Captítulo XXI- El JUPPON de 2018

     Atsuki's forehead thudded against her hard desk as she waited for Gojou to enter the classroom. As always, he was late. He seemed eager to meet everyone at 7 am in the classroom only to be the last to show. Her friends' morning faces matched hers as she looked around. Megumi had his head resting on his palm, Nobara had her arms and legs crossed, watching the clock, and Yuuji-

      Surprisingly he looked the least tired. He had a smile on his face as he had a hand in his pocket. But even yet, the four teenagers regretted staying up late playing the new console with the second years.

     Bean bag chairs were snuck into Yuuji's dorm with takeout left over on the table. They had eaten most of their food but had gotten distracted by the competition of Super Smash Bros. on the screen. Yuuji's bed was a mess from the times they jumped onto his bed and wrestled over the controllers. The seven Tokyo students crammed into the small space, leaving Yuuji's sliding door open to let the late summer night breeze into the warm room.

     They told each other, "One more game." But that lie was told over and over until it reached 1 am.

     Atsuki was shocked they didn't get told to quiet down after yelling at the screen or each other. However, it was difficult to get in trouble when all Tokyo Students gathered in one room.

     "Where's Gojou-Sensei?" Yuuji pondered, peering at the door. "It's too early for him to be late, no?"

     "Like always," Megumi began, "Late."

     "What a waste of time," Nobara scoffed, turning her head away.

     Atsuki agreed, her voice muffled by the desk, "We could've used the extra eight minutes of sleep. I'm never staying up that late again." Atsuki's friends grumbled in agreement with her statements even though they knew they would stay up again.

     The classroom door slid open and a grinning Gojou bounced in. "GOOD MORNING, MY PRECIOUS TOKYO STUDENTS!" he excitedly greeted.

     Three out of the four students replied in grumbles. Yuuji matched his grin, replying, "Gojou-Sensei! Why are you so pumped!"

     "BECAUSE YUUJI-KUN!" He stood in the middle of the room, throwing his hands out to his sides, "TODAY'S THE JUPPON GRAND PRIX!"

     Atsuki lifted her head. The small red circle imprinted on her forehead from the desk faded away. "What is that?"

     "It's a game!" Gojou grabbed the four white boards sitting on his desk with a dry-erase marker attached to it. "You'll figure it out as we go along!" He set the board on her desk and walked over to Megumi's. "Trust me it's super easy!"

     "Juppon?" Nobara repeated. She exchanged glances with the first-years.

     "JUPPON!" Gojou pointed at her. He pressed a button on his cell phone and trumpets began a fanfare. "JUPPON GRAND PRIZE, ROUND ONE! LET IT BEGIN!" A  cheery song played out as he clapped, "Come on, everyone! Get hyped up!"

     Yuuji threw up a thumbs up, "ALL RIGHT!" Still a grin on his face, "JUPPON!"

     Atsuki, Megumi, and Nobara release dissatisfied groans, "Hurray..."

     Yuuji grasped his whiteboard and whipped his head to his companions, "JUST ME AGAIN? SAY SOMETHING?"

     Megumi questioned, "What are we supposed to say?"

     "To make matters worse, the first thing in the morning to our class is JUPPON Grand Prize. How in the world did it come to this?" Nobara added.

     Atsuki shrugged, "If there's a prize, I'll start getting excited."

     Gojou placed a hand over his chest. His eyebrows furrowed underneath his blindfold and the grin he wore wiped from his face. He sternly said, "I always think seriously about how the students should grow as a jujutsu sorcerer and to find what methods help grow..."

     "He's starting to narrate all of a sudden," Nobara pointed out.

     Yuuji asked, "Does this happen often?"

     Megumi responded, "It happens every so often."

     "You get used to it," Atusuki flicked her wrist in agreement.

     "I worry about the future," Nobara mumbled.

     Gojou paced to the end of the room toward the door, "Jujutsu sorcerers are not just physical powers. A fight can happen in the blink of an eye and the ability to adapt to certain situations becomes very useful. And the way we should train that is..." He sharply turned to his students as he made his way toward his desk. He paused, "That's right! The answer is-"

     "Oogiri first thing in the morning," Megumi hastily replied.

     "Bingo!" he beamed, snapping his fingers. "All right, here are the rules."

     "He didn't even answer and began starting instead," Nobara dully said.

     "I'll choose the themes so you guys can write your answers on the boards. And we reveal them at once! The winner gets..." Gojou pulled a box out from his desk and placed it on top. "The gift that finally arrived yesterday with three months' worth of wait!"

     Atsuki slapped her hand on her desk, "That's what I'm competing for! JUPPON!"

     "Otarus extremely popular cheese! I'll only share a small portion of it!" He opened the box, holding the lid up high, and grinned.

     Nobara slammed her hand on her desk, "If it's the winner's prize, then share the whole thing!"

     "Yeah, don't rip us off!" Atsuki jabbed at him.

     "Never mind that. What about the chairman? Are they watching from somewhere?" Yuuji asked, quickly looking around. There wasn't a camera in any corner of the room. He suspiciously raised an eyebrow, hugging his arms over his chest.

     "How will the winners be decided?" Megumi questioned.

     "With my arbitrary decision and bias," Gojou replied, withdrawing his sunglasses from his pocket. He removed his blindfold letting his white hair fall on his forehead, replacing it with his glasses.

     Nobara complained, "This is extremely unreasonable."

     Megumi elaborated, shrugging, "Gojou-sensei's whole existence is extremely unreasonable."

     "All right!" Gojou shut the lid to his cheese container. The cardboard box scruffed the desk as he pushed it to the side. "LET'S BEGIN! WHERE'S THE ENERGY!"

    Yuuji pumped his fist in the air, "Bring it on!"

     Atsuki followed behind him, copying his movement, "JUPPON!"

     Nobara once again annoyingly grumbled. Yuuji yelled, "I SAID SAY SOMETHING! ATSUKI'S THE ONLY ONE!"

     "You're welcome."

     "RIGHT!" Gojou shouted. "Here's the first question. An extremely popular idol shockingly got fired from their agency? What did they do? Thinking time begins!" Gojou made little noises with his mouth counting the seconds.

     Atsuki uncapped her marker and wrote her answer. Her friends mumbled answers underneath their breaths but she already had hers in mind. It clicked faster for her after having an incident like that happen at the circus. Her handwriting was sloppy under the pressure of Gojou's timer. She didn't know how long she had until he announced it.

     "Time up! Okay, let's start!" He repeated the question, "An extremely popular idol shockingly got fired from their agency? What did they do? Don!"

     Nobara flipped her board over, "Method acting in a V-cinema."

     Yuuji turned his around, slamming the bottom of it on his desk, "Eating all the senzu beans!"

     Atsuki's messy writing turned to face Gojou, "Got caught on hard drugs causing havoc in public!"

     "Marijuana," Megumi simply stated. His blunt tone caused a small fit of laughter to spill past Atsuki's lips. He looked at her confused. What he said wasn't even funny but he didn't mind hearing it.

    Gojou rubbed his chin reading over the answers. "Method acting in a V-cinema? JUPPON!"

     Nobara ran a hand through her hair, flipping it over, "As expected."

     "How about Yuuji? Eating all the Senzu beans?" Their teacher chuckled, "Yajozobe! JUPPON!"

     He set his board down. "Sweet!"

     "Atsuski, let's see what you have." His eyebrows pinched together reading over her answer, "Got caught on hard drugs causing havoc in public?" He dramatically gasped, "Atsuki! You can't say that!"

     "What, why not?" She let go of her whiteboard. It clattered on her desk with her marker. "I've seen it happen?"

     "It's inappropriate. No point. Lastly, Megumi. Marijuana. What is it with you two and inappropriate words? Megumi, you can't say that, either."

     "Hey, I didn't use any inappropriate words. I just said drugs. He said Marijuana," she pointed an accusing finger.

     Megumi's eyebrows furrowed, turning his body to her. His knee popped out on the side of his desk as he held her finger in his warm hand. He moved her accusing finger to the side, countering, "Marijuana isn't even a censored word. I understand if it's cocaine or heroine-"

     "Let's not use bleep words," Gojou reminded with a smile. "However, it's great everyone's personalities are shining through! Keep it up! Keep it up! So then, next question! This band will never sell! What kind of band is it? Thinking time!" he excitedly said.

     He began the timer recreating the sounds, "Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch." Atsuki removed her finger from Megumi's grasp. She slowed her writing time to get a clearer print of her writing on the board. It was the best she could do with her shaking hands. She had lost a point and she needed to get one back instantly to not fall behind. Gojou stopped, "GO AHEAD!"

     Nobara gave her answer so fast that her board only flipped halfway when she spoke. "The MC only talks about Panchinko!"

     Yuuji announced, "The members change for every show!"

     "They always spit out stupid conspiracies!" Atsuki whirled her board around after sealing her marker shut.

     "Burning the guitar for every song."

     "The MC only talks about Pachinko," Gojou quoted Nobara. He grunted, "Yeah, I hate that too. JUPPON! And Yuuji. The members change for every live show." He sighed, "They must fight a lot. JUPPON! Atsuki. They always spit out stupid conspiracies. Mhm like aliens building the pyramids?"

     "Yes!" she yelled, setting her board down. She crossed her arms, shrugging, "I never went to school and even I can explain how they did it."

     "All right! JUPPON! Lastly, Megumi. Burning the guitar for every song. It tires me out. JUPPON!" Gojou hummed, "You're all doing so well! You're getting the hang of it! All right, next! LAST QUESTION!"

     "Eh," Yuuji straightened himself on his seat. "That was fast!"

     Nobara shook her head, distraught, "Already?"

     "We're only on our third question," Megumi raised an eyebrow and folded his arms on his desk.

     Atsuki slanted against her seat. "Up at seven am for three questions."

     "Don't worry, we're doing introdon next!"

     "You've got to be kidding."

     "We're going another hour with this pace"

     "I think it's pretty fun."

     Atsuki agreed, "Eh, I kind of agree with Yuuji. Maybe if it weren't three questions!"

     "Here's the question! THERE'S NO WAY!" Gojou's jaw dropped and his hands slapped over his cheeks. He recomposed himself, questioning, "What did you see? Let's thinking!" He began the timer again, however, it only lasted five seconds. "Okay! Don!"

     Atsuki dropped her marker. It rolled off her desk and onto the ground. Her handwriting was messier than the first time but it was eligible to read after she would announce it.

     "The person inside a Mikey costume in a smoking area!" Atsuki whipped her head to Nobara hearing her answer. She covered her mouth to hide a laugh.

     Yuuji confidently stated, "Fushiguro was feeding milk to a stray cat when everyone wasn't looking!"

     Megumi slammed his fist on the table, "Hey, why is that!"

     Yuuji raised an eyebrow, turning his head to him, "Eh?"

     "Why is me feeding milk to a stray cat, There's no way!?"

     "Eh," he scratched his head, "because there's no way."

     Atsuki's board clattered as she set it down. "He's most likely to give a cat milk if he can't take it home. Have you met Fushiguro? His technique involves animals, they're his pets!"

     "There's no way for sure. Normally he'll say," Nobara mocked in his deeper voice, "You're in the way!" Her voice returned to her normal octave and continued, "And kick it off to the side."

     Yuuji pouted, his eyes watering, "Poor thing."

     "No way you believe that! Fushiguro may be a dog person but he'd never do that to a stray cat." Atsuki gestured her arms to him, "He may look pissed off all the time but he isn't heartless."

     Megumi normally would have furrowed his eyebrows at Atsuki's remark, but they softened as she defended him. His pulse began to race as she continued, making him bounce his knee underneath his desk. What a strange feeling...

     Perhaps it was the surprise of Atsuki coming to his defense? But how could it be when she compliments him so it's no surprise she is- His eyebrows raised now that he thought about it, he had a similar reaction when she would compliment him. He would only turn his head to the side to avoid meeting her gaze.

    "All right, all right," Gojou clapped, breaking them apart. "Don't complain about the other person's answer! Atsuki go ahead."

     She flipped up her board. "Panda petting and feeding a Zebra at the zoo."

     "The last one is Megumi!" Megumi removed his gaze from the redheaded girl hearing his name come from Gojou. "Let's go!"

     He cleared his throat, keeping his board firm. "Gojou-Sensei starting class on time."

     "No, no," he declined. "I always start class on time."

     Yuuji inputted, "You're always seven to eight minutes late. You were eight minutes late this morning."

     Nobara added, "Being repeatedly late every time but isn't scolded for it is evil."

     "Principal Yaga is always on him for it." Atsuki recalled the day Gojou let him struggle against him during the exchange event. "He seems to be the only one who can punish Gojou."

     "It's pretty amazing how he's consistently seven to eight minutes late."

     "See?" Gojou agreed with Megumi, "Don't you understand I don't slack off time."

     "Not at all," the four students responded at the same time.

     He swung his arms across his body and pointed his fingers up to the sky, "Let's review the answers!"

     "He's not listening at all."

     Gojou ignored his student's remarks about his tardiness. He read over Nobara's board, continuing the game, "The person inside a Mickey costume at the smoking area." He gasped, "You're ruining someone's childhood, Nobara. Next, Yuuji! Fushiguro was feeding milk to a stray cat when everyone wasn't looking." He happily hummed, "JUPPON!"

     "I said why!" Megumi yelled.

     "Atsuki, Panda petting and feeding a Zebra." He nodded, making a noise in agreement, "He's so violent toward them. JUPPON! Lastly, Megumi. Gojou-Sensei starting class on time." He paused rubbing his chin, "... I guess this one is fine."

     Megumi cursed, "This teacher..."

     Yuuji and Nobara finished, "... Is awful."

     "TIME TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS!"

     "Is this person really a teacher?" Nobara nervously asked.

     Atsuki shrugged, "They were probably low staffed."

     Gojou clicked another button on his phone. A drum roll played through the speakers as he spoke, "Commemorating the first round, JUPPON Grand Prize's winner is..." He let the drums play for a good amount before he shouted, "ITADORI YUUJI!"

     "HUH? ME?" He cheered, jumping out of his chair, "HOORAY!!"

     The three losing first years shouted, "WHY HIM!"

     Nobara crossed her arms and turned her head to the side, "I'm not satisfied at all!"

     Megumi demanded, "I'd like to hear your reason! Please be responsible and explain."

     Atsuki pouted, "Is this cause I said you were desperately hired?"

     "Well, you and Atsuki used censored words and Nobara is ruining childhoods. With that being said, Yuuji. This luxurious product that took three months was worth the wait. I'll share the super popular Otaru's raw cheese! Only a small portion!"

     "Ah, actually," Yuuji informed him, "I ate three sweet breads for breakfast so if there's anything else-"

    "Well, none for you!"

     "Ehhh!" the boy paled. His shoulders sagged, "That's mean."

     "It's your fault for eating three sweetbreads this morning," Nobara simply said.

     Megumi interjected, "But do you understand what kind of person Gojou-Sensei is?"

     "I don't want to understand."

     "Well then everyone!" He returned to his podium. We'll eventually do a round two so look forward to it!" Gojou clapped twice, "Get fired up!"

     Yuuji slid back into his chair and picked up his marker. He used the eraser on the cap to erase his board. He questioned, "What about introdon?"

     "Huh, I forgot," he tapped his chin. He raised his finger and brightly smiled, "Well do that of course."

     Atsuki grabbed the nearest thing near her, the marker cap. She tossed it at Yuuji. He held up his hands to hide from the incoming object. "Yuuji, don't open your mouth! Why did you say that?" It bounced off his jacket and rolled on the ground.

     "Yeah, idiot!" Nobara spun on her chair to look at Yuuji on the other side of Megumi. They were on opposite ends but he could still feel her threatening glare. "Don't be saying a bunch of nonsense!"

     Megumi groaned and he leaned back against his chair. They were so close to leaving the clutches of their teachers obscurities. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and frowned, "We were about to finish."

     "Come on, now! Let's start the introdon!" Gojou walked over to his desk to grab some supplies. Nobara heavily sighed. "Everybody, get ready!"

     "Eh, my bad. You guys don't wanna do it? I was looking forward to it though," Yuuji apologized.

     Atsuki huffed, but nonetheless, she straightened herself out of her chair. As Gojou took over class, she slowly regretted staying up so late playing video games.

-

This is from a jjk audio drama I found on YouTube a while back. You guys should listen to audio dramas. They're really funny and most of them are translated in English.

Until next time!

-Aithusa