[20] Time Waits for No One

A heavy silence clung to them like a shroud. Kugisaki and Fushiguro sat stiffly on the chipped stone steps, their gaze fixed on the empty expanse ahead. Not a word had been spoken in what felt like hours, the weight of what transpired hanging in the air.

Finally, Kugisaki broke the oppressive quiet. "Any word on Kantaro?" Her voice was a strained whisper, the slightest tremor betraying her carefully constructed facade.

Fushiguro shook his head, a bleak expression etched on his face. "Last I heard, he was still unconscious."

Kugisaki nodded, the motion small and defeated. Another stretch of silence settled between them, suffocating in its intensity. A quiet murmur escaped her lips, "Live long, huh..."

Kugisaki's voice cracked, "First time?"

Fushiguro turned his head slightly, a questioning look in his shadowed eyes. "My age? Yeah."

"You're holding up, though." 

Fushiguro nodded. "You too."

"Of course," Kugisaki replied. "I only knew him for a month...I'm not the type to break dow-" A ragged breath hitched in her throat. "I'm not the type to fall to pieces when someone I barely-"

The sentence hung unfinished, the facade finally crumbling. Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling silently down her cheeks. Her stoic mask had shattered, revealing the raw pain beneath.

Fushiguro clenched his fists, glare fixed on the cracked pavement. A few tense minutes ticked by before he spoke, "It's hot, huh?" His voice was rough, barely a whisper.

Kugisaki wiped her eyes with the rough fabric of her sleeve, a choked sob escaping her lips. "Yeah..." A shaky breath. "Wonder if it's time for summer uniforms…"

The silence returned, punctuated only by the distant echo of rustling trees. After a few moments, Kugisaki stood up, the movement a bit stiff. "I'm gonna check on Kantaro." 

Just as she took a step, a woman's voice cut through the quiet. "So, what's this? You're looking a lot more bummed out than usual, Megumi. Having a wake?"

Kugisaki paused, turning to see a tall woman with long, green hair in a ponytail striding towards them. Fushiguro sighed. "What's up Zenin."

A flicker of irritation crossed Maki's face. "Don't call me by my last na—"

Before she could finish her retort, a voice called out from behind, "Psst, Maki! Maki!"

Maki whirled around, annoyance clear on her face. "Can't you see I'm talking? Shut it—"

Her sentence cut short as her gaze landed on a young man and a panda peeking out from behind a nearby statue.

The panda spoke up, "Are you for real? You don't know what happened?"

"No, should I?"

"Someone did die! A first year died yesterday!"

The man, a flash of blonde hair visible, glared, then said in a hushed voice, "Bonito flakes."

Understanding dawned on Maki's face, and her usual scowl twisted into a mortified expression. Nervous sweat broke out across her forehead. "Say...it...earlier!" she stammered. "Now they'll think their senpai is some cold-hearted devil!"

The panda shot back, "Actually, that's exactly what you are, you know?!"

The blonde-haired man nodded in agreement with the panda, chiming in with a simple, "Tuna Mayo."

"So, who are these guys?" 

Fushiguro shrugged. "Second years." He gestured to Maki. "That's Maki Zenin. She's probably the best at handling cursed tools."

Maki clicked her tongue in annoyance, muttering, "I wanted to introduce myself. Damn it..."

Fushiguro pointed to the blonde-haired guy. "Next is Toge Inumaki. He has a specialized cursed technique, and his only vocabulary is onigiri ingredients."

Inumaki, with a small smile, answered, "Salted salmon roe."

"And that's Panda," Fushiguro continued.

Panda, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, murmured, "She is a little softer when Yuta is here though…" 

Panda looked at them apologetically. "I'm sorry. I know you're still mourning your lost comrades, but I want you to attend the Kyoto Sister School Exchange."

"The Kyoto Sister School Exchange?" Kugisaki's brow furrowed. "What's that?"

"It's a joint program with the other jujutsu college in Kyoto," Fushiguro explained. "But isn't the event mainly for second and third years?"

Maki stepped forward. "Those third-years are suspended. And Kyoto's going to have six total participants, so we need you all to go to even the amount of competitors."

"Then what do we have to do during this program?" Kugisaki pressed.

Panda chimed in, "Tokyo college and Kyoto college. The match types proposed by each school principal take place one day each. Usually, every year, the first day is a team battle, with the second day being individual battles."

Inumaki nodded, adding a thoughtful, "Salmon."

Kugisaki's eyes widened. "So this means we're gonna fight other sorcerers?"

Maki grinned, a predatory glint in her eyes. "Yeah. It's a sorcery battle where anything goes besides killing."

Panda's grin matched Maki's. "Don't worry, I'll whip your defense into shape!"

"Do we have time for this?" Kugisaki asked, doubt creeping into her voice. "I mean, aren't sorcerers in a labor shortage?"

Panda tilted his head, considering her question. "That's a good point. Right now, the melancholy of humans accumulates between the end of winter until spring. Early summer is when it comes crashing down, materializing as curses."

"It's busy all year," Maki chimed in, "But I like to think it gets easier little by little." She paused. "So... you're all gonna participate, right? Your comrade died after all."

Kugisaki and Fushiguro exchanged a look, a silent understanding passing between them.

"I'm in," Kugisaki spoke first.

Fushiguro nodded. "Agreed. But there's another first year who survived the mission," he added. "Would it be alright if he joined us?"

Maki's smirk widened. "Of course. The more the merrier," she replied. "That'll even out the teams perfectly." Her gaze turned sharp. "Now listen up. Training starts at 10 am tomorrow sharp. Be on time, or I'll make you wish you were dead." 

A shiver ran down Kugisaki's spine, but she met Maki's gaze without flinching. "Whatever it takes," she said, her voice low and dangerous.

Beside her, Fushiguro nodded, his jaw set.

With Akuma:

"So, what's the first step?" I asked. There was a restlessness in my voice, a yearning to cut through the theory and get to the action.

A low chuckle rumbled from Gojo. "With you, we need to be a bit extreme," he said, "In order to be the second strongest, you need to be a master at a lot of things, not just rely on your curse technique."

I cocked my head. What did he have up his sleeve?

"You should be honored," Gojo continued, "I cleared my schedule until mid-September for you, and I plan to use that time to the fullest."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Two whole months of dedicated training from the strongest sorcerer alive? Whatever Gojo had in store, I would meet it head-on.

"There are three things I want to work on with you," Gojo declared, that playful smirk morphing into a focused intensity. "Your cursed energy control, your martial arts, and your curse technique usage." 

I stared at Gojo. "My technique is already one of the best. Why waste time on martial arts?"

Gojo's ever-present smirk widened. "Because, Akuma-kun, I'm not making you one of the strongest. I'm making you at least the second strongest."

Second strongest? The audacity. 

"You're good, kid. But good isn't enough. Not for what's coming." Gojo's voice lost its playful edge, taking on a gravity I'd never heard before. "Your technique is powerful, yes. But what happens when you face someone who can nullify it? Or worse, turn it against you?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off with a raised hand.

"No. Listen. The truly strong, the ones who survive when everything goes to hell, they're not one-trick ponies. They're adaptable. Unpredictable. That's what I'm going to make you."

I felt my resistance crumbling, replaced by a grudging curiosity. "Fine. So how do we sta-"

Before I could complete my sentence, a jolt of pain ripped through me. My body went airborne, and the world flipped upside down. I slammed into the ground, the impact reverberating through my bones.

Wheezing, I struggled to draw a breath. What the hell just happened?

Gojo approached me, his phone in hand, snapping photos with a playful grin. "That was quite the introduction, huh?"

Grimacing, I tried to shield my face from the camera. "What the hell was that for?"

Gojo's smirk remained as he explained, "Consider it a rite of passage for my students with immense potential. Don't worry, you fared better than the others. Those two ended up vomiting after a punch like that."

I managed a weak groan, rubbing my bruised stomach. I knew Gojo was powerful, but I hadn't expected that level of effortless, almost casual strength. 

"The point," Gojo continued, now lowering his phone, "was to show you how much cursed energy leaks from your body. That wasted energy is why upgrading your technique is so difficult." He tilted his head, seeming to study me. "You've got a lot of cursed energy reserves, Akuma. Even more than me, and it seems like your technique absorbs cursed energy passively."

I frowned, processing Gojo's words. "If I've got more cursed energy than you, why do I need to work on control? Shouldn't I just focus on output?"

Gojo's ever-present smirk widened. "Because, Akuma-kun, even with your passive absorption, you'd run out of cursed energy faster than me in a real fight."

I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "How's that possible?"

"Efficiency," Gojo replied, tapping his temple. "I waste little to no cursed energy with my techniques. You, on the other hand, leak it like a sieve."

I crossed my arms, not entirely convinced. "So what?"

Gojo's expression turned serious. "So, if we can get your cursed energy efficiency from 'good' to even close to mine, your strength will increase exponentially."

I mulled this over. The idea of matching Gojo's level of control was tempting, but seemed impossible. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

A wide grin split Gojo's face. "I'm glad you asked!"

He bounded toward a nearby tree and vanished behind the thick trunk. Seconds later, he reappeared, hauling something I couldn't have imagined in a million years – a black bear sporting a pair of well-worn boxing gloves. My eyes widened in disbelief.

"Is that one of the principal's puppets?"

"This doll will be with you 24/7," Gojo declared, ignoring my question. "In order to pass, you must keep a constant flow of cursed energy through your body that does not fluctuate for three days straight."

My jaw dropped. "Wait… when I sleep, too?"

"You wanted to be the strongest, right?"

He shoved the bear-doll into my arms. It was heavier than it looked, and its eyes seemed to stare at me with a mocking gleam.

I shifted my gaze from the bear, and a strange sensation washed over me. Was it just my imagination, or did the world… slow down? It wasn't a drastic difference, just a subtle change in the rhythm of things – like a slightly out-of-sync heartbeat.

Suddenly, the bear reared up, its fluffy paw a blur as it launched a lumbering punch. Instead of the blinding speed I expected, the attack seemed to unfold in slow motion. My head jerked to the left, dodging with ease.

A sharp thwack echoed behind me as the bear's paw slammed into a tree. I froze, the adrenaline spiking through my veins. Did I see that coming? Or did I just get lucky?

"Nice!" the bear's squeaky voice squawked from below. "You've got some decent reflexes there, kid!"

Wait... what?

Before I could dwell on the bear's sudden ability to speak, another attack came. This time, it wasn't a punch, but a clumsy headbutt. My gaze flickered upwards just in time, and I tilted my head back. The bear's fuzzy forehead brushed my chin harmlessly.

"Now this," the bear-doll chirped, sounding annoyingly pleased with itself, "this I gotta work on!"

I blinked in confusion, lowering my defenses for just a moment. The bear talking? It couldn't be real... could it?

Gojo's voice cut through my confusion. "Alright!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Enough messing around. Now let's work on some martial arts! The goal isn't just about energy control – you need to be able to weaponize it."

(Five Hours Later) 

My walk back to the dorm building was less of a walk and more of a pained limp. Each step sent jolts of agony through my body. Every breath felt like sandpaper scraping my lungs, and the world seemed to sway and tilt with a rhythm mirroring my pounding heart. My mind was a haze, repeating a single, relentless mantra: Hurt. Hurt. Hurt.

Gojo's final words echoed in my skull: "Don't get down on yourself, kid. Today was a tough baseline, but I'm impressed. You're gonna be a monster... well, an even bigger one, that is."

I'd scoffed, too exhausted to muster a proper comeback. Monster? Maybe. But right now, I just felt like a punching bag with legs.

Entering the common room,  Kugisaki and Fushiguro stared at me with a mixture of concern and amusement. I raised a shaky hand in greeting, managing a weak grunt before shuffling towards the stairs.

"You dropped this," he said, tossing the bear up. "Don't lose track of it, yeah?"

I caught it, my grip feeble. "Right..." I mumbled.

"You alright?" Kugisaki's voice broke through the fog. 

I nodded, then regretted it as a fresh wave of dizziness crashed over me. "Yeah." Good was the last thing I felt. But quitting wasn't an option. Not anymore. I held the bear a bit tighter, determination warring with exhaustion.

Her eyes narrowed slightly before she walked upstairs, a curious expression on her face. "Your eyes..."

I nodded again. "Yeah. Seems like another aspect of my cursed technique. Not sure how it works fully... just woke up with them like this."

Kugisaki nodded slowly, studying me for a moment longer. Then, she glanced at the bear in my arms. Before I could piece together her intentions, I felt a light tap against my chin.

"Hey," the bear squeaked. Distracted, I lowered my gaze.

That was my mistake.

Just as my focus shifted, the damned bear unleashed a punch, catching me squarely on the jaw. 

"Your cursed energy fluctuated!" the bear chirped, its voice a grating mockery of my pain.

Kugisaki stared at me for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Serves you right," she teased. "Looks like that bear's gonna be a handful."

I forced a chuckle, my jaw throbbing. "Ha ha, I'm going to bed." Turning, I aimed for my room, hoping to escape any more...attention.

"Wait," Kugisaki's voice stopped me. "Before you go...how...how are you feeling?"

I knew what she meant. Not about the bear, but about everything. Itadori... the weight of his death settling heavier by the second. 

For a moment, I couldn't hide the exhaustion in my voice. "Having a bear attack you five hours straight for not having perfect cursed energy is not fun," I said, trying to inject some lightness.

Kugisaki's gaze didn't waver. She saw right through me. Dammit.

Steeling myself, I met her eyes. "I'm dealing with it," I said, pushing a bit of forced confidence into my voice. Then, before she could call my bluff any further, I turned and dodged another attack from the bear.

"Goodnight," I called out over my shoulder, a shaky grin plastered across my face. Each step up the stairs was agony, but I kept going, fueled by the stubborn refusal to collapse in front of them again. I'd grief eventually, on my own terms, not as someone's pity case.