Chapter 6: The Exchange Event
Summary: The Tokyo crew travel to Kyoto to participate in the annual event. They meet the sister school students and are faced with tough challenges during their stay.
After their event, the trio are invited to stay at the Miura estate where the boys ponder on the changes their Kitsune friend has gone through since they became friends.
A strange feeling stirs within Satoru making him question his motives towards keeping Sachiko close.
Half of the school year had already passed and finally, their busiest time as students had gone by.
As the two pillars of Jujutsu Sorcery, the two institutes have created a tradition of having their students, the future of their practice, compete in a healthy exercise of skill and wit.
The Goodwill event, as they liked to call it, was a two-day competition consisting of a team event on the first day and an individual exercise on the second day.
As Kyoto had won the year before, the prestigious occasion would be destined in the same area.
The 2 hours and 20-minute bullet train ride were booked early by the school and likely have bought off the rest of the 6 AM boarding.
The two principals had exchanged information about the students who had signed up for the event. There were around 20+ students enrolled on each of the schools but seeing as only less than 10 had sign-up from Tokyo, the participants were matched according to their ranking.
Yaga had browsed over the list again on the file that he carried and read with much denigration. Their pictures were splayed next to their basic information, but their names and ranks were significantly summarized.
Kyoto school participants: Special Grade Yuki Tsukumo (3rd Year), Special Grade 1 Miura Yahiko (3rd year), Grade 2 Akari Nitta (2nd year), Special Grade 1 Kamo Hatori (2nd year), Semi-Grade 1 Inu Denji (2nd year), Grade 2 Nishimiya Sana (1st year), Grade 1 Naoya Zenin (1st year), Grade 2 Ranta Zenin (1st year)
Tokyo school participants: Grade 2 Hanba Watari (3rd year), Semi-Grade 1 Mei-Mei (2nd year), Semi-Grade 1 Utahime Iori (2nd year), Special Grade Miura Sachiko (1st year), Grade 2 Shouko Ieiri (1st year), Special Grade Suguru Getou (1st year) and Special Grade Satoru Gojo (1st year)
Kyoto was the best place to establish an Institute to train young sorcerers and of course, as the premier school, it had a lot of funding behind it. The institute looked way fancier than the Tokyo school. Despite the modern flair of the sister school, Kyoto was richer in terms of the cultural and historical glamour of its vicinities. Plus, the air was better. With the swarm of trees all over Kyoto, it could easily be mistaken as a retreat house.
They were greeted by a hunched-over old man wearing a baggy kimono. Principal Gakuganji walked with a cane in one hand, and the other set on his back. He combed over his long, faded imperial beard, "Welcome Tokyo delegates," his tone was monotonous but bordering on inimical, "As you all know, we are the designated hosts as the reigning champions of the Goodwill event. But unlike the previous years, both schools show promising young sorcerers. I hope you all learn a lot from this event. Just a reminder,"
He lifted his cane and stomped it on the floor once which served as a signal for Masamichi Yaga to continue his speech,
"There's only one rule during this exercise, you are absolutely not allowed to kill any of your fellow sorcerers."
Gakuganji's fingers ran through his beard once more "Other than that, you may use your jujutsu techniques at your disposal,"
Before he left, Sachiko felt him intentionally give her an intense look. She wasn't sure what to make of it. But she was certain that she didn't do anything wrong in those 15 minutes she spent in the same room for orientation.
They didn't have much time to settle in at their dorms, but the principals were already taking their spots at the observation bay.
The schools took the event seriously. It was still a matter of pride.
The older of faculty was first to speak, "I'm very impressed by Tokyo's roster. Its already astonishing that you admitted, rather, scouted, three special grades, but you even got the Gojo boy and the Miura girl,"
This rewarded him with a sarcastic short cackle from the young vice-principal, "What surprised me more was the fact that you didn't accept the Kitsune when her family technically controlled the jujutsu faction of Kyoto,"
Gakuganji clenched his jaw, "One Miura is enough,"
The bespectacled man with the goatee never saw eye to eye with the man opposite him. His traditionalist thinking was way caught up in his own idealist views, "You never really liked the idea of her joining our society. Why?" he decided to take a chance and confront his mentor.
Gakuganji went silent before replying. He didn't like the younger set of Jujutsu educators and the Miuras? He didn't recognize them as part of the honored families and the concept of being a half-cursed spirit, was unnerving. The old man continued to tense up, "Just make sure that you and Hideo have taught her enough to actually deserve to stand among her colleagues,"
There were no team-to-team introductions. The files still had no actual faces to connect so they just had to make do with the shadows present on the opposite side of the maze.
"Good day students," a voice echoed through the speakers spitting out the instructions for the day's challenge, "Once you find the center of the maze, you must make your way through and find the exit. First team to cross with the most members win. We have released curses inside the maze so do take caution. Goodluck!"
They were given 4 entrances to choose from and only two people every 2 minutes are allowed to enter at the same time.
The torii gates that marked the entrances consisted of two cylindrical vertical posts topped by a crosswise rectangular beam extending beyond the posts on either side and a second crosswise beam a short distance below the first. Unlike the usual red and black design, these were pure white which had a small coat of cursed energy in its rectangular opening.
The distance between two teams were probably just a few meters away but the enchantments of the gates made it so that they could only make up the silhouette of the others. This disabled them from getting a visual of the whole maze. It also made sense as once they all entered the maze, they would release the curses and entrap them until they finished the task.
"Approach the maze with much caution. As this is a matched set-up, expect that it will be challenging," Yaga placed both of his hands behind his back as he scanned each of his students, "Remember, this is a team event. You have all been chosen specifically to represent our school," he urged them all to take their positions in front of the gates, "Make us proud,"
Hanba was first to enter the maze. Even when they were in transport, he didn't take any effort to converse with his schoolmates. He had been acting like he had a personal vendetta. Though, Mei-mei did tell the others that he had always been a loner when it came to missions as he felt that he deserved to at least be a semi-grade 1. Plus, he was still on edge with having the Kitsune linger around their turf.
Mei-mei flipped her hair then steadied her axe on one hand before turning to her juniors, "The winner gets a cash prize as well so, try not to fall behind, okay?"
Utahime didn't say anything as she followed her partner and disappeared in the opposite gate that Hanba had entered. It had only been a minute since the seniors had entered and already, they could hear scuffling from inside. They curses had been released and their opponents were already on the move.
The quartet had decided to split into teams of two. They had agreed that if they got split up at least 2 would have to go through the exit successfully.
Shouko gulped and looked at her friends, "H-how do we decide who goes with whom?" she shifted her eyes from the blue-eyed boy to her masked-friend and then lastly to the boy with the sharp eyes.
Miura shrugged, "I'm good with any of you but we have to decide fast,"
"Then how about this?" Suguru raised his balled hand and turned to Gojo who popped a piece of candy in his mouth and did the same. He was suggesting that they play rock-paper-scissors and have the pair who makes the same move partner up.
They all formed a small square and shook their hands simultaneously, "Jan-ken-pon!"
"Let's go Ieiri!" Sachiko led her friend inside the farthest entrance after waving goodbye to the boys. Ieiri was still hesitant to enter the maze after learning that the rumor about the special grade 1 curse turned out to be true, but it did give her some relief that she had friends to protect her. While limited in her capacity to use her powers in the offensive, it would also benefit her companions to have her healing abilities made available to them.
Gojo and Suguru knocked hands before they entered the last unoccupied entrance. Gojo popped another piece of candy and casually entered the first part of the maze with Suguru trailing behind.
Suguru examined the interior of the maze. It was a classic set-up-the hedges were made up of tall straw bales and green moss-like plants. It was quite damp and cold, and the air was thick. He could sense immediately that they were probably surrounded by a few grade 2 curses lurking in between the divisions of the maze.
Gojo didn't show much enthusiasm as he exorcised a frog-like creature that jumped in front of them and continued to check on the correct path to the core of the maze.
Suguru took over the next exorcism that went over Gojo's head, "What's the matter?" the curse was small, so it wasn't hard to eliminate, "Disappointed with me being your partner?"
He was teasing him but also trying a little to taunt him. After Gojo had arrived from his mission, he talked in detail about how it went but when he asked where they went and what they did after they left the tower. It was cryptic but it was clear that something else was going on in his head. And this amused Suguru. And challenged him.
"The hell you talkin' about?" Gojo weaved his brows.
Getou placed both of his hands in his pockets and smirked, "Nothing," he stopped at the crossroads of the maze and looked sideways then took a few steps to the left. Jerking his head to the side, he said, "Let's find the others,"
So far, the maze entrance that Sachiko and Ieiri chose allowed them a few minutes of just maneuvering themselves around. There were no curses in sight, but she could feel them anyway. Their side of the maze surrounded them with circular divisions made up of stacked cobble stones. Like the other side, it was also beginning to feel cold and damp.
Ieiri was frantically looking around but stayed close to her friend, "You think we're near the center?"
Sachiko was trying to use her cursed energy to read the elements around the maze. It was unsteady. Since they both stepped inside, the peace to her made her uneasy. But she couldn't risk bringing Shouko to a frenzy if she told her that she could sense a strong force loom their way as they drew close to the center.
"I'm not quite sure,"
Ieiri let out a breath, "I'm just glad we don't have to deal with any curses. We got lucky,"
"Mm-hmm,"
Creak!
Shouko whirled around, "What was that?"
Sachiko also heard some noises cross their path, but it didn't come from behind as Shouko had noticed, it was like they were being watched or something was heading their way.
When she looked behind her, she was able to spot an ascending trail of cursed energy slither their way. It was fast and quite large.
A curse!
Sachiko was about to unleash her flame when another similar figure jumped over her head. She managed to dodge it in time before it bit her back. Without hesitating, she clutched the tail of the snake and released her flames, but she didn't have too much time to stop to breath as Shouko was running towards her with the other viper closing in. She threw another pulse of fire behind Shouko, killing the curse instantly before Ieiri fell on her knees.
"Thanks, Sachi!" she was still out of breath. Sachiko was about to lend her a hand when something large went through the stone wall and blasted Sachiko unto the other side leaving her to impact on the stones.
"Sachi!" Ieiri called out as she scrambled towards her.
Sachiko was caught off guard by the attack. She was fine except for her left shoulder which absorbed the blow much like she was thrown into a pile of concrete. Clutching her shoulder made her face pull up, but she had to stand. She couldn't leave Shouko alone. Her sight was still blurry from the sudden clash. She couldn't make it out clearly, but she saw that Ieiri was also shoved to her side before she could approach her friend.
"I told you I'd pay you back, you mutt!"
Hanba cast a shadow over her with his body fully cloaked in his cursed energy that he was like a colossus in his concrete armor, "Don't worry," he took a few steps towards her and laughed, "I'm not allowed to kill you but that doesn't mean we can't have fun, right?"
Sachiko straightened her stance and tightened her mask. She could still feel the pain, but it was nothing compared to her resolve, "You really shouldn't do this senpai," it was a threat that she hoped would go through him. She didn't want to hurt anyone, especially her schoolmates but if he was trying to hurt her or her friends then she'd be left with no choice.
Hanba banged his chest with his hand, "Let's see what you got, special grade,"
On the other side of the maze, the Kyoto team were merely told to do anything that was necessary to win. Their principal wasn't too close with his students, he treated them more like soldiers than his mentees.
Like Yaga's students, they were chosen to match the grade pool of those in their sister school. To make up for the lack of special grades, they allowed an addition of one student from their school.
The team's sole special grade didn't really saw how it was necessary to do so. Yuki Tsukumo was a senior who had long light hair and thin eyebrows. Though initially not intending to go through formal schooling for sorcerers, she had to comply to be part of the tenure once she graduates. She was curious though about the roster of the first years in their sister school.
Yuki Tsukumo zipped her leather jacket over her uniform and was the last person to enter the maze.
"Let's get this over with then,"
Utahime and Mei-mei were the first to enter the middle of the maze but instantly, they are greeted by a grade 1 curse. A gaint bee that had two heads. It didn't seem like much physically, but it was still capable of giving them serious injuries.
"I'll handle this Iori," the blue-haired girl twirled her axe and positioned herself to attack but the grade 1 curse's buzzing attacks were proving it hard to maneuver heavy artillery. Utahime also barely managed to inflict any damage on the curse, and it had already begun zoning on her.
"Iori! Watch out!"
Before Mei could slice her axe through the bee, a large blue-black quadruped beast with a white patch on its right eye and four tails charged in and shot a stream of lightning from its body and finished off the grade 1 curse.
"A fox?" Utahime mouthed.
Mei-mei picked up a piece of parchment that was tied to the curse and saw that it was a map. She called on Utahime and they examined it together. Later, the fox shifted into a smaller size and jumped on the shoulder of Utahime surprising her. When they both turned to the fox, its mouth opened and a deep voice greeted, "It looks like a map outta here," the fox quipped.
"Iori, stay still…" Mei-mei twirled her axe in her hands and hoisted it up, ready to strike the talking fox.
"Wait!" Iori yelled.
The fox jumped out of Utahime's shoulder and quickly shifted into another form. The transformation was fast. A few paces from them, was a 6-foot, slightly muscular, pale man, with a blue-black mane and a white scar across his right eye. Both of which shone so differently. The left looked like lifted wood and the other was like an entrapment of the sun-but to her its shaped looked oddly familiar. They were a cross between a doe and a cat in its shape. He was also wearing a Kyoto uniform as emphasized in the yellow half-vortex buttons that they donned in his neatly kept blazer.
The two girls looked at each other in confusion but the Kyoto student softened his expression as he approached, "I'm sorry for startling you, I didn't mean to,"
Mei-mei lowered her axe and allowed her eyes to trail over him from the tip of his head to his shoes, "My, my, and who are you handsome?"
He placed a hand on his chest, making them turn to the curious sigil he had tatooed on it and gave them a slight bow, "I'm a senior from Kyoto Jujutsu University," his hazel and golden eye lingered on Utahime's own making her fluster, "I'm Miura Yahiko,"
Hanba had been attacking Sachiko non-stop practically forcing his way through the maze, but they were going in circles, and she was growing impatient. She had no idea if her friend was okay, but she had to have enough faith in her to maker her own way through the mazes.
Miura was being held by her throat as Hanba hoisted her up and threw her up against the wall but as soon as he was about to tighten his hold, Sachiko gripped his wrist and released her flames allowing her to escape from his grasp.
"I didn't want to hurt you, but you leave me with not much choice,"
Hanba cackled maliciously as he clutched his burnt arm, "That's not what your eyes say damn fox,"
It was true, her crimson eyes had shifted the moment he threw her towards the cobblestone wall. He had always been hostile towards her not because she had done something but because of who she was. She could easily take him down. Her rank proved it but if she did anything too harshly, it would just be proving his point.
As he was about to charge at her, another figure lunged from behind him and knocked him out using the backside of his wrapped blade with splattered dots on all sides. There was a loud thud that followed Hanba's fall but it only took a second for the Miura girl to check if he was still breathing.
"Are you alright?" a blonde-haired boy with narrow eyes suddenly appeared in front of her. A bit apprehensive at first at him, he lowered his weapon and returned it in his hilt. Without waiting for her permission, he went to her side and helped her up.
"Thank you," she received a nod of welcoming from him.
There was a sigh of relief upon seeing the same set of buttons as hers but then again, Hanba was also a Tokyo Tech student. Hesitantly accepting his assistance, Sachiko took a step to the side as she clutched her elbow and directed her attention to her savior, "You're from my class,"
His hand went to the back of his nape but dodged her question, "I'm Nanami Kento,"
"We're totally lost bro," Gojo hung his hands over his head as he peered from one end of the maze to another.
Suguru was still calculating the steps he took to get to the same point as they were but as he decided to go left, he bumped into Shouko at the turn.
"AH!" she shrieked.
Gojo's eyes shot wide open, "Eh? Shouko?"
Shouko was still anxious about having been separated from her friend, but she was glad that she finally reunited with the other two, "THANK GOD!" she began tugging on both of the boys even as she was still catching her breath, "We gotta find Sachi!"
Suguru knitted his brows, "Why? What happened? Why isn't she with you?"
Shouko turned to the both of them, "That damn concrete monkey! Hanba attacked her!"
Gojo gritted his teeth, "Tch! Let's go find her and get the hell out of here,"
The three of them took another route and tried to listen in on Sachiko's voice. Shouko couldn't shake the guilt from her face which told Getou that she must've witnessed Miura really get injured, "Don't worry Ieiri, she's a special grade, she'll be fine," but his eyes couldn't fake any sort of calm.
"So, what do you say to my proposition ladies?" his deep voice didn't sound arrogant but rather, stern and yet sincere. The mysterious Miura boy offered the two of them a truce just until they would reach the far end of the maze.
If he was being brutally honest, he didn't want to hurt anyone or have to use his technique on other students especially the girls. The event didn't really interest him, but he needed to be there to keep an eye on the future heir of their clan.
Especially with those three running around.
Yahiko was briefed by the elders that there were fox hunters on the loose and it was likely that the backers were probably from the Zenin clan. Having two of their line out in the open was a risk. He and his cousin were the front runners for clan head after all. Of course, there was no need for him to disclose such information to two rivals he just met.
"Alright," Utahime agreed but still had reservations. She didn't know anyone from the sister school, and this was a contest. However, she was familiar with his relative and it would save them some time if they worked together.
Mei-mei shrugged, "As long as it's fair game when we see the exit, I won't stand in your way just as I have to warn you that I won't let you get in the way of my prize money," she made a soft chuckle sending chills down both Iori and Yahiko's spine.
The three of them found themselves in a thorny part of the maze. The aura coming from the curses was thicker than their previous whereabouts. Utahime watched as Yahiko voluntarily took the lead to mark a safe path for them. It was easier as he could morph into different sizes of the animal using his technique.
His fox was very beautiful. Under the morning light that peeked in the dome, his fur seemed like a sea of stars that swayed in the wind. His eyes glowed into a bright shade of the earth when he covered himself with some sort of sparking electricity when he crossed over tighter and thornier footing. It was a sight to behold.
"Looks like he's pretty useful after all huh?" Mei-mei whispered.
They were almost done crossing the rose garden when Utahime was caught in one of the vines. She was about to fall on her side when Yahiko shifted into the size of a mountain lion and cushioned her fall but grazing the side of his left paw.
Mei-mei used her axe to cut through the entanglement and the girls helped Yahiko out of the thorny rope and into the bare grass. Carrying a 12kg simian jackal fox wasn't easy but thanks to his ability to shift into a smaller form, they got by transporting him without much strain.
The blue-black fox held out a whimper then transformed into his human self, revealing a few bleeding gashes on his left hand. As much as he wanted to act cool in front of the girls, the thorns' damage was enough for him to bite the side of his cheek to prevent from grimacing.
It wasn't long until his Inari finally revealed itself. He initially appeared as a shadow that pranced around his side but when it rested on his lap, they could clearly see its features. It looked the same as his morphed form except it didn't have the white patch on one of his eyes. It looked like it was trying to comfort his master, "It's okay boy, I'm alright, it's just a scratch," he patted the fox's head and began inspecting his hand.
Mei-mei put a hand on her waist as she rested her axe on one side of her shoulder, "Everything okay Miura?"
He nodded and smiled, "Yes, I'll just clean this up a little and-"
"Let me-" Utahime knelt by his side and took out her blue 'kerchief. She carefully took his left hand and began plucking out some of the thorns. His hands were a bit rough, and she did notice that it was wider than hers. The scratches served as measuring devices which allowed her to confirm it. The lightest of her touch made his nose wrinkle and his brows twitched a little.
Yahiko's mouth remained slightly open upon her touching his hand. He was quite ashamed that her soft skin was holding his jacked up ones, "You really don't have to," but despite that, he allowed her to continue.
"You saved me after all, so, this is the least I could do," she didn't look at him even though she felt him stare as she mended his wounds. It was kind of peculiar, what Utahime felt, but also something she was enjoying.
The Miura boy was given a few minutes to discern her features. She had beautiful long dark hair which were neatly tied in two ways. Her skin was a bit pinker than his pale shade and her eyes had were the same color as his. He was also particularly intrigued by her choice of uniform modification.
No one really wears mikos nowadays.
He was always a sucker for traditionalist girls.
Utahime tied the bandage to a close, "There, all done,"
"Thank you," his tone was composed. Next thing he knew, his mouth had stretched to the sides to reveal his dimple.
The shadow of the Inari paused to sit in front of Utahime and lowered its head.
Yahiko wiped the tip of his nose with his knuckle, "He wants to say thank you,"
Utahime's lips curled up as she patted its head, "You're welcome,"
Unknown to her, Yahiko could also feel her touch. He and his shikigami were connected after all.
Mei-mei was silently trying to contain her amusement in the corner. It was the first time she saw her friend so unguarded with strangers. It was very intriguing.
Mei-mei turned her back and yawned, "If you two are done developing crushes on each other, let's go and win me my money!"
The walls on their side of the maze were closing on them. It didn't help that the hedge was riddled with poisonous spores. Sachiko was able to filter the air around them with her technique and Nanami did his best to slice through the longer branches of the plants.
Nanami was leading the path, he knew that even though she didn't vocalize her confusion about his presence, she was waiting for some sort of explanation, "I'm not officially enrolled," the blonde blurted out.
That explained half of the questions in her head. He was barely in any of their classes, and he didn't seem to get any deployment offers. Still, what was he doing inside the maze?
Miura aligned herself to him as they ran, "Then, what-?"
Nanami adjusted his hold on his wrapped blade then turned to face her, "I wanted to see what I was getting myself into," he didn't explain further. It was quite clear the details of his presence weren't something he wanted to really share.
Sachiko spotted the end of the narrowing maze, "Well, it's not too late to turn back now,"
Her words were bent with sarcasm making him smirk, "No thank you, I'm just getting started."
When they arrived at cross-roads, two of the Kyoto legacy students were already busy exorcising the grade 2 curses on the loose. Nanami Kento's brown eyes darted towards his new ally. Giving him a small nod, they went past their two competitors to avoid any looming conflict but clearly, the others had different intentions.
The curses were merely a small obstacle. As soon as they caught sight of the blood blender, he shifted his attack and created a blood arrow directed at Miura's side. She turned to see that he had killed a curse,
"Blood?" her eyes left Kamo only for a few seconds but before she could approach, he was already atop of the new maze and was seemingly signaling someone to approach.
Nanami was quick to notice the running figure going towards their direction. A slender looking, light haired guy with short hair in a kimono.
"One of the Zenins," he thought.
Naoya was chasing a few grade twos in towards them but as he drew close, Kamo manipulated blood from a bag and created a round set of pillars to trap Sachiko. Nanami was about to attempt to free her when Naoya appeared from behind and clutched Nanami by his shoulder.
His hold froze Nanami where he stood, and the brown-eyed mystery student knew exactly what was happening. The people who had hired him to look out for the heir of the Miura clan described the young Zenin's technique as his ability to turn 1 second into frames which was enough time to separate him from Miura and drag him into a different part of the maze.
Naoya eyed Sachiko before disappearing, "I'll see you later Ms. Miura,"
Before she could reply, Kamo formed more pillars with his blood and warned her not step out of the circle or else she'll get cut.
"Nanami!" she yelled out, but he wasn't registering what was happening. He was in a state of trance.
They were buying time and hindering their advancement which meant that they were close to the exit.
Naoya placed his hands inside his kimono robe and snorted, "Huh, some familiar prospect," he began, "Can't even get a second away from my technique,"
True enough, his technique only allowed him to separate from Miura but not enough to keep Nanami paralyzed against retaliation.
"Actually," Nanami gripped his blade tighter and darted his eyes on Naoya's legs, "I have you exactly where I want you, Zenin," He was able to give him a gash on the side of his leg making him squirm.
As he was not officially part of the event, he wasn't compelled to follow the rules and as such, there was no hesitation in him grabbing Naoya by his collar and throwing him across the rubbled part of the maze.
"You've been measured,"
Kamo had no intention of fighting against the Kitsune. He knew his limits so as soon as he set his trap, he began running towards the exit.
There were still questions lingering inside of Sachiko's thoughts. Who was Nanami? What was he doing inside of the maze? Why did Naoya separate them?
As there was no one who could supply her answers, she focused her attention on breaking free. Despite the Kyoto legacy's refined technique, he clearly had forgotten to consider that his was already set to fail.
Sachiko clasped her hands together and created a triangular shape which activated her cursed energy. As she raised her hands, Kamo's blood pillars were beginning to separate. Feeling the strange fleet of Kamo's technique, he looked back to see that she was successfully manipulating the water contents of his blood and was breaking free.
As soon as she had made a viable exit for her, she took broke the pillars and ran to catch up on Kamo.
"Damn it! She's fast!"
He felt her crimson eyes target him as she sped up and unraveled her whip and hoisted it towards him.
Before he could go any further, Sachiko's whip wound around his trunk and pulled him back. She didn't want to but as soon as she was able to get an opening, he knocked him unconscious.
"These Kyoto students really are something else," she commented.
She looked over her shoulder to find any signs of Nanami and Naoya but seeing as the maze had changed its orientation, she hesitantly continued to move forward.
Please be alright Nanami.
"Guys, look," Getou's voice turned serious as he pointed towards a roughed up Hanba.
Gojo's eyes narrowed at his unconscious senior but decided to walk past him, "This guy is just talk after all,"
Shouko took to Hanba's side and was about to hit him, but the two boys halted her.
Suguru shook his head and directed her to continue walking, "He's not worth it Ieiri,"
Shouko saw through his eyes that he also wanted to do something to him and was just trying to control his temper.
Gojo took one last look at Hanba and scoffed, "At least we know that Sachi's fine,"
The three first years decided to return to the center to retrace their steps but as they reentered, they were surrounded by a mix of grade 1 and 2 curses flying all around them.
Suguru had already positioned himself to exterminate one that was within his reach, but his concentration broke when a flash of light flew above them and hit a first-grade curse, killing it instantly.
As the curse fell, Shouko, Suguru and Satoru notice a few familiar faces draw close along with a stranger who looked like he had just thrown something towards their direction.
Miura Yahiko used his technique, manipulating thunder and lightning by embedding his cursed energy into an inanimate object.
"A baseball?" Utahime was surprised at how his posture was proof of his experience with the sport but was even more made curious about his choice of cursed energy manipulation.
His brown eyes wrinkle on its sides, "Oh, I'm a pitcher," he brought out another baseball from his pocket and balanced it in his other hand. He threw it in the air, exhaled and caught it before shifting his stance into a pitching position. They watched as his eyes turn into crescents, and he gathered his cursed energy into the ball. Then he lets the ball fly.
BOOM!
Another curse fell on the floor.
Gojo let out a whistle. He was sincerely impressed by what he saw but that only motivated him to push himself as he didn't want to fall behind the spectacle. He joined in the exterminations right away and displayed his own appropriate and technical use of his cursed energy which led to one of the first-grade curses to explode into small particles, "You missed one," he snorted.
There were about three students left inside the first part of the maze, 2 from Kyoto and the other was Hanba. As soon the special grades were able to cross the boundary and make it to the end part of the maze, the whole area shifted into a small arena with minimal hedges surrounding the Kyoto and Tokyo finalists.
The torri gates resurfaced from the distal end of the maze and it seemed like it was all just a matter of running to win.
Suguru Getou didn't think so. He felt that something was amiss. Looking around at his competitors exorcising the small curses within the arena, he also noticed that some of them were being forced near the maze's outline where the curses seemingly spawn.
"That's strange," he says to himself. He turned to the female in their group of three, "Shouko, we'll cover for you so you can head on to the finish line,"
Both Gojo and Shouko plastered confused looks, "Ha?"
The blue-eyed boy followed the trail of Suguru's sharp eyes scanning the arena. Letting out a sigh, he agreed.
They had begun escorting the healer of their group whilst defending themselves in what seemed like a bottomless pit of curses. In addition to it, what they thought were empty spaces were never-ending reconfigurations of maze pillars.
"They're seriously trying to kill some of us," Gojo was a bit agitated with the curses flocking their way. The organizers really wanted to test them based on their rank and it was getting more and more tedious. The side-glares of the Kyoto group were also getting tiring.
Sachiko's still not here.
At the back of his head, he was concerned that their ally had actually been injured or caught in a crossfire with one of their rivals. He couldn't help but look back and check if there was even the slightest sign that she was okay. Suguru was also distracted by the same thought. Their 1 second interaction mirrored the same expression of concern, but they had to be confident that she was fine.
There was a sudden cold and wet speck that dropped to Gojo's temple then his head and then his nose. A quiet breeze had gone by them signaling the start of the heavy rain. The visibility was beginning to turn moot, and it was hard to maneuver around the shifting walls.
They were brought into an involuntary stop as they stood under the waterfall of rain.
Shouko turned to her friends, "What's going on?"
SPLASH!
Someone had landed in the puddle a few feet away from them making them jerk and change their stance. Before they could identify their intruder, a small ball of fire had passed Shouko just a few millimeters to the side of her ear.
A small shriek left the curse as it came tumbling on the side of Ieiri.
"That was close," Sachiko finally resurfaced from the deep end of the maze. She was still clutching her arm, but she looked calmer than the others had expected.
The boys didn't comment anything further, but their faces voiced out their relief as they heard her speak.
Satoru took a step towards her, "Took 'ya long enough,"
Miura shifted her mask then shrugged, "Don't go underestimating me now,"
Their reunion was cut short when the wall of the maze had begun to animate. The vine that was attached to the hard part of it, transformed into a curse that wrapped around Suguru. The boy in the soaked ponytail hardly let it get to him. His hand slid inside the pocket of his uniform jacket and brought out the cursed tool was reserving-a three sectioned staff, held together by three rings in between the joints of the weapon. He maneuvered the staff to break the part that was holding him hostage. Suguru didn't show off much of his innate ability to handle weapons well during their training, but he clearly showed much finesse as he used the special grade staff to eliminate the curse. As he withdrew his weapon, he followed the remnant of the curse and noticed that it left permanent dent on the part of the wall that he had hit.
"That's interesting," he grinned, "What if…" his voice trailed off at the sight of the boy with the glasses fighting the same vine-curse that went after him.
Satoru was already steering himself away from the vines that were attacking him, as he yanked on one of its long ends, it ripped the vine curse into pieces releasing a fog-like smoke that could confirm Suguru's theory.
He called over to his best friend, "Oi! Did you notice?"
Getou nodded, "We have to destroy it or else there's no getting out of this maze,"
A gorgon like curse formed from the cobblestones that made a part of the maze hedge and made its way towards Ranta Zenin and Shouko. Seeing as Shouko would be the first to be hit, he pushed her to the side and prepared to collide with the curse but before it bludgeoned him, he transformed to ash thanks to Sachiko's back-up.
"Are you two alright?" she called out to them.
Ranta's dark eyes skimmed over to the Kitsune. He felt his heart stir. His cousin had told him to take caution against her tactics. She was dangerous. But why did she help him? He turned to his side where an exhausted Shouko was getting up.
Was it because I helped her friend?
Ranta got up and simply left not minding the gratitude he was being given by the ladies of his sister school.
The gorgon had already disappeared but so was the hedge that it initially occupied. She shook her mask to allow some of the droplets that accumulated to fall. Her crimson eyes also zeroed in on the curses that the other two had recently eliminated.
"They're not regenerating," she thought, "I think I got it," she told her friend to continue running towards the end of the maze and even though Shouko was hesitant to go alone, she knew it was better if she stayed out of their way.
Sachiko counted the number of people fighting under the rain. As they didn't add up to the files they were given, she had to assume that some of them were still trapped inside. Time was running out and she knew that they had to finish killing the special grade curse in one blow.
Thunder had rolled in from behind them and immediately she sensed the energy's source. Yahiko threw another one of his baseballs to create a way for him, Utahime and Mei-mei to enter the fold. But as soon as they entered, they were attacked by the maze.
Sachiko made her way towards Suguru and Satoru and locked eyes, "I think I know why we can't get through,"
The two boys grinned and nodded at her. They were still being attacked but they needed to strategize. They were positioned in a way that they could cover for each other as they conversed. Around them, the students present continued to struggle. And it was very clear now from the big gape at the back hedge Yahiko had created that the three special grades had concluded,
The maze is the special grade curse.
"I have an idea, but its gonna need the three of us to work in sync, think we can manage that?" Suguru's face turned serious but also hinted of a bit of excitement.
"Of course," Gojo realigned his foggy lenses and grimaced, "That's what we're here for,"
Sachiko gave him a stiff nod then smiled under her mask, "What do you suggest?"
"We need to get rid of the maze in one attack. If Satoru uses his technique, it could blow the whole thing for sure but there are still people inside the maze. I can exorcise and contain it using my technique, but I would need to make sure that I hit only the parts of the curse. My guess is if we're able to eliminate the physical aspect of the maze, we can locate its core, I can contain it then,"
"I may be able to do something about that," her eyes shifted to the dark clouds in the sky. The sound of the droplets on her porcelain mask gave her an idea, "But I'm gonna need a little time,"
Gojo placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed towards himself, "That's where I can come in handy,"
She snorted, "I meant I need you to buy me time but yeah, I guess we can do it your way."
Suguru's purple eyes shifted to Sachiko, "What do you need us to do?"
"Exactly what you said," she relaxed her shoulders, "I'll manipulate the rain and use it against the maze curse. Once I'm able to visualize the whole maze, I can manipulate it exactly where it should land to avoid casualties. I can do that with Satoru's technique. Once the barrier is gone, you can go ahead and destroy the core,"
"Sounds like a solid plan," Suguru quipped. He was quite proud of his team. They had just proven to themselves that they were deserving of their titles. Though, he would probably have to probe further on how two of his friends are able to merge their innate techniques. He didn't like being left out.
"But first," she waved towards her older cousin and pointed towards the sky, "I'm gonna need more rain,"
"'Hiko!"
The younger Miura called out to him, but he didn't have time to turn. He had just finished helping out Mei-mei protect Utahime from the maze curses and was trying to get away from a few of them on his end, "I'm a little busy Chibi!"
Satoru and Suguru lunged towards the curses holding the blue-haired Miura hostage. They had each gripped into their misshapen heads and snapped it apart from its body killing them instantly.
Yahiko managed to land safely but was still struggling to breath, he was tired from using his morphed form, "Thanks…" his hazel eyes grew wide as he was met with a collection of cursed energy emanating from the S-grades that he had to shift into his Inari-sight, "Damn, you guys weren't kidding with your aura,"
Sachiko assisted him as he stood, "Sorry to skip introductions and formalities but I need your help if you wanna get out of this maze,"
His eyes narrowed at the two boys behind her, "Uh-huh," her eyes pierced through like laser beams that glowed behind her mask making him flinch,
"I need more rain," her tone wasn't demanding but he felt otherwise. Despite their gap in age, the younger Miura had always been more daunting than him.
He cocked a brow as he wiped his wet face, "More rain? Why?"
She turned to the others who were still fighting the maze, "The maze is the S-grade curse,"
His face transitioned into a pleasant kind of snarl, "Say no more," he had understood the implication. During his short journey with the Tokyo sophomores, he noticed the same inactive remnants of the maze they had passed through.
She turned to boys who were already on edge from waiting, "He's an elemental like me, once he increases the rainfall, we roll,"
"Well then, let's get too it," Yahiko crouched low and revealed his crescent, beady eyes and claws then finally revealed the four tails of his Inari form, that was soon followed by mist that covered his entirety upon his next movement, he transformed into a large fox that was covered with sparks of electricity. His cursed energy was increasing. He turned to his cousin who joined him as he leapt above ground, shooting a large pillar of thunder into the sky which was followed by three flashes of lighting. Heavier rain poured over them which signaled her next course of action.
As soon as she was high enough, Gojo clasped his hands together and concentrated on her stance and the whole maze connecting everyone in his domain as he slowed down time and dispersed some of the curses within his domain. They were both confident that it would work. They've done it before, but Gojo didn't really know what to expect from her end.
As she floated in the sky, her Kitsune eyes quickly formed an outline in her head. She positioned her right hand into a benediction and the other she allowed her thumb and middle to oppose before resting them on her forearm.
Then the rain had stopped. Or at least, they stopped dropping.
Everyone present saw how the droplets just froze mid-air and was cloaked in her cursed energy. This left everyone temporarily mute that even the other special grades were confused about how she was doing it. In the next second, she shifted her hand from a benediction to an open palm and the droplets started falling on the maze with much precision and envelopment of cursed energy and began to disintegrate.
There was a hoarse but loud cry that followed. It was the maze curse. They were right.
Suguru was next to act, he followed the sound of the maze curse and identified its core. He was running fast, the techniques were wearing off, but he couldn't fall behind both of them. He had his pride after all.
"There you are!" his mouth curled upwards and lunged his hand covered in his energy through the middle part of the maze and pulled the maze curse hidden inside the plant-like wall. It looked like a two-headed salamander that was pure white. A curious form that carried with it much power. It writhed in pain as he clutched on its neck and snapped it forcibly. Before it died completely, he gathered its remnants and formed a black orb which contained the curse,
"Finally. You're one tough curse but clearly," he placed the orb in front of his mouth and tilted his head back and swallowed the orb swiftly fighting the urge to vomit just so he could contain it safely, "Not tough enough,"
There was a slight reverberation as the maze disappeared completely. While the others trapped in the depths of the maze walked towards the others with confused looks, Gojo and Sachiko were still trying to dispel their techniques.
The clouds in the sky were clearing but as the barrier that housed them also began to lift, it sent a strong blanket of force that hit her directly causing her to fall and break her mask. Satoru and Suguru were already running towards her, but it was Kyoto's special grade who had used her technique to cushion her fall.
"Easy there Kitsune," she was holding out her hand for her to use to anchor herself to stand. There was a look of amusement that was plastered on Yuki Tsukumo's face. She didn't actively participate in the maze exercise, but she was glad she got to witness something very interesting from their opponents.
Sachiko was beginning to feel the pain on her shoulder as well as the energy drain from her passively so she could only pretend to be okay, "Thank you," she told her.
Yuki kept her grin and looked over her shoulder, "This is the face that intimidated you?" she referred to Naoya and Kamo making them shoot pissed stares at their schoolmate, "Oh lighten up,"
Naoya turned away, "You put up quite an impressive display Fox, as did your friends," he walked away making Kamo follow-suit.
Yuki placed a hand on her waist, "So tell me, little Miura, what type of guy is your type?"
"Huh?"
Yahiko ran towards his cousin, "Sachiko! You better not be dead!"
She rolled his eyes at him then brushed him off, "I'm standing, aren't I?"
The blue-eyed boy and dark-haired boy approached her with much caution. They were examining her injuries but was offset by the sinister look of the special grade senior from Kyoto. Noticing their unease, she had excused herself.
"I hope you all join tomorrow's event," she paused her footing, "I promise, I wont hold back,"
Sachiko couldn't help but notice their vexed expressions that she forced herself to plaster a calmer look, "Nice teamwork,"
Gojo couldn't help but stifle a grin at her for their shared victory, "Yeah," but couldn't dispel his concern.
Suguru didn't mind their cheerful exchange and instead focused his attention on her shoulder, "How's your shoulder?" he paused to edit, "Shouko told us,"
"What happened to your shoulder?" The older Miura was about to clutch the injured area but held back seeing as she was in pain, "You should really be more careful,"
Knowing the truth behind her injury, her friends shared glances. They were contemplating on reporting the incident, but Sachiko had other plans.
"It's fine, just had a tough landing,"
The torii gates were finally free from enchantments. Seeing as no one has crossed the finish line, Yahiko and Utahime look at each other and began running.
"Sorry cuz! But I gotta go!"
Utahime and Mei-mei was also running towards them and grabbed Sachiko by the arms and dragged her towards the exit.
"Eh?" A small voice left her mouth, but she was already being hoisted by her seniors leaving Gojo and Getou in the field.
The Kyoto crew also began to mobilize. It was their last shot at a team victory.
Shouko was waving her hands to catch their attention before she continued running, "RUN YOU IDIOTS!"
The two laughed as they increased their pacing. Everyone was hyped up by the display of the special grades but alas, despite being caught out of breath and thanks to Mei-mei's sheer will to win her some cash, they were the first to cross the line.
Control Room
Yaga couldn't help but show how pleased he was with his students. They had clearly won. Despite attempts to derail and break them from the inside, they had achieved victory.
The Kyoto principal didn't shy away from displaying his disappointment at the turn out of the first event. He had made sure that his students would win and that the Kitsune was kept at bay. He even went through lengths to convince one of their own to help with that but to no avail.
The special grades were no joke, but it also proved his point when he said that they were a considerable danger to the others.
Gakuganji gripped his cane and clenched his teeth before standing to excuse himself, "You take this round Masamichi but don't forget, their display didn't change my mind,"
Masamichi Yaga crossed his legs and slouched, "Nor did it change my expectations from you,"
Shouko finally had the time to treat Sachiko's shoulder. She was lucky that it wasn't broken but she did tell her that she might still some discomfort after the treatment.
"Interesting, you're a reversal trainee," the blue-haired Miura was lurking over Sachiko's shoulder making her flick his forehead to shoo him away.
Shouko was surprised at the sudden appearance of a tall, handsome guy beside them that she could help but jolt up and shake his hand, "Whoa! Who are you?"
He gave out a nervous laugh as he shook her hand, "Oh, I'm Miura Yahiko," he turned to pat Sachiko on her head, "Sachibi's older cousin,"
Suguru held his breathing, "Sachi-" he robotically turned to Satoru who was also trying to contain his laughter.
Satoru's shoulders lifted and down, "-Chibi…"
Yahiko had always loved teasing his little cousin for her 5-foot 5 stature. He always told her that she didn't look like scary despite being the six-tailed Kitsune because she was too tiny to be considered a threat.
Sachiko could only scowl at him as she felt her body grow heavy. She shifted her stance to keep herself alert.
Quick to notice her sudden change in energy output, Gojo took to her side and leaned a little beside her to help with her balance.
"Thanks," she whispered.
Fighting through her fatigue, she introduced her friends to her Inari gifted relative, "'Hiko is an Inari shikigami-summoner,"
"Can Inari summoners turn into foxes?" Utahime's voice dawdled from behind as she and Mei-mei approached their juniors.
Yahiko straightened, "No, it's just me. I have a heavenly restriction that compels me to morph with my Inari to use my technique in some instances," he lifts his shoulder up and down, "It's a bit of a pain but hey, can't complain," he turned to his cousin who could only look away making him regret his poor choice of words.
I'll apologize later. She doesn't want to talk about that in front of her friends.
His silent remorse was interrupted when the sophomores he had just met entered the scene.
Mei-mei twirled the end of her ponytail with her fingers, "Sorry we beat you pretty boy,"
"Technically, I helped you win but doesn't matter," he refocused on the girl in the miko and smiled, "I had fun,"
Sachiko began massaging her temple. The reverberations from manipulating two elements at one time was taking a toll on her but what shot her into full alertness was the realization that she was unmasked. She began scanning her body for traces of the Kitsune markings and noticed them slowly begin to appear.
"So that's the Kitsune," Ranta Zenin's remark alerted her cousin and her friends. Without waiting for any of them to move, Gojo took off his damp uniform jacket and placed it over her head.
Shouko noticed her face turn pale and her fingers tremble, "Sachi? Are you okay?"
Yahiko politely excused himself after bidding goodbye to the Tokyo students and ushered his schoolmates to give them some space. He knew his cousin too well. He had to do everything in his power to protect her.
Naoya Zenin clicked his tongue and jerked his head to call on Ranta. He took one last look at the Kitsune before Getou took it upon himself to block his view.
"Was there anything else you needed?" his words were forged with a bit steel making the Zenin boy smirk as he turned his back.
Yaga had finally arrived to fetch his students and as soon as they were out of Kyoto's line of sight, Sachiko had collapsed.
Kodansha arrived a few hours after receiving the call from Yahiko. He had reported to her that Sachiko had successfully completed her elemental manipulation tail but had suffered the consumptive side effect early.
"I'm scared for her aunt Kodansha," he said on the phone. He grew up training with her at the estate and treated her like his little sister. As an only child, he was fortunate that they had entrusted him with their little Sachi to guide and protect.
Kodansha took a moment before she replied, "I am too but you should know, what she exhibited was progress. And may have even presented me with an idea on how she could overcome her restriction,"
"What do you mean?"
"We'll talk soon dear; I'll tell you when I'm certain."
The two tailed Kitsune grasped her sheathed katana tightly before turning to her guest, "Thank you for your help,"
The blonde young man who had helped Sachiko earlier didn't look pleased at all after receiving the compliment, "I didn't do much except confirm that the Zenins are up to something. They know about my status,"
Her grey eyes disappeared as she shut her eyes tight and breathed out, "I was afraid of that but…still, you have provided vital information and we are grateful for it."
Kento Nanami was among the roster of young sorcerers being tested for compatibility to become a human familiar. As to the reason, he was chosen, he had no idea why or how. So, when they asked him to attend the orientation and observe the future of their clan, he began to understand why prospects were needed. Becoming a powerful sorcerer and possibly having the opportunity to claim dominance over the existing families instantly turned the Miuras into fresh bounty. Of course, he hadn't agreed without being given a proper offer as compensation.
For his services, his education would be sponsored, and he would be assured a place of employment even if he is not chosen as the familiar. It was a deal that deserved attention as someone who was just an ordinary part of their society. But in a personal sense, meeting the Kitsune actually made him more curious about her. There was no sense of hostility or dark ambition in the short amount of time they had interacted, and it had only proven his prejudice against the machinations of the people in high society. However young he may be, he had always believed in rules but witnessing the same people who enacted them do the opposite only drove him to assist a clan which he considered to be good people.
"I'll enroll next year in Tokyo," he conceded making Kodansha smile, "But, in the meantime, may I still train under your supervision?" he reflected on his performance at the maze. Though brief and successful, he felt himself largely inadequate.
Kodansha approached the young jujutsu sorcerer and offered her hand, "Of course. We welcome everyone who is loyal to the creed,"
She woke up 2 hours after she collapsed in front of her whole team. They were back at the transient home of their sister school. The first thing she saw was a dimmed-out light that hung on the wooden ceiling. Her fingers could trace the patter of the soft mattress under the clean linens, but she was still in a daze. Someone had been calling out to her but all she heard were muffled voices until a hand went and squeezed her arm,
"Sachi? Are you okay?" Shouko was mid-technique when she asked to help her sit up. Her whole team had been waiting for her to wake-up. Even the vice principal. It was a little hard to read their faces, but she couldn't help but look away and cover her own as her markings etched on her skin.
"Don't worry dear, you have nothing to worry about," Mei-mei was by the window, petting some of the crows that perched on her shoulder, "We're all just happy you're okay,"
Utahime handed her a glass of water, "Thanks for saving us," she turned to her lowerclassmen, "All of you,"
Her friends didn't vocalize their appreciation for the sentiments as they were fixated on the welfare of Miura. As special grades, they watched and felt how fast her energy had drained from her body. It was disturbing.
It dawned unto Sachiko that she would have to talk to them about her heavenly restriction soon. She just hoped that once she disclosed it, things wouldn't change.
Yaga clapped his hands to catch everyone's attention, "I know you all are concerned for your schoolmate but let's let her rest for now. You all did well," they were ushered one by one to leave her quarters until only Shouko was left by her side. It didn't take long until Kodansha arrived to check on her and escorted the young reversed-jujutsu practitioner out of her room instead.
It had all happened so fast. She was expecting to at least last until they had left the arena but then again, she had done something she never had. Two-element manipulation was difficult and to be used in that amount of exorcism clearly had consequences. She gritted her teeth in frustration. Her fingers crumpled the sheets she held on to her delicate fingers. She was still lacking, but she still had to move forward.
Her crimson eyes watched as the rain continued to fall and make tapping noises outside of her window. She was exhausted. Her shared victory with the rest had to wait in savoring. All she wanted to do was lie down.
She slumped on the mattress and shifted to her side. The heavy outpour was making her sleepy. Her phone was ringing, and she guessed that it was probably her grandfather or Yahiko calling in to check on her, but she didn't have the energy to hit the receive button.
"Hm?" a small clear bottle filled with what seemed like flower-shaped sugar crystals caught her attention. She used her left elbow to anchor herself up as she reached for it. Shaking it 2 times, she watched as the grains retained its shape and didn't settle at the bottom. When she lifted the bottle, she saw a small note attached to it, "For energy," she read.
This allowed her to breathe freely even making her laugh a little. Placing the bottle back on the table beside her phone, she covered herself with a blanket and shut her eyes, "How did he even have time to go out and buy souvenirs?"
As Sachi rested, Yaga told them that the event would continue the following day in the afternoon however, not all will be participating. He declared that Hanba had been disqualified and was being investigated after they reviewed his footage showing him inflicting harm to his teammate.
"Based on your performance, only Gojo, Getou, Mei-mei and Miura will be proceeding to the final round," he turned towards Utahime and Shouko, "The two of you will assist Lady Kodansha as she is asked to consult on a mission,"
Later that day as the two other special grades of the Tokyo group had gone to rest. Shouko took it upon herself to visit her friend who had just come to and was already eating inside of her room. As she knocked on the door and half-opened it, two other faces hung on her side.
This surprised the younger Miura but did welcome them inside her room.
"Thank you for coming to check on me but I assure you, I am 100% alright,"
They were comfortably seated around her room, but it was Mei who broke their awkward silence. She sat on the small chair in front of her dresser and fixed her long blue hair, "May I get one curious question off my chest Sachiko?"
Sachi blinked, "Sure senpai,"
She rested her arm on the table and placed her chin in one hand, "Why do you wear a mask?"
Utahime sighed as she tucked her miko skirt under her legs, "I've been curious about that too. I apologize for prying,"
Sachiko shook her head, "No its alright. Its actually an energy dampener…"
Her seniors were quick to exchange glances.
Mei-mei nodded, "I see, I understand,"
"I admit, you do emit strong cursed energy waves which sometimes do make me nervous but now, as we sit, without your mask, it's not like before. Its more tolerable. And," she trailed off, trying her best to read through a weary Shouko who sat next to the red-eyed girl, "You shouldn't be ashamed of any of your markings. It's part of you. You're controlling your powers well anyway,"
"That's right," Mei-mei interjected, "We apologize if we're part of the people forcing you to hide yourself behind that mask,"
Sachiko lowered her head. Again, the kindness that was ever strange was being handed to her on a silver platter. She was deeply moved, "I am grateful senpais. I-I never once felt that you treated me poorly. In fact, I do admire how both of you hold your own in our world,"
Her words put everyone at ease.
Mei-mei twirled a strand of her hair and winked, "Who else will look after our own than us?"
There was a knock that came from the front door. Seeing as there was no one else around, Mei-mei stood from the couch and greeted their visitor.
"Oh, hello handsome,"
Yahiko let out a nervous laugh, "Oh h-hi Mei, is my cousin awake yet?"
Mei-mei was tilting her head and blinking slowly as she grinned at him. Yahiko felt uncomfortable as he was being sized up.
The Tokyo sophomore snickered as she turned, "Let me get her for you,"
"She's quite terrifying," the blue-haired boy waited patiently under the drizzling rain that was caught by the umbrella-like effect of the roofing of the dorm. Much like his cousin, he was also exhausted from the event but at least, his level of fatigue was close to normal.
"Miura-san?" a different voice had come to his attention. Bringing back his attention inside the doorway, he caught sight of Utahime in a different set of miko clothing, looking at him with a little bit of confusion. At his peripheral, he saw Mei-mei snickering as she passed by behind her.
"Hello Utahime-san," he plastered a calm grin but was battling the unsettling feeling that was making his chest feel heavy, "I-is Sachibi available to talk?" he instantly felt like punching himself in the gut after implying that he was expecting someone else.
The raven-haired girl flinched and began to turn red as she side-eyed her friend who tricked her to speaking with the Miura boy, "Yes, she just got up," she cleared her throat, "I'll go get her, please wait a moment,"
Yahiko took a step forward, "Wait!" he raked his blue-black hair than hung on the side of his forehead which gave Utahime a clearer view of the white scar that crossed at his eye. It was a unique feature that only made him even more attractive, "I'm actually glad that you're here,"
Sweat dripped to the side of his face at the sight of Utahime's lack of change in expression. He lifted his newly bandaged arm, "I wanted to thank you again for this and I promise to return your handkerchief once its clean,"
She raised her arms, "No, it's alright,"
"I know," Yahiko slowly dropped his arm to the side and began digging into one of his jacket pockets, "Here," he handed her a baseball which Utahime reluctantly took, "You can hold unto this until I return your handkerchief to you,"
Yahiko felt like he could pat himself on the back for his efforts, but he was already nervous as hell to make such a bold move. He was also half-afraid that she'd throw the ball back to him. Her silence also pierced through him like a glacier, and it took a few seconds for her to actually reply.
Her lips curved upward, "You've got a pretty good curveball,"
Yahiko instantly relaxed as she commented on his technique. It meant that she was observing him too after all, "Thanks! Are you a baseball fan as well?"
Utahime juggled the baseball in her hands and nodded, "I honestly wanted to skip the event to watch the Giants,"
Is this for real? Is my luck finally turning around?
Only Sachiko knew of his past failed attempts to ask girls out. He was actually a nervous wreck and couldn't get past introductions. Until now.
Mustering up what was left of his courage he took another step forward, "Maybe, we can watch a game together sometime?"
Utahime was again temporarily left mute by his bold proposal, but she already had an answer that was caught in her throat. Unfortunately, before she could respond, Sachiko came up from behind.
"Hiko?"
A flustered Utahime could only do a double take at Yahiko and nod two times at him before bowing out. Yahiko wasn't sure if he should be happy about her reply. A part of him wanted to pull his cousin's hair out of the picture.
Sachiko followed Utahime's trail, "Was I interrupting something? Sorry Hiko," she said casually, "But please don't harass my senpai okay?"
Hiko clicked his tongue, "I wasn't harassing anyone!" he nudged her outside to hide his red face and ears making Mei-mei cackle loudly as she shut the door.
As soon Yahiko had compartmentalized his almost success and almost embarrassment, he gave Sachiko a grim look, "Chibi, we got a situation,"
"What do you mean?"
"Fox hunters chibi. Fox hunters," he quipped.
The boys' quarters had more beds than the other rooms as Hanba had recently vacated his space, the two freshman special grades took the corner beds for themselves. The weather had granted them ease of sleep during the afternoon but even after their evening meal, they found themselves stirring in bed.
Suguru propped himself out of his comfy mattress and dug his hands inside his bag. He was rummaging for one of his hair ties as well as one of the books he had brought along with him. His long, raven hair, flowed freely behind his back and he had forgotten that after he had bathed that afternoon, he didn't bother to dry it resorting in it taking the form of waves. He placed the book beside his table and began plucking out his earrings. The book though was just meant to be a prop or at least something he would peel through if he still found it hard to sleep.
He turned his attention to his white-haired friend who was resting his head on his pillows, crossed leg, nibbling on a Pocky stick, "Satoru, mind if I ask you something?"
Satoru continued eating, "What?"
"Sachiko-san, do you think it happens to her all the time?"
"Heh?"
Suguru leaned back on the bed, "Never mind," he grabbed the book and continued to lament as he skimmed through the pages. He was always ever observant of others and was even more intuitive. Sachiko had not reached for full potential yet, but she was already showing signs of weakness.
Satoru turned to his side and frowned. He actually knew what his friend meant but wasn't exactly sure how he would go about his response when he didn't know anything, "You worried?" he voiced over his shoulder.
Suguru turned another page, "Aren't you?"
The sound that was left to linger inside the room was the howling wind from outside reverberating through the walls.
There were many unanswered questions in their head but at least tonight, they could just leave it be.
Of course, I am, wiseass. I always am.
Day 2 Individual Round
The following day left no trace of the storm. Admittedly, Yahiko was sure that his technique may have disrupted the natural flow of the weather, so he was relieved when the sun came up early to greet their day.
As the Kyoto principal opted out of the day's orientation, Yaga was left to explain the mechanics of the last event. Ensuring that his students would be at their prime, he took extra measures to make sure that each of them were well rested. Especially the girl with the skin markings.
The students from both schools were gathered around the torii arena. Unlike yesterday's set-up, they were told that they would enter the woods.
The vice-principal snapped his fingers which summoned a large bear like doll that carried a crate that it had dropped in front of the students. Yaga opened the crate therefore mobilizing the palm size dolls that he had infused with his curse. The small dolls then aligned themselves in front of the students making them all look at each other in confusion.
Gojo picked up his doll that looked like a white cat with his pincers then narrowed his eyes at the blinking figures, "What the hell are these for?"
Yaga continued,
"Each of you will be lent a cursed doll which will serve as watcher during the game. I have made their eyes in such a way that it will change color depending on your status. If its blue, you will be a seeker if its purple, you will be it. If it turns white, you're out. The objective of this exercise to take out as many targets as you can within 2 hours. Again, you may use any of your techniques, but you are not allowed to kill any of your opponents."
Yaga traced over his goatee, "You will be spread out within the torii arena. If you happen to come across a fellow student with a blue light, you cannot harm your opponent unless you both are within the same vicinity as a the one who is purple."
"This individual exercise is about control of your techniques. Remember you are all comrades in the end,"
Kamo took a step forward, "What happens if there's a tie?"
"It's unlikely but if there's a tie, then they will have to duel."
They had all gone their separate ways as they entered the forest. It was still quite cloudy, but enough sun crept through the area that allowed the tall trees to cast shadows.
Getou Suguru's bronzed cowbird doll settled on his shoulders and chirped, "You're it!" The eyes of the doll changed from red to purple, signifying his status as the target. Cracking a smile between his lips, he treaded hastily through the forest, taking a few seconds to check his surroundings. It was a good hiding spot. There were many trees, and the road was quite thin making the course unappealing to his fellow competitors. Well, except for a shape shifter.
There was a rustling of leaves that came from behind, making him run into a zigzag and just as he thought, a fast, albeit slender creature, came jumping from one log to another, increasing its pace to catch up to the boy in the ponytail. His purple eyes barely followed the blue sparks as it landed its first attack. Suguru managed to shield himself with a barrier he had created to absorb the electricity that jolted in his direction. His shoes had left streaks on the muddied trail which was then overlapped by large pawprints.
"Sorry about that," a voice came out of the large fox as it opened its mouth.
Suguru uncrossed his arms and formed black orbs in each of his palms. The small grasshopper doll that attached itself to the half-Inari's fur was blinking blue in its eyes confirming Suguru's stance, "No problem at all," he closed his eyes and smiled, "Hope you don't mind me defending myself.
Getou wasn't as fast as Yahiko but thanks to one of the cursed spirits he had captured, he was able to utilize its transmutation to make stealthy attacks against his opponent. Landing a hard punch on the fox's side, it yelped back and jumped to the side to transform into his biped form.
Yahiko snorted, "Not bad for a first year," he shifted into a dachi stance, as if to prompt Suguru that he was ready to receive any attacks. Miuras underwent rigorous training in different types of fighting styles and despite him being outranked by a junior, he was quite confident that his experience could potentially overthrow a special grade.
Suguru treated his senior with much respect as they fought. He was a clean fighter but also a very aggressive one. In a way he fought a little similarly like his cousin, but he was more calculative and highly aware of his strengths and weakness.
Yahiko threw a punch at Suguru's left rib then followed with pulling him in over his shoulder to throw him on the ground but before he fell, Suguru used his transmutation and sent Yahiko on his back instead. As he was about to knock him out, he stopped his punch midway towards Yahiko's face and instead lent him a hand.
Both of their lights turned blue.
Yahiko accepted his help and stood to shake his hand, "Not bad for a first year, not bad indeed,"
Tokyo's Kitsune had already unbuttoned her uniform blazer to reveal the whip that wrapped around her waist. Her long hair swayed to the sides as she deflected the attacks of the light-haired special grade with the goggles as began tackling her as soon as she saw her from across the forest.
The eyes of the reptilian doll that dangled on Yuki Tsukumo's shoulder and the Tyto owl doll both glowed purple. As they were the only participants in the area, they had a choice to either stay neutral and defend each other if others come for them or eliminate each other.
Yuki decided to challenge her.
She looked forward to fighting the crimson eyed girl since she had witnessed her display of technique from day 1. She didn't intend on eliminating her because she thought of her as a nuisance but rather, she wanted to see how much of her potential she could actually force out of her.
Sachiko had already brandished her arm with flames. Without the mask, Yuki bore witness to her feral eyes making her cackle in excitement.
Yuki flexed her finger to taunt her opponent, "Let's go little Miura,"
One part of the forest was rather bare. Chopped up logs and grassless dirt greeted Satoru Gojo as he leisurely made his way through his end. The white cat doll had been reminding him that he was a purple player, but he didn't seem too bothered about it.
He knew he was going to be made a target sooner or later. The Kyoto principal had always hated his guts so he knew he wouldn't be let off easily.
His hands were still carrying the weight of his head as he walked. To dilute the silence of the forest, he began to whistle as if he was inviting the others to find him.
He let out a loud, tearful yawn, "I'm getting bored," he wiped the water from his eyes as he but his stretching was halted when he heard someone approach from behind. Looking over his shoulder, he saw one of the Kyoto students in their signature gi.
A Zenin.
This guy had short blonde hair with black tips that hung over his temple. Besides the odd piercings in his ears, what was more intriguing was his sinister grin towards the boy with the Six eyes, "Gojo Satoru,"
"Yeah?" his cyan eyes were quick to note the blue lit eyes on Naoya's snake doll though it did seem that it didn't matter to him if it lit up into another color. He was already preparing to attack.
"Let's see if the rumors are true," Naoya was sure that lunging at the white-haired boy would make him attack head on. And as predicted, Gojo had no intention of evading him and countered his attack successfully. Despite receiving the blow, Naoya still kept his smug expression and successfully gripped the Tokyo student's scapula and activated his technique.
24 frames. That's all I need to break him.
Naoya thought that landing a few blows in the first 3 frames would already set the tone of his victory but upon the 4th frame, Gojo was already moving and deflecting his attack and more so, he seemed to be breaking his technique.
"That's pretty neat," his pale hands curled unto Naoya's robe and flipped him on his side successfully dispelling his trick.
Ignoring the pain and frustration the special grade had given him, he kept on mindlessly advancing and attacking the young sorcerer who kept his composure without much problems.
"Hora-hora, you should really take it easy,"
Satoru's words only pissed him off more but that only off-set his opponent to finally go on the offensive himself. Being pushed towards the dirt-pool of the forest was diminishing the pride that had initially settled in the Zenin boy. Seeing as he was at a clear disadvantage, at first sight of Gojo's light turning blue, he had retreated after cursing him in the wind.
Gojo scratched the side of his face, "Huh? That's it?"
Mei-mei didn't like wasting time. Especially if the time that was given to her had a price tag attached to it. She had mobilized her crows to find any nearby purple lights and true enough, allowing the crows to scout for her turned fruitful.
Kamo was perched in one of the trees awaiting other purple lights and blue lights to hit with his blood arrow. As soon as Mei-mei had identified his exact spot, she jumped up and swung her axe at him and the tree.
The tree had fallen taking Kamo tumbling along with it. Before he could utilize his technique, Mei-mei hit him hard with the handle of her large axe and knocked him out.
She twirled her axe and returned it to her back-hilt and smirked, "That was exhilarating,"
Kamo's koala doll turned white not long after.
Kamo eliminated
Mei-mei: 1 point
Upon claiming her first point, Mei-mei picked up another registry of cursed energy heading towards her. The butterfly doll on her hair had turned purple and Naoya had already decided not to keep it on for too long. Before she could grab her weapon, the Zenin boy had activated his technique and within those frames, he had disarmed and hit her inconspicuously until she lost consciousness.
Even as the doll's light dimmed, he didn't stop with attacking the poor girl largely out of his frustration after nearly losing to Gojo. But his actions were not kept secret for too long. Yahiko had witnessed how much his attacks reflected on his lack of honor and this disgusted him to his core. Naoya already had a vile reputation but witnessing it only gave Yahiko enough motivation to stop him whatever his status may be. By some twist of luck, both of their lights turned purple.
Suguru was still trailing behind Yahiko and stepping in the area with two purples kind of complicated things.
"Well, well, a special grade and a mutt, care to walk out of this Miura? Or shall we make a truce?"
Yahiko's glare only deepened, "I could never work with the likes of you Zenin,"
Suguru crossed his arms and began weighing his options. He could easily attack both of them as they delved into their word-play but that wouldn't be fair. If he let the both of them fight, he could just move on or wait for one of them to get eliminated.
But where's the fun in that?
"Suit yourself," Naoya propped up his dagger hidden in his sleeve and threw it at Yahiko and charged. The half-inari followed the direction of the blade and was able to deflect both it and Naoya from harming him but at his periphery he could already see Suguru go for him from behind.
"You don't seem to be at the same level as the fox girl. But it seems that if I just wait it out, you might collapse as well," Naoya was taunting him on purpose. He never liked the half-Inari. He thought that a Miura who was only born with half a sorcerer's legacy wasn't worthy of their clan.
His ill-choice of words gave Suguru enough motivation to change his target and use the playful cloud on Naoya immediately allowing the staff to push out air out him, spitting out a spoonful of blood from the impact.
Yahiko's eyes widened at his sudden assistance but masking his anger at Suguru's interference didn't play out well. As he was about to push him away, Suguru plastered a composed expression as he pointed out that Yahiko's light had turned blue.
"Would you like to do the honors senpai?"
The both of them walked over to where Naoya lay panting and bruised up from their attacks. Though Suguru and Yahiko turned less irritable, he could sense that all they wanted to do was beat the shit out of him. Lucky for the Zenin boy, they weren't rule breakers.
Yahiko clenched his fist tightly as his crescent brown eyes cascaded over to the cowering boy in front of him. Biting his tongue, he slowly turned his back and began to walk away, "Thanks but, it's your victory to claim,"
Getou gripped Zenin by his collar, "Sachiko is my friend, so I don't take kindly to those who talk ill of her family,"
Though seemingly always levelheaded, he broke his character and displayed a little bit of his vicious side. Yahiko witnessed as Getou had headbutted the Zenin boy knocking the consciousness out of him with very cold piercing eyes.
Yahiko gave an awkward cackle and took a few steps backward, "Riiiiiiight, who are you again?"
Suguru offered his hand, "Getou Suguru,"
Mei-mei eliminated
Naoya Zenin eliminated
Getou Suguru: 1 point
There was something about Yuki Tsukumo that Sachiko couldn't quite understand. She didn't seem like she had any malicious intentions, but she did act like she owed her something and she came to collect with a burning admonition. There wasn't much on her file just that she was classified as a Special Grade for innate ability to kill off high level curses. Other than that, her pages didn't have any records of anything relevant or peculiar. But if the Kyoto senior breezed through Miura's detailed file, she might have also been caught in the frenzy of a human with 2 halves of 1 soul, bordering on reclassification as an amortal.
Yuki's hands ignited with black smoke as she fused it with her cursed energy. She was quite impulsive as an opponent, but she was certain of her capabilities. It showed on her face, that mask of confidence and glee never fleeted. She let out another hoot, "You're still holding back Kitsune, what's wrong? Not challenged enough?"
Sachiko adducted her arm and pursed her lips, "I think you're taking this way to seriously senpai,"
Yuki cocked a brow, "This is a very real competition and I'd like to win especially against a fellow special grade," doing a one-up over the areas she had hit on the Kitsune's body, she took note that she had barely done any damage that would result in a bruise, "-but you render my technique rather useless," she clapped her hands two times then raised her chin as she winked at the younger student, "You fight well. But I can't do my best if you're still holding back. At least defeat me with all you've got,"
Sachiko winced at her words but didn't reply and instead threw a few punches towards Yuki. She surprised her by infusing cursed energy on her hands and feet. Yuki deflected her blows but was able to release a bit of feedback from her technique which resulted in cursed energy grazing over her skin. Not missing a minute to take advantage she landed a hard punch to Sachi's side which she barely managed to dodge leaving her clutch that area as she recoiled.
Yuki took a step towards her, "Getting fired up yet?"
Sachiko grinned, "You know what senpai," her show of technique actually gave the Miura Kitsune a good idea to cover her own fists with her flames, "I am,"
"Finally little Miura!" Yuki was finally enjoying their fight. It was very rare to find someone that was at par with her skills. Even though Sachiko's moves still lacked finesse, she finally found a worthy opponent. Moving back and forth in their dance of fists, Yuki noticed that her flames turned white and covered her limbs with more balanced core energy. She was using it to create a distortion in space and was correctly applying her cursed energy at 0.000001 seconds of a physical hit.
Is this her version of a flash technique?
Yuki was growing tired, and Sachiko's speed was starting to overtake her counters. As Sachiko was about to deliver her last blow to Yuki, she withdrew her hand and jumped back.
Yuki lowered the cross of her arms and doubled back, "What's the matter?"
Sachiko pointed towards her light, "We're both blue now,"
Yuki let out a loud guffaw and made her way towards the young Miura. Flipping her hair to the side and straightening her leather jacket, she offered her hand to which Sachiko shook, "You're pretty good Miura,"
"Thank you. You're a tough fighter too senpai."
Yuki gave her a wink and smirked, "So tell me, what's your ideal type?"
The blue-black Inari summoner had accompanied the wielder of the cursed staff towards the far end of the forest. His grey eyes took note of the time that had passed since they began their activity. They barely had an hour left and seeing as his light could turn any time, he had suggested that they find others and just go at it.
His attention was caught by a floating pale figure a few meters away from where he and Getou stood. Gojo was waving at them with a rather unenthused expression. Checking on the dolls that hung on their bodies, he was disappointed that they were all blue.
Gojo met with his friend who knocked fists with him as a greeting, "Truce?" his cyan eyes shifted from the grey and purple ones before him.
Yahiko shrugged and agreed.
Yuki and Sachiko arrived not long after bearing with them the same registry of colors from their dolls. As soon as they were all aligned, the eyes of dolls they carried turned yellow and they all began speaking in their eerie robotic voices,
"Congratulations on being the finalists for today's event," Around them, the forest began to shift. The floor was being outlined by a glowing circle that extended its perimeter around them, "A few additional rules, the boundary marked by the orange lines will be your arena. If you step out of it at any point in time before the time ends, you will be eliminated. Only 1 winner will be proclaimed. Good luck and no killing,"
They all looked around and watched to see whose light would change. They only had 15 minutes left to finish the game. It was a thrill to watch each other be on guard but the anticipation only made them more focused on the game's objective.
Yuki felt some tension draw on her from afar, "I bet that old man is glaring at us through the screen," she whispered towards Yahiko.
The half-Inari massaged his temples, "No doubt,"
The last two contenders of the Kyoto school had to up their game. Both of them had received no points yet and seeing as only one of their sister school competitors were at an advantage, all they had to do was eliminate Getou and stay inside the ring.
Only a minute had passed since the announcement, finally, purple light flashed on one of the dolls' eyes. Four pairs of eyes zoned in on the tall, slender figure with the pierced ears.
Suguru sighed and raised his arms up, "Of course," he began, "Let the underdogs get a chance to win huh?" as he was the only player left with a point, he became their prime target.
Yahiko was already on his trail, "Sorry Suguru, but I already gave you a leeway," Yahiko was swift and his combined strength with his Inari was certainly enough to inflict damage on any opponent. Their collision resulted in a small mist of dust to appear but as soon as it cleared, Yahiko's eyes shot wide open. Suguru was clutching Yahiko's fist and not only was he able to deflect his move, but he had avoided any sort of impact to land on him. Suguru retaliated by using his grasp to pull the older Miura over his shoulder and slam him on the ground.
Yuki was also next to come for him. She finally revealed her Shikigami, a floating skeleton of what seemed like a fish with a long mouth. She had sent her shikigami to attack Suguru but he effortlessly took it by its head. Quick to notice her mistake of feeding a shikigami to Suguru, a cursed spirit manipulator, she charged at him allowing her to withdraw the skeletal fish but allowing Getou to counter.
Sachiko was about to try her own luck to win against her friend when Satoru ran past her and grinned. He landed a swift kick on Suguru's arm which loosened his hold on the staff, but he was quick to recover and shifted his hold on his free arm and used the playful cloud to push Gojo near the edge of the arena.
"What's the matter Satoru? Tired yet?"
Gojo scoffed as he hoisted his torso upright to bring balance back, "Are you kidding me? I'm just getting started," he ducked in time and exchanged positions with Getou and was about to sweep his legs and push him over the line but as experience has taught them, Getou had predicted this move and he was able to lodge his elbow in Gojo's abdomen sending him a few paces back.
Yahiko had transformed into his Inari form and increased his size therefore revealing his four tails. He was charging the thunder as he ran but was halted when Sachiko had trapped him in her simple domain, "Sorry Hiko," Hiko's light had turned purple. Giving the others 2 choices to eliminate.
Gojo shifted his attention to Sachiko and gave her a thumb's up, "Oh, nice one Sachiko-chan!" she half-smiled at his remark but didn't shift her line of sight.
Getou's didn't change but it seemed that Yuki was already looking to eliminate the Miura changeling first. He playfully called on his senpai, "Want me to help you Yahiko-san?"
The fox growled as he knew he couldn't break free from Sachiko's domain. She was about to manipulate the earth to send him towards the edge of the arena as she didn't want to knock him out to win when suddenly Yuki attacked Sachiko with her shikigami breaking her concentration on the domain, freeing the older Miura.
Yuki summoned back her shikigami, "You're purple now too little Miura,"
The target transitioned to the two Miura delegates now as the blue lights surrounded them.
Gojo wrinkled his nose and rubbed his chin, "Now this is an interesting turn of events,"
Getou couldn't help but snicker as he went to Gojo's side and turned to an alert Sachiko, "Don't worry, we're still friends after this,"
Yahiko growled once again, "Any ideas Sachibi?"
Sachiko fixed her stance to stand behind her cousin as if she was watching his back, "We're elementals, the odds are on our side," the wind was beginning to change direction and the natural lights around them dimmed. At the same time, the two Miuras activated their enhanced sight.
Gojo and Getou had gone after the male Miura who was doing a good job at preventing them from closing in on him using his thunder. When Yahiko managed to scratch the side of Suguru and use his tails as whips to drag Satoru, they were quite impressed at his display of technique.
However, this only challenged the Tokyo S-grades and they both attacked the Inari at the same time without using any cursed techniques. The impact of their strength was enough to send the older Miura to fly and land on his back across the arena. Before he reverted back to his human form, Yahiko had cursed inside his head as he saw that his tails went over the line causing his elimination.
The blue-eyed boy and the purple eyed boy shot a quick high five as they confirmed their credit.
Sachiko decided that if she wanted to win, she would have to be more aggressive but also strategic. Yuki and her shikigami were pushing her over to the end line but as soon as she was just a few centimeters away from crossing, she summersaulted backwards and took her whip and maneuvered it towards the shikigami. The shikigami was caught in the tangle of her cursed weapon and as Yuki was closing in, she directed the shikigami towards her and used the pull of inertia and the weight of the shikigami to send them crashing on the other side of the arena therefore eliminating her.
An applause caught her attention as the two boys just stood to witness her earning her point. She returned the whip on her hilt and gives them a rather fired grin, "And then there were three," her light had turned blue. She instinctively directed her red eyes on her friends' light. They were at an impasse. If anyone them were able to eliminate the other first, then they would get an advantage or even the chance to win. The problem was there was still a few minutes left. If there were still two people inside the ring before the time was up, there was still a chance for a draw.
Gojo casually made his way towards Sachiko and jerked his head to call on Suguru, "No hard feelings for the losers, yes?"
Sachiko rolled her eyes, "I hope you two are okay with losing to a girl,"
Suguru laughed, "Well, you're not just any girl Miura," he sighed, "But, I'd like win too,"
Sachiko looked at the projected clock, "8 minutes left,"
Ting!
Finally, purple.
Gojo was in the middle of his two friends when he tilted his head down so his glasses would slide off a little. The two raven-haired Kyoto students were grinning.
"Am I the target?" he pointed towards himself shifting from Sachiko to Suguru.
Sachiko did the same with the two boys and merged her flames in her fists like she did earlier, "It's anyone's game Satoru-san,"
All of their lights turned purple, but it seemed like Gojo's friends had a silent coalition to take him down first. He was playfully dodging their advances, but he could feel himself tense up at the amount of power he was deflecting.
They're not special grades for nothing.
Gojo chose to debilitate Sachiko first by using Getou's attempt to kick-him at his back and transporting himself push him slightly towards Sachiko leading her to lose her footing and fall on her side momentarily incapacitating her. Not wanting to harm her any further, Suguru decided to divert his cursed energy elsewhere but in his broken concentration, Satoru rushed to his back and knee-d him in the abdomen and grabbed him by his collar and punched him in his face sending him a few paces back.
It wasn't enough to knock Suguru out but by the smug look of Gojo's face and his adamant pointing towards Suguru's foot, he knew he was defeated. Earning Gojo's second point.
"Damn, I'm out," Suguru shook his head and let out a breath as his light turned white, "Hey," he called out to Satoru, "Behind you, you idiot,"
Sachiko was already retaliating but Gojo had acted fast enough to create a decent space between them as they both readied their stance. They were the last two standing. And with 3 minutes left on the clock, she could still end it in a draw, and they'd end up fighting again. Still, she didn't want to lose. After all, she was close to proving what she was capable of.
Gojo chuckled as he wiped his mouth off dirt and dried blood, "Just like old times huh Sachiko-chan?"
Sachiko's lips curved upward as one of her brows shot up, "Ready to lose Satoru-kun?"
He shrugged, "Nah, I'm the best,"
She scoffed at his remark. It was his greatest tool. His confidence, no, his belief in himself that allowed him to exceed everyone's expectations. He backed up his words easily. She just wondered if after all those days training, she had learned something from him that could work for her advantage. Maybe then, she could also be worthy of her rank.
Unlike their usual sparring, Gojo noticed that Sachiko was very much adamant to win. She wasn't holding back, and he was sure that she was in the right state of mind to defeat him. She was balanced-her mind, her body and her cursed energy were all in sync. There was something fierce about her aura.
Her curse infused punch forced air out of Gojo's lungs which took him by pleasant surprise, but he didn't compliment her with his words then and instead gave her a look that signaled better concentration from him.
It was a look that was familiar to her. That face that was determined to win. He never really hides it but there was also something else. He looked like he was proud.
Gojo finally went on the offensive. Though careful not to hit any sensitive parts, he was attacking. They had almost matched strengths, but Sachiko was faster. She was a Kitsune after all. He felt himself starting to accept the fact that he might actually lose if he let his guard down. She was too in her element, and it was both a dangerous and exciting moment for the both of them.
She saw an opening. Gojo had always had a habit of leaving his torso wide open if he threw in a distant punch to her arm or face. She lifted her leg to finally land the blow that she missed during the day that they first trained together. She saw the look in Gojo's cyan eyes that he knew he was about to lose.
Just when she thought victory was hers, Gojo's expression quickly washed away into a sinister grin. He had received her attack but instead of backing away to deflect any more punches, Gojo pulled on her arm and whispered in her ear, "Sorry Sachiko, but I win,"
Sachiko landed on a crouching position and watched as Gojo clutched the side of his torso she had kicked and directed his attention to the projected clock,
TIME REMAINING: :00
Gojo jumped and made a double peace sign and faced Sachiko, "I win!"
There it was again, his jutting grin embroidered in his dirtied face. That look that proclaimed him victorious.
I lost.
Sachiko awarded him with a small nod and a snicker as she stood up, "Fine. congrats, Six-eyes," but instead of pouting at him, she mirrored the fulfilled expression he gave her earlier on.
Control Room:
The look on Gakuganji's face turned grim. Yaga could actually hear him cursing under his breath. It was the Kyoto principal's idea to have them duel it out in hopes that the inexperience of the Tokyo students gave his own more of an advantage. But he miscalculated.
He never liked losing especially to the likes of future rule-breakers.
Yaga had just finished wiping his shades. After adjusting its position on his face, he rose from his cushioned seat and approached his elder and initiated a handshake, "Your students are definitely top-tier and I'm sure my own has learned from them well,"
Under gritted teeth, Gakuganji released one of his hands from his cane to shake the younger faculty members' hand, "You have a handful on your end, and they certainly didn't disappoint,"
Yaga had given him a nod before politely excusing himself but as he had at least a few steps left before exiting the viewing room, he heard the old man's cane drop a few times to signal his walking, "However," he began, "I do hope they stay of out trouble. If there's anything I've learned from this exercise is that their potential could also be a warning,"
Yaga smirked. He knew exactly how the Kyoto principal was going to report to the higher-ups. He was always a sore-loser, "Not to worry. That's what I'm here for,"
Yahiko was still lurking outside of the Tokyo school's boarding house. He was hoping to catch Utahime before they left but was informed that she had gone back earlier with Mei-mei.
Seeing his lack of effort to hide his disappointment, Sachiko kicked the side of his shoe and crossed her arms as she escorted their aunt outside.
"She said yes Hiko," her remark erased the frown on his face as she referred to his request to ask for Utahime's number, "But I'm not sure if I'm gonna give it you,"
Yahiko placed one arm around his shorter cousin's shoulder and began poking her cheek, "Aww come on! Do your big brother a favor!"
Sachiko rolled her eyes and forced her hand to push his face away from hers, "Ugh, this is why we can never be in the same school,"
Kodansha laughed at their playful reunion. She had been looking after the two pillars of the Miura clan since they were children like they were her own. It was nice that despite the supposed rivalry for clan leadership, both always treated each other like good siblings.
Yahiko checked his phone to confirm the forwarded information making him ecstatic. It was moments like these that Sachiko questioned if he really was 2 years older than her. Yahiko tucked his phone inside his shirt pocket then proceeded to toss his baseball upwards with one hand. It was his habit after a win, "Aren't you gonna visit the old man?" he glanced owlishly at her with his scarred face.
Sachiko nodded, "Of course I am!" she turned her crimson eyes and looked at her aunt with much pleading, "I can, can't I?"
Kodansha maintained her posture and wrinkled the side of her face, "Of course," turning to the window where her friends were still busy packing their belongings, she plastered a look of excitement before returning her attention at her niece, "You can bring your friends as well,"
Sachiko's brows shot up she couldn't really decipher what was going through her aunt's mind, but it was a welcome suggestion. Though hesitant to reveal too much about her family from the three, she resigned to the fact that this may be the only chance she got to do so.
"Thank you," she said.
Suguru, Satoru and Shouko were scrambling around the receiving area as they packed. Watching them with their bandaged faces and arms made Sachiko realize that she wasn't as precise as she had hoped. Her elemental manipulation had affected them after all but at least it was just minor injuries, but she did hope for none. At least some of the boys' wounds and bruises weren't her fault-well partly-and she had proof of their collateral as well.
Kodansha clapped her hands to catch their attention making them gather as the two Miura kids waited behind her, "Alright everyone, once you're done packing, how would you like to go on a tour of our Kyoto estate?"
Gojo couldn't hide his delight as he stuffed his bag and bobbed his head up and down. He had researched the famous delicacies in Kyoto during their train ride and was excited to take photos inside the famous Miura residence.
Gojo gave Kodansha a salute, "Yes ma'am! All done!"
Shouko and Getou could only sigh and nod at his lack of tact about the Miura elder's invitation, but Sachiko's reaction was less reserved. She snickered at him and had failed on hiding her small laugh with her hand. It was like she had already pictured how he'd react, and his statement just confirmed it.
Yahiko cocked a brow. He had never seen her so comfortable around others. His hand instinctively went to his chin and began to rub it as he narrowed his vision towards each of Sachiko's friends. It seemed suspicious-her supposed unnatural behavior-or maybe he was just weirded out by her sudden change of character.
"We'd love to come," Suguru responded directly to his teacher but didn't shy away from smiling at Sachiko.
Yahiko leaned forward. Getou's sly look was only increasing the questions inside his head. He also considered his statement from earlier on about his dislike of Naoya's comment about the Miuras but before he could probe, Shouko was already cocking her head to the side and pointing towards him,
"Miura-sensei, will the blue wolf-boy join us too?" she said, referring to a disgruntled Yahiko.
"I'm half-inari," he corrected under his breath.
Sachiko nudged at his shoulder, "Unfortunately, he is,"
Kodansha half-turned, "Once you're all settled, let me know,"
As soon as she walked out of the door, Gojo approached his former sparring partner and grinned, "So, Sachiko-chan,"
"Sachiko-chan?"
Ignoring her older cousin's echolalia she gestured for them to move a few steps away, "Yes?"
Gojo scratched the side of his face, "Where are we going?"
Since Kyoto was declared as the new seat of the imperial court, it was only apt that its wards were populated with Jujutsu sorcerers. It also happened to be the main base for the Miura clan.
Gojo half-expected that the tour would involve the historical castles and hidden gastro-pubs but at least they were taken to a touristy location.
After getting off the train station they were directed to a walk on foot towards the estate.
The entrance to the whole Miura clan's home base was kind of hard to miss. It was gigantic-a display of traditional Japanese intricate architecture of bright red and yellow with a wide, green mouth for its gates that stood atop of the long concrete staircase that was guarded by two grey fox statues with red tapestry set as collars and daggers balanced in between their teeth. They had already passed a long torii gate prior to the main entrance but it was still a sight to behold.
There were also a couple of people inside the vicinity of the Fushimi Inari-taisha. Despite it being mainly known as a government supported Shinto temple, it was also a famous tourist spot.
They are first escorted to the Chozuya, a Shinto water ablution pavilion to conduct a temizu or ceremonial purification rite. The pavilion contained a large water-filled basin where they saw clear water flow through the stones and above it were dippers made available for their use.
As per direction of Kodansha, in the midst of a Kitsune, they can only cleanse after her. As Sachiko outranked her, she was first to wash her left hand, right hand and mouth then slightly tilted the handle of the water ladle to purify it for the next person. After her was Kodansha, then Yahiko then the three other students were allowed to do it simultaneously.
Quite windy that day, unlit paper lanterns and talismans danced in the wind along with the clinking of the chimes that hung all over the establishments.
They passed through a few more pavilions of torii gates where they noticed different names painted on the sides of the pavilions. Kodansha told them that some were from patrons, other were from followers and relatives.
There were also a lot of crescent eyes and lingering Inaris around the vicinity. Though invisible to most, their presence was meant to remind visitors that they were on sacred, guarded land.
Shouko took note of the different forms and sizes of fox statues they had passed by. Most of them were imbued with cursed energy making her conclude that they were in fact truly guarding the vicinity.
The next intersection was the busiest area of the taisha. The Yotsusuji main market was crowded and noisy, but this only made the three visitors excited however, it was cut short after Kodansha had told them that they would just pass by. Before they crossed the middle of the market, they were greeted by members of the Miura family who came to escort them to the main residence.
Unlike the three Miuras who came with Gojo, they didn't emit any strong waves of cursed energy towards them.
Must be windows.
Though older than the six-tailed Kitsune, they greeted Sachi first before the others before proceeding to trek to the Main Shrine.
Like any other sacred ground, they paid their respects in front of the majestic confluence of architecture before turning left to finally enter the Miura estate.
"WOW!" Shouko couldn't help but stifle a look of utter disbelief at the hidden grounds of the estate. It was a large entryway that looked like it housed several large modern dojo-like rooms. Around them, statues were animating into actual foxes and people who worked inside the estate took their time to greet their esteemed clan members.
They had finally stopped in front of a green sliding door where a few monitors were actively being turned on. One of the guides knocked and bowed, "Master Hideo, Lady Kodansha, Lady Sachiko and Young Master Yahiko along with the Tokyo students are requesting an audience,"
The non-Miuras of the group side eyed each other as they all felt a slight nervous chill creep from the back of their spine. They had only heard stories about the clan head of the Miuras. He was a fierce fighter and had once assisted in liberating a number of curse users back into the system of jujutsu practice. If the stories rung true, he was a cold, charismatic and intimidating man.
Kodansha had ushered everyone in. As soon as she closed the door, a large man with peppered hair that matched his short-boxed beard stood tall at the center of the room. His aged yet chiseled face was only brought to more light when he traced his crescent eyes over each of the new faces inside the tea room.
Kodansha, Sachiko and Yahiko gave him a 45-degree bow which the Tokyo students mimicked.
Placing his hands on his back and decreasing the distance among them, Hideo changed is serious expression into a more relaxed one, "Welcome my dear guests, I am Hideo Miura," his low and raspy voice had much authority in it. Just like the description, he really looked like the head of the family.
He gestured the three visitors to come closer, "I see we have guests,"
Kodansha nodded towards Sachiko to signal her to introduce her friends, "Grandfather, these are my trusted colleagues from my class, Shouko Ieiri, Getou Suguru and Gojo Satoru," each of them bowed at the mention of their names.
The older lady of the Miura household was also quick to add that Shouko was her direct apprentice and that the two boys were the special grades.
"Masamichi must be proud of all of you," he said.
Lord Miura gave each of them thoughtful looks. He didn't really need their introductions. He had made background checks prior to her admission and since Masamichi Yaga was his close friend, it enabled him to keep close tabs on them. He had promised himself to be at his calmest, most open-minded self upon Kodansha's announcement of their return, but it proved difficult to keep his feelings to himself at the sight of his beloved children.
He took a certain interest towards the boy with the Six-eyes. He was the one was recently spotted strolling around Osaka with Sachiko. He looked over his shoulder towards him making Gojo gulp at the sight of his stern looking eyes.
Turning his back and taking a seat at the middle of the tea room, the others followed suit as they poured refreshments. He motioned for the young Miuras to approach and set his cup down, "I must wonder though, how neither of our representatives won,"
This set the mood inside the room into a dark pit. He spoke with utter disappointment that each of them felt like a cloud had settled above their heads.
Luckily, the two-tailed lady in the middle broke the ice by giggling at his sarcastic remark. Hideo's laughter echoed through the whole room, but the three students were still wiping bullets of sweat at the side of their faces, "Forgive me, I couldn't resist,"
Sachiko and Yahiko narrowed their eyes at their grandfather and pouted.
Crossing his arms, he uttered, "I did my best,"
Sachiko only sighed, "Grandfather, please don't embarrass us in front of my friends,"
Their short banter made Gojo appreciate the fact that even though they were a mighty household, they still retained their union as a true family. The thought that his friend was brought up in a pleasant setting after all her hardships gave him a little bit of comfort.
Hideo was quick to notice the serene expression on both Gojo and Getou's face as they looked at her smiling across the room. He cleared his throat, "But I must ask, which one you went with my granddaughter to Dohtonburi?"
Sachiko held her breath as soon as he mentioned Osaka. She knew she was being watched then, but it only dawned on her how their innocent trip might look like to people from afar. She didn't turn to face the boy who accompanied her but seeing as Hideo was just waiting for him to confirm. He sheepishly rubbed his nape and raised his hand, "Oh uh, that would be me sir,"
Getou fidgeted in his seat, "I thought you said you strolled around Tsuntekaku,"
Gojo laughed nervously as he waited for the Miura chief to speak.
Hideo was expressionless as he laid eyes on the Gojo boy. Whatever he said wouldn't matter as he had already made a bad impression of him in his head. He just hoped that he was wrong, and he could hold out his accusations in front of his family.
Sachiko was afraid that the windows reported something that could imply that they were there for other reasons besides just taking a tour. She remembered how Satoru had grabbed her hand and escorted her closely around the market.
But Satoru was more concerned that the bartender they had spoken to was actually a Miura follower. If he took his joke seriously, it would make Sachiko and him look bad. Real bad.
No one confirmed it but Gojo was absolutely correct in a way. The bartender was the son of one of their windows.
Hideo bit his tongue and forced the words that came out of his month. His voice was staggered, "Then, I must, thank you, for keeping, her safe,"
Kodansha was already chuckling behind her teacup. They both received the same reports from the Osaka liasons. Unlike him, that news delighted her.
Gojo straightened then let out a shaky cackle, "It was no problem sir,"
Sachiko glared at her grandfather making him turn away and remove his concerned expression. As if Yahiko could read his thoughts, his grey eyes shot through him to say, "Watch over your little cousin!"
Shouko was so intrigued by their family dynamic that made her happy for her friend. Her whole family was just like hers-supportive and warm.
"Excuse me," the girl with the beauty mark had raised her hand making the Miura elders turn to her, "May we please look around while we're here?"
Hideo laughed, "Of course you may. I trust my granddaughter will make you all feel at home,"
"Thank you, sir!"
Suguru was the last person whom Hideo probed. He was a quiet one. Perhaps a more well-mannered and demurer one unlike the other two that hung around his granddaughter. Hideo knew of their family well. A faction of the Getous were once foxhunters but it was way before his grandfather was born. Basing on Kodansha and Yaga's testimony, he seemed like a proper young man.
"You must be Shinosuke's grandson, correct?"
Suguru didn't really know much about his grandfather as he had passed on a few years before he got to know him, but he did know that he was responsible for clearing their name with the Miuras. He set his teacup down slowly then respectfully nodded, "Yes sir. Were you both acquainted well?"
Hideo combed over his beard, "Well enough to know that he can't handle his liquor well,"
Suguru laughed, "I guess I have that to look forward to once I come of age,"
The air inside the tea room was light. It was a pleasant short session that cleared some questions stirring within the head of the Miura household. Sachiko was grateful for his kindness and openness towards her friends. Unlike her cousin who was acting like a nosy big brother whispering all sorts of questions and comments toward their aunt who reassured him that nothing odd was going on.
A knock came from outside which was followed by one of the guards approaching the elder, whispering something. His expression turned rather serious as he had to excuse himself, "I'm afraid the tour of our estate may have to be postponed to another time however please feel free to stay our Metropolitan Dojo for as long as you like,"
They all stood in respect towards the Miura elder as he made his exit, "It was nice to meet all of you," he gestured for Yahiko to approach, "Come, my dear boy, join me,"
Yahiko grew up inside the estate long enough to decipher the meaning of his grandfather's different intonations. Something of urgent concern definitely came up.
As only the Tokyo visitors were left inside the tea room, Kodansha gestured for them to make their leave as well. Placing a hand on her niece's arm she spoke, "I'm afraid I too have some matters to attend to back at the Kyoto institute but Sachiko will take you to the Metro Dojo,"
Bidding her aunt farewell, they traced their way back to the intersection prior to the market and entered the right wing of long torii gates, "Sorry about that Shouko, I'll be sure to show you around next time,"
Shouko shook her head, "I understand. But where are we going?"
Sachiko stopped in front of one of the pillars in the middle and wrote her name with her flames where a portal had opened making them jump up in surprise, "Back to Tokyo I'm afraid,"
Gojo hung his head inside the portal then back at the taisho steps then again in the portal, "Whoa! Is this the Metro dojo?"
Suguru had pushed Gojo inside the portal with which, not long after, the portal behind them had minimized enough to show just a square inch of the Kyoto scenery.
In front of them was a rather spacious garden-like home that was more traditional in set-up than the main estate. Beautiful Inaris were playfully circling around Sachiko as if to greet her. Around the vicinity were different species of blooming plants and pollinating insects which made it look like a small paradise.
"Are we really back in Tokyo Miura-san?" Getou was bewildered by the hidden training dojo of the Miuras. It didn't look like anything he had seen around their city.
She nodded, "Yes. This is sort of like a ward base for our Tokyo faction though there aren't a lot of people here. Just some caretakers and occasional visitors, like you guys,"
Her crimson eyes blinked at the old lady in front of the entrance. She waved at her and was greeted, "Let's go in,"
The lounging area was arranged in such a way that a table was made available for them to use for dining. The soft and warm tapestry and pillows where they sat on was prepped at their disposal. A number of books and different sources of entertainment were made available for their perusal as they waited.
Sachiko had excused herself to give instructions to the staff of the Metropolitan dojo but took it upon herself to help with the cooking.
The aromatic splay of the different dishes being prepared for them was already filtering their noses making each of their stomachs growl at the increasing sensation. It took a few minutes until Sachiko had returned to their area with her hair-up, "I hope you guys are hungry," she carefully removed her apron and folded it neatly before placing it on the counter after which she straightened the hem of her sweater and skirt.
Gojo couldn't help but notice that it was rare that they were all in casual clothing. He noticed it before that she had a petite frame, but it seemed like it was a pleasant reminder for his black-haired friend who couldn't help but compliment her every move.
Taking a seat next to Shouko, she took a moment to take in everyone's relaxed posture. It had been a long time since they were allowed to just hang out, "Hope you guys aren't too culture shocked by my family,"
Getou closed his book, "On the contrary, I find your family quite interesting,"
Shouko agreed, "Yeah! You're loaded and you're all nice people,"
Gojo laughed at Shouko's crass remark, "Of course that's something only you would say,"
One of the cooks whispered to Sachiko stating that their lunch was prepared. Shifting her position as she sat, she clasped her hands together and shyly spoke, "Oh uhm, I hope you guys are okay with the food. I apologize as we don't really have any beef or pork in our pantry. We're mostly either vegans or pescatarians at the estate but one of the widows did say that the substitutes taste good,"
Gojo's lips curled up as he listened in on her nervous explanation. She didn't need to do that. He was just grateful that she was openly welcoming them in her home.
"Your religion doesn't allow you to eat beef?" Shouko asked.
"Well, not our religion. Miura followers actually have different beliefs but it's in the creed of Golden fox followers to refrain from eating them out of respect for nature and its gifts. However, we are allowed some exceptions such as seafood,"
Something clicked inside of Gojo's head. Even though he didn't mean to center on fish-based cuisine during their trip to Osaka, he was glad that he did.
"But this is only strictly for Kitsune-borne. Some followers do it by choice, but it's not enforced,"
Getou gave her a coy look, "If the food is anything like the cooking we've tasted from you, then, we have nothing to worry about,"
The white-haired boy internally rolled his eyes, Damn, he's good.
"Thanks,"
It was a great source of calm and joy to watch her friends enjoy their meal and conversation so freely inside her home. It was probably the longest she had ever felt unguarded since she had met them. It was a feeling that she cherished and wished she could replay over and over again.
Shouko was stuffed leaving her to lean on the table as she rubbed her abdomen. It was a few minutes of just breathing as they finished their meal but as having been gifted very good social cues, a curious and a little sinister half-smile appeared on her face as she peered from one boy to another.
I have a feeling that these two just might be-on to something. She thought.
It was around 3 in the afternoon when they bid the young Kitsune mistress goodbye. Though she had offered up access to the taisha market portal until midnight, the three of them decided to retreat to their homes for the day.
Gojo grinned at the pale girl with the red eyes, "Thanks a lot for this Sachiko-chan!"
"It's no problem,"
She watched as they made their way down to the senbon torii intersection where the portal had opened in front of the Tokyo University. Waiting until the portal had allowed their entry, Sachiko kept on beaming as she made her way back inside her quarters at the dojo.
And truly, she was grateful to her grandfather for urging her to take a leap of faith which brought her to three wonderful people.
The three had sluggishly walked to their dorms already feeling the food-coma come forth but seeing as it was an opportune moment for questioning and teasing, Shouko looped her arms around both of their necks, "That was a major breakthrough for all of us huh?"
They bobbed their heads.
"However," she narrowed her eyes at Getou first, "You were staring at Sachi for too long,"
Suguru scoffed then released himself from her hold, "What?" He raised his voice slightly, "She's pretty. And she fed us great food," he spoke matter of factly, off-setting an already irked Gojo. He crossed his arms but continued smiling before he reopened his mouth, "And we got credit 'cause of her. So, I can't help but admire her. I dunno, maybe it's a moment thing,"
Satoru cocked a brow as he rested his head on his flexed arms, "Ya don't say?"
Shouko jabbed his arm, "Yeah fine but tone it down a little. Don't creep her out,"
Suguru was rubbing the area which she hit then turned his squinted eyes on his best friend,
"On that note, you shouldn't just be scolding me," he used his head to direct attention to Satoru, "This guy has been ogling as well,"
Satoru shook his head casually, clicking his tongue, "Dunno what you're talking about. I'm not a creep,"
He clapped Gojo on his back making him stumble forward, "Whatever you say buddy. But you all must agree, it's the first time she was completely comfortable around us. So that's a win,"
"Yup," the cyan eyed boy agreed.
Suguru continued briskly walking and lifted his index finger to make a point, "But you gotta admit that she is pretty. And skillful,"
Satoru elbowed his friend's side before overtaking him, "Sure. But why are you pushing to talk about that?"
Suguru maliciously side-eyed Satoru, "You're right. You're a selfish prick so you wouldn't have any interests in dating,"
Shouko slumped on her shoulders and groaned, "God, you two are such children!"
Ignoring both of his friends, Suguru checked his phone and began scrolling, "Hmm…I wonder if I should take her to that place-" he quipped quietly to himself.
Satoru was hit by his friend's words. He actually wondered if it was partially true. But if it was, shouldn't he be supportive of his friend?
Nah. I don't want to.
Yahiko was told that they have not apprehended any of the fox hunters present during the exchange event and seeing as all fingers point towards the Zenins, he was tasked to keep an eye on his schoolmates.
He was making his way back to his dorm when he passed by the Tokyo school's vice-principal and a younger boy, a blonde with sharp features walking alongside him.
"Who the hell is that?"
Sachiko was already bidding farewell to the staff of the Metro dojo when she felt her phone vibrate inside her pocket. She unlocked it and began reading the text message:
From: Six-eyes (Gojo Satoru)
Sachiko-chan, are you still at the dojo?
Yes. Did you leave something?
Nope.
Okay.
Are you staying there or
are you going back to the dorm?
Going back.
Great! Let's go back together then.
Huh? Where are you?
Might get lost. In the market.
Gonna forward the place, meet me there?
Okay.
Sachiko had received a photo from one of the stalls in the Fushimi-Inari market. She took it upon herself not to ask anymore questions at her weird friend and just meet with him. He had utilized the portal that was left open and went strolling on his own.
"Satoru-san?" He was waiting by one the Fushimi-Inari stalls selling the native delicacies. Unsurprised that he was already holding a whole bag of what she had to assume were sweets, he waved at her and met her mid-way.
There were less people in the afternoon. Usually, it was the Inaris who went on patrol to guard the whole place so at least she didn't have to worry about too much gossip should she be seen strolling around their vicinity with a boy.
Not that it had bothered her. He was already introduced as her friend.
"Done with shopping I assume?"
"I think I'm good. There's just too many to choose from,"
She sighed, "Alright. Then, shall we head back?"
He placed a hand on his pocket, "Wait, your aunt said that its customary to visit the fortune walls, let's go there,"
"You mean the Omokoru Stones?"
He snapped his fingers, "Yeah-yeah, let's go there, please, Lady Miura?"
The mention of her name was meant as a jest to which only irritated her. Sighing in defeat she gestured for him to follow her.
At the far right of the Okusha after passing the senbon torri gates were two short stone lanterns with a very circular pair of rocks resting atop it.
He pointed towards the centerpiece, "This is it?"
Sachiko scoffed, "Well, you were the one who was excited to see it,"
He rubbed his palms together, "So, how does this work?"
"Stand in front of one of the stones then silently say your wish. After which, lift the stone. If the stone is lighter than you thought it would be, your wish will be granted, if not, your wish might be too difficult to grant,"
Sachiko had wondered why he was fond of going to through these kinds of rituals and wondered what he could actually desire.
This particular wishing stone was believed to bring good fortune business wise and even help farmers appeal for rich harvest. Others believe that it helps with certain illnesses, academic success and evens safe childbirth. All of which didn't seem like something he would care about.
She watched as Gojo made a silent prayer then lifted the stone. Upon weighing it in the air, he etched a surprised look and slowly put it back down then turned to her, "Well, that's that,"
She winced, "So? Will your wish be granted?"
He shrugged before looking behind his shoulder, "Only time will tell I guess,"
They took a private car back to the school and the ride was filled mostly without much talking until she looked outside the window and pondered,
"Hey, Satoru-kun?"
"Hm?"
"What's your family like?" for once, her question actually left her friend silent, making her hurriedly rebuke her words as she turned to shake it off, "Sorry, just suddenly got curious,"
He lifted his head from the backrest and gave her a small smile before he adjusted his shades, "It's alright. Hm, I guess they're alright. I'm pretty right with my folks and my gramps. But we have a smaller circle than yours,"
"I see, that's nice," her words were sincere. Her curiosity at least resulted in a proper response.
He looked outside the window to hide his excitement at her sudden interest in his personal life, "Yeah, they're good people,"
She placed her hands on her lap. She thought so. She could tell. He was a decent person -sans sudden outbursts of impulsive shopping- so his parents must have been.
"Oh," she opened her satchel and dug through her bag. Gojo watched as she pulled out a small white box with the Miura seal, "Here. They're Kitsune Senbeis. You can't get these on any stalls,"
He took the small box and opened it to reveal fox-shaped wafer crackers which had a custard filling. This gesture took him by surprise. He hadn't really done anything that warranted her to reciprocate his actions with this treat.
He was about to ask her but before he could speak she merely gave a soft chuckle, "For energy," she said.
Without eating the cookie, he felt a certain emotion well up inside him that in the next stop light, he opened his door making the driver and Sachiko whirl in surprise, "Mr. Driver, we'll walk the rest of the way," without listening to the heightened pleas of the Miura ward, he pulled on Sachiko's wrist as they made their way out of the car.
"Hey! GOJO! Where are we going?" she was panting behind him as they stopped by a small stall near the bridge a few blocks away from the school.
"Here!" He pointed towards the stall that sold mochis making her groan in frustration.
It took her a minute to realize that she wasn't carrying her bag and that she had left her mask inside the car leaving her to cover the markings of her face with her collar. Her cold glare was met with Gojo scrambling for a solution. Luckily, a convenience store was nearby, and he was able to purchase a pair of black cloth masks which she grabbed from his hand.
"I need to make a call," she said icily.
She called to tell her driver that she was fine and asked him to drop off her stuff at the dorm. Not wanting to prolong their stay she dropped the call and reluctantly went to his side as he handed her some mochis.
"You're seriously buying dessert after I just gave you a box full of 'em?"
"Well, that's a special treat, I'm gonna reserve it,"
She tucked her arms inside the pockets of her sweater and patiently waited until the cyan-eyed boy was done eating.
They then took a stroll at the bridge. Satoru was babbling on and on about the comparison of flavors he just had that Sachiko couldn't help but yawn behind her mask, "Do you think I'm your bodyguard or something Satoru?"
"Satoru?"
Gojo had stopped walking and turned slowly towards her. Pointing at the far end, they both caught sight of a curse that registered as grade 1. Agreeing to exorcise it together, they checked for any civilians before initiating an attack. As they lunged at the curse, it grabed the both of them and dragged them both down the bridge before it died.
To cushion her fall, Gojo wrapped himself around Sachiko and eased in the impact on his back. Sachiko caught in a compromised state accidentally fell on top of Gojo face to face, accidentally resting her mouth over his with only the fabric keeping a small space in between them. She felt his hot breath breach her lips making her blush and scramble away from him,
"That was hot," Gojo said under his breath.
This made Sachiko jolt on her feet and make her way up the stairs back towards the bridge.
Gojo ran after her and was about to grab her shoulder to ask if she was alright but before he could say anything, she grabbed him by the collar and began shaking him. Her tiny figure was making him lean in awkwardly, but he did his best to try and calm her down. Too bad he was bad with words.
Satoru spoke first, "Don't worry, it doesn't count when our lips don't touch so we didn't kiss or anything,"
Sachiko let go of him and pushed him away as she continued increasing her pace. Behind her, Gojo was still trying to make light of the situation, but she wasn't having any of it.
"So, in conclusion, I saved you and it was an accident,"
He didn't receive any response from her.
"Come on, don't get mad, it's not like it's your first kiss or anything right?"
Miura suddenly stopped momentarily and then sped up.
This made him realize the gravity of what had happened, "Wait Sachiko-chan! It doesn't count and, if it did, it was mine too!"
Not looking behind her, she continued to conceal her red face, This flirt has never been kissed? But why does that matter?
They finally arrived at the dorms both out of breath. She turned to him with flush cheeks peeking from the side of her mask, "It doesn't count Satoru, goodnight,"
Gojo moped, "Damn, girls are so difficult…" a picture of what happened between them filtered his thoughts and he found himself wide eyed and feeling sweaty. He placed one finger inside his collar to loosen it, "But it was still kinda hot…anyway," he tucked his hands inside his pockets and walked home, "Tch, she's not the only one who wants the first to be legit," he stopped midway to bring his palm towards his forehead, "Why the hell did I blurt that fact out?"
A voice from behind him suddenly emerged, "Blurt what out?"
His neck became rigid as he turned, "Eh? Suguru? What are you doing behind there?"
"I just came back from Sachi's. I wanted to ask if she wanted to take a stroll but the cursed dolls weren't letting me in so I'll just ask her tomorrow,"
Satoru didn't hear a word he said and just continued walking beside him. He was still mumbling.
"What's wrong with you? Did something happen?"
They finally arrived at their lobby and Gojo grabbed his glasses and loosened the buttons on his collar,
"Nope. Nothing happened 'cause it didn't count." He was gloating. Suguru could only guess why but if the Miura seal peeking inside his half-opened bag had something to do with it, he knew better than to ask him to elaborate and just bid him goodnight.
He headed straight towards his room and unraveled his hair after taking off his uniform jacket. He stood over his table where a desk calendar was filled with his scribbles.
"Where has the time gone?"
He ripped the page to signal the start of a new month and breathed in, "I should probably make a move soon. I can't lose to him in that area as well."
When the classes resumed the following day, Mei-mei and Utahime entered the freshmen class and collected the talismans on Sachiko's seat and destroyed them. They didn't say anything and instead eyed each of the observers as if they were warning them of repeating such indecent behavior towards their beloved junior.
That movement wasn't singular. After news of it spread around, she began to observe some changes from around those close to her. She was about to leave for her dorm when she spotted Gojo near the recycling bins where he is shaking his backpack and a number of multi-colored sheets of paper fall on the pile. He then directed a small amount of cursed energy at them to dispel the talismans.
Shouko and Getou creeped up from behind her to reveal that they were also collecting and discarding talismans for her. She felt her tears well up instantly. She was deeply touched that she couldn't help but bow towards the three of them,
"I-I'm grateful, truly,"
That same day, she lay on her bed thinking about the selflessness and support she was being given. In a short amount of time, she had managed to create bonds with different sets of people. It was as if she was finally given the confirmation that she was never alone since the day she arrived, and it was finally time for her to believe that she really did had a place there.
As a gesture of her acceptance at her schoolmates' plea for forgiveness and camaraderie, she went to school the following day without wearing her mask. She fixed her hair neatly enough and didn't shy away from highlighting some of the faded markings on her body. As always, she made efforts to arrive before there were too many legs running about the university.
She opened the door slowly and entered the classroom where she made her way beside the half-asleep boy in the desk next to her.
There wasn't a harsh field of energy that emanated in her direction, and this was enough to alert Gojo of the peculiar feeling that was looming over him.
Its more balanced.
His eyes cracked open slowly at the figure before him. Propping himself up to get a better view, a kind and delicate expression looked through him with one of those rare smiles he had always appreciated,
"Ohayou, Satoru-kun,"
Finally, no more hiding.
There was nothing but clarity in his midst. There she was. Just herself. Her true-incredibly attractive, authentic self.
And Gojo knew at the back of his head that he,
Was in trouble.
End of Chapter
Next-Chapter: Fox Hunters and Cursed Spirit Manipulation
Well, I gotta give Suguru sometime in the limelight right?
Author's Notes:
Whoooo! Those 2 days translated to a lot of pages huh?
I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. This is how I imagined Tokyo gained their peat status as winners of the Goodwill event.
If you've noticed, I've started to delve into the relationship part-okay triangle-part of the story. I couldn't resist. The story is about lovey-dovey stuff after all haha with a bit of adventure.
If you guys have questions or suggestions let me know!
Shout out to this chapter's special cameo, Nanamin!
For non-Manga readers, there is no actual Hatori Kamo, Inu Denji, Nishimiya Sana, Hanba Watari. They are OCs.
Happy I also got to introduce the four tailed half-Inari cousin of Sachiko, Yahiko/Hiko Miura. Yes, he will be the love interest of Utahime in this fic. Kinda makes sense why she loves baseball now right? Haha
The Fushimi inari temple is real. Hope I get to visit it someday.
For anime fans, the Yuki Tsukumo mentioned here is the same Yuki that mentored Todo Aoi. But you probably already knew that.
And yes, Naoya is very real and very annoying in the JJK world.
Suguru's cursed weapon here is the same staff that Maki, Megumi and Todo used during their own Exchange event.
I wonder who you guys are rooting for so far.
Thank you for reading!
-MC
P. artworks are now available in my AO3 account ( /works/32280142/chapters/80010052) and twitter ( ChroniclerMiura) in case you guys wanna see what Sachiko looks like.
More art works soon!
