I do not own Jujutsu Kaisen or any of the characters.
Schoolyard Brawl
Shinji stepped through the Veil around the high school and stopped. The school was only relevant because the human that had been spending time with the Curse Shinji was asked to help exorcise attended it. And apparently, that was plenty. There was an unregistered Veil concealing it from the outside world, and as soon as Shinji was inside, he could sense the Curse. He could also sense Itadori, who had beaten Shinji there, and someone else with Cursed Energy, or possibly a Curse under their control. He ignored Itadori and the unknown third, however, as he sensed the primary target approaching.
"You're here!" the Curse nearly cheered, falling from above to land in front of him. "You're so strange! Out of all the injuries I suffered yesterday, yours was the only one that actually hurt!"
"Is that right?" Shinji asked. "Well, if that's true, you might want to avoid these, then."
Just then, a dozen Cursed Energy Spears, shot downward from above, only for the Curse to shift its legs into a deer's, avoiding it, narrowly.
"By the way, my name's Mahito," the Curse said. "What's yours?"
"Shinji," Shinji said. "Now die!"
He exploded forward, throwing a right-handed punch at Mahito, who blocked it with his crossed forearms, only to sail backward all the same. Shinji sensed Itadori and the unknown third fighting but ignored them. Instead, he exploded forward, pursuing Mahito. He jumped, spinning, and threw an aerial windmill kick at Mahito. His heel passed within inches of Mahito's face, Mahito's excited grin not wavering for a second. Then, Mahito exploded forward, his right arm bulging grotesquely before he threw a punch. Shinji's right fist crashed into Mahito's own, halting Mahito's punch before Shinji ducked under Mahito's arm, his left fist slamming into Mahito's jaw. Mahito staggered away, his grin growing.
"Oh, I see!" Mahito said. "Only your Curse Arm possesses that destructive power!"
Shinji pivoted, his right fist exploding into Mahito's forearms again, sending him exploding backward again. As he landed this time, however, Shinji was already in front of him, leaping into the air, right arm pulled back for a Superman Punch. However, Mahito avoided it, allowing the fist to explode into the ground before Mahito's left arm expanded and exploded into his left side, sending him bouncing away. Shinji flipped, landing on his feet before his right arm snapped up, a massive beam of pure Cursed Energy exploding from his right palm. Mahito evaded the blast, barely, and exploded forward. Shinji formed a short sword from Cursed Energy in each hand, and shot forward, striking rapidly. Mahito's arms became shiny silver blades from the elbow down and he began to deflect Shinji's blades rapidly. After several seconds, however, he spun, ducking under Shinji's left blade before driving one of his own blades through Shinji's abdomen sideways. Shinji's eyes went wide, his swords fading, and when Mahito pulled his blade free, Shinji collapsed. Mahito laughed excitedly and set a hand on Shinji's back, only to pause.
"Oh dear," Mahito sighed. "It seems Junpei wasn't quite ready for Itadori. That's a shame. Oh well. I guess I'll have to find another Curse to experiment on. Unless you're generous enough to wait for me. I'd really appreciate it."
Then, he turned, leaping away and in through a broken window into the school. Shinji could sense that Itadori and the third Cursed Energy user were finished fighting, but Mahito was heading directly for them. It would be seconds, at best, before he interrupted their chat. Shinji's head slowly dragged downward so that he was staring at his wound, and the blood quickly pooling below him. He was finished. Or rather, his turn was finished.
"Your turn," Shinji croaked. "You have three minutes."
Instantly, the curse took control and scarlet Cursed Energy erupted from his body, the flesh around the stab wound seeming to boil before surging inward and leaving him completely restored. Then, the Curse shoved himself to his feet and exploded toward the shattered window. As he landed, he found Itadori standing motionless, a transfigured human clinging weakly to the front of his shirt as both Mahito and a tiny, one-eyed face on the left side of Itadori's own face, likely Sukuna, both cackled maniacally, though both stopped as the Curse arrived.
"What are you?" Sukuna asked.
The Curse roared, his voice loud, high-pitched, and vibrating just enough to grate on anyone's eardrums, just like the character he copied from Bleach. As he roared, however, he also reached a hand down to the transfigured human. As soon as its hand touched the human's back, the hand shone brightly and the transfigured human's entire body seemed to boil before being returned to its natural state of a boy about Itadori's age with long black hair, the bangs covering the right side of their forehead, though the Curse had also healed the cigarette scars on that side of the human's forehead.
"What!?" Mahito and Sukuna both shouted.
"No way!" Mahito shouted. "You can use Reversed Curse Techniques!? Oh, you're amazing! I'm going to have so much fun with you!"
"Who are you!?" Sukuna demanded.
"Lord Sukuna," the Curse bowed, its voice still vibrating. "Shall I crush this insect that threatens your vessel?"
Sukuna huffed. "Lord Sukuna?" he rolled his eye. "Do as you like. I'll decide whether to kill you or not later."
"Of course, Lord Sukuna," the Curse said, standing and turning to Mahito. "Round Two."
"Yes!" Mahito grinned. "Let's get-"
Itadori's fist exploded into Mahito's face, sending him exploding backward.
"I will kill you!" Itadori snarled furiously.
"Sorry, but that won't-" blood fell from his nose, and Mahito's eyes widened before he grinned. "Another one! Oh, I'm so ex-"
The Curse's fist exploded into the side of his head, sending him streaking at Itadori, whose fist met his face as he passed, sending him spinning in a blur, though he continued past Itadori and exploded out through the floor below the broken window. Mahito began to stand, only for the Curse to explode down on his back, then punt him like a soccer ball, sending him flying. Mahito flipped, turning his legs into blades and driving them into the ground before pulling them free and changing them back. Then, his right arm expanded grotesquely as he moved to meet the Curse's punch with his own. Except, instead of a fist, the Curse straightened his fingers and drove his arm into Mahito's up to its elbow, then ripped it back out. As Mahito staggered away, Itadori exploded down on his back, the ground below them exploding. Then, the Curse yanked Itadori away from Mahito just as his entire body exploded into a massive semi-sphere of spikes, like a sea urchin. However, just as they landed, Mahito burst from the ground, the spikes all retracting into a hand and being yanked back into the ground. Itadori and the Curse both spun, but just as they were facing Mahito, the Curse slammed a backhanded slap into Itadori's gut, hurling him away before Mahito swung his right arm, transformed into a trio of long, metal whips formed of linked, jagged blades. The blades ripped through the Curse instantly, hurling him aside, before Mahito pursued Itadori. As the two traded blow after blow, the Curse focused on its wounds, sealing them rapidly. Finally, it finished less than a second before its time limit ended. Shinji pushed himself up and shook his head.
"Should have said five minutes," Shinji said, or else you shouldn't have wasted time sucking up to Sukuna or playing around with Mahito."
Just as he looked over at Mahito and Itadori, who'd been impaled multiple times over, Mahito, now behind Itadori, swung his right arm, now a massive, spiked club, around at Itadori. Except, Nanami arrived at that moment, knocking the club away.
"Nanami?" Itadori asked.
"I'll lecture you later," Nanami said. "Just tell me the situation."
"Two died," Itadori said. "I failed to save them."
"I want to hear about your physical condition," Nanami said.
"I'm fine, thanks," Itadori said, wiping the blood from his chin. "Though I am kind of filled with holes."
"The Curse, Mahito, has learned to transform his own body into weapons," Shinji said. "Blades, spikes, and so on. Itadori has suffered severe wounds, and Mahito survived a three minute time limit. Itadori and I are able to harm him by damaging his soul, but we can't keep up or pin Mahito down."
"I see," Nanami nodded. "I'll try to keep him from moving around, then we'll shower him with blows. We'll exorcise this one here and now!"
"Yeah!" Itadori nodded.
Shinji formed himself the same trench knives as he'd used in the sewer, and Mahito grinned widely, his left arm beginning to bulge and mutate. It extended outward into a jagged blade, his right growing an extra eye as he held it out. Then, in a flash, they were off. Nanami's blade clashed against Mahito's hard, knocking it away, before Mahito flipped over Itadori and Shinji's strikes. Shinji spun, slashing rapidly at Mahito, Mahito's arm blade clashing with Shinji's rapidly. After a few seconds of failing, Shinji leapt into the air, spinning in a blur as his blades shone as they began to alter their form. Mahito's right arm swung up to focus on Shinji as well, only for Itadori's fist to explode into the distracted Curse's gut, hurling him. He flipped as he landed, and his blade deflected Nanami's. Then, he launched himself backward as Shinji slashed, the two scarlet blades extending from the backs of his forearms past his hands carving a pair of shallow cuts into Mahito's chest. Mahito landed on his feet and leapt into the air as Nanami closed in. Then, Mahito's body erupted into a mass of spikes, stabbing outward in every direction. All three of his opponents avoided the spikes, then began to smash off the ends. Finally, Mahito returned to his normal form and fell. Itadori and Shinji closed in for the kill, but as their strikes hit nothing but the ground, Mahito burst from the cloud of dust in a body no larger than a child's, beginning to run for a moment before shifting back to his adult body.
"Itadori, did you notice?" Nanami asked. "Just before he changes shape-"
"He stores Cursed Energy!" Itadori finished.
"Then we just need to make him burn up too much to be able to shift!" Shinji growled, exploding forward.
As he did, Mahito hurled three tiny objects which each expanded into transfigured humans, which he ordered to kill Itadori. Then, he had turned his arms into a pair of blades and was backpedaling as his blades clashed with Shinji's. Their arms both flashed around and around, Shinji spinning, slashing, stabbing, and flipping as he struck. A constant blur, constantly in motion, and moving too fast for Mahito to get a strike in. At least, until his body suddenly began to rapidly sprout spikes. Shinji leapt backward, deflecting blow after blow off to the sides, then spun as Mahito slashed downward at him with his left arm. Instantly, Nanami's blade slammed into Mahito's right blade, knocking it into the air before Shinji's right blade slashed at Mahito. Before it could reach him, a spike burst from Mahito's left side into the ground at an angle, hurling him out of the way but allowing Shinji to remove the spike. Then, as he was in the air, Itadori crashed down on him, smashing him into the ground. Then, suddenly, they were all on the offensive. Shinji's blade tore through Mahito's right shoulder before he could recover from Itadori's punch. Nanami's blade slammed into his gut, not cutting through him, but stunning him. Itadori drilled a punch into his gut. Shinji slammed a scarlet gauntlet-encased right fist down into Mahito's face, sending it crashing into Itadori's foot mid-kick. Nanami slammed his blade into Mahito's face. Itadori and Shinji drilled a fist into his face from opposite sides, blood spraying out of Mahito's nose and mouth, along with numerous teeth. Shinji's left foot kicked Mahito's head down into the ground for Itadori to punt into Nanami's blade. Shinji's fist once again drilled Mahito's head into the ground. Then, it drilled through the ground to slam an uppercut into Mahito's face, knocking him back up into the air.
And then, it happened. Mahito's Cursed Energy erupted from him in dozens of pitch-black hands, swatting Itadori and Shinji away while catching Nanami. Then, as more and more hands swarmed around Mahito and Nanami, a massive sphere formed. Itadori began to slam his fists against the sphere over and over in frustration.
"Domain Expansion," Shinji mused. "Impressive. He's maturing quickly."
"Maturing?" Itadori asked.
"This Curse is still young and learning to master his own powers," Shinji said. "If it matures enough to gain complete mastery, it'll be a force to truly be feared. However, it doesn't understand the limits of Domain Expansions."
"Limits?" Itadori asked.
"Domains are barriers meant to trap the opponent inside, granted barriers with bonuses," Shinji said. "However, the more durable the inside of a barrier, the weaker the outside becomes." He drilled his right fist into the wall of the sphere. "I'm going to throw you into the air. Use the momentum and your Cursed Technique to smash through the top of the barrier."
Itadori nodded and Shinji reached for him with his right arm, only for it to grab him by the throat. He slapped it.
"Stop that," Shinji said, grabbing Itadori instead by the front of his shirt before leaping into the air and spinning, hurling Itadori into the air.
Then, as Itadori fell, he drilled a punch into the top of the sphere, this time, smashing through it. Then, he jumped, using his legs to smash through into the barrier entirely. A moment later, the entire sphere exploded, leaving Itadori, Nanami, and Mahito behind. Except, Mahito's shoulder was now split open, blood spraying from the wound. Itadori reacted first, exploding forward as Mahito began to expand like a balloon. However, when he drilled his fist into it, it popped like one too. Shinji shot past him a second later, racing toward a grate in the ground where Mahito, looking like flesh-colored goo, was sinking into it, waving a miniscule arm.
"Bye bye," Mahito said. "This was fun."
Then, it was gone. Shinji's palm exploded into the grate, and a scarlet blast of Cursed Energy flooded into the sewer below himself before erupting into an explosion, but even as he dropped into the sewer through the blast, shielding himself with his Cursed Energy, he knew he'd missed. He landed at the bottom of the crater and looked around, but Mahito was gone, and he couldn't tell where he'd gone. He swore harshly and leapt back up to the school courtyard where Nanami was holding up Itadori.
"He got away," Shinji said.
"It's alright," Nanami said. "We need to get Itadori to Jujutsu High."
"I'll take him," Shinji said, taking Itadori without waiting for an answer. "It's about fifteen minutes away. You have one minute."
The Curse took over instantly, and roared, exploding off of the ground. It streaked through the air in a blur, landing just long enough to jump again, racing toward Jujutsu High in a constant series of jumps, each one shattering the ground where he pushed off. Then, finally, as he landed, Gojo appeared in front of him just as Shinji retook control.
"Take Itadori," Shinji said, tossing him to Gojo.
Gojo nodded once and vanished, and Shinji sighed, dropping onto a nearby bench and groaning lethargically. He'd burned a lot more energy in that fight than any one previously. Even facing the trio of Unregistered Special Grade Curses hadn't taken that much out of him. He sighed, sitting there for a while longer before pushing himself back up, only for Gojo to reappear with the principal and Nanami.
"Now what?" Shinji asked. "Am I being executed?"
"No," the principal said. "You're being admitted. Although you didn't know it, the real reason you were sent to assist Nanami in the investigation was because you were being tested to see if you could actually keep control of that Curse of yours. I have my doubts about when you give it a time limit, but by Nanami's report, when you haven't given a time limit, you are in complete control, with the exception of the arm sometimes getting excited, and you can calm it easily. Going by both his and Gojo's reports, I have decided to admit you into the school. You're free to spend the night here and collect your things tomorrow. Your uniform will be ready by tomorrow as well."
Shinji nodded, and Gojo lead him back into the school to an empty room. Shinji thanked him, lay down, and was passed out in seconds.
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