JUJUTSU KAISEN: The Zero Cursed Energy Sorcerer

CHAPTER 3: HANA'S SECRET

Tonji couldn't sleep.

He lay on the fold-out couch in the living room, staring at the ceiling. Water stains made weird patterns up there. They looked like faces if you stared long enough.

Mom snored in her bedroom. She'd woken up around 2 AM, stumbled to the bathroom, then went back to sleep. The same routine every night.

Tonji checked his phone. 3:47 AM. Great.

He gave up on sleeping and went to the kitchen. Their apartment was tiny. One bedroom for Mom, one for Hana, and the living room for Tonji. The kitchen was barely big enough for one person.

Empty sake bottles lined the counter. Tonji counted them. Seven. That was more than usual.

He started cleaning quietly. Picked up the bottles and put them in the recycling bag. Wiped down the counter. Washed the dishes in the sink that had been sitting there for three days.

This was his routine now. Had been for two years, since his stepfather died.

Stepfather. The word felt wrong now that Tonji knew the truth. The kind man who married Mom and gave Tonji his last name. Saito, wasn't his real father. Just the man who'd tried to give them a normal life.

And he'd died in a traffic accident. Or at least that's what they'd told Tonji.

Tonji dried the dishes and put them away. He was good at being quiet. Years of practice cleaning up after Mom without waking her.

"You're up early."

Tonji jumped. Hana stood in the kitchen doorway in her pajamas. Her hair was messy from sleep. Or from not sleeping, based on the dark circles under her eyes.

"Couldn't sleep," Tonji said. "You either?"

"No." She moved past him to get water from the tap. "I kept thinking about yesterday. About what you said."

"The curses?"

"Yeah." Hana drank her water, looking out the small kitchen window at the Tokyo skyline. "Do you think Mom knows? About what we can see?"

Tonji thought about that. About how scared Mom had looked when seven year old Tonji talked about the shadow man. "I think she knows something. Maybe not everything, but something."

"Should we ask her?"

"Not while she's like this." Tonji gestured toward Mom's room, where the snoring continued. "When she's sober. If she's ever sober."Hana's expression went sad. "She used to be different. Before Dad died."

"I know."

They stood in silence for a moment. Two kids who'd grown up too fast.

"There's something I didn't tell you yesterday," Hana said quietly. "About school."

Tonji's protective instincts kicked in immediately. "What happened?"

"There's this group of girls. They used to be my friends. But something changed last month. They started... targeting me. Bullying me."

"What?" Anger flared in Tonji's chest. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you already have enough to worry about!" Hana's voice cracked. "Mom's drinking. Your job. Money. I didn't want to add to it."

"Hana, you're my sister. You're never a burden."

She wiped her eyes. "The thing is... I think there's a curse involved. One of the girls, Akari, she's the leader. And there's this thing that follows her around. It looks like a shadow made of jealousy. It whispers in her ear, and then she gets meaner."

Tonji's hands clenched into fists. "Where does this happen? At school?"

"Yeah. But you can't do anything. You'll make it worse."

"Like hell I can't-"

"Brother, please." Hana grabbed his arm. "I just wanted you to know. I can handle it."

"You shouldn't have to handle it alone."

"Neither should you." She looked at him with those too old eyes. "But we both handle it."

Tonji wanted to argue. Wanted to march to Hana's school and scare those girls straight. But he knew she was right. Him showing up would only make things worse for her.

"If it gets bad-"

"I'll tell you. I promise."

They stood there in the kitchen as the sun started to rise outside. Tokyo waking up. Another day beginning.

"I'm meeting that sorcerer again today," Tonji said. "The one who saved me. He says he knows things about our family."

"What kind of things?"

"I don't know yet. But I'm bringing this." Tonji pulled out the scratched photo from his pocket. He'd been carrying it around since he found it.

Hana took the photo and studied it. "Who scratched out his face?"

"I'm guessing Mom. And I'm guessing that's my real father."

"Do you think he was a sorcerer? Like that Nanami guy?"

"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out."

Hana handed back the photo. "Be careful. Some truths hurt worse than lies."

"When did you get so wise?"

"When I had to grow up at thirteen because Mom fell apart." There was no bitterness in her voice. Just fact.

Tonji hugged her. "It's gonna get better. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I'm not. We're gonna figure this out. The curses. Mom. All of it."

Hana hugged him back tighter. "I hope you're right."

They stayed like that until Mom's alarm went off in the other room. Then they separated and went through their morning routines.

Tonji made breakfast. Rice and eggs, cheap and filling. Hana got ready for school. Mom stumbled out of her room looking like death.

"Morning," Mom mumbled. She went straight for the coffee pot.

"Morning, Mom," Hana said with fake cheerfulness. "Did you sleep well?"

"Fine." Mom's hands shook as she poured coffee. She didn't look at either of them.

This was normal. The new normal. Mom barely functioning, Tonji and Hana pretending everything was okay.

Tonji watched her and wondered how to ask about the photo. About his real father. But now wasn't the time. She could barely hold her coffee cup.

Hana left for school at 7:30. She gave Tonji a meaningful look before going. Be safe, it said.

Mom went back to her room after breakfast. Said she wasn't feeling well. Also normal.

Tonji had the day off from the convenience store, so he spent the morning doing chores. Laundry. Cleaning. Paying bills with money they didn't have.

At 1:30 PM, he left for the café.

Tokyo in the afternoon was bright and loud. Salary men rushed everywhere. Students in uniforms clustered at train stations. Street vendors sold food that smelled amazing but cost too much.

And everywhere, if you looked close, there were curses.

Small ones floated through the air like invisible insects. Bigger ones lurked in alleys and dark corners. A few fed on stressed-out people in suits.

Tonji kept his head down and walked fast. Don't look at them. Don't acknowledge them. Just get to the café.

Nanami was already there when Tonji arrived. Same table as yesterday. Same tea. He looked like a tired businessman taking a break.

"You're early," Nanami said as Tonji sat down.

"Couldn't wait." Tonji pulled out the photo and placed it on the table. "Tell me who this is."

Nanami picked up the photo. His expression didn't change, but his fingers tightened slightly on the edges.

"His name was Zenin Tatsuo," Nanami said quietly. "He was a jujutsu sorcerer from the Zenin clan. Moderate cursed energy, specialized in barrier techniques. Respectable but not impressive by his family's standards."

Tonji's heart hammered. "Zenin. Not Saito."

"Your mother changed your name when you were two. After Tatsuo died." Nanami set down the photo. "I need to explain something first. Before I tell you the rest."

"Okay."

"The Zenin clan is one of the three great jujutsu families in Japan. They're powerful, wealthy, and obsessed with maintaining their bloodline. They arrange marriages between sorcerers with strong cursed energy. They view non-sorcerers as inferior. Worthless."

Tonji's stomach dropped. "My mom wasn't a sorcerer."

"No. She was a normal woman working as a waitress when she met Tatsuo. They fell in love. She got pregnant. And Tatsuo made a choice that his clan couldn't forgive."

"He left them."

"Yes. He abandoned his name, his family, his status. Tried to build a normal life with your mother. They lived quietly for two years. Had you. Were happy."

Nanami's voice got quieter. "Then the Zenin clan found them."

Tonji leaned forward. "What happened?"

"Clan enforcers came. They said Tatsuo had brought shame to the family. That his bloodline was being wasted on ordinary children. They cursed him with a slow-death technique. And they sent curse assassins to eliminate the evidence of his disgrace."

"Evidence. You mean me and Mom."

"Yes." Nanami met Tonji's eyes. "Tatsuo fought them off. Used everything he had to protect you. He died slowly, in pain, buying time for your mother to escape with you. She remarried a year later to a kind man named Saito. Changed your name. Moved to a different part of Tokyo. Made you invisible to the Zenin clan."

Tonji's hands were shaking. "My father died protecting us from his own family."

"Yes."

"And they wanted to kill me because I was born to the wrong mother."

"Yes."

Rage burned in Tonji's chest. Hot and fierce. "They're monsters."

"They're sorcerers who value cursed energy above everything else. Including family." Nanami sipped his tea like he was talking about the weather. "There's more you need to know."

"What?"

"You have zero cursed energy now. But you're still Zenin blood. If the clan discovers you exist, they'll either kill you or try to use you. Especially now that you're old enough to fight."

"Use me how?"

"You have Heavenly Restriction. A condition where zero cursed energy is compensated by extraordinary physical abilities. The Zenin clan has had members with this condition before. The most famous was Toji Fushiguro. Formerly Toji Zenin. He could kill Special Grade curses with nothing but weapons and strategy."

Tonji remembered Nanami mentioning that name yesterday. "What happened to him?"

"He left the clan too. Became a curse user for hire. Eventually died fighting sorcerers." Nanami's expression was unreadable. "But he proved that Heavenly Restriction can create warriors stronger than most sorcerers. The Zenin clan would love to have another one under their control."

"So I'm valuable to them now."

"Potentially. If they knew you existed."

Tonji laughed. It sounded bitter even to himself. "So my options are: get killed by curses, get killed by my father's family, or become their weapon. Great."

"There's a fourth option." Nanami pulled out a different business card. This one had an address on it. "Learn to fight. Become strong enough that neither curses nor the Zenin clan can touch you. I can teach you."

"Why would you do that? You don't know me."

"I knew your father." Nanami's voice was soft. "Not well. But I knew him. He was a good man who made an impossible choice. He chose love over duty, family over clan. And he died for it."

"Did you... were you there when he died?"

"No. I heard about it later. The jujutsu world is small. Word spreads." Nanami stood up. "Your father's last act was protecting you. Don't let it be meaningless."

Tonji looked at the photo. At the scratched-out face of a man he'd never really known.

"If I do this," Tonji said slowly, "if I learn to fight... will the Zenin clan come after me?"

"Eventually. Your mother tried to hide you, but secrets don't stay buried forever. Especially not in the jujutsu world."

"Then what's the point? They'll just kill me anyway."

"Not if you're strong enough." Nanami placed money on the table for his tea. "Strength is the only language the Zenin clan respects. Become stronger than them, and they can't touch you. Stay weak, and you're just a target."

He walked toward the door, then paused. "Oh, and Tonji? Your sister has weak cursed energy. Not much, but enough that she can see curses. The Zenin clan might be interested in her too."

Tonji's blood went cold. "Don't you dare

"

"I'm not threatening her. I'm warning you. If the clan learns about you, they'll learn about her. And they won't care that she's a teenage girl. They'll see her as a potential breeding asset for their bloodline."

Rage exploded in Tonji's chest. "Over my dead body."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to prevent." Nanami tapped the business card on the table. "Tomorrow. 6 AM. That address. Bring athletic clothes and a willingness to work harder than you've ever worked in your life."

He left.

Tonji sat alone in the café, staring at the photo of his murdered father.

The Zenin clan wanted him dead or enslaved. They'd want the same for Hana. And Mom had been hiding this truth for twenty years.

Tonji's phone buzzed. A text from Hana:

"Those girls cornered me after school. The curse is getting worse. It's making them violent. I'm scared."

Tonji stood up so fast his chair fell over. He texted back:

"Are you hurt?"

"No. But I think it's going to get worse."

"Where are you?"

"Going home now. Please don't do anything stupid."

Tonji was already running out of the café.

He didn't care what Hana said. Those girls had a curse influencing them, and his sister was in danger. He'd deal with it. Somehow.

He ran through Tokyo streets, dodging people, his heart pounding. He had to protect Hana. Had to keep her safe.

Just like his father died protecting him.

The cycle had to break somewhere.

Tonji ran faster.