"Coward!"
The man's shout chased after him, but Megumi was way past giving a fuck. He didn't care for the expletives that followed after the original, instead, he ran like the gates of hell had opened behind him. His feet slammed into the ground, propelling him forward at breakneck pace.
It should've been enough. It wasn't.
Megumi's keen ears picked up a whistling sound; something was flying towards him and fast. He didn't bother to look; he simply dived to the side. A second later, something blurred where his head had being and buried itself into the wall of the building in front of him. This time he glanced as he rolled back to his feet. It was a staff, and it was buried halfway into the wall, lightning crackling off it like a superconductor.
Then he was on his feet once again, and running, slipping between two containers in his hurry to escape. He struggled for a second as he forced his bulk through the tight space, then a second later he was through, so he kept running, feet against pavement, until his muscles were burning and the air had left his lungs, leaving him a shaking and heaving mess as his adrenaline dropped.
He came to a stop in a stooped-over position, his hand bracing against his knees to keep from falling over, while his eyes searched left and right. All around him were shipping containers, and the long dark shadows they drew as the evening sun began to go down, but there was no sign of the man.
It was just his luck. Of course the first person he would meet was someone monstrous. Megumi had not had a single lucky break since he had been assigned to find Sukuna's finger a few months ago. He focused his cursed energy to his ears, waiting to hear footsteps, but there was nothing, and for a second he began to relax. His breath evened out, and he allowed a sigh to leave his lips, until he heard it.
A slow, mocking clap coming from somewhere above and behind him. Megumi turned slowly and woodenly to look behind him, and there was the man. Squatting above one of the containers, a mocking grin on his face, and his head tilted slightly to the side like a cat watching an injured rat crawl its way to supposed safety.
"Oi, nameless boy. You're a pretty fast runner, aren't you?"
Megumi let out a finally resigned sigh and shook his head in worry and annoyance. The man had been running above him. That solved the how and why he didn't hear the man's footsteps previously.
"The name is Fushiguro." He said, straightening up. The man had already proven to be faster than him, so there was no need running again, which meant there was only one other path available to him. He looked up, and straight into the crazy eyes of the man. "Megumi Fushiguro, the 27th clan head of the Zenin clan."
His left foot moved back to brace himself while he raised his hand in a guard stance, even as he talked, and with every word that left his mouth, he could see the cat-like grin on the man... no. On Hajime Kashimo's face widen, till it was a full-blown Cheshire grin.
"A Zenin clan head?" Kashimo exclaimed in glee as he straightened up, covering his mania with his fingers splayed over his face. "I fought one of you in my time; although Kenjiro tried his best, without the Zenin clan's signature Technique, he did not last very long before he was left a burnt and charred husk."
Megumi felt cold water drop down his spine at those words, and the foundation of his resolve grew cracks. He had already known Kashimo was strong; now he knew the sorcerer was from the past and had killed a previous Zenin clan head, and just like that he saw his chances of winning drop.
"Stand proud, Megumi Fushiguro. You have exceeded my expectations."
It was a simple sentence, one that had been unexpected, but it was enough. Remembering it was all he needed to stiffen his spine, as his features hardened at once, his brows furrowing till his eyes were smoldering dark pits as he stared back at Kashimo. He didn't think it was possible, but the man's smile somehow managed to widen as he burst into a laugh.
"I love the look in your eyes, Megumi Fushiguro. Something tells me you're going to be very different from your ancestor." Another head cock to the side, as the metal staff that had been resting in the pit of his arm dropped into his palm, and he pointed the length of it at Megumi. "Prove me right."
He did not even see Kashimo move. One second, the incarnated sorcerer was standing several feet above him, the next, he disappeared and appeared in a blur before Megumi, grin wide, hair crackling with electricity, and metal staff swinging with the aim to bash Megumi's head, but even if he did not see him move, he had anticipated it already.
The shadow came to life beneath his feet, and he fell backward, the staff missing his nose by a whiff. It was so close, a stray jolt of lightning tingled across his nose, and then he was gone, sinking into the inky depths of his shadow, only to explode out of Kashimo's own.
He appeared behind the man's unguarded back, shooting out of his shadow, too fast for the man to react. Then he blasted a cursed energy-reinforced fist into Kashimo's liver from behind, using the full power of momentum and cursed energy, and it was enough to send the surprised man flying and bursting through a container on the other side.
He could almost feel Mahoraga's winged eyes on him, urging him forward. He had caught the sorcerer off guard; he had to follow through, so he took a step forward, and froze. He felt his body stiffen, his muscles tighten up, and release sporadically, while his arm remained completely numb.
Megumi stared at his hand in confusion for a second, before Gojo-sensei's lesson came to him.
"I doubt you'd ever face someone like this. They're pretty rare after all, but there are still a few of them out there. People with cursed energy that carry specific traits."
Gojo-sensei smiled at them as he spoke, eyes focused on Megumi because he was the only one truly listening, while Kugisaki browsed her phone for the latest fashion trend under the desk, and Itadori could barely keep his head up, half dozing, half unconscious from boredom.
"I once met a woman in India whose cursed energy trait made every single thing she touched or infused her cursed energy with structurally weaker. I also met a man whose cursed energy trait made him smell like lilacs."
Gojo-sensei chuckled as he continued. "It's random, and not very well studied due to its rarity, but if you do face someone like that, keep in mind that their very cursed energy can be harmful. If I didn't have Infinity, the woman's cursed energy trait would've destroyed my body if I hit her like she did many others."
"How did you win?" He had asked then, and the strongest sorcerer gave him a big grin.
"Hollow Purple to the face."
A clap came from the container, as Hajime Kashimo pulled himself out of the twisted metal. "You caught me off guard," the man admitted, chuckling as he stepped out. The only sign of damage after Megumi's surprised hit was a wad of blood the incarnated sorcerer spat out to the side. Then the man looked at him, grin still plastered on his face. "Although it looks like you didn't get out of it unscathed either. Moving through shadows..."
A thoughtful look showed on Kashimo's face before he began to chuckle in realization as he looked around at the containers that surrounded them and the long shadows each of them drew on the ground. "You were not simply running away. You were making a tactical retreat!" Kashimo clapped once more in praise. "I hope you have more surprises for me, Megumi-san, because if that's the only trick you've stored up, then this is going to be quick."
Megumi flexed his right hand and noted the return of sensation. Not completely; the limb was still slightly numb, but he had regained control over his body once more, and his brain began to think furiously. If Kashimo's cursed energy trait was electricity, then hitting him physically had to be a last option, and so was even receiving a single attack. He couldn't afford to freeze in combat, yet powerful as the cursed energy trait was, it had to have a weakness.
If the great Gojo Satoru could not keep up Limitless every second without the aid of Reverse Cursed Technique to refresh his brain... Megumi's eyes widened in realization. It was so obvious; he almost slapped himself for forgetting. Electricity's greatest weakness. Kashimo spun his staff as he slowly walked up to him with that same grin.
"You've figured something out, then? Good. Now show me what you've in store for me, Megumi Fushiguro!" With that one final scream, Kashimo exploded into blinding motion again.
Kashimo's foot came down where Megumi had been a half second before, and the resulting crater in the pavement told him exactly how much trouble he was in.
Megumi sprang up out of the shadows of a container and immediately started running, cursed energy coming to life as the shadows all around them began to lengthen, but Kashimo was prepared for his disappearing trick, and a heartbeat after he came out of the shadow, he heard a whistling sound, a familiar one. Too close to simply dodge.
Megumi spun, a cursed energy-reinforced wooden bat in hand from the armory stored in his shadow. He swung upward and to the side, deflecting the staff sideways and towards another container. Lightning cracked past his ear, close enough to singe his hair, and the wooden bat exploded in his grip, the sheer force of the throw and the lightning destroying the fragile structure, but it did its job. Megumi had avoided getting struck with the full brunt of Kashimo's cursed energy again.
He dived forward at once, broken bat forgotten. Instead, his hands joined together into a hand sign as he heard rapid footsteps run up behind him. Nue burst free from his shadow a second later, folding its leathery wings around him a half-second before Kashimo reached him, then the sorcerer lashed out with a blow. He felt the impact of the strike against the shikigami's feathers, felt the charge and electricity run through Nue's body instead of his own, but covered as he was by the shikigami, he was protected and ready to counter.
"What is this?"
In the artificial shadow created by Nue's wings, Megumi formed another hand sign and whispered an answer to Kashimo's question.
"Divine Dog: Totality."
Nue's wings exploded outwards, the force of the blast pushing Kashimo back a step, but the true attack was in the massive white and black wolf that erupted from the shadows. The bipedal wolf appeared in a blur, two massive hands grabbing onto the sides of Kashimo's arm for a firm grip, then its canine head shot downward, aiming for Kashimo's neck, but the sorcerer twisted to the side at the last moment and Divine Dog buried its maw into his shoulder, and despite the pain that had to have followed, Kashimo laughed.
Megumi had never seen a bigger death flag. He reached inward immediately, toward the bond he shared with a shikigami, strange and twisted as it was, and then he tugged on it. Hard.
Dodge!
On the other end of the bond, there was an answer. It was a pulse, wordless, an impression and a flicker of intent, but that was all Megumi had the time to interpret, because the next second, he was greeted by the sound of Divine Dog's pained howl. The staff had returned and had somehow pierced through the wolf from behind, to explode through its sternum and into Kashimo's waiting hands.
Megumi unsummoned the shikigami at once. Divine Dog's injury had not been a waste. Kashimo's shoulder was maimed; the wolf had not had the time to shred the shoulder like he would've preferred, but it had dug deep, and from those puncture holes, blood flowed down and stained the floor. Finally, Megumi could see his path to victory.
Then Kashimo pressed his hand on his own shoulder and fried it, cauterizing the injury.
Megumi blinked in shock, as the sorcerer turned back to him. "That was a nasty surprise, Megumi-san," the man said with an acknowledging nod, as he tested the injured limb's range of motion. Megumi took a cautious step back, as he realized the man was not hindered by much. "The Owl Shikigami capable of taking my electricity, and the fast and savage wolf. The Ten Shadows is truly a beautiful technique, and you've proven innovative in its use." Kashimo grinned once more, spinning the staff across his body before flicking Divine Dog's blood to the ground, a grin on his face. "I'm having so much fun, aren't you!"
Megumi stared back at the battle maniac who had survived every single surprise he had thrown at him with ease. "No." He replied in a deadpan, and Kashimo laughed louder as he exploded forward again into close combat, and even with Nue at his side, Megumi struggled.
The man was fast. Faster than fast, fast enough to run circles around a grounded Nue, and Megumi could not make use of the bird's air mobility and deprive himself of a shield, but the attacks were getting to the shikigami. As resistant as it was to Kashimo's electricity, it was not resistant to the follow-up strikes.
Blow after blow. Kicks were dodged, staff strikes were tanked by Nue, while the shikigami's return swipes were dodged with ease by the more mobile sorcerer. He could tell the sorcerer was getting bored from how vicious the next couple of strikes tore through the owl, and Megumi knew it could not take it anymore.
"Come on, Fushiguro. Show me something new!"
"Nue!"
Megumi screamed, and the shikigami let out one final cry before sending a wave of lightning at Kashimo, before disappearing back into his shadow. Kashimo shot through it, uncaring of the attack, but it had never been meant to hurt, only to blind him, because Megumi had one final trick up his sleeve. He asked for something new, and Megumi gave him Max Elephant.
The shikigami erupted out of the shadow of the crane behind him and took more than half of his cursed energy reserves with it. Cursed energy given shape. The elephant let out a triumphant trumpet, then caught a surprised Kashimo mid-step with the full, crushing weight of a river aimed like an arrow.
The impact sent the man skidding backward, staff flung out of his hand as he braced and fought for balance, and for the first time, Megumi watched something other than amusement cross Hajime Kashimo's face.
Concern.
Megumi let out a grin of his own. It worked. He could feel it working from the sudden dip in Kashimo's cursed energy.
The water pressed in, a near physical wall of it forcing Kashimo backward step by step, and Megumi could see the calculation happening behind those manic eyes, the understanding that Megumi had figured out a way to counter his cursed technique trait.
Water conducted, and letting his electrically charged cursed energy run wild against something this saturated would drain his cursed energy out of him faster than he could replenish it. Megumi could tell the instant Kashimo made his choice, as his cursed energy flow was instantly guttered and suppressed. Without his cursed energy, the force of the water was finally enough to fling him into the side of a building, hard enough to buckle the structure around his shape.
This was the window.
Megumi didn't hesitate for another second. He dove into his own shadow and appeared from the long shadow Kashimo's pinned body cast against the container, already reaching for the weapon he hadn't summoned in weeks.
He pulled Playful Cloud free from the shadow beneath him.
The special grade weapon had been recovered after Shibuya and had changed from a simple sectioned staff to a sectioned staff with two blades sitting at either end, but the chain had been replaced. Megumi went in close, allowing Max Elephant's water to crash into him as well.
Kashimo ripped himself free of the impression in the wall, just in time to barely dodge the spiked end of Playful Cloud through the eye. The weapon remained a revolting thing to touch, but it was the strongest thing in his arsenal, and he spun it around and continued to attack. Forced to suppress his cursed energy, for the first time, Kashimo was on the back foot, and Megumi attacked him with a savagery beaten into him by the Divine General.
He was a streak of chain and blade whipping in from three different angles, and his effort was not in vain. Kashimo dodged a kick, only for a cut to graze his ear. Megumi spun Playful Cloud and swung for his leg, but Kashimo's foot shot down, deflecting the sharpened end into the ground before using that as a fulcrum to send a spinning kick into the side of Megumi's head, rocking him back for a second, but he didn't let it send him flying. His head shot forward at once, and he slammed his forehead into Kashimo, rocking the incarnated sorcerer back.
"There it is!" Kashimo laughed, delighted even while bleeding from a cut on his forehead from where they had clashed. "There's the fight I wanted, but it is not enough, Megumi-san!"
Then Max Elephant's water finally petered out completely, the shikigami's form collapsing back into shadow, and Megumi knew his window was gone, as Kashimo's cursed energy output came roaring back with the force of an explosion.
Megumi felt the world go white, and his body stiffen.
Electricity arced through him from a dozen directions at once, Kashimo's counter faster than thought, faster than Megumi's exhausted reflexes could hope to answer, and his whole body seized up mid-swing, Playful Cloud clattering from fingers that no longer answered to him. He fell to his knees an instant later, muscles locked rigid, while Kashimo loomed over him, returned staff to his hand, and placed on Megumi's shoulder just beside his head. Like a knight before a king.
It was a sword to his throat.
"Frozen again," Kashimo mused, crouching down to peer at him with a genuine smile on his face. "You know, for someone so young, you're remarkably strong. Stronger than Kenjiro was, and he had decades on you." The incarnated sorcerer tilted his head, considering. "I could kill you here. It would be a quicker and cleaner death than most of my opponents get. Or..." A slow smile. "I could let you grow..."
Megumi couldn't answer. His jaw wouldn't unclench, his muscles still locked together and his nerves still in pain, but somewhere beneath all of that, beneath the paralysis, Megumi felt his fingers twitch.
He would not live his life to chance; he had a sister waiting for him. Feeling crept back in agonizing degrees, slowly, but faster than it had previously, and Megumi kept his face as still as he could manage, kept his eyes like he was still completely frozen, while underneath it all his mind raced through the only option he had left. Another shikigami would not change a thing; slipping into the shadows was simply preventing the inevitable. There was only one other thing left, a last desperate card, and he'd have to wring out every drop of cursed energy for it.
His fingers began to shift; the motion was agonizingly slow, but they moved, towards each other, even as he glared up at Kashimo.
The incarnated sorcerer's eyes lit up before Megumi had even finished the first gesture.
"There it is," the sorcerer breathed, smile widening into a grin once more. "You've got something left to show me, don't you, Megumi Fushiguro!"
"Do—" Megumi started, voice cracking, but he never finished the following words.
Kashimo's head snapped upward, attention refocusing in an instant, and whatever the incarnated sorcerer saw was enough to shift his expression from delight to wariness as the sorcerer immediately flipped backward and made distance. Megumi realized why a second later, as a sudden familiar weight pressed down on him. If he could laugh, he would've at this moment. Instead, he focused on getting the last words out of his mouth.
"I win." He forced out, forcing Kashimo's attention back to him, just as something fell out of the sky.
It came down like a meteor, obliterating everything around him, and yet Megumi did not have as much as a cut on him. Dust and debris bloomed outward in a violent ring, and for one suspended second there was nothing to see through the haze but shadow and settling dust.
Then the grit cleared, and Mahoraga was standing there, hunched over him.
Grinning. Winged eyes flared out wide, and its mouth split into that unnerving expression it wore in a fight. His win condition was here, and then it spoke.
"Finally."