Nana's POV
A few days had passed since Junpei's death and our fight with Mahito and both Yuji and I were still trying to recover from the pain and loss we suffered. Ever since Junpei passed away, I always had this thought back in my mind that if the boy had still been alive then we could've become best of friends. But sadly that wasn't possible anymore as the thought was just now fantasy and was far from reality.
And on top of everything else, it still clenched my heart like hell whenever the thought came to my mind that I was the one who killed Junpei in order to save Yuji and free him from his own misery. Sometimes, it felt right for what I did; I saved Yuji's life and put an end to Junpei's pain and suffering as he was already transformed into a cursed spirit by Mahito, meaning there was no going back. But then again, sometimes it also felt so wrong by thinking that I just killed a friend who I met a day ago because we ran out of options to save him.
Either way, it was the first time that I took away a human life and it was haunting me like a ghost ever since that incident.
"I didn't expect you to call me so suddenly, senpai, given that you're always so busy with your mission in Africa these days..." I stated with a small chuckle in amusement as I poured some coffee into my mug with one hand while pressing my cell phone to my ears with the other.
"I'm sorry that I can't call you so often nowadays, but today's the Exchange Event with the Kyoto guys and you're participating in it for the first time, so I thought of calling up my favorite kouhai and wishing her the best of luck." The certain individual chuckled back from the other side of the call.
"You're so sweet, Yuta senpai." I teased with a small smirk before taking a small sip of coffee from my mug.
"When it comes to you, yes, I'm always sweet, Nana." He stated in a playful tone and I let out a small giggle in response. "Anyway... how you're doing now?"
I went silent for a moment before I let out a heavy sigh and spoke up again.
"Good, I guess..." I muttered, placing the mug on the counter. "I'm still struggling with my problems, you know. Yuji as well... We just need some time to heal and recover from Junpei's death, that's all. You know, after that incident, I just started to realize one thing now; that in our lives, it's not all black and white. Most things in this world are in shades of grey; a blend of fear, anger and so many other negative emotions along with positive ones. I'm neither a hero nor a God. I'm just a normal human being who is also a jujutsu sorcerer, trying to do some good in life, but then again, life and fate are sometimes very cruel and there are times when we just have to accept those cruelties. It feels as if I'm a morally gray main character in my own story..."
"When did you become so philosophical, huh?" Yuta senpai asked in amusement and I chuckled in response.
"Life forced me to become one." I responded back with a playful sigh while I could feel Yuta Senpai smiling on the other side of the call.
"You'll be okay, Nana. Trust me." he stated in a warm and comforting tone. "You know what happened to me a year ago, remember? That whole situation with Rika...? It was really hard at first, yes, but I soon recovered from it and moved on with my life. And I know both you and Yuji will recover from this pain and trauma very soon as well."
This caused me to smile to myself. Yuta Senpai had always been like this; a comforting, caring person. He always knew to say the right thing at the right time to someone and that was one of the personality traits I loved the most.
"You know, Gojo sensei is really concerned about you, Nana." Yuta Senpai spoke up again and I raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Really?" I asked, slightly tilting my head to the side.
"Yeah... a few days ago, he came over here to visit me and we had some discussion..." Yuta Senpai added.
Flashback
"I have got a bad feeling..." Gojo spoke up in a serious tone, deep in thought as he and Yuta walked down the busy street somewhere in Africa. "If anything happens to me, I need you to take care of the current first and second-year students, Yuta. Also, Hakari would be just fine, so no need to worry about him."
"If anything happens? Like you getting a girlfriend?" Yuta asked in amusement, causing Gojo to deadpan at his student in response.
"You are a comedian now, huh?" Gojo asked, raising an eyebrow at him as he crossed his arms over his chest before letting out a huff. "And what if I do get a girlfriend? So what? I'm just waiting for Nana-chan to graduate and turn 18+. Then, I'll propose to her to marry me. It's just a matter of time, that's all."
"So much confidence...? As if she gonna accept your proposal that easily... Besides, I can't imagine what would happen to you, sensei." Yuta pointed out with a sweat drop.
"I'm especially concerned about the first year, Yuji Itadori. Just like you, he was up for secret execution. If you could keep an eye out, I would appreciate it." Gojo stated out before his blindfolded eyes trailed over to the side as if searching for someone. "Also... Where is Miguel?"
"He doesn't want to see you." Yuta smiled gleefully in response causing Gojo to deadpan at him once again.
Flashback ended
"The audacity of that idiot... thinking that I'll marry him..." I grumbled under my breath in annoyance while furrowing my eyebrows and Yuta senpai chuckled out in response.
"Gojo sensei is in love with you, Nana, that's all. He isn't someone to be committed in a serious relationship, but if he's being this serious about you means that things must have started to change for him. Perhaps, he's turning into a new leaf." Yuta senpai pointed out.
"Or perhaps, he's just turning into a pervert and now the time has finally come to put him in jail." I countered back in annoyance, making Yuta Senpai chuckle once again.
"Well then, I don't want to waste any more of your time as you need to get ready for the event." He stated and I nodded my head in response.
"Yeah. I'll talk to you later. Bye, senpai."
"Bye, Nana, and best of luck."
And with that, we both hung up and ended our call. After finishing my coffee, I went back to my dorm room and quickly changed into my uniform before I left my room once again with my rifle scabbard thrown on my shoulders as I made my way outside our dormitory to meet up with my team.
"Hey, Megumi." I called out to my ravenette friend who standing on the staircase with his back leaning against the railing and arms crossed over his chest.
"Nana, hey..." Megumi greeted back with a small smile on his face. "You ready for the event?"
"Yep." I smiled brightly at him and lightly bumped my fist on his chest. "Let's do our best together!"
In response, Megumi's smile widened a bit even more as he tilted his head to the side, his dark eyes bored into my brownish amber ones.
"It's great to see you smiling like this again..." he pointed out in a soft tone and my expression softened a bit in response.
"I promised myself that I'll do better for Junpei's sake from now on." I muttered and looked down in defeat before my lips curled up into a small sad smile. "This time I don't wanna lose."
Megumi was the only person with whom I shared my experience with Junpei and Mahito. Although I still kept the Yuji situation hidden from him upon Gojo sensei's request. Megumi was someone in my life who knew everything about me. He could easily read me like an open book, so sometimes it was kind of difficult for me to keep things away from him as secrets. I mean, we both literally grew up together and had been constantly relevant in each other's life for almost ten years now, so it was obvious that our relationship had molded into a certain form and taken shape like this.
Megumi opened his mouth and was about to say something back when suddenly someone familiar walked into the scene and interrupted our conversation.
"What?! Why are you all empty-handed?!" Nobara asked in confusion while carrying bags and luggage in her hands.
I looked over to see the second years standing just a few feet away from me and Megumi, facing Nobara with a confused look on their faces.
"What are you doing with all that luggage?" Panda Senpai asked, pointing at her items.
"What do you mean?" Nobara questioned back, trailing off a bit as Megumi and I slowly made our way toward the group. "We are going to Kyoto, right? For the exchange event with our sister school in Kyoto?"
"It's an exchange event with our sister school in Kyoto... Held in Tokyo, Nobara." I pointed out, crossing my arms over my chest, and Nobara's jaw immediately dropped to the ground after hearing my response.
"No way!" she yelled out in anger and frustration, grabbing her hair with her fists. "What did I make all those preparations for then?! I was totally ready to go sightseeing! This sucks! What a scam!"
"No wonder our conversations have been a bit off lately." Maki senpai pointed out.
"Yeah." Megumi agreed, totally unamused.
"Salmon." Inumaki senpai agreed as well, slightly nodding his head in response.
"It's held at the school that won in the previous year." Panda senpai chimed in and Nobara grabbed a fistful of his fur.
"Then don't go winning, you idiots!" she barked out.
"We weren't in it last year. Only Yuta participated to make the numbers match up!" Panda Senpai pointed out, struggling to get out of her iron grip.
"That was prior to freeing Rika. Apparently, it was an overwhelming win. I didn't see it though since it was held in Kyoto." Maki senpai added as Nobara finally let go of Panda senpai.
"I won't forgive you, Yuta Okkotsu!" Nobara yelled out at nothing through a rolled-up magazine in frustration. "Not that I have ever even met you!"
"That's misdirected anger." I sighed and shook my head.
"Salmon." Inumaki senpai agreed as well.
Just at that moment, Maki senpai heard faint noises of footsteps that grow louder causing her eyes to focus on the direction it was coming from. The noise was coming from the staircase across from us, from the lower level of the section we stood on. She knew perfectly well who it was.
"Hey, they're here." she spoke up and we all followed her gaze.
Across from us now stood participators of Kyoto Sister School.
"Oh, look." Mai spoke up in a taunting voice with a smirk dancing on her lips. "It's everyone from Tokyo together. You went out of your way to greet us? Disgusting."
"Okkotsu is not here." Todo noted as he looked around, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.
"Shut up. Hurry up and hand over the cake box, yatsuhashi, kudzu noodles, and buckwheat cookies." Nobara demanded, furrowing her eyebrows at the Kyoto students.
"Salmon." Inumaki senpai agreed while nodding his head at them.
"You guys hungry?" I muttered, sweat-dropping in response.
"Who is that first year? She's scary." Third-year Momo Nishimiya mumbled nervously while clutching her broomstick tightly.
"Never mind Okkotsu being absent." Second-year Mechamaru Ultimate stated in a hoarse voice before looking over at me, Megumi, and Nobara. "Isn't having three first years a major handicap?"
"A robot! It's a robot!" Nobara exclaimed in shock.
"Age is irrelevant to jujutsu sorcerers." Third-year Noritoshi Kamo pointed out before he gazed over at me and Megumi with his eyes closed. "Especially with Osaki-kun and Fushiguro-kun... They're from the Osaki and Zenin bloodlines respectively, but they're more talented than the heads of their own clans."
"Tsk." Mai clicked her tongue in annoyance.
As a neglected member of the Zenin clan, it irritated her to see someone from her family earn such respect and treatment.
"Something to say?" Kamo asked her and Mai pursed her lips before adverting her gaze to somewhere else.
"Nope." She muttered slightly in an annoyed tone.
"Now, now... please calm down, you two." Second-Year Miwa Kasumi jumped in as she let out a nervous chuckle, trying to prevent an argument from happening.
"Okay, now. Let's not fight amongst ourselves."
A familiar feminine voice spoke up and I looked over to the staircase to see Team Kyoto's teacher Iori Utahime casually walking up the remaining steps of the staircase, earning the attention of the rest of the students.
"My goodness, these children..." She sighed heavily before looking over at us the Team Tokyo. "So, where's that idiot?"
"Satoru is late." Panda replied.
"As if that idiot would ever show up on time." Maki added in annoyance.
"No one said 'idiot' referred to Gojo sensei." Megumi pointed out.
Just at that moment, right when everyone started to question his current whereabouts, Gojo sensei arrived at the scene while pushing a cargo carrier forward. On the cargo carrier was a box that held a pile of pink-colored hand-weaved dolls. Probably he brought those dolls from Africa given that this morning Yuta Senpai informed me that sensei went there to visit him in the name of a business trip. Then my gaze slowly trailed down to the huge box on the cargo carrier and my eyes immediately went wide open in surprise as I figured out who was there inside the box.
You got to be kidding me?! I can't believe they actually considered my stupid idea!
"Sorry for the wait!" Gojo sensei called out gleefully, scratching the wheels of the cargo carrier against the pavement before coming to a stop. "Hey, I see everyone's together. I was on a business trip overseas. So, I will now hand out souvenirs!"
"This is sudden." Panda Senpai sweat-dropped.
"Sure it's not jet lag?" Nobara questioned as she and the rest of us deadpanned at the childish man.
"Okay, everyone from Kyoto gets this protective charm from a particular tribe." Sensei grinned, handing out the dolls to every student from Kyoto except Utahime sensei. "None for you, Utahime!"
"I don't need one!" Utahime sensei barked at him in annoyance before Gojo looked over at our Tokyo team while doing some ridiculous extravagant poses at the same time.
"And for everyone from Tokyo, we have this!" he exclaimed, pointing at the box causing me to smirk a bit in response.
"Overly excited adults are creepy." Nobara deadpanned at him.
Right on cue, the lid of the box opened up and out came the fourth first-year student of Tokyo Jujutsu Tech, Yuji Itadori with a gleeful look on his face as he extended his left leg to the side while raising his right arm to perform a rock sign.
"Hey, OPP!" Yuji cried out in joy while Sensei gestured his hand toward the pink-haired boy.
"It's your departed friend, Itadori Yuji-kun!" Gojo sensei announced with a bright grin on his face.
Everyone from the Tokyo team, except for me of course, went completely stiff on their spot in shock as Megumi and Nobara stared at Yuji with distraught looks on their faces while the three second-year students deadpanned at the pink-haired boy, showing no sign of happiness in their expressions. Yuji had thought that his extravagant entrance would spark a sentimental, heartwarming reunion with his friends, but to receive such an opposite reaction started to make him panic from the inside. His eyes widened a bit as a tense expression plastered his face.
"Huh?! Huh? Huh?!" he cried out in panic. "They don't seem happy at all! No way!!"
"Okay, everyone from Kyoto!" Gojo sensei stated, tilting the box slightly so that Yuji could now face team Kyoto. "This is Sukuna's vessel, Itadori Yuji-kun!"
"What about the ones from Kyoto..?" Yuji wondered out loud, expecting a reaction of concern from those of team Kyoto, only to see them invested in the souvenirs Gojo sensei gave them. "They are too absorbed in their souvenirs!!"
Seeing the failed attempt getting unfolded in front of my own eyes, I couldn't help myself as I started to chuckle out loud in amusement.
"I-I can't believe you guys!" I finally spoke up between my chuckles as everyone from the Tokyo team including Yuji and Gojo sensei turned their attention to me. "I can't believe you guys actually considered my idea and tried to do this shit! Seriously, Gojo sensei?! You brought Yuji in that box?! And Yuji... you seriously tried to do that stupid pose?!"
"But, I thought your plan would work, Nana-chan." Gojo sensei responded back in a slightly confused tone and I slowly shook my head at him, crossing my arms over my chest.
"I was just kidding, sensei. I wasn't being serious, you know." I giggled out with a smirk while the others looked at me with a confused look and furrowed eyebrows.
"You knew about this the whole time?!" Nobara asked in shock while Megumi slightly furrowed his eyebrows at me.
"Yeah, but I have my reasons for keeping it a secret from you guys." I replied with a small smile before noticing the two principals just entered the scene with shocked expressions on their faces. "We'll talk about this later in private."
"Sukuna's vessel?!" Kyoto's principal Gakuganji gasped out in shock. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Principal Gakuganji!" Gojo sensei greeted the old man in full of excitement as he thoughtlessly approached him before leaning his upper body down to meet him at an eye-to-eye level, flashing out a taunting smirk. "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried you might just die from the shock."
Gakuganji's eyes widened at Sensei's words and a deep scowl formed on his wrinkled face.
"You damn brat!" Gakuganji grumbled out with an agitated face.
Another smirk formed on my face after witnessing the interaction between Gojo sensei and Gakuganji before my eyes traveled back to my friends where I noticed Yuji stiffen up a bit while still standing in the box as the rim of the box was kicked softly by Nobara.
"Hey." She called out and Yuji interlocked eyes with Megumi and Nobara, now standing in front of him. "You got something to say?"
"Huh?" Yuji mumbled out with a confused expression before he noticed small droplets of tears in the corner of Nobara's eyes, realizing that she was truly worried for him, and Megumi glanced at Nobara with a dumbfounded look and the pink-haired boy spoke up again in a sheepish voice. "I'm sorry for keeping quiet about being alive..."
I let out a heavy sigh at this before I walked up to my friends and patted Megumi and Nobara on their shoulders.
"Hey, listen." I mumbled out softly and they looked back at me. "Let's talk about this later, okay? Gakuganji's here and I don't think it's a good idea to talk about this in front of him now."
Megumi immediately understood what I meant and he nodded his head at me in response.
"Okay." He replied, giving Yuji and Nobara a knowing look causing them to go completely silent as well.
After that, Tokyo's Principal Yaga finally started to explain the procedures of the first event with Gojo sensei being locked up by the waist in his strong muscular arms, enhancing such strength that even sensei couldn't escape from which highly amused Utahime sensei in response.
"The Tokyo-Kyoto sister school exchange event will be held over two days. The first day is a group battle... 'The Wacky Cursed Spirit Exorcism Race!' The rules are simple. The first team exorcises the 2nd grade cursed spirit released in the designated area wins. Several third-grade and lower-cursed spirits will be released into the designated area as well. If a winner is not decided by sundown, the team that exorcises the most wins. There are absolutely no other rules. Of course, you are welcome to sabotage the others but remember you are all on the same side in the fight against the curses. This exchange event will allow you to learn about yourselves and your comrades through competition. Be certain not to kill other competitors or injure them beyond recovery. That's it. You are all dismissed until the event commences at noon!"
My team and I later made our way to a secluded room within the building of the main campus where Yuji took the time to explain his situation to Megumi and Nobara, defending himself as justified for his actions. But regardless, Nobara hadn't completely forgiven him, so she made him sit on his knees while holding a framed portrait over his face, as though he was a picture served for his own funeral.
"Excuse me..." Yuji trailed off with a dumbfounded expression. "Depending on how you look at it, this could be considered very extreme bullying."
"Shut up and stay that way for a while." Nobara responded back with pursed lips.
"Now, now... You heard his explanation. Cut him some slack." Panda senpai chimed in and Yuji gave him a shocked look.
"The panda talked!" Yuji gasped in surprise.
"Salmon, Salmon." Inumaki senpai stated out.
"What?" Yuji asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Inumaki senpai is a cursed speech user. Cursed speech is a technique that amplifies the power and compulsion of words. He limits his vocabulary to keep others safe." Megumi explained with his hands in his pockets.
"So, if he told someone to go die, they would actually die? That's really powerful!" Yuji gasped in awe, looking back at Inumaki senpai.
"It's nothing that convenient. It's all case by case, depending on their difference in strength. If he uses powerful words, he's hit with massive feedback. Worst case, it could affect him. Limiting his vocabulary is a way for Toge to protect himself as well." Panda senpai explained further.
"So, how are you able to speak, senpai? Are you some new breed of a panda?" Yuji asked in confusion and Nobara gave him an annoyed look.
"Blabbing on about people's techniques-"
But Nobara was immediately cut off by Maki senpai as she chimed into the conversation.
"It's fine. Toge isn't that kind of technique, anyway. More importantly, Yuji..." Maki senpai stated before reaching out her hand towards Yuji. "Give me back slaughter demon. You borrowed it from Satoru, right?"
Yuji gave her another confused look and started to think about the dagger before recalling that he actually broke it during his fight with that special-grade cursed spirit at the detention center. A wary and frightened expression cast over his face as Yuji immediately looked away from her.
"Gojo sensei... has it..." he mumbled out meekly causing Maki senpai to frown at his words in response.
"Tsk, that blindfolded dumbass!" she clicked her tongue in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest while Megumi and I deadpanned at Yuji for straight-up lying onto her face like this.
"So, what's the plan?" I then finally spoke up, crossing my arms over my chest. "The group battle format is what we expected, but we have another member now. Do we change strategies? There's not much time. "
"Bonito flakes." Inumaki senpai agreed with me.
"Well, that depends on Yuji." Panda Senpai stated before looking over at Yuji. "What can you do?"
"Punch, kick..." Yuji replied, putting up his left arm to show off his guns.
"We've enough of that." Panda senpai deadpanned at him and Yuji immediately stiffened on his spot in response, getting offended.
"I don't know what he's been doing since he's been dead, but if anyone from Tokyo and Kyoto fought him at once without cursed energy, Itadori would win. And also, he has been training with Nana, Gojo sensei, and Nanami-san for a while now, so I believe he'll be fine." Megumi stated while giving Yuji an encouraging look.
"Our biggest problem is Aoi Todo from Kyoto." I added in a serious tone. "And after our fight with Mahito, I believe that Yuji can handle Todo by himself."
"If that's the case, then Itadori, we'll leave that role to you." Maki senpai stated and Yuji looked back at her. "We'd rather not lose anyone who can scout out our enemies. You don't have to beat him. Just hold out as long as possible and buy us time."
"But you can be daring against him. To be blunt, we weren't counting on your abilities anyway, so it won't affect us too much if you have to quit." Panda senpai added while Inumaki senpai nodded his head in response.
"That's mean!" Yuji cried out with small tears in his eyes.
"Sorry, Megumi... You wanted to face Todo, didn't you?" I asked my ravenette-best friend in a soft tone.
"No, I'm good either way." Megumi replied with a shrug, looking all chill and cool.
"You're super dry." I commented with a deadpan look on my face.
"But, senpai, if I'm gonna do this, then I'm gonna win." Yuji stated to Maki senpai with a determined look causing senpai to smirk at him in response.
"But, there's something I need to tell you guys. It's really important." I spoke up again, gaining everyone's attention.
"What is it, Nana?" Maki senpai asked, tilting her head to the side.
"You see, the reason I kept Yuji's situation a secret is because Gojo sensei asked me to. According to sensei, as Yuji is Sukuna's vessel, an object of fear, the higher-ups and the major clans have always considered him a huge threat and on multiple occasions requested several proposals to kill him. But fortunately for us, they still couldn't do anything to him only because of Gojo sensei. When the news of Yuji's 'death' came out, they were quite ecstatic about the fact that Sukuna's vessel was gone. That's why Gojo sensei kept him hidden during these two months under my and Nanami-san's supervision and trained him to become even stronger. But now that Yuji's back in the scene and Gakuganji saw him all well and alive with his own eyes, I have an impression that Gakuganji might try to do something to Yuji in today's match." I explained and Yuji gave me a worried look.
"I agree with Nana." Megumi added, slowly nodding his head at us. "Principal Gakuganji is one of those higher-ups and I won't be surprised if he assigns the Kyoto guys to kill Itadori."
"The Kyoto students might not have anything against Yuji on a personal level, but they will still follow Gakuganji's orders anyway because to them Yuji is the vessel of the king of curses; another curse that's among a sea of curses in today's society. Even normal jujutsu sorcerers can easily blur that line. And if my prediction is absolutely correct, Mai-san and Kamo-san will most likely try to kill Yuji at first as both of them are from the two major clans, Zenin and Kamo." I went on.
"So, what are we gonna do now?" Nobara asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"We'll focus on winning the match obviously, but also at the same time we'll keep an eye out for Yuji and ensure his safety." I replied before looking back at Yuji with a soft yet encouraging expression. "You'll be fine, Yuji. I know you'll be okay out there. And also, you've grown even stronger than before, so don't worry about anything else. You got us and we've your back. Just focus on winning the match, okay? This time, let's do better and try not to lose again to anyone. For Junpei, remember?"
Yuji's expression immediately softened a bit upon hearing Junpei's name before he let out a small smile at me in response.
"You're right, Nana... This time, for Junpei of course." Yuji responded back, slowly nodding his head at me.
There was now only a minute left until the first event of the school exchange would start. Every participator of Jujutsu Tech was waiting at the doorway of the open side door, far from the main building of the campus, where the authorities resided. Megumi had noticed how quiet and calm Yuji had been since the start of their meet-up and found it a bit strange, so he took advantage of the remaining time left to ask him if anything was wrong.
"Itadori... you okay?" Megumi asked, walking up to him with his hands in his pockets while I watched the scene being unfolded from afar.
"Yeah, sounds like I've got a big role, but I'll manage." Yuji chuckled sheepishly in response.
"I'm not talking about that. Something happened, right? Nana told me everything about that Junpei Yoshino guy." Megumi countered back, furrowing his eyebrows a bit and Yuji immediately went silent for a moment.
"Oh yeah, about that..." Yuji muttered out with a small sad smile, looking down at the ground. "But it's true that I'm fine now. In fact, because of what happened I don't want to lose to anyone."
"Okay, then. I don't really want to lose either." Megumi responded in a soft yet determined tone before making his way over to me while I flashed out a bright smile at those two boys from the distance before I gestured for them to come and join the team.
Soon after we were given the signal to start the match by Gojo sensei, my team and I ran through the forest all together in one crowd.
"Where do you think the cursed spirit boss is?" Yuji asked.
"It was probably unleased halfway between two schools, but it's not just going to sit still." Panda senpai stated.
"At the time we agreed upon, we'll split up into the Megumi squad and the Panda squad for scouting. We'll be counting on you after that, Yuji." Maki senpai instructed.
"Yeah!" Yuji responded back, nodding his head at her.
In front of our group were Megumi's demon dogs. The dogs let out a bark as they ran ahead of us, signaling to us the appearance of a cursed spirit that was up ahead. The cursed spirit was a spider that was hardly doing any harm.
"That's small fry." Maki commented as she readjusted her grip on her sword and volunteered to take down the cursed spirit.
Just then both Megumi and I noticed a certain someone making their way towards us, causing me to immediately pull out my rifle gun from the scabbard while Megumi called out to Maki senpai.
"Senpai, stop!" Megumi demanded and I pointed the barrel at the cursed spirit.
BAM!!
I quickly pulled the trigger and shot a cursed bullet at the spirit, killing it instantly, and just then Todo came from the sideline and stood in front of us.
"I wanted to kill that thing." Todo stated in a low voice, gazing at me before his lips curled up into a large grin as he looked over at my whole team. "Great! You're all here! Come at me altogether!"
Yuji immediately ran towards Todo and jumped to grab both sides of his face before raising his left knee to hit the center of his face. Our team took it upon ourselves to follow through with the plan we made earlier and split into two groups.
"Scatter!" Maki senpai signaled us as she, Megumi, and I went to the left while Panda, Toge, and Nobara went to the right, leaving Yuji alone with Todo in the middle of the forest.
As soon as we separated ourselves from the rest of the group, Maki Senpai, Megumi and I immediately split up and went in three different directions. I continued to run through the forest and soon later came face to face with Kyoto's second-year student, Kasumi Miwa.
"Ah, Miwa-san." I spoke up in a polite tone with a small smile on my face. "Looks like you'll be the first one I'm facing in today's match, huh?"
"I think I can say the same thing as well, Osaki-kun." Miwa stated with a smile yet her voice sounded quite serious.
Then all of a sudden, we heard a sound roar that echoed through the air and I realized that it was Todo.
"Was that Todo senpai?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.
"It was." Miwa replied with a tired sigh.
"I think I understand why you failed to finish off Yuji." I stated with a smirk on my face. "So, Miwa-san, why did you distance yourself from Kamo-san and the rest, huh? Are you keeping your technique a secret from your allies too?"
"I'm sorry about Itadori-kun." Miwa stated in an apologetic tone. "I know this is an excuse, but I'm not like the others. Still, that doesn't mean I plan to hand over victory in this exchange event. You know that sorcerers advance in rank through a recommendation system, right?"
In response, I furrowed my eyebrows and gave her a skeptical look.
Where is she taking this conversation to?
"The exchange event is often discussed among the sorcerers without connections up the chain. Students who perform well here are granted many chances to advance while they're studying. Coincidentally, the person in charge of a student can't recommend them. For example, Gojo-san can't recommend you to be a semi-grade 1 or Grade 1 sorcerer... I want to become independent as quickly as possible so I can earn money." Miwa continued before pulling out her sword and getting into her fighting stance.
"Why?" I asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I'm poor! And I have two little brothers!" She replied in a serious tone.
"Are you okay?" I asked, sweat-dropping. "Are you getting along well enough with Mai-san and the rest? Aren't you too nice a person?"
"H-Huh?" Miwa stuttered out in response, being thrown off guard by my question. "Probably..."
"I won't hold back you now." I stated with a smile as I quickly placed back my rifle gun into the scabbard and pulled out Maki senpai's cursed tool, a polearm, from my back.
"Not a problem. That's not what I said all that for anyway." Miwa responded with a serious look on her face. "Besides, I feel honored to be facing you right now, Osaki-kun, given that you're Akiko Osaki-san's daughter and Gojo-san's most favorite student."
"I'm not Gojo sensei's most favorite student." I frowned a bit and Miwa gave me a somewhat confused look.
"But that's what everyone knows and talks about; that Gojo-san is very fond of you." she stated, tilting her head to the side, causing me to cough out awkwardly in response as I looked away from her.
"O-Oh, I see... is that so, huh?" I trailed off as my eyebrows twitched a bit.
Thank God they don't know that sensei's a pervert and wants to marry me in the future... Otherwise, they'd kick him out of the school and send him to prison...
"Also, I admire Gojo-san a lot, so I want to go 1v1 against you to get the taste firsthand; that is what makes you special and why you are his most favorite student..." She added and I deadpanned in response.
So she's a Satoru Gojo fangirl, huh... Can I get any luckier today...?
And right on cue, I dashed toward Miwa with Maki senpai's polearm in my hands to be the first one to hit the strike. I swung the weapon at her and she barely dodged the attack before swinging her sword at me but I quickly blocked her attack with the hilt of the polearm. As I continuously swung my weapon at her to strike a hit, I noticed that Miwa's swordsmanship was average and wasn't that impressive while I on the other hand polished my swordsmanship skills with the help of Maki senpai, Nanami, and Gojo sensei. In other words, I was on the side of the advantage. And not just my swordsmanship skill, but also I was way faster than the girl in front of me now in terms of speed, so my action and reaction time had completely thrown her off guard.
When I noticed an opening, I immediately swung the polearm down and hit her stomach hard with the hilt, causing her to fly away from me and land on the ground. As soon as she crashed to the ground, Miwa let out a loud cough and groan in pain and taking the chance, I quickly dashed forward to strike again. Even though this time around she was able to block my attack, the force I applied on the hit caused her to slide back and reach the edge of a small cliff nearby. I again swung my polearm at her and as she tried to dodge the attack once again, I found an opening and immediately swung my right leg at her, kicking her into the stomach and eventually throwing her down into a stream.
I jumped into the water as well and watched as Miwa who was now standing a few feet away from me got into a fighting stance with her sword in her hands as a blue-colored striking aura started to swirl around her. I immediately realized what she was trying to do. She was using her Domain Expansion; New Shadow Style - Simple Domain.
"Iaijutsu, huh? Looks like she has some trick too..." I mumbled to myself, furrowing my eyebrows at her.
This domain technique allowed her to attack anything that entered the 2.21-meter radius of her domain on full auto-reflex. It'd be released if her feet move from the point they were at when it was activated. On top of that, her quick draw was specialized against enemies attacking head-on. It was the fastest technique of the new shadow school, wrapping her blade in cursed energy while it was in the sheath to accelerate it. But to me, this won't settle the match for her, so she would rather focus her strength on creating an opening first.
But there was a difference in our reach. Rather than striking me, she likely wanted to knock away my cursed weapon and create an opening.
"In this case!" I stated out loud, holding either side of the polearm with both of my hands before I brought the weapon to my knees and broke it in half.
Miwa gasped out in shock when I did that and I quickly threw the non-cursed tool half straight at her as a distraction. As Miwa tried to dodge the initial attack by blocking it with her sword, I quickly pulled out my rifle gun and shot a cursed bullet at her as the second distraction before placing my gun back into the scabbard and dashing forward to attack her again with the other half of the polearm. I shot those two distractions at her back to back in a very swift motion and everything happened so fast that it literally forced Miwa to move out of place which ultimately deactivated her domain.
I swung the blade of the polearm at her and she barely blocked the attack with her sword again, but then much to her surprise, I let go of a hand from the hilt of my own weapon and quickly grabbed her arm before spinning her whole body in 360 degrees like a wheel and throwing her into the water with all of my strength and power. As soon as that happen, Miwa's grip on her sword loosened a bit causing her to drop the weapon in the water before she flew back and away from me a bit. Miwa coughed out some water and immediately stood up to fight back again only to realize that her sword wasn't there in her hands and she was just now disarmed by me. I on the other hand quickly grabbed the sword from the water and pointed the sharp edge at her with a huge grin on my face.
"Nice sword you've got here, senpai." I mocked and Miwa went rigid on her spot in shock.
"Sword stealing? Give it back?" she stuttered out animatedly.
"Sorry, but I don't think that's gonna happen, Miwa-san." I smirked in response before my brownish amber eyes began to glow golden in color and I looked straight into her blue eyes. "Sleep."
And in my one command, Miwa's eyes immediately started to shut close before she completely lost consciousness and fell down into the water. I then jogged up to her and picked her up in my arms before taking her to the dry land and safely placing her down under a tree.
"Well, one's down." I stated and let out a heavy breath.
Just then, I felt someone approaching me from behind and I looked over to see Megumi's white demon dog dashing toward me. The dog barked, signaling me to follow him and I nodded my head in response before trailing down his lead. Soon after the white demon dog brought me to a denser part of the forest where I noticed a tensed-looking Inumaki senpai standing a few feet away from me with Megumi's black demon dog by his side.
"Inumaki senpai?!" I called out as I jogged over and stood in front of him while the demon dogs dissolved away. "What's wrong?"
"Salmon." He replied in a serious tone, nudging his head to the side.
I furrowed my eyebrows a bit and followed his gaze, noticing a cursed spirit walk out from behind a big tree but then suddenly something attacked it from behind and decapitated its head.
"What the...?" I gasped out softly, and my furrowed eyebrows deepened even more.
Just then another cursed spirit walked out from behind the tree and my eyes widened a bit in surprise; a special-grade cursed spirit who looked kind of familiar.
Oh, that's right... He's from those hideous sketches of Gojo sensei... Hanami, the flower guy... He's working with that lava-cursed technique guy named Jogo...
"Kelp." Inumaki senpai stated out.
"?owt ouy, sevlesrouy yb lla ym, hO..." the cursed spirit stated which translated to, 'Oh, my all by yourselves, you two?'.
For some weird reason, in my mind, I could figure out what he was saying, but when I listened to his words, I couldn't understand a single damn thing. Inumaki senpai immediately got into a fighting stance while I pulled out my rifle gun and pointed the barrel at the cursed spirit.
BAM!! BAM!! BAM!!
I pulled the trigger and shot three bullets at Hanami, but unfortunately for us, nothing happened. None of my bullets pierced through his torso. It felt as if his body was made up of a rock or something.
"This will not work on me." Hanami pointed out and I quickly placed my gun back into the scabbard, given that my gun was useless against this cursed spirit.
I then looked over to my side and made eye contact with Inumaki senpai who slowly nodded his head at me.
"Salmon, caviar, roe." Inumaki senpai ordered out.
And with that, senpai and I turned around our heels and began to dash away from the scene at full speed. But of course, this didn't stop Hanami to follow us from behind. I looked back a bit and noticed Hanami shooting a wave of tree roots at us. Wasting no time, I turned around and ignited the palm of my hands with my blue hellflames before shooting a huge gush of fire at him, burning down his tree roots in the process. Hanami did scream out in pain a bit from the burning sensation, but that didn't stop him from shooting even more tree roots at us. As senpai and I ran through the forest while I kept on firing my hellflames at Hanami from time to time, Inumaki senpai, at last, turned a bit to face the cursed spirit before pulling down his high collar in one swift.
"Don't move!" he commanded and Hanami immediately went rigid on his spot.
Taking the opportunity, senpai and I continued to dash away at full speed before we reached one of the buildings on our school campus. With the help of my black beast Rashomon, we quickly jumped up and climbed onto to rooftop before I noticed Hanami making his way toward us. I then looked over to the other side and saw Megumi and Kamo on the fighting ground, going head to head-against each other. I was about to call out to them when suddenly Hanami arrived at the scene and shot a sea of giant tree roots at me and Inumaki senpai which went above our heads and the rooftop, hitting the side of the building and causing the ground beneath us to shake up violently.
"What is this?!" Kamo exclaimed out in shock as he and Megumi looked over to the side.
"Megumi!" I called out, making eye contact with him while Inumaki senpai and I continued to run on the rooftop.
"Nana, Inumaki senpai?!" Megumi gasped out in surprise.
"Run away!" Inumaki senpai commanded, using his cursed technique and immediately Kamo and Megumi dashed away from their spots before the tree roots could grow even more and land a huge strike on them.
Inumaki senpai and I then jumped down from the rooftop before the building could fall apart while Megumi and Kamo soon later joined our group as the four of us dashed away from the scene and arrived at the main entrance of the empty estate. The wave of tree roots continued to chase after us and when we reach the sealed doors of the main entrance, Hanami used his tree roots to block the doors and disable us to go through them.
"Tch!" I clicked my tongue in irritation before shooting a huge wave of blue hellflames at the roots.
Although the roots did disintegrate away as soon as my flames made contact with them, this didn't stop Hanami from creating even more roots as replacements. It was like an ever-going circle. Just then I heard a faint noise coming from above, causing me to lift my head slightly to see a veil forming around the area.
"A veil?" I muttered before looking back at Hanami with furrowed eyebrows who was now standing right in front of us.
"Why is there a cursed spirit at Jujutsu Tech? Who does this veil belong to?" Kamo asked in confusion.
"Probably the curse user working with that cursed spirit." Megumi assumed.
"Do you know something?" Kamo asked again.
"This guy's name is Hanami, a special-grade cursed spirit. He's working with another special grade named Jogo who attacked Gojo sensei just two months back. Hanami's appearance matches the report. I can tell even from that guy's drawing." I stated in a serious tone.
"Tuna with mayo." Inumaki senpai chimed in, gesturing us to call Gojo sensei.
"You're right. Let's contact Gojo sensei." Megumi agreed and pulled out his cell phone.
"Hold on. You can understand what he's saying?" Kamo questioned again while giving Inumaki senpai a confused look.
"That doesn't matter right now. Our opponent might use a domain. Maintain our distance and retreat to Gojo sensei." I instructed.
And right on cue, Hanami dashed toward Megumi and in a flash knocked his cell phone away from his grip using his raw strength, breaking it in the process. Kamo summoned his cursed technique and was about to take action but Inumaki senpai beat him to it.
"Don't move!" senpai yelled out and Hanami went rigid on his spot once again.
Kamo then took out a bag of blood and manipulated the blood into a shuriken.
"Blood Manipulation: Slicing Exorcism!" He called out and threw the sharp weapon at the cursed spirit, hitting it across the face.
Even after such a strong attack, the cursed spirit remained in good condition and unharmed.
"No damage?!" Kamo muttered out through his gritted teeth while I summoned Rashomon from my body.
"Rashomon!" I called out before the black beast dashed out towards Hanami to land a powerful strike while Megumi's Nue arrived into the picture as well.
Both Rashomon and Nue let out a battle cry and attacked the cursed spirit all at the same time before Megumi rushed forward as well with his sword in his hands to attack Hanami, taking advantage of its vulnerability for that one moment. Megumi went between the spaces of Hanami's feet and sliced the blade of his sword on his right knee before sliding back to us. I looked over and noticed the mark Megumi initially made on Hanami was already healed.
"It's really tough. It regenerates fast." I stated, narrowing my eyes at Hanami.
"Stop it, foolish children!" Hanami groaned out causing Megumi and Kamo's eyes to go wide open in shock.
"What is this?" Megumi mumbled under his breath. "I can't tell what it's saying by the sound, but I can understand its meaning? It feels creepy."
"That's his technique." I pointed out.
"I merely wish to protect this planet, that's all." Hanami stated and Kamo furrowed his eyes at him.
"It's a curse-spouting nonsense. Don't listen!" Kamo instructed.
"This is on a whole different level than lower-grade cursed spirits." Megumi commented.
"The forests, the oceans, and the sky all weep so vehemently that I can no longer stand it. It's impossible to coexist with humans any longer. They know there are some humans who are kind to the planet. But how much does their affection even help?" Hanami went on.
"It's established its own language system. Get Inumaki senpai out of here." I whispered to Megumi and Kamo.
"All they desire is time. This planet can shine blue once more, given a bit of time... time without humans. Please die and become sages." Hanami added, sprouting out even more tree roots from the ground beneath him, giving himself an intimidating appearance to us while I began to ignite my hands with my blue hellflames.
"This isn't good. Run, guys!" I ordered them before firing a huge wave of flames at Hanami and his roots, incinerating him quite a bit in the process.
As Hanami took his time to recover from the burns, the boys and I dashed away from the scene and entered the nearest building we found, running away from the sea of tree roots and the cursed spirit that followed us inside.
"Are you all right, Inumaki senpai?" Megumi asked as he was aware of the backlash of Senpai's cursed speech.
"Salmon." Inumaki senpai stated in assuring tone, slightly nodding his head.
"Here it comes!" I called out before turning around and firing even more flames at Hanami and his gigantic roots in order to slow him down while giving ourselves much more time to escape away from him.
"Stop!" Inumaki senpai yelled out at Hanami while I continued to fire even more blue flames at the cursed spirit, incinerating him and his roots once again.
"Convergence! Piercing blood!" Kamo immediately called out as he pressed his hands together and blasted a sharp line of blood at Hanami, wounding his head as hard as possible.
"Hurry! He's just gonna heal right away!" I shouted out before running away.
As we ran up the staircase that would lead us to the next floor of the building, I heard a small cough from Inumaki senpai beside me, causing me to worry about the health condition of my upperclassman. I furrowed my eyebrows a bit and started to think of a plan; if Inumaki senpai, Kamo, and I continued to attack Hanami in this cycle for just a little longer, then probably we would be able to get away from Hanami very soon. We'd repeat the cycle as we try to get outside of this veil and rejoin Gojo sensei and the others. But then again there was no telling when the current balance would fall apart. Senpai's cursed speech wasn't affecting him much anyway and we weren't getting a chance to contact the teachers. If Hanami figured out how to deal with Senpai's cursed speech, we were finished.
"Hurry!" Kamo yelled out before we all jumped out of a balcony and landed on the rooftop of the next building.
Hanami arrived at the scene as well and we all got into our fighting stance.
"Inumaki senpai will stop it. Don't worry! Just go!" Megumi ordered Nue and the bird immediately dashed towards Hanami, giving Inumaki senpai the opportunity to use his cursed speech once again.
"St-"
But before Senpai could even say anything more, he had already reached his limit and fell on his hands and knees, heaving for his breath while coughing out some blood.
"Senpai!" I gasped out worriedly and rushed over to his side before I began to use the Reverse cursed technique to heal him as quickly as possible.
As this was happening, right at that moment, Hanami took the chance and pierced an arm through Nue's chest, taking it down in one go. Kamo was also too distracted by Inumaki senpai that he didn't notice Hanami dashing right towards him until the very last minute. He was punched across the face as he flew away feet from us, but fortunately, Megumi caught him in his arms just in time, preventing him from falling off or crashing onto anything.
"Are you okay, Kamo-san?" Megumi asked worriedly through his gritted teeth before looking back at Hanami.
"Senpai wasn't using powerful words but it still destroyed his throat. It's just that much stronger!" I pointed out worriedly with Inumaki senpai in my arms while Megumi raised his hands to finally use his domain expansion.
"Mustard leaf."
I looked back at Inumaki Senpai and noticed him trying to stand up again.
"Senpai, no." I called out sternly yet worriedly, grabbing his wrist. "I'm not done healing you."
But Senpai didn't listen as he gently pulled his hand away from me and began to walk towards Hanami.
"Inumaki senpai... That's enough." Megumi called out as well.
At the right distance, senpai used the last of his cursed energy to attack Hanami directly.
"Blast away!" He exclaimed, causing Hanami to fly backward and crash into the building.
The last attack he had performed resulted in Senpai being in a much more critical state than he was before, coughing out more blood than he had before.
"Senpai!" Megumi and I shouted out worriedly.
Regardless of how strong his cursed speech was on most curses, it had done nothing to the cursed spirit. Wasting no time, I immediately rushed towards Inumaki senpai and began to heal him once again. And just at that moment, Maki senpai appeared in the scene out of nowhere and hit an attack on Hanami which unfortunately did nothing to him but broke senpai's sword in the process. I tried to heal Inumaki senpai as much as possible before placing his unconscious body safely to the side and standing up again, pulling out Miwa's sword from the back.
"You can't cut me with that dull blade." Hanami commented mockingly at Maki senpai while I dashed forward in a flash and swung Miwa's sword right at his face, causing me to cut off his right eye tree in the process.
"Its eye trees are more fragile than the rest!" I pointed out as I immediately slid back to Megumi and Maki senpai after landing a hit.
"Now this sword isn't so bad." Hanami commented while regenerating his sliced-off eye tree with ease and Maki senpai furrowed her eyebrows at him in response.
"I have something even better. This one feels disgusting to use though." Maki senpai stated while Megumi summoned out a cursed weapon named Playful Cloud.
The weapon was a nunchuck that consisted of three connected large sticks, imbued with cursed energy.
"Megumi, make absolutely sure you don't lose that." Maki senpai noted out.
"I won't lose it." Megumi muttered, furrowing his eyebrows at her.
"If you sold it, you would get at least 5 billion for it." Maki senpai added and I looked at the weapon in surprise.
"Huh?" Megumi questioned her in shock.
"Special grade cursed tool: Playful Cloud!"
Maki senpai quickly broke the distance between her and Hanami, spinning as she directly threw one of the sticks of her nunchuck at him. When the stick collided with his arm which he used to deflect it, she exerted a force that threw Hanami off the rooftop, and through several trees of the forest below. Wasting on time, Megumi summoned out his demon dogs and immediately rushed towards Hanami along with Maki senpai while I stayed behind for a bit, making sure Inumaki senpai and Kamo were okay.
A moment later, Momo arrived at the scene, flying in the air on her broomstick and I asked her to take the injured boys to the nurse's office as quickly as possible. She told me not to worry before lifting the boys on her broomstick while I bid my farewell to her and dashed away to join Megumi and the others. When I arrived at the spot, which was by the river in the middle of the forest, from a distance I noticed Megumi on his knees in the water with Hanami's cursed flowers sprouting out from his torso while Hanami held an injured Maki senpai up in the air with his roots wrapped around her whole body, disabling her to move.
"You shouldn't use cursed techniques anymore." Hanami pointed out at Megumi. "The bud embedded in you loves cursed energy. The more you use techniques, the deeper its roots will extend into your body."
"How kind of you to warn me... You're planning to kill us anyway though." Megumi scoffed in response.
"Apparently it works faster when I explain it." Hanami responded back.
And just then, from the sky, two familiar individuals jumped in and landed a strong punch on Hanami, causing him to let go of Maki senpai. It was Todo and Yuji.
"You're good to go, my friend?" Todo asked Yuji with a smirk, lifting Maki senpai in his arms while Hanami back-flipped and slid away from them.
"Yeah!" Yuji replied with determination and I finally came closer to the group.
"Stop, Itadori!" Megumi groaned out in pain, still on the ground. "That's not something you can han-"
Megumi stopped talking when I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't stress yourself, Megumi. Todo Senpai and I are here with him. So, don't worry." I mumbled out in a soft, comforting tone, giving him a reassuring smile.
"But, Nana, I just can't leave you here!" Megumi countered back worriedly.
"Someone needs to stay back and fight, Megumi. I'll be okay, trust me." I reassured him once again before Panda Senpai arrived at the scene.
"Panda, take those two and exit the veil." Todo stated, handing an unconscious Maki senpai in Panda senpai's arms. "According to Nishimiya, this is an anti-Satoru Gojo veil, so we can come and go without issue."
"Wait! Even you can't-"
Megumi was about to say something again, but Yuji cut him off.
"Fushiguro... It's okay." Yuji gave him a reassuring smile before looking back at Hanami once again.
"Looks like you have realized it... Nobody is allowed to touch those who have started growing wings. And that's exactly where Itadori stands right now." Todo pointed out causing Megumi to furrow his eyebrows at the pink-haired boy.
"If you die again, I will kill you myself! The same goes for you too, Nana!" Megumi called out as Panda Senpai lifted him from the ground with ease.
I gave my ravenette best friend one last reassuring smile before Panda senpai placed an injured Megumi and Maki senpai under his armpits and dashed away from the scene in a flash. I let out a heavy sigh and looked back at Hanami with a frowning face.
"Guess we can't afford to die now, huh..." I mumbled under my breath causing Yuji to smile at me in response.
"I won't lift a finger to help, Itadori, not until you land a black flash. If you can't land a black flash, then I'll just watch you die, no matter what happens to you. And the same goes for you too, Osaki, if you know what a black flash is." Todo stated in a serious tone with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Of course, I know." I scoffed at him in response, getting into my fighting stance. "Gojo sensei is helping me with this black flash training for months now."
Yuji on the other hand looked over at Hanami and furrowed his eyebrows a bit.
"You can talk? There's something I want to ask you. Are you allied with a humanoid cursed spirit who has a patchwork face?" Yuji asked in a serious yet menacing tone which literally gave me chill all over my body.
After a moment of silence, Hanami finally spoke up.
"And if I say I am?" he asked with curiosity.
This snapped Yuji as he dashed forward in a flash and landed a series of powerful punches and kicks on Hanami before the cursed spirit could even react. Finding an opening, Yuji landed another punch on his torso and Hanami slid away from him. Todo who was observing this scene walked over to Yuji before smacking him on his face. Yuji held his now red-swollen cheeks and stared back at Todo in confusion.
"My friend... anger is an important trigger for sorcerers. Sometimes they can be taken down purely because they accidentally angered their foe. And the opposite is also true. Sometimes they lose because their own anger disrupts their cursed energy, so they can't exercise their abilities. Your friend has been wounded and worse yet they have rained on your honeymoon with me, your best friend, so I can really understand why you would be boiling with rage. But that rage is too much for you. Put it away for now." Todo instructed him before smacking Yuji on the face once again. "Are those stray thoughts gone now?"
"Yeah..." Yuji grinned and nodded his head in response before he and Todo got into a fighting stance. "Not a single one left. Thank you so much, best friend!"
"I don't know how much I'll be able to use the black flash technique, but my hellflames are working perfectly against this cursed spirit." I pointed out and ignited my hands with my blue flames causing Todo to stare at the fire in amusement.
"If that's the case, then use your flames as much as possible, Osaki." Todo ordered before Yuji and I charged forward to fight Hanami.
After putting all our concentrations into our cursed energy, Yuji and I were successful enough to land powerful strikes on Hanami, using the black flash technique. Hanami on the other hand was taken aback as he didn't know how to react to this and when he tried to attack back, I immediately used my blue hellflames on him again, incinerating him in the process. Todo soon joined the fight while Hanami tore off the white cloth on his left shoulder, revealing a huge red rose with an eye in the middle, declaring that it was time for him to get serious as well.
Hanami then summoned giant roots from beneath us that attacked me, Yuji, and Todo, surprising us with his incredible attack range, but it all soon came to an end when I continuously began to fire my hellflames at Hanami and his gigantic roots over and over again. Taking the chance, Todo and Yuji got in close on Hanami and struck him at once. The boys tried to follow up, but the roots manifested from cursed energy suddenly disappeared and without footing, the two sorcerers began to fall from the sky. Just in time, I came in and used Rashomon to capture them before they could hit the ground.
The battle reignited on the ground as Yuji and I continue to trade blows with Hanami in close quarters before Todo followed up to help. As we slid away from Hanami, Todo looked over at us.
"Brother, Osaki, you two okay?" he asked.
"Yeah!"
"No problemo!"
"Excellent! Then it's time to unleash my technique!" Todo stated with a big grin on his face.
"Huh? Didn't you use it before?" Yuji asked in confusion, but Todo ignored his question.
"However! I have no time to explain my technique! So, there's only one thing I can say to you both. Don't stop! Believe in me!" Todo instructed us.
"What technique he's talking about?" I whispered to Yuji.
"A body-swapping technique, like how Sasuke Uchiha uses in Naruto." Yuji whispered back.
"Don't tell me he has a fucking Rinnegan now." I whispered out again.
The three of us were about to dash forward to fight Hanami when all of a sudden Todo's foot was caught by Hanami's roots and flung into a series of spikes that Hanami created. Shocked by this surprise attack, Yuji and I tried to go and save Todo but Hanami engaged us in combat instead. Just as Hanami claimed that one is down, Todo immediately clapped his hands together causing Hanami to be the one to get pierced by his own spikes instead of Todo.
"So that's his innate technique, huh?" I asked myself before noticing Todo standing beside me and Yuji.
"Oh, Todo?!" Yuji gasped in shock.
"I see... It's simple and therefore another troublesome technique besides her hellflames." Hanami pointed out, pulling himself out of those spikes.
"Yeah! My technique swaps my position with my opponent's. It's called: Boogie Woogie!" Todo announced proudly and I sweat-dropped at the silly name.
After that, the three of us wasted no time and rushed in to attack Hanami with Todo activating Boogie Woogie multiple times to switch his, mine, and Yuji's locations frequently. The three of us sent a barrage of punches and kicks at Hanami, who was unable to break out of it before Yuji struck four consecutive black flash strikes on the cursed spirit.
As we continued to fight the special grade, Todo used his technique to swap locations with Hanami who faced off against Yuji, and both managed to land a punch on each other. The four consecutive Black Flash strikes on Hanami weakened Todo causing us to think about how we could exorcise the cursed spirit. Todo switched Hanami's location with me via, Boogie Woogie and protected me from being harmed by the Cursed Buds.
We continued to push the special grade back to where our battle first started out at the river before Todo recalled Megumi telling him about Maki senpai's special grade cursed tool: Playful Cloud laying in the river bed and also how the trees on Hanami's face are his weak spots. Todo switched Yuji out for Playful Cloud while Hanami started to absorb the nearby plants' life force in exchange for converting it into cursed energy onto the flower bud on his left shoulder.
"Plants don't generate cursed energy... So, my left arm steals the life from plants and converts it to cursed energy. But that never gets returned to me. It all goes to this flower offering." Hanami pointed out as Yuji reappeared in the scene.
"Todo, Nana!" Yuji called out, making his way over to us.
"Stay away, brother!" Todo ordered, placing his arm in front of me and Yuji, blocking us from Hanami. "Its cursed energy output is incredible!"
"But it will be easy for you to avoid with your technique." Hanami continued as a bright yellow light began to flash out from his red rose, literally blinding us with it. "So, what shall I do? Domain expan-"
And just then, everything stopped as the bright flashy light went off and the veil above us began to disappear.
"Don't tell me?!" I gasped out softly before looking up at the sky.
There he was, the man himself with all his glory, floating high up in the air while showing off his beautiful icy-blue eyes aka his Six Eyes; Satoru Gojo.
"Huh? Gojo sensei?!" Yuji gasped as well.
I noticed Gojo sensei glancing around for a moment before looking back at us once again and making eye contact with me. His lips curled up into a small smirk which slowly turned into a grin before he sent a wink toward me and disappeared from the scene, causing my heart to skip a beat and my cheeks to turn all warm and red.
"Wait?! Where did he go?!" Yuji asked in confusion.
"He's somewhere near, Yuji. Don't worry." I reassured him.
"I'm withdrawing. I'm not arrogant enough to face Satoru Gojo." Hanami announced and started to wrap his body around his roots as protection.
"Screw you! What were you all trying to do here?!" Yuji yelled out in anger and was about to dash toward him.
"Wait, brother!" Todo warned while I grabbed Yuji in my arms.
"Why are you guys stopping me?!" Yuji asked us in confusion.
"Don't take another step forward or you'll get caught in it..." I replied, tightening my grip on the pink-haired boy as he gave me a confused look. "Sensei is about to use his ultimate move; Hollow Purple. This technique is a combination of the Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue and the Cursed Technique Reversal: Red. And let's just say you'll not survive once it hits you."
And right on cue, the whole Earth beneath us started to shake up violently. I looked over and noticed purple lightning from the distance.
"It's coming..." I mumbled.
Just then a huge gigantic purple lightning ball rolled through the forest, pushing through the trees, obliterating them in the process as the ball passed in front of us like a disastrous tornado or a tsunami. I closed my eyes and tightened my grip on Yuji even more, planting my footing on the ground as hard as possible as I tried not to fly away from the strong gush of wind that passed by just now. When everything calmed down and the ground finally stopped shaking, I looked over to see the ground was divided into half on which the Hollow Purple had just rolled over and there were no trees at those places anymore now.
Yuji stared at the scene with wide eyes and a dropped jaw while Todo let out a chuckle in amusement.
"He's just as nonstandard as ever." Todo stated, looking around for Hanami. "Now we can't tell if it was exorcised or not."
"Yay! That settles everything!" Gojo yelled out gleefully like a child from the distance causing me to let out a heavy sigh in response before my lips curled up into a small smile.
"Yeah... Sensei sure is nonstandard."