The noise of paper scratching filled the room.
Nanami and Haibara stood behind their classmate, peering over her shoulder at the paper she was busy scribbling on. The script was unfamiliar to them, but it seemed she had a good grip on how it was written.
"What language is this?" Haibara couldn't contain his curiosity anymore. "I think I have seen words similar to these in cemeteries."
"It's the Siddham Script for the Sanskrit language, the original one that came to Japan. It's no longer used in India since we use Devanagari now. It's different, but kind of similar."
Nanami hummed behind her, and she couldn't help but smile, even if she was focused on her writing.
It has been a month since the mission in the countryside cemetery. The first few days she had spent alone, purposefully avoiding everyone. Especially Gojo, because while she was drowning in guilt and wondering how she ever faced Nanami, she was equally furious with Gojo. She had no qualms in admitting that she made a mistake, but Gojo's behavior was uncalled for.
But what would you expect from a conceited, spoilt prick who thought he was the reason the sun shines and the earth revolves?
It was not that hard avoiding the second-years. Shoko-senpai had tried to pick up a conversation with her a few times, but seeing her unenthusiastic response, backed off. Gojo was no longer humoring her, preferring to go on with his day whenever she appeared. It was as if she was invisible, and to be honest, she did not know how to feel about it. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind but was not at all eager to pick up a fight with him.
Geto-senpai acted as if nothing ever happened in the first place, still helping her out every now and again while smiling at her gently. Yet, he respected her boundaries and did not push her much.
But when it came to her own classmates, avoiding them proved to be difficult. Haibara, an angel for sure, was refusing to leave her alone initially. He did back off after a few days, probably because Nanami asked him to, but she did catch his concerned glances every now and again.
And as for Nanami and her, they also ended up in reconciliation. The first few days in his presence were unbearable. But after a week or two, she did pick up the courage to apologize to him. She had prepared an entire speech in her mind but ended up messing it up too.
Which ended up in her crying.
She was sure Nanami would be mad at her, that he would also sneer at her apology, accuse her of trying to impress Gojo or something. But to her surprise, he sighed gently, before patting her head to stop her from crying. She still remembers that moment.
"I know I don't have given you a reason to trust me till now. After all, you put your life in danger to protect me. You didn't back down even for a second, and I know I would have died if you weren't there. I don't know why I did it! I really don't. But I saw it in the fire, in my cursed energy, I swear I did. And at that moment I was so sure of it...my body moved on its own. Even if for one moment I was not sure, I would have never left you. I swear I didn't do it to impress Gojo or get in his good graces or whatever reason he thinks I did it fo-"
"Is this what he told you?" Nanami asked flatly, and Sanvi sighed.
"But he is not wrong, is it? I bet you think it too. I not only did nothing to help you, but I left you alone on a whim and ended up trying to help him- and that too ended up in a failure. In the end, it was Gojo only who took us out of that situation."
Nanami sighed, the setting sun giving his hair an orange sort of glow.
"You are right, you haven't given a lot for me to trust you." He said, and Sanvi looked down at her lap, her hands pulled in tight fists.
"Yet, I choose to trust you."
Her mouth dropped open, and she whipped her head towards him.
"This mission was the first of its kind. We could have died, and anything that could have gone wrong, it did. It was not convenient for you to be scared, sure, but it's not like it was something we could have faced and survived. It was not a mission of our level, so it was natural to be scared. I won't blame you for that. And as for what you did, if you believe it was your cursed energy or some sort of innate technique, then I believe you. In fact, everyone does."
"What-why?"
"Well, for one, I like to believe I am a good judge of character. You don't appear to me like the kind of person who would deliberately do something like this. In our first mission also you said you saw figures in your cursed energy. Plus, it was Geto-senpai who also told us something similar to what you did. Almost a week before that mission, when he helped you out with a seal? Apparently, he saw something similar in your flames. He also suspects it might be related to your cursed technique."
Speechless, she looked down.
"You were feeling a little too busy in being sorry for yourself and avoiding us all like plague, that you refused to listen to us."
Sanvi cringed hard.
"I suppose I should also apologize for that?"
She chanced a glance at him and saw his lips quirk up.
"You know, I understand your situation. My family moved to Japan when I was in middle school. The transition...wasn't easy at all. And that was just in a non-sorcerer school. I imagine that without your family, especially with your difficult cursed energy, it must be difficult. People like Gojo-san do not make it any easier. I can't say on anyone else's behalf, but me and Haibara, we are your friends. We are here to always help, whether it's with your cursed energy or just listening to you bitching about Gojo."
Sanvi stared at him, and he looked back at her. His gaze was gentle, and she could see no malice or lies. A shy smile made its way onto her face and she looked down at her hands. With a determined expression, she looked up at him, smiling brightly. If saw the tears in her eyes, he said nothing.
"Nanami, I'll be better, I'll be stronger. You can count on me, I promise."
He let out a chuckle and looked at the reddening sky above them, and Sanvi followed his gaze.
"Well, I'm glad."
"Sooo, what does this seal do?" Haibara asked, looking curious as he saw his classmate making victorious noises and waving the paper around. In his hand, he held a sheathed tanto, his fingers caressing the light engravings on the base of its handle.
"Ah, it's an assignment. A very basic one actually. If I can imbue my cursed energy into it successfully, then this seal can turn your ordinary weapon into a cursed tool. Of course, this is just a talisman and not an actual engraving, so I doubt it will last long...but hey, if it works well, then also it's a win for me! After all, Sensei said that I am doing exceptionally well in designing these seals and barriers. And my control over my cursed energy has improved a lot too!"
Haibara let out an enthusiastic laugh and patted her shoulder firmly.
"See! I told you when we were starting out, you would figure this out!"
Even Nanami looked pleased.
"Indeed, I have seen you work really hard over the last month. Your strength has also increased, and you are getting better in hand-to-hand combat. If you keep this up, you can reach the Semi-grade 2 position soon."
Sanvi turned and gave them a bright grin, before focusing on the parchment and letting her cursed energy flow into the paper slowly.
"Oh Nanami, just you wait. I'll show him...I will show him."
It felt warm. She felt the curse energy in her veins, red tendrils appearing on her arm like that of a spider's web. But, this time there was no burning sensation. Her fingers and palms felt hotter than usual, however, it was bearable. The seal's design lit up a bright orange against the yellowish background of the parchment piece. She felt it within herself, the connection between the seal and her own cursed energy.
Slowly, with a bated breath, she broke the flow of cursed energy, placed the seal back on the desk, and asked Haibara to present the tanto sword to her. Carefully, she wrapped it around the handle. The design seemed to glow red again for a moment before it subsided.
Sighing, she scratched her cheek.
"I suppose it's done...this seal is the most basic one. It will stop working once the cursed energy I have put into it dissipates. If this works successfully, I can move on to the more complex seals and designs..."
Nanami took the sheathed tanto sword from Haibara and gave it a swing in the air. Sanvi, on the other hand, smiled smugly. Mentally patting herself on the back, she crossed her legs and got comfortable on her chair.
The classroom was as empty as ever, only the three of them were messing around. Their lessons were over for the day, but she had decided to stay back and complete the seal she had been working on for the last few days. Interested, the boys had also stayed back.
"You know what this means, right? We can test it ourselves..."
After all, the lessons may have been over, but there was still training left to do.
"YES!" Sanvi let out, pushing everything in her bag quickly with a sweep of her arm and standing up cheerfully.
"No," Nanami said flatly. "It can be dangerous, and we have no one to gui-"
Haibara smiled at him sweetly, before snatching his bag as well as the weapon from his arms. Breaking into a sprint, he waved back at Nanami.
"See you in the training grounds, Nanami!"
Letting out a laugh, Sanvi followed him outside, leaving poor Nanami in the dust.
Gojo Satoru was not having the best day.
First, he received a stern-worded letter from his parents about the importance of his duties as an heir of the Gojo clan and finding suitable matches and some other things he did not care to read (the letter was already in the dustbin within 5 seconds of Gojo opening it).
Secondly, his brand-new shoes were ruined during a mission today, where some stupid civilian he had saved the life of ended up barfing on his shoes.
Thirdly, a peculiar thing had happened, which left him slightly restless.
Suguru had confronted him last night, on what he deemed as 'disrespectful' behavior, which is funny, because when has he ever been respectful? Now Suguru confronting him on useless matters is nothing new in itself, however...
Pursing his lips, Gojo closed his eyes and turned to his side. His room was silent since nobody was in the dorms. Suguru was away on a mission, and Nanami and Haibara were also out somewhere- probably training. But as soon as he thought about Nanami and Haibara, his thoughts automatically drifted to the red-haired girl who has been troubling him for the last few days.
Was he upset with her? Yes.
After all, somehow she had even managed to get Suguru on her side. Because this time he was really upset. Over a girl, no less.
Gojo wonders what is so special about her anyway, that Suguru seems to be so friendly towards her. Even if he dismisses it with a roll of his eyes, Gojo knows he smiles a bit too much around her. He knows this kind of people- people like her- ostentatious ones who only want to gain favors from those better and stronger than them by being all sweet and friendly.
But what caused Gojo to be most restless was, because for the first time ever, he might- kind of- somewhat- agree with Suguru (not that he will ever be caught alive saying that).
Gojo did not like Suguru's accusations.
Are you angry at her because she put Nanami in danger or is it your ego that can't handle the fact that a newbie with no particular skills might have actually helped you out and saved your ass from a whole lot of trouble?
Sure the cursed users gave him a difficult time, but that does not mean he needed saving. Or someone's help in the first place. Eventually, it was he alone who ended up beating those two up and handing them to Jujutsu Tokyo Tech.
Gojo knows he is selfish. He admits he did not want them to die on his watch. After all, he is the strongest sorcerer the world has seen in centuries. There is no one in this world who compares to him.
Someone dying on his watch? His ego, and to some extent his reputation, will take quite a hit.
Frowning, Gojo sighs. There is a reason he prefers solo missions! These people only ever get in his way.
Accepting help every now and again doesn't make you inferior. And even if you do not appreciate it, you don't have any right to lash out at someone who just tried to help you out. I don't care whether it's your ego or if it's jealousy. And yes, I believe it could be some sort of cursed technique because I am pretty sure I have experienced it too.
Sitting up on his bed, he put on his glasses and took a swig of the water bottle on his bedside table.
Jealous, as if. Sure, Suguru seems to like her, but that doesn't mean he is jealous of a brat like her.
So yes, the day sucked. Because for the first time ever Gojo felt that he had indeed done something that he probably shouldn't have. Sure, he really didn't care for her, but he did kind of feel bad now when he remembered the brat's crying and face terrified of his cursed energy. He might have overdone it.
It's not like he is wallowing in regret or guilt, it's just that this thing has not left his brain once.
He wonders dryly if Suguru's kindness is rubbing off on him, but then ends up laughing.
As kind as Suguru? Definitely not.