Chapter Text
When you opened your eyes, your first instinct was to shoot your arm out at the giant weird blob next to your face and crush it with your bare fists. It crumpled beneath your hands like play dough, bursts of some strange liquid spurting out from the cracks of your fingers.
Your processing of what was going on before you was slow, like you usually were when just waking up from a dream. The weird goop dripped from your hands as you unclenched them before you, confusion slowly spreading across your face as you took in the sight and feel. Rough and full of callouses, a far cry from your normally unblemished ones.
What the fuck?
An ungodly roar of pain sounded next to your ears and you shot up from the ground and away from your sluggish haziness, finally waking up fully. Your eyes darted around to find what looked like…monsters…surrounding you in a dark place.
"…should'vvve gooone hommme."
"Mother? Where'sss…"
"…Don't loook at meeee..."
Grotesque, twisted masses of flesh stumbled on too thin arms and legs, nearly incomprehensible random words escaping the cracks like a broken record. Some had enlarged eyeballs jutting out, mouths full of eerily humanoid teeth, and so on, and so on.
But rather than fear, all you felt was disgust settling in your chest at the sight of these monsters.
Your eyes widened in shock as one of the creatures suddenly lunged at you, a jumbled mess of words and flesh. The others soon followed suit, and you reflexively jumped out of the way.
What the hell was going on? You woke up in a weird body, surrounded by weird creatures that wanted to kill you.
Your mind raced with so many questions, heart thudding in your ears as you searched for an escape. Glancing up while evading the creatures, you spotted a set of stairs at the center of the dark room. However, you couldn't get to it without fighting through the waves of monsters lunging at you. The one you'd squished earlier with your fist was easily reforming before your very eyes.
Your eyes narrowed, jumping with your lithe body to avoid another attack and sending a harsh kick to its head. That sent the thing flying into the wall, and you couldn't help the small grin of victory before you had to avoid another grab.
It was only after approximately twenty minutes of no progress and non-stop dodging did you realize something was wrong. These monsters were seemingly unfazed by anything you did to them, despite your enhanced body.
Doubt surged throughout your body, your heart thudding painfully in your ears as the faint beginnings of panic finally began to set in.
Could you even survive this? You'd just woken up out of nowhere and now you'll die before you could find out what happened to you?
Your stamina started flagging a little, and before you knew it, you were slammed into so hard you went flying into a wall, the stone digging into your spine as a wheeze left your lungs. That would definitely leave a bruise.
A groan of frustration. How much longer would you have to endure this?
As you went to stand up, your foot knocked against an object, clattering with the sound of something metal. You grabbed it without thinking, leaping out of the way of yet another attack.
Glancing at the object in your hands, you realized it was as weapon. A shortsword…? Its aura felt strange, almost like a cool chill over your skin. When you hefted the shortsword in your hand, however, a sense of familiarity and calm washed over you; it was as if this stolen body was used to wielding a weapon daily.
Another monster lunged, and you reflexively slashed at it with your new weapon, cleaving the giant thing in two.
A heartbeat passed. Then another.
This time, it stayed dead. A sense of exhilaration and relief flooded you.
A grin formed, unbidden, on your lips as the rest of the monsters closed in from all around you.
___
Ah fuck, that was terrible.
Going through the horde of monsters took some time, especially since not all of them died as easily as the first. You even got a slash to your lip for your troubles.
As you trudged up the steps, breathing heavily, you vaguely wondered what the person who had previously occupied this body had done to find himself stuck in the middle of monsters.
Before you could set take a single step towards the doors to the exit, a loud booming voice echoed throughout the chamber.
"Zenin Toji!" The name made you freeze, a sudden realization striking through you. Whirling around, you found yourself facing an older man with long hair tied up in a ponytail, a hand over his sword. "Your punishment is not yet over! Return to the disciplinary chamber at once!"
Oh shit, he called you Toji. The Toji? As in Fushiguro Toji? That would explain why you felt so agile and strong in this body, and the lip injury…a result from his fight with the curses in the chamber.
Curses. Of course those monsters was curses. And you could only kill them with cursed weapons, like the one currently in your grip.
Eyeing the man before you, you noted the way his cursed energy felt sharp, almost like flames.
This was…Maki and Mai's father, wasn't it? You only vaguely remembered him from the manga, when he threw the twins into the chamber to their deaths. Only for it to backfire spectacularly when Mai sacrificed her life to power up Maki.
Tapping the flat side of your sword against your thigh, you considered the man before you. He clearly wasn't a good father, from what you could remember. The Zenin clan as a whole wasn't exactly the epitome of a good family.
Power, prestige, and reputation being the only things worth a damn in the clan. Women weren't treated particularly well here, either. Toji probably hadn't been treated well, even when his heavenly restriction granted him immense physical strength.
A foreign and yet familiar anger boiled in your gut at the thoughts in your mind, your expression darkening as you watched the man.
"Well, Toji? Return to the chamber, or I will have you go back by force!" The man exclaimed, his cursed energy bursting into flames in an attempted display at intimidation.
"…Nah, I don't think I will." You smirked in true Toji fashion, swinging an arm in a stretch as you readied yourself to fight. After spending some time with the curses below, you were pretty confident in your now enhanced abilities to at least evade this guy. Maybe even incapacitate him while you make your getaway.
The manga didn't detail how Toji left the Zenin clan, but you supposed this was one way to do it. After being thrown in there? Yeah, no thanks. There was nothing left for you here.
Minutes later, you would retract your earlier confidence. The man was strong. How was Maki able to one-shot this guy? Still, you'd been able to land a single slash to the man's side.
Strategies flashed your mind as you thought about how to utilize the wound to your advantage, exchanging more blows with the man. Slowly but surely, your senses were becoming more attuned to him and his patterns of attack. Pinpointing weaker points in his guard, using your heightened sense to dodge oncoming swings, it was all coming easier to you.
Slowly but surely, you knew you could turn the tables and start winning.
"Stop!" The commanding, youthful voice sounded throughout the room, and you let your sword clang against the man's once more before you leapt backward, turning to see who called out.
A small kid with dark green hair and sharp eyes, a look of arrogance tracing his youthful pudge. He looked to be around the age of six. When those eyes of his met yours, you could've sworn there was a flash of…admiration?
The kid turned to Maki's father. "Cease this useless fighting at once, Ougi. While Toji-san was supposed to stay in the chamber for a longer period of time, there are no more second grade curses in there to serve as his punishment." He placed his hands on his hips. "Therefore, he no longer needs to stay in the chamber any longer."
Ougi blanched at his words. "But, Young Master Naoya--"
"Silence! I am the heir of the Zenin clan, and this is what I have decreed."
The older man bowed in submission, though you could see the clear frustration and anger on his face.
You were surprised to see Naoya so quickly, not really knowing what happens at this point since you were a side character. All you remembered about Naoya was that did form some sort of weird obsession with Toji and that Maki proceeded to kick his ass after Mai's sacrifice.
"Toji-san." You blinked at the young boy, who took the opportunity to get closer to you. "You're strong, for being trash."
"Ah…" you hesitated, not knowing what to say to a child that would one day become a conceited, arrogant man, destined to die at the hands of someone he once looked down upon. A child that just insulted you while complimenting you. "Thanks?"
Naoya nodded, before turning to Ougi. "Get out of my sight." The man scowled, but complied with the demand.
You stood in place, fidgeting uncertainly. Now that the adrenaline of the battle had worn off, all you wanted to do was just sleep. And figure out how the hell you got here.
"Toji-san, you're free to leave."
You nodded. Better to stay in line in front of the heir.
"…Expect me to call upon your presence at any time." With those words, Naoya turned on his heel and left the room.
You took some time to register what he had said. Call upon your presence? Damn, you knew the kid admired Toji, but did that mean you're going to have to spend time with him while you remain with the Zenin clan?
A frown graced your lips at the thought. You'd prefer not to get caught up in all the politics, thanks. Maybe you could leave before then?
Ah, whatever. You'll think about it later.
A sigh left you as you stepped out of the room and into the hallway. You paused, looking at the expanse of hallway stretching further in one direction and realizing you didn't know anything about the layout of the compound.
Well, you supposed it was time for a bit of trial and error.
___
It didn't take long to remember the horrid discrimination the Zenin clan had towards non-curse users from the manga. Maki decided to slaughter so many clan members, after all. However, it was one thing to know about it.
It was entirely another to experience it in person, as the target of that very discrimination.
The whispers were everywhere, and it didn't help that your heightened senses were able to pick out the exact words.
"Looks like that trash survived the chamber."
"Seriously? He could've done us all a favour and stayed down there to die like the mutt he is." The words were followed by cruel laughter of the speaker's peers.
Irritation and fury rose within your chest, but you tamped it down as you trudged through the compound as quickly as you could. Those speaking were common servants, and yet they were brave enough to act so condescending towards you.
"I heard he fought Master Ougi and even managed to injure him."
"Really?"
"Oi."
You paused mid-step, hand still gripping the shortsword in your hand tightly. Before you stood an older teenager with his arms crossed as he stared at you. His body language and face overall seemed hostile, and you subconsciously shifted your stance.
"Yes?" You stared back, unwilling to back down from the challenge in his dark eyes.
"You do not have permission to step on this part of the compound, trash."
Trash this, trash that. Are they seriously so uncreative with their insults?
"Ah, is that so?" you drawled, tilting your head to the side with a small quirk of your lips. "Sorry about that. I got a little lost." And it wasn't even a lie.
"Hmph. Just don't make that mistake again." The teenager huffs, eyes narrowed and wary. "…Is it true that you managed to injure Master Ougi?"
You eyed him, trying to figure out why he would bring it up. "Yes."
"I see." He frowned. "Go on, then."
With that, he turned on his heel and left, leaving you confused at the random encounter. Shaking your head, you turn around to head back. If this wasn't where you were supposed to be, your room was somewhere else.
The countless whispers and gossip still circled you as the people on the compound gave you a wide berth, glaring at you condescendingly as you passed.
You shouldn't care. You didn't know these people, random extras in a clan that you knew was discriminatory to their own people. Toji probably wouldn't have cared. Or maybe he did, and that's why he left to become a sorcerer killer.
But still, it was…suffocating. The stares, the whispers, the general aura of hate and condescension making your stomach curl in disgust.
You hurried your footsteps.
___
You'd managed to find your room eventually as the sun set, tucked away in the corner of the compound by the servant quarters. You hadn't expected anything different, having never lived on a clan compound before. It was very Japanese here, very traditional.
You couldn't wait to leave.
But first, a plan. Your knowledge of the canon events in Jujutsu Kaisen were limited aside from a few arcs. You'd only read up to the Culling Game, and then hadn't picked the manga up for years now. Your knowledge of the entire Zenin clan? Close to null.
The only thing you knew about Zenin Naoya was his arrogance and contempt towards women, and Maki in particular. He got his ass beat soundly when Maki went on a rampage after Mai sacrificed herself.
If he was the heir to the Zenin clan at this point, it would make sense why he would grow up to be such a toxic and misogynistic pig. Surrounded by nothing but toxic elders trapped in their old and disgusting ways, it was no wonder he would be influenced.
He admired Toji for his strength and blasé attitude towards everyone. That was about it.
The rest of the members were a mystery, though it was probably safe to say that they would act the same as Naoya did in the manga. Arrogant and condescending.
You were going to have to tread carefully here. The thought made you sigh deeply, not for the first time missing your old life.
The hatred of the Zenin clan towards you was palpable, somehow enhanced by your heightened senses. You understood why Toji left in the first place.
But he'd stayed for a long while, right? Was there a specific reason he left the clan? Maybe he had enough?
Come to think of it, how old as this body? A cursory glance at your body told you of lean muscles and long limbs, not yet fully developed. Your height was decent, so you guessed you were in your mid to late teens.
They had thrown a teenage Toji in a pit of second grade curses as punishment for something, perhaps hoping he'd die in there. That left a sour feeling on your tongue. He was just a kid.
The cruelty of the older sorcerer clans had no bounds, it seemed.
Another sigh left your lips as you turned in you futon, burying your face in the pillow. At least they weren't entirely cruel enough to let you (Toji) be homeless or something.
Closing your eyes to sleep, you faintly wondered if this was all just a dream.
Some part of you wished it wasn't.
___