The rest of your days fly by. Mornings are spent at the infirmary, afternoons are spent sparring with your seniors and friends, and evenings are spent in the school library, poring over dusty old tomes and trying to make sense of the limited information on Reversed Cursed Techniques.
You throw yourself into training relentlessly, advancing swiftly in combat and in the use of your Cursed Energy. You've become determined to fill the void in your chest with an unparalleled commitment to your training. For the most part, this strategy proves successful.
Panda hits the floor with a grunt, and you let out a cry, thrilled with your own success.
"Yes!" You say with a fist pump.
Learning to toss Panda is no small feat. Finding the right balance to gain the leverage you needed has taken you longer than it probably should have because you've had such a hard time concentrating over the last couple of weeks.
Inumaki, your own personal cheerleader, applauds your progress as well. "Salmon, salmon!"
Despite his rough tumble to the floor, Panda seems oddly happy when he watches you gift Inumaki with a small smile. You've been – happy might be too strong a word – but you've definitely been more content the past month after finding your resolve. You don't think that the emotional scars are fully healed yet, but you're definitely making progress.
"Good job, [ NAME ]." Panda praises, pushing himself to his feet. "You've been making a lot of progress lately."
"Thank you. Are we going again?"
"All of you, take a ten-minute break and go get us drinks," Maki pipes up then, before Panda can reply. "I want a coffee milk."
"Ah, a strawberry latte for me, and a milk tea for Toge!"
"Natto!"
And so, you find yourself with Megumi and Nobara, making the fifteen-minute trek to the nearest vending machines. You glance up at the sky just as the sun pokes out from behind the clouds, only staying for a second before fading behind the tall buildings.
To break the silence, you say, "I could've gone by myself."
"You can't carry six cans on your own."
"Zenin-senpai would have glared at us until we all left, anyway."
"Thanks," You're generous with your smiles today. You give Nobara and Megumi another.
Finally, with the vending machines in sight, Nobara has to pound on the machine for a few minutes before it buzzes to life. "Can't they up the number of machines a bit?"
"There's no way that's happening. Vendor entry is limited around here." Megumi shakes his head.
Nobara clicks her tongue, irritated, and pokes harder at the buttons. You're mildly alarmed at how aggressive her movements seem, and wonder if the machine will survive the encounter unscathed. Maki most certainly won't forgive any of you for returning empty handed, and you aren't looking forward to locating the other vending machines on campus.
"It's the briefing today, right?" Your question is directed at Megumi, who nods. You've been engrossed in training, otherwise you might have paid more attention to your lessons. As it is, you've only been going to the barest minimum of classes to avoid truancy; the state of your grades must be positively dismal by now. "Are the Kyoto students coming?"
"No, it's only for staff, so students shouldn't –" Megumi breaks off, turns his head and stiffens at the sound of dull footsteps approaching. "Zenin-senpai? Why are you in Tokyo?"
"Zenin? She related to Maki?" Nobara asks, surprise and curiosity mingling in her voice.
Tension radiates from Megumi's frame, and your stomach cramps with dread when you follow his gaze. There's a boy with enormous biceps framing the chest of a compact car. He dwarfs Megumi by a foot, and about several hundred pounds. The girl – Maki's relative – is a mirror image of her. The students are eyeing you like you're a piece of fresh meat, and you resist the urge to hide behind the broadness of Megumi's shoulders so that you're hidden and out of sight.
"How unpleasant, Fushiguro!" Her pleasant smile never falters, but her voice is glacial, the frost crawling up her throat and hardening in her eyes. "If you say that, nobody will be able to tell us apart! Call me Mai!"
The boy next to her speaks in the rumble of an earthquake, powerful and commanding. "These guys must be the substitutes."
"Well, we heard what happened! We were worried, so we came down with the school principal! Your classmate died, right? It must have been painful!" Each word loses more of its patina of sincerity. "Or was it not?"
Knowing how Yuji's death is still a sensitive topic for you, Megumi's hand comes down to rest on your shoulder – a warning and a reassurance all at once. "What are you trying to say?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I'll speak more plainly." Mai draws out each word mockingly. "Your classmate was a half-curse monster, right? For a filthy non-human to call himself a Shaman next to you, you were repulsed by it, right? Aren't you relieved he's dead?"
If not for the firm grip on your shoulder, you might have lunged forwards to wipe the smirk off her face. You're pretty mild-mannered most of the time. You don't like getting angry, hating the bitter adrenaline rush that comes with it. But at the moment, you're just about ready to explode.
Fresh hate and anger trickles through your veins, like water from thawing ice. Something in you is waking up. You're not content to just sit here and let her trample over Yuji's legacy like this. Megumi's fingers are digging painfully into your shoulder now, and you know that he feels the same way.
"Mai, you really like to talk about worthless things. I just want to know if these guys are worthy replacements for Okkotsu and the third years." The three of you can only stare in mild alarm as the student from Kyoto begins ripping his shirt apart. "Fushiguro, right? What's your type? Depending on your answer, I'll beat you half dead. Right here, right now."
You can try, you think, clenching your fists as your power buzzes through you pleasantly, a heady thrum you feel all the way down to your toes. But I'm not letting any more of my friends die.
