Blood dripped from Mina's twin katanas, the black blades pairing well with the crimson blood staining them. The cursed spirit stood between the both of them, the wounds it had just received were rippling, the torn flesh regenerating and leaving smooth unblemished skin behind.
They had both quickly come to the realisation that this was no ordinary curse.
It was surprisingly fast, and despite Nanami and Mina having both managed to land solid blows which should have proven lethal, Mina was growing increasingly frustrated with how it managed to regenerate its limps so quickly.
Imbuing more cursed energy into her katana, Mina resolved to aim for its head. The body's nucleus.
However, this was by no means a one-sided fight, and once again Mina found herself disturbed by these so-called 'curses.'
Suddenly, it jumped up, its arms taking on a fluid quality as they expanded before attacking them.
They are more like demons from hell, she mused to herself, whirling around, her katanas carving a circle around her, slicing the curse with proficiency.
However, in the midst of the fight, Mina noticed something was off. While the curse was attacking both of them, the attacks aimed at her were almost half-hearted, reluctant even. Instead, most of the curse's attention was focused on Nanami, who was now on the defensive, staunchly holding his ground.
This fact didn't escape Nanami's shrewd eyes as he glanced towards where Mina attacked the Curse's flank, analysing this unexpected turn of events.
"Mina, retreat," he said calmly.
Mina frowned.
"Why-" she was suddenly cut off as the curse threw a handful of transfigured humans at her, causing them to attack her simultaneously.
"You shouldn't leave just yet, not when things are getting exciting." The curse laughed childishly.
At a glance, the curses threatened to crush her, but at the last moment, she struck, wielding her katanas with deadly accuracy, channelling pure cursed energy through them. The katanas shook and groaned slightly under the pressure, enough to make Mina think that they may finally break. Thankfully they held on as she finished the rest of the transfigured curses off in under 2 minutes.
The grey-haired curse pouted at her.
"That's not fair! I thought they'd at least occupy you while I finish off your partner."
"We're not partners." Mina and Nanami said at the same time, causing the curse to laugh.
"Either way, that jujutsu sorcerer is almost run out of steam? Don't you think?"
Nanami sighed as he checked his watch, just as the big hand struck 12. It was 6 PM.
"Unfortunately," he said, loosening his tie and wrapping it around his right fist, his cursed energy suddenly increasing exponentially. "I'm going into overtime now."
He glanced towards Mina, who nodded, understanding the meaning behind his look.
He intended to fight the curse alone. This was non-negotiable He planned to get her away from the curse and its unusual attention on her.
Trusting in his ability, and taking advantage of the curse's surprise at Nanami's unexpected transformation, Mina fell back into the shadows which coalesced around her before suddenly dispersing, leaving an empty space where she once stood.
***
The first time she travelled through the shadows, she remembered throwing up, her insides a churning mess. It was an unsettling feeling as if there was a delay in your organs travelling with you, making you feel disconcerted and out of balance. After much trial and error, she had eventually mastered this aspect of her power, finding it to have become extremely useful.
However, travelling in such a manner was tiring depending on the distance travelled, and also light sources were often unpredictable in the given area she wished to travel to.
She'd learnt over time there were rules to this ability: the higher the concentration of shadows in the area she wished to go, the easier it was, and she couldn't travel to places further than a mile without feeling violently ill. Finally, sometimes randomly appearing out of nowhere may give the little old granny who saw you a heart attack.
Thankfully, the latter had only happened once, so Mina felt that her conscience was somewhat clean in this regard.
It took a few moments of being cocooned in darkness before she sensed a cluster of shadows outside of the sewers above ground. After locking onto her target, Mina dissolved into shadow, only to appear moments later behind a dumpster in a residential area.
Scratching her head, she couldn't recognise where exactly she was, so she called Yuuji to give her directions so they could meet up.
He picked up after the second ring and thankfully was only a fifteen-minute walk away.
*** *** ***
"Oi Yuuji!" she yelled, finally spotting him a short distance away with another youth.
"Junpei Yoshino I presume?" she smiled cheerily at him.
Junpei blinked at her enthusiasm, but smiled tentatively and shook her outstretched hand.
"Where's Nanami?" Yuuji asked curiously, looking around for the Jujutsu sorcerer.
"We were ambushed by some patchwork doll freak who, if I'm not mistaken, is currently trying to kill Nanami," she said cheerfully. Yuuji looked at her in shock, but she waved him off.
"Don't worry, he can hold his own." The levels of cursed energy Nanami radiated told her enough; he would be hard to take down.
She turned to face Junpei, who was looking at her wearily.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Good question, I'd love to tell you but I'm not quite sure myself yet," she grinned at the suspicious look on his face.
"What've you guys been talking about?" she asked. Yuuji scratched his head.
"Just about what movies we've watched."
Mina rolled her eyes.
"I've never seen one, so I really don't understand your enthusiasm."
"Eh?!!?" Yuuji and Junpei said at the same time.
"What do you mean you've never seen a movie before?" Junpei said in surprise.
"You mean you've never seen xxx, or not even xxx?! That one was really famous!" Junpei had forgotten his earlier apprehension, turning animated at the talk of movies. Mina laughed at the passionate look on his face and shook her head.
"I'm not from around here. Besides, I've never really had the chance to do something like that before," she said.
Seeing the wistful and slightly sad look on her face, Yuuji felt a pang of sympathy for the woman who, no matter how normal she seemed, was worlds apart from the rest of them.
Just then, a woman's voice rang out from the top of the stone steps above them. She was a middle-aged woman who had the refined air of someone who had aged gracefully. She looked to be in her mid-to-late thirties and was looking down curiously at the group.
"Oh, Junpei?"
"Mom?" Junpei said in surprise.
"It's unusual to see you out here. Are these friends?" she asked, smiling at us.
"We just met actually," Junpei replied shyly.
"We may have just met, but I think we can be friends," Yuuji called out to her, waving a hello.
"Really? I hope you get along well, then."
They exchanged pleasantries as she walked down the stairs to greet them.
"Would you both care to join us for dinner?" she asked. Junpei blushed furiously.
"H-hey! You're just bothering them."
Suddenly Yuuji's stomach groaned loudly. They all looked at him silently as he grinned sheepishly at them.
"Sorry. Hehe."
** ** ***
Yuuji excused himself after dinner while Mina helped clear the plates alongside Junpei. Junpei's mother had fallen asleep at the table after one too many drinks.
Ijichi, he'd mouthed to her, telephone to his ear as he went into the next room to speak to him.
Junpei fiddled with a game console as he waited for Yuuji to return, his hair hanging in a dark curtain which concealed part of his face. He accidentally made eye contact with Mina before quickly looking away from her watchful gaze. Her gaze bore into him as if those silver eyes could see right into his soul.
"You were bullied weren't you?" She asked gently.
She had suspected it from the moment she first saw him. The way he stood; and his mannerisms. A boy that was unused to and frightened of human interaction.
"Did they hurt?" she asked suddenly. Junpei furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Did it hurt when they pressed live cigarettes onto your forehead, over and over?"
Junpei trembled at the memory, and nodded, drawing back his fringe to expose old scars, along with some newer ones. Mina's eyes darkened as she gazed upon them, suddenly extremely glad those boys died such gruesome deaths.
"Souls cultivate violence as a form of power and control, what is there to expect," Mina said. Junpei nodded in agreement, a bitter look on his face.
"I have scars too." She lifted the bottom of her shirt, exposing a thin, silvery knife wound on her stomach. It was the only wound that refused to heal thanks to the uniqueness of the weapon that caused it. Junpei winced at the old wound. It looked deep and painful.
"Don't worry, you should've seen my opponent. They definitely came worse off," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.
She went to sit on the edge of the couch.
Junpei blushed at Mina's casual action of tucking her hair behind her ear. She had this unearthly quality as if she was distinctly out of place with the surroundings around her.
"Don't let your pain consume you. Because once it does, your life becomes a never-ending hell."
"You speak as if from experience?" Junpei asked curiously, noticing her eyes darkening to a flinty grey colour.
Mina snorted.
"I guess I am a bit of a hypocrite. I don't plan on resting until my enemies are dead," she said coldly, her eyes distant.
"I wish I could be like you," Junpei admitted. He sat across from her, his eyes narrowing as he noticed shadows moving around her feet and legs. The shadows appeared... almost alive, like a cat curling around its owner's legs. Mina followed his gaze and laughed.
"But you're no longer weak, are you?" she guessed. Junpei jumped in surprise, cold sweat beading on the back of his neck.
"What do you mean?" he asked nervously. Mina shrugged.
"It's faint, but you definitely have cursed energy."
"What?" Junpei found himself more and more confused about this woman's strange way of speaking.
"Imagine you have a core inside you. A tight ball right by your solar plexus. That's what holds everything that makes you, you. Now, your cursed energy is like a coating around that ball. Other sorcerers I've met, their energy tends to radiate from within that ball, but yours is growing externally," she finished, looking proud of her analogy.
"And what exactly is that meant to mean?" Junpei asked. Mina looked over at him from the couch she was lounging on. She raised an eyebrow.
"Tell me, who did you meet to awaken your latent cursed energy?"
** ** **
Yuuji hung up the phone before returning to the living room, where he noticed Mina and Junpei sitting in silence, looking at each other.
"What did Ijichi want?" she asked.
"Not much, just wondering where we were."
Mina got up and walked over to where Junpei's mother slept, where she took a few of her cigarettes and a lighter.
"Keep this a secret from your mother," she winked at Junpei before stepping outside.
The sun had just begun to set, and the temperature naturally dipped.
Lighting the cigarette, Mina inhaled, letting the warmth course through her.
She exhaled gently, soft tendrils of smoke seeping out of her lips, which, like her cheeks, were stained a faint pink from the cold.
She remembered the last time she had a cigarette.
She'd been training with an instructor at the institute, and behind his back, she'd stolen one of his cigarettes.
The first time she smoked, she coughed so hard she felt like she would cough up one of her lungs. But she gradually grew to love the familiar sensation of being warmed from within. It helped make her feel alive.
Finishing her third cigarette, she finally went back inside.
"You smell of tobacco," Yuuji said, wrinkling his nose as he sniffed her.
They both said their goodbyes to Junpei, who smiled and promised Yuuji that they would keep in touch.
As they were about to leave, Mina suddenly grabbed Junpei's wrist.
"Junpei, some things leave an unremovable stain on the soul and lead you to a point of no return. Don't do anything you will regret." She said this quietly enough so that Yuuji wouldn't hear.
"You still have hope and a bright future ahead of you once you leave your past behind you. Think of your mother as well," Mina said before she finally let go of Junpei's wrist.
"What about you? Do you have any regrets?" Junpei asked.
"Too many to count."