I stop my slow-motion martial arts practice, lowering my guard and then exhaling deeply...
Checking the timer, I confirm that I can keep the reinforcement of Armament Haki, Raw Cursed Energy, and Domain Amplification up for half an hour without problems.
"But in a battle things can be different... A sudden Shock can make me lose concentration and mess up." I take a towel to dry my sweaty and naked torso.
"Let's say that I can keep it for up 3 minutes then... You can't underestimate the mental exhaustion of a battle."
Maybe the best way to go through it is training to activate and deactivate Domain Amplification smoothly. Mahoraga adaptation stops while I'm using Domain Amplification too...
"The shikigami doesn't last long if I activate Domain Amplification... It will be better to use it while the Technique is in cooldown after a Domain Battle." A Domain battle that I'm destined to lose...
I move out of the room while thinking about battle plans.
It's close... Chronologically and Arc-wise, the Shibuya incident is finally at my door.
If everything goes as I plan, 31st October will be the day of my Ritual Battle with Sukuna.
I don't have enough time to try to replicate the Open Domain thing, then I can only fight in another way. I think my body is strong enough to withstand a barrage of sure-hit Dismantles and I also can make Mahoraga adapt beforehand to slashes in general.
"The shrine is the key..." Some long-range attacks need to be perfected too.
After that, I just need to watch out for the Fire Arrow and any other possible attack that I'm unaware of, but I think I can defeat him before that.
I clench my hands, feeling my power... I'm strong... I will not die easily, I can afford to suffer a little to set up the trap to kill him.
After that... The Victory Lap.
Oh, there's my fight with Gojo too.
But with Sukuna's powers added to mine, things can go without a problem too.
I check my Company Smartphone for something important.
"Already on the 90% completion? It must be because I met a lot of characters... At this point, the Culling Game Arc will be unnecessary for me to jump to the next world."
That's good too, I'm starting to get tired of walking on eggshells to keep things close to canon, so that I can profit the most and complete my Exit Stage.
"Oh, there you are, Megumi." Gojo's voice takes me off of my thoughts
"Sup."
"Heard you and Nanami met a talking Curse." She starts as she walks closer.
"Yes, it could've very well passed as a Curse User. It was smart, it looked human, it could talk, and it was learning."
"Hm~" She pauses to think while holding her chin "I met a similar case, the one I met didn't look that human tho. Ah, there's another one..."
"Do you think they have an organization or something?" I have to humor her even though I know the truth.
"Nothing that fancy, but they absolutely gathered." She says with a distant face
"..." I keep the silence for a moment before speaking "It seems that we are entering into a new era."
"Absolutely. Things are changing."
"For better or worse?"
"Who knows?" She shrugs
"People are gonna die..." I add
"Yes." She says, seemingly not caring much about the fact. People die, especially in this profession.
"Let's prepare so that none on our side die then." I start walking off the Building. I have places to be
"A good idea, heh." She puts a hand over my shoulders and goes with me "By the way, did that curse really escape you? I can't imagine it."
"Didn't you let one escape too?" I shot back
"Touche, but seriously spill it. Nanami almost beat it, there's no way that that curse escaped from you." She looks at me with a playful but intense gaze.
"It's a curse that can alter someone's biology by manipulating their soul... Probably the best possible healer in the world. It awakened Junpei's potential!" I say, not really lying "It sounded too good to just exorcise when I can 'tame' it with my powers." Not lying, just omitting things.
I continue "The curse's technique can also be a way to cure Tsumiki." In a certain way, it's an alternative. Even though I say that, it eventually will be solved. I'm also not that worried anymore.
Researching, I came to the conclusion that Kenjaku can't do much to the reincarnated sorcerers. These old bastards are smart too, they probably covered every hole in the contract of the Binding Vow. Proof of that is that they acted independently during the Culling Game.
So Kenjaku can't hurt them and really needs to resuscitate them without any tricks. Hence why Tsumiki is safe.
"Hmmmmm" Despite that, Gojo continues to stare at me "I hear it was a humanoid female..."
"..."
*jiiiiiiiiiiiii* Is she really removing her blindfold just to stare at me? To detect any micro-expressions and lies?
"...I mean... In my defense..." I start "...imagine how grippier it can get."
*Bonk*
.......
"Go! Go! Junpei!" I cheer my good stepson. Junpei.
I sit comfortably on the grass while Junpei runs around the field. Look at him... He loves the motivation and incentive. He even raised his finger at me.
"That's what I'm talking about! Pump! Pump! Think of a big bla-" Oh wait, will this reference to the Ghost Stories Dub get me canceled?
Oh, Junpei is running faster... He is racist! I'm disappointed... Hate all races equally, Junpei-kun.
And he is kinda racist, because he is running~ Get it? Race... Racist... Running a race... Zehe~
Takaba gets nothing on me! I will destroy him if we ever fight!
"Fushiguro..." Nobara calls me, interrupting my stepfather moment. I was already starting with my dad's jokes.
"What?"
....
"This way, Fushiguro!" Nobara directs as we walk through the streets of the commercial district.
A promise is a promise, I guess.
Nobara dumped poor Junpei as scapegoa- I mean, to be trained by the second-years while she dragged me here to go shopping.
We went into each store, checking every nook and cranny, her buying things while dumping her bags on me.
When I thought she finished with a store, she drags me to... There are elevators here?... Oh no, there are other floors!
"Don't you get tired? Let's stop to eat something... You pay." I comment
"Why should I pay?" She turns fast
"You called me here, and I'm helping you... Isn't it natural to show you gratitude by at least feeding this poor slave?"
"You're the man here! On a date with a beautiful girl, you should pay."
"Beautiful?" I look around searching for the beautiful girl, annoying her "And now it's a date, huh? When it's convenient for you... Typical woman behavior." I 'Tsk' in disappointment.
"I'm gonna tell Maki-senpai that you're hitting on me."
"Then what? Have a foursome?"
"You're a sex maniac! You shouldn't be allowed on trains with women or even school zones!"
"Tell me you have no experience with men without telling me you have no experience with men..." I shake my head.
"No one is worthy of even licking my panty-hosed-clad feet!"
"You are just using those to hide your stretch marks..."
"Are you calling me fat, you creeper?"
We reach the elevator while still roasting each other, luckily it's empty so we are not bothering anyone.
"Perverted!"
"Virgin!"
"Emo-chuuni!"
"Country bumpkin!"
*Ding* The Elevator closes while we face each other without backing down.
.
.
.
.
.
.
*Ding*
The elevator opens again on the next floor...
"..."
"..."
...the silence is awkward. We face forward without moving or saying anything. Our clothes are in a little disarray...
"..." She fixes her hair
"..." I clean some smidge of lip gloss from my cheek.
"Let's go eat..." She says in a much more tame voice
"I pay."
And we go back to like nothing happened. It's kind of a date now... I guess?
........
Another training session...
Now that Nobara received a little experience facing other sorcerers, who fight smart, differently from the curses, I started her real training.
"Not like that! Exteriorize your cursed energy in a bubble, try making it the most perfect sphere!" I instruct her
Her cursed energy is all over the place, she releases more from the front, and from her dominant side, it's incredibly uneven.
"I'm trying!" She shouts in protest before resuming the exercise
"Try to do it like Goku, channeling your ki." I try helping her
"Stop putting useless images in my head!"
The gal of this woman~
"And this is only the first step and you're struggling..." I sigh "That's what you get for being a brute woman all your life. No delicacy~"
"Grrrrr" I can see a vein popping on her head, but she doesn't reply because she is kinda close now and... Ah! Failed again
"Stop distracting me!" She rages again
"C'mon, if even some words can destroy your concentration, imagine in battle."
"We're not in battle right now. Let me do it with baby steps."
"These are the baby steps..."
The rest of the students arrive on this side of the field, Panda carrying Junpei over his shoulder, I can see his muscles spasming from here. My poor son, look how they massacred my boy~
"You should be grateful, Kugisaki. You normally don't receive instructions on how to do a Simple Domain." Mai comments
"Yes, even if Simple Domain being the least guarded of these techniques, people don't go around teaching it." Panda says "Megumi is also on a loophole spot where he can teach it without worries…"
"Salmon."
"Isn't it because a lot of sorcerers focus only on their techniques too?" Mai asks
I think Nanami and Mei Mei are like that.
"A mistake I would say, mastering Simple Domain raises your cursed energy control greatly. Using your technique gets easier and you maybe can even find some new applications to it." I comment.
For real, I don't know why people sleep on that.
Wait, is it because Domain Expansions are rare? From my previous reader/watched perspective a Domain Expansion is fairly common, but I read the best climax of this worlds battles.
I think it makes a little more sense now. People simply don't want to waste their time on that when they have better options to attack in their techniques, but knowing the future makes me obliged to prepare these guys.
"You three too... Go try making one." I point to where Kugisaki is while glaring at Mai, Inumaki, and Panda. Daring them to disobey my orders.
If even Miwa can use it, no excuse that you guys can't.
"I don't want to train now, you know that I'm almost close anyway," Mai protests weakly
"Then master now." Woman, I shared [Soul Talent] with you. Don't waste it!
"..." After seeing that I'm not bulging, my senpai and girlfriend are forced to stand beside Nobara to practice. Junpei was put on the ground.
Maki sits at my side while laughing.
"After you make a bubble try imprinting it on the ground. Adopt a lower stance to make it easy!" I instruct "Your cursed energy is steam, but to make a Simple Domain you need to make it a liquid and then a solid on the ground. Go slowly through the process, we can increase the speed later!"
I really don't know how I can teach better than that... Like, how they don't get it already?
"You can visualize in different ways, I will not say mine to not confuse you guys..."
I visualize my cursed energy like ink, I pour it on the ground and dries on a field to protect me.
"Argh!" Nobara shouts in rage after she fails again.
"For homework, you will practice pouring Cursed Energy in your nails, ready an attack... and don't fire." I say
"Wait... what?"
"It helps... Did you ever try to pull a bow? Holding it is strenuous, your arm eventually trembles and your aim goes to shit." I explain "That's what you will do... Get ready and don't hit the nail with your hammer till you feel your Cursed Energy flicker and your control slip."
"Sounds bothersome..."
"If it was easy, it would not be called training... It would be called recreation."
"...fine. Just because I'm too tired to argue."
"Good. If you do well, I will convince Mai to give you a discount on a Cursed Tool Hammer for you." I offer her the carrot "Those things are normally expensive, you know?
"Oh, how much are we talking about?" Nobara asks
Mai smirks and whispers in her ear.
"!..."
She fainted...
"Kugisaki is down! Kugisaki is down!" Panda shouts and goes to fan the girl.
.....
- Third Person. P.O.V. -
The Goodwill event is close, the students are doing their training mostly to maintain their top shape and keep their senses sharp.
Megumi is sparring with all of the close-ranged combatants to help with their teamwork while simultaneously perfecting his "Reverse Jumping Technique".
Inumaki and others are already out.
He takes some punches from Panda, so that he can focus on Maki's more deadly strikes, grabbing her wrists and using her as a weapon to hit the furry sorcerer. Panda doesn't shy away from the attack, using his body to Cushion Maki, roll backward a little, and throw her right back at him.
"Oh~" He smiles seeing that, but at this point it's practically impossible to get him off guard mid battle. Even if he can't see the future, he can read intent, cursed energy, air currents, and movements very well.
Obviously, Megumi will not back down from the challenge and he readies his fist to receive Maki's own.
*Boom*
A small shockwave spreads at contact, neither of the two combatants appears to be hurt from the crash, but Maki was the one that was thrown back the most.
"Tch." She looks dissatisfied
"Don't be like that, Darkness is weight..." Megumi explains with a grin
"Yeah, yeah... And gravity, and suction, and negation and blah blah." She heard that before "You only need to reveal your card one time to work, you know that?"
"You hurt my fragile heart." Can't a man be proud of his accomplishments anymore? "By the way, did the two noobs run?" He asks noticing Junpei and Nobara's absence
"I sent them on some errands." Mai says from her privileged position.
"..." Something clicks in Megumi's mind "Isn't today the day that the people of Kyoto arrive?"
"..."
"...they shouldn't create trouble, right?"
"..."
"..."
"...let's go save them." Maki says after a sigh
"Already there..." Megumi says while sinking into the ground.
.......
Nobara was taking the drinks from the vending machine and dumping them on Junpei when they noticed that someone had gotten closer.
"Hm? Who are they?"
"They look Young... Are they students too?" Junpei asks
"Maybe they are the suspended Third-years..."
The two silhouettes, male and female, move forward, getting out of the obstructing light, allowing the Tokyo students to see them more clearly.
A tall and muscular guy with a scar on his face and a small blonde girl with two gravity-defying twin-tails.
"You two should be first years... Where is Fushiguro Megumi?" Todo asks in a powerful voice.
Nobara frowns "And what business do you have with him?"
"A fight! Of ideals!" Todo answers strongly
"..."
"...this is the type of guy that you want to stay away from." Nobara says with certain in her voice.
"Hm, before finding Fushiguro I can put you to the test..." Todo caresses his jaw while eyeing Junpei "Oy, first-year... I'm Todo Aoi! Let me ask you..." He removes his jacket and shirt "...what kind of woman is your type?"
"..." Junpei is gobsmacked by the weirdness of all that
"...I was right, let's bail before that guy's stupidity catches on us."
Thinking that he can evade trouble by giving a mild answer Junpei starts talking.
"Eh, never thought much about that... One that is not a bad person or is annoying should be good enough, and is compatible with my personality."
"Hm, you still have hope, Yoshino. If you said big boobs or something like that I would be obliged to kick your ass." Nobara nods satisfied
But they didn't notice Nishimiya Momo facepalming...
"I expected too much... Why do I still get my hopes up?" Todo tries to suppress his tears by pressing his eyelids "You're another boring one, boy."
And he dashes forward, so fast that the Tokyo students only have time to feel the danger before Todo is on them, they don't have time to react as the older student is about to lariat Junpei to oblivion.
*Pah*
But when Todo's biceps is about to hit Junpei's neck an arm appears from over Junpei's shoulder and reaches to stop Todo's attack.
"Todo... Don't go bullying my classmates." Megumi says
The two keep their arms pressing forward, locking each other in place, before Todo gives up and jumps back.
"Finally, Fushiguro!"
"You guys look alright..." Megumi eyes his classmates and comments
"What alright?! That gorilla attacked us suddenly!" Nobara shouts "And take your hand out of your pocket! Stop acting cool!" She shoves a cold can of soda on his face
"...ungrateful cow. If you were the one that was attacked I would arrive a second later."
The two start bickering while the rest of the Tokyo students arrive. They give a sigh of relief seeing that Nobara and Junpei are okay and Maki starts pulling them away.
"Wait- what?" Nobara is confused
"Just get away from the stupidity..." Maki sighs
"Long time no see, Todo." Megumi says while stepping forward, already removing his Upper clothes "You haven't changed a bit."
"Why is he taking off his clothes?" Nobara asks but no one answers "Nice abs, by the way... A V-cut, 10/10."
"My heart will not waver from the challenge of time, Fushiguro!" Todo exclaims while stepping forward too "And what about you? Did you change your mind?"
"Obviously not, even after a year I still haven't seen a limit to my heart's vastness... I can hold all women in the world there." Megumi answers righteously "Except the fat ones."
"...now I see." Nobara deadpans "Let's go." She turns around without looking back, her eyes dead.
"Yep, before Megumi starts yapping..." Maki says
"You can end up becoming his victim this time." Mai adds
"Let's see how much you have grown on this path of yours then, Fushiguro!!" Todo shouts and attacks "Don't disappoint me!"
"I know I'm not wrong, it's not because no one else can walk this path, that I can't!" Megumi answers with an attack on his own.
*Boom* *Crash* *Bam*
The two fought while the rest simply walked away without a care, completely ignoring the stupidest battle ever.
......
Only later that night did Megumi return to his dorm room
"Oh, welcome back... You must like to spend a lot of time shirtless with your muscly friend. You only arrived now." Maki mocks
He finds the scene of three girls hanging out in his room, Maki and Mai wouldn't be a problem, but Nobara was there too. Using his Nintendo Switch.
"If you overwrote one of my saves in Zelda, I will smack your butt." He warns, but Nobara scoffs
"Chill. I'm only playing Mario." She doesn't even look at him
"And Todo invited me to go to a Handshake Event of an Idol." He explains "And we stopped to eat something."
"Oh, a dinner only for two? So romantic~" Mai teases him too "I hope you're not going too fast..."
"Who is the bottom?" Nobara asks without taking her eyes off the game
"So if I go out with my bro, I'm gay. But girls on the same bed are not a problem... Typical double standard." He shakes his head "I even brought somethings foro you guys too." He takes some bags of food from his shadow
"Gime here." Maki takes form his hand at lightning speed
"..."
"What idol did you guys go to see?" Nobara asks.
"Takada-chan, the tall one."
"How was it?" Mai asks with a mocking smile, she can't see the appeal of idols
"She is not bad, she even noticed that it was my first time there. But I guess it's expected... To say it nicely, the biotype of the guys there was a little..."
"Sweaty pigs?"
"Incels?"
Mai and Nobara try to guess.
"...you two are too harsh. I would say that not everyone is tall there. Me and Todo are a head above the rest." He lies, most are indeed weirdos "We are the only ones taller than Takada-chan."
"...must be her appeal. They must be some pathetic losers that want a mommy or something." Nobara says harshly
"So she feeds on their loneliness and despair... She must be a curse." Mai finished opening all the food on his bed.
"A woman is really the worst enemy of another woman." Megumi shakes his head "Takada-chan is a nice girl."
"Go fuck her too then." Maki deadpans while eating a burger
"I will not netorare a bro."
"What? Is that guy Todo fucking her?" Nobara finally turns to check his expression.
"Not even in his mind... She rejects him even in his fantasies."
"At least he is realistic.
"Self-aware."
"...be careful to not bite your tongue while eating. You don't want to get poisoned." Megumi deadpans
........
Finally is the so-expected day of the Goodwill Event
Megumi yawns while walking to the meeting place
'I don't think they will try to kill me just because I'm Sukuna's host...' He thinks. In his talk with Todo, he asked what he and Kyoto thought about the fact.
But is mostly a neutral reaction, he must expect people to keep a certain distance instead of antagonizing him.
'Having power is so good.' He finally reaches the top of the stairs, only to see Nobara.
"What is the deal with this luggage?" He asks, even though he knows the answer. He purposefully didn't talk about it, just to troll her.
"What? Put mine in your shadow too."
"...we are not going to Kyoto. You know that, right?"
"..." Now she pauses "But... But... It's an event with Kyoto..."
"That will be realized here... Don't you see the students from Kyoto? Are you dumb?" Now he is kinda genuinely worried that Nobara is stupid.
"Whyyyy? It's a perfectly good chance to visit Kyoto! Why do we have to do this in the boring Tokyo!!" She screams to the heavens
"Wasn't you that literally became a sorcerer to live here? Now it's boring, huh? Humans are never satisfied..." He tsks "The event will be here because last year we won in Kyoto."
"Damn, senpai! Why are you targeting me like that?!" She almost throws her precious luggage on the ground
"It was me..." Suddenly Maki appears behind Nobara like a ghost.
"Oh Maki-sama, as expected of you!" Nobara does a 180º in both body and attitude, turning to Maki with stars in her eyes and acting very obedient "You really showed them that we are superior! Tokyo Number 1!"
She says in English the last part.
"..." Maki decides to not comment on Nobara's two-faced attitude, she instead turns to Megumi who is putting Nobara's things in his Inventory "You don't have any weird thing planned today, right?"
"Please... I'm a more mature person now." He says with a roll of his eyes
"..." *Riip* She opens his jacket, ignoring his words.
To reveal a shirt with the saying "Who is number 1? MAKI!" and her face on it. It's not even a good Picture...
"..."
"..."
"Megumi..." She threatens
"Okay, okay... Just because everyone already saw it last year." He removes the shirt
"No Nue carrying a banner too."
"..."
"Or any other flag that you probably put around the school."
"Ah C'mon! Did you see me?!" Now he is flaggerbasted
"I knew that you would try to outdo yourself from last year."
"Hmpf, you're Lucky that the place that rented digital outdoor screens was fully booked." He pouts "I was preparing an AMV for you...with Linkin Park..." He pouts
"I wanted to see that." Panda says
"Salmon."
"I'm gonna destroy your computer..."
At this point, the opponents finally arrived.
As expected, only 5 Kyoto students are led by their representative teacher Utahime. Todo Aoi, Kamo Noritoshi, Nishimiya Momo, Miwa Kasumi and Muta Kokichi, aka Mechamaru.
The newcomers talk between themselves while eyeing the students from Tokyo.
"They have more people."
"No third-years..."
"Don't you guys remember how Hakari went against the Higher-ups last year?"
"It doesn't matter, age is not a deciding factor relative to the strength of the sorcerer."
"Fushiguro Megumi was there..."
"He looks okay."
"Wouldn't being Sukuna's host change him in some way?"
"Who knows?"
The discussion ends when Todo shouts "Fushiguro! Where's Okkotsu Yuta?!" He bursts the ears of the people too close to him.
"Didn't I tell you that he is away?" Megumi answers
"I still hoped... So this will be our first official battle then?"
Megumi massages his jaw while thinking "I don't know... As you can see, this time we have a surplus of people. So maybe I should sit out of it to give a chance to the others to get experience."
"No! You are fighting!" Todo rejects his idea immediately
"But it would be too easy..." Megumi almost whines "Even you being kinda my counter, Todo."
"..." His words hurt the pride of the Kyoto students, even if he is only stating facts.
And he doesn't stop "And this without counting on Maki. You guys have a lack of firepower to take me down. In truth, I can deal with all of you alone." He really pulls no punches "Todo depends on his teammates to be more effective, a pity that his teammates are a little lacking..."
"..." At this point, even the people from Tokyo are looking at Megumi strangely.
If someone asked, he would say that he is giving them some tough love... Motivational words and positive incentives can be good.
But you can't underestimate how much people can grow out of spite.
"If you talk so much, wouldn't it be embarrassing if you ended up losing in the end?" It's Mechamaru the one that ends up rebutting the trash talk.
But Megumi only laughs "It would be so good if I'm proved wrong, and do not think I am being mean. It's only a productive criticism... But okay, I will fight... But first, you need to pass through Kugisaki here." He suddenly pushes Nobara to the forefront, making all gazes fall on her
"Oy Fushiguro!"
"She can really fuck you all, she even said that you all are trash yesterday. earlier she was cursing you for being too weak to not even win last year and cost her a trip to Kyoto...."
"..."
Now things make more sense... He is pissing them up so that they can go all out on his teammates.
"Panda too... I remember him saying that would shove some bamboo right on your asses... And you know what Inumaki said...?"
"..."
"Caviar." Megumi reveals dramatically, gasping in horror
"..."
"I know that is dumb... But that guy is pissing me off anyway..." Nishimiya Momo says between gritted teeth.
"Calm down people, he is just joking." Miwa tries to placate her fellow Kyoto students
"It doesn't matter, I plan to destroy them now.
"Zeha~"