Chapter Text
"Why do you want to become a jujutsu sorcerer, (y/n)?"
Looking up from your coloring book, you stare into your mother's eyes, tilting your head to the side. " ‘Cause curses are gross, and I wanna get rid of them all so I won't have to see any anymore. It's scary." You respond, burying your hand in the large box of crayons placed onto the table, picking out a purple one, sure that it'd be the perfect fit to color in the sun.
"Dad died fighting one." She bluntly says, standing up from her chair to go lean over your shoulders as well as also squeezing them gently, eager to gaze at your drawings. "Though his reasons were way more heroic than yours."
"I'm built different." You shrug, rubbing the wax crayon over the previously white paper. "And my motives don't have to be heroic for them to be valid."
Your mother raises a brow at that, a small chuckle leaving her lips. "Hold on, you talk too well for a kid. Did too good of a job raising you." She ruffles your hair, making you whine in protest, poking her hand repeatedly with the crayon you held in an attempt to free yourself. With a sigh, she pulled away, scratching her scalp while searching for something in her pocket. "Dad was strong, (y/n)." She adds.
You nod. "He still died. I won't."
Pulling out a pack of cigarettes rather easily, she picked one out, tucking it between her lips as she now started digging into her back pocket in search for a lighter. She just keeps loosing them. "Now, don't say that to Mommy, she's still sad about it." She sighed, yet her smile hadn't bulge.
"Sorry."
It's been years. You can't even remember much of him, so you're confused as to why she has so much trouble getting over his death the way you did; then again, if she died now, you're sure it'd be hard for you to forget about her as easily. Yet it's not your fault he died before you two were able to form a real relationship, he could have at least waited for you to be old enough, couldn't he? Even though they explained some things to you at the funeral, you couldn't find it in you to be sad that you lost your father—you were disappointed at most—only ending up intrigued by the jujutsu world and how he was a part of it.
"I'll be outside for a smoke, love, you'll show me what you're doing when it's finished?"
"Yup. It's a gift for you, so I'm doing my best."
She smiles again, words just slightly muffled due to the cigarette held between her lips. "Thank you." She chuckles.
You nod, focused on your coloring book, tongue sticking out from how concentrated you were. Your mother always hangs your drawings up, so you want them to look the best they can.
A whine leaves your chapped, dry lips as you allow yourself to drop the two heavy luggages you've been carrying, a tiny cloud of dry dirt flying out from underneath them as they collide with the ground. You wiggle your bagback around until it's near your chest, pulling the zipper down to grab the water bottle you had packed earlier, taking a few generous gulps out of it before carefully throwing it back inside, thankfull that you thought about bringing something to drink with you.
You should have invested in bags with wheels, instead of convincing yourself it'd be a good training to carry everything the way you currently were, struggling to keep your fingers tight around the skin irritating handles. Still, you don't want to waste any more time so you pick them back up with a small grunt, muffled by the various louder sounds from your surroundings, your journey towards the designated meeting spot you were searching for still not completed; you check your phone, looking at the hour, making sure you had no new messages as well, apart from a short 'good luck' from your mother which had been followed by an incomprehensible series of emojis.
With a sigh, you start walking again, grinding your teeth together at the pain from your sore muscles, as well as the stinging blisters that started to form on your fingers, looking forward to the moment when you'll be able to throw all of this weight into the back of the car picking you up. On your way, you lock eyes with a few people, and you already feel intimidated by the sophisticated aura the citizens of Tokyo give off, compared to your uncharismatic little country's girl presence.
You politely smile, but most of them ignore the gesture, glancing away to focus back on what was in front of them, avoiding bumping into each other shoulders; you can't deny that you feel a bit disappointed, naively hoping that you would have been met with a warmer welcome.... Perhaps you romanticed the town too much.
You shook your head, you were just too stuck with your fantasized version of Tokyo, and various novels and fiction where the main character basically gets welcomed like a god in their new residing place— those people were humans simply living their life, just the way you currently were, and you weren't entitled to their kindness or attention.
A few more minutes of walking, and there you were, met with the car you'd been so desesperately trying to find for what ended up being about half an hour. The assistant who had been communicating with you is waiting outside, leaning against the open door of the front seat, straightening up when he spots your familiar uniform—despite you having taken the liberty to modify it to your liking—in the crowd. His lips twist into a small tired smile, small eyes just slightly crinkling behind his glasses, waving his hand as a way to confirm that he was indeed the one supposed to pick you up from the city center.
You smiled back, taking in a deep breath before releasing it all in a long sigh of relief, speed walking towards the assistant and his car. You greet him as soon as you're within his reach, dropping one of your luggage on the ground to offer your hand for him to shake.
"It's nice to meet you, Ijichi-san!" You exclaim, proud of yourself for remembering his name. You don't bother telling him your own, sure he memorized it already.
"Likewise." He replies after clearing his throat, giving your hand a quick shake; he isn't used to students greeting him in such a formal way— they're all rather special back at the school... He offers to pick up your bags for you to store them in the car himself, and though you want to seem polite and capable of handling them yourself, you're too grateful to deny.
You stretch your arms with a quiet groan, watching him lean down to pick said luggages up, while you keep your lighter bagback on. "Thanks." You nervously smile, feeling awkward about watching someone you didn't know yet handle all of your personal stuff.
He replies with a nod, storing everything safely in the back of the car while you hop on the backseat in a small jump, quick to tie your seatbelt, and ease yourself down onto the cushions. You were surprised at how comfortable it was, and you feared you might even fall asleep if given enough time.
Leaning against the window, your head trembled along with the movements of the car after it was started, vibrations hurting your head but too lazy to try and find a better position. You begun loosing yourself in your thoughts, not knowing if it'd be considered too rude to take your earphones out while with Ijichi.
You let out a sigh after taking a deep breath; there was only a little bit more time to wait until you could actually start calling yourself a jujutsu sorcerer in training.