Silly author note: BREAKING NEWS: Toji Finally Addresses Allegations, "Look, disappearing is kind of my whole skill set... And didn't I left him a strong last name? that should be enough."
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A/N: upload schedule: six times a week Sunday off.
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The forest was chaos.
Everywhere you looked, someone was getting jumped. Maki was deflecting bullets. Nobara was trash-talking a girl on a broom. Panda was running for his life. Inumaki was doing... whatever Inumaki does.
And in the middle of it all, two guys were about to throw hands.
Junpei and Yuji sat on a fallen log, watching.
"Should we... help?" Junpei asked.
"Nah." Yuji grinned. "This is gonna be good."
Todo cracked his neck. Rolled his shoulders. Grinned like a man who'd just found his reason for living.
"Cloak guy. You ready?"
Shinra stood across from him. No EMS. No Haki. No CE. Just hands.
A leaf broke from a nearby tree. Fluttered down. Drifted between them.
The moment it touched the ground, they moved.
BLUR.
Todo's fist came in like a meteor, massive right hook, full power. Shinra didn't block. His palm met Todo's wrist and guided the punch past his ear, the wind rustling his hair. At the same time, his other hand shot forward.
Crushing Rock palm strike. Directly to Todo's liver.
THUD.
Todo's eyes went wide. Air left his lungs. But he didn't stop, he spun, threw an elbow. Shinra dodged under it, tapped his ribs, redirected the momentum into a spin.
Todo stumbled. Caught himself. Grinned.
"OH! You're good!"
"You're not bad yourself."
Todo clapped.
BOOGIE WOOGIE.
Shinra felt the swap, space twisting, position changing. One second he was in front of Todo. The next he was behind him. He twisted mid-air, ready.
Todo was already there. Punch coming.
Shinra moved. Caught the fist, redirected it into the ground. Todo followed with a knee, Shinra's hip checked it, spun, palm strike to the chest that sent Todo skidding back.
Todo clapped again.
Swap. Shinra was suddenly five feet in the air.
Swap. Now he was behind a tree.
Swap. Mid-fall, Todo appeared next to him, fist already swinging.
It was disorienting. It was chaos. It was beautiful.
And Shinra kept moving.
Every time Todo appeared, Shinra was already moving. Redirection. Parry. Counter. Todo couldn't land a clean hit. Every punch got guided away. Every kick got absorbed and returned.
Todo was chasing smoke.
"You're not using ANY Cursed Energy!" Todo laughed, throwing another combination. "Just technique!"
"Technique beats power sometimes."
"NOT TODAY!"
"You sure buddy?"
Todo clapped again. Furious swapping. Shinra appeared, disappeared, reappeared, always flowing, always redirecting. Todo's own weight started working against him. Every missed punch cost energy. Every failed kick burned stamina.
Shinra was patient. Waiting.
Todo threw a wild haymaker, overextended just a little.
There.
Shinra moved.
He didn't go for the body. Too thick. Too much muscle. He went for the frame.
First strike, elbow joint. CRACK. Todo's arm went numb.
Second strike, knee. THUD. Todo's leg buckled.
Third, fourth, fifth, wrists, shoulders, the other knee. Rapid strikes, precise targeting. Crushing Rock against the skeleton, not the muscle.
Todo roared. Tried to swing. His arm wouldn't respond.
Shinra stepped inside his guard. Rained down blows on every joint he could reach.
CRACK. SMASH. THUD. CRACK.
Todo's body gave out.
He hit the ground hard, limbs splayed, breathing heavy. Beaten. Incapacitated. But grinning like an idiot.
Shinra stood over him. Breathing hard. No CE used. No Haki. Just hands.
"That," Todo wheezed, "was the best fight I've had in years."
"You're not bad yourself."
Todo laughed. Then his eyes focused.
"Tell me..." He struggled to sit up. "What is your type?"
Shinra blinked. "Seriously? Right now?"
"I need to know."
Shinra thought about it. About Maki...
"Well..." He scratched his chin. "Honestly? Strong woman with a good personality. Good pair of bazongas and a Big ass. You know... The essentials."
Todo stared at him.
Then sighed deeply.
"Brother... your answer is only half good."
"Half good?"
"You described the body. But not perfectly." Todo shook his head. "I expected more from you."
Shinra reached into his inventory ring. Pulled out a small green bean.
"Here. Eat this."
Todo looked at it. "What is it?"
"Senzu Bean. Heals you. Don't ask questions."
Todo ate it.
His joints popped back into place. Bruises faded. Energy returned. He stood up, flexing his hands, eyes wide.
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
"Magic bean. I have two more." Shinra pocketed the wrapper. "Anyway. You want a perfect answer right? Ask Yuji."
Todo's head snapped toward the log where Yuji was sitting.
"Pink one! Come here!"
Yuji jumped. "Me?!"
"Yes, you! I have a question!"
Yuji walked over slowly, Junpei trailing behind.
Todo loomed over him. "Tell me, Yuji Itadori. What kind of woman is your type?"
Yuji blinked. Thought about it.
"Uh... tall girl? With a big ass?" He paused. "Like Jennifer Lawrence."
Todo froze.
His eyes went distant. His mouth opened. Somewhere in his brain, circuits rewired themselves.
Flashback.
Middle school. Two boys sitting on a rooftop. One with pink hair. One with braids.
"Brother," young Todo said, "what's your type?"
"Tall girl. Big ass." Young Yuji grinned. "Like Jennifer Lawrence."
Young Todo nodded sagely. "Same."
They sat in comfortable silence. Best friends forever.
rejected by takada later.
End flashback.
Todo looked at Yuji. Really looked at him.
"Brother..."
Yuji leaned back. "Uh. Why are you looking at me like that?"
"IT'S YOU!" Todo grabbed him by the shoulders. "All this time! We were best friends in middle school! How could I forget?!"
"We... we were?"
"YES! We did everything together! We fought together! We arm-wrestled every day!" Tears formed in Todo's eyes. "BROTHER!"
Yuji looked at Shinra, panicking.
Shinra just shrugged. "Go with it."
Todo released him. Stepped back. Wiped a tear.
"Brother. Fight me."
"What?"
"I need to see how strong you've become! Fight me!"
Yuji looked at Shinra again.
Shinra gave him a thumbs up, might guy style.
"Alright," Yuji sighed. "Let's do this."
---
They clashed.
Todo was stronger. Faster. More experienced. But Yuji was durable. He took hits that would kill normal people and kept coming.
And Todo? Todo started coaching him.
"No, no! Your footing is wrong! You're leaving your left side open!"
"Like this?"
"Better! Now when I throw this punch, you... YES! Like that!"
Shinra watched from a tree branch, Junpei climbing up next to him.
"Is he... teaching him mid-fight?" Junpei asked.
"Yep."
"That's... weirdly wholesome?"
"Todo's a special guy."
Down below, the fight continued. Yuji was improving in real-time. Todo's tips were actually working.
"Now focus your energy! Right before impact! COMPRESS IT!"
Yuji's fist connected.
CRACK.
=BLACK FLASH=
Red and black lightning exploded. Todo flew backward, crashed into a tree, and laughed like a maniac. (A/N: if y'all ain't 1 brain cell you should've figured out he learned black flash faster/early because of his previous training with shinra).
"YES! BROTHER! YOU DID IT!"
Yuji stared at his fist. "I... I did?"
"AGAIN!"
They went back at it.
---
Meanwhile: The Other Fights
Nobara vs. Momo was going exactly like Nobara wanted.
Broom girl kept flying around, throwing projectiles. Nobara kept dodging, trash-talking, and occasionally nailing her with a resonance strike.
"You're not even a real sorcerer! You're just a flying target!"
"I'M A PROFESSIONAL!"
"You're a piñata with better hair!"
Momo screamed in frustration.
---
Maki vs. Mai was... shorter.
Mai raised her gun. Fired.
Maki moved. Bullets pinged off her naginata, deflected by movements too fast to track. She closed the distance in seconds.
Mai's face went pale. "You...you're faster than before"
"Been training." Maki stood over her. "You should try it sometime."
Mai's lip trembled. Then the words came out, the same ones from the original, bitter and broken.
"You don't get it. You never had to survive like I did. You were born with everything, strength and talent. I had to claw for scraps. I had to pretend just to stay alive."
Maki looked at her. For a long moment.
Then she lowered her weapon.
"I know."
Mai blinked. "What?"
"I know you had it harder. I know Mom made your life hell. I know." Maki's voice was quiet. "But that doesn't mean you get to stay weak forever. At some point, you have to fight back."
She turned away.
"Stay down, Mai. I don't want to hurt you anymore."
Mai stared at her back, tears forming.
---
Panda vs. Kamo was less dramatic and more... running.
Kamo launched blood arrows. Panda dodged. Kamo launched more. Panda dodged again.
"STAND STILL!"
"I AM A PANDA! WE ARE KNOWN FOR OUR AGILITY!"
"It's the opposite! kamo yelled"
"and aren't you a cursed corpse!"
"THAT IS SPECIES-IST!"
Kamo growled and kept shooting.
---
Inumaki vs. Miwa lasted approximately four seconds.
Miwa raised her katana. "I-I'll do my best!"
Inumaki looked at her.
"Sleep."
Miwa collapsed instantly. Snoring. (A/N: Useless as ever (ಠ_ಠ) ).
Inumaki dusted off his hands and walked away.
---
High above, Junpei watched it all unfold.
"This is insane," he muttered.
"This is Tuesday," Shinra replied.
Then the sky went black.
Not dark. Black. Like someone had pulled a curtain over the sun. Cursed energy flooded the area, thick, suffocating, wrong.
Shinra's eyes snapped up.
The curtain. It was here.
And that meant one thing.
They're here.
[END CHAPTER 17]