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tsukimefuku · 3 months

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❅ Sand and Snow | Chapter 1

ALL CHAPTERS HERE.

In the city of Odate, Akita, there have been multiple deaths in the past few weeks. The first-grade sorcerer Nanami Kento is sent out to investigate the snowy city, not knowing that it would be his last mission as a Jujutsu High student. OR: Why Nanami left Jujutsu High to become a corporate 9/5 slave.

Images via @incepstla on Tumblr

DISCLAIMERS

* This is cross-posted from AO3, link here.

* This is a murder/mystery story. Like so, it contains depictions of violence that some readers may find disturbing.

* Classic Nanami and Gojo shenanigans will ensue. This is my copium.

* This fanfic is mostly built on original characters that are plot-centric (we need ppl to kill and to be questioned in a murder/mystery story, amiright?), though Nanami is the protagonist. There won't be any romance/smut/fluff/ship involved, but in case you don't like OC's at all, this story probably isn't suited for you.

* I wrote this in the most faithful way I could to JJK Canon and events, with the intention you could read this as an actual one-off light novel from the series (even inspired the writing on the translation from the official light novels). I hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 1

Traveling alone became a common occurrence in Nanami's life ever since Haibara's death. More common still after his promotion — turning into a first-grade jujutsu sorcerer in his third year came with some perks, like a raise, for instance. But it also meant he would be frequently dealing with complex missions by himself. To fill up time, he was reading a pocket version of "The Devotion of Suspect X" by Keigo Higashino, as he drank a small and well brewed cup of coffee.

As Nanami approached his destination, he closed the book and started to mentally review the details of this mission. He anticipated it should take around a week for completion at most.

Around the city of Odate there had been 7 deaths, all containing traces of cursed energy. All involving poison. The presence of a cursed spirit was not out of the question, but considering the way those people died, a curse user was most likely. If that was the case, the curse user should be captured and taken in for questioning.

His phone rang. It was Yaga.

"Hello." he said, as he accepted the call.

"Nanami, be sure to report as soon as you get there, and report to me daily." Yaga replied.

"I will. Has something happened?"

"No, but those that sent this mission our way are very keen on accompanying every step taken." The contempt Yaga tried to hide in his voice was pretty clear.

"Fine. Let me know when and if Gojo is coming my way." The thought of meeting Satoru with his whimsical personality during a mission made Nanami involuntarily sigh.

Nanami was on his way to Odate because Jujutsu High's first choice, Satoru Gojo, was off on another mission that took longer than expected. This had been disclosed to Nanami right from the start. He would be there up until Gojo Satoru got to Odate or until he just finished the job by himself, whatever happened first.

He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that they wanted to send Gojo, a special-grade sorcerer, on a mission suited for a first-grade, though. But dutiful as he was, Nanami simply did not spend his time questioning. Orders were orders, after all.

"About that… Gojo requested for you to work with him if you still haven't finished the job when he gets there.”

Nanami was annoyed.

"Why?"

"Who knows. He's always acting on a whim. Just accompany him. I have been told this is an important job, and you're the responsible one."

Nanami was annoyed, times two.

"Fine."

Getting “punished” with more work for being a good jujutsu sorcerer was the kind of thing that happened to him regularly. Not so different from a normal job. Nanami sighed and ended the call. There was now a pretty good incentive to get things done as fast as he could, and it didn't involve (just) overtime.

***

As the train came to a stop, the doors opened, letting a cold breeze seep in. I should get to the hotel and leave this luggage before I go out investigating, Nanami thought to himself, before stepping out and making his way onto the exit from the train station.

There were few to no taxis so early in the morning, so he just decided to walk. It wasn't terribly far, and it gave him the opportunity to look around the city for anything out of the ordinary along the way.

There were many snow sculptures by the roadside, and some ice figures resembling the Akita dog breed. At the end of February, Odate had many winter festivities, with a lot of Akita-dog related decor and souvenirs.

He had nothing against cold weather, but preferred the beach, ever so slightly.

Nanami picked up his phone and sent Yaga a text that said "I'm here. On my way to the hotel".

"Ok" Yaga replied instantly.

They must really be on his case, he thought, as it was out of character for Yaga to reply so fast. He usually had more things to deal with as the new Jujutsu High principal.

After an uneventful walk, Nanami got to the hotel and was greeted by a woman at the main desk.

"Good morning. My name is Yoko. How can I help you, sir?" She asked politely.

"I have a reservation."

"Perfectly. I need your full name."

"Nanami Kento."

The lady typed quietly on the keyboard, and around two minutes passed.

"Sorry, our systems are kind of slow today."

Nanami said nothing and just waited.

"Hey, Mr. Kento... Be careful."

That grabbed his attention. It was clearly not a threat, and the lady was visibly concerned, even though she tried to hide it.

"There have been some people dying these past few weeks. Somehow it hasn't made national news, and I can tell you're not from here. I mean, new face and all. So... Be careful, ok?"

"I appreciate your conce-"

"It was the majo!" someone shouted from the inside office. The lady got startled, and instantly irritated.

"Grandma, please stop with these silly superstitions!"

There were heavy and steady footsteps, and shortly after, an elderly woman came from the back office, raising a finger and pointing towards Nanami and Yoko.

"They are not superstitions. Hear me out! The majo, the witch, she did it!"

Yoko sighed and felt her third migraine of the week paying her a visit. Wednesday had barely started.

Nanami looked at her, as if asking for further explanation about what the old woman was talking about. She put on a cordial smile and started to speak.

"My grandmother has old superstitions about a woman that lives just outside the city. Her parents went missing when she and her brother were young, and they sell herbs and things like that. There is not much to it, but people in the city have had that long held superstition against their family for a while now."

Her smiling face and calm voice did not match the angry energy she was emanating.

The old woman interjected once again.

"Her parents went missing because she is a witch, and I bet you, these people dying must be related to all of that!"

The migraine had settled in.

"What 'all of that', grandma?"

The old lady gestured vaguely with her hands in the air, as if there was some obvious fact that everybody was unaware of.

The computer emitted a sound, and Yoko promptly grabbed a key and gave it to Nanami.

"Here. Room 409. If there is anything you need, you can just dial #903 for room service."

“Thank you. Excuse me.” he replied. As he started walking towards the stairs, it was possible to hear Yoko chastising her grandmother about scaring travelers and people she did not know. The words were followed by loud footsteps into the main office and a door being slammed.

As Nanami got to his room, he started texting Yaga.

NK: I'm at the hotel. There is a local superstition around a person whom they call “a witch”. I've been told this person deals with herbs and medicinal plants, so they probably also have poisonous ones. I will be checking this out before going elsewhere.

MY: Let me know if you find anything. Also, talk to Ijichi, he will assist you researching this.

After settling in, Nanami got out of the hotel and started walking down the street, intent on questioning people about it. He failed to notice the man following him from afar.

***

It was already two in the afternoon, and he figured he might as well stop and eat something for lunch. After all, expenses were completely paid for.

As Nanami went inside the restaurant, he went over mentally the information he got about the family.

The Yamadas were a pretty old family in that region, and most lived northwest of Odate. After the disappearance of some of the family's members, mainly a couple with two children, most relatives just left the city. Aside from that, there was not much else to be said about them. Nanami had already sent Ijichi all the details he was able to gather and asked for research as soon as possible.

His phone lit up. It was Ijichi.

KI: Hey, Nanami, I found some interesting things.

NK: Tell me.

KI: So, the Yamadas were a family of jujutsu sorcerers, it seems.

Nanami felt that was definitely suspicious, to say the least.

KI: Apparently, they had little to no ties to Master Tengen or anything. They were all from that region of Odate, but most of the members have since disbanded throughout Japan in the last 10 years. I couldn't find much in the archives, especially about cursed techniques that run in the family.

NK: I see. Let me know if you find anything else.

KI: No problem.

***

After some asking around, Nanami finally got to Yamada's “witch” house. It was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and a snow-covered dirt road led the way there through the woods. As he was approaching from the forest quietly, he could see a lady with short black hair and a pretty thick coat putting some food bowls by the side of the house. He didn't see or sense anything particularly suspicious. The house was considerably big, having two separate floors and a very traditional Japanese ceiling for snowy weather.

Not long after she put the bowls, the lady whistled loudly. A fox came out of the snowy forest and started eating.

"There you go, Haru. Eat well!" she said, as she went inside the house.

Nanami was unsure if he should go question the woman, or if he should simply stay hidden and watch for anything strange. After all, this could be nothing, or she could be a sorcerer that would attack him on sight. He chose the latter, and sat down near some bushes as he paid attention to the house and its apparently sole resident.

From the frosty windows, he could see her in the kitchen, sitting idly while drinking something from a cup. Behind the house, there was a greenhouse with many pots of plants and other greeneries planted directly on the soil.

This will take a long time, Nanami figured, feeling disheartened for having to work late that day. Resigned, he used his flip phone to take a picture of the house and waited. He got to see the fox finish its food and go back into the woods.

Around an hour later, there were some scratching sounds that he could not really see what was the source. The lady came out of the house, sprinting hastily to the other side, where Nanami was having a difficult time seeing her. He moved his position to try and see where she was headed, and walked quietly around from the opposite side in a semicircle, but she had vanished. The fox from earlier was there, looking directly at him.

He went into alert mode, but before he could do anything, Nanami felt somebody get behind him.

The sound of a gun being loaded could be heard, and he froze on the spot.

"Raise your hands. Who are you and why are you watching me?" a female voice asked.

"I'm someone investigating the deaths that have been occurring in Odate". He said, as he was lifting his hands and putting them on his head. Nanami figured there was not much of a point in lying. She didn't ask why he was there, but why he was watching her, so she probably had noticed it for a while. Also, if she was a curse user that wanted to harm him, she would've probably done so by now.

"Turn around."

He turned to face her.

She was pointing a small handgun at him, keeping her distance. Her green eyes seemed irritated. He could probably disarm her and further question the woman on the subject, but weighing his options, it felt more responsible to avoid conflict escalation.

"Look," she said, picking her words carefully. She sounded annoyed, but not scared. "I don't know what you've heard about me or this house, but I am not a witch, and I'll tell you what I already told the officer, I didn't kill anyone."

She examined his face.

"Why are you pointing a gun at me, then?" He asked.

"I'm a woman living alone in the woods, and a creep has been stalking me for god knows how long. Sorry if I chose to pull a gun first and ask questions later."

Both of them examined each other, and the air was tense. She seemed inclined to simply let him go, and his instinct was that she harbored no ill intent on hurting him out of anything other than self-defense. He decided to try to de-escalate the situation further.

"My name is Nanami Kento."

She was slightly taken aback, as she didn't expect him to present himself like that given the circumstances.

"I'm... Shiori. Yamada Shiori."

"I'd like to ask you some questions about these deaths. I'm a private investigator of sorts. Preferably without a firearm between us." Nanami said calmly.

She hesitated and examined him. Her instinct was that he was telling the truth. After a few seconds, her arm relaxed, and she put the gun down, then inside her coat.

"Ok. We can talk." Shiori said. "But I'm keeping the gun on me."

Nanami sighed as he lowered his arms. "Fair enough."

She pointed at the house. "And you go first."

They walked towards the house, and she unlocked the front door, letting him in. She indicated a table where he could sit, and pulled a chair for herself. Once both were seated, as Nanami was about to say something, she took a crystal ball from her other pocket.

"Here. Please hold this."

Nanami thought about it for a second, and held the ball in his hand. The small sphere started to glow blue after about 5 seconds. "Tsk", Shiori groaned, "Figures."

"Sorry, I don't understand."

"Where are you from? Kyoto?" She asked, grabbing the crystal from his hands. "Is this really about the deaths, or are you guys here to try to recruit me and my brother? He is away, just so you know."

Nanami was confused, and it must have shown.

"You're a jujutsu sorcerer, aren't you?" She asked. "Look." The crystal was glowing in her hands too. "This is my sort of 'jujutsu sorcerer detector'. The last time one of you came was a few years ago, so I'll just cut to the chase. I'm happy in the woods, and I don't want to go to Jujutsu High — I’m actually 18 now, and have just graduated. Please, leave me alone."

This was definitely not how Nanami expected this conversation to go, and he definitely did not expect to be dealing with cursed objects in Odate. After collecting his thoughts, Nanami started to speak.

"I'm here because of Jujutsu High, but I came from Tokyo on a mission regarding the deaths that have occurred recently. I questioned a few people and after some research, found that your family had sorcerers, and that you and your brother work with medicinal plants. Given the cause of those deaths was poisoning, I came to your house for further investigation." He answered bluntly.

"I see." She put the crystal ball back inside her pocket. "You're not the first one to think that, though. A police officer was here a few days ago. Those town's people still hate us, even centuries later, simply for being Yamadas. But I truly had nothing to do with those deaths."

"I see." Nanami muttered the thought for a moment. "And do you have an innate cursed technique?" Cursed techniques in sorcerer's families that were passed through generations were common, even if those that involved poisoning their victims weren't that common.

She was a little surprised with the question. "Well, it has nothing to do with poison, I can tell you that much. I can show you, but it can't be done inside the house."

"Why?"

"Because I still want to have a roof over my head. Come." She pointed to the door, and they went outside. Behind the house, there were plenty of wide holes in the ground just barely covered in snow, something he hadn't noticed earlier.

"Please, step back." She concentrated, put both hands together and said "cursed technique: melt grenade". Then, Shiori threw a small blue ball of cursed energy towards the holes. It exploded loudly, and made a hole around 2 feet deep, covered in a thick corrosive black substance.

"That's all?" Nanami asked. He waited for a response, but after a few seconds of silence, looked at her just to see Shiori falling to the ground. He started walking to her side offering assistance, but she was already sitting herself up, as if this was something the woman was accustomed to.

"Yes. That is all. I can only throw one or two of these before passing out." She stood up slowly. "So this is it. Unfortunately, there is not much I can do to help you." She had a surprisingly laid back approach, even if the circumstances they had met were somewhat odd.

Nanami sighed. At least this explained why she used a gun. Nevertheless, it was a dead end, after all.

"I was told you had a brother. Where is he?" He asked.

"My brother decided to do some traveling about a year ago. He went looking for our parents. I told him it was a bad idea, but he did it anyway. I don't know where he is currently." Shiori responded. "His name is Shiro. Our parents weren't very creative naming twins".

"Well, I won't occupy you any longer. I'll be on my way, then." Nanami said, as he bowed and started to leave.

"It's fine. But if you come by again, please, just knock on the door." Shiori responded with a half smile, putting her hands inside her pocket while she calmly walked back inside the house.

***

Back at the hotel, Nanami was on the phone talking to Yaga and giving him his report on the investigation. He informed Yaga about Ijichi's findings, and the conversation he had with Shiori.

"I see." Yaga said. "Keep an eye on her, though."

"Why?"

"Well, she has a cursed object we were not aware of. Doesn't seem like anything serious, but she could be hiding something."

"I understand." Nanami pondered for a moment. "She had some visitors from Jujutsu High years ago, more specifically from the Kyoto sister school, according to her."

"We usually scout families that have a history with jujutsu for potential students, but they don't always accept the invite." Yaga replied. "I didn't know she was one of the people we visited."

Nanami, still on the phone, walked towards the TV and turned it on. Local news had an urgent news broadcast on.

"Well, I imagine this is it for resting today." he said.

"I'll make the necessary calls. Go there now." Yaga replied.

He sat on the bed as he heard the reporter say police had just discovered a new body.

"I'm charging overtime fees."

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