Forget Me Not (Discontinued)

Chapter Three: Unpleasant Meeting

The following morning my brother and I have to go with Satoru to some clan meeting. My position as the head of the Kubo clan is to be finalized after addressing any concerns from the other clans. This meeting is basically a 'speak now or forever hold your peace' type of deal. Satoru leads us through the large Jujutsu school to the room where the meeting will take place.

"Say do you two want anything? I can use infinity to teleport quickly." Satoru offers us.

"Are you paying?" My brother asks the very important question.

"Yes."

"Ok then I need a fucking coffee and something sweet."

Satoru looks over at me, "Don't feel shy, you can order whatever you want."

Then I would like one of those Frappuccinos I've heard about and something sweet. I sign to my fiancé.

"Alright, I'll be back. Don't get into too much trouble and if you do, make sure to win." He says before disappearing into thin air.

"What a weirdo...anyways do you think our grandmother is already here?" My brother asks noncommittally.

I simply shrug my shoulders before sitting down on one of the couches placed in the waiting room. Suddenly I feel a shift in the air; the same feeling that an animal gets when they know they are about to be attacked. I tense up as the door opens to reveal a man with sandy blonde and black hair and a look of sadistic glee.

I try to avoid eye contact but he decides to make himself known to us, "Say, are you the Kubo girl I've been hearing about?"

I sign to him, Yes, I am. And you are?

He looks mildly irked and turns his aggressive attention onto my brother, "You, boy what is she saying?"

"My sister said that she is and she's wondering who you are." My brother rolls his eyes at the mysterious man.

"What? Have you been living under a rock? I am Naoya Zenin and I have come to you with a proposition." He proudly declares to us.

"Whatever it is you're selling, we're not interested." Chiko curtly replies.

"I've heard you two were bumpkins but I guess your mother really didn't bother to teach you your place. This proposition is between me and the head of the Kubo clan." Then he turns his fierce attention on me, "I would like to propose that we get married and unite the Zenin and Kubo clan. We both have impressive abilities and bring each of our families good fortune. What do you say?"

I turn to my brother and sign, Tell him that while I am flattered by the proposal, that I must decline since I'm already engaged to someone else.

"My sister said to buzz off, she's already engaged." My brother loosely translates; I glare at him in response and he relents, "Fine, she said to politely buzz off."

"Engaged? To whom? What small time sorcerer would choose some newly discovered heir? Especially one that is disabled. You should be thankful that I'm offering you the chance at marriage with someone as great as me."

My brother stands up and gets between me and Zenin, "I've had just about enough of your shit! Get out of my sister's face and fuck off!"

"I am simply stating the truth. So who is this man who decided to marry a mute? Although I can see the charm of a woman who is seen but not heard."

Before my brother could retaliate, Satoru appears behind Zenin, "Actually I'm the man who decided to marry her. And I would prefer it if you fucked off."

Zenin spins on his heel at the sound of my fiancé's voice, "Of course you would choose to marry her. And here I thought she could be a submissive little charity case for me to take care of."

"She's no charity case, I chose her because the idea of getting to know her through marriage interests me. And you're not giving her nearly enough credit. I'm willing to bet money that she can beat you up if she so desired to." Satoru's eyes peeking from under his sunglasses shone with lively mischief.

"How would you know that?"

"Her eyes show me how strong she is and she's way stronger than you." He turns to me and winks. "Maybe you should go cool off, it is unbecoming of a clan member to be going around harassing the head of another clan."

"This isn't over Gojo..." I hear him spit out the words before he slams the door behind him. 

"And I was hoping that guy wouldn't show up since this meeting has to do with their archenemies the Kubo clan. Are you ok?" Satoru kneels before me; from under his sunglasses I think I saw something unfamiliar glint in his ever lively spring blue eyes. What it was that changed in his eyes, I will never know.

That guy is a weirdo. I don't understand what he gained from saying all of that. I sign to him before he hands me a chocolate Frappuccino.

"I suppose you guys wouldn't understand since you didn't grow up for very long in the Kubo household. Did the old hag tell you guys anything about Zenin?" He asks as he passes around our food and drinks.

"The most I can remember is her telling us that Takara had to marry into a family stronger than the Zenin clan...but other than that she avoided talking about them altogether."

"The Zenin clan and the Kubo clan are bitter rivals. The Zenin clan is basically a club for misogynists, so they conflicted quite a lot with the only matriarchal clan in jujutsu society. One time when I was younger, I remember that your grandmother and the Zenin head had to be separated because they started getting too violent for anyone to hold a meeting."

"Oh shit, one of my shiki sees the old hag. I better go tell her that a Zenin was just here." My brother quickly signs ILY and runs off to find our grandmother. I sign it back to him even though he's already gone.

Satoru sits himself next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder; his thumb tracing invisible circles over my shoulder blade. "I think Zenin is trying to move in on your clan since it's been weak for a while now."

What do you mean by weak?

"Your grandmother is truly a prideful woman...but she should have told you about these things. The Kubo clan hasn't seen a sorcerer with the inheritable ability of snake eyes for about ninety something years. Even during your mom's generation there was no one to fill in the role of matriarch of the Kubo clan. And like many other clans, they put a lot of stock into family tradition. The stubborn old hag refused to give up her spot until she found a woman in their family with yellow eyes. Only the women with yellow eyes can turn into a giant snake like their family's vengeful spirit, Kyohime."

Are you suggesting that the Zenin clan wishes to take over the Kubo clan through marriage?

"Yes, that is exactly what I think they're trying to do since you came back to reclaim your spot as head of the Kubo clan. I'm sure they would do absolutely anything to see your clan subservient to theirs. They probably get off to the idea of it."

Do you wish to take over the Kubo clan?

"No, I have no interest in clan conflicts. And besides, I sort of enjoy seeing how many people I can piss off with our engagement." He mischievously smirks.

Sounds more like you're the one getting off to this whole marriage. I point out to him.

"Maybe I am. I mean you are just my type." He brushes aside my hair as he pulls me closer to him. "What if I like you as my wife?"