I do not own Jujutsu Kaisen or any of the characters.
Slipping
Shinji groaned, stretching slowly as his sore body protested. He was supposed to be resting, but he needed to talk to Gojo. However, before he could find him, he found Kasumi. He smiled, raising a hand. "Hey, there you are. I'm glad you're safe."
"Are you?" Kasumi asked venemously. "Why would you be? You're a Curse! I should have known you were just defending Sukuna's vessel! You acted like you were kind, but you were just keeping me distracted! Gakuganji was right! You Curse hosts aren't really people! None of you can be trusted!"
Shinji remained silent as Kasumi stormed past him, then ckntinued walking, finally finding Gojo as the faculty all left a meeting. Gojo motioned for him to follow, and after they were alone, he turned to him.
"I saw your fight," Gojo said. "Looks like Todo got you and Yuji to progress a lot. Congratulations on finishing the fight. That was some Curse Technique."
"I didn't finish the fight," Shinji said. "The Special Grade escaped. Badly wounded, but it escaped."
"But it failed to kill anyone, so that qualifies as victory," Gojo said.
Shinji shook his head. "There's other news. I confirmed, as I'm sure the others also did, that Gakuganji ordered Yuji Itadori's execution during the event."
Gojo nodded. "I figured as much, but at thia point, since Yuji survived, it's a moot point. However, I'm going to warn you, the Special Grade's attack was a diversion, though a dangerous one. While you were fighting it, and I was trying to get through the Veil, that other Special Grade you fought, Mahito, broke into Tengen's barrier."
"Impressive," Shinji said. "Speaking from experience, that's not easy. What'd he get? Sukuna's fingers?"
Gojo nodded. "Six of them. And the Cursed Womb Death Paintings numbers one to three."
"That's a lot of firepower," Shinji said. "That'll cause a lot of trouble and chaos."
Gojo nodded. "We can handle it."
Shinji nodded, hesitating. "Why did you spare us back then?"
Gojo was silent for a moment. "Because I saw that even though he was a Curse, your brother still loved you and protected you. It sacrificed its own life to save you by giving you his arm. So long as the bond between brothers remains, I'll allow you to live."
Shinji sighed, nodding. "I'm heading to bed. Is the event canceled?"
"Not yet," Gojo said.
Shinji nodded and left, and Gojo walked through the school, eventually finding Kasumi.
"There you are," Gojo grinned. "I've been looking for you."
"Y-You have?" Kasumi asked, face shining with excitement.
"Yeah," Gojo said. "I understand you saw Shinji use his Curse Technique."
"I think you mean Curse," Kasumi said. "Why would Tokyo's school let not just him but Sukuna's vessel join? They should both be exorcised!"
Gojo hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe you should hear their stories before you decide they're nothing but Curses. Yuji is rather simple, as you can imagine. He lost his grandfather, then shortly afterward, his school was attacked by Curses attracted to Sukuna's finger. In order to save his best friends, he swallowed Sukuna's finger, risking his own life for the power to kill the Curse. However, miraculously, not only did he live and retain his humanity, but he can also willingly restrain Sukuna. Basically, despite Sukuna living inside of him, he is still himself."
"And Shinji?" Kasumi asked, arms crossed. "Let me guess, he stole the Curse's arm before he killed it, and now he's subjugated what's left of it?"
"Not hardly," Gojo said. "Shinji never had any ability to wield Cursed Energy himself. He couldn't even see Curses. Then, one day, he and his brother were mugged, and his brother was critically wounded. Shinji carried him five miles before anoying stopped to help them.
"Shinji's brother died at the hospital, cursing his own death because he couldn't protect his brother if he died. He cursed his own death so much, that he actually became a Special Grade all on his own. Naname and I were sent to exorcise it, but the oddest thing happened. Shinji couldn't see his Curse brother, but he coukd sense him. And he sensed our hostile intentions, so in order to protect his brother's spirit, he fought us. Nanami and I. We were obviously in no danger, but then the thing that was odd happened. The Special Grade we were fighting stopped Shinji, just as I had decided to kill him, too, if only to spare him the pain of losing his brother a second time. The Curse was going to allow us to exorcise it if it meant Shinji would live However, before we had the chance to kill it, another Curse arrived and poisoned Shinji through his right arm.
"It was a slow poison, so Nanami removed his arm. But the poison had absorbed part of his life force, so he was dying anyway. His brother, the Special Grade, killed the Curse, then spoke. It's vocabulary was shaky, but it told Nanami to give Shinji his arm. Nanami accepted, and amputated the Curse's arm. The Curse used its Curse Energy to fuse the arm to Shinji's body, but in doing so, he destabilized his own life force, and the remaining parts of his bosy broke apart and he self-exorcised. I sensed the part of Shinji's Cursed brother's soul that had retained its identity inaide of Shinji, but it was actively holding Shinji's own soul together.
"Although it's not widely known, if someone's life force is drained or burned as a power source, it damages the soul. Do enough damage, and the soul will crumble, killing the person it belongs to. Shinji's brother was holding Shinji's soul together to keep him from dying, and even today, it's still doing that. Id the Curse were to die, or were exorcised, Shinji would die."
"So...Shinji is actually...Shinji and his brother...who turned into a Curse...then protected Shinji?" Kasumi asked.
"And sacrificed itself for him," Gojo nodded. "Try to bear that in mind when you see Shinji and Yuji Itadori. They were both people before they housed Curses, and neither are bad people. I could hear you shouting at Shinji, but he wasn't keeping you distracted to protect Yuji. If he chose to compete alongside you rather than fight against you, it's because he was enjoying being around you. Shinji's one of the most independent, antiaocial people I've ever met. He hates being around peoplw, because he's afraid that his brother, who struggles with his Curse tendencies, will hurt them, or they'll see that he gets his powers from a Curse and hate him."
"He's afraid of people hating him?" Kasumi asked.
"He may love his brother, and he may need him to survive and fight, but even when you love someone with all your geart, you can still be ashamed of that peraon and hate yourself for loving them," Gojo said. "This is true both in romance and in families, and this is the case with Shinji, whether he woud admit it or not."
Kasumi frowned in thought, and Gojo turned, walking away.
Shinji sighed as he leaned back in his seat. Day two, thanks to Gojo's tampering, had been a baseball game. Tokyo had won, thanks to Itadori's brute strength, and Shinji had sat it out with his right arm bandaged, claiming broken bones, but that was a flat out lie. He had just wanted to feel normal for once and not have people judge him by his brother's arm. He held his left hand to his right arm, closing his eyes. He missed Yuma, but he couldn't pretend part of him wished Yuma had never cursed his own death.
"Hey, what're you up to?" Gojo asked.
"Relaxing," Shinji said. "I assume that's over?"
"Well, the other three first-years are going to investigate three similar deaths, but we have another mission for you. There have been sightings of a Cursed Spirit that seems to be stalking swveral people. However, it's been suspiciously docile."
"So, what, a Flyhead is having trouble picking a target?" Shinji asked.
"Actually, this Cursed Spirit is described as looking like a creepy clown," Gojo said. "We only know it's a Cursed Spirit at all because one of the Jujutsu Sorcerers from nearby spotted it and could sense its Cursed Energy."
"What Grade?" Shinji sighed.
"We're anticipating Grade Two, maybe Grade One," Gojo said.
Shinji rolled his eyes, standing. "Fine. Where am I heading?"
"This is where the last sighting was," Gojo said, handing him a slip of paper with a location written on it. "We're going to send you some help, too."
"Who?" Shinji asked.
"Maki," Gojo said.
Shinji nodded, and left, meeting up with Maki at the front of the school.
"They're sending you with your arm still broken?" Maki asked. "Tall order without being able to use your best abilities."
"I can still use my projections," Shinji said, forming a Cursed Energy dagger as proof.
"Well, at least not all of your Curse's abilities are out of commision," Maki said.
Shinji frowned, gaze falling to the ground. She was right. As with everything, his projections weren't really his. They were Yuma's. Even without using Yuma's arm, he'd still be relying on his strength. But, then, that was a given, wasn't it? After all, he couldn't even see Curses or control Cursed Energy without Yuma.
He remained silent as they drove to the location of the last sighting, and when they arrived, they found some very faint residuals in the form of footprints. They followed them, tracking the Cursed Spirit to the sewer. Shinji rolled his eyes.
"If this is Mahito or the Curse representation of Stephen King's It, run like Hell," Shinji said.
"It?" Maki asked. "Stephen King?"
"Stephen King is a horror novelist from the United States of America, and It is a monster who can shapeshift and most commonly takes the form of a clown," Shinji said.
"Right," Maki said. "I doubt that's what we're up against."
"After fighting the male representation of Mother Nature, it wouldn't surprise me," Shinji said.
Finally, they walked into a large chamber and stopped, seeing the target standing across from them. Its mouth stretched into a grin full of pointed fangs, but as Shinji readied himself to free his right arm, it contorted and transformed into something resembling a centepede with a scorpion tail, and he stopped.
"Well that's not what I was expecting," Shinji said. "Why a clown?"
"Because it was a decent enough trap to get you to drop your guard," a voice said behind them.
They spun, staring at a man with black hair, brass knickles, and a praying mantis Shikigami behind him.
"Bug type Cursed Spirits," Shinji said. "Interesting."
"Kill them," the Curse user said.
As both Cursed Spirits charged, Junpei flipped over the Curse user, sending his own Shikigami at the centipede thing. The centipede shrieked in pain as Moon Dregs stabbed its stingers into the centipede's back, then hurled it. At the same time, Shinji formed himself a shield in his left hand, moving to block the mantis's arm blades, only for them to smash straight through. His eyes widened. There was no way. This thing was literally nothing compared to what he'd faced. He formed a wakizashi and exploded forward, jumping and slashing. His blade shattered against the mantis and its blade flashed around, only for Maki to knock it aside with a naginata. Shinji focused, leaping forward and drilling a punch into the mantis. It staggered backward, but bore no other marks.
"What is going on!?" Shinji shouted in frustration.
The mantis roared, charging, only for Maki to flip over him with a large sword and spin, splitting the mantis several times, killing it. Behind them, the centipede collapsed, its body covered with purple spots and puncture wounds from Moon Dregs. Junpei glanced at Shinji and frowned.
"Are you okay?" Junpei asked.
"I don't...know," Shinji said, looking up just as Maki knocked out the Curse User. "Should we finish him?"
"We'll take him back to school and let the higher ups figure out what he was up to," Maki said, then glanced at him. "Your Cursed Energy has lost nearly all of its power."
"I noticed," Shinji said, holding his free hand to his right arm. "Let's get back. Maybe Gojo will know what's happening to me."
Maki nodded, and they started back toward the school. However, the walk had taken most of the day, and it was getting dark, now. Except, just as they reached the car, Shinji froze as his right arm exploded free of its bandages, pointing to the right and high up. Almost instantly, something Shinji sensed but hadn't noticed suddenly shone in the forefront of his awareness. Itadori and the others were in danger.
"Get back tot he school!" Shinji said. "You have one minute!"
Yuma exploded off of the ground, streaking through the air rapidly. A minute would be cutting it close, but it was all he could manage. Whatever had happened earlier, it was already draining Yuma's strength, just as it had drained the strength from Shinji's projections and strikes. Finally, as the minute ended, Yuma just barely managed to land off to the side from Kugisaki, who was standing with a dark-skinned man with black sclerae and purple irises, dressed in a g-string, a speedo, and thigh-highs.
"Oh?" the man asked. "You're an interesting one. We were warned about you, but you're not on the list either. My brothers and I are here on an erand. If you leave, we'll let you live."
"What errand?" Shinji asked.
"Our only objective here is to get Sukuna's finger and return it to where it belongs," the man said.
Shinji's gut dropped and he turned, launching himself through the round, black, liquid-like hole in reality behind Kugisaki, an opening into an Incomplete Domain. As Shinji arrived, he realized he was late for the battle. In fact, it was almost over. The ground was covered in a thick, fluid shadow, from which dozens of Shikigami were emerging to pummel or distract the Finger Bearer Fuahiguro was fighting, as was Fushiguro himself. Then, Fushiguro was hit, only to fall away as more liquid shadows. Then, a pair of Nue were battering the Finger Bearer. Finally, it let out a massive blast of Cursed Energy, clearing Fushiguro's Incomplete Domain, only for Fushiguro's Demon Dog, now blue and white with almost humanoid front legs and double the size of his normal black Demon Dog, to drive its clawed right hand through its chest, killing the Finger Bearer.
"Awesome work!" Shinji grinned as Fushiguro fell to his knees, dispelling his Demon Dog.
The Curse's Incomplete Domain faded, and Fushiguro fell to the side, only for Shinji to catch him, laying him down.
"Rest," Shinji said. "I'll get the Finger to Gojo."
Fushiguro shook his head. "Yuji and Nobara. Where are they?"
"Nearby," Shinji said. "I'll help them."
"You can't," Fushiguro said. "I can tell at a glance, you've got no power right now. You've lost it."
Shinji closed his mouth, bit nodded. "But I can still run and work a phone."
Fushiguro considered, then held the finger out. However, just as Shinji reached for it, an impact sounded on the bridge above them. Shinji spun, looking up just as a green Curse covered in blood sprayed Itadori with a mouthful of blood, Kugisaki getting hit by blood from the nesrly naked guy's back, the blood forming wings, it looked like. Just as they were hit, Shinji sensed the Curse pair's Cursed Energy activate in the blood.
"On second thought, hold onto it for a minute," Shinji said, gripping his right forearm. "Hey, we have a job to do!"
He felt a small amount of Cursed Energy flow, but it stopped almost instantly. He grit his teeth. They needed help, and yet he was useless. And then, they didn't. Kugisaki's sadistic side allowed her to unflinchingly drive nails into her own infected arm to use her Straw Doll Resonance to wound the two enemies while Itadori beat the green one to the brink of death. Then, as the Technique they were suffering ended, Itadori swapped targets and both used a Black Flash. One was down, one was missing an arm. Kugisaki's target rose again, only for her to use another Curse Technique, Hairpin, to finish it, and the other fled by hijacking a vehicle. Except, Kugisaki used her Straw Doll Resonance and that enemy's lost arm to strike him, giving Itadori the chance to finish it. And just like that, the battle had ended in mere moments. The two of them headed down to Shinji and Fushiguro, and Shinji took the finger.
"Yuji, do not eat this," Shinji said, tossing the finger to him.
Except, just as he tried to catch it, Sukuna formed a mouth on Itadori's palm, swallowing the finger.
"You idiot!" Fushiguro snapped.
"What!?" Itadori asked. "I'm not the one who ate it, he did, and he didn't even warn me this time!" He paused for a moment. "Man, has Gojo just been winging it this whole time?"
"You just now figuring that out?" Fushiguro asked.
"There you three are!" one of the school's assistants shouted down at them, then stopped. "Oh, you're Shinji Ichinose, right?"
Yeah," Shinji nodded. "If you're heading to the school, can I get a ride?"
"Sure," she nodded. "Come on up, all of you."
They all nodded, and a few minutes later, they'd reached the car.
"Maki Zenin, Panda, Shinji Ichinose," Mei Mei listed.
"Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki," Todo listed. "And, of course, my brother, Yuji Itadori. So by my name, Aoi Todo..."
"And by mine, Mei Mei," Mei Mei said.
"We hereby reccommend these six for promotion to First Grade!" both said.
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