Kyandi: We're back!
Inari: We apologize for the wait.
Kyandi: Life got busy again.
Inari: She's getting ready for a big move.
Kyandi: Yep. But I finally got the chapter all typed up and ready to go.
Inari: The review we got.
Kyandi: Oh, right! Thanks for the reminder. To our lovely reviewer, it might seem daunting to tackle more than one story at a time, but I've never had a problem with keeping the stories separated in my head.
Inari: She is quite impressive with multi-tasking.
Kyandi: I just don't have the problem. I always have multiple projects going at once. In fact…I'm actually working one other fanfic that I'm in the process of getting ready to post.
Inari: For those of you who are fans of Fullmetal Alchemist, prepare yourselves.
Kyandi: Yep! Anyway, everyone enjoy and review, please!
Inari: Kyandi-sama does not own Jujutsu Kaisen.
Chapter 4 Deceits of the Heart
When Inari awoke, it was to the report that Junpei's mother had been killed by cursed spirits when a finger of Sukuna had been left at their house. Inari currently stood in a hall between Nanami and Yuuji, the latter glaring at the former.
"Am I a hindrance, Nanamin?" Yuuji demanded. "Take me with you next time. 'My comrade died, but I wasn't there'. 'Because I'm a child'. I'd feel bad saying that."
"That's out of the question." Nanami's refusal made Yuuji frown. "As you know, the enemy uses restructured humans. Some people cannot be helped. As long as you're in this business, there will come a day when you will also have to kill someone. But today is not that day. Please understand. Being a child is by no means a crime."
"Then," Nanami turned his eyes down to Inari. "Take me. I am not Yuuji. I know those poor souls are beyond being returned to normal. Putting them to rest is not beyond me."
"That is even further out of the question," Nanami replied tartly.
Inari's eyes narrowed. "Why? I am not Yuuji. It is not as grave a loss if something were to happen to me."
"Inari," Inari stiffened when Nanami used her given name instead of her family name. He stepped up to her, laying a hand on her head to make sure she was looking up at him. "You've only just now begun to regain your strength and a healthy weight. You are not in top form. As for that second part…do not ever say that again. Do you hear me? Ieiri-san, for one, would not forgive me if I put your newfound health at risk. Nor would I. Your life is just as important as his." Inari wasn't too pleased when he gave her head a pat. "From today onwards, I'll have you two observe Yoshino Junpei."
Inari didn't agree with his reasonings. She felt perfectly healthy, but Nanami had said his piece and wouldn't budge. They were forced to remain behind while Nanami went out. Inari stuck to Yuuji's side as they passed the day, waiting to hear something. When that news came, it was in the form of a report that there was an attack on Junpei's school, a screen surrounding the grounds.
Inari stood beside Yuuji as he took a call from Nanami. "Inari and I will go, Nanamin."
From the other end of the phone, Inari could hear Nanami answer. "You can't. I told you the reason why this morning as well. If he even put up a screen…on top of being alive, the probability of him being at Satozakura High School is high. I'll go back immediately. Please stand by, the both of you."
Yuuji hung up then, his eyes going down to Inari, a silent question there in his eyes. "I go where you go, Yuuji."
Yuuji nodded. Without another word, they headed for the exit. Ichiji, though, blocked their way. "Please get out of our way, Ichiji-san."
"Our job is to save people. Among those people…are you students as well." Ichiji's expression grew firm in his conviction. Inari had to admire that, but just like he had a job to do, so did she. "You can't go."
Yuuji didn't even pause, just led the way past him. "Sorry, Ichiji-san."
Inari met Ichiji's eyes. "Migawari-chan?"
"I have to go." Inari moved past him too. "For the first time in twelve long years, I have a job I have to do, something I have to protect. That's Yuuji. I hope you understand."
Inari left then. Together with Yuuji, she made her way to the school, both of them passing through the screen. Inside, Yuuji turned to Inari. "Let's split up and search."
Inari grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. "No. It's not safe."
Yuuji gave her a grin. "We'll both be alright. We can call each other if we need help."
Inari just stared at him for a long moment. She didn't like the idea, but with all the clashing scents in the area, she wouldn't be able to track Junpei and she knew how stubborn Yuuji could be. Instead of arguing, she dug something out of her pocket. "Take this then. It's faster than one of those witchcraft slabs."
"They're phones." Yuuji corrected, looking down at the object she placed in his hand. He opened his hand to find what looked like a small dog whistle made out of some kind of bone with seals etched into its surface. It hung from a plain, red cord so it could be worn around the neck. "What is it?"
"A Migawari Whistle. It admits a sound that only a Migawari heir like me can hear. Kyui's lived with generations of my family. He was the one that taught me how to use my family's abilities. Just give it a blow if you need me and we to meet up."
Yuuji gave her a nod and slipped the cord over his head to let the whistle hang around his neck. With that, they went their separate ways. Yuuji was quick to locate Junpei, the boy using newly acquired powers to torture a fellow student. Seeing him about to kill the other boy, Yuuji yelled, "What are you doing?! Junpei!"
Junpei turned lifeless eyes on Yuuji. "Stay back…sorcerer."
With Yuuji's insistent meddling in the situation, it quickly devolved into a fight, the two clashing. Yuuji's fist against Junpei's jellyfish shikigami. They crashed through the halls, destroying walls, doors, and windows as Yuuji tried to get through the jellyfish to Junpei. Sliding to a halt, they faced each other.
"I'll say it again," Junpei warned. "Stay back, sorcerer! You have nothing to do with this!"
"That's not something you decide!" Yuuji yelled back.
"What's the point of sending a thoughtless rescuer…" Junpei grit his teeth. "Don't mistake the value of life!" Poisonous tentacles swarmed Yuuji, filling the hallway. "Humans' primal emotions…the heart! They're just byproducts of the soul's metabolism! It's all fake! It's all fake so don't constrain me to your made up rules. No one has the right to stop me from taking lives that can be taken. Just shut your eyes. I have something to return to."
Junpei, thinking his poison had won, turned to leave. Out of the mass of wriggling tentacles, though, came Yuuji, the boy throwing Junpei out a nearby window. Junpei and his shikigami landed on the roof of a covered path below, Junpei gathering his defenses as Yuuji jumped out of the window, too. Junpei aimed to attack Yuuji right before he landed, but Yuuji broke apart the ground with a downward swing of his fist, blocking the attack.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Yuuji retorted. "Splitting hairs like that…it just means you want to think that you're right, don't you?"
Yuuji quickly closed the distance, ignoring the shikigami in favor of landing a punch on Junpei. Junpei smashed through another window and back into the school building. Yuuji followed him inside as Junpei started pushing himself up from the floor.
"I don't know what your motive is, Junpei. I'm sure you have your reasons. But does that mean you'd go as far as throwing that life away? Something like people's hearts being fake…can you say it in front of that person?" Yuuji said, referring to Junpei's mother.
"People don't have hearts."
"You're still saying that?" Yuuji demanded.
"They don't! If they do…if they do!" Junpei raised his face, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Are you saying that my mom and I have been cursed by people's hearts?" His heart broken expression was too much for Yuuji. "Something like that…that's just too much. What's right or what's wrong…I don't care anymore."
Now Yuuji understood what was going through Junpei's head.
He stood by, not trying to defend himself, as Junpei launched another attack on him. He took it as the two stingers hit him, Junpei staring in wide eyed horror. "W-why didn't you avoid it?"
"Sorry." Yuuji ignored his dripping blood to crouch in front of Junpei. "I talked big when I didn't even know anything. Tell me what happened. I definitely won't curse you or anything, Junpei."
Seeing Yuuji's earnestness, Junpei told him everything that had happened. Yuuji stared at Junpei's face as he revealed the burn scars before he spoke in reply to what Junpei told him. "Junpei…come to Jujutsu High school, will ya? There are teachers that are stupidly strong and plenty of reliable comrades like Inari. If we join forces with everyone, we'll definitely find the guy who cursed your mom, Junpei. I'll punish that guy for sure. Let's fight together!" It was then that Yuuji caught sight of a man on the stairs behind them that didn't feel like a human. "Who are you?"
Junpei turned as the man approached, one arm held out. "Nice to meet you…Sukuna's host."
As the man's arm bulged into a strange shape, Junpei jumped in front of Yuuji. "Mahito-san, wait!"
There was a rush of air as Mahito's arm swelled and sprang past Junpei to smash Yuuji into the wall. It was only then that Yuuji recognized Mahito as the cursed spirit that Nanami had fought in the sewers. Inari, he knew, would have known on sight, if not before. He shouldn't have separated from her.
"Run, Junpei!" Yuuji called. "I don't know what kind of relationship you have with this guy but run now! I'm begging you!"
Junpei stayed put. "Itadori-kun, calm down! Mahito-san isn't a bad…a bad…person…"
As Mahito reached Junpei, placing a hand on his shoulder, it seemed something finally dawned on Junpei as well. Now, it was too late.
"You know, Junpei. Well, you're pretty smart, right? But you make foolish moves based on your quick temper instead of deliberating. You tend to do that!" Mahito leaned closer to Junpei. "Because you're about next in line in stupidity after the people you make fun of. That's why…you're gonna die."
Yuuji watched in horror as Junpei's form was mutated into something that was no longer human. With that done, Mahito dropped him, declaring it "round two". With no warning other than that, the mutated Junpei attacked him. No amount of appealing to the human within got the boy to stop. In a bid to help Junpei, Yuuji approached Sukuna…and was denied.
The whole thing ended with Junpei's body giving out and both Sukuna and Mahito laughing at Yuuji's despair.
"Ah! Did he die already?" Mahito cheerfully scratched one cheek. "Must be because I changed the shape to violently. So, this is how it is, huh."
If Inari had been there, she would have bluntly stated that Mahito deserved the punch to the face that he got.
Mahito recovered his balance quickly, landing on his feet. "But too bad. It doesn't have any effect on me. I'm preserving the shape of my so – "
Mahito was cut off when blood began to pour from his right nostril. With shock, he realized that Yuuji had managed to strike his soul as well as his body. He quickly chalked it up to Yuuji being aware of the shape of the soul thanks to having two souls in one body. It made Yuuji all the more interesting to him.
Yuuji, though, was far less amused by this as he poured venom into his words. "I'll fucking kill you."
Mahito's smile grew to a smirk as he licked a bit of blood off his upper lip. "Don't you mean "exorcise"? Sorcerer?"
Mahito's excitement grew as Yuuji's disgust did, the two fighting their way through the halls until they crashed through a wall and out into the courtyard below. By then, Yuuji knew that Mahito could change his shape at will and into any shape he wanted. But even when Yuuji grabbed Mahito and he turned his skin into spikes to pierce Yuuji's hands, the young sorcerer didn't let go.
Finally landing a solid grip on Yuuji, Mahito tried to manipulate his shape. He quickly found out his mistake when he found himself touching not Yuuji's soul, but Sukuna's. He found himself standing before Sukuna's throne of skulls, the spirit glaring down upon him from his seat.
"You're gonna touch my soul…? You're a comrade who sneered at the brat with me. I'll forgive you once, but not twice," Sukuna warned him. "Know your place, you fool."
Mahito was yanked back to reality when Yuuji grabbed his face and headbutted him. As Mahito slumped towards the ground, Yuuji followed it up with a kick across the face. As Yuuji moved to land another hit, Mahito slithered past him and attacked his back. Before he could land the attack, though, Nanami made his appearance, parring the strike.
"Nanamin!" Yuuji let go of a relieved breath.
"I'll reprimand you later. Give me a report on the situation at hand." Nanami didn't take his eyes off Mahito for a moment.
"I…couldn't save two people." Yuuji told him solemnly.
"First, tell me about your physical condition and then the location of Migawari-chan." Nanami demanded.
"I'm fine. Thought I have holes all over my body." Yuuji replied.
"…That's not fine."
"As for Inari," Yuuji wiped a bit of blood from his face. "We split up, but she gave me a quick way to call her. Everyone in the school has collapsed in the gymnasium."
Nanami considered that. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about Inari's location being unknown. The girl was so out of touch with society that he worried about the trouble she could get into. As far as cursed spirits went, though, he had a feeling she would be fine. Kyuubi wouldn't let harm come to her unlike Sukuna with Yuuji.
Nanami and Yuuji tensed as Mahito suddenly attacked, Yuuji's first thought was to grab the whistle from around his neck. He gave the thing a hearty blow, though no noise came from it. He began to wonder if he had broken it during all his fighting, Mahito's enlarged fist coming ever closer, when something dropped like a boulder onto Mahito's head. That something had Yuuji grinning.
"You called?"
"Inari!"
Now standing on Mahito's head was Inari. The girl was unharmed, thankfully. Her eyes shifted from them to her feet as Mahito's flesh expanded, throwing her into the air. Inari easily twisted, landing on her feet just in front of Yuuji and Nanami.
"Are you alright, Migawari-chan?" Nanami asked.
"I am well." Inari eyed Mahito as he returned to his normal shape, grin on his face.
"What's this? You're looking super lively, sorcerer? And you made a new friend, as well." Mahito's eyes went from Mahito to Inari and back. "It's good that we both made it out safe. Wanna go in for a hug? To celebrate our reunion and all." Mahito sniffled, sucking back in the blood still dripping from his nose.
Nanami zeroed in on that, his eyes widening. "Itadori-kun, what about that nosebleed?"
"Huh?" Yuuji was confused. "I punched him."
"When?"
"At the very beginning."
"Did he touch you?"
Yuuji glanced up at Nanami. "Yeah."
Nanami was quiet for a moment before he declared, "My attacks don't have any effect on him."
"Huh?" Yuuji whipped around to face the man. "Wh – "
"I'll tell you why when I reprimand you later." Nanami dismissed the topic. "However, I can stop him from moving. With Migawari-chan's growing speed, she can act as a distraction as well. Let's shower him with attacks as soon as we create an opening. We'll exorcise him right here for sure."
"Yeah!" Yuuji agreed.
"I will need more speed for this." Inari remarked, her comrades looking at her. "Kyui…phase one."
All three males watched in shock as Inari's form made its own shift. Orange hair bleached white, unraveling from its bun to spill to the ground around her. Pale green eyes turned red as red claw marks appeared over her skin. Claws and fangs grew and sharpened even further as two, red-tipped, white tails sprouted from her tailbone. If Yuuji wasn't mistaken, she even grew a few inches in height, pops sounding as her feet elongate and her spine stretched. The girl's back curled, Inari ending up crouched with her hands braced on the ground.
"What did you just do?" Nanami demanded.
"I can take on Kyui's form in phases. Each phase brings me closer to his form and gives me more of his cursed energy to use as my own." Inari shifted, easing her body as it settled into its new shape. "Though, the transition is not as painless as it seems to be."
Inari's eyes landed on Mahito as he stared at her curiously. She tensed as excitement took over his expression and he licked his lips. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what was going through his head. In a flash, Inari was gone. Mahito's eyes grew wide before his head snapped to one side, blood spewing from his mouth, as Inari landed a hard kick to his right cheek. Using his head like a springboard, she flipped away from him, landing on her feet.
Mahito wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, turning his eyes on her. "I see…you have two souls in you as well. Who knew I would meet two hosts!"
Inari bristled, a growl leaving her as she snapped fangs at him. Mahito's amusement at the gesture was quickly forgotten as both Nanami and Yuuji attacked him. Inari instantly jumped in, the three trading blows. When Mahito tucked arms and legs in, his skin prickling, Inari grabbed Yuuji's hood, yanking him to the side as spike shot out from Mahito, piercing the ground where Yuuji had just stood.
In fast, darting leaps, Inari zipped between the spike, claws flashing as she sliced them to ribbons. Realizing it wouldn't work with these three, Mahito withdrew his spikes. Nanami and Yuuji took the chance to attack him then. Shrinking his size to that of a child, Mahito avoided them. He wasn't, however, able to avoid the other child-sized participant in the fight. Inari caught him, driving a knee into his head.
Mahito hit the ground rolling, returning to normal size as Nanami and Yuuji joined Inari. Inari grimaced as Mahito spit up several of his transformed humans, which he then deployed against Yuuji with an order to kill. With Yuuji distracted by the reconstructed human, Mahito attacked Nanami. Inari knocking the man aside was what saved him from an attack that send her flying across the courtyard and into the side of the building.
"Migawari-chan!" Nanami turned to check on her.
"I'm fine. Focus on him!" Inari called back, kicking a bit of crumbled wall off her.
Nanami took her words at face value and turned back to Mahito just in time to be slammed into the wall by the smug spirit. "Next, I'll have you fight me. I wonder if you'll cry this time?" Inari pounced on Mahito, but was caught by his other hand, slammed into the ground, and pinned there. "You wait your turn." Mahito turned his attention back to Nanami as Inari struggled to free herself. "He can't reconcile his ideals with reality, that stupid kid."
"You're wrong." Nanami replied. "He's right in the middle of reconciling them now. If anything…you're the idiot. Especially for thinking you could pin Migawari-chan. I should mention that she's venomous."
Mahito's attention whipped towards the girl as she suddenly dug fangs and claws into his skin, cursed fire erupting from her very pores to set the limb on fire. At the same time, Yuuji dropped from above to land on his arm. Mahito was forced to release both Nanami and Inari, the two instantly rejoining the fight. Distracted by them and the threat Inari was proving to be, he left himself open to an attack from Yuuji.
Nanami followed the attack with one of his own. As Mahito's head whipped to the right, Inari sent it flying back the other way with a lashing kick. The three didn't let up, hitting him one after the other. Mahito knew he was being driven to the brink of death. He could do it now, he was sure. Inari felt the expansion of cursed energy before it could hit, the girl darting back to avoid being caught inside Mahito's Domain Expansion.
The bubble expended, dragging Nanami in while pushing Yuuji out. Inari rushed forward, hands pressing against the dome. "Nanami-sensei!"
Beside her, Yuuji pounded on the barrier. "Don't fuck with me!"
Inari pressed her palms against the dome, closing her eyes to dig deep to where Kyuubi resided in a space like a forest clearing. Kyui, what do you think?
Kyuubi appeared from the shadows of the trees. You are a Migawari, Little One, and one of the strongest I've known. You can take my full form where others could not make it past five tails. Your sealing abilities are the same. If anyone can break it, you can help that boy do so.
Inari smiled. She could always trust Kyuubi to be bluntly honest. Alright, let's see what we are working with…
Inari remained silent while Yuuji hammered away at the barrier. Her senses spread over the screen, poking and prodding. While it was a strong construct, Mahito could not hide its weak point from her. Inari's eyes opened, the girl pulling back on hand and stiffening it before she drove her claws into its surface. Yuuji paused to watch, his eyes growing wide as the barrier around Inari's claws turned a sickly green.
Inari pulled her hand back and stepped to the side. "Hit there, Yuuji."
Yuuji didn't even stop to question her. He pulled his fist back and hit the spot with all he had. The barrier gave, allowing Yuuji to enter. That alone was Mahito's undoing. By Yuuji entering the domain, Mahito was thrown into Sukuna's and Sukuna wasn't so forgiving the second time.
Mahito's domain crumbled as he did, gashes opening deep in his left shoulder. While unsure what had happened, Yuuji processed Mahito's weakened state quickly and jumped on it. Seeing that his death was truly approaching if he continued the fight, Mahito went for one last ditch effort. He blew his form up into a massive lump of flesh. Yuuji threw his all into his punch only to find that it had been a decoy that popped much like a balloon. Nanami and Inari darted past him, both locating Mahito as he slithered down a sewage drain. Though Inari was quick, slicing at the grate, she didn't land the hit before Mahito was gone into the slime-covered tunnels below.
Nanami pulled out his phone. "Ino-kun, the target has fled into the sewers. Yes, please thoroughly search all the pathways southeast of my location. Now that he's been weakened, even you should be able to exorcise him." Nanami hung up, turning to Yuuji. "Let's go after him too. Itadori-kun!"
Yuuji, exhausted, was on the ground, bleeding heavily from his wounds. Nanami crouched next to him to check on him, calling his name, but Yuuji didn't answer. A soft thump had the adult turning to Inari as she dropped to her bottom, her appearance reverting back to its normal look.
"Migawari-chan?"
"I am fine. The transition takes a toll on me. The longer I am in that form, the more my body aches afterward. I will not be able to walk for the rest of the day." Inari answered him, her legs trembling just as her arms did.
Relieved that it was nothing life threatening, Nanami called them a ride. They would have to continue the fight another day.
END
Kyandi: Personally, watching how Mahito acts…I want to slap him.
Inari: You wouldn't do anything to him.
Kyandi: Well, obviously. The fact that he's fictional aside, I don't have two souls in my body.
Inari: No, you just have dozens of voices in your head.
Kyandi: That is a completely separate matter, thank you! Those are of my own creation.
Inari: So, you choose to be insane?
Kyandi: Yes, I do!
Inari: …I fear for my future.
Kyandi: As you rightfully should! Anyway, all that aside, everyone, please enjoy and review.
Inari: We shall return soon.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!