Noriko Kamo shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as Satoru Gojo stared her down. She was sat on a moss-covered rock that followed a stone path through the bamboo forest on the school's grounds. Casting speckled shadows over her face, the leaves of the bamboo above shivered and danced in the gentle breeze. The sorcerer trained her eyes on a small stone shrine along the pathway.

"Shikishi felt a curse... one that was familiar to her when she was alive," the student answered, tapping the sides on her white trainers together (internally dying at the sight of the creased and cracked leather on the toes). "She just followed and-"

"Shikishi took over? Did anyone see?" Fighting back a wince, Noriko noted Gojo's unusually stern tone. He wanted the higher-ups to think he'd revealed his hand when bringing Yuji back into the limelight; that's the way he wanted it. Noriko was the card up his sleeve, a completely unsuspected advantage he couldn't afford to lose.

"No, maybe, Chitose from Kyoto was there," she answered, scuffing around some pebbles with her right foot as she absent-mindedly tapped her fingers against her pouch - her fingers making dull thudding noises on the metal ink canister through the leather. "And the white-haired curse, they spoke."

Gojo nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. Of course, it'd been a distraction to steal something, they'd already taken inventory of the storeroom, but Noriko's story just confirmed that it had been the curse Nanami had met. If that curse and the two that Gojo had seen were working together, then it was much more serious than he first anticipated. Curses didn't group up; that was a basic fact of life. So, what the hell was going on here?

"I'd figured you'd probably sensed our energy at the storeroom since Shikishi created a Domain, no point hiding it now." She shrugged again. "You know I have no involvement with the curses other than this."

There was a silence.

"Of course, I would never accuse my students of something like that," Gojo chirped in his more normal hyper tone, "however, you understand you can't mention this to anyone. Your appearance there is enough means for the higher-ups to interrogate you independently. I won't be able to help you. "

"I'm aware," Noriko grumbled, pursing her lips in frustration as she straightened the bangs falling across her eyebrows. "I'm assuming you got rid of any residuals, right?"

He merely grinned.

"Thank you." Dusting off her skirt, Noriko pushed herself up, smoothing out her pigtails as she turned to start walking back towards the compound. "Though I have another favour to ask."

Gojo hummed as he fell into stride with her as they began to exit the forest, warm sunlight hitting their skin.

"Have you heard of a plague curse, Moyi-ue?"

He wracked his brain for a few seconds. Plague curses were strong... with disease and illness being still such a predominant fear even in the 21st century - it wouldn't be a surprise to see one that had been alive since Shikishi's era. But that meant another curse was potentially working alongside the already established group.

"I haven't heard of that one specifically, but I'll keep an ear out," the white-haired sorcerer shrugged as he pulled open the door of the classroom the others were waiting in, letting Noriko in first.

"Ah, Noriko! There you are!" Nobara exclaimed, twisting in her seat to greet her classmate. Itadori followed suit, patting the seat next to him as a considerably battered Noriko strode into the room with Gojo Satoru following quick behind. "You look like shit."

"Thanks, Nobara," she drawled in return, slumping down into the seat next to Itadori and shooting a Megumi a quick nod. The dark-haired sorcerer ignored the curious glances from the Kyoto students and instead offered Chitose, who was sat slightly off from her fellow students, a similar greeting to the on she'd given Fushiguro. "You all look great - I'm starting to think the nurse has a bias."

A dark bruise was sporting on one side of her head and her entire right leg was wrapped in bandages, where she'd been scalded and stabbed. It was healing, but it wasn't like Gojo gave Ieiri much time to treat her before rushing her off to interrogate her. Itadori leaned closer to her examining the bandaging, which only paused where her knee was, revealing irritated red skin.

"Now that we're all here," Yaga clapped his hands together to quieten the gentle murmurs that had sparked at Noriko's appearance. "Since Tokyo has been declared the winner of the first battle, we will discuss the second - "

"Eh?!" Mai Zenin shrieked, eyes wide in indignation as she glanced around the room - the students around her shared similar concerned looks. Noriko fought to keep her face neutral as an overwhelming feeling of smugness built up in her chest. Ah, the taste of success, she purred internally. "Did someone...?"

Yaga cleared his throat again.

"The Curse was eliminated before interference and so, we've decided that it counts as a legitimate win." He explained, glancing back to Gojo and Gakuganji, who nodded in agreement. "Noriko Kamo successfully killed the Curse."

A stunned silence followed, and Noriko cracked under the stares, let out a slightly-manic laugh (which startled Maki, who was sat behind her) and gave in to the grin that crawled onto her face. Gakuganji ground his teeth on the other side of the room - someone had foiled his plan and he had a sinking feeling that he knew who as he subtly glanced over to Gojo Satoru.

His trained curse hadn't been released, or had it and been killed in the crossfire of the other special grades?

"But... surely, that doesn't count!" Momo Nishimiya cried in objection.

"We were all caught up in the attack." Noriko ignored the complaints and levelled a smug gaze with Noritoshi Kamo across the room - whose face was twisted in irritation. "That was an extenuating circumstance."

"We ruled, after careful consideration and examination of the footage, that Noriko Kamo dispatched of the Curse before there was any external interference," Gakuganji's voice was gruff and blunt.

"Maybe Kyoto would've got the curse if they'd actually been participating in the game and not 'something else', and, if you really want to play by those rules, then Kyoto should be entirely disqualified for that 'something else'." Noriko sneered at her opponents, flipping Noritoshi Kamo the bird - "Noriko!" - and tilting back her head ever so slightly to look down on them.

"It's not my fault you were all too focused on inflating your own egos and fulfilling some fucked up ideology rather than the event." She continued, ignoring the flare in her cursed energy as her blood simmered with rage. The assassination plot wasn't exactly a secret, in fact, she would bank on every individual in the room knowing what had happened, including the teachers, and the fact that everyone involved had gotten away with it set her very short fuse alight. "Fucking scum..."

Miwa winced closer to Mai as the dark-haired girl narrowed her hooded eyes even more and made the entire Kyoto team victims of her infamous snarl.

"Well, since the last round was... unusual, we've decided to continue with another activity," Yaga explained, sending a stern glance Noriko's way. He supplied a box with an open top to Yuji, who happened to be the closest student to him, and gestured for him to pick lots.

Yuji reached his hand in and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"Eh? Baseball?"

[A/N: Hi guys ('｡• ω •｡'), it has been a while now, I guess. Sorry for the short chapter. I'm pretty busy these days, but believe me when I say I have loads pilled up in my drafts. The last life update I probably gave you guys was to do with getting a job mid-pandemic. Well, I got it, got promoted, met my partner there, quit that job, started university and am now currently hunting for part-time jobs so I guess things go full circle at this point ¯\_ȌᴥȌ_/¯.

I want you all to know I have more plans for this book and potentially another. My wattpad is very glitchy so I can't really properly read your comments in depth but I do see them and I appreciate anyone who takes the time to write something nice or to share their thoughts - especially a certain someone who is rereading my book and now basically marketing it to new readers in the comments of the first chapter (you are very sweet (๑˘︶˘๑)).

But yeah, with the movie coming out in my country at one point in a couple of months, I should have more chapters to get to you guys.

Thank you for having patience with me for so long and thank you for supporting me (o^▽^o).]