Capítulo XVII- La competencia del segundo día

     Gojou made it seem like he wanted Atsuki to complete a difficult task that he didn't want to do. In reality, it was the simplest favor he had ever asked her. The jujutsu sorcerers participating in the school exchange event gathered around in their corners. Yet each side was divided with each school. Atsuki stood by Gojou's side as he spoke to the jujutsu students, "So anyway, a lot happened and some people died but how about it? Want to continue the exchange event?"

     Atsuki folded her arms and looked up at him, was he really going to say that like it was nothing?

     Yuuji pouted with his arms crossed as he glanced at the floor. "I don't know what to say about it..."

     "Obviously..." Toudou began. He sat in the corner, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and legs propped up on the bench. Yuuji's head perked up, eyebrows still knitted together. "We're continuing it, of course."

     Yuuji's eyes widened and his teeth clenched together. He scooted closer to Gojou eyeing the muscular teenager in his corner. He faced Atsuki behind him, his eyes holding a plead as he mouthed, "Hide me."

     Atsuki held back her laughter, a sly grin rested on her mouth. She whispered, holding her hand by her ear, "What?"

     "Your reasons?" Gojou questioned Toudou. Yuuji flickered his attention back to his teacher and took another step toward him.

     Toudou raised a finger by his ear, eyes closed, "First, only those with a connection to the dead have a right to mourn them. It's not our place to butt in there. And second, if people have died, that's all the more reason we need to become stronger. Acquired strength comes from the accumulation of results. Tasting defeat and savoring victory is what leads us to grow. The most important part is for those results to exist."

     Miwa leaned toward Mai and cupped her cheek, whispering, "Toudou-senpai's surprisingly reliable."

     Mai rested her chin on her knuckles, "Reliably crazy."

     He raised a third finger, "Third when a student feels like they weren't able to bring out their best, it hangs over them until they die."

     "You're hard to decipher, how old are you?" Atsuki asked, placing her hands on her hips.

      Megumi said, "I'm fine with that."

     Nobara added, "We'll win anyway."

     "It sounds stupid, but he has a point," Kamo agreed.

     Momo glanced at the bandages placed on Noritoshi Kamo's eye, wrapping around his face. Her eyebrows knitted, "Why don't you rest, Kamo-kun?"

     "No objections here," Panda agreed.

     "Salmon."

     "Will we draw lots for the individual battle pair-ups?" Maki asked.

     "Huh? There are no individual battles this year." The students looked at Gojou in confusion and then the Tokyo first-years exchanged glances of confusion. "I hate routines, you know. Every year, we put competition methods in this box," he tossed the box he held to Yuuji, "and open it the day of."

     Atsuki looked at Yuuji sticking his hand in the box and he pulled out a crinkled piece of paper he unfolded. Principals Yaga and Gakuganji appeared by his side as they read the challenge. Yuuji's eyes widened seeing the old man beside him.

     "Baseball!" Principal Yaga exclaimed.

     Yuuji whipped his head to him, "You're here, too!"

     Principal Gakuganji asked, "What's going on here, Yaga?"

     Atsuki created an illusion of herself looking confused as Gojou passed her. She grinned holding her hand out for a low-five. He sensed her hand by his hip and quietly low-fived her as he held a smile to his lips.

     "No, I know I put individual battles in." Principal Yaga hectically glimpsed around the room for a head of white hair, but Gojou was already outside of the building.

     "If the strongest sorcerer in the world needs my help, that makes me the strongest sorcerer then. It's settled, I'm the strongest now." She removed the pair of sunglasses from his face as she strolled to her bed. She pushed them onto the bridge of her nose, "What? You can't even see through these things."

    "It's similar to having the blindfold on." He sat on her desk, his long legs sprawled out and his arms crossed. "They're blacked out to prevent exhaustion. You know how my technique works."

     "I do, but I didn't expect these to be blacked out." She pushed the glasses down to the point of her nose to see him. "So, what do you need help with?"

     "It's really simple."

     Atsuki's eyebrows pinched as she raised them. "Define simple. You're really unpredictable and I have everyone to back me up on that statement." She picked up the yellow fabric and inspected the detail sewn on.

     "All you have to do is replace the picked choice with the activity I chose for the second-day battle with your illusions. That is of course if everyone agrees to continue the Sister School Exchange Event."

    She held the fabric inches from her face. Her puzzled expression peered over it, asking, "Wait, Panda said the second day held individual battles. Are we not doing that?"

     "Well, not this time. Last year, maybe so, but you know I'm not one for routines. Besides, I think everyone needs a break from these fights. So I say we play baseball."

     "Baseball? I can't even play baseball. Pick something I- we can do and so we can win."

     Gojou smiled, crossing one leg over the other, "I don't think that'll be fair."

     "So?"

     "I think baseball would be fun, don't you think?"

     "No." She dropped her arm, letting the fabric rest on her lap, "But if we win, yeah."

     "Of course, you'll win. You have the great Gojou Satoru as your sensei!" he grinned, giving her a thumbs up.

     Yaga swiped the paper from Yuuji's hands as Atsuki made her way around him and Gakuganji to Nobara and Megumi. "Get back here, Satoru!" Yaga demanded.

     Gojou merely raised his arms, stretching as he yawned and ignored their scolds.

     The closest thing Atsuki got to playing baseball was hitting her boss's trailer out of anger. As soon as she was confident in her ability to count, she figured out he was scamming her. She took the nearest stick she could find and banged it outside against the rough wood as it scratched off the red paint with each strike. And that would be the last time she did it as well because he slammed his door open and flounced to the seven-year-old girl. He took the same stick and struck her palms with it as punishment.

     As gruesome as that sounded, she didn't regret scratching up the side of his trailer. She discovered an amount of strength she didn't have and what she would know now was uncontrolled cursed energy. So she had some faith in herself that she could hit the ball far enough to get herself and her friends through one base.

     Atsuki hooked her finger around the belt loop around her white shorts and shifted her weight to her left foot. The navy blue tights and compression shirt she wore underneath her baseball uniform captured the sun's heat. The secured baseball hat blocked the afternoon sun rays from blinding her vision. She viewed Miwa approach the home base as Yuuji, their catcher, and Maki, their pitcher, practiced some throws.

     The boys wore a similar attire, however, the tights and shorts were replaced by pants. The Kyoto students wore a complete navy blue uniform, contrasting them with the Tokyo students. But Gojou wore his own clothing of a light blue button-up and black slacks. In Atsuki's opinion, he looked like a math teacher. Which was funny given he did help her with math.

     Maki caught the ball in her glove and cast a hand over her baseball hat. Gojou pointed at her, shouting, "PLAY BALL!"

     Yuuji flipped the metal frame of his helmet down. Maki held her arms up, one hand securely holding the baseball against her glove. She grunted, releasing a low swift throw in Miwa's direction. Miwa swung the bat, barely hitting the ball on time. It awkwardly angled into the air as she dropped the bat. Atsuki eyed the ball as she crept to the left to Toge's side of the field.

     "Fly ball!" Utahime exclaimed, rising from the bench. She wore similar attire to her students: navy blue shorts, a shirt with black leggings, and a compression shirt underneath. She watched Momo take off into a sprint to the following bases. "NISHIMIYA, DON'T RUN YET!"

     Toge captured the ball as she slipped away from second base and chucked it to Panda. He caught it before she arrived. Gojou announced, "OUT!"

     Momo halted and turned to her teacher. "Huh? Why?"

     "If you don't know the rules, then say so!"

     "I know them!" she stomped her foot. "When the balls hit, I run!" She stormed back to the bench and continued complaining, "A sacrifice fly! What's that, some new form of torture?"

     "YOU'RE JUST PLAIN STUPID!"

     Atsuki returned to her spot. Nobara was in front of her checking in with Maki. She glanced behind her and tilted her head up, Maki's grin noticeable underneath the sunlight. "You alright back there, Atsuki!"

     "Yeah! Being in the back gets boring!" she replied, surveying Kamo's advancement to the plate. He spoke to Yuuji and the crouching boy glanced up at him in surprise. "Right, Fushiguro?"

     He was already looking at her when she glanced over. He had Kurai summoned next to him wagging his tail as he watched the game, sitting on the dirt. Track marks he created scooted the dirt aside from boredom, spreading his legs a little past shoulder-width apart. He responded, "It's because no one has shot this far yet!"

     "Hang in there. We just started!" She glanced at Toge and he quickly checked in before she turned back to Kamo. He briefly said something to Yuuji and let Maki know with a look that he was ready. She threw the ball at an alarming rate and Kamo watched it zoom right past him right into Yuuji's hands.

     "STRIKE!" Gojou yelled.

     Atsuki drew her head back, mumbling, "Huh?" Maki threw another pitch merely for him to purposely miss once again. She turned to Megumi, "What's he doing?"

     "STRIKE!"

     His eyebrows furrowed and he corrected his posture. Even over 50 feet away from him, he was able to hear her confused tone. He shrugged, "I don't know."

     Nobara glanced back at them and she pointed her thumb at the bandaged boy looking ahead at Maki. They gave her the same half-shrug, Atsuki with her hands raising to her sides. Maki picked up her left leg, drawing her upper body back, and lunged her arm forward. The ball zipped past the still Kamo's figure

      Gojou twisted his body into a lunge, shouting once more, "STRIKE! BATTER OUT! CHANGE UP!"

     "KAMO! YOU WON'T GET A HIT IF YOU DON'T SWING!" Utahime shouted.

     The Tokyo students rushed off of the field and formed a v as they grew closer to the bench. They sat down in the order they arrived. Nobara was first on the bench racing everyone to get into her position. Panda took the seat beside her and Atsuki followed third with Megumi running beside her.

     "Hey, why did Kamo strike out?" Atsuki questioned Yuuji as she took her place.

     His eyebrows rose as he turned his upper body to her. "He asked me why I wanted to be a jujutsu sorcerer."

     "Why?"

     He shrugged, "I don't know. I told him why and he just stood there for a moment before he said it was a good reason. After that, he purposely missed all three pitches."

     Atsuki rested her elbows on her knees as she stared at Kamo. Just the other day he was going to kill him. "What a weird guy."

     Nobara was the first one to bat. With a determined expression and furrowed eyebrows, she held out her bat and spoke confidently, "They call me the Mah-Kun of Tohoku."

     Megumi corrected her, "No, Mah-kun is the Mah-kun of Tohoku."

     Yuuji cupped his mouth, informing, "Mah-kun's a pitcher, you know!"

     Toge leaned back on the bench and supported his weight on his arms. "Bonito flakes."

     Nobara snapped her head to her teammates on the bench. Atsuki scooted closer to Panda, "Don't look at me!" She took off her baseball hat and pointed at the three boys beside her, "Look at them! I don't know anything about sports! I didn't have a tv!"

     The scowl on Nobara's face softened listening to a rattle. Mai strolled a strange brown machine onto the pitcher's position, the cord stretching out to the side of the field. She ditched her helmet on the floor and it clattered bouncing away from her as she stomped to the machine, recognizing the symbol and name. "Hold on!"

     The Tokyo students shot up from the bench and darted to an angered Nobara stalking up to Mai. The Kyoto students quickly gathered behind her. Yuuji warned, "KUGISAKI'S SNAPPED! IT'S A FREE-FOR-ALL! ATSUKI, QUICKLY! Hold her back!"

     Atsuki pointed her fingertip to Nobara's arm to release a thread but she paused. A mischievous smile rested on her lips, "I want to see where this goes." Panda picked up his pace and his arms curled around Nobara's biceps. She pouted, "Aw, Panda."

     "That's obviously a pitching machine!" she exclaimed, pressing her upper body forward.

     Mai pinched her chin, questioning, "What are you talking about? It's a spare. A spare Mechamaru. We don't have a choice since your Panda broke him the other day." She tilted her head, "Pitching machine? I don't understand. You know a lot about machines. Are you an otaku?"

     Nobara gritted her teeth as her eyebrows narrowed. "It's just one thing after another with you! And yet somehow you're still a Jujutsu High student!"

     Atsuki wrapped an arm around Nobara's waist, "Come on, Nobara." She tilted her head and a taunting gleam maintained in her lean eyes, "They'll need all they can to win."

     Mai's eyebrow twitched. The boys in the Tokyo school's shoulders slumped in relief as the two girls turned away from the Kyoto students. Nobara sent one glare over her shoulder as Atsuki kept her hold on her.

     Back at the base, Nobara grasped the bat and Atsuki let go of her, "Okay, Nobara, use that pent-up anger to send that ball flying."

     She glared at the machine, "I'm picturing Mai's face on that ball."

     "That's the spirit!" she grinned.

      Atsuki swiftly took her place on the bench again. "You two are going to get in trouble one of these days," Panda said as she plopped down.

     "We would've been fine," Atsuki paused, "We can handle ourselves and I'm sure Utahime-sensei would've stopped it if things escalated."

     Mechamaru shot out a baseball and Nobara swung the bat. Atsuki's attention was brought back to the game hearing the loud thud the ball made contacting the bat. "FINE! I'LL DO THIS!" she screamed as she ran to the first base.

     Nobara surpassed it before Mai caught the ball. "Oh, she got on base," Yuuji said, eyes following her.

     "She's desperate," Megumi acknowledged.

     "Yep, so you better play like you are too. You're up next," Atsuki said, removing his baseball hat.

     He dropped his head and ran his hand through his hair to fix the flattened hairs. He sighed, pushing himself up to head to the home plate. She crossed her legs and placed his baseball cap on her head. She slowly turned her head to the second-years feeling their eyes burning on her. "What?"

      "Where's your baseball cap, Atsuki?" Panda asked, tapping his chin.

     "I don't know. I threw it somewhere before Nobara snapped," she shrugged, glancing away.

     "What do you mean?" Yuuju held back a smile, pointing at the baseball cap on the edge of the bench. It was beside Maki who sat beside Panda. "It's right there."

     "If you wanted it, all you had to do was ask," Maki teased, reaching next to her. The Tokyo students were able to see the hints of maroon peeking through Atsuki's foundation base. She held her baseball cap in her hand.

     "Salmon."

     "I know what you guys are doing," Atsuki huffed, crossing her arms. "Stop it." They shared laughs as she focused back on the game after retrieving her baseball cap from Maki.

      Nobara prepared her stance to take off once Megumi struck the ball. He got in position before Mechamaru spat out the baseball. He lowered his upper hand to support the top of the bat as the ball struck it. It bounced to the dirt and Nobara ran to second base. Megumi wasn't far behind, but once his foot planted on the first base, Mai caught the ball Toudou tossed to her.

     Gojou kept his stare on the boy as he slowed down his jog. Megumi turned around as he called out, "Out!"

     Megumi picked up his speed to rush back to the bench. Atsuki leaned her weight on her arms and her mouth twisted, eyeing him as he sat down beside her. "Why the sacrificing hit?"

     "Hm?" He took a moment to process her words. Panda stood up to get to the plate for his turn. "Kugisaki wanted to win so I helped her get to second base."

    "You didn't have to get yourself out for that."

He explained as Panda raised the bat, "I didn't want to risk her getting out."

     She shrugged, "Maybe you're underestimating her."

     Panda batted the ball and it flew a couple of feet until it curved to the dirt. Miwa missed the ball by inches, bouncing further away. Nobara slid across the floor making it the third base. Panda nearly continued running to second but as soon as Miwa caught the ball, he retreated to first base.

      Atsuki removed the baseball cap from her head and placed it on top of Megumi's head, wiggling it into place. She sang out, "My turn!" She sprung up from the bench and grabbed a spare batting helmet for herself. She adjusted it on her way to the plate.

     She picked up the bat and rotated her wrist before holding it up by her head. Mechamaru spat the ball out and she rotated her upper body, holding a tight grip on the bat. As the ball was in the air, Miwa rushed toward it as Atsuki dropped the bat. The ball flew past the second base and curved down. She sprinted to first base and stayed there once Miwa caught the rolling ball.

     Nobara made it to the home plate and she cheered, "Yeah, Atsuki-san!"

     Yuuji joined her, beaming, "We got a point!" Atsuki smiled, sending them a wave from first base. "That was a great hit that got you through, Kugisaki!"

     "Yeah, it was. Wasn't it, Fushiguro?" she looked at Megumi beside Yuuji.

     "Huh?" He saw the same stupid teasing look on their face as they did the day before. "What are you two getting at?" Yuuji and Nobara laughed like children hiding a secret. He brought his attention back to the field, hoping Atsuki didn't witness the interaction. She was looking at Maki waiting for her cue to run.

     Maki grunted as the bat recoiled the ball at a high speed. Atsuki admired the ball soar into the sky for a second before rushing to the second base. At the second base, the ball still soaring, she continued her run. However, Momo easily caught the ball in her glove. Her hand gripped her broom and her legs wrapped around the wooden stem.

     "OUT!"

     Yuuji rose, jabbing his finger, "THAT'S CHEATING!"

     Toge's eyebrows furrowed underneath his shaggy hair. He firmly said, "Bonito flakes."

     Atsuki's cleats kicked up dirt as she forced a stop. She pointed at her, "HEY, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE UP THERE! You."

     "Hmm?" Mai cupped her ear. "Sorry, did we forget to mention we're allowed to use a cursed technique if we lack players?"

     Atsuki huffed but she turned her attention back to Megumi calling her name. He declared before she got into trouble, "Atsuki, go back!"

     The two teams switched their positions and they returned to their previous places. Including Megumi, summoning his divine dog. Toudou was up to bat first, he took a moment to speak to Yuuji. He glanced up at him with less fear. Probably because he couldn't do much against him during the game.

     Maki tossed the ball up and down to herself. She faced Toudou and lifted her leg. With no hesitation, she chucked the ball straight into his face. He was too busy talking to Yuuji to notice it heading in his direction. It made contact with his cheek, snapping his head to the side.

     Yuuji caught the dizzy Toudou by his knees. He lifted his head up by the back of his neck, yelling, "TOUDOU! HANG IN THERE!"

     "Nice pitch!" Mai complimented, it took Atsuki by surprise. Miwa looked nervous beside her.

     At the same time, Momo and Kamo called out, "Nice pitch!"

     "Maki-san, nice pitch!" Nobara said.

     Atsuki had gotten a few hits from Maki's staff and with her bare fist, she couldn't imagine the pain from the baseball. But she didn't feel a single ounce of remorse after he busted Megumi and Yuuji's heads in. She stifled a laugh, "Nice pitch, Maki!"

     "Nice Pitch!" Megumi lastly said.

      Yuuji looked back down at Toudou, the only one who didn't say anything other than something he could hear.

     The Kyoto school took their turn to bat once Toudou recovered from Maki's hit. Atsuki remained in the far right with Megumi defending the far left. They merely scooted closer when they needed to and after the last round, they had an idea of how far each player hit. The Kyoto students went through three outs without scoring a point.

      Once the Tokyo students were up to bat, they let Toge start. He held the bat out as Yuuji cheered, "Let's go, Inumaki-san!" He confidently swung the bat and zoomed to the first base. Mai caught the ball after he passed first base. Yuuji's eyebrows rose, "Oh, he made it!"

      "Inumaki-senpai's a fast runner," Megumi commented.

      Toge crouched and sent his teammates a peace sign, "Salted roe."

     Yuuji already held a spare bat in his hands when he stood on the home plate. He smiled adjusting his posture. Meanwhile, Utahime ordered, "Mai! Miwa! Watch for base-stealing!"

     Grin on his face, Yuuji sharply struck the incoming ball. It rocketed higher than Maki's, heading to the end of the field. Miwa flew to it as swiftly as she could stretching her arm out, but failed. Toge finished running around all four bases with Yuuji not far behind.

     In the end, Tokyo Jujutsu High won the Sister School Exchange Event 3-0.