"WHAT!"
Let alone Maki, who knew the most about what really took place in Shibuya in this group, but everyone else snapped their heads toward me like they had seen an alien.
"Akindo… what does she mean? You said you ran away from most of them." Maki narrowed her eyes.
"Wait, wait…" Panda, who was mostly silent until now, waved his hands rapidly.
"Are you saying he killed three special grade curses right after awakening his technique?" Panda was baffled, hell, everyone was looking at me like I was carrying a grenade on me.
"Tuna Mayo." Toge also nodded with his eyes narrowed suspiciously toward me.
"That is very impressive, even I wasn't capable of doing that back when I first joined Jujutsu Tech." Yuta smiled, sounding really impressed.
"Now wait a minute." Suddenly, a sharp scream rang out and a very angry-looking Nobara marched toward me.
"You were capable of killing special grades all along, then what the hell was all that against that patch-face bastard? I knew it, you hit me with that shoe on purpose, didn't you?" She ran up to me and grabbed onto my collar like she was ready to drag me to court right this instant.
"Oh, but that's not everything." Tengen added, and I could definitely feel that smug satisfaction in her voice. She was enjoying this, wasn't she?
I'm not believing old women from now on, never.
"There is more?" Yuji asked, wondering what more there would be besides handling Sukuna and being able to kill three special grades.
"Of course there is…" Tengen said and dragged out her words until her eyes fell on Yuji. For a second, what she was about to say died down in her throat.
"But I believe, right now is not the time to discuss that, is it now?" Tengen shrugged it off like she had said nothing, earning a whine from Yuji, who was now interested in knowing what more the new student was hiding.
I just let out a relieved sigh, good thing she didn't bring out the Divine General. Especially when Yuji and Megumi were present.
"Oi, mind handing him over here for a sec?" Maki walked up to Nobara, who was pretty much manhandling me, shaking the living daylight out of me.
Nobara was planning to retort, not quite satisfied yet, but one look from Maki and she handed me over like a good little girl with a "Yes Ma'am."
Then Maki's eyes bore a hole into my face, that's how glaringly she looked at me.
"How did you do it?"
"Huh…"
At that, she just looked even more frustrated. "Don't act like you don't know anything. I had a feeling you're hiding more than it seems, no one just gets as good as you right after awakening their technique. You barely were fighting back against that volcano head back then, so how? How did you kill him?" She demanded.
What can I say now? I'm uncertain myself. There wasn't one thing which I could point out to explain how I survived. It just happened.
For a second, the thought of lying or making something up crossed my mind, but seeing her face, I had a feeling that wasn't the best idea.
I sighed.
"Well, you know my technique, don't you?" I asked.
Maki raised her eyebrow and replied, "I too felt like I did, but apparently I was wrong."
She is definitely mad that I didn't tell her.
"Sigh… okay, okay, but let's take this matter later on. I'll explain it to you later, I promise," I murmured while my eyes only briefly went toward the others, and she understood what I meant.
"Tsk… you better." She huffed and turned back and walked away with annoyance clear in her tone.
Sigh… guess I have to explain it to her after all. While I do believe in Maki, I just didn't wish to tell anyone about my technique.
Now that I think about it, she once already refused to tell others about my technique, at least what she knew about it. I should have come clean with her knowing that.
"Oh, and when are you paying me back for that cursed tool?" Maki midway turned around and asked.
My lips pursed up and I gave the most forced smile I had ever given to anyone. Does she have to bring that up now when she knows I'm broke as hell?
"Soon… promise." I promised awkwardly, no matter how empty my pockets were currently.
"You better not forget about that." She huffed again, but I did catch that slight curl of her lips at the end, or maybe it was me just imagining things.
People here sure like bullying others, don't they?
"Hey, don't leave us hanging. Spill the beans already. What are you hiding?" Panda shouted from the side.
"Salmon."
"Yes, yes, it's not fair, why only Maki gets to know?" Even Yuji added in, curious what kind of technique I had or how I killed special grades back in Shibuya.
I shot all of them a look. "I was lucky, that's all. As for my technique, it works better when others don't know what it is, so no, I'm not saying."
"Booo...."
"Don't be a buzzkill."
"Come on Akindo, tell us already."
Things persisted like this, me denying, them pestering me, until Nobara seemed to have enough.
"Meh... so we have a big shot among us, big deal. Just get over it already." Nobara rolled her eyes.
That shut everyone down, much to my relief, and I ignored everyone for a minute and turned back to Tengen.
"How do you know that?"
She just shrugged. "I know almost everything which goes on under my barriers. While I still couldn't exactly figure out what your technique is, I do know that you're a very gifted sorcerer, Yami Akindo.
After all, anyone who can defeat even a single special grade curse spirit is no ordinary person. And you killed three of them under three hours of becoming a sorcerer. It's a big deal." Tengen noted.
"Two… I didn't kill that water curse spirit, it was that man without cursed energy who entered into our domain clash." I grumbled.
"Ah… my bad then, you see I can't see what's going on inside other people's domains." She admitted.
And that was a relief to me, meaning she doesn't know exactly how my technique works, since most of my technique takes place inside the domain.
"It does make sense that it was Toji Zenin who killed that water curse spirit." Tengen went on nodding.
"However, that by no means takes away from what amazing talent and potential you possess. I'm almost looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in the future." Tengen smiled back at me, and while her words were kind, couldn't she have told me this in private? Why announce it in front of everyone?
"Potential, you say, almost reminds me of what Gojo says about Megumi." Maki mused, and Megumi just grumbled at that.
"Anyway, between you two, who is going to stay behind and protect me?" Tengen once again asked.
I looked back at Yuta and he did the same.
I had no rapport with this man so I can't say what to expect, but I did know that he was stronger than me. I might be able to beat him if I go all out, but even then I'm uncertain.
"I don't think I can do the guarding part well, my technique is not suitable for that." I added.
Not even lying, my technique almost entirely depends on the domain, and who's to say Kenjaku doesn't possess some ancient technique from the Heian Era to break my domain before Mahoraga could adapt to it?
Hell, what is stopping Kenjaku from having an open domain like Sukuna? I know only Sukuna was supposed to have it, but Kenjaku was around for thousands of years. Tengen herself said that he is the best barrier user, second only to her.
If someone could replicate that feat of an open domain like Sukuna, it had to be him.
I'm certainly not a good match for that ancient leech, especially when I'm down every technique I have besides that one miracle I am saving for tight spots.
If Kenjaku decides to attack here, which he most likely will if Tengen's logic was anything to go by, then I'll once again be facing one of the strongest characters in this world.
No…
I'm not going through that again.
Never.
"Do you wish to explain why?" Yuta asked. By the look of it, he wished not to stay here and would rather go challenge a colony by himself.
I nodded and explained, "My technique is domain-based, I can't do much outside the domain. Kenjaku is most likely gonna come himself if Tengen here is so important for his plans.
I doubt I'll be able to win a domain clash against him. Once my domain breaks, I'm technically useless in a fight. I'm not suitable for guarding Tengen."
At that even Tengen nodded. While she had a way to break open Kenjaku's domain from outside, she did understand the limitation of a person whose entire technique was domain-based in this case.
'If only Akindo had some time to grow.' She wondered and sighed to herself.
Yuta too didn't have any other way to refuse this logic.
"But didn't you tank Sukuna's domain back in Shibuya?" Yuji opened his big mouth again and honestly, if others weren't present here, I would have cursed him.
"Barely…" I added with a hiss.
"I had to modify my domain on the fly just to hold back Sukuna's domain. I couldn't even save Yukumo in time, Maki here only survived because of her Heavenly Restriction. And me, that last stunt sent me into a 3-day coma.
Hell, even I'm not sure how I survived that monster's domain. I would rather not go through it again if given a choice." I grumbled.
Maki and the others at least nodded at that. And that finally made Yuta relent.
"Fine."
"Rika and I will guard Tengen alongside Choso." There was obvious reluctance in his voice, but being the pushover goodie-two-shoes, he agreed.
"Fine by me. I too am more confident surviving with Okkotsu here, Akindo still lacks experience to go against the likes of Kenjaku." Tengen nodded.
Phew…
"Alright, here is the plan then." Megumi finally came forth and explained.
"Itadori, Kugisaki, and I will go and find Hakari and Kirara and somehow convince them to help us in the colonies."
"Hakari?" Yuji and I both blinked, both confused at who that was. I don't remember him from the anime.
"He is the third year who was thrown out by the higher-ups for his illegal practices… we would need all the help we can get, so all hands on deck now, make sure you convince him to help us." Maki replied in a no-nonsense tone.
"Wait, wait, what sort of illegal practices?" I asked, baffled.
"He runs fighting rings for jujutsu sorcerers." Panda added from the side.
I was left speechless, how come that man has so much time? Aren't jujutsu sorcerers almost always overworked?
And honest to God, I thought we were talking about drugs here.
"Okay, but is he strong at least?" Yuji grumbled.
"He is a bit erratic, but if worked up, he is even stronger than I am." Yuta replied with a bright smile.
My eyes widened. 'Stronger than him, for real?!'
"Don't listen to him, his stupid ass is just being humble again." Maki shot down that notion rather quickly.
"Anyways, while Megumi, Itadori, and Kugisaki are going after Hakari, I have to go back to the Zenin clan to get myself some cursed tools." Maki continued.
"Why, does the school lack the tools?" I asked, honestly unsure why she had to go back there, doesn't she hate that place?
"Most of the cursed tools in Jujutsu Tech are from both the Zenin and Kamo clans. After the Shibuya Incident, right after Gojo was sealed, both clans transferred those tools back to their clan warehouses." She replied with a grumble.
"But you don't like that place, do you? Want me to tag along?" I offered.
I wasn't much familiar with the city or the others, so tagging along with Maki felt like the right option.
"Nah, they won't let outsiders enter, and don't worry." Maki's lips curled up, a dangerous glint visible in her eyes.
"It's about time I give my dear little family a visit. Believe me, you don't wanna be there."
I just kept looking at her with dubious eyes, suddenly I felt sorry for the Zenin clan.
May they survive the storm named "Maki Zenin" heading their way.
"Fine…" Megumi added, cutting us off. The dude really got no chill, he just wished to enter into the colonies and start gathering points.
"Choso and Yuta will stay behind with Tengen and guard her." Megumi continued.
"As for the rest of you all, enter any colony of your choosing at your leisure."
Megumi stated and everyone nodded.
And that means I have to go alone again.
Of course I can make teams, but then it would mean that I have to hide my domain's real power as long as someone is with me.
Sigh, Maki would have been a better partner since I already planned to tell her.
xXx
A/N : So the plan is all laid out, now the departure and the end of the arc. But... but, there is still facing Maki freaking zenin before all that.
How come that look harder than going through Shibuya again ?
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