ตอน 51: Old Memories
Everything was covered by a thick layer of soot and each step sent up clouds of ash around his ankles. The walls cracked from heat and the destroyed puddles of melted plastic and charred piles of fabric and metals littered the floors of rooms and halls.
Everything down here had been burnt and destroyed.
The first few layers had been normal, maybe storage for whatever this office had. Soot-covered cabinets filled with ash and scrap.
The lower floors got confusing. Fewer walls were standing and holes that went to lower floors littering the ground. The roof and floor moved and shifted as rubble slid and barely holding plates almost fell.
Mizuki's stomach dropped with each sickening movement as the ground shifted or the walls groaned under the weight of the floors above them.
This entire place was barely holding together. Curses littered the ground, minor ones, but far more than would normally be in places like this. He had counted at least 30, and that was on one floor only.
"I don't think anything recognizable will be found at all down here…" Toji said with a tired acceptance, he should have expected it. He was getting too used to this when searching for Kenjaku.
Looking down an elevator shaft Mizuki tilted her head as she saw the utterly ruined elevator box. The wall had been ripped open and the roof was mostly gone.
"We might as well look on the lower floors. Just in case." She said as her voice brimmed with curiosity. This wasn't the work of just fire. This was something more than that. This was impressive, to say the least.
Sighing Toji said, "Suit yourself, I'll keep on looking around where there is still something left to look at." After all, at least the upper floors had at least something up there. Even if it was ruined he could still find something from it maybe.
Down there was nothing, nothing but soot and memories.
"Sounds good to me." She said, rolling her eyes as she jumped down and into the elevator. Looking at the door that looked like it had been pried open by giant hands.
Walking forward cautiously she tilted her head as she wandered into what was left of the lowest floor.
Most of the rooms she could already see into and she was starting to think that Toji was right. Until she got to a mostly intact room, the outside of it at least.
Sure the walls had a few cracks on them, but they were standing and there were not any holes in them… Something other than the supporting concrete beams that were still in one piece.
Walking around it she found the door, her eyes widening when she saw that it was slightly ajar, light dancing across the floor of the room and through the door. Changing colour and shifting… Turning she dashed to the elevator going to find Toji and Atlas. Some feeling told her that going in there alone would be a bad idea.
---
Walking back to the building he walked through the door and started to make his way down the stairs. He took them one flight at a time and gave a quick glance down the halls as he did so. Not really looking in depth though. The other two would be doing that.
Making his way down to the lower floors he heard Mizuki speaking rapidly, "(I don't know) -ow but something is down there. It was a room and it was still standing. Something was inside it as well and I felt I shouldn't enter despite being on another plane? It doesn't make any sense…" She voiced, clearly annoyed that Toji wasn't listening to her.
"Go get Atlas then, I'm going to take a look. I know better than anyone that hitting us right now isn't really possible. Go get Atlas, I'll meet you in the ghost room." His voice was a bit mocking as he made his way away from her.
"Ah! Why won't he just listen." Her voice was worried as she started to run down the hall and saw him. "Atlas! gosh, you scared me, Something has been set up in this strange room and it feels dangerous. I just get this feeling from it that I shouldn't go near it." Her voice rushed as she tried all her words out as quick as she could.
"Alright, come on," Atlas said, running down the hall with the little information he had obtained. Kenjaku clearly was up to something. He had set something up. But what could be done when Atlas was almost untouchable?
Jumping down the elevator he ignored the ruined box that was so familiar to him.
Dashing into the hall he ran towards the room and with each step he took he knew something. He was retracting Hoshi's steps from where he ran before Atlas merged with him. Getting to a room. The door having been swung open Atlas saw the number before he saw inside.
It was Hoshi's room…
Looking inside Atlas saw Toji standing in the middle of it looking around with confusion.
"What were you so scared about… apart from being weird as fuck this seems like a 'normal' room…" He said, his voice filled with confusion as he looked at Mizuki with a raised eyebrow clearly judging her.
Shaking her head Mizuki looked inside and just said… "I-It just feels unsettling." She said, her face paling as she backed away a step. Something about this room was causing a buzz at the back of her brain. Something that hurt just enough to be annoying.
Seeing Toji was about to open his mouth Atlas spoke up before him and said. "I get what she is saying Toji, the cursed energy here just feels… off." Unable to place a finger on exactly what it was he made his way into the room.
There was no way that he was going anywhere near the real plane while anywhere near this room.
Seeing Atlas also stiffen Toji bit back his words. Of course, it was cursed energy… at least that meant that he might be safe, but still, he wasn't willing to risk it. That might be just what Kenjaku wanted them to think.
Furrowing his brows in confusion and shock Atlas looked around the room. Countless photos of him at various times in his life had been glued to the walls floor and even ceiling covering every surface that it could. Even when he was with Frank, this felt like some high-school yandere shit… it was just unsettling to see all of this.
Why though?
Although the man wasn't much of a threat anymore he was still someone that had been alive for centuries... he wasn't so easily ignored.
Apart from photos, there was a flickering box monitor that was in a corner on the floor. Colours cycled on the screen in a continuous pattern. A single chair in another corner across from it was also covered with photos.
Nothing else...
Waving his hand some of the images started to disappear showing multiple seals and Talisman littering the walls of the room to the point that it was more densely packed than the isolation room at Jujutsu High… If he didn't know any better then Atlas would have thought that Kenjaku was trying to trap him or someone else here.
"This raises a lot of questions…" Toji said. His voice was heavy, this wasn't giving them any leads at all... What purpose did this all serve apart from just being weird.
"Yeah… could just be where they kept Hoshi though, although clearly, Kenjaku has been back here. Hoshi might want to see this," Atlas responded as he ran his hand over the wall, making sure that nothing was leaking into other planes or that anything was affecting any of them. But they were safe, as sealed off from anything that could be happening as they could be.
---
Exhausted Hoshi sat next to the bed, looking down at Frank. His mindscape was impossibly troubled. Unlike Hoshi's which had been an inescapable prison of his own creation. Franks was a hopeless situation that was never-ending.
Although different, they were similar in the way that they were created by themselves. Hoshi had made his own prison and Frank had made his own storm.
While Hoshi was helping in defending the candle as much as he could it was up to Frank to realize that the storm would pass or that it wasn't as bad as he thought it was for anything to change. Sadly, Frank wasn't willing to talk to Hoshi at all.
Every time he tried to appear on the boat at the same time as Frank the old figure vanished trusting Hoshi to let him rest for a moment. And Hoshi did, he let him rest. He protected the candle. And then as soon as Hoshi left Frank came back.
While Hoshi was there Frank was just sleeping, he wasn't trying to solve anything, he was escaping.
He couldn't keep on doing this. He had to find a way for Frank to gain back some hope but he couldn't talk to his mindscape in the same way that Atlas had been able to talk with his.
It was agonizing to see the destruction that Frank was putting himself through when he knew what had to be done to fix it. He had lived it for fuck sake. He had… and he had gotten better. So could Frank he just had to… try.
Sighing Hoshi shook his head as he was about to go and get himself something to drink Atlas suddenly appeared in the room. His face was full of worry. "Hoshi, I need you to come and see this…"
"This is sudden, of course. Is everything okay?" Hoshi asked, his voice filling with concern as he started to panic a bit.
"Everything is okay. We are back at the asylum that I woke in alright. In your old room and it's not as either of us remember it alright. I think that if you see it you might be able to give us a lead to follow. Anything, we just need something." Atlas says, his voice grim as he looks at Hoshi who just flashed through many emotions.
He didn't want to look at the room again. But he had a reason too… Nodding his head quickly he said, "Let's get it over with okay? I might not remember anything from it and I hope that I don't." Hoshi confessed he was willing to do it though.
"Thank you… If there was another way then I would choose it but we have to chase your past." Atlas said he didn't like this either but then again Hoshi needed to get over the ghosts in his past. They both knew that.
Hoshi on the other hand knew some things already that he was slowly remembering. And he didn't want Atlas to find out about them. He was scared and he wasn't ashamed to admit that.
'It will get worse before it gets better, it will not get better for a long time. It will get better. You will Endure.'
Nodding his head Hoshi said, "Well no time to waste, let's go have some fun then shall we?" His mannerisms fell to Atlas levels as he dealt with the stress.
"Yep, lots of fun, I am sure of it," Atlas said before they both vanished from where they were standing and went back to the reflection of the real plane leaving Frank alone in the room once more.
---
Appearing again Atlas sighed as he combed his hand back through his hair and said, "So… recognize anything?" Space folded beside him as it formed another human, another Atlas just with folding flesh like he was forever expanding yet never growing.
Seeing this room he froze, his gaze following along the walls, the seal and Talisman that layered them blocking out whatever material was behind it in a new wall of paper, ink and cursed energy.
"I… I think I remember…" Hoshi spoke, his voice barely a whisper as he looked around the room.
Walking forward Hoshi slowly ran his hand over the wall, a flash of something appearing in his mind. A memory of the day he had come here. Someone good had promised to keep him safe.
'This is for you Hoshi… don't worry, I am sure that they are alright, just let me go back and see them until then stay here. Stay safe alright? I'll be back, I promise.' They had said, turning and leaving them alone in this room. The TV is the only source of entertainment…
That was all he remembered, after and before that was vague. He had flashes, of himself as a child, looking up into the bright eyes of his parents.
His mother clearly wasn't Japanese, just like his 'uncle,' or at least that was what he thought he was. Another English gentleman that visited often…
His father was Japanese, a very kind man. That was all he really remembered, moments, flashes of a relatively normal life. His parents just wanted to be that. Normal, unnoticed.
Pulling his hand away from the wall he said, "I remember some things, not many though. I think I remember my parents, or at least seeing them. And someone brought me here to help me. Keep me safe, or others safe from me. I think that I hurt them… my parents…" Hoshi said slowly.
He didn't want to believe in these memories, but he couldn't help it. They were colourful and vibrant. They were clearly real, unlike the greyed monotone buzz of the fake ones. The ones that had all but disappeared leaving nothing in his mind apart from a void waiting to remember what really happened.
"That's alright, I am sure more will come back to you… It was most likely Kenjaku that put you here." Atlas said it was likely. After all the man had displayed some keen interest in Hoshi because of his technique.
"I think we have gotten everything that we can get from here," Atlas said with a sigh, shaking his head as he turned and walked out the door holding it open for the others as they also left. Giving the room one last look Atlas said, "If you want to burn it down Hoshi then be my guest. It may be useful though if it is really only a sealing room and not something else." As he turned to his friend.
Shaking his head Hoshi said, "Whatever you do with it I don't care, I just never want to see it again." His voice was low, tired as if whatever he had recalled had taken a part of his joy with it as it came.
"Alright, you will never see it again then." Atlas agreed easily as Hoshi vanished and went back to his home plane. The reflection of Jujutsu High.
Giving one last look at the room Atlas shook his head. Something was off, he needed more details but he had some things to suspect. He needed to look into Joben's past. Before Hoshi was born.
Hoshi knew two people who were not from Japan, he just needed to find out who they were. If they had come here as sorcerers before they had tried to hide from whatever it was they were running from when they had Hoshi, it was likely that they might have been students.
If they were Kenjaku would have erased all files that could lead to him or Hoshi so it would be hard but it was impossible to hide everything… surely.
Together with Toji and Mizuki, Atlas left the underground facility and started to make his way back to Jujutsu High.
"Did you get a lead?" Toji asked, his voice a bit intense, this had better been worth his time.
Nodding Atlas just said, "I think I did. I want to look at Joben's past. Some things line up too well. Me finding Frank was clearly not a stroke of luck. Someone that can do both reverse Cursed Technique and Domain Expansion is hard enough to find. I think that something about Frank and Joben is connected and it might even tie into Hoshi's parents." Atlas explained, a rift opening in space.
Thinking it over Toji couldn't help but agree. Some things lined up too well in Atlas' past to help him gain strength. Of course, Kenjaku had wanted him to become stronger at the start so the man had put opportunities in his path.
Then how was Kenjaku able to make sure Frank was in the right spot at the right time?
The more that Atlas thought about it the more that he felt his hopes start to drop.
Was Frank who he thought he was? Or was this just another one of Kenjaku's tricks?
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