-Medical Emergency-
-From Satoru Gojo's Perspective-
Smirking, I looked down at my phone.
At the messages I had exchanged with Megumi while Mayu was dealing with the curse behind me in the department store. Whatever those two had talked about, it was damn brilliant.
Somehow, they had managed to have Megumi help Mayu from the outside. That was incredibly clever.
Especially considering Megumi—I honestly hadn't thought him capable of that. He'd have to tell me later exactly how he pulled it off.
In the meantime, I listened uneasily to the surrounding silence. Occasionally, I could still hear the chirping of birds, the sound of engines drifting over from the distant main road—but no sounds or calls from Mayu.
I had secretly been waiting for my agreed-upon "cherry." My little reference to her cherry-red cheeks she liked to wear so often.
That worried me a little, and I caught myself more than once almost peeking in to check how she was doing, but I wanted her to handle this completely on her own. Surely it had to be possible that she could tap into her cursed energy today. I had even considered giving her a good scare—but I refrained from that too.
Back in the car, I'd already noticed how tense she was, and that probably would have caused cardiac arrest in someone as jumpy as her.
I smirked again.
In her position, I would've felt the same way, but she had bravely faced her task. Not that she'd had a choice.
With rising nervousness, I stared at my phone again. No new messages. Certainly not from Mayu.
Should I check after all?
I turned toward the entrance of the department store, placed my hand on the door and… took it off again. Patience wasn't exactly my strong suit. Still, I placed my hand on the door once more and gave a quick, concise look inside. "Wrecked" was only a partial description of what I could see. But no Mayu. I didn't hear any cries for help, footsteps, or anything suspicious either. So I silently withdrew and kept waiting.
Minute after minute passed.
Still no warning signs.
If she ends up dying in there, I'll kill her again myself!
Standing still in one place wasn't an option for me right now, so I paced a few steps back and forth. Secretly, I really hoped nothing would happen to her. Because slowly, a quiet feeling crept in that maybe it had been a mistake to let her loose on a cursed spirit so recklessly.