[JJK OC] The oldest Jujutsu Family - The Shลgun Clan
โWe, who have been at the forefront of the prosperity of this country before you nor I were born. You snatch from the people who helped you grow up what rightfully belongs to us; after being venerated and adored for so many years. We will be what we once were, we will get back what we once possessed. We will lead you to death with the sweet suffocation of our power [...]. All those who oppose us will die [...], those traitors who carry our holy blood.โ
ORIGINS
How to explain the phenomena that occur to humanity has been a common issue worldwide, no matter the place or era. Plagues, diseases, hurricanes, storms, wars, negative emotions, curses, self-destructionโฆ Who would lead humans to their salvation?
Performing rituals has been an activity that has existed forever as well, and itโs a way to thank or ask for forgiveness to those capricious Gods that look down at us with the teary eyes their laughter has provoked after playing with the nature they've created.
Those granted the attention of these powerful beings were adored and followed, considered people a step ahead of humanity and closer to divinities. Not messengers, but a connection.
The first human to claim to possess this divine grace was Agatamori Geikidenka, the first known sorcerer who lived close to what could be the region of Saitama nowadays in Japan, during the Kofun Era (around year 600).
Agatamori, who was able to see curses and exorcise them, decided to share his knowledge and power with everyone in the village he lived in, after discovering by accident how he exorcised a cursed spirit with what could be his own cursed energy. However, with time, he could confirm that he was part of the low number of people who could see those strange and menacing beings that haunted humanity. At that moment, where he lived, he was the only one who was able to use his cursed energy to exorcise.
The origins of how Agatamori awakened his powers are unknown, but the people who knew him said that the reason must be the illness that carried his wife and son that took their life, believing it was a price to pay for connecting with Gods. Others said it had to be with his characteristic fuschia eyes somehow.
Geikidenka's name began to spread further across the territory, something that made people get interested in living close to a savior. This mindset contributed to the growth and prosperity of his home village, to the point that he was able to remarry again; precisely, to a woman who could see curses, but she couldnโt use cursed energy. Both of them focused on helping their people until the very end.
Their offspring were granted their fatherโs power, and so, they followed their parents' steps as more and more people followed them. Generation after generation, the Geikidenkaโs followed the wishes of their predecessors, becoming a well-known sorcerer family. At the same time, the number of sorcerers grew, and so, the Geikidenka family made sure to create bonds with those. They believed that the more sorcerers gathered together, the better for humanityโs salvation.
Cursed techniques became very valuable, as possessing one meant you were chosen by Gods to guide their human creations throughout their life and protect them from invisible monsters only those connected with Gods can see and kill; those people who could only see curses were considered a failed attempt to become a connection with deities.
And so, with more sorcerers coming up, one could start thinking and seeing that ones were more powerful than others, as well as the growing wide range of different cursed techniques these owned had their differences. This created a constant competition for power between sorcerers who desired and believed that sorcery needed rules and a ruler, where, in the end, every sorcerer joined that war, claiming that those who possessed more cursed energy and those with the most powerful cursed techniques were the Godsโ favorites and the ones who should rule over all sorcerers in the world.
This war was also the starting point of the discrepancies between the growing number of sorcerers, since not all of them shared anymore the same pure thoughts of their predecessors. Hierarchies seemed to grow in importance in the other sorcerer families, and a ranking system was being developed.
Why serve humanity, when they were clearly superior to them?
But those valuable cursed techniques in the user lasted the same as their lifespan, so, when they died, the cursed technique died with them. Just in extremely rare cases, their direct descendants would be able to inherit the cursed technique of the parents or ancestors, this meaning also that when a sorcerer died, there were no guarantees for their offspring to awaken any power.
In the case of the Geikidenka family, it seemed appealing how Agatamoriโs cursed technique was passed down to younger generations without apparent issues and without noticeable changes either. However, when a female member of the Geikidenka family gave birth to children whose father possessed a cursed technique, the child would inherit the exact cursed technique of the father directly. On the other hand, if the father was a normal human, the child would inherit the motherโs technique, which was Agatamoriโs.
This was the reason why the Geikidenka's ended up being considered to some extent the sorcerers of fertility, but not in the sense of the ability to give birth to many children, but for the fact that they were capable of conceiving new sorcerers with almost no failure rate.
REALIZATION
After many generations, the Geikidenkaโs concluded:
Male Geikidenka family members who possessed Agatamoriโs last name will originate an offspring who will inherit:
Agatamoriโs cursed technique, when the mother of the child doesnโt possess a cursed technique. In case she possessed one, the chances are randomized.
Female Geikidenka family members who possessed Agatamoriโs last name will give birth to children who will inherit:
Agatamoriโs cursed technique, when the father of the child doesnโt possess a cursed technique.
The fatherโs cursed technique, when the father of the child possesses a cursed technique.
Agatamoriโs cursed technique canโt merge with another cursed technique.
Said cursed technique didnโt have a name until generations later, and they named it Flow; it lets their users gather their cursed energy outside their body and give shape to it thanks to the ability to play with its state. This meant they had to master to an extent controlling the flow of their cursed energy if they wanted a decent usage of their technique.
Being the Geikidenka sorcerer clan fairly known due to their longevity regarding their existence, their cursed technique was known to many sorcerers, as well as these became acquainted with whatever strange ability Agatamori Geikidenkaโs passed to his descendants, which soon would be named Heritage; a subtechnique originated from Flow.
These premises became the starting point of the growing interest of other sorcerers to engage a Geikidenka, preferably a female, mostly to keep their cursed technique and not let it die. If their offspring would be able to awaken the fatherโs cursed technique, itโll be easier for him (or his family) to not make the same mistakes he did when he had to learn everything from scratch, alongside other positive traits that it could draw in.
Arranged marriages between female Flow users and sorcerers from outside the Geikidenka clan began to be requested, where a trade would be performed. The exchange included money, properties, special accessibilities to cursed objects or tools owned by the boyfriendโฆ Whatever the Geikidenkaโs deemed fair enough to accept the arranged marriage proposal.
These circumstances only made Agatamoriโs clan grow in political power and wealth, something that pleased the members, delighted by how their influence was something to be respected. The thought of believing they were the key to the progression of humanity and their salvation began to spread inside the Geikidenkaโs minds, flooding their mindset with egocentrism, greediness and a self-imposed pressure of needing to be at the top of sorcery itself because they thought they were the real chosen ones by Gods, since they felt they were the only ones that could be something close to them.
GROWTH
On the other side, Amaterasu herself granted the people of Japan a ruler born from her own blood, Jinmu Tennล, who would become the very first emperor of Japan. Fate decided that his descendants and Agatamoriโs had to meet at some point in history, and this just created the most favorable event for the Geikidenka family of the time.
Tennลโs descendants understood that having the Geikidenka sorcerer clan by their side would be helpful for both, and the empire itself; the sorcererโs influence, followers, and their ability to guide them alongside their administration, strategy, fighting, and diplomacy skills were exactly what the current emperor believed Japanese people needed to prosper.
And so, a vow was made between the emperor and the Geikidenka family, in which the latter would become the right hand of the ruler of Japan and would provide the empire with men for the army and women to serve them. In exchange, they will have the protection of the emperor and a say during important events that concern the people of Japan, apart from living a life full of luxuries.
In gratitude for such an enormous offer by the family that ruled Japan, the Geikidenka sorcerer clan changed their name to Shลgun, in which they demonstrated their total loyalty to the emperor to the point of changing the name of their ancestor to give rise to a new era for the empire.
While the emperor lived in what would be Tokyo in the future, Shลgun's lived in Saitama. Their estate became the main base for their family meetings and teachings, but continued to be a place to live if you chose to stay. However, if you were a female, that was going to be the place youโd live until you learned how to be a proper wife.
Indeed, after arranged marriages started to gain importance in the Shลgun clan due to the benefit it produced to the family and even more after the offer from the emperor, a large role difference gap appeared between male and female members. When male Shลgunโs took different zones from Japan to control, female members stayed at the estate where all were raised and educated in a subtly way with learned helplessness; their heads were bombed every day with ideas that were etched in their minds to the point where the subjugation was so normalized that none of them were capable of complaining or having their own thoughts.
They learned they were born to serve their husbands, and no one questioned if that was what they wanted to do with their lives or not.
Mothers, older sisters, and women who werenโt married yet were the ones in charge of the younger female membersโ education, apart from trying to innovate in terms of the ability to serve their husbands or other male members. This is how female Shลgunโs added to their duty of being able to master the generation of reversed cursed energy with the only goal of healing.
Times of abundance, growth, and power awaited the members of the Shลgun sorcerer clan; the current head of the family shared part of his responsibilities with his brothers, so the arranged marriagesโ deals were able to be carried out with better efficiency. If the deal benefited the clan, and the father approved it, the head of the family only had to check it and approve it as well. He didnโt have much of a say in there as long as the girlsโ father or the majority of the important members of the clan were okay with it. However, the preferences were always a high grade sorcerer or a very influential non-sorcerer, since they believed average people wouldnโt possess anything that would awaken the interest of the Shลgunโs.
On the other hand, another duty of the male Shลgun members, apart from controlling different parts of Japan, serving the emperor in the army, and continuing their sorcery activities, was to find the best deal for an arranged marriage for their sisters. In terms of negotiating, one could choose between going to the brother of the girl or the father. Brothers always seemed to be the easy access, so other sorcerers were always interested in getting along with them when they wanted extra points if engaging one of their sisters was in their minds.
The one capable of making the best deals would most likely become the next head of the family, a deserved prize for demonstrating their great negotiating skills.
DOWNFALL
It was true that the only thing that linked the emperorโs family and the Shลgunโs was the vow where they promised loyalty and cooperation, but that was soon going to be over as a new bond was about to appear. It was the Heian Era now and the current emperorโs son, Gotoba, fell in love with a Shลgun girl, Tsubasa.
The Heian Era is also known as the Golden Era of Sorcery. Wars between sorcerers and cursed spirits became more and more frequent, reaching their climax during this period. The number of growing powerful sorcerers and cursed spirits alike only fed the disturbances.
That wouldnโt be a problem for the young couple to continue with the preparations for their engagement, though. Gotoba used to frequently visit the Shลgunโs estate, as he understood that it would be better if he spent time with Tsubasa at her home; theyโd have plenty of time to live in the Imperial Palace.
However, the real problem there was that Tsubasaโs heart never opened for Gotoba; instead, she fell in love with a growing powerful sorcerer. While she lived at the Shลgunโs estate, she could sneak out of the place when no one watched and meet him, yet she knew the risks of her actions. Tsubasa couldnโt help it though, she had already given her heart to someone her family would never let her be with.
She didnโt want to dishonor her family or the empire, it was a terrible weight put on her shoulders just because the emperorโs son got obsessed with her.
What did she do to deserve this?
The Shลgunโs were plethoric with the engagement, even more when it was Gotoba the one interested and offered a lot of political power to the sorcerer clan, since from now on, they were gonna be related by blood. The greediness that was already infecting the Shลgunโs minds reached its most critical point when they realized they were about to become the most important people among sorcerers and non-sorcerers alike.
The engagement between Gotoba and Tsubasa had to occur, and theyโd be sure no one would get in the way. And who would, though? At the moment a deal was being considered and accepted, there was no going back, there were no refunds. The girl in question had to leave to live with her future husband at some point, no matter her real feelings, no matter the environment sheโd live in after leaving home.
When the future emperor believed he had spent enough time going to her, very egotistically he decided it was time for her to live in the Imperial Palace. And so, Tsubasa moved in with her fiancรฉ, which made her meetings with her lover more complicated, to the point that they were minimal.
Gotoba wasnโt precisely a fool and knew something was going on when his future wife behaved so strange, as if she didnโt want to be there, often daydreaming, leaving the bed they shared many times at night, giving him sorrowful smiles, fake reassurances of her being completely fineโฆ
Until he caught the lovers.
The tension between humans, sorcerers, and cursed spirits reached the point of breaking and a huge war arose. Gotoba, of course, led the forces of the empire, while Tsubasa was supposed to stay in the Imperial Palaceโฆ
She didnโt though.
She went to see her lover, worried about him, since she knew he was a powerful sorcerer and that heโd take an important and dangerous role in the war. What Tsubasa didnโt know was that the moment sheโd run into his arms, Gotoba would be there to witness it.
Out of pure rage and fury, the future emperor, in disbelief when he saw his suspicions were real after all, took his sword and killed Tsubasa right after her lover was out of sight. Gotoba felt so miserable and deceived that his head got clouded with hatred and disgust at sharing a bed with such an unworthy woman. His bloodshot eyes didnโt allow him to see what he was doing, the state of her body after stabbing and cutting her multiple times was horrendous; blood was splattered everywhere and her body was mutilated.
How could she do this to him, the son of the emperor?
Between screams of pain, Tsubasa didnโt defend or heal herself though. She learned what fate had in store for her as a Shลgun, but she decided to play with it anyway. She knew she could never be with the person she wanted to be, that she could never choose what she wanted to do, or share her thoughts, she could never be taken into consideration, be treated like a person instead of something you could buy and sellโฆ being alive was going to be a living nightmare for her anyway at this point.
And this was the result.
Her lover found what remained of her body, enough to recognize her, and he unleashed a big amount of negative emotions that seemed to cloud his mind as well, not realizing that his mixed with Gotobaโs, unfortunately, turned her into a Vengeful Cursed Spirit.
Ryลmen Sukuna died, and the war ended, but a new one between the imperial family and the Shลgunโs because of Tsubasaโs betrayal arose. Gotoba made sure to give her family the blade he used to kill his supposed future wife, as a way of breaking the vow they once made. The Shลgun sorcerer clan became the biggest traitor to the empire, and the first thing the emperor did was to strip them of all their luxuries and rights granted, apart from spreading a terribly bad reputation, being able to get them to lose followers and get other people to be against them.
This meant the downfall of the Shลgun clan, sinking deep into disgrace.
When Shลgunโs fell, three sorcerer families emerged that took their place in the world of sorcery, becoming the Three Great Families: The Gojล, Kamo, and Zenโin.
On the other hand, the Shลgun family, totally devastated after what happened, decided they were right to put all the blame on Tsubasa, the girl who sent them to Hell. Shลgunโs lost all reputation, reliability, money, and properties, reducing everything only to their estate, some cursed tools, and the blade that killed Tsubasa.
A great deal of inordinate hatred arose from the family towards the emperor and towards those who stopped following them, even beginning to doubt the loyalty of some of their own members, especially women. Ones decided to leave the state and start a new life somewhere else, but the majority stayed at the family estate, saving hatred because of such insolence, still in disbelief of how something like this could have happened to people like them.
Shลgunโs knew they didnโt deserve this, their place was at the top of the chain, not at the bottom.
They wouldnโt give up just this easily.
โWe, who have been at the forefront of the prosperity of this country before you nor I were born. You snatch from the people who helped you grow up what rightfully belongs to us***; after being venerated and adored for so many years.*** We will be what we once were, we will get back what we once possessed. We will lead you to death with the sweet suffocation of our power [...]. All those who oppose us will die [...], those traitors who carry our holy blood.โ
REBORN
The first thing they did was take Gotobaโs blade and consider it the starting point of their resurgence, forging a new weapon that would become the symbol and an eternal reminder for the family:
A scythe.
Soul Eater, a scythe forged using the same blade that killed Tsubasa Shลgun, symbolizing that youโll find death if you go against the familyโs wishes. Itโs the most precious cursed tool of the clan nowadays, and itโs treated like a treasure.
The interest of engaging a female Shลgun by other sorcerers was still there, though it became a bit complicated at first, taking into account they were considered the biggest traitors to the empire. However, there was always someone whose cursed technique needed to be passed, and the Shลgunโs could play with that in their favor.
With generations, things seemed to have calmed down. Now sorcery was separated from the world of non-sorcerers to avoid anything similar to the war that occurred, and Shลguns were slowly growing in power and wealth again.
But that wasnโt enough.
The Three Great Families never considered the Shลgunโs a sorcerer family worthy of owning the title of Great, and their business only just made them being seen as a mere cattle production for other sorcerersโ to consume. They werenโt precisely respected, and their women were just a thing to use.
The situation seemed to improve in the present, yet theyโve not achieved their all time goal: becoming great again. However, if the clan itself couldn't be great, then making their members join the other clans and create bonds with them is going to give them what they want by forceโฆ just like Tsubasa was going to grant them if she had married Gotoba.
Now, Shลgunโs potential wasnโt something you could take easily, theyโve used to be at the top for a reason after all.
Being part of the most important people in the jujutsu world will always be their goal, their greediness is insatiable, and even more now that a prodigy was born into the family. With most of them being professional sorcerers, staying at the estate for administration, or working around the world as professional sorcerers and becoming well known, something that will never change is the best theyโre at: finding a suitable husband for their female members.
One canโt just stop the supply when there is still a demand.
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-> Part 2
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Thanks for reading!
~KanekiBarbie