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'What's this? Another memory?' Anya thinks back to another core memory of her past.
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10 years ago
Satoru and Suguru had been on many missions together before, but this mission, Anya, tagged along with them. They were currently walking through a forest to try to locate the curse. The three were in a line, each of them walking closely together. The sky was cloudy, the air was humid, and the wind blew the trees.
“It's kind of... eerie here,” Satoru comments as they walk.
“What's the curse supposed to look like again? One of Snow White's seven dwarfs?” She jokes to lighten the mood.
“Oh, shut up,” Suguru says as he looks at you and lightly shoves you. “That's not funny,” he says as he sticks his tongue out.
She smirked back at Suguru, and she liked having playful banter sometimes during missions.
“I have no clue, actually,” Satoru replies honestly. “It was just listed as a 'dangerous curse in need of extermination.'” Satoru says as he looks at the paper that held the mission's details they were given from Yaga. “Nothing else.”
She looked over towards Satoru. “Seriously? Nothing else? How did you know to come to this forest to find it then?” She questioned.
“Oh, well, there have been rumors and sightings of a dangerous curse here. I figured if they're true, then it would be good for us to check this place out.” Satoru shrugs as he talks.
“It doesn't seem like that bad of a plan to me,” Suguru says to you as he grins. “What do you think, Anya?”
“I suppose that's a decent assumption.” She said, looking around for anything suspicious, yet it was just trees moving in the wind.
“Let's just keep going,” Satoru says as he points forward into the forest. “It should be just ahead... somewhere.” The trees make the forest seem darker than it is, and the forest is already pretty dark to begin with. The trees block out some light from the sky and make it hard to see. Satoru and Suguru look ahead and check their corners while occasionally glancing down at the forest floor for any signs of nearby cursed energy. The forest is quiet, and the air is still.
Anya squinted. She thought she saw something move quickly in the distance. “Did any of you see that, or am I hallucinating?”
Satoru stiffens and looks ahead. He squints his eyes, straining to look in that direction. “Did you... Did you see something?” he asks. Satoru is on high alert as he looks to Anya to confirm if something was there or if it was indeed a hallucination. Suguru's eyes look around carefully while trying to listen to any sound he can hear. He looks towards that direction as well, trying to find whatever you might have spotted.
Anya walks ahead of both of them, walking over to the direction where she for sure saw something. With her ability, it does help her see things farther away and sense things. She has amazing spatial awareness.
As you walk ahead of Satoru and Suguru, they both follow close behind you. “Wait up,” Suguru says as he walks beside you. “Can you... do you sense anything? Or... or were you just imagining something?” Suguru asks as he looks back at Satoru, as if looking for confirmation. Satoru nods once as if to say that it was okay to walk forward. You lead Satoru and Suguru through the forest, heading directly towards whatever it was you spotted.
“You guys can't sense it?” She asks, genuinely surprised. “I mean, it's a bit away, but it basically right in front of us. Can you really not see it?”
When you ask your question, Satoru's eyes widen, and Suguru looks at him with a confused expression. “Well, no, not really. Are you sure you're not imagining it?” Suguru asks. Satoru seems to second guess himself as he looks ahead again, squinting his eyes.
“Are you saying it's right in front of us?” Satoru asks. He seems almost certain he can't see whatever it was you saw.
“Sure, sure, sure. Look at me like I'm crazy.” She unsheathes her sword and walks ahead. She jumps up and slashes the curses arm off, and it shrieks in pain. The curse slowly starts becoming more visible. “See?”
Suguru's eyes widen as the curse appears. He'd been second-guessing you, and now here is proof that you weren't imagining it after all. “Well then, that confirms it,” Suguru says as he looks up at you, impressed. “How did you even spot that in the first place?” Satoru seems to have come to a similar conclusion because he looks back ahead and pulls out his two wooden swords. They are both in the shape of a katana, though they don't have sharp ends.
“I could feel it, and I saw it running in the distance. It was pretty far away at first, though. I wouldn't expect you guys to see it.” She explains to them.
As you talk, Satoru and Suguru both nod. “I mean, I'm not surprised you could sense something strange. Our mission is to exterminate a dangerous curse after all. It's understandable if you felt something strange,” Satoru replies. “What you could sense it? Your skills definitely go further than what we thought them to be.” Suguru says. “I have to agree with that, then.” Satoru adds. “How were you able to see it in the distance?”
“I used cursed energy to see farther. My cursed technique is spatial awareness. Plus, I have a natural born ability of spatial awareness.”
Satoru and Suguru both nod as they absorb what you said. “That's amazing then,” Suguru says. “I'm jealous. I can't do anything like that.”
“That's alright, though. Not everyone has to be like that. We work together well as it is.” Satoru says. He doesn't even seem jealous or frustrated by how talented you are. He is more surprised by it. “We really are a strong team,” he adds.
“Indeed. Anyway, don't you both wanna take a jab at the curse?” She asks nonchalantly.
“I would... but you kind of already took a jab at the curse already with your attack,” Suguru says. The curse seems to be in pain from the injury you gave him. Satoru walks ahead and looks at the curse, analyzing it as he does so. He turns to you and shrugs. “Honestly, I didn't know someone could move this fast.”
As Anya looks back, she can see that the curse is still alive, though it looks in pain. “Well, it's still alive, so you can have at it.” Anya answers, not sure how to accept the praise since she's not used to it.
“Well then, we might as well.”
Satoru points at the curse again.
“You want the honor of finishing it?” he asks her. It almost seems as though Satoru wants to avoid having to kill it himself, but that could only be her interpretation. Satoru and Suguru both look at Anya, waiting for her response.
“No, I'll make myself useful and look for other curses. You guys got it, plus I don't want to steal your thunder.” She responds simply.
“Well, alright then. We'll kill it.” Satoru and Suguru both take an offensive position of the curse, and they prepare to attack. They exchange a glance for a moment, looking at each other to confirm that the other is ready. They don't hesitate and simultaneously attack the curse. They work together flawlessly. The attack is powerful, brutal, and quick. The curse is decapitated, though its final words are, 'Don't hurt her', or at least that's what it sounds like to Anys.
Anya swore she could hear the words, 'Don't hurt her' coming from the curse, causing her to turn her head back towards it. She stared at its decapitated head and body, wondering what that meant. She had a serious looking face displayed before she looked back at Satoru and Suguru with a smile. “Good job, guys!” She said with a thumbs up and a smile. But, she was still thinking about what the curse said as its final words.
Satoru and Suguru nod at you. “You did a great job, too! We wouldn't have found it in the first place if it wasn't for you,” Suguru says to you with a thumbs up.
They both laugh and relax a bit.
“Let's head back now. Our mission is complete.”
“Are you okay, Anya?” Satoru asks. “You seem concerned about something.”
“Huh? Oh no, I'm good, just concerned if theres other curses around or something.” She lied, coming up with logical reasoning for her concern.
“Ahhh, I see,” Satoru says. “We should keep an eye out for more of them, just in case.” He sounds like he completely believes your reasoning for your concern, even though he thinks there could be another reason. The three of you walk through the forest, carefully looking around for any cursed energy or signs of new curses. Satoru keeps glancing at Anya, as if trying to check your face for signs of worry.
She continued walking with them while also simultaneously looking for curses. She was slightly paranoid that the curses they killed was telling another curse not to kill her.
“I'm... kind of worried right now.” Anya hears Satoru mumble to himself. Satoru and Suguru both walk in front of her, looking ahead and behind for any signs of danger.
T
hey don't see or sense anything, which makes the situation more mysterious. They are on their guard, but they aren't stressed. Satoru looks at you again and asks, “Are you really okay now? You seem a bit... uneasy for some reason.”
“I'm fine, don't worry. Let's just.. keep walking.” Anya didn't sound too convincing.
Satoru's worry turns to concern as he looks at Anya with a serious look on his face. “Anya... please tell us if you're not okay. I don't know what happened after the curse, but you haven't been acting like yourself since we killed it. It's almost as if... you're afraid of something.”
“Well, actually-” She sensed a curse. A curse about to attack Satoru, she could see it, sense it. She could tell the attack was for Gojo, she forcefully pushing him down, as she took the attack herself. This action caused her to get hit on the side of her torso, which bleed.
“Anya!” Satoru and Suguru both look at you in horror. They can't believe what just happened. They rush towards you as the curse that hit her gets killed by Satoru and Suguru. “Anya, wake up,Suguru says, his words filled with disbelief.
“Come on, Anya, you're stronger than this. Just keep fighting.” Satoru says.
