Chap 159: strongest duo

"Uhhh....I'm saying it straight to you right now. Sensei." The boy with brown hair had his arm in surrender, "I am not good at fighting."

It was a given that he wasn't the athletic type; Takumi didn't need a glance to tell that. A pretty face, slim waist, flimsy arms, the boy's legs were somewhat acceptable. A typical body for boys his age.

"Don't worry, your test is to heal all three of us."

"Eh?"

"I say heal all three of us, or do you want something else?" He said, laying Geto's body next to Gojo.

"Uh-uh" furiously shaking his head, Hoko began to use her reverse curse energy on the girls.

Takumi watched in amazement as a clear energy flowed from Hoko to their bodies, regenerating their injuries.

"Done." Hoko turns to Takumi, "Show me your hand."

He meant to say 'injured hand,' but Takumi's hand was obviously not damaged; he could tell that much from looking. The boy just doesn't know how to address it, so he said it as nicely as he could.

Without a word, Takumi lifted his hand for Hoko to see. Takumi wanted to see for himself how the reverse curse technique worked.

The younger boy ran his hand over Takumi's; soon, he detected the foreign flow of reverse curse energy through his hand.

"So, you don't have a curse technique, you must be very happy to find a place to be of use."

"Meh, not really, I meant, my mom said I could be a great sorcerer one day. She was a sorceress, so I trust her words for it." Hoko just brushes him off.

"And I believe you can. Reverse curse technique is very hard to learn."

"Really?" Hoko said in a lazy tone, but there was some curiosity and expectancy.

For him, he was just a civilian, not even born in any Jujutsu family, so the prospect of doing something big was no different from thinking a dream would come true.

"Yes," Takumi let out a small giggle, " you have a gift, even I have to take a long time to grasp it."

Obviously, he knew the concept of combining two negative energies to create one positive energy.

Easier said than done, to actually put two negative energies together and then just expecting positive energy is not gonna happen. That's like saying you can make fire by hitting two rocks really hard. If it were so easy, then Gojo and Geto wouldn't have such a hard time trying to learn it.

Takumi has to test it out multiple times too, and only recently got it a bit better at making positive energy. Not good to qualify as reverse curse energy though.

'So this is how it feels to have reverse curse technique.' Flexing his arm a couple of times to see how his muscles reacted.

'I can do it, just need some practice.' Takumi opened and closed his palm some more and concluded in his head.

"And done."

"Thanks, doc." He patted the boy's head, "Say, what are your future plans?"

"Plan?" What does he want to do? Hoko has no clues, what can he do with this power ? Or more like, what are they searching for ? "I...still don't know."

"If you don't mind, then how about becoming a medic?"

"That means I have to get a degree," he said with a dispassionate tone, giving Takumi a look that said. "I'm too lazy to commit myself to a big goal."

"Yes, you do, and I'll help you all the way until you can get it."

Hoko laughed heartily at that. "I see, then, please take care of me, Takumi sensei." For one time that day, when Hoko's expression isn't just tiresome but genuinely excited about something.

Takumi brought Hoko into class first, leaving the girls' seemingly unmoving bodies alone.

None of them moved until the sound of Takumi and Hoko was far away from hearing distance.

"Are they gone yet?" Geto suspiciously asks, "Must have gone to class, I can't detect their curse energy anymore."

Gojo's body sat up a few seconds faster than Geto, "damn, forgetting us like this, what a bad teacher."

"I think that was him letting us have a time out." Of course, he did. Losing was unacceptable. To lose against a boy is even worse.

Gojo rubbed her stomach where Takumi had hit her. The wound is gone, but the phantom pain is still there. All her life, Gojo clan taught her to never lose a battle as it will brought shame to the entire clan.

"You good there? Gojo?"

Good? Was she good? Was losing good?

Geto had to shake her shoulder to get Gojo back.

"Hmm? I....uh, I don't know how to feel."

"About, what?"

"Losing, this is my first time ever being defeated."

"I see, it's my first too."

Gojo looked at Geto, at her still smiling face, despite being in the same situation as her, this girl is having a complete reaction.

"How?"

"How what?"

"How can you be so...calm after losing, does it not make you mad?" Satori can't believe it, no, her mind just can't accept such a thing.

Sugure had a hand, scratching the back of her head, considering for minutes on how to say it.

"Look at it like this, we're students, and he is our teacher, his beating us means he is more than capable to guide us, right?"

Gojo has to agree with that point, she met all the elders in her clan, all of whom claimed that they know so much more than her, but none of them can back up what they said.

"And we did come here to learn," Geto continued, "you would think they'll have an incompetent lady to lecture us ?"

"No......" Gojo said in a slow defeated tone. She was getting a bit embarrassed at her own weak showing, though perhaps it was also due to their teacher's words having quite the impact on her.

She didn't come here for fun alone, to get away from the clan? True. To find Takumi again? Also true.

When he said she could be more than a weapon, it hit Gojo in her deepest part.

Gojo thought herself unstoppable, the pinnacle, the top where everyone would look up to.

Her ego told her to be angry; normally, she would. Today, however? she didn't. Gojo can't find it in her. To be beaten by a man, to be talked down by someone her age, she was treated so differently from how the clan did. This was a new experience.

"Plus, our teacher is really hot." That comment drew something from her, and Gojo was not able to hold back his laughter.

"Pfffff, what? You pervy bitch."

"Hey girl, I'm only speaking the truth."

Laughing their asses off, two girls finally pulled themself up, feeling their energy returning as soon as they got to their feet.

Sugure patted Satori's back, the white hair teen just smiled, unable to shake a genuine connection forming within her.

"What don't tell me you don't like him? You a lesbo or sumthin?"

"What?! Fuck no! He's just married, I don't plan on going after a married man." Gojo said, trying to be more confident, that the ordeal didn't affect her.

"Oh, for real ? Shit."

"What were you-"

"Yeah, he's pretty hot after all." Geto sounded, not disappointed, but something close to it. "I really thought I had a chance."

"Seeing as both of us are so out of luck with the men. Wanna become friends?" Gojo said, she had her fist held up.

"The bestiest of friends." Geto responds by bumping her fist back.