"Your free to go, Akito-san," the doctor announced with pride in my recovery. I rose from the bed and stretched, still feeling the aches and pains from the previous battle. It had been a whole month since I had used any form of sorcery, but I was already eager to master the six eyes that I had recently unlocked.
"Thank you for everything," I said, bowing in proper etiquette.
"Just doing my job," the woman replied with a gentle smile.
I made a swift exit from the room, checked out of the hospital and took in the fresh air that I so desperately needed.
"Yo," Fushiguro greeted me as I arrived. To my surprise, Panda waited patiently beside him, along with Toge who held up a bag of goods clearly meant for me.
"Hey, guys, did you miss me?" I said smugly.
"Bonito flakes," was all Toge responded with. It had been a while since I last saw him and it was nice to see he was still alright.
"Those injuries you received were no joke," Panda stated. "It's nice to see you've recovered nicely," he added, his eyes misty.
"Back to training, I suppose. Or, building up to the point where I left off," I quickly suggested and Fushiguro nodded in agreement.
"Satoru's busy right now, so I doubt he can really train you," Megumi explained.
"So, you'll train with us," Panda interjected.
"Salmon," Toge added.
"Alright, let's get to it!!" I said excitedly.
000
"Alright, the rules are simple. The winner is the one who manages to get the other to submit. Excessive use of cursed energy is an instant loss," Panda explained, looking at me during the last part of his sentence. Maki shifted and whirled her blade from hand to hand.
"Simple enough," she said.
"Do you understand?" Panda asked, looking to me and I nodded.
"Start!" I charged at Maki, feeling unusually sluggish. I threw my sword in a piercing motion in her direction and it was easily dodged as Maki moved her body to the side. Maki didn't let me off easy however, following up her dodge with a blow as she swung her wooden spear into my side.
"Dead," she said, disappointed.
"You've gotten surprisingly sloppy," she noted, looking towards Megumi.
"Is he usually this bad?" Maki questioned.
"No, not usually. Try again, it might've just been a fluke," Megumi suggested and Maki was visibly irked at his statement of it being a fluke.
"My body feels... off," I said.
"I can't move it how I want to," I explained.
"You were hospitalized for so long, so of course it'd take some time," Maki said.
"Let's go again," she said.
000
I collapsed into my dorm room, my body aching from the day's training. I had struggled with my lack of control over my cursed energy, my hand-to-hand combat skills, and even my newly unlocked six eyes. I couldn't understand what was happening to me.
"Just what the hell is going on?" I muttered into my pillow, trying to muffle my frustration.
"It's a penalty," a voice spoke from the open window. I wasn't surprised to see Satoru standing there, but I was annoyed that he had come in through the window instead of using the door.
"Anyways, what do you mean by penalty?" I asked, focusing on the important information.
"The penalty for prematurely drawing out the power of the six eyes. Not only has your cursed energy been depleted, but your body has been weakened as well," Gojo explained, his hands on his chin.
I let out a string of curses, my frustration reaching its peak.
"But I didn't try. I thought it had awakened," I protested.
"Perhaps it would've awakened soon, but you drew it out too quickly," Gojo said.
I let out a sigh, running my hands through my hair.
"How long until my powers recover?" I asked, my voice filled with despair.
"Could be a day, a month, or even a decade," Gojo said, shrugging his shoulders. "Who knows, honestly."
I let my head fall back onto my pillow, feeling defeated.
"Well, I'm calling it a day," I said, closing my eyes and trying to rest.
"I suppose this'll make it harder for whoever was hunting you." Satoru said, trying to look at the situation in a positive light.
"Doubt it'll deter them from trying to kill me though." I said with a huff.
"I still have control over my cursed energy to some extent, but all my abilities involving gravity have been greatly minimized." I complained.
"At best, I'm a 3rd grade sorcerer." I said with a sigh.
"We'll work your way up from there," Satoru said, noticing my downcast gaze.
"Are you Akito Gojo because you are strong, or are you strong because you are Akito Gojo?" Satoru asked thoughtfully. I stared at him, trying to grasp the meaning behind his words. Despite my attempts to understand, the question still left me confused.
"You are the one who defines what you are. Believing you are weak makes you weak. Don't base yourself around strengths, let those characteristics be what defines you." Satoru explained.
"You actually make good points sometimes," I said weakly.
"Anyways, I fully intend to get you back to where you were. Don't waste your talents," Satoru said, determined to help me regain my abilities.
"I assure you, I had no intention of doing that," I responded, feeling a renewed sense of determination.
"have a good night's sleep Tomorrow I'll begin training you again," Satoru explained with a smile.
000
The next day came quickly and I wasn't at all surprised when I woke up to find myself teleported to a remote location. "Where in the middle of nowhere," I said groggily, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"This is where you'll be training at!" Gojo said with a smile. "You might miss a couple classes, but these can be considered extra to get you back in the groove."
"So, what are we doing first?" I asked, still trying to shake off my grogginess.
As I looked around, I noticed several cursed spirits peering out from the trees, watching us curiously. It didn't take a genius to realize Satoru Gojo's intentions.
"Your goal is to survive the night," he said with a hint of excitement in his voice.