Oops?
The luxurious, dark-tinted thing that looked like it belonged to a secret agent, or maybe a villain from those spy shows she liked, elegantly moved on the road. Ijichi, who was apparently Gojo's driver or "assistant," as he'd introduced himself with a lot of nervous bowing, was at the wheel. He seemed way too focused on his driving, muttering to himself every time a car got too close.
Anya slumped into the back seat of the car, arms crossed, as she stared out the window with what she hoped was an expression of total indifference—like she was the most powerful person in the universe and everyone else was just… there. Gojo, who sat in the front, had his legs up on the dashboard, chatting away like they were on a joyride. Meanwhile, Ijichi, who was driving, kept casting nervous glances at his boss, no doubt wondering if he'd be held responsible if Gojo's feet somehow dented the car.
Anya gave a little huff and fiddled with her new uniform, tugging at the sleeves that just refused to sit right. It was the Jujutsu High uniform: a dark blue, high-collared jacket and matching pleated skirt. Except hers had one unique feature, because she wasn't going to look like just any student. Oh no, Anya had pink borders on her sleeves—a little twist on the standard to let everyone know she was special, and honestly, she was sure it looked much cooler than everyone else's. Not that she'd admit it, but she was already starting to feel a bit smug about being the only one with pink borders. Because that's what greatness looks like, she thought to herself.
Gojo turned around, twisting almost entirely in his seat to face her. "Anya-chan, you're gonna love the students at Jujutsu High. There's Megumi Fushiguro—cool, mysterious, broody. Kinda like a ninja but without the sneaking around."
Anya raised an eyebrow and responded in the deepest, flattest voice she could manage, "How… powerful is he?"
"Oh, super powerful!" Gojo said, winking. "And then there's a new kid I just recruited. His name's… let's see… Yuji Itaai-Doraemon? I think that's right."
Anya blinked. Itaai-Doraemon? That couldn't be right. But she kept her face perfectly blank, the way she thought a genius would, as if she understood everything perfectly.
"Very… powerful name," she said slowly, trying to sound wise and important.
Gojo's grin widened. "Exactly. Very powerful name. Almost like a… famous cat."
The car finally came to a halt at Tokyo Rail Station, and Ijichi practically jumped out of his seat, rushing around to open Anya's door. Gojo, of course, took his time, stretching as if the mere act of moving required great effort. The three of them stepped out, and Gojo gestured for Anya to follow him across the bustling street.
"There they are!" Gojo exclaimed, pointing out two boys standing by a kiosk, looking as if they'd been waiting forever. One was a tall, lean guy with spiky black hair and a stoic expression that practically screamed, I have better things to do. The other had a mop of messy pink hair, wide eyes, and an almost absurdly bright smile, like he was genuinely thrilled to be there.
The dark-haired one glanced at them, giving a quick nod to Gojo before shifting his gaze to Anya, sizing her up with a calm stare. Megumi Fushiguro, she guessed. He was the serious type—eyes sharp, shoulders stiff. The kind of guy who probably spent hours thinking about things like "honour" and "duty."
The other boy, with pink hair sticking out in all directions, was practically vibrating with excitement. His grin stretched from ear to ear as he spotted them, and he waved both hands wildly, practically bouncing in place. That had to be… Yuji Itaai-Doraemon?
Anya cleared her throat, deciding it was time to make a powerful first impression. She let her eyes drift half-closed, as if she were bored, then spoke in a low, flat voice, "Anya Forger."
Gojo quickly opened his Google Translate app to tell her that these are her classmates from now on.
Yuji gaped at her for a moment, then turned to Gojo with wide eyes. "Wait… sensei, you don't know English either?"
Gojo laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh… know some English! You know, like, 'Hello' and 'Wow!' and… um…"
As Gojo trailed off, Anya caught sight of a girl nearby with short, reddish-brown hair, hands on her hips as she chewed out some random guy who'd probably brushed past her too closely. She was radiating pure annoyance, which only got worse when she spotted Gojo waving at her to join them.
"Is this another one of your brilliant ideas, sensei?" the girl muttered as she walked over. Her expression soured when she looked at the group. Anya immediately picked up on her thoughts, catching something along the lines of, 'Just my luck to get stuck with these clueless weirdos.'
Anya immediately shot Nobara a hard look, her voice cutting through the air. "Anya is not dumb, thank you very much."
Nobara—or was it Ku-gay-sake?—blinked, clearly not expecting Anya to respond like that.
Gojo let out a loud, awkward cough, clearing his throat. "Alright! Focus, everyone! We're going on a mission!" He clapped his hands together as if this would magically summon enthusiasm.
Yuji and Nobara instantly perked up. "A mission? Where to?" they asked in unison, their excitement buzzing like electricity.
"Roppongi!" Gojo grinned, the words rolling off his tongue like he'd just announced they were all going to a theme park.
"Ohhh! Roppongi!" The teens echoed, eyes practically sparkling.
"Let's go!" Gojo declared, steering them all toward a sleek, dark car parked on the curb. Surprisingly, they all managed to fit, though there was a lot of shuffling and elbow-bumping, especially with Yuji attempting to fit himself in without knocking Nobara over.
As they settled in, Yuji turned to Anya, grinning widely. "Hey, Forger-chan! We have the same hair color, huh?"
Anya gave him a small smile, feeling her confidence bubble back up. "Yeah! I guess we're pretty similar, huh?"
He laughed, awkwardly attempting to switch to English. "Hair… same, and, uh… uh…" He stumbled, before finally giving up with a sheepish smile.
Anya chuckled, rolling her eyes as she tried to read his mind. But before she could dig in, Ujichi suddenly hit the brakes, and the car lurched to a stop.
"We're here!" Gojo declared with a wide grin, as if they were arriving at some luxurious spa resort.
The four of them tumbled out of the car, blinking as they took in their surroundings. Anya's mouth dropped open.
"Uh… this is Roppongi?" Yuji muttered, glancing around at the desolate scene. Nobara's eyes narrowed, scanning the rundown, half-crumbled buildings around them.
"This… this isn't Roppongi!" Nobara snapped, jabbing a finger in Gojo's direction. "You've got to be kidding me. This place looks like it's been abandoned for years!"
"An abandoned building?!" Yuji winced, crossing his arms as he stared at their so-called "mission site."
Anya's eyes went wide. "Uh-oh."
Gojo just grinned, completely unfazed. "That's right! You'll be completing the mission here!"
Anya's eyes went wide as Gojo's words sunk in. She was supposed to go inside that creepy building… and kill a curse? Sure, she'd always known she was bound for greatness, but she'd never actually seen a curse up close before, let alone fought one. She was powerful—of course—but powerful in the thinking way, the intellectual way. Maybe a little in the I-know-what-you're-thinking way. But curses? Actual curses? That was a whole different story.
Next to her, Nobara gave her a look—a smug, half-amused, half-annoyed look. She seemed to understand just enough English to catch Anya's hesitation, and she wasn't holding back. "What's the matter, princess? Scared already?" she asked in her slightly broken English, arms crossed and smirking.
Anya felt her face flush, and she stammered, trying to come up with a smart response. "Anya… Anya is not scared!" She tried to sound tough, even though she could feel her stomach twisting.
Looking away from Nobara, Anya shot Gojo a glare. "Why aren't… the boys… going?"
Gojo just shrugged, leaning casually against a streetlight as if sending two teenage girls into a haunted building was a totally normal Tuesday. "Oh, Megumi and Yuji are a little, uh… banged up," he said with a chuckle. "You know, injuries and all that."
Anya narrowed her eyes. She knew better than to take his words at face value, so she focused for a moment, peering into his mind. Actually, I just want to see what you and Nobara can do on your own, Gojo's thoughts echoed. Can you girls handle yourselves, or are you gonna freak out and run?
She scowled, realizing he was testing them. Meanwhile, Nobara, who didn't waste time waiting for anyone, was already heading inside. "Come on, princess," she called over her shoulder in Japanese. "Let's get this over with."
"Ku-gay-sake! Wait for Anya!" Anya yelled, attempting to run after her with a sense of dramatic flair.
From behind her, she heard Yuji and Megumi exchange confused looks, each barely stifling laughter. "Did she just say… 'gay'?" Yuji whispered.
"Yes, she did," Megumi muttered, casting a glare at Gojo. "You taught her that, didn't you?"
Gojo ignored him, already lost in a texting battle on his phone, his fingers flying over the screen with exaggerated enthusiasm. Megumi glanced over his shoulder, curious.
GS: How's the whole salaryman thing working out for you, Nanami?
NK: Please don't text me during my resting hour.
GS: Aww, no time for your beloved senpai? Don't you love me, Nanami~?
NK: Absolutely not.
GS: Ouch, the pain. You're breaking my heart here, buddy.
NK: Good. I'm glad. Let it be broken. And please don't text me unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary.
Gojo sighed dramatically, slumping forward. "He's so cruel… won't even let me brighten his day a little," he muttered with an exaggerated sniffle. Megumi rolled his eyes, already wishing he were anywhere else.
Meanwhile, inside the building, Anya was hurrying through a dark hallway, feeling a little lost and already a bit tired of hearing her own footsteps echo around her. She scanned the dusty space, looking for anything that could pass as a curse, when her eyes landed on… a stuffed animal lying on the floor.
The stuffed animal was big and ragged, with one button eye missing and its fur stained in weird places, making it look suitably creepy. Anya narrowed her eyes, convinced she'd found her target.
"This is it!" she muttered to herself. She took a deep breath, raising her hands in what she thought was a mighty stance. "Curse! Anya has found you! Bow before the power of Anya Forger, destined for greatness!"
The stuffed animal didn't move, but that didn't stop her. She went on, gesturing wildly as if she were giving a speech to a crowd. "Do you know who I am? Anya Forger, the great! The wise! The—"
Suddenly, a loud yell from the room next door interrupted her grand monologue. She froze, blinking at the stuffed animal, her confidence slowly dripping away as she realized it… wasn't actually moving. Or… alive. Just… an old, weird-looking toy.
"Oh," she mumbled, feeling heat rise in her cheeks. Right. Not a curse.
Following the sound of the shout, she hurried down the hall and peeked into the next room. She found Nobara facing off against an actual curse—something big and slimy and entirely too terrifying. Its face looked half-melted, and it had stretched, twisted arms that held a little boy in a tight grip. The boy's eyes were wide with terror, and he was squirming, but the curse just held on tighter, leering at Nobara as she held up her hammer and nails, waiting for an opening.
Anya knew this was her moment. She puffed out her chest, her nerves forgotten in the excitement of her own potential. "Fear not!" she declared as she stepped forward. "Anya Forger is here!"
But no sooner had she taken a step than her foot caught on a loose floorboard, and she tripped spectacularly, face-planting with a loud "Ow!"
The curse blinked, momentarily distracted by the new arrival, giving Nobara the split-second she needed. She quickly grabbed her hammer, eyes gleaming with determination, and flung several nails toward the creature, aiming to pin it down. But the curse was faster than she'd expected, dodging just in time and leaping out the nearby window, vanishing into the night.
"Ugh, damn it!" Nobara shouted, clearly annoyed.
As Nobara glared after the escaped curse, she suddenly felt a strange presence behind her. It was spine-chilling. So powerful…
She turned slowly and saw Anya standing there, looking… different. Her pink hair had fallen over her face, casting shadows across her eyes, and a thin, unsettling grin was spreading across her lips. An aura of cursed energy shimmered around her, almost like sunlight.
Nobara gulped, staring at Anya in bewilderment. "Uh… what… what are you gonna do?"
Anya raised her hand slowly, dramatically, with an air of power as cursed energy gathered around her palm. Nobara watched in fascination, expecting some kind of legendary attack. Anya closed her eyes, focused, and then—suddenly—something began to manifest over her palm.
Nobara squinted, and then her eyes widened as she realized what it was.
Peanuts.
Peanuts began pouring out of Anya's hand, shooting forward like a machine gun, pelting the area where the curse had been seconds ago. They clattered to the floor, bouncing and rolling around with tiny, echoing plinks.
The curse, now perched just outside the window, looked back, thoroughly unimpressed by the shower of peanuts. It gave an annoyed glare before slithering away.
Nobara resisted the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. All that drama, all that "I am Anya Forger, the Great!"… for a handful of peanuts?
As she tried to think of a sarcastic comment, Yuji strolled in, casually approaching the window, where he spotted the curse still lingering. Without missing a beat, he clenched his fist and swung forward, landing a devastating punch that reduced the curse to a smudge on the wall.
The little boy, finally freed, immediately ran over to Yuji, his face lighting up. "Wow, you're so cool, big brother!"
Anya, meanwhile, was still standing off to the side, her face bright red with embarrassment, though she kept her expression as neutral as possible. Maybe peanuts weren't the most intimidating weapon, she admitted to herself, though she'd never let anyone else know.
Back outside the building, Gojo waited for them, hands in his pockets and a grin on his face. "Well, well, well! You all did… okay-ish! But there's still room for improvement, of course. Plenty of honing those skills to be done!"
Yuji offered to walk the little boy back to his house, leaving the others alone with Gojo. Meanwhile, Anya tried to act as if she hadn't just summoned peanuts as an attack, but her shoulders drooped slightly. Gojo chuckled, watching her with an amused glint in his eye.
Even if she was a Special Grade, she was still a newbie. And there was a lot for her to learn.
Ū—Ū
Author Note:
Sorry for the delay, I hope you liked this chapter.
Tell me in the review section what you want. Your words motivate me to write better and larger.
I plan on updating more than ten stories of mine this weekend. Stay tuned for more!
Till next time!