Something felt off.
She felt comfortable. That was a first.
A faint beeping sound roused her from the remnants of her sleep.
She woke up to find herself in an unfamiliar white room, the smell of lilies hanging in the air, a cloying, sickening smell. It came from the vase of flowers on a small table beside the bed.
Funeral flowers.
Her breathing quickened.
Had they captured me already? How long have I been unconscious? Where am I? These thoughts warred in her mind.
She jumped as a nurse entered the room, gripping the sheets tightly until her knuckles turned white.
"Looks like you've finally woken up, you've been asleep for nearly 2 weeks," the nurse said cheerily. Something about her manner put her slightly at ease. She unclenched her fists slightly.
"Where am I?" she asked cautiously.
"The hospital. Someone had found you passed out in the middle of the road, you poor thing," she fussed, checking her vitals.
"It's weird though," the nurse said, looking over to her curiously.
"The man who brought you in said that you appeared out of nowhere. One minute the road was empty, and the next, there you were, lying on the ground," the nurse frowned at the memory.
Mina relaxed slightly at those familiar words. So she had managed to travel to a different world safely.
The last time she'd ever tried travelling between worlds like that, it had knocked her out for two weeks as well. She wondered if that would be her standard recovery time from now on.
All that matters is that I'm safe in this world for now. Glancing outside the window, she squinted as the sun glared high above.
"Now, I just need to take some blood samples to check up on some things," the nurse said, prepping a syringe. Mina's eyes widened as she saw the needle, her lungs emptying themselves of air as her vision tunnelled.
She wasn't aware of the tray of medical equipment flying out of the nurse's hands, crashing into the wall. She didn't notice as the nurse had been flung to the side like a ragdoll by an unseen force.
She just knew that she wanted to leave, and put distance between herself and those needles.
She dimly registered the sound of glass shattering.
That must be the window, Mina thought blearily, struggling to breathe. She just knew she wanted to leave.
She pictured the hospital grounds she'd seen outside her window and closed her eyes, feeling the familiar sensation of space folding in on itself as she blinked out of existence-
-and fell onto the grass outside.
She started coughing at the impact which had knocked what little air she had managed to retain, out of her lungs.
She lay on the grass for a moment, breathing deeply as she got her breath back.
"Where am I? When am I?" she murmured to herself, grunting as she pushed herself to her feet.
Much to her relief, she still wore her usual clothes.
Black slacks and a white shirt covered by her dependable navy trench coat. She checked their pockets, confirming she still had nothing in them.
She didn't need those sorts of pockets to store the things she needed to keep safe.
She heard the faint sound of an alarm go off inside the hospital.
That must be about me, she thought regretfully before turning on her heel and racing away before anybody noticed her.
** ** **
Gojou's POV
The Special Grade Curse was a runner. Of course, he could've exorcised it straight away had he not been distracted by the kikufuku stand. He couldn't resist buying some.
He groaned, running after it.
They don't pay me enough for this shit, he thought as he saw it slip around the corner.
As he raced around the corner, he noticed a woman staring wide-eyed at the Curse.
Hmmm, so she can see it? Interesting. His eyes narrowed as he saw the strength of the cursed energy radiating off her.
His eyes narrowed even further as he saw her eyes, like liquid silver which darkened as she observed the Curse hurtling straight towards her. He fell back slightly, wanting to see how this woman would react to the Curse.
Judging by the strength of her cursed energy... yes, this is going to be interesting indeed.
** ** **
Something was definitely off about this world
Maybe it was the fact that there was this... creature 50 meters ahead of her running in her direction.
She knew something wasn't right when she sensed an energy type she'd never felt before. Malevolent and rabid.
The creature bared its jaws, black saliva dripping onto the concrete as it jumped, blotting out the sun above her.
She moved, dissolving into mist and shadow-
-only to reappear several feet away as the creature slammed into the place she had been standing only moments earlier.
It's strong.
She swore as the creature snapped its head towards her, hissing. She placed her palms flat on the ground, watching it ripple like water, channelling it in the direction of the creature. The ground beneath the creature buckled, sucking it into a hole, leaving only its upper body free.
The creature snarled violently, attempting to claw its way out.
A ripple of dark energy exploded from it.
Her eyes widened as she braced for its impact. She was flung a few hundred meters away, the creature having managed to wrench itself free from the ground.
I should've imbued more energy into the trap, she thought regretfully.
She decided that she needed to end this quick. She was already scared of attracting attention, but luckily she was on an empty backstreet.
She took a deep breath as she summoned a shadow pocket, reaching into it and pulling out two katanas.
The creature lacks intelligence, and only desires to kill, she mused, watching it with her eyes narrowing. She cracked her neck from side to side, rolling back her shoulders to loosen up.
I haven't tried this technique in a while, but now is a good time as any, she thought, watching as the creature reared itself for another assault.
"Multiply," she whispered as she stalked towards her prey.
** ** **
Gojou's eyes widened as he saw multiple copies of the women appear out of thin air, all wielding the same pair of katanas.
He noticed a coat of her energy surrounded her katanas.
Her energy is not quite cursed energy, so I'm not sure if she will be able to- his thoughts trailed off as they all simultaneously charged towards the Curse. He concentrated and found himself able to detect which woman was the real one.
She moved as gracefully as water through a stream, effortlessly dodging the Curse's attacks.
A Special Grade Curse no less.
Who the hell is she? He thought as he stared at where the Curse had once stood, now a steaming patch of concrete.
** ** **
She scowled at the patch where the creature had disappeared.
It's dead for sure, but what the hell was it?
The sound of someone clapping broke the silence
"That was a Special Grade Curse, and yet you exorcised it with ease," said a male voice.
Curse? Exorcise?
"Huh?" she turned to face a man with brilliant white hair. He wore what appeared to be a blindfold around his eyes.
"How can you see?" she asked curiously. The man chuckled.
"With my eyes." She rolled her eyes at that but dropped it. She turned as if to leave but the man stopped her.
"Are you interested in becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer by any chance?" the man asked.
"No," she deadpanned, turning to walk away. The man made as if to follow her but she stopped, turning to glare at the man.
She registered his shock, theorising that her eyes were probably acting up again.
Her eyes tended to glow when she was angry or pissed off. And this blindfold man was testing her last nerve.
"Don't follow me," she snapped.
** ** **
"My my, what an aura," Gojou whistled, watching the strange woman walk away as if nothing had ever happened.
Of course he was going to follow her.