented Yurika.

“Yes, but who gave us the idea of this kind of steak and without the fatty edge was mom's idea!" Yuudai replied “She said you might like this dish, Yuta kun”

The Sorcerer smiled at that. Because there was only one person who knew that he liked his steak that way, cooked to perfection and without the fatty edges, and that person was Maki.

Yuta looked at that woman again “Thank you very much for the food”

“The one you should thank is the two of them" Maki replied with a slight smile and looked at yheir children, "They are the ones who wanted you to come for eat in the first place. Besides, they want you to spend time with them”

“Thank you very much Yurika, Yuudai for inviting me to be part of your family" thanked Yuta with a big smile.

The twins exchanged a few words mentally and then looked at their parents with a smile.

Megumi sighed a little at the interaction she saw from this family that deserved to be together. Still, that dinner had to come to an end.

“Well, I think we should finish eating soon to be able to go to the festival tonight if we want to enjoy it early" said Megumi looking at everyone present.

Then he looked at Tsumiki, who smiled slightly, it seemed that Megumi understood what was going through his sister's mind.

“That's right!” Yuudai commented, going back to eating.

“We must hurry!" said Yurika, putting more food in her mouth.

Tsumiki's eyes also looked at those four, she felt sorry for Yuta and in part, she felt guilty that those children bore the Fushiguro surname.

She wanted to clear it up with Okkotsu.

 

 

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07:14 p.m.

“Okkotsu senpai…” when Megumi was about to speak to that guest, the voices of the twins interrupted them.

“Yuta kun, let's go!”

“It's about time we went to the festival!”

“Dad, you too, don't just stand there, come on!”

Said those twins trying to get those adults, who were just about to sit on the living room sofas to get going.

The meal and that talk about what more countries and cultures Yuta had known in those seven years, as well as everything else he did abroad had ended minutes before

And once they finished dinner and helping in the kitchen, Megumi wanted to try to talk to Yuta. Who had followed him into the living room. But that talk would be delayed.

Those who were the most excited to go out to such a festival were Yurika and Yuudai, who wanted to spend time with their guest, but at the same time, they wanted to be with their stepfather. So both children had stood facing Megumi.

“We are going to the festival, aren't we, Dad?" asked Yurika looking at Megumi.

“Come on, Dad, say yes! Besides, Aunt Miki promised us that we'd go today too before you go back to Tokyo!" Yuudai said, waving his little hands.

“Let's go, Dad, so we can take Yuta with us and spend time with both of them!" said Yurika with a smile and moving around a bit.

“Please dad, let's go to the festival! You promised we would go too!" said the twins in chorus as they jumped lightly on their places and clasped their little hands together, making puppy eyes and staying close to Megumi.

Yuta's lips tightened slightly. That feeling of hearing his children say daddy to someone else made him uncomfortable, that discomfort stung his chest, it was the jealousy he never thought to experience.

Megumi sighed and rubbed his left shoulder as he used to do when something bothered his or he felt uncomfortable. “Okay, let's go. Okkotsu senpai, would you like to join us" he looked at the sorcerer.

Yuta nodded his head yes.
“I'll be happy to accompany them and more that I gave my word to Yurika and Yuudai that I would go”

“Well, go finish getting ready, we'll leave in five minutes" commented Megumi, putting his hands in his pockets, later he would try to talk to Yuta.

“Yup!" Both children ran.

“An apology senpai, the two of them always have a lot of energy”

“There's nothing to apologize for, and they do have a lot of energy, I've already checked" Yuta commented with a slight smile.

The five minutes Megumi gave for those children to be ready passed quickly.

Almost everyone was ready to leave.

Once Yurika and Yuudai finished putting on their shoes, each twin each took one of Yuta's hands and began to guide him to the exit.

Tsumiki and Megumi were behind those three. All of them were ready to get going, when suddenly Maki stopped at the threshold.

“Well, don't come back so late at night, okay?" said Maki, addressing her children in particular.

“Maki san, aren't you going to join us?" Yuta asked quickly. He felt that he should talk to her about many things.

She just shook her head no.
 “Not this time”

“Why not, Mommy?" asked her daughter.

“Yes Mom, why don't you want to come with us?" asked her son in a sad tone.

Maki started to explain “Because someone important is coming to see me since we are going to talk about some work stuff and I told her that I would meet her here at the house in about half an hour” she looked at her children “Besides, you should spend time with your guest, that's why you wanted him to come, isn't it?” her gaze then went to Yuta.

Maki continued speaking, "Besides, they are going with their aunt Tsumiki and your father, so I know your will be fine without me this time" she gave a smile to her children, accompanied by a caress on their cheeks.

“It's okay, Mommy" replied Yurika, hugging her mother.

“We'll try not to come back so late at night" replied her son, also hugging her.

Maki stroked her children's hair.
“Now go and do no mischief, and obey your father and your aunt in everything" she said goodbye, "Now go, the fireworks will be launched soon”

“Come on Yuta kun!”

“This way!”

Each child again took the hand of the Sorcerer, who, before taking another step, He turned to talk to Maki.

“Maki san, do you think I could talk to you if I came back?" He asked uncertainly. –“There is something I would like to tell you about what we talked about the other day" Yuta  looked at her seriously.

Maki stared at Yuta while her arms were crossed over her chest. She also felt the gaze of her children on her, who looked at them curiously.

She sighed and loosened her shoulders, "Okay, we'll talk when you get back. Now you'd better go, you'll be late!" she waved her hand in a sign for them to leave.

“Thank you" Yuta replied with a smile.

“Come on children, I'm already hearing the drums in the distance" said Tsumiki, making the twins start walking in a hurry hand in hand with their guest.

Behind them was Tsumiki smiling to see how those two were jumping and holding hands with their real father.

Instead, Megumi shot a quick glance at Maki before starting to walk. He felt that she was hiding something, though a part of him wanted to believe that maybe she just didn't want to live with Okkotsu yet.

“Anything, don't hesitate to let me know" commented Megumi staring at her, trying to find something wrong with her.

“Don't worry, I can take care of myself!" said Maki, taking her right hand to her waist and moving her left hand to tell her to move away, "go, your children are waiting for you!”

“Dad, don't fall behind!" shouted Yurika, who had run to Megumi to grab his hand and pull him to hurry him up.

Megumi sighed and just followed the girl to join the others.

Once those five disappeared around the corner. Maki heard a particular flapping sound overhead. She knew it was too late at night for two black birds like the crows to be flying around.

She quickly picked up two pebbles and threw them at the crows, causing them both to fall to the ground, groaning in pain.

“I don't want them to be after my children and much less spying on them, understood? And by the way, let's see when you two deign to appear because we must talk urgently!" commented Maki with too much fury looking at those two birds on the ground, sending that message before those two birds died.

And just as Maki said, her guest soon arrived to talk about an important topic that was going around the world of sorcery and that could affect the integrity of her children.

In addition, at the festival, Yuta was going to begin to discover more things from the past and, incidentally, he was going to reaffirm some things that Mai had told him in her letter, above all, regarding the Fushiguro surname.

 

 

---

 

Coming soon...

Hearing the word "Dad" triggered various feelings and emotions in Yuta. He felt too much sadness and could only bear to see and hear how those children treated that man with black, spiky hair with too much affection.

Even Yuta became jealous, since Fushiguro knew quite well the tastes and those things that those two liked so much, as well as those ingredients that Yurika and Yuudai did not like, and that was demonstrated when he ordered food for those twins.

There was a moment where Megumi, felt the gaze and the cursed energy fall on him, as Yuta began to feel pure jealousy towards that former high school classmate. But the sorcerer who came from abroad tried to control himself and not to think about that negative feeling. He had to learn from everything he saw in order to know everything about his children.

But still, it was a little hard not to be jealous of the heir of the ten shadows.

[...]

That adult watched with tenderness as his children's golden eyes lit up and filled with emotion at the sight of those lights above their heads.

Yuta pursed his lips slightly and blinked a couple of times to clear his tears before looking up at the sky.

That scene passed with a gentle slowness that he wanted to treasure in his heart. And more so when he felt how those two children grasped tightly each hand that held him, showing their excitement to see those lights.

A scene where, even though he was their real father, to those children at the time, he was just their new friend.

 

[...]

“Dad!”

Both children said in chorus, as they started to say some things to Megumi with too much enthusiasm after seeing the fireworks.

The sight of that scene made Yuta sigh and just watch them in silence.

“I guess Fushiguro has done what I could never do... marry Maki and by the way, have all the love of my children... whom I hardly know" whispered Yuta feeling alien to all of them.

That reaction was noticed by Tsumiki, who sighed, it was time for her to talk to Okkotsu.

 

[...]

Tsumiki sighed when she heard that.
“And I must admit that Yurika and Yuudai loving Megumi as if he was really her biological father is my fault" she said without looking away from the Sorcerer, "Yuta Okkotsu, I owe you an apology...”

Those words left Yuta confused, "Why do you say that Tsumiki san?" he asked with confusion.

Tsumiki continued speaking.
“The truth..." she took a slight breath and looked at Yuta  once more "I was the one who convinced or rather, forced Megumi to marry Maki and adopt Yurika and Yuudai as hers.... so it's practically my fault that your children carry the surname Fushiguro instead of yours...”

The sorcerer remained silent as he continued to listen intently to that woman.

“It all happened seven years ago...”

 

To be continued...

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Notes:

I hope you liked the chapter❤

There's a lot of mystery with Maki right now, don't you think? 👀Anyway, she'll be talking to Yuta again very soon.

Anyway, what do you think of the story?

In the next chapter, Yuta finally Will speak Megumi and Tsumiki, and as you can see, she will tell him something important about seven years ago that has to do with her family name. Yuta will also have an interesting talk with Megumi 👀

Thank you so much for your congratulations and support hehe, I seriously owe you a slice of cake🍰

We keep reading❤

Chapter 14: 14. The Fushiguro Siblings

Notes:

I hope you like it because here there will be another jump to the past, more specifically to a certain event that defined the twins' present, and as you can see from the title, you already know who the protagonists are this time.

I also want to tell you that I already modified chapter 07 and chapter 11, in these I already added Choso in the plot of this story, so here he is Yuki's infiltrator in Zenin residence. Long live chosoyuki❤

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it as it is somewhat long this chapter ✨.

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

07:50 p.m.

That festival was full of colors as well as people.

The esplanade of the sanctuary was filled with couples, groups of friends and families enjoying the last night of the festival. They wandered around, enjoying the game places and the delicious variety of aromas and flavors emanating from the food stalls.

That last night of the Yoiyama was being fun especially for the twins, who were very happy that Yuta was sharing time with them.

But their guest's heart shrank every time the twins called "daddy" and showed affection to the other man who accompanied them that night.

“Dad, now we want to go here!" said Yurika, taking Megumi's hand and jumping up and down.

“Dad, can you buy me some onigiri?" asked Yuudai as he hugged Megumi's leg.

“Daddy Gumi”

“Dad!”

“Dad!”

Said again and again Yurika and Yuudai who behaved affectionately with Megumi Fushiguro, holding his hand or tugging his shirt to get his attention or even hugging his of surprise from time to time.

Those children really loved that man as if he were their real father.

When he heard them call him by that name, the spiky-haired jet-haired man looked at them serenely, gave them a small smile, stroked their hair and in passing bought them whatever they asked for or went wherever they wanted to go.

From time to time, the children's witticisms would provoke a disapproving grimace or a call for attention from Megumi, assuming a paternal role in front of them.

Far from being indifferent, hearing the word "dad" and watching Fushiguro assume a paternal role with Yurika and Yuudai detonated a mixture of negative feelings and emotions in Yuta.

He even felt jealous, since Fushiguro knew quite well the twins' tastes and preferences, as well as knew by heart those specific ingredients that they did not like and that was demonstrated when he ordered food for them.

“No mayonnaise please" said Megumi when he ordered a dish for Yuudai, because he knew that this ingredient was not liked by this boy.

“Please omit the almonds and use a different spoon than the one you used with them” ordered Megumi when they bought some desserts, because he knew Yurika was allergic to that nut.

A shiver ran down Megumi's back as he felt Yuta's heavy gaze and overwhelming energy settle on him. His high school classmate exuded a palpable aura of jealousy as a father.

But the sorcerer who came from abroad tried to control himself and not to let himself be carried away by those negative feelings. He had to be wise and he had to learn from everything he saw and heard from Megumi to get to know his children completely.

But still, it was a little hard not to be jealous of the heir of the ten shadows in that situation where he seemed to be the perfect father to his own children.

 

 

 

08:20 p.m.

Even Megumi knew the personalities of these children inside out, as well as how they behaved when they were playing in some stalls.

Like at that moment, where both children were at a stand where they had to throw marbles into holes with certain numbers in order to receive a prize.

“Don't cheat, I'm watching you" commented Megumi seriously.

“Of course we've never cheated!" Yurika reproached.

Megumi raised an eyebrow at the girl's words.
“I say it especially for you Yurika, sometimes you like to make small "advantageous" moves in this kind of games and I don't want you to throw punches if you don't win!" he commented crossing his arms over his chest.

“That's not true! I don't behave like that!" the girl pouted and raised her face in indignation.

Instead, Yuudai let out a mocking chuckle because they were calling attention to his sister.

“And what are you laughing at, crybaby?" asked Yurika with total annoyance.

Yuudai stuck his tongue out at her, "I'm making fun of you, you cheater!”

“You'd better shut up and concentrate on beating me!" Yurika replied as they both started throwing those marbles.

“Of course I'll beat you! I have a better eye and better aim than you!" Yuudai mocked.

Yuta and Tsumiki, who were only a meter away from them, laughed a little at the behavior and words of those children.

“What does Megumi mean by what she said about Yurika?" Yuta asked curiously.

Tsumiki smiled as she answered the sorcerer. “Yurika  happens to be a very "witty" child, so to speak. She gets her way in curious ways. She's smart, yes, but sometimes she likes to do things her own way, even if that borders on "cheating". And in that sense, she is very stubborn. If she gets desperate, she resorts to force. She's even gotten into fistfights with other kids when they really piss her off" she sighed resignedly.

“Like Maki?" asked Yuta with a smile.

Tsumiki let out a slight chuckle at the comparison, "Like mother, like daughter.”

From that game, Yuudai was the winner, demonstrating a greater capacity for observation and analysis than his sister. Thus winning a nice toy as a prize.

After that game, the five moved to another place, where the game consisted of knocking down a pyramid of cans.

Yurika was the first to play and just as Tsumiki had said, she was a strong girl. Her throw of the ball managed to hit those cans, which shook. However, the force of that throw was not enough to knock them down completely, as only two of them fell to the ground.

“DAMN!" She said quietly, wrinkling her nose in anger.

Yuudai was the next to throw that ball, but he didn't even make it past the starting line. Thus proving that he was a very weak child.

“You really don't know how to pitch!" his sister commented mockingly.

“Shut up! It's just that the ball slipped" he pouted in annoyance.

Seeing this, Yuta decided to help his children.
“Let me try to do it for you" he offered, stroking the heads of both, making the children smile at his offer.

Yuta threw that ball and managed to throw that new tower of cans, making those children get excited and jump with happiness to see how strong that man was.

“Choose the prize you like" said the owner of the stall.

“Could I choose two? They are twins and one prize would not be enough for both of them" asked Yuta, placing his hands on each child's shoulder.

“I'm sorry, but that's the rules, you can only choose one" commented the man seriously.

“Yurika, Yuudai, how about bringing a gift for your mother" suggested Tsumiki, winking at the two little ones, "You could say it's from the three of you”

Yuta smiled at that suggestion, which made the children look at each other, again they seemed to exchange a few words mentally and made a yes with their heads.

“We want to take that one to her!" they said in chorus, pointing to a stuffed lion. Because they knew that this animal was one of their mother's favorites.

 

 

 

08:47 p.m.

After a little more wandering around the festival, the five arrived at another of the games typical of such places, which was a target shooting place with toy guns.

The objects to be knocked down, colorful and of different shapes, swayed gently hanging from a structure. Excitedly, each child took a gun and prepared to test their aim. Doing their best to shoot down these figures.

In this game, Yuudai also demonstrated a good, but not perfect, aim, as he only managed to knock down 4 figures.

On the other hand, Yurika showed that she was also a good shot, as she managed to shoot 2 figures in a row, but being very impulsive, she shot too insistently and her toy pellets ran out quickly.

Once their turn was over, these children quickly turned to the adults accompanying them.

“Dad, we want you to play too!" said Yurika, passing the toy gun to Megumi.

“Me?" Megumi raised an eyebrow.

“Yes you! And we also want Yuta kun to play against you!" Yuudai commented looking at the special grade sorcerer and handed him that toy weapon.

“What? Me?!" came out of Yuta's throat with too much surprise.

“We want to see which of you two is better at shooting!" commented Yurika with a big smile.

“Yes! We want to see you two in action!" Yuudai commented somewhat excitedly.

Tsumiki laughed slightly when she saw the surprised face of both men.
 If those little ones only knew the truth, that Yuta was their real father and that they were actually confronting their stepfather, their surprise would surely be huge. However, she knew that those two children would not stop and would continue to push the rivalry between the two men in that game.

“We don't need to do this, senpai" said Megumi respectfully.

Yuta took that toy gun.
“You don't have to worry Fushiguro kun. It will only be one game and let it be without rancor”

The sorcerer of the ten shadows sighed at such a comment, took that toy gun and prepared to shoot at those objects.

“Ok, no hard feelings Okkotsu senpai”

“All right, ready in three, two, one, start shooting" commented the owner of the stall, giving them the signal that the competition between the two adults could begin.

At that moment both sorcerers fired their first shots and those rubber balls began to hit those targets.

“Let's go, Dad!" Yuudai encouraged, raising his hands.

“Come on Yuta kun, you can do it!" Yurika shouted, waving her little hands excitedly.

Those children were very excited to see those two men trying to shoot down those objects in their next shots.

“Yurika, Yuudai, who are you supporting in this game?" asked Tsumiki, bending down slightly to look at the two.

“I want Papa Gumi to win!” Yuudai commented with a big smile.

“I want to support both of them, but at the same time I would like Yuta kun to win!" Yurika pouted.

Still, both children looked at each other and continued to scream louder.

“Come on, Dad!”

“You can do it Yuta kun!”

“You can do it, Papa Gumi!”

“That's the way to do it Yuta Kun!”

After a few more shots, Yuta and Megumi were tied. They had each knocked down two figures.

But the cries of those little ones became louder and louder that even echoed in Yuta's head, as they both repeated one word in particular, showing who they supported more in that game.

“Dad!”

Hearing those two say daddy to Megumi, made Yuta lose concentration and in his next shots he missed. Thus ending his bullets.

Instead, Megumi with his last ammunition managed to take down one more target, ending up with a score of three against two.

Yuta lowered that toy gun in dejection as he watched Yurika and Yuudai run to embrace Megumi.

“That was amazing, Dad!" said Yurika happily, hugging him.

“Yes, that was too cool! That means we Fushiguros have a talent for being good marksmen!" Yuudai commented too happily, hugging him and staring at him.

“I'm proud to be a Fushiguro for this and more!" Yurika said, also looking at Megumi with admiration.

Instead, Yuta felt his heart break as he heard those words coming from his children, who were still hugging Megumi.

Despite feeling jealous of Megumi at that instant, the special grade sorcerer, sighed and lowered his shoulders. He was aware that much of the blame for what was happening to him rested on himself.

Tsukimi looked at that scene. Hearing how those two children were proud to carry the Fushiguro surname, she felt sorry for Yuta.

He knew it was his complete fault that those twins bore that surname, so he had to apologize to Okkotsu.

Megumi quickly looked at his superior. He noticed how Okkotsu looked sad about everything the twins were saying about him, so he quickly decided to change the subject.

“Well, I think Okkotsu senpai actually did better than me" said Megumi looking at those kids, "Although if you ask me, I remember that the one who was good at this gun shooting was their aunt Mai. So rather than being from the Fushiguro's side, I think you two inherited this from your mother's side of the family”

Megumi looked at Yuta, and made a slight nod of his head to apologize to him for everything those kids said.

“That's true, Yuta kun didn't do too bad" commented Tsumiki with a smile, "And yes I remember it very well, Mai chan was excellent at shooting with her pistol. It was almost a hundred percent certain that she hit the target”

“Are you talking about Aunt Mai?" Yuudai asked in confusion, "Mom's twin?”

“That's right, your mother's twin was very good at shooting guns, so they inherited it from her" said Megumi looking at the children.

“I don't really remember anything about Aunt Mai" Yuudai pouted.

Yurika shook her head slightly to one side, "I have a very, very faint memory of Aunt Mai. It's kind of fuzzy, but I feel like I did know her when I was younger. I even think I remember her voice...” she commented, bringing her hand to her chin.

“If you still remember her, it is because she did spend a lot of time with you when you were a baby, and she spoiled you too much Yurika" answered Tsumiki affectionately, stroking the girl's hair.

"Anyway, I must admit it was a great game" Yuta approached those three and extended his hand towards Megumi.

The sorcerer of the ten shadows returned the gesture chivalrously
“It was a pleasure to have played at your side, Okkotsu senpai”

Yuta smiled at those words.

Tsumiki tousled her nephews' hair a little.
 “Well, the fireworks are about to start, let's hurry to get to our favorite place to see them in the front row" she suggested looking at those four.

She was also doing that, because she wanted to talk to Yuta alone, so she had a plan that she would put into action after seeing that show.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

09:05 p.m.

The fireworks were a sight to behold in that part of the sanctuary.

Those five had gone to their favorite place to admire that nighttime spectacle.

Those children were very happy looking at those lights as they each held one of Yuta's hands.

That adult watched with tenderness as his children's golden eyes lit up and filled with emotion at the sight of those lights above their heads.

He first looked to his right, where Yurika was, and then turned his head to the left, where Yuudai was. Both children gave him a big smile as they raised their free little hands to the sky, opening and closing them as if they wanted to take those lights in their hands.

Yuta pursed his lips a little and blinked a couple of times to clear his tears before looking up at the sky, which was still illuminated by those beautiful multi-colored lights.

That scene passed with a gentle slowness that Yuta wanted to treasure in his heart. And more so as he felt Yurika and Yuudai tightly grasped each hand that held him, showing their excitement to see those lights.

A scene in which, despite being their real father, those children only saw him as a new friend at that moment in their lives.

 

 

09:15 p.m.

The fireworks stopped and once the gray smoke was blown away by the wind over that dark sky, both children let go of Yuta's hands and both ran towards Megumi and Tsumiki, who were a little more than a meter away from those three.

The Fushiguro siblings had made a point of taking some distance during that show so that Yuta could be close to his sons as they admired those lights.

“Dad!”

“Daddy Gumi!”

Both children said in chorus, as they both started to say some things to Megumi with too much enthusiasm.

The sight of that scene made Yuta sigh and just watch them in silence.

“I guess Fushiguro has done everything I could never do... especially marrying Maki and by the way, having all the love of my children... whom I hardly know..." whispered Yuta feeling oblivious to all of them.
 He looked down and pressed his lips tightly together.

This reaction was noticed by Tsumiki, who sighed and turned to her brother and the children.

“Megumi, how about you, Yurika and Yuudai go get some dessert? And while you're at it, could you buy some sparklers? Please...” Tsumiki commented with a slight smile while staring at her brother “It's just that we have to share some more time with Yuta kun before the night is over...”

Megumi could read what Tsumiki was trying to say, as she gave a slight shake of her head as she said the latter.

“Okay, Children, let's go buy some things to share with Okkotsu senpai" he said lowering his gaze to those two, "He is your guest and you two must attend him and give him the proper attention”

“Okay” said those twins in chorus and then turned to Yuta.

“Yuta kun, we'll be right back!" Yuudai commented with a smile.

“Let's bring more food and some sparklers!" Yurika commented, waving her little hands happily.

“Of course, be careful" Okkotsu commented with a slight smile as he watched his children leave with their step father.

“Yuta and I will wait for them on that bench" said Tsumiki pointing to a place to sit near a plum tree.

“Now we'll see you again!" said Yuta with great excitement before leaving.

Yuudai took his sister's hand and both children started walking hand in hand towards the festival places.

Megumi just nodded his head yes as he looked at his sister and then turned to walk away with those children.

Okkotsu sighed once he lost sight of them in that sea of people.

“Okkotsu kun, let's go sit down for a moment, I feel like we've already walked a lot tonight”

“Okay" he replied somewhat distractedly as he followed her.

“By the way Yuta kun, what do you think of the festival?" asked Tsumiki, bringing the sorcerer out of his thoughts.

Both adults went to that bench, which was under a plum tree, and as they took a seat, Yuta answered the previous question.

“Well, I must admit that I'm having a lot of fun, although I wish Maki san had also come with us" He exhale, "I admit that I just wanted to spend some time with her and Yurika and Yuudai before going back to Tokyo. Besides, I wanted to talk to her some more and I wanted to ask her some questions about our children and about what happened seven years ago”

Tsumiki lowered her shoulders a little.
 “I apologize on her behalf. The poor is still assimilating your return, besides you more than anyone else know that she is a bit "difficult" when she is upset and always shows her anger or her resentment towards others in this way....” She look at the sorcerer –“Just give her some time, please”

“I know, she once told me and I know she can be very spiteful to those she hates" He sigh, "So I just hope to clear all this up very soon..."

“Even so, I can tell that your children are having a lot of fun with you tonight and I can see it on their faces," Tsumiki looked at Yuta with a slight smile. Her eyes reflected too much sincerity “I haven't seen them so happy and motivated to be spend time this way with someone outside the family for a long time. So I can confirm that they feel comfortable with you”

Yuta smiled slightly. “Yurika and Yuudai are very good children”

“Yes they are, I can assure you of that”

The sorcerer sighed painfully.

“Too bad that at this moment they only see me as their "friend" and I suppose that revealing to them that I am their biological father would only cause them confusion..." Yuta lightly pressed his hands on his knees "And Megumi fulfills the role of father better for them than I do. And it shows in how Yurika and Yuudai adore him, love him, admire him and respect him as the father they think he is” he looked to the front as he watched the people walk by. His tone revealed that he was too jealous of that sorcerer.

Tsumiki sighed with sadness when she heard that.
“And I must admit that Yurika and Yuudai loving Megumi as if he was really their biological father is my fault" she said without looking away from the sorcerer, "Yuta Okkotsu, I owe you an apology...”

Those words left Yuta confused “Why do you say that Tsumiki san?” he asked with bewilderment.

Tsumiki looked down and looked at her hands, which were clasped together and her thumbs were moving slightly between them. She always made that movement when she was quite nervous.

“Because I was responsible for your children taking the Fushiguro suname”

Yuta kept silent when he heard that revelation. Although Mai in her letter had commented slightly on the matter of the surname of her children, Yuta wanted to hear the truth from another person who was present on that occasion seven years ago.

Tsumiki took a slight breath and looked Yuta in the eyes  once again- “I was the one who convinced, or rather, who forced Megumi to marry Maki and to adopt Yurika and Yuudai as his children. Therefore, it's practically my fault that YOUR children carry the surname Fushiguro instead of the surname Okkotsu...” her voice was breaking – “I simply wanted to save your children...”

The sorcerer remained silent as he continued to listen intently to that woman.

Tsumiki took a deep breath to calm down, swallowed saliva to get rid of the lump in her throat and continued speaking “It all happened seven years ago... in the night when your children were born”

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

Flashback
Seven years ago.

Night of October 7th.

 

“And how are those babies doing?" Tsumiki asked with too much anguish.

Both Megumi and she had arrived as quickly as they could at the hospital once Mai told them what had happened.

The news that Maki had given birth prematurely had worried them too much and the bad news seemed to persist.

At that time, the Fushiguro siblings were outside the nursery area, looking through the glass at the newborn babies.

But Maki's children were not in that row of healthy infants. Those twins were in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which could be seen a little through that big glass.

The NICU was at the back, separated by a glass door, where the staff, composed mostly of nurses and some doctors, devoted their attention and care to these delicate little ones.

From the area where Megumi and Tsumiki were, they could catch a glimpse of the incubator where Maki's children were. Those little ones were receiving oxygen through the nasal cannula and above all, Yuudai was the one who was being monitored the most with the vital signs sensors.

The doctor who attended those babies at birth was talking to those two adults at the time.

“Both babies are currently in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and we will be monitoring them very closely. Although I must tell you that the girl is the more stable of the two little ones, but her brother...”

The woman looked at the two adults with seriousness "The boy is the one with the worst health condition. He was born with low weight and height, and unfortunately he suffered from neonatal hypoxia. In simpler terms, he stopped receiving oxygen shortly before delivery and took several minutes to breathe at birth, so we must monitor him very closely to evaluate his evolution and to find out the possible sequelae he might present after neonatal resuscitation” The doctor was trying hard to remain calm, but the shadow of bad news was reflected on her face – “Even so, I ask you to be prepared in case this little boy's condition does not improve in the next few days. It really was a very difficult delivery for those twins, but especially for that boy who was practically stillborn…”

“It can't be!" Tsumiki put her hands to her mouth with too much anguish when she heard all that. Her tears started to flow down her cheeks.

Instead, Megumi felt his blood rush to the floor from hearing all that. He was in shock and his hands all shaking into fists and trying to control his tears, which wanted to come out of his eyes. The poor guy felt helpless in such a situation.

“As I said, we will keep an eye on the health of these twins, as well as their mother” The doctor looked at the incubator.

“I also want to tell you that, under the authorization of Miss Mai Zenin, we put these twins in the same incubator. We believe that being close to each other could help in the recovery of both little ones. Several studies have shown that physical contact between premature siblings can improve both their physical and emotional development..." She saw Mai in the distance, who was answering a call that had come in minutes before.

Tsumiki and Megumi watched as Mai looked overly worried and even a bit scared while talking on the phone.

“I guess she is also waiting for a miracle..." commented the doctor looking at the papers again.

“And Maki, how is the twins' mother?" asked Megumi with concern.

“She as her children are in intensive care. As I said, it was a very difficult delivery for all three of them, and for her in particular, it was a very painful delivery. The mother suffered a great loss of blood and stopped breathing, which caused her to lose consciousness and she even had a cardiac arrest, where she died for a few minutes.” She sighed as she quickly reviewed the medical sheets.
“But for the moment, she seems stable. However, she will remain under observation while she wakes up and we rule out any sequelae due to the resuscitation”

“If only we had always been with them, none of this would have happened!” Tsumiki wailed with too many tears in her eyes.

Megumi, on the other hand, remained silent. He was really affected by all that bad news.

The doctor took a breath and continued explaining.
“I know you must be too overwhelmed by all the bad news you have received tonight, but what I am about to tell you is also very important" she looked at the two of them.

“What's that important thing about?" Megumi asked impatiently.

“I also need you as relatives to register the official name of these two little ones. Especially the last name. I am telling you this more than anything else because of the medical situation as well as the legal situation that Miss. Mai Zenin told me they are going through” The doctor looked momentarily at Mai in the distance. She was still talking on her cell phone.

“For the moment, the aunt of these two has asked me not to register the twins with her and their sister's last name because of a family problem they are currently having and she do not want their other relatives to know about this birth. So I also need you to resolve this issue, mostly for legal and administrative reasons for the hospital.  I suppose the best thing to do would be to locate the father of these children and tell him the situation so that he is also aware of what is happening with his children and, by the way, give them his last name because once they leave here they will need it”

Tsumiki and Megumi understood what the doctor was referring to. And both of them did not want those two little ones to bear the Zenin surname either, lest that clan claim them as their own.

At that moment, a nurse arrived to ask the doctor to go check on a patient.

“Excuse me, but I have to leave for a consultation. We will let you know in a moment how the twins are doing and if it is possible for one of you two to come in and see them. We will keep you posted. With your permission" said the woman, bowing slightly and leaving.

Megumi unclenched his fists helplessly  “We can only hope that the health of these children and Maki San will improve...”

“Even so, Megumi, we must do something for Yurika and Yuudai, we cannot register them with the Zenin surname..." commented Tsumiki with despair and wiping her tears, which were still flowing from her eyes at such bad news.

Tsumiki called them by their names. Both she and Megumi had already known for a long time that Maki wanted to name her children this way, because she had told them herself.

“I know. But we can't give them the surname Okkotsu either" Megumi answered, running his hands over his face.

“Why not?, we should contact him to tell him about his children! Or at least we should look for Okkotsu's parents and tell them that they are already grandparents!" commented Tsumiki looking desperately at her brother.

“Unfortunately I have not been able to contact him" Megumi had his eyes focused on the cribs as he explained the situation.

“I asked Nitta san to help me find out where Okkotsu senpai was at the moment. I also asked him to let me know if he could find a phone number or any way to contact him. However, apparently Gojo sensei and the headquarters itself have denied him any such information. And that has started to raise suspicions there, so we had to stop our search. It's as if both Gojo and the others at the headquarters don't want anyone to know where Okkotsu senpai is. So we're officially cut off from him”

Megumi sensed that something shady was going on at the sorcery headquarters, as well as at the academy.

He continued speaking –“And it is also not so easy to give them the Okkotsu surname without his authorization or without the approval of his family. To tell the truth, I don't think the senpai's family would want to cooperate, since they didn't want to know more about their cursed son”

Tsumiki looked desperate for everything her brother was saying.

Megumi continued speaking, "I know we must act quickly, especially since we cannot let the news of the birth of these children reach the ears of either the headquarters or the clans. So we must keep it a secret as much as we can”

The sorcerer's blue gaze momentarily shifted to Mai, who was too far away from them at that instant. The poor looked desperate, tears streaming down her cheeks, as if she had received another piece of bad news during the call.

Megumi returned her gaze to the nurseries, where healthy babies were sleeping peacefully.

A mixture of desperation and concern was reflected in his eyes. -
“The only thing left to do is to wait to see if those two children get better... especially the boy... if he makes it through the night..." he murmured quietly, his voice full of pessimism.

“Megumi, I have faith that Yurika and Yuudai will survive, as well as that Maki will recover!" Tsumiki replied annoyed to see her brother's negativity. -
“But even so, we can't just stand idly by, we must protect them from those two clans and all the others!

“I guess the ideal thing to do would be to let Tsukumo know what just happened. She intended to adopt those two once they were born, right?” the sorcerer looked at Tsumiki “I think she is the best option to protect them in case they survive”

With his eyes still on the babies, Megumi made his way to a small waiting room adjacent to that area.

Tsumiki looked angrily at Megumi for that comment and quickly followed. -
“Are you listening to yourself Megumi? Do you really want those children to be adopted by that woman?”

“Yes and I think that's the best option” he answered seriously as he turned to look at her, he couldn't even take a seat because Tsumiki caught up with him with those questions.

“I don't think that's the best option!" commented Tsumiki, waving her hands angrily, "Actually, I think that's the worst decision we can make!”

Megumi wrinkled his forehead at his sister's behavior, "Why would it be the worst decision if Tsukumo san is a special grade sorceress and incidentally has enough power to go against the sorcery headquarters if she pleases?”

“Because we would be taking a mother away from her children!" Tsumiki raised her voice slightly.

“But her suname can protect them!" her brother said earnestly.

“But that would not be enough for their care and protection!" Tsumiki commented with annoyance at how her brother was behaving in such a situation.

Megumi gazed at his sister in silence, staring into her crystalline eyes, full of anguish and courage.

“I confess that I don't know Tsukumo well enough to discern whether she is a good or bad woman!" she said, directing a look full of courage to her brother, "However, something in the bottom of my heart tells me that Yurika and Yuudai would not be happy with her, and that all this would be unfair to Maki. Besides, Tsukumo is not part of this family, let alone a close friend that we could contact so easily, and I don't sense that she is completely our ally either.... Therefore, I flatly refuse to hand these children over to them...”

Her stepbrother couldn't take his eyes off her, as she had that cold stare that betrayed pure anger.

The tension between the two was so palpable that it could be cut with a knife. It even caught the attention of some people in the room, who, however, preferred to ignore them to avoid getting into trouble.

Megumi took a breath and counted to ten in his mind.
“So what do you propose?" he asked in a serious but firm tone, he hated it when she was like that.

Tsumiki moistened her lips and looked for a moment towards the nursery area. She had come up with a solution that some people might not like, she knew Megumi would hate the idea, but deep down she knew that it would help save those babies from the hands of the Gojo clan and the Zenin clan.

She returned her gaze to Megumi, "We can make them part of our family..." she said firmly, "Let's give those two children the surname Fushiguro”

The jet-haired man's eyes widened with too much surprise and his mouth half-opened.

“WHAT?!”

"Megumi, I said you should give those twins our last name” she raised her voice.

“Have you gone mad?" he asked too cruelly.

“This is the only way I can think of to help Maki and her children!” Tsumiki  said raising her voice a little and waving her hands from side to side as she looked earnestly at her brother "Although it may not seem so, I have always believed that the Fushiguro surname is synonymous with 'help'" she brought a hand to her chest, "This surname, in one way or another, saved you from the Zenin clan when you were a child, didn't it? Even your father renounced his clan and took this family name as his own. Even the Fushiguro surname united you and me as a family!”

“The fact that we did not go to the Zenin clan was because Gojo sensei intervened in my purchase" said Megumi, crossing his arms, "In the end, he was the one who helped us in those ten years by being a kind of benefactor, but he was not our father and I never considered him as one”

“But that's what Satoru san taught us, to save others! And we have the obligation to save those two, who are partly from our family, especially from your side of the bloodline, isn't it?”

Megumi let out the air in annoyance. he felt that his sister was talking nonsense “You will always be a “girl goody” who will try to save those who have no salvation”

At such words, Tsumiki slapped her brother hard.

“I AM BECAUSE I AM ALSO CHOOSING WHO TO SAVE, JUST AS YOU WERE CHOOSING WHO TO SAVE UNDER YOUR SORCERER'S CRITERIA!" Her voice was full of anger.

Megumi was surprised at Tsumiki's reaction to him.

She continued speaking “We Fushiguros always choose who to save...and I want to save those two babies...”

Megumi rubbed his cheek, his skin turned red and burned from the cruel blow of reality.
“And how do you plan to give our last name to those two children?" he asked pained by that slap. But he seemed to be more focused, he felt that his sister was right, they should save those two children, just as they had been saved as children from the clutches of the Zenin clan.

Tsumiki rubbed her hand as she felt the tingling in her palm from the slap she had given Megumi.
“I'm sorry... I think I went a little too far" she looked at her brother with some compassion seeing that he was already doing his part.
“The only way I can think of to save them is for you to marry Maki and pretend to be the real father of those children”

“You must be kidding! Now you've gone crazy!" Megumi raised his voice in annoyance.

Tsumiki brought her hands to her chest and, without looking away from Megumi, explained.
“I know this may sound crazy, but it's the only legal and reliable solution I can think of. And by the way, to prevent those children from being left without a father figure, you could pass yourself off as their biological father, although in the eyes of the law you would be their stepfather. Only this way we can give them our surname and save them from the terrible clutches of those two clans, as well as Tsukumo. By the way, marrying Maki would not only benefit her, but also you because of all the benefits of marriage in this country”

Megumi make fists as he continued to listen to his sister.

“And I know you wouldn't do it for love... but” Tsumiki continued speaking without taking her eyes off Megumi  “Do it for them, do it for Maki and above all, do it for me, because as a woman I can't help her since this society is still very patrilineal and you, unlike me, your word and action as a man would be more valid than mine...”

Megumi let out a heavy breath.
“You know that the subject of marriage is not to be taken lightly" he unclenched his fists and brought his right hand to his left shoulder, "besides, in theory she and I are related."

“I know, but marriage in Japan is still seen as an institution that serves only to maintain a traditional status with its benefits. Besides, in this country it is allowed to marry between second-degree relatives. Aren't you and Maki supposed to be second-degree cousins? So there would be no legal impediment" she continued, looking seriously at her brother.

Megumi became very serious about that topic-“But I don't want to have problems in the future in case Okkotsu senpai comes back someday and finds out about all this. I don't want to take away this position that belongs to him in the first place”

“I give you my word that I will bear all the responsibility if one day he returns. And if I must go to hell in your place, I will do so knowing that I did everything in my power to save those children" said Tsumiki with a firm voice.

Megumi had never seen her so determined in her life.

“And by the way, I am doing this because Maki san will need all our help now that Yurika and Yuudai are born. We can simply start from this moment with this surname thing to help her out of this first problem. Please, Megumi... do it for me...” Tsumiki begged.

That sorcerer continued to view his sister seriously. A part of him struggled to follow his ideals, but another part deep inside him knew that what Tsumiki said, as crazy and immoral as it might sound, was the best thing they could do.

He really felt in a dilemma.

“Excuse me" a nurse interrupted the conversation of the two siblings, who quickly turned around when they were called.

“Sorry for the interruption, but we need a family member's authorization to perform some tests and samples on both babies, especially the boy. I'm telling you becausethe twins' aunt, Miss Mai, has just left, mentioning that she had to go somewhere urgently" explained the nurse.

“Why didn't she let us know she was coming out?” Megumi asked with confusion.

“Where did Mai Chan go?" Tsumiki asked uncertainly.

They both turned to look at each other in this situation.

But they assumed that perhaps Mai might have gone out to rest or that she might have gone somewhere important to take a break from everything that had happened that day. So they paid no attention to that Mai Zenin's departure at that time.

“Back to the subject, I need the authorization of a family member to come with me to see the procedure we will perform on the babies" explained the nurse, "how are you related to these children? I asked you because I saw them talking earlier with Miss Mai and with the doctor who is attending this medical case” she asked.

“We are..." Tsumiki was interrupted.

“I am the father of those twins" Megumi said quickly in a firm tone, "My children's names are Yurika and Yuudai Fushiguro, so please do whatever it takes to keep them alive" he bowed slightly.

“All right, this way Mr. Fushiguro, I need you to come with me" commented the nurse starting to guide Megumi to the NICU.

Before leaving, Megumi looked at Tsumiki, who looked at her with crystal clear eyes and a small smile.

“Thank you..." she said in a whisper because her voice would break if she spoke any louder.

The jet-haired man just nodded his head yes and then followed the nurse to that area.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

Back to the present.

“And since that day, Megumi started to behave as if Yurika and Yuudai were his biological children" said Tsumiki looking at Yuta, "I just want you to understand that we did all this to protect your children”

Yuta remained silent while Tsumiki kept talking. That woman looked at the starry sky for a moment.

“Two days later, Maki san was released from intensive care and that was when Megumi proposed to him....”  A slight chuckle escaped her lips as she recalled the moment, which seemed to have been a somewhat awkward memory- “It wasn't the most romantic proposal nor the "best" in the traditional sense, there wasn't even a ring. But still, Maki accepted with her and her children's welfare in mind. So from the bottom of my heart Okkotsu, I want you to know that this decision was made solely for the purpose of saving Yurika and Yuudai” She Sigh “So I'm the one who owes you a big apology..... as I said I was the one responsible for your children taking the Fushiguro surname...”

Yuta let the air out suddenly when he heard that. He had several mixed feelings at that moment. Still, he knew she hadn't meant it in any bad way.

Then the sorcerer looked up at the sky. While Tsumiki kept talking.

“So, if you must hate someone because of your children's current surname and Maki's marriage to Megumi, then hate me... I don't ask you to forgive me if you don't want to... But please, don't hate my brother for this..." Tsumiki bow her head.

Yuta addressed Tsumiki gently
"There is nothing I should forgive you for because I know you didn't mean any harm," he smiled, "On the contrary, I must thank you and Megumi for taking care of my children since they were born”

Yuta's eyes lowered to the ground –“And if there is someone you should hate, that someone is me for not having realized from the beginning that everything was wrong, and above all for not coming back soon for all of you”

“But you're back and that's the important thing. Besides, the children love and adore you”

“Yes, but they only see and love me as a friend... not as what I really am to them" Yuta said sadly slurring those words as his voice trailed off.

Tsumiki smiled slightly “I know that when the time comes to tell them the truth they will understand...”

That conversation between those two adults had to stop quickly because the children and Megumi had already returned.

“Yuta Kun, look what we brought!” Yurika came running and stood very cheerfully in front of those two adults on the bench.

“They are flares and long ones, the kind that take a long time to extinguish" Yuudai commented happily, showing those sticks.

“We also brought more food, but first we want to share these sparklers with you" said Yurika happily.

“Come on Yuta, let's light them up!”

“We want to share this moment only with you!”

Each child took a hand from that adult to get up and go with them to turn on those lights.

And so they did, Yuta carefully lit those long sticks and between the three of them they began to see those bright lights that were being consumed, while the sorcerer treasured that memory.

Instead, Megumi and Tsumiki watched that scene sitting several meters away from them.

Both Fushiguro siblings looked at each other for a moment. At that moment, Megumi understood everything that Tsumiki wanted to tell her but the lump in her throat did not let her speak, so she communicated what she felt first with that characteristic smile of hers, and then she started to cry silently.

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

10:50 p.m.

“I had a lot of fun tonight" Yuudai said happily as he took his aunt's left hand and walked quietly.

“Yes, I had a lot of fun too!" commented Yurika, who was holding her aunt's right hand, and the girl was moving around a lot, jumping up and down happily.

“I'm glad to hear that. Besides, I know her mother will like that gift you won for her" Tsumiki winked at them as she walked with them.

Several steps ahead of those three, Megumi's dog Shikigami was walking. He was sniffing the road and watching for curses in the streets they were walking home, because it was already very late and the whole street was empty.

Although that residential area was quiet and safe, Megumi always took extreme precautions to protect those children and his sister.

Instead, the heir of the ten shadows, as well as the sorcerer carrying the queen of curses, were several meters behind them. This was to protect them from behind.

At first, the two went without speaking to each other, walking side by side, until Yuta decided to break the awkward silence.

“Yurika and Yuudai don't seem to run out of batteries” He commented with a slight smile.

Megumi scratched the back of his neck, "There are days when those two don't seem to get tired. That's when it's hardest to send them to sleep because their energy doesn't run out" he put his hands in his pants pockets.

“I guess...” Yuta sighed.

Again, both sorcerers were silent. The discomfort on Yuta's part was evident. But he still wanted to thank the man for caring for, raising and protecting his children.

“While we were waiting for you three, Tsumiki told me a little bit about what happened when Yurika and Yuudai were born and how you decided to give them your last name”

The jet focused his gaze on his superior and took a small breath.

“An apology for that, sometimes Tsumiki can be a bit impulsive” - commented Megumi seriously and remembering when they talked about that topic and when she slapped him seven years ago – “But yes, she was the one who came up with the idea”

“Still, I want to thank you for taking care of Yurika and Yuudai since they were born. Even now you're still doing it" He said looking at the Shikigami ahead of them.

“It's not only me you should thank. Actually, all of us in one way or another have been looking after them, taking turns to take care of them and to protect them" Megumi replied, looking at his superior with respect.

“Anyway, I want to thank you exclusively for being their father figure and for being there with them in these almost seven years... I have noticed, they love you too much” he sigh sadly – “Seriously, it seems that you are an excellent father for my children”

“Stepfather" Megumi answered quickly and watched as those little ones continued to talk very happily with Tsumiki.

“Huh?”

“Yurika and Yuudai know that I am not their real father" he replied looking at Yuta, his voice sounding sincere.

“How?!" came out of Yuta's throat from the surprise of hearing this, since neither Mai nor Tsumiki had told him about it.

Megumi let out the air and began to explain, "What I'm trying to say senpai is that Yurika and Yuudai have known for a year now that I'm not their real father" he looked at the starry sky above them for a moment, "This was decided because I didn't want them to live a lie their whole lives about who I was. So they actually know that I am not their biological father as their birth certificates would have them believe”

“Oh... now I understand why when I met them they called you Papa Gumi" -that really surprised Yuta, he even took a few seconds to assimilate everything he had heard.

“Megumi, may I ask how was this news revealed to you?"

Megumi relaxed his shoulders a little. He did not notice any hostility in the sorcerer beside him.

“A year ago, exactly around this time in the summer, Maki and I decided to tell Yurika and Yuudai the truth. She didn't agree at first, as she didn't want them to ask her about her real father. However, eventually the four of us sat down and explained to them that I was not her biological father, but only ther stepfather. We also told them that Maki and I had known each other since high school and that we were friends. We also chose not to reveal to them that I am actually his mother's nephew-cousin, to avoid causing them more confusión”

“I understand” deep down, Yuta was somewhat relieved to hear that – “And Yurika and Yuudai, how did they take this revelation?”

Megumi pursed his lips slightly and after taking a breath, began to answer the question.
“At first, the revelation shocked them. I would even say it was a bit awkward. I noticed that the news broke their hearts, they were very sad and cried a lot that day. However, Yuudai and Yurika are very intelligent children and even somewhat wise for their age. I guess they already suspected that I was not their biological father.

He kept looking at those children who were several meters in front of them and who he knew were not listening to them –“I say that because they assimilated the news quickly. And they continued to behave affectionately with me and feel comfortable by my side, even after knowing that I was not their real father. Maybe it was a relief for them to find out at once, since sooner or later they were going to find out on their own. In spite of everything, they still call me Dad or sometimes they call me Papa Gumi”

Yuta began to mentally question whether it would be a good idea in the near future to tell his children the truth about him, he was really afraid of how they would react.

“I admit that I wanted them to know the truth before, in case you came back one day, senpai” -Megumi looked at him as he spoke, "I still respect you, and out of that same respect I want them to know the truth about me. I don't want to take away the role that is really yours with those two”

“Thank you very much for all that you tell me Megumi, and for attending during these seven years the position that corresponded to me. However, it is I who, on my own merit, must earn the trust and love of my own children before telling them the truth” Yuta sighed, "Now, with your answer, I am afraid to reveal to them who I really am. I don't know if it would be convenient for them to know, especially since they have lived a quiet life so far and my return could put them at risk”

Fushiguro pursed his lips a little at those words his senpai had said because he knew they were loaded with truth. They didn't know how those two little ones might take that revelation.

“By the way, what has Maki told you about me? About their real father..." He ask with some uncertainty.

The former sorcerer sighed, it could be seen on his face that he knew Maki had not said good things about the biological father of those children.

“From your face I can guess that nothing good has been said to them about me..." replied Yuta with a few drops of embarrassment running down his forehead.

“Well... she has only told Yurika and Yuudai that her real father was a coward who abandoned her before they were born. Although she has also told them that when the time comes she would tell them the whole truth about you" Megumi answered trying to sound kind.

A face of deep sadness was reflected in Okkotsu –“Auch... I'm definitely going to have to earn the love of those two and Maki for them to forgive me. Still, I feel that telling them the truth will have to come later”

“Definitely that revelation will have to wait a little longer. I guess you're going to have to talk and settle things with Maki first so you can then tell Yurika and Yuudai the truth" Megumi replied.

At that moment, a curiosity began to rise in Yuta's chest. He wanted to know something about the "relationship of those two."

“I'm sorry to ask Megumi but, in all this time where you have been married to Maki, did anything else happen with you and her? I mean, if you and her..." he was interrupted.

“I can assure you that there was never anything romantic or sexual between us" Megumi answered quickly before Okkotsu could make wrong assumptions about Maki and him.

“Still, I'm sorry to ask, but have you two slept together? Or have you really appeared to be a couple in front of the children?" Yuta asked seriously.

Megumi scratched the back of her neck uncomfortably.
“I admit that Maki-san and I are not like other parents. The children have never seen us kissing in front of them. However, in these years, we have maintained a cordial relationship, similar to what we had in our high school years as simple friends and relatives”

He sighed and continued speaking. He was too tense, but he had to answer that question.
“And about whether we slept together, well, we both did get to sleep in the same bed, especially when we were taking care of Yuudai after he was discharged from the hospital. We had to keep an eye on him, because there were nights when he was having trouble breathing or when we had to make sure he didn't convulse. So we both slept in the same room until he was almost four years old. After that, we've each had our own room. Also, I live most of the year in Tokyo and only come here from time to time. Still, nowadays everyone sleeps in their own room. We try to make sure that the children only see us together outside those romos”

For a moment, the face of Megumi seemed to reflect a memory as a result of what he had said. His lips tightened slightly and his eyes avoided Okkotsu's for a few seconds, as if he had remembered something important, an sinful event that happened between him and Maki but he couldn't quite say it. Even so, Megumi had the serenity to look him in the eyes again and answer calmly.

“But there is one thing I can tell you for sure and that is that Maki was very hurt by your departure, yet, all these years, she seemed to wait for your return. I know that she loved you and even although at this moment she acts stubborn, I know that she still feels something for you” he seemed very firm when he said that.

Yuta sighed when he heard those words. “I  doubt she feels anything for me nowadays and she has every reason in the world to hate me... it took her too long to come back for her...”

“Let's just hope the grudge doesn't last forever..." commented Megumi once again putting his hands in his pockets.

“Now it is my turn to win her love and trust... both hers and my children's...”

At that moment, while both continued walking. Megumi wanted to take the opportunity to ask something to that sorcerer who had returned from abroad.

“By the way Okkotsu senpai, I heard that you went to the Zenin residence yesterday, is that true" asked Megumi seriously.

Yuta looked down at the ground, watching his steps.

“It seems that news about what I do travels too fast...”

“Within the sorcery society, bad news and rumors travel very fast. That's also how we learned of your return”

“Does that mean you're still working for headquarters?" Yuta asked seriously.

Megumi shook his head.
“For Yurika and Yuudai's safety as well as our own, we all resigned from the academy before they were born. However, I retain a contact within the institution who keeps me abreast of what is going on there”

Yuta was beginning to confirm what Mai had told him in her letter about everyone quitting the academy. But there was something else he wanted to check.

“I see, and do any of you still have contact with Satoru san? Because since I got here, it seemed like he didn't know anything about you guys for years....and what about Utahime sensei... she definitely seems to have lost her memories”

Megumi kept silent, his face reflecting absolute seriousness.

“It's been seven years since we've had contact with him" he stared at the children and his sister who were still ahead of them, "But I don't think he's been sitting on his hands”

“I understand" Yuta commented at that answer, which made him more doubtful that Satoru had been lying to him about more things.

“And back to the main topic, yes, yesterday I went to that place and the truth is, I don't want to set foot in there again” Yuta looked at his children –“By the way, do the children know anything about that clan or the Gojo clan?”

Megumi shook his head.
“They don't know and hopefully they never will for their sake. They only know that there are people who also see what they see and remove curses, but we try not to talk about it too much and we are also trying to keep them away from the world of sorcery. Still, we have to be prepared in case they have inherited some technique. Above all, we keep hiding from the Zenin clan”

Yuta remembered a little the words that Naobito had told him about Megumi being the leader of that clan. He knew that he had all the gifts to be a good leader, but he also understood that Megumi had given up that position for the sake of him and his children.

So the sorcerer who came from abroad, decided that he would ask him later about what happened so that he would have to give up his position as the next leader.

This conversation had to stop because the family had already arrived at the Fushiguro's house, where Maki was already waiting for them.

Besides, Yuta had something more important to do that night and that was to talk to Maki. Who was already waiting for him too.

The good thing was that the children had invited Yuta to sleep that night, which would be a bit long for him and Maki.

The road to the truth would not be easy, but both were willing to walk it together and for that they had to unravel the past head on.

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

Coming soon...

“All right, let's talk. What do you think if we each have a turn to ask what we want to the other?” proposed Maki with a slight smile, trying to remain calm.

“That's fine with me. Initiate, I'll give you the first question”

Maki took a deep breath, preparing for what was to come. She crossed her arms and, with a direct look into Yuta's eyes, asked:

“When you were abroad, did you sleep with another woman?”

Yuta swallowed saliva with difficulty.

 

[...]

“Well, now answer me, how did you realize you were pregnant? And why didn't you tell me right away?” asked Yuta, looking her straight in the eyes. His tone of voice was serious, but genuine curiosity could be seen in his eyes.

Maki sighed as she put her hands on the table. She felt cornered, but she had to answer whether she wanted to or not. If she had spoken seven years ago... maybe everything would have been different.

 

[...]

“Now you answer me, why seven years ago did you want us to come here in Kyoto on our anniversary?” asked Maki, with her eyes fixed on Yuta. Doubt gnawed at her, and she needed an answer.

Yuta took off the necklace that hung around his neck, where he had both rings. “The answer is here" he said in a barely audible voice, as he reached across the table to put down what he should have given her seven years ago.

 

[...]

“So?” Yuta questioned, with a seriousness that chilled the blood. His eyes, fixed on Maki's, left no room for doubt.

Maki swallowed saliva, trying to calm the waves that threatened to drown her. A lump formed in her throat, and the words refused to leave her lips.

“And then... who spoke to me at the station seven years ago was..." she finally said, her voice trembling and her gaze lost in Yuta's eyes.

 

[...]

“Please stop doing that..." whispered Yuta, his voice barely coming out in a trickle of hot air against Maki's face. His eyes glittered with a mixture of desire and shyness as his hands gently clasped hers.

A shiver ran through his body, electrifying his every sense, as his lips drew dangerously close to hers.

Maki looked at him with a mischievous smile, her eyes full of mischief. A warm blush tinged her cheeks, and her heart pounded in her chest, "Why, don't you like it?" she asked in a husky, barely audible voice.

Yuta swallowed, struggling to control the tempest swirling inside him. “It's not that..." he murmured, his voice hoarse with passion. “It's just that... You'll make me lose my mind”

Maki leaned closer, her lips were just millimeters away from his. “I clearly remember that this is one of your weak points, isn't it" she whispered with a seductive smile as she heard that. “Okktosu, you're making me do this..." she whispered playfully, her eyes sparkling in the light coming through that glass door that led to the courtyard from that kitchen.

“Then... you make me do this…" Yuta could not resist any longer. His lips met hers in a passionate kiss, full of fire and desire that still lingered after those seven years.

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

Notes:

I hope you liked it❤

Please, if you want me to continue translating this fic, I NEED YOUR MOTIVATION, YOU CAN LEAVE A KUDO OR A COMMENT OR YOU CAN SIMPLY RECOMMEND MY FIC, YOU WOULD HELP ME A LOT AND THAT WOULD SERVE AS FUEL TO CONTINUE TRANSLATING THIS FIC.

How are you liking this story? 👀

As you saw, Megumi's canonical event was to follow in Gojo's footsteps in taking those two children under her care haha.

As you read, Tsumiki was the one with the idea of giving the Fushiguro surname to Yurika and Yuudai, although I confess that at first I wanted Megumi to tell this to Yuta, but I felt it would have more impact coming from Tsumiki.

Also how do you see Yuta's jealousy towards Megumi 👀Because I can assure you that he will continue to feel jealous of the bearer of the ten shadows for a while longer.

Also, one of the twins will become suspicious of Yuta. Which of the two will it be? Place your bets.

Just like the revelation about who talked to Maki seven years ago is coming 👀although I feel that some of you already sense who was the person who talked to her, so soon you will be able to confirm if your suspicion is true.

And tell me, what did you think of this preview of what will happen next?

What's coming in the next chapter will leave you wanting to read more. Above all, because the moment is coming when these two will talk about the past and let themselves be carried away by the feeling that still persists in both of them.

For that last one, I want to thank Pablo Alboran's music, thanks to his songs is that I've been inspired lately❤

Chapter 15: 15. Tricks

Notes:

Hello everyone! Here vera with one more chapter of this fic before the end of March❤

Before I continue, I just want to quickly tell you that I decided to divide the chapter in two, this because in this first part, I wanted to focus the attention on certain clues that will be important for the plot of the new sorcerer killer.

Also, I wanted to focus on one of the skills that Yurika and Yuudai have, which will be essential for a very important event that will take place in the future in this story.

Without further ado, enjoy the chapter❤

 

 

 

 

 

"Curiosity killed the cat."

 

11:00 p.m.

“Mommy, we're back!” Yurika shouted excitedly once she entered the foyer.

“Mom, we're home!" Yuudai shouted.

Both children took off their shoes and quickly grabbed their slippers to run inside to find their mother.

“Mom, we have a surprise for you!" commented Yurika excitedly as she looked for her mother.

“Mom?" Yuudai asked in surprise once he reached the living room.

They even quickly peeked into the kitchen, but Maki wasn't there either.

Both children could not feel their mother as, unfortunately, she had no damned energy.

The three adults who accompanied the twins came in behind them and were also surprised not to see Maki at that moment.

Tsumiki went up to the second floor along with Yurika and Yuudai,  both ran to look for their mother, but she wasn't up there either.

“Did she go out?" asked Yuta, surprised not to see her there.

“it is strange that she did not warn us that she was going out" Megumi answered as he took out his cell phone to check if he had any messages from her, while he went back to check the kitchen.

“Where did she go?” Yuta asked.

“I don't know, but to some extent it's normal for him to do this from time to time. I'll go check the courtyard, maybe he's out there" commented Megumi, disappearing down the corridor.

Instead, Yuta stayed in the livin room.

Something had caught his attention in that space. Aand that had been two cups of tea.

Both cups had been used recently and incidentally, they were empty but with traces of what appeared to be tea, plus on one of them, you could notice a faint line on its rim left by a red lipstick.

Next to those cups, there were two notebooks, one appeared to be a planner and the other a simple notebook.

Yuta felt a strange trace of residual energy coming from that part of the room. Especially from the teacup with the lipstick.

That cursed energy felt quite familiar now that he analyzed it, it was as if he had felt it somewhere else before. It also looked like someone had been sitting in those armchairs for a long time.

Curiosity got the better of Yuta for an instant. So he approached that part of the room where two people had definitely been drinking and talking.

But as he got closer to that area, he mistakenly hit that small table with his knee and knocked over those two notebooks.

He quickly bent down to pick them up, but noticed that both the notebook had opened to a particular page and the other notebook had flipped open to a page full of text.

From that notebook full of text, some photographs also emerged, most of which fell face down.

Yuta picked up the first notebook, his curiosity causing him to take a quick glance at those leaves where they had opened as they fell.

The agenda had fallen open on a sheet that had the date July 22 of the current year enclosed in a red circle next to the words "Deadline day, meet target and mission."

Date to arrive in four days.

That seemed a bit confusing to Yuta, but even so, they say curiosity killed the cat, so he decided to take a quick look at the agenda to find out what else was written in it.

The other dates on the calendar were riddled with notes. Some written in black ink, which seemed to recall simple tasks such as "Buy pantry," "Take uniforms to dry cleaners," "Parent meeting at school," "call Tsumiki," etc.

Other notations were in blue and purple, which seemed to highlight important events for each twin such as; "Take Yurika to her soccer practice" and "Yuudai's medical appointment at 11 a.m.".

In this way, that agenda became a visual map of time, with each color representing a type of activity.

But Yuta was quickly struck by how the date of July 13 was marked in red ink. Perhaps something important had also happened that day to be marked with that blood color.

Yuta came to the conclusion that that notebook must be Maki's agenda, as he recognized her handwriting perfectly even after seven years.

After one more glance, the sorcerer's attention was drawn to the other notebook that was still lying at his feet.
He bent down, picked it up and noticed that this one was also riddled with text.

As he read the page where it had been opened, he noticed that it seemed to be an itinerary, since it had timetables written on it, and between the crossings out, there were some light words.

July 11.

11:10 a.m. H.Y. went out to have breakfast with some clients. Although his usual time for breakfast is 10:00 a.m.

11:15 a.m. /////////////
There was a big black spot that did not let you see what they had written.

12:39 p.m. I walk through the neighborhood. He always carries a traditional red umbrella.

01:45 p.m. He Return home for some documents.

He is always home alone, leaving the back door half open for his cat.

Eliminate the cat first.  It said blurredly.

06:45 p.m. He Went for a run.

07:50 p.m. /////////

The whole thing looked like an itinerary of someone with the initials H.Y.

This was too strange for Yuta.

Curiosity led the man to turn the page, on the next page there were also initials, but with the date marked July 14.

 

Now it seemed to describe the itinerary, but of a woman.

10:16 a.m. she goes shopping at the supermarket near her house.

She buy very basic things that day.

12:50 p.m. That idiot went to visit her
It said between scratches.

02:57 p.m. she goes for a walk near the temple.

08:00 p.m. ///////////

And like the previous itinerary, there were too many parts crossed out.

“What would Maki want something like this for?” - He turned the page, "Now that I think about it, what does she do for a living?" he asked himself mentally as he read a few more lines of that other itinerary. He was especially struck by the dates written at the bottom of the pages, which were highlighted in red.

Dates that to that sorcerer were quite familiar with the case he was investigating.

And when Yuta was about to take a quick glance at a more current sheet of paper and pick up and look at those photographs that were still lying on the floor, a voice startled him.

“Until they arrived!” was Maki's voice, which sounded very annoyed by the time.

Yuta gave a slight jump of fright, since at no time did he hear her enter, much less feel when she stood behind him.

The sorcerer quickly closed that notebook and mistakenly stepped on those photographs. He turned quickly to Maki, who was still behind him with a pose of pure annoyance, her hands folded on her chest.

“-Why didn't I feel or hear her come in?" he asked himself mentally, very surprised at how she had appeared so out of nowhere. -It's as if she no longer had a drop of cursed energy..." that seemed very strange to him as he analyzed her from head to toe”

Now that he thought about it, Yuta noticed that Maki looked different. As if she was no longer the same as she remembered seven years ago.

Maki's eyes widened in surprise to see that he was flipping through her notebooks. Then her brows furrowed in anger.
“And by the way, it's rude to look through other people's things!" she scolded and stretched out her hand for him to return her things.

Yuta quickly picked up those photographs, which he did not have time to review and so he hurriedly put them in a notebook and then handed them to Maki.

“I'm sorry, they fell on the floor and I was just picking them up" he apologized.

“Okkotsu, I ask you "nicely" not to take my personal things again, especially those that have to do with my work!" she snatched those notebooks from him.

At that moment, two pairs of arms came around her from her sides. Her children quickly embraced her.

“We were looking for you, Mommy!" Yurika pouted.

“Where were you?" Yuudai asked.

“I went out for a moment to accompany my guest to the corner" she replied, stroking her children's hair.

“Who came?" asked Yurika with too much curiosity.

“An acquaintance who wants me to work in her new business" said her mother without hesitation.

That seemed strange to Yuta. For clearly, whoever had been in that room was someone with cursed energy. Perhaps it was a sorceress.

“Yuta won it for you! It's a gift from all three of us!" Yuudai said, showing the lion-shaped stuffed animal.

“What a nice gift" Maki took it in her hands, "I guess this can go in my room as a gift from the two of you”

“And Yuta!”

“Yuta was the one who won it!”

The children quickly reproached.

Maki sighed in annoyance-“Ok is also from Okkotsu”-she looked at him-“Thank you for the gift”

The special grade sorcerer smiled slightly, "You're welcome... I hope you like it”

Their eyes met, and in that brief instant, a universe of emotions was unleashed. The warmth of Maki's soft smile enveloped him like a blanket on a cold night, and he was captivated by the intensity of her golden eyes that he loved to see and even more so now that he had found her once again. Making a sigh come out of his chest that only a lover exhales at the sight of his loved one.

That exchange of glances from those adults, made Yurika and Yuudai look at each other, both siblings seemed to be puzzled by how Yuta looked at their mother, so both children exchanged a few words mentally and made a yes with their heads.

At that moment, the little girl let go of her mother and ran to the shelf full of books. And with the help of a little stool under the table, she climbed up to reach a very special book.

“Mommy, can we show Yuta kun our photo album from when we were babies?" Yuudai asked without letting go of his mother.

At that question, Okkotsu did not feel ready to see that scrapbook of memories where he was never present for his children. Even his fist formed on his clothes.

And that discomfort was noticed by Maki, as she had the same feeling.

Were they ready to tell their children the truth about him being their real father?

Deep down, Maki didn't like that idea either, she didn't feel ready to show him all those memories that Yuta missed out on, especially since he wasn't quite ready to face that reality.

“NO!" Maki commented sternly, crossing her arms, "AND GET DOWN FROM THERE, MISS!”

“What? But why not?" their children demanded in chorus.

Maki took a breath and looked at Yuta, who only pursed his lips slightly and nodded his head yes.

“Because it's already very late. And you two should go put on your pajamas, brush your teeth and go to bed. You know I don't like you to stay up late" said her mother firmly.

“But Mom!" shouted the children.

“Their mother is right" Yuta answered, making his childrens turn to look at him, "It is already very late and they should go to rest”

“But you will stay tonight, won't you, Yuta kun?" asked Yurika, "and tomorrow you will have breakfast with us before going back to Tokyo?”

“If he can stay over tonight, can't he, Mommy?" asked Yuudai.

Maki rolled her eyes and let the air out in annoyance.
“He can stay. Besides, it's too late for him to go to his hotel and by the way, your father Gumi had already prepared the guest room for him”- she looked at her children's guest- “Besides, I don't think he would refuse her invitation to have breakfast with you before leaving, right Okkotsu?”

“That's right, I'll sleep over and have breakfast with both of you before returning to Tokyo" He said with a big smile looking at the three of them.

“Yeih!" the twins shouted with excitement.

Maki looked at Megumi and Tsumiki, who were watching the scene from the hallway.

“now you two go to your father and aunt, so they can change and brush their teeth" said Maki gently nudging her children from behind, "I have some things to discuss with your guest”

“Come on children, now you go downstairs to say good night to Yuta kun" said Tsumiki tenderly taking the children's hands.

Megumi sighed.
 “I'd better go help Tsumiki with those two and then I'll go to sleep. I'm very tired" he commented rubbing his shoulder.

“Thank you very much Megumi for the talk tonight" commented Yuta with a slight bow.

“It was nice talking to you again Okkotsu senpai. At the end of the hall is the guest room where you can stay.

“Thank you again" replied Yuta.

Fushiguro made a slight nod to Maki, who only pursed her lips. She knew that now it was her turn to talk to Yuta.

“Anything at all, don't hesitate to wake me up" he said goodbye before heading upstairs.

“Thank you Megumi, you are a good father and husband" said Maki with a slight tone of irony, and then looked at Yuta's face.

He only sighed, realizing that maybe he would never be like him, besides he felt that Maki said that to annoy him or maybe to emphasize that Megumi was better at everything.

Once Megumi's footsteps faded down those stairs, only the sound of the kitchen clock hands was detectable at that moment.

Maki and Yuta were left alone in that hallway. Both were silent for a moment, while they continued to stare at each other.

The green-haired woman sighed, she was the one who broke the ice – “It seems that you three had fun” - she commented looking at that lion, she smiled a little at the sight of that stuffed animal since it was her favorite animal, while with her other hand she held her notebooks very well – “Come Okkotsu, let's talk in the kitchen” - she said turning to go to that part of the house.

Yuta scratched his head and went after her.
 “Yes, especially our children had too much fun. And I must admit that I learned some new things from them tonight”

Maki placed the stuffed animal on the table, next to the flowers Yuta had brought her.
 “So, what did you learn from my children?" she asked with a touch of coldness.

“Well, I learned that Yurika is very strong and very resourceful by the way”

“You Not to say she's a cheater, right?" asked Maki with a smile.

Yuta laughed lightly at that comment.
 “Yes, but I really don't like that word at all”

“Although we could say that cheating is something she inherited from you, right?" asked Maki, bringing one of her hands to her face.

“Yes, I guess he inherited that from me, even you know that my mimitism could be considered an advantage, although many would claim that I rather cheat" said Yuta, still standing at the side of the table.

“Aha? And what else did you learn from them?" Maki looked at him from across the table.

Both of them were still standing, especially Yuta, who seemed very excited to talk about his children. It was as if he had discovered a very interesting universe.

“Well, I also learned that Yurika is allergic to almonds and that Yuudai is a weak but very observant boy. Above all, he has a good eye and has a very good aim with toy guns, as well as…” He was interrupted.

“Like Mai?" asked Maki, gently tilting her head to one side at the name of her sister.

“Yeah, I guess that got it from your side of the family" Yuta replied with a smile, "Yudai definitely takes after your sister in that respect”

“I know Mai would be proud of him" Maki lowered her shoulders a little, "Rather, she would be proud of both of us" she stared at her guest. 
“By the way, Okkotsu I heard you were called by my detestable clan. Did you get to see or talk to Mai in there? And more importantly, you didn't reveal anything about my children to their imbecile leader, did you?" she asked with annoyance. –“ Because with your visit yesterday, I guess you were able to discover that none of us are dead…”

Yuta sighed and decided to lie a little. He still didn't know if it would be a good idea to reveal to Maki about the letter Mai had given him telling him part of the truth. Maybe that could be an ace up his sleeve.

“Yes I saw her and I only talked to her for about two minutes with the help of Yuki's infiltrator, I remember that the name of that strange guy was Choso” he clenched his fist slightly – “And your sister only told me that you were still alive and told me that we had two children. That's all she could tell me, since our conversation was too fleeting for them not to discover us, besides” - he looked at Maki with concern – “The poor Mai looked weak, she seemed ill...”

Maki put a hand on her chest in total concern.

Yuta continued speaking and answered the other question Maki had asked.
 “And I would never reveal anything related to our children to that filthy clan. I just went to discuss some business with Naoya”

Maki sighed at that answer, she would try to get some information out of him as part of her new plan
“And what did you and that jerk Naoya talk about?”- she asked annoyed.

Yuta sighed.
“That's private information" he became serious, "It's something that only concerns your clan and the sorcererry headquarters”

“Could it be something to do with what you said the other day about a sorcerer killer?" asked Maki with her hands folded across her chest and clutching her notebooks tightly.

She was afraid that Yuta had over-read.

“Yes, it is something on that subject, but for the moment I can't reveal more to you”

“Ok…” Maki sighed and motioned with her hand for Yuta to take a seat at the table.

Instead, she walked over to where she kept the microwave, and placed her notebooks on top of it. She would leave them away from Yuta at that instant and later move them to her room, where she would hide them.

That action caught Yuta's attention so he decided to ask "By the way, Maki san, what is your job?”

“What's with that question?" questioned Maki, covering her nervousness with a facade of annoyance, as she turned to look at him.

“Well, as you said that an acquaintance of yours came here to the house to see something about work, that topic caught my attention. Besides, when I met Yurika and Yuudai, they told me something like that you worked with several people" he explained.

Maki took a breath
“I work as a trainer, both as a personal trainer and also teaching at various gyms in the área” she said with a big smile –“People are too surprised when I tell them that I am a mother of twins and show them my muscles”- she slightly raised her arms, which under those clothes looked shapely.

“So pretty much my job is to train others physicall," she put her hands on her hips, "I even teach other mothers fitness classes from time to time”

“Well, I admit, you still look pretty good physically, and you're still very beautiful" Yuta complimented with a big smile.

That comment made Maki's face color slightly.
 “Baka!” She twisted her mouth to change the subject- “and what else did the children tell you about me?”

“Well…”Yuta was interrupted as Yurika and Yuudai ran into the kitchen.

“We're back!”

“We came down just to say good night!" Yuudai explained.

“And also because we want to show you a trick before going to sleep!" commented Yurika.

Both children had come downstairs in their pajamas.

Yurika's pajamas were in shades of purple with little pink hearts and Yuudai's were in shades of green with some dinosaurs.

“Sorry to interrupt you both" apologized Tsumiki with bated breath as she came downstairs almost running after those two, "Yurika and Yuudai wanted to say goodnight to Yuta. Only then will they go to sleep, they said”

Maki gave him a little smile and approached her.
“It's okay, let's let them say goodnight to him”

“That's right, we came first to thank you Yuta kun!" said Yurika.

“We were very pleased that you came to eat with us this day and join us at the festival" Yuudai explained.

Yuta smiled at those words and lightly stroked the hair of those two.
 “The pleasure was mine. I confess I had a lot of fun”

“You are going to come back to visit us, aren't you?" asked Yurika.

“Will you come more often?" Yuudai asked.

Yuta looked at those two children tenderly and then looked at Maki. She sighed and shook her shoulders. Her look said "Don't disappoint them".

“I will try to visit them as often as my schedule allows, especially in my free time" said Yuta looking at those two.

“Do you promise??" said the twins in chorus.

Yuta nodded his head and ruffled their hair a little.
 “I promise”

That answer gave too much happiness to those two that they even jumped up and down.

Maki sighed with resignation at that answer.

And before saying goodbye to go to sleep, the children wanted to show their guest something else.

“Yuta kun, Do you want to see a trick?" asked Yurika with a big smile.

“Trick?” Yuta raised an eyebrow at such a question.

“Yep, a trick that only those of us who have a twin can do” Yuudai answered also with a big smile.

“And what's that trick?" Yuta asked curiously.

“TELEPATHY!” Yurika and Yuudai answered in chorus and with great joy.

“Telepathy?" asked Yuta with confusion.

“Sometimes we can communicate with each other mentally" Yuudai replied.

“That's right! From time to time we talk to each other just using our minds, even when we are not in the same livin room or classroom” answered Yurika looking at her brother and waving her hands above her head.

“Or even so we can coordinate to carry out some ideas and even so we have come to pass each other the answers of some exams” Yuudai finished the sentence.

“We can even know where the other one is or if Yuudai is in trouble" Yurika commented with a big smile, "Yuta Kun, do you want us to show you how we do it?" she asked excitedly.

“Yes Yuta kun?" asked Yuudai.

That made Yuta feel tender. “All right, show me" replied the adult with a smile.

Tsumiki and Maki were watching the scene from the threshold of the kitchen.

Tsumiki smiled because she already knew what those children would do. On the other hand, Maki crossed her arms, observing the act.

“Ok! Here we go!" said the girl with a big smile.

At that moment, Yurika took five steps to the right, moving slightly away from her twin.

Once they positioned themselves in their respective places, they both faced Yuta and both closed their eyes tightly.

“Let's show you that we can talk to each other mentally" Yurika explained.

“And for that, let's raise our hands with the number of fingers the other is thinking of" Yuudai commented.

“On the count of three" answered the girl.

“One" Yuudai began.

“Two" counted Yurika.

“Three!" they said in chorus.

Both children, still with their eyes closed, wanted to prove what they were saying.

So at the same time they raised their little hands without opening their eyes and without saying a word.

Yurika held up the index and middle fingers of her right hand, while Yuudai held up the little finger and thumb of his left hand. They both thought of the number two.

The twins laughed a little, they seemed to have exchanged a few words mentally. Again they lowered their hands at the same time and raised their little hands again, but now raising five fingers each.

Yurika raised three fingers of her right hand and two fingers of her left hand and her brother did it vice versa. As if they were a mirror.

They both laughed again. It seemed that once again they had exchanged a few words mentally.

“Did you watch him Yuta kun?" asked Yurika, opening her eyes slightly.

“Did we both hold up the same amount of fingers?" Yuudai asked, his eyes widening as well.

Yuta nodded his head yes.
 “Yes, they raised the same number of fingers”

Both children looked at each other and laughed.

“Let's do it one more time. But now with a higher degree of difficulty" suggested Yuudai.

It seemed incredible to Yuta what his sons were doing. And he wondered if that was really something that only the twins could do or if it had to do with some cursed technique. He noticed that both of them gave off a certain amount of energy, but one twin gave off more than the other.

Now Yurika moved further away from her brother, moving closer and standing in front of her aunt and mother. She turned to turn her back to both Yuudai and Yuta.

“Ready?" asked Yuudai.

“Always! Begin!" replied his sister.

“Ok” at that moment, Yuudai started to raise his fingers again making several more numbers with his two little hands. Raising several fingers of both hands to make it more difficult.

“Four" Yurika shouted.

Again, Yuudai held up several fingers on both hands.

“Nine”

Once again.

“Seven”

At that time, Yuudai did not lift a finger.

“Zero!" shouted Yurika.

Then Yuudai made a gesture with his hand, as if putting something in his mouth.

“Eat" Yurika said aloud.

Yuudai now pointed to a plate of fruit they had on the counter.  He especially point to the apple.

“He says he wants the red apple. Especially because it's his favorite”

Then Yuudai made a gesture, wrinkling his nose and sticking out his tongue. He also waved his hands mockingly without his sister looking at him.

“I told you the marble game wasn't cheating, you crybaby!" cried his sister.

“Cheater!” Yuudai shouted

It looked like the two of them had been having a mental conversation about something. And then they just laughed.

Yurika returned to her twin's side, while her mother also approached them.

“Did they surprise their guest?" asked Maki, placing her hands on each of her children's shoulders.

“Too much I would say" commented Yuta with a soft smile.

“Well children, it's time for you to go to sleep" commented Maki, stroking her children's heads.

“But we still want to be with Yuta kun" said Yurika.

-"Yes, he's our guest and we want to spend some more time with him!" Yuudai said making puppy eyes. But several yawns began to escape him as well.

“Please mommy, we want to spend more time with Yuta kun!" commented Yurika, but she too began to yawn.

“Your mother is right, go get some rest. Tomorrow I will be here to have breakfast with you and maybe another day I will come to visit you to spend more time together” said Yuta with a slight smile.

Both children cheered that answer, and both began to yawn in sync. Yuudai especially looked the more tired of the two.

“Now, go to sleep, tomorrow you must get up early to prepare breakfast for your guest" said Maki, kissing her children's foreheads.

“Good night, Mommy, I Love you" said both children, hugging Maki's neck and kissing her tenderly on the cheeks.

“Good night Yuta kun" they said in chorus, waving goodbye.

Yuta was so tender about it “Good night...my children”- he whispered.

“Come children, let's rest" said Tsumiki extending her hands to the twins, who each took her hand.

But before leaving, Tsumiki gave a small smile to those two adults, "Have a good talk!" he said with a slight mischievousness. Then she turned off the light in the hallway and the living room, leaving only Yuta and Maki illuminated by the dim light from the kitchen and the little light coming from the courtyard.

Maki sighed and rubbed her temples.
 “I thought they would never go to sleep.

“They do have a lot of energy" commented Yuta with a slight smile.

“I think I'm going to need a coffee, especially if you and I are going to talk about our past" commented Maki, going to use the coffee pot, "Would you like one?" she asked kindly.

Yuta sighed.
 “Please. My body needs caffeine”

“I guess coffee is still your favorite, isn't it?" she commented, turning her back to him.

“It still is, and even more so when I spent sleepless nights abroad”

While Maki was preparing those two cups, Yuta's attention was drawn to the stuffed animal they had won for Maki, which was lying on the table. She had remembered something the children had said at dinner about the city that Maki liked.

“Chefchaouen. It is in Morocco, the city with the blue gates..." he broke the silence.

“What?" asked Maki turning around at those words.

“The city that Yurika and Yuudai said at dinner, the one you liked so much from the pictures I sent you the first time I went to Africa, is in Morocco and is called Chefchaouen”

“Well, I admit that ever since you told me about that city I've wanted to see it" Maki sighed as she finished preparing the coffee.

“Yes, it is a beautiful city, I know that you and the children would like to visit it" he commented with a slight smile.

“I guess…" said Maki with disinterest.

They both kept silent. In that kitchen, only the hands of the clock over the threshold could be heard, as well as that coffee machine.

The clock was about to strike midnight, you could feel a kind of melancholy in the atmosphere between those two.

“Here you go" Maki carefully passed that cup to Yuta.

“Thank you Maki san”He puffed a little –“ I didn't know that you also liked coffee. I remember you almost didn't like it”

“Well, when you have twins and once they are born, they keep you awake most of the night. So let's say Megumi gave me this coffee habit" she said, taking a soft sip from her cup while standing up.

Yuta tasted that drink.
 “It tastes very good...”

Maki said nothing in response to this flattery.

Again they were both silent in the dim light.

But it was time for the two of them to start talking.

“Maki, I want us to talk... I especially want us to talk about what has happened in the last seven years”

Maki took a seat across from Yuta, placing her cup on the table as well as her hands.

The clock was already striking midnight. It was time to talk about the past.

“All right, let's talk. What do you think if we each have a turn to ask what we want to ask the other? That way we can get the doubts out of the way" said Maki with a slight smile, trying to remain calm.

“That's fine with me. I'll give you the first question" Yuta answered politely, taking another sip of his coffee.

Maki took a deep breath, preparing for what was to come. She crossed her arms and, with a direct look into Yuta's eyes, asked.

“When you were abroad, did you sleep with any other woman?”

Yuta swallowed noisily and with difficulty. He even felt that the coffee was going down the other side of his throat. At that moment, the sorcerer knew that the conversation would be difficult for both of them.

Maki could sense that nervousness. So she wanted to take advantage of Yuta's feelings, as someone had advised her.
“And I want you to tell me the whole truth. Especially, because at dinner you said that you met very beautiful women when you were abroad”

Yuta was too nervous. That question was so direct that he did not expect it.

He could see it in Maki's eyes behind those glasses. She wanted to know the truth.

The time had come for her to execute her plan as well. Her goal was to get close to Okkotsu, gain his trust and, under that facade, get as much information as possible out of him about the headquarters and the case of the sorcerer killer. A case that directly involved her, as she was the culprit he was after.

Maki was aware that to achieve her goal, she had to use all her weapons and tricks as a woman. Even more so, having the enemy under her roof and so close to her. It was crucial to take advantage of the weakness and love Yuta felt for her to manipulate him in her favor.

Because her guest told her: "Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer".

The night would definitely be a long one for those two adults.

 

To be continued....

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked this first part❤.

What do you think of this story?

As I said, I wanted this first chapter to focus on certain points.

And as you can see, in the next part, Yuta and Maki will finally talk about the past and I can only tell you that both of them will cry and suffer. But it is a price to pay for knowing the truth.

As you could also see, Maki will put the first part of her plan into action, since in her eagerness to get the information she wants from Yuta, she will be forced to make a risky move. But it will be crucial to carry out her plans as the new sorcerer assassin.

Also for this same reason of the plot, is that I decided to split the chapter in two and more than the second part will be a super long chapter but focused only on the two of them.

Chapter 16: 16. Where is the love? (Part.1)

Notes:

And here it is, the first part of this long conversation, which, perhaps, will bring a tear or two to your eye, either of sadness or anger.

Anyway, I hope you like it❤

Also, this chapter as well as its continuation, which I will upload later, are inspired by the song of the same name, Dónde está el amor (Where is the love) by Pablo Alboran. As well as more chapters will be inspired by more of his songs❤

So get your tissues ready, put on your music players with your most sentimental songs, prepare your favorite drinks and popcorn and enjoy the episode of this soap opera drama.

Continued

 

Maki took a deep breath, preparing for what was to come. She crossed her arms and, with a direct look into Yuta's eyes, asked.

“When you were abroad, did you sleep with any other woman?”

Yuta swallowed noisily and with difficulty. He even felt that the coffee was going down the other side of his throat. At that moment, the sorcerer knew that the conversation would be difficult for both of them.

Maki could sense that nervousness. So she wanted to take advantage of him as her guest had advised.
“And I want you to tell me the whole truth Okkotsu. Especially since at dinner you said very cheerfully that you met very beautiful women when you were abroad”

Yuta was too nervous. That question was so direct that he did not expect it.

He could see it in Maki's eyes behind those glasses. She definitely wanted to know the truth.

Yuta took a deep breath.
 “Well... I..." He kept silent quickly. He couldn't look her in the eyes.

“I'm waiting for your answer..."

The sorcerer let the air out suddenly, he looked away a little, he was looking for enough courage to answer that question. –“I'm not going to lie to you Maki, besides we both agreed that we would tell each other the whole truth…”

She sensed that what was coming was not good. She had unleashed the bomb.

Yuta took a breath to gain courage. “I admit it, I did sleep with another woman…” he confessed.

Maki clicked her tongue. She leaned back in her chair and took a somewhat defensive pose, her legs crossed under the table and her arms across her chest as she listened to what made her heart wilt a little. She felt her tears want to fall from her eyes, but her pride stopped them.

Yuta felt that cold look from Maki.

-“Don't keep quiet, so tell the whole truth!" she ordered. “I want to know from your mouth" It seemed like she was in an interrogation

Yuta sighed, he couldn't lie to her about it.
“It's ok..." he put a hand to the back of his neck and explained.
 -“After our ‘breakup’, I was so broken by our separation, that it took me almost three years to try to rebuild my life and to be able to trust other people and yes, I admit it, I had several opportunities to be with other women while I was abroad but…” he paused, passing his hand over his face and let the air out of his nervousness and the shame he felt for having to tell that.

“But?" Maki grimaced slightly, her jealousy and anger palpable.

“Rika intervened, driving most of them away..." commented Yuta with embarrassment.

Maki raised an eyebrow at that answer.
 “I don't believe you…" she reproached.

Yuta quickly moved his hands on the table.
“Believe me Mak!i, I was so hurt with everything that had happened between us that even on the advice of others I tried to forget you, but it was impossible and after three years, I tried to forget you with other women...” Yuta look her in the eyes – “and when it seemed that the thing was going to go further with some of these specific women, which I met in my transfers between countries, in one way or another Rika always ended up scaring them away...”

“How many were there? Okkotsu, How many women did you really sleep with?" asked Maki sternly.

“That was three questions in a row, wasn't it?" Yuta questioned fearfully.

“Consider them as part of the first question" she said seriously.

“Okay, you said you wanted the truth, so I'll tell you..." Yuta sighed and lowered his shoulders.

“Maybe there were about three women with whom I tried something..." he said coyly.

Yuta felt Maki looking at him with murderous eyes.

He continued talking –“But as I said, Rika scared two of them!” he explained –“When things were progressing with those women and when we were about to do it or they were trying to do something else!” Yuta was very embarrassed about what he was about to say, but he continued confessing the truth- “Rika always in one way or another intervened...”- he sighed and lowered his shoulders- “I associate it to the fact that as I kept missing you and thinking you, maybe she didn't want me to make a mistake with those two women or maybe Rika sensed the true intentions of those women... so let's say she ‘prevented’ me from sleeping with more women...”

Maki leaned her elbow on the table and her face in her hand "I guess I should thank Rika for that" she commented with a sarcastic smile, "Although I'm still surprised that she never attacked me when you and I were had sex...”.

“My theory is that this Rika can sense the true intentions of other people or she really knows when my life is in danger”- Yuta waved his hand while explaining “I could prove that abroad when she drove away two of those women who wanted to sleep with me, who were also sorceresses and where some time later I found out that they only approached me with the intention of killing me since they were sent by other people. Even Rika came to protect me from more sorcerers who came with the intention of killing me...”

He continued explaining without stopping looking at Maki – “Maybe this is a quality of this Rika, which, you know that now she is more like a shinigami than a vengeful spirit...”- he left his hands on the table for a moment, very close to the hands of Maki – “so if she didn't attack you at the time when we were together in the past or when we were making love, maybe it was because of that love that me had for you and that I still have for you... besides I had and still have enough confidence in you and I know that you wouldn't be able to hurt me...”

Maki pursed her lips at those words. Deep down, Maki knew that she could hurt him.

At that moment, something didn't add up to Maki.
“Wait, you said that there were three women you had the opportunity to sleep with but you just said that Rika only scared two of them..." She looked at
 him "So, Who did you sleep with was that third woman?" she asked seriously.

Yuta took a deep breath, he could see it in her. It pained her to discover this, but he had to tell her the truth.

“Yes...” he confessed.

Maki pursed her lips when she heard that. She blinked several times to keep her tears from falling from her eyes, "And yet you say you love me... how illogical of you Okkotsu..." she blurted out with annoyance.

“As I said, I was too hurt by how you abandoned me and severed our relationship, so I had the right to rebuild my life" Yuta commented seriously.

Maki's hands made a fist on the table.
“And you never thought of coming to look for me? You never asked for me? If you said you loved me so much!” - she asked annoyed, trying not to raise her voice, but still sounding angry, "Where is the love you said you felt for me so much?”

“I didn't come to look for you before because you had been very clear in that message, you didn't want anything with me anymore..." Yuta answered coldly.

“MESSAGE I NEVER SENT!" her nails dug into the table and her voice rose a little.

Yuta sighed and decided to answer those questions she had left in the air.
 “And about asking about you!. Yes!, I asked several people, but they all told me they didn't know who you were or that they didn't know anything about you!. Even Satoru never wanted to talk  to me about you anymore!" his shoulders slumped, "I asked him about you and the others, but he wouldn't give me any answers. So I just gave up” -his hands tightened on the table -“For three years in a row, I tried to look for answers but got none, plus I wasn't allowed to return to Japan soon. And with that breakup, the less I wanted to return to this country where you had broken my heart...”

Maki leaned back in her chair
"So you just gave up? Wow! Then I guess you never loved me enough to avoid sleeping with another woman if you claimed to love me so much..." she growled and crossed her arms, "You only slept with her? How many times was it?" she asked annoyed.

Yuta sighed, he had no choice but to tell her the truth.
“Yes, I only slept with her and it was only once, it was something very fleeting, a one night thing…” - he confessed – “I met her in China on a mission to identify some curses of unknown category and almost ten months later we met again in Spain and that's where that intimate encounter happened...”

Maki lifted her glasses, wiped the tears that had come out of her eyes and let the air out in pain.
 The pain that she had caused herself by asking that question. But that would leave a vulnerable heart to attack.

Yuta wanted to clarify the situation so he continued speaking, "But I can assure you that it was only a one night thing! Besides, I used condom and from there I never heard from her again since our paths didn't meet again and much less have I looked for her!”- he moved his hands with desperation and his eyes were also crystalline.

Maki put her glasses back on her face, took a deep breath and tried to answer in a firm voice, but it was breaking with every word.
“I guess you must have loved her enough in such a short time for Rika not to intervene with her, right?”

Yuta shook his head- “I feel that if Rika didn't intervene with her it was for another reason…”

“Why? Besides, how long ago was that one time you slept with her?" asked Maki firmly. A few bitter tears ran down her cheeks.

The sorcerer looked at his coffee, which had already cooled and he knew that in the face of all that truth it would taste bitter.
“That was about a year ago..." he confessed. –“She was also one of the reasons I finally got up the courage to come back here to Japan. She, this K...” he was interrupted when he was about to name that woman.

“I don't want to know her name... please..." Maki answered quickly.

She let out her breath painfully as a lump had formed in her throat from listening to that confession.

Yuta sighed and stared into Maki's eyes.
“It's okay... I guess she saw that, deep down, even though it had been almost six years since our separation, I could never stop loving you, even though I seemed to have forgotten you.” he sighed. “I have a feeling that she did fall in love with me, but I couldn't reciprocate that feeling. That alone would explain why Rika didn't attack her. Besides, she was the one who gave the advice to come look for you a year before Satoru found me and dragged me here with this sorcerer killer case. But, as I said, I only slept with her once and since then I haven't slept with anyone else....”

“And did you come to love her?" asked Maki with a coldness that rasped in her throat and without taking her eyes off Yuta.

Yuta shook his head.
“I tried, but..." the air rushed out of his chest, "my heart still belonged to you, so maybe she saw that in my heart there was no place for anyone else but you”

Maki took a deep breath, unable to hold back the tears.
“Well... knowing this hurts…" her voice managed to come out in a whisper as she wiped her cheeks, " But since you believed that I had abandoned you and our relationship was practically "over", I don't think this could be considered infidelity...after all, we were both separated.”

Yuta looked down when he heard that.
“We both thought we had abandoned each other....” He brought his hands to his face –“and now I feel guilty for what I did”

“But such sin cannot be erased… But what's done is done" commented Maki, still wiping away her tears. She sounded quite mature when she said that.

“And now that I've returned to Japan and found out that you had my children and were raising them and taking care of them all this time while I was traveling around the world" he sighed heavily, pain building up in his chest, "To have confessed to this makes me the worst person...”

Maki reclined  in her chair while her fingers moved on the table.
“Some people just didn't want us together, so they did everything to separate us and they succeeded. It hurts, but...” She took a deep breath –“ as I said we were both ‘over’, so you were in theory free to sleep with whomever you wanted. But if this had happened when we were still ‘something’, right now I'd be cutting your balls off” -She made a fist with her hand – “But that doesn't leave aside the desire I have to cut off your balls for not having returned soon... and I don't need reasons to kill you”

Yuta looked at her as he listened to that.
 “But now we can do things differently and I want to fight for you and our children... to make up for the time we lost. And by the way, your forgiveness”

Maki sighed when she heard that.
“You came back late... seven years late... that's what hurts me the most”

“And now that we have met again, I can reaffirm that feeling of love that I still felt for you and despite being away for seven years, it did not disappear even though I tried to deceive myself!”- he stared at her– “And I can assure you that if anyone has the right to kill me, it is you...”

Maki stared at him as that sorcerer spoke. It seemed that Yuta was making a binding vow with her.

“You are the only one who can tear out my heart if you wish," he said, placing his hand on her breast. His eyes were filled with a mixture of love and fear, which were still fixed on hers, "My heart still belongs to you and only you can decide its Destiny”

It seemed that those words were only an omen.

They both kept a moment of silence, those words echoing in her mind. Her goal had been accomplished.

“What's done is done Okkotsu” - Maki sighed – “Maybe it will take me some work to forgive you, even a little bit and even more after all this you have told me”- she answered wiping her tears – “especially because now I know that there is another woman out there, somewhere in the world, who also loves you...”

“But I don't love her and I can prove it to you!" said Yuta sadly.

“Even so, thank you for being honest with me... this conversation about what we want to know is not being easy at all..." - she took her cup in her hands, "But we must have it because we deserve answers from both of us" she replied before taking a sip of that cold coffee.

“Yes. It looks like it's going to be a long night...”

“Yes..." she stood up in her place " in a moment I return...”

Maki got up from her chair and went for a moment to the bathroom to wet her face, looked at herself in the mirror and just repeated to herself "This is just part of the plan" to try to calm herself down.

It pained her to discover all this, but it was necessary. She had to ask him, both to dispel her doubts that she had been carrying for seven years and at the same time, that whole conversation helped her gain Yuta's trust. Only then could she get more information about the headquarters and the case Yuta was investigating about the sorcerer killer.

This whole plan had been organized by her guest.

The words of her guest remained engraved in Maki's mind:

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer."

"Besides a man in love will always tell you the truth."

And it seemed that everything that woman said was true with that last sentence.

Instead, Yuta was still sitting in the kitchen waiting for her.
 The urge to smoke resurfaced strongly. Especially because of the anxiety and guilt that the initial conversation had provoked in him.

While Maki was returning, Yuta decided to take a breather, so he went out into the courtyard for a moment to relax a bit after all he had said. Although he was carrying a cigarette in his jacket, he restrained himself and resisted the temptation to smoke.

They both cried a little, but there were still other things they needed to talk about like the adults they were supposed to be.

About seven minutes passed and Maki returned from the bathroom. She was thankful that her glasses covered part of her swollen eyes, which had shed a lot of tears from hearing that.

But they had to keep talking about other things that were just as important.

“Okkotsu, Do you want more coffee?" asked Maki in a calm voice, "The night is still long and we still need to talk about more things”

Yuta affirmed with a gentle shake of his head.
“I would like to...”

The clock already read 12:40 a.m. and after refilling those cups of coffee, they decided to resume their conversation.

“Well, I already started this conversation, so now it's your turn to ask what you want to know" replied Maki a little calmer. As she went back to take a seat in front of Yuta.

The sorcerer took a breath and, in passing, drank some of the coffee that his hostess had served him again.

“Well, now answer me Maki san, how did you realize you were pregnant? And why didn't you tell me at that moment?”-asked Yuta, looking her straight in the eyes. His tone of voice was serious, but genuine curiosity could be seen in his eyes.

“Isn't that already two questions?" Maki asked raising an eyebrow.

Yuta applied the same move she did minutes before.
 “Consider them as one question”

Maki twisted her mouth at such an answer. She couldn't escape it because it was her turn to tell him the whole truth. Her hands tensed slightly over the cup that warmed her palms. But still, she was willing to talk.

“Ok" she leaned her back on the chair and stared at him, "Remember that Friday we were supposed to meet here in Kyoto to celebrate our anniversary?”

It was definitely going to be a long night for both of them. And even more so when the truth was just a cup of coffee away.

Your favorite family drama To be continued in the next chapter...

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked this first part❤

What do you think of this story?

I can only tell you that the second part will be full of more drama and, by the way, there will be some very important flashbacks for this story. As well as finally finding out who talked to Maki at that train station.

As I said, I had to split the chapter because it was really going to be very, very long and full of a lot of information. And with this division I was able to focus better on what I want to get across to you.

Besides, in this first part I wanted to focus on this part of Okkotsu abroad and his answer about if he slept with another woman, since this answer, as I said in paragraphs above, left a vulnerable heart that will only want to recover the love of his life. And more than that Maki as the murderer that she is in this story, will start to move very carefully her pieces. Especially since we are almost entering her arc in this story and having Yuta doing everything he can to get her love back will give her a bit of an advantage for her future plans.

Actually, I'm thinking maybe later on I'll write a chapter about Okkotsu's journey abroad and maybe I'll talk a little bit about that woman. Would you like to read about it?

I hope to bring you the chapter soon, at the latest at the end of this month or at the beginning of May so as not to make you wait so long.

Well, we'll keep reading❤

Chapter 17: 16. Where is the love? (Part.2)

Notes:

Sorry for the delay, here is the next chapter.

P.S. Happy Mother's Day.

Here Maki realizes that she is pregnant.

Continued

The clock was already striking 12:40 a.m. and after refilling those cups of coffee, those two ex-lovers decided to resume their conversation.

“Well, I've already started this conversation, so now it's your turn to ask what you want to know" replied Maki a little calmer and returned to take a seat in front of Yuta.

The sorcerer took a breath and, in passing, drank some of the coffee that his hostess had served him again.

“Well, now answer me Maki san, how did you realize you were pregnant? And why didn't you tell me at that moment?” asked Yuta, looking her straight in the eyes. His tone of voice was serious, but genuine curiosity could be seen in his eyes.

“Isn't that two questions in a row?" Maki asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yuta applied the same move she did minutes before.
 “Consider them as one question”

Maki twisted her mouth at such a response.

“Please, I need to know!" he sounded desperate, "What was it that I didn't see that time to notice you were pregnant? I want to know what would have been different between us if I had known seven years ago?” he pleaded, clasping his hands together.

Maki sighed as she lowered her shoulders and put her hands on the table. She felt cornered, but she had to answer. If she had talked about her pregnancy seven years ago, maybe her whole life would be different.

“Okay" she leaned back in her chair and stared at him, "Do you remember that Friday we were supposed to meet here in Kyoto to celebrate our anniversary?”

“I remember it very well”

Maki let the air out lazily.
 “That same day I realized I was pregnant...”

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

Flashback.

Seven years ago.

That medical result couldn't be wrong, could it?

Maki did not take her eyes off the results of the medical sheets that Shoko had recommended her to undergo since she had been feeling more tired than usual for several days, she looked quite pale and, also she had headaches and very intense vomiting.

So, faced with such symptoms, the Jujutsu doctor sent her for tests, which she would check on Monday when she saw her at the academy.

But the curiosity to know what she might have, made Maki read those results at that instant, while waiting to board the train that would take her to her hometown, Kyoto.

At first Maki thought it might be an acute stomach infection or perhaps early anemia as Shoko had told her.

All those symptoms were definitely something rare for a woman with a heavenly restriction. Maybe her body was just asking for rest from her arduous workouts and grueling missions. She thought.

However, those results revealed that the cause of her ailments was the least expected. Every line and number on the medical chart ruled out other possible diseases, marking them in the negative.

But Maki's whole being trembled once she read that result at the bottom of that medical sheet.

Positive for possible pregnancy.

“It can't be..." whispered Maki, feeling her whole world come crashing down on her shoulders.

She felt as if she had made the worst mistake of her life and it was not for less, she was a rising sorceress and only a year ago, she had just been awarded the first degree in sorcery.
 By the way, she was a very young woman, only a few months ago she had come of age.

“Seriously, this can't be happening to me..." she whispered again with her eyes still focused on those leaves, which her trembling hands were holding with difficulty.

The nausea returned, with great intensity for having discovered that.

Her right hand rested on her belly, there where a baby unplanned, let alone wanted at the time, was gestating.

“This must be a joke!" the poor girl shouted in frustration, she was quite confused and upset.

“Am I really pregnant? This stupid sheet only says "possibly" but it's not definite, is it?” Her denial was so great that she couldn't assimilate the news.

Maki's mind began to do the math, she remembered that several weeks ago she had had her period, but as far as she remembered it had been very scanty, besides that in the last two weeks she had not had sex with Okkotsu.

But she felt that something was wrong and the accounts did not start to match either when she noticed her calendar on her cell phone and even more when she read that result again and remembered a certain romantic and sensual encounter that happened between her and her boyfriend shortly after Valentine's Day.

Something inside her was alarmed.

Such anxiety caused her to vomit in one of the station's garbage cans before boarding the train, which prompted her to enter a small pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test, which she decided to take inside the bullet train's bathroom.

Once the train started moving, she locked herself in the small bathroom in the aisle of that car.

“Ok, let's do this quickly..." she said to himself with that test in hand, which she had taken out of its box and began to read the instructions for use.

Just as the train began to move at a faster speed, her heart was also beating very fast in her chest as he waited for the result.

Perhaps she needed more than one piece of evidence to confirm that she was pregnant.

But once the final result was marked with the two lines in that test on the sink, she discovered that it was not a bad dream.

“Seriously, this can't be happening to me!" she muffled her scream with her hand as she continued into the bathroom. She felt frustrated. Even with the impression, she had to lean her back against the door, as she clenched her fists in anger with herself.

Going from denial to anger was a huge leap for her. And even more so when she was alone. Maki didn't know who to call. She felt that everyone else would judge her for such a huge oversight. Plus she knew that Yuta must be busy enough to answer the phone at that moment.

Maki tried to calm down, but it was impossible. The more she saw that test, the more frustrated she became, the more she cried with anger and covered her mouth so that her screams would not be heard.

It took her fifteen minutes to regain her composure. She take one last look at that test before throwing it in the trash can.

Now the negotiation stage had entered through the small door. Sowing in her the doubt about what she should do with that being that was growing inside her. If she should keep it or if she should abort it.

She washed her hands, washed her face, fixed her ponytail and then left to return to her seat on the train, which still had about an hour to go to Kyoto.

Maki was also in another dilemma and that was whether she should tell Yuta OR NOT.
Especially since she knew that he was the father of that baby.

Maki put her hands on her belly as she looked out the window of her seat.
 “What am I going to do with you" she whispered in frustration.

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

At Present

“So I practically found out that Friday at the Tokyo train station, because out of curiosity I saw the results of the tests that Shoko had sent me to take. And in the face of my denial, I took that pregnancy test before arriving here...” her hands rested on her belly “And so I realized I was pregnant...”

Yuta let the air out with resignation.
 “If you found out since Friday, why didn't you tell me that same day?, or why didn't you tell me between Saturday and Sunday?”

Maki was annoyed by those questions.
“You didn't remember what else happened that weekend?" her fingers tapped the table, "You arrived until Friday night, so you practically had dinner and slept, well half slept because early the next day you went on several missions in the morning and in the afternoon you wouldn't let go of your fucking cell phone because everyone at headquarters was looking for you, and Sunday was....” - sigh with frustration – “It was when that idiot of Satoru convinced you to leave the country that same day…”

Maki tried not to raise her voice  “So all the way here I was thinking about whether or not I really wanted to have this baby and I was also in the dilemma of whether or not to tell you...”

Yuta sighed and lowered his shoulders. “Still, in the time we were together you could have told me..." he said seriously.

“If I confessed it to you, but what if I decided to have an abortion?" asked Maki annoyed, "Were you going to support that decision?”

Yuta tensed up at such a question which made him uncomfortable. So he decided to remain silent for a moment.

Maki continued speaking.
 “So practically that weekend I was struggling with myself to make a decision”

“But before you saw those results, did you notice any other signs that made you think you were pregnant weeks ago?”-Yuta asked with obvious confusion, "because I don't remember seeing you sick weeks before I left the country...”

Maki twisted her mouth, and then began to explain.

“The other symptom I presented, but which we didn't give importance to at the time, was the delay in my period. However, both you and I knew that my menstruation was always irregular due to my demanding training routines” She placed her hands on the table, lightly moving her fingers on the wood

“I even experienced light bleeding, which at the time I considered to be my period, but the doctor who attended me during the entire pregnancy explained to me that it was implantation bleeding. So weeks before our separation, there were no more previous symptoms”

Yuta brought his hand to his mouth, looking thoughtful about something.

“What's wrong?" questioned Maki when he saw the sorcerer's pose.

“It's just that now, thinking back, I remember at times seeing a strange gleam in your eyes. I don't know if that could have been a first indication that you were pregnant" commented Yuta, drinking some of his coffee.

“A strange glow?" Maki raised an eyebrow, "I guess you mean because of my glasses, right?" she said, taking them off and leaving them on the table.

Yuta shook his head.
 “It wasn't the glint of your glasses" he took her hand for a moment.

The unexpected touch caused Maki to startle slightly, forcing her to look him in the eye. His hand, warm to the touch, ran over hers sending a shiver through her body. It was a unique touch, even after seven years of absence.

“I don't mean the glow of your glasses, but something I could only see in your eyes when you weren't wearing them. A different glow, unique, that even haunted me in my dreams for years, especially in those moments when it hurt the most to have lost you. It's hard to explain, but it was something special that only you possessed”

Maki lightly squeezed Yuta's hand.
Then she rolled her eyes at those poetic words.
 “Well, if that was a symptom, I guess we really overlooked it" she took a breath and let go of his hand.

“And after your departure, I felt completely lost, I was so out of my mind that I could have done something crazy.... Fortunately, Mai found me that day...” Her chest rose and fell in a deep sigh.

“To tell the truth, I don't know what would have become of me, if she hadn't sensed that something was wrong with me...”A soft smile appeared on her lips at the memory of her sister- “She was the first one to find out that I was pregnant” she confessed.

Yuta was struck by those words, "Did it happen like the trick that Yurika and Yuudai did earlier? Are you talking about that kind of Telepathy that the twins have?" he asked out of curiosity since something about that, Mai had also told him in the letter she gave him.

Maki shrugged her shoulders.
“I guess it's some kind of telepathy" she said, "maybe she sensed that I was having a hard enough time and that's why she came out to look for me at that station" she looked at her guest seriously.

“Because as I said, she found me, she comforted me and was the one who supported me the most during the whole pregnancy and she was even with me during the birth..." Maki's hands tightened on the table, her nails dug into the wood "Because of everything she did for me and my children, I am indebted to her, and for that very reason I have promised myself that I will save her from the hell where she is...”

Yuta looked at her seriously and again his hands traveled to Maki's hands, which he took between them firmly.
 “We will save her... I promise”

Maki nodded her head yes. She felt that she was gaining Yuta's trust as physical contact was happening and that was a very obvious sign of rapprochement between the two.

She knew that if she wanted to save Mai, having Okkotsu on her side would be favorable in that regard.

Feeling those hands between his, made Yuta remember so many good times they had spent together in the past. But even so, there was one more question that he wanted to get out of his mind and even more with what she had told him moments before. It was a question that in a way had broken his heart a little.

He gently let go of Maki's hands, placing them gently on the table, "So you thought about having an abortion?" he asked seriously.

Maki sighed, first pursed her lips and then moistened them slightly to answer that question.

“Yes, I did consider it and even more so because you had abandoned me...” She confessed.

“I will not abandon you!" Yuta replied, annoyed by those words, raising his voice a little.

But Maki ignored that answer and just kept talking.
“With or without you, I still had to make a decisión!"

“So, during the first week you left the country, I was thinking seriously whether or not I should have that baby”- She pointed at him accusingly.
“While you were enjoying the first country you  ever got to, I” -She pointed at herself–“I was dying of anguish and more that I should decide soon!” -She waved her hands furiously –“I even investigated how and where I could have an abortion, but…”

“But?”

Her chest rose and fell again, releasing the air in a long sigh.
“Something inside me wanted to keep something of you, something of that love we had, but at the same time I confess that I was letting myself be carried away too much by my resentment towards you, which at that moment was greater than any other feeling" her voice rang with total truth and sadness.

“So that grudge was leading me to make a rash decision with this issue of terminating the pregnancy, especially because at the time I hated you so much that I was thinking well, if I abort, you will never know that we were going to have a child, it would only be a secret between Mai and I and that we would carry to the grave" Maki look Yuta in the eyes.

The sorcerer was unmoved by everything he was hearing. That confession of truth had struck him hard to the heart.

Maki kept talking, she was keeping a firm stance –“I admit it. I was prepared to carry out the termination of the pregnancy. But for that, I needed to have an ultrasound, I needed to know how many weeks pregnant I was to know what amount of dose would be the most effective...” - Her hands went to her belly, she held her clothes tightly over that area and her eyes were full of feelings.

Sighing again, she couldn't stop looking Yuta in the eyes as she continued talking – “But in the end, at the last moment before going in to see that little being growing in my belly through that monitor, was when I changed my decisión” sigh and a soft smile was marked on her lips.

“And in the end I decided to have this baby. Because I knew that baby was mine. He was a part of me, he was blood of my blood and I felt that maybe he could have a better life than mine. Besides, that I had the illusion that this baby was identical to me”

She smiled sweetly, "The very idea of having a mini-me running around got me all excited" she seemed to have remembered something else, "Even Mai questioned me several times about whether I was sure about having him and more than that, as I said, she was with me throughout the whole process. And in the end, I was sure about having our son. Although it was a big surprise to find out that it was a twin pregnancy”

“I imagine it must have been a nice surprise to find out we were having two babies instead of one" Yuta replied with a soft smile.

“It was actually an unexpected surprise" she took a sip of her coffee.

Yuta at that moment remembered something he had read in Mai's letter. And it was something he wanted to check now that he had Maki in front of him.

“By the way Maki san, now that you mentioned the twin pregnancy, may I ask the question- How did you feel when you found out that we were going to have two children instead of one?”

“Isn't that already your fifth question?" she questioned with a grimace.

“Consider it also as part of the first question" he looked excited to know.

“I really need to know what it was like for you to know we were having two babies instead of one" he answered as he sipped more of his coffee.
 “Because I confess that I'm still quite surprised to learn that we had twins" he smiled slightly.

Maki also took a sip from her cup before continuing speaking. “I'm not going to lie to you Okkotsu, it was a total rush, at the beginning I felt too much panic knowing that there would be two babies instead of one and more than well they say that twins are a bad omen in the world of sorcery” a small smile manifested on her lips.

“But also when I found out that they would be a girl and a boy” she put her hands on her belly – “I felt that things could be different and better for my little family, especially because I had Mai on my side” she leaned her right elbow on the table and rested her face on her hand.

“Also, being pregnant with twins and in a natural way is something that not every woman can boast!”she replied flattering herself with a big smile. Remembering how all the women were surprised about her being the mother of those two.

“Then we can say that Yurika and Yuudai were a blessing and in a way, I feel grateful that they were born here in Kyoto" said Yuta with a big smile for hearing that last one. Then he took one more sip of his coffee, which was about to be finished.

But at that moment. The name of the city caught Maki's attention and now it was her turn to ask.

“And speaking of Kyoto, Okkotsu, answer me something" she took a pose of total seriousness, leaning her back on the chair again, "Why seven years ago did you want us to come here to Kyoto on our anniversary?” She asked with her eyes fixed on Yuta.

That doubt gnawed her inside, and she needed an answer. Especially because it always seemed strange to her that Yuta's request to go to that city which she had hated a little in her youth.

The sorcerer's eyes widened in surprise at such a question. He even coughed slightly.

He took a big breath, holding the air in his lungs as he took courage.

“Well... I...” he let the air out suddenly “There is a main reason why he wanted us to come here to Kyoto in those days seven years ago...”

“And what is it?”

The sorcerer removed from his neck that necklace where he always had both rings  “The answer is here”- he said in a barely audible voice, while he extended his hand on the table.

“But that's the engagement ring that Rika gave you, isn't it?" replied Maki, raising an eyebrow.

“But this other ring is not Rika's..." He took between his fingers the other ring that he always carried with him. The one that had a tiny but beautiful diamond “This engagement ring was going to be for you...”

Maki's face tightened. Her hands loosened on the table and her eyes widened enormously.

Quickly, her hands reacted and went up to her face –“Okkotsu tell me it's a joke...” her hands came away from her mouth to say that –“Tell me it's NOT what I'm thinking it is!” whispered Maki with surprise.

Yuta shook his head.
“It's no joke Maki... seven years ago I was thinking of proposing to you" he answered with melancholy invading his being. His lips curved in a sad grimace “But... in the end it couldn't be...”

Maki stood up quickly, took several steps while running her hands over her face. Then her hands gripped the chair tightly. She was controlling herself not to break it over that sorcerer's head.

“Marriage?" her breath caught as she asked that question. She felt a thousand emotions at that moment.

Yuta continued to sit, while admiring that ring.
“This was the main reason I wanted us to come to Kyoto. I wanted to propose to you in your hometown. And to make it more symbolic, I had bought this ring in my hometown, Sendai, that's why I was late that Friday. Because I was looking for the perfect ring for you”

Maki's lips tightened tightly and her brow contracted in annoyance, she really wanted to scream.
 “Were you seriously going to ask me to marry you?" came out of her throat in a growl.

She had gone from surprise to anger very quickly.

Yuta stood up, hung that necklace with those two rings back on his neck and took a few steps towards her.
“That's right, I wanted to give you this ring somewhere nice here in Kyoto. I was planning to propose to you in the geisha quarter or”  sighed with disappointment.

“I thought of asking you somewhere else that I thought we would visit on our weekend, but nothing was going as it should" he held his hand over those rings for a moment.
“And then Satoru showed up and well, he asked us to leave the country immediately. Even if we were both leaving Japan. I was planning to propose to you at the first destination we reached”

Maki looked him straight in the eyes, while Yuta was still standing in front of her. Then her honey-colored gaze lowered for a moment to the one that would have been her engagement ring. She felt so many emotions and feelings when she saw him up close, but of all of them, the one that stood out was the hatred she felt towards those who ruined their happiness.

“And now with everything we have told each other tonight, I am certain that if we had been honest with each other in that train station seven years ago, our present would be completely different...” Yuta, bravely, brought his hand close to Maki's cheek.

She gave a little startle, even an electric sensation ran through her skin when she felt Yuta's hand on her.
 But she didn't push him away, on the contrary, feeling his hand on her skin made her heart skip a beat. As she lost herself in his gaze.

“At this moment they only torment me endless What would have happened if... said Yuta in a hoarse voice. He was hurt by everything that had happened between them.

He continued speaking without taking his eyes off Maki and without taking his hand away from her cheek, while he caressed her affectionately. -
“Perhaps if at that train station you had confessed to me about your pregnancy..." He lowered his shoulders.

"I would have asked you to marry me at that moment and I would have given you the freedom to choose whether you wanted to stay here in Japan or to flee abroad. And in either case, I would have made sure that you and our little ones would have all the comforts..”

Maki swallowed saliva to try to undo the lump in her throat, while she put her hand on Yuta's hand, caressing him gently. She had to be firm in her feelings, even though all this was affecting her and moved all those feelings that she thought she had buried under so much hatred and contempt towards him.

“If everything would have been different...” Yuta sighed with a lump in his throat  “If seven years ago, you had said yes to me the instant I had asked you to marry me, I would have seen you wearing a beautiful wedding dress of the color you had chosen, and we would have said our vows in front of an altar...” his feelings were overflowing painfully in his throat as he said all that.

His mind filled with false images of those memories that never existed, stabbing like daggers into his hurting heart.

“I would have even had the privilege of seeing you pregnant..." It pained him to imagine that image of Maki with a bulging belly.

“And if fate had not taken another course, I would have witnessed the moment when you learned that not one, but two little beings were growing in your womb" a small smile appeared on his face, reflecting both illusion and pain. He felt that again he would burst into tears.

“And not to mention the birth, I would have done everything possible to be present at that important moment for our family" he sighed regretfully, trying to calm the lump in his throat that hurt like thorns stuck red-hot against his skin.
 “Truly, I would have done anything to be with you, Yurika and Yuudai, at all times and at every stage of your lives, giving you protection and everything necessary...”

Maki swallowed hard, a lump had formed in her throat and one in the pit of her stomach. Her eyebrows contracted and her eyes glazed over. She too ached to imagine that perfect life by his side but which unfortunately could not be.

Yuta let the air out with too much sadness just imagining that life they could not live.
“Even if we had made the decision to flee the country, most likely the four of us would have traveled the world together... we would have visited so many countries and known so many cultures as a family...” - he sighed again  “at this moment, I can only think of so many what’s if...”

A faint smile appeared on Maki's lips when she heard all that, she let out a few tears as she caressed Yuta's hand on her cheek.

“Although something tells me that you would have fainted the moment you knew we were going to have twins, and most likely you would have fainted at the moment of delivery." She lowered her gaze and her free hand went up to Yuta's chest, as she dared to touch that ring that would have belonged to her. Running her fingers through that material, which was smooth and well cared for, even the tiny diamond still kept its shine.

Maki could swear she felt Yuta's heart beating through that ring.

“I definitely would have cried and screamed with emotion when I heard that we would be parents of two babies" Yuta answered with a slight chuckle when he felt her finger touch that ring hanging against his chest.

“And you're right, maybe I would have even fainted at the moment of delivery. But I would have been standing by your side giving you everything you deserved”

“It would have been a good life..." she whispered gently removing Yuta's hand from her cheek, intertwining her fingers a little, while she turned her eyes towards his eyes.

“But we still have time to make that life a reality.... we could try it from scratch... we could be that family we were always destined to be" whispered Yuta without losing herself in her honey-colored gaze.

Both could not stop looking into each other's eyes, it seemed that they had imagined at the same time all those situations that were taken away from them.

Those glances were charged with too many feelings. It seemed that this magnetism would bring them together, as their faces began to meet delicately, their foreheads touching first.

“Yuta..." Maki named him in a very low voice.

“Maki... I just want us to try again... I want that love to come back to us..." he whispered.

The words could no longer come out of Maki's mouth, her breath had been cut off as she felt Yuta's lips very close to hers.

Only their breathing and the sound of the hands of the clock, which showed that it was five minutes to two in the morning, was the only thing that could be heard at that moment in that kitchen.

Maki felt that her heart would jump out of her throat, as she lost herself in that blue-gray gaze. The one that was slowly approaching her as they both closed their eyes. She felt she had to stand her ground as the cruel and cold killer she was.

But it was no use, her feelings for him were bubbling up again.

Their lips were very close at last after seven years of being cruelly estranged. Their light touches made them desire each other more. At the same time they awakened in them those feelings they still felt for each other.

Maki could tell that she was Yuta's weakness, and she had to take advantage of it if her plan was going to work, both for her sake, her sister's sake and her children's sake. But she also felt herself falling and losing at her own game.

They were millimeters away from finally joining in a kiss, but Maki's resentment towards those who had separated them, made her react, putting her right hand between her mouth and Okkotsu's mouth, to separate from him quickly and coldly, but with her cheeks softly tinged with carmin because of how close they had been.

She calmed down –“Really... they took care of send... fuck our happiness..." she whispered with her voice half cut off, interrupting that first encounter, while she took a few steps backwards to get away from Yuta.

The sorcerer looked at her with intrigue at those words. And more so that Mai had not been clear on that subject in her letter.

Yuta also took a step back. He had to behave himself and appease his feelings until the talk was over.
 “Did they take care of it?  Who? Maki san What else happened that day when we got separated at that station?”

Maki sighed. She hugged herself, running her hands up and down her arms to give herself enough courage to finally talk about it after seven years.

“In that station several things happened at the same time... it's a little difficult to explain..." she moistened her lips as she took her seat again.- “But I can confirm that while I was waiting for you, one of those people who is involved in our separation came to talk to me...” she looked at the sorcerer – “That person made me have many more doubts about whether it was a good idea to follow you or not...”

“Did anyone else talk to you after I left to buy that bottle of water from you?" Yuta asked intrigued.

“That's right, and that person showed up only a few minutes after my cell phone was stolen" Maki invited Yuta to take a seat once again.

“Who was it? Maki, who made you doubt me?" questioned Yuta, with a seriousness that chilled the blood. His eyes, fixed on hers, left no room for doubt.

The sorcerer took a seat across from her once again. He was not ready for what he would hear.

Maki swallowed saliva, trying to calm the waves that threatened to drown her. A lump formed in her throat, and the words refused to leave her lips.

“Who spoke to me at the station seven years ago was..." she finally said, her voice trembling and her gaze lost in Yuta's eyes.

That truth that was to be revealed would only bring more pain to Yuta.

To be continued...

 

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Notes:

I hope you liked this second part❤

How are you liking the story? I'll be reading your comments, as well as your theories.

I know that in the previous chapter I had said that they were finally going to find out who was the one who talked to Maki, but I decided to leave this topic exclusively for the next chapter, which will be focused both from Maki's and Yuta's point of view about what happened in that train station the day of their drastic separation, so it will be a chapter almost entirely showing what happened seven years ago.

The only thing I can assure you about the next chapter, which I already have almost in its entirety, it only needs to be edited since it is twice as long as this one, is that it will make you hate one character in particular.

Maybe I will upload that chapter at the end of this month or at the beginning of June, it will depend on the time I have available and I want to prepare the following chapters, which will be important for this plot, especially since an important plot twist is coming that will make you wonder who is really to blame for all this? And does the end justify the means?

Anyway, seriously, thank you very much for the support, I hope you continue to like this story❤and more action is coming and incidentally, to focus already on the case of the new warlock killer.

Chapter 18: 17. Seven Years Ago. The Train Station

Notes:

The wait is over. It's time for you to find out who it was who talked to Maki seven years ago. As well as Yuta's version of that day.

So get your tissues, popcorn and your favorite beverage ready, this novela is about to begin.

I hope you like it❤and more if someone can use my fics as a safe place or comfort, welcome.

Enjoy the story.

sorry if there are any mistakes in the translation, I'm translating this at 2 am

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Continued

“Seriously... they took care of... fuck our happiness..." whispered Maki with her voice half cut off, interrupting that first kiss, while she took a few steps backwards to get away from Yuta.

The sorcerer looked at her with intrigue at those words. And more so Mai had not been clear on that subject in her letter.

Yuta also took a step back. He had to behave himself and appease his feelings until the talk was over.
 “Did they take care of it? Who? Maki san What else happened that day when we parted at that station?”

Maki sighed. She hugged herself, running her hands up and down her arms to give herself enough courage to finally talk about it after seven years.

“In that station several things happened at the same time... that it's a little difficult to explain..." she moistened her lips “I can confirm that while I was waiting for you, one of those people who is involved in our separation came to talk to me...” She looked at the sorcerer – “That person made me have many more doubts about whether it was a good idea to follow you or not…”

“Did anyone else talk to you after I left to buy that bottle of water?" Yuta asked in frustration.

“That's right, that person showed up just a few minutes after someone stole my cell phone" Maki invited Yuta to take a seat once again.

“Who was it? Maki, who made you doubt me?" questioned Yuta, with a seriousness that chilled the blood. His eyes, fixed on hers, left no room for doubt.

The sorcerer took a seat across from her once again. He was not ready for what he would hear.

“Who spoke to me at the station seven years ago was..."

 

 

 

 

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Flashback

Seven years ago.

At the train station.

 

MAKI VERSION

Maki's foot kept moving, she was getting too desperate because she had to make a decision about her pregnancy. Besides, she couldn't see her boyfriend anywhere, since he was taking too long.

“What the hell is that idiot doing that he's taking so long?” she asked himself with annoyance when she noticed that more than thirty minutes had already passed and Yuta had not returned.

At that moment, as she turned to look at the signs about the upcoming departure times, a person appeared out of nowhere and bumped into her, pushing her hard by the shoulder.

“Idiot!" shouted Maki in annoyance at the blow.

But the guy who bumped into her did not pay attention to her and just walked away.

Maki rubbed her shoulder, as she looked once again at the clock they had at the station.
 Her hands traveled to her belly as she saw the time. She felt uneasy, as if something was not right around her. Even the atmosphere felt heavy.

“Your father is taking too long..."

Suddenly, she felt that someone had stood behind her. That person was so imposing that even a shiver ran down her spine.

“YO! It's good to see you here" said a voice that the sorceress found quite annoying, the mere presence of that person made her turn to look at the one who had arrived.

“Maki" Satoru named her with a big smile on his lips, "I'm glad you're ready to leave the country!" he pointed to his suitcases.

His alumne sighed and clenched her jaw tightly. She really didn't feel like dealing with anyone, least of all with the one who had appeared.

“What do you want, idiot?" she asked with annoyance. Unfortunately the nausea had returned with the presence of that man, but she had to control himself.

“How rude!, you and Utahime do share the same character"

Her student rolled her eyes, "But at least she's a good teacher. Anyway, what do you want?, it's not enough for you to ruin me and Yuta's weekend with this stupid mission abroad!" she crossed her arms.

“I wouldn't say I'm ruining anything for them, on the contrary, I'd say I'm making their lives better" Satoru replied with a big smile. –“Are you sure you're all right? You look a little pale. Are you sick?” he analyzed his student, raising his dark glasses.

Maki raised her voice and put her hands on her hips, "I'm just annoyed about leaving the country! Besides, I'm already dazed from being surrounded by so many people!”

But in reality, the stunned was due to someone's cursed technique. That person was so close to Satoru and Maki that his energy flooded the area.

“But don't you think this is a good idea? I mean, what's better than going abroad with your boyfriend on a mission together or is something else bothering you?” - Gojo brought his face slightly closer to the girl's face.
“Or are you hiding something? Something small but important that could change both your life and Yuta's?”

Those words made Maki's eyes widen enormously, as she stared into those blue eyes that could see even the tiniest thing.

Satoru continued "I ask because ever since I found them in the geisha quarter, you have been behaving very strange."

The sorceress swallowed hard, she tried to stand firm because she knew that maybe Satoru could have seen through her. And if that baby could be a child with cursed energy, maybe he could have already detected it.

“I don't know what you're talking about!" she said firmly, "And stop looking at me like that, you look like a pervert!" she raised her voice.

“I think you do know what I'm talking about" Satoru looked around, it was as if he had detected something else, as certain people had caught his attention.

He returned his gaze to his student –“Because whatever you're hiding could affect both clans, right? I mean because with you and Yuta already being a couple, in one way or another it makes us relatives though distant , especially because although Yuta is not a direct Gojo, his mere presence is equivalent to one, besides, you are a Zenin of the direct line and a relationship like that is quite an issue, and more than that things between the two clans are already tense”

“I don't give a damn about clans right now!" her mood worsened, "Leave me alone!" she replied, turning her face the other way.

At that moment, Maki felt as if someone else was watching her in the crowd, but she didn't know where the heavy gaze was coming from. She thought maybe it was just her pregnant nerves.

But if only she had been paying closer attention, she would have noticed that five specific people were watching her very closely and were spread out just meters away from her.

All of them, they were just making sure that the plan was carried out.

Satoru sighed.
“If you don't feel ready, you know you still have time to leave and walk away from this proposal, just as you still have time to walk away from Yuta”

His student turned her head quickly at those words.
“And why would I do something like that?" she asked annoyed.

“Rather, why not to do it? Just think about it, you're a very smart, strong and independent girl and leaving the country with Yuta is not very like you”

“What are you trying to say?" asked Maki with a hint of intrigue.

“What I am trying to say is that you are a Zenin”

Maki grunted as she heard her last name come out of her sensei's mouth.

Satoru continued explaining. –“Maki, you're a proud girl, and accompanying a superior sorcerer on this kind of mission doesn't suit your style. Even if Yuta is your boyfriend. Besides, if you accompany him, you'll stop being the usual "Maki" and become "Okkotsu's woman", especially now that you'll be traveling abroad together as a couple. So, are you sure you can stand all that?, will you support that all the recognition goes to him?" he raised his finger as if he was giving a class, "Because remember that whoever has the highest rank in the missions, is the one who has the leadership as well as takes all the credit for them!" he adjusted his glasses, "But above all, are you sure that with that you are hiding, wouldn't you be more of a hindrance for Yuta with you in that condition" he pointed slightly to her belly.

Maki hesitated slightly. “I..." She swallowed saliva, she felt for the first time cornered and threatened by that man.

Those words hit her like a bucket of cold water. Again her eyes widened with doubt invading her whole being. Would she be more of a hindrance than a help with this pregnancy?

Both were still very young. Besides, being a woman in that world of sorcery, meant having less chances to succeed or stand out and more being next to Yuta, a special grade sorcerer who could take all the recognition for being a "prodigy" and with a baby on the way, she would be left aside and maybe she would be more of a hindrance.

But if she decided to terminate the pregnancy, could she have an abortion in another country? What if she went to a very conservative country? One where even spontaneous abortion was punishable by jail or the death penalty. She
couldn't have that abortion, could I? Besides, spending days at rest due to this interruption was not a good option in a mission like the one they were going on, where they had to be always on the move.

There was too much at stake, plus she didn't feel ready to leave the country. Fear began to invade her and choked her with that strange energy that hung in the air.

“I..." Maki felt her breath catch. She felt dizzy and choked, the atmosphere felt too heavy.

Satoru looked around again. He knew something was going on but he had decided not to intervene, he thought that maybe it would be a good idea to see the true feelings of these two.

Serious mistake. Because those who wanted to separate them succeeded.

Furthermore, there was a binding vote between him and the superiors, along with Naoya Zenin, that deal did not allow Satoru to intervene directly.

If only Yuta and Maki could have had eyes as sharp as his. If only they had both been able to meet one more time... if only they had both told each other what was happening to them or what they were thinking of doing... perhaps only then they would never have been separated.

It seemed that those watching them began to act according to plan. Camouflaged as simple civilians waiting for the train. A train she would never board. While with the "petal emotion" covering their bodies, they were careful not to fall into that technique of space and time, which worked as a kind of domination.

Just as there was one more technique surrounding them, one that caused fear to intensify in the victim who had been touched minutes before.

Satoru, having the infinite, could defend himself from that cursed energy that was beginning to suffocate the environment.

Instead, Maki began to feel confused, even somewhat heavy and suffocated. Even her body trembled in a shiver. It was as if her restraint was not immune to such techniques.

Maybe it was due to that pregnancy, as two babies with cursed energy were gestating in her womb and those techniques were affecting them.

“Answer me something Maki san, do you really love Okkotsu enough to go with him all the way abroad? Are you willing to leave everything behind and stop being you, for a man like him?" asked the albino looking at his student with firmness.

“I...” she said with difficulty –“I love him”- she whispered, her voice was barely audible to Satoru- “but...”- Maki felt strange, she felt nervous and the doubt was starting to eat her head.

She felt that Satoru's words, as well as her mother's words a day before about her relationship with Okkotsu, had made her hesitate about herself and above all, the doubt was hammering her head about whether she wanted this life that would be presented to her outside her country and more so with a baby on the way....

Satoru stared at her, "I understand”

Maki looked down and her hand rested on her belly. –“What should I do?” she thought.

The albino looked around, it seemed that what was happening had already begun to take on more force.

“I guess Yuta will be here soon. Well Maki san, I'll see you on the train in a few minutes, I have to go and quickly arrange some papers before you leave the country”

Satoru took a few steps and stopped at his student's right side, approaching her ear slightly.

“Maki... Decide quickly and wisely...” he whisper in her ear –“because what you decide with this trip as well as with that baby, could make your life worse or could give you a better opportunity that will not be easily repeated... although there is also the option of declining this offer to leave the country” He look at his student.
“And if you decide to stay in Japan, you know perfectly well that Yuta will need a strong woman both physically and mentally by his side" he adjusted his black glasses, "I wonder if you are that woman?”

Satoru looked at a specific person in the crowd. –“You know they are behind you and if you don't want to suffer, you are still in a position to run away from here... run towards the exit... this technique has a very short range” he whispered.

Maki looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She felt confused by those words and, by the way, she felt heavy. Something was wrong. Wasn't she dreaming? Wasn't she drugged? It all felt so unreal.

Even her belly began to ache. Causing it to move to the front. That was the technique of another person who was very close to her.

“Well!” Satoru gave a big clap –“Decide soon. I'll see you and Yuta in a few minutes anyway!" he started to lose himself in the crowd.

“Wait... blindfolded idiot!” she said, but it was useless, Satoru had quickly moved away.

Maki really felt her head spinning. She closed her eyes tightly and her hands went to her ears. She was desperate. She felt that the voices of everyone around her had intensified, it seemed that people were shouting in her ear, loudly and with hate-filled words.

But that was due to the technique of another sorcerer.

“What if that idiot Gojo is right? What if the best thing for me would be not to go with Yuta? Do I really want to stop being myself because of all this?” her mind was filled with more and more doubts, while again, her hands went to her belly. The pain in that area made her move forward again because it had intensified.

The poor began to hyperventilate, panic was taking over her, as well as bad emotions. The urge to vomit intensified to the extent of giving several arches with the sensation burning down her throat.

She quickly looked for that big clock with her eyes and realized that Yuta had already taken too long, more than an hour had passed.

“What if he left me? Is that why he hasn't come back?" those questions came to her mind in a stormy way as she noticed how much time had passed and Yuta didn't come back at all.

The atmosphere was already so heavy that even breathing was already complicated, the air was charged with cursed energy, which was choking her, she felt as if she was inside a big fish tank.

That was one more technique, one that made his victim feel as if he was drowning. As if water was entering furiously into his lungs making them ache.

“I need to get out of here! I can't do this!" Maki had panicked, turned around, grabbed only her suitcase and walked quickly to the station exit, just as Satoru had mentioned.

Maki was ready to flee. She was literally already one foot out of the station, but something stopped her. One feeling in particular.

She knew she could not abandon Yuta like that.

At that moment, her sanity returned to her. She felt something was wrong. It was as if someone was playing with her.

“He wouldn't forgive me and much less I would forgive myself for leaving him like this...”- She clenched her right fist tightly over her suitcase –“I must talk to Yuta, I must tell him the truth....”- her other hand didn't leave her belly.

Maki quickly returned to the platform where she had even left her boyfriend's suitcase.

“Damn it!”-She said worried when she noticed that the black suitcase was no longer there.

She noticed that all those who were waiting for the train were no longer there either.

That platform had almost completely emptied, and the atmosphere no longer felt heavy at all. It was as if the technique that was suffocating her had vanished.

The situation seemed quite strange to Maki. She felt as if someone had played with her and in the worst possible way.

She quickly looked for her cell phone in the pockets of her jacket, but it wasn't there, she even looked for it in her suitcase, but she couldn't find it at all.

At that moment, when Maki was already too desperate, she remembered the guy who crashed into her a few minutes ago. “That asshole stole my cell pone!!" she growled in annoyance.

Then she began to search with her eyes full of despair for her boyfriend. But she couldn't see him and she didn't feel him near her. This was too strange, all this began to make Maki desperate, to the point that she began to go into a fit of hysteria.

“Yuta!” she shouted, but it only attracted the attention of some strangers.

She even began to hate herself for being influenced by Satoru to run away.

And in that moment of anguish where she was looking everywhere, Maki noticed that the train she was supposed to have boarded began to move forward, moving away slowly at first and increasing in speed the closer it got to the end of the platform.

Her instinct made her fix her gaze on the windows of the departing train.

And there, amidst the swaying of the fleeting images, the sorceress caught sight of Okkotsu's unmistakable silhouette.

Her fists clenched tightly. A rush of anger came over her, just as a sharp pain appeared in her chest at the sight of him on that train.

That sorcerer was sitting in his seat by the window. It seemed that he had made his decision.

“Yuta!" Maki shouted once again as she ran alongside the train, which began to speed up.

But Okkotsu didn't pay any attention to her because he couldn't hear her. Besides, he looked very amused talking to the one in the aisle seat, while they were on their way to Haneda airport.

“Yuta!" Maki shouted once again, as she stopped before the platform ended at her feet.

The train sped away from the station and she just stood there.

Maki started to hyperventilate once again. -
“Yuta is gone... he didn't even come down to look for me...- she gasped -Okkotsu has abandoned me…” - her voice broke- “He left without me...” her hand made a fist on her belly. She felt her blood boil.

Her bitter tears began to stream down her cheeks, burning her skin.

Then Maki understood everything. Yuta had abandoned her without giving her any explanation, let alone looking for her to say goodbye.

“You idiot...how I hate you...”

And on that platform, Maki was left with only a broken heart and in her belly harboring two small fruits of a love that seemed to have ended.

 

 

 

 

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Back to the present.

“And there I stayed, alone, confused and furious, looking at how you had abandoned me without saying anything and without looking for me before getting on the train" explained Maki, looking at her coffee cup, which was already empty.

“Some time later I discovered that apparently someone had used a space and time modification technique on me, as well as I found out that other people used other techniques to confuse me even more" she squeezed her cup, to the point of cracking it remembering that dirty trick they had used on it.

“That's why I felt that at that moment the atmosphere was strange and that time had passed very slowly" sighed looking at Yuta, who was surprised to hear all that.  He even seemed disjointed with reality. His fingers were nailed to the wood of the table. She could feel him furious.

“So basically Satoru was the one who ended up filling me with more doubts about whether or not it was a good idea to go with you. Doubts that a day before my mother had put in my head when I ran into her near the station, since she told me something similar about how being with you was a bad idea due to the tension of the clans and that maybe you were just going to ruin my life...”

Yuta got up very annoyed from that chair, he was too angry for hear all that.

“So Satoru talked to you and convinced you to run away? Are you telling me that he was also behind our separation?" he questioned very angrily, raising his voice.

Maki also got up from her chair
“Can you keep your voice down please?!” she scolded between her teeth- “You are in my house and I don't want you to make a scandal, you will wake up my children!”

Yuta approached the glass door that led to the courtyard
“I'm sorry, but!” he grunted a little and his hands became fists on that glass, which was tense and at any moment could break –“I can't believe he did this to us!” He was about to explode while his fist was still against the glass.

Maki stood next to him.
“Calm down please, I don't want your damned energy to scare the children... besides, you wanted to know the truth, didn't you? Well, here it is..." she took him gently by the face, placing her hands on his cheeks, so that he would turn to look at her.

Yuta caressed her hands. There was something in her touch and in her golden gaze, even without glasses, that made him not lose his temper. –“I  seriously can't believe that Satoru was also behind our separation!" he let out the air in pure anger, "And now that you've told me this, I understand why he dragged me onto the train once I got your so-called message!" he confessed.

“He dragged you to the train?" Maki asked seriously, "Didn't Satoru let you come looking for me?”

“That's right!" Yuta looked at her with a mixture of annoyance and sadness and his hands held hers over his face, "After I got your message, I was going to come and get you, but he dragged me onto the train and wouldn't let me off"

“He just told me that maybe you had regretted coming with me, and that's why you had left. Satoru made me believe that maybe you didn't love me anymore and that's why you had left me... he sounded so firm that I just believed his words.... words that I still remember with pain”

“What else did that blindfolded idiot tell you? What other damn lies did he tell you about me?" asked Maki super annoyed, even her hands trembled with anger.

“He said...”

 

 

 

 

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Flashback

Seven years ago

At the train station.

YUTA VERSION

Yuta did not take more than ten minutes to return with that bottle of water, but in that place, there was only his suitcase.

Those were quite strange to him and even more so that it was only a few minutes before the train was due to leave.

“Maki?”

The sorcerer looked for her with his eyes all over the platform, among all the people who were there at that moment.

He decided to ask some people who were near them that he remembered seeing before he went to buy that bottle of water.

“Sir, didn't you see a green-haired girl with glasses standing next to this suitcase?" asked Yuta to the train's security officer, who was giving instructions to the boarding passengers.

“I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone with those characteristics get on the train or pass this way"

Yuta began to panic, so he kept asking other civilians.

“Excuse me, didn't you see where the girl who was here with this suitcase went?" he asked another boy who had been standing very close to them since they arrived at the station.

“I'm sorry, I was busy on my cell phone and I didn't see where she went" apologized the boy before getting on the train.

Yuta began to fill his lungs with air of despair. So he kept asking, he was getting scared that Maki had left there.

“Excuse me, haven't you seen the girl who was standing here next to this suitcase? She's tall, with green hair and glasses!" Yuta asked a couple sitting near where the two of them had been standing.

“I'm sorry, I didn't see her" replied the man.

“I saw that girl pass by with her suitcase, but I didn't see if she went into the bathrooms or out of here" said the woman.

“Thank you!" replied Yuta worriedly.

The sorcerer felt a strange feeling, he could not see Maki anywhere and the worst thing was that he could not detect her.

Also, that it felt like some cursed technique was fading away.

But he decided not to pay attention to that. Big mistake. If only he had paid more attention to those residual traces, he would have found the culprits of their separation. The ones who were celebrating their breakup several meters away from him.

The train would soon leave the station. So Yuta decided to take out his cell phone, maybe he was in the bathroom as the woman said, so he thought it would be best to call her.

Once he unlocked his cell phone, he saw that he had a message, which came from Maki's number.

But upon opening that message, Yuta felt an indescribable pain from the bottom of his soul as he read it.

-I'm sorry... I can't accompany you anymore on this trip... nor in this life...

Those were the words that would end it all. She had abandoned him at that train station.

He tried to reach her, but her phone was ringing off the line. It was as if she had turned it off.

The train was about to leave the station and Yuta had to make a choice at that moment about what he should do.

“There must be an explanation for all this! She wouldn't leave like this! I must go out and look for her!” he said to himself in desperation.

And just as he was about to grab his suitcase and leave the station to go find Maki, a hand grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him to the train they were to board.

“Okkotsu, it's time to go if we want to get to the airport on time!" Satoru said with great joy.

For some reason, it seemed that the albino wanted to keep the sorcerer away from that area.

“Wait Gojo san!” Yuta struggled a little against the man's grip, who was stronger than him. Even in the face of such a pull, he dropped that bottle of water, which rolled and got lost in the crowd.

Yuta struggled to get free, but it was useless. Satoru managed to drag him into the train with one hand. It was amazing how he could do that even though Okkotsu was already an adult.

Instead, an assistant went upstairs with them, to take Yuta's suitcase.

“Let's go, the train will be leaving soon, I'm already excited to get to the airport and see you off to your first destination, seriously, this mission will be perfect for you two!" said the albino with a big smile as he led him down the corridor.

“We can't leave yet!" said Yuta, struggling to stop his pace, but Satoru was ignoring him as he pushed him from behind.

“And here are our seats! We'll travel in the best of the best on both the train and the plane!”- said the master with a big grin from ear to ear-“First class is always ideal for this type of travel.

They both stopped in front of those elegant seats, which were in a kind of cabin that made them more private.

“I must get off the train" Yuta cried in desperation, turning to look at his sensei.

“Why do you have to get off the train? - the albino looked at him curiously -Did you forget something? Because if so, I can call Ijichi to send him to Hong Kong, which will be his first destination, or do you have to go to the bathroom? If so, there are several up here”

“It's about Maki! I must go down and look for her!" explained Yuta as he tried to get out of there, but it was useless, as Gojo's infinity prevented him from leaving that cabina.

“Why?" questioned Satoru with a frown, "Okkotsu, you're just exaggerating," he waved his hand simply, "Maybe Maki is already up here and she's just in the bathroom”

“SHE'S NOT HERE! SHE'S LEFT THE STATION!”

“But where could she have gone?" Satoru asked, putting a hand on his hip. He thought his student had gone out to buy something.

Yuta began to explain, waving his hands rapidly, he was desperate. -
“I don't know! She just sent me a message saying she's not going to continue with me! I need to go find her to clear this up!”

“You might as well dial her phone!" suggested the albino.

“Her phone rings out of order! What if something happened to her? I must go look for her!” Yuta again tried to get past Gojo, but his infinity wouldn't let him move forward.

“Oh, I get it!" the albino blurted out those words coldly. He quickly "thought" he understood the situation. He supposed that Maki had simply left of her own accord and more than that she didn't seem ready to make that trip.

Yuta struggled to get out of there, but it was useless. Time had run out, the horns announced that the doors had already been closed and the train would soon begin to run.

“Please Satoru, let me through, I need to go get her!" Yuta clenched his fists. Even his energy started to become overwhelming.

“What don't you understand Okkotsu?" asked Satoru with a sigh.

“Understand what?" he questioned desperately.

Satoru held up a finger as if he were giving a class.
 “ When a woman has decided to leave, there is no turning back”

“What are you trying to say?" Yuta asked with confusion.

“I have always said that there is no worse curse than love" He sighed with regret and a little pain.

“I, I don't understand...”

“What I am trying to say Okkotsu, is that sometimes when the other person no longer loves us or no longer feels comfortable with us, he or she decides to run away, marking the end of the relationship. And this seems to be the case with Maki" He explained.

“But everything was going so well between us! There must be an explanation for her wanting to leave so suddenly!" Yuta said in despair.

“Are you sure about that?” -Satoru asked with a bit of intrigue, "If everything was going so well between the two of you, don't you think Maki would be here with you right now, in these seats, instead of having abandoned you?” He shrugged- “Besides, there's no time to go looking for her anymore. The train is about to leave and you know that no one can get off or on anymore”

At those words, Yuta was speechless. He blinked several times as he analyzed what his sensei had said.

“But our relationship was going well… even I was going to… propose to Maki and…” he was interrupted.

Satoru raised his dark glasses and looked Yuta in the eyes. –“Was your relationship really going well? Because when I found you two in the Geisha neighborhood, I saw Maki a little differently, I would say that she seemed overwhelmed or rather, she was upset to be there. Was there something wrong between you two? Did you make her angry or something? Because it seemed like you were having trouble in Paradise”

“I...” Yuta again was interrupted as Satoru kept bombarding him with questions that made him question himself.

“Okkotsu, Are you really sure you were a good enough boyfriend to see that Maki wasn't well? Were you two really close as a couple?”

All these questions made Yuta feel quite confused.

“I... I just wanted our weekend to be romantic... but…” he didn't know what else to answer. The guilt of being a bad boyfriend started to eat at his mind.

“What was the last thing she said to you at the station?" Satoru asked curiously.

“Well, she said that if we were going to do this traveling together thing”

“Aha!, and did you notice anything strange about Maki? Was she behaving coldly or strangely?" asked Satoru curiously.

Yuta put a hand to his mouth, looking thoughtful. A faint, quick memory came to his mind.
“She seemed like she wanted to tell me something else before that... and then she asked me to buy her a bottle of water because she said she felt dizzy...” he explained –“I just remember her telling me not to be long.... but now that you mention it, she did seem "a little distant" as if something was bothering her...”

Satoru was struck by this. He concluded that Maki had not said anything to Yuta about her pregnancy. And that neither, after the albino talked to her, those two never met again.

“And that was all?”

“Yes! That's why I must go and look for her, maybe she was upset because I was too late in buying the bottle! I must apologize to her and ask her if there is something wrong with her!”

“Well, women don't like to be kept waiting" said Satoru with a smile, "Even if it's ten or five minutes. Especially women like Utahime and Maki, who have a strong mood"

“But it didn't take too long! And when I got back to the platform she wasn't there anymore! She just dropped off my luggage and just texted me to finish me off!”

“A text message?" Satoru raised an eyebrow, he hadn't paid attention to that detail until that moment, "What did it say?”

Yuta quickly took out his cell phone and read those last words that Maki supposedly sent him.

-I'm sorry... I can't accompany you anymore on this trip... nor in this life...

Satoru had a feeling that those words would never be said by his student. Deep down, he knew that the "others" had executed a very dirty and cowardly move, taking advantage of Maki's vulnerability in that train station.

Unfortunately, the plan of "those unscrupulous individuals" had been carried out and he could not break the "deal" he had with them, since breaking that "vow" had its consequences.

Unfortunately, the train was already starting to move.

“I'm going to get her! I'm going to get off this train!" as Yuta was about to take another step, his sensei's hand stopped him, holding him firmly by the shoulder.

Satoru let out the air with regret. -
 “Okkotsu! It pains me to be the one to tell you, but if Maki is gone, it means she wasn't ready for this" he said without measuring his words.

“But why?” Yuta froze when he heard that.

“Maybe she must have regretted coming and that's why she left..." he looked at his student with a serious face "that alone would explain why she didn't get on the train”

“That can't be true!”

“Then how do you explain her abandoning you?”

That question broke Yuta’s heart “I...”

“Yuta" Satoru ruffled his hair and forced him to sit down. –“Love sometimes goes out like a candle in the wind, without warning, and the person we love, to avoid hurting us, vanishes from our lives without saying a Word”

The albino sighed regretfully. It seemed he had remembered someone he had loved dearly in the past.

“And at other times, the other person is simply not ready to take such a big step as marriage, or living together with the other person or does not feel ready for a mission like this” he looked at him seriously – “Perhaps Maki no longer felt love for you, or maybe there was "something else" that prompted her to abandon you in this way”

“That's why I must go and look for her! There must be something wrong with all this!" Yuta tried to get up but he felt that Satoru's cursed energy wouldn't let him move.

“Okkotsu, accept it, Maki has abandoned you and there is nothing more to do" said Satoru seriously, he had an almost murderous look on his face.

“But...”

“After all, she is a Zenin" he remarked with some annoyance at that surname.
“In the end, she will always do whatever she wants regardless of breaking hearts along the way. Especially since they will never get along with us" Satoru hinted.

Yuta only sighed at those words, perhaps a Zenin could never be close to a Sugawara descendant, he thought with a broken heart.

Satoru sighed and waved his hands.
 “Besides, there's no more time to look for her, the train is already on its way”

The young sorcerer sighed as he watched the train begin to pick up speed as they pulled out of the station.

“But I love her... I can't leave without her... We were going to make this trip together..."

Satoru stared at him.
“Yuta, as I said, if she loved you she wouldn't have left you. Now it is up to you to accept this reality”

Yuta looked down with too much sadness at those words. His hand went to his chest, feeling his heart break at the thought that Maki had really abandoned him.

The albino tried to cheer him up as they headed for the airport.

“Come on Okkotsu, don't be sad, take advantage of this second chance you're being given to go abroad, but now as a renowned sorcerer! Not everyone can boast about that, let alone have this privilege," Satoru said with a smile and patted him on the shoulder, "I'm sure this mission is perfect for you. And who knows, you might even find love in faraway lands!" he suggested mischievously.

But Yuta didn't answer that, he was too sad to see the positive side of this trip. But there was no turning back. Now it was his solo mission. He really didn't want to know anything about Japan for a long time.

The black-haired sorcerer just looked out the window, watched as they hurried away from the city of Kyoto, the one where they had broken his heart.

“Maki..." he whispered, trying to hold back his tears before looking at his cell phone, the last picture they had taken together, which he used as his wallpaper.

He had to accept it, she had abandoned him and now he was going abroad with a broken heart.

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

Back to the present.

“So that blindfolded idiot told you that I had repented?" Maki asked annoyed, "Wow, that was a dirty trick!”

Yuta sighed. -
“Yes, and now that you've told me that he talked to you at that station..." he was too shocked by all that revelation "I really can't believe all this" his voice had a mixture of anger and uncertainty "I trusted him!”

“Believe it, he and other people are behind all this" Maki looked him in the eye, "And they did it, they separated us. They made us both believe that we had abandoned each other”

“And that's what angers me the most, knowing that Satoru conspired against us, but why?” he asked holding her hands tightly.

Maki quickly let go of him when she felt his hands shaking with fury.
 “Maybe that can be answered by that blindfolded idiot. Although my theory is that it was for political interests. Besides, our relationship was a threat to them...”

“BUT I'M NOT A GOJO! Why would our relationship be a threat?" said Yuta.

“You may not be a Gojo, but you are the second strongest sorcerer at present only below that arrogant idiot and you, as a descendant of Sugawara, are inevitably linked to him, whether you like it or not...” Sigh –“And I, on the other hand, am a Zenin of the direct line” -she grunted as she pronounced her old surname- “Our romance, in theory, had political repercussions for everyone”

Yuta sighed at that answer. “Maki, answer me something. Did Satoru know you were pregnant when he found you at that train station? And above all, does he currently know that you are still alive?, Does he know that you did give birth to our children?”

She let out a deep sigh.“It's more than obvious that he knew I was pregnant! And about whether he knows I'm alive and about our children...” She looked at him seriously, “Why don't you ask Satoru directly?” She crossed her arms.

Yuta scratched his head.
“I understand. I guess I'll have to go get the whole truth out of him all the way to Tokyo”

He was furious, again he took a few steps towards the glass door they had to go out to the courtyard and through which a dim light entered, which he observed for a few minutes in silence as he was still processing everything.

Once again he took a deep breath, he couldn't quite control himself, he wanted answers.

He turned to Maki, once he let the air out in anger “I can't believe he convinced you to run away... seriously, I'm going to...” Yuta was interrupted, when Maki's hands again went to his cheeks, but this time, they gently squeezed his ears.

“Maki, what are you doing?" he asked with pure surprise in his voice.

“Calming you down" she looked at him curiously. -
“As I said, your cursed energy is overwhelming when you're angry and that could scare the children... or you could wake Megumi...” she whispered while she kept squeezing his ears.

She knew that this was another but unusual weak point that the sorcerer had. A point that only she knew and that she had discovered during a furtive kiss in her youth. And that she admitted with a mischievous smile, she enjoyed touching that weakness from time to time with an unexpected touch to provoke him when they were young.

“Stop it Maki san! You tickle me!" whispered Yuta, letting out a slight nervous giggle as he felt her gently squeeze his ears. He felt a tingle run through his body and more as he saw Maki very close to him.

She was still very beautiful.

“Wow, you've gotten taller and by the way, you have more dark circles under your eyes than I remember..." said Maki with a smile, now running her fingers across that stretch of skin under those tired eyes.

“Well, I grew about two inches and by the way" Yuta sigh, "Time changes between countries are a nightmare when you travel, and recovering your sleep cycle is quite difficult...”

Maki let out a slight chuckle at that answer and removed her hands from his cheeks. “Even so, you still look pretty good. I guess you're still doing the exercise routine I taught you, aren't you?” She look at him from head to toe "Although you smell a lot like a cigarette at times. If you're going to want to come into my house, and by the way, if you're going to want to spend time with my children, you should stop smoking”

Yuta smiled a little.
“Since I met Yurika and Yuudai, I've gradually quit smoking...”

“As I said, if you're going to spend time  with them, you'll have to give up that cigarette addiction completely!"

“OK... I'll give it up for you and for them" whispered Yuta with his breath half-barked out.

Again they were silent, as they continued to stare at each other.

At that moment, Yuta dared to touch her face once again.

Maki gave a slight jump as she felt Yuta's hand on her cheek, slowly caressing her-“what's wrong?”

"I'm checking to see if you're real..." he whispered, gently running his hand over her cheek.

“I told you that I'm not a ghost...”

“I know, and that's why I'm touching your face to check that you're not a figment of my imagination..." he caressed with his fingers Maki's hair that fell over her face, taking advantage of the fact that she was still without her glasses "Seriously, you're still as beautiful as the last time I saw you" he whispered, bringing his lips a little closer to hers.

Maki at such words quickly returned her hands to his ears to stop him. –“Of course I'm real! If I wasn't, could I do this?" she commented, once again gently pinching Yuta's ears.

That gesture made him stop from bringing his lips closer and even closed his eyes for a moment, instead, Maki laughed softly at such gestures. That laughter simply filled the sorcerer's heart with life.

That seemed like a dream, but the good kind that makes you want to keep sleeping and dreaming of that happiness.

Maki still did not take her hands off his ears. She even ran her fingers again through the thick black hair that fell across his forehead, observing that he still had the same hairstyle she had done for him when they were younger.

“Yurika and Yuudai inherited your hair..." she whispered, returning her hands to his ears, squeezing them once again gently.

“Please stop doing that..." whispered Yuta, his voice barely coming out in a trickle of hot air against Maki's face. His eyes glittered with a mixture of desire and shyness as his hands gently clasped hers. He wanted to stop her but it was impossible.

Their bodies were dangerously close, as they still felt too much attraction even for each other.

Maki looked at him with a mischievous smile, her eyes full of mischief. A warm blush tinged her cheeks, and her heart was pounding in her chest, "Why?, Don't you like it?" she asked in a husky, barely audible voice.

Yuta swallowed saliva, struggling to control the tempest swirling inside him. –“It's not that..." he also murmured in a voice hoarse with passion. “It's just that... You'll make me lose my mind”

Maki leaned closer, her lips were just millimeters away from his. –“I clearly remember that this is one of your weak points, isn't it?" she had a seductive smile–“Okkotsu, you are forcing me to do this... only this way I can control you so that your cursed energy doesn't drown us" she whispered playfully, her eyes shining from the light coming through that glass door that led to the courtyard from that kitchen.

Illuminating them in such a way that their shadows were cast into the hallway in a seductive scene.

“Then... you make me do this…" Yuta couldn't resist any longer. His lips met hers in a passionate kiss, full of fire and desire that still lingered after those seven years.

Maki was initially surprised by that kiss. But she couldn't push it away, her lips needed it so she didn't put up any resistance and just let herself go. Running her hands around his neck to get closer to him.

Instead, Yuta slipped his arms around her waist, clinging to her desperately because he could finally kiss her and feel her again.

The two kissed so passionately that even Maki was leaned for a moment by Yuta against the glass of the door leading to the courtyard, while their mouths ate each other and their hands grasped each other's clothes tightly.

Maki held Yuta's shirt tightly to her chest, feeling Yuta's heart wanting to burst out of her body. While Yuta kept his arms around her waist, which was still tiny despite having given birth to two babies.

They both wanted to keep kissing, but that first kiss stopped once they were out of breath.

There were so many feelings involved that it was impossible to express them in a single kiss.

Their foreheads met even with their eyes closed, as they caught their breath.

At that time of the morning, in that kitchen you could only hear their gasping for air and the hands of the clock.

Maki was the first to open her eyes, "Was this proof enough to show you that I'm not a ghost?" she said in a whisper, but she still couldn't tear herself away from him. She still had her hands on his chest, holding him by his shirt.

“It showed me more than that” Yuta opened his eyes and smiled at that answer, while his arms were still around her waist.

After that passionate kiss, they both hugged each other tightly. That embrace was so comforting that it felt like all the pieces of their broken hearts were coming together.

“You really came back...” Maki whispered, with her head resting on Okkotsu's shoulder and her face hidden between his neck as her hands dug into the fabric of his back.

“I did it and by the way, I thank you for giving birth to our children... now I have a reason to stay here in Japan" he whispered in her ear, still hugging her tightly because he did not want to leave her "Because they say that home is where your heart is... and my heart from now on is with you three...”

Maki's smile faded at those words. –“I don't think it's a good idea for you to get close to me..." she ran the tip of her nose along his neck and chin, going from bottom to top, "With the children, you can get closer, but little by little, but with me you should keep your distance... Okkotsu” she whispered releasing the air in his neck.

“Why do you say that?, Don't you want me near you?" Yuta whispered with some pain as he stroked her hair.

“It is for your own good... I could hurt you," whispered Maki. Putting her hand over his heartbeat.

“As I told you a while ago. You are the only one I would give permission to rip out my heart....” - he took her hand on his chest, so that Maki could feel his heart beating for her –“Even if it means that you have to kill me so that you and our children are safe”

Hearing those words, Maki pressed her hand on Yuta's clothes, at the level of his heart.

Maki knew that the first part of her plan had worked. Her approach with Yuta had been successful and now she just had to follow the other advice Mei Mei had given her to later get all the information they needed out of him.

But now Maki also had to fight with herself not to fall in love with Yuta again... but it was impossible.

At that moment, both could not resist and again their lips met once more. Maki on this occasion was the one who started the kiss gently, as she rose on tiptoe to reach Okkotsu's lips before whispering something that Okkotsu did not hear.

And when the imminent closeness promised a kiss even more ardent than the previous one, fanning the flame of a desire that not even seven years of separation had managed to extinguish.

And as far as the possibility of "something else" happening between the two of them that night, their fingers were eager to explore every inch of theis skin under theis clothes, and their mouths, which ate each other in that kiss, began to emerge subtle whispers full of seduction where they pronounced their names ...

Hurried footsteps at the entrance to the kitchen alerted them and forced them to separate suddenly.

Maki, still gasping for breath, quickly went to the hallway where the footsteps had been heard coming from, but when she looked out she saw no one there.

Still, she felt that someone had been watching them.

They both wiped their lips and Yuta arranged his shirt, just as Maki arranged her hair and picked up her glasses from the table, then placed them once again over her eyes.

She took a big breath, then cleared her throat. –“Okkotsu...”

“Yes?”

Maki slowly let the air out as she answered-“You have my permission to approach our children, but there are only several conditions that I want you to follow to the letter if you are going to spend time with them..” she commented, taking the coffee cups and taking them to the sink.

“And what are those conditions?" asked Yuta curiously and without taking his eyes off her.

Maki once she put down those cups, turned to look at him “Number one” she started to enumerate with her fingers –“You will not tell the children that you are their real father...” she sounded quite serious –“not until the right time comes”

“And more than first I want to gain their trust and I want to get to know them better before revealing it to them" sighed Yuta calmly, "Although I admit that I'm a little afraid of how they might react or that they might take this news badly...”

Maki sighed “That's why we will only tell them when the time is right or if we are in a dangerous situation. Are you in agreement with this condition?”

“I am. And what are your other conditions?”

Maki took a few firm steps towards him,"Number 2," she said with an imposing and serious voice, "I strictly forbid you to reveal any information about me and our children to Naoya or anyone working at the headquarters. This also includes the news that I am still alive and much less do I want you to reveal our location. If you break this condition, I swear I will kill you" she stressed with pure anger.

Yuta sighed.
“Does this condition also apply to Katsumoto? “he asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

“Who is that?" asked Maki with confusion.

“I'm talking about my assistant”

“Do you have an assistant?” asked Maki with surprise. She didn't know that.

“Yes, I mention it because he was the one who gave me the information about your grave, as well as the information that you had given birth..." Yuta answered nervously, "He has been a great help to me since I arrived in Japan. Besides, the children have known him since that incident at the mall”

Maki raised her eyebrows at that answer. From now on she would have that assistant in her sights because she doubted anyone who continued to work for the academy.

“Ok, I will make a slight exception for him" she pointed her index finger at him. – “However, my only condition I have for your assistant will be that I don't want him near me and much less inside this house" she folded her arms.

“Why?” Yuta was very surprised by Maki's defensive attitude.

“I will be direct Okkotsu, I don't trust anyone who still works for the sorcery headquarters. Therefore, if you don't want me to restrict you from seeing your children and you don't want me to kill that guy, then I want him away from this house just as I want him away from our friends, do you understand?”

Yuta sighed when he heard that condition.
“I agree. I will ask him to keep the secret as well as order him to stay away from you and our friends and much less from this home" he tensed his shoulders a little, "I have to keep all of you safe, especially now that I am going to Tokyo to report to Satoru about the case I am handling”

“You know?, I have a feeling Satoru is hiding something from us" Maki had tinges of intrigue in her voice.

“Hiding something? Like what?” Yuta found that statement rather strange.

“I don't know how to explain, but a month after you went abroad and I resigned from the academy to keep my pregnancy a secret, that bandaged idiot started to behave very strangely, it was as if he was hiding something important from all of us, even so, go carefully to Tokyo, okay?" said Maki without looking him in the eyes.

Yuta nodded in agreement. Mai had also told him something similar in her letter about the strange and drastic change in Satoru's behavior.
“I'll try to be careful" he looked at her seriously, "Any more conditions?”

“Yes and number 3...” Maki's face changed to one of total supplication –“Please Okkotsu”- she clasped her hands together –“Help me save Mai from the Zenin clan... she did a lot for the three of us during the first three years of Yurika and Yuudai's life... so I want to get her out of there no matter what it takes”

Yuta sighed. He knew that this was true and even more so when he saw it with his own eyes. –“I will try to see how we can save her from that hellish residence. I promise”

Maki sighed, letting go of the tension that was weighing her down. Her shoulders relaxed a little, releasing the burden that weighed on them, "Thank you, Okkotsu" she said with a faint smile, "Now you have my full permission and authorization to come and see our children. Just remember to always let me know before you come, okay? Since I don't like surprise visits at all”

“Perfect!" Yuta had a big smile for that answer, " I promise to always call you before coming. As well as fulfill these three conditions to the letter”

“Very Good”

Maki looked at the clock, which showed that it was only ten minutes before four in the morning –“It's already very late, we'd better go get some rest”- she looked at her guest- “Megumi and the children prepared a bed for you in the guest room”

Yuta smiled, "Thank you for the accommodation. Although I admit I would like to sleep with you again....” he said with a slight blush invading his face at such a wish.

Maki also blushed at that very direct proposal.

So she tapped her index finger on Yuta's chest.
“Or have you forgotten that our last nights where we slept together resulted in two babies?!” she sighed with annoyance and her hands rested on her hips. -
“Besides, for now, I have no plans to enlarge the family by having another child, much less with you at this time." Saying this, she went to the oven to retrieve her notebooks, she was not going to leave without them.

A bead of sweat rolled down Yuta's head at that wake-up call –“You're right. Although I confess that I'm still surprised that we had two babies in one pregnancy and even more so on the first attempt”

“Maybe it was just luck”- Maki crossed her arms without letting go of her notebooks- “Anyway!, I'm still too upset about what happened between YOU and "that woman" to go back to sleeping in the same bed with you for the time being”

Yuta scratched the back of his neck-“I already told you I'm sorry for that and that it was only once" he clasped his hands together in a sign of supplication "I can prove to you that it won't happen again! Besides, I'll show you that I still love you”

“We'll see... They say actions speak louder than words" said Maki in all seriousness.

“To show you that I am serious and that I would really like to win you back" Yuta took off the engagement ring that was meant for her, "Maki, would you like to" he put one knee on the floor, holding the ring between his fingers, "accept this ring as a promise from me to you?”

Maki raised an eyebrow at what Yuta was doing. -
“Why should I accept it?" she asked confused, "Besides Okkotsu, you are a womanizer, you are flirting with a married woman" she said with a slight smile and giving this sorcerer a gentle tap on the head with her notebooks.

Yuta laughed a little and stood up. -
“Well, you could take this ring on my behalf, as a promise to you to see that I will fight for your love and for your trust, as well as my promise to keep Yurika and Yuudai safe, besides...”- he took her hand – “You don't wear a ring on your ring finger and you know perfectly well that your marriage with Megumi is just a strategy to keep them safe, don't you?”

“Did Megumi or Tsumiki talk to you about this?" asked Maki with annoyance.

“Yes, they both explained to me a little about why Yurika and Yuudai carry the surname Fushiguro" said Yuta scratching the back of his neck, "Just as Megumi also explained to me that the children already know that he is their stepfather...”

Maki sighed with resignation.
 “Well, I guess I don't have to explain it to you anymore”

“Even so" Yuta did not let go of Maki's hand, "If your marriage is a sham, is there anything else that prevents you from giving me a chance?” He ask looking directly into her eyes, "Or is there really something between the two of you that prevents you from receiving this ring?”

“Wow!, it looks like you're serious about getting me back, huh?" she raised an eyebrow.

“As I said, I also want your love back. So I'll do everything to show you that I still love you" he said, looking into her eyes, "Besides, because of the kisses we gave each other a moment ago...”

Maki smiled a little, caressing his cheek. -
“I told you Okkotsu, try not to get so close to me, because you could get hurt" she looked him in the eyes, "And about the kiss a moment ago....”She whispered lightly “it was just to reassure you, let's say it was a moment of weakness. It would be best to forget about it, because as I said, I am a married woman. Besides, it will be a little difficult to forgive you for "her".

“But that doesn't answer my questions" Yuta replied quietly.

Maki sighed and looked at him seriously. Then she looked at the ring that Yuta still wore on his hand.

“You said it yourself, my marriage is a sham" She looked at Yuta very fixedly, "but that doesn't leave aside that before the law, Megumi is my husband. But I guess he already made it clear to you how our relationship is, didn't he?”

“He just told me that you two are only husband and wife in front of the law, this to give Yurika and Yuudai a family name" he answered looking at her still holding that ring.

“And by the way, he told me that for several years, you two only slept in the same room just to take care of Yuudai at night when he was still a baby" Yuta explained.

“That's all he told you?" asked Maki, hiding her nervousness in a tone of curiosity.

“That and he also told me that he is currently spending most of his time in Tokyo and, well, that he has practically played the role of stepfather on his own" He replied.

Maki let the air out in a small sigh of relief. She seemed reassured that Megumi didn't reveal something else. Something that had apparently happened between the two of them.

“If that's all Megumi told you, then I have nothing more to explain”

Yuta sighed.
“Maki answer me something” He look at her with attention“Do you still have feelings for me? And by the way, why can't you accept this ring even as a promise?" he asked.

“About if I still feel something for you, we'll see with the passing of time...” Maki looked once more at that ring and closed Yuta's hand “And I will only accept it, once I see that you will really do things right this time” again they were very close to each other, her fingers ran over his cheek.

Yuta took Maki's hand and kissed her palm. -
“Then I'll take care to show you that I'm serious... to let me get closer to you" he whispered, bringing his lips close to hers once more.

Maki sighed at those words as their lips brushed again. -
“Believe me Okkotsu, for your sake it would be best if you stay, even one step behind me..." she whispered. But again she was letting herself be carried away by her feelings for him.

“Then I will try to follow all your steps until I reach you..." he whispered, his breath falling on Maki's lips.

Those words seemed like a premonition and a strong declaration of war. For assassin and detective were just a kiss and a step away.

And all too delicately and feeling their breaths cut off once again, their lips softly joined under the threshold of that kitchen, lasting less than a minute for fear of being discovered.

“Well, let's go to sleep now...” Maki looked at the clock again, which now read 4:15 am. “We'd better get some rest before the children wake up, I don't want them to see us that close either”

The two accompanied each other down that hallway for a while, and then said goodbye to each other on the stairs.

Yuta sighed when he saw Maki climb the first step. -
“You are right, I need to rest at least for a few hours, to carry out tomorrow what I have already decided to do" he said in a very serious but low
tone”

“And what do you plan to do?” asked Maki in a low voice, turning to look at him at such words.

Yuta looked very serious, "I will go to Tokyo for answers. I'm going to go and demand that Satoru tell me the whole truth”

Maki sighed when she saw him with such determination. She stroked his cheek as she made him look into her eyes.
“If you're going to go with Satoru, just make sure you don't die and bring the truth”

Yuta nodded, took her hand once more.
 “I promise, I will return safely and bring back all the answers we both seek”

On Maki's lips was marked a tiny smile of triumph.

She would finally get information from the academy and Satoru, using Okkotsu as an infiltrator.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

04:25 a.m.

Maki crawled into her bed after hiding her notebooks in a locked drawer.

She looked up at the ceiling and touched her lips, remembering those kisses that minutes ago they had both given each other so intensely.

It pained her to admit it, she still loved him, but she had to be careful and even more so if she planned to use him just to find out what was going on at headquarters and incidentally, to find a way to save her sister.

Her hands went to her chest. She had used her charms and some dirty tricks as Mei had taught and suggested. But deep down, she felt the guilt hit her hard in the depths of her being.

“Just keep him close so that the plan works, just as we had planned," Maki said quietly to herself as she felt her heart pounding, "I just hope I don't fall for this stupid desire I still have for him”

She clenched her fist over her heart and sighed – “From now on I must be twice as careful... if I want to complete my revenge... and in the process obtain the welfare and freedom of my children” she closed her eyes, remembering the lips of that sorcerer on hers, making her heart feel alive again inside her chest.

“Yuta...” She whisper his name before falling asleep.

She also had several targets to eliminate in the coming days, so she had to be much more careful with Yuta from now on. Especially if she didn't want to be discovered as the new sorcerer assassin.

Still, it would be hard for Maki not to fall for the one she still loved.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

The morning came hours after the conversation between these former lovers.

Yuta, as promised, had breakfast with his children, who, with Tsumiki's help, prepared a delicious breakfast for him.

Instead, Maki throughout breakfast, looked at his four suspects.

She look curiously at her children, just as she look closely at Tsumiki and Megumi.

That woman was trying to figure out which of those four might have been watching them during that early morning kiss.

But later, she would find out who that eavesdropper was in the least expected way.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

Once breakfast was over, Okkotsu tenderly said goodbye to Yurika and Yuudai, hugged them and promised to return in a few days, as he had to leave town for work.

He also said a kind farewell to Megumi and Tsumiki, whom he thanked for their hospitality, as well as thanked them for talking to him about the past.

Just as he said goodbye to Maki, thanking her for the confidence to continue seeing these children, but for the moment pretending to be a new friend of the family.

Truly, Okkotsu had a hopeful look on his face because he wished he could be together again very soon and wanted to do everything he could to get his family back.

But before that, Yuta had to go look elsewhere for the truth.

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

Around noon, Yuta returned to his apartment, changed clothes and put on something very similar to the uniform he wore when he went to the academy in his student years.

He took the briefcase of his sword, as well as other documents where he kept records about that case of the sorcerer killer.

Yuta immediately called Katsumoto to accompany him to Tokyo as a matter of urgency.

Okkotsu was NOT going to wait another day. So he would go unannounced to the residence where Satoru Gojo was staying in Tokyo.

Coming soon...

Yuta was about to discover a truth in the most unexpected way.

“Okkotsu, you are not the only one who has to lie to protect what you love the most..." Gojo answered with his eyes fixed on Yuta, who was surprised by what he had heard and seen at that moment.

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇━━━━ ◈

 

Notes:

I hope you liked it.

And tell me, what do you think of this story? Did you expect Gojo to be the one who separated them? What do you think will happen in the next chapter? Do you think Yuta and Maki will have another baby someday? What do you think of Maki's plan?

I will be reading them.

I can only tell you that a furious Yuta and an intense fight are coming, as well as a truth that could give a twist to the plot.

Also, the version of what happened to Utahime seven years ago is coming. Because yes, more drama is coming from all sides.

I just hope to have the chapter soon.

And more than what happened in the manga, I'm heartbroken, Yuta was one of my favorites, and I really don't want to abandon my fics because of something like what's happening in the manga, so I'll try to continue them as far as I have free time outside of here. Anyway, whoever needs a hug or to be listened to, remember that here you have a friend.

Remember, if you want me to continue translating this fic, please leave your kudos and comments You can also help me by recommending this story to more yutamaki lovers, I'm serious, only then can I continue bringing you this story, that is my ultimátum.

Chapter 19: 18. We All Have Somebody To Protect

Notes:

Vera here ♥️

Well, here I bring you one of the chapters that will perhaps be one of the most important and interesting of this work.
I know that this chapter you are about to read will leave you wanting to know more about what happened seven years ago with Satoru and Utahime and, by the way, it will reveal a big surprise ♥️.

Likewise, here those who suspected Katsumoto will have an answer to their suspicions towards this assistant.
I hope you like this action-packed chapter and by the way, you get to understand all the information that will be described here 👀.

Now without further ado, go get your popcorn and your favorite drinks and enjoy the episode, which, also has a small, but very small reference to something seen in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever movie. Let's see how many of you spot it 👀.

Let's start ♥️

sorry if there are any mistakes in the translation, I'm translating this at 2 am

 

"The truth will set you free, but first it will make you angry." - Gloria Steinem

 

July 17.

02:15 p.m.

Tokyo.

What should have been a day of rest was turning into Katsumoto's worst nightmare.

The bullet train ride from Kyoto to Tokyo had become a torment that felt eternal, and no wonder, Yuta's cursed energy suffocated the attendant all the way. Filling him with a great sense of fear and anguish.

Anger was consuming Yuta completely, and that was reflected in his gaze, which was fixed and dark, his hands trembling with the same anger he felt for having discovered the truth in Kyoto. The one that sharpened the wound of seven years ago.

Katsumoto, on the other hand, was a mess.
Adrenaline was coursing through his veins like an icy torrent. A wave of panic had swept over him, racing his heart to a deafening pace. He could even swear that his heart felt like it would jump out of his throat, as that heartbeat thundered loudly in his ears. His survival instinct was screaming inside him, demanding that he flee from this place.

Yuta's last-minute call to leave urgently for Tokyo had sent him into a spiral of anxiety.

Suddenly going to the capital of that country meant only one thing and that was that Yuta had already found his main objective, which was to find Maki Zenin. That had been his obsession ever since he returned from abroad.

Katsumoto knew Okkotsu wanted answers about what happened seven years ago. Answers that in one way or another, he had helped find.

The cold sweat was still running down the assistant's forehead, as well as he felt a great tension tightening in his chest, the anguish was really consuming him from the inside. And more than at that moment, they had finally arrived at their destination in that great city.

On the other hand, Yuta had to be strong not to lose his sanity. Especially since he knew that the truth was just a step away from being revealed.

They both knew that something big was about to happen once they passed through those big doors that welcomed anyone who entered the Tokyo-based Gojo residence.

 

 

02:30 p.m.

At that moment, the special grade sorcerer and his assistant were waiting in the main lobby of that magnificent residence. They were waiting for a member of the clan or a servant to receive them and grant them permission to enter.

That lobby had thin wooden walls and a sliding door with a beautiful drawing of a large white tiger through which one could enter the main area of the residence.

That place had some fine and elegant armchairs, on one of its walls hung a painting that could easily be auctioned for several million. There were also several tables with very old vases with beautiful traditional drawings. The room was also adorned with a lamp or two with the clan's coat of arms.

Yuta could not sit still, so he was pacing back and forth in that hallway, walking very thoughtfully, while his right hand covered his mouth at times.

He seemed to be planning something or rather, he was finishing organizing his next move and that could be noticed in the way his brow furrowed and his eyebrows drew together.

That was a sign that he was analyzing and reviewing everything he was going to ask. Although that did not take away the fury that was plastered on his face.

For a moment, he stopped in front of the painting they had in that hall, which was one of Sugawara no Michizane, where he was portrayed alone on the shore of a beach, looking towards the horizon on a night illuminated by a crescent moon with the sea at his back and a tree with thick roots on one side of him.

That scene was very special, since in the historical context of that illustration, it portrayed the exile of his ancestor, where the man's rivals conspired against him to have him expelled because he was considered a threat to their political plans.

Yuta felt that he had this connection and resemblance to his ancestor, since in one way or another, both the one he once considered a relative, as well as the "others" who were his rivals, conspired to get him to leave Japan.

But just as Sugawara had returned to take revenge by cursing his enemies, Okkotsu had returned to discover and reveal the whole truth.

He could not take his eyes off that picture, he was analyzing one last time if what he was about to do was the right thing to do while his hands held tightly the strap of his sword sheath, which was across his chest. He felt that he should not let go of it, as he might be using it soon.

He observed the melancholy face of his ancestor, as well as the desolate night that accompanied him. So were many of his nights abroad, in complete solitude, longing only to be with Maki again.

Yuta could not stand idly by, he felt that Sugawara would have sought the truth no matter what.

His hands continued to tighten the strap across his chest. Her heart told her that she had to have that conversation with Satoru whether she wanted to or not, and if he refused, she had no choice but to fight him.

Okkotsu took his right hand to his pants pocket, and from there he took out something discreetly and placed it on his right wrist –“I just hope this all goes well”- he said quietly to himself, trying to relax his shoulders.

He turned to look at his assistant, to whom he had turned his back all this time.

“Katsumoto” Yuta named him in a very deep voice.

The assistant was sitting in one of those fine armchairs, moving his foot desperately due to the nerves of being in that place.

That call made him jump slightly, standing up quickly while holding something tightly in his hands.

“Yes, sir?”

“I'm sorry I dragged you into all this when I clearly told you that you could take a few days off" Yuta said in a calm voice.

The assistant swallowed hard. He was trying to hide his nervousness. Just as he seemed to be hiding something else.

“It's my job to accompany you and help you in any way I can" he pretended to be calm.

Yuta nodded his head yes.
“Seriously, thank you very much for what you have done for me so far" a small smile lifted the corners of his lips, "Without you I would never have found Maki, let alone my children, and for that, I will always be grateful”

Katsumoto bowed, leaning far forward.
“I was only fulfilling...” He hesitated slightly, biting the inside of his cheek fleetingly, "With the mission you gave me, my lord" he rejoined.

“Again, thank you very much” Yuta took a deep breath "Well, did we bring all the papers on the sorcerer killer case, right, as well as the documents I asked for?" he asked, watching as the assistant clasped his hands and dug his nails into the small plastic folder containing the most recent reports, as well as other important papers.

Katsumoto nodded his head.
“E-everything is here as ordered" he tried to sound calm. He tried not to make the chattering of his teeth audible.

“Very good. Because I will need all the evidence we have, as well as all the information you managed to get me" commented Yuta, before turning again to look at that picture and continue refining the last questions and arguments he was building in his head.

As well as planning his last moves in case he had to fight Satoru. For that he literally had an ace up his sleeve.

That would be quite a risky plan, but he needed answers as to why Satoru took him away from Maki seven years ago.

On the other hand, Katsumoto's mind kept ringing the phrases.
“HE ALREADY KNOWS! OKKOTSU ALREADY KNOWS ALL THE TRUTH! I MUST ESCAPE FROM HERE! I'M IN TROUBLE! HE'S GOING TO KILL ME! IT'S THE END OF ME!" her mind screamed loudly. His fingernails were digging into the plastic where the documents about what he had discovered about Maki's supposed death and about the Fushiguro children were also on it.

His instinct told him to run away. But he couldn't, and his legs didn't respond.

Unfortunately escaping from there was not an option, for if he fled he would raise Okkotsu's suspicions. Suspicions that he had been hiding quite well as he had been ordered to do since he had been assigned that job as assistant to the second strongest sorcerer.

Katsumoto bit his tongue, only thus stopping his teeth from chattering, trying to control the noise so that Yuta would not hear him.

The attendant took his seat again, only this way he could control the trembling that invaded his whole body, while they continued waiting in that elegant and ancient hall of the Gojo residence.

And no wonder, the aura Okkotsu was giving off was too overwhelming at times. It was almost as overwhelming as Gojo being annoyed.

They were distant relatives for a reason. But perhaps that afternoon they would cut ties.

The special grade sorcerer turned to his assistant once again.

“Katsumoto..." he called his name again in a serious voice.

“Yes, sir?" asked the assistant, turning to look at him.

Yuta again took a deep breath. He was trying to calm down, he had to behave "normal", he simply had to disguise his anger. He even rubbed his wrists, but above all, he seemed to be meticulously adjusting his right sleeve.

“Whatever happens in here. Please, I order you not to reveal the location of Maki and my children to anyone at the headquarters, understood?” He said rather seriously, "Even if something happens to me once I go in to talk to Satoru. Please, I want you to help them flee the country. I have an acquaintance in Africa who would help us no matter what, okay? If anything happens to me, I want you to contact him immediately”

The assistant nodded.

“Understood…” Katsumoto swallowed saliva to try to undo the lump that was forming in his throat.

He tried to control himself, he had to keep acting a little longer. Just until Satoru or Ijichi talked to Okkotsu.

But it seemed that his nerves at being there, at that moment with that sorcerer, would make him give away a truth that he had been asked to keep to himself.

His heart could not take it anymore. He had to tell Yuta everything he was hiding and how he really found Maki's grave, as well as the report of her death and how he discovered that those two children were his sons.

He had to reveal who it was that provided him with all that information.

“Sir... there is something very important I must tell you..." he dared to speak. His voice was barely audible. His heart wanted to jump out of his throat.

Yuta turned once again to his assistant.
 “What's wrong? Katsumoto”

“I..." He didn't have time to explain the important thing he had to tell her. He quickly stood up when he noticed someone approaching.

The sliding door opened, letting in Ijichi with his elegant bearing, dressed as always in an impeccable suit and next to him, came a servant of the clan.

That assistant now looked more tired and finished than Yuta remembered, he had more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and also on his forehead. He also had some gray hair adorning his hair, a product of the stress that Satoru continued to cause him even with the passing of the years.

But it was not only the stress caused by the albino that had made the man look much older in age.

Ijichi since seven years ago, had become the leader and the main assistant director of the sede. The one who has all the control of both the information not only of the missions, but also of all the staff and students who once went to the academy.

“Welcome," Ijichi greeted politely, although he could feel his nerves on edge due to the cursed energy that the guest was giving off, "Okkotsu, w-we didn't expect your visit so suddenly" he hesitated slightly.

He was really surprised to see that man there. And by his presence alone, he knew Okkotsu was upset.

“I have come to speak with Satoru" answered the special grade sorcerer in a firm voice, "Is he here at the moment?”

“What did you come to talk to him about?" Ijichi asked, camouflaging his nervousness with curiosity.

“It is about the case of the sorcerer killer. I understand that Satoru wanted a breakthrough in the case and I have come to give him that breakthrough and more so now that we already have the first results of the investigation. Besides I have come to talk to him about some pending matters” He answered with total calm, his heavy aura changed to a more "calm" one.

He had to look and feel as non-threatening as possible to be allowed to pass.

Ijichi adjusted his glasses.
“I understand, well... emm Satoru is a bit busy at the moment, but..." his gaze focused on Katsumoto.

The young assistant gave a very subtle nod to his superior. His eyes reflected quite a bit of fear. The message he wanted to convey seemed to have been quite clear.

“He already knows everything" he cried, his expression one of total anguish.

Ijichi understood immediately.

He addressed both guests “I understand, if it is for this case that he assigned you... then we should let him know you are here”

Yuta nodded, "Yes, please. And tell him it's urgent what I want to talk to him about" he replied quickly.

Ijichi turned his face to the servant who was accompanying him and nodded to him, "Please give notice that Okkotsu is here.

“Yes, sr”

So, quickly that servant entered the residence. He would run to tell his leader that he had a guest.

The three men waited for about seven minutes in that lobby, which, for both Ijichi and Katsumoto, felt like an eternity.

Both assistants exchanged some gestures and signs they had between them to send messages without the students or sorcerers knowing their meanings.

That exchange of uncomfortable glances and silence was interrupted by the sound of the sliding door opening once again.

The same servant had returned and bowed again.
“Leader Satoru asks you to enter. He is currently waiting for you at the Dojo" he said solemnly.

Ijichi let the air out in a small smile to hide the nervousness he still had, "Well, you'd better come in so you can talk to him directly" he answered very kindly, "I'll take you there" he let them in, "Come on”

“Thank you very much Ijichi san" commented Yuta with a smile, entering the residence walking behind the leader of the attendants, "Excuse me" he bowed to the servant.

“Go ahead, and make yourself at home, leader Okkotsu" commented that servant very politely.

That title left a strange feeling in Yuta. Such formality made him feel uncomfortable.

Katsumoto before entering and going after those two men, took a deep breath once again. He knew that his entire mission was over. And perhaps with it his life.

The three men entered the Gojo residence, which was still very quiet most of the day, as the servants only appeared when called or were mostly busy with their assigned activities.

 But the few servants that were around, began to make a dignified bow as Yuta walked behind Ijichi.

Okkotsu felt too strange especially when some of them said to him;

“Welcome leader Okkotsu”

That title with which he began to be called as if he were already the leader of some clan, made him feel quite uncomfortable, at the same time that having all eyes focused on him, being the focus of attention of something he did not want, made him feel completely annoyed.

He felt that more and more, what Naobito and Naoya had told him about Satoru appointing him as the next leader of that clan, was coming true.

 

 

The three continued walking through those long and traditional corridors, where you could see large halls and rooms beautifully decorated with too many traditional things, just as the floor of these were lined with fine tatamis.

As well as on their way, they noticed that there were rooms in complete tranquility and without any furniture adorning those large and luxurious spaces.

That house, despite being imposing, always felt empty.

For a moment, the idea that all this could belong to him began to eat at Yuta's mind.

Would all that be his? Could he take Maki and his children to live there? Was he really cut out to be a leader? These questions raced through his mind.

The very idea that his children were running through those corridors, playing and laughing, and that they and Maki had a safe space in that residence was the only thing that calmed his heart at that moment, since he still felt his blood boiling as they approached the place where Satoru was waiting for him.

Yuta should also take the opportunity to clarify why Satoru had really called him back to Japan. Whether it was because of the sorcerer-killer issue or because it was time to name his next heir.

His hand again made a fist over the strap of his sword sheath at the level of his heart. He really wanted answers. Which it would not be long in coming.

The three men walked out into the beautiful central courtyard of that huge residence.

They had to cross that garden in order to reach the area where the dojo was located, which was used by the clan members for their training.

They walked through the beautiful garden, full of trees of various species, as well as admired the masterful kiosk that harmoniously adorned the site, which was located a few meters from a large pond, which was crossed by a traditional wooden bridge that led to a six-story pagoda, that ancient structure represented the clan.

Everything around them was completely quiet, as only the sound of insects could be heard.

They continued walking for several more minutes along that ancient stone path, until they reached the entrance of an old two-story building with an all-Japanese facade.

The three of them crossed the wooden gate, which welcomed them to the area. They continued walking along the white stone path until they reached the entrance of that imposing place.

“We are here”

Ijichi commented as they stopped outside a large, fine wooden door, which had the Gojo family crest finely carved on it.

That place gave off a rather heavy vibe, really Satoru's cursed energy was invading that place.

Ijichi took a breath before turning to the guests.
“Ideally, you should knock on the door before entering" he said, adjusting his glasses as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

Not only was the humidity making him sweat in the summer sun, but also his nerves were beginning to betray him.

Yuta took a few steps toward the door, but before knocking, he turned to both attendants.

“I-It will be better if we wait for you at the residence" explained Ijichi, "We will prepare your room for you, as well as a place for you at lunch time, which will be served soon. Of course, if you would like to stay here this afternoon and tonight”

“Thank you very much Ijichi kun and to tell the truth, after this talk I would like to return to Kyoto, as I still have a lot of work to do there” commented Yuta with a slight smile.

“I understand" replied Ijichi, adjusting his glasses.

Okkotsu then turned to Katsumoto, who handed him the folder and bowed slightly.

“Thank you Katsumoto, you can take the rest of the afternoon" he replied, nodding to him.

“It's all right my lord and thank you" said his assistant with his nerves on edge.

The fact that Okkotsu would arrive at that place, only made the atmosphere feel heavier. It was like the clash between two galaxies, where those two titans were about to see who was the most imposing and capable of devouring the opponent.

Yuta took a breath, grabbed the knocker that had the shape of a dragon's mouth at its base, and knocked three times on the thin wooden door.

The three held their breath as silence filled the place for about a minute, which was interrupted when they finally got an answer coming from inside the dojo.

“Come in!” Satoru's voice was heard coming from the other side of the door. It was a piercing cry, but it did not sound threatening at all. On the contrary, it seemed from the melodious sound of the invitation, that the albino was quite cheerful.

Yuta took one last look at the two assistants before pulling the knocker and finally entering the place.

Once that door closed behind the sorcerer, both assistants walked at a fast pace until they left the area through the threshold through which they had entered.

They really didn't want to be a minute closer to that place, where the energy was so heavy that it was suffocating.

Once they had gone far enough away from the dojo through the traditional garden, Katsumoto could not stand it any longer and dropped to his knees and began to cry.

“I did everything you and Mr. Gojo asked me to do...” his voice broke “I tried to pretend as much as I could” he sobbed, that cry seemed to be one of total relief, while his tears were streaming down his cheeks- “I even used the information you gave me Ijichi san... but, even so” he sobbed again- “I am afraid... the guilt for having kept this information from Okkotsu for so long consumes me...- his voice was completely torn apart.

Ijichi let out a sigh of total understanding, the world of sorcererry was full of secrets and stories and they as assistant directors often had to carry the truth behind the backs of others, either by mandate, for convenience or because they simply cannot reveal the information.

The leader of the assistants carefully bent down and put his hand on Katsumoto's shoulder to pat him so that he would feel relief.
“You did a great job, without your help, Okkotsu would never have found the truth, one that the poor man needed to discover on his own”

“I'm still afraid" his voice broke into a piercing cry, "Do you really think this was a good idea, was it really necessary for me to lead Okkotsu to her, to Maki Zenin" he questioned as his hands covered his face.

“It is, those two were already unhappy for seven years, and now more than ever is when everyone deserves to find happiness. Even Satoru, who has now also regained his freedom, has the duty to tell Okkotsu the whole truth. He too has carried the secret and the guilt of having kept them apart for so long. And not only that, but he has also carried on his shoulders the burden of having to guide this world of sorcery, assuming the role of leader that everyone expected him to assume and now expects him to continue to be” Ijichi continued comforting him with his hand on his shoulder  “So yes, your help has been fundamental to lighten the burden and facilitate this reunion"

Katsumoto just shook his head, his eyes squeezed tightly shut as tears continued to stream down his cheeks and he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his suit.

“Even so... this doesn't stop being exhausting for me... and more so now that the investigations in Kyoto continue since we must catch that guy who is killing sorcerers left and right... I'm afraid of being next on his list! I'm afraid I'll be next on his list! The scenes he leaves of his crimes are so terrifying" Katsumoto replied, feeling his chest being crushed with anguish.

“I know and we have no choice but to solve this case" sighed Ijichi lowering his shoulders, "So Okkotsu will still need you more than ever. Only you two can solve this”

“But I'm tired of pretending in front of Okkotsu about how I really found out all that information about Maki Zenin and his children" Katsumoto sobbed.

“Maybe after this you won't have to pretend anymore" he helped him stand up, "Even so, please don't tell anyone at sede about Okkotsu coming to talk to Satoru and much less, reveal anything about Maki Zenin or the Fushiguro children, only a few of us know all this and it's better to keep it a secret...Understood?”

Katsumoto nodded his head yes as Ijichi helped him up.

“Come, let's go to Ieiri san to get a painkiller..." sigh"we'll all need it after this”

Katsumoto stood up, shook the dirt off his knees and just prayed to heaven that Okkotsu would come out of that place alive and sane.

Both assistants began to move farther and farther away from the dojo, which they knew would become a battlefield between two titans.

Katsumoto wiped his tears once again with the sleeves of his suit “By the way Ijichi san...” He began to ask once they entered again to that part of the residence where the corridors met the entrance to the garden “Was there anyone else next to the leader Satoru inside that Dojo” he paused for a moment  “It is that I perceived the presence of someone else in there...”

Quickly Ijichi's face tightened. His hand went to his forehead, it seemed he had remembered that someone else was supposed to be with Satoru that day.

He turned quickly to the young assistant, "I just hope that someone got out of there in time..." commented Ijichi, tensing his shoulders.

There was no time to find out, the conversation of those two had already begun.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ⛩️ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

Yuta walked steadily into the building he knew was used exclusively for training.

He remembered it perfectly because he got to train with Satoru on a couple of occasions at that place when he had just entered the academy.

He also remembered how painful his teacher's blows could be, especially if he used blue to draw him against his fist infused with his cursed energy.

Okkotsu took a few more steps until he finally managed to see and spot Satoru.

This one was in the center of the Dojo, wearing sports clothes that resembled a martial arts master, dressed in a black T-shirt and white pants. He was wearing a black T-shirt and white pants, as well as black sneakers that were used for training.

Satoru was completely sweaty, with his breathing somewhat agitated as if he had just worked out or as if he had just trained with someone.

Yuta looked around, not detecting anything out of the ordinary.

The only thing that caught his attention was that there were two bottles of water on the floor and near where the wooden sticks and swords were hung, there were two white towels.

Okkotsu at that moment overlooked those details, since what caught his attention was the atmosphere of that place. He felt a trace of cursed energy in the air but he could not identify it completely because it was strongly combined with that of Gojo.

Someone else had definitely been in there with Satoru.

“Okkotsu did not expect your visit. Well, what brought you here so suddenly?” the leader of that clan welcomed him with a big smile, while he did some arm stretches.

The black-haired sorcerer took a deep breath before answering, "I've come to bring you an update on the sorcerer-killer case you assigned me" he replied coolly, as he pulled out a few sheets of paper from the plastic envelope-shaped folder.

Satoru shook his shoulders with disinterest, "So you came all the way from Kyoto just to bring me the report? If you had sent it by mail or by LINE message it would have been enough” he stretched his arms raising them above his head “It doesn't matter, you will always be welcome in this residence, surprise visits are really needed from time to time” he let out a light chuckle  “And tell me, how has Kyoto been treating you?” he said approaching his guest.

“He has treated me well, I would say that Kyoto treated me better than I thought, he has even given me unexpected surprises…" said Yuta remembering his children a little. Actually the memory of them calmed him down a little and even more now that he had in front of him the culprit of not having seen them born or grow up.

“I see, well let's see what you have here" Satoru took the papers with a big smile, it was unusual for him to want to review paperwork, but at that moment he was more than interested.

Sweat was still trickling down his forehead as he gave the first few lines a quick read.

Gojo's blue pupils went from side to side and then he looked up at Okkotsu, "By the way, I heard that you killed a curse that was prowling around a shopping mall”

Yuta's eyebrows rose in surprise. He hadn't expected Satoru to be aware of that incident.

He took a breath, he wanted to get down to the important stuff but he knew he had to take it easy if he wanted to get the whole truth out of her. So he decided to play along.

“Yes, it was. It happened on my first day I arrived in that city”

“And...” Satoru paused, he seemed quite curious about that topic as he looked at his guest.
“I also heard that you saved two children that day, right?” he asked directly.

Yuta moistened his lips slightly before answering that “That's right!” sigh “If I hadn't arrived on time, today a mother would be crying for her children- he answered seriously”

He clenched his fist discreetly on the strap of his sword  “If I had not arrived in time, not only a mother would be crying for her children, but also a father would never have met them...” he said to himself mentally.

Satoru burst out laughing “You're always being a kid magnet” he returned his gaze to the leaves “I guess those little ones turned out to be special, huh?”

Okkotsu did not answer that, he thought that maybe Satoru only said that because those children could see curses, and by the way, because he had to keep as much discretion as possible.

Satoru noticed that silence.
“Let's see what you have here” He took a few steps around Okkotsu, walking loosely around the dojo, as it seemed he couldn't stand still.

Yuta swallowed saliva as his right hand continued to grip the strap of his sword.

“You know it wasn't necessary for you to enter this place with your sword" Gojo pointed out, giving him a quick glance, noticing how that boy had his hand on the strap of that sheath.

“I'm sorry, being abroad I got too used to always carrying it..." he explained, "You never know when someone will attack you by surprise... be it an acquaintance... or an enemy" he said coldly.

“Hum" Gojo only let out that noise with disinterest while continuing to look at his guest, "Well, here you can be sure that you have more of an ally than an enemy" there was a serious exchange of glances, which did not last more than a few seconds.

“I'm sure it is... thank you" Yuta replied, pretending to be polite.

Satoru returned his eyes to those sheets and kept a few minutes of silence while he read their contents.

On the other hand, Yuta did not take his eyes off him, as he kept silent and analyzed his host, trying to find the right moment to start questioning about the past.

“I see that you have made some progress in the case, although from the most recent reports, this killer is still killing left and right" again his gaze focused on his guest, "Do you have any suspects yet?" his hand went to his chin as he walked beside him.

Their energies clashed little by little, in a kind of tense tug-of-war.

The other special grade sorcerer let the air out in a sigh of utter frustration.
“I'm still looking for more clues that will lead me to the criminal. Although now that we have a classification of his victims as well as some patterns in his attacks, we understand his modus operandi a little better and we hope to find this guy soon”

The albino let out a small chuckle of satisfaction upon hearing that statement. He seemed quite animated.
“Not for nothing did I know it was a good idea for you to return to Japan to solve this case" he looked down at the leaves again.

“And this is the only reason you brought me back to Japan?” he dared to ask, controlling his voice that wanted to come out with fury "Just to solve this case? he asked quickly, moving his hands from one side to the other”

“Initially yes, but once you finish this mission of catching this assassin, I will give you a much more important one, which I will explain to you later" answered Gojo passing the page and turning slightly to walk on the other side of Okkotsu. It seemed that the albino was analyzing him too.

Yuta tensed his jaw. Again his hand made a fist on the strap as he looked very seriously at Satoru. His brow was quite furrowed. His patience was wearing thin as he watched the man act very unselfishly.

The albino detected that change in his guest's mood, "Did something make you angry? Because your cursed energy feels irregular" he commented, taking his bottle of water from the floor while he continued reading those pages, "I have told you that you should work on that way of yours of wasting cursed energy, those sudden leaks are what make others detect your changes of state" he drank a little.

Okkotsu tried to relax, but he couldn't, he was facing the one who separated him from Maki. His breathing was heavy.

He crossed his arms over his chest "I'm sorry, it's just the stress of this case that has me so tense" he lied, while squeezing his right wrist with his left hand.

Satoru put that bottle on the floor once again and began to leaf through it in disarray. Now he seemed quite disinterested in that report- “Anyway, I know you will be excellent at solving this case” - he said, closing the folder where those pages were “Moving on to another topic...”

The albino continued talking, now he seemed very serious and that was reflected in his face and that caught Yuta's attention. “I also heard that that asshole Naoya sent for you, is that true?" his eyes focused again on his guest while he took a few steps to take his towel.

The sorcerer who came from abroad let the air out abruptly just remembering everything that happened on that occasion.
 “Yes, he called me a few days ago at the Zenin residence”

“And what did that jerk tell you? Did they talk about something important?" he had a tinge of intrigue in his voice "Or did they talk about this case?" the questions escaped from Satoru's mouth in a very serious tone.

Okkotsu tried to control his heavy breathing.
“That's right" he sighed, "Mr. Naoya called me to give him an update on this case and more than that the vast majority of the victims have been from his clan" he lowered his shoulders and scratched the back of his neck, "Although I admit that being in that place was quite stressful, I really don't want to set foot in the Zenin residence again...”

Satoru let out a loud laugh at what the sorcerer said.
“I guess the fact that they are eliminating their clan is their punishment" he wiped the sweat from his face with the towel, "It's just something they deserved, even so, good job Okkotsu, keep it up!" he patted him on the shoulder, "If there is nothing more to discuss you can leave or unless you want to stay to eat and sleep tonight, you always have a room in this residence," he was ready to return the leaves. But his guest's behavior changed drastically.

“Thank you for the hospitality... but...”

“Huh? What's wrong?" Satoru raised an eyebrow at that word.

“Although my surprise visit is actually due to something else" Yuta answered with complete seriousness while his eyes were fixed on the folder still in his hands.

“Oh!" Satoru clicked his tongue, "So, what's the reason for your sudden visit, really? Weren't you coming to give me a preview of this case?”

“Coming to give you the advance was just a pretext for you to let me in" Yuta commented, clasping his hands over the plastic folder where he still kept a few more sheets of paper.

“So what was the main reason you came here? Okkotsu” Satoru became very serious when he noticed that the man was holding that folder tightly.

“I have actually come for answers that only you can give me, Satoru Gojo" his gaze lifted to his teacher.

“Explain yourself" Satoru folded his arms, "Besides, it's very unusual for you to call me by my full name" he pointed out.

Yuta took a breath “I happened to be in Kyoto”- He began to explain –“I have come across some very interesting clues that fit with certain past issues that have to do with me...” he said in a serious voice, while his gaze was focused on the blue gaze of his host  “And with Maki…”

Satoru scratched his cheek. In his eyes shone a spark of pure curiosity.
“Past issues? Like what?" he smiled.

Yuta took a pose of total seriousness while he opened the folder.
“Well, being in Kyoto I came across this tomb" he said angrily as he quickly took out of the folder a sheet of paper with a photograph of the tombstone he went to visit.

Satoru kept his calm pose as he listened to what Okkotsu started to say. His guest was too upset and it showed in his pose and his words.

“Not only did Katsumoto help me find Maki's grave as well as her death certificate!" he pulled out the sheet the academy had on that incident, "but both Naobito-san and Naoya-san confirmed to me that Maki is dead!" he began to raise his voice, "Even Naoya-san told me that you knew all this! Satoru, is this true? You knew that Maki was dead?!”

The albino sighed while scratching his head.
 “Well, it seems that you finally found her..." he let out a big sigh and then a big smile appeared on his lips, it seemed that he was waiting for that conversation “PERFECT!” he looked relieved- “yes well, that was something I really wanted you to find out. Although I guess now that you've found Maki, I don't have to worry anymore”

Yuta opened his eyes wide when he heard that.
 “What do you mean I found out? What the hell are you trying to say?”

Satoru simply waved his hands  “I'm simply saying that my plan worked”  He snapped my fingers and then pointed both hands at his student “ it took seven years but it worked!”

“WHICH PLAN?” Yuta raised his voice even higher.

The albino scratched the back of his neck and tried to explain it in the best way.
“Okkotsu, there are some things that are difficult to address right now and even more so now that you are furious. But I can only tell you that seven years ago, I was only securing your future. It is well said that the end justifies the means."

“AND THAT INCLUDED SEPARATING ME FROM MAKI?" Yuta shouted super annoyed, "YOUR PLAN WAS TO SEPARATE ME FROM HER?”

“Technically I didn't want to separate you!" he waved his hands, "Basically my plan at the time was for you two to leave the country" he let out the air in annoyance as he explained.
“Unfortunately, "the others"! he wiggled his fingers in quotation marks “Beat me to it and that's why I had to drag you out of Japan. In order to make sure that you didn't fall into their trap so that you could be stronger when the time was right" he moved his shoulders a little and raised his arms again. It looked like he was getting ready to train again.

“But too bad Maki didn't have the same luck" he put his hands on his hips, "I clearly remember that before getting on the train, I talked to her" he snorted and made a grimace that ended in a smile, "But that girl sure likes to do things her own way, haha, not for nothing was she my student and much less will she stop being a Zenin”

“IS IT TRUE WHAT MAKI SAN TOLD ME ABOUT YOU TALKING TO HER AT THAT TRAIN STATION SEVEN YEARS AGO? IS IT TRUE THAT YOU DOUBTED HER NOT TO GO WITH ME? YOU KNEW MAKI WAS HIDING SOMETHING IMPORTANT FROM ME?” Yuta shouted, waving his hands angrily.

Satoru raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I didn't say anything about her "hiding" something important from you, and much less did I say that she had doubts about going with you, besides.. dead people don't talk"… how is it that she told you something like that?" he commented curiously.

“Shit..." whispered Yuta, realizing that he was talking too much.

“She told you all that, didn't she? You already know her version of that day, don't you? Because if so, then that means you've already managed to find Maki and all your friends? Eh, Yuta?” Satoru had a big smile on his face.

Yuta had spoken too much due to his anger. At that moment he realized his mistake.

“ANSWER ME SATORU WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME GO GET HER? WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME GET OFF THE DAMN TRAIN SEVEN YEARS AGO?!”

Satoru sighed and made a slight grimace
"I already told you part of the reason why, aren't you paying attention to me?" he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“But above all, I didn't tell you at the time because you wouldn't understand Okkotsu” he looked at his student with seriousness – “Besides, all this about you leaving the country I did it for your sake and hers...” he commented without a hint of guilt  “Just like I did it for the sake of your children...”

Yuta froze when he heard that last one.
 “What did you say?”

Satoru got a big smile of happiness  “I wonder which Maki you have actually met, if the one our records say she is dead and buried in that grave” He point to those pages “or "the one from the hospital, the one who gave birth to your children, which if I'm not mistaken you already met, right - I'm talking about your twins, a girl and a boy, aren't they? They are the same children that you saved that time in the mall” he looked at his guest with great joy  “Am I wrong?”

Yuta was puzzled, "How the hell do you know all this?" he asked in confusion.

Satoru sighed again, "Okkotsu, Okkotsu, Okkotsu!" he repeated that last name three times with a mixture of disapproval and exasperation. He was amazed at his student's clumsiness in not grasping things the first time.
“Where do you think your assistant got all the information you asked him to find out about Maki?" he asked with a wry smile "or rather, who do you think he really got it from?”

Yuta remembered everything that Katsumoto told him he had investigated. From the surnames of his children, as well as that medical record of the "Maki of the hospital", even remembering how they had found that tomb and all the information he had given him.
“But! Katsumoto told me that he had broken the protocols and... had broken the protocols and..." he was interrupted.

“Let me explain all that to you!" He looked at his guest, "Although I confess that I was already aware that you sent Katsumoto to find out the whereabouts of your beloved Maki. So I knew it was only a matter of time before you found her. So I simply let your assistant search for the information in our database, while at the same time we were providing you with all the clues we wanted you to find” he explained – “Basically he did not break any protocol, on the contrary, we provided him with ALL the information you know today” he had a smile from ear to ear.

Yuta's eyes widened at such a confession.

Satoru raised his voice to bring Yuta out of his thoughts and then, he raised a finger as if he was giving a lectura.

"Now! Do you remember the mall case that you exactly solved 16 days ago, when you saved those kids and killed that curse?" he asked with a big smile. The excitement of explaining that could be heard in his animated tone of voice.

Okkotsu, on the other hand, was paralyzed as he listened to that explanation.

Satoru continued speaking, "It turns out that after the incident at the mall we confirmed the whole truth of seven years ago”  he continued explaining without taking his eyes off his guest “And all thanks to Katsumoto who was investigating a little more about this case in order to give us an account of how this curse was born and why we had not been notified about it before” he took a few steps and began to walk around Okkotsu.

“But both your assistant and Ijichi were struck by those two children in particular that you saved. Especially Katsumoto found it quite frightening the fact that those two little ones looked quite similar to you and even more so when you were supposed to be "childless" and that's when those two started to look for their surnames, as well as started to investigate some clue about who their parents were, where and when they were born and all those things that assistant managers know how to do” he continued walking and explaining.

He clapped his hands, "And after a few days of investigating together, Eureka! That's where we found all the information that you now know because it coincided with the information that Ijichi managed to recover from what happened seven years ago!" he seemed very proud of what he was saying.
“So basically Ijichi was the one who provided Katsumoto with all this information, who in turn provided it to you!" he pointed to the sheets Yuta was carrying, "Isn't it amazing what those two can do together? Your assistant is really on Ijichi's level!”

The black-haired sorcerer was in shock at everything he had heard.

Satoru waved his hands from side to side “Although I admit I'm still surprised that it happened this way. Sometimes it seems that fate likes to play with you, but I must say that thanks to that incident at the mall, we were able to confirm our suspicions and you were able to meet your children. If I remember correctly, their names are Yurika and Yuudai Fushiguro, aren't they? Fate did prepare this surprise and this meeting for us in the least thought way" sigh.

Okkotsu was furious, his face was red “I told Katsumoto not to investigate anything about those children!”

“But if he hadn't, you would never have found your beloved Maki and your children, would you?" commented Satoru with a touch of irony.

Yuta pursed his lips at such an answer.

“So this whole thing of you finding out the truth happened because Katsumoto talked to Ijichi who, in turn, talked exclusively to me about this case. And that's where all the pieces for the three of us connected!" he clapped his hands again, "And after seven years, we confirmed our suspicions that Maki was not dead and that indeed those children were still alive, as well as all the others!" he waved his hands playfully.

Yuta was paralyzed with courage.

“And I guess from the look on your face, I can assume that you've already met and you spent time with her and your children, right?" asked Satoru with a big smile on his lips, "Your assistant did a great job guiding you to them. Which was at my request”

“THEN YOU ALWAYS KNEW MAKI WAS STILL ALIVE?! YOU KNEW ABOUT MY CHILDREN?!" Okkotsu shouted with fury consuming his being.

“I always suspected that she never died, and we just lost track of her seven years ago, just like everyone else!" he shrugged, "We just let them have their lives in peace!" commented Satoru with a smile, "And yes, I already knew she was pregnant since that time I saw them seven years ago when I ran into them in the geisha alley" he chuckled."Seriously Okkotsu, you took too long to realize what was going on" he pointed his index finger at himself, "Still I give me some credit for all this you've discovered, because as I said everything has a reason why I did it this way”

That was the last straw for Yuta.

The next thing happened so fast that the clash of those two shook the whole place, making the wood of the dojo creak. The first blow had come from Okkotsu, who had his sword against Satoru's infinity. While Rika was trying to penetrate that barrier from the opposite side.

Yuta had quickly unsheathed his sword and summoned Rika. Who, sensing all of Okkotsu's anger, knew that the one in front of her was the enemy at that instant.

“But what a predictable attack. Didn't you learn anything abroad?” Satoru scoffed, his hand raised.

“WHY DID YOU HIDE ALL THIS FROM ME? I'VE MISSED ALMOST SEVEN YEARS OF MY CHILDREN'S LIVES!” Okkotsu shouted.

“I told you I did it to protect you and everyone else! But above all I had to secure your future as my successor!”

“This society is really rotten!" Yuta replied, remembering Yuki's words, "and even more so if you're ruling it from the top!”

Okkotsu was quickly thrown to the ground by Satoru, and when he was about to start counterattacking with a punch in the face, Yuta managed to move with the help of Rika, who managed to throw Satoru.

Rika pulled Yuta, and again, they both threw themselves against Satoru, who had not received a scratch.

“That's the best you've got?!" shouted the albino, who saw how his former student was close to him. Just as he saw Rika growling.

“WHY DID YOU DO IT?" shouted Yuta, "WHY DID YOU ABANDON ALL MY FRIENDS?! BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY DID YOU SEPARATE ME FROM MAKI?" he demanded the truth.

“I DIDN'T SEPARATE THEM!” - Satoru used the strength of his barrier to push him away. Sending him flying towards one of the pillars of the dojo, shaking the whole place with his energy –“ON THE CONTRARY! I DID ALL THIS TO PROTECT YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE!” he shouted “WE ALL HAVE SOMEBODY TO PROTECT! OKKOTSU!”

The sword was embedded in the wooden floor.

Yuta luckily did not hit that pillar, as even his agility in the air was much better than before.
 He was now more experienced and was twice as coordinated with Rika, who managed to catch him.

“Damn you!” growled the curse, who launched itself again against Satoru to serve as a distraction, while its claws tried to penetrate the invisible field that stopped it.

“It seems the queen is just as stubborn as her master!" sneered Satoru as he watched Rika growl at him from close range. Showing her sharp teeth and claws.

Instead, the black-haired sorcerer again picked up the sword and ran to where his master was.

Both again attacked Satoru in a combined attack, where the exchange of blows was intense.

“This weak attack again?" the albino asked haughtily. As he once again applied his infinity and prepared to launch a blue one.

“I have something that will surprise you!" commented Yuta while in one swift movement, he released his sword and unraveled from his right wrist, what appeared to be a cursed tool, which was most similar to a string with emerald beads at the beginning, middle and end of it.

That object seemed to grow longer as it was impregnated with the user's cursed energy.

Quickly Yuta jumped up and in one movement, he managed to put that rope over his master's invisible field, which he managed to disturb a little.

Satoru looked at that attack, which seemed quite familiar. And even more so when his infinity began to evaporate at the touch of that string.

That was the ideal moment, Yuta managed to go through the infinity, which was simply turned off by Satoru, managing to hit his master twice, but the albino quickly defended himself by trying to hit Okkotsu, who was moving at the same level and speed as him, with his bare fist. Even so, Yuta was not spared a punch in the face. But he managed to dodge all the others, leaving Satoru surprised.

“Not bad" the albino mocked, "This way of fighting is quite similar to Miguel's. He taught you this, didn't he?”

“Yes, and I can even confirm that Miguel is a good teacher, not like you!" he spat angrily.

“Ouch!" Satoru let out that noise in mockery.

The blows with his fists continued, now Yuta was really keeping up with him and that stressed Satoru, who kicked his student sending him flying several meters.

But Yuta did not give up. Again he approached to try to hit Satoru, taking advantage of the fact that the rope, every time it crossed the infinite, disturbed him.

Every time that rope touched Gojo's hands while he was dodging the whips, he felt a strange electric current, followed by a steam, a sign that his infinity was evaporating and that stressed him too much.

“What the fuck was that?" asked Satoru rather annoyed, finally getting close to kick Yuta directly in the stomach to send him flying again.

Yuta was caught by Rika, causing him to quickly rejoin the fight, as he tried to approach using the rope, which Satoru dodged, but now made him feel a strange tingling sensation all over his body.

That cursed object was of the same material that Michael once used against him in their fight long ago, in the night parade of the hundred demons.

“No wonder I felt that stupid rope so familiar" said Satoru as he threw some direct punches, which Yuta dodged, "I thought I had completely eliminated it almost ten years ago" he tried to push Okkotsu away again.

But he managed to catch Satoru's hands and quickly used the cursed speech.

“Don't move!" he shouted, making Satoru stunned for only a few seconds while Rika held him in her claws.

“Surprised You?" Yuta tensed the rope to prevent Satoru from using his hands and activate the infinite or his domain, "Well, indeed in Africa this material had been exhausted, but it was a pleasant surprise to see that in Latin America, they have the same material. In fact, all of Latin America has many interesting tools and I found it in the south of Mexico, more specifically in Yucatan" he explained with a big smile when he saw his master trapped.

Satoru grunted a little.
“You should thank me that you traveled the world for me!” he used his feet to hit Rika hard and in passing, he made a quick movement pulling that rope to bring Okkotsu closer to him and hit him with his head- "And that thanks to me, you finally found your beloved Maki" he shouted.

With that quick movement, Satoru managed to pull the rope out of his hands to then grab it with one hand and imbue it with his overwhelming cursed energy to make it disappear, applying the principle that if an object was imbued with cursed energy all at once, it could break or become useless, so that rope began to burn in his hand.

Yuta fell to the ground against his back, but quickly got to his feet by propelling himself with his hands”YOU REALLY ONLY SEPARATED ME FROM THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!” again he ran against his sensei.

“I told you I did it for the good of both of you!" Satoru shouted, hitting him full in the face, throwing him against the wall.

Then he managed to hit Rika, who was also trying to catch him –“IF IT WASN'T FOR ME, YOUR CHILDREN AND MAKI WOULD BE DEAD! YOUR FRIENDS EQUALLY!” he approached with a heavy step against Okkotsu to try to kick him, but Yuta stood up quickly.

“IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR YOU, I WOULD HAVE BEEN PRESENT IN MY CHILDREN'S LIVES AND TAKEN CARE OF MY FRIENDS WHILE I WAS AT IT!”

“I FREED YOUR FRIENDS! I FREED THEM FROM THIS FUCKING WORLD OF WITCHCRAFT!" he again threw several punches, which Okkotsu managed to stop with his hands. Still, the poor guy was already hurt.

“YOU LIE!” Yuta managed to hit Satoru once in the face, who didn't stay still, he moved with great agility.

“YOU'RE SO STUBBORN OKKOTSU! YOU'RE NOT SEEING IT CORRECTLY, I DID IT TO PROTECT ALL OF YOU AND BY THE WAY, TO PROTECT ONE MORE PERSON!” He sent Okkotsu once again to the ground, but Okkotsu quickly got up.

Yuta managed to grab his sword, he got into attack position.
“But that didn't give you the right to separate me from Maki, now I understand why you didn't let me off the train, you just wanted to take me away from her!”

Satoru put his hands on his hips.
 “I guess she already told you her whole story about that day, right?” he sighed, wiping away his sweat.

“Maki told me that you talked to her at that train station seven years ago!" he held the handle of his sword tightly.

“I admit I talked to her, but my goal was to put you two to the test, I thought your love could do it all!" he took a few steps, "but the others were faster than me”

“And you couldn't tell me anything?!" Yuta commented, still firm.

“I couldn't tell you directly since I couldn't break my vows, you of all people know why they can't be broken. Or didn't I teach you theory?”

“First of all, you were never a good teacher! And secondly, you screwed up my happiness with Maki and my children!" Yuta was still in a position to attack again at any moment.

Satoru lowered his shoulders and twisted his mouth, "Like I said, I did it to protect all of you! Aren't you paying attention to me" he growled.

“I don't believe you!" Yuta shouted furiously.

“Okay, don't believe me, but that's the truth!" the albino shrugged, looking fed up with it all.

“Lies!”

“Okkotsu, I had something at stake too!" He raised both hands, "So try stabbing me if you really won't listen to my side of the story”

Yuta gripped his sword tighter. It seemed that for real, Satoru had deactivated his infinite, this was his chance.

“KILL ME IF YOU CAN! THERE'S REALLY MORE BEHIND THIS! I ALSO HAVE SOMEONE TO PROTECT NOW, THAT'S WHY I HAVE HAD TO LIE AND HIDE A LOT OF THINGS!" shouted Gojo very angrily.

At that moment, when Okkotsu was about to approach Satoru, something caught his attention. And that was that he felt a gaze fixed on him.

Yuta's gaze was fixed on one of the pillars. A fleeting movement in the shadows made him squint, convinced that he had seen a figure peeking through the pillar closest to the entrance, which was ajar. Yuta remembered that this door had been closed once he had entered the dojo.

Had it been just his imagination?

It seemed not, as "that someone" peeked out again and quickly hid behind the pillar.

“WHO IS THERE?" Okkotsu shouted seriously, "SHOW YOURSELF!" he pointed his sword.

Again, that being peeked out slightly, revealing two beautiful blue eyes, which sparkled like diamonds.

Satoru sighed and lowered his hands. “Come on, get out of there, we've already noticed you're spying on us!" he commented, putting his hands on his hips with a slight smile on his lips.

Okkotsu's eyebrows rose as his shoulders and hands lowered as he saw from that pillar, looming almost completely out of that pillar was a boy, who was startled to see him with that sword in hand.

The boy half hid again behind that pillar. Dad…" he said in a trembling
 voice, "Who is he?”

“Don't be afraid, he won't hurt you, I promise" Satoru looked at the little boy, "we're just talking" he said in a calm voice, "Come on, get out of there”

That little guy took a step to the side to show himself completely.

That boy was about six years old, his hair was as black as coal. His skin was very white and his face was quite similar to Satoru's. He wore a gray hakama and traditionally black and white T-shirts. He wore a gray hakama and traditionally black and white T-shirts. But what was most striking about the boy were his beautiful blue eyes.

“A child?" said Yuta in confusion without letting go of the sword. He even blinked several times.

“Dad, is everything all right?" asked the boy with fear when he saw Yuta with some blood on his face.

“He is, now come I want to introduce you to someone" ordered Satoru, putting one of his knees on the floor.

Yuta quickly lowered his sword, he was quite confused.

That look reminded him of the time he met his children in the alley. He thought of the fear his children would have of him if they saw him in a similar situation.

Once the boy saw the other adult under that gun and Rika fading away very quickly, he ran into Satoru's arms.

“Dad, who is he? Is he a bounty hunter? Is that why they were fighting?” the boy asked with a frown, as Satoru lifted him up in his arms.

“I'm glad you asked son, he is someone important I want you to meet!" Satoru said, turning to his guest, "Yuta, I want you to meet my son, Yoshio Iori”

“Son? Iori?" Yuta gasped when he heard the boy's surname, "So he's Utahime sensei's son?”

“Yup!, his mother is Utahime" he looked at his son, whom he was still holding in his arms, "Say hello Yoshi, say hello to your uncle Yuta”

“Hello, man who wants to kill my father" commented the boy, sticking his tongue out at him and then laughing out loud, he no longer seemed to be afraid of him, "I must say that they were giving each other a good beating!" he hit his right hand with his opposite fist, "although it seemed that Dad had you on the ropes. He's the strongest sorcerer for a reason!”

“Isn't he a sweet boy?" Gojo replied proudly as he heard his son say that.

“I thought you couldn't have children..." commented Yuta blinking several times.

That caught Satoru's attention. “Who told you that?" he raised an eyebrow.

“Well…" Yuta let out a long sigh, "When I went to the Zenin residence, Mr. Naobito told me that there was a rumor that you had declared yourself incapable of having children…" he pointed to Satoru and the child in his arms.

The albino laughed at that.
“As you can see, it's just a rumor that I didn't want to clear up for the sake of my own. Although I suspect that old drunkard knows more than we imagine”

“Even so, Dad didn't want to give me a little brother!" Yoshio commented with a grimace, jumping into the conversation.

“I told you to stay out of adult talk!" Satoru called his attention, "Maybe someday I'll give you one or even two siblings" he smiled too much as he looked at Okkotsu. He seemed to have a plan in mind.

“You never say that to me, it's Mom or Grandma Umeko who says it!" Yoshio pouted at that call for attention.

Yuta was quite confused, he could not believe his eyes.
“So all this time you were hiding your son, just like my sons have been hiding?” he asked astonished.

“Okkotsu, you are not the only one who had and still has to lie to protect what he loves most in this life... especially in this new era of sorcery" Gojo answered with his eyes fixed on Yuta, who was surprised by what he had heard and seen at that moment.

“I don't know what to say? This isn't a dream, is it?” said Yuta with total confusion.

“It is not a dream. I really am a father!!" Satoru replied with a big smile.

“I call him daddy Giraffe because of how tall he is or I also call him old man because of the color of his hair!" replied the boy in a mocking tone.

“Hey, more respect, sir!" Satoru scolded.

Yoshio just stuck his tongue out at his father and then burst into laughter.

Truly, Yuta was in shock.

 Satoru sighed as he returned his son to the ground.
“My back!, it's been years since I've had a fight like this”

The boy laughed at that comment.
 “That's because you are already old. That's why your bones hurt”

“Of course I'm not, I just have white hair!”

“Even so, it makes you look like one!" said that laughing boy, "Besides, Aunt Shoko always says so!”

Yuta just stared in awe at that father and son scene, really the energy that little boy gave off felt like Satoru's.

“Now I understand why there were two bottles of water... and why another presence was felt" He whisper.

“By the way, Yoshio, I told you to go to your mother while I was talking to the guest why did you come back? I told you that our training to teach you the petal thrill would be done later" Satoru put his hands on his hips.

The boy made a big pout.
“Mom is having her headaches again and I really wanted to keep training with you. So that's why I came back" he explained.

Satoru sighed.
“Those headaches worry me.... And in that case, why didn't you go bother your aunt Shoko? By the way, where's your grandmother?” he asked holding a hand to his head.

Yoshio wiggled playfully.
“Aunt Shoko was busy attending to a man in a suit that four eyes brought to the nursing, the poor devil was crying too much so that's why I came back here, I don't like to listen to weak people cry and grandma Umeko” He brought his hands behind his back and moved slightly back and forth “She's in the kitchen, and since I don't want to get into helping her, I'd better stay here”

“You are a spoiled child, that's why you do whatever you want" Satoru sighed.
 “Well, for now we should invite your uncle Yuta to lunch since I have to talk to him about some important matters" he looked at his guest, "Confused, right?

The black-haired sorcerer nodded his head yes.

“As I said, I also have someone very important to protect... and that someone is this child as well as I have to protect Utahime since they are both my family" commented Satoru tousling his son's hair, while he held on to his leg as he looked at the guest.

The little blue eyes of that child, quite caught Okkotsu's attention. Actually that child reminded them of their children.

What would they think if they saw him fight like that? Was it really a good idea for him to meet their children? Several more questions began to invade Okkotsu's head until Yoshio's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Uncle Yuta!" that boy seemed to have already taken him into his confidence, "You're bleeding, you should go see Aunt Shoko" he said in a pout.

Yuta wiped his forehead with his sleeve.
 “Thank you... I think it would be a good idea to go see her”

“Come Okkotsu, we will explain everything point by point, but for the moment, let's go eat” said Satoru with a smile while stroking once again his son's hair- “After the meal we will eat a delicious dessert!”

“I want ice cream. Dad, I want ice cream for dessert!" Yoshio pouted.

Satoru sighed at such a demand “Seriously, you are a very spoiled child” he smiled because it reminded him a lot of him “Then ice cream it is!”

“Yupi!" Yoshio shouted excitedly.

“Go Yoshi, go tell your grandmother and the servants to put one more plate on the table, and that this time we will eat at the kiosk in the garden" ordered Satoru, patting his son on the back.

“OK!" said the boy cheerfully as he walked out of the dojo.

“Come on Yuta…”Satoru also patted him on the shoulder “Let's eat and after the meal I'll tell you the whole truth”

Okkotsu was really confused, but it was time to hear his sensei's side of the story.

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

 

Notes:

Chan! Chan! Chan!

What did you guys think of this chapter? 👀
How are they finding this story?

I hope you understood what Gojo meant by his explanation that he and Ijichi were the ones who gave the information to Katsumoto about Maki Zenin's case as well as her children, if not, I will explain it better in the next chapter 🙇🏻‍♀️ because yes, they both suspected the whole truth.

I know you may have many questions, but I will answer in the next chapter ♥️

Don't worry, also in the next chapter you will find out more about Gojo's past and also what happened with Utahime before we turn all the attention back to Kyoto to focus on how Yuta will try to win Maki's heart, as well as we will see more of his coexistence with his children and at the same time, the focus on catching the "killer” Which will start to move its pieces again.

So the tension and desire between Maki and Yuta is going to increase ❤️‍🔥 as well as we will have tender moments between father and sons.

Also, I have already decided the cursed techniques of Yuudai and Yurika, very soon you will discover them, so place your bets ♥️ Which technique did each child inherit? Although out there, there have been some very, very interesting proposals ✨️

And as you could read, here I decided to bring Yoshio Iori ♥️

I know that in the fic of "Utahime sensei's baby" and in the fic of "Four seasons", I have added to their plots the other son that I have invented between Utahime and Gojo named Takeru, but here I have decided to bring Yoshio from "The boy with blue eyes" (if someday I will update that fic again, give me a chance) ♥️ since I feel that in this story it looks better with this extroverted boy for this plot.

Now tell me
do you guys think Yoshio will meet Yuudai and Yurika soon? How do you think those three will get along? 👀

Because I have plans for Yoshio to meet especially one of the twins 👀.

Also what do you guys think about what Katsumoto did of hiding about how he really got that information from Okkotsu? Are you guys still suspicious of him or do you think he's good? I'll be reading them 👀

Same goes for Satoru, do you really think he is the bad guy in this story or just another victim of circumstance? 👀

Anyway, I also want to thank you for the support that this story continues to have ♥️ seriously, thank you very much for your comments, votes and even recommendations 🙇🏻‍♀️ that becomes fuel to keep bringing more of this fic.

We'll keep reading ♥️

Chapter 20: 19 Fathers & Children

Notes:

Did you miss me?

First I want to offer an apology if I have not updated for almost two months.

But here you go, one more chapter of this fic.

I hope you like it because it will be a little bit about Yoshio and how is Satoru's relationship being a father and in the next chapter we will finally talk completely about Utahime.

Without further ado, enjoy the reading, I hope to upload the next chapter soon.

 

 

 

Once the three left the dojo, Satoru's servants hurried to bring clean clothes to both their leader and Okkotsu, at their master's request.

Both sorcerers were changing in a small space with some screens they had at the entrance of that building for comfort.

“We don't want "her" to get mad if she sees us coming to the table full of dirt and blood Right?” Satoru shared a knowing smile with his son.

Yoshio laughed at that comment.
“She's definitely going to get mad if she sees you dirty like that, dad!”

“She?" asked Yuta in confusion, raising his head slightly through the screen.

“Well Okkotsu” Satoru looked at his guest with a big smile while stretching his arms once he came out of that screen with his clean clothes  “it's time for you to meet one more member of this family”

Satoru had put on something cooler, he had sheathed himself in a gray hakama. He was wearing a plain, unadorned white T-shirt, which contradicted the exuberance of the purple kimono he wore over his shoulders, that color was worthy of a leader, which he left open.

Instead, Yuta had to shed both his white jacket, which was torn by the fight and stained with blood, and his black T-shirt.

The servants provided him with a clean white T-shirt. They also gave him a towel to wipe off the sweat and the blood that had already stopped flowing from his forehead thanks to his reverse cursed technique. They also gave him a pair of dark blue sports pants, since his pants had also become quite dirty.

“Thank you" he said, handing over his dirty clothes once he had finished changing.

“Well, I want this dojo cleaned up very well and made as good as new. And by the way, I don't want you to say anything to my wife about what happened in this place, understood?” ordered Satoru.

“Understood, my lord" said one of the servants while all the others began to fix the damage that was in that place.

Even Yuta left his sword in that dojo, since he would no longer need it where they were going.

“Come on Okkotsu, it's time to go eat”

 

 

---

“Well, where should we start?" questioned Satoru as he chose what to eat first from the beautiful table that the clan servants had prepared for him inside the kiosk as he had ordered.

Yuta slid into the seat across from Satoru. As he did so, his gaze fell on the three empty chairs next to him. So he guessed that other people would be joining there before long.

“Some tea, Satoru kun?" asked an older woman, who already had quite a few wrinkles on her face due to the passage of time, her hair, which in the past had been black, was now mostly dyed gray.

What stood out about her at that moment was her kimono, which was different from those of the servants. It was very colorful and worthy of an elite woman. Likewise, this woman seemed to be in control of the food, as she gave instructions to the servants on how the food should be served.

“Thank you very much mother-in-law and yes, some tea would do us both good, wouldn't it, Yuta?" commented the albino with a big smile and with his hand he pointed to his guest.

“I want tea too, grandma!" said Yoshio tenderly, while shaking his bamboo cup.

The woman proceeded to serve the liquid in those traditional glasses. By the way she did it, she showed signs that she was a woman traditionally educated in the art of both serving tea and attending to people.

“Careful my life, it's hot" she answered kindly, showing too much affection for her blue-eyed grandson. She spoiled him so much that she even prepared a special meal just for him.

Yuta fixed his gaze on that woman, if you looked closely, you could notice the strong physical resemblance to her daughter Utahime.

“Would you like some tea? This could help you regain your strength as well as the food we have already served you” asked the woman to Yuta. He looked tired because of the fight he had with Satoru a few minutes ago, plus the little sleep he had had the night before.

The guest nodded his head yes.
 “Yes, please and thank you very much" he replied kindly.

“From now on, treat this boy very well because he will soon be the next leader of this clan" he said with a big smile before drinking from his glass.

“Oh!" that statement left the woman very surprised, and she changed her posture to a more upright one to address Yuta with the utmost politeness.
“Then it is a pleasure to meet you my lord, I am glad to see another main member of the Gojo clan come to visit us and by the way, to eat what I have prepared for you" said the woman with a slight bow, "I hope this meal is to your liking”

“Thank you very much. By the way, your food is delicious" the guest replied politely, before putting another roll of vegetables in his mouth.

“It is a pleasure to serve you" Umeko replied kindly.

At such words said by Satoru, Yuta just stared at him, really that topic should also be seriously discussed with him, since the rumor about him being the next leader seemed to be coming true.

“The food is already fully served for you two as you ordered Satoru Kun and feel free to order more" Umeko turned to her son-in-law, "Even so, I don't think it will be long before the others join the table" she commented kindly.

“Thank you Umeko san, I really don't know what we would do without you" said the albino with serenity and a smile before drinking more tea.

Once that woman turned around and started giving more orders to the servants, Yoshio got up and went running to his grandmother to make sure he got his ice cream for dessert.

That boy really did things his own way and at his own whim.
He held her by the side of her kimono.
 “Grandma! You know I want ice cream for dessert, didn't you forget? Right?”

“We have brought various flavors, my littleboy" answered the woman, stroking the hair of her beloved grandson.

Yuta looked closely at the boy, who for a moment reminded him of his children, although he was grateful that they were not as capricious as Yoshio was.

He smiled as he remembered the first time he met them. Those little ones had brought his cold heart back to life and he even got to imagine what flavor of ice cream was their favorite. He really wished he could be with them at that moment.

Satoru noticed that look. That was perfect to start the conversation.
“Don't you think my son is a very sweet boy?" he asked proudly, as he took with his chopsticks some food that his mother-in-law had prepared for him.

“Yes" Yuta commented, putting more food in his mouth. He was really hungry since he had already had breakfast a while ago. And fighting against Satoru only made him hungrier.

That food was a delight to the palate, it tasted too delicious and had a balanced touch.

Satoru leaned his elbow on the table, finishing eating the piece of sushi he had picked up with his chopsticks.
“If you look at him carefully, you will notice that he physically resembles Utahime. Although from me he inherited the eyes and the character, although I think that's more than obvious” -sigh- “But I confess that I would have liked you to meet him in other circumstances”

“So, the rumor that you couldn't have offspring is just a rumor to protect your son?" Yuta asked, returning his gaze to his host.

“As I said, it is. We've been hiding Yoshio's birth for six years”

“Six years old?" Yuta questioned, raising both eyebrows. For a moment, the accounts did not add up between the ages of his children.

“Yes, Six years” Satoru returned his gaze to his son, who was entertaining his grandmother, who was serving him ice cream to his liking.

Gojo went on to explain. “Yes, Yoshio just turned six years old last February 12th. And if my memory serves me correctly and according to what I read in the medical report, your children were born in October, right? That means the difference between our children is by months” - he paused – “But yours were born prematurely, weren't they? Technically, that makes them the oldest”

Yuta sighed.
“That's right, they were premature as they were born at 33 weeks”- he said in a sad tone, reflecting the pain he still felt for the little that Mai had mentioned in her letter about that complicated birth- “I imagine my children went through a lot being so small, but”- his face lit up in a smile as he remembered them playing- “But today, they are two very healthy little ones”

“Lucky you, you and Maki really hit the bull's eye to sire two babies in one pregnancy. Who knew you were such a stud!" Gojo commented with a mischievous chuckle.

That made their host turn red with embarrassment.

Satoru continued with the conversation.
 “And your children are supposed to be seven years old next October, right?” he asked with some intrigue.

Yuta let the air out in a mixture of annoyance and sadness.
“That's right, they will be seven years old in two months, in fact they are from October 7th" his hands made fists on the table, "seven years that I have missed in my children's lives..." He looked seriously at Satoru.

“Well, you still have time to live with them and make up for lost time. It's never too late to start from scratch” said Satoru recklessly, while holding a small snack with his chopsticks.

“It's easy for you to say...”The annoyance was latent in Yuta's voice- “Surely you have been with your son since he was born and perhaps you were by Utahime's side throughout her pregnancy. I couldn't even live that stage with Maki and my children”

Satoru didn't keep quiet and defended himself to that answer quickly
“But still, keeping it a secret hasn't been easy, you know?” he ate some more.

He continued speaking, "Hiding him from the old bigwigs was a complicated task, and even today, keeping him a secret from the other clans has not been easy, luckily, only a few people know of his existence”. He paused and sighed, "I'm just waiting for him to grow up a little more to finally introduce him officially as my son”

The guest analyzed all that Satoru had said.
 “So is that why Yoshio has the surname Iori and not Gojo?”

“In part it is" Satoru answered, thundering his fingers, Yuta had found the right answer, "We decided to give him the surname Iori both to protect him and to prevent him from being separated from us. I did not want to be separated from him as they did with me when I was a newborn”- He was sad when he said that, it was also the first time he talked about that topic- “Since I never lived with my parents, since I was just born with this "blessing of power", I was separated from them, my parents don't know anything about me and I don't know anything about them" he explained, letting the air out sadly, "And basically I was not going to allow that to happen again, so we did this thing of giving him his mother's surname so they wouldn't separate us completely from our son”

“What do you mean, they will separate altogether?" Yuta asked with confusion.

Satoru looked at his mother-in-law with a mixture of respect and gratitude. He knew he owed the woman a great deal for the care she had given Yoshio.

“I mean that his maternal grandparents have been raising him for most of his life. Since his birth, Yoshio has been hidden in a well-protected sanctuary, which, coincidentally, is very close to here" he said as he moved his teacup slightly, keeping his expression calm.

“You mean the Iori family has raised him since birth?”

“The Iori family is a family of priests with great renown within our clan, and they have been loyal servants for generations. For that reason, the headquarters has never intervened or suspected them, since they are under our protection" he added, directing his gaze towards his guest, "Thanks to that, we have managed to make Yoshio's birth go unnoticed, since the Iori family has pretended that our son belongs to "another member of family” of theirs. And so far, that plan has worked perfectly for six years" he concluded before taking a sip of his drink.

Yuta sighed at all that he had heard
"So basically Yoshio doesn't live here with you?

Satoru let out the air with total regret at such a question, which it pained him to answer.
“That's true. We only see him a few days a week or during certain seasons. For example, he will be with us this summer vacation, since his private school has just finished classes. However, most of the year he lives with his grandparents, especially when I have to go out of town. On those occasions, he stays in their care, along with our guards and servants who protect him. Due to Utahime's fragile health, she cannot attend to him all the time... Even so, being away from him for so long is very painful. So when we are together, I try to give him my undivided attention, spoil him and share with him as I would have liked to do with my own parents”

“So you haven't had an easy time with being a father either..." Yuta said regretfully. That seemed to be quite sad even for him.

At that moment, Yuta realized that for Satoru, fatherhood had not been easy either, especially because he spent most of his time away from his son.

Somehow, the two shared more than just a millennial ancestor. At the time, they both shared the anguish of being parents forced to be away from their children, all for their children's sake.

Satoru decided to change the subject, "Let's talk about happier things”" he smiled and waved his hands, "And tell me Okkotsu, what are your children like? I read that they were a girl and a boy, right? Who is the oldest? The boy or the girl? Who do they look more like physically? You or Maki?" he asked as if he was trying to find out something.

Yuta smiled at the memory and began to describe them.
 “They are good children, above all they are very cheerful and full of energy”
 Then he nodded his head.
 “That's right, they were a boy and a girl. From what I've been listened, Yurika is the oldest; she was born first, and seven minutes later Yuudai was born" he said while scratching the back of his neck.

“As for who they look more alike hehe, I'd say they're a mix between Maki and me" He continued with a big smile on his face, "Yurika and Yuudai inherited my hair, while from Maki they inherited her smile. They also completely inherited out the color and intensity of Maki’s eyes”- A sigh of pride escaped from deep in his chest- “Although if I had to choose, I would say that Yuudai is the one who looks the most like me. He's almost an identical version of me as a child”

Satoru stroked his chin, "Interesting," he replied curiously, "You know Okkotsu?" he moved his chopsticks to take another snack, "The birth of fraternal twins is a rare event in our sorcery society. And unlike identical twins, who carry the stigma of being considered unlucky for being the same person with one soul split in two, fraternal twins carry no such curse. They are seen as two completely different beings. That duality, arising from the same gestation, but with different souls, makes them unique beings. For that reason, they are not only more valuable, but often more respected and even feared by other sorcerers. Did you know that?” he smiled.

“I... I didn't know...”

“Well, now that you know, it could be said that you and Maki have been completely blessed with your children. So be proud to be the father of those little ones”

Yuta smiled at those words, he truly felt blessed to have two wonderful children. Two little ones he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

“And tell me Okkotsu, has Maki already told you why he chose those names for your children?" Satoru continued asking with too much curiosity.

Yuta sighed. The answer to that question had not been given to him by Maki, but by Mai. Still he decided to answer his host.
“That was because when we were dating, I mentioned to Maki that I liked those names for my children" he smiled a little at a memory he had with that letter, "Besides she named them that way because let's say that Maki is not very good at choosing names" he scratched the back of his neck once again.

“Well, at least she DID RESPECT YOUR CHOICE in the names you had chosen for your children”- he let out the air with resignation – “I for example wanted Yoshio to be called Suguru, but!”- he made a grimace –“Shoko didn't let me give him that name, especially because she didn't want her best friend's son to be named after our partner who made us suffer so much and I think she was right. So we decided to name him whatever name Utahime wanted" she pouted. – “Still, I would have liked to honor my best friend's memory by naming my son after him”

Yuta thought it was a good time to ask about what had happened to Utahime, because since she arrived in Japan, she had been behaving differently, it was as if she was not the same as seven years ago.
“Talking about Utahime sensei.... What ...” he was interrupted.

That initial conversation was interrupted by Yoshio, who had taken an interest in his father's guest.

“Uncle Yuta, you're a Gojo too, aren't you?" he asked curiously, as he now ate a banderilla that his grandmother had prepared especially for him, and sat on his father's leg to join in the conversation.

“I n...” Yuta was interrupted again, but this time by Satoru, who was quicker to answer.

“He is. Your uncle Yuta is a somewhat distant Gojo, but at the end of the day he is one more Gojo " he said quickly, making the boy's eyes sparkle at that answer.

“And that "thing" that was fighting next to you, is it part of your cursed technique?" he asked very excited, while with his little hand he made reference to Rika, opening and closing as if they were her jaws.

Satoru subtly beckoned Okkotsu to respond affirmatively to that.
 “It is, Rika chan is part of my cursed technique”

“Amaizing! It's not for nothing that we of the Gojo clan are the best sorcerers!" the boy replied proudly.

“He knows what he's talking about!" Satoru complimented his son while stroking his hair.

Yuta had a slight smile on his lips. He admired the enthusiasm of that little boy in the face of that lie.

Still, he felt bad that his children could not know that truth like everything else that child already knew.

But the questions of that restless little boy would not stop. Yoshio was naturally curious. “And Uncle Yuta, do you have children?”

That question was so surprising that it even left him with his mouth hanging open.

“I...”

“You'd better answer him, because this gossiper overheard part of our conversation inside the dojo" Satoru replied with a smile, gently pulling his son's cheek.

In that instant, Yuta remembered again the moment when he met Yurika and Yuudai in that mall and both had asked him that same question, but now that he knew that they were his real children, he wanted to show them off like never before.

“Yes, I have children who are almost your age, fraternal twins actually" Yuta commented with a big smile.

“Fraternal Twins?” - Yoshio turned to look at his father, "What are fraternal twins?" he asked.

That question was answered by a woman who had also been invited to eat with those two. She entered the kiosk.

“Fraternal Twins refers to two siblings who shared their mother's womb at the same time during pregnancy and were born on the same day, but with a difference of minutes or even hours. In this case, Okkotsu's children are also known as fraternal twins since they were born a boy and a girl" replied Shoko joining the conversation.

Then she looked at the garden, "But for you to understand it better. Imagine that they are like two seeds but of different colors that were planted in the same pot but that bloomed at the same time," explained the doctor to the child, and in kinship, they would be like your distant cousins.

At that instant both special grade sorcerers stood up to welcome that doctor and the other two who were arriving at the kiosk.

That woman retained her unparalleled beauty, with her white skin, her delicate features and her deep eyes which were still full of melancholy.

If you looked at her closely you could barely notice the occasional age line at the corners of her eyes. As well as her dark circles were still very present under those beautiful eyes.

Her hair was now short, as it reached shoulder length and retained its same glossy chocolate hue.

This woman did not lose her elegance over the years, even when wearing casual clothes like the one she was wearing that day, where she wore a long-sleeved black T-shirt, a long khaki vest and denim pants, which matched her heels.

“Aunt Shoko!" Yoshio went to embrace the woman, who did not come alone, behind her came Ijichi, who always looked lovingly at the doctor with whom he had a sentimental relationship of a little more than two years.

And next to the leader of the assistants came Katsumoto, who seemed to be calmer after the tranquilizer he had been given. Even so, that assistant still felt guilty, so he didn't have the courage to hold his boss's gaze.

Yuta looked at his assistant for a moment. From now on he questioned whether he could continue to trust Katsumoto.

“Then why didn't I have a twin at birth?" asked Yoshio with a grimace looking at that woman.

Shoko stroked his hair.
 “Because you were destined to be an only child. Just like your idiot father”

“Hey!" Satoru reproached.

“Besides, if you have a little brother you'll have to share all your toys and your parents, is that what you want? Are you willing to share all your toys with someone else?" asked Shoko with a smile.

“Never!. I wouldn't share any of my toys with him!" Yoshio replied in a pout. He really was a very capricious child.

That answer made the doctor sigh a little. –“That's why it's best for you to stay as an only child" she said and then turned to the guest, whom she looked at.

“It's nice to see you again Okkotsu kun" commented Ieiri with a soft smile.

“Ieiri san" Yuta named her and bowed slightly, "I am also glad to see you”

“I think the four of us have a lot to talk to you about" she commented kindly as she took a seat. Which Ijichi was gentlemanly toured by Ijichi.

Then this assistant and Katsumoto took their seats. The round table was perfect for everyone to look at each other.

Once those who had just arrived took their seats. Umeko spoke.

“Welcome, the food is ready and I hope you like it" she commented, clapping her hands so that the servants would begin to serve those who had arrived.

“Thank you very much Umeko san, your food always brings us peace" commented Shoko with a slight smile as the servants began to fill the table with more dishes for those who had arrived.

Along with these guests, the time had come for adults-only conversation.

“Yoshio" Satoru named his son, "Go play for a while with your grandmother Umeko or go eat ice cream in the garden, this is adult talk" he ordered.

“But why? I want to stay with you!" the boy replied in annoyance.

“Come on Yoshi, go to Grandma Umeko" commented his aunt Shoko, "Our talk is going to be very boring since we are going to talk about old people's things”

That boy grimaced. He really didn't want to leave.

Satoru rolled his eyes.
 “If you go to your grandmother, you can eat all the ice cream you want without your mother knowing”

“As much as I want?" asked the boy with intrigue.

“Yes, as much as you want" his father winked.

Faced with that condition. Yoshio smiled and stood up. “I want to eat ice cream while we play in the garden" he went to take Umeko san's hand.

The woman bowed to the five adults.
 “We'll let them eat to their heart's content. With your permission”

Before leaving that room, Yoshio addressed Okkotsu once again.
 “Uncle Yuta”

“Yes?”

“Will I ever meet your children? My cousins?" he asked curiously.

The black-haired sorcerer smiled tenderly at that question.

“I hope so, and I hope they get along well. Maybe someday they can even play together”

That answer made the boy very happy: "I'll be waiting for that day”

“Now Yoshio, let's let the adults talk " said his grandmother, taking him by the hand to leave the kiosk, escorted by two other servants who always helped her.

Once the child stepped on the grass, he let go of his grandmother's hand and began to run all over the garden. And he even started to do somersaults because of all the energy he had.

Yuta watched as the boy laughed and ran. For a moment he thought of his children and imagined them playing with Yoshio.

Would Yurika and Yuudai get along with him? Wouldn't they have problems with each other? He wondered as he noticed how spoiled this child of the Gojo clan was and the contrast between their short lives.

Yuta could no longer continue thinking about that topic, as he was pulled out of his thoughts once Ieiri started the conversation.

“Every day Yoshio becomes more and more like you in being capricious. If you don't reprimand him or correct him soon, he'll start giving you green hair" She commented, looking at the boy from a distance.

“That runs in the family, it's something we Gojo always inherit. That attitude is what gives us the unique touch, but look at me" the albino flattered himself.

Ijichi sighed when he heard that “and it does run in the family...”

“Did you say something Ijichi?" Satoru raised an eyebrow.

“N-or did I say N-Nothing-" stammered the leader of the assistants, showing how Gojo always got on his nerves.

“Satoru, I have already told you to leave poor Ijichi alone. He has enough to put up with you and Yoshio together" scolded Ieiri.

Those words made the assistant's face turn slightly red.

The dynamic between those three adults had changed absolutely nothing and that was noticed by Yuta, who watched that interaction with a slight smile.

That's how I remembered the three of them.

“Well, now that Yoshio is gone. We can start with our more mature talk” commented Satoru looking at his guest – “I can tell you have too many things to ask us, don't you Yuta? Who of the three of us will be your first victim in this interrogation?”

The talk Okkotsu wanted to hear so much was finally going to happen. The one where he was going to find out what else had happened seven years ago after his departure.

 

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked this chapter and I repeat, I apologize for not having uploaded anything before. Little by little I'm getting my motivation and rhythm back.

As I said, in the next chapter you will know what happened to Uathime, I wanted to divide it into two parts so that in this first one you will focus only on Yoshio and in the next one you will pay attention to the whole situation regarding Utahime, since what is coming will leave you open-mouthed.

Thank you very much to everyone for your words of support❤

I decided to put in this chapter the word “fraternal twins” because in Spanish we have the word “Mellizos” to refer to the twins that are a girl and a boy and as in the chapter in its original language explains that they are the “mellizos” I decided to put as “gemelos fraternos” to be able to explain this in English, I hope it was understood, if not, go read the chapter in Spanish.

Chapter 21: 20. Binding Vows and The Truth About Utahime Sensei

Notes:

I warn you at once that this is going to be a long chapter. I hope you enjoy it because I know that some of you may be shocked by what you are about to read.

Anyway, I won't take up any more of your time, enjoy the reading ❤️

 

 

Continued.

 

 

“Well, now that Yoshio is gone. We can start with our more mature talk” commented Satoru looking at his guest – “I can tell you have too many things to ask us, don't you Yuta? Who of the three of us will be your first victim in this interrogation?”

“Even I don't know where to start" Yuta commented, looking at the four of them, "I have so many things I want to ask”

“Okkotsu, there are many things we must tell you, but there is also much for which we must apologize" Shoko commented, remaining very serene.

Yuta let out a sigh at those words as he looked intently at those who were sitting next to him.

Katsumoto looked down when he heard that. He looked full of sorrow and anguish.

“Okkotsu" said Ijichi, being the first to speak as he stood up. –“I, Kiyotaka Ijichi, as the leader of the assistant directors of both the headquarters and the sorcery academy, and on behalf of your assistant Yoshida Katsumoto, would like to start this conversation by apologizing to you" he said, bowing deeply. -“I am sorry that you discovered the whole truth in such an unexpected way.... I was the one who provided all the information to Yoshida so that you could discover the truth about your children and, by the way, so that you could find Maki”

Katsumoto, all trembling and with tears in his eyes, also stood up and bowed in apology.

“I beg you, my lord, to have mercy on me and forgive me for not revealing all this to you sooner. But, above all, I implore you to have pity on me for having disobeyed your initial order after that mission in the mall” he said with a broken voice- “I know you ordered me not to investigate anything about those children, but that strange encounter with them, added to their huge physical similarity with you, I know that my disobedience deserves a punishment, but I beg you to consider the extraordinary circumstances that led me to act in this way”

Yuta took a deep breath. Yuki's words about not trusting the headquarters staff kept rolling around in his head. Still he wanted to hear the whole truth from those four.

His finger tapped the table.
 “Then why didn't you tell me before I visited that tomb? But, more importantly!" he raised his voice, "I want to know why they decided to take me out of the country and did not keep me informed about everything that was happening here during these seven years, why the hell did they deny me all this information?" answered Yuta with a voice full of pure annoyance towards all those present.

There was a moment of silence in the face of such questions.

Ijichi took a breath before answering that. –“Wel… I know that saying  ‘I'm sorry’ won't solve anything Okkotsu kun”- he adjusted his glasses- “But there were some situations seven years ago that prevented us from telling you the truth at the time” he looked at that sorcerer with fear “ If only we had prevented you and Maki from separating... none of this would have happened... maybe everything would have been so different.”

Both he and Katsumoto took their seats again.

“Then Ijichi, did you know that Satoru separated me from Maki?" he looked with pure fury at those two. Yuta's blood was really running strong all over him.

The leader of the assistants looked down.
“All of us here were aware of what had happened…”

Yuta was furious, he made fists with his hands, which were resting hard on the wooden table. It seemed that he would break that piece of furniture in a fit of rage.

Satoru grunted and to warn his guest not to get upset.
“I already told you why we couldn't tell you at the time Okkotsu”

“No! You just said it had something to do with a stupid binding vow! So basically you haven't explained anything else!" he looked with pure annoyance at his former teacher.

“Not all binding vow are stupid Yuta and you of all people should know that" Satoru commented too seriously.

Those two looked at each other murderously, so Shoko decided to intervene.

She called the attention of those two by clapping her hands so they would turn to look at her. –“Let's go point by point, okay?” - she looked at both of them seriously – “So let's start from the beginning and for that, Satoru” - she looked at her friend – “better let me explain it, you are not good at teaching and much less good at explaining what happened” - she commented, gently moving her cup of tea.

Gojo grunted again at that comment. “OK. This time I'll let you explain this whole first thing”

“Okkotsu took a snack from this plate please and then eat it" she pointed to the plate containing some sashimi in front of her.

That order was quite strange to Yuta, but even so, he did as the doctor asked, taking a piece of sashimi with chopsticks.

“Well, now Okkotsu tell me what is a binding vow?" she asked with her gaze fixed on him.

Yuta took a breath.
 “A binding vow is a pact made by a sorcerer. It consists of giving something in return to receive something else" he explained before eating the food.

“Right. And just as you just ate that piece of sashimi that will give you energy, the binding votes will give you something in return" Shoko explained, "Now, tell me, how many types of binding votes are there?”

Yuta found that question strange, that was something basic in the world of sorcery that every individual should know.
 “Well, there are two types of binding vows. The first one is the one you make with yourself and the second one is the one that..." he kept silent all of a sudden. At that moment he understood what both Shoko and Satoru wanted him to understand.

“It is that vow that is made with another person in exchange for getting something” answered the Albino looking at his student. “As I said Okkotsu, I had to do some things to protect all of you”

“But..." Yuta hesitated slightly on the subject, remembering that the consequences of breaking a vow with another person can bring with it a calamity worse than death.
 “What was that binding vow? Is it something you can reveal to me without punishment or penalty?" he asked seriously. Noticing how serious the others were on the subject.

Satoru let out a somewhat scandalous laugh when he saw the serious faces of his friends.
“Stop making those scared faces!" he snorted, "That vow was apparently already broken by someone else several years ago!" he took a traditional candy that was served on a large plate on that table, "I wonder what divine punishment will have fallen to the idiot who broke the vow we made with those big fishes, because I can swear that I was NOT the one who broke it if that's what you think" he said with too much emotion before that result.

“The previous high commanders were involved in all this? Aren't these vows only for exclusive use to invoke more power?” Yuta questioned coldly.

Satoru began to explain after tasting that sweet.
 “In theory, this type of vows are more dangerous than you think. Generally, they are used to increase one's power or enhance some cursed technique, but in the world of sorcery they are not only used to obtain such advantages" he said pointing to Yuta.

“If you know how to use them to your advantage, you can even control certain people or even torture them. The old high commanders were very adept at imposing these types of vows to keep many under their control and ensure that they carried out their orders. However, abusing them also carries its risks”

He continued explaining.
“And yes, most of those scum were also involved in this separation of yours and Maki's” He took one more candy between his fingers. –“But those old geezers didn't count on the fact that a vow of this kind loses its validity when one of the other parties involved breaks the deal, and added to the fact that if the others who made the vow die, it is completely annulled..." He smiled admiring the blue of that candy.

“And curiously all the big fish involved in this, started dying about three years ago, several of them were fished out subtly with an ancient technique that throughout history has been used to kill enemies, I would say that they used a technique that even the high commanders came to use from time to time to kill people who no longer served them” he said with great joy while eating that candy. Savoring it in his mouth and tearing it apart with his teeth.

“Subtly? What do you mean by that?" Yuta questioned as he noticed how Satoru said that.

“Okkotsu”-again Shoko named him, causing him to turn to look at her.
 “There are many ways to kill a sorcerer, but there are two in particular that even a sorcerer with the reverse curse technique can neither cure himself nor cure others" She raise a finger, "The first is decapitation and the second is..." She raise two fingers to give the guest the answer.

“It's...”

Satoru clapped his hands, "Let me help you! I'll give you a hint to show you that I'm not such a bad teacher!" he said with a big smile.
"Okkotsu, what's the one substance that the reverse curse technique can't cure completely if you have a large amount of it in your body?”

Yuta was shocked with the answer that had come to his mind

“Poison...” he answered with surprise.

“Bingo!” Satoru said pointing with joy to his guest –“Some time later it was discovered that the first two high commanders with whom we made that binding vow died poisoned”

He moved both hands from one side to the other –“Who was responsible?" he shrugged his shoulders and his arms were raised a little.
“We don't know yet and we don't even care to know, but we should thank whoever did it for starting to eliminate that scum, just as we should thank the one who broke the binding vow because only then did the other big shots die one by one quickly, thus speeding up the dissolution of this deal" he sighed with relief and leaned back in his chair.

Although the albino had his suspicions about who had poisoned those high commanders.

Then, Satoru raised his voice.
“Well, almost all the scum were eliminated because there's still Director Gakuganji, who surprisingly has always been on our side" he grimaced as he continued speaking, "However, there's also old Naobito Zenin. Who did not make such a vow, but has kept himself in line since seven years ago with certain issues"- he pursed his lips a little- “I guess that old drunkard must know something too” he twiddled his fingers- “Well they say The devil knows more because he's old than because he's the devil”

“But!” Yuta interrupted because he didn't fully understand, "Why would the bigs fishs also get involved in this business of separating me from Maki? I don't understand..." he commented with frustration and confusion.

The air escaped Satoru's lungs in annoyance.
 “Those old geezers were convinced by someone else that the relationship of the two of you was a potential threat" he played a little with the chopsticks he held between his fingers.

“Are you telling me that someone else intervened to separate us?" Yuta questioned with confusion and more anger in his voice.

"Correct answer! That person managed to convince both the bigwigs and other sorcerers of the three clans that your relationship with Maki was just a threat," Satoru commented, stuffing some sashimi into his mouth.

“And who the hell was that person?" asked Yuta very furious.

Satoru simply shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know..." He lied a little. –“Maybe that's up to you to find out.... Although” he took between his chopsticks one more piece of meat.  “I have a feeling that that someone must already be paying his Karma in the least expected way...”

“But why would anyone see my relationship with Maki as a threat?" Yuta questioned in confusion.

“I see it this way Okkotsu!" he said with his mouth full and pointed his chopsticks at him.

He noisily swallowed that piece of sashimi “You, a special class sorcerer and incidentally a distant relative of this clan with great power and Maki, a Zenin of the direct line, clearly the fear of you two joining together was latent for both that person and the big shots since you two were not going to be easily controlled”

Then he took some sweets from the table, separating several of them, exemplifying what he was saying “that was why, in part, the bigs fishes also agreed to separate the two of you” he took a white candy separating it from a green one.

Yuta wrinkled his nose in annoyance at everything he was hearing.

“Simply put, someone wanted you two out of the game" he ate that white candy.

“And you could not intervene because of that vow?”

“That's right!, and that was because several members of the three clans had been forced to make such a binding vote, under threat of not being able to reveal at the time any of the decisions they had made. Nor could we interfere in the plans or actions of the others involved since we would be violating the said vow” Satoru lowered his shoulders.

“Our hands were practically tied. Besides, at that time the relationship between the three clans was a total disaster; we were in a constant war, using dirty tricks to eliminate each other and show who was superior. That vow was actually to prevent us from interfering in each other's actions!” he twisted his mouth in displeasure- “I must admit that that had been a very unfair way of keeping us in line” he devoured another three chocolates.

After eating the candy, he continued to explain.
“And well, three years after you left the country, we finally achieved an amicable relationship with the Kamo clan. This came about when Utahime's former student, that boy named Noritoshi took over the leadership of his clan after the death of his father. But with the Zenin clan....”He made a sound of distaste. “That story didn't end well at all, and even less so when Naoya took over the leadership around the same time. Also, some Zenin seemed to be obsessed with you and Maki splitting up, as your relationship jeopardized his hierarchical and political status within the clan" he pointed at Yuta again with the chopsticks.

“Why would we jeopardize they hierarchy within the clan?” Yuta asked with confusion.

"Imagine if at that time you had married Maki, that in one way or another would have made us related to them, a little distant but somehow we would be related" he waved his hands- "And who knows, maybe even you would have had the opportunity to be considered the leader of that clan, in case Naobito had not yet designated a successor at that time, since they always choose as leader the person who possesses the best cursed technique."

Satoru brought his hand to his chin, he seemed to have come to a conclusion –“Although I suspect that old drunk at that time had already chosen who he wanted for his successor” the image of Megumi came to his mind.

“But I have a feeling that that idiot Naoya did something to make them put him and not someone else in charge of the clan, besides, with a dead Maki there would be nothing and no one to stop him!” He crossed his fingers – “but that doesn't matter anymore. What is important here is that you know that since that time, I already had other plans for you and that's why I thought of sending you abroad and bringing you back when you were ready”

Yuta seemed frustrated with what was being explained to him.
“And that's why you helped to separate me and Maki?”

"I repeat, I did not separate you two!"—Satoru placed his hands on the table again.. “My plan was simply to send you both abroad together, so you two lovebirds could have lived comfortably for seven years traveling on your eternal honeymoon, but that day, as I said, someone else intervened and made the two of you separate”

“But you could have intervened, don't you think? You could have simply protected Maki while I returned!" Yuta claimed.

“Okkotsu, I told you, I couldn't intervene because breaking such a promise is very dangerous. "I'm not naive enough to risk all of you like that."

“So what you are trying to tell me is that the person who intervened that day to separate me from Maki belongs to the Zenin clan?”

Satoru clapped his hands together, "Bravo! I thought you'd never come up with the right answer!" he smiled, "That's right, someone from that clan conspired and did all this to take you away from your beloved Maki. So now it's up to you to find out who it was”

Yuta let out the air in frustration as he continued to listen to everything else his master had to say. Not only did he have to catch a murderer, but he would also have to find out who separated him from the love of his life.

“And since we are talking about that day seven years ago" he moved his teacup, "I must confess that on that day I simply decided to put you two to the test, I wanted to see if it was really something more than a simple teenage romance" Satoru leaned back in his chair, "but I see I was wrong, even you two were immature enough”

Yuta only twisted his mouth at such an answer.

Satoru continued speaking, "So I just moved my cards my way. And so that they wouldn't try to kill you because you were my trump card, the best I could do was to drag you abroad" he sighed, "But I never thought that all this would take an unexpected turn with the two of you ending up having children so soon. Didn't you know about abstinence or contraceptives or condoms?” he said with irony.

“Satoru, you haven't bitten your tongue?”asked Shoko with some intrigue and hinting that he too had had a child in an unplanned way.

“I don't know what you're talking about, Shoko" Gojo scoffed.

“I think that if you know perfectly well what I'm talking about...”

Shoko stared her friend in the eyes for all that he said. She knew that he was not going to accept or even talk about that "other" main reason why he had also decided not to intervene in the separation of Yuta and Maki, which was the envy he once had for that young couple.

Satoru clapped his hands and, without further ado, ignored his friend, he snapped his fingers.

“Well, to sum it all up; The previous bigs fishs were persuaded by someone else to separate the two of you. This person, along with other allies, acted from the shadows to distance you from Maki, as they saw your relationship as a threat that put their political interests at risk” he pointed to himself- “And I, your charming sensei, could not intervene, as our binding vow stipulated that whoever interfered in the other's plan or revealed this information would receive a punishment worse than death. And I was not going to risk any of you with such a cruel punishment”

“I think you could have explained it that way from the beginning, you know?" Shoko said, looking at her friend.

“I just got carried away, I wanted to give the whole thing more drama!" Gojo replied with a big smile.

Yuta sighed in frustration. “Even so, you could have given me clues…”

“I'm not good at giving clues and even less when things get too complicated. Besides, as I said, I couldn't break that vow because I had someone important to protect besides you and all your friends" said Satoru giving a quick glance towards the garden, seeing how Yoshio was running in that place, playing with those servants.

Yuta also looked at that scene.
“So if you didn't tell me anything for seven years, it was because if you broke that vow, was your fear that calamity would befall Yoshio?”

“Something like that…” -Satoru sighed-“ Although actually when I made that vow, Utahime and I had not yet conceived Yoshio. So practically in the beginning I didn't want anything to happen to her or to any of you, although unfortunately tragedy came to us in the least expected way..." he scratched the back of his neck "I guess that was a Karma that was sent especially to me for not having prevented your separation with Maki" he said that with a touch of regret in his voice.

Shoko sighed when she heard her friend's name and took the floor.
“Practically after your departure from the country and the accident that Utahime had, let's say that things were not very pleasant for everyone at the academy and we had to make a series of decisions for the good of everyone but they were not easy at all” she commented looking at Yoshio playing several meters away from them.

Satoru growled.
“Don't even remind me, that letting all your friends go and incidentally not keeping track of them was a pretty tough decisión”

At that moment, a question crossed Okkotsu's mind as he watched Yoshio run through the garden. He quickly remembered something else Mai had told him in her letter that had to do with her teacher. That's where he was going to start asking.

“By the way, speaking of Utahime sensei, why isn't she here with us? I haven't seen her since I arrived either...”

Shoko now took the floor.
“Unfortunately, Utahime could not join us at this time due to her medical condition..." She took a breath before continuing to explain.

“For several years now, Utahime has been dealing with chronic migraines that, at times, completely incapacitate her. These episodes are sometimes so intense that they force her to resort to being medicated with strong sedatives and on her worst days, these headaches become so severe that they even make her lose consciousness” She sigh in pain- “It is heartbreaking to see her like this and unfortunately all this started because of an incident that happened seven years ago...”- answered the doctor with a raspy voice due to the lump in her throat.

Yuta was puzzled by that answer.
 “May I ask…" he moistened his lips, "What happened to her seven years ago?”
he questioned and then observed how everyone there was pained by that question.

“It was too devastating an event for us…" Ijichi replied, "She ..." his jaw tightened.

Instead, Satoru just made his gaze to the side watching his son run. His hands made fists on the table at such a memory.

Then the leader looked at Shoko. “You'd better tell him. You are her doctor”

“But you are her husband and the father of her child" Shoko commented seriously.

“But you're her best friend and the truth is, I'd rather you tell her. You explain better than me, don't you" commented Satoru with irony.

Ieiri let out the air with too much annoyance at her friend's reply. Then, she looked at the guest sorcerer.

“Okay" the doctor took a long sip of her tea to gather her courage and remember the event that marked her.

“Okkotsu, it happens that seven years ago, at the end of May...” she paused, pursed her lips a little, took one more breath because just remembering it made her heart ache too much.

Yuta could feel it. Shoko was really hurt by that memory.

The doctor cleared her throat and drank some tea to get rid of the knot that was choking her. –“It was at the end of May, when Utahime had a mission to the south of Kyoto... I remember it very well since in those days I was with her in that city, as well as we were starting to organize and prepare everything for the arrival of your Twins”

A soft smile appeared on her lips. It seemed that a pleasant memory crossed her mind. –“Yes, Utahime was the one who helped Maki the most in her first months of pregnancy, taking her under her charge protecting her in Kyoto city”- she looked at Yuta- “And yes Utahime took great care of Maki, as she reminded her to take her vitamins and eat healthy, as well as giving her jobs that were not heavy at all, but made Maki get bored easily”

Satoru was in a bad mood when he heard all that. A noise of utter disapproval came out of his throat when he heard those words from his friend.

“I will continue to say that that was not the right way to take away ONE OF MY STUDENTS... what she did was the abduction of a person!" whispered the albino. He seemed quite indignant.

“But if Maki didn't come to you for help in the first place, it was for a reason, don't you think? Or do you think she would go to the man who separated her from her boyfriend and father of her children and did nothing for them for seven years?" Shoko asked with too much irony.

Satoru again grunted at that answer.

Yuta at that instant could see that it was true what Mai had told him in her letter about Maki leaving with Utahime and that had upset Satoru, who seemed to still resent that decision, as he only slightly twisted his lips, which then lowered. It seemed that he had remembered something rather sad.

“I must admit that those were days full of happiness for the four of us...” to Shoko's mind also came the image of Mai –“I remember it quite well because even Utahime gave the first onesies to your children, I remember they were in white color because we didn't know yet what those babies would be” the corner of her lips was lowering and her voice was filled with melancholy.

Yuta continued to look at her intently, watching her eyes water.

“But everything changed because of that damn mission…” said Shoko with a lump in her throat  “If Utahime had never agreed to go, none of this would have happened…It was supposed to be a simple supervision, a routine mission together with the second year students... but it wasn't like that, something else happened in that mission... I even still remember what we said to each other before saying goodbye”

Yuta didn't dare to ask, so he kept quiet and listened to everything the doctor kept talking about.

“I should have done everything I could to stop her...”

 

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ♡ ━━━━ ◈

Flashback

Seven years ago.

May 29, 2020

“Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? Utahime sensei" Maki asked with her arms crossed, "Because I can be of great help to you!"

Utahime quickly shook her head. “AND RISK YOU AND THESE BABIES!" she commented, putting her hand on that little bulging belly that was barely protruding under the baggy summer clothes Maki was wearing, "No! You three are staying here!" she scolded.

“But I can still be of help. I can still fight!” Maki commented with a grimace.

“But at this moment and until these little ones are born, you are under my care and under my orders, so I will not risk taking you" commented Utahime behaving like a mother, "Besides, I promise I will be back soon. It's a simple mission and once I'm back, I promise that we will prepare everything for the arrival of these two!” A big smile was drawn on her lips- “I'm really excited about buying the crib and putting it in the room where you are sleeping. Especially, because since you moved in, the house feels more cheerful”

Maki sighed and her face softened into a smile. –“Okay, whatever Grandma Utahime says!" she patted her belly.

“Hey!, I'm not too old to be called a grandmother, not yet!" the teacher commented with a slight pout.

That made them both giggle a little, until Utahime noticed the time on the clock on her desk.

“Maki. Can you tell the students to get in the car? please”

“Okay, but you still have time to take me!" said Maki leaving the office with her hands on her hips.

During the time Utahime took Maki under her tutelage, she lived in the teacher's apartment. That was a comfortable and somewhat spacious place with a spare room, so Utahime did not abandon Maki and her babies.

She was the most excited for them to be born. And Shoko watched tenderly as those two got along. It seemed that this girl had made Utahime smile again and even brought out her maternal side.

“I say you abandon this mission and stay. You could pass it on to Tanabe so he can go with those sophomore guys" suggested Shoko, who saw that sweet scene between those two.

“You know I can't leave it to just anyone" commented Utahime, looking at her best friend, as she finished arranging her paperwork.

“If that's the case, why don't you just give it to that idiot Satoru" the doctor shrugged, "I heard he's here in Kyoto”

Utahime's face changed to one of complete disagreement.
“I can't leave my missions to that idiot! He doesn't know how to write reports. Besides, as I told him yesterday, I can take care of my decisions and my missions on my own. Above all, I don't want to see him or speak to him for a long time, especially after what he did to those two...”

Shoko raised an eyebrow at that.
 “Yesterday you saw that idiot?”

Utahime bit the inside of his cheek a little. “Yesterday we met to talk about Maki and Yuta's situation and why he acted this way. But this is a hopeless case, we took three steps back, Satoru didn't give me details. So now I have to protect Maki no matter what”

“I guess you and he only talked, didn't you?" Shoko questioned as she noticed how her friend's voice changed when talking about him.

“I'm already late!!" said Utahime with her face turned to the side, trying to hide her slight blush.

“So you slept together? Was it make-up sex?" asked the doctor, reaching into her robe.

“I'd say it was more rather it was farewell sex…" She sighed a little sadly, "You really can't talk to that idiot. I couldn't convince him to bring Okkotsu back and more that Maki and her children will need him!”

Shoko smiled slightly. “Well then, this is one more reason for you to abandon this mission and we'd better go and drink a little to forget about him and to think of a plan to protect Maki and her babies”

“You know I have to stay sober to take care of those three. Besides, I promised that we would go with Mai to the mall to start buying things for the twins. I also have to take care of all the other students”

“You really sound like you're the mother of those two" commented Shoko with a smile. –“Could it be that you are reflecting your desire to be a mother in them?”

Utahime sighed in disappointment and her hand went to her belly.
“I don't know. I just want to support them as much as possible. They are alone in this world and now that there are two babies on the way, I don't want them to suffer. So we must prepare everything and by the way I have a school to guide, maybe more than being a mother I am a teacher” she looked at her friend as they both left the office.

“Always so responsible" complimented the doctor.

“By the way, you did get what I asked for, didn't you?”

Shoko nodded. “I got the number of a colleague who is an obstetrician-gynecologist. She is the best in her field and the best thing about it is that she works here in Kyoto”

Utahime sighed with relief. “Seriously, thank you very much Shoko, I don't know what I would do without you" she said with a big smile as they approached the exit, where the three sophomores were waiting for her, while Maki was talking a little with them.

Utahime's gaze focused on that green-haired girl. “I really want to take good care of Maki and her children. Especially since they are going to be born in a world where sorcery is taking a course full of suffering, so I want to do everything I can to make sure they live happily”

Shoko smiled at Utahime's words, she knew she was very kind and now she understood more why everyone in that academy loved her.

“That's why everyone loves you. Always being so maternal with the kids that are not yours, I really can't imagine the day when you will have your own baby”- the doctor commented with a soft smile. As she put her hand on her friend's shoulder, who smiled at her and held her hand affectionately.

Utahime sighed at those words.
“I really wonder sometimes if I'll be able to have a child" she seemed discouraged about it.

Even so. The doctor had a strange feeling and that was something strange about her.

“I'll repeat it one more time. Are you sure you want to go? As I said, better give this mission to someone else”

“I've never seen you so worried, why are you so insistent that I don't go?”

Shoko did not want to worry him with her feeling alerting him that something bad might happen.

“Maybe because I already want us to go buy the stuff for those babies and then go get some beers” she lied.

Utahime let out a chuckle.
“I promise I'll be back soon. Like I said it's just a simple mission and once I'm back, we'll go for both. But mostly we'll go have a few beers at our favorite place”

“Then” Shoko patted him on the shoulder some more “come back soon”

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

Back to the present.

 

“Unfortunately Utahime after that mission would never be herself again..." said Shoko with too much sadness on her face, her tears started to run down her cheeks.

Yuta swallowed hard.  “W-what happened on that misión?" he asked with his heart pounding in his throat.

Mai had told him something very superficial about what she had heard happened on that mission. But he wanted to know in more detail what happened.

The others present kept silent. Ijichi wiped away a few tears as he remembered what had happened. On the other hand, Gojo had a very somber face, he was so serious that he didn't seem to be himself.

Katsumoto sighed. He had only been working with them for a short time, even so, he had heard from Mr. Ijichi something about that case that marked a before and after in that academy.

Shoko wiped away some tears.
“Something attacked Utahime and that group of sophomores very mercilessly..." the words could not come out of her throat. Even Ijichi gave her his hand to give her strength and comfort, but she looked at him with too much sadness.

Yuta could feel it. Whatever had happened had left a horrible scar on all of them.

“Did they find out what attacked Utahime and that group?" Yuta questioned.

At that moment, Ijichi took the floor and began to tell what had happened. -
“We discovered that indeed they had successfully completed the mission they were given, however, when we noticed that they did not return, Satoru, myself and other sorcerers were asked to go and look for Utahime and the students" he sighed and a shiver ran through his spine when he remembered that event, "I still can't get that heartbreaking scene out of my head... since we discovered that that group had been ruthlessly murdered by a traitor from the academy...”

Satoru grunted at the memory of that “BUT NOT MORE RUTHLESS THAN THAT THING THAT ALMOST POSSESSED UTAHIME'S BODY!” he commented tapping his index finger against the table – “IF WE HADN'T ARRIVED IN TIME, UTAHIME WOULD DEFINITELY BE DEAD OR PERHAPS CONTROLLED BY THAT MONSTER!” he took the air with fury from his lungs – “EVEN SO, I REGRET NOT HAVING ARRIVED MUCH EARLIER TO SAVE HER FROM THAT CRIMINAL!”

“Killer? possessed? monster?” Yuta was surprised by what he was hearing.
 “What did they really find that day?” he asked in shock.

Gojo bit his lower lip. He hated to talk about that subject. Still he was the one who would tell Okkotsu what happened.

“When we arrived at the scene of the crime, we noticed that Utahime was not among the pile of corpses, so we began to look for her all over the area of that old abandoned village where they had gone” he was furious when he told this story.- “We were against the clock, so we advanced in a hurry until we found her in an old house..." His blood boiled at the memory, his face was quite tense. “There we discovered the traitor and, by the way, we discovered the identity of that disgusting thing that wanted to possess Utahime's body!”

Yuta's eyes widened in surprise at that answer.

Ijichi explained, "We discovered that there was an infiltrator in the academy..." he commented seriously.

“How did they discover that?" asked Yuta, looking astonished at the four of them. He could not believe his ears.

Ijichi nodded his head.
“It turns out that a month after you left Okkotsu, there was a robbery at the academy. Someone stole 3 cursed objects, more specifically 3 cursed wombs related to the paintings of death” He adjusted his glasses again- “We were able to detect this theft thanks to a former student of Utahime named Kokichi Muta, who managed to find it thanks to his puppets. He prevented the thief from advancing beyond Tengen's location, but this time he managed to escape. Even so, the puppets managed to capture his face and with that image we were looking for this man for the following months”

Okkotsu was shocked at all that had happened once he left Japan.

Satoru took the floor again “BUT IN THE END WE MANAGED TO FIND THAT BASTARD!”

His hands were shaking with fury- “AND BEING THERE AT THAT DAMN CRIME SCENE, WE NOTICED THAT THE ONE WHO WAS ABOUT TO OPEN UTAHIME'S FOREHEAD, WAS THE SAME GUY WHO HAD STOLEN THE THREE CURSED UTERUSES POSING AS ONE OF THE ACADEMY'S STAFF!” Satoru was really burning with fury. -I STILL REMEMBER WITH DISGUST THAT SCENE WHERE THAT GUY WITH THE FOREHEAD ADORNED WITH A SURGICAL SCAR ALONG WITH TWO OTHER LOW LEVEL SORCERERS WERE GOING TO "PRACTICE" AN OPERATION ON UTAHIME TO OPEN HIS FOREHEAD ON THAT OLD WOODEN TABLE. I STILL REMEMBER WITH DISGUST HOW I FOUND THEM STICKING THE SCALPEL IN THIS HEIGHT OF HIS FOREHEAD- he pointed to the side of his right temple- “LUCKILY I DIDN'T LET THEM MAKE A DEEPER CUT”

His breathing was agitated and full of fury as he continued to narrate that scene and his hands were nailed to the table, making it thunder a little.
“THEY WERE ABOUT TO COMMIT A GREAT AND INHUMAN CRIME, SO I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO KILL THEM ALL QUICKLY AND WITHOUT MERCY. THE TWO SORCERERS THAT ACCOMPANIED HIM, I KILLED THEM IN ONE MOVE, BUT I TOOK OUT ALL MY ANGER ON THAT STUPID BRAIN, WHO BEFORE DESTROYING HIM COMPLETELY WITH MY OWN HANDS, REVEALED THAT HIS PLAN WAS TO USE UTAHIME TO DESTROY THE ACADEMY FROM THE INSIDE!” he looked at his hands-“JUST REMEMBERING HOW THAT GRAY MASS WAS LEFT IN MY HANDS TURNS MY STOMACH!”

Yuta was horrified by everything he had heard. –“And who the hell was that guy or that thing?”

Satoru looked seriously at Okkotsu
“It turns out that this guy was nothing more nor less than a very old sorcerer who had a technique where he transplanted his brain to another host to control it. Apparently he had many victims in the past, among them the worst sorcerer in history, Noritoshi Kamo...”

Yuta swallowed saliva.

Satoru continued explaining. “This wretch before trying to enter Utahime's body, possessed the body of a first grade sorcerer who worked for the academy, the poor devil had been reported missing months ago”- he leaned back in his chair- “But we discovered that it was because that thing had killed him and possessed his body. And so he wandered around until we killed him. Tengen seemed to be the most relieved to know that that thing was eliminated, even Tenge told us that that thing was called Kenjaku and that they met thousands of years ago, we still thwarted their plans, that whole attack on Utahime seemed to be, as I said, a Karma For us, I will still curse him for having done that to Utahime, for having beaten her almost to death for defending her students, causing wounds all over her body, and at the same time, giving her a serious brain concussion."

Shoko sighed and shook her head. His hands went to his face.

“Seeing my friend on the verge of death and in a coma like that was the hardest blow I have ever received in my life. It really seemed to be a punishment sent from heaven and more than that, it seemed that he wanted to take advantage of the bad situation that the academy was going through to deal a blow to the sorcerous society."

Yuta seemed quite shocked by what he had heard, he had finally discovered the whole truth. Something had attacked that teacher but not out of revenge, for this had simply been a horrible coincidence of fate, an alignment of factors that no one had expected.

The one who wanted to attack the school knew what he was doing, especially because what better than that someone would use Utahime sensei, the one who knew everything about that academy. That event really seemed to be a punishment for the bad decisions taken.

Shoko sobbed lightly and continued speaking
"We applied all the medical knowledge and I exhausted almost all my reverse technique to save her. Still it is a miracle that she is still alive after being in a coma for a whole month and even more with a slow recovery from the broken bones” - she sighed – “And by the way that Yoshio survived makes it a medical miracle” - her gaze returned to Yuta.

The named sorcerer sighed. “Utahime went through a lot... seriously, too much happened while I was gone... and that makes me feel bad...”

“It was really a miracle that she woke up after a month of that coma... but even so, there were consequences both in her health and in the decisions of the academy in general" commented Ijichi with a lowered look, "After that attack, many of our colleagues resigned because they were afraid of being next and that left the situation with the headquarters and the academy more vulnerable”

At that moment, Yuta was struck by something that Gojo had told him before the others arrived to eat and that had to do with Yoshio. “Just a moment, and forgive me for questioning, but Satoru told me that Yoshio just turned six in February. So that means that...”- his eyes reflected uncertainty – “When Utahime was attacked she was already pregnant?”

“You could say that yes, although we didn't realize that Utahime was pregnant until a month after she woke up from the coma because we noticed that her blood tests started to show alterations... just as she started with very peculiar symptoms" answered Shoko taking her cup to drink more of the tea that Umeko had prepared for them.

Yuta was so shocked that he was struck dumb.

“Actually, Utahime and I conceived Yoshio just a few nights before she was attacked. So, one way or another, our son survived that whole unpleasant situation” Gojo looked at his son playing–“Actually this child was a surprise that no one expected, but he came to brighten up our existence. He too can be considered a miracle just like your children, Okkotsu”

Shoko sighed-“Even so, Utahime needed special attention to recover the full mobility of her body, carrying a pregnancy in that state was not easy at all and unfortunately one of the many sequels that she has from that attack are those headaches that she presents unexpectedly”

Hearing that, Yuta remembered the time when he met her again in that mansion once he returned to Japan.
“And the amnesia is also a consequence of that horrifying attack?”

All those present were silent because of this question.

Satoru seemed to be bothered by that topic, that even his forehead was wrinkled by that memory.

“Unfortunately so. Utahime's amnesia is an aftereffect of that attack...”  Shoko replied, she was really hurt by that memory  “We tried both with my reverse technique, as well as with other people's reverse technique, but it seems that she can never get her memory back”  sigh –“such amnesia feels more like it's a vow that's very hard to break. We don't know if it was set by that thing that attacked her or if it was imposed by herself”

 “Then...” Yuta held his breath for a moment."Does that mean that the real Utahime doesn't know that she had a son?" Yuta's heart grew small when he asked that question, although he already knew that answer deep down.

Shoko let the air out.
“Indeed Okkotsu..." he said sadly, " The real Utahime doesn't know she was pregnant, much less she knows she gave birth to a baby..... So if she were to miraculously regain her memory...” She kept silent for a moment “We don't know how she might react... she might even... reject him”- the words no longer wanted to come out of her throat.

“I understand..." Okkotsu felt too sorry for that woman and that child. They had all been through so much and the reality they were living was just a facade to keep them safe.

They all kept a moment of silence, which was broken by the guest as he remembered what his hosts had said something else moments before that caught his attention.

“By the way... What happened to those cursed wombs, were they also recovered or eliminated?" Yuta asked.

Ijichi was the one who explained the situation.
 “Weeks after those wombs were stolen, we had reports that curses were attacking civilians in different areas between Kyoto and Tokyo. So for that mission Itadori kun, Fushiguro kun and Kugisaki san were sent, which eliminated two of those three Wombs. Only one of them has been missing for almost seven years, but we have had no sightings of this reincarnation”

“I understand, but why did that sorcerer want those special objects?”

“We suspect he wanted to reclaim something that was his over a hundred years ago. As I said that brain even possessed the worst sorcerer in history. Still, if that womb shows up there will be no choice but to be eliminated" said Satoru coldly.

Yuta sighed.
“Seriously, this is all a complicated case" he said sadly.

Between binding vow, forced separations, clan fights, the decline of the academy and the sorcery society... what happened to Utahime was just the cherry on the cake to screw up the sorcery society.

Silence reigned for a moment in that kiosk, as everyone turned to look at Yoshio, who was happily playing with a ball he had ordered to be brought to play with his servants.

The boy noticed how his father and the other adults present looked at him.

“Dad, come and play!" shouted the boy, waving his hands from side to side. Very happily inviting his father to join him.

“As I said Okkotsu” Satoru began to speak without taking his eyes off his son –“ I also had someone to protect and that's why I took drastic measures”

“It seems so”

“And after all this you heard, I want to ask you a big favor" the leader looked at his guest seriously.

Yuta did not utter a word, he simply stood silently looking at his host.

“I want you to please do not reveal to anyone about my son. Just as I assume that you, Maki and all your other friends are hiding and concealing the existence of your children, so I ask you to hide the information about my son”

Yuta let out a breath. At that moment he understood perfectly that feeling as a father watching over his children. But he still distrusted the albino, something that this man noticed.

Satoru let the air out with disappointment, he could notice how Okkotsu was looking at him with intrigue.
“And in return I won't reveal anything about your children as well as I won't reveal anything about Maki still being alive and much less about your friends, we will continue to pretend we don't know anything about them" he raised his hand, "I promise!”

Yuta took almost a second to answer to that proposal “Okay. I won't reveal anything, but in exchange" he stood up, "I want the rest of the information about them to be completely destroyed”

Satoru just gave a big smile.
 “All right!" he stretched out his hand to close the bond, "It's a deal!”

Yuta hesitated a bit on whether he should shake hands with his master as he suspected it might be some sort of binding vow. His look was one of utter distrust.

“Come on!” Gojo waved his hand up and down – “This is a simple gesture of agreement, it is not a binding vote at all because we are not binding a punishment!” he commented with a slight grimace.

Yuta stretched out his hand and squeezed that palm.

“Well, now we both have the same common ground. We are both keeping each other's secret because we are protecting what is most valuable to each other”

“Yes”

Yuta answered, staring at him.

“DAD!" Yoshio shouted again impatiently.

“They're calling me. Well Okkotsu, you, Ijichi and Katsumoto catch up with the case of the sorcerer killer. While I go with my son!" commented the albino, leaving the kiosk happily, "In a while we'll continue talking!" he said goodbye, raising his hand.

Instead, Yuta looked at the attendees, who jumped slightly at the sight of him looking very serious. Even so, they agreed on this case, which was still standing.

Yuta even asked Ijichi as a favor to investigate a particular piece of information, one that Naobito told him was at the headquarters and that could be of great help to him in solving that case of the sorcerer killer.

But the day was not over yet for Yuta, he still had a pending and private talk with both Shoko and Satoru before returning to Kyoto.

 

 

 

 

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed this information-packed chapter.

And let me know what you thought? I'll be reading your comments.

I also want to apologize if you suddenly feel that the story is moving slow or we are not yet with what you are most looking forward to read, which are the chapters focused only on Maki, Yuta and their children.

First of all, I just want to make clear everything that happened before so that in a few more chapters we can start with all the action between those two, where they will start living together as a family and they will fight each other to recover their love, as well as the chapters where Yuta will finally spend much more time with his children and with Maki.

Seriously, an apology, but I want to do this right because if I don't do this before, it won't have Coherence later on. And more than soon will come all those chapters where Yuta will start to go from being a stranger to being the father he always should have been. As well as Maki will have to play her double life around Okkotsu. Let's just be patient.

I also want to thank you for all the support you have given to this story. Seriously, thank you very much for your votes and comments, that's a great motivation for me not to abandon this story.

As I said, don't despair, in a few more chapters, Maki and Yuta will already have their second but passionate reunion. Just before the kisses and caresses go beyond the clothes, I want to let you know Gojo's real plans with this guy and, by the way, I want Yuki to give Maki a slap of reality about how she feels for Yuta and how this double life of theirs could fall apart and put their children at risk.

Although that said, we are close to an exciting reconciliation 👌🏻🔥

Anyway, we'll keep reading ❤️

Chapter 22: 21. A Conversation Between Cigarettes

Notes:

 Vera here ♥️

Well, here I bring you one more update of this fic, which I hope you like it ♥️

Without further ado, here is an interesting talk between Yuta and Shoko, as well as a visit to the past.

Now, enjoy the reading ✨️

Sorry if there are any errors in the translation, I just finished translating this at 6:11 a.m. from Mexico

“Do you want a cigarette?” asked Shoko, offering a cigarette to Okkotsu, as they watched those two resume their training in the garden after having played a little with that ball.

Satoru was teaching Yoshio the technique of "Falling Blossom Emotion" Which was supposed to be taught only among members of the three great clans.

The albino was helping his son concentrate his cursed energy around his body, but it seemed that the boy was having too much trouble understanding his father's instructions.

Instead, both Shoko and Yuta had stayed at the kiosk, leaning against the railing watching that scene between father and son, since Ijichi and Katsumoto, once they finished eating and catching up with the case of the sorcerer killer, got up to do some paperwork and incidentally, some work that Yuta sent them to find out.

So Shoko and Yuta had stayed in the kiosk, watching everything around them while the servants cleaned and cleared the table from the place where the banquet had been served.

“No thank you very much, Shoko-san” said Yuta, kindly refusing the cigarette “I am avoiding smoking for my own sake, but mostly because it is a condition imposed on me by Maki if I want her to allow me to continue seeing our children” he added.

“I understand" Shoko lit the cigarette she had offered Yuta and placed it on the railing on her right side "Still, let me light one on your behalf" she said with a soft smile, "It's really good to have you back Okkotsu kun”

“Thank you, I guess it was time to go home after seven years" said Yuta looking at that action, which he supposed was a ritual of that doctor to not feel lonely when smoking.

Shoko immediately took out another cigarette from the pack in her pocket, put it in her mouth and lit it with the lighter next to her.

“Speaking of your children...” She extinguished the lighter with a click, inhaling deeply from the cigarette before continuing.

"I read that they were born premature, is that true?” Shoko exhaled the smoke calmly as she leaned against the railing, staring at the guest sorcerer.

The doctor asked this question since she had lost track of them seven years ago.

Yuta took a breath, inhaling that smoke passively.
“Yes, when I met them they told me that they were born early and from the report that Katsumoto gave me, I read that they were born at 33 weeks" he sighed thinking about that event, which in Mai's words, had been a very difficult birth for her but especially for Maki.

“Then your children can be considered a miracle, since some babies don't make it, especially premature twins" Shoko took one more drag of those cigars.

“And yes, they can be considered as two small miracles that survived so much during my absence…" Yuta replied, his eyes lowered.

But a small smile had formed on his face as he remembered them at that moment. With their big smiles and their cute laughter, as well as the way they held his hand.

“Anyway, I am proud and happy that they survived and I am grateful to heaven to have met them” Yuta looked at that doctor  “Although I wish things were... different...” he let the air out sadly.

“Really, I'm glad to hear that and I hope with all my heart that things for you will be different and favorable from now on" Shoko smiled a little at that answer and smoked some more, "And tell me Okkotsu, what did you feel when you met them? I want to guess that they are very restless children or well, one of them must be more restless than the other one, isn't it?”

Yuta took his cell phone out of his pocket. He quickly searched for the photo the three of them had taken at the festival.

And very excited, he showed that picture to the doctor.
“It's the two of them" he handed her his cell phone and pointed to his daughter, "And yes, from the little I have spend time with them, I can confirm that Yurika is the most restless, but Yuudai" then pointed to his son, "He is a very quiet boy”

Shoko smiled as she zoomed in on that photo, while holding her cigarette between her lips.
 “Yes, they both look like you" she replied with a slight smile, as she returned the cell phone and held her cigarette between her fingers, "Especially your son, he's practically a copy of you”

Yuta scratched the back of his neck and let out a nervous chuckle, it was the first time he was told something like that, which he felt as if it was a compliment.

“Hehe, thank you Ieiri san”

Shoko smoked some more “You know Okkotsu? I confess that I would have liked to have accompanied Maki throughout her pregnancy and I would also have liked to help take care of those little ones. And more than that I always bet that they would be a girl and a boy”

“Did you bet? Was there a bet that they would be my children?" the special grade sorcerer asked curiously.

Shoko nodded
“Yes, I bet with Utahime at the time that those two would be a girl and a boy and Utahime always believed they would be two girls” she smoked some more “She really would have been the happiest to meet them. I even remember when she revealed to me that Maki was pregnant" she smiled a little, "she would have loved them with all her heart”

A few tears formed in her eyes as she remembered that time Utahime told her about Maki's pregnancy.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

Flashback

Seven years ago.

 

Both women were enjoying a meal and drinks at their favorite bar, a place they used to go whenever the doctor visited Kyoto.

Shoko noticed that Utahime was very thoughtful, she seemed quite worried. Although in reality, that teacher had reason to be worried at that moment.

“So Utahime, what's that important thing you wanted to tell me?” asked Shoko after they both finished their first round of beers.

Both were seated facing each other, while the atmosphere of the restaurant, bathed in warm lighting, was charged with sentimentality.

The Kyoto teacher, who had shed her traditional attire that day and was wearing jeans and the jersey of her favorite baseball team, let the air out in an anguished sigh. But no words came out of her mouth.

“Is it something very bad that you want to tell me?" asked Shoko when she noticed her friend's silence.

“I don't know if naming it as a bad thing is the right thing to do?”

“Well, I won't know how bad or how good it is until you tell me" said the doctor, putting some food in her mouth.

“It's that…” Utahime's shoulders tensed –“This I'm going to tell you is something ultra important and at the same time is something that can affect several people...” her hands gripped her glass of beer tightly –“Mostly because this is something that I don't want anyone from the Tokyo school to find out yet...” She stared at her friend- “And it's something that I don't want anyone from the headquarters or the clans to know...”

“Ok, this is already scaring me.... Utahime, what's going on?" Shoko answered a bit worried.

“But before I tell you…” Utahime took her best friend's right hand, she was cold both from her nerves and her drink “Promise me that you won't reveal it to anyone neither in Tokyo nor in Kyoto, please Shoko... I need you to keep this secret I'm going to tell you, but at the same time I need your help...” she had a big long face. She looked sad when she said all that.

“I promise” Shoko put her hand on her best friend's hand to give her warmth and support  “And even more if you are the one who is asking me this way. Just as I promise to do everything in my power to help you”

“Thank you very much... and well... it happens...that" Utahime kept a moment of silence. She needed a breather.

Shoko brought her glass of beer to her lips for one more sip. And she would indeed need it for the news her best friend was about to give her.

Utahime blurted out the truth. “Maki is pregnant...”

That answer left Shoko's mouth hanging open. She felt like the beer would fall out of her mouth.
“Pregnant? Maki is pregnant by Okkotsu?” she repeated in astonishment.

Utahime nodded her head. Her lips pressed tightly together to keep from crying.

“Oh..." Shoko was a little puzzled and it took her a second to respond, "You said she's pregnant?”

“Yes, that's what I said... Maki is pregnant!" repeated Utahime trying to contain her emotions. Her face was tense.

“Did Okkotsu leave the country for this reason? Is this why the two of them broke up?" asked Shoko, trying to process what she had heard.

Utahime shook her head and answered somewhat annoyed. “Maki and Okkotsu never ended their relationship…"

She continued explaining to her best friend.
“According to what both Mai and Maki told me, Yuta didn't even find out about the pregnancy, because that jerk Gojo took him out of the country in a hurry!" her voice sounded charged with fury, as her finger tapped hard on the table.
“And from the way this whole separation happened, I have a feeling that idiot separated them for some deeper reason... like he was up to something else” Utahime growled in frustration  “I hate how that fucker always does things his way”

At the time, Shoko did not fully understand her friend's statement. But some time later she would discover that Satoru also separated them out of envy for their relationship.

The doctor drank a little more of her beer to clear her throat  "Yes, this is a serious case. And even more so since Maki barely came of age and with a baby on the way, it won't be easy, especially if she is alone..." She took out a cigarette from her pack, lit it and began to smoke. Her nerves needed that addiction.

“Two..." Utahime answered regretfully.

“Huh? Two what?” Shoko asked with the cigarette in her mouth.

Utahime lowered her shoulders, drank from her beer and quickly pulled out the ultrasound that Maki had taken to show her.

“Maki is actually expecting two babies…" she slid that ultrasound onto the table.

The color drained from Shoko's face. That news had really shocked her.

She took that echo with her free hand while with the other she held her cigarette. To which she took another breath.

Then she focused her eyes on that echo, which she checked carefully, raising it a little against the light above their heads.

That image was one he would never get out of her head.
 “Clearly there are two babies coming" she blew the smoke toward that echo.
“Although in my medical opinion, I can make out two placentas…”

“Two babies! And it's her first pregnancy!" Utahime grimaced at the situation and the smell of tobacco, "What did it cost them to be abstinent or at least ask you for condoms?" she said in a mixture of annoyance and anguish. She sounded like a mother upset by what her daughter had done.

The doctor took one more puff on her cigarette: "Maybe they were too horny to think about condoms at that moment. Or unless this one broke. The odds are 50-50" she explained.

Utahime let out a noise of annoyance that later turned into a wail, "Even so, she's too young to have two babies! What the hell is she going to do with two babies? Two little ones who won't have a father! Two little ones who will be in too much danger if their mother's clan finds out!”

Shoko looked at her friend quite calmly, it seemed that she had already assimilated that news.
“Although realistically, the probability that one of those two would get pregnant with twins was quite high, considering that they themselves are twins" she looked at that echo once again, even smiled at the sight of those two little ones, "And to achieve it the first time and without medical treatment, is to some extent like a medical miracle”

“Whether it's a miracle or not, I feel she's quite young to have this responsibility, she's only 18 years old!” Utahime put her hands to her face. She looked quite distressed.

“Well?” Shoko left the cigarette in the ashtray on the table, allowing it to burn slowly while she continued to manipulate the ultrasound in her hands.

“How many months pregnant is Maki? Has she already made a decision about whether to keep them or abort them?”She asked seriously, staring at her friend “In the end, it is up to her to decide as the adult she is about what she is going to do with all this”

Utahime recovered her posture, leaned back in her seat and looked up at the lamp above their heads, where the smoke of that cigarette was disappearing.
“This ultrasound is from two weeks ago. So by now Maki must be more than a twelve weeks pregnant" she put her hands on her belly, "You can even see her little bulging belly" she said exemplifying with her hands, moving up and down on her belly.

“And Maki then…" Utahime replied as she lowered her shoulders in a deep exhalation, "she has decided to have them…”

“If that was her decision then we can only support her, can't we?” Shoko smiled a little and took a sip of her beer.

“That's right, there is no other choice and that's why I called you Shoko” she leaned over her place.  
“Because I wanted to ask you if you know any gynecologist who can take care of her pregnancy, but above all we also want to keep it as secret as possible so that neither the headquarters nor the Zenin clan discover them, but above all we want to hide it from the latter” She seemed quite serious- “We must hide all traces of those babies so they do not want to claim them as theirs or want to eliminate them...” she sighed, her hands traveled to the sides of her head.

“That last one sounds like it's going to be quite a problem, especially since we're talking about one of the three big clans" said Shoko, lowering her shoulders and looking at her best friend, who was quite sorry and seemed quite worried about what was going on.

Utahime took a swig of her beer, her cheeks barely red from how drunk she was just getting.
 “I feel like a bad teacher...”

“And why do you say that?" asked Shoko surprised with that answer. She knew that she was not yet drunk enough to say such things.

“Because I feel it was my responsibility to take care of all of them!" her hands clenched into fists on the table, "I feel it was my duty to advise them, to guide them on the right path. And now, with Maki pregnant and Okkotsu out of the country because of that bastard pf Satoru.... I feel I have failed them as a teacher..”

Shoko looked sympathetically at her friend, as they were sitting across from each other, she took both of her friend's hands to comfort her.
 

“You are not a bad teacher at all. On the contrary, you are a good teacher and it shows that both Mai and Maki trusted you enough to tell you all this" she squeezed her hands tightly, "it shows that they consider you someone they can trust no matter what”

Utahime let out a few tears at those words.
“Thank you Shoko... yet I feel it is my duty as a woman and as a sorceress to help them with this situation…”

Shoko let go of both her hands, "And how have you thought of helping them?" she asked before taking one last puff on her cigarette before it finished burning.

Utahime dried her tears with the back of her right hand “Well...” She took a long and deep breath to try to calm herself.

“For that reason I have also thought of bringing Maki to live with me here in Kyoto while the babies are born and since I want to support her in everything, the first thing is to look for a doctor who can take care of her and more than that a twin pregnancy is not easy” she stared at her best friend “That's why I want to know if you know someone”

Shoko had a big smile on her face “I have an acquaintance who could monitor her entire pregnancy, as well as help us keep the secret, especially now that you are about to become a grandmother”

“HEY, I'M NOT THAT OLD!" Utahime replied in a pout.

“You're not, but you're behaving as if you were the mother of those two" Shoko looked as her cigarette was about to burn off in that ashtray. “And I'll bet you anything that you're worrying more than their real mother would…”

Utahime smiled slightly, "You're right... I love all my students as if they were my children...”

“You'd make an excellent mother" Shoko took her best friend's hand."And you're already proving it, just by wanting to help those two. And I know you'll come up with a plan for everything to come once those two little ones are born. But for now, we must support them as much as we can, just as we must keep this secret from everyone”

Utahime smiled at that comment and at the support Shoko was giving her, she knew she could trust her.

Although deep down Utahime longed to have a child of her own. But right now, she just wanted to help those two.

“Thank you so much for everything Shoko. With you by my side I know we can help them and by the way, save those two babies from the clutches of the sede and their clan”

“You are not alone in this. You have me as the great-aunt of these two babies to support you in this new stage" Shoko replied with a serene smile.

The teacher took that ultrasound and looked at it carefully.
“And speaking of these two babies, I say they will be two girls just like Maki and Mai" she said tenderly.

Shoko finished drinking his beer.
 “Do you think so?”

“I believe it, in fact I even dare to bet a round of beers and a big plate of edamame and Karaage that they will be girls" said Utahime taking a big gulp of her beer, almost finishing it in one gulp.

Shoko smiled at the bet, she liked to see her friend more animated. She got up, sat next to Utahime and rested her head on her shoulder. While together they watched the ultrasound.

“I bet it will be a boy and a girl”

“A boy and a girl?” Utahime raised an eyebrow at Shoko's answer.

“Yes. Something tells me it's a girl and a boy" she point to those two on the ultrasound.

“Don't cheat with your medical knowledge!” Utahime wagged her index finger as if drawing her attention. “Even so, whether they are two girls or two boys or a girl and a boy, I will take care of them those two as well as Maki and Mai" she looked with a slight smile at that echo.

Shoko laughed at that comment and then looked admiringly at her best friend. “I know you will be the best grandmother in the world for those two”

“And I know you'll be there to remind me of it" Utahime replied with a big smile, before sinking into a cute beer-induced giggle, "I'm going to be a grandmother!”

Utahime looked really happy about all that. Too bad that happiness would not last long, just like that cigarette, which was quickly consumed.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

Back to the present.

 

Shoko sighed. Watching as the cigarette she had placed next to her was completely consumed, like those fleeting moments of happiness.

Whenever she smoked, she would light one more cigarette and put it next to her to remember the good times and especially to remember the former Utahime. The one who hated the smell of cigarettes. The one who was her best friend.

“She definitely would have been happy with those two little ones" she said, taking a last drag on the cigarette between her fingers. "I know it sounds heartbreaking, but I still hold out hope that she'll get her memory back and we'll collect on that bet”

Yuta smiled when he heard what the doctor had told him. “There is still hope. And more than I also have to thank Utahime sensei for everything he did for Maki and my children”

“And more than hope dies last" Shoko replied looking towards Gojo and Yoshio, who were now again playing with the ball.

Even so, Yuta had to take the opportunity to ask some more questions he had about everything that had happened seven years ago.

“Ieiri san can I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead Okkotsu" she inhaled what little was left of her cigarette.

“May I ask what else happened with you and the others seven years ago after the attack against Utahime sensei?” He questioned looking at the doctor – “I noticed that Satoru didn't seem to want to bring up that topic during the meal either”

Shoko let out the smoke from her cigarette. She took a breath and answered that without looking away from Okkotsu.

“It happens that after everything that happened with Utahime and after we found out that she was pregnant, Satoru entered into a kind of obsession for wanting to control everything around him, that obsession reached the point of taking command over director Yaga at that time. He became so manic that it led him to suspect that maybe everyone was against him. Including me”

“But why did he do that?" Yuta questioned with too much uncertainty.

“Tell me Okkotsu" Shoko stubbed out what was left of her cigarette on the railing, "Wouldn't you have done the same if Maki had been the one to go into a coma after a brutal attack like that?" she said without taking her eyes off the guest.

Okkotsu was silent on that question. The answer was simple; he would have done the same.

Shoko continued explaining, "When love becomes an obsession and you put others aside, you become a danger not only to those around you but also to yourself. Satoru was about to commit more crazy things" she paused a little, "That is until Tsukumo san intervened.

Yuta raised an eyebrow when he heard that. He had decided to act surprised. “Tsukumo intervened in all this?”

“She was the only one who could convince Satoru to put his feet on the ground and not commit any more idiocies”

“How did that happen, did the two of them talk about something important?" Yuta asked with too much interest.

Shoko took another cigarette out of her pack.

“I don't know all the details, but I do know that they had a very heated talk" she put the cigar in her mouth and reached for her lighter, "Having two special class sorcerers locked in the same room will always feel like the collision of two galaxies...that time we were all afraid that those two would end up causing a black hole "

Shoko lit up her cigarette "That's how it felt that time when those two talked behind closed doors for hours. Satoru has never wanted to tell me the details of that talk, but I guess from the agreement they reached, it must have been some kind of equally binding vow. I'm glad your friends and children were able to get out of here, though. If they had stayed, they most likely would have suffered too much”

Yuta seemed to be left with that same doubt about the talk between Yuki and Gojo and what they agreed on to let his friends go free.

“I guess it must have been a very difficult thing for everyone, wasn't it?”

Shoko shook her shoulders a little “Yes it was. It was very complicated for all of us and more so when you are asked the question Are you staying or going? Even knowing the implications that each decision could have on your life from now on” she smoked some more.

She blew the smoke upwards.
“With all your friends and colleagues there was no other option, they had to leave because that was the deal with Tsukumo. But instead, there were others who stayed by choice" he said, while looking in the distance at Ijichi, who at that moment was instructing other servants.

From the kiosk it was possible to see part of the interior of this luxurious residence.

“Forgive me for asking, but why did you and Mr. Ijichi stay at headquarters? Wasn't it easier to leave like everyone else did?" Yuta asked with curiosity disguised as seriousness.

Shoko relaxed her shoulders while her arms were still leaning on the railing.

“We did it for our friends" she looked at Yuta, "In my case I didn't want to leave Utahime and her son. Just as Ijichi didn't want to leave me alone. This is because we both have someone to protect” she repeated the words that Satoru had said.“So only the two of us are left with the three of them" she sighed with a touch of nostalgia, "While everyone else left.”

“And have you heard even a little from all your colleagues after these seven years?”

“I heard from Nanami that he married a baker and now lives happily in Malaysia, Yaga retired and took Panda and all his puppets with him to the countryside, Kusakabe didn't hesitate to leave so I suspect he must have made a simple life out there, Ino also left on Nanami's recommendation, and in Mei Mei's case, curiously she ran away when all this chaos started.... so practically everyone else left and only Ijichi and I were left... the assistant who knows everything about this world and the doctor who can only cure this staff...” She smoked- “So if the two of us left, the world of Gojo and Utahime would collapse...”

Yuta sighed at that answer. He didn't imagine that everyone had someone to protect and Shoko simply stayed for Utahime and her son, while Ijichi stayed for her.

Shoko exhaled the smoke from her cigarette  “And how do you feel about all this Okkotsu?”

Yuta tensed his shoulders as he continued to watch Gojo and Yoshio play in the distance “I'm confused, actually. There is so much to process...”

“I know that what you are seeing and hearing is not easy, just as I know that it is not easy for you to forgive us for all that we have put you, Maki and your children through..." Shoko also looked at her friend and her nephew.  “But maybe, just maybe... this can be a new beginning for everyone...”

Yuta kept silent at such an answer, he really felt that he could not fully forgive them.

They both kept a few minutes of silence, which was broken by Shoko once he was about to finish his second cigarette.

“By the way Okkotsu, can I ask you something now?”

“Go ahead, Ieiri san”

She smoked.“Being in Kyoto, haven't you run into Mei Mei or Tsukumo? We haven't really heard from them for seven years...”

Shoko had her suspicions about those two women. Especially because nothing was known about them.

Yuta lied, shaking his head.
 “I haven't seen either of them”

Shoko exhaled, noticing how this sorcerer seemed to be telling the truth.
“I understand...” She smoke once more “Anyway, Okkotsu be careful”

“What should I be careful about?" asked Yuta, somewhat confused.

“I'm talking about the case you are solving...”

“From the Sorcerer Killer?" Yuta asked quietly.

“Yes, I'm talking about that case. Something tells me that you must be very careful with who you ally yourself with to catch that murderer... and more than this world of sorcery, allies can turn out to be your real enemies..." She said, staring at that familiar scene.

Those words left Yuta very thoughtful. It was not the first person who had said that to him. And perhaps now he could understand more clearly that he also had to take care of the headquarters. Especially of Gojo.

Both continued observing in silence from the kiosk what was happening in that garden. Where Gojo was still playing with Yoshio, until Utahime appeared from one of the exits of the residence, accompanied by some servants.

The woman still looked a little sleepy, but her son ran to embrace her.

That scene Okkotsu saw in front of his eyes really made him jealous combined with pure fury.

Just seeing how Satoru hugged his wife from behind and how he kissed her with too much love, while their son ran around them and hugged them, made him jealous... jealous that he could not make a life like that for seven years with Maki and his children, who unfortunately only saw him as a friend...

That scene turned his stomach, even his hands balled into fists at his sides.

“Sometimes I think the best thing would have been simply not to know anything or to lose my memory so as not to suffer in this way..." he said between his teeth.

Shoko sighed when she heard what the guest said as they watched that scene. “Okkotsu..." she named him in a thin voice.

The sorcerer turned his head slightly toward her.

“I know how you feel and believe me, it seems unfair to me too that you don't have your family at this moment... especially because this idiot didn't know how to act in a good way..." She explained, looking again at her friend from a distance.

“Even so" she returned her gaze to Yuta, "I wish with all my heart that from now on you can enjoy the company of your children and you can watch them grow up, and I also wish that you can make up for lost time with your children and Maki....” it seemed more of a blessing than a curse.

“Thank you...”

Shoko continued to look at the guest with seriousness as she kept talking.
 “And also keep in mind that..." she moistened her lips a little. “Sometimes not having a memory or not knowing the truth brings more consequences than advantages... because that "life" you were led to believe can turn into a nightmare when you wake up..." She stared at Utahime.

Okkotsu understood what that doctor meant by those words.

He knew that in the event Utahime regained her memory... she might suffer with that reality in which she lived deluded for seven years.

Shoko continued talking.  “And when you see Maki again, tell her for me that I always prayed to heaven for her and her babies. And more than that now that I know she survived, tell her that I am proud of her, just as Utahime would be very proud of her for being the woman she is today”

Yuta nodded his head.
“I'll tell her" he said with a smile.

“Thank you Okkotsu..." she sighed. “Likewise, don't hesitate to talk to me if you need help with any medical terms for this case or just need to talk to someone" she smiled slightly, "Or even if you need help about something medical for your children”

“Thank you very much, Ieiri san. If I need any consultation, I will call you" Yuta answered kindly.

“I hope to meet your Twins someday”

“I know they would get along very well. They are both very good children" replied Yuta, all proud of his sons.

“By the way Okkotsu”

“Yes?”

“Have your children already developed or shown any cursed technique? Or are they children with cursed energy?" the doctor asked curiously.

Yuta pursed his lips a little. He promised not to talk too much about them in that place. But at that moment he felt he could trust that woman.

“They have no cursed technique yet and for the moment, they can only see and perceive small curses only”

Shoko analyzed this.
 “Well, for their age and their particular mix of genes, if they are blessed children, perhaps they will soon develop their cursed technique”

“What if that doesn't happen?" Yuta asked worriedly.

The doctor gave him a serene smile.
“If it didn't happen, then they could live a "normal" life... although something tells me that your children could have interesting techniques and even more that they are a combination of two great clans”

Yuta was taken aback by those words. Part of him wanted his children to be normal children. But, on the other hand, he felt that what Shoko said was true. One way or another, his children were descendants of two great clans... and perhaps he would soon be the leader of one of them.

Yuta was so lost in his thoughts that Yoshio's voice brought him out of them.

“Uncle Yuta, come with us!" Yoshio was heard to shout in the direction of the guest sorcerer.

Okkotsu sighed, he had a strange feeling as he watched Gojo and Yoshio in the distance, at that moment he knew that he would not return to Kyoto in the next few days, and more so that there was still another equally important issue to discuss with Satoru.

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked it.

And tell me what did you think of this chapter, do you think Utahime would have loved Yurika and Yuudai very much as a grandmother?

Can you imagine Maki and Utahime pregnant at the same time? It definitely would have been a nice timeline ♥️ both living together under the same roof and expecting the children of the strongest sorcerers.

It would have been nice if Yoshio had lived with Yurika and Yuudai since they were babies ♥️ Well, that could be a plot for another fic.

Now I have two questions for you;
do you trust Shoko? And more importantly, do you still trust Gojo?

Because next chapter he and Yuta will have one last talk, one where I will make them doubt this albino's good intentions.

Anyway, I will be reading your comments and theories.

I know that many of you already want to read about the Twins and Maki. And in one more chapter they will be back.

As I said, this fic is going to be a long one so the father-son interactions that Yuta deserves so much with Yurika and Yuudai will come very soon ♥️🙏🏻 just be patient.

Anyway, we keep reading ♥️ and more that next week we will have the final chapter of the manga. I'm both excited and scared at the same time, how do you think this manga will end?

Well, we'll keep reading soon

Chapter 23: 22. The Leader Everyone Wants You To Be

Notes:

Hello everyone! Here comes Vera to leave you one more chapter of this fic.

And more than here, you will learn a little more about Gojo's intentions with Yuta.

So before I continue, I want you to answer the following question:

Do you still trust Gojo Satoru?

Well, without further ado I hope you like it ❤️

10:00 p.m.

 

Night had fallen on the Gojo residence.

The rain was falling heavily at that instant, as Yuta prepared to discuss one more topic with Satoru.

“I thought you would go directly to rest in the room we prepared for you" Gojo commented, sitting down in one of the luxurious sofas he had in what was his office inside the residence.

That room overlooked the main garden, and through its large and beautiful traditional window you could see the night rain falling against the glass.

“There is something important I also want to discuss with you…" Yuta commented seriously. His face was quite tense.

Satoru sighed.
 “Okay, let's talk!” with his hand he asked Yuta to take a seat.

Then with a snap of his fingers and an almost murderous look, he ordered the servant who had accompanied them to please let them speak alone.

“With your permission, my lords" said the servant in a big bow, and then left the room, closing the door quickly and hurrying away from the room because of the fear he felt towards those two in that moment of hostility.

The tension between those sorcerers was again too heavy and suffocating. And just as Shoko had said, two special category sorcerers locked in the same room was to be feared and that was the feeling that those two were giving at that moment.

The silence that reigned for a moment was broken by that leader.

“So, what's that important thing you want to talk to me about too? I suppose there is another reason why you came all the way from Kyoto to talk to me, isn't it Okkotsu?" asked Satoru leaning his back on that sofa and raising his legs, putting them up on the tea table that was located in front of them and that separated them.

Yuta took a deep breath. He was trying to mentally prepare himself for what he was going to say.
“Well, How should I start this conversation?..." he brought his hand to his chin for a moment.

“You Say it as you see fit" suggested the host, shifting his shoulders disinterestedly, raising his arms to the back of the sofa.

“Okay, let's get down to business" Yuta filled his lungs with air and asked earnestly. –“Gojo sensei, what did you really bring me back to Japan for?" he looked at his host. –“Was it really to solve this case of the sorcerer killer? Or was it for something else?”

Satoru raised an eyebrow “What do you mean, to something else?” he asked with a hint of intrigue.

Yuta tried to be patient while he explained himself.
 “I mean, is it true that you are going to make me the leader of this clan? Or is it also a false rumor?” he asked without further ado.

The albino clicked his tongue. It seemed that someone had beaten him to the punch and ruined his surprise.

“Agh! I think I know who the tattletale was who told you!" he sighed in annoyance, as he swung his legs off the tea table and straightened his posture. “I was planning to tell you later, but it seems some old drunk ruined the surprise" he was visibly annoyed. “Well, at least I'm saving myself the trouble of explaining it to you”

Yuta's eyes widened in surprise as Satoru continued speaking.
“But yes, let's say that the real reason I really brought you back to Japan is because I will indeed appoint you as the next leader of the Gojo clan" he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“BUT!” Yuta looked quite surprised  “You and I are both supposed to be distant relatives, that in theory does NOT make me a Gojo directly, so why do you want to appoint me as your successor?!” Yuta questioned rather seriously, leaning a little to the front to look carefully at his host.

“We may not be directly related, but we share a common ancestor. And since in theory I can choose my successor at my free choice, I have decided that you should be it" Satoru said this without losing his posture. He had a big smile on his lips.

Yuta was really shocked with that answer, "BUT WHY ME?!” He waved his hands back and forth. “I feel that I don't have the qualities to be the leader you're looking for...”

“Of course you do!” Gojo raised his voice and leaned forward a little as he continued to explain why he had chosen them. “You have everything it takes to guide people in the worst situations!” He waved his hands too energetically, "Do you think I didn't notice everything you did abroad?” he pointed at his guest.

“SO YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN WATCHING ME?" asked Yuta in a voice that reflected offense and distrust at the same time.

“Of course I've been watching you! I looked for firsthand everything you did abroad!" said Satoru staring at him

"From how you saved countless people in different parts of the world, to how you led so many others on various missions. From the way you addressed and made contact with very important leaders of different countries, to how I learned that you fought against curses of unknown categories just to save different peoples. Not to mention your research on cursed techniques never seen before in this country, as well as on the cursed energy in foreign sorcerers and the great variety of cursed weapons they possess" a serene smile appeared on his lips, "Believe me Okkotsu, your trip around the world had a deeper reason than you imagine!”

Satoru continued explaining,

"Seeing you perform abroad made it very clear to me that you are my worthy successor at your 26 years old" he smiled proudly, he looked like a father who was proud of his son's accomplishments, "And not to mention, you are a prodigy since you were 16 years old. And you proved it when in less than a year you learned to use the reverse cursed technique, as well as in less than 3 months you managed to recover your special degree" he pointed out, "And by the way, the simple fact that you have more cursed energy than me, although of course with its very slight defect," he criticized in his own way, "All that makes you a worthy successor of mine and more that you are the second strongest sorcerer of the present only after me" he waved his arms with joy.-“All those actions opened my eyes that you can be a great leader for this clan once I retire”

All this left Yuta's mouth hanging open.

But that last thing Satoru said snapped Okkotsu out of his stupor. "Y-you plan to retire? So taking me out of the country was just part of your plan to make me your successor?”

“That's right, as I said my initial plan was to take you and Maki out of the country so that while you were traveling the world on their honeymoon, you would also prepare and train enough for when this time would come”

Satoru's chest rose and fell in a sigh of relief. It was the first time he had ever talked about it.
“And about my retirement. Yes. I've come to think about it many times. Mostly because I want to spend more time with Yoshio and Utahime. Although...” he shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands a Little.

“I admit that also one of the main reasons why I want to appoint you and not Yoshio as the next leader, is because he is still a child and I do not want to put such a heavy burden on his shoulders being so small” he brought his hands to his knees “Maybe when my son turns 18, we can make the title change and incidentally, we could also finally change the surname to Gojo. Then we could formally introduce him to the sorcery society as the son of the great Gojo Satoru”

Yuta crossed his arms over his chest.
“So this is the other reason why Yoshio's name is Iori and not Gojo?" he asked seriously.

“As I explained to you earlier, we decided to give him the surname Iori both so that he would not be separated from us, and also for his safety” Satoru leaned his back on the sofa once again.

“But once Yoshio comes of age, the corresponding procedures will be made, so he will inherit the Gojo surname as well as the title to be the leader of this clan” Satoru smiled enormously  “But until that time comes, I know that you will be able to do a great job being the new leader of this clan.”

That answer did not seem to please Yuta at all. He let out a noise of total dissatisfaction.

“What's the matter?" Gojo noticed that attitude, "Surprised, right?”

“It's just that... This is all so sudden..." Yuta ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He was processing all the information he had received.

“As I told you, my plan was to tell you later, but things didn't turn out as I expected, or rather, they took a different turn" Satoru explained, "I'm sorry you found out this way”

Okkotsu felt that those apologies sounded false.
“And does Yoshio already know about this?" he asked coldly.

“No"

Satoru sighed and grimaced in annoyance at that question, "He doesn't know yet and we won't tell him maybe until he enter the sorcery school, but until that day comes" he clasped his own hands together a little.

“I want to give you my place as leader, so I can take Utahime and Yoshio away from Japan for a while and spend some quality time with both of them" he smiled hugely, "Something like a long family vacation that we need so much”

Yuta grumbled with too much annoyance.
“I really don't agree with this..." He straightened his back, he had a posture of total seriousness.

Satoru raised an eyebrow, "And why not? Don't you like the idea of ​​being the head of this clan, despite the benefits you will get?”

“More than benefits, I feel that they would only bring me more problems. To be the leader of a renowned clan like this doesn't sound like an easy task...”

“That's true, but it's not impossible either. Just look at me!” Satoru pointed to himself with a big smile.

“I've been the leader everyone expected me to be up to a certain point” then he pouted a little. “Yes, I admit I did some things wrong” he smiled “but in the end I've been a good leader and I know you will be too. Of course, that is until Yoshio is ready to take over” he added with a mischievous tone “Although who knows if when you taste the sweetness of power you won't want to let go of the jar and share the honey when the time comes” he let out a light laugh at the funny comparison between leadership and honey.

“It feels more like you are using me as a distraction while you enjoy your family vacation" commented Yuta with total seriousness.

Satoru sighed at that answer.
“To a certain extent it could be said that I do want to use you as a distraction, but for a good cause" he commented without a hint of guilt, "Although with your technique and your rank, you would obviously be a very respected and perhaps even feared leader. Something tells me you could even do a better job than me. Even so, those who are against you could just send them to be eliminated" he smiled mischievously, "Unless you eliminate them with your own hands”

“But that would not be being a leader... it would be being more of a dictator...”

“Okkotsu" Satoru's voice sounded with complete annoyance. He was getting desperate about his attitude.
“Sometimes you earn the respect of others by being stronger than all of them. And that's something I know you can do perfectly”

Yuta sighed and brought his elbows to his knees and covered his mouth with his hands. He was between a rock and a hard place.

Satoru continued speaking.
“Besides, we currently have very good dealings with the Kamo clan. And Noritoshi being someone as young as you, it is more than obvious that they will be able to guide this sorcery world in a better way now that the higher ups are gone”

“Even so, this doesn't convince me at all..." said Yuta taking his hands away from his mouth.

“If you decide to be my heir, as leader you can have the privileges that I have, such as making decisions based on your criteria, and you will also have all the  servants of both this house and the headquarters at your service. Likewise, you would also have a good fortune added to the one you have already made abroad that you can spend on whatever you want and above all, you will have the respect of all the other sorcerers because it is more than obvious that you, as leader, would impose more than me" Satoru smiled.

Yuta seemed to analyze all that. He lowered his shoulders. There were a few more questions he wanted to know about that proposal.
“Are there any other requirements I have to meet to be a leader?”

“I'm glad you asked, I see that you are already interested in this!”Satoru commented with a big smile.

“Well, perhaps the only requirement that you will be asked after a few years in power, will be to have a son or name a next heir to lead the clan after you. But when the time comes for you to name your successor, by that time, Yoshio will be of age and you can name him as the next leader of the Gojo clan. Don't you like my plan? Although" he put his hand to his chin, "we could shorten the wait to name Yoshio to when he turns at least 16 years old”

Yuta looked quite thoughtful with that requirement. Again, his hands went to his jaw.

“What's the matter? Now you look quite thoughtful”

“It's just that I just had a few more questions...”

“And those are?”

Yuta took a deep breath before answering that.
“If I were to accept to be the leader of this clan, will I be able to bring Maki and my children to live here? Will I be able to marry her? But above all, will I be able to recognize Yurika and Yuudai as my children to the extent that they can carry my family name and be candidates to be the next leader of this clan?”

Satoru pursed his lips. He knew Yuta would ask him that. He sighed and answered flatly, "No. I'm afraid you won't be able to do any of those three things”

"WHAT? WHY NOT?" Yuta asked, elated by that response, "IF I'M SUPPOSED TO BE FREE TO CHOOSE SOME THINGS AS A LEADER! WHY CAN'T I DO ANY OF THOSE THINGS?"

The albino shook his head.
“No, you can't recognize them as your children and neither can you marry Maki and I'll tell you why”

Yuta looked at him angrily, while Satoru began to explain.

“Okkotsu. You can't marry Maki in the first place because she is supposed to be "dead" and if you were to bring her to this residence you would only get her into trouble. Imagine if the sede or her clan finds out that she is not dead as she made us believe for seven years, what punishment do you think they will give her?” He ran his index finger along his neck, making a clear reference to the end that would await her.
“Well, not only would she get that punishment, but all your friends would get it equally for hiding her for so many years”

Then he smiled mischievously.
“Although the only option that comes to my mind for you to be close to Maki and you can continue to frequent her once you become leader, is that you make her your mistress. Since ancient times this is a common practice that many leaders do to frequent and keep close to their secret love affairs and concubines” It seemed that Satoru knew quite a lot about this subject.

“I don't want to treat Maki as my mistress! It wouldn't be fair to her!” Yuta got more frustrated when he heard that.
“Well, what about my children? Can I give them my last name? Can I name them as my successors?”

“First Okkotsu, answer me something, do those children already know that you are their real father?" asked Satoru seriously, looking him straight in the face.

Yuta again lowered his shoulders.
 “No... they don't know yet..." He also lowered his gaze at such a question that hurt him too much.

"And secondly," Satoru continued to explain. “It would be better for them not to know anything if you really want to protect them. Especially because if you give them your last name, it is more than obvious that all the other clans will ask you thousands of questions about the origin of those children and once they discover that they are your illegitimate children with Maki, it is more than obvious that the Zenin They won't sit idly by and may want to claim them as their own if they have inherited good techniques... well, although in the worst case they may want them dead..."

 Yuta quickly got up. “I won't allow that!” He was quite furious, “So what, the Gojo clan can't do anything to protect my children, Maki, and all my friends? "So what's the point of being the clan leader of this damn clan, if no one is going to help me protect the thing I love most in this damn world?"

Satoru looked at him seriously. He was quite calm even though Yuta's heavy aura was flooding the room.
 “The best protection we can give them is to simply let things continue as they are with them in hiding.”

He waved his hands as he continued explaining.
“Besides, that had been my deal with Tsukumo in exchange for the freedom of all of them, neither I nor anyone from the academy were going to investigate or search for them and much less we were going to get involved in their lives. And so we did it for seven years, we lost track of them just to protect them all, as well as we destroyed all the information about them” Satoru sigh. “Well, almost all of it because there were some papers that were preserved by pure miracle as the death certificate of Maki and that medical report of the birth of your children”

Yuta's fists shook with courage.

Satoru noticed that discomfort in his guest, even so, his voice was filled with a hint of curiosity as one more option quickly crossed his mind.
 “Unless..." he brought his index finger to his chin. His blues eyes glittered fiendishly.

“Unless what?” Yuta repeated those words.

“Unless I adopt your children!" Satoru commented with a big grin that went from ear to ear.

“NO WAY WILL I LET YOU HAVE MY CHILDREN AND TAKE AWAY MY CHANCE TO LIVE WITH THEM! YOU HAVE ALREADY DEPRIVED ME OF THAT CHANCE FOR ALMOST SEVEN YEARS!" shouted Yuta with such fury.

Now he understood why Satoru asked his several questions about his children hours ago and why he said those words about the fraternal twins in the sorcery society. His children now seemed to be a double prize that anyone would want to get.

Satoru went on to explain, "Believe me Okkotsu, your options are limited. And the best option would be for me to adopt them. Being under my care they will be safe”

“No... I really don't want that... and even more when hours ago you talked about them as if they were a prize that anyone would want to have because of the rarity of their birth and I can't break Maki's heart this way either... separating her from our children would only kill her..." commented Yuta taking his seat again, he was disappointed with all that.

Satoru stared at his guest. "Well, even so, this adoption offer will remain open in case you or Maki want to protect your children under my care."

Now Satoru warned pointing seriously and with a firm voice.
“But just keep in mind that, at this moment, the best option you have to protect your children, Maki and all the others, is that everything continues as it is. That everything remains in peace without moving a single piece so that they can continue to live their lives in complete tranquility”

Yuta brought his hands to his face.
 “All this is so unfair...”

“It is. But if you are going to be a leader, especially of this clan, it is inevitable that you must give up many things, either to keep your position or to protect your loved ones" Satoru replied coolly.

“Then if that's the way things will be...”Yuta adopted a firm posture “I don't want this position... I don't want to be the leader that you or the others want me to be” he answered, returning his gaze to his host with total seriousness. There was hatred in his gaze.

Satoru sighed. “It's not a question of whether you want to or not, Okkotsu. I have already made a decision and that is that I want you to be my successor.”

"What if I refuse?" Yuta asked coldly.

“Believe me, you'd better cooperate" Satoru’s tone was cold and threatening, "It's better to have the Gojo clan as an ally than as an enemy, especially if the Zenin clan decides to meddle in your life!" warned he without looking away from that guest sorcerer.

Yuta let out the overly annoyed air as he leaned back in place.

How ironic life was. Now that he had met Yurika and Yuudai, he didn't want to leave the country. Yuta already had a reason to stay. But he did not want to carry a responsibility that did not correspond to him, like being the leader of a clan where he did not belong.

Satoru continued speaking. “So your main task right now is that you must catch that killer so that I can find some other alternative for you to be close to Maki and your children.” he sounded somewhat compassionate. “I know there must be some other alternative that at least allows you to be with them without neglecting your position as the next leader of this clan”

“You're not going to give up on this idea, are you?" Yuta questioned with annoyance.

“Nup. I will not give up until you become the leader that I and everyone else wants you to be”

“What if I give up the sorcerer-killer case?" Okkotsu asked with annoyance.

“I will have no choice but to return you abroad with no chance to see your family for the last time and being far away from this country, I will not let you hear from them for the rest of your life" Satoru added cruelly.

Yuta felt that his back was against the wall. Threatened by the one who was his sensei. It seemed that both Tsukumo's and Shoko's words made more sense at that moment. He could not trust the one who was supposed to be his main "ally".

Yuta was devastated.
“I have no other choice?" he asked in a voice full of defeat.

“At this point you have only two options. So; either you catch the assassin quickly and become the leader of this clan as soon as possible or...” his smile was very big as he waved his hand from right to left while giving his options.

“Or?” Yuta looked at him suspiciously. I knew that man was planning something else.

Satoru continued to explain his point.
“Or you delay as long as you can to catch that murderer so you can spend more time with Maki and your children, even if it means stopping the whole investigation and slowing down the progress" he shrugged, "Although of course, choosing this option would only condemn more sorcerers to die at the hands of that criminal" he leaned over his place while raising two fingers of his right hand. “Still, this second option is the one that would give you more time to be with your newfound family" he leaned back in place.
 

“But in both options you will have to catch the murderer, only then you will leave your name high because the whole sorcery society has its eyes on you" Satoru pointed out.

Yuta sighed at the two options.

If he caught the murderer soon, he would assume the position of leader of the Gojo clan immediately and would no longer see Maki and his children.

But if he decided to ignore the case for a while, he could spend more time with them. However, he couldn't afford to let that killer go free for too long, doing so would only put the lives of more sorcerers at risk.

Okkotsu was really in a dilemma. One that  truly, had him between a rock and a hard place. Between his happiness and the balance of the sorcery society.

“Well, Yuta, have you already made up your mind?” Satoru stared at him, "Are you going to accept to be my successor once and for all? Are you going to capture that assassin soon or keep putting it off?” He smiled “Don't forget that I am also offering you the option of adopting your children in exchange for their safety...”

“I...” Yuta lowered his gaze “I have to think about this…”his voice sounded very muffled.

“Whatever you decide, let me know right away, okay? Even so, I hope you have the next few days free, because I have some plans that include you here in Tokyo" Satoru gave a slight smile, the kind that always accompanied his victories when he got his way.

Yuta sighed at those words. His premonition that he would not return to Kyoto soon to be with his children and Maki came true, "Ok…" he said dryly.

“Anyway Okkotsu you should go take a bath and then rest, this day was quite exhausting” said Satoru standing up and shaking his shoulders  “Seriously, it's been years since I fought like this against someone. And age seems to be taking its toll on me already”

Yuta stood up as well, "I think I'll take your word for it that I'm going to take a bath and go get some rest. I didn't get much sleep yesterday either...”

“And was that because of something special? Or “Was it because of someone in particular?" asked Satoru mischievously. He had a feeling that Yuta had spent the night with someone very special.

Okkotsu only swallowed saliva and averted his gaze so that his blush didn't give him away.
“It's still just jetlag... I still can't get used to the fucking time in this country..." he lied.

Satoru noticed that lie, he knew that his sleeplessness perhaps had the name of a woman he knew quite well, a former student of his, but he decided not to inquire more about it.

“Well, if there is nothing more to say, you may leave”

“Thank you" Yuta bowed and then approached the door, which he slowly opened.

“By the way, Okkotsu..." commented Satoru before Yuta came out of there.

“Yes?”

Satoru had a serious face  “Being at the Zenin residence, did you run into anyone else besides the insufferable Naoya and the old drunkard Naobito?”

Yuta remembered Mai, but decided to continue lying. He shook his head.
 “I only ran into the two of them and the servants" He answered so firmly that he seemed to have fooled his host.

“Well” Satoru sighed with fatigue and a smile appeared. "Well, it's time to go to rest... but don't forget to give me an answer to my proposals, okay?”

Yuta sighed.
 “Okay...”

In the coming days, Yuta would have to make a decision. One that could change the course of his life, as well as the lives of his children and his beloved Maki.

 

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked it

And tell me, what do you think of the story?

Now after reading all this I ask you the same question I asked you at the beginning:

Do you still trust Satoru Gojo?

I say this because in this chapter they could better notice Satoru's intentions with Yuta.

Besides, wanting to adopt Yuta and Maki's children and mentioning the topic of mistresses, speaks volumes about him in this story.

For the time being, this will be the last chapter where we will see Gojo for a while since, starting from the next chapter we officially return with Maki and the twins ❤️.

Is the long-awaited reconciliation between Yuta and Maki coming? Will they already know which techniques Yurika and Yuudai inherited? What decision will Yuta make? What will happen now between Maki and Yuta?

You will soon find out.

We will keep reading ❤️

Remember that your votes and comments are important, especially if you want to continue reading this fic.

Chapter 24: 23. Love, Jealousy and Sins

Notes:

Hello everyone!

Here Vera comes to leave you one more chapter of this fic and specially, as a little trick or treat for Halloween 🎃.

I hope you like it and more because now we are going back to Kyoto with Maki and the twins ❤️

I must tell you that from now on, the story will take a certain direction, as it will focus on Yuta regaining Maki's love, as well as on his facet as a father, and more than that Yurika and Yuudai are suspecting some little things between their mother and Okkotsu.

Well, without further ado, I hope you like this chapter, which I think will touch on some very important topics to understand more about the plot of this fic. Especially because an important conversation between Yuki and Maki is coming. On the other hand, the twins will be back in the next chapter.

And as a small disclaimer: A slight NON GRAPHIC mention will be made about a character who wanted to force another character to do something against his will, but in the end the act was not consummated.

Perhaps at the end of the chapter you will understand why it has such a striking name.

Now without further ado, enjoy the chapter ❤️‍🩹

Happy Halloween 🎃

July 22.

Tokyo.

09:55 a.m.

 

 

That day had dawned raining. Making that morning feel nostalgic and even a little strange.

 The rain was falling with some force against the window of the room where Yuta was staying at the Gojo residence during those four days.

At that moment, he was sitting in an armchair, looking at his cell phone. He was finishing sending a message. A very specific and special one.

He was quite nostalgic, at that moment he just wanted to be with Maki and his children.

And it was because of them that he had decided that day that, even in the pouring rain, he would return to Kyoto as a matter of urgency.

He couldn't bear to be there another day.

He was sick of the meetings and outings he had done together with Satoru the previous days and also, as much as it pained him to admit it, he was tired of Satoru.

The main reason was that wherever they went, the albino presented him to his acquaintances as the future captor of the sorcerer-killer and his eventual successor as leader of the Gojo clan. All this created overwhelming pressure on him, as he had to solve the case at all costs, even when the clues led nowhere.

So, that morning, Yuta was ready to leave and more than had a strange hunch that something might be going on in Kyoto. Something to do with his family.

Seeing that he had no immediate response, he returned his gaze to the window.

“Maki..." he whispered and from his chest came out a sigh that only a lover releases when thinking of his loved one.

He even remembered that kiss they had given each other a few nights ago. He really couldn't forget her and even more so now that he had found her.

That kiss, where their lips had joined with too much passion thus creating a need comparable to that of an addiction.

Yuta needed Maki's kisses.
 He really wanted to kiss her one more time, even if it was just to give him his last breath of life.

Also to his mind came the laughter of his children, how they had had fun that night at the festival, under the fireworks, with sparklers in their hands and having a father and son moment that he simply treasured in his heart.

He really missed them. And he proved that in another sigh by looking at the picture he had on his cell phone.

He was so lost in his memories that he didn't notice that someone had opened the door to his room.

It was the voice of a certain child who brought him out of his memories  “Uncle Yuta…”

The named adult turned his head toward the entrance.

“Dad says to come for breakfast before you go back to Kyoto" he said from the doorway.

That little boy was still wearing his pajamas, which were blue with many white stars.

Yuta turned to look at him and smiled a little.
“Thank you. I'll be right there" he sighed again, turning to look at his cell phone.

“Uncle Yuta, are you ok?" asked Yoshio entering the room and running to the sofa, sitting down next to the adult.

Yuta smiled at such innocent concern, "I am, I just remembered some people I miss very much right now”

The blue-eyed boy deduced who the adult was talking about “And those people are your children? Do you miss them very much?”

Yuta scratched his cheek
"Yes, I miss my children very much right now, just like I miss one more person”

“To whom?" asked the bright-eyed boy curiously.

Yuta had his doubts about whether he should respond to that and more than Yoshio seemed to be a somewhat "gossipy" child.

Still, he decided to respond kindly.
“To a woman, one who is very special to me" said the sorcerer, standing up from that armchair.

Yoshio also stood up, "A woman? Are you in love?" asked the little boy with curiosity overflowing from his mouth.

They both started to approach the door to get out of there and go to the dining room.

Yuta scratched the back of his neck.
 “I am. I've been in love with that woman for a long time”

“Since when?" asked Yoshio curiously as he walked beside him.

“Let's say for almost 10 years”

“Wow, that's a long time!" commented Yoshio, raising his voice in surprise, "That's a lot longer than I've ever lived!"

Yuta smiled at that innocent answer, "Yes, she is" he sighed, "But unfortunately I can't be with her as I would like to at the moment" he lowered his shoulders.

Yoshio stopped in his tracks at such an answer.
“And why not?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the right side without looking away from the adult.

“That's because...”

Yuta was tempted to say that it was because of his father that he could not be with the woman he loved. But the one he was talking to was a child. And he did not want to hurt him since he was not to blame for anything.

“Because some bad people separated the two of us”

“That's so unfair!” Yoshio said loudly. He seemed upset with the situation.

“It definitely is” Yuta smiled a little at that answer. “But now that I've found her, it's up to me to win back her love. Although I think she's angry with me at the moment...”

“You could give her many things! Or you could give him lots of kisses!" Yoshio commented as they both walked back down those halls, "That's what my dad does when Mom is mad at him”

“Hehe I guess your advice might work”

They both turned a corner when Yoshio asked something else very suddenly.
“And do you love her?”

“Huh?”

“I asked if you love that woman very much”

Yuta scratched his cheek.
“More than you can imagine" he smiled, "I love her. I really love her. Although" he sighed, "I don't know if she still loves me... or not”

At such words, Yoshio seemed to remember something else, "You know, Dad always says that love is the worst curse of all. Are you cursed with love, uncle Yuta?”

The sorcerer paused at such a question.
 “I think I am" he ruffled the black-haired boy's hair a bit "Though it wouldn't be the first time I would be cursed with love”

They both kept walking, they were very close to reaching the dining room where they were waiting for them.

“And do you know how you can know if she loves you?" questioned Yoshio with a big smile and suddenly stopped again.

That question left Yuta puzzled. “How?”

Yoshio stood in front of the adult.
“First you give her a surprise kiss, and after kissing her you say I love
you!" the boy smiled hugely.

Yuta thought that perhaps this could be taken as a joke. But they say that children can see beyond the heart. And sometimes their advice is more valuable than one imagines.

The blue-eyed boy continued explaining, "So you could know if she feels the same way about you" he waved his little hands, "That word is magic, I've seen it. Dad says I love you to Mom and Mom smiles or even takes a breath when she's really upset”

Yuta smiled a little at that innocent answer “Thanks for the advice .The next time I see her I'm going to tell her. Which will be very soon”

The boy laughed a little at that answer. He took Yuta's hand and invited him into the dining room where all the other adults were already waiting for him.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

10:20 a.m.

Throughout breakfast, Yuta couldn't stop thinking about his children, but in particular, he couldn't get Maki out of his mind.

He couldn't get that kiss out of his mind that they had finally shared after seven long years of being apart.

He remembered how she still knew what his weak point was and how their bodies had come dangerously close.

All that set him on fire, a fire that continued to burn brightly inside him for her.

He kept remembering how the two of them had eaten each other's mouths, how her slender hands had passed around his neck and how their breaths had become one. And what if they hadn't been discovered by that mysterious intruder, the two of them might have come together once more as one, letting themselves be carried away by the desire they still had for each other.

Just remembering all that made him think of all the ways he would have liked to make love to Maki. Both that night and all the times he could have made love to her if she had traveled abroad with him.

Yuta really wanted to make love to her at that moment. He wanted to show her how much he still loved her after so many years. He really couldn't get her out of his mind and heart. It was as if he had been cursed or bewitched.

A longing sigh came from his chest, his gaze was lost and his thoughts were consumed with remembering her.

At that instant, Yuta's cell phone vibrated and he quickly took it out of his pocket. A big smile formed on his lips when he saw who the message was from.

And all this was noticed by Satoru, who could see that his guest was quite distracted by his cell phone.

That message was from Maki, which was brief: "Okay. Yes, we do need to talk... I also need to see you..."

Reading that message made Yuta's heart skip a beat.

But their host seemed to be allergic to other people's happiness.

Satoru cleared his throat when he saw his guest very entertained in that device. “Okkotsu, at this table we don't allow the use of cell phones" he commented, drinking some coffee while watching how his son got up from the table to go to his grandmother so she could give him some cookies.

Yuta quickly put his phone away.
“I'm sorry, it's just that I got an important message" he feigned serenity.

“Important in what way?" asked Satoru curiously.

Yuta shrugged as he picked at some fruit with a fork.
 “It's some research work I'm doing. Arriving in Kyoto I have to go take care of some business"

“I see!" Your host had a big smile on his face, "From the look on your face and that big smile, I think I understand what that important business you have to attend to over there”

“I don't think you'll understand...”

“Of course I understand and more than as a man I can guess what it's about" he pointed his fork at him, "And from the look on your face when you read that message, I can guess that That important matter is a woman, right? Because it's more than evident that you can't stop thinking about her, isn't it?" replied Satoru mischievously.

“I don't know who you're talking about..." Yuta feigned ignorance.

“Of course you know who I'm talking about" He looked offended as he kept talking and moving his fork back and forth, "She is none other than Maki" He pointed to his guest's crotch, "Because even what you have in the middle of your pants, gives you away when you think of her!" Satoru replied with a big smile, "Like right now" he said mischievously as he noticed that slight bulge in his guest's pants.

Yuta tried to control himself, he became serious and took a deep breath while he covered himself with a cloth napkin in the middle of his pants “As I said, it's just a matter I have to solve in Kyoto...” he drank some coffee to hide his nervousness and avoid answering more to that question.

“Hehe okay, I understand" Satoru leaned back in his chair, "Well, whatever business it is that you have to attend to, just make sure of three things”

“And what are those three things?" asked Yuta, raising an eyebrow.

Satoru raised a first finger “First, give Maki my regards”

Yuta looked at him seriously as he continued to listen to him.

Satoru smiled hugely and then raised a second finger, "The second, make sure you please her very well in bed because it is more than obvious that this way you can give a reconciliation between the two of you to recover those seven years lost, and incidentally, enjoy them properly. And don't forget to show her how much you still love her and want her, especially because women hate disinterest and thirdly” then He raise one more finger “Use protection. Lest you end up making more babies!”

All those words made Yuta very red. He just wanted to get out of there to avoid talking to Satoru. So he pretended he wasn't paying attention to him.

The albino let out a despondent sigh. He knew he was no longer dealing with a teenager. “Anyway Yuta, being in Kyoto, don't forget why you came back to this country. So I also need you to make a decision soon about what you are going to do with this case and your future leadership with this clan, okay?”

But Yuta no longer paid attention to those words as he was immersed in his mind, thinking only of Maki, the woman for whom he would give up everything just to be with her. Even if it meant losing his life.

But strangely enough, Maki couldn't stop thinking about Yuta that rainy afternoon either. Especially not with the conversation she was about to have with her guest.

 

 

 

◈ ━━━━ ◇ ━━━━ ◈

 

 

Kyoto.

10:01 a.m.

 

It seemed that the rain was doing its thing in both cities, as it was raining quite heavily in Kyoto as well.

Still, the day for that family was just beginning and they had things to do and missions to accomplish.

Two messages had arrived on Maki's cell phone almost simultaneously.

The first one was from Mei Mei, who reminded her that that day they had to fulfill their mission to go and eliminate another sorcerer they had been assigned to eliminate and of whom they had already spent several weeks observing and investigating.

“Don't forget that we have until today to eliminate "THAT MAN" and more than that he will leave us a large sum of money. So we can't waste any more time, we must eliminate him, yes or yes! Understood? And no excuses!”

Those words seemed to be more of an order.

And the second message was from none other than Yuta.

"We need to talk, I have found out some important things. I will be in Kyoto after noon... I need to see you..." - said that message.

Those two messages caused that cell phone to vibrate in succession on the kitchen table, drawing the attention of a very special guest.

“It seems that this morning many people are looking for you, Maki san” commented Yuki, who was waiting for breakfast that morning to spend some time with the family she was investigating.

That had been the main reason for her visit, as she had a feeling that something big was about to happen. Especially with the twins. Which, by her reckoning, it shouldn't be long before their techniques showed up.

Yuki finished preparing her coffee and still standing, she took that cell phone and read those messages from the lock screen.
“And it seems to be important because clearly one is from Mei Mei and the other one is from..." she stopped in her tracks and her eyes opened wide.

Maki, who was preparing her children's breakfast, turned and snatched her cell phone quickly.

“Please don't read my messages!” she commented annoyed, putting her cell phone in the pocket of her pajama pants.

“Okay, although from what I've just read, I can guess that you're going to have a very interesting afternoon, aren't you?" she asked, taking a seat "By the way, I wonder what your mission is this afternoon with Mei Mei?" she said with irony.

“That's none of your business..." Maki looked at her with a big grimace of annoyance before turning to turn off the stove.

“I know that that is none of my business Maki san, or rather Sorcerer Killer"  said the guest with a touch of sarcasm, then glued her hands to her chin. -
“Although you know that with me your secret will be safe" she replied while still keeping a big smile on her lips.

Maki turned to Yuki again at those words.
“I'm still surprised you didn't rat me out to the authorities, especially since you know what my job has been lately”

Yuki brought her cup to her lips. “That's because I don't want to be a snitch either..." she drank very carefully, "Besides, I don't like snitches, those were the ones I used to beat up in high school!”

Maki sighed.
“I guess I should thank you for that..." she turned to turn make her own cup of coffee.

While the coffee pot finished filling Maki's cup so that she could prepare it to her liking, she looked out the window for a moment. She observed how at that time of the morning, the rain was still falling quite heavily, making that day really feel nostalgic.

Yuta wasn't the only one who couldn't stop thinking about her. Maki was also thinking about him a lot.

She couldn't even stop thinking about that talk where they ended up kissing.

Deep down, though, Maki wished that night had ended in something more. Something more carnal. But both her pride and that eavesdropper who was spying on them that night prevented her from making love to Yuta.

Maki let out a deep sigh as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and looked at her cell phone notifications.

To Mei Mei replied that she would start the mission later, that she would wait for her at the agreed time at the chosen place.

But to Yuta's message, that one she didn't know how to answer. She felt like when she was a teenager and received messages from that boy when she was in Africa.

Every time she saw his name in the notification bar, she felt her cheeks heat up and her heart pounding. That's how she felt at that moment.

She even opened that chat, but didn't know how she should respond or what she should put.

Would an Ok be enough? Should she lie and say they weren't going to be home? Even if she made up a thousand excuses, her heart wanted to see him. Both to find out what he had discovered and to kiss and hug him. Still, all that was quite risky.

She blocked her cell phone again without answering him. She seemed a little worried because she knew that Yuta was going to meet her, the "enemy", the one she was killing and he was looking for, even so, she was a mix between worry, longing and desire.

For some reason, the idea that Yuta would look for her, pursue her and find her, excited her. She could feel and remember how that night he had embraced her and brought her close to his body, how she had detected his perfume, which was still the same, and how that kiss had ignited everything inside her, making both her body and her whole being need him.

And that made her feel guilty, but at the same time, she felt that need to be pleased and more than seven years were eternal.

The memory of that kiss with Yuta still haunted her, as she still felt the taste of his lips on hers, causing her to unconsciously bring her index and middle fingers to her lips as she looked out the window and watched the water mark its path across the glass.

She remembered how his tongue had touched hers, and only imagined how that tongue might have explored her body.

Even at that moment I imagine a little of how they might have ended that night. Tangled in bed, making love after seven years of absence.

Still, her pride hurt, but at the same time she was eager for him. Contradictory, isn't it?

She let out a soft sigh and those sinful thoughts were stopped when the guest began to speak.

“I miss him so much!” Yuki sobbed, with a rather long face.

That brought Maki out of her thoughts and she turned to the blonde.

“On these rainy afternoons is when I miss my husband the most!" the special grade sorceress sighed with her hands pressed to her cheeks and her elbows on the table. She wanted to break the ice.

“Are you talking about Choso?" asked Maki, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at such a statement. She leaned against the bar for a moment.

“Well, who else could I be talking about?" Yuki questioned a bit indignant, "Of course I'm talking about him!” She pouted, "He hasn't been able to leave that stupid clan since a few weeks ago to be with me, it makes me sad, and all this is because you started attacking all of them!”

“I will not apologize for carrying out my revenge" commented Maki with a grimace.

“You know? I am a woman who needs special attention from her husband!" Yuki turned to Maki, while leaning her back on the chair.
“Especially in this rainy weather is when I want to be hugging Choso the most!” Her chest went up and down in a longing sigh “I want him to caress my hair, and then intertwine our hands, and little by little I will put my leg up on him, while we are in bed, and then we will start making love...” she pouted- “Really, I need him to do it to me!” she said raising her voice “I need to be touched by him!”

Maki made a face of total annoyance.
“And don't raise your voice like that, I don't want the kids to wake up and hear about your dirty things" she turned to pick up her coffee cup.

Yuki smiled cheekily.
“I'm just a woman who likes physical contact and to be loved from time to time. And don't even worry about your children” she lifted her face to the ceiling for a moment, footsteps could be heard at the same time some toys could be heard “I can tell they just woke up and they are playing up there before going down to have their breakfast, I don't think they will hear our conversation” she took her cup carefully.

Maki took a seat next to her, but not before taking her phone out of her pocket, she put it on silent and placed it with the screen down so that her guest could not see anything else

“Yet I'm still surprised that you married that guy. Wasn't he supposed to be half curse?" Maki asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Believe me, he is more human than other men I know" she let out another sigh, this one seemed to be more of longing, "I would even say that he taught me a new concept of both humanity and love and by the way, he has given me the sex I always longed for" a big smile formed on her face, "He is definitely my type, especially because he is someone who knows how to please me in everything, but especially in bed" she winked.

Maki rolled her eyes.
“But even so, weren't you ever curious about who he really was before he harbored that thing? Or if he had a family or who he was before all this?" she asked looking at her guest seriously.

“For both me and Choso the past no longer matters to us at this point" she moved her spoon a bit to dissolve more of the sugar that had remained at the bottom of her cup.

“Although I admit that we did do some research on him as a human, but basically Choso decided that he wanted to stay as he is now without knowing who he was in the past" she drank some more of her coffee, "So what he did in the past or with whom or what he was before doesn't matter anymore in this present that we have built together since seven years ago. Besides, we are both very happy without knowing anything about each other's past and I think you should do the same with you know who" she had a big smile on her face.

They both exchanged a glance. Maki could tell, that woman really loved that man.

“But still, how I miss him!" the blonde whined some more.

Maki made a grimace of annoyance at such crying for lack of attention. Crying that was interrupted when they heard footsteps coming from upstairs, as well as the sounds of some jumps that they assumed were from Yurika. Surely that little girl had already woken up with too much energy as usual.

Even so, they decided to keep talking while those children woke up to go down for breakfast, especially Yuudai who was the twin that took the longest to wake up.

The flowers that Yuta had given her days ago were still looking beautiful even though they were just wilting.

And that flower arrangement had caught Yuki's attention "By the way," she touched the petals of one of those flowers, "Whose bouquet is this?" she asked curiously.

Maki drank more of her coffee. “It's mine. It was a gift”

“Oh, really? who is it from? Is it Megumi's, or your children's?" she asked curiously, Yuki seemed to be the most excited to talk to Maki, "Although I doubt that Megumi has given you something like this. And more than that, there has never been anything romantic between you two, hasn't there?”

“Between him and me there has only been a false marriage" said Maki quickly, "And no, these flowers were not a gift from him or my children...”

“So who gave you these flowers?” Yuki asked with a hint of total curiosity in her eyes, although deep down she already knew the answer.

“From no one in particular" commented Maki, trying to change the subject.

“I think I know who you're talking about.”

Again, footsteps were heard above their heads.

“Wow, it looks like they're having a lot of fun up there" Yuki commented with a smile, looking up at the ceiling.

“Yes” Maki sighed, "They've been very restless since the other night. Especially since they came back from the festival..." she said and then took a sip of her coffee.

“Talking about a few nights ago…" Yuki had tinges of intrigue in her voice, "I heard that Okkotsu also spent the night here. Is that true?  These flowers are his, aren't they?" her face lit up in a big smile.

Maki sighed. She guessed that her sons had told that blonde about it. -
“They told you, didn't they?" she asked, pointing to the ceiling.

Yuki just nodded her head with a big smile, "So it's true, you finally met Okkotsu again!”

Maki made a click with her tongue “Yes... he was here” she had no choice but to tell the truth while she drank more of her coffee. Maki felt she was going to need it as much to endure Yuki as she needed it to endure her day that was just beginning.

“So?" the blonde had a big smile on her face, "How did it go? Did anything else happen between the two of you? What were you talking about?" she seemed quite curious.

Maki pursed her lips slightly. But her cheeks flushed red at such a memory of that passionate kiss given in that kitchen.

“From the way the blood is rushing to your face, it seems that something important did happen" Yuki mused excitedly.

Maki's pride and barely let her speak.
“Yes, we both talked a bit about the past, as well as came to some agreements about how he's going to be able to see and spend time with the children and...” her face was still tinged with red.

“And? I know it's not the coffee that's made your face red”

“And Yuta and I kissed..." confessed Maki.

Yuki seemed happy enough about that news that she even clapped her hands a little.
“Oh my gosh!, you finally talk openly about your feelings after so many years!”

That answer was quite strange to Maki.
“What are you trying to say with that?" she looked at her guest in confusion.

Yuki proceeded to explain, "I'm talking about how I finally see you happy and in love and that you were only one night close to Okkotsu" her tone of voice changed to one of mischief, "And I don't want to imagine what could happen between you two if you keep meeting or what things you could do" she had a big smile on her lips, "And who knows, maybe very soon there could be a baby in this house”

“Okkotsu and I are not going to have another baby!" Maki raised her voice in shame, "And more than happy and in love, I'm rather..." she shut up all of a sudden.

“Huh?” Yuki raised an eyebrow.

Maki swallowed saliva “Actually I'm mmm…” she hesitated a Little  “I would say I'm a little thoughtful and annoyed” -she took a sip of her coffee “And more because of everything Okkotsu and I talked about that night...” she let the air out with difficulty.

“Like?” Yuki commented, putting her hand on her cheek and her elbow on the table, "How much did you and Okkotsu talk about to make you upset like this?”

Maki took another sip of her coffee.
“Well…" she began to explain, "We both talked about that day at the train station and he found out that Satoru was indeed behind our separation”

“I guess it was time for Okkotsu to find out the truth, although I can guess it was a shock for him" commented Yuki very attentive to what Maki was saying, "And what else did you talk about?”

“I also told him how I found out I was pregnant. And he confessed to me that on that occasion he wanted to ask me to marry him..." she said with a sad grimace.

Yuki was quite surprised by that answer.
“Ouch! That idiot Satoru really frustrated their dreams. Tell me Maki, if Yuta had asked you to marry him at that time, would you have said yes to him?”

“What?" came out of Maki's mouth almost instantly at that question.

“I mean, if you would have accepted to be Mrs. Okkotsu officially? would you have wanted a wedding and stuff?”

Maki took a deep breath, looked at her cup as she brought it in between her hands. She thought for a moment about that question to which she had an answer. “Maybe I would have said yes at the time... and yes, I admit it, maybe I would have wanted a wedding because with Megumi I didn't have one”

“Awww, I see you do have a cheesy side!” Yuki glued her hands to her cheeks for that answer.

Maki was embarrassed by that stupid and corny answer, "But that doesn't take away the fact that I'm mad at him for not coming to get me for these seven years!" she raised her voice to change the subject.

“Maybe their relationship could be different from now on, and even more so since they already meet and even kissed, I guess that's the beginning of their reconciliation" commented Yuki mischievously, "But tell me, what else did Okkotsu tell you that night?”

“Well... he told me a little bit about...” she grunted “What he was doing abroad while we were apart” she seemed annoyed at the memory of that.

“From the way you say it, it seems that it was something serious” Yuki noticed that hostile change in Maki, she knew that something had made her angry  “And what did you find out about his going abroad?”

Maki sighed and blurted out the reason for her anger.
“I found out that Yuta slept with another woman while he was abroad...”

Yuki choked on her saliva and coffee. That answer caused her genuine surprise. “WHAT DID YOU SAY!!!"

“What you heard! Yuta slept with another woman!” commented Maki in a whisper full of pure anger.

“WHAT YUTA WHAT?” Yuki raised her voice too high.

Maki gave her a murderous look.
“Don't make me repeat what I've already told you...”

Yuki's cough turned to laughter at such responses as she wiped the coffee on the table with a napkin “Wow!, I didn't think that guy could be like womanizer haha I'm shocked!”

“Why?" asked Maki with an annoyed frown. Her eyebrows drew too close together.

“Because seriously!" Yuki leaned her elbow back on the table and her fist on her cheek, "I never thought he could be that kind of man, you know? one who would sleep with another woman even if he loved another”

“TSK!”Maki groaned at the memory of that confession.

“And?” Yuki was really intrigued by this topic  “And what else did he tell you? Do you know what she looks like? Did he tell you her name?”

Maki really seemed furious with those questions

“He only said they slept together once! But I don't think it was just once! And no, I don't want to know how many more times they did it or in what way they did it or where they did it! And much less do I want to know what she looks like! I don't want to know if she's prettier than me, or more feminine or thinner or” Maki growl  “I don't want to know anything about her because I swear I...” she clenched her cup in her hands in annoyance, it seemed like it would break at any moment.

Yuki moved her tongue inside her mouth back and forth. “Although from the way you talk about that mysterious woman, it seems that this topic really affected you”

“It's not affecting me at all!" said Maki, banging on the table in annoyance.

“Of course it is affecting you!" Yuki commented seriously, "Everything you just said in one way or another your mind has already imagined how it happened, where, when and most importantly, you are unconsciously thinking about how she is. If it wasn't affecting you, you wouldn't be this upset”

Maki pursed her lips, it was true, deep down all this was affecting her more than she thought.

Yuki finished her coffee in one gulp.

“I know that Mei Mei taught you to hurt some people by asking them about their privacy, but I think that this time, the one who was hurt this time is you and you have a hard time accepting it.”

"It's not true!"

"It's true! Besides, you're not that holy either, Maki, don't be a liar..." Yuki commented seriously. "Do you think I don't know what happened between you and Fushiguro that night? I know you keep several secrets and this is one of them."

“What do you know about it?" Maki felt the blood drain from her body.

“I know that what happened a year ago was what made Megumi put an end to this charade that he was the biological father of your children" she tapped her finger on the table.
 “previously I heard that you two had "accidentally" kissed on one occasion. But it was more than obvious that your heart was still thinking about Yuta. Not only your heart, but your mind and body. That's why this separation came, isn't it? You're lucky that Megumi is more mature than you and knows how to take control of things, as well as how to make decisions with a cool head. Not for nothing was he the smartest boy in Tokyo High School of his generation”

Maki was chilled by what she was hearing.

Yuki continued to explain. “Especially after that night where YOU hit on him and wanted Fushiguro to have sex with you because he reminded you so much of Yuta. You practically wanted to force him, but he managed to stop you. Answer me honestly Maki. Were you fragile enough that time to commit such a sin?

"He told you this, didn't he?" Maki asked, trying to remain serious.

“Yes, Fushiguro told me what happened that time" commented Yuki with too much annoyance for that behavior. “Luckily, he stopped you from doing something sinful, tell me Maki, are you aware that you and he are second line relatives? Are you aware that what you were going to commit that night is called abuse? And more so that you were using your physical strength against Fushiguro to force him to be intimate with you.”

Maki grunted. “And I apologized to Megumi for that time. That's why I told him he was free to leave if he felt uncomfortable with me.” She Sigh “That time I got carried away with the alcohol...”

“Don't lie anymore Maki san!" Yuki reproached her, "That time your sadness made you show your true feelings, you didn't love nor do you love Fushiguro kun, that's more than clear. Since on that occasion you were only seeing him as a substitute. And don't use alcohol as an excuse!” Yuki raise her voice very angry.

“It was not the alcohol that made you act in such a forced way, because alcohol does nothing to you due to your condition, I had already proven that all those who suffer from a heavenly restriction, alcohol has no effect on them, so that day you were NOT drunk, you were emotionally wasted, that time it was your sadness that made you act like a crazy stalker, not even alcohol warms you up, so don't blame it on something that has no effect on you!” she tapped her finger on the table several times very annoyed by Maki's words.
“It is more than obvious that you still love Yuta. That's why what happened between him and that woman affects you because of the love and desire you still feel for Okkotsu. And even more so because he could have slept with someone and you couldn't”

“Okay! I admit that I acted like drunk that time without being drunk!" commented Maki seriously, "Mei Mei had taught me to act like that for some occasions in order to assassinate our targets once they got drunk...”

“Really. You have the worst teacher" Yuki commented seriously, "And more that she never taught you to forget Okkotsu”

“I...” Maki didn't know what to say because everything Yuki was saying was real “Ok, you're right, alcohol has no effect on me and yes, I admit it, I still loved Yuta and I maybe...” her voice became small “I still...love him...but...”

“Maki san, what I'm going to say is not to defend Yuta and much less that I'm on his side, but he had the right to rebuild his life as he pleased and even more that you were no longer together and it was uncertain if you would ever meet again” commented Yuki with total seriousness. “Besides, the separation of the two of you was so sharp that both of you at the time thought that you had abandoned each other. So basically you are both victims of circumstances created by other people”

Maki sighed at that slap of reality.

“And we should be thankful that Fushiguro was not so drunk that time and that he acted in time and stopped you from committing something you could have regretted all your life”

“You're right. Megumi stopped me from committing something sinful, but" Maki sighed, "But still, no one stopped Yuta from doing it with someone else. According to him, when he tried to forget me was when he tried to do it with other women while I was not being caressed, without being kissed and much less sexually pleasured for seven years while I took care of his children... while he enjoyed those bitches.”

“Did Yuta have sex with more women?” Yuki opened her mouth in surprise at such an answer.

Maki clicked her tongue.
 “According to him, there were going to be three women, but in reality he only slept with one... only with that slut...”

“And how long ago did he say he slept with her?" Yuki asked curiously.

“He said it was about a year ago, but he said that for six years he was traveling from one continent to another” Maki swallowed saliva to remove the lump in her throat, he wanted to scream with anger, even so she spoke out loud “BUT DURING THOSE YEARS HE COULD HAVE TRIED TO SEEK ME! THAT'S WHAT HURTS ME THE MOST AND MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL! THAT IT TOOK HIM 7 YEARS TO COME BACK FOR ME! BUT HE DIDN'T HESITATE FOR A MINUTE TO SLEEP WITH SOMEONE ELSE!”

“But if they didn't let him come looking for you before, it must be for something, don't you think?” Yuki seemed to know something about it, but she didn't want to reveal it.

“And what could that reason have been?”

“I have no doubt he will tell you soon" she pointed to Maki's cell phone, referring to the fact that Yuta would be home later.

“And now that you saw each other again and spoke the truth, it is more than clear that what hurts you the most is the fact that Yuta has given himself to another woman, while you could not give yourself to anyone else because you had the responsibility of your children and, by the way, you still had Okkotsu engraved in your heart, in your mind and in your body” Yuki continued speaking.

That made Maki keep silent, she was quite annoyed. Even so, it was very true what the blonde was saying.

Yuki rested her face in her hands.
 “Although I confess that now I'm quite curious to know about that woman who slept with him. It must have been quite a feat and even more so with Rika present”

“Even Rika didn't stop her and that makes me confused and upset!" Maki commented, clenching her fists on the table, "From what Stupid Okkotsu told me, Rika only stopped him from sleeping with those two other bitches but Agh!, But she didn't stop him with that woman, I don't understand!"

“Did Rika stop him from sleeping with the other two? But didn't she stop him from sleeping with that woman?” asked Yuki surprised, "Wow! That speaks a lot about that woman, she must be extraordinary or maybe it's because of her cursed technique" she said curious to check something.

Maki grunted at that. “Yes, that girl must have been very brave. I still don't understand why Rika didn't stop her!" she replied annoyed, "Stupid Okkotsu, I'm this close to castrating him and wanting to kill that woman!”

Yuki noticed that behavior in Maki. All that made her let out a slight chuckle.

“What are you laughing at?" Maki asked angrily.

“You are jealous”

“What? Of course I'm not!" Maki reproached, raising her voice, "I admit I'm upset with Yuta but I'm not jealous, besides, he can do whatever he wants, I really don't care!”

Yuki burst out laughing.
“You definitely care because the fact that he slept with someone else is eating your head. If you didn't care you wouldn't have even mentioned it”

Maki vocifero.

“Admit it. You are hurt by the fact that Yuta has given himself to another woman”

Faced with such a statement, Maki only kept silent.

It was true. The fact that Yuta slept with another woman stirred up all her feelings during those previous three nights and had plunged her into a spiral of so many negative emotions. It seemed that she was becoming so obsessed with that subject that it even hurt her.

And Yuki had noticed that. “Maki, answer me something with total sincerity" she looked at her seriously, "Would it bother you if Yuta made his life with another woman, especially now that you are married to another man?”

That question left Maki thoughtful.
“You said it yourself, he is free to make his life as he wants, besides I am a ghost and he cannot be with me because I am already dead for the society of sorcery and society in general and if I married Megumi it was to give a last name that was not Zenin or Tsukumo to my children" she commented indifferently.

“I can tell you are not being sincere at all" replied Yuki, "Let's put it this way. Maki, who assures you that that woman won't come to look for him one day? What will you do if that happens" she asked with a serious look, observing that Maki couldn't say anything.

This idea completely broke Maki's heart. Was there such a possibility?

“I... I don't know...”

“Did he show feelings for her? Or did Okkotsu show regret for having done it with that mysterious woman?" asked Yuki.

Maki pursed her lips.
“Well, he apologized for doing it, he seemed quite sorry and...I don't know. I don't know if he ever felt anything for her, but my heart tells me that she fell in love with Yuta as much as I still do with him” she brought her hand to her chest.

Yuki got a smile all over her face at that answer.
“Then show Yuta that you still love him. Take back these seven years you lost because of those who separated you, they are already out of your way”

“What are you trying to say?" asked Maki, shocked by those words.

“What I'm trying to say is that you two fight for your love and for your children! You and Yuta make up for those lost years, to be the family you were always meant to be. And while you do it, let you and Okkotsu be the passionate couple were always meant to be.”

“What?” those words made Maki look at her guest “What the hell are you saying?”

“I'm just saying that you should pay attention to your feelings for him" she pointed to her chest, right at the level of her heart.

"Look, I did it at the time with Choso: I let myself go and, by the way, I left behind the whole issue of what happened in the past. And so we've both been very happy for seven years. But in your case, besides forgetting, you would have to forgive that mistake Okkotsu made by sleeping with that other woman” Yuki look at Maki fixedly “Let yourself flow with what you feel, let yourself be carried away by that passion again. You also deserve to be loved and desired” she smiled with complicity- “Besides, the tension between you can be seen for miles. If you've already kissed, it's more than clear that the desire to make love is not lacking. Tell me Maki, wouldn't it be better to surrender to that love and desire? Maybe you can give it one more try”

Maki rolled her eyes.
 “I can't forgive him so easily for barely coming back, let alone sleeping with that woman!" she crossed her arms. Her pride was quite strong.

“If you put aside your pride, of course you could forgive him completely, besides, you know perfectly well that you will need all his trust in you if you don't want him to suspect that you are the murderer he is looking for!” Yuki sighed and tensed her shoulders.

“I already have a plan and an alibi so he won't suspect me”

“HAHA! I want to see how that ends! I wonder who's fall will hurt more between the two of you?" replied Yuki sarcastically.

“Although this could easily be solved in bed to see if he really still loves you and if you really love him” Yuki smiled a little. “Above all, this way you could check if he really still has feelings for you or if he thinks about that woman. It's like testing each other's feelings."

Maki got up and walked to the stove to reheat breakfast. She had had enough of this conversation, which had gone on long enough that even breakfast had gone cold.

 “I don't think that's the way to resolve things. Also, it is more than obvious that Yuta loves and desires her more than me" she said with discouragement and jealousy.

“On the contrary, something tells me that he wants you" Yuki didn't take her eyes off her.
 “And this afternoon you could check it. Try to seduce him and check if what you feel right now is just spite or if you really still love him" commented Yuki with a compassionate smile. “Just let yourself go a little. Kiss him like there's no tomorrow, bite his lips, touch his whole body, cling to his skin, give yourself to him like in your high school years and let yourself go. This is the only way you will see how much he and you really feel”

“Mmmm…”

Yuki sighed when she saw that Maki ignored her.
 “Although, from now on you should start taking more care of yourself”

“I know I have to be careful about my missions and that he doesn't catch me. I am very conscious of that”

“I don't mean that kind of care" smiled Yuki taking something out of her bag, "I mean that you should start taking contraceptives or you should have some of these on hand" she put a condom on the table. “You'll definitely need this more than me right now” she sighed  “I was saving it to use it with Choso, but I think you're going to need it very soon”

“Don't put that on the table where my children eat!" said Maki, annoyed by the condom on the table, which she quickly took it off the table and threw it in the trash. Big mistake because she would definitely use it later.

“Seriously, the way things are going, I feel that you two will settle it in bed rather than in a fight with fists! That's why you should take more care of yourself sexually” Yuki smiled standing up and approaching the buffet.

Maki twisted her mouth at that answer as Yuki continued talking.
 “Besides, remember that you are a very fertile woman. With that you had fraternal twins the first time because you had a hyperovulation and added to your twin condition, that could increase your possibility of having a multiple pregnancy again or Do you already want to give your children a little brother or sister?”

That mother turned completely red at that comment. Even the words did not come out of her mouth.

“Oh! I wish I could have a baby already!” Yuki said in a sigh, "Maybe once they release Choso from that hellish residence we'll try again to have a baby”

That answer surprised Maki, who turned to look at her quickly.
“Have you tried to have babies before?”

Yuki smiled slightly.
“For several years we tried, but...” a grimace of sadness was reflected on her lips “We haven't succeeded, since we've had several losses due to his condition of being half curse and well it seems that my special category body rejects its babies, so maybe one more attempt could work once all this is over”

Maki sighed.
“And that's why you've been investigating my children closely for almost seven years? Just because you haven't been able to have babies?”

“It could be. Curiosity always calls me and more than your case having babies from a special category sorcerer is fascinating " the blonde smiled hugely. That answer gave Maki the shivers.

“Anyway, it would also be good for you to tell Okkotsu the whole truth about how you feel and about what happened with Fushiguro kun" commented Yuki taking some dishes out of the cupboard and starting to put them on the table, "Okkotsu also deserves to know the truth, as well as a new opportunity”

But at that moment the atmosphere felt a little strange. At that instant, the whole house was illuminated when lightning struck and the noise rattled the wood.

Yuki felt as if a cursed technique had been activated. At the same time the twins were heard to scream very frightened and it even sounded as if someone or something had fallen to the floor in a crashing manner.

So Yuki went to see what was going on with Maki's children in that room, just as she was going to go get them to come down for breakfast.

Maki looked at her cell phone while Yuki went to get the children. What the blonde had said had left her thinking, so she decided to answer the message seeing that it had already been a while since Yuta sent it to her.

“Okay. Yes, we do need to talk... I also need to see you..."she replied in that message.

But Maki and Yuki were not the only ones who had been talking on that rainy morning.

Yurika and Yuudai had had a very interesting conversation. And incidentally, they had given the first signs of their cursed techniques.

◈ ━━━━ 🎃 ━━━━ ◈

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked this chapter, and by the way, I hope you don't want to kill me for what happened between Maki and Megumi 😬.

Basically, Megumi wanted to tell Yuta about this sensitive issue of abuse chapters ago. But as you can see, he didn't have the courage. And more because as Yuki says, it's something Maki should talk to Yuta about.

On the other hand, I can only advance that all of Yuki's advice will indeed have results 🔥 which you will be able to read very soon.

I also wanted to touch very lightly on Choso and Yuki's relationship in this fic where despite being estranged they still love each other.

And tell me what did you think of the chapter? I'll be reading your comments.

And as I said in the initial note, the twins will return in the next chapter where, at last, they will know which techniques each one will have inherited.

Anyway, keep reading ❤️ I hope to update soon.

And enjoy this Halloween night 🎃 muajajaja.

Chapter 25: 24. Puzzle

Notes:

Hello! Vera here with one more chapter of this fic.

I'm only coming back for those readers who do value the translation and the story and who are not being hypocritical moralists with a fictional story on a platform where worse things have been written. Maybe you've even read worse.

So if you are going to leave those comments where you get moralistic, whiny and crybaby, you'd better shove those comments up your ass.

you're on time to abandon this fic, because there are things you might not like about Maki and Yuta's relationship from now on, as well as situations in the plot that will give unexpected turns and situations with other characters that you might not like to read.

The tags are well established since the beginning of the fic and also tags were added as the plot progressed, there you can see what's coming.

So you can stop complaining

But now, if you are one of the readers who are still interested in reading this fic, then get ready, because today's chapter is interesting. And more because Yurika and Yuudai are back with a surprise.

So without further ado, enjoy the reading, especially that they know how to separate fiction from reality.

 

"People are mysteries that unravel bit by bit, they are like a puzzle that is pieced together with each interaction."

 

 

09:40 a.m.

Maki and Yuki were not the only ones talking at that time in the morning.

While these two women were talking about love, jealousy and sins.

The twins were already awake in their room, playing in that rainy morning before going down for breakfast.

They were even still wearing their pajamas because they were waiting for their mother to tell them to come downstairs.

Of the twins, Yurika was the most restless that morning.

She was very hyperactive since she woke up, she seemed to have woken up with more energy than usual, as she was jumping up and down, deciding which toy to play with.

She could even notice herself quite anxious, as she felt a strange sensation run through her little body, but especially her little feet, they were the ones asking her to go from one side to the other.

The little girl did not know what toy to play with, as every doll and stuffed animal she picked up, she threw it on the floor because she felt that on that particular day, she was bored with greater speed.

She even walked several times to her small dressing table. She combed her hair in various styles because she really didn't know what accessory to wear that day or how she should style it. She even seemed undecided about what to wear after breakfast. Truly, that behavior was very unusual for her.

Moreover, this girl seemed to have discovered something very important that she wanted to show off, although at the same time, she felt she had to keep it a secret.

Yuudai, on the other hand, was too focused on trying to finish putting together a puzzle that his aunt Tsumiki had recently given him. The poor guy still looked tired despite having slept very early the night before.

His sister was not the only one who had woken up with a strange feeling running through her body. Yuudai also woke up with that same unsettling feeling.

Even so, to prevent sleep from overcoming him once again, he had decided to start putting that puzzle together while his mother called them for breakfast.

His sister in such despair at not knowing what to do, decided to join him, quickly sitting down in front of her twin.

“What else do you think Mom and Grandma Yuki are doing down there?" Yurika asked curiously, still moving her feet while sitting.

“Besides chatting, you can tell they are making breakfast since it smells like coffee and food" Yuudai answered as he put a piece that belonged to one of the wings of that rocket that had the puzzle.

That boy, a few days ago, had exchanged dinosaurs for space rockets and planets and stars. It was like his new obsession.

Faced with such a change, his aunt Tsumiki had given him an astronomy book that had belonged to her as a child, especially since for some hitherto unknown reason, Yuudai felt familiar with that subject. And more that he felt himself "floating" in his dreams as if he were in space.

Yurika pouted when she saw how focused her twin was on that puzzle.
“I'm bored!!" she said with annoyance to get his attention.

Yuudai looked up at her.
 “Then go play with your dolls or stuffed animals. You have a lot of them”

“I tried that, but they bored me!” she said aloud.

Her brother turned his head toward the pile of toys on his sister's side of the room. Truly that pink and white part of the room was a mess.

“Mom will scold us if she sees that mess. You could tidy up what you just did before going downstairs for breakfast" Yuudai scolded.

The girl folded her arms.
“That pile of toys is on my side of the room, so they're not going to tell you anything, crybaby! Besides, I'm already too lazy to pick up that mess, so I'll do it after breakfast”

His twin just rolled his eyes. That theme always recurred between them.

Yurika and Yuudai shared a room since they were born. This was on Mai's recommendation since they took care of each other and avoided being afraid.

From the moment you walked into the twins' room, you could see the difference in the personalities of these two, as well as in their tastes.

The right side of the room belonged to Yurika. It was painted in pink and white colors. It also had nice shelves where she put all her dolls and stuffed animals. As well as her bed had a lilac colored bedspread and many pillows in pastel colors. Her bed was full of stuffed animals and above it was a beautiful pink canopy with lots of gold glitter and above it was an accessory that looked like a big crown.

But at that moment that side of the room was a mess. Since something that characterized Yurika from a very young age was that she was a bit messy because of how restless she used to be.

In addition, she also that on her side of the room, she had a small dresser full of accessories and a small circular mirror, that piece of furniture was also used as a desk to do her homework.

As well as on her side of the room she had a closet full of colorful children's fashion clothes that she had chosen together with her aunt Nobara. Yurika really was and felt like a princess because she even had toy crowns and accessories worthy of one.

Instead, the left side of the room, near the exit, belonged to Yuudai. His part of the room was painted all in shades of blue and green.

Also on his side of the room he had some shelves where there were dinosaurs on them, as well as his other toys like collectible cars and stuffed animals that you might see in a zoo.

As well as near his bed, he had a shelf for his books since he liked to read and underneath it he had his own desk where he did his homework, which was always tidy.

His side of the room was the tidiest because most of the time he was too tired to play or because he spent a lot of time away from home due to his visits to the hospital to make sure his health was stable as it currently was.

And next to his bed, he had a bedside table, where besides having a lamp and his favorite book, he always had all his medications, as well as a thermometer and an oximeter in the drawer, and on his bed was his inhaler.

His bed had a green bedspread with a large drawing of a dinosaur on it, and he had few pillows due to medical advice. And on the ceiling of his bed, there were some stars glued, which glowed in the dark disguising a starry sky.

Like his twin, he had a closet of his own, where yellows, greens, blues and whites t-shirts stood out. He was more modest and understood nothing about fashion.

The whole room in general was full of both their own toys and toys that belonged to both of them. Above all, both of them always played in the middle of the room, which was divided by the large window.

Maki had already tried for each of them to have their own room, but that lasted less than a month in that new house, since one of them always went to play or sleep with the other and hearing their footsteps crossing the hallway always woke her up, so Maki decided that they would continue to have their shared room until a few years later.

Yuudai was the first to notice that something strange was going on that day, he even noticed the unusual behavior of his twin.
“You are more restless than usual" he observed as Yurika frantically moved her right foot.

“And you are behaving more boring than usual," Yurika reproached with an annoyed tone because of what her twin had said.
“Although I'm surprised you were the first to wake up, you're always the last”

Yuudai looked at his hands.
“Let's just say that since I woke up I've been feeling something...”

“Strange?" Yurika completed that sentence, seeming to have read it from her twin's mind.

“Yes, as if something was stinging my hands. As if were that current was going through my whole body, but especially in my hands I have this strange sensation” he showed his palms.

“I feel like that too, but I feel it on my feet. Maybe it's just the rain" explained Yurika, "Maybe the humidity is hurting us”

“Do you think it's an allergy?" Yuudai asked.

“If it were, we would both be bloated, ugly and full of welts" explained Yurika.

Yuudai sighed.
 “I just hope this strange feeling goes away soon”

They both kept a moment of silence. They tried to listen to what their mother and Yuki were talking down there, they stuck their ears to the ground, but the rain didn't let them hear anything. And they didn't want to go downstairs yet, as they didn't want to be scolded for listening to other people's talk.

“And what do you think Grandma Yuki and Mom are talking about down there?" asked Yurika curiously as she sat back down.

Yuudai shrugged his shoulders.
“I don't know. Although Mom can be heard raising her voice in annoyance at times”

“Do you think they're talking about us? Because mom tends to tell grandma Yuki about all the pranks we do and the last one we did was at school before we left for summer vacation!" said Yurika pointing at both her and her brother.

Yuudai shook his head once he sat back down.
“I don't think so. Besides, that prank was your idea, not mine, so you were lucky you didn't get expelled from school for troublemaker!" he returned his concentration to that puzzle he was putting together, "Maybe they're just talking about adult stuff, you know, just like the other day when Yuta kun came, he and Mom talked late into the night”

Yurika smiled hugely when she heard that name.
“And when do you think Yuta kun will return to Kyoto?” she asked so suddenly, looking at how focused her twin was.

“He said he would be back in a few days. He promised so " Yuudai took another piece between his fingers.
“Besides, it seemed that he and Mom talked about important things both that night and the next morning before he left for Tokyo" said the observant boy, putting one more piece in the puzzle he was almost finished putting together.

“Even at breakfast they exchanged glances and glances. I think they talked about something very serious" he took one more piece and began to analyze and compare the puzzle in front of him with the behavior of those two adults.

Both putting puzzles and drawing conclusions had become his favorite hobbies due to the long time he spent in the hospital when he was younger. Yuudai had really become a very observant and, incidentally, patient child. But that day he felt that one piece didn't fit.

“And how do you know that?" Yurika asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because at breakfast they kept seeing each other and I can also tell by the way they said goodbye. It was very...”

“Affectionate? Or loving?” Yurika asked very excited. As if she had noticed it too.

“Yes…” Yuudai pouted slightly.
“Besides, Mom doesn't blush like that when she's with daddy Gumi or not that I remember.... although I remember only once I've seen them kiss... but from then on I've never seen Mama behave affectionately with papa gumi" he commented, picking up another piece of his puzzle. He examined it and then put it down, he seemed to be looking for the next perfect piece that would fit the situation.

The slowness of her brother, despaired Yurika, who also began to take pieces at random.

“Well, it makes sense, Mom behaves very serious when she is with Papa Gumi” she looked excited as she looked at the piece she had taken from the floor –“But with Yuta kun it is very different, she even blushes when she is close to him, I have noticed it too, there seems to be something else there” -she smiled, she seemed to have remembered something she saw a days ago.

She quickly put that piece at random, which fit into the puzzle without difficulty. She even seemed to have come to a conclusion at that moment with the behavior between her mother and Okkotsu “Do you think mom likes Yuta kun?”

That question made his brother uncomfortable, who made a noise of disapproval  “mmm I don't know, why that question?” he raised an eyebrow.

Yurika picked up another piece again and quickly fitted it into the puzzle with no problem.

“Let's just say that since the day we invited him to lunch, I've noticed certain things between mom and Yuta, besides that well mmm mmmm I mmmm” it seemed that there was something else she didn't dare to say.

Yuudai closed his eyes trying to read his twin's mind. But he could not decipher what it was that she wanted to tell him, although he suspected that "something" that Yurika wanted to give him to understand, since he had also seen something between his mother and Okkotsu.

“And do you think Yuta kun likes or has feelings for our mother?" asked the boy, putting other pieces of the puzzle together.

Yurika got a big smile again at that question.
“I think so. I also like the way we get along with Yuta kun. Even papa Gumi and aunt Miki got along with him very well from the day they met him, as well as our other uncles and aunts " she jumped up and down on her knees without moving from her place. “Well, except for Aunt Noba, she doesn't seem to like him”

“I see that you really like being with Yuta kun, don't you, Yurika?" Yuudai commented, putting in one more piece, which he had a little trouble deciphering.

“Of course I like him! He saved us and by the way, I feel comfortable with him, as well as with everyone in our family! It's like he's one of us!" she said with a big smile, "Besides, he's a lot of fun!" she looked at her brother, "And your Yuudai? Do you like spending time with Yuta Kun? Do you like him?”

“Of course I like Yuta kun and by the way, I like spending time with him, but..." Yuudai said with a frown. He felt that a piece did not fit with that adult. Just like the piece he was holding between his fingers, which he didn't know where it should go since its edges didn't seem to fit.

“But?" Yurika asked curiously, cocking her head slightly to one side as she stared at him.

“Don't you feel that since we met Yuta kun, there is a constant sense of feeling that we are closer to him than we think?”

“What do you mean by that?" his sister asked rather seriously.

“I mean, it feels like he's someone much closer to us, and not just a stranger we met in an alley" he said looking at Yurika, who looked quite serious at that remark.

“A little bit.  Since we met him in that place I have felt that strange connection you mention with Yuta Kun” Yurika sighed at those words and more that she also felt that way than her brother.

“Yes, and that makes me think that maybe we are closer to Yuta kun than we think... that's really strange…" Yuudai explained.

“Although I would say that you look quite physically similar to Yuta kun, however he is not a scaredy-cat!" Yurika stuck out her tongue and tousled her brother's hair with both hands, "You especially look like him with your hair!”

“Idiot!” Yuudai brushed his sister's hands out of his hair, "I don't mean physically because if so, remember that you're just me but as a girl!" he said annoyed and pointing at her.

“I know!" Yurika elegantly moved her own hair with one hand, "I am you, but in a girl version, although I must say that I was born very beautiful!" she said shaking her shoulders in a very flattering tone to herself.

Yuudai narrowed his eyes and grimaced in annoyance, "I'd say you're more like a capricious, temper tantruming girl..." he said very annoyed.

“Even so, I'm beautiful, both Aunt Miki and Aunt Noba always tell me so, and even Aunt Mai always told me so!" said Yurika fluttering her hair presumptuously.

Then her shoulders dropped and her gaze focused on her brother. She became somewhat serious.
“But yes, ever since we met Yuta kun I feel like a strange connection with him. I feel as if his energy...”

Yuudai completed the sentence his sister was saying.
 “As if their cursed energy resembles ours, doesn't it?”

“Yes, that's what I'm trying to say!" Yurika commented, waving her hands encouragingly.

“Besides" Yuudai continued, "don't you feel as if Mom, Dad Gumi and our uncles and aunts have known Yuta for years and not as if they are just getting to know each other? You know what I mean?”

Yurika made a big yes with her head.
“Yes, and more because Yuta kun don't ask typical things that someone would ask or talk about when you meet someone for the first time...”- she answered doing some memory recalling.

Yurika remembered seeing how both Yuta and their father Megumi talked on the way home that night of the festival. She even remembered her aunt Tsumiki talking to him as if they were talking about something from the past.

Both children kept a moment of silence, while they analyzed this.

Until Yurika dared to say something about a subject she had been curious about for the past year.
“Besides, there's still the matter of our real father...” she pick up one more piece from the floor.

Yuudai mouth twisted and his eyes narrowed in annoyance at hearing that. "Don't start that again..." he whispered with annoyance.

Quickly his sister's eyes lit up and a big smile formed on her face and even more so when she remembered what she had seen between Yuta and her mother.

“What if Yuta kun is our real father?" Yurika said with great joy, placing that piece of the puzzle perfectly.

Yuudai rolled his eyes.
“AGH! Don't talk nonsense!" he replied angrily, "Mom said that our real father left before we were born. So it's more than obvious that he's not coming back!”

Yurika raised her voice at such a refusal
"I believe that our real father is coming back! And if you ask me, I would like Yuta kun to be our new dad!”

Yuudai again rolled his eyes and growled “You should stop watching so many novels and princess movies, that's why you are so corny and believe in so much nonsense” He raise his voice “For me, our father will still be daddy Gumi and our real father is just a coward like mom said! I won't forgive him if he comes back!!”

Those words made Yurika quite angry. She puffed out her cheeks and let the air out of her nostrils forcefully, quickly stood up and kicked the puzzle apart, sending all the pieces flying everywhere.

That action annoyed Yuudai too much, who looked with pure anger at his twin.

But at that moment when tempers had heated up and were about to come to blows between siblins, something strange happened between the twins. Something that would leave them quite confused.

Yurika predicted the next move her brother would make, which made her move instinctively to avoid the blow.

That movement that the girl made of taking a step backwards, she did it so fast that even that speed was not at all common even for herself.

Yurika had always stood out for her speed; in sports she was agile and quick, which made her the first choice of any team. However, the speed she showed in that instant had not been normal at all, since in a matter of seconds she had reached the other side of the room.

She even blinked several times, because she didn't really understand what had happened in that instant, as it all happened in the blink of an eye.

She moved so fast that Yuudai didn't have time to react, because what happened to him was even stranger.

A clap of thunder erupted in the sky, followed by a flash of lightning that illuminated Yuudai's figure from behind him. The light passed through the window, intensifying the shadow he cast on the ground.

Just as Yuudai was about to strike his sister, something unusual happened.

The dim light filtering through the window cast its shadow under his knees. The boy, overcome with rage at the smashing of his puzzle and the cruel words his sister had spoken on the subject of his real father whom he hated, felt his hands burn with fury. What happened next, however, perplexed him.

Yuudai had the sensation that his shadow stirred slightly. For an instant, his hands and knees, which were still resting on the ground at that instant, seemed to sink.
 It was as if they were submerged in sand or mud. To his horror, some pieces of the puzzle disappeared inside that shadow that transformed into a deep, dark well. Terrified, Yuudai let out a scream and stood up abruptly, causing the sinister opening to vanish instantly beneath his feet.

Even Yurika, who saw how it seemed that her brother's shadow wanted to eat him and took some pieces, was perplexed by what had happened.

Both brothers were stunned. And they were further startled when another flash of lightning broke the sky and another loud clap of thunder caused even their bedroom window to vibrate violently.

They both screamed, their breaths hitching in fear.

Yurika was quite confused.
“What the hell was that?" she asked pointing at Yuudai's feet.

“I don't... I don't know... and...” -Yuudai started to hyperventilate “Why... hell...” -the air was going out of him-“ did you move like that?”

“As?” Yurika asked in shock.

“That fast!” Yuudai said in a whisper. Besides, the poor guy was getting very pale.

“Your medicine!" Yurika shouted in fright when she saw her twin get sick like previous times when he stopped breathing.

With what little strength he had left, Yuudai ran to his bed and grabbed the small inhaler he always carried with him, which helped him calm down and, incidentally, helped him to breathe by opening his airways.

“That... was...” Yuudai sat down on the floor carefully, leaning his back on his bed, as he gave his inhaler one more shot in his mouth –“Strange...”- he said in a throat clearing.

Yurika sat down next to him.
 “Too strange... I moved quickly and you...”

“The ground opened up at my feet... it looked like... I was going to fall into a dark pit" Yuudai commented, trying to catch his breath.

“I think we are imagining too much..." said Yurika observing how her brother started to recover.

“Yes... maybe we are going crazy..." Yuudai commented, feeling the burning in his lungs begin to subside.

At that instant, the door to their room opened.

“Is everything all right, children?" asked Yuki, who had come up to see the two.

The blonde noticed that they were scared, just as she felt a trace of cursed energy coming from the ground, but in particular, she felt that energy coming from those two.

The children turned to look at the woman, who was watching them with curious eyes.  It seemed that her premonition had come true, perhaps those two had already manifested their cursed techniques and maybe that was why they were quite scared, she thought.

“Did the thunder scare you?” Yuki approached them and squatted down and stroked their hair and cheeks to calm them down.

Both children nodded their heads yes. They could not utter a word as she stretched out her hands.

“Aunt Yuki is here to calm them down" she said kindly.

Once Yuki took the hands of those two, she confirmed her suspicions thanks to the residual energy she detected in them. The twins had used their cursed techniques for the first time.

“Everything is all right now, I promise you" she opened her arms for these children to embrace her. Which these two did. They put their little hands around the blonde's neck.

“What do you think if after breakfast, you come with me to buy some things and while we're at it, I'll buy a gift for each of you?" asked Yuki with great joy.

“I do!" Yurika seemed calmer now.

“Me too!” Yuudai said with a slight smile.

Yuki smiled at such answers. That afternoon she would put her plan into action. Which consisted of trying to get the twins to show her their techniques, just as she wanted to get the parents of those twins to reconcile and have a somewhat sizzling encounter without interruptions.

And both were successfully achieved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked the chapter.

So, what did you think? I'll be reading your comments.

And as you just read, Yurika and Yuudai are already suspicious about who Yuta might actually be 👀.

How do you think they will react when they are told the truth about Yuta being their real father? Because from what you just read, it seems that one of the twins will react better than the other.

And indeed! They both have cursed energy and technique!

I can't give too many details at this moment, since everything else that was missing from their cursed techniques, I'm leaving it for a chapter that you will be able to read later, since there will be a lot of chaos when they show once again their abilities and even more with the details of their techniques that were missing here.

I can only say that the techniques of both children are a kind of combination between clans.

So in theory, Yurika and Yuudai are quite a powerful and valuable blood mix. That makes them a goldmine as Mei would say, since anyone would want to have them for being a combination of Sugawara blood, Zenin blood, Fujiwara blood and somewhat distant from the Gojo clan. And as we have seen in the JJK canon, people with good techniques will always be considered as very valuable weapons for different purposes, especially between clans.

But as I said, a little later you will know everything else about their techniques, you can still leave your theories.

Changing the subject, let's move on to the warning I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter ⚠️.

And that warning is that in the next chapter the long-awaited reconciliation between Yuta and Maki🔥 is already coming.

So I'm just going to say it at once in case you don't want to read about it.

The next chapter will have some sexual 🔞 content between those two adults. Maki and Yuta.

So for all those who don't want to read anything related to this topic, you can wait until chapter 26, which I am already writing.

And for all those who do want to read such a long awaited and hot reconciliation, well, I hope to bring it to you soon ❤️

So, it looks like someone will follow Yuki's advice and who knows, maybe a third baby will come along 🤭.

Anyway, we'll keep reading, this is especially for all those who want to continue reading this fic.

And for those of you who don't already, it was a pleasure ❤️ Feel free to stop reading if you're not liking this story already.

Thanks for reading 🙇🏻‍♀️ and see you soon.

Chapter 26: 25. What You Provoke In Me🔞

Notes:

Hello everyone! Vera here with the last translation of the year and maybe the last for a while.

First of all, I want to thank all of you who have supported this story throughout this year that is about to end, thank you very much for your votes, your comments and your readings. Seriously, I will always be grateful to each one of you.

I only hope that this is not my last update, and that in this 2025 that is about to begin, I can continue writing for this story as well as for all the others that I have pending.

Well without further ado, I hope you like this chapter you are about to read.

And more than as you could read in the title, here will be the long awaited reconciliation between Yuta and Maki, at last, after seven years of being separated, they will finally be together again and in a very hot and passionate way.

So, if any reader DOESN'T LIKE THIS SMUT/LEMON THEME, they can safely skip this chapter and wait for the next update, which I hope will be soon.

As disclaimers or main warnings, this chapter contains smut/sexual content between two adults left home alone. The situations presented here are solely fictional. As well as everything is consensual between both parties. Nothing is forced between characters. Everything here is make-up sex.

Without further ado, enjoy this exciting reunion between Yuta and Maki. ❤🔥

Kyoto

01:29 p.m.

 

Okkotsu was already on his way to the Fushiguros' house.

That cloudy day, Yuta had decided to do what he always should have done seven years ago. Get off the train and run to find Maki.

Once he arrived in Kyoto and got off the train, he quickly went to buy a bouquet of flowers at a stall outside the station, as well as a cold but very special gift that he wanted to share with his children and Maki. In his mind he was planning the perfect afternoon with his family.

Once he bought all these presents, he immediately took a bus that would leave him quite close to their house.

He didn't even want to get to his apartment, he just wanted to get to that place where his heart already belonged.

It seemed that he was willing not only to tell Maki everything he had found out while in Tokyo. But he was also going to tell Yurika and Yuudai the whole truth. That he was their real father.

Once he got off the bus, he began to walk animatedly, but he did not count that the rain would fall again with some force the closer he got to that house, it seemed as if even the weather would play against him, so he had no choice but to run, as he did not want those gifts to be spoiled.

His lungs burned from running hard to get to shelter from the rain, but his heart was pounding because he really wanted to see Maki like never before.

 

 

01:59 p.m.

The knocking on the door of that house sounded with some desperation. And that was noticed by Maki, who hurried to open the door.

“I'm coming!" she said rushing down the stairs, as she was finishing both getting ready and preparing the last details to leave for both her job as a trainer and her next mission as an assassin.

She grabbed the handle quickly and opened the door without first looking through the peephole to see who it might be.

Her heart wanted to stop at the sight of the one who had come to her home.

And there, on her doorstep as the rain poured down behind him, stood Yuta, his breath hitching from having run there with all his might, his cheeks slightly dyed red and a few raindrops in his hair.

Maki gulped and looked at the bouquet of flowers in his hands, as well as a bag from a convenience store.

Both exchanged glances, even Maki blinked several times because she couldn't take her eyes off Yuta. Truly, she was surprised to see him back there.

Was it a dream? No, it wasn't, especially since he had said he would be there hours before.

It seemed like he would always come back for her one way or another.

The words were stuck in their throats. Such was the internal excitement of seeing each other again.

“Maki san!" Yuta could barely get the words out. A big smile appeared on his face once he saw her on the threshold of that door.

“Yuta..." Maki also barely managed to pronounce his name. There was some sweetness in her voice.

There was a powerful magnetism and tension between the two and that was quite palpable with those glances they exchanged.

Maki stared at Yuta, he really looked attractive even with the water running down his hair, she was tempted to run her fingers through his hair as she had done days ago.

Even Yuta watched Maki carefully with his mouth a little open, he looked at the way she was dressed that day with her sportswear that highlighted her figure . And she noticed that look a little lewd, as she felt how he looked at her from head to toe. Admiring her with his usual passion.

“Okkotsu, my eyes are up here" commented Maki, crossing her arms at chest level to cover the very slight cleavage she was wearing that day. Besides, they had to break the tension.

“I'm sorry, but you look as beautiful as ever" Yuta commented apologetically with a slight chuckle. –“Emmm, can I come in?” The raindrops were already falling harder on his shoulders, soaking his jacket.

“Okay. Come in" again Maki began to be herself with that facade of disinterest, even though inside, she was dying for him.

She invited him to come in, making a movement with her hand to let him understand that he would enter.
“It seems that you arrived just in time, the weather is horrible lately with these rains that don't let you go out” she commented listening to a thunder breaking the sky and watching how the rain began to fall harder before closing the door behind her.

“Thank you" commented Yuta, entering the hall and putting on the slippers that he recognized instantly, they were the same ones he had put on a few nights before. Having a pair of shoes in that house was already something special. He already felt like part of the family, " Tokyo is also under water right now”

“And tell me, what brings you here?" asked Maki quickly, while Yuta put on those shoes.

“Well, as I told you in my message I came to see you”

“Well, here I am" said Maki with irony, "I am not a ghost as I told you the other day" she commented with a slight grimace and moving her hands from one side to the other.

“I know. The other night you showed me that you are not one" answered Yuta with a soft smile at the memory of that kiss, "I just came to talk to you and to spend some time with our children. And by the way I brought you this”- she showed that bouquet of flowers she still had in her hands. “I hope you like them”

Those flowers were red camellias. They truly reflected the love and passion Yuta still felt for her.

Maki took them with a soft blush, she really never expected to receive two bouquets so close together.

“Thank you, although I suppose there must be a special reason why you brought me flowers again, right? Although you know very well that flowers are a very fleeting gift to me" she commented, putting a hand on her hip, still feigning disinterest.

She felt she had to play hard to get, even though she wanted to listen to her feelings and more than one way or another, the talk with Yuki had left her on the edge of her emotions. A part of her wanted to follow her advice, wanted to give herself to Yuta once again. But her pride as a woman still hurt quite a bit.

“Should there be a reason to bring you flowers once in a while?" Yuta stared at her. His gaze looked as challenging as in his high school years.

Maki let out a slight chuckle at such words and even more when she noticed that look. “You could make up a reason”

“Well, if that's the case. Maybe it could be to win back the mother of my children and my old high school girlfriend. I guess that could be reason enough to bring you flowers every time I come over, don't you think so?" he smiled confidently.

Maki between closed her eyes at those words and felt her cheeks burn slightly.
“Baka! If you bring a bouquet every time you come over, the neighbors would start to suspect that I have a lover”

“Believe me Maki, the last thing I want is to treat you as a simple mistress..." answered Yuta remembering what Satoru had said days ago about the subject of the leaders and their concubines. Remembering that conversation made him sigh.

Yuta quickly noticed the silence that reigned in that house: "By the way, and the children?”

Maki sighed “They went out with Tsukumo, maybe it will take them a while to come back since this stupid rain doesn't stop falling. I just hope they are not getting wet or at least she has taken them to a roofed place and I don't want them both to get sick, because it is very complicated to take care of them being sick at the same time” she twisted her mouth “And by the way, I hope they don't take too long because I also have to go out”

At that moment, Maki noticed the bag that Yuta had been carrying in his other hand since he entered. It was leaking a few drops of water.
“What else do you have there?”

“Oh!" her guest lifted the bag a little, "I took the trouble to buy some ice cream for the kids. I wanted to share it with them, but I guess I'll have to wait”

“Come on, let's put them in the freezer because you can tell that with this rain they won't arrive soon" sighed Maki going to the kitchen, "You can leave your sweatshirt in the living room to dry" she waved her hand with disinterest when she noticed her guest's wet shoulders.

Yuta nodded yes, quickly took off his sweatshirt and hung it on the family's coat rack next to the sofa.

Then he followed her.
“By the way, are you going out to work later? That's why the sportswear?" he asked, looking at her from head to toe.

The sportswear Maki was wearing consisted of black leggings and a thick tank top in white.

Maki left those new flowers on the table, which still had the coffee cups on it as well as the empty breakfast plates.

She turned to look at Yuta “Yes, I'm going out to work...” she answered, slurring her words.

There was a moment when Maki felt her heart stop and her cheeks want to flush because she had previously paid no attention to Yuta's physique.

Underneath the sweatshirt, he was wearing a gray T-shirt that revealed most of his shapely arms, which she hadn't noticed before because since they met again, he always wore a sweatshirt or sweater.
Yuta had definitely changed in those seven years. He was no longer the boy he used to be. He was now quite an attractive man.

“How is that job going for you?" Yuta questioned curiously, standing next to him to take the ice cream out of the bag.

Those words snapped Maki out of her mind, she grabbed the ice cream somewhat quickly and began to put it in the freezer of her refrigerator.

“I'm doing well" she replied, "Since I work as a trainer, I go to two different gyms on certain days of the week. Sometimes I go in the morning to one and in the afternoon to the other, since I am given the flexibility in the schedules to be able to take care of the children or sometimes I give private classes to certain clients. Especially to women who are looking for a physical change" she explained with a smile. “And well, I'm not complaining, the pay gives me enough for what my children need" she lied with that last part, since she earned on her missions.

Luckily, that information from the gym was genuine thanks to a " assistant" that supported them most of the time, even that same person helped them create facades and lied on their behalf when they needed it. She assistant really was someone they trusted.

“And changing the subject while the children return” Maki clicked her tongue a little  “How did it go in Tokyo?” She took the new flowers that Yuta brought her, as well as the vase with the old ones and passed them to the sink to make the change “What did you find out? I'm listening” she turned around.

Yuta lowered his shoulders again as he remembered everything he discovered while in that city, as he stood next to Maki at the sink.
“I discovered so many things that I don't know where to start..." he scratched the back of his neck.

Maki began to remove the paper that wrapped that new and fresh bouquet.
“You could start with what you think is the most important thing you should tell me" she said as she began to remove one by one the wilted flowers from the vase and replace them with new ones.

Yuta took a deep breath. What he was going to reveal to him was not going to be simple.
“Well, the most important thing I found out is that Gojo sensei could not intervene to prevent our separation because he was bound by a binding vow that prevented him from helping both of us...”

Hearing that, Maki turned very annoyed towards her guest, "WHAT THE IDIOT WHAT?" she raised her voice with too much annoyance while holding some wilted flowers in her hands.

Yuta took a step closer to her, facing her and raised his hands slightly.
“Let me explain!" he tried to calm her down.

“EXPLAIN WHAT?”

“In that you were right with your suspicions, there were so much political interests involved with our relationship that affected both the Zenin clan and the Gojo clan and apparently there were some more issues that forced him to make a binding vote between him and others”

“A BINDING VOTE? WHY DID YOU DO IT?" she shouted super annoyed while crushing those wilted flowers in her hands with fury.

“He only explained to me that he made that vow out of obligation and that among those involved there are more members of the three clans, along with other sorcerers and that they made a pact with the former bigwigs" -he waved his hands a little- "This was due both to political interests and to the constant wars between the clans. No one could intervene in what the others were doing.”

“THEN THE HIGH COMMANDERS WERE ALSO INVOLVED IN THIS?!" Maki shouted furiously. Her blood was boiling.

“Yes, they agreed to our separation..." explained Yuta. Sigh, "However, some time later, the previous high commanders were assassinated and that is when the binding vote lost its effect. Practically once they were dead, the clans were able to intervene in other matters”

“Wait! Did you say they were killed?” Maki raised an eyebrow at such words, it was obvious that she was not aware of the subject. “How come the previous high commanders were killed? Aren't they supposed to have died of natural causes?”

Yuta went on to explain.
“From what Satoru told me, is that some time after we were separated, someone started killing the former bigwigs. But before all that, there was someone who convinced them that our relationship was a threat”

“But, who killed them?” Maki asked in confusion, "I didn't know that..." Her hand went to her mouth in surprise.

Yuta shook his head.
“Nobody knows... it was only discovered that they were poisoned" He looked her in the eyes, "And apparently, it was thanks to that someone who discreetly killed all of them, that the vow was gradually broken and that's why until now, Satoru could tell me about it. And about who convinced them, they didn't give me an answer either” he lowered his shoulders  “Nobody knows if the person who did both things is the same person or if it was someone else”

Maki clenched her fists, smashing more of those wilted flowers in her hands.
“That blindfolded idiot... he wasn't even good enough to defend his students...”

“Satoru had his reasons for not intervening... A binding vote is not a matter to be taken lightly... he had someone to protect...”

Maki unclenched her fists and let go of the petals she shattered and crossed her arms in annoyance over her chest as she listened to Yuta defend that idiot.

“And who was he supposed to protect if it was more than obvious that his own students were not his priority?”

Yuta under his shoulders. He had promised not to talk about Yoshio.
“We all have someone to protect and Gojo sensei does too..." he answered without looking away from her.

“And who is this someone?" she asked insistently.

“I'm sorry, but I can't tell you..." Yuta looked at her with a cold seriousness as he said that. He could not reveal the truth to her.

Maki looked aside. Now she would be curious to know who killed those high commanders and incidentally, to know what else that white-haired idiot was hiding. Maybe Mei would know something about the whole thing, so she would get some information out of her.

Maki sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She really felt terrible with all that information.
“Seven years... it was seven years that he helped take from us...”

“I know. All that was hard for me too...”Yuta shared such pain.

“You know? what bothers me the most is that that idiot, who claimed to be our teacher, couldn't do anything for us” she had a sad look on her face “You can tell he never cared about us..." she turned around to rest her hands on the sink and look towards the window, which was being beaten by the heavy rain.

Yuta shared that sad feeling. Slowly, he approached Maki, who was still wiping away tears of pure anger. Carefully, Yuta wrapped his arms around her body from behind her back. Maki gave a small start as she felt him, while Yuta gently rested his chin on her right shoulder.

“I know. I know it was seven unfair years, but now everything can be different” answered Yuta looking at her through the reflection of the window while lightning illuminated the dark sky.

“How?" asked Maki, looking over his shoulder.

“Well, the two of us have met again....”

“What about that? That doesn't change the fact that we were separated for seven years" she asked, looking at the red camellias he had brought her.

“I mean that we can both make up for lost time. It's not too late to reconcile again and try to be happy together for as long as it takes..." he said looking at her and hugging her with too much affection.

Maki placed her hands on Yuta's hands, while looking at him over her shoulder. His blue gaze seemed to hide something else. Something that hurt him too much.

So Yuta just hugged her tighter and hid his face for a moment in her neck.

“Just let me stay with you and the children for as long as I can... please..." he whisper.

Maki closed her eyes and caressed his hands affectionately. It really comforted her pride to be embraced by him.
She did not utter a word, she simply caressed his hands as they listened to the rain falling.

She knew that having Yuta on her side was the best thing she could do for her future plans both as an assassin and as the father of her children and partner. Although inside, her pride still fought with her for all that feeling.

 

After a few minutes of being embraced. Yuta released her little by little and more when again, another clap of thunder illuminated the kitchen.

“I'm sorry for hugging you so suddenly" he apologized, taking a few steps back.

“You don't have to apologize. That was actually comfortable" explained Maki, finishing arranging the new flowers, "And what else did you discover?" asked Maki curiously, as she passed the vase to the table to decorate it once more, "How about sitting down and talking?”

“I think it's a good idea”

Maki grimaced as she saw the table all messy from breakfast, which had not yet been cleaned up “Sorry for the mess, kids make such a mess when they eat” she took the dishes from the table to take them to the sink

“On the contrary, let me help you!" Yuta offered kindly with that.

“That's fine. You don't have to move anything," commented Maki, taking a rag and coming closer as Yuta took a cup that was on the table.

At that instant, the two collided head-on and the coffee that was still in the cup was spilled by mistake on Yuta's shirt.

“Shit" said Maki when she saw that mess.

“No problem" Yuta smiled slightly to reassure her, "It was just an accident”

“A huge accident! See how your shirt turned out!" She commented annoyed, looking at the large caffeine stain on the sorcerer's gray shirt.

Maki made a face of utter annoyance. It really had been an ugly accident.

“Thank goodness the coffee was cold, because if it were hot I would have burned me" Yuta joked, taking some napkins to try to dry and remove the stain, "It can be cleaned, you don't have to worry”

“But you can't keep your shirt wet and worse, if you don't wash it soon it will have an ugly stain!" sighed Maki in annoyance, "Believe me, coffee stains are the hardest to remove. I learned that from Megumi, Yuji and Nobara" she bent down to pick up the broken cup.

“It was my carelessness, I was the one who bumped into you" Yuta also squatted down to clean up.

They both bent down and were going to take those pieces at the same time. Their hands touched instantly.

That touch was delicate. their fingers brushed over those sharp pieces of what was once a cup.

Quickly Maki raised her face and noticed that Yuta had also crouched down, both had been very close to each other. With their faces only inches apart. Luckily, their heads had not collided with each other.

Maki's face turned red as did Yuta's, and the more they couldn't stop looking at each other and even their hands kept touching each other over those tiny pieces.

“I...”

“Maki san...”

Even the sentences could not finish saying, the attraction to kissing was present.

Slowly they began to stand up, as that position of squatting facing each other was tiring, but once standing, they were still very close to each other.

Those glances were loaded with too many feelings, feelings that never disappeared.

Their faces began to delicately close the distance, their foreheads first touching as the fingers of their hands intertwined until they joined.

“Maki..." whispered Yuta very close to her lips, "You don't know how much I thought about...what happened between us the other night....”

“Really?" asked Maki with a smile on her lips, feeling how Yuta's lips were very close to hers, touching as they had done a few nights ago, "You mean because of that kiss, don't you?”

“Yes..." Yuta smiled a little "And have you thought about” he whisper “about that night?” she asked without taking her eyes off him. Truly, their looks were quite charged not only with love, but also with desire.

A desire that since that night had awakened once again after being appeased by sadness for seven years.

The rain continued to fall with too much force, while inside, the fire was just starting.

Maki swallowed saliva. She felt cornered, since the other night she really couldn't stop thinking about what had happened, much less would she stop thinking about everything she was feeling, let alone what was about to happen.

“I confess...” she whispered passing her arms around Yuta's neck. As she spoke from the bottom of her being and heart, her eyes focused on Yuta's lips.
“I haven't stopped thinking about what happened either, let alone what we talked about”

“Maki, as I told you that time" Yuta's hands went to her waist, that made her breath cut off for a moment. “I just want us to try again... I want you to let me support you with the expenses of our children... as well as I want you to let me conquer you... let me come back into your heart and into your life..." his hands traveled now to her cheeks.

“Okkotsu... I already told you - whispered Maki, letting go of his neck and putting her hands on Yuta's hands “The best thing you can do is not to get so close to me... “

“Why?" said Yuta in a plea that crashed on Maki's lips, "Why don't you want me to come closer to you?”

She swallowed again. She was quite tempted to tell him the truth about her being the assassin he was looking for and that she would not stop until she achieved her goal. But she couldn't, not yet.

Her feet stepped on the broken pieces of that cup that were still scattered on the floor.
“Because I just don't want to hurt you... our relationship is like this cup that just broke... it's hard to recover something that is already broken" she said without taking her eyes off his blue eyes.

Yuta brought his face too close to Maki's face.
“I wouldn't mind if you hurt me, only if it's for being with you... besides” his lips caressed her lips “you can always repair the cup again...”

“How?" Maki looked at him curiously as she brought her hands to his cheeks, "Are you comparing our broken relationship to a cup?”

“Yes”

“Isn't it easier to throw away the broken cup and just buy a new one?" commented Maki, stroking Yuta's black hair, while their bodies were getting closer and closer.

Yuta smiled at those words and in an oversight of her, he gave her a first kiss.

Surprisingly, that kiss was reciprocated by Maki very slowly. She liked his kisses again, it seemed that she would soon get used to him kissing her often.

“Kintsugi..." said Yuta between kisses.

“Huh?" said Maki, slowly stopping the kiss.

Yuta looked her in the eyes, caressed Maki's cheeks as he began to explain. “It means to repair with gold...”

“With gold?" she raised an eyebrow.

“Well, basically it is to repair the pieces that broke, joining them one by one with gold mixed with other materials.  And although it may not seem like it, in other countries they also apply to repair the cracks in things... the same happens with relationships... we could repair ours with kintsugi...”

“Are you saying that you want to repair this broken relationship with gold?" asked Maki raising both eyebrows, "That sounds a bit impossible Okkotsu”

“Although basically it would not be with gold...”

“Then what would it be with?" asked Maki curiously.

But the next thing that would happen would leave her more on the verge of desire.

Yuta ran his hands around her waist, pulled her close to him in one swift movement and kissed her lips once more, then started kissing his way down her bare neck.

That was the woman's weak point. And he was the only one who knew it.
“Yuta..." Maki gasped as she felt him touch that part of her body with his lips. She felt herself burning, her feelings for him were overflowing more and more.

“We can repair it with actions...” Yuta whispered, filling with kisses that part of Maki's body “ with words…” he went up to kiss her lips once more “And maybe with kisses and caresses... going even further between you and me... as we could spend more time together... and give each other a chance...” He kissed her mouth once more. He could no longer hide his desire for her.

Maki could no longer resist the temptation and began to give herself to his mouth.

Their lips met in a very passionate kiss. One of those breathtaking ones. And their bodies clung to each other as tightly as that night.

Their hands did not stay still, as Yuta ran his hands around Maki's waist to not let go, while Maki's hands went up and down his entire back and then hugged him tightly, as their mouths ate each other.

Their lips danced a little around their necks, Maki also kissed that expanse of Okkotsu's skin.

“Maki, seriously, I never stop loving you" Yuta gasped, as his lips moved down to her shoulders. His hands carefully slid both thick straps from her shoulders, to fill his beloved's collarbones with kisses.

Even this time, Yuta repositioned her on the table, taking her gently and pulling her up a little to the edge, while she wrapped her legs around his hips. Even a few more things from the table fell to the floor.

“Yuta..." groaned Maki with difficulty, feeling how he wanted to go further and so did she.

Her feelings as Yuki had said, wanted to make her scream and tell him that she loved him too.

But her conscience stopped her at that moment. She didn't want to do it in that part of the house. She didn't want the children to suddenly arrive and see them there. But she definitely wanted to go ahead and go further. She wanted to do it again with Yuta even if it was just one more time.

Maki held his cheeks in her hands to stop him.
“We can't do it here!" she said, catching her breath.

Yuta looked into his eyes, his chest rising and falling with excitement, "Why not?" he asked in a whisper.

Maki pushed him gently with her hands on his chest, detaching him from her, so that he took a step backwards.
“First, because someone might see us, especially I don't want the children to see us like this if they come unexpectedly, and second!" she pointed to Yuta's shirt.

It had made her uncomfortable to feel his damp shirt against hers, which was also already stained with coffee, and the last thing she wanted was for that strong odor to linger on her clothes once she went on her mission.

“You can't stay in this wet T-shirt" she regained her composure and pulled up her suspenders.

Yuta took his hands off her waist and helped her down from the table, where he had lifted her up.
“Well, I have no choice but to keep this stain until I get to my apartment" he scratched the back of his neck ruefully.

They both took a few steps to separate and regain their composure.

Maki slackened her shoulders.
“Come with me" she took a few steps to the kitchen threshold, "Let's lend you a T-shirt”

“You don't have to worry about it, it's just a simple stain" said Yuta, moving his shirt a little to dry it.

“And being this dirty you want to share an ice cream with Yurika and Yuudai? No way, that stain looks bad on you”

“ But!" Yuta was about to protest, but was interrupted.

 “Come, follow me, I'll find you a clean T-shirt and while we're at it, we can continue talking up there" suggested Maki with a soft smile, at the same time her little finger gently grasped his finger.

Yuta couldn't say no to her, especially when she brushed his hand to follow her. He knew what that signal meant, as they even applied it in their high school years to tell them to go to each other's room or follow each other at will.

Maki started up the stairs. Seeing where she was headed, Yuta stopped in his tracks.

“What's wrong?" Maki asked from the third step, "Aren't you going to follow me?”

“Are you sure I can go upstairs? I mean, it would be my first time going to the second floor”

Maki rolled her eyes.
“Well" she shrugged, "I'm not hiding anything up here" she grimaced slightly as she saw his attitude "If you want to wait for me down here, go ahead, while I go get you a t-shirt from Megumi's things" she started upstairs again.

Something inside Yuta told him that he should not be left behind. That he should go after her and even more so with the approach they had just had a moment ago.

Yuta started to go upstairs. It was the first time he was on that second floor, which was quite spacious.

“Wait for me here for a moment, Megumi doesn't like it when other enter his room" ordered Maki as she entered the back room.

While waiting, Yuta noticed that there were four rooms on the upper floor. Two of them had their doors closed, while the other two remained open at the time.

He noticed that the bathroom was located between the room where Maki had entered and the room near the stairs. The latter was with the door open, allowing him to see that it was a simple and comfortable room. Perhaps that was where Tsukimi and Nobara slept, as he observed several female accessories and also noticed that there were two beds.

Then, the sorcerer's attention was drawn to the room on the other side of the wall, which appeared to be the largest of the four.

Yuta approached cautiously, driven by curiosity and taking advantage of the fact that the door was ajar. He peeked in and noticed that it was his children's room.

His face relaxed and he felt many emotions come over him at that moment. Above all, he felt happiness to see that his children were living quite well for their age.

He looked at all the toys that were everywhere and noticed which side of the room belonged to whom.

Yuta let out a sigh of happiness, he could see how neat and messy his children were and how it defined each of them.

But he still didn't feel ready to go into that room. He wanted his children to be present to go in and spend time and play with them like he couldn't for seven years.

He took a step back, and observed a little more that second floor. But at that particular moment, something caught his attention and that was the other room across the hallway, and he felt a strange sensation coming out of it.

It was like a very subtle trace of residual energy that was perhaps impregnated in some object or some cursed tool.

That seemed rather strange to Yuta, and more so since there was supposed to be no one else with them, that is unless someone was hiding something up there.

At that instant, Yuta remembered that Maki had always been very skilled with weapons. Could she be hiding some cursed tool? Besides, she had assured that she was not hiding anything up there... or was she lying?

He quickly approached that room, which was the closest to the twins' room.

He felt a very strange feeling as he picked up the knob. He felt that in there, there was a truth that needed to be discovered. He was ready to burst open that door. That is until he was caught red-handed.

“Did you lose something?" asked Maki very surprisingly, who had stood behind him.

Even Okkotsu jumped when he heard her as he had not felt or heard her approach.

That still seemed rather strange to him. Yuta turned around quickly, "I'm sorry! It's just that I was looking for you!" he said trying to hide his nervousness.

Maki raised an eyebrow.
“But you clearly saw that I went into Megumi's room for this" she moved a couple of T-shirts she had taken from the room.

“Oh right! And um, then whose room is it?" asked Yuta curiously pointing to the door.

“This is my room," commented Maki passing by him and opening the door, "Do you want to come in? Because I saw you very curious in wanting to enter it?”

Yuta took a breath. I was really curious to go in –“Sorry, I just felt something coming from inside”

“As I said, I'm not hiding anything so you can come in and check it out" said Maki confidently entering her room.

Yuta felt like in his high school years, when he went to her room. He took a breath and walked in behind her and more than that feeling of residual energy, it caught his attention.

His face softened as he saw that Maki's room was very plain and normal.

The bed was a double size, and it was located in the middle of the room. It had nice white sheets and several white pillows, and in the middle of the bed was the stuffed lion that Yuta had won the other night. On the sides there were two small bedside tables with their respective lamps and some pictures. They were especially pictures of her and her children. There was also a digital clock.

Maki had a small desk near the window, which also served as a dressing table, where Yuta noticed that she also had some photos and notebooks. He even recognized the diary he had seen the other day, as well as a round mirror and some accessories.

In front of the bed, there was a white dresser with several drawers and on it, Maki had a TV as well as several other pictures and some very Japanese style ornaments.

And next to the chest of drawers, already in the corner of the room, there was a closet, which, at that moment, had the doors closed.

Maki's room was really cozy.

“As I said, I'm not hiding anything up here, it's just an ordinary room like the others that I guess you already took a look at" she commented as she closed her sports bag, which she had left on the bed. Inside it, she carried some clothes that she would later discard for her mission, as well as the mask she always wore according to the occasion. As well as one or another small cursed tool well hidden among the clothes. Especially these were the ones that gave off that subtle trace of cursed energy.

But in that instant, Yuta stopped looking for whatever had that energy.

“You do have a very nice home..." commented Yuta with a smile, which was interrupted when the two clothes that Maki brought from Megumi's room were thrown at his face.

“Thank you and here you go" commented Maki with a smile, "I hope they fit. They are the biggest ones I found in the drawers”

“Thank you" said Yuta, taking them off his face and glancing at those T-shirts.

“You're welcome. I guess you and Megumi are about the same size, although you are a little taller" commented Maki with a smile as she looked at her own clothes, "Well, I should also look for a shirt since you stained me with coffee," she pointed to the dark stain on her white T-shirt”

“I'm sorry, I just got carried away..." commented Yuta with a sigh as he looked at the two garments and decided which one to wear, the white T-shirt or the navy blue T-shirt.

Maki sighed, remembering the words Yuki had told her that she should also let herself go with her feelings.
“You don't have to apologize, we both just got carried away..." she said, walking past Yuta, to approach her dresser to look for a clean t-shirt among her drawers.

“No problem if I change it right here, right?" asked Yuta holding the edges of his T-shirt.

Maki let out a slight chuckle.
“No problem. I'll pretend you're not here, while I look for another blouse for myself. Besides, I saw you naked several times in our youth, so you shouldn't feel shame”

“Okay" Yuta turned around to turn his back to her. And so he started to take off his shirt.

Maki could not help but watch him do that action. She watched that back, which made her blink several times to adjust to what her eyes were looking at.

First; I didn't remember Yuta's back being so broad and shapely. Second: those scars running down his body, I didn't remember him having them.

Her hand went like a magnet to those marks on his bare skin. It sent a shiver down Yuta's spine.

“I don't remember you having so many marks on your back..." commented Maki, making Yuta shiver all over his body when her hand touched his skin. Then, he turned around to look at her.
Even from the front, Maki noticed how the scar on his right side, which started on his back, extended slightly to the side of his abdomen.

The sorcerer just scratched the back of his neck.
“Well, so many things happened to me abroad...among them I saw death up close both by curses and by “ sigh  “Attempted murder...”

Maki raised her eyebrows a little at that answer.
“How many times did they try to kill you?" she asked seriously. Hearing that made her stomach knot as she still ran her fingers over those marks.

Her mind began to reason like that of her assassin's trade. She wanted to find those responsible and make the same marks on them and incidentally cut their throats for hurting the one she loved.

Yuta sighed.
“It was several times, two of those few times were when those two women wanted to mess with me just to kill me”

“So that's why Rika took them away from you?" Maki looked at the ring she knew was Rika's and was still hanging around Yuta's neck.

“That's right, she protected me, but in other occasions we saw death very close, like when some wizards attacked entire communities," he sighed, "but they don't compare to those who made these marks on me..." he looked as Maki kept running her fingers over those scars, "they were made fighting against very powerful curses. With those things was when I was most about to die and these marks are only memories of those hard fights”

“So you didn't have an easy time outside of Japan either, did you? Looks like it wasn't a nice business trip..." her fingers started to run up his bare chest until they rested on his cheek.

Truly, Maki couldn't take her eyes off his body, which was quite defined, nor could she take her eyes off the scars that told of all that Yuta had suffered.

Once it reached Yuta's cheek, he gently took it and kissed her palm.
“That's right... I didn't have it easy either, and that's when I question myself the most whether it would have been a good idea to have left the country”

Maki placed her free hand on Yuta's bare chest, she could feel his heart pounding, "And how did you survive so much?" she asked curiously without taking her eyes off him.

That intimate encounter was only bringing out her true feelings.

“Is for you..." It came softly from Yuta's lips.

“For me?" asked Maki skeptically.

The sorcerer kissed Maki's hand once more, then placed his hands on her cheeks.

“I just wanted to see you again... that's what kept me alive" he whispered caressing her cheeks.
“I just wanted to see you one more time, I wanted to kiss you again, to hold you, to touch you, to be able to make love to you even one last time... I couldn't just stop thinking about you and that's what made me want to stay alive for many years" he began to bring his face close to hers.

“Did you really think about me... because it doesn't seem like it..." whispered Maki, in a whisper as she felt her breath catch as she felt him very close.

“As you have no idea..." whispered Yuta, "And now that I have found you again, I want to make up for lost time..." his nose brushed the skin of her cheek. “As I've been saying, I want to make up for my mistakes and I want to be able to get you back. And more because my feelings have not changed at all for you.... On the contrary, in these days while I was in Tokyo I have only reaffirmed them" he brushed his lips against hers.

“Really?" whispered Maki, feeling the bare skin of his chest burn against her palms, as she continued to caress him slowly, running her fingers over his pecs and abs. Which she felt like kissing.

That situation was bringing out Maki's true feelings, as well as her true desires. Her breath caught again when she heard him continue to speak to her with that sensuality that characterized him at times like this.

“I mean it Maki...” Yuta whispered in her ear, with a tone so sexy that it was breathtaking “You don't know how much I still love you, and you don't know how much I imagine you, making love to you abroad...” his eyes closed as he let out his breath against her lips.

“That is, until you had met her, isn't it?" Maki questioned with a touch of jealousy in her voice. She really couldn't get that mysterious woman out of her head.

Yuta stole a kiss.
"Nothing of the sort. If you had accompanied me abroad, I would have shown you off as my wife, as the mother of my children, as the love of my life in front of everyone who knew us”

“Even in front of her?" asked Maki with red cheeks and her hands still on his chest.

“Even in front of her...” Yuta brought his lips close to her ear while answering seximently “I would have kissed you in front of her and in front of all the people in the world, just to show them how much I feel for you...”

Maki's legs trembled from all those words to which, she didn't know whether to fully believe or not. While her hands kept caressing that bare skin.

A second kiss broke the silence. Which was intensifying in passion.

Maki felt her being on fire as well. But her pride as a woman still hurt.
“Even so" she said between kisses, "I find it hard to believe you..." She separated her face for a moment to catch her breath.

“W-Why don't you believe my words?” Yuta's chest rose and fell with excitement. His lungs burned with the need for air and desire.

Maki looked at the two rings hanging from Yuta's chest, she placed her hand on them feeling the coolness of the metal against the warm skin of both her hand and his chest.

The image of what "that mysterious woman from abroad" might look like invaded her head. Hitting her like a hammer.

“By she"

“By whom?" asked Yuta in confusion.

“I keep referring to the woman with whom you slept abroad..." Maki looked him in the eyes very annoyed. She was really jealous. “I find it hard to believe your words because if you said you loved me, then why did you decide to sleep with other women? Why didn't you come for me before? Why didn't you come for me if you said you loved me so much?”

Yuta let out the air in despondency.
“You're not going to forgive me easily, are you?”

Maki kept playing a little with that engagement ring, which was going to be hers.
“It's a little difficult for me to forgive you in that sense, for the simple fact that, if you said you loved me so much, why did you sleep with her? Did you never think about me?”

“I always thought about you! I spent whole nights without sleep just because I kept thinking about you" said Yuta, raising his voice a little, "And if I slept with her, it was because I was trying to forget you!”

Maki's lips parted to blurt out a question, one I was quite curious about.
“So you had sex with her with me in mind?”

“I admit that I just..." Yuta was already uncomfortable talking about it, as he felt he had done wrong. But he didn't want to talk so much about that woman anymore either.
“I got carried away... I thought that by sleeping with her I could forget you after almost six years of not seeing you... but” His hand took Maki's hand and put it on his chest, at the level of his heart “Even doing it to her, I couldn't get you out of my mind or my heart. I just wanted to forget you and I didn't succeed and I think that's what she noticed in me, because she was the one who advised me to return to Japan... she was the one who insisted me to come back for you... and in the end, I came back...”

Maki sighed when she heard those words and made a fist with her hand.
“Even so, you sleeping with her..." she grumbled, "Agh! It bothers me...” a noise of pure annoyance came out of her throat.

That attitude caught Yuta's attention.
“Are you jealous?" he asked curiously since it was the first time he saw Maki like that.

Maki moved her hands a little. She was tired of that painful feeling.
“I confess, I am!" she said, looking into his eyes. ¡I'm jealous of someone I don't know! I detest this feeling you provoke in me!" she pointed to her own chest.

“But I told you that I don't love her!" Yuta answered firmly, "Yes! I admit that it was my mistake to have let myself be carried away by that silly idea that by doing it with someone else I would forget you! But I couldn't... and I can't stop loving you...!

“It still hurts and burns..." answered Maki, crossing her arms.

“I know, that's why I'm asking you” Yuta moistened his lips a little and took a breath before asking “How can I show you that I'm sorry for that mistake? What must I do to make you believe that I still love you? What must I do to get you back? How much must I do to make you believe that I'm dying for you?”

Maki sighed and stroked her own arms. She was thinking about all those questions.

She took a breath and looked slightly at herself in the small circular mirror on her desk. Seeing how she had to deal with all that and more that Yuki's words about her letting her emotions flow came through.

Just as the idea of Yuta sleeping with that mysterious woman awakened in her a feeling of reclaiming what was always hers.

“There is a way to answer all those questions..." said Maki looking at Okkotsu again. She seemed to be building up her courage.

“And what is that way?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. He let out a tense sigh.

The next thing surprised Yuta, as Maki pulled gently on the chain that held those two rings. She pulled him towards her to kiss him passionately. Showing him the feelings she still felt for him.

Their lips met in that passionate kiss, where even their tongues once again began to explore each other's mouths.

Yuta's hands went to Maki's waist, as she clung to his back, also lifting herself up a bit on her tiptoes to keep reaching for his mouth.

Their bodies clung tightly together, Maki could feel her insides burning with desire for him and his body screaming that he wanted her, as Yuta's hands didn't stay still and caressed her back, slipping his hands under her shirt and even went down to her butt, squeezing it a little over those sweatpants.

Their gasps were not long in coming. And even more when both separated for a moment to catch their breath where a thread of saliva still connected them and it was there where Maki, took the opportunity to fully ignite the fuse of that bomb.

With a quick, strong movement he made Yuta sit on the edge of his bed.

His chest was heaving with both adrenaline and the desire and excitement that Maki was giving him. Yuta was on the edge of the bed, with his legs slightly spread and his elbows resting on the mattress.

He was surprised at how strong Maki was. He didn't remember her being this strong and more so that with a simple push she could make him fall like that. But it didn't matter at that moment. He simply wanted to be with her. He wanted to do her bidding like in their high school years when they did it from time to time in her room.

Maki approached him, standing in front of him and in the middle of his legs. She took Yuta's face in her hands for a moment, to look at him from that position above. She ran her fingers slowly over his cheeks and his lips. Admiring every part of his face, especially those lips that she loved to kiss again.

Maki removed her hands from Yuta's face and began to speak very directly.
“I want you to show me that you still love me as you say” she removed her glasses and left them on her dresser “And if you say so much that you want me and that you love me....” she released her hair, removing the garter that held it, making it fall softly to her sides “It's that I want you to make me yours” she said while she stripped off her shirt quickly, passing it over her arms and head and throwing it to the floor with one hand. Just as she was stripping off her pants all at once, which she pushed aside when they came out of her legs.

Yuta opened his eyes wide at such a request. He felt all his blood rushing harder all over his body until it rose to his face, which took on color.

“What?!" he barely managed to get out of Yuta's throat.

He was mesmerized by such beauty and sensuality that Maki overflowed in front of him wearing those black panties and how her breasts were covered with that sports bra. Even his mouth opened slightly as he watched her approach him, placing her hands on his cheeks again.

Maki was definitely using her charms, just as Yuki had advised.

She ran her fingers across his lips so slowly that it seemed unreal. Such sensuality seemed like an illusion, a dream come true.

Every touch made Yuta feel more desire for her, just as he felt himself getting harder and harder inside his pants at such a sight. He was completely mesmerized. He had fallen under the nets of the woman he still loved.

Maki dared to put her knee in between his legs and her hands rested on Yuta's shoulders, she was ready to climb on him.

“I said I want you to make love to me and show me that when you were making love to her, it was me you were thinking of," ordered Maki firmly and with excitement running through her entire being.

Both of them kept exchanging glances totally charged with passion. Yuta swallowed a little saliva, he was really hypnotized by what he was seeing.

Yuta admired Maki's body from head to toe. He noticed that her hips were wider than seven years ago, as well as her breasts, which he noticed a little bigger and rounder, he thought that all these changes were due to pregnancy, which seemed to have been quite good for her, as well as her abdomen was quite defined and flat. And her legs, they were too beautiful and stylized. As if the exercise had its good results over the years.

“What's wrong? Why don't you say anything? Don't you want to?" asked Maki when she saw how Yuta didn't utter a word, while running her fingers across his lips.

At that instant, Yuta dared to run his hands around her waist, quickly pulling her closer to his body. He even helped her up to his hip to begin to feel her semi-naked skin against his.

“It's not that” Yuta planted a kiss in the middle of Maki's breasts “It's simply that I was admiring your beauty first...” He caressed the skin of his beloved's back “You are still as beautiful as I remembered you in my dreams and memories...” he whispered, causing Maki to blush.

Both were still exchanging glances in that initial position. Maki put her arms around Yuta's neck, caressing her black hair while he began to caress her legs, which were settled on the sides of her hips.

The desire was quite palpable in both of them. The tension to delve deeper into their recent encounter was about to take a giant step.

The caresses in the hair and on the back of both were just the spark that would start everything that was to come. That sexual explosion.

It was no longer a dream, really, after seven years, the two were together once again, but closer than expected.

“And about what you are asking me" said Yuta in a husky voice, as he brought his lips close to Maki's lips, breaking the tension and the silence. Filling her with soft initial kisses that he used to give her since high school.

Maki reciprocated the kisses, "Is it wrong what I just asked you? Or can't you do it to me because you are thinking about her? she asked in a challenging tone.

“I'm not thinking about her at all" Yuta claimed as he hugged Maki tighter from the waist and pulled her closer to him so he could feel her hardness in his pants, "I'm just thinking about how to start, because there is so much I want to do to you... so many years have passed that I just want to check that you are not a dream or a figment of my imagination or a passing madness”
He whispered in her ear, while he kissed her lobe and his hands clung to her skin.
“You don't know how much I wanted to make love to you again... to have you this close once more... I simply want to make love to you in such a way that you forget my mistake... and that after this, you will only be as desirous of me as I am of you" he growled softly, hiding his face in the socket of Maki's neck, where he began to fill him with kisses.

Maki gasped at hearing him so excited, in that mixture of annoyance and desire he showed in his response. That had really made her more excited.

The kissing began once again. They were so passionate that Maki's moans started to come out quickly once Yuta started kissing her neck and breasts. Which he began to massage over that garment that was getting in the way.

The hips of both started with the friction, in slightly slow movements while Maki pressed her still covered intimacy against that erection that was already quite palpable and marked in Yuta's pants.

Maki's hands caressed his shoulders and back, her fingers explored his broad back that she was beginning to like a lot, her lips did not stay still and went down to eat his neck to leave a mark or two. While Yuta began to put his hands in her panties to caress her ass to his pleasure, making Maki move more against his covered member.

Yuta began to run his hands up Maki's back, until he reached into Maki's bra and began to remove it.

Yuta took the edge of that sporty garment, while gently biting her lips –“Raise your arms Maki san”- he ordered while continuing to eat her mouth.

Maki gasped at such an order, the way he asked her to do so made her give in because of the excitement provoked, she raised her arms and let him strip her of that garment. Making her breasts free in a soft bounce.

Yuta started kissing and sucking those breasts. She had really missed that expanse of skin on her.

More sweet moans began to come out of Maki's throat as she gently moved her head back, and her hips moved a little more, feeling her already very wet intimacy needing it.

In one swift move, Yuta had them both change positions.

Yuta grabbed Maki by the waist and laid her down a little roughly on the mattress. That made Maki's eyes widen in surprise as her chest rose and fell in erratic breathing. That movement had excited her even more.

The sorcerer who came from abroad, settled on top of her and being in that position, began to kiss her mouth, and then began to move down her body.

He ran his lips and tongue over her breasts, which he kissed and licked a little, concentrating on Maki's nipples, who moaned with pleasure. While she ran her hands through her hair and shoulders.

The sorcerer took turns between them, then went down and continued kissing that defined abdomen. He kissed around her navel, he stopped when he noticed some delicate whitish lines on the skin where her panties began.

Those were stretch marks, which were the marks left on her body after her pregnancy.

Yuta paused and looked at them carefully, even running his fingers delicately along those lines.

“Those marks... they are old... they never disappeared after the pregnancy" answered Maki looking at him, while she ran her fingers through his hair.

“They are quite beautiful..." He kissed those whitish lines.

“You think so? Sometimes I don't feel the same way...”

Those lines from time to time caused her a lot of insecurity, even though most of the time she didn't think much of them. Mostly because those lines were a reminder of her pregnancy and how bad she had had it.

Yuta continued to fill those lines with kisses. “For me they are. They are too beautiful and even more if you have them... thank you for having given birth to our children...” he whisper.

Maki smiled at those words as Yuta continued down her body until he reached her crotch, which was still covered with those black panties.

He could feel it in that garment that was already with a big wet spot, she was quite aroused. He gently brushed his lips across that still covered intimacy and he could feel Maki's breath catch, as a spasm of pleasure ran through her whole body. Yuta was still quite familiar with her delicate points.

He gently spread her legs wider and settled in between them, to begin to fill him with more and more kisses both on her thighs and in her folds. Rubbing that still covered clitoris with both her mouth and tongue, as well as running her fingers over that intimacy. Yuta was eating her pussy after seven years, just like in her high school years.

“Yuta” Maki moaned his name loudly, even biting her lips as she felt such pleasure. Even her hands got tangled in his hair “Please...keep it up...make me YOURS...” she begged.

The man understood that signal. He could see it even in the movement of her hips. She needed him and he needed her. Little by little, Yuta was removing that garment that still covered Maki's body, he removed her panties in an almost desperate movement, in order to pass his lips and tongue through that intimacy that was now uncovered for him.

“Yuta!" Maki moaned once again with pleasure as she felt his mouth all over her intimacy, but this was only temporary, as Yuta wanted to move on to the next thing.

The sorcerer wiped his lips with the back of his hand, as he stood up and dropped the garment he had just stripped from Maki's body to the floor.

He watched his beloved lying on the bed, her face all red, her chest rising and falling rapidly from the pleasure.

Yuta ran his tongue over his lips as he noticed Maki in that position, with her hair disheveled on the bed and her folds all wet and dripping. She was already totally naked and eager to be his.

“What's wrong?" asked Maki, catching her breath and raising her right leg a little, so that with her thumb she could caress Yuta's abdomen, who was still standing.

“I'm just admiring you" he answered with a hoarse voice due to his excitement, while he caressed her leg and began to fill her calf with kisses.

“So?" Maki leaned back on her elbows, "Are you going to stand there?" she asked mischievously, "Are you just going to keep watching? Or are you planning to make me yours already?" her legs played a little with his eyes.

Maki slowly lowered her foot, which kept brushing against Yuta's naked torso until it stopped where his pants started.

Yuta understood that invitation, so he decided to take off his remaining clothes.

He unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down his legs and then pushed them aside with his foot.

Maki bit her lip again as she watched Yuta's dick score against her underwear. She really didn't remember him like this. So sexy and quite attractive.

Yuta stripped off his underwear, causing his dick, all erect, to pop out fully in one swift movement.

Maki's breath caught when she saw him completely naked. He had awakened in her several memories of their youth, such as when they experimented with their sexuality in her bedroom and how when it was their first time between the two of them, thus losing their virginity. Just as she remembered that night when they conceived their twins shortly after Valentine's Day.

Yuta really awakened in her desires that she never felt for any other man.

Yuta began to approach her with eyes that only a predator makes towards its prey. Those deep blue eyes that to anyone else would provoke deep fear, but to her, they aroused too much desire.

Maki admired him, while Yuta positioned himself on top of her, between her legs and with his hands at her sides.

The green-haired girl felt Yuta's hard dick rubbing against her folds, they were both really anxious and eager for what was about to happen.

“Could this be considered part of the Kintsugi?" she asked with a slight smile, while with one hand she stroked his hair and with the other, she caressed his back along his side, guided by those scars that adorned him.

Yuta gave him several more kisses on the lips.
“You could say that... although in other countries they call this make-up sex" he said with a big smile.

“Mmm reconciliation doesn't sound bad" said Maki kissing him.

Those kisses went on a little longer. That is, until Yuta finally dared to ask something he had wanted to know for a long time.

“Maki san" he whispered into her neck while one of his hands explored the skin of her legs, "Do I still awaken any feelings in you? Do you still love me?”

Those questions made Maki let the air out in a long sigh. She swallowed her breath, she wanted to shout to him that yes, she still loved him even though she was the murderer he was looking for.

Maki simply brought her lips to his, "Why don't you find out for yourself?" she said lowering her right hand to Yuta's dick. “Whenever you can catch me... you'll find out" she whispered softly.

Yuta did not understand those words at the time. Perhaps much later he would understand. But on that occasion, his judgment was clouded only by pleasure.

The sorcerer let out a moan as he felt her hand wrap around his member, Maki masturbated him some more before guiding him to her entrance. Moving from tip to base, feeling the thick veins of it, as well as feeling the pre seminal fluid that was already coming out of the tip.

And ignoring what Yuki and Satoru had hinted to them about using a condom or any other contraceptive, Maki opened her legs a little wider so that Yuta could enter without difficulty, once he had placed his member at her entrance, she was ready for the first penetration.

“Are you ready, Maki san?" asked Yuta, caressing her cheeks.

Maki nodded her head yes.
“I need you Yuta... so do it, please, make me yours..." she gasped provocatively.

Yuta nodded, settling in between Maki's legs.

Both looked into each other's eyes in that position, Maki began to caress Yuta's back and ass, while Yuta gave him the first thrust.

Maki let out a loud moan and even closed her eyes tightly, it had really been a long time since the last time she had done it, so getting used to that feeling of a dick inside her again, took her very little time to get used to it, as she was really craving for him and the excitement had her at the top of her mind.

“Are you all right, Maki san?" asked Yuta, pausing a little.

She nodded her head yes.
“I am... please” she moaned as she brought it closer to his mouth “Continue Yuta... it feels so good after so many years...”

Yuta just nodded his head yes and started moving again, as he ate her mouth and his hands wrapped around her body.

Even from the way they were hugging, Maki felt the metal of those rings against her skin against her chest.

To do it again after seven years with the love of his life was a unique experience. One that they both wanted to leave engraved in their entire being to verify that it was not just another dream or fantasy.

Yuta kept moving in a rhythm that he remembered Maki liked, at first it was soft and slow, and then it increased in pace. Yuta could feel how wet Maki was and how her insides were getting used to and clinging to his member.

The kisses between those two returned with more passion. They were eating each other's mouths while their hands caressed each other's bodies.

Maki clung to Yuta's arms, as he lowered his mouth to her neck and collarbones and began to leave some marks on her.

“Oh Maki, my Maki" Yuta moaned her name several times, "You don't know how much I wished I could make love to you again" he leaned a little on his arms to look at her as he continued to penetrate her.

“Yuta!" Maki moaned that name while she moved her hips to the rhythm of it, even hugging Yuta's hips with her legs so that he would enter more into her. Provoking in her thousands of sensations that she had forgotten.

Maki was not left behind in leaving marks on his neck and shoulders, "You are mine..." she whispered in a very low but seductive tone, while she left one more mark on Yuta's neck and then continued with the kisses on his lips.

Those words provoked more excitement in Yuta, who began to move a little faster and rougher. In that room you could hear the sound of their hips colliding as well as the kisses they were giving each other with great passion, as well as the moans they were both letting out.

They remained in that position a little longer, until Maki now asked to be on top of Yuta. Which he accepted without hesitation.

Yuta paused for a moment, came out of Maki, causing her to let out a loud gasp as she felt him come out of her, while he fell face up on the mattress.

Yuta leaned back on his elbows, "You know I'm all yours..." he said with a big confident smile as they both looked at each other naked and caressed each other.

“We'll check that out," said Maki with a big smile as she settled herself on top of him, her hands on the sides of his head and her intimacy pressed against his dick.

Maki began kissing him first on the mouth and then moved down, filling him with soft, slow kisses on his neck, chest and abdomen until she reached his hips.

Once Maki settled on top of Yuta's hips, she took his dick, which was still erect.
And before thrusting it back into her, she first masturbated it some more.

That made Yuta's legs tremble with pleasure and his fingers curl a little. Again, Maki's hand wrapped around that member, which he didn't remember being this thick. She moved her hand from base to tip several times. Making Yuta moan and throw his head back.

“Do you like it?" she asked with a smile of triumph.

“I love it!"

“Okkotsu?” Maki looked at what was supposed to be her ring while continuing to masturbate him - "Are you still mine?”

Yuta smiled hugely at those questions.
“That is something you must not ask me, because the answer will always be that I am only yours" he intertwined his hand with Maki's free hand, "You are even the only one I would let you kill me if it means protecting or saving you and our children”

Maki felt too much adrenaline and pride when she heard those words. She knew she was sleeping with the enemy. But it didn't matter, she loved it.

They both exchanged a smile, Maki continued to masturbate him some more, that is until she settled on top of him, guiding the tip to her entrance and starting to go down. She wanted to be in control of the penetrations now, she wanted to set the pace.

They both let out loud gasps once Maki went all the way down to the base. That member had entered her perfectly.

They began to do it in that position and Maki began to set the pace. At first it was slow, but little by little it increased rapidly, while Maki couldn't stop looking into his eyes and moans of pleasure came from both of their lips. They were really enjoying it, especially her after seven years of no intimacy. She could feel perfectly how her insides were coupling with him. She had really missed it and wanted it. Just as he was, she was enjoying having sex again with the love of her life.

Yuta admired Maki's body, she looked majestic on top of him.
He even had the audacity to run his hands over those hips that were bumping against his. He caressed her marked abdomen and then moved his hands up to her breasts, which he caressed as if there was no tomorrow.

“Maki...”

“Yuta...”

They moaned their names with total desire, without ceasing to feel or look each other in the eyes.

Those movements made Yuta very close to his orgasm.
So he settled down once again, sitting up because he needed to kiss her.

Maki desperately ran her hands once more down Yuta's back. While her lips were eating each other like there was no tomorrow. She even left some very visible scratches on his shoulders and back.

The rain outside had also reached its climax. Winds, heavy rain and thunder kept sounding.

In one more move, again they both changed positions, Yuta was now on top again, while Maki was lying underneath him, with her legs clinging tightly to his hips.

“Seriously, you are hard to get out of your head and heart..." whispered Yuta in Maki's ear while he penetrated her harder, his rhythm was now faster because the orgasm of both was very close. “I love you... I really love you...”

When Maki heard that, she felt that her body could not take it anymore. The pleasure overflowed completely as she scratched his back, leaving several marks that hurt at first, but in the face of the pleasure were pleasant.

“Oh... Yuta...” Maki moaned, tears came out of her eyes, which were tears of pleasure. She felt so full. So desired, so loved.

“Maki... My Maki...” said Yuta to her ear, while he kept moving and filling her with kisses on her neck and lips, while his hands clung to her “I love you” he whispered against her neck, who made her face a little upwards because of the excitement.

The penetrations continued only a little longer, Maki was the first to reach orgasm, her legs for a moment closed tightly trapping him and then relaxed, as well as her back arched from all the sensations of the moment. Her moans flooded loudly throughout the room and she was thankful that no one else was home at that moment because those moans could have reached anyone's ears and even more so because the door to her room was wide open.
Her eyes were still closed, she was processing what they had just done.

She was satisfied and by the way, she had proved something. Something about both her and Okkotsu and that was that they still wished each other to death.

After a few more penetrations, Yuta cum inside Maki. Releasing a large amount of his warm seed.

The two remained embraced and intertwined like this for a few more moments, gently moving their hips before coming to a complete stop, their breaths erratic. Slowly they began to separate to meet each other's eyes.

Yuta leaned back on his arms to look at her as he slowly stopped and she slowly opened her eyes.

“I love you..." he said with a satisfied smile, while his forehead was resting on her forehead.

Maki smiled at that word, which as Yoshio had said, seemed to be magic. She brought her hands to his face and pulled him closer to kiss him a little more. Maki again pronounced something in a very low voice, something that only Okkotsu heard and made a smile form on his lips as well.

After those kisses, the two exchanged one more glance, that is until Yuta decided to get out of her and lay down next to her, still wrapping his arms around her.

Maki laid her head on his chest as they caught their breath. They couldn't believe what they had just done. They had just had make-up sex. And of course they wanted to do it again.

They both kept a few minutes of silence, while Yuta caressed Maki's back, who had settled completely on top of him.

“Really..."  Yuta was the first to speak - "I would have liked you to have accompanied me abroad... Maki san..." he said looking at her and without stopping caressing her  "I would have liked to have made love to you in all the countries I visited..."

Maki looked at him and caressed his face.
“That was until you had met her, wasn't it?!" she repeated mischievously.

“Of course not!” Yuta raised his voice, "Didn't I just show you that I love you? I just made love to you!" he replied with a grimace.

Maki giggled.
“I'm just kidding" she stroked his cheeks, "And actually, you showed me more than that" she kissed him to calm him down, "I just wanted to check something”

“And what was it you wanted to check?" asked Yuta, raising an eyebrow.

Maki just smiled sweetly without taking her eyes off him.
“Maybe I'll answer that later”

That answer did not entirely convince Yuta. He sighed.
“Maki, do you still have feelings for me?”

Maki stared at him, "Why are you asking me that question?”

“Well... with what we've just done...”

“Baka!" Maki whispered against his lips before kissing him, "We just made love and yet you're asking me if I still have feelings for you, that should offend me a little, she grabbed his cheeks as she settled on top of him to be even closer, "Although my greatest token of love for you is that I had your children and gave birth to them, just as I have taken care of them for almost seven years, is that not enough?”

Yuta smiled at those words.
“That's a lot more actually" he stroked her back with both hands, going from where her shoulders started to where her butt began, "So does this mean I'm already forgiven?”

She let out a little noise coming from her throat, "There is still a long way to go for me to forgive you completely and even more for having been gone for seven years... although with what we have just done, maybe I have already forgiven you for the first year of seven years of your absence" said Maki caressing his cheeks.

Yuta sighed at those words.
“So if I make love to you another six times, maybe you'll forgive me altogether?" he pouted.

Maki kissed him on the lips.
“Maybe..." her hands circled over his chest, "It will still depend on what other things we can do together as well as how you behave with the children”

Yuta smiled at that answer, "I will do my best to win you over. I will also try to gain the trust of our children”

“And speaking of the children...” Maki looked at the clock on her night table, she noticed that she was already late to start her mission as an assassin, as she also noticed that the storm had already stopped perhaps minutes ago. So she had to hurry, otherwise her target would escape her.

“Yurika and Yuudai will be back soon, and by the way, I'm already late for work" she said, starting to move to get out of bed.

But in one swift movement, Yuta grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him again to hug her.

That embrace surprised Maki, who noticed how Yuta did not want to let go.

“And if you stay?, what if we wait for the children and spend an afternoon with the family" he suggested, looking at her with too much love.

Maki looked at him, putting both hands on his chest and sitting on top of him for a moment, "A family afternoon?" she asked curiously, looking at him intently.

“Yes” Yuta caressed her hands and arms, "I was thinking about if the four of us go to eat at a restaurant and from there we can, I don't know, go to the movies or go shopping as a family... I really want to make up for lost time before..." he kept silent. Remembering what Satoru had told him about his case of the sorcerer killer, as well as his possible leadership.

“Before what?" asked Maki curiously.

Yuta sat up so that he was very close to Maki's lips. His arms crossed her waist.

“Before telling Yurika and Yuudai the truth about me being their real father”

“Are you crazy?" Maki raised her voice, "It's too early to confess that to them!" she reproached, looking him straight in the face as they were skin to skin again.

“But I need to tell them the truth" Yuta waved his hands a little.
“I need them to know that I'm not just another friend. I need them to know the whole truth about our relationship, as well as why I haven't been with them for seven years and more than..." he pursed his lips for a moment.

“What are you hiding Yuta Okkotsu?" asked Maki running her hands through his hair, gently pulling his head back so that he would look her in the eye.

Yuta took a breath.
“It's just that, being in Tokyo, I discovered something else. Something that might affect our destiny too much...”

“What else did you discover while you were in that hellish city?" she asked in a whisper.

Yuta took a breath. He knew that what he was about to say could cause total chaos. Still he decided to drop the bombshell.
“I found out that Satoru plans to retire and he told me that he's going to appoint me as the next leader of the Gojo clan”

Maki's jaw dropped.
“What?!" she shouted.

“I said that I might be the next leader of the Gojo clan...”

Maki quickly separated from him, got off the bed and stood up in surprise.
“You're telling me that I just had sex with the next leader of the Gojo clan?! I really can't... believe it..." she slurred her words looking at him. She had not expected that revelation at all.

Yuta put his hands to his face.
“Imagine what I'm like...”

Maki first took her bra to start dressing, then she took some tissues to clean the mess Yuta had made on her crotch, as his semen was still running down her.
“WHY IS THAT IDIOT GOING TO PULL OUT?! BUT WHY SHOULD YOU BE HIS SUCCESSOR IF YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DIRECT BLOOD RELATIVES?" she asked raising her voice as she finished wiping herself.

“It's a long story... that's why I want to talk... and..." said Yuta sitting on the edge of the bed.

Maki was still upset that Yuta didn't tell her that before “Now I feel like a slut for having sex with the next leader of not just any clan, but the Gojo clan! I feel like a dirty mistress!” she started to put on her panties. She was furious that he didn't say anything like that to her earlier.

Yuta stood up quickly and hugged her back to try to reassure her.
“You are not a slut and I don't want to treat you like a simple mistress either and no, I am not the leader of that clan yet... although to be one" he sighed, "I have to fulfill something first... something I don't want”

“And what is this something you have to accomplish?" Maki asked, looking over her shoulder.

“It's about the case I'm finding out about the new sorcerer killer…”

“What about that?" Maki felt like her heart would pound out of her chest.

“Well..." Yuta was interrupted by a shout coming from downstairs.

“Mom!”

“We are here!”

The twins were back.

The door to that room quickly slammed shut. They both had to hurry to get dressed and go downstairs. But what pretext would they make? What would happen next with that family that afternoon? Would Yuta tell Yurika and Yuudai the truth about him being her real father?

Continue…

 

 

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Notes:

I hope you liked this chapter🔥 What did you think?

I will be reading your comments.

And as you can read, at last, after seven years, these two were finally able to meet again intimately. Will this have consequences? Will a third baby come soon? Perhaps we will find out later if this encounter has borne fruit. 😏❤

What do you think will happen in the next chapter? Do you think Yuta will tell Yurika and Yuudai about him being his real father? What excuse will Maki and Yuta make about what they were doing up there? Like I said, I'll be reading your comments. And more that from now on, this story is going to focus both on the relationship of those two adults, as well as Yuta trying to gain the trust and affection of his children. So the plot will now be centered on the Okkotsu family.

Truly, I hope that this 2025 is full of beautiful things for each of you.  May your resolutions be fulfilled and may life smile on you and fill you with many good things.

The truth is, I hope that in this year that is about to begin, I can continue bringing you more of this story as well as the others and if someday I stop doing it or simply disappear for some reason, I hope you remember me and my fics with affection.

Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, I wish you a happy and prosperous 2025.

Vera ❤

Chapter 27: 26. Debts Payable

Notes:

Hello everyone, Vera here with the first update of the . ❤

I hope you like it, this will be a short chapter, but I promise it will be entertaining, especially because this chapter will touch on an important topic that has to do with Maki.

I promise the next chapter will be longer.

Anyway, enjoy the reading, as you go along, you will understand why this chapter has this title. 👀

Also, I decided to translate this chapter as a thank you for the 1000 kudos. Thank you very much for the support to those who have stayed.

Enjoy the chapter

 

 

"Sooner or later, both moral and economic debts must be paid."

 

“Mom!”

“We're back!”

The twins had returned home very excited.

They both shouted from the doorway as they stood in the foyer, taking off their raincoats and rain boots.

“Maki san, we're here!" said Yuki loudly, as she too took off her raincoat.

At that instant, as she stripped off her boots and tossed them aside, the blonde noticed some men's shoes in the place, ones she didn't remember seeing before she left.

Quickly a noise from the second floor caught the attention of the three of them. First it sounded as if a door had slammed shut, accompanied by a noise as if someone or something had fallen to the floor.

Yuki got a big smile on her face and more than remembered that Yuta was going that afternoon. So she guessed that those two must be doing "certain things" up there. Perhaps Maki had heeded her advice to follow her feelings.

“Mom will be upstairs?" Yuudai asked as he heard hurried footsteps above their heads.

“Let's go with her!” Yurika jumped up to go up to the hall.

Her brother nodded his head yes as he also hopped upstairs.

“Kids!, what do you say we wait for your mother down here?" said Yuki, stopping them, holding each of them by the shoulders, "I don't think it will be long before they come down”

The twins looked at each other in confusion and more so when they heard more hurried footsteps walking back and forth over their heads.

◈━━━━◇━━━━◈

 

“Shit!" growled Maki, who quickly ran to close the door of her room, "Get dressed, now! I can't let them see us like this!" she ordered in a low voice.

Yuta also looked in a hurry, he quickly turned around to look for his clothes, but in his haste he slipped and fell to the ground on his pure butt.

“Okkotsu, don't play games!" Maki scolded in a whisper.

“I'm sorry!" he said, standing up quickly and starting to pick up his clothes to get dressed.

Maki took a quick glance at her mirror on the dressing table as she went to look for a new hair tie. At that instant, she noticed several marks that Yuta had left on her neck, which were quite striking at first glance.

“Why did you leave this on me?" she said annoyed as she pointed to her neck and turned to look at Yuta, "I'll have to cover my neck with a t-shirt because I don't have time to put on makeup!" she ran to her dresser to find a t-shirt to cover those marks.

Luckily Maki had a long-sleeved, turtlenecked sports shirt.

“I'm sorry, I got carried away!" commented Yuta as he hurriedly dressed, quickly starting with his underwear, "I can help you with my reverse technique”

“JUST HURRY UP!!" commanded Maki as she finished pulling her sweatpants up her legs.

At that moment when both were dressing in a hurry.

As Yuta was putting on his pants, his attention was drawn to the sports bag that Maki had again placed on his bed, which he opened to put something else in there.

The sorcerer was struck by the fact that the bag was half open and he noticed something smooth, it looked like the part of a mask or a cursed weapon.

As he was about to approach that bag to see what else Maki had in it, Maki stopped him, quickly closing it.

“I see that you are very curious" she commented with a slight grimace.

“It's just that I...”

Maki stole a kiss from him to get him to stop talking and more than that he had proven that she was indeed his weakness.

“Just act normal and follow my lead, OK?" she said, grabbing her purse and then rushing to grab the doorknob and hurry out of her room.

Yuta was in shock for a moment, he was processing everything that had happened minutes before. That fleeting kiss turned him red. But there was no time, the joyful voices of his children brought him out of his thoughts.

Quickly with his reverse technique, he healed those hickeys and scratches that Maki had made on his neck and back while they were making love. Then he looked once more at that room.

Yuta turned to Maki's closet, which had caught his eye since he entered.

And although his hand went to that little knob to open that closet, he decided not to investigate further at that moment, so he quickly put on the dark blue T-shirt that Maki had taken from Megumi's room, quickly combed his hair and before leaving, he took something that Maki had forgotten in the room.

◈━━━━♡━━━━◈

 

“What happened here?" Yuudai asked in confusion as he looked at the pieces of a broken cup in the kitchen.

“It looks like a crime scene!" his sister commented with a smile, "Something definitely happened here!" she said in a detective-like manner, her curiosity was imminent.

The twins placed their gifts on their respective chairs as they watched the scene in front of them. The table was in disarray. On the floor lay a broken cup, surrounded by a puddle of coffee, as well as several pieces of silverware scattered about. What caught their attention, however, was the vase, which was now decorated with new flowers.

“Either someone had an accident here or something else definitely happened" commented Yuki looking at the mess.

“What do you mean?" asked Yurika curiously.

“I'm not sure" replied the blonde, shrugging her shoulders with a carefree smile, "Maybe someone pushed someone else against the table, or maybe there was a fight here" added Yuki.

Quickly the three of them were struck by the approaching footsteps hurrying down the stairs. That made the children peek over the kitchen threshold.

Maki swallowed hard and tried to look "normal", and pretended as if nothing had happened as she walked down to the second floor carrying her sports bag.

Once under the stairs, her children ran to embrace her.

“Mommy!" they shouted in chorus, as their little steps ran to her and hugged her legs.

Maki smiled at the sight of them and stroked their cheeks.
“Where did you go? You didn't get caught in the rain, did you? You didn't get wet, did you? Because the last thing I want is for either of them to get sick" she commented with a smile.

“Yuki One san took us to a new shopping mall!" Yurika explained, "We saw lots of stores and even took us to play in a big place inside, which was full of slides and had a big pool full of balls!”

“And he bought us some things!" Yuudai said, taking his mother's hand to lead her to the kitchen.

“Come Mom, we want to show you the gifts that Yuki bought us!" Yurika also pulled her mother's hand.

Ok, but make it quick, I'm already too late to go to work" Maki dropped her bag in the hallway to go to her children.

She controlled her face so as not to blush at the memory of what had happened a moment ago with Yuta in that kitchen. Which was still a mess.

“Look Mom!" Yurika held up a pair of pink roller skates, which she took from her chair.

“These are the gifts Yuki gave us!" Yuudai held up a small toy telescope.

“These are nice presents" she commented, seeing how happy her children were.

“Aunt Tsukumo is the best, isn't she?” commented the blonde with a big smile.

Maki turned to look at the sorceress.
“Why did you give them these things?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

“These gifts consider them as special, because these will help them to better understand their cursed techniques” Yuki had a big smile on her lips.

Maki just narrowed her eyes. She didn't understand at that moment what Yuki meant by that answer, but later she would understand how those gifts would help her children.

“By the way, what happened here?” Yuki asked curiously, pointing to the broken cup, "It looks like the storm broke out in here”

“Well, it's just that...”

“Maki san, you forgot your glasses up there!" Yuta appeared through the kitchen doorway.

That voice made the twins' faces light up and they turned toward the threshold.

“Yuta kun!" Yurika and Yuudai shouted with excitement when they saw the man appear, they even ran to hug him.

Yuta quickly squatted down and opened his arms to receive his children in a nice hug. One that comforted him too much.

“We missed you!" said Yurika with a big smile.

“Yes, we wanted to see you again" Yuudai replied with a nice smile.

“And I missed you two" replied Yuta with great joy at seeing you again.

“Aunt Yuki! He's the one we were telling you about earlier!" Yuudai commented with a smile, pointing at Yuta while looking at the blonde.

“Yuta kun, we want to introduce you to our onesan Yuki Tsukumo" said Yurika in a cheerful voice.

“Although she also likes to be called Aunt Yuki" Yuudai replied with a shrug.

Both children said this because they knew that this woman did not want to be called "grandmother".

“It's a pleasure to meet you Okkotsu kun, the children have told me a lot about you" commented Yuki pretending that she was just getting to know the man, while wearing a big smile.

“The pleasure is mine Tsukumo san" Yuta humored her, stood up and bowed slightly.

“By the way, what were you two doing up there" the blonde asked curiously, "It sounded like something fell down.

Yuta quickly brought his hand to the back of his neck, he was quite nervous.

“Well, it's just that...”

“Yuta kun, why are you wearing dad Gumi's T-shirt?" Yuudai asked, tilting his head slightly as he recognized the garment. He really was a very observant boy and by the way, with a good memory.

“I…” Yuta was trying to find an answer to that, but luckily Maki intervened.

“I lent him that T-shirt since Okkotsu had an accident with this coffee cup!" commented Maki with a grimace and pointing to the floor. Her annoying mother act seemed quite convincing “It turns out that while he was helping me clean the table, by mistake the coffee spilled on his shirt and the cup fell to the floor breaking it into many pieces!” her hands went to her hips- “And by the way, I was not going to let him be in those dirty and wet clothes, and even less when he came to share an ice cream with you”

The children's faces lit up at that magic word.

“ICE CREAM?! They said in chorus.

“That's right,  as I just returned from Tokyo, I came right away to share some ice cream with you, which is in the freezer" commented Yuta with a smile.

“Can we have ice cream?”

 “Yes Mom?”

“Please!”

“Please say yes! Please!”

Both children quickly approached Maki, so that she would give them her permission to eat that dessert and more that she didn't like her children to eat too many sweets or junk food, although she also didn't like them to eat so many vegetables as it reminded her of her clan's horrible vegan diet. She really wanted her children to enjoy all kinds of food.

Maki sighed.
“Okay. You know where the ice cream cups are. But first, bring me the broom and dustpan. I don't want you to hurt yourselves with this broken cup" she said pointing to the pieces on the floor.

“OK!”

“We'll be right back”

Both children jumped for joy. They quickly went to get the things their mother asked for, left the kitchen and went to the end of the hallway on the second floor. There they had the small laundry room, which also served as a storage room for cleaning supplies.

As those children returned, their mother exchanged a slight smile of complicity with Yuta.

The magnetism was still quite present and even more so after that passionate intimate encounter.

And all this was also noticed by Yuki, who wanted to confirm what had happened between those two. Although by their expressions and by the very slight marks that appeared on Maki's neck, she could perfectly intuit what had happened.

“So, what were you two doing up there? Because it's clear that what started down here, ended up in bed” asked the blonde with too much curiosity.

Both adults swallowed hard. They even averted their gaze.

“We just went upstairs to give Yuta a clean shirt" Maki replied with a grimace, trying to be her usual self.

“And did that mean taking off your glasses to look for a T-shirt?" asked the blonde, pointing to Maki's glasses that Okkotsu was still holding in his hand.

“It's just that...” Yuta was interrupted as Maki snatched her glasses. She gave him a quick glance about not saying anything.

“I had simply left them in the upstairs bathroom. Good thing Okkotsu brought them down for me. Besides, it was in the upstairs bathroom where he changed his shirt" commented Maki putting on her glasses, "Right, Yuta?" she smiled at him a little in complicity.

“If so, it was my mistake that I dropped this cup and the coffee spilled on me" Yuta scratched the back of his neck, "Luckily it wasn't hot, otherwise I would have burned myself for sure”

"Yeah, sure, as you say," the blonde smiled, "Although clearly the marks on your necks and the way you look away from me say otherwise" said Yuki mischievously, making them touch each other's necks at the same time, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you two have already had make-up sex”

Both lovers were dying of grief and their faces were all red.

Yuki decided to change the subject “Okkotsu I heard you went to Tokyo Is that true? How did it go there?”

“I did go to that city and I'm glad you mentioned it Tsukumo san" commented Yuta with a nervous smile to change the subject. “And more than that, I would like to talk to you about an important topic...”

“I think I know what you want to talk to me about" the blonde crossed her arms, "Clearly it's about Gojo Satoru, isn't it?”

“It is. I need to ask you several questions from seven years ago”

“I agree, but for the moment I propose that we talk about it another time..." Yuki now turned her gaze to Maki.
“It seems that the two of you are getting along better already, have you made peace?”

“Something like that. Anyway, Yuta has to fulfill certain conditions” commented Maki with a slight smile, which she shared with Yuta.

The magnetism between these two was really quite remarkable.

At that instant, the children returned with the things Maki had ordered them to bring.

“Here's Mom!" replied Yurika carrying the broom, while Yuudai brought the dustpan.

“Leave it to me, I was the one who broke the cup, so I'm going to lift it" said Yuta, asking for those objects to be passed to him.

The children looked at their mother to see what she was saying.

“Ok!” Maki simply waved her hand for her children to hand those things to the guest “Besides, you were the one who provoked all this”

It seemed that those words were loaded with some message related to what happened between the two of them. It seemed like a hint that Yuta managed to catch.

“Yes, hehe you're right”  Again, Yuta smiled at him in complicity.

Those smiles and glances were noticed by the twins, who looked at each other and exchanged a few words mentally.

Yurika smiled widely as if approving of the relationship that was emerging between those two adults. On the other hand, Yuudai made a grimace that he did not like the situation between those two and confirmed it by rolling his eyes at his sister's smile.

While Yuta set about collecting those pieces, Maki said goodbye to her children, as her cell phone kept receiving messages from Mei Mei, who told her to hurry as her target was changing location.

“Well children, I'll see you later, I have to go to work" she said squatting down, "You will both stay with Aunt Yuki, okay?”

“Yes, Mom!" They both raised their hands and brought them to their foreheads as a sign of understanding that order.

“Speaking of which…" Yuki stood next to Maki, "I also have to leave”

Maki got up in a hurry when she heard that.
“What? But! You said you would help me take care of the children today! And more that Neither Megumi nor Tsumiki nor the others were going to be able to take care of them today!”

“I know I said I would take care of them today, but a while ago I got an urgent call, which I have to attend with some of my informants. I would like to stay, but I also have work to do” Yuki explained.

“You can't do this to me! You know that for their sake, we can't leave the children alone!" reproached Maki, very upset.

“Unfortunately I have to go out to such a call Maki san. You are not the only one with too much work" commented Yuki seriously.

“But I have to leave for work too! I'm already very late and I can't leave them alone here at home! I need someone to look after them or take them with me to protect them" Maki raised her voice, she was in a hurry and annoyed with these changes of plans.

Yurika and Yuudai looked at each other worried about such a situation as they each clung to their mother's leg. Since they were born, they were never left home alone. They always made sure that an adult would take care of them, especially in case Yuudai's health relapsed.

They even preferred to go out with their uncles and aunts rather than stay at home and always be in the care of an adult.

Yuta listened to all this while he finished sweeping up those pieces of paper and threw them in the trash, as a father of those children he could not remain silent, so he decided to intervene.
“Excuse me for butting into the conversation, but...”

The twins as well as Maki and Yuki turned to look at him.

“How about if I take care of Yuudai and Yurika this afternoon at my apartment?”

“WHAT?!”

“Yes Mommy! Please! We want to spend more time with Yuta kun! Say yes! Let us go to Yuta kun's apartment! Please!" the twins said in chorus as they jumped up and down and hugged their mother.

“But!”

“Give him a chance, Maki san. Besides, he is already like a member of this family, isn't he?" Yuki winked at him.

“Yes... but...”

“By the way, it's a good idea for the kids to spend time with him. I mean, these two seem to get along very well with Okkotsu from what they told me, don't they?” The blonde looked at the children and took a step towards them.
“Wouldn't they like to spend more time with him? Besides, I bet they will be much safer in Okkotsu's apartment than here alone" she put her hands on the heads of those two.

“But!”

“What Yuki Onesan says is true, we want to spend more time with Yuta Kun" commented Yurika.

“By the way, so we won't be alone while you come back from work, Mom!" Yuudai commented.

“You see? Even the kids want to go with him, so what do you say Maki, will you let them go with Okkotsu?” Yuki slightly shook her head in a signal to Maki.

“Mommy, say yes!”

“Please!”

“We promise not to get into mischief”

“Besides, we must decide soon" commented Yuki seriously, "And more than that, it won't be long before it rains again" she said because of the thunder that broke in the sky once more, "And don't forget that you owe him... this is also part of your debt”

Maki wanted to scream.
Both for having to make that decision, as well as for how desperate her cell phone was becoming with so many messages that kept arriving. And that was not the only debt she had to pay.

“OK!" she sighed, "Yurika, Yuudai go get your things. Above all, pajamas and bring what you consider the most important things to spend a night at Okkotsu's house" she turned and looked at her son in particular, "Yuudai, don't forget to bring your medicines, okay?" she mentioned seriously.

“Thank you very much Mom!”

“We promise to behave very well!”

Said these excited children.

Maki sighed.
“All right, now go, I'm already very, very late and I might have to work overtime" she commented annoyed.

Quickly these children ran upstairs to their room to prepare their backpacks. Preparing the change of clothes that their mother had told them, as well as taking those objects that they could not miss when they slept.

Even Yurika went downstairs at her discretion to take something important from the living room. Something that would be taken to Yuta's apartment and that would be very important for that family.

On the other hand, Yuudai packed his medicines and the object that helped him sleep very well.

“Thank you Maki San, I promise I will take care of them with my life" said Yuta with a big smile of illusion knowing that he would spend a whole afternoon with his children.

Maki clicked her tongue.
“Just make sure you take good care of them, understood? If not, now I will castrate you, but without anesthesia” She was very annoyed by that situation, but later she would realize that it would have been a good idea for her future plans as an assassin.

“That's how it will be. I promise I will take good care of them" said Yuta with a smile as he approached her, being only a step away.

“And one more thing...”

“Yes?”

“I don't want you to reveal anything to them about... you know... that you are their real father..." warned Maki in a low voice, "Not without me being there to tell them together... Okay?"

“I promise. I won't tell them without you being present or until you give me permission to tell them..." Yuta brought his hand to his chest at the level of his heart as a sign of promise.

“Thank you..." Maki gave him a slight smile.

Yuki watched all that interaction between those two. She smiled because she knew that this evening between father and son could be beneficial for both sides.

◈━━━━♧━━━━◈

 

03:55 p.m.

Maki came running to the place where Mei Mei had summoned her.

The two had arranged to meet in a sort of warehouse that was near the place where their target was currently located, which was in a hot springs bath.

“Where the hell were you?" Mei demanded, very annoyed.

“Sorry I'm late!" apologized Maki, dropping her bag abruptly to the ground, "I had trouble finding someone to leave the kids with and by the way, the damn rain wouldn't stop, can't you see I'm soaking wet?”

“Did something happen? Are my little gold mines all right?" asked Mei worried when she heard about those children.

“You know I hate it when you name my children that!" growled Maki as she seemed to be looking for something in her purse.

“You know perfectly well that they are your collateral. They belong to me until you finish paying THEIR debt to me, especially because I am protecting them from your clan as well as from anyone else and by the way, if it wasn't for me, your son would have died without the necessary attention or should I always remind you of that?" Mei explained with too much annoyance in her voice.

Maki clenched her fists. She hated it when that woman said that to her because she was right. And more that Mei had been the one who had supported a ghost like her the most financially.

“So they are pure gold mines whether you like it or not. Remember that anyone who knows of their existence will want your children because of their unique blood mix. They would even pay millions for such a child and even more if they inherited some technique from the Zenin clan or some similar to the Gojo clan”

Maki sighed in fury as she began to strip off her wet clothes and put on her assassin's clothes, which consisted of all-black garments, which she would discard once the mission was over.

At that moment, while she tied her hair in such a way that not a single hair came out of that ponytail and in passing, she covered it completely with a raisin mountains, a question crossed her mind. One referring to what Mei had said.

“What if?" came out of Maki's mouth.

“What's wrong?" Mei asked with confusion.

“What if someone else were to settle that debt on my behalf?" asked Maki with Yuta in mind.

Mei laughed a little.
“It should be someone with a lot of money or in your case, someone with a very high position so that he can come to an economic agreement with me. Because you know that your children's debt is several million yen each.

“But there would still be a chance for someone else to pay off that debt and give my children their freedom, wouldn't there?" asked Maki with her mask in her hands.

Mei adjusted the hair on her forehead a little.
“mmmm yes…” She hesitated a little, and after thinking it over, she spoke, "Well, there would be. Tell me who the bidder is and I'll tell you if there would be a chance to reach an agreement with that person" she snapped her fingers.

Maki hesitated a little if she should respond to that. First she had to plan how to ask for Yuta's help.

“Forget it, it was just a question..." said Maki with a sigh.

“Ok” Mei quickly checked the movement of her victim through three of her crows, which were flying around the place at will.

That guy was still in his position, it seemed that he had not moved from his place in the open-air hot springs.

“Our target is still in position. It would be ideal to eliminate him as soon as possible. Then you can go quietly to your other job to train those women" Mei looked at her nails "Especially because whoever did this job wants this guy to be killed before six o'clock, to prevent him from hearing the reading of the will and avoid claiming an inheritance, of which we were promised a share”

Maki just grunted. She knew it was going to be a heavy day and more so with that stupid rain that again, was about to fall as again thunder cracked in the sky.

“And who did you leave our children with?" Mei asked curiously.

Maki took a deep breath as she pulled her weapons out of her bag and began to arrange them around her waist, strapping them on her belt.

“You don't have to worry about that, they are with someone you can trust..." answered Maki seriously as she finished putting on some thick gloves, which she wore to avoid leaving fingerprints.

“I didn't know Megumi or Tsumiki had come to Kyoto" Mei commented intrigued.

A big smile formed on Maki's face as she remembered who her children had stayed with.
“I'm not talking about Megumi or Tsumiki, I'm talking about someone else”

“Then whose?" asked Mei, confused by the woman's attitude.

Maki was preparing her fox mask, which she would use in that mission.
“They are spending the afternoon with the one who would be capable of destroying this city if they were to touch a hair on one of my children..." she said with a soft expression before putting on the mask that covered her face.

Mei's blood froze when she heard those words.
“Wait! Yurika and Yuudai are with O-o-okkotsu?" she asked with surprise, that surname barely able to get out of her throat.

Maki did not answer that question. She simply put herself in her role of assassin.
“Now let's get going, I'm ready to go and eliminate that stupid assignment before the rain lets loose again, which won't take long to happen” She commented adjusting her mask, while a crow impregnated with cursed energy began to fly over her head to make the change to the place where Ui Ui was inside that hot springs enclosure.

The silver one seemed quite serious about it. If Maki had already started to get close to Okkotsu they would literally be living with the enemy and that could ruin their future plans.

Still, this greedy woman would later take matters into her own hands.

◈━━━━◇━━━━◈

 

Notes:

 I hope you liked it, as I said it would be a short one, but the next one will be a long chapter, I promise.

And as you can read, Maki does owe a huge debt to both Mei and Yuta. But clearly one will weigh more heavily on him than the other

In the next chapter we will finally see more of the coexistence between Yuta and the twins, especially because he will begin to discover that being a father of two is not easy. 👀

However, Mei won't sit idly by either, she will finally talk to Yuta later on.

Anyway, how's 2025 treating you guys? I'm a bit of a pain in the ass, but hey, it's almost my birthday! 🍰❤

I hope to update soon ❤

I will be reading your comments.  We will keep reading.

Vera wants them ❤

Chapter 28: 27. A Day With Dad

Notes:

Happy birthday Yuta Okkotsu, who is already a father and grandfather

Enjoy this episode of Yuta being a father

 

 

Meanwhile on the other side of town.

04:06 p.m.

 

Both Yurika and Yuudai were fascinated by the building they had entered, as it was a luxury apartment complex in one of the trendiest areas of the city.

Yuta quickly opened the door of the place that had become his bachelor's home since he arrived in Kyoto.

“Welcome, come in children" said Yuta with a big smile as he turned on the lights.

“Wow, it's huge!”

“And very elegant!”

The twins were very impressed when they saw the inside of the apartment.

In the entrance there was a small and luxurious hall, which had an elegant piece of furniture where all the shoes went. On one side of it, there was an elegant table with foreign ornaments and a picture on it, and on the other side, there was a coat rack and a small place to put umbrellas and other things.

Once you entered the foyer, you entered a small hallway, which was filled with as many small paintings that elegantly adorned the place.

Once you left that small hallway, you entered directly to the central part of that apartment, where there was a luxurious dining room for six people and on that fine table, at that moment there were some documents, as well as a small empty vase. And above it, on the ceiling there was a big lamp that gave it illumination.

To the left side of the dining room, at the back, was the kitchen, which had a luxurious bar as well as high wooden chairs and by the way, near the sink there was an elegant refrigerator. As well as other kitchen accessories such as an oven and a toaster.

On the opposite side of the dining room, to the back right, was the living room.
In that place Yuta had several tables with lamps and comfortable armchairs, which were located very close to the large windows overlooking the city and on the opposite wall, there was a fireplace false and a large flat screen above it. As in the whole room there were many objects that seemed to be souvenirs brought from abroad.

To one side of the living room, there was another hallway where, at the end of it, was the bathroom, which was quite spacious and even had a shower and a large bathtub.

Next to this bathroom, there was a small utility room, where there was a washing machine and a dryer, as well as a place where Katsumoto's employees left their cleaning products.

And down that same hallway, near the living room there were two other doors, which were the rooms that the apartment had.

One was Yuta's and the other was being used from time to time by Katsumoto, who slept over when the paperwork was extensive. That room had a bed and other furniture such as a desk, a laptop, a printer, a small sofa and a closet. It was also used as a storage room since there were some boxes with the most important documents of the case.

Yurika and Yuudai were amazed by everything they saw in that hall.

“Come on” Yuta said with a big smile and about to take off his shoes to wear his slippers.

“Em Yuta kun..." said Yuudai shyly.

“Yes?”

“Can I come in like this with my shoes on? We didn't bring our slippers..." said the boy, wiggling his little feet a little.

“I don't mind going in with my socks only on!" said Yurika, quickly taking off her shoes and going in very excited because she wanted to see the place.

At that moment, Yuta became aware of a big situation that could turn into a big problem. And that was that there were no children's things in his apartment.

“I think we should go buy slippers for both of them and, by the way, more things for their stay here, since this is the first time children come to this place" said Yuta scratching his head as he watched Yurika come in socks.

“Wow, this is huge!" place said Yurika very excited looking from that dining room to the whole apartment. She even turned around to admire the place where they would spend the night. She felt like a princess arriving to a big castle. On the other hand, her twin was not very comfortable.

Yuudai looked doubtful whether he should go in with shoes or not, and more that he was out of his comfort zone and that caused him discomfort and a great deal of internal conflict.

Yuta took a breath without taking his eyes off him “You can keep your shoes if you wish, in other parts of the world they enter homes with them” he said with a smile, so Yuudai would feel confident “I'll keep mine anyway, so come on in” he extended his hand “make yourself at home”

Yuudai hesitated for a slight moment whether or not he should take Yuta's hand, especially with the words said by his twin hours ago that there was a possibility that this man could be his real father.

That simple possibility frightened him. He did not want to be disappointed in the man. Even the little boy shrugged his arms very shyly.

Yuta felt that first rejection. But he thought he should give her time to get used to it.

“Thank you Yuta kun” said the boy shyly as he entered the house with his shoes still on. That was a little uncomfortable for him, since they always entered in slippers.

So, they both went in to where Yurika was, since that girl had run into the living room in just her socks.

“Wow, what a screen!" she said in amazement, "Can we watch movies here later?!" she asked excitedly.

“Of course" said Yuta with a smile.

“This place is bigger than Papa Gumi's apartment..." said Yuudai in amazement.

“It looks like a castle!” Yurika said very happy to see so many things.

“Your father Megumi lives in an apartment?" Yuta asked curiously.

“Yep, we once went to Tokyo to visit him.  Dad Gumi and Aunt Tsumiki live in an apartment similar to this one," Yuudai explained.

“Of course, it's not as luxurious or as big as this one!" said Yurika with a big smile, "Although now I like this place better than our daddy Gumi's."  turned on her heels again and then looked at her brother, "Yuudai, don't forget that Daddy Gumi is not our biological daddy, he's just our fatherSheadoptive”

She still held out hope that Yuta might be her real father, and she was determined to find out the truth, no matter what she had to do to do so. Even if it meant contradicting her brother.

“But for me he will always be our father..." muttered the boy a little annoyed at his twin's words. He even lowered his gaze.

“But don't worry, you can make yourselves at home here too" he pointed to the sofa, "If you like, leave your backpacks there in the living room" he smiled sweetly, "Would you like some water?” he went to his refrigerator

“Yes please!" said Yurika once she put her backpack on the couch and then rushed to Yuta's side.

On the other hand, Yuudai admired that place a little more, it was really big and luxurious, besides they were on a good floor, since they could see the city very well from where they were.

The boy put down his backpack and went after the two. “I would like some orange juice... please..." he said shyly.

Yuta first took two crystal glasses from his elegant cupboard, and then opened the refrigerator, noticing that he didn't have that other sweet drink to offer to his son, even so, he also noticed that he had to go buy more things to offer and more that living alone, he always asked Katsumoto to buy him ready-made food because he didn't like to cook alone. But now he had to see to two little ones to feed.

“I'm sorry, but I'm going to owe you for the Yuudai juice" said Yuta, closing the refrigerator and looking sadly at his son.

“Then water is fine..." said the little boy taking a seat in the dining room with a small smile.

His sister also took a seat and noticed the folders on the table.

“What is this?"she said curiously, about to open those folders, which had many sheets.

But Yuta stopped her quickly “This is some of my work that the children can't see" he said kindly, removing the folder. He had moved too fast.

Yuudai rolled his eyes “Yurika, you and your stupid habit of sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!”

“Hehe sorry, you know I'm curious by nature," said Yurika in a little pout, "Yuta kun, is that something about your detective work?" she asked curiously, as she watched Yuta take that folder to the bar and return to hand them their glasses of water.

“And that's why these are things that children can't see" he said with a slight smile.

“It's okay, it won't happen again" said the girl with a long face, since she also wanted to feel like a detective, while her brother stuck out his tongue in mockery.

Both children drank from their water glasses, while Yuta put a hand to his head. He was thinking that he should be more careful about what he left around, as well as he started thinking that he should buy some things for them to entertain themselves and not get bored like toys, as well as food and personal cleaning things for them.

Was he really going to be able to be a good father knowing he had nothing for them? How much did the children need? What else should he have ready for those two?

He was so lost in thought that the voice of one of the twins brought him out of his mind.

“Damn it!" Yurika said out loud, "I just remembered I forgot to bring my toothbrush!”

“Mom told us not to forget what's important" her brother chided, "That's what you get for being distracted!”

“But as I was rushing us, I forgot to take it, just like I forgot my shampoo" Yurika commented with annoyance and pointed angrily at him "And I bet you forgot something too! It happens to you ,often!”

“I!" when Yuudai was about to defend himself, he suddenly as he had also forgotten something.fell silent

“See! I told you you forgot something too!!" said Yurika proudly, "It must have been your hairbrush”

“Yes... I forgot to put it away... just like I forgot my shampoo and toothpaste" Yuudai said with a grimace.

Yuta laughed lightly at the behavior of those two.

“What do you say we go shopping, and while we're at it we'll buy what we need to make you a delicious dinner," said the sorcerer with a big smile.

“Yes!" said the twins in chorus.

 

 

---

 

Yuta never imagined that shopping with two six-year-olds would be a bit complicated but fun at the same time.

Complicated because she realized that taking care of two children was too much work for one. And even more so when they had two very different personalities.

Even so, that shopping trip began to be useful to Yuta because he began to get to know his children's tastes better.

First, those three arrived at a clothing store, because Yuta thought it would be a good idea for those little ones to have three or four extra changes of clothes in their apartment, as they could easily get dirty. He also bought them some extra pajamas. he also bought them some jackets that had caught both children's attention and some rain boots, since it was still raining outside. And the main thing, they bought some slippers, both for them and for Maki.

Also, Yuta bought them each a set of blankets, this so that they would feel comfortable in that apartment and could leave them there in case they came back to stay, which would happen more often than they thought. Yurika chose one with a drawing of princesses and Yuudai chose one with a drawing of an astronaut.

Yuta even bought each twin a set of bath towels, Yurika chose one of a mermaid and Yuudai chose one of various aquatic animals. He even bought them some toys that they could use in the bathtub as well as each one chose a shampoo, conditioner, soap, scrubbing pads and toothpaste and toothbrushes to their liking.

Also, the three of them entered a toy store, where the most excited to be there was Yurika. Since she knew it was her chance to choose the toys she wanted.

“Can I take these?" asked the excited girl, holding several stuffed animals in her hands. One was a dog, another was a doll and one more was a giraffe.

“But you already have a lot of stuffed animals at home..." said her twin, crossing his arms. He was annoyed with his sister's opportunistic attitude.

“But Yuta-kun said to take whatever toys we want! And I want all of these!" said the little girl in a pout, "Right Yuta kun?" asked the little girl looking at the adult, "Can I take these stuffed animals?”

“Yes you can" Yuta commented with a smile, and even more so when he saw his daughter's excitement. Then he looked at his son, "also You can choose the toys you want, Yuudai”

That boy shrugged his shoulders, "S-sure?" he asked ruefully. He was still very defensive.

Yuta squatted down in front of him, "Very safe, you can take several toys, we'll take them with no problem" he smiled.

The boy took a step back. He still rejected the idea that Yuta was his father and that this generosity was just a trap. But it was still nothing certain, it was just his sister's idea, he thought.

Yuta felt that rejection from Yuudai again. He didn't understand what was going on, maybe it could be the weather, he thought.

At that instant, the sorcerer picked up a stuffed toy of a dinosaur, from what he had observed, Yuudai seemed to like them too.

“You can take the toys you want without shame, consider it a gift from me to make you feel comfortable in my apartment while your mother arrives" I passed him the stuffed animal and stroked his hair.

The little boy took that stuffed animal and hugged it in a way that calmed those bad ideas about his biological father -Thanks... Yuta kun...

“Yuudai, look!” His sister returned with a box in her hands “it looks like the puzzle we were putting together earlier and lost!”

The boy's eyes sparkled with excitement when he saw that puzzle  “It's the onesame !” he took it quickly -I want it!

“It's very nice, we will take it " said Yuta with a big smile, standing up.

That changed the boy's countenance, as it had hurt him a lot to have lost some of the pieces of that puzzle, since it had been a very special gift. Finding that puzzle, encouraged him to take some more dinosaur stuffed animals, as well as a set containing several cars and a track for them. His sister even took the opportunity to take a large dollhouse with some of these included.

Seeing his children excited in that store made Yuta think that he always wanted to see them happy. It even made him forget about all his problems for a while. Problems that would have more weight later on.

After shopping in those stores, the three of them went to buy some things they would need for dinner, as well as other groceries.

That was no easy task, as the children wanted to bring a variety of things.

“Can we take these cookies?" asked Yurika, holding up a colorful box of strawberry-flavored cookies.

“I don't like those!" Yuudai reproached, "I prefer these!" he said, picking up another packet of a different flavor, chocolate chips.

“We can take both, although I wonder if their mother won't be upset if I let them eat that and even more that she asked me not to give them that kind of food" said Yuta scratching his cheek.

“If we don't tell him I don't think he will scold us" said Yurika with a big smile that she shared with her brother.

“That's right.”

Yuta sighed a little.
“All right, you can only eat some after dinner, understood?”

“Yep!”

“Understood!”

“Can we also bring ice cream?" asked Yurika.

Yuta tapped his forehead, "I forgot the ice cream I bought at your house" he sighed and then looked at his children.

“I want ice cream”

“Me too”

The twins lowered their faces.

Yuta sighed, he couldn't say no to his children “What do you say we bring some new ice cream to the apartment and eat it after dinner?”

“Yes! I like the idea!”

“I want strawberry!" said Yuudai.

“And I want chocolate!" said Yurika.

“Well, then let's bring several flavors of ice cream" said Yuta with a big smile.

Those little ones also helped Yuta look for the ingredients they needed for dinner. They also brought a lot of food for later.

 

---

 

 

06: 20 p.m.

After buying all that, the three of them returned to the apartment, just in time as the rain again started to do its thing out there.

An assistant, sent by Katsumoto, helped Okkotsu carry all the purchases they had made that afternoon up to his apartment. He was also in charge of carrying them there and back, as Katsumoto was still busy with a mission his boss had given him before he returned from Tokyo. Relying fully on his discretion, Katsumoto made sure to send his boss someone he trusted, someone who would keep his mouth shut and not reveal anything about that afternoon.

“Ready again, home sweet home" said Yuta, opening the apartment door once more.

Again the three of them came in and this time, the little ones wore their new slippers.

They left all the bags with all the things they had bought in the living room.  Instead, the ingredients and everything else, they took it to the kitchen.

“Very well, children, are you yethungry ?" asked Yuta, starting to take the ingredients out of the bags, as well as the other edible things they had bought.

“I'm alreadyhungry !" said Yuudai.

“Me too!" said Yurika bringing her hands to her stomach.

“All right, let me prepare a recipe that a very special friend of mine taught me and then we can watch a movie or play for a while with their new toys" he said with a smile.

“Can we help you?" asked Yurika excitedly

“Of course you can, go wash your hands while I get out all the ingredients we will need”

Both children nodded yes and ran to the bathroom.

And so they did, both children helped prepare the meal, which consisted of a pasta bolognese and while they were at it, Yuta prepared them some mini pizzas as someone very special had taught him how to make them.

“And now we put the ingredients you want on this little dough, such as ham, pepperoni, sausage and cheese" he said very happily as he put those cut ingredients.

“Wow! I've never seen such small pizzas before" Yuudai said excitedly.

“Yuta kun, where did you learn this récipe?" Yurika asked excitedly.

Both children were sitting on the long chairs they had at the kitchen counter.

Yuta smiled when he heard that question.
“A very special girl taught it to me a long time ago”

“Are you talking about the woman you are looking for?" Yurika asked, placing her hands on her chin and her elbows on the bar.

“Yurika…" her brother whisper in annoyance

“What? Maybe this is a new clue about that mysterious woman Yuta is looking for!" she looked at her brother very annoyed.

Yuta smiled as he finished making several small homemade pizzas.

“Let's say that the woman who taught me how to prepare this food is someone I met abroad. She is different from the woman I am looking for here in Japan" he said, remembering for a moment that specific woman.

“And what is this woman you met abroad like?” Yurika asked curiously.

Her brother just looked at her with an annoyed grimace because he knew that his sister, asked those questions because she was a very gossipy and corny girl.

Yuta continued talking  “Well, she is a very beautiful woman, she had very long hair, I even remember that sometimes she wore it braided or left it loose, I remember that she has a very pretty face with very beautiful and very clear eyes, as well as several moles” a sigh of happiness came from his chest as he continued talking. “I remember that she was very fond of food and that's why she knew many recipes from many different countries, she was the one who taught me this recipe and others. Like her, she was a very intelligent woman who knew several languages” he counted with his fingers “She knew Japanese and Spanish, but above all she spoke Italian very well” he smiled.

“She must be a very intelligent woman" Yuudai said, surprised by those languages.

“She is one of the best sorceresses and researchers I have ever met" he said as he put the small pizzas in the oven to warm up.

“And would you like to her againsee ?" his daughter asked curiously

“Yurika stop asking such questions, you'll make Yuta uncomfortablekun " Yuudai whisper in annoyance

That question definitely left Yuta thoughtful. He thought about that answer while he programmed the oven so that in a few minutes those pizzas would be ready. Although for his own sake as well as for wanting to make things right with Maki, he knew he should leave aside the subject of that other woman. Still, he just wanted to see her one last time to thank her.

He turned back to those children.
“Perhaps I would just like to know how she is, since she was the one who advised me to return to this country" he smiled a little and more when he saw his children, "I would like to thank her because thanks to her words I have met you”

Both children smiled at those words.

 

 

During the meal, Yuta felt very happy and honored to be sharing the food with his children, who seemed to have enjoyed the meal.

“This is really Delicious!" Yuudai said with a big smile.

“Yes, this is very tasty!" commented Yurika with her mouth full.

“I'm glad they liked it" said Yuta, beginning to chat with them as they ate.

“Really, thank you Yuta kun! I hope you teach this recipe to mom!" said Yurika with a big smile.

“I'll be glad to show it to you" said Yuta before taking a bite of his mini pizza.

“That is if she wants to" Yuudai pouted, "You know Mom doesn't like cooking”

“Mom cooks too! Well, once in a while!” said Yurika remembering her mother “Although it's true that sometimes she doesn't like to cook” she said with a slight smile.

All that caught Yuta's attention, who decided to ask more about Maki.
“By the way, children, how is your mother with you?”

Both children looked at each other before responding to that.

“She's the best mom in the world!" said Yuudai with a big smile.

“That's right! Our mom is not afraid of anything, she has eliminated many of those ugly curses that sometimes frightened us on the way home" answered Yurika very happily, "Our mom is a very strong woman and very brave by the way”

“Yes, she is! Besides, our mom is very loving" said Yuudai with a big smile, "Whenever I went to the hospital she was there with me and wouldn't leave my side. She would hold my hand whenever I was scared or in a lot of pain”

Yurika laughed lightly. “And also she was always present at our school festivals and buys us everything we need or want”

“Our mom is simply the best!" Yuudai said, waving his hands happily.

Yuta felt his heart skip a beat at hearing that and more that he knew Maki was a good mother.

“Although the only thing I'd say she's not so good at is cooking..." said Yurika with a slight pout.

That statement made Yuta a little, as it was true, he remembered that Maki was not good at cooking, although she was, she preferred to eat junk food as a form of rebellion towards her clan.laugh

Yuudai also made that pout.
“He can cook, just like Uncle Yuji and Aunt Miki, they make delicious food”

“That's right! Papa Gumi has also been a very good father to us even though he is not our real father" said Yurika putting more food in her mouth.

Those words caught Yuta's attention. He wanted to know a little more about how Megumi got along with her children.

“So..." Yuta began to speak, feigning surprise on the subject, even though he already knew the truth from Fushiguro, "Megumi is not your real father?”

Both children looked at each other. They had not been measured in their words. First they kept a moment of silence, seeming to argue mentally for having opened their mouths on the subject.

Yurika was the one who took the floor "That's right, a year ago we found out that he is only our adoptive father. Actually, he told us before he moved to Tokyo”

“Even so, we love him as if he were our real father, especially since he has behaved like one," Yuudai said, looking at his food.

“And tell me..." Yuta wanted to take a thorn out of his heart and he knew that these children would tell the truth "How is Fushiguro kun like his father?”

Both children again had a big smile on their faces as they remembered all the good times they had with that adult.

“He's like a superhero but for animals," said .Yuudai, waving his hands excitedly

“Papa Gumi is a veterinarian and has saved the lives of many animals" said Yurika with her mouth full.

“And not only that, he's the best dad in the world!” Yuudai was the most excited when talking about Megumi "He buys us many things, as well as makes us delicious food and reads us many books and we watch movies with him and he takes us out to very interesting places! He was also present at many of our school festivals! He even went to school for us!" he said very excitedly, waving his hands with joy.

“Plus he always comes on vacations to spend time with us as well as on our birthdays" Yurika had a big smile, "He's a great foster father”

“He's definitely the best father we have!" Yuudai said with great emotion.

Yuta noticed how those children spoke too fondly of Megumi, but in particular, he noticed how Yuudai saw him as her ideal father. He knew Megumi had set the bar very high.

“And I guess it wasn't easy for you to know that he wasn't your real father, was it?" Yuta asked respectfully.

Both children sighed at the same time.

“It wasn't easy at first, even Yuudai and I cried a lot when he told us the truth" said Yurika looking at Yuta, "I still love Papa Gumi as a father, but now that I know the truth, I would like to know more about our real father" she said with a smile.

“I want to keep believing that Papa Gumi is our only father" said Yuudai taking a bite of his pizza with annoyance, "I don't want to know about our biological father at all" those words were hardly understandable since he said it with his mouth full.

Hearing all this brought a lump to Yuta's throat. Still, there was something else he wanted to hear from his sons.

“So..." Yuta was ready to ask something very important. "What has your mother told you about your real father?" he asked rather curiously as the three of them ate.

“Mom doesn't like to talk much about that subject..." said Yuudai before putting piece another of pizza in his mouth.

Yurika replied, "Our mom said that our real father is a big idiot”

“And yes  isit!" said Yuudai with annoyance, "Mom has told us that our biological father is a big coward who abandoned her and us before we were born”

“Is that what told them?” Yuta asked sadly, "I guess she is for leaving them since they were very young" he felt quite guilty, "And do you know where he now?is”

“Mom just said this one should still be overseas" Yuudai said, eating some more.

Yurika gave a big yes with her head.
“That's right. Mom once said that our real father might be in Africa because in his high school years he went there as an exchange student”

“Really?" Yuta asked curiously, "And what else did he tell them?”

Both children nodded yes.

Yurika continued speaking.
"But that time she said that maybe a lion had already eaten him" she said in a mocking laugh, "Although she only said that because she was upset”

Yuta only had a cold drop fall from his forehead at such a response.

“And?" Yuta swallowed his breath, he needed to ask a super important question, "And would you like to meet your real father?”

“YES!” Yurika said excitedly, without taking her eyes off Yuta, whom she suspected was her real father.

“NO!" said Yuudai at the same time as his sister, but in a tone of pure annoyance.

Both twins looked at each other in the face of such contradictory answers.

“And if he came back from abroad, would you like to know who he is?” Yuta asked curiously

“I do want to know who he is. I feel he is not a bad man" answered Yurika looking at Yuta.

But quickly his brother answered as well “I don't want to meet him, besides, Mom has cried a lot because of him and that's why I hate him”

Yuta understood that she was going to have a very difficult time, especially with her son.

Yuudai was definitely not going to make it easy for them, even so, he wanted to gain their trust before telling them the truth.

“I understand...” Yuta sighed “Well, maybe yes, your biological father is a complete idiot for having left the country before you were born, but I don't think he is a bad man either, maybe something outside of you happened that made him leave, although something tells me that maybe deep down, he loves you with all his heart” said Yuta with a compassionate look. He said that from the bottom of his heart.

“Yuta kun, how are you so sure about that?" Yurika asked curiously.

Yuta scratched the back of his neck.
“I don't know. Just something tells me” he said nervously and hesitating whether to tell them the truth at once. But he decided to change the subject, "So tell me, how is school going?”

Even so, those words would begin to sow doubts in both little ones that maybe Yuta would be their real father. Especially Yuudai, who at such words just stared at the man.

 

 

---

 

07:35 p.m.

After dinner, both children started playing with the new toys that Yuta had bought for them, while he finished cleaning the table and arranging the new things he had bought for them.

Yurika was back and forth in that room playing with her new dolls and stuffed animals, while Yuudai was putting together his new puzzle on the living room rug.

At times, this little boy would stare at Yuta, who was in the kitchen washing the dishes that had been used in the meal.

That boy questioned whether someone as kind as him could really be the real father of the two of them.

Yuudai lifted a piece of his puzzle, closed one eye and focused his eyes on Yuta while holding that piece and began to analyze all the information he had so far, trying to see where that piece fit in.

If you looked at him closely, they both shared very similar physical features, but in personality, he was nothing like the man his mother said had abandoned them. That selfish, cold man.

“Could Yuta kun really be our real father?" he wondered mentally. But there was no time to answer that question.

Yuudai snapped out of those thoughts once his sister's voice rose in surprise.

“Wow! What is this?" asked Yurika with too much curiosity when she saw on a large piece of furniture next to the big screen, several photographs that had beautiful landscapes, as well as some objects that looked like souvenirs from other countries.

“Yuta Kun Is this you?” She pointed to one picture in particular, where a man was dressed in Middle Eastern clothes and was in what looked like a desert camp.

The adult stopped washing the dishes and walked over to that little girl, Yuta smiled as he looked at the picture he was pointing at.

“That's right, that's me" he said, picking up the photograph of me standing next to a camel.

“I remember that this picture was taken with Miguel a few years ago, when I arrived in Egypt for the second time" he said with a smile.

Yuudai also walked over to where the two of them were standing, "Have  to you beenAfrica before?” he asked rather curiously.

“Yes, I went on exchange in high school" he said looking at Yuudai, "And then I went again a few years later on a mission I had around the world. So some of the things and pictures you see here are from all my travels I've done in these seven years”

The children looked in amazement at all those souvenirs and gifts that other people from many parts of the world had given Yuta. There were some pictures of him in very old cities, as well as others where he was in beautiful landscapes and others of big cities. As well as one or two of placessnowy , as well as jungles and deserts. As well, there were pictures of Yuta near some animals like horses, giraffes, elephants and more.

Both children looked fascinated at all that, although they could notice that, in some pictures, if not most of them, Yuta was very serious despite the beauty of the landscapes.

“Did you go all over the world by yourself?" .Yuudai asked curiously

Yuta sighed at such a question.
“Unfortunately yes, though" he stroked the girl's hair and gave her a small smile, "I would say that at this point I no longer want to leave this country”

And more that the sorcerer had finally found a reason to never leave Japan again. Still, he had to make certain decisions.

“Where is this ?" asked Yurika in amazement, looking at what appeared to be a small black wooden figure from

“This is a souvenir given to me by a tribe in southern Africa. It's like a good luck charm" replied the sorcerer.

“And this pyramid, where fromis it ?” Yuudai pointed to another object.

“That is a scale figure of a pyramid found in Mexico. It is a pyramid called the pyramid of the sun, it is very large and magnificent" Yuta answered with a smile.

At that moment when both children were still curiously asking about all those objects and pictures, Yuta's phone started ringing.

He got up to answer the phone and went to the window in the dining room, even though he didn't recognize the number. He thought it was something to do with work, but his surprise was even greater when he heard Maki's voice, who finally got in touch with him.

“Yes? Okkotsu speaks," he answered firmly.

A small feminine giggle sounded from the other side of the speaker “That sounded very serious of you”

“Maki san!”Yuta's voice changed to one of joy and that was noticed by the children, who looked at him with curiosity when they heard their mother's name.

“So, how are you doing with my children? I guess you're busy enough not to answer my messages?" she asked with a slight smile.

“I'm sorry, I didn't have my phone handy" Yuta was ignoring his phone with the intention of not answering work issues, "And we are doing well. We went to buy some things and by the way, Yurika and Yuudai already ate. Just now they were playing with some toys I bought them”

“I hope you're not spoiling them too much. I hope you're not spoiling them too much" she said on the other end of the speaker.

At that time, Maki was calling from a gym, since she, after finishing her somewhat complicated assassin mission, where her victim almost managed to escape, but in the end they managed to finish him off.  She had to go to her other job as a trainer to "keep up appearances" and she was currently there, finishing her classes at that time of the night.

Yuta smiled at that answer “I consider that giving them some toys is not spoiling them too much”

“And I also hope you didn't give them junk food or anything that would be too much for them" she said with a slightly annoyed tone from the other side of the speaker.

“Not at all, I gave them something that they liked very much and even more that it was something I learned in another country”

Maki sighed, "Anyway, the reason for my call is first to know how they are, but as I hear in the background" she could hear through the loudspeaker that her children were playing again, "they are fine, aren't they?”

Yuta looked at those children, who were looking at him curiously, leaning out from the side of the couch. “They are. As I said I would guard them with my life”

“And secondly, the reason for my call is to let you know that they have until ten o'clock to sleep. So it's about time they put on their pajamas. As I guess they didn't take their towels and other products, I guess they are not going to take a bath as they usually do before going to sleep...”

“Don't worry, I also bought them some hygiene products and some towels for when they decide to spend some days here" Yuta answered, looking out the window, watching the rain fall.

“Really? Well, then it's time for a bath and after a while to go to sleep" said Maki while watching the rain fall outside the establishment.

Yuta laughed lightly at what that mother said.

“What's wrong?" questioned Maki when she heard that giggle. She even raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing, it's just that I feel you are a very good mother because you even have a schedule for the children. Not to say strict" said Yuta trying to sound polite.

“Well, they are my children and I have had to raise them in a good way" said Maki with a grimace. If she had been facing him, she would have punched him for sure.

“All right, we'll follow your rules, Maki san" replied Yuta, imagining her annoyed expression.

Maki sighed.
“Okkotsu, Do you think you could pass me the children? Please... I want to hear their voices...”

“Let me put you on speakerphone" said Yuta with a big smile- “Yurika, Yuudai, your mother wants to talk to you”

Both children quickly ran to Yuta, they were very excited to hear from their mother.

“Mom!” they said in chorus.

“My children, how are they behaving? They haven't gotten on Okkotsu's nerves, have they? Are they all right?" asked Maki from the other side of the speaker.

“Not at all, we've been very good" said Yurika with a big smile.

“Yes, we even helped him cook" Yuudai said happily.

“I'm glad to hear they are well.

“How are you doing with the work at the gym?" asked Yurika with a big smile.

“We miss you..." said Yuudai with a small grimace of sadness.

“And I miss you too and I did well, I'm here at the gym with Harumi, we are just going to clean the still machines and then close” said Maki looking at the woman who was his assistant both in the gym and in some missions  “That's also why I was calling you, to let you know that tonight you will sleep with Okkotsu, but don't worry, I will be there with you later”

Those words excited both the children and Yuta, "So Okkotsu, I want you to send me the location of your apartment, since I told you in the afternoon but it seems they were busy”

“I'm sorry, I'll get right on it," Yuta replied with a smile.

“Well children, Yuta told me to buy you some things for the bathroom, so I want you to take a shower, put on your pajamas and then go to sleep, because I don't want you to sleep so late”

“But we're on vacation" .Yurika pouted

“Yes! Besides, we want to watch a movie with Yuta kun and by the way mommy, do you think we can eat some cookies and have some ice cream?” asked Yuudai with a pout

“Say yes, Mommy, please, it's summer vacation" reminded Yurika, jumping up and down.

“Please Mommy, say yes.”

Both children jumped up and down as they said those words over that telephone speaker.

“Maki san, what do you say, let us watch a movie before we go to sleep?” asked Yuta with a smile as he watched his children jump up and down.

“Plis Mami”

“Say yes”

These little ones begged.

Maki sighed and looked at the establishment's clock. Then she rolled her eyes as she replied to that  “Ahg, okay! You can watch a movie with Okkotsu and you can have some cookies and ice cream, but first, I want you to take a bath and put on your pajamas”

“Thank you, Mommy”

“We love you!" these children said in chorus.

“And I love you guys, now go take a bath and let me talk to Okkotsu alone, please. I don't want you to sleep so late anyway, okay? I want you in bed by 10:30 at the latest. I hope to be there soon once the rain stops. still If not, I'll be there when you wake up" said Maki from the other side of the horn.

“Right away!”

“We'll see you later!”

These little ones said goodbye with a smile.

Yuta took off the speakerphone and answered by holding his cell phone to his ear.

“Okkotsu.”

“Yes Maki san?”

“Please take care of them good while I get there. I hope it won't take so long because of this rain. Also don't forget to send me the address of your apartment”

“Wouldn't you like me to send someone to pick you up? I could pay for a platform car or I could send an assistant to where you are to bring you directly” suggested Yuta.

“Don't worry, I hope it won't take me long to get out of the way. Still, don't give those two too many cookies and don't watch anything scary, okay?”

“Ok”

“Well, I'm glad to hear from you and hope to see you and the kids soon”

“We will be waiting for you here..." said Yuta with a big smile.

Maki was the first to hang up. She could still feel her cheeks turning red and even more so when she remembered what they had done that afternoon. And saying goodbye in that way had also made her turn red.

“What a fool I am, I shouldn't give in so easily!” she said to herself in annoyance and lightly slapped her forehead with her palm.

“And who is this Okkotsu?" asked Harumi with a lot of curiosity. This black-haired woman was the same age as Maki and in the past she had been a window that worked for the academy.

Maki sighed.
“He is the biological father of my children”

“Wow, is he back already? And does he know that they are his children?" asked the very surprised woman.

“He already knows... but...”

Harumi sensed what Maki wanted to tell her.
“But Yurika and Yuudai don't know, do they?”

“And I really hope they don't know because I don't think this will last" said Maki, picking up a broom.

Harumi sighed at that comment “Even so, I think it's better to tell the truth to the children, and sooner or later they always find out the truth”

At such a comment, Maki just twisted her mouth and threw a rag at her “we'd better hurry up and finish cleaning up so we can leave before it starts raining harder”

“Yes boss" said Harumi, raising her hand and taking the rag.

 

 

---

 

Once that call was over, Yuta sent that message with his location in real time, and added Maki to his contacts. He felt like in his high school years when they finally started sending messages to each other and their locations.

Then she turned to her children.
“Well, you heard their mother, it's time for them to go take a bath and put on their pajamas”

“Yes sir!" said Yurika raising her hand, "I ask for the bathroom first”

“It's not fair, you take long,too!" Yuudai said.

Even so, those twins decided that with a rock, paper, scissors, where Yuudai won and he would be the first to bathe and then his sister.

That night for those three was just beginning.

 

 

---

 

 

09:00 p.m.

After the kids got out of the bath and changed into their pajamas, the three of them were deciding which movie to watch.

“Well" Yuta returned with a plate of cookies and also returned with the ice cream tubs, "What movie do you want to see?”

“I want to see Tangled!” said Yurika very excited.

“That again movie? Yuudai asked in annoyance, "You always want to see that one!”

“It's my favorite and I'll watch it a thousand times more!" .said his sister with annoyance

“What about you Yuudai? What movie do you want to see?” asked Yuta trying to see more options.

“I-“He hesitated slightly “I want to see the treasure planet...”

“That again movie? I'm not surprised, first you liked pirates, then dinosaurs and now space travel, you're a very indecisive child!" Yurika rolled her eyes

“it's my favorite!” said the boy, very annoyed by this comment.

“You've been watching that movie a lot since we found out that daddy Gumi isn't our real father!” Yurika explained, crossing her arms.

“You've been watching Rampunzel since Aunt Mai left since it was the last one you watched with her! Besides, that's my favorite movie just like yours is that stupid princess movie and I'll watch it as many times as I want!" yelled Yuudai.

“Even if it's mine, it's fun!" .Yurika shouted

“Of course not!”

“Yes!”

Yuta watched in amazement at how those children were arguing. It was the first time he had seen them so upset.

“Children, that's enough…" he said in a calm voice.

“You should accept that you watch that movie because it hurts you to know that Papa Gumi is not our real father!" Yurika shouted, clenching her hands into fists.

“Shut up you fool!! Yuudai shouted, again feeling his hands itch, “for me, he will always be our real father!”

“Grow up, you fool!” Yurika shouted, she too felt that itch on her feet as she looked at her twin with annoyance.

“The one who should grow up is someone else and accept that our real father is not coming back, just like Aunt Mai! They abandoned us!”

“Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb!" repeated Yurika annoyed, she was even ready to hit him.

“You are!” Yuudai was also ready to raise his fist, but they were both interrupted.

“ENOUGH BOTH OF YOU!" Yuta shouted, bringing order with his sinister presence.

That made both children tremble a little, it was the first time they saw that man super annoying with their actions and words.

Yuta took a deep breath before speaking “you can't be yelling at each other like that. You are brothers and you must respect each other”

“We... we're sorry..." said Yurika lowering her eyes.

“Sorry Yuta kun..." Yuudai also looked down.

Yuta let the air out slowly. He had never been in that dilemma of having to scold a child before, let alone that it was the first time he had scolded his children.

He was really in quite a quandary and more so because of the things those two said to each other. He took one more breath and squatted down in front of them.

“You two should support each other, especially since you are of the same blood" Yuta looked at them seriously.

“We are sorry...”

“It won't happen again, especially not here in your house...”

“I hope so" said Yuta seriously, "And now... about your father..." he said looking at those two.

Yuta kept a moment of silence. He didn't know how he should act in the face of that, because of what those two had shouted at each other, it made him feel guilty since he was the main cause of the problem.

“He..." The adult lowered his shoulders. He had promised Maki not to talk about that subject with them without her present.

Still, a question crossed his mind.
Was he really ready to assume his role as a father? What really made one worthy of being called a father? There seemed to be a strong conflict with that issue. He knew he had to fully earn their trust if he wanted to tell them the truth.

Yuta put his hands on the heads of those two and ruffled their hair a little. A small smile appeared on his lips.

“It's over, but I don't want to see them fight like that again" he relaxed his shoulders, "and that subject of his father, it would be best if we don't touch it for a while, okay? And I don't want them to fight about that idiot again”

“We promise" Yuudai said, lowering his eyes.

“Yep, it won't happen again, we won't talk about him anymore” said Yurika also lowering her eyes.

Yuta smiled a little.
“Now, I think it would be better if they went to rest. It's already late, we'd better watch a movie tomorrow when your mother is there”

“Is this because we misbehaved?" Yuudai asked with a long face.

“Not even a cookie before bedtime?” .Yurika tried to negotiate

They both made puppy dog eyes. If nothing else, they wanted to eat a cookie before bedtime.

Yuta sighed. “All right, just have a cookie and from there, go brush your teeth and go to sleep”

“That's fine. Thank you Yuta kun” Yurika smiled a little.

“Even so, we are sorry Yuta kun..." Yuudai lowered his shoulders.

The sorcerer opened his arms and these little ones gave him a hug.
“Just don't let it happen again, okay? I don't like to see them fight”

“Okay, we promise we won't fight in your presence anymore" said Yurika still in that embrace.

“Are you going to hate us after this?" asked Yuudai with teary eyes.

“Don't hate us Yuta kun..." said Yurika with tears in her eyes.

“I would never hate them for something like that" Yuta smiled a little and dried the tears of those two “Now” he took the plate where the cookies were “Just take one and then brush your teeth”

He really couldn't scold them at all, he felt I didn't have the heart for something like that.

“Will you tell mom what we were aboutarguing?" Yuudai asked, taking that cookie.

“If she knows, she's probably going to scold us badly and she won't let us come with you anymore..." said Yurika before eating that little dessert.

“We want to keep spending time with you" Yuudai said, finishing eating the cookie.

Yuta let out a sigh.”I won't tell his mother this time" he stood up, "Now, let's go get some rest.”

So, both children finished eating the cookie and went into the bathroom to brush their teeth.

After brushing his teeth, Yuta let them sleep in the bed in his room that night, since it was the biggest bed in the apartment.

Yuta covered each of them with their new blankets and even covered them with his blanket so they wouldn't feel cold.

“Rest, good night" said Yuta with a smile and stroking each one's hair.

“Thank you Yuta kun.... Good night” said Yurika with a soft smile.

“Good night Yuta Kun" Yuudai said with a sigh.

“Anything, don't hesitate to tell me, I'll be in the living room" said Yuta with a small smile before closing the door almost completely.

 

 

Once Yuta left the room and his footsteps were heard moving away from the door, both twins exchanged a few words in that dim darkness, as Yuta had left them a smalllamp on night they had bought , so they wouldn't feel afraid. And more that it was raining very hard outside.

Yurika twisted her mouth as she stared at the ceiling, she was the first to speak.
“This is your fault... thanks to you we couldn't watch a movie tonight and we were sent to bed early” she said annoyed turning to her left side so as not to see her brother.

Yuudai didn't keep quiet and started to complain “Actually, you started all this trouble since you said that maybe Yuta could be our real father... you should have kept your stupid mouth shut!” he whispered very annoyed, looking at the window in front of the bed, watching the rain falling.

“Well, I would like Yuta to be our real dad... I'm just saying that we should give him a chance to get to know him better" whispered Yurika closing her eyes and yawning. She felt tired.

“I don't want to... and I don't want to be disappointed in case he is our real father..." Yuudai said, shedding a few tears when he heard that once again.

The younger twin had a lot of emotions, both because of what he had experienced in the evening with his cursed technique, as well as what his sister had said. He resisted the idea about his real father, was it his fault for ruining the evening?

Besides, sleeping in someone else's bed that day away from his mother was also filling him with feelings.

But that child was not the only one who felt that way.

And the night was not over yet for this family.

 

 

Chapter 29: 28. Yuudai, The Little Astronaut 👨🏻‍🚀

Notes:

Hello everyone, here Vera bringing one more chapter of this story. Which, although it will be short, I promise it will be touching and more that we will have a special moment between father and son which is necessary for this story.

I must confess that I cried when I was writing this chapter and more that here we will know a little more about Yuudai❤ our little astronaut👨🏻‍🚀 so I hope you like it.

Prepare tissues, this spaceship is about to take off to a galaxy that will move you.

Also, thanks for the 1,100 kudos ❤.

 

 

And I want a moment to be real
Wanna touch things I don't feel
Wanna hold on and feel I belong

And how can they say I never change?
They're the ones that stay the same
I'm the one now 'cause I'm still here
I'm the one 'cause I'm still here
I'm still here, I'm still here, I'm still here

 

 

 

 

 

Continued.

11:00 p.m.

 

Once Yuta left that room, he went to the living room, dropped into one of the armchairs, leaning his back completely, his arms were also on the backrest, raising them to the height of his shoulders and made his head back.

“What a day..." he said to himself.

And yes, it had been a very busy day for him. First, traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto was not an easy task, as neither Satoru nor Takeru wanted to let him return, but luckily, Shoko intervened to let him leave the Gojo clan's residence.

And once he arrived in Kyoto, that sexual encounter between him and Maki happened, where finally, after seven years of being away, he was able to make love to her.

But after that "reconciliation" this special grade sorcerer had not been able to take a break since his children had returned home by surprise and from there, the three of them had to go shopping.

He also had to prepare food, bathe the children and send them to bed, thus discovering that being a father was not an easy task for him alone.

A flash of lightning illuminated the living room. The rain did not stop falling and that began to worry Yuta, since in that home, one more person was missing.

“Maki" he whispered that name wistfully, "Where are you?" he said to himself, worried about the mother of his children.

Yuta picked up his cell phone and looked at Maki's chat. It said that her last connection had been an hour ago, when she made that call.

“Maybe it's already on its way, but the rain must have stopped she" he thought as he watched the rain slide down the glass. It really was a strong storm.

Just as strong was his love for her.

A passing memory of what they had done that afternoon invaded Yuta's mind. Truly all that had been a breakthrough in the relationship of those two to make up for lost years, but there was another relationship to which, he felt was not fitting. Where even kintsugi couldn't even help, and that was with his children. Especially with Yuudai.

Yuta again looked at the ceiling, he was really tired as the whole afternoon was an up and down with his children, where he literally learned that he knew nothing about them.

And that made him feel quite guilty.

“How can I tell them I'm their father when I'm clearly the problem those two are arguing about?" he said quietly to himself, bringing his hands to his face.

The discussion his children had had a moment ago simply made it clear that they had a very unfavorable image of him. And even more so when they believed that their biological father had cowardly abandoned them before they were born and the discovery that the man they had called "father" for so many years was not really their progenitor, but their adoptive father who only gave them his surname to protect them, had been a hard blow for both of them.

Yuta sighed, "I wondered how Megumi did with this position that was mine..." he sighed again, "It seems that it's easier to be a sorcerer than a father.... Will I do a good job as Yurika and Yuudai's father?" he questioned too sadly.

Another clap of thunder broke the night sky. The rain was really coming down hard. As were his emotions which overflowed and turned into a few tears that began to stream down his cheeks.

“Wasn't I being too harsh in punishing them by going to bed early?" he asked himself despondently, closing his eyes for a moment.

It was the first time he had scolded them, but he had to bring order. That's what a father does, isn't it?

The sorcerer was lost in thought, his eyes closed with fatigue, when a small voice caught his attention.

“Yuta kun...”

The sorcerer opened his eyes with a start and quickly became accustomed to the dim light that illuminated the room, since the only light that was illuminating the room at that moment were the night lamps on the sides of the couch.

At that instant, he noticed that Yuudai was standing there beside him.

“Yuudai?, What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?" asked Yuta with concern when he saw his son with his little arms crossed over his chest.

He shook his head, "I just can't sleep..." said the boy in a discouraged voice, "I miss my mother... and this rain scares me...".

Yuta lowered his shoulders a little, as he empathized with his son's feelings.
“I know... Sleeping away from home the first night is difficult...” He said it from his own experience “Don't worry, maybe Maki san won't be late in arriving, she said she was already on her way here and maybe only the rain delayed her a little bit”

“I hope it won't take long... because I really miss her..." whispered the little boy, holding back the urge to cry.

At that moment Yuta noticed that his son was carrying something in his hands as he held something against his chest.
“What do you have there?” He asked with kindness. He wanted to start being closer to his son and even more so after he had shown some rejection towards him that afternoon.

Yuudai showed that little book he was holding in his hands.
“It's my favorite tale... when I can't sleep, I like to read it... especially when it rains... rain always scares me" he answered a little embarrassed, looking down and pouting slightly.

“Do you think I could take a look at it?" asked Yuta kindly.

Yuudai hesitated a little. Yet he could tell that the man wanted to gain his trust. He felt that perhaps he too should give Yuta a chance as his sister had implied.

“All right, but don't make fun" he handed over the book as he sat down next to Yuta in the sofa, where the lamp illuminated them warmly.

“Why would I make fun of something you like?" Yuta asked confused and raising an eyebrow.

“Yurika says this is a book for babies..." Yuudai answered with a long face because of his twin's teasing.

Yuta stroked his hair.
“I would never make fun of your favorite book" he smiled, "Would you let me read it with you?”

The child nodded yes.

“Thank you, now let's read a little while this rain goes away” Okkotsu thanked with a smile.

He took the book and looked carefully at its cover.
It caught his attention that it had a very striking cover, since it was a drawing of a small astronaut, surrounded by stars and galaxies.

Yuta had noticed that lately Yuudai had a new obsession: stars and astronomy. Something completely normal for a six-year-old who was discovering the world at his own pace. According to Yurika, it wasn't the first time it had happened, as in the little girl's words, first it was pirates, then dinosaurs, and now astronauts. In the end Yuta concluded that her son was just a curious little boy.

“I'm going to start reading it, okay?” Yuta smiled kindly at him.

Yuudai just shook his head yes.

“Neo" the sorcerer read the name of the book in a calm voice. At that instant he felt a tug on the sleeve of his sweater. Yuudai was holding his sleeve. That boy had that habit, especially when he felt nervous or afraid.

It seemed that holding the other's sleeve gave him some security. And even more so at that time of the night where he was still quite frightened due to the rain that kept crashing hard against the building.

“Relax, everything is going to be fine, okay?" said Yuta looking at Yuudai, who had crystal clear eyes, "Let's start reading, okay?”

The little boy again nodded his head yes while still clinging to his sleeve.

Yuta turned the page and noticed that the book was one of many pictures and few words, so it would be an easy read to share.

He looked at the drawing of a little astronaut, who was sleeping very comfortably in space, surrounded by stars and an aura of total peace. That drawing caused him tenderness and even more when he saw that his son did not take his eyes off him. But he was struck by the fact that the little astronaut had a long white line attached to the navel of his suit, which seemed to simulate an umbilical cord.

Yuta turned to the next page and began to read.
“I remember I was alone for a long time, floating in space. It is not cold, as everyone thinks, but warm and pleasant”

The drawing was still the space full of stars and that white cord crossing those leaves.

Yuta turned to the next page. Now the little astronaut was with a black background and the little guy was floating towards a bright light.

He continued reading, "One day I began to feel short of breath. I felt like my body was being crushed and I had to find a way to escape”

The sorcerer began to understand who this little astronaut was and how he was beginning to relate to his son.

Yuudai looked at him and blinked a couple of times, as if to say that he will continue reading.

Yuta turned the page, now they showed the dense darkness of space, while a faint trail of light crossed it, as if it were a shooting star crossing the firmament, moving away quickly.

He continued reading.
“I remember seeing the little light in the distance and my desperation to reach it”

Yuta felt his heart grow small when he saw that the next page continued with the drawing of that cord that continued to cross the space, but now, around it, it had black and red colors just like the most distant galaxies in the firmament. Yuta had the feeling that something important was about to happen with that little astronaut who was drifting.

But even with a withered heart and the rain sounding behind them, he continued reading.

“When I finally reached it, I had the sensation of being born again. For the first time I knew cold and fear. Then..." he was interrupted as Yuudai completed that sentence.

“Then, when I felt a warm light cover me, I fell asleep" Yuudai looked at Yuta. "That's what I felt when I was born" said the little boy in a low voice and moved his little feet on the edge of the sofa. He looked a little sad when he said that.

Yuta controlled his tears. He now understood why his son felt so familiar with that book and perhaps that would explain a lot about him.

They turned the page and there he was, that little astronaut sleeping surrounded by that light, which looked like the moon behind him as the astronaut's cord was cut, showing slight flashes as if something was short-circuiting.

Yuta turned the page and now they showed that little astronaut in a transparent space rocket, with several circular windows around him.
“Then I woke up in a crystal spaceship. In which I traveled for a long time in it”

“I also traveled a long time in such a spaceship when I was a baby" Yuudai said with a soft smile, "That's what Mom and Aunt Miki say”

“Were you on a spaceship like this?" Yuta asked, pointing to the drawing. I knew what he meant. That was a clear reference to an incubator.

Yuudai nodded his head.
“Yurika also spent some time with me in that ship. But she didn't last long there because her health was better than mine, but I lasted for months... maybe that would explain why she has more energy than me...”

“I understand..." Yuta began to understand his children better thanks to those words.

“Keep reading Yuta Kun! One of my favorite parts is coming up!" Yuudai said with a smile, not letting go of his sleeve.

Yuta turned the page, wanting to know what else was going on in the story.

The next page showed the astronaut in the-er, with a small probe in his mouth and holding some wires in-front of a console full of buttons, the little one was working out what each one was for.

He continued reading, "I had everything I needed to face any space adventure; I had enough air and food. Navigation controls, white lights to keep me warm and red lights to warn of danger. And big round windows through which I could see the mysterious outer space”

Yuta looked at his son, who gave him a big smile, his puppy-like eyes begging him to keep reading.

They turned to the next two pages, where the little astronaut could be seen, who had a probe in his nose to breathe and several more wires on his suit, trying to get away from the two hands that had, through those two circular Windows, entered his spaceship.

“I remember when giant hands came through the windows one day. What a fright I got! They entangled me with wires and tubes and put bracelets on me with lights that made noise”  Yuta was interrupted.

“But the hands on the next page are not like these scary hands... those hands are warm and comforting, they were like mom and aunt Miki's" said Yuudai pointing to the drawing.

Yuta turned the page and understood better what Yuudai was saying.
He looked at the drawing on those two pages, where he could see that little astronaut, lying face down on a star, while two warm hands were taking care of him.

“The hands came every day, but they were not always the same. Some of them came at the right moment when I was feeling bad, to soothe and caress me. They enveloped me with gentleness, and I wanted to stay in them forever" Yuta read, realizing that the warm hands Yuudai felt as a child were indeed those of Maki and all the others who cared for his son when he was a premature baby.

“Yuta kun, please keep reading, we are almost at the end!" said the boy with a tender smile. It seemed that his fear of the rain was gone.

The sorcerer listened to his son and turned the page. On the next two pages, the little astronaut could be seen greeting another little astronaut who was on another spaceship.

“I remember looking out the window and seeing that other spacecraft flying next to me. It was good to have a traveling companion! And we chatted about astronauts”

“Aunt Miki says that I had several traveling companions while I was interned" Yuudai commented, smiling a little, "Although I don't remember them”

Yuta understood what his son was talking about. He would have liked to have supported him while he was in those incubators, he would have liked to take care of him and show him that he was a great astronaut.

Yuudai pointed to the book, so that Yuta turned the page.

The next drawing saddened Okkotsu too much, as it showed the little astronaut surrounded by ugly monsters.

“I remember all the times I fought against the space monsters. Many of them were horrible and very powerful, they could poison me just by touching me” Yuta read, even clearing his throat a little to try to get rid of the lump that had formed in his throat “Sometimes, I won”

Okkotsu turned the page and that drawing broke his heart completely.

The next page showed that sick little astronaut, with a pale face and very weak. And behind him was a serum and a monitor.

“And other times, I would lose... That's when I would get sick. But the hands always came and cured me...doing everything possible to help me...” Yuta read with difficulty as the lump in his throat did not let him speak well.

Yuudai began to explain, "According to my mother, I got sick many times, even in the hospital. But always her hand supported me to get through” He looked at that drawing “Even Mom kept supporting me and accompanying me years ago when I was still sick often, but now I'm much better... or so I think... although sometimes I stop breathing at times and that's when I have to use my inhaler” he said moving his feet and looking at that adult.

Yuta wiped away a few tears with the back of his hand.

“Are you all right Yuta kun?" asked Yuudai seeing him sad all of a sudden. He was even surprised to see a man like him crying.

“I am" Yuta stroked the boy's hair and smiled a little, "You sure were a strong astronaut”

“Thank you..." Yuudai smiled at those words, which he considered as a compliment from the man. "Please, keep Reading!" he asked.

Yuta turned the page and there was that astronaut, who seemed to be quite cramped in his ship, as that baby was now bigger. He had grown.

He continued reading, "I remember when my spaceship mysteriously shrunk. I could hardly move inside it. I felt I had to escape from there as soon as possible. I was short of breath and my body was getting crushed a little more each day”

“Please continue! The best part is almost here!" Yuudai waved his hands happily.

Yuta turned the page and now, that crystal ship was alone, floating in space.
“And one day, when I stopped feeling bad and also when I noticed that my spaceship was already quite small, the hands that heal everything came and took me out of my crystal ship and took me with them”

That astronaut was now being held by two gentle hands.

The next page was now very comforting to the heart, as they showed that baby in his mother's arms.

“Then, I knew that those hands would take care of me..." Yuta reached the final page, where that baby astronaut was now a bigger and healthier boy, and his hands were holding his parents' hands, as they left the rocket behind “... Forever...The end” he said finishing reading that story.

“Did you like this story?” Yuudai asked excitedly, watching Yuta close the book.

“Very much so. I must admit that it is a very nice tale” commented Yuta quite moved. He was really trying not to cry.

“This is why this is my favorite story, because it is very similar to mine" said Yuudai, wiggling his feet in a cheerful manner.

“You were a brave little boy, just like your name" said Yuta, stroking his son's hair.

“Thank you, that's what mom always says to me... since that's what my name means.... "Great Brave" said Yuudai with a big smile “Although she says that my name was chosen by someone who was very special to her in her youth...” said Yuudai looking at the floor from the edge of the couch.

Yuta knew that someone was him, as he had chosen that name in his high school years after reading a book.

“And I think that someone..." commented Yuudai breaking the silence, "It was my dad..." he whispered with a touch of annoyance, he could still feel the rejection towards that man.

“Even so, maybe your father chose your name because it was special to him..." the adult managed to answer. Yuta really felt that he should tell him the truth, but he didn't know how.

“Yuta kun" the little boy called out, and even more so after hearing that last one.

“Yes?" the adult looked at the little boy, who was still moving his feet, sitting next to him.

“You're a detective, aren't you?" Yuudai asked curiously.

Yuta scratched his head.
“Yes” He proceeded to explain, "Actually I am a sorcerer, although let's say that other people have put me in this business of being a detective to solve some issues that they have not been able to, but why is that question?" he answered with a slight smile of curiosity.

Yuudai took a breath, he didn't know if what he was going to ask was right or not. Although for a year ago, he had a small thorn in his heart. One that he wanted to get rid of because of the pain it caused him.

“You...” Yuudai hesitate a bit “Do you think you could help me find my real dad? Or at least...” his lips went from one side to the other, in a grimace of sadness “Know who he is or who he was?” Yuudai asked stopping the movement of his feet and looking at the ground with discouragement  “I would simply like to know why he left my mom before we were born ...”

Yuta was heartbroken to hear that.

Unfortunately, he could not yet tell her the truth about the fact that he was already at his real father's side. And more so at Maki's request and above all, because he still had to win the affection and trust of both twins. But especially of his son.

Yuta's hand slowly lowered “I...” he slightly moistened his lips, while Yuudai looked back at him.

Yuta took a breath and continued talking “I could in my spare time look for some information about your real father...” he lied with his heart in his throat.

Yuudai at that moment hugged him, that was the first hug that boy gave him in that free and grateful way  “Thank you Yuta kun.... you are a good person... now I understand why everybody at home likes you... specially Yurika and Mom” he said with a trickle of voice, hiding his face because he didn't want to cry.

Those words broke Yuta's heart a little more. What was it to be a father? What kind of father did his children expect him to be?

“There's nothing to be thankful for..." Yuta said quietly, as he watched Yuudai's eyes begin to grow heavy with sleep and begin to close.

It was as if, at last, sleep had begun to take effect on that little boy.

“Come on, let's go to sleep. It was a hard day, wasn't it?" asked Yuta, observing how his son nodded his head and rubbed his eyes.

“Yes...” Yuudai slurred that word.

Yuta carried him in his arms very carefully, the little boy laid his head on his shoulder, it seemed that he was really dying of sleep.

“What must it have felt like to hold you as a baby?" Yuta wondered mentally as he carefully carried his son.

He opened the door noiselessly and placed Yuudai on the bed beside Yurika, who was sleeping soundly.

Once he put his son to bed, Yuta covered him well so that he wouldn't get cold with the blanket they bought at the mall. He also covered Yurika again, since he noticed that she was moving a lot in her sleep, even uncovering herself and drooling a little.

That scene of her sleeping children gave her a little twist in her heart. She wanted to protect their sleep, she wanted to always take care of them.

“Rest...children..." he said in a very low voice, but quite affectionately.

And before leaving, Yuta went to his closet and took a pair of jeans and a more comfortable T-shirt, because since they arrived, he had not had time to change clothes, even making the food he even stained a little that shirt that belonged to Megumi.

Yuta never imagined that taking care of children would take a lot of time and above all dedication.

But, even so, something else would make him cry that night and more than that he was about to see that photo album that would make him make a decision that could bring him consequences as a sorcerer.

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked it ❤

And tell me, what did you think of this chapter? What did you think of Yuudai's favorite story? What do you think of this child? I'll be reading your comments.

I need to know your opinion about Yuudai or how you as readers perceive him, especially because in the following chapters we will see the internal struggle of this little boy regarding the issue of his biological father, as well as the awakening of his cursed technique, which will soon cause a great disaster in the zoo.

An apology if it was a bit short, as I said, I decided to keep it that short to focus on Yuudai.

The next chapter will be longer and I can assure you that you are going to cry because the photo album of the twins is coming.

Finally, the story I'm telling you here is called "Neo" and is by Gabriela Cortina. You can find it in Spanish on my Instagram, Vera1794__ (double underscore at the end), if you want to see it in color ❤

There (on Instagram) I upload content from my fics (only in Spanish). You can follow me there if you want.

Anyway, I will be reading your comments, theories and doubts.

See you soon❤ Pd: happy beginning of spring here in the northern hemisphere and happy beginning of autumn in the south. ❤

Chapter 30: 29. The Okkotsu Decision

Notes:

Hello everyone, here Vera bringing the continuation of the previous chapter.

Sorry if I didn't upload it before, I've had some hectic and busy weeks that have brought me from one place to another, but here it is, finally one more chapter of this story, one that I consider special for the plot since Yuta will have to make an important decision.

I had to re-upload the chapter due to some errors, but here it is.

 

 

"Being a father is not easy."

 

 

Once Yuta left his room, he went into the bathroom and took a shower, he felt he needed to relax a bit, so he stayed there for about ten minutes.

After he came out of the bathroom already dressed and drying his hair with a towel, he went into the other room to get the folder he managed to take from Yurika. He had to check some things about that case, so he would go to the dining room to do it.

Yuta left the room and when he was about to reach the dining room, his foot collided with something that rolled a few steps away.

“What the hell?" said Yuta confused at first, but once he got closer to the object, he realized what it was.

He had accidentally kicked Yurika's backpack. Yuta was beginning to notice that she was a bit of a messy girl and would leave her things strewn around. And that had happened with her backpack.

From that pink backpack rolled out some of his daughter's belongings: such as her hairbrush, some dolls and various hair accessories, as well as other things that the girl was carrying. However, among those objects also appeared something unexpected, a very peculiar book that immediately caught Yuta's attention.

When he carefully lifted it, he noticed that several photographs fell from it, especially pictures of two children. At that moment Yuta understood what it was that he was holding in his hands.

It was the photo album of his children

“Yurika must have brought this without Maki's permission..." he said quietly as he noticed how more photos came out of the album.

He quickly picked up all the photographs that had fallen and went to the dining room table to arrange them. He knew that his daughter was going to get a severe scolding from her mother for taking such a valuable object out of the house. Still, Yuta dared to look at those mementos.

The sorcerer felt his heart grow very small when he opened the first page, which contained some photographs still stuck to its pages.

There was the first picture they had taken of his children. It was a photograph of those premature babies, inside that incubator or "crystal ship" as Yuudai had said.

His hands trembled as he held that photograph, while his tears overflowed and fell quickly at the sight of that memory, where he could see how small those two were, and how in their little hands they had the needles with which the serums entered their bodies and how in their little bodies there were wires connected to them to monitor them. On the foot of one of them, he could see a small medical bracelet, where he could see the date October 7.

“Yes, they were very small..." he said in a low, broken voice, feeling more tears flooding his eyes and then streaming down his cheeks.

At that moment, Yuta began to look in the dim light of the dining room at all the other photographs that had stuck to the pages, as well as the messy photos that had come out of the album.

There were photos of those twins both in and out of the hospital and in their later months and years.

One of the photographs that most caught Yuta's attention was one of Maki, sitting in a special chair in that hospital, where she was carefully holding her twins on her chest.

Actually their children were too young, perhaps in that photograph they were only days old as both were still wearing the oxygen probe, as it could be seen that Yuudai was the one who was connected to more wires that monitored all his vital signs.

Guilt began to consume him.

“Maki needed me by her side at this stage.... I'm a total idiot for not getting off that train…" he said, tears still running down the corners of his eyes.

Yuta could see it, Maki's eyes in that picture were pure sadness even though those two babies looked more stable.

Yuta kept looking at all those pictures.

He could even see several photos where Yuudai was already alone in that incubator, and every time he looked like a healthier baby with less wires and bigger. There was even a photo where outside "his crystal ship" there was a tiny Christmas tree ornament. I could see it in every picture, that child looked like he was still alive and clinging to life.

“My little astronaut..." he said quietly when he saw that picture of his son.

He could tell that both Maki and Tsumiki were the ones who were with that child in the hospital the most, especially Maki was the one who was with her son the most.

“Maki didn't have an easy time... and yet she brought Yurika and Yuudai along for almost seven years...”

Yuta kept looking at the pictures. Some of them were of both babies dressed in matching clothes. There were even some more pictures that were taken in some park or aquarium where those two little ones were smiling holding hands.

There were even some photos that he surmised, may have been taken by Tsumiki or Nobara where both children were wearing twin-themed costumes such as "thing one and thing two" or children's movie characters.

He continued looking through the photographs that had come out of that album, one of those photos that caught his attention, was one where those two children wore their first kimonos in some ceremony in a temple in Kyoto, with Maki and Megumi. Each one carried one of the twins in their arms, clearly simulating the family those little ones needed.

There were also several pictures with their other friends, where even Toge and Itadori were playing with those children. Like Nobara painting Yurika's nails or Megumi spending time with Yuudai reading a book.

And there were even photographs where all of them accompanied those little ones to various festivals like the big family they were.

There were actually many photos of unforgettable moments of those children, such as of their first steps, as well as of their first meals, noticing how Yurika was very messy when eating and Yuudai seemed to be the quietest one.

There were even some pictures where Mai was with her nephews and nieces, but especially she was hugging Yurika a lot and even shared a set of clothes with that beautiful baby.

There were also photos of their recent school years. There was one where her children were standing next to Maki at their elementary school homecoming event, wearing their uniforms and behind them a large sign with the phrase "Happy start to the school year

Just as there were many more school photos, such as of Yurika at sporting events and Yuudai at some school event where they showed off their medals and awards.

As well as there were photographs of her various birthdays, which apparently were all themed because in the six photos she found of them, she noticed that some of those parties were in children's character costumes.

Seeing all those memories, unleashed too many feelings to Okkotsu, and more to see all that happiness and moments that were taken away from him in an unfair way.

“There are so many things I missed with you two... and that was mostly my fault.... I should have gone back to the first one... I should have just gotten off the train and gone to look for Maki..." he said still with a hurt voice, while looking at the most current pictures of his children.

It even hurt him to see those photographs where Megumi played the role of Yurika and Yuudai's father, since in some memories, the bearer of the ten shadows was holding the hands of those two children, as well as hugging them, and even accompanying them in their first steps and even in certain school events.

Fushiguro had really set the bar high as the adoptive father of those two. And perhaps, knowing that he was their biological father might disappoint them.

“What must I do to be the father they want? If all they know about me is that I left before their birth..." Yuta brought his hands to his face while crying.

The question of What is being a good father? crossed his mind painfully. He was so lost in his sad thoughts that it was the sound of the doorbell ringing that brought him back to reality.

Yuta got up from his chair, wiped his tears with his hands once more and went to the door as that doorbell rang again.

The sorcerer opened the door and his heart wanted to stop when he saw the person standing outside his apartment.

“I'm home!" said Maki with a big smile, which faded into a grimace of utter confusion when she saw Yuta's face all red and wet from crying.

“Are you all right?" she asked, but the next thing surprised her, as Yuta hugged her tightly.

“Don't tell me, the children have already made you cry, haven't they?” she said with a smile and drawing that conclusion because she already knew how naughty her children could be, "They have already made several nannies cry too”

“Maki san...” said Yuta with a broken voice- “Seriously, you are a great mother... forgive me for not having been with you and our children in these seven years... I don't know how you did it... only one afternoon was enough for me to try this parenthood thing and...” he could not finish speaking because he started sobbing.

Maki sighed and hugged him. She guessed that maybe it was his "recent fatherhood" that made him like this.

“Being a father isn't easy, is it?" she asked with a smile.

Yuta just shook his head no as he continued to cry.

Maki sighed and little by little she was undoing the embrace.
“Come on, let's go inside and then you can tell me everything that happened”

 

 

---

 

 

After a few minutes of deep breathing and finally calming down while standing in the foyer of that apartment.

Yuta invited her in, even surprising Maki by giving her a pair of slippers so she could comfortably enter his home.

“Earlier, the children and I went shopping and bought you some slippers to make you feel at home" Yuta explained.

“How kind of you, thank you" said Maki, taking off her sneakers and putting on her other shoes. She also left her sports bag there at the entrance.

Maki began to enter the apartment, she was in an enemy zone, but even so, she could not help but be amazed by the luxury that overflowed that place.

“It seems that you have a good life and some luxuries thanks to being a sorcerer, right?" she commented, looking at how big the place was, as well as the fine furniture that adorned the entire apartment.

Yuta scratched the back of his neck.
“Something like this... even if it's huge and luxurious, sometimes I feel very lonely here”

“I imagine, although it seems that the children have already given it their touch, haven't they?" she said, looking into the living room, since there she found several toys on the armchairs and others scattered on the floor.

“Hehe yeah, Yurika and Yuudai have given some life to this place" commented Yuta with a big smile.

“Where are they, by the way? Aren't they going to see a movie?" asked Maki, putting her hands on her hips.

“They already went to sleep" Yuta scratched the back of his head again, hesitating whether he should tell him what had happened with the discussion of those little ones. Even so, he decided to lie a little “They were already falling asleep in the middle of the movie since it was an exhausting day and they had better go to sleep”

Maki smiled a little.
“I imagine and even more so with this cold rain, they get sleepy quickly”

At that instant, something caught her attention, and that was what was on the table. She quickly recognized it.
“Is that our photo álbum?!" she asked with a grimace of annoyance.

Yuta quickly reacted.
“I'm sorry... it's just that in an oversight, I kicked Yurika's backpack that was on the floor, and this album came out of it" he explained looking at the photographs on the table, "I tried to arrange them since some of them fell out of their pages but...” sigh with a picture of his children in his hand “I took the audacity to see a little bit of our family's past...”

Maki approached the table.
“That girl always does whatever she wants and doesn't follow rules!" she smiled slightly, "I wonder who she inherited that from? Because it wasn't from me!" she said sarcastically.

Yuta looked at him and also smiled at that comment. Then his gaze returned to the photographs.

“So you were crying about this?" asked Maki, picking up a photograph of her children, in which Yurika and Yuudai were younger.

Yuta was ashamed to admit it, but he still spoke “Yes, I was crying when I saw everything I missed in these seven years... besides, I just realized that I have a very high bar. Fulfilling the expectations that Megumi left as his adoptive father, it will be very difficult to overcome” he said in a sigh of total sadness.

“Did the children bring up or say anything about it?" asked Maki curiously.

Yuta lowered his shoulders. He bit his tongue as he had spoken too much.
“Something like that... they rather talked about how good Megumi was as their father. As well as about you they said many good things," he smiled, "Especially that you are a great mother, loving and that you always saw for both of us”

Maki felt proud to hear that and a big smile appeared on her lips: "My children..." she said with total affection.

They both continued to look at those photos some more, until Maki's attention was drawn to a folder underneath the album, which she carefully took out and noticed that it had some pages.

“What is this?" she said curiously once she opened the folder and was about to read it.

But Yuta stopped him, putting his hand on that sheet, "I'm sorry Maki san... but this is something from my current job..." he said with some seriousness.

“And what was he doing under the photo álbum?" asked Maki, squinting her eyes.

“I was going to check something about the case we are investigating, but I got caught up in looking at the photos of our children" he said without taking his eyes off her.

“And do you think I could take a look at your work?" asked Maki curiously. She wanted to know how much they had discovered about her.

“I'm sorry Maki san... but it's something I don't want you or the children to see..." Yuta said seriously.

“And why not?" Maki put her hand on her hip while with the other she still held the folder, "Don't you think an outside opinion could help you solve the case?”

“I just don't want you to see the cruelty with which this murderer is killing his victims...”

Maki twisted her lips slightly, though inside she had a smile as it seemed her work was being taken seriously.

They both stared at each other without letting go of that folder. Seriously Maki was dying of curiosity to know what information Yuta already had about her, but at the same time, she didn't want to insist and more than that could raise suspicions. So she had to continue acting like a "normal" person.

Maki dropped the folder, "Okay, but if you need help on this case or an opinion, you can let me know, okay?" she crossed her arms over her chest.

Yuta sighed with relief. He still had to be careful about what he left in plain sight around his apartment “I'll keep that in mind”

“And..." Maki looked at that apartment, "Aren't you going to give me a tour of your home? Do you think you could even take me to see the children?" she said with a slight smile.

“As I said, make yourself at home!" said Yuta with a smile, "As you can see this is the dining room, and here at the back is the kitchen”

“I hope you gave them something nutritious to eat!" she said, looking at the pots where there was still some food left, as well as some dishes in the sink.

“I prepared a recipe I learned abroad. Homemade mini pizzas" said Yuta proudly.

“It doesn't sound bad at all and I guess they liked your food, didn't they?" said Maki with a smile.

“I say yes, because they even repeated the dish" said Yuta, very happy with the dish he prepared, "There is still some homemade pizza and spaghetti bolognese left over if you would like to have it for dinner”

“Thank you very much, yes I would like to have some dinner before going to sleep. But first I'd like to take a shower...” She look at Yuta  “Do you think I could use your shower? I really feel very dirty with all the sweat and I ended up a bit soaked by the rain, and to tell you the truth, I didn't want to use the showers at the gym because it was already very late and I just wanted to come with you as soon as possible”

“Go ahead, as I said, make yourself at home, Maki san. You and our children can use this apartment at your leisure and comfort" he said with a big smile as he walked to the living room, "Come!”

“Thank you" she said, following him.

Yuta took a few steps until he reached the living room, since it was only several meters away from the dining room “And this here is the living room!” he commented with a slight smile.

Maki looked at the cookies on the coffee table, as well as the ice cream cups, and even took a close look at all the toys Yuta had bought for them. By the way, she also noticed the tale that she knew was her son's favorite, which was on the sofa.

“It looks like they had a little fun" she said, taking a cookie and eating it as she looked carefully at the place, turning on her heels.

“Hehe yeah, kids don't run out of batteries too soon" said Yuta with a big smile as he remembered how they had played a while ago.

Okkotsu continued walking until he reached the end of the corridor “And this way is the rest of this place” he took the knob of the door at the end- “Here at the end is the bathroom” he opened the door showing that it was a spacious place

“As I said, you can make yourselves at home and use it without shame”

“Wow!, it's spacious" said Maki, looking at the shower and the whole place in general.

“You can use it without problem, even if you want you can leave some of the products you use here for your comfort when bathing, even, the children and I bought you some bath towels" said Yuta with a big smile and leaving the bathroom and showing the space that was on one side of it.

“And here, at the edge is the small service area" said Yuta showing the space where he had a washing machine and a dryer, as well as a small place to hang clothes and next to the closet where they kept the cleaning things, "Although twice a week some people come and take care of the cleaning of this apartment. But now that the three of you are here, I will ask them to come when you say so that they don't bother you”

Maki observed that area, looking at every part with great attention, trying to find some area where she could hide something from the view of others. She also noticed the towels, which she assumed belonged to her children, hanging on that small clothesline.

Although that last thing Yuta said caught her attention too much “So you have servants too, huh?”

“Hehe something like that, I guess it's an advantage of being a special grade sorcerer, to have cleaning staff sent to your home. But as I said, from now on, they will come to clean this apartment only when you tell me you want them to come. I want them to feel like kings here”

Maki smiled a little.

Yuta walked back a few steps to where there were two doors.
“And this one here is my room. The children are currently asleep in here" he said quietly, picking up the knob

But before entering, Maki pointed to the door opposite Yuta's room, "What's in here?" she asked quietly.

“That's an extra room we were using as a storage” Yuta opened the door to that room and showed Maki what was inside.

That room was also very spacious.

“I was thinking that this could be the children's room from now on" said Yuta with a big smile full of illusion, "I was thinking of furnishing it so that each one has a bed and some shelves where they can keep their toys. As well as the closet they can fill with their clothes”

“Wow, now you are behaving like a father" said Maki looking at that room. She took a few steps inside the room to see it better. Really, it was very spacious, almost as spacious as the room at home.

“It's just that now that I'm spending time with the kids, I've made a decisión”

“And what is this decision?”

“I really want to be the father you always needed and for that I also have to have their own space here in this apartment for you to feel comfortable. And more than like I said, I want to make up for lost time with you guys" Yuta said in a sigh. He really wanted to spend time with the three of them.

On the other hand, Maki's attention was drawn to those boxes and folders on the desk they had in there. She had a feeling that maybe there was some information about the case Yuta was investigating. But she decided that she would snoop through their contents later. So they both left that room to enter the other one.

“And as I said, this is my room over here" Yuta repeated quietly. He took the knob and carefully opened the door.

They both entered and saw that their children were still asleep on that big bed.

Maki approached them carefully and admired them sleeping soundly. Yuudai was still in his position, lying on his left side with his quiet breathing. He really was a very peaceful child even when sleeping. On the other hand, Yurika even in sleep was still moving too much. She was now with her legs and arms out of the blanket, as she was moving too much in her sleep.

Their mother was tenderdened by that scene, seeing them asleep and safe was what comforted her the most.

Then she kissed each of them on the forehead and that scene was watched by Yuta from the doorway. Yuta wanted to see that warm scene from now on for the rest of his life.

Maki carefully moved away from the bed to let them sleep and approached Yuta, who was still on the threshold, "We must let them sleep..." she whispered.

“Yes”

“Hey, and before I forget and we leave your room" Maki continued whispering.

“What is it?" asked Yuta in a very low voice.

“Do you think I could borrow a pair of pants or shorts and a T-shirt to sleep in? Please... I only have sports clothes in my bag and I don't like to sleep in them”

Yuta smiled at such a request, "Sure, let me find you something quick" he said quietly and approached his large closet.

Maki admired the large room from the doorway. She was even surprised at how organized the whole place was as she did not remember Yuta being so tidy.

Yuta pulled out a pair of black shorts and a navy blue T-shirt from his clothes, he knew those were the most comfortable ones he had.

They both left that room to let their children sleep in peace.

“Here you go, Maki san" he said, handing her the clothes, "I think it would also be good if we bought some clothes for you to have here”

“And where would we keep it? In fact, where would I sleep?" she asked with a grimace.

Yuta scratched the back of his neck “Well, you could keep your clothes next to mine here in my room and” his face turned a little red “I don't know if you'd like to sleep in my bed, too”

Maki laughed softly at this proposal, then planted a kiss near Yuta's lips "Looks like someone wants to play house, huh?”

Yuta was surprised by that fleeting kiss, even so he put his hands on her face and gave her a few kisses on the lips, which were reciprocated by Maki, "I just want” he said between kisses “To be with you and the children as the family we always should have been...”

Those kisses went on a little longer. It seemed that their lips really missed each other all afternoon.

Maki stopped him, holding him by the cheeks and catching his breath  “We'll see about that.... Well, let me go get my things to my backpack to take a bath and after that we can talk a little about everything that happened this afternoon with the children..." she said in a low voice and leaving him.

“All right, I'll go warm up your dinner while I'm at it" said Yuta with a big smile.

 

 

---

 

 

11:20 p.m.

 

Maki got out of the shower, dried and brushed her hair, which was left loose. She put on the clothes that Yuta had lent her, which were a bit baggy, but perfect for sleeping.

It even reminded her of when in her high school years, she would wear his T-shirts or sweatshirts to cover her bare skin after lovemaking.

Once out of the bathroom, she quickly peeked into Yuta's room to check if her children were still asleep and they were. Yurika and Yuudai were still comfortably asleep in that big bed.

Before leaving the hallway, she went to hang up her towel and as she made her way back towards the living room, she was tempted to go into the other room where Yuta had the case research and read some of those folders, but decided not to go in. Maybe she could do it another time. She thought.

Maki went out into the living room quietly, but before going to the dining room, she was overcome with curiosity to lurk around the living room.

She approached the shelf where Yuta had all his souvenirs of his long journey, which she began to look at carefully and curiously.

As she looked at those photos of Yuta around the world, she had several mixed feelings.

“What if I had gone abroad with him, all these places the four of us would have gone? Would the children have been happy? What country would they have been born in? Would I have been happy?” Maki asked herself mentally as she continued to look at those photos, "Maybe our life would have been different?”

Maki kept looking at those pictures until she stopped at one in particular. One that caught her attention quite a bit, since in this one, Yuta was with a group of people, which, she guessed were more sorcerers.

She take the photo and stare at it.

A strange premonition came to her mind when she saw a certain woman very close to Yuta, one with long, light-colored hair tied in a ponytail. She was a woman with a fine and beautiful face, as well as a slender figure. She was a very attractive woman.

“Could it be she?”Maki mentally asked herself while biting her lip. That thought bothered her so much that she abruptly left that photo in its place. Something inside her told her that "that" was the woman with whom that idiot slept abroad.

“ I hope I'm wrong this time" she said to herself mentally.

She sighed in annoyance and decided to walk away from there and go to the kitchen to stop thinking about her. But they say that women have a sixth sense and even more so in detecting "who the other woman is."

But Maki did not count on the fact that this feeling was true and her suspicion would only be confirmed later.

 

The dining room light was on and under it was Yuta, who was sitting on one of the dining room chairs, still looking at those pictures.

“You seem to be very amused with that álbum?" she said, sitting to one side, observing how Yuta had already served her dinner.

“I am..." he sighed, "I'm just looking at everything I missed out on by being gone for seven years" he said, holding a picture of Maki when she was pregnant.

Maki also looked at that picture “What a memory...” her voice sounded a bit melancholic “in that picture I would have been about six months of pregant” she said taking a first bite of that mini pizza. She was even surprised at how delicious it tasted.

Yuta smiled a little at that memory “You looked very beautiful when you were pregnant...”

“Thank you, but it wasn't a very "nice" pregnancy to say the discomforts were double and well... the rest you know... I would say it was a very sad pregnancy" she said with a grimace.

“I noticed that you hardly took any pictures of yourself when you were pregnant" said Yuta, turning over the other pages, "I'm saying this because almost all the pictures in the album are of our children”

Maki shrugged as she ate some more. She swallowed and then replied to that.
“I didn't have time to take pictures of myself since I had to work to be ready for when Yurika and Yuudai were born. Actually, those few pictures of me being pregnant were taken at the time by Nobara, Tsumiki and Mai. They agreed to "have memories" but I didn't feel like it...” she sighed and took that picture where she was with her little babies in the hospital “But I thank them for having done this, because if not, I had never taken any picture of our children”

Yuta smiled a little at that answer and continued to look at the photographs in silence.

Both were silent for a moment, but that silence was broken by Yuta. And more than a question, it tormented him and he really wanted to know her answer, while she finished eating.

“Maki san...”

“Yes?" she said with her mouth full as she continued to eat her dinner.

“Do you think I will be a good father to Yurika and Yuudai?" he asked, putting down the photos in front of him and staring at her.

Maki left her plate half-eaten and sighed at the question.
“Did they say something bad about you?”

Yuta shook his head.
“No... but I've been thinking for a while now about whether I will be a good father to our children and more than....  I don't know how they will take this news when we reveal it to them”

Maki lowered her shoulders.
“In that case, we'll only know when we tell them the whole truth...”

Yuta smiled a little.
“And I hope that will be soon. Maybe once they get to know each other I'll tell them I'm their real father”

Maki raised an eyebrow "Aha, and how do you plan to tell them once they trust you enough?”

“Well, I don't know. What if I tell them by impressing them? I don't know how with some trick with my cursed technique?" he said with a slight smile.

“I don't think it will work" commented Maki, putting more spaghetti in her mouth.

“What if I tell him with puppets?” Yuta said excitedly.

Maki let out a light laugh, "Okkotsu, they are not 4 years old anymore. It would have worked if they were younger” she smiled leaning her face on her hand and her elbow on the table.

Yuta lowered his shoulders.
“Then it's not like telling them...”

Maki took him by the hand.
“Don't worry about that right now, we will find the right occasion to reveal it to them, besides, they like you very much right now being only their friend and ideally we should continue like this just a little longer until we find the right way to reveal the truth to them”

Yuta looked at her hand on his. He felt supported somehow in that instant and maybe she was right. They had to give time to time.

“Yes..." he said with a smile as he took his beloved's hand with great affection.

They both exchanged a sweet smile, while their hands were still clasped together.

Maki then realized how close they were. She felt she had to control herself, especially since she was with the "enemy".

Maki cleared her throat and continued speaking “Besides, you're lucky they're getting to know you now that they're kids" she said with a smile, releasing Yuta's hand and starting to pick up her used dishes from dinner.

“Why do you say that?" asked Yuta with confusion.

Maki stood up.
“Because if you had known them when they were teenagers, they would have hated you for leaving and coming back like that without further explanation, and it's obvious that our children will be troublemakers" she said proudly.

Yuta smiled at that, returned his gaze to the photos while Maki went to the sink and washed the dirty dishes that were there at the time.

That atmosphere pleased Yuta, as everything felt very homey. And more than that it was something he longed for from the bottom of his heart.

Because they say "Home is where your heart is" and her heart was there, with her family finally reunited.

The sorcerer closed the album, stood up and approached Maki, hugging her from behind.

That surprised this woman, who gave a little jump on herself, but did not push him away, on the contrary, she felt that both their intimate encounter that afternoon, as well as that little talk had brought them too close.

“Thank you Maki San..." he whispered, placing his chin on her shoulder.

Maki turned off the water tap.
“Now why are you thanking me?" she said, running her wet hands up and down his arms.

“For everything. For giving birth to our children and for taking care of them for seven years in my absence. But, above all, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be with them this afternoon and to get to know them better”

“On the contrary" she said with a smile and turned around to face him, "Thank you for taking care of them this afternoon. You seem to be a good babysitter” she gave him a soft touch on the nose with her index finger.

“And after this afternoon, I'd like to take care of them more often. If you want" he said, looking into her eyes and placing his hands on her cheeks.

“Well, I don't think there is a problem with that... so you could spend more time with them and I could go to work knowing that you are taking care of them," smiled Maki. It looked like she was putting some kind of plan in motion.

“I would love that... just as I would love” Yuta moved his lips closer to Maki's lips, which he brushed affectionately “To spend more time with you too...”

Maki blushed at those words, the air was cut off as she felt his lips on hers. The temptation and the temperature felt rising again as it had that afternoon.

She put her arms around Yuta's neck  “Well... we had a good time together a while ago... Or have you already forgotten it? I should even remind you that you left some marks on my neck..." she said, starting to kiss him.

Yuta reciprocated the kiss, while his hands went to her waist “Of course I won't forget it...- he said between kisses -And I don't think I'll forget it for a while...I might even leave more marks all over your body...” he whispered with a seductive tone.

They both began to kiss each other with too much love and passion. The memory of that intimate and sexual encounter made them smile once their lips parted to catch their breath.

“And about "make-up sex" or as you called it "Kintsugi..." she said, her voice half cut off by a soft, low gasp.

“What's wrong with that?" asked Yuta, catching his breath, "Did I do something wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Maki smiled at that question and shook her head.
“Not at all. On the contrary, you made me feel some things that I hadn't felt for seven years ...” she caressed his face, especially passing her fine fingers over her beloved's lips, touching them with delicacy  “But there is something else...something important about that”

“What's up with that?" Yuta kept his hands on her waist.

“I just don't want us to tell any of our friends, okay?! said Maki staring at him with blushing cheeks, "I don't want others to judge us because we had sex again...after a long time...”

“Nothing will come out of my lips...but does that mean I'm already forgiven?" questioned Yuta with a smile.

“You idiot!" said Maki gently pulling Yuta's cheek, "You still need more actions from you for me to forgive you completely... among those actions is taking care of our children and how you get along with our friends... that could also include having more make-up sex like the one between you and me earlier..." she said with a smile, "Maybe that's the only way you will earn my complete forgiveness”

“Then I will take care of showing you how much I love you and how much I want to get you back with many more actions... both in everyday life” said Yuta with some mischief while his lips went down to Maki's neck “As in bed...” he whispered while kissing those marks that he had left her in the afternoon and that already looked more faded, this by her celestial restraint.

That made Maki tremble once again. Their lips sought each other again, joining in a passion-filled kiss while still holding each other tightly.

The idea of doing it again crossed both of their minds, but they still had to control themselves, especially since their children were a room away from them.

Maki slowly peeled her lips from Yuta's lips and looked at the digital clock on the oven. Noticing that it was already past midnight.

“I'd better go to sleep with the children" she said with a soft smile, "It's already very late”

“It's okay, my bed is your bed, so make yourself comfortable in my room" he said with a big smile.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”

“That's fine. But where will you sleep?" she asked, taking a few steps back to face him and putting her hands on her hips.

“I'll sleep in the living room, especially since there are still some things I have to do" Yuta scratched his head a little.

“Okay. Then I'll let the man of the house do his job" said Maki, stroking her cheek.

“I see that you are liking the idea of "playing house" too, aren't you?" asked Yuta, taking Maki's hand and kissing it a little.

“I admit I'm enjoying playing mommy and daddy, but still" Maki gently pinched Yuta's cheek, "Don't get too used to it, okay? Because I won't make it easy for you”

“Hehe okay" Yuta replied with a slight smile.

After that, they both said goodbye with one more kiss. A deep one.

---

 

12: 24 a.m.

Maki lay down in the middle of her children, who seemed to have detected their mother, as they snuggled up to her sides.

Maki kissed each of them on their foreheads “Good night my children...”

The thought of the whole situation they were going through made her feel a thousand emotions. Especially because she was afraid that her feelings would betray her and even more because she knew that playing with fire was dangerous because she could get burned.

“What would Mai do in this situation?" Maki asked herself mentally, remembering her twin.

Sigh, Maki only hoped she could save her from that infernal clan and more that things would slowly start to get worse for both of them.

“Mai…” Maki whispered that name, before falling asleep.

Instead, Yuta stayed a while longer in the dining room, still looking at those photographs. That moment of solitude was interrupted when a message arrived unexpectedly on his cell phone.

It was a message from Katsumoto, who was warning him that they had found another victim of the sorcerer killer. And that they expected them to show up immediately even though it was already late at night.

Yuta sighed and turned his phone screen upside down.

“I think I have already made a decision..." he said thinking of his family. “It's time to take that advice and put it into practice" he said remembering the words of a certain albino.

He hoped he had made the best decision and that was that he would put his family first, while that case, he was going to delay it long enough until he was handed over to another sorcerer.

Besides, Satoru had given him that option and that's what Yuta preferred at the moment, to be with his children and Maki longer no matter who died in the process. But that would only bring consequences later on.

But also, there was one more victim, one who silently suffered just like that loving couple. One who lived a hell in her own home. And that was Mai.

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked it, I will be reading your comments as always.

And tell me, what did you think of this chapter? 👀

In case you don't remember, in chapter 22, Satoru was the one who gave him this option, or as they say out there, he gave Okkotsu this good "bad" advice about delaying as much as possible this case and well, so he will do it as you could read, but it is obvious that this will bring some consequences. What consequences do you think this will bring in the life of this family? I will be reading your theories.

Well, as I said at the end of the chapter, Mai is also an important character for this story, so I'll tell you at once, the next two chapters will be about her and her life within the Zenin clan. I can only anticipate that there will be several important revelations for this story and the conversations that Mai will have with certain people will leave many people surprised.

But don't worry, we'll be back soon with the Okkotsu family, as well as soon we'll have more father-son moments, as well as one more "passionate reconciliation" moment  between Maki and Yuta, as well as several outings of just those four as the family they should have always been❤ , so let's just say we'll see Yuta more in a "householder" facet in the next chapters.

Just don't despair, give me time and bear with me, please, I'm currently not having a good time out of here, but I'll try to bring the chapters as soon as I can. 🙏🏻

Also, I want to thank all those who are still supporting this fic, seriously, an apology if it is getting too long, but as I have said several times, this is a long fic and you have every right to abandon the story in case you don't like it or are bored with it.

Even so, for those of you who follow it month after month, supporting it with your readings, votes and comments, seriously, thank you very much for all your support, I promise you will not regret this story.

Anyway, I hope you liked it, we'll keep on reading ❤

Vera wants them ❤

P.S. Take care of yourselves during this holy week and Easter for those of you who are celebrating or going on vacation.

Chapter 31: 30.The heart of Mai

Notes:

Hello everyone, here Vera bringing one more chapter of this fic, especially because this chapter is already number 30.

Wow! Seriously, thank you very much for continuing to support this fic, and I can assure you that we are already halfway through this story, and as I said before, this will be a long fic, which still has many chapters to go, and there are many surprises and very important and shocking moments for "the Okkotsu family", which would be the name of the next arc this fic.

And as I said before, this chapter and the next one will be about Mai Zenin, who I also consider to be an important character for this story, so get your popcorn ready, there are some very important revelations coming up.

To finish with these initial notes, I leave a small disclaimer: The following chapter contains implicit references to abuse of the Sexual type, I repeat, it is not explicit, however, I leave the disclaimer for platform policies.

Now, let's get to know a little bit more about Mai and Choso ❤

 

"Even the coldest woman has a warm heart."

 

A few days later

At the Zenin residence.

While Yuta and Maki were playing house and trying to recover their relationship.

There was another person who was also involved in this whole case, but who was not leading a good life at all and that was making her a real collateral victim of all this.

And that victim was none other than Mai Zenin. She, who also had an important role in all this.

For just another day in that Zenin residence. It really was one of the worst for this one.

The poor girl woke up with pain all over her body, but especially in her intimacy.

She knew what her wretched "husband", that idiot Naoya had done to her during the night. On her thighs she had the visible marks of that unpleasant event, even, among her clothes there were traces of his infernal seed.

She hated those nights, it made her feel dirty, it made her wish she had never been born, let alone in that disgusting clan, full of machismo and mean people.

And although most of the time, the two of them did not sleep together or live together, Mai hated it when he alone went to her part of the residence to try to sire one more Zenin or when he went to force her to create replicas of the weapons that had been stolen.

“I need a bath urgently!" said Mai wrinkling her nose and bringing her hands to her face, as she moved under the sheets, "How I hate this place!" she stood up staggering.

Even in all that hell, there was someone who managed to keep her sane inside that residence.

Mai took a shower, immersing herself as much as she could in the hot water and scrubbing her body over and over again to get rid of the disgusting feeling that those nights left her with.

In her quarters she had her own bathroom, so that she would NOT try to escape from that residence. It was practically like a bird trapped in a cage.

She was simply a victim of fate, and even more so when her own mother and the idiot Naoya tried to keep her under control as much as possible. Especially her husband, since she was like "a treasure" and even more so when she alone could create the most lethal and beautiful weapons the clan would ever need. But she could not create an heir.

◈━━━━◇━━━━◈

 

Although very rarely seen in the halls of residence, Mai preferred to keep her distance and avoid socializing with others. Especially on those days when the nights were unpleasant and exhausting. Even so, from time to time she went out to walk the corridors of the place that, in theory, belonged to her as the leader's wife.

And whenever she wanted to go out in the corridors of that residence, she always had someone to accompany her. A guy who, despite not being to her liking, was her only companion in that hell.

“My ma'am..." said Choso in a bow, he had finally been able to enter those chambers after being forbidden for several days by orders of the leader and to defy him or simply to go out of the role, could put them at risk.

Mai sighed when she saw him after several days "Until you show up! Where the hell were you? And stop calling me "ma'am", I've told you a thousand times to call me by my name!”

Choso shook his head.
“The reason for my absence is that for several days no one else was allowed to enter this place except for who brought you the food, so if I entered by force, I could be discovered”

“And in that time, what were you doing? Did you manage to get out of this hellish place, even for once?" asked Mai, crossing her arms.

Choso shook his head.
“Because of the murders that have been happening outside of here against members of this clan, we have been banned from going out. So what I was left with was only to keep up appearances, so I was doing the job that both your mother and the leader Naoya put us equally to do. Especially since the latter looks worried for some particular reason”

Mai sighed again and a big grimace appeared on her lips “Tsk! I wish he was the next one to die”- she tried to relax her shoulders- “We have no choice but to continue to endure in this hellish house while we manage to escape from here”

“Even so, the last I heard from the outside world, Yuki is still hanging out with your sister Maki and your nephews”

“And what news do you have about them? Is everybody well out there?" asked Mai with her heart pounding in her chest.

Choso nodded his head “Yes, They are and more so now that Okkotsu has returned to the city, it seems that the case of the sorcerer killer is gaining momentum. And more that this special grade man is the one in charge of solving it”

“I just hope that idiot can get us out of here!" Mai let out the air in an exasperated sigh, "And I also hope that Maki does NOT fall at the feet of that asshole and they end up fathering another baby. Those two only know how to fuck like rabbits”

“You don't seem to like Okkotsu, do you?" asked Choso.

“Not at all, especially when he got my sister pregnant and left the country for seven years!" said Mai with a lot of annoyance, "I won't forgive him so easily. And like I said, I just hope Maki will make things right now that she's reunited with him and not be a fool”

“I understand... still, he is our last hope" said Choso in a calm voice.

“Unfortunately, it is…”

After that, Mai and Choso had a moment of silence. The rain was beginning to fall furiously, causing quite a show in the courtyard.

“Would you like to go for a walk inside the residence?" asked Choso kindly.

“Not at the momento”

“So what do you want to do?”

Mai just looked at the corridor and observed how it was raining.
“Let's just watch the rain for a while, while I get hungry..." she said starting to sit on the floor of that hallway, while she adjusted her kimono so she wouldn't feel cold.

“Ok" said Choso, sitting quietly beside her.

Sometimes there were days when those two just stayed like that. In silence, watching life slowly pass by outside those chambers.

And even though they had already known each other for three years, they still sometimes felt like complete strangers because of the long silences that could pass between them.

After a few minutes, Mai got tired of sitting and decided to lie down in the hallway, watching the rain fall harder.

Mai really missed her life outside of that place. She missed her sister, her nephews, her friends, the freedom to choose her clothes and the taste of the food outside, she missed using a cell phone and being able to watch shows and soap operas on TV.

Being back in the house where she was born and raised was too boring and even more so being unfortunately the wife of the leader of that clan.

She was no longer a simple servant, no longer had calloused and tired hands, no longer had scraped knees from having to clean those corridors and rooms, and much less did she have withered hands from having to wash other people's clothes.

She also no longer had cuts on her hands because she no longer had to prepare food for others, she now had servants who washed for her, cleaned her room and prepared her food.

Now she was the "mistress of that place", a title that not any woman could have. But unfortunately she did not enjoy it since she hated being in that place more than ever.

Since she had returned to that mansion, she had been deprived of all technology, as well as anything that could communicate with the outside world.

Even the letters that for three years he exchanged smuggled with his sister, he could no longer deliver them due to the new restrictions that began after the murders of members who served such a clan.

In fact, many servants were already forbidden to leave and the servants who served from the outside were not allowed to enter either since it was discovered that someone had stolen some of the clan's weapons. So the security in that place had doubled in the face of the threat of such a new sorcerers killer.

Really Mai was surprised she hadn't gone crazy in there yet, she didn't understand where she had found so much mental fortitude to endure being constantly pressured to sire an heir, as well as to stand up after several miscarriages and to be creating weapons for her asshole husband.

Although the idea of dying was not disposable, she was not brave enough to do so because she still held out hope of seeing her nephews and sister one more time. Just as she still held out hope of seeing someone else, someone she had stood up on a date almost three years ago. And all that hope of getting out of that hell was pinned on Okkotsu.

Mai pulled her hand out of the hallway to feel the rain, that cold water falling hard against her skin, drenching her with more memories that hurt.

Those drops reminded him for a moment of that night when they killed that girl, the one who would start all this "snowball" effect. Maybe ending up back in that residence was her Karma for what happened seven years ago, or that's what that green-haired girl reluctantly thought.

A sigh of annoyance came from her chest, while she returned her hand inside to avoid getting her kimono wetter.
“What a bore! I really hate being in here," a grimace of total annoyance appeared on her lips, "And you? How the hell is it that you don't get bored in here?" she looked at Choso, who was sitting almost a meter away from her, also watching the rain fall.

He looked at her and lowered his shoulders, "There are still things I don't fully understand about you humans. I admit that boredom is a subject I have already experienced often”

That answer seemed strange to Mai. In itself, everything about this guy still seemed strange to her, but since three years ago she had no choice but to trust him.

She still remembered the time that Choso came to the clan pretending to be someone else, more specifically a former member of the clan, who looked quite similar to him physically and therefore went unnoticed. And who quickly gained the trust of the still leader Naobito and Naoya, who let her be in him care.

At the beginning Mai was very suspicious of him, but when he delivered the first letter from Maki, she knew that he was the one they had sent to take care of her and to send messages to the outside. In other words, he was simply an infiltrator they had as an ally and messenger.

Even so, he still seemed quite "weird" to her.
“Seriously, sometimes I wonder what you really are” Mai brought her hand to her face –“Well, it doesn't matter anymore, and tell me what do you think about or remember so you don't get bored here?”

“Well, I try to keep my mind busy with some thoughts and memories as Yuki taught me”

Mai raised an eyebrow.
“But what kind of memories do you have?" she asked, wanting to make conversation.

Choso smiled slightly.
“They are mainly memories about my brothers”

“Wait!" Mai was surprised at such an answer.
“Do you have siblings? How many? You never told me that before!" she answered, feigning interest. She was really so bored that she was willing to listen to anything.

Choso smiled proudly, "I'm the oldest brother of nine. I practically think about all of them every day”

Mai raised her eyebrows a little.
“Well, now I understand why they sent you to protect me" her hand played with a lock of her green hair, "And tell me, where are they all?" she questioned.

“Unfortunately, two of them are dead and the other seven are sealed in the academy" Choso replied gloomily, keeping his hands in the long sleeves of his kimono.

Mai did not understand any of that, so she preferred to change the subject.
“And what or who else does a being like you think about?" she asked, bringing her hand to her cheek again.

Another smile formed on Choso's face as he watched the rain fall.
“On rainy days like these I think of my wife, Tsukumo Yuki”

Mai clicked her tongue at such a response.

“Is there a problema?" questioned Choso when he heard that noise.

“None, it's just that I can't believe that you and Tsukumo got married”

“Why?” Choso raised an eyebrow.

“A lot and more coming from her”

“But isn't that what humans do when they find another of their kind with whom they are compatible? Isn't that what people in love do?" questioned Choso, cocking his head slightly.

Mai began to explain, "It's not that I find the marriage itself strange, what puzzles me in this case is her" she waved her hand a little, "I say it without offense, because of her way of being. I always thought Tsukumo was a woman who liked her freedom”

Choso let out a chuckle.
“I admit that Yuki can be very rebellious in some aspects, but I can assure you that she has a big heart. One that perhaps she has only shown to me" he brought his hand to his chest, at the level of his heart, "She made me understand and value this life more than I ever thought I would. Now every day, despite being in this captivity, I cherish every momento I take my hand out of the hallway to feel the rain against her skin As well as, I cherish the time alone.

The younger twin could notice that twinkle in her guardian's eyes, it was a feeling she stopped feeling years ago.

“And do you miss her?" asked Mai, watching as Choso felt the rain fall against his palm.

“Too much. She taught me to be human once again and she also taught me what love and trust are. So I have full confidence that one day we will be free again”

Choso turned his head to look at Mai “And you? Don't you miss your nephews and your sister?”

Mai let out a slight sigh.
“I miss them like you have no idea”

“And you love them, don't you?" asked her guardian, his gaze fixed on her.

Mai also looked out into the rain, it took her a minute to answer that question as she remembered her short life with those three.
“For them I gave my freedom, and if that was not enough proof of my love for my sister and my nephews, then I don't know what other proof of brotherly love I need to give. I would even give my life for them if they need it" she answered with total confidence, her eyes focused on Choso, "I may be serious or you may judge me as frivolous, but I also have a heart if that's what you wanted to know”

Choso smiled at that answer.
“I always knew it”

Mai looked at the rain again and kept silent before those words, she decided to contemplate how the sky was illuminated and rumbled before the thunder and lightning of that rain that fell with force.

A sigh came from her chest, she had no choice but to trust Choso and Yuki, as well as Okkotsu. From the latter she only hoped that he was really going to help her get out of that hell and that her letter had been read by him.

“And you?” Choso wanted to continue talking a little more.

“I what?”

“What do you miss most about your life outside of here? Do you miss anyone else besides your sister and nephews?”

Mai snorted with some annoyance at that question as she stood up “I miss my life outside of here!” she raised her voice a little and started to enumerate “I miss shopping with my best friend Momo, I miss wearing fashionable clothes and not having to wear these stupid and traditional clothes!” she moved her kimono sharply- “I miss eating meat from time to time as well as junk food, I miss my cell phone, I miss everything little I had!” she looked like she was about to collapse, little by little her knees touched the ground- “Yes, I miss my life outside this cage!”

Choso looked at her carefully while Mai continued talking.

“And yes, besides missing my idiot sister and her children, I also miss my other Friends!” Mai snorted at what she said, it sounded more like a noise of pity “Or the few I could name like that...” she looked at Choso, who gave her a small yes with his head so that she would continue talking.

“I miss my best friend too much, the first and only one I've ever really had" she drew a slight smile on her lips, "although I guess Momo must have gone to the United States... even so it makes me sad to know that I couldn't say goodbye to her..." she sat on the floor, hugging her knees,“I also miss that naive Miwa, thanks to the mangoes I stole from her, I started to like their taste!” she let out a nostalgic sigh “I must say it was nice to spend time with her and Momo, especially when we went shopping. I even knew that some people considered us a "danger" she said in a very low chuckle.

Choso smiled at those words.

Mai continued speaking.
“I must confess that I also miss the others to some extent" she sigh and look out into the rain

“Who would those others be?" Choso asked curiously.

“I'm talking about the other classmates at school. I'm talking about mine, not Maki's idiot classmates”

“I understand”

“Yes...” The green-haired girl sighed, "Among them I miss Mechamaru. I was always curious to know what he was really like physically, since one of his robots was always walking around the school in his place”

“Robot?" Choso raised an eyebrow at such an answer.

“It is a difficult thing to explain. Maybe your wife knows about him since I heard that he also suffered from a celestial restriction and maybe she investigated him as well. Maybe Yuki knows something about him, as well as all your friends. I hope I can contact her soon...” Mai sighed “I also admit that I miss another person that your wife knew quite well”

“Who?” Choso tilted his head slightly at such words.

“To Aoi's bouncer" said Mai with a snap, "I wonder what will become of that idiot. The only thing I miss about him is going to Takaba san's concerts... I wonder if she already retired from the media” she said with a soft pout and stretching her legs  “I also miss seeing and hearing her...”

“Well, I can see that you had friends outside and that you really miss them" commented Choso, staring at her.

“As I said, I may seem frivolous but I'm not as shallow as everyone thinks, I did have a life out there" Mai slightly moved her head back, "Although...”

Those words caught Choso's attention - "Even though?”

“I admit that I miss someone special too..." whispered Mai looking at the rain.

“Are you talking about your best friend?" asked Choso.

Mai shook her head.
“This time I'm talking about someone else... a man actually, someone who was also my classmate in high school and who, let's say, it wasn't until years later that I noticed he was a great guy. Someone I never thought I could be close to or reciprocated in the same way”

Choso was very struck by those words. “You mean you had an accomplice?”

Mai stared at him, "Maybe that's the exact word for what he and I were since we both told each other many secrets that could put the clans in check... we became very close shortly before I was put in here again" she sighed, "Although he may have been the main cause of why that jerk Naoya has me trapped here" she looked out at the rain.

“It sounds more like you might have been more than just friends. I mean the way you describe it... it sounds more like he and you were lovers...”

Mai shrugged her shoulders.
“Yes, maybe that's the right word between what happened between me and him”

“And what was he like?" asked Choso kindly.

“Well, he was a total slant-eyed jerk" she sighed as she described him a bit, "I wonder if he actually grew his hair back or cut it short. Or at least if he still keeps in touch with his mother and brother or if he has already done something good for his clan”

“His clan?" Choso raised an eyebrow.

Mai sighed and leaned her back against the wooden wall outside her room “Yes.... let's just say that he and I didn't get along at first because we were from rival clans... but it was a few months before I was locked up here that he and I met again and some things happened” she smiled slightly  “I still remember quite well the day when we met again after years…”

 

 

 

◈━━━━◇━━━━◈

 

 

Flashback.

Three years ago.

On an afternoon in late summer.

“Zenin?" said the man with such surprise that even his eyes, which always seemed to be closed, opened in shock.

He never imagined seeing any of his sorcerersing school classmates again after so long, let alone "her".

The one named by her last name paused in surprise. Fate likes to play in curious ways, she thought.

“ Look who we've come to meet in these parts, it seems that Kyoto is very small! -Isn't a future leader of the Kamo like you supposed to be in his residence? It's weird that you guys let yourselves be seen” asked Mai, stopping next to that stroller she was carrying in front of her with her other hand.

“It's been a while...Mai..." Noritoshi managed to pronounce, looking at that stroller, from where some noises were coming out, "I see that many things happened..." his voice sounded with surprise.

Mai noticed the look on everyone's face when they looked at her and that stroller.

“What do you say we catch up with a chat?" she commented with a small smile. For some reason, she was grateful to fate for having met this guy.

“This child is Maki's daughter?!" exclaimed Kamo, surprised to see the two year and six month old sleeping in that small baby carriage.

“That's right" said Mai with a big smile, "She's my niece, her name is Yurika!

They were both sitting on a bench in the shade of a building, near a well known shopping mall in that city. Summer was in the air

“I admit that, for a moment, I thought she was your daughter..." Noritoshi, for some reason unknown even to him, was relieved to hear that.

“Everyone says that" commented Mai proudly as she arranged the sheet covering Yurika, who was taking a nap in that stroller, "That's one advantage of having a twin sister. When she becomes a mother and the children come out looking like her, as a twin you can pretend to be their mother" she caressed the baby's cheeks with affection.

“Well, you clearly pass as if you were the mother of this child”

“Thank you, let's say I didn't give birth to her, but I take care of her as if she were my own”

“And speaking of Maki san...” Noritoshi's countenance seemed depressed “I must give you my condolences about your sister...” He sigh “I found out some time later from someone at the headquarters that she died tragically” he looked at that baby.

Mai bit her lip slightly when she heard that, it was then that she discovered that Noritoshi was not aware of what happened outside and that gesture was noticed by her companion.

“Is something wrong?”

“That's more of a question I should be asking you. Haven't you talked to anyone else of our classmates? Don't you have contact with Momo or Miwa at least, or that annoying Aoi? Or do you even know anything about Mechamaru?”

“No" Noritoshi answered firmly.
“Since you were free and broke away from the academy, I have lost contact with everyone else”

“Well, that would explain why you don't know the real version of events”

“What are you trying to say with that?”

Mai again bit her lip. Still, she felt she had to tell him the truth.
“Do you know how to keep a secret?" she looked at him seriously.

Noritoshi nodded his head yes.
“Nothing will come out of my mouth”

Mai looked into his eyes trying to see if she could really trust him, "Really? Because I need you to keep this secret to the grave”

“You have my word as a friend”

Mai was surprised by that word.
“Wait! Since when are you and I friends?" she asked at once, "I thought you didn't like ME”

“We are no longer Zenin teenagers to think about such superficial matters”

“Can you stop calling me by my last name?!" she sounded annoyed.
“Besides, if I'm going to tell you this, which is super important, I have to verify that you can be trusted" Mai crossed her arms, "However, I must admit that I thought you didn't like me because of the way we got along in high school”

“I never disliked you " Noritoshi confessed, looking into her eyes. “But now that I have more "freedom" as a person and I have matured a little more, I realize that my attitude towards you and others in our academic days was only because I was prejudiced”

Mai softened her face a little.
“Well, you are right. At that time our ideals because of the stupid prejudices of our clans made us Clash”

“And from what I see you've matured too, Mai”

Those words made her look at him quickly.
“Why do you say that?”

“Because are we chatting for longer than we should, when clearly in high school you wouldn't even talk to me”

“Well, I admit that with everything that happened, I feel I had to grow up faster than usual" She sigh. “But back to the point, I guess you don't know what really happened almost three years ago, do you?”

“As I said, once you were free to leave the academy, I lost contact with everyone else" Noritoshi sighed. “So let's say that I'm just being "free" to choose some things on my own”

“What do you mean by that? Didn't you leave the sede?” Mai seemed quite surprised by the way he said it

Noritoshi shook his head.
“Unlike you, I couldn't be free as I wanted to be.” he looked disappointed “Once everyone left, I was left alone, so I had no choice but to return to the Kamo clan and more than that I am still the next in the line of succession” he looked around him. “Unfortunately I couldn't get out of it”

“So sooner or later you will be the next leader of that clan?”

“More specifically, that will happen until my father dies or until he decides to give me the succession. But in the meantime, I decided to go to college”

“And that's why you're out of the clan right now? I imagined that you had escaped for a walk before going crazy inside your luxurious residence" snorted Mai.

“Although it may not seem like it" Noritoshi began to explain, "I managed to convince my father after a long time to let me study a career. This was on the "grounds" that I wanted to be a leader better prepared for the succession” He waved his hands a Little “Also, my plan as next in line is to create strong alliances with more clans, but at the same time, I want to have more contact with sorcererss from both this country and other nations. I want the Kamo clan to be better politically speaking and to have modern and better solutions to everything related to sorcery”

“So that's why I bumped into you here" said Mai curiously, "And may I ask what you're supposed to be studying?”

“Right. I'm on my day off from university, more correctly I was just coming from seeing my mother" he paused slightly, "And I'm studying political science here in Kyoto. Although I must be honest, this whole university thing, too, I've taken it as a pretext to get out of the residence and to be able to continue living a little more with my mother and my brother”

“Wow. I didn't expect that from you”

“And now that you know why I am here, are you going to tell me that "truth" you talk so much about?" Noritoshi questioned seriously

Mai took a deep breath.
“Well, you've just been honest and you've just "revealed" so to speak a secret of your clan, so now it's my turn to tell you a secret. But I will only tell it to you if you promise to keep it to the grave," she stared at him.
“And more than this is something that all our other friends and companions know and have verified with their own eyes and have been able to keep the secret well for these almost three years”

Kamo just nodded his head yes.
“I will keep it forever. I give you my word as a friend”

Mai took a breath before blurting out that truth “Well, it so happens that...” she hesitated momentarily and even more that she had in front of her an upcoming clan leader. But she also thought that this truth could give her some advantage.

“What is it?” Kamo tilted his head slightly, waiting for the answer.

Mai took a breath and plucked up her courage. “Maki never died. She is still alive...”

“WHAT?!” Noritoshi opened his eyes wide, "But how is that possible? Everyone at the academy and at the sede mourned his death. Even I visited his grave to verify what they said”

“Believe it, she's still alive”

“Then who is in that tomb?" asked Noritoshi with a very serious face.

“It's a long story that I don't want to tell right now" Mai shrugged, "But what you should know is that my sister is not dead and she is not buried there. We only faked her death simply so we could protect ourselves from the Zenin clan... you know..." she turned to look at Yurika, who was still asleep in her stroller.

Noritoshi looked at that baby too. He immediately understood the situation.
“I understand. It makes sense otherwise both she and this baby could have died at their hands” He turned his face to look at Mai “And where is she now?”

“Maki is currently in the hospital taking care of her other son, who is this baby's twin" he explained.

“Twin?" That revelation came as too much of a surprise to the Kamo.

“Maki gave birth to two babies almost three years ago, a boy and a girl more specifically” She looked at Noritoshi while explaining the situation “Unfortunately her brother named Yuudai has had a hard time due to his health problems that he has carried with him since his premature birth. His twin is the one who bore the brunt of it all”

Her companion let the air out in a loud sigh. “I must admit that I was not expecting this news... the whole thing has left me shocked...”

“Yes, I know this is something difficult to assimilate at first” Mai stared at him “So Noritoshi, I ask you please” her voice was very serious as she addressed him “Keep this secret as if your life depended on it... if you really claim to be my friend, keep this secret to the bottom and don't reveal it to anyone. If you don't, I swear I will kill you”

“I promise you. I will take this secret to my grave. You have my word both as a friend and as a future leader of my clan”

They both stared at each other for a moment, seeming to be checking if they could really trust each other. That is until Yurika made a few little noises, causing Mai to rock her gently in her stroller to keep her asleep, while humming a little to her.

“It's still your nap time my princess, sleep a little longer" she caressed the cheek of that little girl, who looked quite calm with that woman's voice.

Kamo watched the whole tender scene. Truly, one would think that this little girl would be Mai's daughter, even by the clothes she was wearing in shades of pink that matched her aunt's clothes. And how this little girl seemed to love her too much.

Even so, with all that cute scene, which made him see Mai with different eyes, Noritoshi wanted to ask her something else.
“And..." he had a slight suspicion that he wanted to calm down- "Who is the father of these two babies?”

Mai let out a sigh of annoyance at such a question.
“It's none other than that cowardly idiot Okkotsu. That bastard had the nerve to abandon Maki when she was pregnant!" she snapped angrily.

That surprised Noritoshi quite a lot.
“Okkotsu doesn't know that he has children? Like he abandoned your sister when she was pregnant" he was perplexed.

Mai rolled her eyes and her stomach churned with anger at having to talk about that idiot.
“Believe it! That idiot abandoned my sister without knowing she was pregnant!”

“Didn't he know about it before he left the country?”

Mai twisted her mouth.
“Actually, let's just say that my stupid sister never confessed to him that she was pregnant. And the rest is a bit complicated to explain, but in simple terms, let's just say that it seems that "someone" played dirty to separate those two”

At that instant, Mai picked up on what Noritoshi had just said “Wait! How do you know he left the country?”

“I know several things thanks to my position of being the next in succession...” He look at her fixedly “Mai..” Noritoshi frowned at the first thing she said “Are you assuming that someone provoked the separation of your sister and Okkotsu?”

Mai lowered her shoulders.
“It seems so... it's something difficult to explain and I'm not in the mood to talk about it" she stared at him, "Even so, I won't forgive Okkotsu for abandoning and breaking my sister's heart" she waved her hands. “He just left the country, just like that and it seems that he doesn't even remember Maki anymore because in none of these three years he has come back for her..." she clicked her tongue with pure anger "Surely that idiot must be enjoying his long trip abroad, having fun and being very happy, knowing places and people while my sister breaks her back taking care of his children”

“You are wrong about him being happy..." Noritoshi answered quickly.

“What did you say?" asked Mai in shock.

“I said that Yuta is not happy abroad at all”

“What, are you on that idiot's side?" Mai raised her voice in annoyance.

“I am not on Okkotsu's side, but I can assure you that he is not happy... on the contrary, he is gloomy...”

Mai raised an eyebrow.
“And how do you know that? Do you have contact with that idiot?”

Noritoshi shook his head slightly.
“No contact as such, but I ran into him some time ago abroad...”

“HOW?!” Mai shouted in astonishment. She needed an explanation. “Drop the damn soup! Where and when did you see Okkotsu? How long ago was that?” She looked at him with murderous eyes

Noritoshi twisted his lips slightly at such an outrage.
“All right, I'll tell you...”

Mai held her breath as she waited for that answer.

“It was three months ago, I ran into him from afar once we were in China" he began to explain while looking at Yurika. That girl really looked like her father too.

“Wait! What were you and he doing in China?" Mai raised an eyebrow.

“Well…” Kamo began to explain, "A few months ago, the leaders of the three great clans were invited to that country by other clans to discuss some issues between sorcererss of the two nations. I accompanied my father that time to see what it was all about and to learn a little more”

“And there, which of the three great clans did you see? Was it the Zenin?" asked Mai with a knot in her stomach. She wanted to check something.

Noritoshi shook his head.
“No, I didn't see your leader that time. No one with the surname Zenin showed up”

Mai let out a small noise from her throat, it sounded like a mocking sign, "It was to be expected, the Zeni's don't care about anyone but themselves. So it makes sense that they wouldn't show up for something like that”

“But those who did show up were Satoru Gojo and Yuta Okkotsu, although the latter was not going as part of the Gojo clan, he was going as a spectator along with a team he was working with... but...”

“But?”

“But this didn't seem to be the Yuta Okkotsu that we knew in our high school years” Noritoshi began to explain, he seemed a bit shocked  “He was more somber than usual, he had a very cold attitude and it seemed that nothing surprised him or even interested him. You could say that he looked like a dead man in life with that heavy and dark aura he gave off, that's why I didn't dare to approach him... I admit I was afraid...” A shiver ran through his skin.

Mai for some reason also felt that chill at her partner's description. She didn't know if she should tell that information to Maki.

“And... You haven't heard anything more from Okkotsu?" asked Mai looking at Noritoshi.

He shook his head.
“The last I heard of him, he was going to America" he looked at the sky for a moment, "He seems to be moving from one continent to another in whatever he's doing. Although from what I hear from sede, he has an important mission. One assigned to him by Satoru Gojo”

“Do they at sede know everything Okkotsu does?" asked Mai almost instantly.

“We do hear rumors from time to time, although, yes, security there has become abysmal on that subject. Still there are rumors that reach our ears from time to time. Passing news about foreign matters”

Mai came up with an idea. That was to use Noritoshi as an informant of what was going on in there, as well as to track Okkotsu. Still, decided that for the time being, she would not say anything to Maki about this encounter and what Noritoshi told her about Yuta.

Kamo had noticed how the woman's face made certain expressions.

“Noritoshi, you..." Mai hesitated slightly, "Do you think you could do a little more research on what that idiot Okkotsu is doing abroad?”

“Do you want me to be your intermediary, Mai?" Noritoshi questioned seriously.

Mai pursed her lips and swallowed saliva. Her throat was dry at such a question. Still, she decided to go with the truth.
“I would like, more than anything, to know what Okkotsu is doing and thus understand why he has not returned for my sister, whom he claimed to love”

The Kamo sighed at such a request.

Mai regained her composure, "But don't feel obligated to do it. I know it's a stupid idea”

“I don't consider it a stupid idea, if it means that I can see you again..." said Noritoshi with a soft voice.

That behavior puzzled Mai a little.
“That's strange coming from you...”

“What's strange?”

“That you want to see me again?”

“Well, like I said, we're not teenagers anymore and we've both matured. Tell me, is it wrong for me to want to see with someone I knew in high school, and besides, it's better for me to give you this information in person than over the phone or by text”

Mai shrugged and shook her head slightly "Well, you have a point. Maybe these outings could both serve as a distraction for me, as well as help me take Yurika out from time to time, especially since she's such an energetic little girl”

Kamo smiled a little at those words, really Mai had changed and perhaps softened. Then her face showed some melancholy.

“Yes, we have all changed in these three years since what happened with... Utahime sensei..." commented Kamo with a breath in his voice.

“I would say that all this chaos started before..." said Mai in a sigh.

“You mean your suspicion that someone took it upon themselves to separate Maki and Yuta?” Kamo stared at Mai, seeming to have read the answer in her mind.

Mai let out a sigh.
“Yes, and I have a feeling it must be someone from "above" who did it...”

“Why would they do that?”

“I think that's for us two to find out..." Mai slightly tilted her head back as she thought about it all. “Although something tells me that it was for political interests...”

“What makes you believe that?" asked Kamo with confusion.

“Thinks Noritoshi Isn't it easier to make the three clans always enemies instead of allies? Especially if we talk about the relationship between those two...” He brought his hand to his chin.

Noritoshi understood what Mai wanted him to understand. “If those two had married, it would have linked the two clans politically and they would be equal in power, although," he returned his gaze to the little girl in that carriola, "they are already united by blood”

“Mai smiled at that conclusion.
I'm glad you think the same way I do. It's not for nothing that you and I had the best grades only below Aoi”

Kamo clicked his tongue a little at that comparison “That gorilla sure had brains despite that big body”

“Yes, that idiot didn't have a pineapple on his head like we said we thought he did" Mai laughed lightly.

They both kept a moment of silence while exchanging a glance and a smile. All that was interrupted by the little noises Yurika made, as she had woken up and was playing a bit inside her stroller.

“Ta!" said the almost three-year-old girl, stretching out her arms, giving the signal that she wanted to be in Mai's arms.

“Come my little princess, I see that you have woken up” Mai held Yurika in her arms with affection, and kissed her face and that made her smile. Not only her, but also Kamo.

Yurika fixed her golden gaze on Kamo, who caught her eye.

“Toto?" Yurika pointed at Noritoshi insistently, while raising her face to her aunt Mai. She seemed very excited about something.

“What is she trying to say?" Noritoshi frowned slightly at the noises and gestures the girl was making.

Mai let out a small laugh.
“She's calling you uncle haha, that's what he calls Maki's friends, Toto is for uncle and Ta is his way of saying aunt. Let's say it's her baby language, although I don't doubt that when she learns to communicate better, she will be very talkative” she explained while looking at Kamo  “Although I'm surprised that she already trusts you at the first time to call you uncle. Since she only calls us that way to those of us who live with her”

That explanation surprised Noritoshi a little, "So you already consider me your uncle, little girl?" he asked with a small smile.

“Toto! Toto!" he waved his hands toward Noritoshi.

He just took her hand and made a small gesture of courtesy "Nice to meet you Yurika, I am your uncle Noritoshi", that gesture provoked a big smile on the girl's face.

Those words elicited a small chuckle from Mai.

“What's wrong?" questioned the Kamo, noticing the Zenin's laughter.

“Hehehe nothing, I just find it curious that Yurika already trusts you enough to call you like that. I guess she already considers you as one of the family”

Noritoshi smiled again as he continued to hold that baby's hands.

“Maybe that's because he knows he can trust me”

“We'll see about that, "Uncle Noritoshi,"" Mai smiled and said this in a somewhat challenging tone.

The two again exchanged a glance and a smile. That is until, once again, the restless little girl wanted to move from there.

“Now I'm going to have to turn this child's battery down again, although at home she'll still be this restless" she said as the little girl bounced up and down on her aunt's legs.

“Well, while you're tired again, how about if Uncle Noritoshi invites you to lunch this afternoon?”

“Is it a date?" asked Mai, raising an eyebrow.

“Could it be considered as one?" asked Kamo with curiosity, "Although if there is a problem you can tell me in case you already have someone and that is an inconvenience. And more that it's the first time I invite someone to eat”

Mai laughed at those words.
“No, it's not a problem, right Yurika?" she said holding the baby in her arms and taking her little hand, "Don't you want to go with that bitter uncle Noritoshi?”

“Bitter?" he questioned with confusion.

“Well" Mai put on her skin at the same time as Kamo, "Let's go and take it," she handed her the girl, "I think it's good for you to get acquainted with Yurika”

Noritoshi held that restless girl in his arms, who quickly pulled her hair while Yurika laughed animatedly. “But!”

“I know a good restaurant where there is a baby menu, it's this way" said Mai starting to walk pushing that stroller and Noritoshi followed with Yurika in her arms.

After that meeting, this Zenin and this Kamo would see each other quite often until that sad day when they were separated.

 

 

 

◈━━━━◇━━━━◈

 

Back to the present.

 

“After that, that guy and I started to meet more often, let's say we became closer and more "intimate" than we should have and maybe we would have stayed that way, if it hadn't happened that horrible day where that asshole Naoya found out where Megumi was and that Maki was still alive and made that stupid deal where he brought me here" commented Mai in a nostalgic sigh while she finished brushing her short hair, "Even so, sometimes I wonder how he is doing”

“I see" said Choso seriously, having heard all that Mai had told him, "And did you have feelings for him and he for you?”

Mai shrugged her shoulders.
“I fought with all my strength not to feel anything for him, and I hate to admit that it was useless" she clicked her tongue, "Who would have thought that I would end up loving the enemy like Maki once did with that idiot Okkotsu" she looked at Choso, "And if he ever felt anything for me, I don't know, maybe and if he was very different from how I remembered him in high school...”

“Does that mean that you two did get to have a more formal relationship?”

Mai shook her head.
“Perhaps the word "lovers" is the most appropriate between what happened between him and me... and more that at the beginning I only saw him as someone I could use to avoid getting bored and to find Okkotsu's clues, which were almost null in those three months where we saw each other...”

“I understand. It's like Yuki once told me" Choso began to explain, "Love happens in unexpected ways between the least expected people”

Mai let out a sigh of annoyance at such cheesy words: "Yes, maybe, and he's right" she stood up carefully, "especially since he met the person he least expected”

Choso also stood up “Why do you say that?”

-Because "he" is someone from an opposing clan”

“I understand. And may I ask what his name is?" asked Choso with curiosity.

“Will you just keep quiet and stop asking me so many questions?" asked Mai, a bit annoyed.

“Yes”

Mai let out a sigh of resignation “His name is Noritoshi Kamo...”

At such a name, Choso's face frowned in a grimace that looked like a mixture of surprise and anger.

“What's going on?”

“It's that name...”

“What do you have?”

“That name is that of the man who partly created me, and experimented on me, my mother and my siblings more than 150 years ago....”

Mai thought that answer was strange, "But this "Noritoshi Kamo" is actually 27 years old. So I doubt he's like that guy you're talking about”

“Although that doesn't take away the fact that they are of the same blood..." commented Choso with annoyance.

“Yes well, I can confirm that "this Noritoshi" is not like "that Other Noritoshi" who made you suffer in the past" said Mai with confidence.

“How are you so sure about that?" asked Choso with some curiosity.

“Because I checked it out. Believe me, this Noritoshi is not "bad" She sigh “It's just that sometimes he's a little...”

“A little?”

“Idiot”

“Oh”

“But that doesn't stop this "romance" as some would say, from being as forbidden as Maki's with that idiot Okkotsu was at the time”

Choso relaxed his shoulders and let out a small chuckle.

“What are you laughing at now?" Mai questioned with her hands folded across her chest.

“Nothing. I'm just checking two things" said Choso serenely.

“And what are those two things?" Mai put her hands on her hips.

“The first is that you have a big Mai Zenin Heart. One where all your loved ones are and that is capable of feeling something for someone”

“And the second one?” Mai raised an eyebrow at such an answer.

“The second is that you and I share something in common" said Choso kindly.

“And what is this thing that you and I supposedly share in common?”

“That our lives were somehow marked by a Noritoshi Kamo" answered Choso.

Mai was amused by those words for some reason, "It seems that you and I do have something in common after all. And that makes you less boring" she sighed, "Well, let's go to the kitchen and see if there are any servants to attend to the mistress of this fucking place, that is me" she pointed to herself. “I'm starving...”

“As you say, my lady" said Choso, returning to his role as a servant.

But the surprises would not end for those two in that kitchen, where an assassination attempt would take place along with the revelation of one more truth in that clan.

To be continued.

 

Notes:

I hope you liked it, I will be reading your comments as always.

And tell me, what did you think of this chapter? Which I personally think was important to show that Mai has a big heart. 👀

Well, as I said at the beginning of the chapter, Mai is also an important character for this story, so as you could read, this one was close to Noritoshi, who will later appear in this story because he will also be an ally in Okkotsu's future plans.

Did you expect such a revelation that these two were lovers? I want to read your reactions.

Well, I confess that I was always interested in the fact that Mai was Bisexual and I feel that with Noritoshi she had some chemistry, besides, I always felt that it would be interesting to see a Zenin with a Kamo.

As you could notice, Choso, being a Kamo, shares something with Mai and that is that each one has a Noritoshi who marked his life in one way or another, I could even say that Choso is fulfilling the role of older brother with Mai in being her support and protector within the clan and you will notice that more in the next chapter.

And as I said at the beginning, also the next chapter will be about Mai and more secrets of the Zenin clan that will be revealed, secrets that in one way or another, may be important for the plot later on.

As I said before, don't worry, after the next chapter we will be back soon with the Okkotsu family, as well as soon we will have more father and sons moments, as well as one more moment of "passionate reconciliation" *wink wink* between Maki and Yuta, as well as several outings of just those four as the family they should have been always❤ , so let's say we will see more of the "Okkotsu Family" in the next chapters.

Just don't despair, give me time and bear with me, please, I will try to bring the chapters as soon as I can. 🙏🏻

Also, I want to thank all those who are still supporting this fic, seriously, an apology if it's getting too long, but as I've said several times, this is a long fic and you have every right to abandon the story if you don't like it or if it bores you.

Even so, for those of you who follow it month after month, supporting it with your readings, votes and comments, seriously, thank you very much for all your support, I promise you will not regret this story.

Anyway, I hope you liked it, we'll keep on reading ❤

Vera wants them ❤

Chapter 32: 31. Posion

Notes:

Hello everyone, here Vera bringing the continuation of the previous chapter. As I said beforehand, this one will also be about Mai and more secrets hidden by the Zenins

So get your favorite snack ready, there's a chapter full of drama and secrets worthy of a telenovela coming up.

And to finish with these initial notes, I leave a disclaimer: The following chapter contains confessions about a crime committed years ago, as well as non-explicit descriptions about intrafamiliar violence especially in a psychological way, as well as an attempt of murder, as well as there may be mentions about substances used to cause the death of a person, as well as slight mentions of alcohol consumption, I repeat, everything narrated here is pure fiction

 

"We all hide secrets, some are worse than others."

 

Continued.

Once Choso and Mai reached the kitchen, they noticed that it was occupied by the mother of that twin.

That woman was also the one in charge of that special area, since in that residence there were very specific rules about who could and who could not enter this space, as well as who could use the kitchen and what food would never be served, as was the case of meat of any kind of animal.

“Tsk... I thought the kitchen would be alone" commented Mai with annoyance from the threshold of that traditional kitchen.

Her mother, on hearing her enter, looked at her coldly, with that lifeless look.

“What do you want Mai? You know you can't leave your room" she said with hostility, while sticking the knife she was using to slice some carrots.

“Is that how you address the lady of the house" Mai replied defensively.

Her mother grunted a little.

“I just got hungry, but since you're here, serve me something to eat" Mai ordered.

“That's no way to talk to me!”

“Well, now I am your superior, I am the wife of the leader of this stupid clan or should I remind you who was the one who "advised" not to say "forced" me to marry and be abused by Naoya once I came back here so as not to be your disgrace" Mai looked at her with pure annoyance.
“So now, prepare me something to eat, something worthwhile and nutritious, because the pure grass they give here makes me not have the strength to father the stupid baby that both you and that asshole Naoya expect me to have”

The twins' mother growled, angrily clenching her hand on the handle of the knife. And so with annoyance she set about attending to her daughter's demands. As bad luck would have it, there was some fish, so Mai had no choice but to accept it.

The minutes passed inside that kitchen, the rice cooker rattled and the other pots began to boil.

Mai leaned her elbow on the large table and looked at her mother. She decided to try to strike up a conversation with her mother.

“Mother...”

She said nothing. She was still attentive to the food in the pots that were still on the fire.

“... Don't you miss Maki? ...” asked the younger twin.

At such a question, her mother dropped the spoon she was holding on the floor.
“What did you say?" she asked in a mixture of annoyance and surprise as she turned to look at her daughter.

“I just asked you if you don't miss your eldest daughter" Mai twisted her mouth, "Although from your reaction, I can guess you don't”

Her mother looked at her with annoyance “Why would I miss a failure like her?”

“I thought so..." Mai rolled her eyes at that answer.

Silence once again dominated the kitchen while the sky was falling outside. Mai's mother picked up that knifeand threw it into the sink with hatred, then returned her gaze to the ingredients, she decided to start chopping some more vegetables.

That question brought back a faint memory from seven years ago. One that she never talked about with anyone else and that maybe now she could finally let it out.

“But now that you name your useless sister..." said her mother over her shoulder.

“Huh?”

“You just reminded me that the last time I saw Maki was seven years ago," she sighed, returning his eyes to the chopping board, "That was the last time I talked to her...”

“And what did you talk to Maki about seven years ago?” asked Mai curiously. Her twin had not told her anything about this at the time.

Her mother again stopped the cut of her knife against the chopping board.

“They talked about something important, didn't they?" questioned Mai, gluing her hands on the table as she watched her mother's reaction.

“Why do you want to know that?" her mother turned to look at her with annoyance.

“Because I am the mistress of this residence and by the way, your daughter, so I want to know what you talked about with Maki seven years ago" she ordered.

Her mother sighed resignedly at such an order.
“Yes, I admit it, seven years ago I meet your sister a few months before she died, it was in one of the streets of Kyoto if I remember correctly”

“Wait!" That had caught Mai's attention too much  “HOW DID YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND HER?”

“Let's say that I had a hunch as a mother...”

“As a mother? Ha! as if that were possible in you..." her daughter muttered with annoyance.

At this response, her mother returned her gaze to the rice cooker.

The younger twin was left analyzing all that, did their mother really love them once? Did she really have that maternal instinct? But more importantly, why did her mother go looking for Maki? What did those two talk about?

Mai dared to question something else, as a great fear began to take hold of her and more so if her mother spoke to her sister.
“And do you remember when that was? I'm talking about the date...”

Her mother put a hand to her forehead.
“I just remember it was spring”

Mai at that moment realized that this meeting between her mother and sister could have been a day before Maki and Yuta were separated. But why would her mother talk to Maki?

She swallowed her breath and continued asking.
“And what else do you remember?" she tried to sound calm, although inside she was dying of fear, "Did you see her strange?" she stood up and took a few steps towards her.

“Strange in what way?" her mother raised an eyebrow slightly on her almost expressionless face, "Why are you asking me these questions Mai?”

Her daughter shrugged her shoulders.
“I'm just curious. You know, if she had longer or shorter hair or if she had changed her glasses... I really don't even remember her anymore”

Her mother sighed.
“Not seeing her as strange, but she felt that something was wrong with her. It was as if she was hiding something”

Mai swallowed hard, did her mother suspect that Maki was pregnant at the time?

“Hiding something? Like what?" asked Mai, clicking her tongue.

“I don't know," her mother replied in annoyance, "I don't really remember anymore. But I know she was different. I know she was hiding something from me" she looked at her daughter with annoyance, "Stop asking those silly questions," she said, turning back to the stove to check on the food. I wanted to avoid the subject.

She then concentrated once again to finish cutting the food.

But Mai was not silent. She had many more questions to ask “Well?” she continued firmly as she took a few steps towards her “What was it that you talked to Maki about back then?”

“Why do you want to know that?" asked her mother with noticeable annoyance and hostility.

“Because you started this topic. So speak up, woman. What was it you talked to Maki about seven years ago," Mai sounded very imposing as she said that.

The twins' mother sighed, turning her face to look at her daughter.
“I just remember that we talked about someone...”

“I want you to tell me who you and Maki were talking about" Mai ordered.

Her mother's lips tightened into a grimace of discomfort. She took a breath before replying, "We talked about Okkotsu...”

That was strange to Mai. Maki had never told her anything like that.

“From Okkotsu? Why would you and she talk about that idiot?" Mai was quite surprised by all that.

Her mother had a faint memory. One that still pained her quite a bit about her daughter.
“I basically told your sister that the best thing she could do was to stay away from that boy if she wanted to be safe..." she sighed, "Now I regret telling her that. The best thing I could have done would have been to warn her that they would go after her and Okkotsu...”

Mai lowered her arms sharply, took a step closer to her mother “Why would you say something like that to her?”

Her mother kept a sepulchral silence.

Mai at that moment understood what this woman wanted to give her to understand.

“YOU?!" she gave a nervous chuckle, "YOU WANTED TO WARN THEM THAT THEY WERE GOING TO BE SEPARATED?! YOU KNEW, DIDN'T YOU?!" she raised her voice.

Her mother moistened her lips a bit before letting out a tiny “Yes…”

“SO YOU KNEW THAT SOMEONE WAS GOING TO SEPARATE THEM?! YOU KNEW ALL THIS AND YOU COULDN'T INTERVENE TO WARN MAKI ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO TO HER!" claims Mai, holding her mother's arm tightly.

“H-how do you know that, Mai?" her mother asked in confusion, feeling her mother squeeze her arm.

“Don't try to change the subject! Answer me! Did you know what they were going to do at that train station?" asked Mai annoyed, shaking her by the kimono roughly.

“Stop it!” her mother managed to get away from that tugging “I confess, yes... I knew it”

Mai put her hands to her head.
“You're always being a bad mother! You couldn't even warn your eldest daughter that she was in danger" she said aloud.

“Mai, stop it...”

“Do you know how much Maki suffered because of that idiot" claimed her daughter, pointing angrily at her. “If you had been a good mother, now they could have stayed together and things would have been different for everyone!”

“Mai… stop…” Her mother put her hands to her face.

“Really! You're just like all this scum! - her daughter shouted angrily.

“Mai stop ....  Shut up... Shut up...”

“If you were really a good mother and loved us as one, you would have warned Maki and not been a coward, and you wouldn't have forced me to marry Naoya so that he could use me as he has been doing all this time!”

“INSOLENT GIRL, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" the woman angrily grabbed a knife she had left on the board. She had reached her limit.

“I WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN!" That woman was about to stab her own daughter, that is until that knife was stopped by Choso's hand, who entered at the last moment and held that weapon by hardening his hand with his blood.

The twins' mother was shocked by this.

“If you lay a finger on him, it will be someone else who will die, especially when the leader Naoya discovers that you were going to kill his wife" said Choso angrily, while with his hand covered with blood he snatched the knife.

That technique looked suspicious to that woman. It seemed to be the technique of someone from the Kamo clan.

Mai was breathing heavily. She had even fallen to the ground. But she quickly reacted, "Are you all right?" asked standing up and looked at her guardian.

“I'm fine... luckily it's not a deep wound" said Choso, looking at the blood on his hand.

All that commotion was heard and seen by two other people. Someone who was also still important to the clan.

“Well, it seems that all hell has broken loose here" said Naobito with a big smile, watching the whole spectacle from the threshold.

That old man was not the only one who saw all that.

“Mr. Choso, are you all right?” Ranta had also gone to the kitchen to ask for a glass of water, but it was his turn to see the attempted attack. He even rushed to the wounded man with a towel he had taken from the kitchen to help with the bleeding.

“I am" said Choso with a grimace of pain. Although the wound was not deep, it did cause some damage to his palm, which was bleeding.

“THIS CRAZY WOMAN TRIED TO STAB ME!" said Mai, her breath hitching.

Mai's mother was shaking, both from courage and from the adrenaline of almost stabbing her daughter.

Naobito patted Mai on the shoulder, while giving some instructions.

“Ranta, take my sister-in-law to my brother, maybe later she will receive her punishment for attacking the leader's wife" said Naobito with a very serious face, "Although of course, maybe an agreement can be reached if this is kept between us, anyway, I will be the one to inform my brother and my son about the behavior of this woman..." he stared at the mother of the twins.

“Yes sir" said Ranta, placing a hand on Mai's mother's shoulder as he bent her arm to subdue her.

The woman looked at her daughter and brother-in-law. Her face tightened into a grimace of total fear and despair, she knew the punishment would be cruel.

“I... I... I...” The words could not get out of her throat “Please have mercy!”

“This way" Ranta said, grabbing Mai's mother's arm before she was almost dragged away.

Mai could see the fear in her mother's eyes. A fear that even she came to feel when she did something wrong in that house.

Mai opened her lips -Don't do anything to her...- she tried to say, but no words could come out of her throat. She only brought her hands to her arms in a lonely embrace of her own.

Naobito then patted Choso “And you, go get that hand healed so that later you can go do your chores and continue protecting the lady of the house. You might be rewarded later. Now leave me and my niece alone, I need to talk to her alone”

Those words surprised Mai.

Choso looked at her, who only nodded her head “Go ahead, go and get healed...”

The sorcerer understood that signal. Although he had stopped the bleeding with his technique, he had to keep up the appearance and more than anyone else in there knew about his technique.
“I will see you later, my lady” he bowed before leaving.

Mai sighed and looked at the blood-stained floor. Blood that she knew was poison. A poison that, if she set her mind to it, could kill everyone in that clan, which was a nest of snakes with long, sharp fangs.

Naobito approached the stove and sniffed the smoke coming out of the pots –“Mmm looks like something delicious was cooked here” he said turning off the fire, then turned to Mai “It's time to eat”

“Are you seriously thinking of eating after all this?" asked Mai in a grimace and pointing to the blood on the floor, "I was almost murdered!”

“Well, the food didn't spoil, the floor can be cleaned afterwards, so let's eat and more than you and I should talk" said Naobito serving himself a plate of what his sister-in-law cooked.

“Are you already drunk, old drunkard? What is it that you have to talk to me about?" asked Mai seeing how this man sat down at the table with that plate.

“But a good meal always goes down well when you have to talk about the truth or you're going to drink yourself to death so you don't have an empty stomach" said Naobito with a smile as he picked up some chopsticks and began to eat, "Come on, don't let an old man like me eat alone!”

Mai sighed in annoyance and grimaced. Even so, she couldn't say no to that invitation, especially since she hadn't eaten anything since she woke up and that scare only made her hungrier.

She tied the sleeves of her kimono and approached the stove to help herself to food. She also took two cups of tea with her so that she could pass the food to herself.

“And by the way, find me some Sake, I don't want these herbs diluted in water" said Naobito with a laugh.

Mai ignored that order and sat down facing him. She left her plate in front of her as well as the tea, of which she poured a cup for her uncle.

“Well?” Mai began to say as she put food in her mouth, "What the hell do you want to talk to me about?” she asked.

“Well, straight to the point, eh?" the old man took that glass of tea, which he gently swirled to move the liquid in there.

“Yes, I want us to get straight to the point”

“First of all, I must tell you that you were very brave, but at the same time very foolish to take that information from your mother earlier and in that way”

“Did you overhear our conversation?" said Mai with her mouth full.

“Since I retired I have my ears everywhere, so yes, I heard almost everything you talked about with your mother, since I arrived at the kitchen shortly after you and that pale man arrived," Naobito confessed, putting more rice in his mouth, "So in theory I heard everything you talked about your sister and Okkotsu" he said with his mouth full.

Mai let out a frustrated sigh “So I guess you already knew about the fact that someone had those two separated, didn't you?”

Naobito nodded his head as he put some fish in his mouth.
“I knew it. Although I confess that I was not involved in it directly, although I do know who agreed to such an act”

“So if you already knew, old drunkard, why the hell didn't you do anything" asked Mai before putting more food in her mouth, "Although I guess you like to see us all being unhappy and that's why you didn't intervene, right?" she replied, annoyed and with her mouth full.

Naobito let out a small laugh.
“It could be. Although" he took a sip of his tea, "I must confess that I didn't really look down on your sister's relationship with Okkotsu," he looked at the contents of the cup, "Even if one of you two had married a Gojo or a Kamo, I wouldn't have seen it badly, since my plan was always to leave the leadership to Megumi's boy, so the relationship of this clan with its new leader would be "good" to some extent, since each one married to a member of those two clans, they would have made a great alliance. Besides, I don't dislike Okkotsu, he may be a fool and have a strange personality, but I don't dislike him at all and even less what he has become”

Those words quite surprised Mai, who raised her eyebrows in pure surprise.
“Wow, who knew you would be "different". I always thought you were an old drunk with ideas from the last century”

“Hehe and I am. I may be drunk, but I have known how to make good decisions" said Naobito drinking more tea.

“Not so many" exclaimed Mai, "Because if you had been different, you would have helped my sister and Okkotsu not to be separated, don't you think so?”

Naobito smiled slightly and stroked his white whiskers “And who says I didn't do anything afterwards? Of course I intervened for your sister and Okkotsu some time later!”

Mai was struck by those words, she even narrowed her eyes trying to understand the man.
“What are you trying to say?”

“What I'm trying to say is that your mother was not the only one who talked to Maki" said Naobito with his mouth full.

“So you talked to Maki too? When and what did you talk about? How were you supposed to help her?" questioned Mai with her hands on the table and demanding answers.

“Maybe a little alcohol will refresh my memory" said the old man with a grimace, "These herbs in water are just making my food taste disgusting”

Mai snorted loudly, blew out the air through her nostrils, got up in annoyance and approached a special cupboard, one that she knew had the liquid that the man craved.

She took out a large green bottle with a white label that said Sake. Mai knew they also kept alcohol in the kitchen for some foods.

“Here it is, old fool" she put the bottle roughly on the table.

And when Naobito was about to take that bottle, Mai took it off the table in a quick movement “But first... tell me the whole truth” she moved the bottle away, holding it over that red stain that was still on the floor “Oh if not, I'll throw it over this blood”

Naobito twisted his mouth.
“All right, I'll tell you everything only if you give me a drink first”

“But I want to know everything, okay?”

“Uncle's promise" he showed both palms as a sign of peace.

Mai sighed and slid that bottle to Naobito on the table. Once it reached the old man's hands, he slid the cap with agility and drank with desperation.

After a long drink, Naobito belched loudly.

“Agh! Yuck!”

“Well" Naobito wiped the trickle of alcohol that ran down his lip, "What was I on?”

“What were you going to tell me about what you talked to Maki about some time ago..." said Mai very annoyed as she took more food and put it in her mouth.

“Thank you, and indeed, I spoke to Maki seven years ago, after she and Okkotsu were separated”

“And what did you tell him?" asked Mai desperately.

“Nothing out of this world, as I was returning by train from a meeting outside the city, I ran into her at the station, I guess it was a great coincidence because she was with a brown-haired girl" he explained.

“I guess that girl was Nobara. And what did you talk to her about?" asked Mai demandingly.

“I simply reminded her that she was a Zenin. Although, of course, if she intended to aspire to something important within the clan, it was evident that with what she was carrying in her belly at that moment, she could never become a leader" commented Naobito, putting a hand to his chin.

Mai shivered as she heard those words. “Wait... Did you say he was carrying something? What do you mean?" she asked intrigued.

Naobito let out a low chuckle.
“You and I both know perfectly well what I'm talking about...”

“Well, I don't know..." Mai shrugged, "Could you tell me" she was playing dumb.

Naobito noticed that attitude of his niece.
“Let's not play dumb, Mai. We both know very well that...” he began to lower his voice and turned his face to the front and whispered “That Maki was pregnant at that time”

Mai froze at such a statement. “Pregnant? How did you know that?" she questioned quietly.

Naobito took a firm stance and raised his face a little “I may be an old man, but I will not be an asshole and more than that time I bumped into her, I could see her belly was quite bulging”

His niece froze at such a response.

“And from what I saw, it wasn't just any womb! No, it was a womb of two babies! Two little ones who shared the blood of a Zenin and a Gojo? Didn't they?”

Mai made fists on the table.

“And from your body language I can guess that I'm right" said Naobito with a smile of triumph.

His niece sighed and folded her arms, annoyed by it all.
“Well they say that the devil knows more because he is old than because he is a devil....”

“That's right. Let's just say that I knew that Maki was pregnant with Okkotsu just by sight”

“So" Mai stepped forward and lowered her voice, "Who else knows about this? Did Naoya know my sister was pregnant? Did my mother know? What do you know?”

Naobito combed his mustache once more, "Your crazy mother doesn't know about it, as far as I can see. And if she finds out now, she'll die of shock for sure” he moved his chopsticks “And even less does your asshole father, who was never interested in knowing about his eldest daughter, so I doubt he knew about it and that idiot Naoya never knew about it. He just focused on other things”

“As in removing you from your position and becoming the new leader, isn't it?”

“That's right" Naobito took another sip of his drink, "So basically only you and I know this secret" he sighed, "Too bad she and those babies died seven years ago... they would have been very valuable children for the clan and even more so if their techniques were good in case they hadn't inherited one more celestial restriction" he grunted, "that's a family curse”

Those words left Mai in doubt: did her uncle believe that Maki had died and her children as well? Did he believe the story that the one buried in the grave was Maki? She knew she should be cautious and not raise suspicions.

“Yes... a pity..." she said, feigning sadness.

After a slight moment of silence, Naobito continued speaking once his lips had left the mouth of the bottle.
“Even so, I must confess that the guilt for not having intervened earlier, led me to try to remedy my mistakes. Besides putting a tomb for Maki and keeping the secret of those babies... it led me to commit something that... to this day I questioned myself if it was the right thing to do...”

Those words really surprised Mai.
“What are you trying to say with that," she looked at her uncle with confusion, "Have you already drunk to your head?”

“What I am trying to say is that I did know who were some of those who opposed your sister's relationship with Okkotsu and I had to act in a... unprofessional way..." he said looking at his half-finished meal. Maybe alcohol and age were making him talk too much.

Mai stopped eating.
“I don't understand... what are you trying to tell me?”

Naobito finished drinking once more.
“What I'm trying to say is that... I, along with the former leader of the Kamos, eliminated certain people”

“Are you talking about killing someone?” Mai questioned in a low voice.

His uncle nodded his head yes.
“Yes. And in an unorthodox... I would say...”

“Who or whom did you kill? Speak now, old man... and... I promise not to tell anyone..." said Mai looking to her sides to see if no one else was coming.

Naobito sighed and ate with some difficulty as the alcohol seemed to have an effect on him, "Only if you promise to take it to the grave..." he said with a fixed look.

“I promise. Although who knows, you might die first and take this with you without telling me" said Mai with a slight smile.

Naobito was amused by those words, "I can tell you are a Zenin. Well, it looks like I can trust you" he made his face forward and spoke softly, "I did not stand idly by... almost a year after your sister and those babies died, I took it upon myself to eliminate certain people who were in favor of separating your sister from Okkotsu”

“And who were those people, and why did they do it," Mai questioned quietly.

“They did it because someone convinced them that your sister and De Okkotsu's relationship was a threat. And even more so if my plan was to leave the clan to Fushiguro...”

“And who convinced them of such a thing?" questioned Mai in a low, annoyed voice.

“Girl, you don't have to be super smart to know who did it...it's more than obvious who did it..." said Naobito taking the bottle to his mouth to take another sip.

Mai knew who the old man was talking about.
“Naoya, isn't it" she whispered.

Naobito sighed “He may be an idiot, but he knows how to move his pieces in his favor. Even so, I did not remain with my arms crossed with those who gave the go-ahead to my own son" he crossed his arms.

“And who were these people?”

“It was some high ranking people... so I had no choice but to eliminate them little by little" Naobito took the cup of tea and stirred it gently, "Nothing that a good strong tea can help. Did you know that there are plants that in small doses can be lethal and the best thing is that some are not detected in the post mortem? I guess that's why I started to hate tea. Besides being water with wet herbs.... Although also with a few drops of blood from a certain clan you can also achieve sudden death if you know how to combine it with food”

Mai understood this at once. I don't need a more detailed explanation.
“So you...?”she took a breath before speaking, "You poisoned the former top brass along with the former leader of the Kamo clan? Wow... you sure are quite a case old man. But why would someone like you do something like that?”

“As I said, I felt I had to remedy the mistakes of my offspring and in the process, somehow eliminate my guilt. Besides, the old man of the Kamos owed me one, so I managed to convince him to do this and more than that he also was involved in this matter” Naobito continued shaking that glass.
“And I already told you why. Giving the reason to my son only caused a great effect that was only falling like a gigantic snowball that ended in a butterfly effect... one that continues to affect us even in our days” he left that glass and better take the bottle of Sake “From there I started to hate tea”

Mai understood what her uncle meant. Naobito poisoned the top brass by putting some kind of poison in the tea and maybe even in their food. It would make sense since he was close to all those big shots.

“Even so, I know that it won't completely eliminate my mistakes, but I'm satisfied with knowing that I eliminated that scum... I already moved my next piece, one that I promised the previous idiot of the Kamo clan to fulfill in case he died before me, so I'll have to "explain his mistake", so I guess that letter won't take long to get to that someone he wanted to get to him" answered Naobito finishing both the bottle and his food.

Mai sighed, that last thing she didn't quite understand, so she preferred not to ask “Well, I guess you and I are not so different after all...and even more so in this matter of having taken someone's life” said the younger twin finishing drinking her tea.

Naobito smiled a little and again combed his whiskers. He seemed to have understood what his niece meant.
“Well, we are both equally guilty. It is in Zenin's blood to be like that, haha" he sighed. "Anyway, I suppose we could avoid that the punishment your mother receives for her attempted murder be less light since this meal was delicious" said this old man standing up.

“Just don't be so cruel to her...she may be crazy, but it's because of all of you" said Mai with annoyance.

Those words made Naobito laugh.
“This time I won't say anything to that idiot Naoya. So your mother won't get so many lashes for her insolence," he took a few steps towards the threshold of the kitchen, "Still, it was a pleasure talking to you.... Mai... perhaps in here you have already gained an old ally"

She only sighed.
“I guess I can say the same about you... drunk you're a better person" she said with a grimace.

Naobito said no more, let out another laugh and simply walked out of there, leaving Mai with a truth that changed everything. Still, she hoped she could get out of there.

“Maki, if you could know all the secrets that I have discovered here...” she sighed holding a hand to her chest, she had a strange feeling, it was uneasiness, as if something bad was about to happen- “I just hope that you and the children are well... and that Okkotsu can intervene for me before something bad happens to me...” she whispered to herself, while Choso returned with some servants to clean up the mess that was there.

Even so, Mai's fate inside that residence was still in danger, as well as that of her nephews and sister outside. And more than the calm would be fleeting.

 

Notes:

I hope you liked it, I will be reading your comments as always.

And so we conclude this mini-arc of Mai Zenin. One that I must say, I really enjoyed writing.

And tell me, what did you think of this chapter?👀 Did you suspect Naobito as the one who eliminated the high command together with Noritoshi's father? What do you think that letter he sent said and to whom do you think he sent it? I will be reading your theories.

And as you could read, the Zenin clan is full of secrets and snakes, I have always associated that animal with that clan, that's why I put the poison as a method that their former leader would use to kill the big shots.

In addition, as you could read, Mai's mother has some regrets, but that does not mean she is not a bad person, especially when she harms the destiny of her daughters.

And well, to finish, I must comment that in the next chapter we will have a time jump of a month in this story, as well as finally, we will return with Yuta and the twins, in an adventure that I hope you like.

Next stop, the zoo.

Anyway, I hope you liked it, we'll keep on reading ❤

Vera wants them ❤

Chapter 33: 32. Zoo (Part.1)

Notes:

Here Vera with one more update of this story ❤

As I said before, after the last two chapters where Mai was the main character, now we are finally back with the Okkotsu family, who are in for some surprises from now on.

I also wanted to tell you that this chapter that you are about to read takes place almost a month after the events narrated previously in the plot and it will be like that from now on. Since this story will start to move faster because there are several important things coming before entering its final stretch, although there are still many chapters to go, there are still important issues to deal with, characters that will soon make an appearance and situations that will not make it easy for this family and even more if they want to stay together. So maybe the plot will become faster but interesting and I hope you like it. Because as I said, this will be a long fic.

And as you can see in the title, this chapter will be divided in two parts, this because there are really some surprises coming in this trip to the zoo that I decided to separate it in two for your better enjoyment.

So prepare your favorite snack and hold on to your seats, because we are about to have a very funny and wild adventure in this jungle.

Without further ado, enjoy this outing of a father and his children to the zoo. ❤🍿🥤

August 13.

10:20 a.m.

 

“The Zoo!" Yurika and Yuudai shouted in chorus with excitement.

Both children had been looking forward to that day with so much enthusiasm that they even chose matching clothes. They both wore beige shorts, comfortable white tennis shoes and each wore a different colored t-shirt. Yuudai was wearing a yellow T-shirt with the image of a Giraffe and Yurika was wearing a purple T-shirt with the image of a tiger. In addition to that, they each carried a small stuffed backpack in the shape of a monkey, as well as both wore a cap that protected them from the sun.

Both children were next to Yuta at the entrance of that enclosure, they were waiting for Katsumoto to return with the tickets to be able to enter.

“Are they excited?" asked Yuta looking at how happy his children were to be there.

He was also dressed for the occasion. A light brown pans and a fresh white T-shirt, on top of which he wore a long-sleeved button-down shirt in a dull gray tone, perfect to protect himself from the sun, along with a cap of the same color. It was an outfit similar to the one he used to wear when he was abroad, especially during his stay in Africa.

“We are!" said Yurika jumping up and down.

“We wanted to come to the Zoo already!" said Yuudai excitedly.

“I want to see the lions already!" said Yurika happily.

“And the giraffes!" said Yuudai.

“And the bears! And the birds! And all the other animals!" said Yurika excitedly waving her arms.

Yuta squatted down and stroked their heads on those caps, "And we will see all those animals you mention, as well as all the animals in the Zoo" he said with a big smile.

Both children burst with excitement, they were jumping up and down impatiently to enter the place.

Yuta sighed a little, a small smile appeared on his face as he remembered everything that had happened in the last three weeks.

It had been almost a month full of different emotions. But especially, it had been three weeks full of joy.

After the children spent that night in his apartment, Yuta began to spend more time with his children, who most of the week, Maki left them in his care while she went on her missions, although that sometimes raised suspicions in the sorcerer, which he then overlooked because he was blinded in love.

Even in Yuta's apartment more signs of the presence of those two little ones were beginning to show. There were more toys everywhere, and he himself had bought them two beds, as well as new furniture to furnish the room that would be just for them. In the closet there were more clothes, all designed to make them feel comfortable during their stay, since they spent several days a week with him. At the same time, Yuta was also starting to stay more frequently at the Fushiguro's house.

That family had also started going out together more frequently. The four of them enjoyed going to the movies, browsing the stores near their home, and visiting malls across town.

Even Yuta went to the park more often with Yurika, Yuudai and occasionally, Maki accompanied them, especially when she had the afternoon off, both from her work at the gym and on her missions, which continued as orders from Mei's clients were increasing due to the summer vacations.

Seeing Yuta at the Fushiguro's house was already quite common, just as it was quite common to see new flowers every week in that vase on the table.

Yuta's relationship with Yurika and Yuudai was being quite fruitful as he already knew his children better. He knew their tastes, what their favorite foods were and which ones they hated. He had also noticed little details that he had overlooked the first time, like the fact that Yuudai was ambidextrous, since he was left-handed when eating, but when writing, he was right-handed. He was also good at creating small plasticine sculptures and more crafts with different materials. A skill he may have inherited from him.

In the case of Yurika, he realized that she was good at sports, because when he accompanied her to some summer school activities, he could see that although his daughter was quite competitive, she was a good player. He also noticed that she was already a little fashion fanatic. A taste that, he supposed, could have been acquired from Nobara and Mai.

And not only his relationship with his children was good, but also his relationship with Maki was starting to improve a lot. Every day they were closer, closer than they should be. At times they seemed like husband and wife, as Maki would call Yuta's attention or scold him for not doing a household chore well.

And at times they looked like two teenagers, sneaking kisses to each other when the children and others simply couldn't see them. The hugs from behind were not lacking, the kisses on the neck, the caresses, everything was like in their high school days. They even had two other intimate encounters, where they let passion disguised as "more make-up sex" carry them away, ending up in bed once again.

Truly that good life seemed perfect, except that Yuta was putting aside the case he was supposed to be working on.

Yuta Okkotsu had already spent several weeks not focusing on catching that murderer. He had really put aside that case and for the first time in a long time, he was allowing himself a break, and he was doing it in the middle of summer, enjoying those days with the people who meant the most to him at that moment: his children and the woman he loved.

Even if that would bring him consequences very soon. But that did not matter at that moment, he just wanted to spend a nice time with his family and more in that place, which was a surprise for him.

He still remembered how Maki had told him that the children wanted to go to the Zoo.

 

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A few days ago.

“To the Zoo?" Yuta's voice came out in total surprise as he spoke to Maki on the phone.

“Yes, I said the kids want to go to the Zoo" she said with her phone pressed between her ear and her shoulder, "Don't make me repeat it" she was finishing washing her hands.

Even though they were spending more time together and at each other's homes, they still occasionally kept in touch by phone, as they did at that moment.

Yuta was in his apartment.

He had just gotten out of the shower and was half-dressed, wearing only a pair of black pans, while his torso was naked. At that moment he was talking on the phone, while drying his hair with a towel and watching the city through one of the large windows of the living room while answering that call from Maki, who, she was at home, more specifically she was making that call from the kitchen while through the glass door she saw her children playing in the yard. They were both playing with the toys Yuta had bought them.

“Why do the children want to go to the Zoo?" Yuta asked curiously.

“I think it's because they've seen all the pictures you have in your apartment about your travels. Besides, the children say they want to see all the animals you saw in Africa and other parts of the world" explained Maki through that speaker, "So they want us to go to the Zoo, especially now that they are still on summer vacation”

Yuta smiled at those words.
“Okay, let's go to the Zoo! But maybe later I'd like to take them to visit Africa”

“Are you sure you can take them to the Zoo?" asked Maki raising an eyebrow, "If you have time to take them there? Don't you have work to do?" he was curious and even more so because he saw that Yuta was letting his guard down with that case.

“Of course I have time, for you and for our children I will always have all the time in the world" he answered with great joy, and even more so when it comes to going out as a family.

Maki's heart skipped a beat when she heard that word.

Family, that's exactly how they already felt. Even though they had not yet told their children the truth.

“I'll be happy to go to the zoo with you. And I miss you three even more at this moment" answered Yuta sitting down in one of his armchairs.

“But we saw each other a while ago and we have been together the previous days too" commented Maki raising an eyebrow.

“I know, but even so, I will always want to be with you" said Yuta looking at the city.

“And we with you..." whispered Maki with affection, looking at the new flowers that Yuta had given her, she approached them and gently caressed their petals. In fact, Yuta had already given her four different bouquets, every week she arrived home with a new one.

“Okay, then I'll take them to the Zoo" Yuta commented with great excitement. He also liked the idea.

“Very well!" replied Maki with a smile. She hadn't realized that she had smiled a lot while talking to Yuta, just like in their high school years.

But in the end, things turned out a little differently.

 

 

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Back to the present.

 

“Too bad mom couldn't come..." said Yurika in a pout.

“That's true... but she said she couldn't miss work this day, and neither could Dad Gumi come..." Yuudai replied with a long face.

“Yes, our other uncles couldn't come either since they are busy with their jobs" Yurika pouted in annoyance.

Maki couldn't accompany them that day because at the last minute she was presented with a mission as an assassin, one she couldn't say no to. For which, she said she had to go to the gym for something urgent as a pretext.

The others could not accompany them either, for reasons of work and mobility, since the Obon had already begun, the whole city was full of vacationers and tourists and going from one city to another was complicated at that time.

Yuta again bent down to look at those two and caressed their cheeks.

“Don't be discouraged, they weren't going to be able to join us but that doesn't mean we should feel bad" he gave them a nice smile, "We could take lots of pictures to show them to their mother and the others when we see them again”

“I like the idea, I want to take pictures with all the animals" Yurika commented excitedly.

Her brother just nodded his head yes, "Me too, and I want to take a picture next to a giraffe!”

“Hehe very well, let's take lots of pictures" said Yuta standing up again and letting out a sigh.

Really, he would have liked to do that tour with Maki too. Since when they were teenagers, he promised her that they would go one day to Africa together, especially he wanted to take her to Morocco. More specifically to Chefchaouen, that city with endless blue doors.

That sorcerer was a little distracted in his thoughts until Katsumoto returned with the tickets.

“Ready my lord, I got the tickets" said Katsumoto returning with those three. Handing his boss some tickets and some orange bracelets that were the VIP passes.
“I even bought the ticket and the extra bracelet in case the mother of these little ones catches up with us at some point”

“Thank you very much Katsumoto for joining us on this day" said Yuta with a big smile, "Anyway, we are still hoping that Maki can join us later”

The assistant scratched his cheek a little.
“It is my job to accompany him even on these days of rest" he lowered his voice, "Or when she can't come..." he whispered.

That assistant was also dressed for the occasion and more than Yuta asked him as a favor to accompany him at the last minute. Katsumoto was dressed in green pants and a white T-shirt, and even wore a blue fisherman's hat.

When he knew where he would go with his boss and his children, he knew it would be a very heavy day and even more so when they had the main mission pending.

“And you really appreciate it, don't you children?”

“Yes and very much!" said those little ones in chorus while Yuta put those bracelets on their wrists to those two.

“Katsumoto is a good babysitter!" commented Yurika looking at the assistant with a smile on her face.

Her brother nodded, "We like it when he accompanies us!”

“Really, thank you very much Katsumoto for everything you do for us" thanked Yuta once again.

The assistant smiled a little  “As I said, it's my duty”

Then he sighed, it's not like he could refuse either and more so that lately, he felt that his boss was no longer taking his main mission of catching the sorcerer killer seriously. And he was afraid of what the headquarters and Satoru Gojo could do to them in case they had no progress, especially since they had already been in that city for a month.

Even so, he could not say no to Yuta, since he was still afraid of him. In short, the poor assistant was between a rock and a hard place. And more that he felt that the case was getting complicated and more so now with Okkotsu's sudden paternity.

Although something about the behavior of Maki Zenin, whom he had yet to meet in person, was making him suspicious and even more so when she was not accompanying Yuta and her children. Even so, he was afraid of sticking his nose where it shouldn't be with that family, but especially with that woman.

“Are you all right Katsumoto?" asked Yuta when he noticed the attendant very serious.

“I am, my lord, I'm just checking if we have everything we need to spend the day here" he said pointing to the big backpack they brought with them as well as a small cooler.

“We checked the backpack and the cooler before leaving," said Yuudai, "And mom made sure we brought everything. Especially food and lots of water and my medicines.

“Are you sure?" asked Yuta curiously.

“We are! We even put on the sunscreen that Aunt Noba gave us to protect us from the sun, which we are about to retouch” said the girl with a smile, putting the tube in her backpack after she and her brother had applied the cream “We must take good care of our skin” said the girl putting her hands on her cheeks.

“Just like we already have our water bottles in our backpacks and I have my inhaler in my hand" said Yuudai showing her medicine, which was hanging around her neck.

“Well, if we have everything, then let's go have fun in there" commented Yuta very happily, making his children jump with excitement.

 

 

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Going to the Zoo could be quite a fun adventure, especially if it was the first time.

The first stop those four arrived at was the area where they had different large birds such as peacocks and emus.

They also passed by the area where they had beautiful owls with beautiful plumage in different colors.

Then they went to the elephant area. Both children were fascinated by these huge animals.

“Did you see many of these in Africa?" Yuudai asked curiously.

“I saw them and they are quite beautiful up close" he answered with a big smile, "Maybe we can see them up close once we get to the safari tour" he said with a big smile.

“I want a picture with them" said Yurika excitedly.

“Me too!" her brother also waved his hands.

“Well, stand over here, I'll take a picture of you with the elephants in the background" commented Yuta taking a few steps back and taking out his cell phone.

He really felt his heart pounding and very excited to be there with them.

“Smile children!” said Yuta starting to take pictures of his children in the different places they were arriving.

Yurika and Yuudai stood close together and raised their little hands making the sign of love and peace as they made some hearts with their index finger and thumb. Yuta smiled too much as he took those pictures.

If things had been different, how many pictures would he have taken of his children in each country he visited? Just imagining it, a sigh was torn from his chest , while his eyes were lost with tenderness in those pictures he now held in his hands.

“We will send these to their mother so she can see that we are here and all the others, we will show them to her when we see her, okay?" commented Yuta looking at that picture of his children smiling next to those first animals.

“Okay!" Yuudai answered.

“Come Yuta Kun! We want a picture with you!" said Yurika very excited.

“Are you sure you want a picture with me?" asked Yuta pointing to himself.

“Yes and even more that you are already part of our family" said Yurika going for him taking him by the hand and pulling him to her side.

Yuta felt a big smile form on his face when he heard that.

“Katsumoto, could you do us a favor and take a picture of us?" asked Yuta holding out his hand with his cell phone in it.

“Sure” said the assistant taking that cell phone and getting into position “Say elephant”

“Elephant!" said father and sons very excited.

Yuta wanted to keep that memory always in his memory and in his heart.

The assistant looked at the photograph. He felt that this happiness, although genuine, he felt that it would be temporary.

“Now let's go see the gorillas" said Yurika excitedly.

“And then let's go see the penguins!" Yuudai was very excited too.

“We will see all the animals" said Yuta turning to his assistant, "Thank you very much Katsumoto, is everything all right?" he asked as he looked at the man very seriously.

Katsumoto faked a small smile.
“It is, my lord, it's just that I was checking the picture, they came out very well" he handed him back the cell phone.

“Thank you very much, it's a picture to take and put in a frame. Maybe after this day we will fill the apartment with photos of this trip to the zoo" he said very excited.

Katsumoto pursed her lips a little. There was something important he wanted to tell his boss, something about what was rumored in the headquarters, just like the last thing he discovered about the previous sorcerer killer and that could serve as a key to the case, a case Yuta was putting aside.

But he couldn't say anything, he simply didn't want to ruin the moment.

“Now let's go this way" said Yuta hanging up his backpack and taking his sons' hands.

“Right away, my lord" said Katsumoto following him while he carried the cooler.

And so the four of them went on, touring the whole Zoo.

After seeing the gorillas and other animals in the area.

The four of them entered the penguin area, which was so cold that it even made them tingle, even so Yurika and Yuudai had fun watching those animals swim very close to the glass through which they could see them, and the photos with those animals were not lacking.

After being in that icy area, the four of them went to the aquarium area they had at the Zoo, where they had large fish tanks with various marine animals.

“Look at an octopus!" said Yuudai very attentive to that big fish tank.

“He looks like Katsumoto!" said Yurika and laughed, "It's an octopus!”

“That's right. It's just like him!" said Yuudai with a smile.

“Eh? me?" commented Katsumoto confused, "Why do they say I'm like that octopus?" he asked confused.

Both children looked at each other and then spoke.

“Why are you always doing a thousand things at once" Yuudai answered.

“It's like sometimes you have eight hands, because you do a lot of things at the same time when you have a lot of work" replied Yurika turning to look at her father, "Right Yuta kun?”

“Really?" asked Katsumoto pointing at himself, "I'm an octopus?”

Yuta laughed lightly at that comment. “Still, we have to admit that Katsumoto does a great job”

“He does!”

“Yes!”

“Thank you Katsumoto!" said both little ones in chorus.

The assistant's face softened a little. “No problem..." He couldn't be angry with them.

“Well, let's go on, we still have many animals to see" said Yuta, taking the two children's hands and leaving the place.

Before leaving, Katsumoto looked at the octopus, which swam away.

Before taking another step, a strange shiver ran down her spine. She had a strange feeling as if something bad was going to happen soon.

The four of them continued to see more animals and at every place they stopped, Yuta took a picture.

Several messages arrived on his cell phone, including one from Maki, who said that the three of them looked great with animals behind them. Those were the messages that Yuta answered with enthusiasm.

On the other hand, he also received some more messages from some experts and other agents who were on the case of the sorcerer killer where they told him that they should give him some reports, but Yuta was ignoring those messages. 

 

 

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After a short break where they drank some water, the four of them arrived at the tiger area, where Yurika was the most excited since those animals together with the lions were her favorites.

“Garrrr!" roared this little girl once she approached the big glass that divided those animals from the people.

“It's obvious that you don't intimidate them" said Yuudai seeing the attitude of her sister, who had gotten close enough to the crystal to see those animals, "They can eat you with one bite”

“So? Well, I'm not afraid of them" answered Yurika with a big smile and snarled at the crystal again.

“You fool!”

“Fearful!”

Both children started to argue a little bit to the point that they both started to push and elbow each other.

“Don't push me!”

“You started it!”

“No, you started it, crybaby!”

“Stubborn and stupid!”

“Get off, it's my turn to see them!”

“No! You're a scaredy-cat and if you come closer they'll scare you!”

Again, tempers were heating up between those two and even more so when they felt the blood flowing fast in their bodies as they felt the anthill on their hands and feet again. It even felt as if the atmosphere had changed as the tigers there began to roar.

But before anything happened in that area, Yuta intervened.

“Don't go around fighting, otherwise the tiger might eat you both" Yuta joked, putting his hands on the heads of each of them, "If this tiger were loose, it would have eaten you both. And they promised not to fight again”

Both children pouted.

“We're sorry Yuta kun" said Yuudai with a lowered look.

“We said we wouldn't fight" commented Yurika also lowering her eyes.

“Come on, don't be sad! Now put on your best smile, I'm going to take a picture of you" he said showing his cell phone, "Besides, tigers eat children who don't obey and those who misbehave, did you know that?" he joked a little.

“Ok…” They said in chorus those two with a voice of annoyance while they got in position for that photograph.

And there, when Yuta was going to take that picture. He noticed something strange in Yuudai's shadow. It was as if it was moving a little.

He thought that maybe having walked under the sun was making him see things, and ignoring that, he took that picture.

Then he asked Katsumoto to take a picture of him with the children, and when he was close to them, he felt a presence, as if a curse was there as well as a slight trace of cursed energy.

Even so, he could not identify where it came from, so he thought it was just his imagination.

“Is everything all right, my lord?" asked Katsumoto returning the cell phone to his boss.

“It is... it's just that..." Yuta doubted if he should say that in front of the children. Even so, he decided not to say what he thought he saw.
“What do you say we go to the safari first, and after that, we take a break to have lunch near the Ferris wheel" he said cheerfully.

“Yes, let's go" said Yurika in a better mood. She even jumped up and down, but she seemed to move faster than before.

“I want to go see the giraffes already" Yuudai commented excitedly.

The tense atmosphere relaxed. Maybe it was just Okkotsu's imagination that made him see that his son's shadow had moved strangely and that his daughter seemed faster than usual.

“Let's go!" said Yuta giving them his hands. That's when he felt as if they had some cursed energy in them. But he didn't want to ruin the moment with that issue. They had to continue.

 

 

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Before reaching the safari area, the four of them passed by the bear area.

They stopped at the area of the Panda bears, which at that moment were in their habitat eating bamboo.

“Look at Yuta kun, it's a huge Panda!" said Yuudai pointing at the bear.

“They are very fat and cute!" said Yurika with a smile.

At that instant, Yuta had a memory of someone very special. And that made him laugh a little.

“Are you okay Yuta kun?" asked Yuudai.

Yuta wiped away the few tears that came out along with his laughter and stroked both of their heads.
“I am, it's just that I just remembered a friend”

“Who?" asked Yurika curiously.

“A friend who is exactly a talking Panda”

“Did he look like a Panda?" asked Yuudai tilting his head to one side.

Yuta scratched his cheek, "Rather, my friend was a Panda”

The twins looked at each other in surprise at that answer.

“A talking Panda?" questioned Yudai.

“That's impossible. Animals don't talk." Yurika raised an eyebrow.

“It's just that this friend I had, was not an ordinary Panda, but a talking Panda because he was a cursed stuffed animal" answered Yuta with a smile.

Both brothers looked at each other strangely. Since those words reminded him of something his other relatives were saying.

“Do you know Yuta kun? You're not the only one who says he met a talking Panda" said Yurika.

“Really?" asked Yuta.

Yuudai nodded his head yes.
“Mom, Papa Gumi and our uncles say the same thing, that they also met a talking Panda”

“Mom says that stuffed animal was very talkative and was sometimes very annoying" said Yurika in a pout.

“Did their mother really say that?”

The twins nodded in agreement.

“Mom also said that Panda was an idiot!" Yuudai commented, "Although we know that pandas don't talk" he pouted.

That made Yuta smile and a bead of sweat came out of his head.

“Although I would like to see it if that Panda is real" said Yurika very excited.

“I want to see it too if it's real" said Yuudai.

Yuta stroked his children's heads again.
“And I'm sure he would be happy to meet you two”

That elicited laughter from both children.

“Come, let's go to the safari" said Yuta, taking them by the hands.

“Safari! Safari!" they said in chorus very excited.

Instead, Katsumoto looked at his cell phone, noticing that he had three important messages from headquarters. Even her eyes widened in surprise at their contents.

“Katsumoto!" shouted those two little ones who went for the assistant.

When Yoshida heard that shout, he jumped a little because of the fright that those two caused him, that made him almost drop his cell phone, and even more when the twins only came back to drag him with them.

“Don't be looking at your cell phone right now!”

“Let's go to the safari!”

“Don't fall behind Katsumoto!”

“Come on, hurry up!”

The assistant just got carried away. He would give that news to Yuta once they took a break.

 

 

◈━━━━🐘━━━━    ◈

 

 

The line to enter the Safari is always the longest as it is an attraction that draws too much attention from young and old alike.

But thanks to the VIP passes, the line was reduced to just a few people in front of those four.

While they were waiting and leaving their things in the lockers, Katsumoto came over to talk to Yuta.

“My lord... I have something important to tell you”

“What is it Katsumoto?”

“It's just that some important messages have arrived from the headquarters... and...” the assistant was interrupted.

“Katsumoto, do you think we could leave those messages for later?” Yuta asked with a very serious tone “For the moment I want to spend some quiet time without thinking about all that and more that this is a very special outing with my children…” he lowered his voice to almost a whisper and moved his head a little, pointing to the children, who were very excited waiting for the vehicle that would take them for the tour.

Katsumoto looked at the seriousness with which Yuta addressed him.

He swallowed saliva, his throat felt quite dry “Ok, my lord…”

“The car is here!" said Yurika very excited.

“Well, it's time to go for a little ride in Africa" said Yuta with excitement as he saw his children excited to start the tour.

“Understood" said Katsumoto in a low voice. He didn't want to disobey his boss and he was still afraid of him.

Although he was also afraid of what the headquarters might do because he was leaving his work aside.

 

“Welcome to this safari tour, where we will see various species that live in the African savannah" said the guide in charge of the car, "Are you excited?”

“We are!" shouted with excitement the twins, who were in the front seat next to Yuta.

In the back seat was Katsumoto and behind them two other passengers, a couple who also shouted with excitement.

“I am glad to hear them so excited because we are about to enter the majestic Africa" said the guide, who was dressed in an explorer-style outfit.

Yuta smiled to see his children very excited, and even more so when the tour car, which was a jeep-type van with a roof, started to move. It was very much in the style of a safari vehicle.

“Well, let's start this trip at our first stop, which is with our friends the zebras" explained the guide excitedly, "If you turn to your right, you will see the lake where they are along with some antelopes”

Both children were amazed by those first animals. With their black and white stripes and the way they moved elegantly through that place.

The truck continued its journey, passing by some rocks where there were some goats. The tour continued along a dirt road where there were several ostriches. The children were quite amused by those birds.

Then they stopped near an artificial lake, where they could see some crocodiles sunbathing. A few meters ahead they could see a hippopotamus.

Yuta sighed, "Even in a zoo those two are scary" he said looking at the animals.

“Being in Africa, did you see these animals up close?" Yuudai asked curiously.

“Are they really dangerous?" asked Yurika with surprise.

Yuta nodded his head yes.
“I saw them many times when we went to certain parts of Africa. And yes they are, they are quite dangerous if you make them angry or get into their hábitat”

Both children were very surprised by those animals.

The van went over a bridge to go to their next stop.

“And tell me, children, what are your favorite animals?" the guide interacted with Yurika and Yuudai.

Both children first looked at each other and then answered the guide.

“Mine are lions and tigers!" Yurika imitated by excitedly making claws with her hands.

“Wow, so we have a little lioness here" said the guide and then looked at Yuudai, "What about you, little one? What is your favorite animal?”

Yuudai was nervous as he was looked at by the others in the van.

“I... um..." Yuudai looked at Yuta, who stroked his head to give him confidence.

“You can answer without embarrassment" Yuta nodded his head yes.

“Ok…" he looked at the guide, "I like giraffes...” Yuudai answered quietly.

“Those are two beautiful animals and you're in luck, because we're going to see them very soon because look" the guide pointed to the right, "Because we're going to go to the giraffes first”

That got the little ones excited. And even more when they saw that the van started to stop near those majestic animals.

“Well, greet our friends" said the guide giving some carrot and lettuce pieces to the two little ones, "You can approach them carefully to feed them, but be careful with your tongue, they can leave a lot of drool”

“Look at Yuta kun" said Yuudai very excited, feeding those carrots to the giraffe, which he caressed. Pure emotion could be seen in the little boy's eyes.

“They are very pretty" said Yurika also giving him some of the lettuce.

“Yes they are, let me take a picture of them to send them to their mother hehe" said Yuta with his cell phone in hand.

“Let's hope she doesn't get mad because we are touching these animals" said Yurika with a giggle.

“That's right hehe!” said Yuudai laughing.

“Hehe, I see that your children are having a lot of fun on this tour" said the guide excitedly looking at the three of them, "Would you like us to take a picture of the three of them together?”

“Thank you very much!" said Yuta with a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his neck before handing his cell phone to the guide to take a picture.

Yuta approached the children while the giraffes were close behind them.

“Let's see, children, come closer to your father and say ‘Waka Waka’" said the guide very happy with the cell phone in his hand.

At those words, Yurika smiled hugely. She was still hoping that Yuta was her real father, she even hugged Yuta very happily and made a heart with the fingers of her left hand. Yuudai, on the other hand, was initially annoyed by those words. He still refused the possibility that Yuta could be his real father.

Still, the boy put on a good face, although he didn't get that close to Yuta.

“Waka Waka!" said those three in chorus.

“Hehe What a beautiful family and more than your children look very much like you, sir" said the guide with a big smile.

Those words had thrilled Yuta and Yurika, but had made Yuudai quite uncomfortable.

“By the way, and your wife?” asked the guide with a smile “Why didn't she accompany them this time?”

Those questions made Yuta a little red, and the more he didn't know how to answer.

On the other hand, Yuudai was uncomfortable that the guide thought Yuta was his mother's husband.

“He's not ours..." as he was about to correct the guide, his twin spoke up.

“Mom couldn't come with us because she is working!" Yurika commented quickly.

“I see haha so mommy lioness is out hunting, while daddy lion takes care of the cubs, how cute" said the guide making that comparison, which made Yurika and Yuta smile a lot.

But that comment only made Yuudai pursed his lips.

But there was some truth in those words, Maki had gone to hunt one more prey, a sorcerer.

Yuta scratched the back of his head, "Hehe that's right, she couldn't join us because she had a lot of work to do”

“I understand, well, let's continue with the safari trip, next stop the elephants" said the guide very excited.

Both children went back to their seats.

“What about you, now why are you looking like that?" asked Yurika with a grimace when she saw her brother looking very serious.

“Is everything alright Yuudai? Are you feeling bad?" asked Yuta looking at his son.

“I'm...fine...” he said avoiding looking at Yuta and better looking at the road.

“Crybaby! You're probably like this because they didn't let you spend more time with the giraffes" commented his sister rolling her eyes.

“That's not why, silly!” Yuudai defended himself by giving her a little nudge.

“Ouch, you fool, don't hit me!" his sister defended herself, also nudging him with her elbow.

“Children, what did you promise?" asked Yuta very seriously, "You promised not to fight, so be quiet or the Zoo tour will be over once we finish the tour”

Both little ones kept quiet and made their peace. They didn't want to ruin that moment, especially when they arrived with the elephants.

After about ten more minutes, the tour was about to come to an end.

“And to conclude this tour, let's meet the royalty of the savannah. To your right you can see the majestic lion. He has his own place at on that side." He pointed to a large space that was exclusive to these animals away from the others and visitors.

“As you can see from a distance, this father lion, mother lioness and three beautiful cubs that were born a few months ago" explained the guide, "for safety reasons, we can't get any closer”

Yurika was the most excited to see that big family of felines, she even asked Yuta to take a picture with those lions from a distance.

Even the little girl imagined that just like that family of majestic lions could be her family if Yuta was her real father. Even the idea of having one more sibling didn't seem bad.

“And now, let's raise our hands and say goodbye to this tour, because we have come to its end. We hope you enjoyed it and come back soon" said the guide as the van drove down the road to finish the tour.

“Did you like it, children?" asked the guide to Yurika and Yuudai.

“Very much" they said in chorus.

“I liked seeing the giraffes up close" said Yuudai happily.

“And for me to see the lions Garr!" said Yurika still very excited.

“I'm glad you liked it, don't forget to thank your father" said the guide with a smile looking at Okkotsu, who deep down was flattered by that word.

Then the guide gave some more instructions for them to get out of the vehicle.

Once again, the word "father" made Yuudai tense up. Who, again, in his hands felt that itch he felt a few weeks ago when he was furious at the awakening of his cursed technique.

◈━━━━🕷━━━━    ◈

 

“Did you have fun on the safari?" asked Yuta once the four of them were walking down the bamboo path to get out of there and head to the rest area.

“Very much!" said Yurika still with a lot of energy.

“Yup..." Yuudai answered with a somewhat discouraged tone.

“I must say it was an entertaining trip, albeit short" commented Katsumoto carrying the cooler.

“That's true! I thought it would last longer" commented Yurika pouting.

“To go on a good safari and see all those animals more closely, you should go for at least two weeks to Africa" Yuta commented with a smile.

“I would really like to go to that country" said Yurika, looking happily at Yuta. As she was walking on her right side, Yurika said, "I hope someday we can go there”

“I hope someday we can go there. Sure, if your mother agrees to go on a vacation" said Yuta with a big smile.

“Do you like the idea, Yuudai?” Yuta turned his head to see his son, who was on his left side.

“Maybe...” said the boy in a muffled voice.

The three noticed that attitude in Yuudai.

“Well..." Yuta tried to change the subject and encourage the boy, "Who's hungry already?”

“I'm so hungry I could eat an elephant," said Yurika jumping up and down and putting her hands on her stomach.

“Well, let's go eat the obentos we helped her mother prepare" explained Yuta, moving his backpack over his shoulder a little.

“Let's eat! Let's eat! Let's eat!" said Yurika happy about that idea.

On the other hand, her twin brother was very quiet. He didn't even show any emotion about it.

Yuta noticed the whole situation, looked at Katsumoto, who gave a little nod to his boss.

“Yurika, how about you and Katsumoto go ahead and look for a bench where we can eat" said Yuta taking off his backpack and giving it to the assistant.

“I like the idea, I'll look for a good bench under the shade" said Yurika, raising her hand and bringing it to her forehead as a sign of understanding that order.

“It's all right, my lord, we'll go ahead" said the assistant with a nod of his head.

“Come on, Pulpomoto, this way!" said the excited girl, taking the lead and walking quickly.

“Pulpomoto?" Katsumoto asked confused by the nickname.

“The last one to arrive is a rotten octopus!” shouted the girl as she ran, getting too far ahead.

“Yurika, wait!” said the assistant trying to keep up with her, but that girl was moving faster than usual. Still, he would catch up with her, but something strange would happen that would make him suspect that this girl had a very problematic cursed technique. And he was having enough trouble with the messages from headquarters.

Instead, Yuta was left alone with Yuudai.

That silence was awkward as the boy only looked at the adult with whom he was in conflict. Still, Yuta decided to speak first.

“Um, did you like the tour?" he asked kindly.

Yuudai just nodded his head yes, "It was fun... although I would have liked it to be longer...".

“You're right, that 20 minute ride felt too fast”

Yuudai kept talking, "But... I wish Mom could have come with us" he sighed, "As well as Aunt Miki and Dad Gumi.... especially Papa Gumi since he likes animals just like me...”

Yuta sighed at such words.
“I understand..." he scratched his head, "I guess it made you uncomfortable when that guide said we were a family, right?”

The boy shrugged his shoulders and hugged himself  “Something like that... I guess he said it because we look so much alike... especially in our hair, as well as in our faces... you and I have similar features.... Yurika has said it before..”

“Yuudai” Yuta squatted in front of that boy “Does it bother you that people think we're a family?”

The boy sighed.
“... it's nice to a certain point and more that I already love you like I love uncle Toge and uncle Yuji...” he continued explaining while looking at Yuta “But it must be that it makes me a little uncomfortable when they say the word dad and more because I don't even know who my real father is…”

Yuta also let out a sigh.
“I understand”

“Still I like spending time with you Yuta kun...” said the boy with a slight smile “And seriously, thank you very much for bringing us here this day, I'm having a lot of fun”

“No problem" said Yuta caressing his son's cheek, "I just want both you and your sister to feel comfortable and by the way, to be happy and have fun”

At that moment, the next thing would surprise Yuta, as Yuudai would hug him.

That surprised the sorcerer, even his eyes watered.

“Thank you very much Yuta kun" said Yuudai in that hug. Trying not to cry because of his mixed emotions, which wanted to overflow, as he started to feel that strange itching all over his body.

“There is nothing to be thankful for" Yuta replied, returning the hug.

At that moment something caught Yuta's attention and that was Yuudai's shadow, it seemed to tremble. It moved strangely on the ground, it was as if it looked like a bubbling well.

That was too strange to the sorcerer, who even stood up quickly when he felt a great cursed energy. He even lifted Yuudai in his arms.

Yuta looked around trying to see where the feeling was coming from, but once he took Yuudai in his arms, Yuudai's shadow looked normal.

“Yuta kun, Is something wrong?" asked the strange boy in his father's arms.

Yuta tried to act normal, although he felt as if Yuudai was coming out of that strange cursed energy, "I am, it's just that..." He didn't want to worry the boy or scare him, so he lied, "I just saw a spider passing by”

“Spider?! Where?!" he said a little scared. He began to breathe with some difficulty because his chest was rising and falling rapidly and there was a slight whistling sound in his breathing.

“It looks like he's already gone hehe” he said putting his son on the floor.
“Yuudai, are you ok?" asked Yuta worried when he saw his son breathing like that.

“I hate spiders...” said the little boy taking out his inhaler and giving a shot of the medicine into his mouth. He took a breath and then spoke, "I'm fine, I think it was all the dust that made my breathing go away for a moment”

“Do you want me to take you to the doctor?" Yuta asked worriedly.

The boy shook his head no and held up his inhaler, "I'm fine, I always carry my inhaler for when I feel like this. It helps me breathe”

“Well, if you start to feel sick, let me know, okay? And I'll take you to the hospital right away”

“Thank you very much Yuta kun. You would definitely be a good father...” said that boy quickly realizing what he said, trying to fix his words better “I mean, one more uncle in the family…”

Yuta stroked his head. He knew he should give him some more time.
“Hehe, thank you" he extended his hand, "Come, let's go with your sister and Katsumoto, surely they must be waiting for us to eat”

“And i'm already hungry..." said the boy with a pout, taking Yuta's hand.

“Yes, going on safari makes you hungry”

They both started to walk holding hands.

“By the way Yuta kun..." Yuudai started to say while walking out of that bamboo corridor, "Have you found out anything about what I told you a few weeks ago? Something about our real father?”

Yuta took a breath and thought of a quick answer. “Well, your real father is definitely good at hiding. So I haven't found that idiot yet, even so, you don't have to worry about him or talk about him for the time being, let's talk about what other animal you want to go see once we finish eating”

“Okay, I want to go see the birds again" Yuudai said with a smile. Although deep down he didn't feel comfortable with that answer the sorcerer had given him.

And all those feelings, his shadow reflected it, which looked like he wanted something else to come out of it.

 

 

Notes:

I hope you liked it.

And tell me, what did you think of this first part of this trip to the zoo? What do you think of the twins' attitude? As you can see and as someone said, you can see that each twin has his own character or better said, each twin inherited something from his parents.

On one side we have the laughing and dreamy Yurika, who seems to be willing to make Yuta join her family in spite of everything. And on the other side, we have the serious and somewhat proud Yuudai, who as I said, is not making it easy for Yuta.

But don't worry, we'll have more of those two in the next chapter, where I'll finally reveal their cursed techniques. Place your bets, which technique does each of them have? I'll be reading your theories.

Also, you may be wondering, will Maki show up soon? Yes she will, but not until the next chapter, although I must admit that this trip to the zoo is more like an outing between a father and his children to have fun just the three of them together, and as the safari guide said "Mommy lioness is out hunting while daddy lion takes care of the cubs" and yes, Maki is really into her role of "sorcerer hunter" that's why she's absent.

I want to thank @/ Ripper-boy666 for helping me with the inspiration for this lion scene and sentence and with several other plot details. Also, many of you have helped me a lot with this story thanks to your comments and suggestions that you have left me, seriously thank you very much to all of you❤ I try to always take you into account.

I also promise you that soon the four of us will have more family outings together. I promise.

Also, both Satoru and Mei Mei will soon be back on the road. And more characters will start to appear in the plot.

Anyway, I hope you liked and continue to like this story, thank you very much to everyone who continues to support it, leaving a comment or a vote, really, thank you very much for all the support, I hope to update soon or at least keep this rhythm of one update per month, which is the easiest for me.

And I repeat, this will be a long story, a story of a little more than 50 chapters, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it in my free time.

Anyway, I'll keep reading. Vera loves you ❤

Chapter 34: 33. Among the shadows

Notes:

Because you guys asked for it, here it is, one more chapter of this story, but this chapter is a bit special because here we will see Maki in action in her job as the killer of sorcerers, at the same time you will discover everything behind this job together with Mei and Ui.

I hope you like it, this chapter is set at the same time that Yuta (aka daddy lion) is with Yurika and Yuudai (their cubs) at the Zoo, so Maki here is in lioness mode, ready to catch her prey.

But don't worry, in the next chapter (Zoo part.2) we'll be back with Yuta and the twins and all the great show that will happen due to the awakening of the cursed techniques of the kids. Which I hope to upload soon.

But before I continue, here's a little disclaimer: The following chapter contains a completely fictional representation of a crimen, including also a completely invented modus operandi for the drama and plot of this story.

Everything presented below is fiction and should not be construed as actual fact. I repeat, what you are about to read is 100% fiction.

Without further ado, enjoy the reading ❤

 

"If the Gods won't listen to you, then whisper to the crows."

 

A few hours ago.

Meanwhile, on another side of town.

 

The summer heat was relentless. Although the air seemed to be burning, that didn't stop the streets from filling with people celebrating those days when, according to tradition, the dead returned to visit the living.

Between the bustle of the city, the cars, the music of the stores, the passers-by and the tourists coming and going from one side to the other, everything seemed to be brimming with life. However, in an alleyway away from the hustle and bustle, a crime was taking place.

“Help! Please, someone help me!" A sorcerer's voice sounded agonized. The exhaustion of running for his life was taking its toll under those shadows. The black-haired, middle-aged man was sweating profusely. He was trembling with fear like a wounded animal from minutes ago, when he rushed out of his office.

That guy, who was a pseudo doctor, was hiding from someone, someone he could not easily detect.

His shadow as he ran through those streets where the sunlight barely filtered over the buildings, looked more like that of a wounded gazelle, which was running away from its hunter.

“Get away from me!" he shouted, looking slightly backwards, but he didn't know if his mind was playing a joke on him, but he felt as if someone or something was following him in the shadows, hiding in the corners, ready to attack him like a wild beast.

For an instant, he entertained the idea that maybe he was seeing things because of the summer heat. That maybe he was just dehydrated, that maybe it was just the stress he was under from his sins that were driving him crazy.

But he knew better. He knew he was in trouble because of that note he found on his desk minutes before.

"It's time for you to pay with your life for all the damage you've done..."

That was the only thing that note printed in red ink on the folder that was supposed, was filed in the deepest part of his desk. The one that had all the information of his victims caused by his negligence both as a sorcerer and as a doctor.

He couldn't call the police, he knew that if he did he would be in trouble because they would investigate him.

He also knew that he would not find any officers in those deserted streets. It was the first day of Obon, and the police would surely be busy attending to cases of drunks, children or missing persons, as well as filing reports for lost objects. Therefore, he knew that they would not come soon to his call for help.

So he had no choice but to flee from his office, which he had left a few minutes before when someone had tried to attack him.

 

◈━━━━🦁━━━━ ◈

 

Minutes ago.

 

A high-pitched screeching sound, coming from a window of his office, chilled his blood and made him jump with fear.

“Is anyone there?" the man asked as he stepped out of his office and looked around. But there was only one window open.

He was quite surprised, as there was no one else in the office. He was alone, as his receptionist had left hours before because it was a holiday. So he was the only one left, checking the profiles of his next victims: people he would swindle with his supposed healing powers.

In reality, it was all part of his cursed technique, known as "Phantom Symptoms", with which he lulled his patients to sleep with cursed energy and then manipulated them. He made them believe they were seriously ill, causing them non-existent symptoms through his technique, and convinced them that they needed alternative treatments that he sold. In some cases, he would even recommend costly and unnecessary operations, during which he would remove organs such as kidneys or eyes to sell on the black market.

This was a fraud disguised as healing, something he knew he could make a quick buck with.

When he was about to close that window, through which the warm air from outside began to interrupt the cold air of his office, something frightened him.

A crow flew in through the window and circled over the empty reception area.

The bird, its plumage as black as night, landed on the reception desk and stared at the man. He saw himself reflected in its eyes, as if those dark pupils of that animal were analyzing him centimeter by centimeter, from top to bottom, to end up focusing on his pale face.

“A-a crow?" said the sorcerer nervously, trying to run that bird away from there with his hands.

“Go on, get out of here!" he said, annoyed by the fright. As he approached the crow to try to get it out of there.

But that bird became defensive and made an overly threatening caw as it flew towards his office.

“Wait, get out of here!" the man shouted as he hurriedly walked to his office to get the bird that had gotten into his business.

The crow landed on his desk and made more noises.

“Damn bird, get out of here!” said the man as he tried to catch it, but the bird began to fly.

The man's attention was quickly drawn to something on his desk, something he had not left there.

At first, he thought it was a note from his secretary, but those words in red made his blood rush to his feet.

He quickly opened the folder and there were all those photographs of him in his day-to-day routine, as well as all his fake licenses and acknowledgements, photos of his victims and documents detailing his negligence.

The poor guy began to shiver, feeling a horrible shiver run down his spine, he knew something was wrong. As he slowly turned his head towards the opposite corner of the office, that's when he saw her. A figure dressed entirely in black. This figure was standing, it looked like it had emerged from the curtains of his office.

This "shadow" was wearing a mask that simulated a demon with large fangs coming out of its mouth, as if it were a feline, but in shades of red and touches of blue.

At that instant, the raven made a cawing sound, as if it had given some kind of signal and so, that shadow pounced on him, stabbing him with a kind of dagger in the right shoulder.

The man cried out in pain, he thought that perhaps with his technique he would be able to put the thief to sleep. But he noticed that the weapon had taken away his powers.

“Damn it!" he grunted and managed to remove the dagger from his shoulder, "Stay back!" he shouted as he continued to defend himself from that person. He managed to kick the person away from him. He tried to use his cursed technique but he noticed that it did not activate, it seemed as if the weapon he threw to the ground had annulled his technique.

And that was when the man ran out of his office, desperate to look for help while leaving a trail of blood.

He felt that this person was chasing him closely. But every time he turned around he did not see anyone, even so, he could hear something slipping into the shadows. While above him, more crows began to appear, which were on the wires watching him run.

“Please help me! call the pólice!" the man shouted to two girls he saw passing by, but they ran away because they thought he was a pervert.

The man had no choice but to keep running away from there, like a wounded gazelle.

He was in such a state of panic that he didn't notice where he had turned around, arriving at an alley where there was a garbage dump.

That must have been a joke, there was no one around, it was as if the whole asphalt jungle had become a trap. So empty was the place, that his screams echoed through the empty streets.

Unfortunately, his escape route had led him away from the main avenue. Now he was trapped, trembling like an animal against the wall.

“Damn it!" the man growled, he was cornered.

He turned around, noticing how there were several crows flying and perching on the wires, looking at him while squawking.

“Please... I don't know who you are, but I beg you not to hurt me!" he shouted in desperation, looking around.

“Do you want money? I-I have plenty in my office, I can give it to you, but please don't do anything to me!" he begged, clasping his hands together as he trembled to the bone.

“IF IT'S BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE CASES, I SWEAR I'LL TURN MYSELF IN TO THE POLICE AND CLOSE MY CLINIC, IT WASN'T MY INTENTION TO KILL THOSE FIVE WOMEN AND MUCH LESS THAT BABY!!” he said crying with fear, he had even peed in his pants “PLEASE, MERCY!” he begged “DON'T HURT ME, I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO THOSE SURGICAL PROCEDURES, I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE MONEY! I DIDN'T KNOW THAT ALL THIS WAS GOING TO END IN TRAGEDY! FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T HURT ME, I SWEAR I WILL NO LONGER LIE ABOUT BEING A DOCTOR! MERCY, PLEASE! I WILL NO LONGER PLAY WITH MY TECHNIQUE OR WITH MEDICAL PROCEDURES!”

But that was useless. Not even confessing his crimes.

“Please..." he sobbed, but that cry quickly turned into a cry of fright, which then turned into one of pain.

It all happened so fast.

And like a lioness pouncing on her prey, Maki jumped from where she was hiding to "hunt" her victim, the one they had been investigating for a few days.

In fulfilling her missions as a sorcerer assassin, Maki was like a lioness, who spent her time watching her prey with stealth, hiding in the undergrowth, without making noise or attracting attention. Each step she took was smooth, precise, like that of that feline passing through the savannah and being lethal against her prey.

She had reached that point hiding in the shadows, along the street she had been following Mei's crows until she reached that point, where she climbed to the roof and heard him confess his crimes from that floor.

As a hunter, she had waited for the moment to make her final and fatal move.

And just as lionesses go for the neck of their prey, so did she, slitting his throat with that weapon that removed the cursed techniques and then stabbed him in the heart.

The crows there began to make noise, while the crow that frightened the sorcerer from the beginning, was motionless watching the scene as it was "transmitting" the whole show.

“You were a prey that gave me a lot of trouble... you almost escaped me" said Maki with annoyance, still wearing his mask. The ideal would have been to kill him inside the office. But given the situation, he was going to have to hide his body very well in that alley. “But here you'll be where you belong, right next to the trash, you fucking scum”

Maki could watch the life in that man's eyes fade away, as the curtain over them remained in place. Maki regained her composure and momentarily lifted that mask to get a better look at her target. Subjects like him who took advantage of their cursed techniques to harm others disgusted her, and she felt the same for those who once stood between her and Yuta... although she had already taken care of them.

That hunt was over.

That victim would be found hours later and reported to Katsumoto and Yuta.

 

◈━━━━🪶━━━━ ◈

 

Meanwhile, at the same time but a few blocks away.

A big smile formed on Mei's lips, as she watched the whole scene from her cell phone, since thanks to a binding vow with her crows who recorded through their eyes all the details up close, as well as with practice over the years, she could imbue her cursed energy in devices like her cell phone to have first hand proof that those orders were fulfilled to the letter, besides, it was easier to get rid of the evidence since it was only enough to kill the animal.

A chuckle came from her chest, while he took off one of her wireless headphones since she had heard that information, which, if she tried, could get more money from all the relatives of the victims of the sorcerer who had just been eliminated.

“How good it feels to accomplish a mission like this, it's like enjoying a juicy victory" she said as she took a strawberry to her mouth, as she was eating a sweet snack, sitting on a beautiful wooden bench under a traditional umbrella.

That juicy and red liquid, under her lips, as well as the blood of the guy who had just been eliminated.

“And the investigation only took us less than a week, we should ask for more money every time a mission is this urgent" she moved her fork, "And when it is requested by a foreigner we should charge double" she said quite happily while she finished the recording and from the small pocket of her kimono, she took out a dual usb memory, which she connected to her cell phone to pass those tests of her completed mission and to send it to the person who commissioned the mission.

“We will increase the cost to that Argentinian if she wants to hear the last words of her sister's murderer”

“Sister, be careful, just as you are staining your beautiful lips, you can stain your beautiful kimono red" answered Ui Ui, who was next to her, blowing some air with a hand fan.

That man was so attentive to his sister, that even before those red drops of strawberry juice ran down her chin, he managed to wipe them off with a cloth napkin he always carried.

And she was right, her sister's kimono was as beautiful and as white as snow and at her waist she wore a traditional purple belt.

She was dressed for the occasion, as the day called for it.

“Always so attentive Ui Ui, for something I can only trust you, both to take care of me and to deliver information to customers when they ask for it with this method of payment” Mei flattered, caressing her brother's cheek “It's time to remove the curtain, our mission successfully completed” she commented with a smile.

“Right away, my dear sister" he said, carrying out the order. Ui Ui always had several tasks assigned to his every time they fulfilled a mission, among them, was to lower barriers when their victims tried to escape, thanks to the fact that he could activate some seals that hung from the crows that commanded with Maki.

Actually Mei had a business from the shadows. One that made her quite a bit of money and that she had perfected over the years.

But how did it work? Easy, it worked as follows.

To contact Mei's services or, better said, the "sorcerer killer" it was enough to know how to enter the deep web, click on the appropriate link and have enough capital in a bank account.

Once the client managed to enter thanks to a link spread in the form of a password in some Japanese forums about experiences with this business, was able to find the site where Mei and other people from the dark web offered various services.

That site served as a board where at the beginning, people anonymously left their requests and depending on the urgency and the reason, it could be chosen by Mei or someone else to carry out their request. Although those that involved some "sorcerer" or people who "saw paranormal things or were involved with witchcraft" sought the "white raven" to help them.

That was the name under which Mei offered his services in the dark web.

Although on the surface, they were already known as "the sorcerer killer," a name borrowed from another Zenin. One who made his living doing the same thing many years ago.

Still, they sometimes accepted other types of assignments. Some were quite specific that no person "with good judgment" and a normal job would do; like that of a man willing to have his own brother killed just to keep an inheritance for himself.

Or others were more obscure, such as the case of a woman seeking to eliminate a co-worker who had drugged and abused her. There were even those who requested the elimination of people who, in the eyes of the world, seemed irreproachable: as bosses, teachers, colleagues, respected figures who, behind a mask of goodness, had only left a trail of harm.

Although they specialized more in eliminating sorcerers, they sometimes took on these types of cases, mostly for the money. Which, was always welcome and more so because in the shadows so many things move, such as revenge and hatred.

Her catch phrase was "If the Gods don't listen to you, then whisper to the crows".

It was with those words that her clients could recognize Mei.

Once clients contacted her, either through encrypted mails with target data and files, or through messages disguised as exercise equipment offers, meetings were arranged at strategic locations that Mei knew like the back of her hand. Only then did the real negotiations begin.

She always asked for half of the money in advance, either in cryptocurrency, or through a bank transfer to an offshore account under the facade of a "foundation" that disappeared some time later, or through a cash payment in an envelope. For payment there were plenty of options.

After receiving the first payment, the hunt began, and that's where Maki's work as a sorcerer assassin began. There were jobs that took less than a week to finish, and there were others that took up to a month due to the complexity of the order.

That was when Maki, mostly accompanied by the crows, watched and analyzed every step her target took. She would investigate everything about them, from their routines to the things they did before going to sleep.

And to prove that they were doing their job well, they sent to those who commissioned the mission, evidence such as photographs or reports that Ui Ui was in charge of writing and sending personally. But for such evidence they would charge an extra commission.

They even traced escape routes in case they were discovered, as well as tried to corner their victims in places without security cameras.

Then, once the investigation was completed, they would decide to eliminate the target. Choosing the farthest place in his routine or in his case, when he was alone.

And in return, what did those who paid for the service receive to know if it was really fulfilled?

Depending on the deal, that's what Mei delivered to them. To some she would simply send them an email with the phrase: "Your matter was successfully resolved, don't forget the tip", and then demand the remainder of the payment plus a generous tip.

To others, he would send them to a specific point in the city, a small black box with a nice white bow with the dual usb inside, where he would put in compressed folders all the evidence that his orders had been successfully completed.

Ui Ui was in charge of carrying the boxes with the evidence. His technique helped him to quickly disappear from there. Just as the trail of those three disappeared, ending their missions.

They had to be cautious to avoid being caught and that's why they had those measures.

Mei smiled as she saw a message appear on her cell phone saying that the transfer of the files had been completed on the usb, and at the same time she felt that the binding vote had been established so that after opening them, they would be programmed to disappear completely.

“Ready, it's time to deliver this to our client" said Mei Mei, removing the usb and putting it in a small black box with a white ribbon that she kept in her bag.

“Make sure she makes the transfer right away, okay?" Mei handed the box to Ui Ui.

“Ok" said the white-haired man, moving a little away from that spot so he could use his cursed technique and go to the place where the customer was already waiting for him.

Mei ate another strawberry. She felt that everything was going quite well for her working in the shadows.

But her peace of mind wouldn't last long, especially not when Maki appeared.

After hiding the body and making sure no one was coming. Maki hid in an abandoned warehouse that days ago they had found near the point where the mission would take place.

She took off the mask that Mei had chosen for the occasion, quickly changed into a sports outfit, and later she would dispose of the clothes she had used in her mission in a garbage can far away from there.

 

 

 

She also cleaned and hid her weapons in her sports bag, and then went out to the spot where those two Siblings would be waiting for her.

Maki roughly dropped her sports bag to the side of the silver one, raising some dust.

“Welcome, you don't seem to be in a good mood" Mei joked, eating one more strawberry.

Maki plopped down next to her, sitting on the bench.

“I'm missing an outing with my children and Yuta to the Zoo, it's obvious that I'm not in the mood thanks to you two" she said with annoyance.

“So my little gold ingots are seeing animals? What fun and even more if they are spending time with daddy" said Mei with a mocking tone.

“Yes, and I should be there with them, not here doing this stupid job!" Maki crossed her arms.

“And why do you want to go to a zoo to see animals if you are surrounded by so many animals here? You have unfaithful dogs, disgusting monkeys, perverted pigs... society is full of them” Mei made a gesture with her finger, pointing around “Humans are more animal than you can imagine. If not, we wouldn't be doing these missions” she looked at the people coming and going “You'll have the end of the Obon to spend with your children, throwing paper lanterns, so you still have days for that to happen” she waved her hand simplistically”

“Tsk..." Maki grunted.

“Don't make that face dear, remember who is the one who feeds you and your children" said Mei with a smile on her lips, "Without me, you and your children would already be six meters under the ground”

Maki decided to ignore that, so she took out her cell phone and started to look at the other pictures that Yuta had sent her of Yurika and Yuudai on that trip to the Zoo.

A sigh came out of her chest, one of sadness that he couldn't be there with them. She looked at the smiles of her little ones and how Yuta was there like a father. She really wanted to be there with them.

“It seems that Okkotsu is taking very seriously his role as daddy lion in taking care of your cubs while you, as mommy lioness, are bringing home the food" Mei answered with her voice full of curiosity.

Her eyesight was so sharp that she even managed to get a good look at the photo.

Maki quickly blocked her cell phone.

“That's none of your business, Mei.... Stop looking at my stuff and meddling in my personal life”

“Oh, of course it's my business, my dear! And more than as I must repeat to you, if it wasn't for me, your children would already be in the hands of some clan or some person who would pay millions for those two... your debt and that of your children is huge and you know it well”

“YOU DON'T INVOLVE MY CHILDREN IN THIS!" Maki raised her voice in a threatening manner, "BESIDES, I AM ALREADY PAYING YOU THE DEBT OF THE THREE OF THEM, SO STOP TRYING TO MEDDLE WHERE YOU DON'T CARE" she was really furious and even more when that woman talked about her twins as if they were objects.

“Wow, mama lioness is getting her claws out for her cubs”

“And I wouldn't hesitate to dig my claws in to defend my children from hyenas like you!" said Maki very defensively.

Mei laughed a little and played lightly with her hand fan “Interesting... although if you want to finish your debt faster, you could ask Okkotsu for help, don't you think? Or does he already know what you're working on? Although I guess his salary is still higher... I wonder how much his fortune as a special grade sorcerer is at the momento?" she asked curiously.

Maki bit her lower lip slightly at such questions “No, I don't want you to involve him in this. He only knows that I work in a gym, that's all, I've been cautious so he doesn't suspect anything”

“I guess by cautious you also mean taking him to bed so he doesn't suspect anything, right? That's the only way you can dominate a lion like Okkotsu, isn't it?" Mei commented with a mischievous smile, "That would also explain why I've seen you so happy lately, is he good at intimacy? Because it's more than obvious that I didn't teach you those tricks to have men under your control... on the contrary, I only taught you how to investigate and eliminate people” she looked at her nails.

“Leave Okkotsu out of this...” replied Maki sharply, controlling her blush as she remembered how they have been getting closer and closer every day in an intimate way.

“Ok, let's put the lion aside. And speaking of your cubs” the curiosity was still on her red lips “has there been any sign yet of what their cursed techniques are?”

Maki had a strange feeling at such a question. Yuki also seemed to be interested in such a topic, of which, her children still gave no signs.

“No... not yet and I hope they don't have any technique from any of those two clans..." she said thinking automatically about her clan and the Gojo clan. The two clans that ruined her life “I want them to live far away from this damned world”

“I understand... It would be a pity if they were born without any technique. But if either of them inherited one, either from the Zenin clan or the Gojo clan, that child would become very valuable. There would be no shortage of people who would want to have him under their control, I have no doubt they would pay millions for something like that in their ranks" said Mei feeling her phone vibrate. She had already received a notification about her pay, both to her and to Maki. Since Mei had designated what percentage went to her account and how much went to her star assassin's.

Even Ui Ui came back quickly. The mission had been successfully completed.

“Well, it's time to move on to our next objective" Mei stood up and stared at Maki, "If you want to finish before the end of the day so you can go with your children and Okkotsu to the Zoo, then finish your next mission quickly" said Mei getting up carefully from her brother's hand “See, this is more fun than going to the Zoo to see animals in cages, when you can hunt them freely in the city" she said with a big smile.

Unfortunately Maki could not protest. Even if she did not have a binding vote, she was bound to them for the sake of her children.

Once she stood up, she looked once more at the picture Yuta had sent her.

Her mother's heart was restless, she felt that something was about to happen.

“I just hope it's nothing serious..." she said as she looked at her shadow before she started walking.

But her mother's heart was right. Something big and chaotic was about to happen to her children.

Something that was hiding in the shadows finally came to light.

 

◈━━━━🐍━━━━ ◈

 

Notes:

I hope you liked this chapter.

And tell me, what do you think about Maki's work with Mei and Ui, and do you think Maki will make it to the zoo to meet her children and Yuta?👀 I will be reading your comments.

I must say that for this system of work with which Maki, Mei and Ui work, I was inspired by the idea of likeToji and Shiu Kong could have worked or accepted jobs of this style from the shadows, but here with a somewhat more modern approach.

The idea for this chapter was also born from several of you asking me about what Maki's work was like and if I was planning to show it in the story, and well, I thought this might be a good time to do it.

Also, I wanted to pick up on the line I mentioned in the previous chapter about, "While Papa lion takes care of the cubs, Mama lioness goes hunting," of which, I feel it came out better than I expected with the comparison of Maki doing her job while Yuta takes care of Yurika and Yuudai.

Also, remember that what is written here is fiction, nothing of what you have just read is real, it was simply created for the plot.

Anyway, I repeat I hope you liked it, in the next chapter we will return with Yuta and his children, who, at last, will reveal their cursed techniques.

We'll keep reading ❤

Vera loves you❤ thank you very much for your support

Chapter 35: 32. Zoo (Part.2)

Notes:

Sorry for the wait! But at last here I finally bring you the second part of our visit to the zoo🐘 . And as I told you in the previous chapter, in this chapter we will be back with Yuta and the twins in this special father and son outing.

Get ready, because the time has come to finally get to know Yurika and Yuudai's techniques.

So sit back in your seats, have your favorite snack and something to drink, because the show is about to begin! 🍿🥤

I hope you like it ❤️

 

I'm impressed, thank you so much for your support. I just saw that this fic has reached 2,000 kudos. Seriously, thank you so much ❤😊

 

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.

Notes:

As I said, an apology for the delay in uploading this update.

And tell me, what did you think of this chapter? What do you think of the twins' techniques?👀 Hehe, I had already left you little hints about their techniques before, but now you finally got to see them in action.

I personally feel that each technique fits perfectly with the personality of each of them.

Yurika, being a girl full of energy and dreamer, whose technique would make her unreachable and Yuudai, a serious boy, who in the depth of his own shadow will discover a vast universe capable of pushing him to mature.

I must confess that I took as a basis the already known techniques of the Zenin clan, since this theme will be important for some events that will occur later in the story. Besides, they are the ones we have more information about, because unlike those of the Gojo clan, whose other abilities beyond the Infinity and the Six Eyes were never revealed. That is why I decided that the twins would inherit the Zenin clan's techniques.

Also, I want to thank @/ Ripper-boy666 for helping me with the inspiration for the twins' techniques, since more than a year ago, in a conversation we had, his observations as well as his advice helped me a lot to define the techniques of these little ones.

And you may be wondering, what about Maki, how will she take her children's techniques and will she make it to the zoo? You will find out in the next chapter, although you can leave me in the comments, how do you think she and the others will react when they learn about the twins' techniques.

Anyway, I hope you liked and continue to like this story, thank you very much to all who continue to support it, leaving a comment or a vote, really, thank you very much for all the support, I hope to update soon or at least keep this rhythm of bringing you, even if it's one update per month.

Anyway, we'll keep reading. Vera loves you ❤

Notes:

I hope you liked this story, it depends on your comments, kudos and views if this story will be updated or not.