Everyone was stunted on what to do. 3 people in first place?? It wouldn't be that far fetched to just give all three of them 3 points.. but then what would happen to the rewards?
Sergeant Frost then said with a hint of brilliance,
"Why don't they just play a three-way game of rock, paper, scissors?"
It was a bit out of whack, but no one else had any other brighter ideas, so they agreed.
The 3 competitors stood adjacent to each other with their arms all sticking out. This children's game is what would decide the victor of this round. It didn't take long for the match to end, but the suspense is carried out by the calling of,
"Rock, Paper, Scissors SHOOT!"
Han Meiyang had picked rock alongside Sung Gon-Ill.
Akumu on the other hand...
Picked paper, defeating both of them.
The crowd roared at japan's comeback. Would this be the start of their winning streak?
Sung gon-ill seemed visibly shaken, while Han Meiyang began to bicker like a child. Who wouldn't in this situation really? This was a luck based game after all, and these three were incredibly skilled, so deciding who was superior based on luck was very unfair.
But I guess that's just that charm of these games.
Since Akumu was the official 1st place, the ones who come second and third still needed to be decided.
"Rock, paper... scissors... SHOOT!"
Sung gon-ill collapsed as he picked paper, while Meiyang picked scissors.
"This is crap... this entire thing is crap..."
The final scores appeared on the display,
China - 7 Points
America - 4 Points
Korea - 4 Points
Japan- 3 Points
A light smile appeared on Akumu's face once he saw them. Japan was still dead last, but if they could place 2nd place or higher in the next two rounds, they could guarantee 2nd place before the next half of the games.
'It's not over yet. We can still win this.'
The crowd cheered at the final score. Japan was looking bad in the beginning, but it seems like they're making up for their previous mistakes. Although, Akumu was the co captain, so everyone was still sceptical on the rest of the teams performance.
Sergeant Frost then spoke,
"Hold on! We aren't done yet! I have yet to hand over the prize!"
The Humanoid snowman then jumped down from the heavens, as it slowly made its way towards Akumu. The atmosphere even grew a little cold, making Akumu shiver. Once the mascot reached the ground, it asked for Akumu to hold its hand out.
It then quickly shoved it into its mouth.
"HEY!"
Akumu quickly retracted it as he felt something terribly cold inside, but now there was something attached around it. It was some kind of thick iron bangle.
"Is this it?"
"Yup!"
Akumu tried to sense the flow of cursed energy inside of it, but... it was utterly disappointing. This trinket was barely even a grade 4 cursed tool, and it didn't seem to have an innate technique of any kind.
"This thing is garbage!"
"I know! I just happened to find it while taking a walk on the beach. It didn't really suit my style.. so I thought it would make a nice prize."
'What's a snow man doing on a beach????'
Akumu was just about to take the bracelet off to throw it away, but then the world suddenly turned dark.
**
In the hospital room, Yumeno slowly awoke from her long sleep. Her body still ached from the sealed up wounds from her last fight, but other than that she was perfectly fine aside rom the faint feeling of lag.
She dismayed however, as she was met with the last face she wanted to see right now.
"LADY YUMENOOOO!"
It was Arthur.
What was he even doing here???
"SHUT UP!"
Despite still being very exhausted, she had enough strength to send a punch that sent him through the door. Rather then crying out in pain, he still seemed very relieved.
Hagone who was about to check up on Yumeno, was greeted with Arthur suddenly flying in front of him. Although he looked calm on the surface, he was screaming inside of himself. He just sighed, before turning around to leave.
**
It was dark.
Akumu was standing on the edge of a balcony, looking down upon the city lights. Despite having not fought until today, he felt that this was the first time he had gotten to relax in a long while. Right when he was taking in the air, Yukiko joined him.
The two exchanged nervous glances, before Akumu said,
"Hey."
"..Hey."
And then back to silence. This was only the second time they got to talk privately wasn't it? The first time was when he asked her to protect Okiko just before the siege on the temple.
"Tell me about that cursed tool you won?", Yukiko asked.
"Ah! This piece of junk. It's useless. It's complete crap!"
He tried to take it off, but it was stuck. He'd been trying to take it off ever since he left the arena, all to no avail. In fact, the more he tried, the tighter it seemed to get. Was it some kind of curse?
'Damn that snowman!'
A brief pause then settled down. The two didn't have much to talk about, in fact, they didn't really know each other that well. All Akumu knew about Yukiko, was that she was just your typical Adolescent girl. Loud, and very protective of their hair.
Funnily enough, Akumu had ruined that twice as well.
So what did he want to know about her? He could ask anything right now. What do you do in your free time? What's your favourite show?
And yet the question came out by itself.
"Why did you become a sorcerer?"
Well it was obvious. To complete the duty only you could do. Although, Akumu had much deeper reasons. He wanted to kill Senjuro of course, but he wanted to achieve Misoto's dream for him as well, and so did Kenji(probably). But was that really just the case for him? Everyone else must have other reasons too. Even he didn't know Hagone's reason, and he was his closest friend in this school.
Yukiko seemed flustered by that question, as always. But eventually she did answer,
"Are you familiar with the Tsurugi clan?"
"No."
Yukiko gagged.
"Of course.. they aren't really well known. Anyhow, my dad is a member of that clan, but I received my mothers name. They all manage two shrines in Asakusa that are dedicated to Fujin [1]and Raijin[2].
My father.. really doesn't like me. I was born with my families inherited technique, but my father never looked at me with approval, but even then, I admired him. I came to Jujutsu high, to prove that I could become the next family head after him. If I can get strong enough while I'm here.. then I'm sure he'll look at me proudly."
So Yukiko was here for someone else too. Although it was to prove something, at least she was far more innocent than he was.
"I see.. Asakusa huh.. I've never been. Perhaps I should go there one day."
Yukiko's face turned pink, "What!?".
"Is there something wrong?"
"But then you would have to meet my family!"
**
The Crowd Roared once again to greet the fourth round of the Cursed battle tournament. And much like every other day, Sergeant Frost screamed at the mic,
"ARE YOU READYYYY??"
"YES WE ARE!"
Tyrece then took over,
"Today's game is called, Hunter Gatherer. There will be 7 balls dropped into the middle of the map, that each contestant will have to grab and take to their base. You may only carry one ball at a time, however you can steal the balls from other the bases, and take them to your own. Whoever owns the most balls in their base by then end of the game, wins.
Additionally, at the half time a special golden ball will spawn in the arena. Whoever can claim that ball and put it in their base, will automatically be granted 1st place however that ball is the only one that can be destroyed."
Sergeant whip then swiped away his mic,
"AND WITH THAT LET THE RANDOM SELECTION COMMENCE!"
"ON THE AMERICAN TEAM WE HAVE THEIR TEAM CAPTAIN, MARIA GERALD!"
In a green circle a good distance from the center appeared, a blonde-haired girl masked in a purple veil. She too like the rest of her team wore informal clothes, but hers appeared to just be an obscenely large piece of purple cloth that covered her whole body.
"ON THE KOREAN TEAM WE, HAVE ISUEL BAEK!"
Unlike the rest of her team, she was the only girl. Her hair was bright blue, however, she still wore the same blinding white outfit that the two other teammates had came before her, albeit with a skirt instead of pant. She spawned inside an orange circle.
"ON THE JAPANESE TEAM WE HAVE TAORI YUMEHITO!"
She was armed with her katana as she appeared inside a purple circle.
"AND FINALLY IN THE CHINESE TEAM, WE HAVE CHENG WANG!"
This was the same green-haired boy that Omo traumatized in the lobby room. He was still as pathetic-looking as before, however.. its usually the quiet ones that are the most dangerous.
"NOW THAT WE HAVE ALL OUR COMPETITORS, LET THE GAME BEGIN!"
[1] Shinto god of wind
[2] Shinto god of thunder