This takes place in an AU of Jujutsu Kaisen. The details of that AU are explained or hinted at throughout the chapter.

I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 100: An Uneven Hand-of-War

"I want to fight him," Sukuna said.

"Are you still on that?" Itadori asked. "You've been bothering me since we met him."

"Just switch with me for a bit," Sukuna said. "You'll be able to switch back anyway." He said that last part with a grumble. "You won't let me kill him."

Itadori grinned at that. Sukuna had been on the quiet side ever since Geto failed to seal Gojo with the Prison Realm. No one knows how it could have failed, but when it did, Gojo defeated Geto before almost single handedly putting an end to the Shibuya Incident. The Prison Realm was then sealed by Gojo himself. Again, no one knew how he did this. All anyone knew was that what Gojo did ended up saving hundreds if not thousands of lives.

Among the survivors of the enemy team were the Hasaba Twins, who desperately wanted revenge against Gojo. It was revealed that they had one of Sukuna's fingers hidden somewhere. The Kyoto students were in charge of finding it. An additional ten fingers were found on Jugo's body after Gojo killed him along with Hanami. Mahito had managed to sneak away. To not overwhelm him, it was set up so that Itadori would consume one finger every other week. He had just finished consuming his eleventh finger.

"We only have a few fingers left," Itadori said.

"And then you'll sacrifice yourself to kill me," Sukuna said. There was anger in his voice along with something else that Itadori couldn't decipher. Itadori chose to keep silent about it. He continued to walk through Jujutsu High. Sukuna spoke first, his voice a bit eerie. "Hey Brat?"

Itadori dropped his arms from beside his head to his sides, coming to a stop. "Sukuna?"

"Is there anything you want to do before you die?"

Itadori's surprise at the question was palpable. He stood still for so long that Sukuna was beginning to think he passed out. "I haven't really thought about it. I mean, all I've thought about lately was finding all of your fingers and saving as many people as I can. I just…"

"'Don't want to regret the way you lived.' Yeah, you've said that several times before."

Itadori grinned. Then a more serious expression appeared on his face. "But I guess I'd like to travel. I get to travel more as a sorcerer but I'd like to do it outside of a job." He blushed. "And it would be nice to have my first kiss."

Sukuna grinned at that. "Of course you're a virgin."

"S-so what if I am? I… I just haven't met the right person yet. B-besides, I'm only fifteen." He crossed his arms and turned his head to the side.

Sukuna chuckled. "If you were born in my time, you'd be married or at least on the verge of finding a bride."

"But you didn't find one."

"I didn't have a desire to. There was never a need for me to do such a thing."

"Not even for procreation?"

"Do you want me to have a child?"

"I'm just surprised that you didn't want to create an heir. I've heard that people used to see you as a God. I'm surprised that you didn't take advantage of that."

"If you think I haven't slept with a woman, you'd be wrong. Women taste just as good after a little exercise." Itadori made a face at that. "Tch. Humans like you don't know what you're missing."

"I've eaten enough of your fingers to know that I'm happy with eating normal human food."

Sukuna rolled his eyes. He wanted to say that his fingers didn't really count, but this was already a pointless argument. Instead, he went back to a previous statement. "You know, if you want to lose your virginity, you could always go to a brothel. They still have those, don't they?"

Itadori's face became red again. "E-even if I found one, I doubt they'd let me in. You have to be at least eighteen."

"Then we just need to make you look older. When we switch, your body ages slightly. I should be able to age it even more."

"I'd rather not. I can't trust that I won't lose control. Besides…" He looked down and fiddled with his fingers. "I'd rather do it with someone I cared about."

"And who is that?" Sukuna's voice had a hint of anger mixed in with curiosity.

"That's…" Itadori's voice trailed off. No one really came to mind. He was about to say this when a door opened and out stepped the redhead Sukuna was itching to fight.

"What do you want?" Kurama asked. Itadori looked at him in surprise. "You've been standing out here for a while now, mumbling some disturbing things." A horrified look appeared on Itadori's face.

"And you've never thought about sex?" Sukuna asked defensively.

Kurama looked at the red eye and mouth that was on one of Itadori's red cheeks. His eyes then shifted to take in the form of the boy before him. He was clearly younger than Naruto, probably two to three years, if he had to guess. It was normal for anyone to think about such things at his age. But that wasn't what bothered him. From what he heard, Sukuna liked to eat people and he seemed to want Itadori to join him for a 'meal'. Kurama had to admit that he had killed many people but he didn't really think about eating them. "If that is all you want to discuss, you're better off returning to your room." An image of younger Naruto popped into his head. "Does this world also have those magazines? From what I understand, they make excellent material for…:

"Oh shut up," Sukuna interrupted. Itadori's face now matched Kurama's hair. "That's not what we're here for."

"I'd think not," Kurama said. "None of us are female nor do we wish to be 'eaten.'"

"Oh god," Itadori said, dropping down to a crouching position. He covered his ears with his hands.

"Kurama," a voice called from inside the room. It caused the redhead's grin to drop. He turned towards the voice. From his position, Sukuna could not see who it was but if he had to guess, it was the blond from before. From what was explained, the blond was Kurama's vessel, similar to what Itadori was to him, only Kurama had the ability to make his own body. The third member of their group was in a coma similar to the one Fushiguro's sister was in. That interested said teen since he believed if Sasuke could wake up, so could Tsumiki.

"Kit, you still need to rest," Kurama said. "Your fever just went down."

"I feel funny," Naruto said.

"It's your first time getting sick, of course you'll feel that way," Kurama said. He left the door open and made his way towards Naruto. Sukuna moved across Itadori's body for a better view. He couldn't believe that Naruto had never gotten sick before. This had to mean that Kurama had somehow protected the boy from it happening. But why didn't he prevent it this time? Kurama led Naruto back to his bed and tucked him in. He felt the warmth of the ice pack and deemed it time to replace it. He left the room, closing the door behind him. Before leaving to get a new ice pack, he glared at Sukuna, giving him a warning.

Sukuna was tempted to burst into the room, but Itadori was still sitting on the floor. Sukuna rolled his eyes at Itadori's reactions. "Oi! Brat!"

"W-what?" Itadori asked.

"What do you mean 'what?'" Sukuna said. "Get your ass off the floor!" Itadori instantly stood up. "What kind of sorcerer are you? Man up."

"Hey!" Itadori argued. "Anyone else would be embarrassed in my place."

"Just shut up and enter the room," Sukuna said.

"What? No. Naruto-san is sick and he needs to rest."

"Yes, but it would give the redhead a reason to fight us."

"I said no. Why do you even want to fight him in the first place?"

"Because he's strong."

"That's not good enough of a reason to disturb a sick person."

"He's the perfect bait though. It's obvious that the redhead cares a lot about the blond. We can use that to make him fight us."

"I don't think…" Itadori's voice trailed off as a shadow loomed over him. He turned slightly to see a pissed off Kurama standing there with the new ice. The look in his red eyes caused him to shiver. Sukuna on the other hand felt a rush of excitement. He was about to provoke Kurama more when the man gently pushed Itadori aside and walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Sukuna grew angry at being ignored, but those feelings paused when a few seconds later, Kurama walked back out of the room.

"Where?"

"Huh?" Itadori asked.

"Your training grounds," Kurama said.

"Out back to the right," Itadori said, pointing in that general direction. He was confused.

Kurama nodded before wordlessly heading that way. He was already at the exit when Sukuna managed to make Itadori follow him. Fushiguro, Kugisaki, and Gojo were already there along with Panda, Toge, and Maki. The six of them turned to see Kurama walking towards them with an aura that put them on guard. They noticed Itadori behind him and wondered what happened. They moved aside to give the two of them space on the field.

Kurama continued walking until he was far away from the others. He then turned towards them. "One of you better make a barrier to protect the school."

Gojo instantly understood what was about to happen and he was giddy about it. He raised a hand. "Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure." Everyone watched as a dark liquid-like matter dripped down from the sky, forming a barrier in the shape of a half-sphere.

"A curtain?" Kugisaki asked. "Will that be enough?"

"No, but it will prevent things from being seen," Gojo said. "We'll have to use a talisman to set up a barrier." His head tilted to the side. "Probably need quite a bit to prevent any real damage." He reached into his pocket and pulled a few taliman and handed a couple to each of the students. "Spread them out but within twenty _ no fifteen feet of each other." The five of them did as Gojo said.

"Are we done now?" Sukuna asked impatiently.

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Itadori said.

"Don't worry Yuji," Gojo said. "If it gets too out of hand, I'll stop it."

A sense of relief washed over Itadori while Sukuna glowered at that statement. He really hated Gojo. The man infuriated him beyond reasons even he understood. He turned his anger towards Kurama. Kurama watched as Itadori took a deep breath. As the tattoos spread over Itadori's body, Kurama thought about Naruto. He knew the Kit wouldn't want him to kill Itadori just because Sukuna pissed him off. So when Sukuna finished taking over Itadori's body, he made a silent promise not to kill him.

Sukuna lept towards Kurama and started a jujutsu fight. Kurama parried it with his own style of taijutsu. It was similar to Naruto's. Neither seemed to land a hit on the other. Gojo whistled. The two were clearly on par with each other. Sukuna grasped this and jumped back. He put a hand in a pocket. "You are stronger than I thought," he said, raising a hand. "I suppose I should take this more seriously." The students began to protest, but Gojo didn't move to stop Sukuna. The King of Curses flicked his wrist and a slash appeared across Kurama's body.

"We have to stop them," Fushiguro said.

"Not yet," Gojo said. His eyes were trained on Kurama.

Kurama coughed. He pressed a hand to his chest before pulling it away to admire the blood on it. Sukuna smirked until he saw the wound close. Kurama sighed. He shimmied out of his shirt, letting the fabric fall to the ground. He actually liked that shirt.

Sukuna frowned, but he wasn't giving up yet. He glanced towards Gojo, but the man didn't look like he was going to intervene. " ▉, Open." Flames wrapped around Sukuna's fingers. The students looked at the scene in surprise while Gojo looked on in amusement. Sukuna moved the flames with his arms until they formed an arrow. He expected the fox to dodge, but Kurama remained firm, taking the attack head on. Fushiguro and Kugisaki made to move, but Panda held them back. Sukuna laughed until the flames suddenly died down and Kurama appeared unharmed. Sukuna growled. He couldn't believe that someone could outdo him so easily. He put his hands together, really to activate his domain.

Gojo took a step forward when there was an explosion behind them. Something crashed through the barrier and flew past them. The smoking pile landed a few feet away from Kurama. It groaned causing everyone to really look at it. Itadori and Sukuna recognized the mass as Mahito. The group then turned to where the explosion occurred and they saw something orangish-red. Kurama stared at the Kit, wondering just how he had tapped into his chakra. Naruto jumped onto the training ground and started walking towards Mahito. No one moved as the anger coming from the blond made them tremble or stop breathing. Itadori was back in control and Sukuna was watching everything through an eye on his cheek. Naruto came to a stop before a crying Mahito.

"N-no," Mojito begged. "Don't kill me. Please. I won't ever come near you or him again. You'll never see me again!"

"I don't believe you," Naruto said. He slammed a chakra covered hand down on Mahito. It crushed the curse into the ground. He didn't stand a chance.

Gojo whistled and clapped a few times. Naruto turned his gaze towards him. His eyes then roamed around the grounds. When they landed on Itadori he let out a threatening growl. Itadori took a step back. Naruto grinned, his instincts taking that as a form of submission. The chakra around him then dissipated and he passed out. Kurama caught him. He placed a hand on Naruto's forehead before he relaxed. The fever was nearly gone, probably burned away from the large chakra output. He lifted Naruto into his arms. Ignoring the others, he jumped into the air and through the hole Naruto had created. After laying him down next to Sasuke, he looked at the damage that curse and Naruto made. He sighed, praying that they wouldn't have to pay for the damages.

"Ara? So much damage," Gojo said. "I knew you two were strong, but I must admit that I didn't expect this."

"I'm sorry," Kurama said.

"It's fine," Gojo said, brushing it off. "Happens more often than you think."

"It sounds like you may need my help," a voice said. The two men looked around. "Down here." Kurama looked at his wrist. It was hard to see but he could make out an outline of a person on his bracelet. He pressed the button and a mini copy of Hokage Naruto appeared, flying in the air on what looked like a disc made of ice. It grinned. "It took a bit of fiddling but it seems this finally worked. Did I surprise you Kyu?"

"Very," Kurama admitted. "How and when did you seal a clone inside my bracelet?"

"Original me did it before you left," the Clone said. "But it got a little messed up from the transportations. When you contacted the Original, he sent a bit of chakra to fix it. Don't know if it will stay fixed though. Sorry it took so long."

"Can you take a look at the Kit?" Kurama asked.

"Sure," the Clone grinned. It flew over to Naruto. "I've never been sick before, so it's a bit strange to see myself like this." He put a tiny hand on Naruto's forehead. "Oh. It seems your chakra is already healing him. He'll be fine in the morning."

"And the Uchiha?" Kurama asked.

The Clone flew over to the raven. He frowned. "The barrier is blocking me from fully seeing it, but there is something inside him, well two somethings. It's hard to explain but it is like there is a bundle of light fighting a bundle of darkness. They are at war with each other. The light is winning though."

"Then he'll awaken?" Kurama asked. He was glad to have another confirmation besides the mysterious goddess.

"Yes," the Clone said. "But I can't tell you when."

"That's fine," Kurama said. "We'll just keep protecting him with that barrier."

The Clone nodded before it flew towards Gojo, stopping a few feet away from him. "Shall I fix this place up now?"

"Oh?" Gojo smiled. He was still a little surprised at everything going on. "And how will you do that?"

The Clone grinned. "You'll see." It began to wave a few signs. Gojo lifted up his blindfold to watch. Suddenly, the ground shook. Roots grew and melded together, covering the hole. It then flattened down making a wall. The leftover roots vanished and the floor returned to normal. Gojo left the room and noticed that wall wasn't the only thing fixed. Evey wall, even the ones broken from previous fights, had been fixed. "You'll still have to paint them, but you should be all set now."

Gojo teleported in front of the Clone and cupped the ice disc in his palm. "I think I'll keep you."

"Yeah, no," the Clone said. It disappeared, leaving the ice disc in Gojo's hand. He reappeared on Kurama's shoulder. "I was made for them." He kissed Kurama on his cheek. "I'll be resting in the seal. Call for me if you need me." He vanished.

Gojo whined. "Awe, and he would have been so helpful too."

"Shouldn't you be leaving?" Kurama asked.

"Oh you're no fun either," Gojo said. "But I suppose you're right. Gotta go check in on my students." He waved before sticking both hands in his pocket and leaving the room. Kurama rolled his eyes. Gojo was a bit like Kakashi, just more childish. Kurama sat down on the chair beside the bed, choosing to read the book Sakura had given him.

-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-

Fushiguro and Kugisaki made sure that Itadori was ok. Even the second years were concerned. Itadori just laughed it off. He was fine but he could tell that Sukuna wasn't. The curse had gone strangely quiet, even more so than usual. Itadori wondered if he should reach out to him, but he didn't. When the ground shook, all of them looked up to see what the Clone had done. A couple minutes later, Gojo walked towards, telling them that everything was ok. Training resumed and Gojo pulled Itadori aside. It wasn't unusual for him to do this, but Fushiguro was still concerned about his friend. Kugisaki took the attention away and he had to get back to training.

"What's this about, Gojo-sensei?" Itadori asked.

"How do you feel?" Gojo asked.

Itadori tilted his head. "What do you mean? I didn't even get hurt." This was true as Kurama never landed a hit on him.

"It's…" Gojo's voice trailed off. He didn't really know what to say. He wondered how Sukuna was taking the loss. It was clear that Kurama had overwhelmed him. Gojo wondered if he could even take the redhead down if it ever came to it. He brushed that thought away by reminding himself that he was the honored one. He decided to change the line of questioning. "What did you think of it? Sukuna's fight with Kurama?"

"The memories are a bit weird," Itadori said. "But from what I saw, he was losing." He had a strange look on his face. "Also, Sukuna made a fire arrow. It was really cool." A look of confusion and excitement replaced the look. "I thought he only had 'Cleave' and 'Dismantle.' I don't remember you or the books saying anything else."

"I'll admit that I was a bit surprised about that too," Gojo said. "It does make things a bit more interesting though."

"Um… Sensei?"

"Yes, Yuji-kun?"

"Do you think Kurama would be able to stop him at full power?"

"Probably. But I don't think they'll be around long enough for us to find out."

"Ok." Gojo noticed that Itadori looked a bit dejected, but he wasn't about to pry into it. Instead, he wrapped an arm around Itadori's shoulders. "Let's get back to training, shall we."

Itadori smiled. "Right!"