A Real Fight

Flashing, images. Voids. In the empty space, something was twisting, turning, echoing in and out of existence. The air was both heavy and missing, his lungs wondering if he should or could breathe. The echoing of sharp sounds rattled his mind. The breaking of glass, the sound of snapping panes as slow motion lightning-like, cracks drifted through the air, the shaking, echoing of moments just a few seconds ago.

He didn't understand, he didn't know what he was looking at, he couldn't, he shouldn't. It wasn't something meant for humans.

Staring forth into the subliminal space, the folding of space and the shards reflecting moments that happened in a few seconds. Reflections of a world he didn't quite understand he felt his heart ache, clench in an understanding. However vague. The dimensions. Something was off about them.

Seeing it, a faint figure stood between the shards, limbs that made no sense, a torso that slowly grew before shrinking back down into nothingness. A hand reaching out of the shards.

"Time, it is time. Understand, begin to grow." The voice spoke, like the chiming of bells bouncing back and forth between endless panes of glass, the sound reflected like light, fading and coming back over and over in a symphony that so few words sung. Bouncing around and heightening to a deafening scream. Before the sound got too much, the rising reflections of noise shattered his mind.

---

Jolting upright, the sudden movement was enough to make the old bed frame screech in protest. His heart hammering in his chest.

Putting a hand against his face he felt the cold sweet lingering on his skin, the rising sun washing through the window in a pale orange glow. The drifting clouds lowered the tone of the atmosphere. It matched his feelings, and he didn't like it.

What was that? It was the second time he had seen that figure, and now he knew that it was more than just a dream. He didn't understand, what did they want him to understand. His heart was… confused. He didn't know where instinct was guiding him.

He wanted to become stronger, but that meant that he had to push himself. Standing up he threw the worn coat that he had stolen over his shoulder. It was time to go fight someone serious. He needed to grow, to push past this roadblock that he was currently experiencing. It was still early 2004, he had transmigrated in late January.

Events seemed to unfold in his mind. Details that he didn't know about Jujutsu Kaisen suddenly rose to the surface, like a forgotten memory, or a thought that was never his in the first place… It couldn't come from Hoshi, but then who? The figure, whatever being or person sat between the dimensions, was currently influencing his life, fiddling with fate. Maybe that was why his run-in with Frank was so fortunate.

Scaling the small ladder that they set up between two of the higher run-down floors he looked at Frank's sleeping form, huddled in a corner with a small fire burning away next to him, the last of the flames gently rolling over the coals that shimmered against the cold air.

Walking over to the man Atlas grabbed a blanket that had been tossed to the side and threw it over him only to get a, "I threw it off because I was too hot lad. Stop being nice and let me sleep." His voice contained a gravely morning husk.

Shaking his head Atlas said, "Didn't know you were awake. Sorry." His face held a small smile, it was nice honestly.

"All good, go away though," Frank muttered, clearly not a morning person. That was something Atlas learned the hard way.

Following the man's request, Atlas walked to the edge of the building and leapt out of one of the missing walls. Plummeting towards the floor, and jumping headfirst into his next hurdle.

It was time to find himself.

---

It hadn't taken long for Atlas to get to the city, he had finally decided to go. It was honestly a bit intimidating, the size of the place. The number of streets. The early morning bustle of people getting to work and school filled the air with lively chatter. The number of people made the streets rivers of bodies. It was impressive.

Walking through the crowd, to no one's surprise, people kept a distance from him. His sooty and charred clothes from his fights with Frank and his possibly weeks now of not washing meant that he likely smelt and looked terrible. His face was covered by a hood he pulled over his head.

Smiling as he chewed on the end of a cigarette that slowly let out a coiling strand of smoke he tilted his head to the side. It was time to become involved with the Jujutsu Society, but not anything major. Just exist on the edge, known by only a few people. One he had in mind was someone from the Zenin clan, one of the three biggest clans that existed since the Heian Era over a thousand years ago.

Now it wasn't one of the major members, no, the outcast. Someone who he was personally interested in meeting since they were who Atlas wished he could be in a lot of ways, physically indomitable. Unmatched and someone that inspired fear through strength and strength alone. The peak of this world's physicality.

Having a cursed technique was cool, and he was sure that as he grew he would come to like it more and more but honestly, he understood physical strength. He had the skills from his past life, his body just couldn't keep up. And cursed energy could only make him so much stronger, yes he could easily flip a car. But he wanted to be able to do so much more.

Now finding them may be a mistake, he would live because of their whim. He was pretty sure that he would be interesting enough to be kept alive however, and if he didn't give them a reason to kill him then they wouldn't. From what he knew they were not a cold-blooded murderer and normally didn't kill unless they were paid to do it. And if not, he would have to get stronger to escape. Honestly, it was kind of exhilarating.

Now where to find the Zenin Clan, and would they even be there? Who knows, he would find out though.

---

Crouching in the forest on the edge of an extremely large estate Atlas couldn't help but tilt his head to the side. Something fun that he found out about himself was that his cursed energy was very hard to see unless he was using it. Frank had trouble seeing it when they first met and had stated the fact multiple times after that. It was like as he described, 'it comes off the cracks you make instead of making the cracks.'

He assumed that was because his energy actually existed in another plane of the 3rd dimension. Meaning that it couldn't be seen until he pulled it towards himself and as it came it formed the cracks. Meaning he could use them to attack and even send out blades when he expelled his cursed energy. Something that was normally harmless and not done but for him. It was something very powerful. He was an enigma in a lot of ways.

Sadly his body still had cursed energy in it, just a very small almost imperceptible amount. But it did mean that he couldn't just walk through barriers like the person he was trying to find. Hence him sitting down on a tree outside the barrier of the Zenin estate. It hadn't actually been hard to find. Even outside the Jujutsu Society, they were a very old family that lived in seclusion in the mountains. Hell, it was one of the largest estates on the borders of Tokyo. It wasn't like he was searching for a single cabin.

Anyway, time to get the attention of a superhuman. Hell, it wasn't hard if he was here actually. He was superhuman and his senses were heightened to the point that he could track people from the odour they left behind and the faintest traces of footprints that would otherwise be imperceptible.

Smiling he said slowly, stretching the word out. "Toji Zenin… I would like to speak to you." His voice was only met by the rustling of leaves. He hoped that his hearing would be good enough to pick up on the sound because otherwise, it wouldn't be as easy to get his attention. He was sure that he could find another way, however.

With nothing but the rustling of leaves responding to him, he let out a small sigh, he would have to find another way to get in contact with the man. Turning around he was about to jump out of the tree only to look down the trunk and see a man standing there. His short black hair and tight black shirt stood out against the grass beneath him.

Smiling Atlas said, "Oh so you could hear me! Damn, your hearing must be good." His voice filled with a bit of surprise. "I've heard a lot about you, just wanted to see it for myself honestly." Atlas continued as he jumped down and smiled at Toji.

"Unless you have a good reason I might just kill you now dude. What do you want?" His voice was a bit annoyed yet somewhat curious.

"Hey, hey, no need to be so aggressive. I just wanted to meet a fellow outcast you know. Not that I mean that in an offensive way. But I got curious when I heard about someone with a full heavenly restriction in the Zenin clan that was being rejected despite almost unparalleled strength. Wanted to meet them." His voice was chipper as he talked to the man who was threatening to kill him.

"Yeah? Sounds like you're a nut case. You got almost no cursed energy, you an outcast too?" Toji responded, listening to his curiosity. He didn't have a reason to kill this person either, it's not like he cared that they were trespassing on the estate ground.

"Outcast? Not really, more like an experiment. Long story short woke up in a lab and now I don't really like the Jujutsu Society because the clans and higher-ups seem like bitches and they might have been involved in me being a lab rat because of my unique cursed energy." Atlas revealed as he sat down with his back to the tree.

"Interesting, at least I think so. So you wanted to find me Lab Rat to tell me a sob story or for something else." Toji asked, his curiosity fading.

"Oh something else, I want to fight! I know I will lose, like seriously I am going to get my ass kicked but it might be fun, I dunno. Live for the thrill. And I think I may be able to help you out too, maybe. Not sure. But who knows." Atlas said as he tilted his head to the side.

"Sure… why not. Let's get away from this place though, if you don't interest me and you waste my time I'll kill you though." Toji said as he turned and started to run.

Atlas was able to keep pace with Toji because he wasn't even trying. This Toji was a bit different than the man he was when he left the Zenin clan, it seems he changed when he left it, or when he found and married Fushiguro.

They ran for well and truly a few miles. Ended up far into the mountains and what looked to be an old quarry that was no longer being used, the stone walls carved into nice blocks where the stone was extracted. The sun now beat down from above.

Looking at Toji he was about to say something before he felt an attack coming. Years of instinct from his old life kicked in at that single moment, he needed to defend or he would die. He couldn't move fast enough, but his energy could.

Slamming his cursed energy into the air in the way of the attack at the same time that he ducked he felt the air rip past his head, his hair skimmed by Toji's shin as it passed over him. Pure instinct and combat ability let him dodge, but just barely. The cracked shards of the air caused just enough resistance to the kick that he had time to dodge.

Looking up at Toji whose eyes had widened in surprise he threw his hand forward and unleashed a blast of cursed energy from his hand. Fraying the gap between dimensions directly on Toji's chest causing a large shattering to occur.

Backing away Toji looked at the wounds on his chest, the slight cuts that littered his skin. His shin which had pushed through the attack was bleeding a bit, blood running down and staining the edge of his white sock. The pants leg was ripped and the front of his shirt was shredded.

It was clear that he didn't expect to be damaged.

"Damn, I never expected you to dodge that brat. What's your secret?" Toji said a grin forming on his face.

Standing up Atlas saturated the air around him with his cursed energy, the flooding of the space around his distorting his appearance, reflections appearing to his right and left just offset by a few centimetres. The shaking of the air caused a mirage-like effect, the bouncing of light between the hundreds of forming shards enough to make the space around him distort slightly and the chiming of breaking glass started to ring through the air.

"Instinct. I never expected you to attack so fast. What's your secret?" Atlas responded, a smirk on his face as he spoke. Letting his body loosen he waited for the next surprise attack.

"Oh nothing much, just born with a curse or a blessing, depends on who you ask. I have a feeling you think it's the latter." Toji said as he cracked his neck, taking out a katana from its sheath on his side. The rasping of the drawn blade sounded from Toji's side.

"I think it's dope as fuc-" Atlas started to say but was forced to back away as the blade swung down. The cursed energy of the cursed tool was just enough to not be shattered by the space around Atlas. Leaning backwards one of the reflections leaned the other way. Dodging the swiping of the blade as it passed through the air with a whistle.

Jumping back Atlas swung his hand down, splitting space before him only to have to dodge a kick to his back, twisting so it glanced off him instead of suffering the full impact. Even that glance however sent him tumbling through the air.

Twisting around so that he was on his back he put both his hands in front of his chest as he felt the sword stab through his palms. The burning pain was enough to make his gut twist as he felt the blade pass right through them, slicing through his hands like butter. But using his impaled palms he redirected the blade just enough that it missed all of his vital organs. His body shaking from the shock of the wound.

Despite the shards around him Toji hadn't even been hindered.

Grinning up at the man staring down at him he pushed his power into the metal of the sword, shattering it into countless fragments before rolling to his feet, slamming his heels into Toji's chest in the movement and pushing a blast of power into the man's torso.

Seeing a giant crack open a gash in Toji's chest as he was sent sliding back a few feet Atlas finished the motion, springing to his feet as the wound in his chest and palms healed, the clattering of the broken blade pieces falling out of him and onto the floor.

"So not even shock can make you hesitate-" Toji started to say before he sidestepped an arcing wave of energy that tore through the air leaving a gash on the ground. "You really are an impressive, brat." Toji finished as if he hadn't been attacked.

"Thanks, want me to call you teach?" Atlas said as he sidestepped another blow before starting to trade them with Toji who clearly only used part of his strength. Feeling out Atlas' instinct and combat ability. His eyes widened in surprise as Atlas took the upper hand. With the limited physical prowess that Toji was using he saw that Atlas was indeed a better fighter than him. Simply he was being overwhelmed by pure might.

Backing away Toji held his hands up and said, "Let's talk shall we?" His voice was now even more curious even a bit excited.

The stupid part of Atlas' brain however didn't listen, this man impaled his chest, and he wanted to fight!

Dashing forward taking advantage of the momentary lapse in judgment Atlas blasted everything he could into the chest of Toji, his body shaking with the recoil of the impact, the shards of space splintering in an earth-splitting crash. Like thousands of windows shattering at the same time.

With the blast sending Toji off the ground and catapulting into the far wall of the mine, the impact of the stone sending ground shaking recoil through the earth, the pillar of debris and dust that sprouted out of the impact crater clouding the form of Toji.

That didn't stay down for long.

Suddenly in front of Atlas, he said, "You're going to regret that." A large gash on his chest, the bleeding wound the deepest he had ever been inflicted with for a long time. He had amazing physical prowess, whatever this energy could do however was just too much for it to handle.

Slamming fist after fist into the barely dodging Atlas Toji rained down blow after blow. The spacial shards around Atlas only gave the man minor cuts and slowly his fist down, some barely changing the angle. But the more wounds Atlas suffered the more he started to feel them fade and fold back into space, the shards disappearing. And as the reality started to repair around Atlas more fists landed, each harder than the next.

Feeling the shattering impact of each strike Atlas could barely keep up healing himself, the shaking impact of each strike forcing him to flood his body with positive energy. Although maintaining the shards at the same time was stretching him thin, and if he stopped either a single strike would kill him.

Cursing as he spat out blood from another strike that crushed organs he couldn't help but find himself smiling, this was the desperation he needed!

Feeling the positive energy flood his body he felt it leak out into the air around him. And in that single moment, something clicked, snapping into place. His positive energy had a similar property.

His negative energy pulled cursed energy into this plane causing the breaks.

His reverse cursed technique did the opposite. Just as it described. It pushed his body into other planes.

Feeling the shards around him stop in an instant. The space around him reverted to normal in a single moment he felt a breath leave his body as a fist was about to hit his head. But the impact never came, instead passing right through him.

---

Toji watched in shock as Atlas suddenly, wasn't there? It was like his body started to fade, the cracks in space vanishing as suddenly Atlas stepped into the folding shards of glass-like space, the cracks mending behind him. It all happened in less than a second though, in an instant that even he could barely keep up with. Atlas was suddenly just… gone.

Tensing up he smiled, now this was interesting, this boy was almost the perfect counter to him. And his combat prowess was simply unmatched, he didn't actually plan on killing the kid. Just teaching him a lesson. But now? He was even more eager to continue the fight.

---

Atlas felt his breath leave his lungs but it felt strange, the air around him was made out of multiple folding layers of space that were subliminal, space expanding and folding, the 4th dimension seen by someone that couldn't understand it. A place that wasn't meant to be seen.

He could see his 'original' plane of the 3rd dimension still, the confused-looking Toji looking around with a large grin on his face.

Walking forward Atlas tried to touch him but his hand just went through him, it was more like he was in the ethereal realm right now. His mind could only see that single plane, but his body wasn't in it anymore and therefore could not interact with it.

Striking forward he focused his energy on his fist and for the briefest moment he watched the shards of space fold around it as it entered his original dimension. Toji barely dodged the strike because of his heightened perception.

But Atlas wasn't done, he channelled his positive energy into the strike, folding space around his fist for a moment, distorting distance between the dimensional lines. Toji was suddenly hit by a weak but surprising impact on the chest.

Atlas could hit through dimensions, he wasn't limited to reflections of space and time. He could slightly distort them, only a bit, but enough to trip people up. The rules didn't apply to him.

Smiling he felt that his energy was draining way too quick and he didn't want to find out what happened if he got stuck here without energy. Stepping out of the folding glass-like space a few steps away from Togi he said, "Let's talk shall we?" Atlas said his voice filled with a child-like glee at his new discovery.

Just to have his chest impacted by a punch that sent him flying into the far wall of the mine. His body shaking from the impact. Barely had enough leftover energy to mostly heal the wound, although he had to leave a few broken limbs behind to heal his organs. Wow, he really was drained.

God that hurt.

"I deserved that," Atlas said as he lay down against the stone, unlike Toji he didn't stand up and coolly walk out of the raining debris and dust. He was too sore.

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Enjoy!