A dark, tinted, blacked-out four-door sedan cruised through the empty streets of early morning Sendai. The driver and his three passengers sat in complete silence. The blonde-haired, golden-crimson-eyed child lay unconscious, completely out of it.
Tato ruffled his golden-blonde hair with a bit of grievance. His eyes darted from the dark outsides that made up the residential streets, and the child he had essentially kidnapped with the aid of his partner. He glanced towards the man in question and, upon seeing him completely untied at the turn of events, he couldn't help but feel a bit of spite well up in his chest.
"…He had a mother, you know." He muttered, just loud enough for his target to hear him. A sigh, exasperated in measure and tired in length, rested his chin in his palm as he closed his eyes.
His onyx ponytail was lying on his shoulder as he spoke— "So did we. So did the innocent steelworkers he just liberated from that cursed ground. The kid has potential, and all potential should be curated." He paused, his gaze falling longingly out the window. He sighed, especially in this line of work… There are never enough bodies.
Memories flashed, but he quickly swallowed them and moved on. "Anyways, besides that. To be able to take on a grade 1 cursed spirit by his lonesome and come out completely unscathed, apart from the dust staining his clothes, is incredible. Simply and wholeheartedly."
Tato noted the passion dripping from the rather stoic man's words. He sighed, finding no argument to combat his partner's words besides the morality of it. He doesn't have many rules he abides by. I should've known. God bless the void in his heart that numbs him to his own actions.
In silence, the rather passionate man began to rub the child's head. Murmuring his apologies silently.
As the car drifted into a comforting silence, a muffled buzz shook the pockets of the quiet sorcerer. His brow raised, curiosity flowing through his veins as his heart rate spiked quietly.
A text from an unidentifiable contact hung malevolently on his notification screen. He stared, and a moment later tapped it, expanding the message and revealing its contents. He squinted as he read, his onyx eyes glistening as he neared its end.
Holy shi—His eyes cut to Haisei. Then back to his phone. This is him?! This is the anomaly that shifted the balance?? W-What type of divine luck…
Slumping back in his seat, jaws tense with his arms crossed. He looked over at his sleeping friend and Haisei, who lay with his head resting on his lap. The message read in bold words:
[Akiba Yoshimitsu, present the child to the council immediately. There, he will be judged, and his fate will be decided.]
Akiba shook his head, his eyes shaking. The kid has no backing… Unlike with the Gojo clan's kid, their decision would be incredibly hard to veto. He rubbed his chin, glancing back towards Haisei. "Why do I care…" He drawled. "…It's protocol."
. . .
A couple of hours later, Haisei began to stir. His eyes opened, and he instantly expanded his observation haki, fuming as he felt the presence of nearly eight strange men and women alike. All old, except for two. Their essence screamed of vitality—Something only the young radiate.
Tch! I went and got myself caught up this early! Delivering me right into the hands of the people I wanted to meet the least. He kept his growl low but clearly audible.
"It seems you're awake." An old, croaky voice cut through the tension Haisei emitted. "Spiking up such a fuss and you've only grown frustrated—How savage!" Another voice chimed in, grumpier and more erratic. Haisei snarled, shuffling around only to find his arms chained behind him—Held in place by thick, steel chains glowing with deep orange transcriptions.
"You--!" Haisei's words were ignored sharply and spoken over by the voice of a mature woman. "Quiet! You fool! Your opinions and emotional affairs matter not in the presence of this court." She started coolly, her tone leveling as she neared her end.
Muffled grumbles resided, but ultimately, everyone agreed with her. Haisei stayed cool, mentally noting her respect. Could she be the young one I felt? Shit, I need to train my haki precision. His grumbling shifted aside.
He closed his eyes and took a cool, deep breath. Settling his nerves and transferring his emotions into fuel for later. Just be patient. See how this goes. He already had an idea of how this supposed jury would take place. Not much talking and defense on his end, but a whole lot of evidence and reasoning on theirs.
It's a death trap for anyone who garners their ire or fear.
"Ahem, you're right, FifthSeat. Let's continue with our business." A man spoke, his tone young and his demeanor authoritative. Haisei felt his breath hitch slightly, "Subject Matter: Haisei Yokuta – Special Grade Case. Suspected of being an extra cog in the current gears that manage our jujutsu society. Your birth alone boosted the strength of curses in Japan—No, in the eastern hemisphere by nearly ninety percent. Such numbers mean devastation, such as Asia has never seen before."
Silence followed his accusation. Haisei sat frozen, mulling over the information that was delivered to him. Huh. That does sound bad.But to kill me over? Haisei kept his thoughts to himself and his reactions minimal.
"Hmm. And those numbers—How true are they?" Another voice spoke, shaky and elderly. Feminine at the core. Another voice followed soon after, all this transpiring in pure darkness.
"They could be taken with the weight of all our people's lives. Our top minds did these calculations—Each year this child lives, the higher that number grows—H-He is a complete anomaly—He should be killed here and no—"
"Third Seat! We will not hear about it until we draw a conclusion! Hold your tongue!" The same voice from earlier croaked through the mess. Haisei thanked her mentally for saving him from the berating talk.
"Continue." She ordered.
"…Yes, well. Following the birth of Gojo Satoru and the appearance of the Six Eyes. We can only assume that the numbers this child presented alone will only be worsened with that ancient power that's been reborn. Murmurs broke through the area, and the safety that Haisei thought he felt slipped instantly.
"T-Those estimations were based on this child!? W-What of the numbers the Gojo brat presented?!" A voice chimed, anxious and full of pointed angst. Silence swooped in once more.
"…Global catastrophe."