LADY AOKI || JUJUTSU KAISEN

四十

"Tuna mayo."

"Don't look at me like that!"

Anzu hid behind Inumaki as the two goggled at the ghastly sight before them. Miyazaki Naoko, lying spread-eagled on the forest floor and covered in deep gashes like he picked a fight with a grizzly bear the size of a freight train. His blood, still wet, looked black in the dim lighting, and the whites of his eyes glinted like those of a dead fish. By his side, his bow and arrows lay scattered amongst the roots.

The two teens had charged into the forest after the shadow only to realize that the archer vanished in pursuit of the mysterious entity. They'd wandered aimlessly for a while until the sudden thundering of fallen trees drew their attention, and it was there they found Naoko lying in this state. 

"We should get out of here." Anzu hissed. "Do you think we can drag him?"

"Salmon." Inumaki gave a hesitant shake of his head. 

"Okay well, there might be a chance that he's still breathing, so I think we should make sure."

Whatever (or whoever) injured Naoko to this degree, it had to be incredibly powerful, and that was something Anzu wasn't exactly eager to face. So she braved herself and approached the shadow's body, her small hands moving to grasp his cold wrist. However, the minute her fingers came in contact with his skin...

"Your thumb has its own pulse, so don't use it check someone else's." Naoko abruptly sat up with a groggy smack of his lips. Blood poured from his mouth, making him gargle his words, and when he turned to face her, his right eye lolled in its socket like a toy doll's. 

"EWWWWWWW!!!!!"

Anzu screamed at the top of her lungs and leapt backwards like a startled cat, her heel catching on a bit of root and sending her tumbling awkwardly into Inumaki's legs. 

"H- He's not dead." She pointed a trembling finger at Naoko as she looked up at her friend. 

Inumaki, in his moment of fright, had leapt into a battle stance, his jacket collar pulled down and his eyes wild as his outstretched hand lay between Naoko and Anzu. His chest heaved with each breath and even his hair seemed to stand on end as he froze in his state of wariness. 

"Lil' bitch." Naoko muttered, glaring in the direction where the curse had scored a blow on him. He groaned in discomfort and smacked the side of his head with his palm until his vision returned to him. "What are you guys ogling for? I'm fine. Well, I should be. My eye stings something awful." He slapped his face a couple more times and checked himself over like he didn't just climb back out of the underworld.

Now that they were looking more closely, they could see that it was just his clothes that were torn, and beneath was unblemished and fair skin. Rising to his feet, he roughly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shed his torn jacket with an irritated mutter. He seemed more annoyed than afraid or injured, and how intriguing that was.

"What was that?!" Anzu too, rose to her feet, though not as steadily. 

"Special grade curse." He glanced in the direction where the creature escaped. "Actually, no, it was unlike any special grade I'd ever seen. Honestly I would say that if there was a rank above special grade, that would be it. It's not that I don't get hit during a fight, but I haven't had to pull a stunt like this since I was a third year, come back from the dead and all. " He stifled a large yawn. "Damn it, that took a lot of energy to heal."

Turning to the pair of students, Naoko flexed his palm, and all around them, the fallen bow and arrows dropped into the ground through a series of black and red portals. He then opened one large enough for the three of them to pass through and gestured for them to follow.