1: Spirited Away

-Story Start-

December 24th.

It was in a land separate from reality.

A dream?

A mindscape?

A Domain?

The essence of this space was alien even to its creator.

Within it, is a peaceful, quiet town in the countryside of Japan.

Lifeless and grey with the advent of supermarkets taking over family-owned businesses, the town had begun losing its countryside luster.

Nevertheless, some tranquil parts remained untouched and pure.

It was a ghost town.

Naught a soul in sight...

Besides two Jujutsu Sorcerors in the midst of a confrontation:

"Sukuna... I can kill you." His cold tone barely masked the fury and hatred in his eyes.

"Release Fushiguro. Return to my body, and I'll spare your life," he demanded, locking eyes with his opponent.

It was a bold statement.

Considering the fact that the recipient of the death threat was none other than the King Of Curses himself - Ryomen Sukuna.

Yet, Itadori Yuji held no doubt regarding the authenticity of his claim.

He truly was, capable of ending the King Of Curses.

Ryomen Sukuna's expression twisted in pure, unadulterated fury and malice at the audacity.

His face shook as he opened his mouth to retort...

However... Destiny had other plans.

A bright light flashed intensely.

Yuji reflexively covered his eyes, as the brightness was overwhelming.

With it, the illusion shattered, bringing Yuji back to reality.

It lasted but an instant.

A thousandth of a second.

Uncovering his eyes, Yuji's instincts hardened.

Still running with plenty of adrenaline and having awoken thanks to his battle against Sukuna and the Black Flashes he had hit.

In quick succession, he analyzed his situation:

His domain should have been cast, however, he had not felt the instinctual connection to his unleashed Pinnacle Of Jujutsu Sorcery.

Quickly, he had noticed that the requisite Cursed Energy he had sacrificed to open his Domain had returned to him.

An anomaly to be certain.

Domains aren't really his thing, so he didn't really care about that.

What truly dumbfounded him, was where he found himself at...

Snow and ice, were all around him as he stood in what appeared to be a ricefield.

His steady breath exhaled vapors amid the cold air.

In the distance, snowcapped mountains and small structures decorated the landscape.

Further along in the other direction, a small village could be seen.

From a bird's eye view, Itadori Yuuji seemed to have found himself in some kind of valley.

It took every semblance of control in him to barely hold onto his composure.

Describing his emotional state as simply, bewildered, would be an understatement.

Yet with each passing moment, the more revelations he came across, and with them, his emotions ran rampant:

The lack of buildings was obvious, it hinted that he was transported a rather considerable distance.

But the true telling sign of how far away he seemed to have been transported was but one factor:

'Snow? There's no snow in Shinjuku!' He immediately noted, his expression hardening.

"Ui Ui... No." He immediately eliminated that possibility.

He traced back the events that brought him here in a split second.

The only possible perpetrator coming to the forefront of his mind, Yuji's expression twisted into a feral snarl.

There could be only one individual, who could pull something like this from under his nose, to separate him during such a climactic and decisive moment.

A calamity, that seemed to have an answer for everything...

He expressed his unadulterated fury and desperation, roaring with all his might: "SUUUUUUUUUKUUUUUUUUUUNAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" 

His outcry shook the ground beneath him, shaking the air as the loud proclamation traveled through the otherwise silent terrain.

Cursed Energy reinforced Yuji's limbs, easily continuing his dismissal of the agonizing pain and fatigue coursing through his body.

In a great burst of speed, his figure shot toward the distant village - Keen on figuring out his whereabouts and returning to Shinjuku before it was too late.

'Maybe... It'll be too late.' The nightmarish doubt rang aloud in his mind, his body shook as a wave of unease, frustration, and helplessness coursed through his being.

Nevertheless, Itadori Yuji moved.

It was roughly a few seconds later, that he froze.

Ceasing his approach at a truly bizarre and mind-boggling sight.

There, resting on the ground was an unconscious and heavily wounded Aoi Todo.

But what truly puzzled Yuji, was the sight of a perfectly alive Choso tending to Aoi's wounds.

For a moment, Yuji was ready to dismiss it as an illusion, perhaps of a wandering Cursed Spirit.

Yet, the Soul could never lie.

Tears welled up in Yuji's eyes, as a pleasant and relieved smile formed on Choso's face upon making eye contact, "Little Brother!"

"H-How?" Yuji murmured in a low tone in pure disbelief.

Even his ability to recognize the Soul was not enough to convince him... Of the capability of the dead returning to life.

Choso shook his head, frowning thoughtfully, "I do not know. I died. Yet I regained consciousness due to some kind of light. Then, I found myself here alongside our brother." He gestured to the surrounding snow.

Yuji smiled weakly tightly holding Choso's shoulders, his words expressing pure relief, "The best news I've heard since forever..."

Choso gave a small reserved smile as he turned back to Yuji, "Little brother, did we win? Did you manage to free Fushiguro Megumi and kill Ryomen Sukuna?"

Yuji's fists clenched and his shoulders slumped, biting his lip enough to draw blood.

Choso's eyes narrowed, having understood the situation due to Yuji's reaction, "Whichever the case. We must get Little Brother proper medical treatment. I have only managed to roughly patch him up." His face hardened and his tone was completely serious.

He locked eyes with Yuji, giving him a lookover, "Same goes for you. You are in no state to heal yourself with Reverse Cursed Technique."

Shaking his head, intending to protest, Yuji opened his mouth, "I need to get back-"

"You won't make it in time. And when you do, Ryomen Sukuna will be ready for you." Choso interrupted, arguing with an eerie levelheadedness.

"Regroup, recuperate, strategize. Brute forcing Sukuna will never work. Trust your big brother," Choso said firmly.

A moment of tense silence passed the brother by, as Yuji exhaled an agonized sigh, his eyes narrowed and expression stoic.

"For Todo." Yuji nodded.

"For Little Brother." Choso nodded.

Choso lowered himself to lift Aoi, lifting him effortlessly, "I'll carry him. It appears I've been revived in perfect health." Breaking into a manageable jog, in the direction of the distant village.

The injured Yuji followed without trouble, yet that sentence and situation clicked in his mind.

"Revived, huh?" Yuji muttered.

'Don't know whether I should be thankful for that light or no-' His thoughts were cut short by an epiphany as his eyes widened in realization.

"It couldn't have been Sukuna to transport us here... Why would he revive you if he could." Yuji commented as he jogged beside Choso.

Choso shook his head, voicing his thoughts, "He may have been incredibly resourceful and creative with his tools, but even Sukuna has limits. Revival and Teleportation... He would've displayed one of those capabilities against Satoru Gojo, their battle was too close for him to hide such Cursed Techniques."

"Then who-" Yuji's words were cut short by yet another mind-bogglingly bizarre sight.

As they approached the village by running through the snowy ricefields, they noticed a lone car having stopped by the road beyond the ricefields.

A man, with a thick coat to fit the weather.

The only glaring part was that he obviously had the head of a giraffe.

Nothing else, simply, the head and neck of a giraffe plastered on a regular man's body.

Choso paused, his tone leveled despite the oddity before them, "Cursed Spirit?"

"No, there's no Cursed Energy." He immediately eliminated the possibility.

Yuji's worldview was shattering in real time, as he added, "There's no Cursed Energy at all! He's like Maki-san!"

"But then... That head of his...?" Choso mumbled.

Shaking his head, Yuji confirmed with a puzzled tone, "There's something attached to his Soul... Intertwined. It's not like Mahito's transfiguration, but very similar... But still. No Cursed Energy... Real weird."

The giraffe-headed man managed to catch sight of the Brothers due to his long neck, noting the unconscious and injured Aoi.

As well as the battle-worn Yuji.

Maybe the man had poor survival instincts, yet he called out with a worried expression, "Hey! You guys need help?"

This was a most tumultuous day indeed for Itadori Yuji.

He expected many things on this day:

The saving of Megumi.

The defeat of Sukuna.

Yet, he could have never predicted...

"T-That giraffe man just talked!" Yuji exclaimed, pointing at the giraffe-headed man in disbelief.

To Be Continued!

-Author Note Start-

I'm supposed to update the Cote fic, but I really was itching to post the 1st chapter to this.

This starts a bit precanon.

December 24th is perfect for me, since the UA term starts at April 1st.

Shit's just CHEFSSSSS KISSSSSSS.

Anywho, expect shenanigans, brainrot, JJK Lobotomy, and an actual plot (The fate of every for fun fic of mine to actually get serious... Unlucky af).

Time to introduce some PEAK to MHA!