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With some bandages scattered across his body, Itadori was sitting outside his dormitory, his gaze wandering through the dark and silent night of Jujutsu High School.
After returning from the mission, he was sent straight to the infirmary. Although he hadn't suffered any fatal injuries, he still had some serious wounds, which earned him some rest time.
And he really decided to take this time to relax and gather his thoughts. It had been a while since he'd done so.
"..."
Watching the fireflies light up in the distance, he opened a small satisfied smile.
Even though he believed the view of space was incomparable, he had to admit... This place was also very beautiful.
With its calm landscape, traditional architecture, and nature, it gave him a tranquil feeling.
He liked this place.
He had always been someone who appreciated what the world could offer, so this wasn't unfamiliar to him.
With his eyes wandering around, he stood up, his hands hiding in the pockets of his coat as he began to walk away from the dormitories.
1 AM, that should be the current time.
Feeling the cold night wind hit his skin, he shivered slightly, a small smile on his lips as he wandered aimlessly.
At this hour, he didn't expect to find anyone awake, so he wasn't concerned as he continued to walk.
But as he seemed distracted by the environment, he stopped in his tracks when a sound caught his attention.
A strange sound of wind, which repeated consistently.
This made his eyebrow raise in curiosity, his body moving almost instinctively towards the sound.
'Is someone awake?' He wondered as he got closer to the source of the sound, his expression filling with surprise when the sounds of effort reached him. 'Yes, it seems so.'
Passing by a facility, Itadori stopped when he observed the source of the sound, his eyes moving to the swing of a wooden sword, which caused the wind sound that had caught his attention.
The sounds of breathing were consistent, her gasps standing out in the silence of the night.
Itadori wasn't surprised to find such a figure in this place, but it was really a bit disconcerting to see her training so early. From what he knew, she should be someone extremely hardworking, seeing this only confirmed what he already knew.
Maki Zenin, the one who would become one of the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerers in the future.
"..."
Maki, who had been focused on swinging the sword in her hands, stopped when she noticed someone's arrival, her head turning to see a pink-haired boy standing a few meters from where she was.
She immediately recognized him, but didn't seem surprised.
Yuji Itadori, the vessel of Sukuna, the king of curses.
Maki hadn't thought much about the boy. The higher-ups wanted him dead, but she couldn't care less about the opinion of some idiotic old men. In her eyes, Itadori was decent and someone important for the future of the Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Besides, considering that he had become a sorcerer less than three months ago and was already capable of facing someone like Todo, he must have tremendous potential.
"Tsk." Clicking her tongue, the girl placed her hand on her waist, her eyes narrowing. "What is it?"
She asked with a bit of coldness, Yuji rubbing his neck as he opened a small smile.
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"I was just taking a walk and ended up finding you..." He was honest, after all, there was nothing wrong with his actions. "You seem to work hard."
Maki blinked, not paying much attention to the boy's compliment and just returning to swinging her wooden sword.
"Well, someone has to work hard, right?" She simply replied.
"'Train while they sleep.' You seem to follow that to the letter." Approaching, he said with a bit of admiration in his tone. He didn't want to insult the girl, so he made sure to act respectfully.
But when the girl turned to him with a cold expression, he stopped.
"If you're here just to chat, I'm not the right person for that." She declared, making Itadori stare at her in silence.
He had to admit, the girl was quite direct.
Itadori didn't respond immediately, seeming to process her words for a moment. "I understand..."
Seeming to back away, Maki sighed, returning to her training.
"You seem to communicate in a different way."
But surprising her, the sound of wood echoed behind her, making her turn to see Itadori pulling a sword from a rack.
"I can respect that." Itadori declared with a smile, swinging the wooden sword in his hands to measure its weight. "And what kind of idiot would I be not to take advantage since you're here?"
Maki followed him with her eyes, watching him stop in front of her while he looked at the sword with curiosity.
"To be honest, I've never used a sword before." Resting the tip of the sword on the ground, Itadori explained. "So this will be a great learning experience."
Raising the wooden sword, he pointed it towards Maki, which made her blink at the act.
"Senpai, please teach me."
Silence hung in the air after those words left his mouth.
This made him question if he had acted too strangely.
But Maki, who hadn't responded until then, just displayed a confident smile, seeming to like his attitude.
"Alright, but my training is not light at all."
Itadori smiled at that, unfazed by her words. After pushing his body to the limit with Gojo's training, he really didn't fear any training.
"I can handle it."
.
When Panda woke up that day, he immediately noticed the sound of impacts. In fact, this was the main reason for his awakening.
The constant sound of something colliding irritated him enough to get up and see what it was about.
But his irritation vanished the moment he saw the scene before him, his mouth opening in disbelief, his feelings replaced by confusion.
!
Maki charged at Yuji, the boy skillfully blocking a lateral attack with his sword, backing away quickly.
But Maki was quick to pursue him, sending two rapid attacks that the boy struggled to block, counterattacking with a sweep, which she promptly avoided by jumping over his body and landing behind him.
'Huh?' But seemingly expecting this, Itadori surprised her by grabbing the collar of her shirt, throwing her away and making her stagger as she stopped her momentum.
Itadori took advantage of this to advance, hitting her defense with three swift attacks, finishing with a thrust that she narrowly avoided, kicking his stomach to push him away.
They had been at it for hours, both trying to gain an advantage over the other.
At first, Itadori had trouble keeping up with the girl, being hit numerous times, but he managed to compensate with his reflexes.
But still, his skills with the sword were scarce, resulting in a bout where he was completely dominated by Maki's superior skills.
But after a few hours, this changed as Itadori's sword skills gradually improved, using his physical prowess to close the gap between them.
This resulted in a balanced fight between the two, each trying to gain the upper hand.
And this continued for countless hours... Of course, it wasn't as if they were aware of it.
The realization that they had been at it for hours only came when they noticed the sun starting to rise, but even then, neither seemed to want to stop.
At this point, both were drenched in sweat. Maki's hands were trembling, while Itadori had some throbbing bruises.
But even recognizing that both were tired, they seemed to have no intention of stopping, a smile appearing on both their lips as they looked at each other, raising their swords in preparation.
At this point, Panda wasn't the only one watching, the rest of the students had already gotten up and joined him.
"How long have they been at it?" Nobara asked in surprise, noticing the sweat dripping from their faces and soaking their hair.
"I don't know, but my guess is it's been hours." Panda replied, making the others nod in agreement.
"He's giving Maki a great fight, I thought Itadori only fought with his fists." Nobara noted, her head turning to Megumi, who was watching the scene with surprised eyes.
"So did I."
!
The swords of the two combatants collided, Itadori gaining the upper hand as Maki was pushed back, quickly raising her defense to block three attacks that swayed her body from side to side.
But as Itadori seemed to be gaining the advantage, he was surprised when Maki dropped to the ground, his attack hitting only air.
"Huh?"
Maki immediately tried to knock him down with her legs, but just as he was about to fall, he placed one hand on the ground and propelled himself away.
The girl got up, raising her sword, while Itadori did the same.
At that moment, they didn't need to exchange words to know what they were thinking.
It was time to end this. Both could tell.
That's why, raising their swords, they prepared.
It was time to decide the winner of this bout, which had long ceased to be just a simple training session.
"They're going to finish this now." Megumi noted.
Boom!
The ground shattered as the two charged, and at a speed that was hard for the spectators to follow, they passed each other.
"..."
But while those watching expected one of them to fall to the ground, they were surprised when both their wooden swords shattered.
"A tie, huh?" Itadori turned with a smile.
"Seems so." Maki responded, turning while returning his smile.
This had been a great practice.