Feather wings

The Dharma Wheel spun faster than Mashiro could control.

The wheel itself was responding to the part of Mahoraga within her soul, reacting on instinct.

Mashiro dropped to one knee, driving Murasame's tip into the ground to support herself.

A tearing pain shot through her forehead. Her skin was being ripped apart from within.

Then two symmetrical pairs of miniature wings burst out from behind her ears, covered in fine silver down.

The first pair curved downward, lightly covering her eyes. The second, slightly smaller pair rested beside her face, their edges curled inward and pressed against her cheeks.

After Idle Transfiguration forcibly dragged Mahoraga's physical traits out from the depths of her soul, they became permanently fixed to this human shell.

Mashiro's silver-white eyelashes flickered into view through the gaps beneath the wings. She made no sound, but the hand gripping Murasame trembled nonstop.

Mahito had never seen features like these before. He tilted his head, studying the two pairs of tiny wings on her head. "So you really aren't human. What kind of cursed spirit has these traits?"

"Oh, this feeling from your soul... a shikigami?"

He gently lifted his hand from her shoulder and said with a smile, "No wonder Idle Transfiguration doesn't work on you. Your soul is a fusion of a human and a shikigami."

Mashiro did not answer. Her soul was in utter turmoil, to the point that it severely impaired her ability to move.

"You can't move right now, can you?" Mahito circled to her side and bent down to examine the ear feathers up close. "The shikigami's essence was forcibly drawn out, and your human shell is rejecting it. Both sides are fighting for control of your body."

He was half right. She really could not move, but it was not because two sides were fighting over her body.

Her body did not contain two souls. The upheaval in her soul was simply disrupting her bodily functions.

"But don't worry. I won't kill you just yet." Mahito straightened and slipped both hands into his pockets. "You're far more interesting than an ordinary test subject. A shikigami becoming human, a human possessing a shikigami's abilities... even I can't figure out how that's possible."

He took two steps back, tilted his head, and smiled.

"I'll go talk to Geto and let him decide what you're worth. Compared to Sukuna's vessel, you-"

Mahito's voice cut off abruptly. He felt an immense surge of cursed energy approaching from the end of the street at an unbelievable speed.

"Mashiro!"

It was Yuji Itadori's voice, filled with boundless fury.

He saw Mashiro kneeling on one knee, with Murasame planted in front of her to keep her from collapsing completely.

Two pairs of wings had pierced through the silver hair on her head. The pair covering her eyes trembled faintly, their silver-white down drenched in blood. It streamed down her face and dripped onto the collar of her white coat, staining a large patch red.

He bounded onto a railing and launched himself at Mahito, elbow first.

Mahito's eyes caught the movement, but he dismissed it. It was just an ordinary elbow strike.

Clearly, though, he had not expected the blow to hit so hard.

Itadori's right elbow smashed into Mahito's chest. Cursed energy surged from it with a tremendous explosion.

It was no ordinary explosion of cursed energy. The energy behind that blow pierced straight through Mahito and struck his soul squarely.

Mahito was blasted off his feet, crashing through a roadside vending machine and slamming into the outer wall of the building opposite, leaving a human-shaped crater.

Itadori did not pursue him. He landed in front of Mashiro, cursed energy still lingering around his fist.

Behind him, Mashiro struggled to lift her head. The two pairs of wings blocked her eyes, but her ability to sense cursed energy still worked.

She could sense Itadori's back and the violent fluctuations in his cursed energy.

The Dharma Wheel above her head was still whirring, gradually adapting to this state and stabilizing her condition.

"Can you move?" he asked, turning toward her.

"...Not yet." Mashiro's voice was so faint it made his heart ache. "I need a little longer to adapt."

"Then don't move."

Facing the direction he had blasted Mahito, Itadori took off his coat and draped it over Mashiro's shoulders. Then he unzipped his tracksuit and rolled his neck.

"Leave him to me."

Rubble tumbled from the hole in the wall. Mahito stepped out of the crater in the building's exterior, his chest completely caved in by the blow. Several ribs protruded through his skin, and black fluid trickled down his side.

His expression was full of shock.

He looked down at his collapsed left ribs, then back up at Itadori.

"You can touch my soul."

"Very few jujutsu sorcerers can do that. Aside from the one called Nanami, you're the second." Mahito poked his wound with a finger. The pain of touching his soul made his mouth twist.

"No, you're more direct than Nanami. He uses his cursed technique to create weak points in his target. You hit the soul itself with your fists."

Mahito's eyes lit up.

"I see. Sukuna's inside you, so you can sense the contours of a soul all the time!"

Itadori did not answer. He lowered his center of gravity, left foot forward and right foot back. It was exactly the same opening stance he used on the training grounds, but the amount of cursed energy gathered in his fists was completely different.

"You transfigured so many people."

He took a step forward.

"You tried to toy with Junpei and kill his mother."

Another step.

"But the one thing I can't forgive is that you dared to touch Mashiro."

On his third step, Itadori pushed off the ground, blasting a crater beneath his heel.

"I'll kill you."

His figure became a blur in Mahito's eyes, his right fist wrapped in cursed energy as it drove straight toward Mahito's face.

"You mean exorcise me, don't you, jujutsu sorcerer?"

Mahito grinned brazenly and raised both arms to block, altering their muscle density and bone hardness at the same time.

The punch struck his crossed arms, but the cursed energy still hit his soul. Mahito grunted and was driven back several meters.

But the damage was lighter this time. He had already begun adapting to Itadori's blows.

"The same attack won't work on me twice." Mahito shook out his numb arms, his smile returning. "Your fists can touch the soul, but they aren't powerful enough. Given enough time to grow, you might become a serious threat."

He looked past Itadori, letting his gaze settle on Mashiro.

"I've already gained information more valuable than a toy today, so I won't keep this going. Since you two are such close siblings, enjoy your time together."

Mahito turned around.

Then a Space Cutting attack blocked his retreat.

Mahito twisted aside to dodge it. The rift grazed his shoulder, slicing away a small piece of flesh.

He turned his head toward the direction the rift had come from.

Mashiro had stood up, supporting herself with Murasame.

Her legs trembled, as did the hand gripping her sword. The ear feathers on her head had not disappeared, and the Dharma Wheel was still spinning at high speed.

But Mahito could feel that she had locked onto him.

"I haven't given you permission to leave."

Her voice was quiet, but every word was sharply enunciated.

Itadori looked back at her. "Mashiro, you-"

"Yuji." She interrupted him and took a step forward. Her ankles threatened to give way, but she held steady.

"Stop him."

Itadori looked at her, then flashed a grin.

"Got it."

He turned around, and together with Mashiro, one on either side, blocked Mahito's escape.