"Alright, kiddos," Gojo says, stretchin' like he just woke up from a nap that healed all trauma. "Duty calls. Y'all get to play nice today without me."
We're standin' in the front courtyard now, not the training field. Bags slung over our shoulders like we just skipped class. Panda's holdin' a soda. Maki's got that don't-speak-to-me energy. Toge? Hoodie up, earbuds in, boppin' to somethin' spooky.
"You leavin' us alone?" Panda asks, brows raised.
"You act like I don't leave y'all with knives and demons all the time," Gojo grins.
Toge: "Salmon."
"Exactly."
He taps the side of his blindfold. "Go explore. Tokyo's big, weird, and cursed as hell. Just don't start a war while I'm gone."
Then he's gone. Blink. Dust swirl. Gone.
Panda cracks his knuckles. "Aight, who tryna hit Don Quijote?"
Maki rolls her eyes. "Let's just walk. I need air."
We hit the streets. Neon signs, packed alleys, ramen stands that smell like heaven and sewage mixed. It's noisy. Busy. Real.
Feels normal. For once.
We jokin', talkin' smack, arguin' about anime. Panda swear One Piece clears everything. Maki's tryna stab him over that take.
Then...
Somethin' shifts.
I feel it first. That hum. That static in your bones when cursed energy coils too close.
Maki freezes. "You feel that?"
We all turn.
There — in a back alley. Dark, narrow, full of trash bins and shadows.
Somethin's in there.
Panda sniffs. "Cursed. Don't look that strong. Hungry one."
Maki mutters, "No veil… shit."
Too late to argue.
It lunges out the alley like it was waitin'. Long arms. Jaws like busted glass. Crawlin' low, fast as hell.
Toge: "Stop."
It jerks mid-air. Shudders.
Maki dives in first, cuts deep. Panda barrels through the side like a wrecking ball.
Me? I charge in without thinkin'. Swingin' with energy that's startin' to feel natural now. A hit. Then another. And one more.
It drops.
Dead.
Then I step over the body, close my eyes, and say: "Arise."
That black mist crawls out my shadow. Coils around the curse's corpse.
It twitches. Stands. Hollow-eyed and silent — now mine.
Panda whistles low. "Yo… that's wild."
Toge: "Tuna mayo."
We back away from the alley, breathin' heavy, adrenaline buzzin' — then we hear it.
A gasp.
Turn.
Edge of the alley.
Some random dude. Grocery bags in hand. Just standin' there. Staring at us. At the corpse. At the new summon.
Then he screams.
And runs.
I blink. "...We ain't put up a veil."
Maki facepalms. "Of course not."
Panda groans. "Man… Principal gonna kill us."