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CHAPTER SIX
targeted explosions
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(episode 9  — small fry and reverse retribution)

AFTER A MONTH of training Yuji, it's clear just how well his development has gotten. Naomi wasn't sure what exactly her husband had done during their last session, but she knows that he's putting up just a bit more of a fight. She hasn't sparred with a student in a long time, but she still has never seen someone adapt as quickly as Yuji has. His punches are actually packing some strength behind them now, which she is glad to see. She doesn't enjoy the way he was holding back though, she could feel it.

"Itadori!" Her voice was commanding now, and she's sure it put him through a loop considering how she normally is with her students, "stop holding back, I want you to hit to injure, I need to know your full strength or we're not going to get anywhere."

"W-what?" Yuji asked, "but, Mrs. Gojo, you don't have the barrier like Gojo—"

"I can heal way faster than him though," Naomi interrupted, clenching her fists as she shifted back into her fighting stance, sweat was threatening to break on her skin, "so don't hold back!"

"Okay!"

Naomi charged at him with an energized fist reared back, faking him out, and dodging the swing he aimed for her chest. Her fist had come to a full stop just an inch away from his chest. He paused, looking to her with wide, confused eyes as he tried to understand her line of thinking. Her energy had disappeared only to come back tenfold, the flames of her red, negative, cursed energy billowing all the way out to her elbow.

She slammed her fist against his chest in a powerful punch that sent him flying back into the padded wall of the fighting gym she brought him to.

Yuji coughed and wheezed as he slowly got up from the floor, huffing and puffing, she can see sparks of his cursed energy flicker around his fists until they burst into two balls of blue flames, one on each fist.

"How did you do that?" Yuji asked as he slowly caught his breath again.

"It takes a lot of cursed energy," Naomi paused after she answered and smirked, "I want you to hit me with cursed energy, if you can land a punch, I'll show you how I did that."

With a clear goal in Yuji's mind, Naomi can see the gears turning in his head. She can see him forming a plan. In an instant, he was after her, a flurry of hits and kicks that she dodged and blocked; she wasn't going to let him off easy with this. If she went easy, he wouldn't be prepared for the cruel world waiting for him, the same world that wanted him dead simply because he wanted to save himself and her son from a curse.

So Naomi knows that when she's flying, crashing into the pillar, and holding her side, it was because Yuji, learned, adjusted, and earned his kick to her side. The problem was that he didn't use cursed energy with the shin that collided with her ribs.

Coughing and sputtering and her ribs probably cracked due to the metallic taste in her mouth, she glared at him. He had a look of shock and underlying fear, probably not realizing how hard he kicked.

"Mrs. Gojo I'm so sorr—"

"Not good enough!" She scolded as she slowly got up, opening a shaky palm over her ribs, golden rays of light shot out and caressed the skin over her ribs, mending and healing the internal wounds, "again."

"What—"

"I said again, we'll stop when you've grasped the concept. After that, I'm setting you up with a tutor." Naomi narrowed her eyes, "the next time we spar, I expect more fire from you."

"O-okay!"

• ★ •

CLICKING HEELS ON the stone floor of the caved out hallway brought back unwanted memories to Naomi. She hated having to escort Yuji around the school like she's smuggling contraband with Satoru, but if this is what keeps the boy safe, then she'll probably do it a thousand times over.

With Yuji fully healed and energized from the bottled water that she gave him— water imbued with her positive energy to give him that boost— the boy was ready for his next assignment. Well more like his tutors assignment, she has no doubt in her mind that Yuji is going to learn a lot from him.

"Naomi and I won't be able to lead you this time, but don't worry about it, kid," Satoru assured, "Cause I've called in an old friend that you can trust."

"Nanami!" Naomi cheered as she opened the door at the end of the hall, they were deep in a sub level basement near Tengen, far away from unnecessary eyes.

The blond man in front of her turned around when he heard her, his normally stoic face taken aback when she tackled him in a hug, a grunt escaping him as she held him tightly against her. A reluctant arm came around and patted her back, a huff released from him now in unenthusiastic acceptance.

He was dressed in his signature cream colored suit, his blue button up and brown back harness peeking out from under the coat and his cow print neck tie. Naomi always appreciated his style, especially back in highschool when they would dress more similarly.

"Naomi," Kento Nanami's tone was even and calm, not allowing for emotion but she knew he was happy to see her.

When Naomi released him and pulled away, Satoru was quick to throw an arm over Kento's shoulders, the man had his arms crossed now, he wouldn't be caught dead showing any sign of affection for her husband, and she doesn't blame him either.

"This is Kento Nanami! Suit turned sorcerer!" Satoru introduced Yuji to the man.

"Please don't ever call me that."

"Plenty of Jujutsu Sorcerers are odd balls, but since Kento here once worked for a corporation, he's got a good head on his shoulders," Satoru explained to Yuji, a frown twitched on Kento's face and Naomi can see him struggle to not get overly annoyed by Satoru's personality, "oh, he's a first grade sorcerer too."

"I doubt anyone would appreciate an introduction like that." Kento pushed his glasses back up against the bridge of his nose, unimpressed with Satoru's words.

"Mr. Nanami here is a very capable sorcerer," Naomi intervened, placing a hand on his bicep as she spoke to Yuji, "you're going to learn a lot from him, so pay attention, I might quiz you later."

Yuji huffed out a small chuckle at Naomi's tease as she stepped away from Nanami so that he and Yuji could properly speak to each other.

"A company man?" Yuji asked, focused fully on Kento now, "why didn't you want to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer from the start?"

"We should greet each other first," Nanami suggested, lowering his crossed arms to his side and bowing respectfully, "nice to meet you, Itadori."

"Oh! Uh— yes," Yuji straightened his stance and stiffly bowed back, "nice to meet you too."

"I went to your school too, and there I learned one thing," Kento said as he straightened his posture, placing a hand on his hip after, "Jujutsu Sorcerers suck!"

"Huh?" Yuji seemed to pale a little bit at Kento's sudden sternness in his tone.

Kento really hasn't changed much since highschool, except maybe his wardrobe and his haircut, which, who hasn't changed that since highschool? Naomi shudders as she remembers the bangs she used to cut herself every few weeks.

"Then, I went to work for a typical company, and learned something there too," Kento went on, crossing his arms again as he narrowed his gaze onto Yuji, "that having to work for a living sucks!"

"Really?" Yuji asked as he looked to Naomi, an incredulous look on his face as he realizes that he'll be with Nanami for an uncertain amount of time for this assignment.

Kento seemed to stare off in the distance a bit, clearly pushed into one of his brooding moods, no doubt probably caused by Satoru's presence alone. Naomi crossed her arms, watching her old friend in amusement as he lowered his arms again.

"So if both suck equally, then I'll go with the one I like better," Kento explained, "the fact is that's the only reason I came back."

"That's dark," Yuji whispered to Satoru, who had a matching frown on his face as he leaned down to talk to the boy.

"Right?"

"Now Itadori, you should understand that I'm not at all the same mindset as Gojo here," Nanami advised, "I do trust him and have great faith in his powers and abilities—" Satoru pulled a cheeky grin as Naomi walked over to him, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side— "but I have no respect for him!"

"Huh?!" Satoru groaned out as he whipped his head to his right to look at Kento, an offended expression under his blindfold as his jaw dropped.

"I may hate the way the higher ups do things, but I still believe in rules and regulations, which is why I do respect Naomi for not abusing her husbands power when it comes to her students," Kento went on as he turned around and began to walk to the exit, "this conversation's dragging on, the point is: I don't recognize you as a sorcerer either, but even if you are just a vessel for the time bomb we know as Sukuna, I'm hoping you can prove yourself to be useful."

Yuji sighed as he processed this, looking down at the floor as his arms hung limply at his sides. He seemed to be reflecting on a lot of things, most of all, probably the struggles he faced at the Juvenile Center last month.

"Lately, I've been forced to realize how weak and useless I am, but I'll become strong, I have to get strong, or I won't be able to choose how I die," Yuji reflected, Naomi spared a glance to her husband, even through the black fabric across his eyes, she can feel his gaze shift to her for a moment, a knowing smile shared between them, "and I'm certain I can win your respect, but you'll see in time!"

"Go sell that to the higher ups, not to me," Kento dismissed, waiting by the small set of stairs that lead up to the exit door, "because frankly, I don't give a damn!"

"Okay, I get it!" Yuji rolled his eyes, he turned back to look at Naomi and Satoru and bowed briefly.

Naomi pulled him into a tight hug, noting the way that Yuji didn't seem to grunt this time from the force of it. He's learning. That brought a smile to her face.

"Be safe, I would say have fun but," Naomi shrugged as she pulled away, "that seems a bit... off, so just... be careful, keep your organs where they belong, okay?"

"Yes Mrs. Gojo," Yuji chuckled before turning and jogging to keep up with Kento who was already out the door.

"He's gonna do great with Nanami," Satoru spoke up from next to her, wrapping an arm around her again.

"Yeah, still, I get nervous for him," Naomi sighed, she looked up at Satoru, "how long are you going to be away this time?"

"A week, I'll try to wrap them up faster—"

"Pace yourself," Naomi interrupted, poking his chest as they started to head back the way they came from, Satoru will be out with an assistant— probably Nitta— taking care of a number of assignments, leaving Naomi to take up subbing for his class along with Kusakabe's, which is fine since they're mostly doing their final preparations for the Exchange Event, "I don't want you injuring anything out there just for me."

"Why not? Then my lovely wife can feel me up when she uses that fun positive energy on me."

"Funny, if you come back early and injured, you're sleeping on the couch," Naomi scowled as they started to see daylight again.

"Aw, don't be cruel," Satoru squeezed her hip as he slid his palm down her side, leaning his head down to nip at her ear, "you love me too much to punish me for something like that."

"Don't push your luck," Naomi found herself smiling anyway, pushing his face away from her.

Satoru chuckled, leaning back down when she lowered her hand and placed a brief kiss her temple. When they reached their exit, they faced each other properly, with both of his hands on her hips, he pulled her body close. He tilted his head down and slightly to the side, a small smile on his face as he pressed his lips to hers.

Naomi raised a hand to rest against his neck as she held him in place, kissing him back contentedly. His lips were soft, a bit of sweetness lingering on them from whatever candy he snacked on earlier. She wanted to pull back and scold his sweet tooth, but a hand lifted to hold the back of her head in place. The kiss, now deepened by his tongue as it swiped across her lip, was leaving her brain fuzzy, she hates when they're assigned to be apart, but these goodbye kisses always leave her weak in the knees.

It's not uncommon for them to be assigned separate jobs, but they've always made a point to not take up too many at a time so that they can spend as much time together as they can outside of teaching.

Unfortunately, with Yuji still being kept a secret and Naomi subbing for both the first and second years, Satoru can't make up an excuse to stay at the school, and Naomi can't keep up with multiple assignments like that back to back. Her Dies Irae technique, although powerful enough to make her Special Grade, just doesn't work as well long-term like Satoru's Limitless.

When she finally gathered enough willpower to pull away, the first few droplets of a drizzling sky hovered around them, making her look around.

"I should head inside," Naomi frowned, looking back up at her husband, "Be careful, Toru, I mean it."

"Always am, Lovey," he kissed her forehead before stepping back, allowing her to part from him and head inside before the rain picked up.

She hates being away from him.

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THE NEXT DAY wasn't as horrible as Naomi had expected, but she was still exhausted. She couldn't remember a time when she'd slept peacefully through the night without Satoru at her side. With an extra-caffeinated cup of coffee in hand, she stood on the edge of the training field, watching Megumi and Maki Zen'in, a second-year, spar. Panda and Toge Inumaki, also second-years, were engaged in a similar exercise on the other side.

In the distance, she noticed Nobara Kugisaki, the final first-year—technically admitted before Yuji, but her entrance delayed due to an argument with her grandmother—growing frustrated with her aim. Nobara's technique was unique; Naomi hadn't seen a sorcerer with that skill in years. Nevertheless, she recalled a few tricks she'd observed from past practitioners.

Naomi approached the seething teenage girl calmly and steadily.

"You alright?" Naomi asked, tilting her head as she watched Nobara slam her hammer against the nails suspended in the air by her cursed energy. A scream of frustration erupted from Nobara's throat when the nails missed the bullseye.

Naomi chuckled, taking a sip of her coffee before setting it on the track beside her feet. She extended her hand, silently requesting the hammer and nails.

"Our techniques are similar. Let me show you something I've learned," Naomi said gently, aiming to soothe Nobara's frustration. The girl reluctantly handed over the hammer, followed by a few nails.

Naomi took Nobara's place, positioning herself sideways to the target as if wielding a bow. She pointed one foot towards the target, tossed the nails into the air, and suspended them with her cursed energy. With a powerful swing, she struck the nails' heads, sending them flying into the target.

Due to Naomi's unique cursed energy, the nails' impact sent the target stand hurtling backwards. It crashed into the tree behind, shattering into splinters.

"Whoa!" Nobara spoke in wonder, her eyes wide as she watched the splinters scatter into the grass, "how did you do that?"

"You point your toe where you want the nails to fly, like you're throwing one of those American footballs," Naomi shrugged, "I'll order one for you to practice with in your free time, but for now, just practice aiming with your dominant toe."

Naomi handed the hammer back to her, walking over to the edge of the bleachers, she pulled out a new target for Nobara to work with.

"The explosion you saw was courtesy of my technique," Naomi warned as she set up the new target for Nobara, "but I've heard from Satoru that you have an explosive technique of your own, we'll work on that as well."

"It's weird when you call him Satoru," Nobara chuckled.

"It feels weird to call him Gojo," Naomi replied, a smile on her face now, "just keep practicing, I'll check up on you again in a minute."

When she turned around, picking up her coffee, a gasp shot down her lungs at the sight before her. Toge, flying 12 feet in the air, arms and legs sprawled out with a panicked look on his face as he swung and kicked for footing.

"Tuna Tuna!" He yelled out, crashing into the grass and rolling, scrambling to get back to his feet.

"Panda!" Naomi hollered from across the field, her vision narrowing onto the Cursed Corpse that Yaga made sentient.

Sentient enough to be a student at the school. She was dying to know how his cores powered him to be self sufficient enough to not need Yaga's cursed technique to be alive.

Panda, wide eyed and now afraid, bent down onto his knees and bowed.

"Teacher!" Panda exclaimed, "I was training them for the exchange event!"

"Panda," Naomi huffed as she stood before the cursed corpse, slamming a fist down on his head, "if you throw another student around on this campus I swear to Tengen I will rip your stitches and send you to your father! Stop throwing your classmates!"

Panda was on the ground now, apologies sent to Toge and Nobara as he slowly got up, looking to Naomi regretfully now. Something twisted in her chest and she sighed. Placing hand on his shoulder, she handed him her cup to hold for her so she go get on her toes, her hand hovering over his furry head to send rays of golden light down.

"Don't let me catch you doing it again," she grumbled, scratching behind his ear when she was done.

"I won't, I promise," He said softly now.

"Good, now! Where was I?" Naomi asked, spinning around to see the other students watching her with wide eyes, even Nobara from across the field stopped to watch.

"For an adopted child, you seemed to have inherited a lot from Naomi," Maki pointed out to Megumi, making him shoot her an irritated look.

"I did not!" He snapped.

"Sure," Nobara called out, "is that why you both have the same vein pop out when you yell?"

"Bonito Flakes!" Toge yelled out in agreement, a cheerful expression on his face as he seemed to be stifling a laugh.

"Shut up!"

Naomi couldn't help but laugh as she walked back to her original spot on the edge of the field, ruffling Megumi's hair as she passed by, earning a grumbled muttering of words and an irritated face. She stuck her tongue out in his direction as she stood at her place by the bleachers, another swig of coffee being gulped down to bring her energy levels up.

With Megumi honing his skills with Maki's cursed tools, Nobara refining her aim, and Toge and Panda sparring safely, Naomi is confident this year's exchange event will be just as thrilling as last year's—even without Yuta Okkotsu's presence.

She recognizes that these skills extend far beyond the event itself. Naomi firmly believes that this next generation of sorcerers is precisely what the Jujutsu Society needs to create a better world.

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RAHHH ANOTHER CHAPTER!!!

you just KNOW Toge was roasting Megumi's ASS in that group chat after school. (I love my alpha memelord lmfao)

But! bigger news!! NANAMI'S HERE!!! everyone's favorite hard working husband I can't wait to write more of them later, they're besties despite gojo being gojo.

I can't wait to update more, hopefully I can pump out another chapter!! I might be skipping a few episodes now, since this next arc here is focused on Yuji, Junpei, Nanami, and Mahito.

but we shall see!

thank you all for reading and I hope to see you at the next update!

— greta!