"I am alive?" Utahime murmured in a whisper, looking around in a daze.
Next to her, the unknown tall figure of a man walked towards the remains of the cursed spirit- to be more exact, a severed, ominous finger that made her skin crawl.
'What kind of cursed object is this?' Her face was pale, but also scared knowing the figure had dealt with the cursed spirit in a flash.
Meanwhile, Jotaro narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sukuna's finger for a moment longer. 'It was much easier compared to last time.' He felt his lips curl upwards. It could be said that it was a rematch, but compared to the somewhat close battle that occurred last time, this was a one-sided beatdown that lasted no more than a moment.
Clearly, Jotaro's control over his stand had improved. He was no longer nervous like he was last time, nor shocked by the cursed energy Sukuna's finger gave of.
'No good thing can happen if I get overconfident,' Jotaro shook his head, trying to humble himself.
The next moment, his eyes turned to Utahime, who got up on her feet and took a defensive stance, facing Jotaro and pointing her phone light at his eyes.
Jotaro covered his eyes with his shirt sleeve.
"Away! Who are you?" Utahime asked, trying to appear confident while using her flashlight as a weapon, as if Jotaro was a vampire scared of the light.
In reality her previous actions had already taken away the possibility for her to pose as a threat, she looked like a lost cat startled for no reason.
Tap. Tap. Footsteps interrupted Utahime's serious act as she spun around towards the sound.
There, a human figure emerged from the darkness, her long white hair was reveled by Utahime's flashlight.
"Calm down, Utahime. I am pretty sure this guy would have already killed you if he wanted to," Her voice followed as Utahime reconsidered it.
"MEI MEI!" She called out and immediately joined the white haired girl side, still wary of Jotaro.
Mei Mei ignored Utahime and looked at Jotaro, whose hands were hidden inside his pocket along with the special-grade object. "You must be that new special grade, the one who made a fool of the higher-ups?" She asked in a calm tone.
"And if I am?" Jotaro answered rudely. He recognized the white-haired woman in front of him. 'Mei Mei' from what he remembered, she was a pretty awful person who's actions lead to him disliking her as a character.
Despite the popularity she received, Jotaro had a bad impression of her.
"Relax," Mei Mei showed her hands as a sign that she was not a threat. "It was just a question. You are pretty popular in the jujutsu world, you know?"
Jotaro's expression did not change.
"A tough guy, huh? I believe you have something we've been looking for. Care to share?" Mei Mei smiled as she got closer.
"Too bad for you, I am not here to do charity," Jotaro stated with a stiff expression. "Got a problem with that?" His eyes landed on Mei Mei's, a stare-down.
And after a moment,
"Nah, I am not dumb enough to pick a fight with a special grade, it was worth asking tho." Mei Mei smiled while Utahime leaned to her ear.
"Hey, this guy was in the same class as Shoko? He looks like he is in his mid-20s," Utahime whispered in a skeptical tone, but Jotaro heard her words very well.
'This bitch,' Jojo held his annoyance back as he let out a big sigh.
"Enough! Let's not bother each other anymore." He stepped towards the exit, passing the two sorcerers. While Mei Mei stayed still, watching him walk with a smile, Utahime backed down behind her colleague.
After his figure disappeared into the tunnel, Utahime finally let down her guard.
"What a rude guy... pretty interesting, though," Mei Mei murmured, watching the spot where Jotaro had left thru.
"And this guy is supposed to be younger than me?" Utahime also spoke out, while she was grateful to Jotaro for saving her ass, the fact that the mission was a failure because the curse object was taken by him also made her a little angry. "He could have at least shown some respect..." she murmured, her anger dissipating but then realized something else.
"Wait! You left me behind!" Utahime jumped back and pointed at Mei Mei with a betrayed expression.
"I was just making sure the path ahead was clear. It was your fault for zoning out," Mei Mei made an excuse and walked towards the exit.
Utahime followed while murmuring behind in a sad tone "What kind of friend are you..."
Since the mission was somewhat important for her future status, she also felt like she had lost a great opportunity to be a step ahead of that white-haired bastard and rub it in his face.
***
"Yeah, I got the finger," Jotaro confirmed as he walked through the lone streets in the dark.
"Well done. Someone will be there to pick you up in a few minutes," the voice behind the phone confirmed as Jotaro ended the call and stuffed his phone inside his jacket pocket.
'It sure is quiet tonight.' Jotaro looked at the dark sky for a moment, allowing the calm atmosphere to settle in. Since the location was somewhat isolated, there was no noise of cars—just crickets. People were fast asleep at this hour, and the stars in the sky were beautiful.
His peaceful thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the soft murmur of an engine as a black sedan stopped behind him. Without a word, he opened the back door and entered.
"Congratulations on your success, Mister Jotaro," a soft voice came from the driver, a middle-aged man whom Jotaro did not remember ever appearing in the anime. He was just recently hired as Jotaro's personal driver.
"It's not something to celebrate," Jotaro said, making himself comfortable as he leaned his head back into the soft cushion.
(A/N: Sorry for the long brake. Had exams and personal things to deal with, nothing bad happened but just don't got the time to write everyday so I hope the readers understand.)