"So long as it's actual useful training, yes."

"It will be! You still need to work on your close combat skills, right?"

Maki has a smile that says that probably she will get to punch him, and is looking forward to it.

"...less than last time we sparred." Thanks to Itadori.

And there's the pain again. 

Akiho totally knows exactly what Inori is going through, and will save him from the horrible feelings.

"I actually do, too, if you wouldn't mind helping, senpai. My technique is, uh, stick them with the pointy end. I feel like there's a lot of room for growth there for finesse or technique.

"Oh yeah? What's your weapon?"

"For cursed technique reasons," she retrieves her fan (that someone was thoughtful enough to grab when they were scraping her and Inori off of the forest floor) and shows it to Maki. "This."

It's a little worse for the wear, but. Mostly functional. Mostly. ... She probably needs to make another. Damn.

".... Huh." Maki takes it, unsheathes it, and turns it over in her hands. "No offense, but this is garbage!"

Akiho sporfles, then brings a hand to her lips to try and regain some composure.

"I'm very sorry, senpai. Please help me be better. And maybe also give tips for how I can improve the next iteration, because I need to make a new one anyway."

Fushiguro snorts, covering his mouth to hide the smile again.

"So the balance is wrong, there are a lot of unnecessary bits that are getting in the way, and I'm not really seeing what types of cuts you want to use it for? The blade's saying one thing, the handle and placement is saying another. The fan's fine, I don't care about the fan, you have it pretty tucked away and it's light and everything. It's just all of this part," she motions to all of the bladed bits, "is the most confused slashing weapon I have ever seen in my life. But hey, it takes some stones to stab people with a fan, so. Hell yeah, let's make this work, live your dream."

"Do you have any suggestions for my weapons, Senpai?" says Fushiguro, extending his fists towards her.

"Experiment more! You're just going with your fists because they're easy and you're stuck on wanting to have your hands free, not because the style really speaks to you, or you're any good at it. But, if you really want to punch things get some brass knuckles or something, they shouldn't even get in the way of your finger puppets, just save your knuckles from breaking open in someone's face."

He blinks and stares at his hands with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Salmon."

"So what's your technique like?"

"Oh, uh. If I could have that back?" She gets her fan back from Maki, and then demonstrates by throwing needles and curving them to hit the back of a tree. Akiho smiles with clear satisfaction at the loud series of thunks her needles elicit. "That. The fan lets me better control many of them at once, and have them do different sorts of things."

Maki whistles.

"Damn. Yeah, you'll be fine."

"Not just needles," Fushiguro pipes in, still looking at his hands. "She does general sympathy stuff. I suggested she get a gun."

"Hmm. ...I dunno. Try one, sure, and keep it if she likes it, definitely. I bet there are a couple test guns floating around for her to mess with, and it'd be good as a backup or a surprise? But I don't think it'd be as flexible as what she's got now. Bullets are kinda too fast to mess with the trajectory much. And I'd want to play to what she's already got instead of weighing her down with more stuff. Yeah the gun itself would be easy, but you've also got to think about ammunition, and how she'd - it's mirroring motion from one thing to another, yeah?" Akiho nods confirmation. "How she'd actually use the bullets. Does she hold them in her hand? Make them float with cursed energy? Keep them in a little bullet pouch that gets filled with holes every time she uses it? Drop them and use them from the ground? I'd rather have a hand crossbow or something built for tiny needles. Easier that way."

"And... where would I get one of those."

"We can requisition things from some of the crafters associated with the school. Sorcerers often require a lot of personalization, so it just makes sense to cater to it."

Fushiguro sighs and shrugs. "When's the sister school event anyway?"

"A month and a half. Or so. I have the exact date on my phone somewhere..."

Panda pulls a phone out of... somewhere... and begins fiddling with it to see.

"Do you have pockets?" asks Akiho, bewildered.

"No, that would be ridiculous, I'm a panda. Okay, I've texted it to you."