Old Beats | Gojo Satoru x Reader

XI

The sound of a cannon blast echoed through the forest.

"Group phase finished." Yaga's voice thundered through the woods. "Winning team: Metropolitan Magic Technical College of Tokyo."

You heard Haibara and Shoko's joyful screams in the distance, but the Kyoto student's arm tightened around your neck with even more force. "Let go of me," you tried to scream. But you could only open and close your mouth trying to catch your breath.

"Release her. Now. The competition has ended." Nanami's calm and authoritative voice had an immediate effect. His figure rose above both of you, still carrying his sword in his hand, his knuckles white with force.

The Kyoto boy reluctantly released the lock he had on your neck and stood up. Nanami extended his hand to you, and you took it to help yourself up from the ground. You felt your neck, still feeling the pressure from the boy's arm. In addition, you had breathed in sand and your throat was stinging.

"Thank you," you murmured, looking at the pile of inert curse meat that your teammates had just brought down. The Kyoto boy had tackled you just before Nanami gave him the coup de grace. "Good hit, by the way."

Nanami nodded and waved his sword towards the ground to clean it of blood. "Good assist."

You were not in a good mood. Your school had won the group phase, but you had not been able to show off. The result was fine, but your performance would not be enough for a promotion.

"You'll do well tomorrow. You still have a trick up your sleeve." Nanami said, reading your mind. "The important thing is that we won today."

You couldn't help but smile with tenderness. It was unusual for Nanami to go out of his way to encourage you, so his gesture touched you.

"Right." You wrapped your arm around your friend, feeling better now, and headed towards the school entrance. You noticed that he stiffened under your embrace, but you didn't care. "Let's go find the others and celebrate."

The next morning they drew lots for the individual fights. When Yaga pulled out a paper with your name, you anxiously waited for Gakuganji to discover who your opponent would be. He shook a wooden box where all the names of the Kyoto students were, and slowly pulled out a folded paper.

"Mei Mei." The teacher announced.

The Kyoto students cheered for her, but you refused to look at her. Instead, you nodded and lowered your gaze to the ground, mentally reviewing everything you had trained for.

Suguru placed a hand on your shoulder and squeezed it tightly. "Destroy her." he whispered. And you nodded. You would.

That was all the support you needed, so when Gojo approached you after the draw, you ignored him and kept walking. You didn't have time for distractions. Not today. It was your last chance to prove your worth.

Once on the track, you fixed your icy gaze on the girl who was standing a few meters away from you. Her sinuous silhouette leaned against a gigantic battle-axe, which was almost as tall as she was. As soon as the signal was given, the fight would begin. You tried to maintain your facade of nonchalance, and she gave you a sharp smile. If she hit you with that monstrosity during the fight, you would be finished, but at a distance your bow gave you an advantage. It wouldn't be easy to shoot arrow after arrow while dodging Mei Mei's axe swings, but you had an advantage: your new cursed technique. You were sure she would take a while to understand what was happening.

Her voice brought you out of your thoughts. "Tell me something, are the rumors about Gojo true?" Mei Mei brushed her hair out of her face with a flick of her head.