Flights of Fancy [JJK Reader Insert]

Chapter 6: Acclimating In Tokyo

When Gojo said training, it didn't sound so daunting. It would be like getting a few pointers from him. You already knew how to summon your shikigami and would say you were good at hand-to-hand.

It was supposed to be training, but it just ended up as you serving as Maki's personal practice dummy.

"Ack!"

You got it—real fights wouldn't exactly be fair.

But did they have to let her abuse you like this with her weapons? You didn't have any of your own...

"Remember to block with your arms—!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!" You couldn't help but bark back at Gojo, ducking as Maki's naginata nearly took a little off your hair. "Stop being a backseat fighter, alright?!"

Seeing him feign ignorance, you leered quickly in his direction before diverting your eyes back to Maki.

Panda cheered you on in the back while Inumaki gave a few phrases of encouragement as you ducked, side-stepped, and hopped over Maki's various attempts to slice you. She was a ruthless woman when it came to sparing, not holding back as much as you thought she would.

If you could say this off-hand, she might try to kill you. But that was probably just you.

You lasted about two more minutes before you were on your back, eyes up at the sky, chest heaving as Maki had the point of the naginata blade at your throat.

And that was game...

"I'm impressed!" Panda said joyfully, crossing his big panda arms. "You lasted a while this time!"

Maki took the blade away from your throat, allowing you to breathe and replay the recent seven minutes.

"Your reflexes are good, and so is your stamina," Maki pointed out, inspecting her naginata before looking down at you, still laid out starfish-like on the ground. "But you panic when I start attacking you."

You tried not to make a bitter face. "It's not that, Maki-senpai. I just...never had anyone come at me with anything bigger than a knife before...my depth of field gets all messed up when you come at me with that..." There was no resisting your hand dragging down your face.

Maki huffed with her throat, crossing an arm over the staff of her naginata so she held it close to her chest.

"Then you need to get used to it fast. It's already day three of training. Sooner or later, you'll go out and do missions."

This was just your second day of combat training with her, so you had thought that maybe they could cut you a bit of slack...but you guess that's just the cards you were dealt with.

"I'll try my best," you muttered, sighing before heaving yourself up in one clean move.

Gojo clapped his hands together, eyes hidden behind sunglasses rather than his normal blindfold. He had the day off, apparently, and you heard Maki and Fushiguro mutter something about him going to prowl around later.

"How about a lunch break? Some soba?" He asked as you accepted the towel Panda handed you to dry off.

You remember how dumbfounded you were to discover that Panda was just a panda. You had thought there was some weird guy in a realistic suit because it seemed surreal to see a normal-looking animal just walking and talking like an actual person. He denied that he was a suited guy and an actual panda multiple times, so you just accepted the...strange correction and accommodated him correctly. Panda was...not a panda, but was a panda at the same time. You really didn't want to ask for the schematics.