𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎 | ᶦᵗᵃᵈᵒʳᶦ ʸᵘʲᶦ

²⁷

''i don't know.'' katsumi admitted, letting out a big breath. she could feel her hands trembling, was it from overuse of her cursed energy or fear? she concluded it was a mix of both. ''i-i met up with yūji and fushiguro some time ago and then we split up. i haven't seen them since...''

''fushiguro is safe and sound-'' yaga spoke up for the first time, walking closer to katsumi. the girl visibly relaxed a bit after hearing the news. ''however, we've seen itadori only for a split of a moment.''

''where?'' 

the two older shamans looked at each other and ieiri let out a sigh before she went back to healing maki. yaga cleared his throat, looking down at the cursed lotus user. 

''we aren't sure if that was itadori or sukuna as the lat-''

''i know.'' katsumi interrupted yaga. she glanced down at her blood-stained hands. ''mahito told me and i felt the shift in the cursed energy surrounding the place. but please, i have to help yūji.''

katsumi was exhausted, both physically and mentally. even she was surprised that she still had some cursed energy left, and by some, she meant a lot. continuously, she used her cursed technique to teleport around the station in hopes of finding her boyfriend or someone she knew. her last teleportation sent her not so far away from where she had found maki. 

''i should tone down on that.'' the girl sighed, wiping the sweat off her forehead. luckily, before she had left, ieiri had provided her with a spare shirt. just as the shaman was about to turn at the corner, something got slammed into the wall right next to her.

much to her surprise, it was no one other than mahito. the curse had a wide grin on his face. katsumi glanced around the room and immediately noticed tōdō and itadori standing on the opposite side of the room. it seemed that the trio was yet to take notice of the blonde shaman right next to the curse.

itadori and tōdō watched as mahito slowly got up. his lips were spread in a wide mocking grin and loud laughs filled the room. the two males went into their stances, ready to take onto the special curse in front of them when suddenly, mahito's laughter stopped. probing out of his chest was katsumi's katana. the smell of burning flesh immediately filled the room and mahito jumped, tearing his body away from the blade.

''here you are~'' katsumi's voice filled the room as she made herself known to the three. in her left hand, she held her katana, its tip trailing the floor and leaving marks, while in her right hand she had a single lotus.

a ghost smile pulled at itadori's lips at the sight of his girlfriend, however, that smile quickly went away when mahito lunged at katsumi. ''sumi!'' mahito grabbed a hold of katsumi's neck and laughed. 

''i hoped you wouldn't fall for the same trick twice, maggot.''  as on a clue, the 'katsumi' in mahito's hold exploded, sending burning petal shards everywhere. itadori and tōdō watched in astonishment as the real katsumi appeared once again behind the two. the girl saw the look in itadori's eyes and she swore she could feel her heart break. those beautiful chocolate eyes she once adored were now empty and full of worry.

neither of them had time for a conversation due to mahito's immediate attacks. the trio worked as a machine. if it was katsumi attacking, the two males would clear a path for her and distract the curse enough for her to stab him at least once. that same circle went on for a few more times until mahito caught the wind of it. katsumi grinned and ran up to mahito, her katana ready for a strike, only to slide underneath his legs. the curse turned around to face her, only to find her empty-handed and pointing behind him.

itadori came up from behind him, katsumi's katana in his hands. he stabbed the katana into mahito's body and then kicked him towards tōdō. the oldest male used the black flash to send the curse flying into the wall. the trio watched as mahito stood up and brought his hands up to his face, only to activate one of his cursed techniques. in a matter of seconds, the three shamans found themselves standing on a platform. katsumi's face scrunched in disgust once she saw what the platform was made of.

the fight continued ferociously. katsumi ran left and right, avoiding attacks mahito sent her way. she used her katana to slice through some of the transfigured humans but she was growing tired. no matter how many transfigured humans she sliced open, mahito would send new ones right at her while he dealt with tōdō and itadori. he's splitting us up. the girl's expression hardened. she twirled her katana, turned around, and decapitated three transfigured humans.

suddenly, katsumi felt mahito start to build up his cursed energy. the female sorceress turned around to yell at the boys to get away but was stopped by a transfigured human slicing her back open. katsumi hissed in pain and almost toppled over. as quickly as she physically could, katsumi stabbed the transfigured human and ran over to the two.

mahito's domain expansion had already started taking place, much to katsumi's horror. i'm too late. it only took a few seconds and before anyone knew, tōdō was sent flying, his fist cut off by mahito. itadori charged at mahito with the black flash.

cursed lotus art: heavenly hail

just as itadori punched mahito, katsumi used her cursed technique and sent a few dozen petals flying at mahito. the curse could only do so much and avoid some of them, others stabbed themselves onto his skin and started burning. 

the two didn't stop there. itadori continued throwing punches at mahito and katsumi moved closer, swinging her katana at the curse. the duo worked perfectly together, while one moved the other protected and the other way around. 

''domain expan-''

blood filled katsumi's mouth, causing her to spit it out.

''hah! you are strong!'' mahito grinned at katsumi. ''too bad you're at your limit!''

at his words, itadori turned around. katsumi had fallen to her knees, her skin pale and with blood running down her nose and chin. her chest heaved with each breath she took and she used her katana to prop herself on one knee.  

''sumi-''

''i'm alright yūji.'' katsumi was quick to dismiss him. she sent him a small smile. ''kill that bastard.''

the salmon-haired boy watched as katsumi's body toppled over. the sound of her katana hitting the floor filled the room. itadori's brown eyes were filled with worry as he stared at katsumi's unconscious face.

''don't worry~'' mahito snickered. ''i won't give her a painful death.''

''if you want to kill her, you'll have to go through me first!''

; i'm loving the current katsumi, what about you guys?