The atmosphere in the car was sleepy.
It was barely dawn, the sun not even visible on the horizon. Nanami let out a huge yawn from somewhere beyond Gojo, and she couldn't help her eyes closing every now and again as she leaned back in her seat.
Sanvi sat beside the window, her eyes tracking the streets of Tokyo as the car whizzed by. She was very drowsy, blinking the sleep away from her eyes every now and again.
"Hey, are you ignoring me?"
Her mouth pulled up in a frown as Gojo sat between her and Nanami. She had insisted that the blond-haired boy should be seated in the middle, but Fujikawa-sensei and Yaga-sensei both had given her very unimpressed looks. Ashamed, she had gotten in quietly, followed by a snickering Gojo.
Sanvi gave him a side-eye, bemused yet annoyed at the same time. She tried to figure out his intentions, considering the whiplashes he gave her each day with his sudden changes in behavior.
One day, he would be making fun of her, other days he would be giving her jealous glances when she strayed too near Geto-senpai, and there were times he would be way too chummy with her.
As for her, after that fiasco a week ago, she had decided to ignore his existence until the very end of her life. He still kept badgering her every now and again, but all she did was look past him like he did not even exist in the first place.
Besides, it was fun watching him getting worked up because she acted like he was invisible.
But ignoring him now was proving to be a little difficult.
She shuffled towards the car door as he sat manspreading. Soon he crossed his legs, his ankle brushing against her shin. Her lips furrowed, but she continued staring outside.
"You are going to fall out if you keep shoving yourself into that door."
Silence.
She could feel him getting impatient with the way he started bouncing his foot. The sole of his shoe brushed against her skin and she pulled her leg away with a hiss. At least, as much as she could.
"Come on, Jaani. Talk to meeeeee!" He said in a sing-song voice, poking her cheek. She had half mind to slap his hand away, but wondering if that would only spur him on, she let him do as he pleased.
But as the headache started to settle in, she pulled her head away, and rested her head on the window, pushing away his hand with her shoulder slightly.
From beside him, Nanami scoffed.
"Do you have any concept of personal space?"
Gojo pretended to think, cupping his cheek and pouting. He let out a lengthy hum, before giving Nanami a serious glance.
"Nope!" He said, popping out the 'p' sound. He spread both his arms on the seat behind her and Nanami, looking smug when Nanami sent him a scathing glare.
Things were silent for a while, with Gojo humming some song under his breath. At first, she sat straight so as to not touch his arm but with the silent ride and the dark sky outside, she did not realize when she leaned back and fell asleep.
Her eyes opened slightly as felt a strand of her curly hair being wrapped around a long finger by the white-haired menace.
She had noticed how often he did that with Shoko-senpai. He tugged at her hair at its full length, till it was straight, before letting it go.
Despite her drowsy state, she sensed his blue eyes watching closely as the strands again coiled back into a curl, but did not react one bit.
"Heh." A small huff of laugh left his lips and he repeated the process.
Pulling her hair straight and letting it go just for it to only curl back. She did not know how long he did that but was glad enough that he found something to entertain his simple mind.
Her head hit the window, and she did not know when, but she was out cold.
She and Nanami stretched when they exited the car.
Gojo was already up ahead, leaving them with the auxiliary manager to saunter around doing whatever he thought he was doing. Sanvi yawned, not having the energy to continue being a Gojo hater.
She rubbed her eyes while the auxiliary manager, a young man named Kaito, created a curtain around the ancient cemetery. The dark barrier engulfed them in shadows, hiding the dim rays of the sun that were beginning to light up the sky.
"Never thought I would be seeing a cemetery in my life, let alone set foot in it, but first time for everything I guess." She muttered, hands fiddling with the ring on her finger.
Nanami looked at her with curiosity.
"How come you have never seen a cemetery?"
"Eh, in our religion we cremate people and scatter their ashes in the Ganges, at least in our family. Or, any river or sea would do. We don't bury anyone."
"Huh," Nanami muttered, before taking off after Gojo. She followed after him closely, taking in everything with wonder.
The Japanese countryside was indeed very beautiful, and she felt a tingle running down her spine as the crisp and cold air entered her lungs. Everything was green, just like the entrance to Jujutsu High in Tokyo. The air was cold, dewy, and misty, and she wondered how the hell was it possible in the middle of May.
Perhaps it was because of the curse that lingered here, but whatever the reason, she welcomed it. Her body, whose temperature was always abnormally high, felt refreshed as the cold nipped at her skin. She took off her jacket, rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt, and took deep breaths of the cold air. Who knows when next will she be rewarded with it?
They soon ended up at an old, rusted metal gate, which creaked as Gojo opened it carelessly and strutted in.
The cemetery was, to be honest, beautiful.
Situated high in the mountains, the moss on the gravestones and the trees indicated that it had not been visited for a long time. Stone blocks littered all over the place, going higher up the slope of the mountain. Several Buddhist structures were also placed near the graves. She stopped near one, her eyes fixed on the small statue near it.
"A child's grave."
She looked up to see Nanami, who had stopped in his way, probably noticing her missing and waiting for her.
"It's a statue of Jizo. You'll find it near a child's grave."
"Oh." She muttered, her eyes softening.
The cemetery belonged to some old, rich family that died decades ago. According to the Window, the only known descendants had left Japan long ago and settled in the West.
It had been abandoned for a long time, forgotten by the world. No one left to visit or to care for it. The locals considered it haunted. There were stories about voices whispering, dark shadowy silhouettes following them, and figures dressed in white entering the cemetery but never coming out.
Yaga-sensei had told them that there were legends of people disappearing in it, but none could be proved.
"Perhaps it really was a ghost?" She muttered, feeling a chill run down her spine. And not because of the cold. Her eyes followed each and every crunch of leaves, or the whispering of the winds. While one would think that the sunrise would at least make the environment clear, the mist was only becoming more and more heavier.
Nanami looked around uncomfortably.
"There's no such thing as ghosts. There are only curses."
"You don't seem so sure."
"The entire concept of ghosts doesn't make much sense. Ghosts mean the soul of a person is left behind, but we know how curses are made. We know curses are responsible for everything people consider paranormal. The existence of ghosts is yet to be proven."
"Yeah, but do you believe they exist?"
"..."
"..."
"I'd rather not comment."
"Sure, demons exist, but ghosts are imaginary."
Tugging her arm, Nanami led her in Gojo's direction, who was nowhere to be seen. The mist seemed to be getting heavier every second, and she heard Nanami gulp as he stopped in his tracks.
In front of them, everything was covered in a thick layer of mist. But what was concerning was the fact that every sound seemed to stop. The chirping of birds, the leaves crunching under Gojo's foot, and the leaves whistling as the breeze blew through them.
Sanvi glued herself to his side, feeling the cold settle in her horribly. She doubted she could even see his face if she looked up, so made sure to maintain touch between her arm and his.
"Nanami...I don't feel so good."
"What's happening?" His voice was a whisper, and she could feel his eyes darting around, racking his brain for a way out.
"I am feeling cold. I never feel cold."
"I know, I feel it too."
Her teeth almost started chattering as she felt another wave of icy coldness passed over her. She wondered if this was what freezing was like. Nanami's hand grasped her wrist, pulling her closer and she gladly clutched at his arm. She was feeling so alone, even with him by her side. Alone, more than ever.
Her eyes closed, hiding her face in Nanami's sleeve, her mind stumbling as she struggled to remember why she and Nanami were here again. Last she remembered, she was back in the car, sleeping with her head propped against the window as Gojo entertained himself with the red curls of her hair.
She opened her eyes, staring into the white space.
Something in her mind clicked, and Sanvi gasped.
"Gojo!" She shook Nanami's hand. "Nanami, where's Gojo? We were here with him, remember?"
He let out a mystified huh, as if forgetting who Gojo was in the first place. He seemed to be struggling like she was, his own movements as sluggish and lethargic as her own body felt.
From the corner of her eyes, she saw a flash of black. Suddenly, the mist vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
"I'm here," A voice whispered in her ear suddenly, and she screamed bloody murder. Hands settled on her shoulders heavily, grounding her to the position.
Whatever dream Nanami was in shattered because he turned in their direction, his weapon ready in his hand.
"Aaaaaannnnnnndddddd you're dead." Gojo said in a sing-song voice, though it did little to calm her beating heart. "You two got caught in a third-rate trick so easily. If I was not here you two would have been long dead you know. It was a grade 1 curse after all."
She huffed heavily, trying to get more air into her lungs.
"How were you able to bypass the mist?" Nanami looked as if it pained him to ask Gojo anything.
"Why, my six eyes see everything, of course."
"Your six eyes will see shit after I claw them out, you freak! WHAT in the world were you thinking, sneaking up on us like that!?" She growled at him, only for him to squeeze her shoulders in a warning.
"Save your nips for later, kitten. We are not done here."
The birds were chirping again, the leaves whistling in the wind, and a voice groaned behind the white-haired boy. He freed her from his grip before walking to the man who was trying to get up slowly.
Nanami clutched his weapon tighter, while Sanvi just watched as Gojo kicked the man. He placed his foot on the man's back, pushing him back to the ground. The anonymous guy's nose collided with the ground with a sickening crunch, and she felt her insides swirl in discomfort.
Gojo hummed, leaning over him closely before pulling back with a click of his tongue.
"What's going on?" Nanami asked urgently. They could feel irritation set in as he responded with a pleasant smile.
"The danger level of the mission has just increased. The curse is exorcised, no thanks to you both. But alas, I'm afraid there are a few unwanted guests here. And I don't think they intend on letting us leave. But don't worry, your lord and savior is here!"
A feeling of dread settled in her stomach.
"What do you mean 'guests'?" Nanami asked, his voice stressed.
"That would be us."
Her and Nanami's heads snapped in that direction. Standing atop a plateau that separated the cemetery from the rest of the mountain, she saw a woman.
She had long, beautiful purple-pink hair. She smiled in a cheshire manner, her lips painted red. Sanvi couldn't help but notice the otherworldly beauty she had to her. She did not look too old, in her late twenties perhaps? But the thing about her that paralyzed Sanvi to her core was perhaps the cursed energy emanating from her.
It was...vile. Sickening. Wicked.
She felt like retching as it suffocated her. Her cursed energy was unlike anything she had felt before. No curse and no sorcerer she had met till now had emanated such disgusting cursed energy.
Sure, there was Gojo, with his overbearing and dominating cursed energy. Right now, it was flaring in the space around them, terrifying and dangerous. But even it lacked the wickedness that came with her cursed energy. Despite being dangerous and dominating, to her, it never felt this wretched, this diabolical.
She looked like she belonged in a Renaissance painting, with her beautiful face and the dark purple robes of silk she donned. Gojo sauntered up to her, standing in front of them, facing the woman head-on.
"If you are looking for Comiket, I regret to inform you that you are severely off course. I suggest you turn around and fuck off right where you came from."
"Can you please try not to antagonize the one person who wants to kill us?" Nanami uttered, his expression already exhausted.
Despite everything, Sanvi wished she had his confidence. No way she will ever be able to talk to a lady as beautiful as her. Even if the said beautiful lady was 100 percent the Japanese version of the Blair Witch.
The Blair witch let out a huff of laughter, shaking her head.
"Such conceit. But again, what to expect of a spoilt little boy given a pedestal he does not deserve."
The auburn-haired girl furrowed her brows. While his ego and arrogance ran as deep as the marina trench, he did have the skills to back it up. Not only was he crazy strong, but he also had the intelligence and shrewdness to know how to use his strengths to the fullest.
Gojo yawned, letting out a loud noise.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You won't be the first one to think that. But I suppose I should find out where that confidence of yours is coming from."
That was the only thing he said before he launched himself in her direction. But she had no time to see what his situation was before Nanami was behind her in a flash, sounds of blades clashing reverberating in the air.
Hastily, she turned around, positioning herself in a defensive position. Her cursed energy flared around her, crackling around her hands in bright orange. It was a man, his blade positioned at Nanami's throat, who was keeping the blade away from him with his own. Sanvi cursed, stepping away from the fight.
Somewhere behind her, she heard a deafening sound of boulders toppling over and what seemed like trees uprooting. She had no idea where he had come from. She had not been able to feel his cursed energy, but he clearly had some with the way his katana glowed with cursed energy. Her mind went back to the flash of black she had seen before in the mist.
Was he waiting for them here for so long? It made her feel sick, knowing that if the man wanted, he could have killed her and Nanami in the mist itself.
In front of her, Nanami was thrown back under the pressure of the man's katana, his head hitting the ground hard. She took a stuttering breath as the blond boy groaned hard. Taking a shaky step forward, she was stopped in her tracks when the man looked at her through the curtain of his matted hair. Her heart almost stopped beating as pure, unadulterated fear spread through her veins. His gaze was heavy, a disgusting smirk on his face.
She took a few steps back unconsciously.
"What? You are not going to help your friend? Is that what they are teaching you at Jujutsu High? Leaving your friends to die?"
His mocking words left a bitter taste in her mouth. Her hands, trembling, started burning brighter and brighter. Her wide eyes stared into the enemy's, as her life flashed before her eyes.
They were going to die, weren't they?
Where was Gojo when you needed him? He should have been done with that woman by now. After all, he was the strongest.
She cursed the fact that Geto-senpai and Haibara were assigned another mission at the very last second. Her lips trembled, eyes fixated on his katana.
Move, do something. Anything. At least, give yourself a fighting chance!
"Are you daft?" the man sighed in a dramatic manner, swinging his katana over his head, "Whatever. They are really just taking anyone in that school. Don't worry, I am not unkind. I'll make quick work of you two brats."
Move!
Behind her, she heard Gojo's voice. He sounded strained, though she could still hear the cockiness in his voice. While she could not make out his words, she could distantly deduce that the fight was still on, and Gojo had found himself in some sort of pickle.
Even Gojo cannot save you now. You can't just give up like that!
Briefly, she wondered if this was the last thing she would hear before dying. Him and his smug, foolhardy voice. She held her hands in front of her, noticing the way the flames on her hands were dying out.
Suddenly, she noticed a flash of yellow and her breathing hitched. Nanami was wobbling on his feet, his head bleeding, sleeve coming to his face to wipe the blood away from his eyes. He looked...strong, with his determined eyes and self-assured stance. He could not even stand straight but he still stood up, weapon in hand, ready to fight.
His dark eyes met hers, and he smiled at her a little woozily, but with reassurance.
"It'll be fine. I'm here."
It was funny, how his words were enough to fan at the embers burning in her. In the time to come, she would recognize this as the tipping point in their relationship. Perhaps it was this day that turned them into the close friends they would go on to become in the future.
The man let out a laugh, sounding and looking like those hyenas in the Lion King movie.
"If you would have stayed down, this would have been painless. But oh well, don't say I didn't warn you."
Their blades clashed again, and she watched as their blades lit up with cursed energy.
She bent down, hands resting on her knees. Taking deep breaths, she stared hard at the ground. Her cursed energy flared uncontrollably, and she clenched her fists hard. Her painted nails were leaving dents in the softness of her palms.
Suddenly, a particularly strong gust beside her blew her hair everywhere. The sound of shoes sliding over the gravel path filled her ears, and she quickly pulled her hair away from her eyes to meet a pair of bright blue ones.
Gojo Satoru had a slightly crazed look in his eyes, his lips spread into a maniacal grin. Seemed like the act of having to struggle in a fight was making him excited. She wondered if it was the trick of her desperate mind, but the moment he looked at her teary eyes it seemed like his expression softened slightly for just a second.
He stood up straight, wiping at the dust on his cheek before walking towards her. He almost passed her, hands lighting up with cursed energy as he walked towards the woman behind her. Instead, he stopped. Without sparing her a glance, he placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and muttered.
"I don't want to be the one to tell your brother that you died."
He gave her shoulder a tight squeeze, almost leaving bruises as he again jumped into the fight. Somewhere in her mind, she wanted to see how strong this crazy lady was that she was able to work up the Gojo Satoru to this level.
But the mention of her brother from his mouth stumped her completely.
Rihan, Mumma, Papa, Sachi,...if something happens to her...they will not be able to handle it.
Breathing out from her mouth, she stood up straight. She brought her hands together and concentrated all her cursed energy into her hands. She could see glowing reddish tendrils of cursed energy within the skin of her hands, and while it burned terribly, she still kept going.
It was just a stupid idea she suddenly came up with. Sanvi knew it was a game of chance, she was by no means meant to succeed. But she couldn't sit like a monkey on the sidelines while a pair of boys protected her like she was some damsel in distress.
A few days ago, while she was working on an elementary-level seal, she had cumulated too much cursed energy in her hands when listening to a particularly riveting tale from Fujikawa-sensei. So lost in the conversation, she kept focusing much more cursed energy into her hands than she was letting into the seal.
Of course, the balance was disturbed with her input being more than the output. Suddenly, all the cursed energy had burst out in the form of a small explosion.
She had no idea how it was going to turn out. She was basing this on a silly mistake she had made. Even if it worked, there was no way to know how much damage it would cause to them or to their surrounding. Anything could happen. The forest might catch fire, or the blast could be strong enough to cause some boulders to fall over them.
But it was still better than sitting and waiting to die.
I guess.
Her hands glowed and kept burning hot. She clenched her eyes shut in pain as a scream left her lips. It seemed to be working, as the red, glowing tendrils spread inside her skin like a spider's net. However, she felt flames erupting from her arms. She felt the pit in her stomach grow as half of the cursed energy she was focusing to her hands escaped in the form of flames from her arms.
Abruptly, the flames from her arms enveloped her vision. Trying to tone it down harshly, her eyes were again caught up as a figure suddenly materialized in the fire. She cursed internally, not in the mood to watch cartoons emerging from her cursed energy. The flames crackled as they took the shape of two silhouettes.
The flames cracked as they took the shape of a figure's hair spreading all over, presumably a woman. The other silhouette seemed to go still for some reason. From behind it, she saw another new silhouette take shape and appear. Its hand was outstretched as it leaped towards the stilled person. The woman rotated her hands in a circular motion, before spreading her hands towards the second silhouette, causing something to come out of it in waves and toward her.
Sanvi cursed loudly, willing to focus on accumulating the cursed energy to her hands. This was no time to recall some movie's scenes via cursed energy.
She heard the sound of metal hitting the ground, and her eyes darted over to Nanami. It took a particularly strong swing from the man's katana to disarm him. She watched as Nanami clenched his teeth before he covered his fists in cursed energy. The man raised an eyebrow, before letting out a huff of laughter. He sheathed his katana, before taking up a fighting stance himself.
Her eyes focused on the man as he and Nanami engaged in a brutal hand combat. His eyes kept darting to somewhere behind her. She bent on her knees slightly, readying herself. But then Nanami did something causing her to gasp loudly.
Reddish-black cursed energy enveloped his fist as he jumped over the man's sweeping leg. He pulled his fist back, frowning as he seemed to be concentrating hard.
He was trying a black flash.
That man is not just strong, he is also absurdly fast. However...he doesn't seem particularly focused. What the hell is he looking at...? Wait...it can't be...
It was not even a gut feeling that she had acted on. Her body had just moved on it's own. She didn't think even for a single moment and only ran. Turning her back to Nanami she ran towards Gojo.
Faintly in her mind, she had registered that she was taking a huge gamble, not only on her own life but also Nanami's. If her hunch was wrong, Nanami would probably die.
She turned around to see the black cursed energy around Nanami's fist disappearing before it could even come in contact with the man. For a moment, he could see his face going slack and terror settling his face. That moment felt particularly slow as she saw his eyes wander around rapidly as if trying to locate her.
The moment her eyes met his, guilt pierced her to the very core. She could see the betrayed expression on his face. His eyes, scared and terrified, seemed to be accusing her.
Her heart almost stopped beating as the man didn't move until the very last moment. Her heartbeat stuttered, and she almost crashed to the ground. Nanami looked utterly confused as his fist collided with a large block of stone instead of the man he was fighting.
Focusing in front of her, she saw Gojo as he seemed to be releasing blasts of pure cursed energy at the woman. To his credit, his technique seemed to be working as the barrier she had chipped away rapidly.
Her eyes caught the sight of the man, who seemed to be leaping towards Gojo, his hands outstretched. But of course, his six eyes never missed anything. She watched perplexed as Gojo's movements faltered at the sight of her before he quickly turned to deal with the man, who was probably just a pest for him.
The scene she had seen in the fire repeated itself in front of her eyes.
She skidded in the rubble as she changed her direction all of a sudden, going towards the woman. She had begun to rotate her hands, and it all made sense now.
Cursed energy.
She was trying to absorb his cursed energy.
It all happened in a second. While Gojo dealt with the man, she released her cursed energy in a single hand to propel herself in the path of the woman's technique.
The woman's eyes widened as she released her technique, and Sanvi felt the full brunt of a technique that was sucking the cursed energy out of her in copious amounts. It was starting to feel faint, so Sanvi took the moment of surprise and released the cursed energy she had accumulated in her right hand.
The resulting explosion was much, much stronger than the previous one she used to propel herself forward. It pushed her backward harshly, disrupting the pathway the cursed user's technique had accidentally set up between the both of them.
Her head collided with the ground, and she felt a sharp pain shooting through her arm. Her entire back burned, and as for her legs, she could not even feel them.
Black dots were starting to line her vision. She could see her flaming cursed energy getting sucked in the last of the remnants of that pathway, probably being absorbed by that cursed user.
Rays of sunlight fell directly into her eyes, and she pulled a hand (the one that did not hurt much) over her eyes. A feminine scream of pain reached her ears, one not her own.
Sanvi let out a small huff of laughter before she was out cold.
A second time that day.
