The forest on the outskirts of Saitama should have been quiet.
Instead, the air cracked with the sound of metal slicing through leaves.
Yuji's fist collided with the creature's side with full force, but the thing barely staggered.
"Okay... definitely not your average curse," he muttered, gritting his teeth as he backpedalled.
The creature stood tall. Human-sized, but wrong. Long-limbed and angular, with six bladed arms and legs like those of a mantis. Its torso pulsed with segmented flesh.
Wings twitched at its back. Not two, but many. Each one full-sized, curved like the wings of a fly and beating with a low, bone-rattling hum.
Its nine eyes blinked out of sync, scattered across a head that didn't resemble any single creature.
It looked like it was born specifically for battle, and it certainly moved like it too.
Yuji ducked under one blade, blocked a second with his forearm reinforced with Cursed Energy, and launched a counter-strike into the thing's chest. He could feel bone bend under his knuckles, but not break.
Nobara cut across the treeline, hammer and nails in hand.
The creature shifted.
It didn't track her. It anticipated.
It spun and lashed with one curved arm. The attack nearly cleaved through the air where her torso had been a split second earlier.
Nobara rolled and landed in a crouch, already lining up a nail.
"Its speed's ridiculous," she said.
"It's watching all of us at once," Megumi replied, keeping his distance.
Yuji gritted his teeth. "Feels like it's predicting too."
"Or learning."
The creature moved again. A blur in the foliage. Its body slipped through trees like wind. It moved too fast for Megumi or Nobara to follow clearly. Only Yuji could track it, and even then, barely.
But it still moved too smoothly for something that looked so jagged. It wasn't just reacting. It was testing them.
"Divine Dog," Megumi called.
The black werewolf-looking shikigami launched forward, teeth bared. The Fly Soldier responded mid-motion, three bladed arms spinning like wheels.
Divine Dog leapt high, trying to avoid the sweep, but one blade caught its side. It vanished with a crack of energy, Megumi dispelling it before it died.
The curse didn't celebrate. It just shifted targets again.
Yuji planted his feet and roared, bringing his fist around in a wide arc. The curse was faster than him, but speed was not everything.
The curse slid beneath the blow and lashed upward, forcing Yuji back. Another strike came low and fast, aiming for his knee. He barely jumped in time, twisting mid-air to throw a wild kick at its head.
It clipped, but didn't faze the creature.
Megumi's voice rang out again.
"Toad. Now."
The shikigami lashed out its tongue and wrapped it around one of the creature's arms. It resisted with surprising strength, wrenching itself free after only a moment, but it was enough.
Yuji crashed in with a Divergent Fist. The real punch hit hard, with cursed energy echoing behind it.
The creature flew back, wings catching air just before it hit the dirt. But it had already been steered in the right direction by the trio.
Nobara raised her hand.
"Hairpin!"
Three nails embedded in the ground around it erupted upwards with cursed energy. The blast of the expanding nails sent it spinning. The wings on its left side were shredded in the process.
Still, it rose.
Its legs twitched. The blades reshaped slightly. Its head turned, slow and deliberate.
The creature hissed.
Then it began to pulse.
Megumi narrowed his eyes.
"Get back."
Yuji blinked. "Wait, what's it-"
"Now."
They leapt back.
The creature's body contracted. Limbs pulled inward. Wings folded tight. Then its chest split.
A sound like a bone spike snapping echoed as a dozen needle-like shards burst from its back and scattered in every direction.
"Self-destruct?" Nobara asked, shielding herself.
"Almost," Megumi muttered. "Some sort of desperate last attack... Burned through a lot of cursed energy, it seems."
The air cleared slowly.
And the creature still moved.
Just barely.
The makeshift curse's body twitched violently, its cracked limbs reorienting.
Then it lunged. Straight at Yuji, the one who it had been pointed towards from the beginning.
Faster than before, with wings flaring and every bladed limb snapping forward in a deadly, desperate final strike.
Yuji braced.
But it never reached him.
A single silver line tore across the air.
The creature stopped mid-leap.
Then its upper half slid away from its lower, cleanly cleaved, as cursed blood sprayed into the grass behind it.
The two halves fell.
Behind them stood a tall figure in dark, shapeless clothing. His pale skin seemed to glow faintly in the shade.
Mahito.
He lowered his outstretched hand, where a long blade of transfigured flesh folded itself neatly back into his palm. Like it had never been there at all.
He smiled.
"Now that was close."
'Hmm... The self-destruct failsafe must've been affected by the forceful merger of three Fly Soldiers. Interesting results~"
Yuji stumbled back, caught between shock and instinct. "You..." There was certainly recognition in his voice; his expression immediately became complex.
Mahito turned, as if surprised to be noticed.
"Ah, Itadori Iuji. You and your friends alright?"
Megumi's shadow stretched behind him.
Nobara lifted her hammer but didn't step forward.
Mahito raised both hands in a calm, almost casual gesture.
"No need to get jumpy. I'm not here to fight."
"You just cut that thing down," Megumi said cautiously. "Why?"
Mahito tilted his head slightly, like the question amused him.
"Is it strange to want to help?"
Nobara narrowed her eyes. "Yes."
They had both seemingly been informed about Mahito's existence, either by Itadori himself or by Gojo, warning them of a possible future meeting and to stay alert.
Though no Jujutsu Sorcerer is worth his salt needed a reminder to stay alert when in the presence of a Special Grade Curse. Especially when they had 0 knowledge of its Cursed Technique.
Mahito gave a soft chuckle. "Well, I saw something nasty flying in this direction and figured I'd tag along. Never hurts to lend a hand, does it?"
Yuji's fists trembled. He didn't relax, but he didn't charge, either.
"I don't trust you."
"Good," Mahito said simply. "You shouldn't."
He walked slowly toward the bisected creature that was currently still in the process of burning up and disappearing. It was taking longer due to the number of souls that were being exorcised, yet another interesting facet that Mahito took a mental note of.
"Ugly thing, wasn't it? Fast too."
"You're a cursed spirit," Nobara said flatly. "Why help us?"
Mahito smiled wider.
"Why not? Not everything has to be a bloodbath. Good and evil are interchangeable in life~"
Megumi's fingers twitched. "I don't know what you are trying to gain, but things won't go your way." His sceptical gaze washed over Mahito, who just shrugged.
"Hey now, I am not trying to hide my intentions here," Mahito said, a gentle smile appearing on his face. "Everyone's always looking to gain something. I just prefer when things are... mutually beneficial."
He looked at Yuji again. This time, more intently.
"I've been curious about you, Itadori, obviously. I wish to learn more about you."
Yuji's jaw tightened.
"You're not getting near Sukuna."
"Relax. I didn't come for him."
Mahito's tone shifted slightly. Not cold, but almost gentle.
"I came because I wanted to see how you were faring in this world. Jujutsu Sorcery isn't a pleasant job to undertake, though I'm sure you've already encountered the bloody, darker parts of it~"
"Enough with the blabber. No one's buying it." Megumi said, his fists clenched as he seemed to be almost prepared to summon something from his shadow.
Mahito glanced at him, then at Nobara, then back to Yuji.
"I'm not your enemy. That's all."
He stepped away from the corpse.
"If I were, you'd already know."
Then, as if remembering something, he paused.
"You're stronger than the last time I saw you."
Yuji blinked. "What?"
"Just an observation."
Mahito smiled again. Calm. Measured. Nothing chaotic in it.
"I'll be seeing you, Yuji. Hopefully not in the middle of another mess like this one."
And just like that, he turned and walked into the treeline.
No ripple of cursed energy. No Domain. Just fading footsteps.
Megumi let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding.
Nobara lowered her hammer, reluctantly.
Yuji stood frozen.
"He helped us," he said quietly.
"That doesn't make him a friend," Megumi replied.
"Nope," Nobara added. "I ain't buying any of the bullshit he spouted either."
The three stood in silence, the air still tense with fading cursed energy.
Then, faintly, almost too late... Though he would call it 'fashionably late'.
Gojo appeared behind them, arms crossed, hair spiked from the breeze.
"You all okay?"
They turned.
Gojo looked toward the body of the curse that was still slowly burning away.
"Well. That's new."
Yuji swallowed. "He showed up, that Mahito Curse. Killed it before it could land one last hit."
Gojo's face didn't shift, but his voice did.
"He saved you?"
Megumi shook his head, not wanting to be put in the same boat as Yuji.
"To be more precise, he saved Itadori..."
Gojo stepped forward, inspecting the corpse. The body was already starting to wither, the natural decay of cursed remains setting in.
"Itadori, huh? That's concerning," he said softly.
Nobara frowned. "Why?"
Gojo straightened. His expression was serious now.
"Second time he's shown interest in you." Gojo smiled ash e pointed at Iuji, his head tilted as his white hair swayed to the side.
"I guess it's about time I meet him, then. He's not that far from here, seems to be expecting me too~"