LADY AOKI || JUJUTSU KAISEN

二十二

"It was self defence! He attacked me first!" Anzu protested, earning a swat from Yaga. 

She knelt between her principal and Gojo, suffering a barrage of questions and scoldings from the Kyoto teachers for disobeying rules and attacking a student.

"To be fair, Yaga's accepted her as a student." Mei Mei commented pointedly. "Not that I'm taking sides, but it's pretty biased of you to single her out when all the students were fighting each other."

"I swear." Anzu placed both hands flat on the floor. "I wasn't trying to kill him. He attacked me first, and I reacted accordingly. I understand that I'm in no position to be trusted, but I didn't break any rules other than retaliating against the doll which would've attempted to kill me. I would greatly appreciate if you could realize and respect that I am rightfully a student of Jujutsu High, not some animal to be leashed and tamed." 

Besides, you knew I was holding back. Her gaze darkened then, and her face fell still, void of emotion save the unspoken threat just behind her lips. You know that I have no intention of siding with the Jujutsu higher-ups, I may respect you but you and I both know there's only one person in this room who is more powerful than I.

"Don't be stingy old man." Gojo drawled. "Don't pretend that you didn't see her help out Noritoshi, Megumi, and Toge. Antagonizing people isn't nice." 

"Misconceptions between students are understandable when she has the appearance of a curse, Kamo might've mistaken her for one of the higher-grades we released into the arena." Yaga defended. "This might not've happened if Gojo had taken the time to properly introduce her to the others."

Gakuganji scowled in discontent. He turned his nose up at Anzu and sighed heavily. He didn't trust her, not one bit, she was a threat who should have died long before even he was born. And yet, just like Sukuna's vessel, Gojo Satoru of all people had taken her under his wing. "Very well. Do so then."

"Gyaahh." Anzu winced when the room finally cleared out, leaving her, Gojo, and Utahime alone. "Doesn't matter what era, principals are always so scary."

"Tell me about it." Gojo nodded gravely. "It's the old man in them."

"Well, I'm going to head out for patrol, it's getting dark outside." Utahime dusted off her skirts before turning to leave. She turned momentarily to smile at Anzu, nodding in approval. "Despite everything, you did well in your part, Aozora. Gojo and I can handle the rest."

The reason why Anzu hadn't participated in the event was because she was assigned to investigate a potential threat seeking to infiltrate the school. The attack had been anticipated, but to not raise suspicion, Anzu, who could pass for the identity of a cursed spirit, was sent to intercept and establish a connection with their enemy. Utahime and Gojo were already working to seek out the traitor hidden amongst the school's inhabitants, but Anzu had ventured into far more dangerous territory to confront Mahito directly.

"You already met Panda and Yuji right?" Gojo tapped her head. 

"Yes." Anzu nodded.

"Cool." He smiled and rose to his feet, taking his time to leisurely stretch his long legs. "Come on. I already told the others to gather."

She followed him up a few floors to where the dormitories huddled in a snug complex, lights flickering behind closed doors indicating the ones with residents. Gojo strode past them all and headed straight for a living room situated at the end of the hall where Anzu could hear faint murmurs coming from within.

"Wait." She grabbed his sleeve, sudden panic in her tone. "Wait no I don't wanna do this."

"Well they already know you're coming, you'll be fine." Gojo ruffled her hair and pushed the door open.