Destined to Collide - Inumaki Toge

63. Great Target

"Spill!" Maki slapped the table again, sending Maguro quaking in her uniform.

"I- I-," Maguro stuttered, the sliced apple piece dropped from her finger back into the bowl as her hands started to shake, her eyes looking up at her fearfully. "N-nothing. Sensei told me nothing! Really! I swear!"

"Shake!" (She's right!) Inumaki prepared to stand up and defend Maguro, but he was pushed back down to sit effortlessly by Maki with one hand on his shoulder. "O-Okaka!" (Hey! Maki!) he protested.

"No, Toge!" Maki snapped, keeping her eyes trained on Maguro. "You sit back right there and let us dig out the juice from Maguro. Now spill, Maguro."

Her hands inched towards the bowl of apple slices. Maki saw that and promptly snatched it up. "No apples until you spill."

No apples? Her eyes looked up at Maki widely. But there's nothing to spill. "But it's true. Ieiri-sensei didn't tell me anything. She just told me my level is still too low to have clearance on viewing dead bodies. She let me off class that day. I didn't see Itadori-kun."

Maki still held the apple bowl away from her when Maguro's hand reaches forward to it again.

Maguro whimpered. She wanted to cry at the sight of them apple slices drifting further and further away from her.

"Well, lucky you," Itadori piped up, ignoring Maki's persistent at keeping Maguro away from the bowl and picking up one slice of the apple, passing it to Maguro who took it up happily and giving him a small thanks before gobbling them up. Though Itadori could have looked goofy, but he stands firm on the grounds that no one should be hungry. "You would have seen your first naked guy in your life if you're down there that day."

Inumaki's eyes twitched at that comment. Itadori before him? Hell no.

Maki was going to have another go at picking Maguro when out of all the people that came swooping in to save the day, it was Gojo the Great.

"Hmm? What is this? Did Shoko really go telling my secrets to you, Maguro-chan? And here she told me she doesn't want her precious student to get involved with my dirty little secrets," Gojo said to her, strutting in with one hand in his pocket while the other greeted the Kyoto group with a two-fingered salute. "Hey there."

"Gojo-sensei! Had your meals? Grab something and sit with us!" Maguro said, forgetting about Maki almost instantly and inviting Gojo Satoru over happily with a wave of her hand whilst the rest of the students scooted to make way for another chair to add to the table.

Panda nudged Maki on the arm, but everyone knew she just fancied picking Maguro. Best time to do that is when she's having her meals. You can blackmail her with food and get her to spill secrets. Maki glances up to Inumaki and lifts one palm at him as a sign of ceasefire. Inumaki frowned and narrowed his eyes at Maki, which only makes Panda and Maki snicker at him.

"Can't blame him, Maki," Panda whispered quietly. "Dude is just trying to protect his girlfriend."

"Too bad then," Maki replied Panda. "Maguro is such a great target for a good tease."

Both of them snorted loudly in front of Inumaki.

Utahime came up behind Gojo with a sullen expression on her face. The last Tsukigami didn't know what had happened for her to make that face, but this is the canteen, the place where people eat. So Maguro did what she does best.

Getting people to eat.

"The stir fry beef is good! Do try them, sensei!" Maguro hyped up that dish's popularity with quick nods of her head and an excited grin. Gojo looked around their trays and smiled. Everyone had that on their trays.

"Whatever did you do to them, Maguro-chan?" Gojo said, sitting down and just grabbing a slice of apple off the dessert bowl. "They don't take those often."

"I'm regretting not taking them often enough. They are delicious!" Panda said, daintily wiping the corner of his mouth with tissue. "We figured to try whatever it is that Maguro goes for, since she's good at narrowing down what was good on the buffet table. Best decision ever."

"Shake, shake," Inumaki added in with a nod of his head in appreciation, eyes crinkling with a wide smile as he pushes his portion of fruits to Maguro. "Eat more if you're still hungry. You used a lot of Cursed Energy just now."

Maguro smiled widely. "Thank you, Toge-kun," she said, then proceeds to devour the bowl of offered fruits.

It was getting more and more frequent, this hunger pangs of hers. More so whenever she has finished training, and it was the worst this time after she has used the Golden Veil. Does it have anything to do with her using Cursed Energy?

Looking at Inumaki, Maguro blinked and stared openly at the Snake and Fang Cursed Seal by the side of his mouth. Sure. It allows the user to imbue their words with Cursed energy so strong that any living being would be forced to obey them. But she didn't really see him eating as much as her.

Could it have not been the Cursed Energy that caused her to go hungry? Wait, was it the Reverse Cursed Technique then?

She looked back at the apple she's holding in her hand. Then to the empty tray she had just now had her meals in. Then bite her lips.

Then what was it that made her so hungry all the time?

Gojo Satoru sees it all from where he sat.

Seeing the small frown on her forehead, he spoke, "Tsukigami Maguro."

She sat bolt upright at the mention of her full name and go, "Yes!"

Gojo smiled. She reminds him of Yuuta when he first joined the college.

"I've spoken with Shoko in regard to the unusual increase in your appetite," he started. Then he looked to where the Kyoto side is sitting.

They are all eavesdropping. Even Utahime has shamelessly stopped eating, her fork hovering just inches from her mouth. Never mind about that. It wasn't something unusual for a student to have sudden heightened appetite over uncontrolled Chi.

"Ohhh," Panda piped up happily, eyes twinkling in delight at the news. "Was it really a baby?"

Maki slapped Panda's arms.

"What baby?" Maguro looked at Panda in confusion.

Maki and Panda snickered together, whilst Nobara, Fushiguro and Inumaki blushes. Itadori being Itadori, was as confused as Maguro.

"Okaka," Inumaki answered, making a large X with his arms and shakes his head. He looked over at the still snickering Maki and Panda, then raised his voice with flaming red ears, "Okaka!"

Gojo laughed at how clueless Maguro is. Clearly, they haven't gone that far up north together yet but anyway, he continued good naturedly, "We have both decided to put your trainings on temporary halt. So, you can take this as a holiday. We'll let you know when you can come back for training. This will likely be for a week or two but will extend if this goes on."

Maguro blinked. On halt? She gulped. Did she did something wrong?

Gojo smiled back at her. Maguro's eyebrow knitted together sadly. She did something wrong, alright. And they busted her at it by grounding her. But what was it that was wrong? Did she do something that she didn't know is wrong?

It was as if Gojo delights himself at seeing her struggling to think about what was wrong. This is getting more and more amusing, he thought quietly to himself.