Maki didn't slow down as she moved through the vacant streets of Shibuya, dragging along a barely conscious Megumi on her back, whose condition would have been concerning even without the added absurdity of his current state.
For once, the boy was completely naked, at least whoever did that to him had left behind his underwear.
Second, she was no doctor, she couldn't say why the boy was unconscious, so taking him back to Shoko was her top priority currently.
Lastly, she was irritated by all of this. Why was she supposed to be the one looking after this boy? She would rather be fighting out there, damn it.
Of course, she also realised how it looked, a teenage girl dragging another teenage boy on her back in the street while the boy was wearing nothing.
The only good luck she had in this case was that the area was already vacant.
"Damnit, Megumi..." She cursed again.
By the time she reached Shoko, she had long since stopped caring about appearances, though that didn't make the situation any less awkward the moment she stepped inside.
Shoko looked up from her latest patient, her usual calm expression already worn thin from the constant influx of injured sorcerers, but the sight in front of her made her pause for a second.
Blinking as if trying to comprehend what was going on. Fushiguro was injured and passed out, that was easy enough to understand, but what happened to his clothes?
Her eyes moved from Maki to the unconscious boy slumped over her shoulder, and then very deliberately back again.
"…I'm going to ask once," Shoko said slowly, blinking as if trying to process what she was seeing. "Why is he half-naked?"
Maki didn't even hesitate as she unceremoniously dropped Megumi onto one of the available beds, the boy landing with a dull thud. "No time," she replied flatly, brushing her hands off as if she had just delivered a package rather than a person. "He's alive. That's what matters."
From the side, Masamichi Yaga, who had been overseeing the situation, glanced over and immediately froze for a second as his eyes landed on Megumi. His brows furrowed slightly, and then he looked at Maki with a very particular kind of confusion.
"…Maki," he began, choosing his words carefully, "would you like to explain why Fushiguro is currently in his underwear?"
Maki clicked her tongue in irritation, already turning toward the exit. "Ask him when he wakes up," she shot back, clearly having no intention of dealing with that conversation. "I found him like that."
"Take care of him, I'm going." Maki stated and then just as fast as she had come, she left.
"Kids these days." Yaga grumbled under his breath.
"Were we this bad back then?" Shoko asked with an intriguing look on her face.
"Nah, you guys were worse. Especially Satoru and Suguru." Yaga replied, sighing at how everything had turned out.
Shoko let out a quiet sigh, stepping closer to examine Megumi's condition despite the bizarre circumstances. "Found him like this,'" she repeated dryly, though her hands were already moving with practised efficiency as she began assessing his injuries. But then stopped midway.
"What's wrong?" Yaga asked with seriousness, re-entering.
"Fushiguro here, I can't heal him." Shoko slowly pointed out.
"You can't? Is his condition that bad?" Yaga asked with contemplation.
Shoko at this shook her own head. "No, in fact, contrary to that, he is perfectly fine. I don't see any wounds on him." She replied.
"Then why is he unconscious?" Yaga asked, confusion entering his tone.
"Wouldn't we all want to know that." Shoko shook her head, not caring too much about the boy's peculiar condition until she was done there and went back to the previous patient.
Yaga folded his arms, still staring at the unconscious Megumi as if expecting some kind of explanation to appear on its own.
With Maki, she was already moving like the wind towards the centre of Shibuya, near the station where she first encountered that special grade curse.
She made a beeline straight there...
-x-
Amidst the destruction of Shibuya station, a single figure had entered the station unannounced and unseen. Uraume finally stood before the unconscious body of Itadori Yuji. It took her much effort to find him after he became unconscious and both his and Sukuna's cursed energy was suppressed.
Her calm gaze fixed upon him as if nothing else in the world mattered at that moment. She slowly knelt beside him with deliberate grace, unwrapping a cloth she was carrying all of Sukuna's fingers in.
"So this is the vessel," she murmured quietly, her voice carrying a faint note of dissatisfaction.
Without hesitation, Uraume retrieved the preserved fingers and began her task. One by one, she fed them to him, ensuring each was swallowed properly despite his unconscious state. There was no resistance, no interruption, and no hurry in her movements. At least for a brief moment, it seemed as though everything would proceed exactly as planned.
Five fingers in and everything was fine until she reached for the next one—
A sudden surge of cursed energy tore through the corridor, and pure bloodlust directed towards her.
Uraume's eyes flicked toward the source just as a massive wave of blood came crashing toward them, surging like a tidal force that threatened to swallow both her and Yuji whole.
"What do you think you're doing with my younger brother?" Choso stood there with anger bubbling inside him, and let loose a wave of blood at her.
She reacted instantly.
A burst of freezing cursed energy erupted from her, ice spreading outward in an instant and colliding with the incoming blood. The tide froze mid-motion, suspended in jagged formations of crimson ice, separating them.
But the attack did not stop there.
"Get away from my brother." Choso shouted, hands already clapped behind the frozen wall of blood.
"Piercing Blood."
A concentrated stream of compressed blood shot forward with terrifying speed, cutting through the frozen wall of blood like a bullet aimed directly at her. The attack was so fast that Uraume didn't even have the time to evade. Instead, she raised her palm, meeting it head-on.
The impact was immediate and violent. It tore through one of her palms and only stopped by another one of her hands.
The force drove her back slightly, the ground beneath her cracking as she absorbed the blow, her ice forming instinctively to reinforce her defense. Even then, it wasn't effortless. The attack pushed through her guard just enough to make the strain visible, though she ultimately halted it before it could reach its target.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. A big scowl formed on her face.
"Get away, you imbecile." She snapped. She had been waiting for this for such a long time, reviving her master. She would not have anyone delay her any longer.
Of course, Choso wasn't going to back down.
He surged forward, and Uraume met him without hesitation, their clash erupting into immediate violence as blood and ice collided in rapid succession.
Choso was no match for Uraume, to be honest, it became apparent immediately once the fight started. However, he persisted.
The confined space of the station could not contain the force of their attacks, each exchange tearing apart what little structure remained.
It was a short duel if anything, but the output of the fight was higher, much higher.
And while they were struggling, Yuji on the side showed some movement.
xXx
A/N : By the way, I have no idea about Uraume's gender. So for this fic, I'm considering her a female. If I'm wrong then please don't fill my comment section pointing it out. There is enough confusion about this character to begin with.
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