[On Hiatus] The Cursed and the Blessed (Gojo SatoruxOC)

12: The Geniuses

Two weeks passed by without a hitch. With several Sorcerers transferred to Tokyo, the first-years' patrols ceased to be, and they spent both daylight and night time undergoing Sakura's brutal routine. After the initial painful two weeks, the third was much easier to all of them. Their bodies had begun to adjust to the training well, improving in a pace unprecedented even to Kana. While Nanami was clearly the superior one of the group, the others had managed to keep up, and Kana found herself surviving Yaga's plush toys for an extended fifty minutes. Sakura had also spiced their trainings with some martial arts basics, mostly directed to Kiyotaka and Kana as they were horrendous in terms of self-defence without their Cursed Technique. Then again, they didn't protest, and gobbled up the regiment like a protein shake with chilli flakes blended in.

Investigations regarding Takahashi Ryo had stalled considerably. Despite the College's efforts in tracking down the man, his trace had somehow vanished completely, leaving only the site of the latest incident as evidence of his actions. "He must be planning something big," Minoru had told them one day when Kana had met him in the library, before he went on to call Mika and shouted at her. Aside from that, however, nothing went amiss.

It was in the beginning of their fifth week that Sakura announced, "It is time for you to know what I've been concocting with Masamichi-sensei."

Immediately they straightened themselves, after dumbly listening to Sakura lecture about Cursed Seals for an hour. They had seen her talk to Yaga at nights, sober even though ten bottles of sake were next to her. Sometimes she would jot down something in her notepad, snickering as she glanced at her students, before stuffing the notepad into her pocket like a thief. At this point, they had only expected the worst from her—Nanami had even speculated that she would just let them fight a Curse bare-handed.

"In two months, our campus will be holding the Kyoto Goodwill Event," she began, clearing her throat. "As you might have heard, it is traditionally participated by everyone except the first-years. But, since the third and fourth years are either on long-term duties, internships, or promotional attachments, we'll need to make do with the first-years participating this year."

"Sweet!" Yu said.

"Don't be too happy just yet, Yu-kun," Sakura intervened. "The problem is, all of you will certainly lose against the Kyoto College students."

"I thought we have Gojo Satoru participating as well?" Nanami asked. "That's how we won in a landslide last year, didn't we?"

Sakura threw a wet towel at Nanami's head, thought he managed to catch it. "Stop relying on Gojo Satoru, for Heaven's sake! Yes, we did win in a landslide in the first round, but the second round was a one-versus-one match which we narrowly won because everyone thought Gojo Satoru could help them. No, you need to depend on yourselves for this event. What's more, the many of the people at Kyoto come from great Sorcerer Families, or have exorcised Grade 2 Curses for their whole lives. As I see it, you guys are terribly disadvantaged."

Her cat-like grin suddenly slithered onto her face. "And that's where our training programme come in. As you might have known, I am a very busy person, especially outside school hours, so I can't supervise your training even if I want to. Which is why, I am asking help from two of the most capable people around here!"

Suddenly, the door was kicked open. Gojo Satoru skidded into the room and raised his hand, Statue of Liberty Style. "It is I, Gojo Satoru! The Strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer!" he exclaimed.

"What?" the four of them muttered.

"Not the strongest, might I correct you," Geto Suguru added as he strolled into the room. "We're still on par."