Your Life As A Tokyo Jujutsu High Background Student

Chapter 15 - Maki take the wheel

You clapped your hands together, determination sparking in your eyes as you rallied the troops. "Alright, alright – the past is the past! What's done is done. We can still handle these Kyoto hot-shots if we play our cards right."

Despite the overwhelming show of force from Kyoto, your own line-up for this year's event was nothing to sneeze at, after all. Even without the absolute nuclear option that was Okkotsu Yuuta, you were confident your squad could hold their own through strategic maneuvering.

With a decisive nod, you shifted focus to dissecting Kyoto's first competitor. A few deft clicks of the mouse later, and Nishimiya Momo's photo filled the projection screen.

"Nishimiya isn't really a direct combat girlie," you explained, lips pursing contemplatively. "She mainly serves as their scout and recon. But don't let that fool you – her technique allows her to fly and strike with winds. Painful as fuck."

From the sidelines, Nobara squinted at Nishimiya's photo, eyes narrowing in a critical once-over before her lips split into an irreverent snicker. "There's no way that ugly-ass hairstyle isn't some kind of binding vow. Maybe that's how she can fly."

Maki made no effort to stifle her snort.

"That's mean, Kugisaki," Panda rumbled, fixing Nobara with a disapproving look that might have been more effective if not for the ever-present grin plastered across his face.

Nobara, never one to back down, simply scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "What? Don't pretend you're not thinking that too."

You were inclined to agree with Nobara, but you knew you needed to steer the briefing towards formulating an actual cohesive strategy.

Clearing your throat, you refocused attention on Nishimiya's abilities. "Nishimiya is invaluable for their team as a highly-skilled scout and reconnaissance asset. Which is precisely why during the group battle, we'll need to take her down first."

You gestured toward her cursed tool on the screen, "A good shot at that broom and she's effectively grounded and neutralized as an immediate threat."

Leaning back, your mind wandered into the recollections of your very first Goodwill Event. That year, you had been matched with Nishimiya for the individual combat rounds – likely an unremarkable pairing from the audience's perspective, just two of the weakest underdogs awkwardly trading pot-shots and trash-talking each other.

Your archery skills back then could generously be described as "a work in progress," and you hadn't gotten your hand on Soulstring yet. It took an embarrassing number of loosed arrows, your quiver all but depleted by the time you finally managed to nail that damned broom and send Nishimiya crashing unceremoniously to the ground.

However, upon assessing your unassuming appearance more closely, Nishimiya cackled in delight. Obviously, even as a scout, she had completed her compulsory hand-to-hand combat training, and so she clearly had thought she could trounce your scrawny ass in a fistfight. Of course, the obnoxiously misguided girl failed to account for the sheer depths of Gojo and Hakari's sadistic training regimens from hell that made military boot camps look like playground romps.

When the inevitable came to pass and the boring fight devolved into an even more boring brawl, Nishimiya was most displeased to discover you were, in fact, decently good at throwing hands.

You swiftly moved on to the next subject of scrutiny – Miwa Kasumi, a second year. Catching Nobara's side eye, no doubt already gearing up to unleash another barb about this girl's choice of hairstyle as well, you pressed on before she could interject.