DEVOTED
Chapter nine — "Your first mission"
ANOTHER WEEK PASSED and (Y/n) slowly strengthened the faint hold she had on positive energy. She was currently in her room healing the CPR dummy ever so slowly—the four-inch hole had shrunk by half an inch within a week and she was ecstatic. From the other side of her bed, Megumi watched the hole slowly mend itself with wide eyes and the slightest of grins on his face, "Wow, (Y/n). You're doing it."
The girl blinded him with the brightest smile he had ever seen on her face, "I know! I'm doing it! Megumi, I'm doing it!" The laughter Megumi loves to hear made its way into his ear and soon enough a smile nearly as wide as hers graced his face. The laughter subsided and Megumi continued to watch her heal the doll—to watch her.
It seemed the more she understood positive energy, the faster she could learn to control it. It took three weeks for the hole to shrink by half an inch, but more days passed and the amount of plastic that was regenerated increased day by day. On the final day of the training month, (Y/n) stared at the two-inch wide hole that hadn't been mended yet. So far, the most she could mend at a time was an inch and the hole taunted her. She decided not to think and just pump out the positive energy instead. The inch closed itself and the positive energy she poured out didn't waver—she had finally mastered Reversed Cursed Technique.
She stared at the healed chest with wide eyes before grabbing it and running out of her room. As usual, her classmates and upperclassman were training in the field as she ran past. "(Y/n)? What the—?! Megumi, come back! We weren't finished training!" Maki called out but shook her head with a grin as she faces the other first-year.
"What happened?" Megumi spoke through harsh breaths as he ran slightly behind his friend. His eyes fell to the plastic body wrapped under her arm, "You finished it?!"
(Y/n) slowed to a walk as the two entered another building, "Yeah. Fully healed," she opened the door to the school's nurse's office, "Shoko!" The brown-haired woman nearly choked on the liquor that poured down her throat.
"Can I help you, (Y/n)?"
"I fixed it," she held the CPR mannequin to the doctor with a proud smile. Shoko looked over the doll with wide eyes.
"Within a month...?" she grabbed the mannequin and slashed down its chest before laying in on the table, "Do it again. I want to see how far you've gotten within a month."
(Y/n) hovered a hand over the large slash, pouring a steady flow into it and nearly healing the five-inch long incision entirely, "Hold on, there's still a little..." she stopped the flow before starting it again, healing the rest of the cut before smirking at Shoko and Megumi.
"Hm... Good job, (L/n). Keep it up," Shoko grabbed the doll and placed it in the supply closet while the two teens left the room.
"Gumi, aren't you supposed to be training with everyone else?"
"Yeah, but... I want to celebrate with you," a shy smile formed of his face while the large grin grew on (Y/n)'s.
"Alright! Let's go into town and grab a bite to eat, yeah?" she grabbed his hand, dragging him to the dorms and shoving him to his room, "Wear something nice—or at least decent."
She went to her own room to get dressed, pulling on a black sleeveless turtleneck and tucking it into her black high-waisted shorts before sliding on a red trench coat that matched the red laces she put on her black combat boots and the red glasses that she wore. She left her room, waiting for Megumi to leave his as she stared at her laces with a happy smile. The door opened, revealing the raven-haired boy in a white shirt, black pants, red shoes, and red watch fastened around his wrist. He looked at the girl's outfit smiling to himself at the mostly matching colors before she grabbed her hand again and led him to the school's entrance. They walked through the long path through the forest, neither of them mentioning that (Y/n) never let go of Megumi's hand, "Did you purposely wear red?"
"What if I did?" Megumi smirked as he side-eyed the girl who returned the gesture. The two eventually boarded the train, sitting beside each other as they chatted idly until they reached their stop.
Megumi looked out the window, nudging the girl who laid her head on his shoulder, "We're here. Wake up." He poked the (h/c) girl's cheek, watching as her eyes fluttered open and immediately looked into his.
"Oh, thanks," (Y/n) and Megumi stood up and exited the train, "There's this bakery nearby and they sell the most delicious danishes in Tokyo!" She stretched her arms over her head as she directed her friend to a small shop, opening the door with a little ring.
"Welcome!" the brown-haired girl greeted at the counter before turning her attention back to a tall, blonde-haired man. (Y/n) brought Megumi to a corner of the shop, salivating at the delicious sweets and pastries.
Megumi watched the wide-eyed girl with a smile before standing beside her and picking out a couple of small treats. (Y/n) grabbed two large strawberry danishes and dragged the boy to the counter. The blonde man at the register, quickly payed before turning around, nearly bumping into the teens behind him, "Oh, sorry."
"It's fine," (Y/n) watched the man leave before she set the danishes down and snatching the treats from Megumi's hand to place them with hers, "I'll pay!" She reached for her pocket but her hand missed and slid just over her coat as a hand already reached in front of her, handing a few bills to the cashier. (Y/n)'s jaw dropped as she looked at the tall boy behind her, "Wh— Traitor! I was gonna pay!" she let out a huff at his smirk, turning to grab the bag of pasties and huffing again at the grin on the cashier's face, "Thank you..." she muttered to the cashier before walking away.
Megumi stifled a laugh as he followed the red-cheeked girl back to the train station, "Are you really mad?" The girl only sped up, smiling softly as the boy kept his pace to match hers.
"Oh! Gumi, open," as the girl sat on the moving train, she tossed a small treat into Megumi's mouth before shifting in her seat again and looking away.
"Thank you, (Y/n)," Megumi's voice was soft as his hand neared hers before quickly pulling back.
"(Y/n), here's your first mission," Gojo handed the girl a manila folder, "I can't go with you, but I'm sure you'll do fine. Read over it quickly, I've got to drop Yuji off on his first mission too. Ask any questions you have now."
(Y/n) flipped open the folder, inspecting the paper's within, "I'll be in Sendai for the next three days?" She lowered the folder, looking at her white-haired teacher for an explanation.
"As you've read, the location hasn't been fully explored yet. You'll be with someone—his name is Yamaguchi Daisuke, a grade 1 sorcerer. Daisuke will meet you at the station. Oh! And the hotel you'll be staying at is paid for and everything. Anymore questions?"
"The page said it's a grade 2 curse, why would a grade 1 sorcerer need a grade 3 assistant who's still in high school?"
"You'll find out when you get there," Gojo stuck his tongue out playfully.
"Alright, that's all. Thanks, Gojo. I'll go pack my bag and then go to the station," the girl turned to the door, "See you in three days!" She walked to her room, quickly grabbing a backpack from her closest and stuffing it with clothes and some weapons—including her machete she took when she met Nobara and a spare knife. She slipped her arms through the straps before leaving, making her way through the school campus without being seen and through the forest leading to the train station. The ride was around 2 hours so (Y/n) decided to read a book to pass the time.
***
The train had slowed to a stop and (Y/n) grabbed her bag, hopping off the train and looking around the station. A few feet away, a 5'11 man with long pale-blue curls tied into a ponytail watched the teen search for him. He smiled to himself before walking towards her, waving to get her attention, "(L/n) (Y/n), nice to meet you. I'm Yamaguchi Daisuke." He held out his hand for her to shake.
She grasped the guy's hand in a firm grip as she shook it with a smile, "Nice to meet you too, Yamaguchi-san." The pale blue-haired man chuckled at the girl's politeness.
"No need to be so formal!" he waved a dismissive hand, "Now, to be sure you understand the mission—brief me on it."
"Many reports recently have stated that an old shrine in Sendai has had odd occurrences such as ghostly shadows and noises and in the past three days alone, 14 people have gone missing around this area. The curse there is suspected to be a grade 2. Incredibly fast is it's only description. The objective is to collect data on the curse and then if able, exorcise it."
"Good job, (L/n). We should head there now. It's through a nearby forest so we'll just walk. Do you have any questions?" Daisuke led (Y/n) to a small entrance into the forest nearby.
"If the curse is suspected to be a grade 2, why was a grade 3 high school student sent into this mission with a grade 1 sorcerer like yourself?" (Y/n) stepped over a large log.
"Well, it's more of a personal reason... To be honest, I'm terrified of inspecting places. I always go on missions where I know exactly what I'm up against. (L/n), you're here for moral support!" Daisuke's smile irked the teen.
"Huh?! You'd be willing to risk a youth's life for your own comfort?!"
"That and I may have some information that concerns your missing brother..." (Y/n) side-eyed the man as they walked further into the forest, "Today is only about gathering intel on the curse—what it looks like, how it acts, any unique traits, abilities, all that kind of stuff. It'd be best if we go somewhere where we can see it, but it can't see us."
Once the two saw the shrine, (Y/n) pointed to the side, "You know how to climb a tree, right?" Daisuke followed her finger, looking at the two huge trees with a smile.
"Race you!" Daisuke immediately took off toward the tree. He wrapped his arms and legs around the tree, carefully but quickly pulling himself up before looking up to see the (h/c) girl sitting atop her own tree, waving at him with a condescending grin, "How?!"
"I've been told I'm incredibly fast," she shrugged before looking at the shrine below as Daisuke continued to climb the tree. She pulled a voice recorder out of her pocket as Daisuke did the same. They watched the shrine for a couple minutes until a loud groan sounded from below them. (Y/n)'s eyes widened before they fell to the ground as she pulled the voice recorder near her mouth, pressing the button, she spoke, "The curse came out around noon. Bright green fur covers most of its body. It looks like a furry snail and seems to be scouting the area, but can't look upward," a rustling in the bushes nearby caused her to pause, "The report was correct—it's incredibly fast. It's as large and as fast as a car and reacts to sounds."
The snail-like curse rapidly slid across the forest, leaving a streak of green goop in its wake that burned the top layer of grass and leaves. (E/c) eyes widened, tracking the curse as it swallowed an entire log while a tanuki skittered away, only to be grabbed by the curse. (Y/n) broke off a piece of bark from the tree, throwing it into the bushes a few feet over from the curse, "It will attack anything that makes a sound and creates an acidic mucus." She tore her eyes from the curse, looking at Daisuke in another tree who only looked back with a worried face that matched her own.
***
The two watched the curse from midday to early morning. The curse retreated into the broken down shrine and (Y/n) only stared into the shadow as Daisuke started climbing down the tree he was on. He looked at the girl, confused, "(L/n), are you—"
"Get back up!" she shouted. The man trusted her word, pulling himself up the rest of the way, barely missing the snail-like curse that snuck behind him. (Y/n) frowned as the curse circled their trees, "It can't see us, but it knows we're here." She pulled out her knife, flicking it open before throwing it at the curse. A loud shriek was heard before it dashed away, allowing (Y/n) to slide down the tree with Daisuke following suit as they ran through the the forest.
As the two caught their breath just outside the forest, ignoring the glances from the pedestrians walking by, Daisuke spoke into his recorder, "Incredibly low pain tolerance," he put the recorder away, looking at the girl beside him, "That was cool, (L/n)! C'mon let's go get some breakfast!" He pat the girl's back and led her to his car, opening the door for her with a smile.
She hesitantly sat in the passenger seat, "How do I know you won't just kidnap me, Yamaguchi?"
"Oh, please. Yaga and Gojo would skin me alive before I'd even have a chance to think to do anything like that," Daisuke started the car, pulling out of the parking lot as he rested his hand on the back of (Y/n)'s headrest, "Plus I promised Makoto I'd take care of you." His grey eyes danced from the rear glass then to (Y/n)'s before they locked onto the street in front of him.
"...Tell me the news."
"Makoto's alive, but I doubt he will be for any longer," Daisuke frowned as the teen beside him looked into her lap, "We found him—I found him... That's why I don't like doing investigative missions anymore. I found Makoto badly wounded. I won't go into much detail. I'll take you to him whenever you're ready, okay?" (Y/n) just looked away, gazing through the window as they passed by the many trees, buildings, and people.