"What do you think you're doing?" Maki Fushiguro stared at Todo Aoi, who was blocking their path, her brow furrowed. "The exchange event is supposed to be about capturing the blue-haired Cursed Spirit. What exactly are you trying to pull?"
"Don't play dumb." Todo Aoi answered with a grin. "Between Mahiko-sister and Kugisaki, one of them has to be the key to drawing out the blue-haired Cursed Spirit. You already have Kugisaki — stop hogging Mahiko-sister too!"
The location was a deserted, out-of-the-way children's playground. The safehouse Mahiko shared with Jogo and the others had always been tucked away somewhere remote.
On Mahiko's side: Megumi Fushiguro, Yuji Itadori, and Nobara Kugisaki.
Facing them: Todo Aoi, radiating aggression.
Honestly, the situation had Mahiko a little dumbstruck.
Kin-chan had said there would be a dispute — but this was not what Mahiko had pictured.
Even knowing the source material as well as she did, every time Mahiko laid eyes on Todo Aoi she couldn't help feeling like the atmosphere was drifting toward pure comedy. But here and now, the tension was completely, undeniably real.
Todo Aoi — a towering wall of a man — stood in front of them and dropped into a fighting stance.
Pre-battle tension flooded the air. Every second felt like the overture to a collision.
"Hey, Todo, you're out of line here." Yuji Itadori's brow creased, his guard up. "Mahiko is a student at Jujutsu High now — of course she comes with us."
"Wrong. She's still only a provisional student, which means she can transfer," Todo Aoi said with a booming laugh. "And besides — have you forgotten that tracking down the blue-haired Cursed Spirit is a competition?"
"And what of it?" Maki Fushiguro said, frowning.
"If it's a competition, then it has to be fair — strength has to decide it." Todo Aoi said. "I want to find that blue-haired Cursed Spirit. I want to find her before any of you do. So I'll offer Mahiko-sister better protection, and compete for the right to have her by my side!"
"Compete?" Yuji Itadori blinked.
"That's right — compete! Mahiko-sister and I fought on the same battlefield, cheered for the same stage. I have every right to throw my hat in the ring!"
"I understand that you — my best friend — also have your reasons for needing to find the blue-haired Cursed Spirit first."
"So — let's fight! Fair and square! The winner earns the right to be her bodyguard!"
In that instant, a vast swell of Cursed Energy rose off Todo Aoi's body.
There was no doubt about it. This fight was unavoidable.
"You know, I actually think you make a fair point," Yuji Itadori said, balling his fists and settling into his own stance. "So — don't expect me to hold back."
"Huh? What point does he make?" Nobara Kugisaki stared at Yuji Itadori. "You're just going along with this?"
"Beautifully said!" And with that, Todo Aoi bellowed his approval and charged straight at Yuji Itadori.
If it had been anyone else standing here talking about "fair competition" for Mahiko, it would have been nothing but a pretext for snatching her away.
But not Todo Aoi.
His mental state had always been one of a kind — uniquely, mystifyingly his own — but he never once said something he didn't mean. He genuinely believed that the stronger person was the one who could better protect Mahiko.
And Yuji Itadori, as it happened, was exactly the kind of person who answered sincerity with sincerity.
So Yuji Itadori charged to meet him.
The two of them crashed together like cannonballs.
BOOM!!
Yuji Itadori was sent skidding back by a single punch from Todo Aoi.
"Tch." Maki Fushiguro clicked her tongue and swept her hand back. "Get Mahiko out of here first."
Todo Aoi was strong. The way he was standing there, it was obvious he intended to take all three of them on at once.
Megumi Fushiguro had no choice — she had to join the fight.
"Brother!" Todo Aoi called out with a grin, pressing his pursuit of Yuji Itadori. "Don't disappoint me!"
Yuji Itadori could feel his entire arm buzzing with numbness after catching that punch from Todo Aoi.
Yuji Itadori was strong — but Todo Aoi was every bit his equal as a hand-to-hand fighter.
They exchanged fists again. The very air seemed to explode.
"Not bad at all — best friend!" Todo Aoi felt the weight behind Yuji Itadori's knuckles, and a flash of genuine delight crossed his eyes. "You've gotten even stronger!"
Yuji Itadori's Cursed Energy was heavy and precise.
Last time he had seen Yuji Itadori, the boy hadn't been anywhere near this level.
In just a few short days, he had grown this much... It was... deeply, genuinely pleasing.
"Then I suppose it's time to use my Technique!"
Clap.
As he said it, Todo Aoi brought both hands up before him — and clapped.
The sound rang out, and in an instant, the two of them swapped positions out of thin air.
"...?" Yuji Itadori's third punch swung through empty space. His eyes went wide with bewilderment. He clearly had no idea why he'd suddenly shifted.
A split second later, the rush of wind came from behind. Yuji Itadori whipped his head around — and found Todo Aoi's elbow already driving toward him. He couldn't dodge in time. He was launched sideways, crashing into and completely demolishing the park's abandoned slide.
"Yuji!" Megumi Fushiguro's pupils contracted as she watched him get sent flying. "That was — a position swap?"
She had just watched Yuji Itadori and Todo Aoi's positions trade places before her very eyes. Was that Todo Aoi's Jujutsu Technique?
Tch.
This wasn't good.
Maki Fushiguro moved fast, beginning to form hand signs — she had no choice but to fight. But before she could summon her Shikigami, she saw Todo Aoi clap again in the distance.
Clap.
The Megumi Fushiguro who had been standing beside Nobara Kugisaki and Mahiko vanished — and in her place appeared Todo Aoi, all confident grin, looking down at Nobara Kugisaki from above.
Nobara Kugisaki's grip snapped tight around her hammer.
And Mahiko's eyes glimmered, very faintly.
——[Boogie Woogie].
This was Todo Aoi's Jujutsu Technique.
And in Mahiko's opinion, it was one of the most diabolically broken Techniques in all of Jujutsu Kaisen.
One of the Techniques she wanted most of all.
This was, after all, one of the rare few Techniques that had made Sukuna — upon witnessing it — immediately start trash-talking.
For almost everyone else, no matter how impressive their Technique's performance, Sukuna would respond from his lofty position with something like "Your Technique is interesting" or "You have talent."
But the moment Sukuna laid eyes on Todo Aoi's Jujutsu Technique, he didn't offer a single word of acknowledgment before starting to dunk on it.
Because "swap positions" as a Technique concept really was treacherously, deviously, unfairly broken.
Todo Aoi's activation condition was a single clap of his hands. With it, he could swap the positions of any two objects carrying Cursed Energy within the Technique's effective range.
Himself with someone else.
Or someone else with someone else entirely.
With enough practice, it could leave enemies spinning in circles, completely helpless.
In truth, Todo Aoi could have simply clapped once and swapped Mahiko directly to his side — but that wouldn't have been fair competition.
Because what he was competing with Yuji Itadori and the others on was the ability to fight and protect.
II
Hmm...
Mahiko stared at the man in front of her and fell into thought.
She was wondering how on earth she could get her hands on [Boogie Woogie] without anyone noticing.
"Nice to see you, Mahiko-sister." Todo Aoi had no idea that the girl was already scheming to steal his Technique, and greeted her with the same grin as always. "Would you like to go to the Takata handshake event together the day after tomorrow?"
"Uh." Mahiko tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I think I'll hold out for the Natural Disasters handshake event instead."
Whoosh——
Cursed Energy blazed like fire in Nobara Kugisaki's hands.
The girl's eyes sharpened to a cutting edge. She flung a nail and raised her hammer to drive it flying.
In that very instant——
Clap.
Todo Aoi clapped his hands once.
[Boogie Woogie] activated.
The nail tumbling through the air was instantly swapped out for something else.
An object roughly the size of a grenade.
Nobara Kugisaki's pupils contracted. She barely had time to react——
Bang.
The object detonated in midair.
A smoke grenade — and not just any smoke grenade. One infused with Cursed Energy. Someone had crafted it as a Cursed Tool.
Thick white smoke erupted from it instantly, swallowing the entire playground. The Cursed Energy laced through the smoke interfered even with the ability to sense Cursed Energy itself. Nobara Kugisaki's breathing became a struggle against the acrid, suffocating reek.
"Cough — cough!" Nobara Kugisaki broke into a hacking fit.
Mahiko blinked in the haze of white smoke, then bent her head and made a show of starting to cough — but the very next second, a gas mask was clamped down over her face.
A figure came cutting through the smoke at a brisk stride and scooped Mahiko up in both arms.
At the same time, Mahiko caught the unmistakable, familiar signature of Cursed Energy coming off the person who was holding her.
"I'm so sorry, Mahiko-chan, I really didn't want it to come to this——" Miwa Kasumi, gas mask and all, princess-carried Mahiko in a full sprint toward the edge of the playground, panting heavily as she cried out her apologies at full volume. "Sorry, sorry, sorry — I had no idea things would turn out like this, please forgive me——"
And like that——
Miwa Kasumi bolted out of the smoke with Mahiko in her arms, running at full tilt the whole way, tearfully apologizing every step of the run.
On Megumi Fushiguro's side, Yuji Itadori's side, and Nobara Kugisaki's side — only when the smoke finally began to clear did they realize Mahiko had been taken.
All three of them panicked on the spot and made to give chase — only to find Todo Aoi stepping squarely into their path.
"Our match isn't over yet!" Todo Aoi cracked his knuckles and flashed an electrified grin. "Don't even think about running out on me now."
____
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