Cursed Legacy: Sayuri Gojo

第二十四章

Sayuri ran away, which was hardly surprising considering she practically had a PhD in it. Well, five PhDs, to be exact, if you count her extensive experience in the fine art of evasion. Now, if Utahime found out, she would lose her head. Not even her brother could save her. Utahime's wrath was legendary, and Sayuri had no intention of facing it head-on. She just wanted to leave in the middle of the night for a walk. Kyoto was quiet at night, a tranquility Sayuri cherished. Tokyo, on the other hand, was loud, constantly buzzing with life. She huffed. At least she couldn't get kidnapped again. Probably.

She popped in her headphones, started chewing gum, and let the music wash over her. Each song brought back memories, some good, some bad. Now, she had good memories (or so she hoped). "If Only" by Dove Cameron began to play, and she couldn't help but think of Sukuna. She looked up at the sky, wondering why she was cursed to fall for a curse. How, why, and most importantly, when did she fall for him?

Ah, the irony. Falling for a thousand-year-old mass-murdering curse. That's exactly what every girl dreams of, right? It wasn't like there were plenty of normal, non-cursed, living humans to choose from. No, she had to go and develop feelings for Sukuna, of all beings. Maybe she was the cursed one, considering her impeccable taste in romantic interests.

She chuckled darkly to herself. How many people could say they fell for the King of Curses? Not many. But then again, how many people would want to?

Her life was a never-ending comedy of errors, a twisted play where she was both the jester and the tragic heroine. She wondered if the universe was having a good laugh at her expense. It certainly felt that way. Maybe she should have gone for a walk during the day, but no, that would be too easy, too predictable. She was anything but predictable.

She sighed, her breath misting in the cool night air. Tokyo's lights blazed around her, indifferent to her inner turmoil. She couldn't help but feel a pang of longing for Kyoto's quiet nights. There, at least, she could pretend that everything was normal, that she was just another girl taking a nighttime stroll, not someone hopelessly entangled in a web of curses and chaos.

Sayuri shook her head, trying to dispel the gloom. She had walked away from worse situations. She would walk away from this too. After all, running away was what she did best. She just had to keep moving, one step at a time, one song at a time, until the cacophony of Tokyo became nothing more than a distant hum.

And maybe, just maybe, she would figure out how to untangle her heart from Sukuna's grasp. Or at least, figure out why she was hopelessly drawn to someone she should be running away from. But for now, she walked, each step a defiant act against the chaos that threatened to consume her.

But then she got attacked. Yay! Perfect timing. "Playing With Fire" by Sam Tinnesz just started playing. The curses. Fine, she could exorcise them soon. No special grades. She ran at blinding speed, touched one, and started kicking and punching the others. Flying kicks, triple punches, she was fighting like a pro on an empty street. If she didn't hurry, she might just be called mad and get arrested, which, considering her luck, she both was and deserved.

She exorcised one curse, but two remained. She fought on, expecting fatigue to set in soon, but it never came. She took off her glasses and continued battling the other two. With her bare hands, she exorcised one more, leaving just one. She touched it, chanted "Death Touch." and won.

Standing with her breath neutral, she dodged a strike from behind just as the lyrics
"Oh, I've always liked to play with (mmm)
Rite of passage, classic havoc
Match in the gas tank, ooh, that's wretched
 Unstoppable, legendary animal (mmm)"
played. Great. A Special Grade.

She teased him for attacking from behind. "A little cowardly, don't you think?"

The curse shrugged. "Strategic, actually."