The trees all looked the same as I walked past, the only thing differentiating them was the surroundings, I knew we weren't lost, because the straight line we were walking in held no repeats of the previous.
I looked at the front again and smirked in amusement as Shoko was looking at the ground, trying to avoid any bugs that were present. I shook my head slightly as she ducked to get as much distance as she could from a spider.
I hummed as I passed the same spider, looking further to see Gojo and Geto having a hushed conversation, and Akira walking next to Utahime.
I had a feeling I knew what Geto and Gojo were talking about, with the occasional glanced they would throw at Akira.
We had been walking for about twenty minutes after we got out of the car that brought us as far as it could, yet it felt longer with nobody talking loud enough for others to engage.
"What do you think the curse is going to be like?"
Shoko asked, trying her best to avoid the mud on the ground and step on the grass. I shrugged in response.
"Could be anything, honestly. I'm not really knowledgable enough on shines to deduce the appearance."
She hummed thoughtfully, nodding her head in acceptance.
We kept walking in silence until the treeline finally broke, revealing an old run-down shrine.
I raised an eyebrow at it, my eyes trailing over to Gojo as I felt him activate his six eyes. He was getting ready.
"This place is flooded with negative energy..."
The remark wasn't lost on me, but it sure was lost on Akira who walked forward, heading right for the entrance of the shrine. Utahime reached toward him, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him back.
"Kurogawa! Don't just walk inside!"
She scolded the confused teen, huffing in annoyance.
"We need to check the outside first, and put up a curtain."
Akira sighed at the given instructions and raised two fingers in front of his face, his lips moved in a quiet chant that I couldn't head, and I felt the curtain surrounding the air around us.
I looked up, observing the forming barrier of cursed energy between the outside world and us.
Looking around, I walked to the side, keeping my eyes on the shrine. The outside seemed as normal as it could get for an old rundown establishment.
I released a curious hum as Get met me halfway around the building, looking at the shine too.
"Anything unordinary?"
He asked, to which I just shook my head.
"Nothing that stands out."
I shrugged, tilting my head up to see Gojo who was coming into view on top of the building.
"Nothing on the top either! You guys think it's stuck inside?"
He asked, jumping down from the roof, and landing in front of the two of us.
"That's most likely the case, Satoru..."
Geto hummed thoughtfully, a hand on his chin as we started making our way back to the front again.
"We have to go inside guys! Nothing on the outside of this trash bin."
Satoru kindly informed the trio waiting for us.
"Gojo! Don't insult a Shrine!"
Utahime frowned at Gojo, her glare piercing through the white-haired teen. Akira was already turned to the entrance of the Shrine and I shifted my way to go inside with him.
"Wait!-"
I heard the shout from Utahime before the outside world was cut off as soon as we set foot in the shrine. The insides of the shine, as briefly as I saw them, disappeared, turning into pillars of wood, spanning in all directions without an end in sight.
I blinked, hummed, and looked over to Akira, who was staring at a woman who had a trench coat wrapped around her, a bandage around her eyes, covering most of her upper face, and long, straight hair, coming down to her waist. She was hunched over, on eye level with Akira.
"Am I pretty?"
It asked, the voice that came out of her was unnatural as I tensed, calling onto my cursed energy that refused to respond. I clicked my tongue as I realized we were in an innate domain, probably violence here was prohibited until either of us answered the question posed by the curse.
My thoughts ran a mile a minute, trying to figure out a way out of this situation.
"Sorry, I'm already interested in someone else."
Akira said casually and I deadpanned. This piece of shit...
The curse opened its mouth, and even the teeth were pointy, something that a child would draw on a monster.
I was about to try and use my cursed technique again when I felt Akira grabbing my hand and pulling. My feet left the ground as my eyes widened.
It wasn't long before my body impacted the cursed spirit, throwing her back into the wall of her innate domain.
"You asshole!"
I shouted as I was thrown to the ground, getting up and dusting myself off.
"What?"
Akira asked innocently, not taking his eyes off the curse.
"You used me as a fucking club, that's what!"