C1: A Killer's Life

C1: A Killer's Life 

Being a killer is hard. 

Every day you wake up, you're expecting something terrible to happen. Either it's seeing some relative of an old victim at your doorstep waiting to murder you or simply just being tracked down by detectives all the time. 

For Toji, though, it is relatively easier than most in the business. 

He isn't a simple "killer." He does not kill simple humans either. 

He only kills sorcerers, some of whom he deems worthy of killing. At least he had fun killing those. 

…

Rainy season begins in Hakata District at the start of June. Especially in a small town like Hakaichi, the effects could be seen quite visibly. This is also a very affordable district. 

So, not many rich people lived around these parts. 

Thud thud thud thud thud… 

The noise of rain resonates within the house with each drop of water that falls on its old wooden roof. The view of the outside world blurs as the water flows down the glass. 

In his bed, Toji Zenin gradually flips over. 

"Ughhh… It's starting to rain now?" 

Toji pulls up the pillow in his bed and folds it over his ears so that no sound can bother him. The rain continues to fall upon the small city of Hakichi. 

The day is June 14, 1999. 

Toji spent the entire morning gambling away on a horse race and lost 50,000 yen on the bet. He isn't in the happiest mood now either. And the rain isn't helping him one bit to get a little rest. 

Thus, is the poor life Toji Zenin is fated to live. 

"I hate being broke," he groans under the pillow, removing it from his face. 

His two green eyes blink at the wooden roof above. He lays in the bed, arms spread wide with a bummed look. 

A sudden flash of memory reminds him of his early home, the Zenin Clan. Back at that place, he wasn't so lonely. Or so broke. Yet, he wasn't this free.

"Tch," Toji scoffs, flipping to the side of the bed. The mere memory of it disgusts him to the core of his heart.

"This life's way better than that absolute shit hole," he reminds himself again. 

It had been 6 months after he left the Zenin clan. Ever since then, he had been living in this cheap house in Hakaichi and gambling away most nights. How did he earn money to gamble it away? 

By killing jujutsu sorcerers. 

He is quite skilled at that, after all. 

After laying his head down for a while in the bed, Toji Zenin sits up. The alarm by his bed shows 7:00 PM. Rustling his hair, Toji stands up in his white shorts and slides the baggy shirt over his amazingly built body. 

"I have to feed Tsuji." 

Toji walks out of his room and into the hallways. 

Creek. Creek. Creek.

With each step, the wooden floor creaks. Yet, Toji is used to this now. He hardly cares about it. He is too poor to care for it anyway.

Toji picks up the lamp which he keeps to light up his small living room and fires up a match. Then, he hangs it on a hook nailed to the roof, lighting up the room. 

A small tv lies in the middle of the room with an old couch right in front of it. On the walls, Toji had hung various paintings that he'd bought from the local stores in town. Of course, the paintings are not merely there for beauty.

Each one had a purpose. One of the purposes, however, was to close up a crack in the wall. 

The old house where he lives could barely be noticed as a house. It's an old cottage he bought from an old woman in Hakaichi from the very first assassination job he did. He'd only done 3 so far. 

Lighting up another lamp, Toji walks across the room into the kitchen, passing an eerie shelf lined with jars. If a normal human stands before the shelf, they would see nothing inside them.

Yet, Toji is no "normal" human. He's a sorcerer born with the Heavenly Restriction, which stripped away his abilities to possess any form of cursed energy. However, due to the Heavenly Restriction, all his 5 senses have heightened to their most potent form. 

With his heightened capability of vision, he can see what's inside of the jars. They are all little curses he collected from his ventures. Beneficial for confusing jujutsu sorcerers or even murdering them. 

As he steps inside the kitchen, Toji feels a certain presence from within. 

He raises the lamp in his hand above and the light spreads to the distance. In the corner of the kitchen, there's a small leakage in the roof. A drop of water constantly drops onto the floor from there when it rains. So, Toji always keeps a metal bucket where the water drops. 

This time, however, the water bucket is not filled to the brim. The culprit is floating right above it too. 

"Tsuji?" Toji calls out to the little floating creature above the metal bucket. 

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Tsuji shifts itself toward Toji. 

If someone hears the name "Tsuji," they are probably going to assume that it's a dog, a cat, or even a person. Yet, this is no pet or person. It's a cursed spirit that is attracted to Toji. 

Tsuji approaches Toji gradually, floating across the air in his usual calm manner. It has a gigantic eye in the middle, and its entire body is covered in brown fur. 

"Are you hungry, Tsuji?" Toji asks, looking down at the cursed spirit. 

It simply stares at Toji calmly. Tsuji always does when he is hungry. 

"Fine. It's feeding time, after all," he says, placing the lamp on the table. Then, Toji walks to the fridge and opens the door. 

The fridge is turned on. Although electricity is used to turn on essential devices, Toji never uses electricity for light in the house. He finds it too expensive to pay for the lights, too. Instead, he prefers the lamps.

Toji grabs the fresh fish bucket in the refrigerator and places it on his kitchen slab. Then, he takes two large chunks of fish out and looks down. 

Screeeeet!

The cursed spirit squeaks in its monstrous growl excitedly. Toji flips the chunks of fish into the air and waits for it. 

The strange little cursed spirit suddenly opens its mouth filled with hundreds of large razor-sharp teeth like a blooming flower and a lengthy slimy tongue swings into the air like a snake. It grabs hold of both pieces of fish and instantly retracts it to its mouth. 

In 2 seconds, Tsuji is back to the calm floating cursed spirit. 

"Good little curse," Toji smiles. 

The cursed spirit floats back to where it was before. Above the metal bucket, devouring the small droplets of rain that fell on the kitchen floor. 

Smiling, Toji puts the box of fish back in the fridge. 

Outside, the rain pours down more intensely. A sudden flash of light illuminates the entire Hakata District and a sharp roar of thunder resonates across the sky. 

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

Just as the lightning strikes, the phone begins to ring. 

Without a second thought, Toji walks out of the kitchen and into the living room. If the cell phone in the living room rings, it only means one thing. 

"A new job?"