Make Your Teacher Take the Fall? Not a Chance

"Yuji, good luck!"

I hovered above Yuji Itadori and Aoi Todo, who had just finished fighting, cupped my hands around my mouth, and shouted.

"I'll do my best!"

A faint light drifted onto Yuji Itadori, and the injuries from his fight instantly healed.

"Huh? Why did my injuries heal?"

"I mixed Reverse Cursed Technique into my voice~ How's that? Pretty amazing, right?"

Yuji Itadori cupped his hands around his mouth too and shouted, "Edano is super amazing!"

"Hehe, okay, I'm going to check on Nobara and the others! Good luck, Yuji! Beat him up!"

"Taketori, my former best friend, how could you only heal Itadori? Was my friendship misplaced all along?!"

Looking at Aoi Todo, who was bawling his eyes out despite being built like an ox, I fell silent. Was this the almighty cursed technique that automatically added ten years of friendship?!

"Fine, I'll heal you too." Come on, you barely have a few scratches!!!

"[Disperse]"

The laser beam shooting toward Panda scattered into points of light as my voice rang out.

"Why does everyone from Kyoto Jujutsu High love sneak attacks?!" I appeared beside Panda with my hands on my hips.

The moment Momo Nishimiya saw me, she flew into a frenzy. "Give me back my broom!!!"

I looked up toward her voice. "Huh? Why are you still on that branch?"

"...Aaaaaah, where's my broom?!!!"

"Let me think. Somewhere over there, I guess." I casually pointed in a direction.

"Hmph!" Momo Nishimiya glared at me, climbed down from the tree, and rushed straight that way.

Watching Momo Nishimiya disappear, I dusted off my hands and turned to Mechamaru. "All right, still want to fight?"

Mechamaru remained silent.

After waiting ages without getting a reply, I pursed my lips. "[Then please stay here until the team battle ends, senior. Sorry for the trouble.]"

"Nobara, Panda, I'm heading off."

"Okay!"

Remembering the fierce battle I'd seen Megumi Fushiguro and the others engaged in while flying over, I decided it would be better to end this quickly.

So I flew high into the air, untied the Silk Ribbon, and activated my cursed technique. My eyes turned an almost transparent white.

"[Destroy]!!!"

That single utterance of Cursed Speech used eighty percent of my cursed energy, with another ten percent devoted specifically to amplifying my voice so its range would cover the entire map.

Boom-!

As my words fell, the relatively peaceful woods suddenly erupted into towering clouds of dust, as though an enormous storm had swept through.

When the dust cleared, the once-dense forest had become a barren wasteland. It was so astonishingly bare that not even a blade of green grass remained, never mind the cursed spirits, the strongest of which were only Grade 2.

Uh-oh. I accidentally overdid it a little.

"Takechi!!!"

Masamichi Yaga's furious voice came through the loudspeakers.

What a voice. I needed cursed energy to achieve that kind of volume.

Scared.jpg.

"Cough, cough. Cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough."

"Cough, cough, cough. Cough, cough."

"Cough, cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough, cough. Cough, cough."

For a while, the woods were filled with coughing. Only the Tokyo Jujutsu High students fared a little better; the instant they heard that familiar voice, they braced themselves. The Kyoto Jujutsu High students had it rough.

Mechamaru in particular, unable to move, took the full brunt of the dust. But he should have been fine, right(?)

Staaaare-

Ahahaha, I've been caught...

Under Masamichi Yaga's ready-to-punch glare and Gakuganji's murderous stare, I silently fixed my eyes on Satoru Gojo, who was baring his teeth in a gleeful grin at my misfortune.

My stare made Satoru Gojo uneasy. The tips of his ears reddened, and he asked awkwardly, "Why do you keep staring at your teacher, Edano?"

"Hehe, I just think you're sharp-browed and starry-eyed, refreshingly handsome, charming and debonair, dashing and good-looking, elegant when you smile behind a fan, peerlessly beautiful, composed and graceful, effortlessly soothing, impeccably dressed, strikingly dignified, as handsome as Pan An, commanding and majestic, fine-featured, distinguished, bright-eyed with pearly teeth, a truly exceptional man, unrivaled in all the world..."

Satoru Gojo cheerfully accepted every last compliment, then flashed a smile so dazzling it nearly blinded me. "Finished?"

"Mm-hmm!" I nodded, looking at him expectantly.

"Want your teacher to take the fall? Not a chance!" Satoru Gojo delivered those merciless words with a smile.

"..." I sneaked a glance at Masamichi Yaga's fist, poised to strike, and the murderous intent in Gakuganji's eyes, which was practically taking physical form.

Okay, time to pull out my ultimate move.

I took a deep breath, darted behind Satoru Gojo, clutched his clothes tightly, and squeezed my eyes shut as I burst into tears.

"Waaaaah, Mr. Gojo, you have to stand up for us! Kyoto Jujutsu High played dirty! They wanted to kill Yuji! I was just so angry that I... waaaaah!"

My perfectly timed sobbing covered up the fact that I'd accidentally blown up the entire field.

"You! You rotten girl!" Gakuganji fixed his cloudy eyes on me.

Satoru Gojo spread his arms, shielding me from Gakuganji's gaze. "Old man, is what Edano said true?"

"No way, no way. What century is this, and we still have stubborn old fossils like you?!" Beneath his blindfold, his Six Eyes flashed sharply.

"Hmph!" Gakuganji turned and left, leaning on his cane.

The Kyoto Jujutsu High students, who had witnessed exactly how I'd tattled, were left with mixed feelings.

Covered in dust, Mai flailed furiously. "You're too old to go running to the grown-ups!"

I poked my head out from behind Satoru Gojo. "Bleeeh! Go tattle yourself if you can!"

"Huh? Are you a little kid?! Cough, cough, cough." Mai planted her hands on her hips, too angry to care how she looked, and spat out a few more mouthfuls of dust as she spoke.

"What's wrong with being a little kid when I have Mr. Gojo around?!"

Satoru Gojo smiled and patted my head. "Exactly. Our Edano has a grown-up backing her up."

"...Damn it!" How could they act like this in public?!!!

Only we remained in the plaza.

Satoru Gojo took out that pink handkerchief, bent down, and gently wiped away the tears lingering around my eyes.

"Next time, just tell me, Edano. Making such a huge scene might be fine with Yaga, but Gakuganji really wanted to kill you."

His hot breath brushed my face, while his sugary scent and burning body heat enveloped me.

It should have been an intimate moment, but all my attention was on Satoru Gojo's pink handkerchief.

"...Mr. Gojo."

"Hmm? What is it, Edano?" The hot breath that accompanied that breathy murmur made my ears redden.

"There's something I've wanted to ask for a long time."

"What is it?" Is Edano going to confess?! Should I accept, or should I accept...?

At that thought, Satoru Gojo nearly laughed aloud, pink bubbles practically floating all around him.

"Where do you conjure that handkerchief from?"

"Huh? Th-that's all you're asking?" Satoru Gojo felt as though he could hear his innocent young heart shattering.

Confused by his strange reaction, I looked at him. "Yes. I've been curious for ages. Do you carry it around with you?"

Satoru Gojo didn't seem like the sort of person who always carried a handkerchief.

Satoru Gojo forced a stiff smile. "Want to know?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"I'm not telling you." Deadly smile.jpg.

Satoru Gojo turned to leave.

"Don't! Tell me, Mr. Gojo!"

"When you say something nice, I'll consider telling you."

"Don't go, Mr. Gojo! I think I can say something nice right now!!!"

Satoru Gojo didn't want to talk. He promptly escaped with Teleportation, convinced that whatever I could come up with right now would only make him furious enough to drop dead.

Seriously, when would Edano finally be old enough to fill out a marriage registration form?!!!

Great Teacher Gojo had seriously had enough!!!