Dying Innocence

The sun's golden rays peeked through the objects, giving it a beautiful look of nostalgia and a bittersweet taste of peace...

Something hard for Arata to digest as he stood over the heap of dead bodies, blood splatter decorating the Japanese-styled walls, eyeballs on the floor and intestines dragged on the floor.

Arata held on to a decapitated head, blood dropping to the ground from its exposed neck.

Arata opened his mouth, but only a gasp came out, his eyes staring idly at the corpse...

The corpse of the lives he took.

Kenjaku walked up to him, his steps measured and calm, saying,

"You're thinking too much about it, was it that much?"

Arata looked at Kenjaku, his pupils dilated from horror and trauma, his hands shaking violently.

"You... You caused this... No, this is my doing. Am I a mur—"

"Arata, I'll repeat this and I'll repeat this once."

Earlier that day, Wednesday, 4:27.

A woman dressed in a blue kimono washed a piece of cloth in a bowl, the compound large on space with different sections was brimming with life from children not less than 12 and 14 running around rampant, women talking in the background.

The men who discussed in the large living room, about their future and next step of the clan, as it stands, they will wither away to be the weakest in the big three family.

The Kamo Clan.

"Useless! If we can't find anyone worthy enough of handling the techniques, we'll be doomed to be at the bottom of the barrel forever." An elder spoke in urgency.

"What are you talking about, it's reckless to discard children the moment they develop a new cursed technique that's not within our criteria." Another disagreed.

"Shut up! What do you know? All families in the big three and in Jujutsu society as a whole have been fond of harvesting the clan member with their clan hereditary technique as the head!"

"I'll have to disagree, now we're all scrambling about bringing women and being unfaithful to our wives just to bear the fruit with the Piercing Blood technique."

"I'll have to agree with him here. We don't even know if we've diluted the blood of our clansmen through these acts... There's so many variables in this case."

BAM!!

"ENOUGH!!!" The clan head hit the desk, Chi Ryu Kamo diffuses the sparking escalation.

"We don't know how long this will go about for... But as it stands, Noritoshi-kun will be upholding this position of the head..." He muttered at the last sentence, head facing the ground.

"You mean that son of a slut!?" More disappointing arguments resurfaced again, causing the clan head to sigh.

"You can argue all you want..." Chi Ryu said as he stood up, "but I'll be making arrangements for his coronation. Get ready." He said as he walked out of the room.

The clansmen all muttered and grumbled under their breath, clenching their fists in anger and frustration.

Chi Ryu walked over to the compound, his eyes landing on an unfamiliar figure, a figure who bent his knees and chatted with children, the children swarming him with their jolly aura.

Behind them was a teenager with ginger spiky hair, playing with his hands making hand signs.

"Oi, who are you?" Chi Ryu asked.

The duo had their attention dragged back to the clan head, the man with long hair put up a smile as he waved in surrender.

"Oh, I'm Geto, former Jujutsu High student. You wouldn't happen to not remember me...?"

"Former Jujutsu High student? Wait..." Chi Ryu's eyes widened, "Are you... that fugitive?"

"Yeah, seems like I'm famous. Anyways, I'll be needing assistance with two important things." Kenjaku brought up his hand as he listed.

"One, assistance with financial support and aid, and also, your demise... I guess we can just make over the first option without you in the background." Kenjaku said mockingly, sticking a tongue out.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE KILLED BY SATORU GOJO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!!!"

"I just stated my business..." Kenjaku said, stepping backwards.

"You'll be handling this one, Arata." Kenjaku said slyly, looking at Arata in the eye.

Arata instinctively backed out, his eyes tracing Kenjaku.

"What are you saying? You don't mean—"

"Yes, it's exactly that. Kill them." Kenjaku commanded.

The clan head took a stance, the children behind them all wondered what was going on, but as much as they didn't understand, they didn't like the tension building up.

"Young ones, quickly! Get out of here!"

Arata put up an index finger up, "hold up, will ya." He bent down, stretching a pokemon cards towards one of the boys in the crowd of children.

The boy hesitated, but before looking at the face of Arata who had a smile, he took the stack of Pokemon cards bowing slightly.

These kids don't even experience a normal life in these types of environments huh?

The children behind all got up, dusting themselves before scurrying inside the compound.

Kenjaku laughed, "Well then, shall we get this started."

Crack!!

The ground shook open, a large worm with multiple patterns and hands popped up from the ground, its speed unnerving as it tore through to Chi Ryu.

Chi Ryu grit his teeth in shock, unable to move his body, the worm grabbed him with its mouth, smashing into the building behind him.

Kenjaku dusted his hands, looking at Arata.

"They'll attack you to kill you... I wonder what you'll do by then." He said, hinting at an inevitable possibility.

Arata gulped on his saliva, sweat of anxiety grazing his face as he heard the voices of the clansmen all rushing forward.

Am I really going to kill someone today? Am I going to really cross that line of taking a life.

"Only the strongest will choose the outcome and aftermath of their battle every time. You're strong physically, but you could do better, but strong."

Arata thought to himself, remembering Zankei's voice creeping into his ears.

The worm squirmed, then suddenly a streak of red stream tore through its flesh, Kenjaku sidestepped, cutting all in its path.

Arata flipped by his incredible reflexes, stopping to the ground.

"That took my leg..." His voice resounded as the man walked into Arata's vision, his left leg chopped off.

"...That's gonna cost ya." Chi Ryu's tone was in disdain, eyes locked in on Kenjaku.

"Oh my! I won't be taking this fight up, I'll be leaving that to him."

Chi Ryu looked back at the clansmen, clenching various weapons and flaring up with CE.

"Kill them." Chi Ryu cuts through in a commanding tone.

Arata had a steeled resolve, bolting through the flooding numbers of clansmen rushing forth.

Chi Ryu studied Kenjaku who was too calm, but the color of ginger appeared in his sight.

He used the rushing sorcerers to keep himself hidden while he covered the distance. Does he already think my Piercing Blood is limited to range?

Arata cocked back his fist, aiming straight at the jaw of Chi Ryu. Chi Ryu put up his hands for a block.

Arata feinted with the first motion, switching to a blunt kick.

The kick landed square on Chi Ryu's ribs, the force sending a jolt of pain through his body.

The old man didn't show any reaction, grabbing Arata's leg.

Arata didn't fright, instead he used his suspended leg as momentum to spin, landing another kick at the skull of Chi Ryu's head.

Chi Ryu's face scrunched up in pain, blood licking past his lips.

Letting go of Arata, he jumped back with his hands up in guard, but in slow motion, a red streak of crimson blood sped toward him. Arata's eyes widened in shock.

Time itself slowed down as the Piercing Blood cut through the air, just an inch from his face.

Shit! What am I gonna do? It's right in my face!

Slice!!!

The blood projectile hit his forearm at the last second, redirecting its course, destroying the ground.

Chi Ryu replaced his missing limbs with clotting blood, hardened—a weapon itself.

He rushed Arata, his new blood limbs cutting through the air as he went for a kick with killing intent.

Arata's arm had a huge chunk of his flesh missing. Chi Ryu connected the devastating kick, sending him flying into the compound.

Arata rolled on the floor before gaining his balance. Blood dripping from his hands and mouth.

Chi Ryu covered the distance between them, his cheeks inflated with air.

He's going to do it again. He prefers mid-range attacks. Once he shoots it, he can't alter the course of the projectile except he drags it recklessly. If I could just close the distance for close quarters...

And I haven't been applying cursed energy to any of my hits. That'll be good to throw him off rhythm.

Arata ran head in without a care, Chi Ryu spitting the red streak of blood, blurring in motion, its speed hard to wrap around one's head.

From a hair's length, Arata ducked, his feet skidding across the surface of the ground.

Chi Ryu widened his eyes in shock at the insane reaction speed of Arata and his durability.

Arata went low, cursed energy wrapping around his legs, pure focus on his face, his eyes dilating.

BAM!!!

He struck the blood clot leg Chi Ryu made, a gust of wind blowing from the impact, the force destroying the sturdy structure.

This is my cursed technique—compressing all of my life's worth of distance into a single second of physical contact. But in a situation such as this, I reduced my experience of distance so I wouldn't kill him.

Just as Zankei said, if I can't control the outcome of battles, then I am not strong enough. And right now, the outcome I want is to not take a single life.

Arata solidified his resolve, a smile gracing his bloodied face as he saw the eyes of Chi Ryu turning white.

All of the windows shattered, all the items destroyed, half of the compound destroyed just from Arata's kick.

But it seems like something went wrong here... I made a mistake?

Dust and rubble clouded the air, visibility distorted from the wake of destruction.

Arata looked down, his hands shaking. The clan head, Chi Ryu's body is nowhere to be seen, just a paste and splatter of blood and insides decorating the ground.

Arata slowly looked around. The women who hid in these houses—their bodies twisted due to the pressure. Their necks and heads in different positions. Some had their limbs missing on impact.

Huh?

What have I done?

Blood.

What was I thinking?

Flesh.

But I don't understand.

Harsh breathing.

I killed... I killed them. Did I apply more cursed energy to my technique?

Bitter.

I'm a murderer?

Arata held his head, his eyes still in shock, a disgusting urge erupted from his stomach.

Blegh!!!

His insides rebuked anything within his bowels, throwing up.

THE PRESENT.

"Arata, I'll say this and I'll say this once:

Be comfortable with this disgusting feeling."