The Weight of Our World

Sylvan : Sprout

At dawn, all the students gathered at opposite edges of the forest. The speakers set up nearby were loud and Gojo's yelling didn't help. His impression of an announcer was, at best, irritating,"T-minus one minute until the competition begins! Now a word from our lovely sponsor-"

"Gojo I'm going to kill you,"Utahime threatened.

"Ms. Utahime!"

He shoved the microphone in her face, catching her off guard,"Uh, well, be careful and work as a, uhm, a te-"

"Times up!"he interrupted.

"Gojo! Stop playing around and-"

"Let's get this show on the road! Ready... set..."he paused, leaving the two teams in suspense for a few seconds,"START!"

Yuji was first to dash, followed by Panda and Toge by roughly ten meters apart to his left and right. Behind them, in a similar formation, had been Maki followed by Fushiguro and Nobara. Nue flew above them and the demon dogs stayed in the front and back the white demon dog guiding and the black demon dog acting as a rear guard. It would have been the perfect formation if Todo hadn't charged straight for them, demanding them all to attack him at once.

"Remember the plan! Toge, Panda, support Yuji and-"Maki was cut off as Yuji used his knee in an attempt to bust Todo's nose,"Yuji! That's Todo! Don't just rush in there and-"

Nobara grabbed Maki's sleeve,"I'm sure he knows that. We've gotta go before the rest come, Maki."

"Right. Let's go,"Maki said. They split up, the black demon dog and Nue now leading the second team off, following the trail of cursed energy.

Yuji jumped back, surprised when a mostly unphased Todo grinned,"Not bad, first year. You're going to have to try harder than that, though."

"Toge, Panda, go,"Yuji said, bringing himself into a fighting stance,"It's better if I get beat up alone rather than all three of us. We still have another event."

"Shake,"Toge said. They ran off, taking the white demon dog with them.

"Smart choice. You think fast. Now, I'll give you a heads up: Act like your life is on the line, first year,"Todo warned.

Yuji dug his feet in and blocked his face with both arms. He felt fear roll down his spine and threaten to overtake him. The impact was almost too much. He wasn't well versed in basic medical knowledge, but even he could tell his arms were fractured. His back hit one of the many trees hard enough to almost topple it, knocking the air out of his lungs.

He looked up and had been kicked hard enough to bust his head against the tree, hot blood trickling down his face and the back of his neck as he was brutally beaten without a shred of mercy. Sukuna scoffed,"Is this really all you've got? After all that talk?"

It took him a moment to realize Todo had stopped beating on him. He flexed his fingers, bringing himself back from the brink of unconsciousness,"Course not,"he mumbled, dragging his body back up into a fighting stance.

"Not bad, not bad. What's your name, first year?"Todo asked.

"Itadori Yuji. You're the guy who beat Fushiguro, right?"he asked.

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter right now. I've just got one question for you, Itadori,"Todo said. Yuji anticipated the question, but it still surprised him,"What's your type?"

"Why does this even matter? Especially now?"Yuji asked. Sukuna waited for an answer, equally curious about the sorcerer's odd reason for asking such a question.