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

Yuta Okkotsu

Shinji digested Kasumi's description of their failure in silence. While he'd kept Uraume busy, Geto had used Mahito's Idle Transfiguration to do something to people that he'd claimed were already marked, though Kasumi hadn't understood what he was saying. He also claimed to have unsealed a Cursed Object, or possibly multiple, but hadn't been specific about what. Then, he'd said something about creating ten thousand new Jujutsu Sorcerers or Curse Users, likening them to evil Itadoris, before the flood of Cursed Spirits had begun. Along with that flood, Shinji assumed that countless more Curses had appeared, as the news had been on just long enough for a nation-wide broadcast to announce that all twenty-three wards in Tokyo had fallen, and that the Japanese economy was crashing, the nation's leadership was unaccounted for, and there was a massive vacuum left in place of Japanese society as a result.

"Have we had any form of contact with the others?" Shinji asked.

Kasumi shook her head. "It's been a few days, but we haven't heard anything."

Shinji nodded. "My phone was broken during one of the fights, not really sure which, but it doesn't really matter since there's no signal."

Kasumi nodded. "Should we try to get to Jujutsu High? You're not fully recovered still after expending so much Cursed Energy, so we can wait another day if you want."

"No," Shinji said. "Let's head for the school today. While we do that, we can start trying to help whittle down the number of Curses in the-"

He stopped as someone clapped loudly. Both spun, staring out of the door as the clapping continued, pausing a few seconds between each but at a steady rhythm.

"Todo?" Kasumi asked hopefully.

"Let's go!" Shinji said, both darting out of the building they had been resting in for a couple hours after accidentally starting a fight that dragged on late into the night the day before.

Shinji sensed Cursed Spirits swarming toward the source of the clapping, but as they headed for it, more began to swarm them, coming in every shape and size. Shinji formed himself a katana as Kasumi drew her thread katana, which seemed to be able to hold its form without her needing to give it Cursed Energy. Then, as the Cursed Spirits reached them, they rapidly slashed everything in reach, shredding their way through the Curses in seconds before leaping off of a bridge to a waterway. However, as they landed, Shinji sensed something was wrong. He could sense Itadori and Choso's Cursed Energy, but they were fighting a pair of other people he couldn't identify. However, one of the two, the one fighting Itadori, hit Shinji's senses like an ocean of Cursed Energy, leaving only one possibility.

"Yuta Okkotsu is attacking Itadori!" Shinji warned Kasumi. "And Choso's fighting someone else! Help Choso if you can but be careful!"

Kasumi nodded, and as Shinji sped past Choso and his opponent, a man wearing traditional attire, identifying himself as part of one of the Big Three families, and had blonde hair hanging loosely around his head, not unlike Shinji's own hairstyle. Kasumi slashed at him with her sword, but he vanished before she could strike him. Shinji ignored them, instead heading for Okkotsu and Itadori. Just as he arrived, Itadori was struggling to fend off Okkotsu's katana with a survival knife. Shinji exploded forward, his own Cursed Energy katana deflecting Okkotsu's just as it smashed through Itadori's knife. Shinji swallowed hard, his sword and Okkotsu's clashing in a blur, neither moving. Okkotsu was testing him. He could have slashed through the blade, or else used the rest of his body to attack already.

"You're Shinji Ichinose," Okkotsu identified him. "You fought off a Curse User who would have warranted the rank of Special Grade at the end of the Shibuya Incident three days ago. You're on my list."

Okkotsu's right foot flashed up as the battle shifted from testing to a real battle. As Shinji's arm used the katana to deflect Okkotsu's own, Yuma's arm shoved Okkotsu's kick aside. Shinji pressed forward instantly, shortening the katana into a Wakizashi, he and Yuma fighting together now as Okkotsu incorporated his entire body into the fight. Shinji blocked Okkotsu's sword, and Yuma blocked a knee with his palm, pushing off of it and flipping Shinji over Okkotsu. Shinji slashed three times in a blur, Okkotsu blocking the strikes before flipping and kicking at him. Yuma blocked the kick, but Shinji exploded into the ground hard. He flipped to his feet, ducking under Okkotsu's roundhouse kick, then slashed hard. Both blades shattered, and Yuma's fist flashed out, slamming into Okkotsu's palm. Yuma's punch set off a Black Flash, but Okkotsu showed no reaction, as if it hadn't even vibrated his bones. Okkotsu's right foot snapped up in a roundhouse kick again, and Shinji's fist met it with his own Black Flash, only for him to explode backward into a box truck, crushing it like tinfoil. Itadori leapt at Okkotsu, but Okkotsu spun, windmill kicking him in the jaw and hurling him aside, only for a massive Curse to appear from a rift in reality made from fluid darkness like Fushiguro's Shikigami, catching him. It had off-white arms and an eyeless, off-white hands, then darkness wrapped around the rest of its body like a cloak.

"We're just playing, Rika," Okkotsu said calmly. "Hold him for me."

The curse shifted its grip from about to snap Itadori's neck to wrapping her arms around his torso and pinning his arms in the blink of an eye. Itadori struggled against her grip but was powerless against her. Then, just as Okkotsu spun back toward Shinji, Shinji and Yuma's hands slammed into the ground, shining with Cursed Energy and Reverse Cursed Energy respectively.

"Domain Expansion!" Shinji roared. "Soul Plane!"

A moment later, he, Yuma, and Okkotsu stood in the desert, boulders and stone pillars surrounding them. Okkotsu looked around calmly, nodding.

"I see," Okkotsu nodded. "Cursed Energy doesn't determine power here, since we're simply souls manifested into a physical forms. It's all about what the combatant can imagine and will into existence. And here, you and your brother can fight together directly, as opposed to your brother controlling only your right arm, as before. That's an interesting way to level the playing field between us."

"While we're here, our bodies are standing inside of the barrier in a comatose state, not moving, speaking, or doing anything but continuing to breathe," Shinji said.

"Tell us what you're really after, Yuta Okkotsu," Yuma ordered. "We know you're not really here to kill us or Itadori, or you'd have finished us off the moment you had the chance."

Okkotsu watched him for a moment before speaking. "I do intend to kill you two and Yuji Itadori. I have a Binding Vow to do so. However, I never promised to leave you dead. I'm going to stab you both in the heart, fulfilling the condition of killing you, while at the same time channeling Reverse Cursed Energy into my blade, restarting your heart. Hopefully."

"I see," Shinji said. "What are your expectations for the chance of you succeeding?"

Okkotsu considered. "Fifty-fifty. I've never tried this before, but I have some skill with the Reverse Cursed Technique, so it is possible, at least, in theory."

Shinji considered. "Alright, but you need to do me a favor in exchange for me not forcing you to fight it out with us right here."

Okkotsu nodded. "I'll try, depending on the favor."

"Save Kasumi Miwa from the person she's fighting," Shinji said. "I'm not sure if she and Choso together can beat him or not, but I don't want to run the risk. Also, once you've saved her, give her a message for me."

Okkotsu nodded.

"Tell her I said that I like waking up to ramen and a scalp massage," Shinji said. "Obviously don't tell her the message loudly."

"Scalp massage?" Okkotsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You've clearly never had one, if you don't think that'd be a good way to wake up," Yuma said.

Okkotsu stared at him for a long moment. "We have a deal."

Shinji and Yuma nodded, and the Domain around them faded. As Shinji and Okkotsu regained control of their bodies, Shinji let his legs buckle, acting as though he'd lost and staring at the ground, instead bracing himself for pain. Okkotsu turned, walking toward Itadori.

"It'll be a few minutes before he's able to move, so I'll start with you, Sukuna's vessel," Okkotsu said, then drove the broken end of his sword into Itadori's heart. After a moment, he withdrew it and nodded. "That's one." He returned to Shinji. "Your turn. I'll be sure to give your last words to Miwa on my way out."

Then, he drove his sword into Shinji's heart. Shinji lost consciousness within seconds, but Yuma remained conscious, feeling Shinji's heart stop, then restart, though Shinji was left unconscious and seemingly dead. Okkotsu began to drag both of his opponents back toward where Kasumi and Choso were fighting the other person, arriving just as Choso managed to wound their opponent with an explosion of blood. Okkotsu greeted Choso and Kasumi by knocking Choso out, then blocked Kasumi's blade with his own before stabbing her in the gut, healing her as he had Shinji and Itadori while whispering Shinji's message. Kasumi's eyes widened before he pulled his sword free and kicked her, not dealing any massive amount of damage, but knocking her out all the same. Then, he turned to the other person.

"Looks like you're injured, Naoya," Okkotsu said. "Shall I heal you? My Reversed Curse Technique can heal people. In return, please inform your superiors of Itadori's death."

Naoya glared at him, then agreed, and Okkotsu healed him before collecting all four of the unconscious bodies around them and left.

Shinji groaned as he stirred, only to feel someone's fingers combing through his hair and lightly massaging his scalp. He smiled instantly as he smelled ramen cooking. He hadn't actually expected her to follow through with his message. He opened his eyes, and Kasumi smiled down at him in relief.

"You scared me," Kasumi said, Shinji staring at the hole in the abdomen of her jacket. "Don't worry. Okkotsu healed me when he stabbed me, just like he did you."

Shinji nodded and lay still for a couple more minutes, enjoying having Kasumi run her fingers through his hair, before finally sitting up. "You know, you didn't really need to make ramen."

"It's about dinner time anyway, so we decided to just go ahead and take your message literally," Kasumi smiled.

Shinji glanced around, seeing Okkotsu sitting on a chunk of rubble off to the side, Itadori sitting up next to him, apparently having woken sooner than Shinji.

"I was just explaining my reasoning to Itadori," Okkotsu said. "By the way, just so you know, your Black Flashes broke my radius and most of the tarsals in my foot. They weren't as useless as you thought."

"I see," Shinji said. "Then you're even more of a monster than I had thought you were, since you kept fighting despite a broken arm and foot."

Okkotsu shrugged. "I didn't have an option of stopping."

"There you are," Fushiguro said, walking over to them with Choso. "What are you doing? Let's head back to Jujutsu High."

"After dinner," Shinji said. "Kasumi and I haven't eaten more than a few bites of dry bread since Shibuya."

"You're unbelievable," Fushiguro sighed. "Fine. In the meantime, has Okkotsu explained the current state of things to any of you?"

"No," Shinji said as Okkotsu began to ladle ramen into bowls for everyone. "I know the general state of the country, but only very general."

Fushiguro nodded. "Noritoshi Kamo has arranged for every Jujutsu Sorcerer to take part in a culling game, and Tsumiki is caught up in the middle of that."

"I can't go back to that school," Itadori said.

"Shut up, Itadori," Shinji said. "You're not responsible for what Sukuna did while you were unconscious. And even if you were, it doesn't matter. We're not heroes, and we don't fight for Justice. Especially not right now. Right now, we fight for survival, and no one can judge any of us for the things we can't control."

Itadori's eyes widened, and he considered before looking to Okkotsu. "Okkotsu, if Sukuna ever takes control of me again, don't hesitate to kill him. I think you could do it."

Okkotsu nodded, and Itadori returned it.

"Then what's our next move after going back to the school?" Itadori asked.

"We're going to make contact with Master Tengen," Fushiguro said. "We need to find a way to break the seal on the Prison Realm and free Gojo, and we need to figure out what Kamo's concrete plans are."

"I have a theory about that," Shinji said. "Choso, you were created by Kamo, right?"

Choso appeared out of the shadows, nodding. "Myself, and all of my brothers."

"And you can somehow sense Itadori is one of them, even though he's not a Cursed Womb: Death Painting?" Shinji asked.

Again, Choso nodded.

"So, if that's the case, why were you and your other eight Death Painting brothers all aborted before birth, but Itadori was carried to term?" Shinji asked. "Also, Itadori, did either of your parents have Noritoshi Kamo's stitches?"

Itadori frowned for a moment. "I think...my mother might have had a scare that looked like them, but no actual stitches."

"Then let's assume that was, in fact, Noritoshi Kamo," Shinji said. "If it was, again, why was Itadori allowed to be carried to term, but the other nine children of Kamo were all aborted?"

"I don't know," Choso said. "But, I assume you do?"

"It's because Itadori was capable of being Sukuna's vessel, but the other nine couldn't have been," Okkotsu spoke up. "Is that what you're thinking?"

Shinji nodded. "Regardless of what kind of world Noritoshi Kamo plans to create, he went through a painstaking amount of effort to create the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, and then Itadori. If we assume that it was to make a suitable vessel for Sukuna, and that Itadori is the first and only successful attempt, then that gives a possible option for Kamo's plans. I believe that what he wants most, even before a world of Curses and Jujutsu Sorcery, is to fully reincarnate Sukuna, and then steal his body. I believe he wants access to Sukuna's full power, the same way he stole Suguru Geto's, and that's why things have progressed the way they have until now. Everything has been for the sake of making Itadori stronger and guiding him to Sukuna's fingers."

"It's entirely possible," Okkotsu nodded. "And his successful theft of Sukuna's body would be a worst-case scenario."

Shinji nodded, finishing his ramen, the others doing the same. "Alright, let's go and meet Tengen."

The others all nodded and gathered anything they needed to take with them before heading out.

Leave a review.