Walking through the sewer system, Nanami held his cursed tool tightly in hand, cutting down any transfigured humans that he came across.
"Do me a favor and show yourself. Even if they're disfigured and lost causes..." Nanami adjusted his tie.
"Killing humans leaves a bad taste in my mouth!" He turned to see Mahito standing down the sewer tunnel.
"Oh, good, good. It'd be a huge problem if it was Satoru Gojo who showed up." Mahito smiled. "But someone too weak wouldn't be worth experimenting on."
"I hate working overtime, so let's finish this quickly." Nanami had a look of faint disgust.
Then, with a burst of speed, he dashed forward. Mahito leaped to the side as the ground where he stood an instant ago was crushed into rubble. As Mahito moved to retaliate, Nanami was able to twist and jump out of the way just as Mahito's arm shot forward, covered in jagged spikes.
"Haha, I can't wait to see what I can do with your body." Mahito smiled as Nanami kicked him before two ratios appeared.
Swinging his cursed tool rapidly, Mahito had his arm and leg bones broken until they stuck out of his skin, before snapping back into place seconds later.
Nanami continued on the offensive, slashing and parrying any of Mahito's attacks while keeping him on the backfoot. That's when, just as Mahito overextended a swing with his left hand, Nanami immediately ducked it, slamming the cursed tool into Mahito's other arm, breaking it, before slamming his knee into Mahito's chest.
Mahito flipped in the air and landed, stumbling back a few steps. Then another ratio appeared on Mahito's neck and, with a wet crunch, Mahito's neck was hanging limply, his spine exposed and his head holding on by a thread of flesh.
Mahito's head kept smirking, however, as he laughed.
"I swear I've been defending properly, but you're doing something that's getting past it... Is that some kind of cursed technique?" Mahito asked as he shook his broken arm, watching it wiggle around.
"What do you mean by 'some kind'? I don't appreciate questions that are left open to interpretation." Nanami checked his cleaver, eyes locked on Mahito for sudden movements.
"Oh good. Seems you don't mind talking."
"That all depends on who I'm talking to..."
*This cursed spirit can hold a conversation... It would be silly to not assume a connection to the two unregistered special grade curses Gojo was talking about earlier...* Nanami thought, his focus sharpening.
"Hey, the soul or the body—which do you think came first? You know, like the chicken or the egg."
"Huh?" Nanami didn't get where he was going with all this.
"Does the soul dwell in the body, or is the body built on the soul?" Mahito smiled, waiting for an answer.
"The former," Nanami spoke, short and sweet.
"Wrong. The answer is the latter. The soul should always exist before the body." Mahito shook his head, which was weird considering its condition. "The shape of the body will always be dependent on the shape of the soul..."
Mahito's injuries rippled before he was mended back to perfect health.
"I'm not healing; I'm merely reinforcing the shape of my soul. Do you get it now?" Mahito took out a miniaturized transfigured human. "My cursed technique can touch and reshape the soul."
He made a small display, forming it into a dried-up husk.
"I make humans small and store them. It's actually pretty hard, you know."
"An ordinary person eventually dies after being transfigured, but what about a Jujutsu Sorcerer?" Mahito smiled, taking out two other miniaturized transfigured humans.
"It's 5:30. I started work today at about ten, so no matter what..." Nanami's eyes sharpened. "I'm clocking out by six."
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Junpei was walking down the street, pondering over his conversation with Mahito that day, when suddenly a voice interrupted his train of thought.
"Yoshino. Where were you?" a fat man asked, wiping sweat from his forehead. "You can't skip out on school like that."
"Sotomura-sensei." Junpei shuddered just looking at him.
"Why'd you run away? Did you hear?" The man stood up with a breath of effort. "Sayama, Nishimura, and Honda all died. You guys were all friends, right?"
The man wiped under his neck, sweating hard as ever, as Junpei's eyes widened—not out of shock or care, but out of audacity.
"Huh?"
"They always looked out for you since you don't have friends. And you weren't even at their funeral." The fat man said, as Junpei couldn't comprehend how they would ever be mistaken for friends.
*Friends? Me? With them?*
"C'mon, I'll go with you; let's offer up some incense."
"Teachers... All of you go to graduate school and then find work at a school. You haven't experienced the real world, have you?" Junpei muttered to himself with anger. "That's why adults who are just big kids like you exist."
Junpei remembered everything Mahito said, especially that.
*'Junpei, I support everything you represent.'*
"What're you mumbling about? Spending too much time by yourself got you crazy? Just kidding! Hahaha!" The fat man laughed as Junpei began making a hand seal, when suddenly...
"Stop!!" Yuji leaped up, catching a runaway fly head and crushing it before flipping and landing in front of Junpei.
"Hey, there's somethin' I gotta ask you. Come with me for a sec," Yuji said, trying to maintain a straight face after that somewhat embarrassing botched mission.
Junpei, who saw everything including the fly head, stood somewhat stiff. Then he looked at Yuji's uniform, noticing the button on his chest.
"Hold on, can't you see I'm talking to him right now?" the fat man said, thinking Yuji was being rude.
"Sorry, but it's really important."
"Important?! What does some kid know?!" The fat man was angry; some random brat was interrupting him. "Besides, what kinda uni—"
He was cut off as, in a blur of speed, Yuji pulled off his pants and ran off with them around the corner.
"Little brat! Stop it! Please don't!" The fat man tried running after Yuji.
*What just happened?* Junpei wondered.
"All right, let's go!" Yuji appeared behind Junpei, waving.
"Huh?! That was quick!" Junpei was shocked this guy could run around the block so fast. "You didn't have to do that. You could have just dragged me off."
"I guess." Yuji shrugged. "But you don't like him, right?"
Yuji's words shocked Junpei.
"Why?" Junpei asked, wondering how exactly Yuji could tell if nobody else seemed to notice his feelings.
"It's just a hunch. Am I wrong?"
"No, you're not."
"You don't want someone you hate hanging around your house, right?" Yuji motioned for him to follow.
"Yeah...."
———————————————————
"Is that it, Grade 1 Sorcerer?" Mahito sat casually on a railing, looking down at Nanami, his legs turned into those of a deer.
Nanami sighed, adjusting his tie. "How unfortunate."
Mahito's eyes widened a bit; something wasn't right. That's when he saw it: Nanami's cursed energy was rising rapidly.
"I'm now working overtime."
With a burst of speed faster than before, Nanami rushed at Mahito, closing the distance almost immediately as he raised his cursed tool.
Two ratios appeared on Mahito, one on his arm and the other on his opposite leg, as Nanami slashed along those lines, shattering that arm and leg as Mahito leaped backward.
He sent out two miniaturized transfigured humans before they suddenly shifted into flesh javelins, rushing at Nanami, who cut them to pieces and continued forward.
Mahito reshaped his arm and leg and dodged a downward slam as the ground where he once stood crumbled with a boom from the impact.
Taking out more transfigured humans, two more shot at Nanami, who jumped as they pierced the wall. Landing on them, Nanami heard something.
"H-Help..." The transfigured human he was standing on was crying.
*A person once disfigured cannot be helped. If they come after you, kill it without hesitation. It's for the sake of the victim as well.* Nanami remembered Shoko's words.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry. I practiced a lot, so even if I change their shapes, they don't immediately die." Mahito held his chin. "The brain? Consciousness? It's still not perfect. The sweat of the soul trickles out like that sometimes. Don't worry about it. Let us continue."
"I'm not worried." Nanami brushed the tears off the transfigured human. "I don't bring my personal feelings to work."
"What rank are you again?" Mahito asked.
"Grade 1." Nanami got ready to move again.
"No wonder you're strong. Perfect for experimentation. Lucky me."
Before Nanami could react, Mahito was already in front of him, palm on his chest.
"Thanks!"
Activating his cursed technique, Mahito tried to transfigure Nanami. However, despite the pain shooting through Nanami's body after the fact, he managed to swing his cursed tool, forcing Mahito to dodge backward.
Gritting his teeth in pain, Nanami stared at Mahito.
"Did I surprise you with how much faster I've gotten all of a sudden?" Mahito smiled; his legs were once again that of a deer. "I can even change the shape of my own soul. Even if sorcerers can protect their bodies using cursed energy, they can't protect their souls."
"First off, one must acknowledge one's soul. Without that, it's impossible. But it seems you're protecting your soul subconsciously using cursed energy." Mahito put his hands forward. "Otherwise, you'd be just another pawn to me. Well, after two or three more times, you'll no longer be human."
Mahito couldn't help but get excited.