𝑬𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑹𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑮𝑶𝑳𝑫 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐈 - 𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄

TEN YEARS LATER, Tuesday, March 14th 2017 –

KINZOKU KEISUKE DIED ON A TUESDAY MORNING, at seven thirty am.

Gojo Satoru was the first Jujutsu sorcerer on the scene, watching as the paramedics sent by The Magistrate hauled the body into a stretcher, pulling it away from curious eyes and any bystanders able to see through the thick veil and witness the horrendous scene.

The only other person on the scene was a boy, a sixteen-year-old who Keisuke had been mentoring personally. He was sitting on the floor, knees drawn to his chest as he took multiple shaky breaths, his clothes drenched in rain and golden splatters of Kinzoku blood. One of the paramedics kneeled in front of him, giving him an encouraging squeeze as he spoke, whatever was being said getting lost within the sound of the pouring rain and the faraway sirens as the ambulance parked on the side of the street.

Satoru crouched in front of the stretcher, gaze trained on Keisuke's body despite the blindfold that covered his eyes, his Six Eyes examining this scene just as carefully as the rest of his senses.

The body – if it could even be called that – had been torn apart. There were cuts and gashes everywhere, bent and broken bones, blood and gore staining his otherwise immaculate outfit, the golden crest of the Kinzoku clan – a peony suffocated by thorned wire – barely visible among the shades of gold and amber. Gojo pressed his thumb against it, rubbing the blood away as he held the pendant between his fingers.

"Do we know what did this?" Satoru asked, sensing the presence of Ijichi behind him.

The man in question pressed his lips into a thin line, holding back the bile rising in his throat. In the many years he'd been working as a Window for The Magistrate, Ijichi had never seen something like this – so unnaturally grotesque, so twisted and sick.

Keisuke was a good man and an even better sorcerer, seeing his body like this made Ijichi's insides churn.

He didn't deserve this.

"It was a Vengeful cursed spirit, I believe they've dubbed it Twisted." Ijichi spoke slowly, careful not to spill the contents of his stomach before quickly averting his eyes, unable to bear the sight in front of him. "Special-grade, though Keisuke-san should have been more than equipped to handle it."

Satoru cursed as he stood up, face to the sky as the rain splattered against his skin. The sky was dark, grey clouds gathering in the air as the rain hammered against the city of Tokyo. A storm was coming, Satoru could feel it in his bones, in the depths of his Six Eyes.

It was the perfect day for a murder, shame it had to be Keisuke's.

Satoru turned his head, now facing the small crowd. The bystanders were still there, huddled behind the police tape, all watching an alternate version of the scene provided by the veil and the paramedics, completely unaware of what had truly transpired.

The veil The Magistrate had placed was particularly strong, far more powerful than the ones Satoru could provide himself. Then again, they were not his kind of speciality. He was flashy, the strongest sorcerer alive – now that Keisuke was dead, virtually unchallenged. Veils were things for Windows and Doors, not for prodigies like him who could be doing better things with their time and cursed energy.

Satoru looked down again. The death of one of their own was always a sad affair, especially when said sorcerer was such a pillar in the community. Quite literally in this case, as Keisuke was the second strongest in Japan and the heir to the Kinzoku Clan. Satoru always used to tease him about that, but Kei would just laugh it off, saying that being 'second best' was more than enough for him.