A Dead Man's Return

XI: Oddity

Nobody's POV:

Three days after Saturday - Tuesday

...

5:40 PM

"You're not bad you shrimp. This feels good." She huffed, her body sweaty and sore. The constant movements with no stoppage were both exhilerating and pleasing. Her heart pounded like no other.

...

Itadori exhaled deeply, beads of sweat dripping down the skin on his face as he shuffled in place. "Thanks Maki-Senpai, you're pretty great too."

The green haired Zen'in wiped her face, planting her staff onto the wooden floor like a cane and leaning on it. This kid was really something; his speed and strength were off the charts without cursed energy, not to mention his decision-making during battle. Just like her, he didn't leave many openings.

Itadori plopped himself onto the ground to catch his breath, his gaze stuck on his senior's sweaty face. She was amazing, much better than he had anticipated. Her fighting style was honed to a tee, and her endurance was something that even he had trouble keeping up with.

"Round thirty-five in a bit, let me go get some water." Maki breathed, flipping her staff around and holding it at her side as she opened the sliding doors and closed them behind her. Itadori laid his head back, staring at the ceiling of the small training room, his heart and breathing slowly but surely calming down into tranquility.

Today had been fairly normal. After his talk with Kugisaki, his mind and soul calmed down for the most part. It was time to move on from the bitter past and keep pressing onward. There wasn't any room for guilt or regret– he needed to hold his head high and use the dark events that occurred last week to propel himself forward.

On happier matters, a week remained until the Goodwill Event, which would start on Monday of next week. Yuji was back in school, pumped and ready to kick some butt– or rather, have his butt kicked.

"Hey, I'm holding my own..." Yuji reasoned which a deadpan, fanning himself with his hand in an attempt to cool himself off. He was surprised that Maki Zen'in had singled him out to spar with her– after all, he's only had one interaction with her thus far and that was when he first met her last week. Itadori wasn't complaining; she was a lot less tougher as an oppenent than Gojo since he could actually hit her, but she definitely wasn't a slouch either. Training with her was insanely beneficial.

"Boo!"

The door slid open, yanking the vessel out of his thoughts. He fixed his eyes on a familiar pretty face that caused his heart and mind to ease... but also oddly made his stomach flutter.

Kugisaki entered the room and crossed her arms, a smirk tugging the edges of her lips. "How's it going with Maki? I bet she's kicking your ass."

"More or less– I've gotten my hits in though!" Yuji laughed while shadow boxing, watching his brown haired friend shut the door behind her.

Nobara's smirk turned into a grin, as she stood by the door and looked down, leaning her back on the wooden slab while smoothing her uniform over unconsciously. Yuji's gaze was stuck on her eyes, not going unnoticed by the girl, who raised an eyebrow when she met her eyes with his. In retaliation, she walked forward and plopped herself down in front of the vessel, staring him down with animated brown irises surrounding her pupils.