LADY AOKI || JUJUTSU KAISEN

二十七

"Yo! Suguru!" 

A young male's voice startled Geto out of his thoughts as he looked up to see his friend and classmate, Gojo Satoru, grinning maniacally at him.

"What's up?" He asked, an easy smile finding its way onto his own face.

The two boys stood out in the marketplace, even amongst the ample herds of tourists wandering to and fro. If not for their gangling heights, their loud arrogant attitudes, then it was their sleek dark uniforms marking them as first year students of Tokyo Jujutsu High.

Gojo had a small paper boat in his hand, and he offered it up to his friend with a giddy smile. "Try a piece, I found that store that Shoko recommended and when I tell you it does not disappoint."

Geto eyed the treat. Freshly pounded mochi white and soft as Gojo's hair, with sweet brown sugar syrup and soybean powder drizzled on top.

"Ah, no thanks." He smiled sheepishly, his eyes still wandering around the area, searching.

Gojo merely shrugged him off. "More for me."

"Say, we've got time right?" Geto let his gaze slide upwards to where a tour guide organized a group to enter the infamous forest that was Aokigahara. He licked his lips, thinking about all the powerful curses rumoured to have made the land their dwelling. He was strong, and born with a deliciously powerful innate technique, Cursed Spirit Manipulation, which allowed him to absorb and control the curses he defeated and ingested.

Now, Yaga had made it clear they were not to enter the forest, because as powerful as they believed they were, everyone met their match eventually, and in their best interests he preferred for their match to be merciful. Obviously, the minute the word "don't" passed his lips, both boys tuned out and the order flew over their heads.

Gojo smirked and nodded towards the tour group. "Let's tag along then."

They trailed along at the back as the guide began to tell a story about the lore behind the infamous Suicide forest. Gojo rolled his eyes and scoffed at the fan fiction of a tale, but Geto merely smiled and listened politely, finding it intriguing how far people's imaginations can fly when they were trying to explain something they didn't understand.

Though, something the lady said caught his full attention.

"Aokigahara grew from the ashes of Mount Fuji's volcanic eruption over a thousand years ago. Because of that, the earth here is incredibly rich in minerals which helps the trees grow extremely tall, but it also messes up GPS signals so that's why it's so easy to get lost. However, that's the science, there's plenty of lore and ghost stories as well. Some towns down the mountain will tell you a tale about a young woman who was murdered here back when the land was new. History gave her a lot of names: Aokigahara's curse, the vengeful lady, a guardian of lost ones, but she was most commonly known as Lady Aoki, the spirit of crossroads." The guide said in a hushed dramatic whisper, widening her eyes for effect. "The forest is her realm, where she protects outsiders from the vengeful souls who never found their way out."

"Is it just me or is the air getting a little tight in here?" A nearby man nudged him with an awkward chuckle. By his side, a young teen glanced around nervously. She stood out in the group, wearing a thin white hakama and fresh pink blossoms adorning her hair. He couldn't see her face, but she had a timeless, unsettling beauty, she could be both twelve and twenty or two hundred. The other tourists didn't pay much attention to her, but she seemed to be acutely aware of Geto staring daggers from behind.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's like there's no breeze."

To Gojo he lowered his voice and murmured, "you heard that right?"