𝐂𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜 ʲᵘʲᵘˢᵗᵘ ᵏᵃⁱˢᵉⁿ

five.

There is a village smoldered in flames.

The scene shifts, revealing a family portrait on a vanity table, their faces obstructed behind splatters of crimson.

You wonder why.

You look up, facing the mirror. The face in the reflection is blurred, and the mirage disappears the moment you blink, replaced by two sets of eyes, dripping with malice, and a mouth stretched to a deranged expression of glee.

The place you open your eyes to is familiar.

The med wing...?

You look around for any signs of life, choosing to examine yourself when you fail to find any.

Your gaze lands on the chair next to your bed, and in that moment, the memories come rushing back to you.

The serpentine curse.

And most importantly, Gojo's suicide mission.

All of a sudden, all you feel is anger.

You don't care what the rationale behind him assigning that task to you, but the point still stands: you nearly lost your life.

Gritting your teeth, you hop out of bed, ready to find the blindfolded public safety hazard and give him a piece of your mind, though it seems you don't need to, footsteps faltering at the sounds of an argument outside the door.

"You could've at least warned them properly instead of leaving them there-"

"They wouldn't have gone otherwise."

"Yeah, 'cause they could've died, Satoru."

"Ah, ah, ah, but they didn't. Besides, I was prepared to step in had it ever came to that. I trust in their abilities. You should, too, Shoko. You know better than everyone else the kind of potential they carry."

"I do, but all they've done is heal people, and you just brought them to fight a semi-grade 1 curse, no preparations whatsoever."

"Same difference. They're doing the same thing they always have been, anyway. The only thing different was the target. It really wasn't as bad as you think, Shoko."

"Really? I personally think it was downright horrible."

Both adults turn at the sound of your voice.

"Thank you for asking, by the way."

"[Name]-"

You lift a hand, effectively shutting Ieiri up.

"You are, by far, the most irresponsible adult I have ever met in my entire life." You seeth, pointing straight at him. "Do you know how bad it was back there? I don't give a shit what your reason is, it is nowhere near right to throw me into that kind of situation."

You inhale, "You promised me safety in exchange for joining this school. I don't know what your definition of safety is, but letting me face a-what did you categorize it as? A semi-grade 1?-without so much of a warning, much less training, is not. Fucking. It."

He stays silent throughout your entire rant, which sets you off even more.

"Do you know what happened in there?!" You can't help the raise in volume. "I couldn't apply my cursed energy the first few times. What'd you think would happen if it continued to fail, and I would have to resort to harming myself to subdue it, or worse, get killed before ever having the chance to do so?"

Still no response.

"Answer me!"

"Okay, okay. I'll admit, it was a test I made-"