JJK: I am the real villain

Itadori and Nanami halted on their tracks, their eyes and breath caught off from functioning as a suppressing air weighed on them.

Mahito fell to the ground from exhaustion, bleeding from every corner and injuries, although covering up took time.

This cursed energy... It's heavy, comparable to Sukuna's cursed energy signature.

Itadori thought to himself. Nanami stayed quiet, his eyes in laser focus on the shadow forming from the ground.

"Itadori!" Nanami called out.

"Yes?!"

"I know I've said this before, but stay razor sharp!"

"Of course..." Itadori replied, grasping his hands, cursed energy flowing.

Mahito grinned, his teeth stained with blood, but what came out of the shadow shocked him, making him drop his grin.

Nanami and Itadori's eyes went wide in surprise at the figure who stood before them.

"Huh!? What am I doing here?" the ginger-haired boy yelled in a comic fashion, scratching his head.

Mahito's expression went deadpan, confusion taking over his face.

"What are you? Where's Zankei Kubigari?!" Mahito asked impatiently.

Itadori wanted to rush in on the unknown boy, but Nanami stretched his hand and held him back.

"Oh yeah, he's busy, handed over my consciousness to me for some time," he said, oblivious to Mahito's physical state.

"Damn you..." Mahito growled under his breath.

Nanami's mind raced with thoughts.

Mahito wasn't expecting this boy, or maybe something else entirely? From the cursed energy signature this boy gives off, I can sense two, one which is weaker, only enough to see cursed spirits, while the other is this monstrous cursed energy...

So is he a vessel, similar to Itadori?

Itadori had a sweat rolling down his cheek, his eyes still focused on the two enemies.

Slice!!

The ginger-haired boy blocked, but his left forearm was cut clean off. Nanami wiped off his dull blade from the blood on its edge.

Adjusting his glasses, he turned back at the boy.

"You're a cursed user as well? You know what that means for us Jujutsu sorcerers, right? Besides, the cursed energy you give off... It's wrong."

Nanami had his hand adjusting his glasses, while Itadori came from behind him, cleaning his mouth of blood and bruises, the moonlight shining over them.

Damn!! Why the heck did I block that hit? How the heck did I even react to it in the first place? And these guys... They are not playing around. If I decide to take them on, I'll get pummeled, hell! I can't even take that boy behind this dude.

The boy looked back at Mahito, who slowly got up on his feet, an unsettling smile gracing his face.

"What an unfortunate situation I am in, now I have to deal with protecting this brat if a vessel."

"Are you really thinking of taking both of us, while protecting the vessel? Seems to me he's inexperienced," Nanami stated, his face carrying no expression.

"You'll never know..." Mahito slurred.

Yuji sped up towards the vessel, reducing his output in cursed energy, enough to knock out the vessel.

Blam!!

Mahito morphed, turning into a ball of shield for the vessel with countless spikes, some points going into Itadori's muscles and tendons.

Nanami had a faint glint of precision in his glasses, going for a strike.

He made himself a bigger target, time to finish this off for good.

As Nanami's blade got close to Mahito's body, a thin line of pure precision appeared from within.

Slash!

Cutting open Nanami's shoulder like paper. Yuji Itadori in a split second saw the thin line of separation as he stepped back from Mahito, his body still suffering damage from the spikes.

Slash!

Just by a hair's length, the slash missed him, only taking off his right and left fingers, a burnt mark on the flesh.

Mahito morphed back into his normal form, the vessel walking out slowly, Itadori and Nanami seeing something off from the way the air around him changed.

Itadori saw the golden pupils of the vessel, scanning his entire being.

"Oh my, more Jujutsu Sorcerers? You guys have been a handful since back then."

The deep voice dropped like a bass, a foul and dangerous intent lingering from his voice. Itadori's legs stiffened, Nanami halted his ragged breathing, clenching his bleeding shoulder.

He turned looking back at Mahito.

"What a disappointment, Mahito. Losing to sorcerers of their caliber? Really disappointing."

"You have to understand... I'm still figuring myself out, Zankei Kubigari. And what busy things were you doing, if I may ask?"

"Nothing of your concern." Zankei turned back at Itadori and the panting Nanami. "Now, shall we get this over with?"

"What are you? A sorcerer, a cursed spirit using the boy as a host?" Nanami questioned.

"That shouldn't be your concern. You wouldn't live that long for me to answer your question anyway. The only interesting one here... is you."

Zankei pointed at Yuji Itadori. Itadori had no surprise on his face; he holds the king of curses, so he knows most of his enemies' interest in him.

"Which is..?" Itadori asked sarcastically.

"You smell very familiar... very familiar. Apart from that, you're also a vessel. This overwhelming cursed energy, it's not yours. In fact, I couldn't even sense yours due to the overwhelming CE from what's inside you."

"Yeah, so what? What the heck are you anyway?"

"I won't be answering your question. Tell me, how do you bring out the king of curses? Are you well versed in your control over him or is there some other criteria?"

Mahito chuckled menacingly behind Zankei.

"And why should I tell you?" Itadori retorted.

"Cause I'd like to engage him, perhaps for a minute?"

"I'm not that dumb. You won't even last 10 seconds." Yuji's voice dropped with venom and warning.

Zankei took it as a jest, chuckling out loud, a smile coming to his face.

"You're very right. I won't even last 10 seconds to humiliate him, in fact, 6 seconds tops."

Mahito looked at Zankei with an unsure expression, narrowing his eyes.

"Bring him out, or his head will be rolling on the ground." Zankei pointed at Nanami, who was breathing heavily.

"You wouldn't dar—"

Slash!

Nanami's neck had a thin red line, a drop of blood coming out from this line.

A warning.

"Argh!"

"Nanami-san!" Yuji called out with an outstretched hand. Zankei grabbed his hand, yanking him to meet his gaze.

"Bring - him - out."

Nothing but an undertone of warning under his breath. Itadori, looking at Nanami's physical state, turned his gaze back to speak.

"You want to see an early death, don't you?"

"No, Itadori!" Nanami called out from the side.

"Don't give him the reins.... he'll cause greater havoc. This is the king of curses we're talking about."

Itadori looked at him with a confused expression on what to do, his pupils quivering.

"Ugh, what boring people are you?" Zankei looked back at Mahito. "You're with the finger, aren't you?"

Mahito growled in pleasure. "But of course. I am the one responsible for storing them after all."

"Then give it to me at once!" Zankei commanded Mahito.

Mahito held his throat, his face morphing into discomfort, as he gagged, throwing up a mummified finger.

"Are you sure about this, Zankei?"

"Oho... Is Mahito scared? What were your sayings about 'fun'?"

Mahito nodded, dropping the finger into Zankei's grasp. Yuji, struggling to get away from Zankei's grip, came to fail multiple times.

What's up with this grip strength? No matter how much pressure I use, I can't seem to get out!

Zankei grabbed Itadori's mouth, force-feeding him the finger down his throat as he gulped involuntarily.

Zankei, from his garment, took another finger and was about to shove it down Itadori's mouth.

But as his hand came hovering close to Itadori's mouth, he heard the word.

"ENCHAIN"