ayame's flower realm . JUJUTSU KAISEN

seventeen . solo mission

ayame stared out of the car window, watching as the scenery zoomed past her sight. the cold wind from the air-conditioner was stabbing her eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"that was the third sigh today, ohashi-chan. what's the matter?" nitta akari asked. her eyes are glued onto the road in front of her, stopping the car as the traffic light turned red.

ayame groaned. "i've got a bad start this morning... and i don't even know what happened..."

"i see..." akari pursed her lips, hesitating to continue,"i heard that there was a big scene earlier, right? was it related to that?"

"i was the cause... of the scene."

"ah."

the rest of the drive was quiet, with the occasional questions from akari, and ayame's answers ending each of the small talks. ayame felt guilty because she kept rejecting the woman's efforts of making small talks, but she couldn't really afford to care. a lot of questions are on her mind right now.

who was that woman? and why did she have an attitude? did ayame do something wrong or something? but they've literally never met before?

and why did himawari (ahem - black moon sunflower, but ayame likes to call it himawari because it sounds nice and short) suddenly come out? in her sleep? was it because ayame was trying to summon himawari in her dream?

at the thought, a hypothesis - or something, - popped into ayame's mind.

'i know! it's like you're trying to pee in your dream, but you end up peeing in real life too.' ayame nodded to herself. yes, yes, that seems plausible. oh, the times where ayame had peed herself while in her sleep because she tried to go to the bathroom in her dreams. those are the worst.

but...

'that woman... didn't she cast her own technique too? it was something like...'

"we've here, ohashi-chan."

the car stopped abruptly, causing ayame to be thrown forward in her seat. thankfully, the seatbelt kept her in place. always remember to wear your seatbelt, kids.

the two stepped out of the car, eyeing an empty construction site in front of them. ayame had left her jacket in the car, revealing the white dress shirt tucked into her skirt that she usually wears underneath the uniform. ayame placed her hands on her hips as she listened to nitta akari's instructions.

"... and that's about it. it'd be great if you could do a double check around the area after finishing up, but it's alright if you get tired. just have to make sure you clean things up the first round."

"no, it's okay... i can go around a second time." ayame said as she walked towards the gate, rolling up her sleeves to her elbows. "are there anymore information that i need...?"

"nope! that's all. i'm going to lift up the curtain now." akari smiled, holding a thumbs up. "do your best."

-

ayame glanced down at her watch.

'that was fast.'

her brown eyes scanned the area, now void of any cursed energy she could sense. well, except for one spot.

ayame glanced at the head underneath her foot that reeked of cursed energy. the head belonged to a cursed spirit that she had beaten up shortly before, the small cut on her cheek was a proof of the fight. ayame slowly inhaled.

the room she's in was a bit wrecked from the fight. there were holes and a huge crater underneath them, a result from ayame's final attack - she aimed to only blow a hole into the spirit's body, but perhaps she used to much force...? the spirit's body exploded from contact, leaving behind only the head.

"i hope i don't have to pay for the damages..." ayame mumbled, stomped onto the spirit's head and crushed it into pieces. bits of the spirit's flesh had gotten onto her socks, but ayame couldn't afford to care - it's going to disappear anyways. it didn't feel any less disgusting though.

thankfully this was her second time going around the area, which meant that she had successfully exterminated every spirit that she could find. ayame didn't really feel like going for a third, so she decided to head back to the car.

before she could make it out of the building though, a soft flapping sound entered her ears. ayame paused, and turned around.

"oh... i forgot about you guys..."

her eyes were met with three floating flowers - well, they didn't look exactly like flowers. more like... meatballs. with a flower slapped onto their faces. ayame wondered how were they keeping themselves in the air, but nothing ever made sense when it comes to spirits.

"you cleared the area, right?"

yes, the flowers were indeed ayame's one of ayame's technique. they act like drones, except they act on their own when ayame's not giving orders.

ayame had discovered them a while back when she recently joined the school - but she still had no idea what was their true purpose. for now, they only act as surveillance cameras.

"...! ...!!!"

their replies came in the form of small squeaks, and ayame nodded, holding up a palm. "right, you can return now... good job."

'i still don't get why no one understands what they're saying. they're literally speaking words...' ayame thought as the three spirits flew into ayame's arms, disappearing as soon as they make contact.

ayame shrugged to herself and continued her way towards the entrance of the curtain, stuffing her hands into her pockets. she pursed her lips, eyes absentmindedly wandering around the construction site.

"hmm, it's still early, maybe i should stop by somewhe - GUH!"

walking face first into a wall, ayame stumbled backwards. she rubbed her nose that was aching with dull pain and a slight tear in her eye. yeah, she should've paid attentio -

...

...hm?

ayame glanced around, straightening her back as if it would make her see better. confusion was written on her face, creases formed on her forehead. then, she turned towards the wall she had bumped into and placed both of her hands onto the surface. ayame squinted her eyes.

'this is... definitely the curtain. i can sense nitta-san's cursed energy in it, and judging from the structure, this is definitely a curtain.' ayame pressed an ear onto the wall, eyes closed as she quieted down her breathing. '...wait.'

another presence.

ayame wasn't alone in the curtain - and it was definitely not nitta who entered.