The afternoon sun burned high in the sky as the two sorcerers made their way to the training grounds. Satoru was in a hurry. His long strides made it impossible for (y/n) to keep up by simply walking. Every now and then, she had to add a light skip to stay beside him.

This was strange. In all the walking they had done in Switzerland, (y/n) had never needed to rush after Gojo. Whatever the reason for his urgency, she didn't want to ask.

Faint shouts reached her ears. As they approached, the scene before them was one of utter concentration and dedication.

Nobara stood off to one side, practicing her hammer strikes with single-minded determination. Panda and Toge were locked in a fast-paced spar, their movements a blur of precision and power.

Maki, the picture of focus, was guiding Megumi through a new technique, her voice sharp and authoritative as she demonstrated an intricate maneuver with her spear. Megumi followed her lead, his Divine Dog pacing at his heels, ears perked as if taking mental notes too.

As (y/n) took in the scene, she side-eyed the sensei beside her. A big, proud smile was plastered on his face. No, that wasn't quite right. Now that she could read him better, she recognized that expression—it was a warning sign of mischief.

"Ah, my adorable little students!" Satoru called out, raising an arm in an exaggerated wave.

Every head turned toward them, a mix of reactions following his dramatic entrance.

"Gojo-sensei…" Megumi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Great, just what we needed," Nobara muttered, though there was a flicker of amusement in her tone.

Maki rolled her eyes but smirked nonetheless. "You're late. Again."

"Late? Or fashionably late?" Satoru shot back with a wink.

"More like annoyingly late," Maki retorted, adjusting her grip on her spear. "But whatever. You're here now, so make yourself useful for once."

Gojo clapped his hands together, his grin widening. "Alright, everyone, listen up! I've got a brilliant idea to make your training more... dynamic."

The students collectively groaned.

"Brilliant, or another excuse for you to show off?" Nobara deadpanned, crossing her arms.

"Why not both?" Satoru shot back. He turned to (y/n), his tone suddenly conspiratorial. "And you, my dear Yuna, are going to help."

(y/n) blinked. "Wait, what?"

Satoru snapped his fingers as if he summoned a stack of blindfolds from seemingly nowhere. He tossed them toward the group, who caught them with varying degrees of enthusiasm-or lack thereof.

"Blindfolded sparring," he announced dramatically. "Because nothing hones your cursed energy like fighting without sight!"

"Are you serious?" Maki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Always," Satoru said, his expression utterly unconvincing. "Besides, I'll be overseeing everything. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Everything," Megumi muttered under his breath.

Ignoring the protests, Satoru waved (y/n) forward. "You'll spar with each of them to demonstrate. Think of it as a team-building exercise. And I'll be the incredibly responsible referee."

(y/n) hesitated, glancing at the students' skeptical faces. "Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely! Trust me," he said with a wink, which only made her trust him less.

As the blindfolds went on and the students reluctantly prepared, Satoru stepped back, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Oh, almost forgot. You've got this, Yuna. I'll be right over there, supervising."

Before she could argue, he was already walking away, phone in his hand. His carefree expression slipped for just a moment, replaced by that sharp intensity she had caught glimpses of before.

Suppressing some swear words, (y/n) turned to the students clapping her hands "Alright, everyone, line up. Gojo's brilliant idea this time is blindfolded sparring. He said it's all about honing your cursed energy senses, right. And guess who gets to be your guinea pig?"

She motioned to herself with mock enthusiasm, earning a few chuckles and some raised eyebrows from the students.

"Finally, a chance to beat you up, Yuna-san!" Nobara quipped, tying the blindfold around her head. She would be the first to spar

"We'll see about that," (y/n) replied with a sly grin, her stance shifting into readiness while trying to ignore Gojo's tens behavior.

Despite being blindfolded, Nobara moved with surprising confidence, using her cursed energy to sense (y/n)'s presence. (y/n) dodged Nobara's hammer strikes with fluid ease, her movements precise yet unaggressive, allowing Nobara to adjust and improve her strikes.

"Not bad," (y/n) praised after a particularly close dodge. "But don't rely too much on sound. Feel the energy shifts around you."

From the corner of her eye, (y/n) caught a glimpse of Satoru standing a short distance away. His posture was unusually stiff, and the easygoing smirk he always wore had vanished. He held his phone to his ear, his free hand gripping his arm as if to steady himself.

Her attention snapped back as Nobara made another attempt, narrowly missing her shoulder.

"Nice try!" (y/n) said, stepping back. "Next!"

As Gojo walked far enough so his voice wouldn't carry to (y/n) or his students, his usual carefree demeanor was replaced by a quiet intensity. He was expecting a phone call from Jeff, the analyst he had asked to look into (y/n)'s parents' death, and who had sent him a message the night before saying he'd be calling today through a secured line. As soon as the call came, Gojo tapped his phone, answering it.

"Jeff, that took you long enough."

"Dude, this is by far the best job you've asked me to do." Jeff's voice came through, slightly breathless, like he had just run across the room. "And, i mean, how many jobs have you asked me to do till now? I have lost count "

Gojo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jeff, focus."

"I am focused! Hyper-focused, actually. Been digging through digital trash for God knows how many weeks now. You know how hard it is to find nothing in a system that records everything? I nearly had a crisis about whether I was in the wrong database or if I'd finally lost it."

Gojo sighed. "And?"

"And… the mission you had in (country) with that cursed object Matrioska doll? It doesn't exist," Jeff declared dramatically. "No records, no mission brief, no fancy cursed object classifications—nada. I even checked the weird old archive system the higher-ups pretend doesn't exist. Still nothing."

"Oh, good."

Jeff didn't get Gojo's sarcasm. "Right, right! But then, bang, I found something yesterday. Not in a normal database, not even in a restricted file. This was a printing job from one of the photocopier. Scanned and printed, like someone wanted to keep a record but also didn't want it to be traced digitally."

Gojo's fingers twitched. "What was it?"

"A transfer order," Jeff said, his voice losing some of its usual hyperactivity. "The cursed Matrioska doll was sent to (country), to Anthony—the director of their Jujutsu school at that time—around one week before you said your mission took place."

Megumi was up next against (y/n), his blindfold tied securely. His movements were measured and deliberate, his Divine Dog standing by as if offering silent support. The sparring session was a bit more challenging with him, as his cursed techniques came into play.

"You're holding back," (y/n) remarked, sidestepping an attack. "Don't be afraid to push yourself."

Megumi grunted but adjusted his strategy, forcing (y/n) to stay sharp. Between exchanges, she glanced back at Satoru. He was still deep in his conversation, his free hand now running through his hair. Whatever he was discussing, it was serious.

Gojo's breath stilled for a second before he exhaled slowly. "And that's all?"

"That's all I have right now," Jeff corrected. "I mean, there should be more. Every object transfer has a mission report, an authorization log, something. But this? It's like someone took a giant eraser to it. If I didn't know better, I'd think this mission never happened. And if—big if—someone printed this yesterday, then someone is nosing around for too."

Gojo was silent for a moment.

Jeff hesitated before adding, "And if they're looking into that mission… they could have found out (y/n) is in Tokyo."

Satoru had already concluded that. He was having an internal debate right now about whether he should tell (y/n) about this now or only later, when more details were found. He had hoped Jeff could use his innate ability to see vivid past events, but there probably wasn't enough information for him to do so yet.

"Keep digging," Gojo ordered, his tone light but firm. "I need to know what Anthony did with the dolls. If he was the one to put it in (y/n)'s house or if her parents got it by accident."

Jeff let out a short laugh. "Pfft, yeah, sure, no problem, I'll just hack reality while I'm at it."

"Appreciate it."

"I was being sarcastic—"

Gojo hung up.

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. The tension in his body wasn't going away, but he could fake it well enough. By the time he walked back to his students and (y/n), the usual smirk was already back in place.

The sparring continued with Panda, Toge, and even Maki, each student bringing their unique strengths to the exercise. (y/n) maintained her focus, offering guidance while silently wondering what could have shaken Satoru's usual unshakable demeanor.

As the session neared its end, (y/n) finally spoke up. "Great work, everyone. You're improving. Remember, it's all about sensing and reacting. Now take a breather."

Before the students could fully relax, Gojo clapped his hands together, drawing all eyes back to him. "Alright, alright, before you all get too comfortable, I have one last challenge for Yuna here." His smirk widened as he turned to her. "You've been handling them well enough, but how about facing all of them at once?"

(y/n) blinked. "Come again?"

"You heard me." He waved a hand lazily. "It'll be great training for them—and for you. Besides, we all know you can handle it."

The students exchanged glances. Some, like Nobara, looked eager, while others, like Megumi, appeared skeptical but willing.

"Are you backing out?" Gojo teased, tilting his head.

(y/n) exhaled through her nose, rolling her shoulders. "Fine. Let's do this."

The students quickly retied their blindfolds, adjusting their stances as (y/n) took her position in the center. Despite her confidence, she couldn't shake the feeling that Gojo was using this to distract her.

"Begin!"

The moment the word left Gojo's lips, the students sprang into action. Megumi's Divine Dog lunged first, forcing (y/n) to pivot and evade as Nobara swung her hammer. Panda charged in from the side, while Maki aimed a precise thrust with her spear.

(y/n) moved fluidly, weaving between attacks, her cursed energy flaring as she countered without overpowering them. She had to strike a balance—strong enough to push them, but not so much that they couldn't keep up.

Toge murmured, "Fall," forcing her to shift her energy just in time to resist the command's full effect. The momentary distraction allowed Maki to close the distance, her spear cutting through the air with impressive speed. (y/n) blocked it by instinct, forming a shield with her cursed energy, then twisting her body to avoid Nobara's follow-up attack.

Despite their blindfolds, they were adapting fast. It was impressive—but also exhausting. (y/n) could feel her heartbeat quicken, sweat forming at her temple. They weren't holding back anymore.

Gojo observed from the sidelines, his expression unreadable behind his blindfold. In reality, he wasn't just watching (y/n)—he was studying her. The way she moved, the way her cursed energy fluctuated. She was skilled, no doubt, but something about the way she fought reminded him of someone. And her cursed energy control had even improved since their mission, since she absorbed that curse user's energy...

Or maybe he was just overthinking things.

"Enough," he finally announced.

(y/n) exhaled sharply as the students stepped back, panting.

"That was insane," Nobara huffed, pulling her blindfold off.

"You all did well," (y/n) said between breaths, rolling her shoulders. "I'm impressed."

Gojo clapped his hands. "And that, my dear students, is how you train like a pro."

Megumi shot him a look. "You didn't do anything."

"Excuse you, I facilitated."

(y/n) wiped her brow, taking a slow breath. "Are we done?"

Gojo's smirk softened just a fraction. "For today."

As the students dispersed, (y/n) caught Gojo's lingering gaze. He was thinking about something. She could tell. But before she could ask, he turned away, stretching lazily as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Whatever had happened during that call, she would have to find out later.

*

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say that I have a vague idea I mentioned (y/n)'s school director was Anthony. I looked through the chapters about the past but couldn't find it. I didn't want to spend more time looking it up because I'm a very tired, full-time working mom, so if I've renamed the director, I'm sorry. He is now Anthony.