Nanami stood in the sewage with his blunt knife dripping with blood. "If you're going to come out, do it now."
"They may look distorted, and it's too late to save them, but it's unpleasant to kill humans," he said as he straightened his tie.
Mahito came out of the darkness. "Wow, I'm glad. I would be troubled if Gojo Satoru was here. But if someone too weak comes, I can't have my experiment."
Nanami placed his hand on his neck, "I don't enjoy working overtime. Let's try to wrap this up quickly." Even in the midst of the tense scenario, he couldn't help but recall Gojo's playful antics from before, where he would jump around and joke, saying, "I'll kill you~"
Nanami lunged forward, throwing himself at Mahito with all his might, wielding his blunt knife. The two clashed ferociously, exchanging blows in rapid succession. As they fought, he thought, 'They feel similar. That perfectly flippant attitude and the sinister strength behind it.'
Mahito then sprang back into the water as Nanami relentlessly pursued him, slashing his knife in a flurry of blows. Suddenly, Mahito surged forward, launching an attack of his own, which Nanami skillfully dodged.
Seizing the opportunity, Nanami renewed his attack by swinging his knife again. Mahito swerved to evade the strike but was taken aback as Nanami spun his body around, catching him with a powerful kick that pushed him backwards.
As Nanami unleashed a powerful swing of his knife towards Mahito's defensive stance, bisecting lines materialized before him, perfectly aligning with the trajectory of his strike. With a resounding impact, Nanami's attack shattered Mahito's wrist, nearly severing it in its entirety.
"What? I should've blocked it with cursed energy," Mahito wondered aloud as he waved his almost severed hand. "Is it that kind of cursed technique?"
Nanami pointed his knife at Mahito and said with a serious expression, "What do you mean by "that kind"? I hate open-ended questions that are directly thrown at the other party."
Mahito grinned in response and said, "That's great. You don't dislike talking."
"It depends on the opponent," Nanami said as he pondered. 'A Cursed Spirit that can communicate this well… Gojo-san's report only mentioned two unregistered Special Grade Curse Spirits. It's hard to believe that there's no connection between the two.'
"Hey, which one do you think came first? The soul or the body?" Mahito suddenly asked.
"What?"
"Isn't there a similar question? Did the chicken or the egg come first?" Mahito pointed out. "Is the soul hosted in the body? Or is the soul enveloping the body?"
'I guess I have to hear him out', Nanami thought. He responded, "The former."
"Bzzzt! Wrong, the latter is the answer," Mahito raised his hand as it slowly knit back together. "The soul always comes before the body. The shape of the body is affected by the shape of the soul. I'm not healing myself. I'm just preserving the shape of my soul consciously."
Mahito took out a small transfigured human and said, "You should understand, right? My cursed technique is to touch the soul and change its shape." He then chanted, "Idle Transfiguration."
On his other hand, there are two more transfigured humans. "I store human beings. It's quite hard to do that," Mahito said with a smile. "Usually, a person will die soon after their shape is changed. But what about a Jujutsu Sorcerer?"
Nanami looked at his watch and calculated, "It's 5:30 p.m. now. I started working at 10:00 a.m. today. No matter what happens, I must get off work by 6:00 p.m."
As Yoshino walked down the street lost in thought, a voice called out his name, halting his steps.
"Yoshino," a voice said, causing him to stop.
"Where have you been?" a fat middle-aged man asked, who was sitting in front of his house. It was his teacher, Sotomura. "It's not good to skip school," he chided.
Yoshino hung his head low and murmured, "Sotomura-sensei…"
"Have you heard?" Sotomura continued, wiping sweat off his brow.
"Sayama, Nishimura, and Honda are dead. You were close to them, weren't you?"
"What?" Yoshino's eyes widened, the memories of being bullied by those three flooding back.
Sotomura seemed oblivious to the sudden change in Yoshino's expression as he continued. "You have no friends. They often look after you, don't they? But you didn't attend their funeral. You shouldn't be like this."
'Close? Me… and them?' Yoshino felt his heart racing. He couldn't believe what he was hearing from his teacher.
"Let's go pay our respects," Sotomura said, but Yoshino was in shock. His ears were ringing as he struggled to comprehend what his teacher was saying.
'He's crazy.',Yoshino thought. Teachers work in school after graduating from one. 'You've never experienced society before, have you?' Anger rose from within him. 'That's why there are giant babies like you!'
Anger swelled up within Yoshino. The memories of his torment flooded back: the cockroaches forced down his throat, the burning cigarettes pressed onto his forehead. Every single one of them had inflicted so much pain and humiliation on him.
But then he remembered Mahito's words. "I acknowledge your entire existence, Junpei."
"What are you muttering? Did you lose your mind from staying home? Just joking." Sotumura chuckled.
Yoshino's eyes bulged with anger, and his face contorted into a scowl. He raised two fingers forming a hand sign.
"Stooooop!" Izuku's voice echoed as he fell, holding a Fly Head in his hands. He noticed Yoshino and thought,'So he can see it...' Izuku thought.
Izuku attempted to land in a series of backflips, but he still collided with a pole. "Ow, that hurts" , he grumbled with Sukuna laughing at Izuku's misfortune with the boy remembering how he ended up in this current situation.
Both he and Ijichi had been hiding behind the pole, preparing to start their mission. But Izuku suddenly interrupted Ijichi with a whispered, "Wait! Someone's coming!"
Ijichi was caught off guard, and he had already opened the cage containing the Fly Head, allowing it to escape. "Oh Shit!" Izuku exclaimed, chasing after the cursed spirit straight away.
Back in the present, Izuku muttered, "I'm so glad."
"What's this? Are you a gymnast?" Sotomura spoke.
Izuku moved swiftly towards Yoshino, closing the distance between them. "Hey," he said, "I have something to ask you. Come with me."
Yoshino hesitated for a moment, glancing at Izuku's uniform. 'That button...' he thought to himself.
But before he could say anything, Sotomura interjected. "I'm talking with him. You're so rude," he scolded.
"Well, this is quite important," Izuku responded.
Sotomura scoffed. "Something important? What nonsense are you talking about? Which school are you—"
But suddenly, Izuku made a move and pulled Sotomura's pants down in one swift motion. "Pull!" he shouted, as Sotomura gasped in shock.
Yoshino's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Uhhh..." he uttered, not sure what to say.
Sotomura held onto Izuku's arms to stop him, "What are you doing? You brat! Stop it!" he exclaimed, but it was too late. Izuku had already yanked Sotomura's pants off completely and was now running away with them.
"Don't take my pants!" Sotomura yelled in mortification, his face flushed with embarrassment. He ran after Izuku but was only left in his underwear. "Stop... Stop right there!" he shouted, but to no avail.
"What happened?" Yoshino muttered, still trying to process the bewildering scene. Noticing the footsteps behind him, he turned around.
"Well then, let's go," Izuku said.
Yoshino looked shocked by his quick pace. "That was quick! Have you even finished a lap yet?" he asked.
"Yes," Izuku replied.
"You didn't have to do that. You could have just dragged me away," Yoshino said.
When he heard this, Izuku walked ahead of him. "Well...that's true...but you hate him, right?" he asked.
"What?" Yoshino was taken aback, wondering how Izuku could possibly know.
"Just a feeling," Izuku replied, placing a hand on his nape. "Was I wrong?" he asked with a sheepish smile on his face.
"It's true," Yoshino admitted.
"You wouldn't want people you hate to stand in front of your house, right?" Izuku pointed out. "Anyway, let's go over there," he said, gesturing towards a direction.
Yoshino looked at him, still feeling a bit bewildered. "Okay," he said.
Nanami expertly dodged the elongated transfigured human's attacks, gracefully wielding his knife to cut it.
Mahito ran alongside him, enraptured by the thrill of the fight. Nanami swiftly deflected another attack and aimed a strike at Mahito, only to have it effortlessly blocked by his opponent's hand.
"You're quite nimble," Mahito observed. With a gleeful laugh, Mahito summoned two more transfigured humans and launched them at Nanami.
With lightning speed, Nanami leapt upwards and evaded the incoming threats by landing on the ceiling.
'This is fun.' Mahito's grin widened as he revelled in the excitement of the battle.
As the battle raged on, Nanami kept a keen eye on his opponent. He thought, 'He changes the form of humans, but the mass remains the same? In any case, it's not compatible with my technique.'
Nanami landed atop a lengthened transfigured human. Suddenly, he heard a voice from beneath him. Nanami looked down and saw a tear-stained face pleading with him. "H... Help me…" it whimpered.
He recalled Ieiri's words. "A transfigured human can't be saved. If you're being attacked, don't hesitate to kill them. This is for the sake of the victims too."
"Oh, sorry, sorry," Mahito let out a nonchalant apology as he rested his fingers on his chin. "I practiced it many times. Disfiguration will not kill them instantly, but the accuracy of the brain or consciousness isn't good enough. Sometimes, sweat from the soul will ooze out like this. Don't mind it. Let's continue."
Nanami's expression remained unchanged as he responded, "I don't mind at all." He wiped away the tears of the transfigured human and added, "I always keep my work and emotions separate."
Mahito laughed in amusement. "You're a terrible liar! Your soul is trembling," he observed with a chuckle. He then proceeded to ask, "What rank are you?"
"Grade 1," Nanami replied firmly as he stepped away from the transfigured human.
Mahito's grin grew wider as he remarked, "No wonder you're strong. Your body is perfect for experimentation. I'm so lucky." He suddenly increased his speed, placing his hand on Nanami's abdomen and murmuring, "Thank you."
Cursed energy surged through Nanami's body, causing him to convulse in agony. With a quick reflex, he swung his knife, but Mahito deftly dodged the attack.
"Did the sudden speed increase scare you?" Mahito teased, tapping his now-hooved legs. "I can reshape my own soul, too."
Nanami clutched at his stomach, looking at Mahito.
Mahito continued, "A Jujutsu Sorcerer may have used cursed energy to protect their body, but they have never tried to protect their soul with it. Because to do so, you need to be conscious of your soul first. Otherwise, you can't protect it. But it seems like you're subconsciously guarding your soul with cursed energy. Otherwise, you'll be my pawn now."
He lifted both of his arms, channelling his cursed energy, "But if I strike your soul a few more times, you won't be a human anymore!"
Nanami and Mahito traded blows, each trying to gain the upper hand. "I won't let you escape!" Mahito yelled.
Nanami managed to block his advances and make his way towards the tunnel. As they reached the edge, Mahito lunged forward with his hand, but Nanami brandished his knife to block the attack. Nanami clutched onto the ledge and landed below.
"Is that all, Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer?" Mahito taunted, nonchalantly sitting on the rails. His foot slowly turned back to normal. "You tried so hard to escape. But you should be reaching your limits, right?"
Nanami glanced down at his watch, sighing inwardly. "Unfortunately…" he muttered, sheathing his knife and loosening his necktie. As if on cue, cursed energy surged through his body, visibly increasing in intensity.
'What's this? His cursed energy is rising.' Mahito observed, his demeanor shifting as he sensed something looming ahead.
Nanami wrapped his hand tightly with his necktie and declared, "I'll start working overtime now."
'Overtime?' Mahito thought then realized, 'Time-related constraints? Was he limiting his cursed energy?'
Mahito grinned and leapt off the rails. "This is interesting!" he exclaimed.
Suddenly, Nanami spoke up. "My cursed technique is to force the seven to three ratio into weakness when dividing the enemy into equal parts. Not only the height and limbs can be divided equally, but I can also use it on the head, body, upper arm, forearm, and so on. And my cursed technique works on non-creatures as well."
'Is he disclosing his cursed technique?' Mahito licked his lips in anticipation. "I guess you're serious," he said with a smirk.
Nanami then dashed forward with incredible speed.
"Playing tag again?" Mahito teased, giving chase.
As he ran, Nanami's mind raced. 'The methods to kill this Curse Spirit that I can think of now is… One, continue to inflict damage until it runs out of cursed energy. But it's unrealistic. Another way is to blow it into pieces in one blow!'
Nanami leapt into the air and coated his fist in cursed energy before punching the concrete wall with immense force, unleashing his cursed technique."Ratio Technique, Collapse!"
The concrete wall caved in as Nanami's cursed energy traveled through it.
Mahito watched with awe. 'What amazing power. No, wait a minute. His cursed energy raced through it.'
The wall blasted raining big slabs of rock directly on top of Mahito.
'Could it be that… It's an expanded cursed technique that injects cursed energy into his target! It's an attack that hits both of us. I guess I should…' "…evade it," Mahito voiced out.
Nanami then appeared right in front of him, his knife slicing through his leg in one swift motion. Mahito stumbled and fell to the ground, blood gushing from the wound.
"I'll have to retreat for now," Nanami declared. "You better fix your leg as soon as possible. Let's meet again if we both stay alive."
"Huh…" Mahito stared at him with a blank expression as the wall crumbled to the ground, burying him in rubble.
Right now, we see Izuku and Yoshino stood together on the riverbank when suddenly Izuku spoke up, "That's strange. Did the earth shake for a while just now?"
Yoshino nodded in agreement, "Yes, it felt like a magnitude two earthquake."
"No good. Ijichi-san isn't picking up," Izuku sighed with a hint of frustration. He tried to reach him on the phone but failed.
Turning towards Yoshino, Izuku muttered, "Can I ask him already?"
"What?" Yoshino tilted his head.
Izuku furrowed his eyebrows, lost in thought. 'Actually, is it a good idea to be honest with him?' Resting his chin on his phone, he pondered, 'Speaking of which, how much can I explain about Jujutsu High School?'
When he thought of that...he shooked his head, 'No, Jujutsu High shouldn't reveal any information to civilians, especially if the other person is a suspected to be a Curse User....I can't do that...otherwise It'll cause problmes on the long run'
〚 The number you have dialed cannot be reached at the moment.〛
'Answer it already!' Izuku exclaimed inwardly as the call disconnected.
Simultaneously, Ijichi was seen sprinting after the escaped fly-head, with a net in his hands.
Lost in thought, Izuku rested his chin on his fingers, wondering out loud, "What should I do?"
Meanwhile, Yoshino thought back to his conversation with Mahito. "A vortex button?" he asked skeptically.
"That's right." Mahito held up a button. "If you meet a student with a vortex button, you should be nice to them. They are Jujutsu Sorcerers. You'll get along with them," he said, flashing him a sly grin.
Yoshino frowned as he thought, 'But Jujutsu Sorcerers are Mahito's enemies, right?'
Izuku let out a frustrated cry, "Aaah! Forget it! I'll just ask you directly." He turned to Yoshino and posed his question bluntly, "Did you see anything when someone died at the movie theater you went to?"
Yoshino jolted at the mention of the incident, but Izuku continued, holding up the fly-head, "Like this gross thing, for example."
'Wow, way to be subtle'
'Shut it, Ryomen!!'
Yoshino responded, "No, I didn't see anything. I only started seeing these things recently."
Izuku's face fell momentarily, but then he broke into a grin and declared, "All right, I guess I have nothing else to ask then."
Yoshino was taken aback, "That quick?"
Izuku nodded, but added, "But you still have to wait for someone who's like my boss. Is that fine?"
"Okay," Yoshino nodded.
Izuku plopped down beside Yoshino with a casual air, asking, "So, what did you watch at the cinema?"
"It was a re-released old movie. You wouldn't know."
"Come on, just tell me," Izuku prodded, grinning.
Yoshino relented, "The Human Centipede 3."
"That one is so boring!" Izuku exclaimed, recalling the time he had trained to that movie. "I got beaten several times because of that," he whispered.
Yoshino looked at him, puzzled. "Beaten?"
Yoshino rested his chin on his palm. "Honestly, it was. It's a splatter movie, so maybe we shouldn't ask for anything more than a bloody scene. But the second installation—"
"The second one was interesting!" Izuku interjected with a big grin.
Yoshino's eyes sparkled, "Yes, that's right! Only the second one is enjoyable."
On a nearby bridge, Geto observed them with a hint of mystery. "Bingo."
Yoshino shared his thoughts on the movies, "The second movie looks the same as the first and third, but it gives a detailed emotional description of how a perfectionist gives up on himself."
Izuku had a lightbulb moment, "No wonder the second movie was so good!"
Yoshino went on, "I didn't understand why it was interesting at first, so I watched it three times. The second movie was the most gruesome, too, so it was hard for me." He let out a heavy sigh.
Yoshino asked, "Do you like movies, Midoriya-kun?"
"I've been watching more movies lately for some reason, but I haven't watched them at a cinema," Izuku replied.
"Eh… But when you watch interesting films in a cinema, it feels really touching. Although video on demand is more convenient."
"When was the last time I even went to a cinema?" Izuku pondered. He turned to Yoshino and said, "If you have any movie suggestions, bring me along next time."
Yoshino was taken aback, his eyes widening.
"Ah! Do you want my contact number?" Izuku offered his phone, "Here."
As Yoshino processed the sudden offer, Itadori muttered, "How do I add friends on this again?"
Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind them, "What? Is that you, Junpei?"
Yoshino turned around and called out, "Mother!"
A short-haired woman holding groceries stood behind them. "It's rare to find you here. Is he your friend?" she asked.
"I just met him," Yoshino replied.
Izuku waved happily. "We just met, but we can be friends!"
'...huh...I'd say...A-'
'Sukuna what the fuck?!'
'What? I'm just grading the woman, it's not like I wanna bang her...although...'
Izuku cut him off while shuddering,'This guy is really something' Izuku thought.
The woman smiled warmly, "Really? Please play with him more."
Yoshino noticed the cigarettes in his mother's fingers and gasped, "Mother!"
She looked at him quizzically.
"Cigarettes," he said with a disappointed tone. "Didn't I tell you not to smoke?"
"Sorry, sorry," his mother apologized quickly, putting out her cigarette. "We agreed not to smoke in front of you."
As she walked up to them, she asked, "What's your friend's name?"
Izuku waved enthusiastically, "I'm Izuku Midoriya!" He then pointed at the plastic bag containing green onions and remarked with a smile, "Ma'am, the green onions don't suit you."
"Wow, you can tell?" his mother responded, holding up the bag. "My goal is to become a woman who doesn't suit green onions."
Yoshino whispered, "What are you saying?"
Yoshino's mother turned to Izuku, "How about it, Izuku-kun? Would you like to come over for dinner?"
Yoshino looked at him with concern, "Hey, you're causing trouble for him!"
"Huh?! Is it troublesome to eat my cooking?"
But Izuku's stomach chose that moment to let out a loud growl, surprising them both.
"Is there anything you don't like? Any allergies?" she asked.
"None at all!" Izuku replied eagerly.
But he had to stop for a bit as he looked over to a nearby bridge...and he couldn't help but feel like someone was watching him.
'That energy...why does it feel so...familiar'