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The day passed by without any hiccups.
The students of both schools had an ice-breaking event in the evening, helping them get to know their peers and understand the people sharing the burden with them to keep things running and maintain peace.
While this was happening, the teachers and principals were preparing the Match Field for day 1 of the goodwill event.
It was a team event, and the theme for the event was: WACKY CURSED SPIRIT EXORCISM RACE!
The rules for the event were simple:
Several Grade 3 and lower cursed spirits would be released in the match field, which comprised multiple areas.
Along with them, a singular Grade 2 cursed spirit would also be there, and the first team to exorcise the Grade 2 cursed spirit wins the event.
There were also points for exorcising other cursed spirits, and if, for some unfortunate reason, the Grade 2 cursed spirits survive by sundown, the team with the most points wins.
Aside from the prohibition against killing or permanently crippling other participants, there were no additional rules.
It was a format that didn't require confrontation, but knowing the children, fighting between sorcerers was inevitable.
Still, none of the teachers had any complaints.
Sorcerer fights were the fun part of the event, and none of them was the type to pass up some entertainment.
Because of repeated over destruction of property, the HQ specifically ordered to make sure that the fight between students was minimised, and they had to remove the points for defeating sorcerers during the team event.
Now the students weren't compelled to fight each other, but if they still do so, at the very least the schools' administrations aren't responsible for that.
-----
Currently in the Kyoto students' discussion room, Naoya and Utahime were sitting with them to see how the planning for the event was going on.
As they expected, Noritoshi took the role of the leader and assigned tasks to the others.
Noritoshi glanced at Todo.
...and simply shook his head.
There was no controlling the Grade 1 sorcerer; it was better to let him act freely. Knowing him, he would most probably head straight towards Yuta Okkotsu for a fight, which was a welcome outcome.
Having the ace of the other side occupied was better for the rest of them.
"We will have to split up into two groups. The first group, which will consist of the majority of us, will be on the sabotage duty. It is this group's job to eliminate as many of the other side players as they can. The lower their numbers, the harder it is for them to search around. The ones who are in this group are: Me, Mai, Mechamaru, Nitta, and if hopefull Todo."
The ones who were named gave a nod.
"Momo and Miwa, you two will be on the recon and curse exorcising jobs, respectively. Momo will guide Miwa to the location of the curses while keeping an eye on everything that is going on around, and it is Miwa's job to exorcise the curses. Be safe, though, just because you are not in the direct confrontation unit, doesn't mean you won't get attacked by others. We will try to have their attention on us and destroy any curses that come our way during our task, but you two should be prepared as well."
Momo gave a confident nod while Miwa nodded in panic.
The sudden responsibility made her realise just how important her role actually was. It felt eerily similar to last year's Goodwill Event, where everything somehow ended up depending on her at the very end.
Naoya and Utahime simply smiled at the students. They didn't say anything but were satisfied that the kids were thinking tactically.
There were a few flaws in their tactics, but it wasn't Naoya's or Utahime's place to point that out.
-----
The match finally started around noon, and the two teams were stationed at their given spots.
The Tokyo group was huddled together.
"Alright, everyone, let's get this show on the road. Make sure to remember the roles you are given."
Maki acted as the impromptu leader of this group.
"Megumi, we are counting on you to scout the curses and relay their information to us."
Megumi nodded in response.
Despite being one of the stronger ones in the group, Megumi was given a support role.
Not that it was surprising; he was the most versatile of the group, and almost everyone else was solely an offensive type.
"Everyone, be sure to follow Megumi's instructions"
The others nodded as well.
"And Okkotsu, stay away from everyone else unless they get stuck in a losing fight. Make sure not to get close and follow Megumi's directions."
"...If I didn't know the plan beforehand, I would have thought that I was being bullied and ostracised by everyone..."
Hearing him, everyone else gave a helpless laugh.
Yuta Okkotsu was arguably the strongest one on the field, yet despite that, he would have been a huge issue in the match.
The rules of the match dictated that the points were to be given only for defeating curses; however, the sinister aura that Yuta and Rika gave out repelled the weaker curses.
This would have made the whole thing unfavourable for the Tokyo side, that's why Yuta's role in today's match was to act as a stall breaker in cases where other students get into a fight that they cannot win, and rally the weaker curses towards the other Tokyo students by making them run away from him. Megumi will guide him, and Yuta will follow.
"Don't feel bad, Okkotsu-senpai. Think of it as being the cool MC from a manga who is way too OP for his own good."
Yuji spoke up, trying to comfort Yuta.
"Yeah, the OP MC with the creepy aura," added Panda.
"The King of creeps that make even the creepy curses run away," added Nobara.
"Salmone Roe."
At each added comment, an invisible arrow pierced Yuta.
"Stop it, he is taking critical damage before the match even starts." Megumi came in to defend Yuta.
"Alright, alright, enough teasing our household curse repellent." Maki joined in.
An even bigger arrow pierced Yuta.
"Okkotsu-senapi! Hang in there!"
"Itadori-kun...you are the only kind kid around." Yuta muttered.
"Well, he's not less of a creep. He likes gulping on cursed fingers. Birds of a feather flock together."
Nobara smirked.
"No way I like that!!!!"
Yuji yelled.
Yuji and Yuta were on the receiving end of the teasing for a while.
It was only when Mei Mei, the one who was using her technique to broadcast the event to the audience room, asked whether both sides were ready or not, that they stopped.
Maki looked at the group.
They looked back at her, and all of them took out a headset that they would be using for communication and put them on.
On the Kyoto end, everyone did the same thing except for Todo. He was not one to listen to distractions during fights.
"3...2...1...START!!!!"
The moment Mei Mei's voice rang out, both sides rushed into the forest.
Megumi immediately formed a hand sign.
[Rabbit Escape]
A horde of rabbits jumped out of his shadows and, after receiving his orders, hopped away in different directions.
The main rabbit was sitting on his shoulder and would inform him if the other rabbits encountered a curse or Kyoto students.
"Take care, everyone."
Megumi formed another hand sign and got ready to start his job.
[Well of Unknown Abyss]
[Nue + Giant Serpent]
A giant owl(if it could even be called that at this point) emerged out of the shadows and flapped its wings to fly.
Megumi jumped on top of it to get in the air as well and start his scouting.
Unlike Naoya, Megumi's Nue was not large enough to carry him on its back and fly efficiently. To mitigate that issue, Megumi used the new trick that Naoya taught him and did a pseudo-totality of sorts to merge two shikigami. {A/N: It is not as big and strong as the Totality version that Sukuna showed.}
"Alright, I am in the air. Is everyone able to hear me clearly?"
Hearing Megumi's voice on the comms, the Tokyo group replied in affirmation.
"Good, I will...what the f*ck?!"
"What happened?"
Maki immediately asked, hearing Megumi using crass language.
"...I don't know how I should explain this."
Megumi blinked in confusion.
Not that he could be blamed for that.
The sight he saw in front of him was something really hard to explain.
-----
Momo Nishimiya's cursed technique was called [Tool Manipulation].
Unlike what others might think, her technique is not limited to brooms. She could use anything to be remotely used as a tool and can telekinetically control it using her technique.
However, the more complex the object, the more CE is required to control it, and the more things she uses, the harder it gets to use them efficiently. Others might think that telekinesis is easy, thanks to pop-culture media, but it is not, for even moving the object an inch, she has to mentally calculate how far and at what speed she needs to move the object.
If she does not do the required brain work, the action might not perform or go so horribly that it would be better if nothing had happened.
She used a straw broom because not only was it light and had enough space for her to sit comfortably, but it also had loose straw ends that could be used to generate winds redirected with CE and use them as a way of attacking.
It wasn't that she was stuck with brooms; it was just that brooms were the most efficient tool she had found....until her teacher decided to make something even better and more absurd for her.
-----
What Megumi Fushiguro saw in the sky was Momo Nishimiya riding on some kind of weird broom.
It looked more like a machine than a broom. It had handles that Momo was grabbing onto and was zooming through the sky.
The bigger problem was that she was heading towards him. At full speed.
"I am under attack!" Megumi informed the others.
Momo's new tool, the "DOOM BROOM", was a cursed tool developed by Naoya and Zankyo industries.
Unlike the broom that Momo used, it was slightly on the heavier side, meaning it required more CE to operate.
However, the trade was way more than worth it.
The "DOOM BROOM" comes with a built-in CE-propelled booster exhausts that give her a massive increase in flight speed. It also allowed her not to actively use her brain to move the broom. She can simply fire off the boosters to drive her forward.
It also had an arsenal of weapons in it.
Blades, bullets, a moving bristle guard that doubled as a saw and a shield and a hidden main blade inside the staff part of the broom that can be used to remotely strike opponents.
The fun part was that all the attached weapons were at peak Grade 2 level, making the overall combination of the equipment quite destructive.
Momo rushed towards Megumi at max speed, making the Ten Shadows user prepare to intercept her. Seeing how she was moving, her most probable move was probably making him fall off the shikigami and hamper the enemy scout.
The mechanism at the tip of the broom started moving, and a second later, a muzzle-like contraption came out.
Seeing that Megumi panicked.
Being near Naoya and Toji, Megumi was way too familiar with guns.
He prepared to dodge and intercept Momo.
Momo kept coming closer and closer to him.
...However, as she was a few meters away, she changed directions and moved away.
Seeing that Megumi blinked in confusion.
'What even was that? Did she conclude that engaging in a fight would not be worth it?' Megumi thought.
Megumi got his answer a second later.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a familiar figure moving towards him.
"Shi-"
"Wow~ Who knew my first target would be Megumi~"
Momo Nishimiya wasn't planning to attack. She was just making a distraction for Mai Zenin to take care of the enemy scout.
With a card in hand, Mai jumped through air trampolines and was heading towards Megumi.
She landed on top of the giant shikigami and pulled in a large amount of flexible air before using it as a slingshot to launch Megumi, sending him flying.
"YOU VIOLENT WITCH!!!!!" cussed Megumi as he flew through the air.
"KREEEE!!!!!!"
The shikigami she was standing on screamed as it realised that its master was being attacked and the one on top of it was an enemy.
Electricity crackled in its body as it got ready to attack Mai.
"Enough"
With another card in hand, Mai gestured downwards as a series of solid air walls started forming.
[Solid Air - Phalanx]
The air wall pushed the shikigami down at great speed, sending it crashing to the ground.
With this, the Kyoto side had made it clear that the sky was a dangerous territory for them.
Aside from Megumi, no one was capable of flight, well, Yuta could with Rika's help. Still, the issue of the enemy team scouting was cleared for now.
Mai saw the shikigami dissolve into shadows before she contacted the others to know where she needed to head next.
-----
At a completely different part of Tokyo:
Currently, Geto was standing on top of the roof of a tall building with a hood pulled over his head.
"Everyone in position?"
Geto asked on his phone.
"Jogo and our helpers are in place."
"Hanami and our helpers are in place."
The people who were on the call responded.
Geto smiled and looked towards Mahito.
"Ready to infiltrate their den?"
"I am ready...but what about you? You have been acting quite secretive the whole time. Are you really going to do it?"
Mahito looked at Geto in confusion.
For all this time, Geto had refrained from acting on his own and had made sure not to leave any traces behind.
"True, I would have preferred to keep myself in the dark a bit longer....still, it's within manageable levels. Do it then."
"Okay~"
At his order, Mahito started chanting.
Jogo and Hanami, they two wherever they were, started chanting after getting the signal from the ones Geto was talking to.
"Let's see how good my predictions are," Geto muttered with an amused look on his face.