Notes: "I see. Fushiguro's friends? I hope their taste isn't as bad as his."

Chapter 11

Present Day

Itadori Yuji blinked awake in a bright room. The cause of the light was the row of windows on one side of the room. Judging by the amount of light streaming through the paper, it was morning. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked around the room.

"Good, you're awake." The voice came from a dark-haired woman sitting in one corner, flipping through a book.

"How long was I out?" he asked. He vaguely recalled her name was Shoko, and she had fixed up him and Nanami when they had returned from their mission.

His healer closed the book she held with a sharp snap and rose gracefully. Her pale kimono bore a falling leaf pattern in varied colors. "Two days. Don't look so surprised; your injuries were severe. Like I told you when you returned, your survival was a near thing."

Yuji hardly felt like he had been injured at all, looking down at his smooth skin. He had only faint scars on his arm, and that had been the most injured part of him. By the time he looked up from his inspection, he was the only one left in the room. Well, the only person in the room. A brightly colored bird sat sleeping on a perch in one corner of the room as well, head tucked under its wing.

"Hey, you're awake!" Yuji's head shot to the door, and he saw Kugisaki smiling into the room. Next to her, slouching as though he didn't really want to be there, was Fushiguro. "We just got back from our mission last night and heard you were still sleeping in here. Must have been a rough one."

"Yeah, you could say that," Yuji said, sitting all the way up now and groaning as he rolled off the bedding and attempted to put on the slippers sitting near his feet. "It turned out to be an S-rank devil. Probably working with the one that attacked Gojo-sensei earlier."

Both their eyebrows rose. "It's a miracle you're alive," Fushiguro stated matter of factly.

"It was half luck," Yuji admitted. He explained how the devil had been unable to transfigure him like other humans and been harmed instead.

"That doesn't make any sense," Kugisaki said, crossing her arms.

"Did you tell Gojo-sensei?" asked Fushiguro.

"Haven't seen him yet. Where is everybody?" Yuji asked, walking over.

"Meeting in the courtyard. The other mages are going to be arriving at some point today," the dark-haired mage informed him.

"Let's go! I don't want to be late and make a bad impression," Kugisaki said, turning on her heel and heading back down the hallway. The guys had no choice but to follow in her wake.

xXxXx

He's not here, Yuta thought as he stood with friends, waiting for the arrival of the Kamo and Zen'in mages. It wasn't like Gojo-sensei to miss the beginning of an event like this. He wondered what was going on.

Maki stood next to him, idly flipping a knife along her knuckles, back and forth. Toge and Panda were present as well, the former standing quietly and the latter muttering what seemed like some sort of song under his breath.

Kugisaki, Fushiguro, and Itadori arrived next. The pink-haired mage looked a little worse for the wear, though his physical injuries had all been expertly healed. Something else must have happened on his mission with Nanami. Kugisaki and Fushiguro's mission on the other hand had gone swimmingly from what he had heard.

Next appeared Yaga along with the queen and even Mei Mei. Gojo must have offered to pay her again to show up and use her magic to project the events of the contest again this year. Last year she hadn't ended up with as much as she had anticipated since she charged hourly and the event hadn't lasted very long. Still, it was early. They still had a week of classes before the main event even started. Maybe she had other business here as well. Perhaps relating to the S-rank devils that were popping up all over the place these days. The three of them stuck to the background, standing a good ways off from the younger mages.

A commotion near the gates meant the other mages had finally arrived. Yuta straightened and Maki put her knife away. He should have known the first one through the double doors would be Todo Aoi. The broad and muscular man was already dressed for fighting, with a dark haori over a white shirt paired with dark pants and the flat shoes of a martial artist. His hair was pulled back in a topknot.

Half a step behind him and to the side came Kamo Noritoshi, the heir-apparent of the Kamo Clan. He wore more formal clothing in the form of a dark kimono and hakama. Following him were the women - Maki's twin Zen'in Mai, Nishimiya Momo, and Miwa Kasumi. Each of them wore varying kimonos ranging from Mai's plain dark one to the tastefully decorated autumn themes of Nishimiya and Miwa. Last in line came Nitta Arata followed by Muta Kokichi, a hooded and robed figure, face and hands wrapped up as well.

"Okkotsu," Todo greeted cooly. He crossed his arms as he stood before Yuta, who was just grateful he hadn't approached to immediately suplex him. Perhaps the presence of Yaga and the others, far away as they were, was enough to restrain him. Honestly, this was all Hakari's fault, not his. As if his thoughts had been spoken aloud, Todo continued speaking with a glint in his eye, "Hakari a no-show this year?"

"He's… uh… been missing for a while now." The copy mage decided telling the truth might be best in this scenario. If he didn't personally know just how strong Hakari was, he might have been worried at the length of time he had been away without sending any word back to the castle.

"What a shame." Kamo Noritoshi joined the conversation. Unlike Todo, he offered a polite bow to their hosts. Yuta bowed back politely in return. "Todo was so looking forward to a rematch."

Todo's glare intensified and Yuta worried he might turn on his clanmate.

Fortunately for him but unfortunately for the others, Todo's attention had turned to the three mages who had not been present for last year's events. "Who are they?" The question was directed at Yuta, though his gaze was aimed at the trio, two of whom he had never seen before.

"Ah, these are some new students Gojo-sensei picked up recently." He gestured for them to step forward. Kugisaki and Itadori did. "This is Kugisaki Nobara and Itadori Yuji."

Kugisaki made a short bow toward the man. Itadori bowed as well and stepped forward to shake his hand. Todo didn't take it. "I see. Fushiguro's friends? I hope their taste isn't as bad as his."

Yuta winced. At the get-together between the young clan mages held at the castle several months before the annual competition last year, Fushiguro Megumi had first met Todo Aoi. The latter cornered the former and asked for the former's type in women, as per his usual line of questioning. Fushiguro's answer of unshakable character may have endeared him to the females of the group had they been present, but not Todo, who called him boring and proceeded to punch him through the wall he had been standing by.

The following beatdown was insanely one-sided to the point that Fushiguro had almost summoned his no-win-scenario option. Only the timely arrival of Yuta himself along with Maki had stopped it from escalating to the point where Gojo might have been needed to stop things.

Itadori looked puzzled but not overly hurt as he removed the hand awkwardly hanging in the space between himself and the muscular man. Well, Yuta thought, he had likely made his own assumptions about Todo based on the story he had heard of last year's competition.

The copy mage decided the best way to keep the situation in its currently stable state was to continue introductions. Kamo shook hands with Itadori - at least he was polite - and the women exchanged greetings with Kugisaki. Muta stood quietly in the background.

"Are you a ninja?" Itadori asked him curiously.

"I'm a mage," a flat voice replied from under the wrappings.

Yuta didn't feel like launching into a speech about Heavenly Restriction and its various forms. He let the studious Kamo Noritoshi answer Itadori's question. The pink-haired mage hadn't been able to learn years worth of material in his month and a half at the castle, and if Yuta recalled correctly from the few classes he had attended with him, he wasn't that great of a student when it came to purely academic pursuits. His physical prowess did not extend to classroom learning. According to Fushiguro, Itadori had not attended much school growing up as he needed to assist his grandfather with work, which likely was part of the cause of this deficiency.

As Itadori exclaimed over the remote activation of magic that Muta used to control the puppet body he was currently seeing, Mai approached Maki with a curled lip. "Maki. Always a pleasure." Her tone made it clear that it was not.

"Likewise, Mai," Maki replied, stone faced.

The two stood staring each other down until Todo began heading for the classroom area near the training yards. Then Mai broke off and followed. History class that day was more interactive than usual. Todo, Kamo, Muta, and Mai did most of the question-answering, so the normal group got a break.

After a break for lunch, they all headed to change before meeting back in the yard for combat exercises. Yuta felt pity for whoever ended up paired with Todo. It was Itadori. He himself was paired with Nishimiya, meaning he wouldn't get much of a workout in but would be more of a teacher today.

Something must have happened while he was recommending some technique improvements to her, because by the end of the session Todo was ecstatically telling people that Itadori was his brother and giving an entire fake history of their time spent together over the years. Yuta was simply relieved that someone else had caught Todo's interest besides himself. Though he felt some bit of pity for Itadori, the younger mage seemed to be handling it well and even improving his technique - a surprise since he already excelled at hand-to-hand combat.

Just as class was wrapping up and Yaga was telling them the plans for dinner, Gojo made his dramatic entrance. Miwa immediately came to attention, hanging on his every word.

"Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late. There was a very important incident I had to take care of in the west. But I brought you all back some souvenirs!" He then proceeded to hand out some trinkets he had picked up to each of the mages. No one but Miwa looked that impressed at what they had gotten. "Anyway, Yuta, can I talk to you and Kinji?"

Todo glanced around the room as though the gambler would appear from where he had been lurking in a corner, invisible. He did not.

"Sensei, Hakari hasn't been around in months," Yuta said, rising. "But whatever it is, I can take care of it."

Gojo smiled and excused the two of them, though as everyone else was leaving anyway, they ended up just leading the group back to the main doors of the castle and then splitting off to head to Gojo's office. The paperwork had thinned somewhat. Nanami must have been chipping away at it again after returning from his mission with Itadori. That or the queen had been helping out.

Gojo sat in his chair and turned to face Yuta, face serious. "What's the damage?"

"Rika," Yuta said. The girl's spirit appeared and handed him a scroll before disappearing again with a smile. He'd had her hold onto it so he wouldn't have to go running for it when Gojo appeared asking about his meeting with the clan elders. "Fifteen names this time. They're getting more desperate."

Gojo frowned and took the list, eyes no doubt scanning it from behind his dark blindfold and instantly processing the information. "Almost all sixteen to seventeen too. Bleh. Oh, but there's one who's twenty-two. Maybe they're learning."

Yuta sighed. "I hate to break it to you, but she's on the list because she's a widow who had two children with her late husband. The eldest is already showing signs of being a mage as well."

His sensei sighed and slouched his tall frame in the chair, letting the list fall to his semi-cluttered desk. "Their attempts to make you take a second wife are only going to get worse," he pointed out to the white-haired mage. "Making me go to these meetings in your place is only going to antagonize them further."

"They don't command me any longer," the king replied. "And ignoring them suits me."

It ignored the root of the issue as well, Yuta thought, doubting that they had ever really commanded his sensei in the past twenty or so years. Certainly not any time recently, as having the resources that came with the kingship made his clan's threat of cutting off access to their own wealth and contacts pointless. The Gojo Clan elders and head had been patiently awaiting the birth of Gojo's first child for a decade now. Well, perhaps patiently the first few years and somewhat patiently the middle few. Now they were insisting he take another wife since clearly his first could not continue his line for him.

Plenty of important men, most notably clan heads and kings, had done so throughout history, but his sensei refused to. Yuta assumed it was out of loyalty to his first wife, though he supposed there could be some other reason. The two always seemed to get along well, and Gojo had a tendency to be far more… affectionate in public than was strictly proper. This was one area of his sensei's life which Yuta refused to pry into. He merely went as Gojo's proxy to treat with his family and hear their demands so his sensei could get them second-hand.

"Look sensei, I don't want to keep going to these meetings for you. How about we make a deal?"

Gojo's face did not reveal how he felt in the moment, but his pause before he spoke meant he knew something was wrong. Yuta's latest statement wasn't like the dutiful obedience his student usually displayed. "What kind of deal?"

"The elders think you're a lost cause. Have for a while now I think, especially since you always conveniently vanish when they come here and can't be bothered to go to them. So now they're getting on my case, since I'm actually available to harass unlike you. They want me to marry Yume in four years, take on the Gojo name, and become the next clan head since you're king." The words all came tumbling out.

Yume was the female mage closest in age to him in the Gojo Clan, but she was only twelve. So the elders' latest scheme was for them to marry when she turned sixteen. He would be twenty-one. "Tell them you don't approve of the match. You can do that as king, right?"

Gojo steepled his hands on the desk, thought for a moment and then spoke. "Yes, but kings try not to step into clan politics for the most part. Since this concerns my own clan I may hold some sway, but there's a reason I cannot be both clan head and king. The king is to look out for the whole realm, while the clan is focused on strengthening their own family."

"This whole system is a bit of a convoluted mess," Yuta confessed.

The king shrugged. "The best thing I can do is try to bring mages from different families together here and promote cooperation between them. Trust me, things are already a lot better than they were back when I was your age. I hardly ever visited the castle, and the old king showed blatant favoritism toward his own clan. Still, I'm surprised the elders would go this far. You are far removed from the main branch of the clan. It must be a nearly unprecedented move. I for one can't think of another instance where this has happened."

Yuta sighed. "I don't think it has happened. But their logic is that since Yume is from the main line, our heir would still be from the main line as well." While the female line was usually disregarded in favor of the male line, in this instance - due to his sensei's failure to have children and outright refusal to take another wife - it seemed the elders would make an exception. Yume was the daughter of the current clan head's younger brother, after all. Her lineage was direct, and none of her older brothers were mages.

Gojo's thoughtful expression cleared and he grinned at Yuta, who grew concerned at what this sudden change in mood could signify. "But really Yuta, there's a simple solution to your problem. You can elope with Maki!"

Yuta blanched. "Sensei! Please don't joke like that! And please don't tell her about this whole mess with the elders wanting me to marry Yume."

Gojo chuckled and waved him down. "I won't, I won't. Seriously!" he reassured his student, seeing his doubt. "I'll let the elders know that I don't approve of the match. And that should at least buy you some time while they try to come up with a reply. Just remember, in the end, it's not like they can drag you kicking and screaming before the priest. It's your choice, and while the consequences of standing against them may seem overwhelming, you just have to weigh them against the consequences of letting them get their way." He pulled out a strip of paper so Yuta would know he was serious about writing the message.

The copy mage was honestly a bit surprised at the serious advice from his sensei. Despite his fun and joking nature, he could still occasionally give good counsel. Very occasionally. In this instance though, he was correct. The only one in the Gojo Clan with the power to drag Yuta before a priest and force him to wed was the king himself, and that would never happen.

Gojo looked up from the beginning of his note to the elders. "What I really wanted to talk about with you was becoming my successor."

"Well, I kind of am by proxy, right? Especially if I let the elders have their way," Yuta said. It was the whole reason the clan elders wanted to match him with Yume and take her last name.

"I'm not talking about as clan head. I mean as king."

Yuta stared at him with wide eyes. "You're redoing your will? Is something the matter?"

Gojo laughed. "I'm not sick with some deadly disease if that's what you're imagining. I plan to live a long life and see your grandchildren." The fact that he said your grandchildren instead of my grandchildren did not get past Yuta.

"I took the throne in a time when I didn't have a good successor to take my place who would be able to not only hold the position but also be a good king. You are honest and straightforward Yuta, and also kind. You would do well at the job, and I'm sure you would continue what I've started here in trying to promote ties between the three clans and also reaching out to those they don't accept."

Yuta was still stunned. "But you said you also wanted to speak with Hakari. Was he your other option?"

"Hmm? Oh right. I wanted him here as a witness. I think we can both agree even if I offered him the position, he'd decline it. And he isn't cut out for this kind of leadership the way you are. Still, I was hoping he would lend you his support as one of the top A-rank mages."

"Ah." Yuta was somewhat relieved his sensei hadn't been trying to consider between the two of them given how different they were. He debated how to reply. He could take time to think it over, but would he say no?

He wondered who Gojo had named as his successor previously. Perhaps it had suddenly become important for this person not to take the kingship. Even if he took the time to think more thoroughly about it, would he really end up saying no? He doubted it. Being trained for leadership from the age of eleven until now meant he had six solid years of preparation already under his belt. "I wasn't expecting this. But yes, I will."

Gojo looked relieved. "I'm glad! I had the paperwork set aside so we can sign right away if you want."

Yuta hesitated in his reply only slightly as his sensei dug through the various piles of paper cluttering his desk until he found the one he was searching for. "Sure."

It wasn't like he was going to change his mind anyway, so he might as well get the ball rolling. Besides, Gojo would be king for decades more, and Yuta wouldn't have to wield any significant power in the duration.

A courier entered the room to act as witness. The king signed his name with a flourish and cut his finger with a flick of magic, pressing the blood into the paper. Yuta did the same. Both their wounds healed instantaneously - each mage capable of the high level self-healing spell, though only Yuta could extend that healing magic to others.

The courier then left with the document to deliver it to the judge in the city posthaste. Gojo returned to work on his note to the elders on Yuta's behalf as the copy mage retired to his rooms to prepare for the group dinner with all their guests from the other clans.

xXxXx

Kyo rounded the corner, the important missive clutched in his hand. He opened the door to the judge's office and stepped out onto a sunny beach. Waves lapped against the shore with rushing sounds. Heat unlike the temperate climate he had just left caused the man to begin to sweat immediately.

Absolutely flabbergasted, Kyo could think of nothing to do but stare ahead of him at the seashore which continued far out into the distance. The trees on the shore looked unfamiliar, though he had never once seen the ocean having lived inland his entire life. Had he opened a door to a different dimension or something?

"Lost?" came a voice behind him.

Surprised to hear someone in what he had assumed was a desolate place, he spun. Behind him, right where the door had once been, stood a monk with short white hair and a strip of reddish pink in one segment. It was unclear if the monk was male or female. They appeared solemn in robes of dark blue and white, and their eyes were a strange shade of dark pink. Beside the monk stood a nondescript man in his middle years with black hair and dark brown eyes. Unlike the monk, absolutely nothing about this man stood out. Kyo's eyes kept shifting from him to the monk instead.

"What is this place? Where am I?" the courier asked. He didn't like the way the monk was looking at the missive he clutched in his hand, and moved to hide it behind his back.

The monk didn't answer but waved a hand. Ice rose from the hot sand below Kyo, rapidly traveling up his legs and chest, down his arms as well. He cried out, but in an instant, his head and the hand holding the document were the only parts not frozen.

The nondescript man sauntered over and took the message from his hand, retreating to hand it to the monk. As they read it, the man's features changed. His height shortened and hair lengthened, until he looked exactly like Kyo. The monk tossed the letter in the sand. The last thing Kyo saw before the ice crept up his face was the lapping waves taking the document out to sea.

xXxXx

Nobara wasn't sure what to make of Nishimiya Momo and Zen'in Mai. They both seemed very different from her and Maki. Maybe it was Nishimiya's continuous lectures about how female mages had to be more than their male counterparts - were expected to excel in magic and also have beauty and class. Mai's sullenness seemed to seep into everything around her, to the point Nobara found herself avoiding the other woman whenever possible. Miwa was the only tolerable one of the group, but she was too much of a doormat for Nobara to truly connect with her, lacking the rough exterior Maki and herself possessed. Plus she seemed to have an extremely obvious crush on the king, which was cringe in Nobara's opinion.

Meals were one of the few times it was impossible to avoid them. Their male counterparts were having a boisterous conversation at the other end of the table, while she was stuck enduring another of Nishimiya's speeches. At least she could commiserate somewhat with Itadori. He had confessed to her and Fushiguro the other day about feeling somewhat stifled by Todo following him around constantly and proclaiming him as his best friend and brother.

When afternoon came, it was finally time for the long-awaited team competition. The week had flown by - lessons and classes had been more entertaining with more people, that was for certain.

Okkotsu stood to the side near Gojo and another woman with silvery hair which she let fall across her face. Mei Mei had been at the castle the past week but hadn't interacted with many of the young mages. Nitta Arata had been in the infirmary familiarizing himself with the handiwork of the patchwork devil Itadori had fought the week before. Now he was likely waiting in the spectators room with the queen. Nobara, Itadori, Fushiguro, Maki, Panda, and Inumaki stood facing Todo, Kamo, Muta, Nishimiya, Miwa, and Mai.

Todo's eyebrow ticked. "You're not competing either, Okkotsu?"

Okkotsu ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his eyes. "I helped organize, so I know some of what to expect. We also wanted the numbers to be even."

It sounded like weak excuses to Nobara. The real reason must surely be because of the annihilation of last year. He would sit out so the other mages had a chance this time, right?

A girl with hair as white as Gojo's stepped forward and used her magic to transport first the other group, then Nobara's own to their starting positions.

A loud sound emanating from the direction of the castle rang out over the otherwise still forest. Nobara's group leaped into action. The plan was to defeat as many of the tagged enemies as possible without running into the rival group. Fighting them would use up a lot of time and effort, and they only had until sundown to try to find the boss and defeat it. Okkotsu had gone out to get it alone, so none of them had any idea what it could be.

"The boss is probably located somewhere in the center, but it will likely move around," Panda speculated as they rushed toward that area as one group.

"When Todo reaches us, you're the distraction, Yuji," Maki reminded him.

"Got it!" Itadori saluted.

A low-ranking demon appeared, leaping toward the group in attack. It was suicide, but not because it was jumping their group of mages. Todo Aoi appeared behind it, destroying it with a single blow. "Good, everyone's here! All of you, come at me at once!"

Instead, Itadori jumped forward, aiming a powerful kick at the other mage. Todo caught it with a grin, spinning him around and throwing him.

As he did that though, the group split. Fushiguro and Maki went one direction, Nobara went with Panda and Inumaki in another. The game had begun.

xXxXx

"He came alone after all," Megumi commented to Maki. He had wondered at Maki's speculation earlier that Todo would come straight at their group as he had last year, thinking maybe he had learned from his previous mistakes.

"We were right to leave him to Yuji," she replied. "Worst case scenario, he would have taken out all of us. He thought he would be safe with the same strategy as last year since there's no S-rank on our team this time around, and he'd think it unlikely any of us are as proficient in domain expansion as Hakari."

He was right on both counts. As far as Megumi knew, none of them had domain expansion. But with their ace out to attack the Gojo-affiliated mages, the other clan mages would be free to run around gaining points by defeating enemies. So the other two teams needed to either wrack up as many points as they could or take out more of their opponents.

Looking up, he spotted Nishimiya using her magic to fly on a broom. "Nue."

The electrified bird swooped down and knocked her out of the sky. As the scout for the opposing team, taking her out would prevent them from having as easy a time locating enemy locations.

As Megumi began to run to the place where she had fallen, he came face to face with Kamo Noritoshi. Miwa Kasumi had also appeared and was entering combat with Maki.

xXxXx

Meanwhile, Panda and Kugisaki had reached the tree Nishimiya had landed in. Not long after Kugisaki began trading insults with her, a blast of raw magic hit Panda, knocking him to the forest floor. The robed form of Muta approached from deeper in the woods.

"Wait," Nishimiya told him. "I want to teach her a lesson on my own." She slowly flew down from the tree, apparently at least somewhat recovered from the attack by Nue.

"Fooled you!" Panda jumped up at that moment and threw a crushing blow right into Muta's face. He followed after the flying body, drawing the opponent away from Nobara. "Anyway, we should get along, since neither of us right here and now are human."

If a wooden puppet could gnash its teeth, it's what Muta's remotely controlled body would be doing. Instead, he raised one wrapped arm toward Panda and let out another blast of magic. Panda took the hit, as it had such a wide range that he would be unable to dodge, reinforcing himself with his own magic.

The first hit had destroyed one of his magic cores, so he only had two left. "Don't you dare say we are similar," Muta said, charging up another blast. "You have no idea what I suffered, and continue to suffer! Heavenly Restriction - it's like a binding vow that you're born with. My right arm and both legs below the knees are useless. I have no feeling below my waist either. My skin is so sensitive that I can't even let moonlight touch it. The pores all over my body feel like they're constantly being poked by needles.

"In exchange, I can use magic over vast distances. I can remotely control things like what I am speaking to you through now. And I can exceed the limits of my mana output. But if I could give it all up, lose all my magic in exchange for a normal body, I would do it in a heartbeat. The fact that a doll like you and not a human like me gets to live so carefree… really pisses me off!"

The blast approached even faster than the first, smaller one. Panda knew if he dodged it, Nobara would be in the line of fire though, so he had to take it head on.

Even the puppet Muta was controlling seemed surprised when Panda reemerged from the radius of the blast in his gorilla mode. It would be suicide to take another hit like that though. He had only one core left now - the panda core had been lost blocking the last attack. The gorilla core was most suited for close combat, so he would press that advantage and avoid taking any more powerful blasts.

With his next punches, he mostly disabled the puppet's right arm before Muta was able to gain back a bit of distance and throw branches and other forest debris into Panda's field of view. Faking the location of his last magic core, Panda drew in his opponent, who took the baited shot. Closing one paw around the puppet's left shoulder, he crushed it and ripped it from the body, following it up with a jab right to the face from his other paw. The damaged wooden body lay still on the forest floor.

"You lost because you underestimated a doll. I've never been the same as the people around me. I feel like we can relate when it comes to that. But I've never felt jealous toward humans. They all get so worked up over achieving their goals, and it's hard to tell whether they're trying to be cool or just sulking. But they possess qualities that I don't have. So I like that about them. I know you've been through a lot too, but just because you have been doesn't mean you're right."

With that said, Panda limped away to see if any of the others needed help.

xXxXx

Muta's consciousness remained with the puppet only for a few minutes following his defeat. Searching around for a target to send his magic to, he took control of the trinket he had received before the event. Using it as a medium, he could walk around and gather some more information. Anything that would help him achieve the normal body he so badly wanted.

xXxXx

Miwa Kasumi was not having a good time. She had known Maki was good, but not this good! And she didn't even have magic! Just defending herself against the other woman's longer reach with the spear was difficult enough. When she entered her stance for simple domain, Maki paused.

It appeared she would not fall for the automatic attack guaranteed if she set foot within the radius around Kasumi. Instead, Maki broke her spear and chucked the bladeless piece toward her. Kasumi was astonished she would break a magic tool like that, but her domain caused her to automatically react to the broken shaft as soon as it entered her radius, parrying it away from spearing her.

In her moment of distraction, Maki closed the gap between them and attacked with the upper half of her weapon she had remained holding. Both of Kasumi's feet moved, and her simple domain dropped. It's fine, I can still just take a step back-

As she moved her left foot back to take a more solid stance though, Maki relinquished her two-handed grip on her spear blade to grab Kasumi's sword hilt and pull.

The blue-haired woman lost her balance and was flung to the ground by the force of Maki's twist on her weapon. She rolled to her feet, but her sword had been stolen by her opponent.

"Pretty nice blade you got here," she drawled, pointing it at its former owner.

Kasumi slumped down as the other woman left, sword still in hand. She knew when she was defeated.

"Go to sleep."

Before she could even look around to register the words, she collapsed to the forest floor, obeying the word magic cast on her.

xXxXx

"Are you going to catch me or not?" Nishimiya's taunting voice called down to Nobara.

The younger woman did not reply but continued sprinting after her as she flew her broom between trees. If she found a gap in the canopy, she might be able to escape. The wind pushed back toward her stung, and her face and bare hands took the worst of the damage from the debris caught up in it and hurled at her.

The handle of the broom hitting her cheekbone hurt worse. "How dare you hit my face!"

"A scar on the face can be a good thing for guys. But not for girls."

Oh boy, here came another lecture. Nobara rolled her eyes and attacked instead of waiting to hear it. She had gotten used to being tossed around, mainly by Panda and sometimes by Maki over the past month and a half. Pulling out some nails, she began haphazardly hitting them toward Nishimiya, who was zooming around above her on her broom.

Finally, the setup was complete. She stopped running, but only leaned down for half a second to catch her breath before looking up and snapping her fingers. "Hairpin."

The nails released the mana stored in them in bursts, breaking trees and causing even more obstacles for Nishimiya to dodge. Nobara reached out as the blonde flew past her, grabbing a single bristle from the broom and sticking it in another bundle of straw she carried. "Resonance!" she yelled as she hit it with her hammer.

Both broom and rider plummeted to the ground. Nishimiya struggled to rise, looking dazed. "Sorry not sorry," Nobara said. "It's lights out for you." She took a page from Itadori's playbook and hit the downed woman with a mana-infused punch.

The blonde did not rise.

"One down, one to go," Nobara said to no one. It was time to look for Mai.

Unfortunately, Mai found her first. She didn't even see the lightweight arrow shot by Maki's twin that took her out - strong enough to damage but not kill.

xXxXx

"Tsk." Maki stood on a tree limb across from her sister.

Mai smiled. "Too late, you."

"How about calling me big sis, little sis?" Maki pointed her stolen sword at Mai. Her twin had just called her 'you' instead of referring to her by name or familial bond.

The younger Zen'in frowned, recognizing it as her teammate's possession. "Miwa's out?"

Maki's grin was all the confirmation Mai needed. She drew an arrow from her quiver - she had six left - and pointed it at her sister. "Fine. I want you all to myself anyway."

Her first arrow was split down the shaft by Miwa's sword. Maki leapt off the branch and began moving swiftly between the trees. Mai had already loaded another arrow and was carefully sighting. She wants to get the jump on me while also keeping her distance. I won't allow it!

The bough she was standing on broke. Maki had sliced it from below and ran at her as she fell. Twisting in midair, she took aim and fired anyway. Even up close, Maki was able to dodge while continuing her route toward her. A kick to the gut sent Mai reeling backward.

Even as she lined up her next shot, fingers automatically reaching for an arrow and loading it, she knew. Maki has something I don't. While she had an innate magical ability herself, it was so minimal as to be almost worthless. Maki had none whatsoever, yet had been gifted with some sort of extraordinary physical abilities in place of magic.

Despite the hate Maki endured for being magicless, she had announced to the clan head that she would leave and become a mage regardless. He had laughed and told her he would make her life difficult. And not only hers, but Mai's as well. Maki's declaration that Mai had nothing to do with her choices had not swayed him. And Mai, sitting outside the room, had heard everything. The extra menial chores she was assigned, every time she was sent to the castle as the lone Zen'in despite there being many mages of ability around her age, it was because of her sister. To insult not only the king, but remind Maki of the shared consequences of her decision to leave.

"I hate you!" Mai fired off the remaining arrows in rapid succession. Maki parried them all with her borrowed sword.

The empty quiver did not get past Maki's sharp senses, and she quickly closed to finish Mai off. I hate you. That's why… I never told you about my innate magic. Pulling the string on her bow back, empty, she took aim and fired. Her constructed arrow fizzled into being and flew across the space between the twins. Construction, unlike objects created inside a domain, did not vanish when the spell ended. But, they took a heavier toll than most other magic on the body of the spellcaster. Mai's limit was one arrow per day. The empty quiver is my greatest bluff. I win.

Maki grabbed the arrow out of the air - a truly superhuman feat that stunned even Mai. Her swordtip was now pointed at Mai's throat. "That's it, wouldn't you say?"

Mai couldn't meet her gaze. "Why… did you leave?"

"Huh? You know why."

"I'm not like you. I never wanted to be a mage! It's all your fault. Always trying your hardest, forcing me to do the same. All this effort, pain, and fear - I've had enough! What was so bad about being a servant? Doing chores, marrying who we were told to, living a normal life?! Why didn't you stay there with me?" Pouring out her innermost thoughts, Mai still could not meet her sister's gaze and remained looking at the forest floor.

Maki paused slightly before answering. "If I had done that, I would have hated myself. It's as simple as that. Sorry."

Footsteps moving away meant Maki was leaving. Mai brought her knees up to her chest and slumped against the tree trunk behind her. "Liar. I hate you!"

xXxXx

Stepping away from the now-sleeping Miwa, Inumaki Toge continued on his mission - finding and defeating as many enemies as possible. His teammates were all engaged with the mages from the other school, so he had free reign of the forest with Fushiguro's Divine Dogs assisting in the hunting down of the creatures. The wyvern had put up a bit of a fight, but ultimately been defeated by him as well. There had still been no sign of whatever boss Yuta had collected.

The howling of the black Divine Dog drew his attention, and he ran toward it. "Return," he told it, sensing a powerful source of mana up ahead. Fushiguro might need at least one of the dogs in his own fights. It dissolved into shadow, leaving him with just the white Divine Dog.

The source of the mana was from behind a thick patch of shrubs taller than he was. Something white and spiny was poking out over the top. A head began to emerge from the end of the shrub line. It had a large jaw filled with sharp fangs which jutted down and forward. There were spines around its chin and jutting from its cheekbones. The nose was a black pit, and red orbs glowed in the dark pits of its eyes.

Toge lowered his mask, preparing to hit it with an attack to gauge its strength, when the red light in its eyes flickered and died. The head rolled forward, decapitated. The large body fell, spines once visible over the tops of the shrubs vanishing, and hit the ground with a heavy thud. The ominous mana did not vanish.

As the remains of the bone devil lay still, a vaguely humanoid shape emerged from the shrubline. Its left side was wrapped in cloth, and it had what looked like tree roots growing from its eye sockets. But the most terrifying thing about it was its sheer presence. Toge knew it had to at least be an A-rank, maybe even an S-rank level threat.

The thing spoke gibberish.

"Salmon, salmon roe, spiced cod roe." Toge squared up to face the thing that he was certain Yuta had not captured for the event. An external threat had shown up.

xXxXx

There was no other way to explain it than that Kamo Noritoshi's arrows defied the laws of nature as Fushiguro Megumi knew them. Examining one which Toad had caught with its tongue, he realized there were traces of blood on the arrow fletchings. Kamo was using his clan's signature magic to guide the arrows.

"You can summon more than one shikigami at the same time, correct?" Kamo stood atop one of the staircases in the ruins of a building. The forest had grown up around it, so both interior and exterior were in dire states of disrepair. "I don't really appreciate you holding back."

Megumi grabbed tonfas from his shadowy storage and reinforced them with mana. His Divine Dogs were busy elsewhere. "You're down to your last arrow too, right? I'm not going to help if you collapse from blood loss."

"No need to worry," Kamo said, preparing to fire his last arrow with a slight smirk. "These are prepared in advance." He certainly knew about the Ten Shadows magic Megumi possessed since it was the signature of the Zen'in.

Kamo's arrow destroyed part of the ceiling above Megumi, causing debris to rain down. As he dodged them, the blood manipulator moved in and landed a solid hit. Though Megumi blocked with one of his tonfa, he was unprepared for the full force behind the hit and was thrown backward. Was Kamo manipulating the blood within his body to strengthen himself?

"A shikigami user who has some close combat skills, huh? Valuable," Kamo told Megumi as he continued to push his advantage. Even mana reinforcement couldn't stop the tonfa he was using from breaking. He tossed them to the side and summoned Toad behind the other mage.

Kamo had quick reflexes and spun to face it. Before he could land a blow though, it dissolved into shadow. This had given Megumi the time he needed though. Forming the correct hand signs, he spoke. "This uses a lot of mana, so I can only summon it once. I only recently mastered it. Max Elephant!"

The elephant shikigami appeared at his side. Kamo was reacting as fast as Megumi had come to expect. Once again, he was attempting to close the distance and land a blow on the large target Megumi had set out. Before he could do that though, Max Elephant spouted water, flooding the hallway they were standing in and pushing Kamo out through the crumbling wall behind him, into the surrounding forest.

"Nue!" The shikigami user pressed his advantage, the electricity from his bird shikigami even more effective than usual when used in concurrence with Max Elephant's water.

Kamo let some of his blood leave his body, binding Nue before it could attack his soaked body again with electric wings. Megumi released the technique, saving his shikigami, and hopped down to engage in close combat again.

The two combatants paused in mid-dash though. A mass of what looked like tree roots was crashing down from above on top of the ruins they had just left.

"Run away!"

Their bodies were forced to follow the word magic spoken by Inumaki, who had just arrived on the scene.

xXxXx

Up at the castle, Yuta was seated on one side of Gojo, whose wife sat on his other side. Gojo Yume sat on her other side, and beyond her was Nitta Arata. Yaga had a seat just behind them. Various visiting figures of power and some of the castle staff stood or sat around the room, as Mei Mei in the back used her crows to visually project what was going on throughout the forest. Yuta hadn't noticed Yume acting any differently around him - likely the Gojo elders had not told her about their plans to marry her to him, only informing her parents. They likely would not say anything to her until she reached fourteen or even fifteen, the normal age for such engagements to be formally made - after a mage had come into most of their power.

"I'm a little worried about Miwa. Sleeping out in the forest could be dangerous," the queen was saying in a hushed tone to Gojo.

At that moment, all the unburnt tags (the castle mages had been winning as far as number of enemies defeated, since the other mages had prioritized combat and left Toge to roam free) went up in red. The entire room sat in stunned silence.

"I'd like to say that Great Teacher Gojo's students defeated all the enemies, but…" the king trailed off.

"The tags would also burn red if an outsider defeated the monsters they're attached to," Yaga finished.

"Does that mean the castle's barrier isn't working?" Mei Mei asked from the back of the room.

"I can go check on it," Yaga decided. "Satoru, you and Yuta go rescue the participants."

"I can help too!" Yume put in earnestly, clutching at her kimono with nervous fingers.

Gojo, who was standing by now, patted her on the head. "I appreciate your willingness to help, Yume. But the situation could be dangerous. Leave it to me and Yuta."

The girl clearly wanted to argue, it was written on her face, but she was unwilling to disobey a direct order from the highest level of authority in the country.

Mei Mei did not offer any assistance, and Gojo did not offer to pay her extra. The two S-ranks would surely be more than enough for whatever was threatening the event. Sprinting down the stairs, Yuta struggling to keep up with his sensei's longer strides, the two practically flew through the door and saw what looked like spilled ink in the sky. It began high above the forest holding the event and was quickly spreading down to cover the entire area.

"Gojo-sensei! I can warp in!" Yuta gasped, twisting the ring on his finger, hands already starting to form the seals as Rika manifested, floating in the air behind him as he ran.

Gojo spun and knocked his arms down, interrupting his forming of the seal. Rika vanished. "No. The barrier is already complete. It prioritized its effect over its visuals. Depending on the conditions, you might not be able to warp right through it. You could even end up stuck in between spaces if you try."

To Yuta, it appeared the barrier was spreading slowly down still. The ink was now reaching toward the treetops. But with his Six Eyes, Gojo would be able to tell such a thing. Trying to mess with spatial magic around barriers could prove risky if you didn't know what kind of barrier it was. While barriers around cities reacted only to the mana of monsters or other such creatures, the castle barriers had to be specially keyed to the spatial magic of anyone who needed to pass through them. Currently, that was only Gojo, Yuta, and Yume.

"We can just rip it apart," Gojo decided. The ink had finally reached the ground and appeared solid and opaque. Neither of them could see through it now.

Gojo reached out a hand to do just that but drew it back with a sizzling sound. Yuta barely glimpsed the burns marring his flesh before the king healed himself in an instant.

Tentatively, Yuta himself reached out. His hand passed through with ease. "Why did you get repelled and I didn't?"

The king looked puzzled, but only for a split second. Then he grinned. "I see. Yuta, go on ahead. This barrier must give anyone else free access through it in exchange for denying Gojo Satoru entrance."

Now it was Yuta's turn to be puzzled. The balance between give and take made sense, but that a barrier could single out a specific individual would mean someone with a lot of skill had created it.

"There's a very skilled rogue mage out there," Gojo said, confirming Yuta's thoughts. "And they seem to have a fair amount of info on us, given that they were able to pull this off. Go on, Yuta. I don't know what their objective is, but if even a single person dies, we lose."

The copy mage strode through the barrier, which he was sure his sensei would set about trying to break at once. Katana sheathed, he looked up and warped into the sky near the top of the barrier to get a good look at where he would be needed most. He focused his eyes to see the mana of the mages below, as he was too far to see them with the naked eye. In battle, they would be outputting power, and even suppressed he knew each one well enough to sense who they were by look and feel as long as they weren't trying for complete stealth.

As he fell through the air, he saw a massive form rising from the earth. It wasn't far from where Miwa had gone down. Then again, neither was the tree root devil which was after Toge, Fushiguro, and Kamo. At least that one had a fight on its hands with those three. Kugisaki, Nishimiya, and Mai were not currently in danger thankfully. Panda was far from the others, having been defeating monsters after his fight wrapped up, and Muta's puppet body was not of concern to him. Todo and Itadori were still together, so he wouldn't have to worry about either of them as well.

Wind whipping his black hair wildly as he plummeted toward the earth below, Yuta had to make a decision fast as his fall continued to accelerate. Forming the seals to warp once again, he made his choice.