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The entire clan soon came to know about Kagenori's passing. There was some commotion because of it, but since Kagenori had stopped directly being involved in the clan's affairs, many of the clansmen were not affected much by it.
For the older members, though, the death of one of their strongest clan heads was quite a big shock. Naobito, the Hei, the elders and the squad that directly worked for Kagenori were the ones who were most affected by the news.
Maki and Mai, once they arrived from the school, noticed the commotion happening throughout the clan. They were curious about it and thus decided to approach Naoya to know what was going on.
However, the important figures of the clan were busy dealing with the post-death proceedings, and that meant Naoya was involved with it as well. Naturally, being the Zenin clan, women were not allowed during the proceedings, and thus, Maki and Mai could not meet Naoya, who was already feeling quite down and was not there to explain things to the twins.
Still being the curious kids they were, the two of them approached Kiyoshi and John, one of the few people with whom they interacted regularly in the clan.
John and Kiyoshi were with the rest of the Kagenori squad. Now that Kagenori had passed away, some of them would be retiring, while the rest of them decided to report directly to Naoya.
Amongst the clansmen, Naoya was probably the most respected figure, not to mention the boy stayed with their master till the very end, even when the old man stepped down from power and even lost his jujutsu. Being near Kagenori, they knew the boy's nature very well and collectively agreed to work for him
As Maki and Mai inquired about the situation in the clan, Kiyoshi and John calmly explained to the two about Kagenori's demise.
Maki and Mai were not so young or ignorant that they didn't know about the concepts of life and death. Even then, the news of their grandfather's death came as a shock to them. They wanted to go to Naoya and talk to him about it, but the Kagenori squad advised them otherwise.
The clan was currently in an uproar, and it would be better for them not to agitate others. Naoya's stance regarding the twins was clear to almost everyone in the clan, but when the official proceedings of the clan were going on and when Naoya was not available to aid them, it was better to follow the rules.
Maki and Mai were quite reluctant to follow through with the advice, but the squad members didn't flinch.
"Maki-sama, Mai-sama, Naoya-sama is busy with the clan affairs, and not to mention, he was quite shaken by Kagenori-sama's death. Right now, we don't know if it would be all right to trouble him anymore. You two might not like it, but if you two are dependent on him, then you two need to understand how to support him," said Kiyoshi.
Maki and Mai clenched their fists. They knew what was being pointed out.
They were weak, and that's why, without Naoya, their pleas held no power. They couldn't go to their brother or know what the elders were talking about their grandpa's death. Just because they were weak.
John crouched to their level.
"Maki-sama, Mai-sama, you will get to meet Naoya-sama once he is done with his duties, and then you two can help console him. But till then, please hold back a bit. Naoya-sama would be saddened even more if someone were to misbehave with you two in his absence," said John
Maki and Mai lowered their heads. They didn't want to make Naoya sad.
"We will tell you and get you anything you two need. You can count on us. We have sworn our allegiance to Kagenori-sama and Naoya-sama, and just a secret between us, both of them cherished you two a lot. So do rely on us," said one of the other members of the Kagenori squad.
Maki and Mai nodded. They already knew that their brother and grandpa loved the two of them.
In the end, they decided to hold back, but in their minds, they had already sworn to themselves.
They will get stronger. So strong that their brother would rely on them instead of the other way around.
------
The official business of post-death proceedings took a bit of time, and it was around sunset when Naoya finally got some free time.
The first ceremony for Kagenori would be held at night, and he needed to get ready for that.
He got back to his room to change into a fitting attire for the ritual, though once he got inside, he saw Maki and Mai sitting by a wall and dozing off. Probably fell asleep while waiting for him.
"Kiyoshi, John," called Naoya.
The two of them soon came to Naoya, though beside them, the other members of the Kagenori squad followed them as well. They all were about to bow to him, but Naoya raised his hands, stopping them.
"Leave it for now. No need to consider me your boss today. Feel free to give respect to grandpa. On that note, did you tell Maki and Mai?"
Kiyoshi gave a nod.
Naoya returned the nod and told them to get some rest and prepare themselves for the ceremony.
The group nodded and walked away.
Naoya got inside the room and woke the kids up.
Maki and Mai woke up groggily but soon felt Naoya's hand patting them.
"You two heard about grandpa, right?"
Maki and Mai nodded and, without saying anything, hugged Naoya.
Naoya smiled softly and returned the hug.
"You two ate something?" asked Naoya, to which the twins shook their heads in denial.
Naoya picked them up and headed to the kitchen to get something to eat for the kids and himself.
Once done, he took the kids to get them changed as well and headed for the ceremony with them.
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The next day arrived, and the night ceremony went till late in the night, and currently it was the memorial ceremony time. Aside from the Zenin clan their were guests attending as well.
Naoya was busy greeting the incoming guests.
His friends and other close people were attending as well.
Satoru, Utahime, Tetsuya, Suguru, Yuki, Shoko, Mei, Kento, Principal Gakuganji, and Nagino are the ones from Jujutsu High. Ruriko and the head of the Gojo clan attended as well, and aside from these, there were other prominent people from both Jujutsu and the normal world who were present.
Maki and Mai were with Utahime on Naoya's request. Utahime wanted to go to Naoya and talk to him, but Naoya told her that he was fine.
Satoru wanted to go in as well, but for now decided against it. He was holding himself back for now.
Satoru looked at the surroundings around him and took off his glasses to rub his eyes, and sighed.
Recently, he had attended too many funerals, and now this situation was starting to wear him down.
Yu Haibara from Tokyo Jujutsu High, Shion Inumaki and Hideaki Kamo from Kyoto Jujutsu High and many of their juniors. It wasn't that long since these people died during Jujutsu missions.
Kagenori was not young like others, but the overall atmosphere of these funerals was now starting to make him feel unpleasant.
"You alright, Satoru?" asked Suguru.
Suguru Geto was now a Special Grade sorcerer as well. A few months after their 2nd year goodwill event, he received his title as a Special Grade, and with that, there were 4 active Special Grade sorcerers in their generation.
"...Just getting tired of this funeral atmosphere," muttered Satoru.
At his words, the other students lowered their heads.
Satoru looked at Maki and Mai and walked up to them, and sat down on the floor to match their levels.
The others looked at him weirdly, but Satoru didn't bother with the gaze; he simply pulled the two of them in a tight hug.
He didn't say anything, just simply hugged them.
Maki and Mai were a bit surprised by his sudden move, but for the first time decided not to push the evil Satoru away and rested their heads on his shoulder.
Satoru then looked at Utahime and then gestured to her that it was fine.
He then got on his feet and, with the kids in tow, walked to Naoya.
Naoya noticed the white-haired boy coming to him and was mildly surprised to see the twins with him as well.
Before Naoya could even ask what was going on, he felt a sudden pull on his body, and a moment later, he got pulled towards Satoru, who used his technique to get his friend.
Moments later, Naoya, Maki, and Mai were enveloped in a bear hug by Satoru.
"..."
Naoya didn't know what to say in the situation. Satoru, Maki, and Mai were all silent, so in the end, he too decided to be silent and let the situation be for now.
Later, once most of the guests and family members had left, Naoya finally decided to calm down a bit and sat near Kagenori for one final time.
"Feeling okay?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Naoya looked up and noticed that Utahime was still there. She walked up to him and waited for Naoya to answer.
Naoya gave a weak smile and nodded. Utahime wasn't convinced by that at all. She was about to say something, but Naoya slowly held her hands.
"Will you stay for a bit?" asked Naoya while still looking down.
Utahime didn't say anything; she simply held him firmly and sat beside him.
Naoya didn't say anything but simply held her hands. His emotions were a bit messed up. He wanted to be alone, but when he did that, he felt restless. He felt like crying, but no tears seemed to come out. He didn't know what was wrong with him. In the end, he simply rested his head on Utahime's shoulder.
"You know..." started Naoya.
"Hm?"
"Grandpa told me that you are a nice girl and I should cherish you."
"...I am glad he thought of me like that."
"He also told me to be happy with my loved ones. To make sure that Maki and Mai grow up nicely. To live with my head held high. To make sure I don't feel any regrets....."
Naoya continued to ramble while Utahime hummed in response, lightly caressing him and trying her best not to let him feel alone.
As Naoya kept on going, there were still no tears, but the longer he spoke about Kagenori, the calmer he felt.
After he was done speaking, he looked at the casket one final time and placed his hand on top of it.
"I don't know how many of those promises I can keep up, but I will try my best.....Thank you, grandpa. Take care," muttered Naoya and leaned against the casket.
-----
The day passed by as the remaining ceremonies continued.
Once they were all over, Naoya received a message from a servant saying the clan head was calling for him.
Naoya reached the location and opened the door.
Inside were the members of the Hei squad and some of the elders.
Naoya looked around and noticed another man there as well. Though not a regular, the man was one of the Zenin clan's employees who handled legal matters.
Naoya took his seat directly beside Naobito. He was the leader of the Hei and, aside from the clan head, held the highest position in most of the clan matters.
"Since all parties are here. Let's start, Furudate-san," said Naobito.
Furudate, the one who dealt with the legal issues, nodded and started fiddling with his bag, and after a while, took out a set of documents.
"Ahem. From this point, I will be reading out the will of the late former clan head Kagenori Zenin-sama," explained Furudate and opened up the papers.
He proceeded to focus on the will and then started speaking.
"I, Kagenori Zenin, with my sound and sober mind, am writing this will. This will contain details about the distribution of my assets and the contracts that I have had over my lifetime," started Furudate.
Furudate then started listing the details of the assets, and as the list continued, to go on the whole room had the same question.
'How the hell did the old man earn so much?!'