Chapter 25: Mai vs Yuta
Gojo knew that there were too many eyes in Japan. That's why he teleported all three of them onto a remote location in India.
'Don't want any interruptions.' he thought.
"You are allowed to use anything. Don't worry about any lethal injuries. I'll take care if anything happens. Now, 3...2...1...Start!"
Both of them unanimously decided to take it slow and gauge the opponent.
Mai took the initiative and closed in. Since Yuta and Mai decided not to use weapons in the beginning, they both began hand-to-hand combat.
Yuta's immense Cursed Energy made his attacks almost unpredictable. Emphasize on the word, 'almost'.
Because of the trait [Danger Sense], Mai was able to predict the attacks. Despite his weak body, Yuta's Enhancement allowed him to be very fast.
With Mai's [Enhanced Vision], [Danger Sense], and [Focus], he was able to keep up with Yuta's ridiculously enhanced physical prowess.
Still, it was hard. Mai's attacks wouldn't put much damage on Yuta while Yuta's attacks surely will.
Using C.E Enhancement and C.E Reinforcement both at the same time would exhaust Mai's Cursed Energy quickly but that wasn't the case for Yuta.
'His physique is below mine.' If it weren't for the Body Cleansing Pill and extreme training, Mai and Yuta would have more or less the same physical strength. That was also one of the reasons for Mai keeping up with Yuta's abilities.
"Both of you, you can use the forest. No need to be confined to this area alone." Gojo shouted from above as he was observing both of them while flying. He also had a bag of popcorn in his hands.
'Mai is definitely ahead of Yuta when it comes to physique. But how? Maki said that Mai never liked physical workouts nor did 'she' have such training since childhood. That means...Mai used some other fantasy item to get stronger.'
Either way, Gojo wanted them to have a more serious fight without holding back.
Gojo also knew that, if Mai decided to use toxins, poisons, venoms, or whatever, it would no longer be a spar and he would easily win.
'Seriously, that Technique is too good in this modern era. It doesn't have any actual limits.'
Still, the imagination, methodical process, and mental focus needed for the application of the Technique were exorbitant.
Even Gojo would need quite a bit of practice to pull it off subtly. Without the Six Eyes.
Yuta and Mai took their hand-to-hand combat to the forest where Mai started using the terrain to his advantage.
His Enhanced Vision provided proper footing for himself while he tried to do the opposite to Yuta.
it gave him one or two chances to attack directly which he utilised properly.
'Mai-san is definitely an 'irregular'. I need to be careful of any other tricks he might pull off.' Yuta thought.
Unsheathing the new Vibranium katana, he decided that it was time for a weapon battle.
Mai also took out two guns, the famous Revy's Twin Beretta pair. Their design was pretty cool.
Just as Yuta took out his blade, Mai backed off. There was no point in getting slashed by a ridiculous amount of Cursed Energy.
'When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, we're pretty much equal but more experienced in using weapons.'
That's why he backed off.
Now it was more of a hit-and-run strategy where Mai would blast him with bullets coated in Cursed Energy while Yuta would dodge or deflect them and proceed to attack Mai.
Mai would then once again back off looking for a chance or so. This kept happening until Mai was cornered into an inescapable situation.
Just as Yuta got any closer, Mai finally used his Technique. Exhaling large amounts of colored gas like a ninja, he obstructed Yuta's vision.
As the gas dispersed, Mai was nowhere to be seen.
'Where is he?' Yuta panicked for a moment before calming down.
'His guns will give away his location in this silent forest.'
*Bang*
Yuta dodged the bullet by a hair's width but two more bullets were fired in succession.
He deflected one with the katana while the other grazed his left shoulder.
'Ouch.' It didn't quite injure him but was certainly painful.
Yuta, from then onwards was more cautious and was able to deflect or dodge any other bullets while getting closer and closer.
When he felt he was close enough, another bang came from his left. He instantly reacted and sprinted without dodging the bullet.
A single bullet couldn't harm him much.
Just as he arrived, only the gun was there stuck in a tree hole.
'Wha-' before he could comprehend, his instincts blared. Before he could put up his guard, Mai kicked him hard from behind.
And once again, Mai disappeared.
'He somehow set up a mechanism for the gun to shoot a bullet after a certain interval. And once I arrived, he unmasked himself to land a decisive attack.'
Unfortunately, Yuta's durability negated more than half of the attack damage.
*BANG*
Another bang was heard but this time, Yuta was not careless. He didn't move from his place and just stood there.
But whether he moved from there or not, anyone would instinctively turn their eyes toward the direction of the sound.
'And that's all I need.' Mai was hiding exactly opposite the direction where the sound came from. Yuta didn't expect Mai to be so close hiding and baiting him once again.
But both of them didn't expect Rika to come out and block Mai's punch.
'Well, if she catches the punch, I'll be done for.' Mai knew the Cursed Spirit would simply block the punch and maybe even hold him down.
His senses heightened and the Cursed Energy increased in his hand even before the punch landed.
*BOOM*
The punch caused a shockwave as Mai's Cursed Energy flashed black.
'This kid! He changed a normal punch into a Black Flash mid-way. Definitely a monster in human's clothing.' Gojo was excited at Mai's capabilities.
Yuta was shocked that he was almost punched by a Black Flash.
'Scary! Mai-san is scary! As expected of Maki's brother.'
"Get serious, Yuta. Gojo already said that he'll take care if anything happens, right?" Mai said while dodging Rika's attacks.
The Black Flash didn't do much damage to the Vengeful spirit but it gave enough time for Mai to back off.
"Don't bully Yuta!" she was shouting while trying to attack Mai.
While Rika's attacks were deadly and fast, they were predictable. Mai was dodging them with ease.
"Rika. Get back." Yuta shouted. Heeding Mai's words, Yuta decided to get serious.
"Don't go ahead of me. We'll both attack him together," he said to her in a calm manner.
"Un." She backed away listening to him like a blushing maiden.
Seeing that Yuta was about to get serious, Mai refreshed himself with a burst of positive energy throughout his body.
'From now on, I'll have to use Black Flash frequently.' The Queen of Curses was too strong to be dealt with normally.
'Mai-san no longer has his guns.' Yuta realized and went ahead making the quick decision.
But that was a mistake. Two new guns materialized in Mai's hands and he shot with them at Rika.
Usually, a normal gun wouldn't even put a scratch on her but this one not only damaged her but almost destroyed her right hand.
"It hurts, Yuta. IT HURTS!"
Yuta was shocked at what happened. This was the first that Rika was injured by someone other than Gojo-sensei. Well, he never tried shooting her with anti-tank rifles.
Instead of using that moment as an advantage, Mai actually changed his decision and backed away.
'I'm actually liking this fight more than I imagined.' He wanted to give Yuta a moment of time. It might backfire but it didn't really matter whether he won the match or lost the match.
'He's backing away! Why? Is he afraid of Rika? No...' Yuta realized that Mai was giving him time to recover. That made him sad and angry at the same time.
In the meantime, Mai recovered his Beretta pair. Just like Yuta, Mai was also holding back because, after all, he wanted it to be a spar which he and Yuta could learn something from.
'He's coming.' Even an average sorcerer could sense Rika's Cursed Energy from a mile away.
Instead of going up front, Mai decided to waste some time to recover a bit of Cursed Energy.
He ran away further hundreds of meters from his location. From now on, he would use [Homing] to mess with Yuta and Rika for some time.
'Hmm. Is the wind moving upwards? A chance!'
Yuta was getting hit with bullets one by one and he couldn't discern the direction they were coming from.
'If a bullet hits a vital point, the damage won't be minimal.'
'And I also don't know what surprise he'll bring up.' Yuta understood the amount of tricks Mai would come up with.
'I couldn't get his Cursed Technique but he shouldn't be aware of my Technique too.' he thought while taking a metal arm out of Rika.
True to his thoughts, Mai wasn't aware of Yuta's Cursed Technique. Because he expected that they might spar later on, he decided not to look at Yuta's Status to get a proper fight.
Suddenly, the shooting stopped.
'He's stopped shooting for some time now. Is he waiting for me to get mentally tired? That would be a waste of time.' As he pondered on what Mai was up to, his instincts blared again.
'Not again.' he complained but was more cautious than ever. He kept caution in all directions so as not to get caught off guard.
*BOOM*
Something landed on Rika like a rocket. The ground cracked dispersing dust and debris all over.
'Wha-' Before he could think, Mai appeared right in front of his face landing a Black Flash right in his gut.
But it didn't matter to Yuta as he was ready for anything. He too countered at the same moment punching Mai right in the face.
Both of them fell back a few feet away. And both got up the next moment like nothing happened.
"F-from above. Can you fly? But I didn't even notice your presence. How?" Yuta was certain that he would be able to see a human coming from above.
'That bitch shouldn't be waking up for a minute or two.' Mai fell right on top of Rika's head from hundreds of meters above reinforcing his legs with enough Cursed Energy.
"Hmm. I can't fly. It was my Cursed Technique." he said not giving an actual explanation.
Both of them were now in the same situation as in the beginning.
Except Yuta now had a metal arm on his hand.
Mai didn't want to give time for Yuta to recover from that Black Flash.
Yuta also didn't want to waste any more time.
'We'll decide it right now.' both of them thought at the same time and attacked each other head-on.
Punches and kicks kept flying while Mai's Cursed Energy flashed black a lot of times.
Yuta didn't get a chance to use the Reverse Cursed Technique on himself as he was busy avoiding the Black Flashes or reinforcing his body to not get pummeled.
A blade materialized instantly on Mai's elbow and tore through Yuta's torso.
'I need to recover.' Yuta instinctively thought of backing away.
Just as his weight shifted towards his back, he was stopped.
His leg was tied to something invisible that held him there.
'How-' is all he could think before Mai once again punched him in the chin.
That made his legs wobbly and finally, Yuta fell on his back.
'That settles the match. Still, this kid is definitely Toji's cousin.' Gojo thought back to Mai's tricks till now.
Mai was about to land another punch on Yuta to knock him out but Gojo stopped him.
"Stop! The match is over. Winner...Zenin Mai!" he shouted like an excited referee.
**************
A/N: Finally, the story has reached 50k words. That should be enough for a review, right? RIGHT?
So, I request my cute readers to post a review. I won't mind constructive criticism as long as it's not too harsh. Don't be too harsh on me.
Any part of the fight you didn't understand will be explained in the next chapter. Have a good Sunday.
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