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

Loss of Power

"I can already tell what your problem is," Gojo said, eyeing the bandages once again wrapped around Shinji's right arm. "Your shame at being fused to a Curse, no matter its identity, or how much you love your brother, is muting your usual negative emotions, which is, in turn, blocking your Cursed Energy. For as long as you're hiding that arm, you won't be able to fight, and you might end up weakening your brother's hold on your shattered soul. You might end up dying after all."

Shinji frowned.

"You're trying to fight using your own power, but what you have to remember is, you have none," Gojo said. "You were never able to wield Cursed Energy, or even see Curses, before your brother's soul fused with yours. If you don't accept your brother again, you'll be a Jujutsu Sorcerer again. Even if you don't die, you'll most likely go back to having no Cursed Energy, and you'll stop even being able to see Curses and Jujutsu."

Shinji nodded mutely. "So, even after all this time, it's never been my own strength."

"Not once," Gojo agreed. "Even when you're the one in control, it's your brother's arm which holds your superhuman strength, and your brother simply hands you his weapons to use in battle. As far as your Jujutsu Sorcery is involved, you're the parasite, and your brother is the Jujutsu Sorcerer who allows you to take his Cursed Energy."

Shinji's right arm burst out of its bandages, forming a Cursed Energy katana, only for Shinji to slap it on the back of the hand. Yuma's arm froze, halting its attack, and the sword faded before Shinji stood, sighing heavily and turning, walking out of Gojo's room.

"Even after all this time, and even after he's starting to reject you, you're still protecting him, even his feelings," Gojo mused. "You'll never release your hold on his soul. Even if it kills you, you'll just leave the pieces of your soul behind to weld his back together on your way out, won't you? Almost wish I had a brother like that."

"You were too harsh," Nanami said, walking into the room. "You didn't need to insult him."

"The conditions for allowing him to live with a Curse inside of him are that the Curse continues to remain purely to protect Shinji," Gojo said. "I have to do stuff like that to check every once in a while."

"That's true, but there are better ways to go about it," Nanami said.

Gojo shrugged nonchalantly. "It's a shame. He lost hia power just in time to be recommended for First Grade."

Shinji walked through the street in silence, frowning as he sensed a wall of negative emotions. He looked around, feeling his eyes itch, then blinked, rubbed them, and squinted, focusing. Several Curses swam hazily into view around them. Two had four legs, one of the two had a set of arms, and one had three legs and a tail but no arms. He couldn't make out any details beyond that, as the Curses appeared so hazy to him that even their colors kept shifting in his sight. One charged, and Shinji jumped, slamming a kick into it, only to sail backward himself. He flipped, landing on his feet, and formed a katana, slashing at the one with arms, only for one to smash it, the other slamming a punch into him.

"Dammit!" Shinji groaned, standing, then throwing himself aside from the three-legged one's tail. "They're only Fourth Grade! Stop being weak!"

He ducked under one of the other's strikes, but the Curses were growing hazier and less defined, so he couldn't tell what was attacking him. His left fist connected with a Curse, but his fist stopped instantly. And then, there was nothing there. He grit his teeth. It couldn't be real. He had to be able to see them. He couldn't go back to being weak.

"Shinji!" Itadori shouted, flipping over him and throwing three strikes, probably destroying all three Curses. Then, Itadori knelt in front of him. "Yo, what gives? Those three were weak!"

Shinji merely shook his head. Itadori sighed, helping him up, and they headed back toward the school.

Itadori frowned as Shinji stared at the TV blankly, completely unaware of Fushiguro's Demon Dog standing in the way to block his view. Finally, Fushiguro ended his Technique, glancing at Itadori and Kugisaki. That confirmed it. Shinji had lost his Cursed Energy.

Shinji stepped through the veil, ignoring the fact that it vanished from his sight as soon as it passed behind the lenses of his glasses. He hated having to stoop to that level, but Maki had been generous enough to give him her spare set. He'd also borrowed a japanese broadsword from her so that he could fight, but he hated it. Now, instead of bumming off his brother, he was bumming off a schoolmate.

"What's the situation?" he asked, his voice dry and monotone.

"The barrier you just passed through allows Jujutsu Sorcerers to pass through freely, but it's keeping all non-sorcerers in," Panda said. "Look, I know you didn't want to just sit here, but are you really sure you want to go in alone?"

"I'll be fine, Panda," Shinji said. "I'm just going through a rough spot. If push comes to shove, I'll just use my ace."

"Well, if you say so," Panda said. "Be careful."

"I will," Shinji said, pushing through the last of the civilians and finding the subway tunnel.

He headed down into it, intending exclusively to see what Special Grades were waiting down there. However, when he reached the bottom of the first staircase at a large, open area, he stopped, seeing dozens of Transfigured Humans. He didn't see Mahito, but if he was there, Shinji was dead. Shinji swallowed hard as the Transfigured Humans began to take notice of him. Then, just as one of them roared, Shinji charged.

He slashed through one of them, then removed another's head, both looking similar to aligators. One looking like a deformed gorilla leapt at him, but he ducked out of the way, slashing it. One that had every limb a different size slapped him with a buldging, swollen hand, and sent him flying. Shinji grunt in pain as his skull hit the wall before his back. He groaned, pushing himself up, then staggered forward, raising the sword again. Several charged and he killed them, only for several small ones with long, pointed teeth to latch onto his legs. He shouted in agony, falling to his knees as the small ones fled. A fat one with an elongated, twisted head stepped forward, punching him, its brute strength surpassing even the big one that had slapped him. He crashed down hard, rolling to a stop as the shattered remains of his borrowed glasses landed in front of him. He let out a frustrated sob, then shoved himself up, punching one, kicking another, flipping over one. He didn't have much power, but in theory he could kill these without Cursed Energy, so he could still fight. And then a blade sprouted from his gut. He fell to his knees as the blade, a Transfigured Human's arm, was pulled free, and fell forward to his hands and knees. No sooner had he vomited blood did a bloated foot explode into his side.

He exploded into the side of the room hard, his head swimming, all sounds distorted as though from an underwater speaker someone had forgotten to waterproof, resulting in it shorting out. And then, one shaped kind of like a giant toilet with teeth lunged as him and a spray of blood filled his vision.

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