C2: A New Job

C2: A New Job

Shiragi Nomo Park, Hakaichi. 

Like any other park in Japan, Shiargi Nomo is most active during its morning hours.

After a long night of rain, the trees feel as fresh as ever in the morning sun. Butterflies flutter about in the grass, a middle-aged woman jogs down the path and a couple stands under the shade of a tree, holding hands. 

There's an old saying which goes like this. 

"There's no better place to hide than in plain sight."

It's 8:00 A.M. in the morning on a Sunday. Kids roam around in the park as they usually do on Sundays, running around and leaping onto puddles of water formed at every corner of the park. 

Today, four kids are near the water fountain, screaming and cheering as they continue to gaze at the snail race. On a small cardboard box, four snails are desperately reaching the other end as slowly as they can. 

"Go, Shinamori!" 

"Hurry up, you can do it, Kaiju!" 

"Let's go CHARLES!" 

Of course, money is thrown into this bet. 1000s of Yen, in fact. 

Where there is a gamble, there is Toji. 

Toji is observing the little gamble from the bench near the fountain, his eyes carefully directed onto the snails. He had to observe because the little twerps may add salt to the race track to slow down his snail. 

"Win, Megumi," Toji whispers under his breath. "Be the blessed snail you are." 

Toji's focus falls entirely on the snail race as even his heightened senses begin to tingle. Without a care about the reason why he's there, he places his head against his fist and stares on. 

Meanwhile, a man in a black office coat walks toward Toji's bench. He is wearing some aviator shades to cover up his mysterious face. His hair is combed up into a spike, and his beard is completely shaved. 

As he approaches the bench, his eyes look up and down on Toji. 

'He's wearing a dark Adidas tracksuit. Tall. Muscly. Weird bangs… he must be him,' he says inwardly, taking a seat on the bench. 

Toji's eyes move toward the stranger once, then back at the snail race. If he isn't identifying himself, he has no purpose continuing to gaze at him to create suspicions. 

"So, you like gambling?" The stranger asks, putting one leg over the other and comfortingly adjusting his back on the bench. 

"So, you like sunglasses?" Toji replies, his eyes giving off a strange sense of utter disinterest. 

The stranger's lips curl into a smile. 

"It's a new thing I'm trying these days. Does it look good on me?"

"Ho…?" Toji's eyes shift toward the stranger for another glimpse. "No."

The stranger frowns. 

Silence falls between the two for a while as they continue to sit beside each other, Toji staring at the race and the stranger simply sitting there. 

"Hmmm…" Suddenly, the stranger hums, breaking the silence. "Zenin Toji. The one who gained Heavenly Restriction due to the great lack of cursed energy since birth. Currently lives in Hakaichi, huh?"

Toji's bored eyes shift toward the stranger, his hand reaching inside his track coat. 

"So, are you a jujutsu sorcerer sent to kill me by Naobito?" 

"Nope, you guessed wrong."

Toji's green eyes flickered. "Then why the fuck do you know my real name?" 

The man in the dark suit grabs a cigarette from his pocket and places it to his lips. Then, he lights it up. He doesn't reply to Toji's question until he takes a puff. 

"Black tracksuit. Dark hair. Green eyes. Has no cursed energy. If you want to kill me, you should know. You'd die first," he phrases, shifting his head to Toji. 

It is the exact same thing Toji said to the man on the phone yesterday. That's why he is here too. 

To meet the mediator of his next client. And from what this stranger said, Toji starts to get an idea of who he really is.

"Still. I'm Shoya Flinski to you. You had no business in digging up my past, Mr. Kong." 

Kong chuckles, shaking his head. "Which mother decided to name her kid Shoya Flinski? You moron." 

Toji squints his eyes. "I'm not good at the child naming business. I am good at the killing business, and gambling." 

"Hm, I can see." 

"Still, digging up my past wasn't mentioned in the call." 

Kong shifts his head toward Toji. They are directly making eye contact now, although Kong's eyes are hidden by the shades. 

"That's why I wanted to meet you here, in person. When we're dealing with a businessman as dangerous as you, Sorcerer Killer, we tend to get some background information." 

Toji chuckles. "Sorcerer Killer? That's new." 

"Yes," Kong adds. "The underground curse users around Haru are already mentioning your name with fear, Toji Zenin. You've gathered quite a lot of fame, for a killer who was only active for 6 months." 

"I'm glad to hear that," Toji replies, retracting his hand from his jacket. "Well. You did say you were going to explain the mission's terms to me now. It's about time you start giving off the important details." 

"Alright, down to business then," Kong breathes out another puff of smoke. 

The kids near the snail track are exhausted now. Some are on their knees, pulling their eyes from the tension. Shinamori has shifted its path to go back to the starting line. Megumi is on the lead. Kaiju on the second and Charles coming in hot from third place, barely an inch of distance from each other. 

"The mission is quite simple, actually," Kong begins. "In Hagura city, there's a small pub, old and rugged. It's a pub that has existed there for over a century now and it's a family business. Although, now, there's only one girl left in the family after the tragic burning down of the Fushiguro Family house." 

"She's Fumiko Fushiguro and the pub's name is the Fushiguroya Izakaya." 

Kong puffs out another cloud of smoke. "You get all that, Zenin?" 

"Mhm. Noted," Toji replies, still staring at the snail race. "You still didn't give me any detail on what exactly to do with it, though."

"Yup, we're getting there," Kong says, taking the cigar out of his lips. Then, he raises it to Toji. "You smoke?" 

"No." 

Kong smiles, simply accepting the rude "no." He is a mediator who works with murderers and psychopaths daily. It is only natural for him to expect a few of them to behave oddly. 

They are freaks, after all. 

"So, your mission is to capture a special grade curse that is trapped somewhere within this old Fushiguro Household. Ever since the family house burned, a few sorcerers had noticed a huge amount of cursed energy emanating from Hagura. The Fushiguro Family had a dark history, according to their neighbors. The sorcerers believe that this negative energy from the Fushiguro Family manifested from the burning down of their household. Then, the cursed spirit born from the tragic death and their hatred has gone to the place where the last of their bloodline lives. The Fushiguroya Izakaya which is the current residence of Fumiko Fushiguro." 

"Your mission is to infiltrate this house and find the location of the cursed spirit, seal it, and bring it back to us. My clients have used this curse, so they ask you not to cause too much harm to it." 

Toji's attention shifts from the snail race to Kong, finally. A spark of interest shines in his eyes. 

"A special grade curse? That must mean a lot of money." 

"Yes. We'll be paying you for the effort you put in, Zenin. But, only if you are lucky enough to get the job done. It's a gamble," Kong puffs in the last of his cigarette and flips the bud over to the side. 

Toji grins now, leaning forward on the bench and crossing his hands. His eyes fall onto the snail race once again. 

In the distance, he sees Megumi in the lead. The blessed snail is about to win. The kids are kneeling down, pulling the hair on their heads. 

'Win… Megumi.' 

"NOOOO!" 

"ARGHHH!" 

"GODDAMMIT!" 

A grin draws on Toji's face. 

"Sometimes, I get lucky," he replies, shifting his head to Kong. 

Kong gradually slides his sunglasses down to take an actual glimpse of Toji. He's grinning like the maniac he's rumored to be. 

"Mhm," Kong scoffs. "You'll do, Zenin. You will do. Your job starts now and I will give you exactly 14 more days for you to get the job done. Here's my card. Give me a call on it and tell me your account number. Your advance payment for the job is 4 million. The other 6 will be added once the job is done."

Kong hands his card to Toji. He accepts it and puts it inside his pocket. 

"I'll be seeing you then?" Kong asks, standing up from the bench. 

Toji gazes at the man one more time. 

"Be seeing you. And one more thing." 

"Yes?" 

"Don't call me Zenin again." 

Kong nods calmly. "Sure."

A breeze blows by in the park, making Toji's bangs waver in the wind. Kong stares at the dead green eyes of Toji, a glint of hatred shining bright inside them. 

Then, Kong turns his back to him and starts walking back on the path from which he came. 

As he walks out of the park, the kids who were snail racing start to groan and curse. He looks over his shoulder one last time. 

The little kids hand out their pocket money to Toji as the greedy Sorcerer Killer accepts it with a grin etched on his face. Kong grimaces, his lips curling into an expression of pure disgust. 

"He gambles for children's pocket money too? That man is foul."