𝑨𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓.
Once, Sukuna was her closest friend, her ally in a world filled with darkness and cursed spirits. But as his strength grows, so does the distance betw...
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𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑳𝑳 𝑾𝑨𝑺 𝑫𝑰𝑴,
its stone walls casting long shadows that stretched like fingers in the faint light. The air held a chill, a sharp contrast to the heat of the battle they'd left behind in the village. Aya felt it seep into her skin, the cool dampness settling into her bones as she made her way into the debriefing room.
Her side throbbed beneath the bandages, each step a reminder of the mission's cost. The wound, hastily patched after the fight, hadn't dulled her senses but had left her movements restrained, every breath catching slightly. She forced herself to ignore it, to push the discomfort to the edges of her awareness as she took her seat.
Around her, the others gathered in silence. Ren sat beside her, his expression a mix of pride and exhaustion, still carrying the weight of his close call during the battle. He was trying to hide it, the way his shoulders drooped slightly, the way his fingers fidgeted at the edge of the table. Across from him, Mai reclined, arms crossed, her face unreadable, though her eyes held a hint of tension that matched Aya's own.
Sukuna took his place near the head of the table, his stance relaxed but his gaze unyielding. His presence filled the room, an unspoken challenge lingering in his silence, as if he dared anyone to critique his approach. Shiro entered last, his movements deliberate, precise, his expression a mask of control that betrayed nothing.
The silence lingered, heavy and thick, before Shiro's voice cut through it, steady but edged with something colder.
"We should discuss what just happened."
Aya glanced at him, catching the slight strain in his features as he scanned the room. His gaze rested on Sukuna for a moment, lingering just long enough to convey a silent reproach. Sukuna met his stare evenly, his mouth set in a hard line, his eyes glinting with the restrained energy that had yet to settle since the fight.
Shiro's gaze shifted, and he addressed the group as a whole.
"That curse was unpredictable, yes, but our response to it was... scattered." His tone remained even, but Aya could sense the frustration simmering beneath the words.
A faint tension rippled through the group, unspoken but felt. Shiro's eyes flicked to Sukuna again.
"We move as a unit," he continued, voice clipped. "That means we rely on each other's strengths, and we don't act recklessly. That's how we stay alive."
