I do not own Jujutsu Kaisen or any of the characters.

Interest

Shinji raised an eyebrow as he watched the fight. He had sensed a very powerful Curse battling what felt like a Jujutsu Sorcerer, but it seemed like the Curse was actually a possessed Sorcerer. It also wasn't much of a fight. The Curse was simply using punches and kicks to send the Sorcerer flying, unable to do anything. Shinji's right hand flexed, fingers curling and spasming slightly, like one might do if their hand itched on the back and they didn't want to scratch it but were dramatic, only for him to slap it, hard.

"Moderately exciting," Shinji mused. "And here I thought that Curse Womb would just spawn a decently powerful Curse. Did it spawn something that can possess people? Or is this something else?"

Finally, the pair of opponents came to rest at the end of their flight,. However, as the Sorcerer prepared to attempt one last strike, he suddenly stopped. Then, the black markings over his opponents body, which seemed to be a side effect of the possession, faded. The formerly possessed opponent, then collapsed, as the Curse had ripped the body's heart out before the battle. Shinji hummed thoughtfully.

"I'm impressed someone could take back control from a Curse," Shinji mused. "Impressive feat, even if it did cost him his life."

"Even more impressive, considering it's the King of Curses, Sukuna, himself, inside of the kid," a voice in the back of Shinji's head said.

Shinji stared at the corpse for a few more seconds before turning and leaving. He headed toward his home, only for a Curse looking something like a rhinoceros but with a head on each end and eyes covering its sides to crash down in front of him, its entire body being the size of a full-size Volkswagen van. "Out of my way, pipsqueak."

The Curse let out something like a giggle, then charged. Shinji sighed, raising his right hand and catching it by the front horn, stopping it in its tracks. As it did, all of the eyes on its body shifted forward in an attempt to get a look at the being holding it. Most of his body was exceptionally ordinary, from his dark eyes to his brown hair, which was parted on the left and hung loosely around his head otherwise, with some bangs falling to end between his eyes. However, his right arm was different, at least, to those who could see Curses. From just below the shoulder all the way to his fingertips, it was obviously not human. It was entirely bone white, looked like it might be solid but molded into the shape of a lean-muscled tone, had a mane of red fur around the lower quarter of the forearm to the wrist, then had pitch black claws from the last knuckle of each finger, including his thumb, each claw about three inches long.

"I said, get out of my way," Shinji growled, slamming the Curse to the ground before driving his claws into its side.

It shrieked in pain before dissolving into smoke and vanishing. Shinji sighed, shaking his head as a pair of massive centipedes with bladed legs, each a hundred feet long, and a huge spider bigger than the rhinoceros he had just killed shrieked at him from behind.

"I hate this job," Shinji sighed, turning profile to the three of them. "Being a freelance Curse Hunter sucks."

The spider leapt at him first, only for him to swipe his arm downward, a flash of red light extended from his hand, then vanished before it had finished its arc, and the spider split in half around him, bursting into smoke as it crashed to the ground. Then, he launched himself forward, driving his fist into the right centipede's faced all the way to his bicep, and the entire thing burst apart in a wave starting from its head and ending at its tail. Then, he turned, his right hand catching the other centipede's head by the face, halting it.

"I just want to go home and get something to eat," Shinji growled. "Fuck off!"

A flash of red pulsed from between his hand and the centipede and it also burst into tiny fragments, which faded. He huffed, shaking his hand, then turned, swiping his hand down to his right and slinging all of the Curses' blood off of his arm before slipping his arm into his pocket and walking away.

Shinji narrowed his eyes, stopping in the center of the construction zone as his right hand twitched, then flexed. He looked around carefully, slapping the back of his right hand. He could hear something clicking nearby, but thanks to the echo, he couldn't tell where it was from. He narrowed his eyes, bending his knees slightly in preparation of a fight. Then, a shriek rang out above him and his head snapped upward. A creature was falling from above with a flat head, one that looked like it had been steamrolled into an oval extending sideways over its shoulders with six eyes along the sides. Its body was covered in bones around in a ridged, scaled pattern, and its fingers and toes were pointed and sharp like claws. However, despite its ability to shriek, it seemed to lack a mouth. Shinji narrowed his eyes, leaping backward out of its way, and as it crashed to the ground, its hands shattered it.

"You're a special grade, aren't you?" Shinji asked, raising his right hand. "Wonderful."

It roared, exploding forward, and Shinji also charged. It swiped at him with its right arm and he ducked out of the way, drilling a punch into its chest and hurling it backward, only for it to flip, landing on its feet and roaring, exploding forward again. Shinji narrowed his eyes before a long shaft of scarlet Curse Energy formed in his right hand, pointed on both ends. He hurled it, but the Curse slashed it and it dispersed. He huffed, ducking out of the way of several swipes before stepping past it, a scarlet, Curse Energy katana forming and slashing, only to shatter against its torso. He spun, kicking its arm aside before drilling a punch into it again, sending it flying backward.

"Annoying pest," Shinji growled. "Sturdy and fast, but lacking physical power. Typical. You're made for drawn out brawls."

It shrieked again, streaking forward, only for Shinji to appear in front of it, his claws driving themselves into its head, sending it bouncing away, but still failing to break through its shell.

"This is going to be annoying," Shinji growled. "I hate this job."

The thing stood, its entire body beginning to tremble as it began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Shinji asked.

A second later, another, identical, clawed hand burst from his stomach from behind and his eyes went wide before he coughed up blood. The hand retracted and he staggered forward, then spun, staggering to his right slightly, seeing the second Curse was identical to the first. Then, a third landed to his right, forming a triangle around him. Instantly, all three of the Curses' heads began to glow orange before firing a blast of raw Curse Energy. Shinji swore, slamming his hand into the ground, forming a scarlet dome around himself, only for the blasts to smash straight through it. As the smoke began to clear, he groaned, his right hand twitching and spasming to his side.

"Fine then," Shinji growled. "You have one minute."

Shinji watched at Panda, a Cursed Doll of a Panda who was a second-year student at Jujutsu Tech, hurled the only girl among the Tokyo first-years. They were supposed to be training, but he didn't see much point to him simply throwing her around. Finally, he shook his head, heading inside and finding the man he was looking for.

"Satoru Gojo," Shinji greeted the white-haired, blindfolded man. "Long time no see."

Gojo nodded. "Haven't seen you since you refused to join the school. How can I help you?"

"The kid who was possessed a month or so ago," Shinji said. "The one who died. Who is he?"

"His name was Yuji Itadori," Gojo said. "He was a potential vessel capable of housing Sukuna."

Shinji nodded. "Explains why he was so powerful, and why it seemed to be exciting."

Gojo smiled, nodding. "Come on, now. You didn't really come all the way here just to ask about a kid who died a month ago, did you?"

"No," Shinji said. "Something happened a couple days ago that you need to know about."

"Oh?" Gojo asked. "Come with me. I know a place you can tell me all about it."

Shinji nodded, following Gojo out of the building and away from the school to a bench along the side of the road overlooking it. As they sat down, his right arm began to reach for Gojo, only for him to slap it.

"Stop it," he said offhandedly.

"So, what happened?" Gojo asked.

"I was attacked by an unregistered special grade," Shinji said. "It wasn't particularly strong, but it was insanely durable and moderately fast. I couldn't put a scratch on it. However, before I could put any real effort into it, another one showed up, then a third. And then suddenly, each of their power seemed to resonate with the other two and skyrocketed. They overpowered my barrier in a single blast."

"Since you're alive, I assume you gave a time limit," Gojo said.

"I gave one minute," Shinji said. "And at the end of it, two were still alive, though their bodies were heavily damaged. They had bone plating, but after the minute, they were cracked and pieces were missing. I managed to use the cracks as weak points and managed to finish them, but the fact that they survived a full minute..."

"That's not a good sign," Gojo said, then smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. "But, as long as they're dead now..."

Shinji glared at him. "I almost didn't survive one minute, even with the restraints off."

Gojo remained silent for a moment. "Did anything else happen?"

"One thing," Shinji said. "After the fight was over, I felt someone watching me. I think I almost caught up to them, but I was attacked by a swarm of small fry and they got away. But the small fry were acting like they were waiting to ambush me. More so than if they had gained the ability to reason. It was almost like they were following orders."

"I'm sure it was nothing," Gojo shrugged, standing. "You were probably just imagining things and sensing the Curses." he turned to walk away.

"You asked me to report anything strange that happened, or any powerful Curses that I encountered," Shinji snarled, also standing, his right arm flexing. "And now that I am, you're trying to claim that it was nothing? That I'm just imagining things? Why bother asking me to be an informant if you're not going to believe a word out of my mouth?"

Gojo turned his head slightly, looking back at him through the blindfold, which Shinji new didn't actually blind him. "I have my reasons."

Shinji snarled, his right hand beginning to twitch, only for him to slap it. "Stop that." He glared at Gojo. "Is this all a game to you? Wasting people's time and sending them to do pointless errands? Pretending that brat vessel of Sukuna's is dead just so you can train him to be stronger? For what? To fully revive Sukuna? To force the kid to eat all of the fingers just so you can kill him later? What are you scheming?"

"That's none of your concern," Gojo said coldly. "You should remember that when that thing attached itself to you, I stopped you from being executed. In exchange, you promised to do a job, no questions asked. If you don't like the job, I could always just carry out your execution here and now."

Shinji's hands curled into fists. Finally, he sighed, relaxing. "I want in."

"In?" Gojo asked.

"The school," Shinji said. "I want to join. I'm sick of working alone. It sucks. I'm constantly in the dark about everything, I don't know anyone, and if I get into a fight like that last one, I have to find a way to deal with it alone. I'm sick of it."

Gojo smiled. "Is that all you wanted? Sure! Come on. I'll introduce you to the principal, and you can try and convince him to let you join. And you're just in time for the exchange event!"

Shinji sighed, nodding, and followed Gojo.

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