In the room where the faculty of both schools resided, the same familiar monitors overlooked the battle for the Goodwill event through Mei-Mei's crows.
"One minute to go," Gojo announced through the speaker. "All right, Utahime Iori-san, please give us a touching and encouraging speech."
"What?" Utahime looked at him in bewilderment, clearly unprepared for the speech. "Well, although injuries are inevitable... well... help each other from time to time. Something like that?"
"Times up," Gojo cuts her off.
"Gojo, you-!"
"With that, the sister-school Goodwill event begins!"
"Show some respect to your seniors!"
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"Was that Ichiro?" Yuji asked as the Tokyo students began running towards the battle area.
"Idiot," Nobara commented.
"Where do you think the Cursed Spirit boss is?"
"It'll probably be placed in the middle of both teams," Panda said. "But it won't stay still."
"When the time comes, divide into Panda team and Y/N's team since they're both good at finding enemies. We'll leave the rest to you, Yuji," Maki instructed.
"Got it!" Yuji saluted at her.
A couple of meters ahead, a small cursed spirit in the form of a spider appeared. "Where are you going?"
"It's a small fry," Panda said as Maki spun her spear, ready to exorcise it. That was until Megumi's Divine Dogs turned to the side as if something was coming.
"Maki-san, stop!" Megumi yelled.
The ground kicked up as Todo sent a punch to the cursed spirit, exorcising it immediately. He took notice of their presence and grinned, "All right. Everyone's here. Come at me together!"
Yuji ran up first as he jumped, grabbing Todo's head and kneeing his head directly. Todo was knocked back, giving the others a chance to escape.
"Split up!" Y/N ordered.
Instantly, Megumi and Maki followed Y/N while Nobara, Panda and Inumaki went the other way.
Minutes passed as the group went on exorcising the weak cursed spirits. Strangely, none of them had encountered a single Kyoto student. Y/N stopped in her tracks, looking over at Maki and Megumi.
"Something is off," She brought up.
"What is it?" Maki asked.
"The Kyoto team is travelling as a whole," She answered after using the shadows from the trees to detect the Kyoto's team presence. Y/N closed her eyes as she looked into Yuji's shadow and found that he was surrounded by the Kyoto team.
"Is it the target?" Maki questioned.
"Unless the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit is cunning, the Divine Dog will detect it," Megumi replied.
"It's Yuji," Y/N said as she opened her eyes. "They're trying to kill him. It must've been Principal Gakuganji's order."
"Let's go back," Maki said. "If our comrade dies, what's the point of winning the Goodwill event?"
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"They've been separated," Y/N said as she peered through all the shadows near them to follow the Kyoto's team movements. "Megumi, in the sky, knock Nishimiya out."
Megumi looked up at the sky, searching for her until he finally spotted her rooted in the air. Just below her were the rest of the Kyoto students.
"Knock her down," Megumi said as Nue appeared behind Nishimiya, flapping its wings as a shot of electricity shot her down.
"Mai, Mechamaru, go and help Nishimiya," Noritoshi ordered.
"Understood," Mechamaru said.
"Okay, we need her anyways," Mai commented before the two went off in Nishimya's direction.
Y/N signalled to the front where she spotted Noritoshi, Miwa, Akio and Akina running up ahead. "Maki, go for Miwa. I'll leave Noritoshi to you, Megumi. I'll take care of the siblings."
The two Zenins nodded their heads as they caught up with the Kyoto students and stopped them in their tracks.
"Kamo-san," Megumi glared at him. "Are you guys planning to kill Itadori?"
"What if I say yes?"
"You failed," Megumi said. "Itadori won't be killed that easily."
"We don't have a reason to kill him," Noritoshi replied.
"At least, the higher-ups and Big Four families do," Megumi shot back at him.
"You two are coming with me," Y/N smiled at the siblings before they sunk into Y/N's shadow, disappearing from the area.
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"Well, it's been a long time," Y/N smiled at the two siblings before her.
"Hey, Y/N..." Akina anxiously laughed. "Akio and I didn't want to kill Itadori. We can not fight, right?"
"Don't worry, I know you guys won't kill him," Y/N said. "But that doesn't mean I won't fight you. I really want to fight you guys."
"Akio?" Akina turned to her brother. "What do we do?"
Akio bit his lip, "Well if a fight is what she wants, then a fight she will get."
Y/N smirked as she summoned her sword, "That's what I want to hear."
Akio and Akina looked at each other before they nodded their heads. Y/N wasted no time as she rushed toward them, swinging her sword down at Akina first. Her sapphire eyes shone like jewels as she activated her cursed technique, swinging to the side to dodge the attack before she knocked the back of Y/N's head.
Y/N looked at Akio, noticing the slight shine in his red eyes, which meant that he had activated his cursed technique as well. Her left hand shot up as she tried to pull Akio down into the ground by his shadow, but he had already moved due to Akina's foretelling.
Akina had snuck up from behind, sweeping Y/N off her feet. She reeled her hand back, ready to give Y/N a punch when she suddenly rolled away. Akio, however, was already a step ahead as he grabbed Y/N's sword and pierced it into the ground, cutting off Y/N's escape route.
Y/N began to grow irritated. The siblings proved to always be a step ahead of her, if not even a couple. There had to be a way for her to be a step ahead of them. A way to reverse their positions.
Her eyes, Y/N realised at that second. Akina said she was able to see their opponent's future when she looked at them. So if she can't see...
Y/N quickly sunk into her shadow, disappearing from their sights. The siblings looked around, eyeing the nearby shadows in case Y/N appeared from there.
"Shadow Cursed Manipulation: Shadow Prison Hunting Ground."
Akio and Akina's shadows suddenly extended and increased in height, covering them from the outside world. Their guards raised in alarm as they could not see anything.
"If you can't see me," Y/N's voice echoed in the chamber. "Then you can't be ahead of me."
Immediately, Akio doubled over as a kick to his stomach was felt. He felt another kick to his back, another to his face, another to his side. He felt his lips bleeding from the impact, and knew he was done for.
"Thank you for the short, yet amusing little battle," Y/N said from behind them. "Now, sleep."
In an instant, Y/N hit the back of their necks, knocking them unconscious and therefore, automatically withdrawn from the battle. The shadows dwindled back to their original masters as they were back on the field.
"Gimodelo," Y/N called out the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. "Take them back to the infirmary."
"Yes, Master Y/N."
Gimodelo transformed into its original form and picked up the two siblings before it disappeared into its shadow, now off to do its task.
Y/N looked around, "What should I do now?" She began thinking when she suddenly remembered about Inumaki, who was searching for the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit. She closed her eyes, falling into her shadow before she reappeared next to Inumaki.
"Boo."
Inumaki jolted as he turned around before cursing in his language.
Y/N looked at him offended before she raised her hands, "I'm just here to help you out."
She then noticed Megumi's Divine Dog and heard snoring from the phone he was holding. It said Kasumi Miwa on the caller ID and guessed that Inumaki used his cursed speech on her.
Inumaki ended the call as he threw away the phone and patted Divine Dog's head, "Return." The shikigami disappeared into its shadow and returned to Megumi.
"So, have you found the-"
A sudden aura had entered their surroundings, alerting the two sorcerers. It was dark and ominous, its cursed energy incredibly high which likely meant it was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
"Kelp," Inumaki muttered as he got into his stance.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
Time passed by incredibly slow as they stood incredibly still. The beating of their hearts suddenly became the loudest thing they could hear. The sorcerers eyed a line of trees and suddenly saw the tongue of a cursed spirit. It looked at them before its eyes rolled up, and its head fell to the ground.
Moments after, a second figure appeared. Masculine body with visible black lines running across its body. Branches sprouted out from where its eyes were supposed to be and two prominent zig-zag lines down its face. It wore baggy pants and a white cloth that covered its left shoulder.
"Salmon, salmon roe, spicy cod roe."
"Inumaki?" Y/N looked at him in worry.
"Kelp," He said with a nod.
The cursed spirit stopped in its tracks once it took notice of Y/N and Inumaki's presence. Y/N summoned out her sword, inhaling and exhaling deeply to calm her nerves. It lifted its hand and multiple branches shot straight at them.
Y/N and Inumaki separated as they tried to get close to the cursed spirit. Most of their attempts were futile as they were mainly focused on avoiding getting pierced by the roots. Y/N jumped over an incoming root and found herself on another. She wasted no time as she ran on the roots, jumping and dodging all of the incoming roots as she swung her sword down.
A part of its branch was cut off, catching it off-guard. It quickly raised its other hand, sending another wave of roots to Y/N. The young sorcerer was sent crashing into a tree, her head pounding from the impact.
"Don't move."
The cursed spirit froze and Inumaki immediately grabbed Y/N by her arm. The cursed spirit was back moving after a few seconds, though Y/N and Inumaki were quite far from it. Y/N looked behind as she saw a root heading straight at them.
"Jump!" She yelled just as it shot into the ground, trying to reach them from under.
Inumaki didn't let go of her hand as he continued leading Y/N to a nearby temple building so that they could get some leverage from the cursed spirit.
"Megumi and Noritoshi are in the building," Y/N said after she detected their presence. "Come on, it's catching up with us!"
Inumaki nodded his head as the two ran even faster, sprinting towards the building. Root after root, it was a never-ending cycle. Y/N looked back just as she spotted the cursed spirit gathering a large number of roots to attack them.
Inumaki tugged on her hand, indicating for them to jump. Y/N followed as they ran along the roof. The roots grew incredibly large as they towered over the building easily. It bent into an upside-down curve where Megumi and Noritoshi were.
"Y/N-senpai, Inumaki-senpai!" Megumi yelled out.
The second-years looked at them and Inumaki lowered his tracksuit, "Run away!"
Their bodies listened to the command as they ran away from their spot and headed to the side. The roots crashed into the ground, causing dust and debris to kick up. Y/N and Inumaki jumped down from the roof as they joined Megumi and Noritoshi.
They ran along the wide path as the roots followed them obediently, not wanting to lose sight of its targets. The students turned a corner and spotted another exit. However, the door burst open as another bunch of roots appeared and shot at them.
Y/N quickly shifted her shadow to form a wall in front of them, shielding them from the dust and debris from the door and roots. The dust soon died down and Y/N lowered her shadow, still wary of any incoming attacks.
Just then, a veil began forming over the school, alerting the group.
"What the hell is happening?" Y/N muttered. "Another attack during the Goodwill event?"
"What do you mean by another attack?" Megumi looked at her.
"Last year, Kieran intruded in the Goodwill event and came after me. He did some crazy shit to me and then disappeared," Y/N summarised it for him.
Their surroundings began to change from the veil as everything became more yellow-greenish. Just then, the Cursed Spirit landed on the roof of the exit which was now blocked by its roots.
"Why would a Cursed Spirit be in school?" Noritoshi questioned. "Who cast this Veil?"
"Probably a Cursed User who cooperates with Cursed Spirits," Megumi answered.
"Megumi, Inumaki, it looks like his drawings, isn't it?" Y/N asked them.
"Yeah," Megumi nodded his head.
"Salmon."
"What is it?" Noritoshi looked at Y/N.
"I think this was one of the Special Grade Cursed Spirits who attacked Gojo-sensei," Y/N replied.
Inumaki did a call sign, "Tuna mayo."
"You're right," Megumi said and fished out his phone. "Let's contact Gojo-sensei."
"Wait a minute. You can understand him?" Noritoshi asked dumbfoundedly.
"That's not important right now," Megumi replied as he placed his phone by his ear. "The opponent might know how to use a Domain. We have to stay away and retre-"
The Cursed Spirit suddenly appeared by the side, alerting the four students. Megumi had lowered the phone subconsciously, which allowed the Cursed Spirit to break it immediately.
"Stop!"
The Cursed Spirit froze as Noritoshi threw out a blood pack. His right eye had a red cross as a result of him using his cursed technique. The blood pack exploded and Noritoshi took control of it, rotating it into a wheel at high speeds to form a bladed projectile.
"Blood Manipulation: Slicing Exorcism!" The blade shot like a bullet at the Cursed Spirit's head, yet not a single scratch was formed.
Nue came in from above, flapping its wings and lightning was shot down at the Cursed Spirit. While it was distracted, Y/N and Megumi came in by the side and struck a part of its body with their swords. However, it proved to have no effect at all as only a part of its pants were torn.
Damn it! Its skin is really tough! Megumi gritted his teeth in frustration.
Noritoshi then spotted Megumi's katana as he realised he had never seen Megumi use it during their attack. Where was he hiding it?
Just then, the Cursed Spirit began speaking in some sort of language before it finally connected with their minds. "Stop it, you foolish children."
"Holy shit," Y/N held her head after hearing its voice. It's speaking in a foreign language, yet I can understand it.
"I merely wish to protect this planet," The Cursed Spirit said.
"Don't listen to its nonsense!" Noritoshi exclaimed.
"It's not the same as those low-level Cursed Spirits," Megumi said.
"The forest, ocean and sky... They cry out in pain, saying they can't bear it anymore. They can no longer coexist with humans," The Cursed Spirit stood up straight. "They know that some humans are kind to this planet, but how much can that kindness make up for?"
It has its own language system, Megumi thought to himself.
"All they want is time."
"Ask Inumaki to retreat," Noritoshi said.
"If there's enough time, this planet can shine again." Roots shot out from under the wall behind the Cursed Spirit and fanned out behind it.
"A time without humans. Die, and become a sage!"
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