Bits and Pieces (Jujutsu Kaisen AU)

Chapter 1-3

Afterlife: Shika

"The competition, huh? You mean the tournament that crazy woman hosts." Toji joked.

I looked at him, tilting my head. Tatsuko was far from crazy. She was beyond that. Otherwise, she wouldn't be good at hiding it. Toji and I were on the roof the only place in my apartment one could train. Of course, there was the courtyard a few blocks from here, but this was closer. Also, the roof was protected by a cube like barrier that kept anyone from flying out or anything from coming in during training. Toji was on the other side of the roof, looking at me. I rarely ever spoke to him mainly because I had no reason to. And because he was the reason Riko and Kuroi died, he didn't speak to them either, but Riko was nice to him as far as I knew.

"Tatsuko wants you to participate." I spoke.

"Let me guess an order, not a request, right?"

I nod.

Toji sighed as he stared off into the distance before looking back at me. I rolled my eyes, getting a bit annoyed.

"I know you get paid for it, but the risk of dying permanently is a bit too much."

"The rules are decided before every match by whoever holds the higher ranking in the match. Sometimes, a death match is one of them. Once a person dies in the afterlife, they are denied redemption. They don't get judged. So yes, dying here is a terrible fate."

"That's not really convincing me, you know."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't really like Tatsuko. My boredom is the only thing I care about curing. Listening to Tatsuko is one way to do that. So, I'll cut you a deal." I said, taking out my phone and holding it near my forehead. "If I beat you, you have to participate. You win, you don't. On top of that, if you lose, I promise that none of your matches will ever instate a deathmatch as one of the rules."

My phone vibrated a notification popping up stating I was making a deal. Toji looked at me as his phone vibrated as well. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the conditions before looking at me with a grin.

"You got a deal."

Deals in the afterlife were like binding vows. But you couldn't choose what you could sacrifice in order to gain something. In the afterlife, the most one could offer was their life, and that's all the deal put on the line. Our life in exchange for keeping a promise. That was a deal. I had just made a deal with Otoha and Riho, but because I didn't instate the deal, I could back out at any time.

"Good. I'll be fair with you." I spoke tossing my phone over my shoulder as it disappeared. I pulled one of the hairpins from my hair, letting my hair fall to my waist. "I'll only use curse tools with you."

"A hairpin I never seen a weapon like that." Toji said.

I scoffed as I twirled the pin in my hands, causing it to grow in length, turning into a staff. I tossed it to Toji, and he gracefully grabbed it and spun it over his shoulder.

"Not my initial first choice, but it'll do." He spoke.

I pulled another pin from my hair, turning it into a staff, as I placed it behind me. I walked around the roof, and Toji followed me as he stared me down.

"My cursed tools are far beyond the amount of cursed energy it takes for a tool to be a special grade. Cause of them, I never have to use my technique. You're impressive for someone of your nature, so do not feel ashamed if my cursed tools are too much for you to handle."

Toji lightly smiled at me as he stopped and got into a proper stance. I stopped as well, still keeping my staff by my side. I never fought against someone with a heavenly restriction. This should be interesting. Toji took one step, and in an instant, he was in front of me. I backed away, looking at him as he swung the staff to my face.