𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖 || 𝐉𝐔𝐉𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐔 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐍

Chapter 21: All Bets Are Off

As her eyes slowly began to open, Mina found herself still trapped within the curse, with the outside world marred by a thick webbed film encasing her immobile form. Not knowing how long she had been unconscious, and worried about having left Nanami and Yuuji alone with Mahito, she sliced through the jelly-like flesh surrounding her as if it were tissue paper, causing her to tumble out, herknees hitting the ground painfully as the viscous fluid from the amoeba-likecreature trickled past her and stained the grimy tiled floor.

Hold on. A tiled floor?

Mina looked around warily, tense and alert - she was no longer outside the school but instead appeared to be in an underground clinic. Medicinal supplies were strewn messily on the countertops, and the two tables were empty, save for dark-coloured stains which looked suspiciously like dried blood.

Were Nanami and Yuuji still alive? She hoped so, she had no doubt they were competent enough to withstand Mahito's attacks.

It was at that moment when the doors to the clinic burst open, heralding the arrival of a certain white-haired pain in the ass, and Yuuji Itadori.

"Mina–" Yuuji stopped short, the relief on his face morphing into confusion. Realising she was still on her knees, she slowly stood up, wincing at the soreness radiating from every part of her body.

"Mina, what happened to your eyes!" Yuuji exclaimed, rushing to her side and fretting over her in that endearing way of his. She briefly wondered if this was what it felt like having a younger brother worrying after her as Yuuji looked at her with a worried expression on his face. Gojou stood next to him in the meantime, silently observing her. She merely nodded at him. She could never really tell what he was thinking, but with his eyes covered he was at an advantage.

The eyes were the window to the soul after all.

Upon catching sight of her reflection in a grimy mirror hanging on the wall, Mina saw what Yuuji was talking about – her eyes had turned a bright silver with mottled flecks of amber.

Pyra's already made his mark, she thought wryly, their contract having left a permanent mark on her body—a symbol, she surmised, of their now symbiotic relationship. A small, vain part of her noted how they made her look more alluring. And deadly.

She waved Yuuji's concerns off, saying it was nothing of importance.

Yuujiseemed to accept this answer, despite his face saying otherwise. Before she could begin to enquire about Nanami and what had happened while she was in the curse, Gojou pushed away from the wall he had been leaning against.

"You've been inside the curse for a few days now, and cursed techniques weren't working. So how did you get out?" Gojou asked interestedly. Mina just shrugged.

"I don't know, I just did."

The look Gojou gave her was sceptical, obvious even with the mask. She pointedly ignored him and changed the subject.

"Where is Nanami?" she asked, looking around at his quite noticeable absence.

"He had another job to go to yesterday."

"Did anything happen while you were in the curse?" Gojou asked suddenly, causing her to grimace as she stretched. He didn't seem as easy to placate at Yuuji and wasn't letting this go.

Mina was still wary of Gojou and his willingness to help her. He'd told her where the Codex was but had been reluctant to offer help in getting it. Which led her to believe two things: one, he knew more about it than he let on; and two, he was reluctant to let such a powerful object into the hands of a powerful being.