Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You know what you need to do. We’re all counting on you,” Satoru’s usual chipper voice was now weary and worn. Undoubtedly due to fighting for his life after his battle with Ryomen Sukuna just a few days prior. He began to say something else but was cut short by three rapid beeps alerting you the call dropped.

Of course there’d be no service out here.

With a groan, you locked your phone and slid it into your jacket pocket before slinging your backpack forward. Reaching into the small pocket on the front, you pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Flipping the cardboard top, you pulled one out and brought it to your lips just before igniting it. You had smoked far too much these past few days.

Nothing had gone as planned during last week’s battle in Shinjuku. Gojo had been critically injured and was still receiving intensive care from Shoko. A binding vow he made had brought him back to life at the expense of his six eyes. Despite cheating death, his road to recovery would be lengthy.

After being critically injured by Yuji Itadori, Sukuna managed to escape with the help of his lackey Uraume. Their current whereabouts remain unknown.

On top of everything else, the entire country was a disaster. Kenjaku had released over ten million cursed spirits, forcing millions of residents to evacuate. Despite his defeat at the hands of Yuta Okkotsu, the damage done was extensive and would undoubtedly take years to recover from. The entire nation was being overrun by curses. To say jujutsu sorcerers were stretched thin would be the understatement of the century.

With a sigh, you brought the cigarette that rested between your fingers back up to your lips, taking as long of a drag as your lungs would allow. It had been years since you had personally done any work for the jujutsu community. You had once attended Jujutsu High in Tokyo as a young, promising, special grade sorcerer. However, you decided to follow your own path and hung up being a sorcerer less than two years after your graduation. You spent the last few years as a part-time bartender in a club on the outskirts of Tokyo. Your life was a mundane one, but that’s how you liked things. Stable, unassuming, unexciting.

A couple of days following the showdown in Shinjuku, you received a call from Jujutsu High. Much to your relief, you learned of Satoru Gojo’s survival. They invited you to visit and asked if you would be willing to help out. It was never your intention to return to this line of work, but with the current state of things, you couldn’t find it in your heart to refuse.

The higher-ups were dead, and the big three clans were in a total disarray. Any lower-rank sorcerers who had not been injured were already dispatched to help with evacuations and protecting the civilian population. Gojo would likely require hospitalization for the next couple of weeks but was doing whatever he could manage to help out from there. The only other special grade sorcerer still alive, Okkotsu, was sent out to investigate and deal with any special grade curses Kenjaku had set free. That meant you were the sole person who had both the ability and availability to complete the mission you were on now. To track and eliminate the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna.

Taking down Sukuna would be no easy feat for anybody. In fact, there probably wasn’t a single soul alive who could face him in direct combat and come out victorious. Even with a powerful cursed technique like yours, you doubt you could land more than a single blow on him. Despite this, you truly believed you would be able to see this mission through to the end.

Everyone had told you time was of the essence. That Sukuna needed to be sought out and struck down immediately. However, you knew better than to rush the task head-on. You spent days strategizing different ways to approach the situation before you settled on your final plan.

Old legends passed down among inner circles of the three clans spoke of cursed weapons from the Asuka Era so powerful that those who wielded them were viewed as gods. The stories speak of four weapons, each with their own distinct traits. However, the clan heads at the time feared that should they fall into the wrong hands, it would bring unstoppable destruction. So they held a summit and agreed to disperse the weapons across the country in an attempt to hide them. As far as anyone knew, they were never found. Should you be able to locate and wield these weapons, you would have a real chance to take out the King of Curses once and for all.

The air began to grow heavy as dark, ragged clouds pooled to the south of you. It would soon storm. While the path you were following led north, you doubted you could outrun it at your leisurely pace. You took one final drag of your cigarette before putting it out against the sole of your boot and shoving the extinguished butt in one of your back pockets. Picking up your speed, you continued traversing your way through the forest.

You weren’t sure where the divine weapons were hidden, but you had a few ideas on where to look. Many ancient shrines and temples from the same era were scattered across the nation. You decided these would likely be the best places to start on your search. This one just happened to be on a mountainside a few hours north of Tokyo.

As you drew closer to the shrine, so did the thunderstorm. A vermilion roof came into view over the trees just as the raindrops threatened to fall. Only one building of the original shrine remained intact. It appeared to be the main building and, despite its age, was in decent condition. Resting atop a large hill, a steep stone staircase led up to the entrance.

You ascended the stairs quickly, barely making it under the cover of the roof before the rain broke. The atmosphere carried a tenseness to it unlike anything you had felt before. You reached your hand out for the sliding door, and as soon as it made contact, thunder boomed. The crack of thunder was deafening and shook the foundation below you. Goosebumps rippled across your body as you yanked your hand back, nearly trembling at the new sensation you felt.

It was uncharacteristic of you to be so skittish, but you couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that began to gnaw at you as the seconds passed. A part of you wondered if you should heed this as a warning to turn back and go on your way. Perhaps your ingenious plan wasn’t so bright after all. Maybe you should just ride out the storm right where you stand and leave as soon as it passes. You could go back home, regroup with your thoughts, and strategize something new.

No.

You were feeling unsettled because it was storming and you were about to enter an abandoned shrine. Anyone, no matter how logical, would feel exactly how you do in this situation. You came all this way; the least you could do is take a look around. One hand reached out, forcing the door open while the other pulled out your phone, turning on your flashlight. Drops of water fell from the ceiling, one colliding with the top your head as you made your way inside. You slid the door shut behind you and examined the room. Your flashlight illuminated the dark interior only to reveal that it was completely empty.

The shrine was small, two rooms and a hallway that connected them. As you followed the short hallway, the faintest traces of cursed energy emitted from the second room. You slid the door open to reveal a large table against the furthest wall with a single talisman lying on top.

The fading residuals of cursed energy leaked from the talisman, weak yet unmistakable. You walked over to it and picked up the paper, running it between your fingers. It was thin and worn. The sigils on the front, corroded by the passage of time, could barely be deciphered.

A seal of some kind. But for what?

It was improbable that the seal was meant to trap something here, as no other cursed energy could be sensed. Most likely, it had been meant to ward off intruders instead, which meant there was something in this shrine worth protecting.

But what? The place was barren.

You folded the talisman in half before shoving it in your back pocket. Gliding your hands across the table, you opened the only drawer to find it was also empty. Kneeling down beside the table, you leaned underneath it, glancing at the underside, only to find it was devoid of any clues as well.

Your hands made contact with the floor as you went to push yourself up, only to get caught on something. A small indentation on the edge of one of the floor panels. You carefully slipped two of your fingers into it. Doing so allowed them to fully slide underneath the wooden panel. With a bit of a tug, the edge of it peeled right up, exposing a dark space below the floorboards.

A giddy chuckle escaped your lips as you maneuvered the table out of the way and lifted up the next two panels. Shining your flashlight into the opening, a steep staircase descended as far as the eye could see.

You carefully lowered yourself onto the steps, your fingertips grabbing onto the damp walls of the tunnel, steadying you. The smell of mold and rot overcame you as you began to climb deeper into the abyss below you. There was no telling how long this tunnel had remained untouched.

A level passageway came into view as the stairs neared their end. It was a narrow tunnel, barely large enough to comfortably fit one body at a time. You followed the pathway for what felt like ages before it suddenly widened into a chamber of some sort.

Shelves lined the walls, with what appeared to be dozens of books and scrolls littering them.

“Incredible,” you breathed.

There was no telling what sort of knowledge these held or how long they had been hidden away. Even if the divine weapons could not be found here or clues to their whereabouts, what you stumbled upon was utterly magnificent regardless.

You dropped your bag to the floor, dust flying upon impact. Practically running to the shelf closest to you, you grabbed an unmarked scroll and immediately unrolled it. The paper was thin and slightly soggy. It smelled overwhelmingly earthy and was undoubtedly from a bygone era.

Characters sprawled across the scroll’s entirety; somehow most of it was still in a decent enough condition for you to decipher. It spoke of summoning what you assumed were shikigami. You rolled the scroll back up and set it back in its place before grabbing a stack of books and sliding your way down to the floor.

You spent hours skimming through book after book; most contained basic jujutsu knowledge. Barriers, shikigami, innate domains. You could make an educated guess that whoever tucked these away was likely a teacher of some sort.

Grabbing what was your eleventh book, you opened it up only to see the first few pages were completely blank. This caught your eye. You straightened up and began flipping faster. Fifty blank pages must have passed before you came across one page that had two kanji on it.

Prophecy.

The kanji covered the entire page, stretching from edge to edge in sanguine ink.

Your lips opened with a silent gasp as you dragged your fingertips across it.

“Prophecy?” Your curious voice was barely above a whisper.

Brows furrowed, you flipped through the following pages before stumbling across another page with one kanji on it.

Divine.

You furrowed your brows, fingertips gently reaching for the edge of the page only to flip it over and reveal a drawing. It showed a man tightly gripping a tantō in his right hand. He was worn and bloody from battle. Onyx hair cascaded over his bare, scar-covered shoulders in waves and stopped just above his waist.

With his back turned, he stood atop a hill overlooking a river that was illuminated by a full moon. The blade extended from the man’s hand as water flowed from the river into the tip of his blade almost like it was a medium of some sort. At the bottom of the page, “divine” was written again in a bold, red ink.

This was unlike anything you had ever seen. A small grin made its way to your face as you flipped through the rest of the book. You weren’t one to believe in things like fate or destiny, but the odds of you finding something as monumental as this at the first place you explored felt like things were already falling in place.

Hell, maybe it was fate.

“The divine weapons are real,” was all you could muster in disbelief before you shoved the book in your bag and ran back to the shelves to pluck more material off of them.

You excitedly flipped through more scrolls and books, but much to your disappointment, none of them contained any information about the other three weapons. With only one scroll and two books left, your phone vibrated with a notification to alert you that you only had twenty percent battery left.

“Shit.”

You needed to conserve your battery the best you could. The sun would be setting within the next couple of hours, and no one knew exactly where you were beyond the vague description of being a few hours north of Tokyo.

Shoving the remaining books and scroll into your bag, you began your trek back down the claustrophobic tunnel and towards the surface. The rain was still lashing against the roof of the shrine, and thunder could be heard rumbling amongst the sound of roaring wind. You decided with the storm still raging you’d sit in the main room of the shrine and smoke a few cigarettes in hopes the storm would soon pass so you could be on your way.

After reaching the top of the staircase, you pulled yourself out and placed the floorboards back into their place. After sliding the table back on top of them, you made your way back down the hallway. You turned your flashlight off before shutting your phone down altogether in an attempt to save the last bit of battery you had left; you’d just have to walk the best you could in the low light.

A strong gust of wind slammed against your cheeks, the chill it brought with it causing you to shudder. You came to a sudden halt, the realization hitting you like a ton of bricks.

Peeling your eyes up, they landed on the door in front of you. The door you had slid shut was now wide open, the winter winds howling through. Your breath caught in your throat, all the color draining from your face.

You felt it before you saw it. A suffocating aura of raw, unfiltered power. It felt like it had coiled its way around your body and sunk its fangs into your bloodstream. It coursed throughout your body, infiltrating every fiber of your being. An all-encompassing feeling of pure evil.

It was neither a cursed spirit nor a human, but rather a calamity of some sort.

Your body urged you to run as fast as you could, but you froze in place, your brain struggling to grasp the feeling that pulsated through the atmosphere.

You briefly squeezed your eyes shut and took in a deep breath before gradually turning your head to the side.

Four red eyes towered over you. They accompanied a vile grin, exposing a pair of sharpened canines.

Lightning struck nearby, briefly illuminating the shrine and revealing the full form of the silhouette lurking behind you.

Ryomen Sukuna.

Chapter Text

Ryomen Sukuna.

What the hell was he doing here?

No, that didn’t matter now. Not only were you standing face-to-face with him, but he was staring you down like you were prey. You needed to think quickly before your time ran out.

His sadistic grin somehow grew even wider as he took a step towards you.

Sukuna was massive. The stories and even seeing footage of him did not do his true form justice. He towered over you, and if you had to guess, he was somewhere between seven and eight feet tall. Four Herculean arms protruded from his torso. Each one was graced by thick, black tattoos. The same obsidian ink slithered from behind his shoulders and down his exposed chest. An immense maw stretched across the middle of his abdomen and looked like it could swallow you whole should he desire so.

If his physical appearance wasn’t intimidating enough, his presence alone was unlike anything you had ever experienced before. His cursed energy consumed everything around him, and it felt as if he was the only thing left in this world. It was intoxicating the way it flooded through you.

“What do we have here?” He purred. His crimson eyes were wild with hunger, but you couldn’t tell whether it was for your physical flesh or the prospect of having a toy to play with.

You stumbled backward, trying to quickly gain your composure for what you knew was inevitable. Fighting him one-on-one was not an option. You had known that from the moment you acquired this mission. You couldn’t use your technique and attack something like his heart or lungs. Sukuna was incarnated, which meant he could technically survive without his vital organs. It would tremendously weaken him as long as they were out of commission, but he would just heal them. His reverse curse technique was unparalleled, and his regeneration abilities were far too great.

The only real path to defeating Ryomen Sukuna would either be to damage his soul directly or to take him out in one fell swoop. Your technique cannot interfere with souls, which is exactly why you were seeking the divine weapons in the first place. You needed a powerful tool to take him out all at once.

The best option in front of you right now was to injure him just enough to buy time to get away. After successfully escaping, you would continue your search and seek him out only after the weapons were acquired. You did not want to face him unless you knew your victory was certain.

“I asked you a question, and I won’t give you another chance to answer.” His warning was immediately followed by another step towards you.

You knew you should answer and try to buy even the smallest amount of time to prepare yourself to use your technique. Everything felt like there was a haze surrounding it, and you struggled to think. Your lips parted in hopes that something, anything at all, would spew out, but instead the words died before they could escape your throat.

“How boring,” he sighed, his face twisting into what almost looked like a pout. He did want to toy with you after all.

Sick bastard.

Suddenly, Sukuna lunged forward. He was fast, but thankfully he didn’t deem you as much of a threat, so he wasn’t moving at his full speed. You stepped to the side, barely dodging the arms that reached for you. Before he even realized what he witnessed, you were standing behind him. Your hand, flat and fingers splayed, collided with his back and landed against the black haori draped across him.

“Ryomen Sukuna.” Your voice betrayed your nervousness as it trembled, but you still tried to stand strong. “You will not attempt to use your cursed technique on me, and if you do, your arms will shatter.”

The rule was set.

He spun his head around, eyes wide and nostrils flaring. His previous demeanor was instantly replaced with a blinding fury. The mere thought of someone like you giving him an order undoubtedly sent him into a rage. With a sneer, he began raising his top right arm, two fingers extending back towards you.

“Disman-“ His command was suddenly cut short as a gasp escaped him. In that split second, he felt it. The atmosphere both around him and inside him, swelling with your cursed energy. Bending to your will.

A fierce cursed technique that had the capabilities to warp reality itself should you will it.

Sukuna’s top right arm began contorting into various directions, your cursed energy guiding it from both inside and out. The sound of bones cracking filled the air as he watched his arm shatter before his eyes.

Now was your only chance.

You rushed towards the open door, your body barely crossing the threshold before a frigid feeling spread across your lower body, trapping you in place.

Shit. You knew this technique.

You quickly pressed your hands to the ice that had entrapped your legs.

“Ice, melt!” Within an instant, the ice was nothing more than a puddle on the floor, and you were gone.

Wind pelted against your body in full force as you made your way back down the mountainside. Your legs carried you as fast as possible, not allowing a single second to go to waste. The relentless downpour continued, drenching every inch of your body. Mud splattered up your calves with every step you took, and you struggled to keep yourself from sliding in it, which was unusual with your enhanced abilities.

Sukuna would chase after you. That much was certain. He already wanted to tear into you before you broke his bones; now there was no telling what he was plotting to do if he caught up with you. Despite the slight edge you have on him with your head start, you still needed to throw him off your trail somehow.

You brought your hand up to your face and said your own name out loud.

“As long as you’re running from Ryomen Sukuna, your cursed energy will be undetectable.”

The rule was set.

There was no more you could do besides continue your race back down the mountain. You ran for what felt like forever before you slid to a halt. Throwing your head back, you leaned against a tree for support. Just a moment to catch your breath is all you needed.

Your breathing was ragged and your heartbeat elevated after your escape. Thankfully, there was no sign of Sukuna or Uraume. You hoped that between your concealed cursed energy and the rain washing away your footprints, it would stay that way.

A strange ache began to spread from the nape of your neck and up through the crown of your head, but you chalked it up to nothing more than exhaustion.

After a minute of rest, you took off again at full speed. Whether they could track you or not, you needed to get out of this place as fast as possible. The bottom of the mountain would be within reach soon, your car probably parked another thirty minutes or so away. Hopefully, you won’t have another encounter with Ryomen Sukuna until after you find what you’re seeking.

Lightning electrified the sky, its vivid branches stretching all the way to the horizon. The crackling of thunder immediately followed. Its harsh noise ricocheted off your surroundings and stole your attention away for a split second.

The sudden distraction proved detrimental as a force unlike anything you had ever felt collided just underneath the right side of your ribcage and sent you flying. Your body slammed into a nearby tree before falling to the ground. Pain rippled throughout your abdomen as you struggled to pull in a breath. It’d be a miracle if nothing was broken after the hit you just took.

That familiar sense of dread filled your body as he made his presence known once again.

He had found you.

Fuck.

Refusing to give you a single second, he reached out and grabbed the collar of your jacket, yanking you from the muddy forest floor. One of his other hands pulled both your wrists together behind your back before forcing you against the tree. A third hand wrapped itself around your jaw, forcing your eyes up to meet his. Water ran down your face as his calloused fingers squeezed into your cheeks.

“I’ll admit, that’s an interesting technique you have, but did you really think you could escape me?”

You struggled to move your wrists in an attempt to break free, but it was in vain. He tightened his grip on your wrists, pulling a yelp from your throat. If he squeezed any harder, they’d snap in two. Although you assumed he considered that a fitting outcome after what you had just done to his arm.

“Your cursed technique requires you to touch the subject first,” he pushed his body against yours, the weight of it knocking the air from your lungs. The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. “We can’t have that now, can we?”

He was taunting you.

“I already know what fate I’ll meet at your hands, so go ahead and get it over with,” you spat at him. “I have no interest in playing any games with you, Sukuna.”

This time, he tightened the grip on your jaw before slamming a third hand right above your head. The arm you had previously broken. It was healed completely, as if you had never even touched it. His nails curled into the bark as he sneered at you.

“You misunderstand me, little sorcerer. I have no intention of killing you, at least not yet. Unfortunately for you, you have piqued my interest.”

“I said I’m not interested in play-“

He completely released the grip on your jaw before slamming his palm against your mouth. Pain radiated across your face at the sharp impact.

“You can either accompany me back to the shrine with your hands behind your back and tell me all about your little cursed technique.” Sukuna pulled back, releasing you completely, and looked you up and down in disgust. “Or, I’ll drag your fucking body through the mud the entire way. It’s your choice.”

You peeled yourself from the harsh bark digging into your back and stood upright, keeping your hands behind you. Preparing to move once again, you shifted your weight from your heels to your toes, but before you had the chance to lunge, he had already caught on.

Sukuna’s fist barreled into your abdomen, red energy pulsating around the point of impact. This hit was reinforced with cursed energy and far stronger than the first. Your body was flying through the air once again, traveling a greater distance this time. With an audible thump, your face slammed into the ground with a cracking sound. The warm, wet sensation of blood trickling from your nose could be felt as you tried to force yourself up, just barely pulling your upper body from the forest floor. Your nose was most likely fractured from the impact.

“Pathetic,” he hissed. His voice was growing closer once again. You’ll never survive at this rate.

Before you could fully rise to your knees, a crushing weight pressed against your upper spine, sending your face back into the ground. You squirmed, prompting a chuckle from him as he pressed his foot down even harder.

Tears pricked your eyes as your lungs cried out for oxygen, a burning sensation ripping throughout your upper body as you struggled against his weight. The pressure grew heavier as his laugh got louder. If he didn’t snap your spine first, you’d suffocate in this state in no time.

“Okay—“ was all you could choke out.

Thankfully, that one word was sufficient for him. Within an instant, he pulled back and put space between the two of you. You brought yourself up to your knees, gasping for air on all fours while Sukuna looked upon you with amusement.

“Good, let’s go,” he said, turning his back to you and heading back towards the shrine. He stopped suddenly, offering you one more glance. “If I so much as sense you moving those disgusting hands of yours, I’ll kill you where you stand, and I’ll make sure it’s not a peaceful end.”

 ——————

Not a single word was spoken between you and Sukuna as you made your trek back to the shrine. You walked side by side, his lower left eye never once leaving you. About halfway through, the storm had thankfully met its end. Every inch of you was soaked through to your skin, and mud clung to your face and body alike. The January breeze whipped against your exposed skin, sending a shiver down your spine. Regardless of being chilled, you fought as hard as possible not to show it, fearing that the slightest annoyance would set him off.

You trudged your way up the steps of the shrine, regretting every decision that led you to this moment. If only you had left earlier whenever you had gotten unnerved at the shrine’s door, you would not currently be held against your will by the King of Curses.

Ryomen Sukuna only lived by his own pleasure. When he did something, it was because it benefited him, and for that reason, you were unsure why he would want you to come back here with him. You had nothing to offer him.

Sukuna reached out and slid the door open, nodding for you to enter first. Uraume was sitting against the wall opposite the doorway, their lavender eyes scrutinizing you. Sukuna slipped in immediately following you and made his way towards them before lowering himself to the ground.

“I see you found her,” Uraume noted. Their voice was flat and devoid of any emotion. “Not that there was ever a doubt you would, master.”

Sukuna just huffed in response, never once tearing his eyes off of you.

You glanced down at your body as a single drop of water fell from your jacket and hit the ground below you. Setting your backpack down, you peeled off your jacket before using the interior of it to wipe the mud off your face and neck. Flinging your jacket off to the side, you placed your hand on the drenched fabric across your abdomen.

“Shirt, dry.”

The rule set, and within an instant, your cursed energy siphoned every bit of water from the fibers. You slid your hand down, it landing on your upper thigh. Sukuna’s eyes still bored into you, observing your technique in action.

“Pants, dry.”

The same thing happened to your pants. Liquid evaporated within an instant and left behind perfectly dry clothing. Your undergarments and hair were still soaked, but this would be enough for now to keep you warm.

“Your technique,” Sukuna started as he rested his head against one of his now propped-up hands. “Works easier on inanimate objects than it does on others.”

You had already guessed that he figured out most of your technique from observing it a handful of times.

“My technique gives me the ability to impose a set of rules on a target of my choosing. In order to set those rules, I must touch the target and say its name out loud. This goes for both inanimate objects and people alike. When vocalizing the rule, I must give humans an option as they have free will and are able to act on their own accord. Objects, however, I can impose a direct order on as they are not living.”

You squatted down and reached into the front pocket of your bag, grabbing that familiar cardboard pack you’ve grown over-reliant on. Bringing a much-needed cigarette to your lips, you set it ablaze before taking a painstakingly slow drag.

“This is not without its limits, though,” you said, dragging your eyes back up to Sukuna. “I can only impose up to three rules at one time, and I have one that’s permanently in place with a binding vow. It enhances both my physical strength and speed, which leaves only two rules at my disposal at any given time.”

In an attempt to test this, Sukuna raised two fingers and mumbled a quick dismantle. The wooden wall to his right splintered as the slash hit it. His arm remained intact this time.

“The rule I imposed on you expired as soon as I used my technique two more times.”

“Is your technique hereditary?” he inquired.

After some adjusting to get as comfortable as you could on the wooden floor, you now sat against the wall next to the shrine’s door. You pulled the cigarette out from between your lips. “No, I’m the only person in my family to have a technique at all.”

The silence that followed was nearly deafening. Neither you nor Sukuna spoke for a few minutes. The only sound to be heard was the rustling wind and the sound of your exhales as you finished your cigarette. He stared at you the entire time, but his expression was no longer one of malice and hunger. It was analytical.

“What’s your relation to Jujutsu High?” his voice finally breaking through the quiet atmosphere.

“I attended school there but stopped working alongside them years ago.”

You purposely kept your answer curt, not wanting to divulge anything more to him.

“Why were you in this shrine?”

“I was on a hike, and the storm broke. I took off seeking shelter, hoping maybe I’d find a cave somewhere. Luckily, I found this shrine instead.” The lies easily rolled off your tongue, smooth enough not even he would see through them.

“You’re a terrible liar.”

Fuck.

Sukuna pushed himself to his feet. All it took was two strides before he was in front of you. He grabbed your shirt with one of his hands, the fabric balling up in his fist, and yanked you to your feet.

“Even if you weren’t,” he quipped as he slid another one of his hands into your back pocket. “You forgot about something.”

He pulled out the talisman from earlier that you had kept and shoved it in your face. The seal you took when you first arrived had completely slipped your mind.

“Your cursed energy was completely undetectable once you escaped me earlier. You likely imposed one of your rules on yourself to do so.”

Sukuna was reading you like a book.

“However, this right here.” He began waving the worn paper around. “Was emitting a faint trail the entire time, and it matches traces of energy found in the next room over.”

Sukuna released his grip on your shirt, shoving you away from him. With a thud, you slammed into the wall behind you. He raised his hand, extending two of his fingers. You flinched, preparing for his dismantle, but the slash never came. Instead, you heard his sonorous voice once again.

“You have one more opportunity to tell me what you were doing here.“

The only two opportunities before you now were to tell the truth and hopefully survive or refuse to answer and meet your end. Having the weapons fall into his grasp should be avoided at all costs. However, no one has ever been able to find them, and he likely wouldn’t even know where to look. Hell, he might not even believe they exist. It would be a massive gamble, but it could buy you even another minute to try and get out of this situation.

“Make no mistake, I still intend to keep you alive.” That same vile smile you had been met with during your first encounter returned. “But those hands of yours are going to be the first to go.”

He planned to take away the means of using your cursed technique. You forced your hands behind your body, attempting to shield them from his slashes.

“You really are fucking stupid.” Sukuna reached around you and latched onto your wrists, pulling them out from behind you and into his view.

He was right. You had been acting irrationally since the second your paths crossed. Forgetting the talisman, allowing him to track you, hiding your hands like a guilty child, freezing in place instead of acting. It wasn’t just uncharacteristic of you; it went against every fiber of your being. Years of rigorous training that had been instilled upon you were being forgotten within an instant.

Every step you had made since encountering Ryomen Sukuna had been wrong. It was like you couldn’t think straight. Looking back, it felt like every choice you made had been on instinct alone and not logic. Sure, you were terrified, but you were supposed to be able to withstand that fear and push forward.

It felt like he was doing something to you. Surely, he didn’t have a secondary technique. No. You had felt uneasy when you first arrived at the shrine. Maybe the shrine was responsible for your hazy mind.

None of this matters now.

Saving your technique was currently your only priority. You thrashed your hand around desperately trying to make contact with his skin so you could activate your technique, but it was no use.

“Time’s up.” He lifted a third hand, extending his fingers once again. “Dis—“

“Wait! I was looking for something!”

“Oh?” He released your wrists and took a step back, crossing his upper pair of arms.

“A cursed weapon,” you breathed, pulling your hands back and clasping them behind your back. “I was here in this shrine because I was searching for a cursed weapon.”

“And, what of this cursed weapon?” Sukuna’s voice betrayed his intrigue in the subject.

“An ancient weapon. An unstoppable force.” Your gaze wandered around, unable to make direct eye contact with him. “Stories of the four divine weapons have been passed down throughout the three major clans for generations. They said whoever wielded them would become a god.”

Throwing his head back, a thunderous laugh escaped him.

“Ancient, unstoppable weapons that make you a god. You want to be a god, do you?” Ridicule dripped from his lips like honey.

He looked at you in revulsion at the thought. Such a lowly being desperately seeking out power. For a split second, he almost looked like he pitied you, but you doubt someone like Sukuna could even feel pity. No, he just thought you were pathetic.

“No.”

“Then what purpose do you have in pursuing these weapons?”

You brought your eyes back to his. “I was tasked with tracking and eliminating you.”

His sharp canines flashed as he sneered at you. That same wild look returned to his eyes. He was furious.

“You were entrusted with killing me.” He stepped towards you again, this time caging you against the wall with his body. “So you sought out a godlike weapon to do so.”

Sukuna leaned down, his breath hot on your face. You instinctively flinched, turning your face to the side, but he pushed closer, his nose all but brushing your cheek. “But instead of finding this weapon, you found me. How unfortunate for you.”

His cursed energy swelled in his anger, and that overwhelming sense of raw power surged through the air around you. The strange ache from earlier returned to the nape of your neck, radiating upward.

Was it him that was affecting you after all?

“You will take me to find these cursed weapons,” he said, placing a pair of hands on the wall next to you, one on each side of your face. He wouldn’t allow you a moment to breathe this time.

Absolutely not.

“Why don’t you go search for them yourself? Surely it’d be more effective than relying on someone as stupid as me.”

“You could be right, but I think you have a good idea of where to look.” Sukuna’s cursed energy was leveling out. His look of malice was now long gone and was replaced by something more contemplative.

“And why would I ever allow something so powerful to fall into your grasp?”

He finally pulled away, allowing you space. “Once we find these weapons, I’ll allow you one opportunity to use them on me. That’s what you wanted after all, right?”

Sukuna was either vastly underestimating the strength of the divine weapons or already had a plan in motion to deceive you. It was even probable it could be a mixture of both. Regardless, his possible deception was irrelevant. Not much is known about the weapons, but you knew that not even he could survive.

“I’ll agree that you can accompany me in my search for the weapons, but in return you must not only allow me an opportunity to use them on you but guarantee you will not harm or kill me.”

A dramatic sigh fell from his lips, accompanied by an eye-roll from the more human-looking side of his face. “I will not harm you during our search, but if you fail to end me, it’s fair game.”

“It’s a deal then.”

“However, the jujutsu sorcerers are not to attack me while I’m with you. If something happens to me by their hand, you’ll pay tremendously.”

He wanted assurance that you wouldn’t lead him into an ambush. Reasonable, but uncharacteristically cautious for the King of Curses. His most recent brush with death was wearing him down more than he’d likely ever admit. You needed to be wary of this. Sukuna’s greatest, and probably only, downfall was his arrogance. Him becoming more meticulous than he already was could spell trouble for you.

“Fine.”

He reached out and grabbed your right hand in one of his. His fingers alone swallowed it entirely before he gave it a firm squeeze. “An unbreakable vow then, yes?”

Your eyes met his face as you offered nothing more than a small nod. The second you agreed, you could feel your stomach drop. You knew it was set, and there was no going back now. A binding vow that neither of you could break, or the consequences would be devastating.

What have you done?

Chapter Text

Daybreak songs from nearby birds gently pulled you from your slumber. You opened your eyes to soft sun rays filtering through the window on the shrine’s singular door. Sitting up, you gradually stretched your body. It was already sore from yesterday’s fight with Sukuna, and that had only been made worse by sleeping on the hard, wooden floors.

By the time everything was said and done, it had been close to sunset, and Sukuna insisted you all wait until dawn to begin your hunt for the cursed weapons. At some point, you must have fallen asleep. You had intended to stay up the entire night, although you suppose it didn’t matter too much anyways. He was bound by a vow that he wouldn’t harm you for the time being.

A gnawing pang grew in your stomach, a low grumble immediately following. You reached for your bag, skimming through the side pockets searching for some sort of sustenance to satisfy your hunger. A fuchsia wrapper folded in half caught your eye. Inside was a mostly eaten protein bar from yesterday’s drive. Not much remained, perhaps a couple bites at most, but it would have to suffice until you could reach your car.

Fuck, you were hungry.

You peeled back the wrapper and shoved the scraps of the bar into your mouth. The stale bar was less than appetizing, but staying this long at the shrine was never your intention, so you hadn’t packed much.

You wanted to get going as soon as possible. Hopefully, both Sukuna and Uraume would agree. Rising to your feet, you gave your aching body one last stretch before reaching for your bag. You zipped it up and grabbed your filthy jacket, tying it around your waist. Making your way over to the door, you extended your hand to slide it open, but someone beat you to it. The door slammed open in one fluid moment and revealed a wide, tattooed chest standing opposite you, directly in your line of sight.

Sukuna.

His upper arms were crossed, and both of his lower arms rested casually on his hips. The expression that graced his face was undecipherable; however, he looked neither angry nor annoyed. More empty than anything.

Your eyes flickered up to his, and the both of you remained unmoving, blocking each other’s paths. What did he expect you to do?

“Good morning, Sukuna.” Your voice was hesitant, unsure of how to address him.

Instantly, his eyebrows furrowed, and his upper lip curled into a sneer. His previously blank expression was now one of sheer annoyance.

There it was.

“Skip the pleasantries, sorcerer. Where do you intend to take me next?”

“There’s the site of an old temple along the northern coast I had planned to visit next. There isn’t much left of the temple itself, but I was curious about the grounds.”

A dampness could be felt as a single drop of blood trailed from your nose to your upper lip. You brought your hand to your face, gently wiping it off with your index finger. Despite the dull ache radiating throughout your face, your fractured nose had completely slipped your mind. There were more pressing matters consuming your thoughts.

“You can’t use reversed cursed technique. Otherwise, you would’ve healed yourself by now.” All four of Sukuna’s eyes temporarily fixated on both your nose and upper lip where the blood had just been before he brought them back up to meet yours. “That’s rather unusual for a sorcerer of your caliber.”

That much was correct. Every special grade sorcerer except for you was capable of using reverse cursed technique, and many first grade sorcerers as well. Reverse cursed technique was an ability to multiply negative cursed energy against itself to create positive energy. The positive energy could then be used to heal injuries, and if someone was powerful enough, entire limbs and organs could be regenerated.

It was a complex ability and coveted among sorcerers. Some, like Shoko Ieiri and Yuta Okkotsu, could even use reverse cursed technique to heal others. Ryomen Sukuna was also capable of this. However, you knew the man currently towering over you would not be so kind as to ever help another being. Unless, of course, he could benefit from it somehow.

“You’re right. I’m unable to use reverse cursed technique.” Normally you would never reveal something of the sort to an enemy. However, Sukuna was entwined in a vow not to physically harm you, so it wouldn’t make much difference whether he knew the truth or not. “I was never trained in it.”

“Trained? What are you, some sort of fucking animal?”

You instantly clenched your jaw at his petty jab, which caused his eyes to flash with amusement. He wanted a rise out of you for whatever reason.

Instead, you quickly steadied your breath and relaxed your face. If he’s doing it for the sake of entertainment, you didn’t want to give him a moment of satisfaction.

“The old temple I just mentioned, it’s about a five-hour drive to the north. If we head out now, we can arrive by noon.”

“A five-hour drive?” For a brief moment, he looked genuinely confused. Surely he didn’t think you would be traversing the nation on foot.

“Do you know what a car is?”

Within an instant, his cursed energy flared alongside his temper. The back of your neck began to ache once again, and it grew upward, spreading like tendrils throughout your brain.

So you were having some sort of reaction to his cursed energy.

Sukuna stepped forward through the threshold, one of his arms coming in contact with the shrine’s walls, his fingertips instantly curling into the wood and leaving deep indentations.

“Do you take me for some sort of a fool?” He leaned down, his breath on your face in a similar fashion to the previous evening. “Of course I know what a car is. I was stuck inside that goddamned brat for months.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw another one of his hands clenching into a fist. His knuckles began turning white as his energy continued to swell.

If it wasn’t for him being bound to your vow, Sukuna would’ve had you pinned against a wall by now. Most likely threatening to take your hands with his dismantle once again. However, any threats he made to you now would be worthless, and he had no real leverage over you. That probably got under his skin more than your question itself.

Your senses grew more dull as his cursed energy output increased. The ache you felt continued to grow, now surpassing the crown of your head and wrapping around to the front.

What a strange phenomenon.

You had never heard of anything similar happening before, in any capacity. However, cursed techniques and energy in general were not yet fully understood. Perhaps Gojo or even Shoko might be able to shed some light on the situation next time you get an opportunity to talk to either of them.

“Our vow is not permanent.” He relaxed his hand, unfurling his fingers, but his face remained close to yours. “And you’d do well to remember that.”

Sukuna offered you one last glare before turning on his heels and leaving, which you took as your cue to follow.

————————————

Most of your trek back down the mountain had been spent in solitude. Both Sukuna and Uraume fell behind you at one point, trailing at a decent distance. Far enough away that you wouldn’t be able to listen in on their occasional chatter, but never letting you stray out of Sukuna’s eyesight.

The pace was leisurely, which your overly sore body eagerly welcomed. The warm sun brought a gentle heat to your cheeks, and the smell of petrichor flooded your senses and briefly carried you away, allowing you a few moments of solace. Perhaps you should be brainstorming your next move, but something told you that you wouldn’t be able to relax again for a while.

As you neared the base of the mountain, you could see your car in the distance. You quickened your pace at the sight, eager to finally have something to eat and drink. Sliding your backpack forward, you snagged your key fob from one of the pockets and smashed the unlock button. The second you were within arm’s length, you reached for the driver side’s handle and swung the door open.

Sukuna and Uraume could be heard approaching from behind as you pulled a partially drunk bottle of water from the cup holder and downed it in a few gulps. A dark shadow enveloped you, your eyes flickering up to meet four crimson ones staring back down at you. He was standing in the doorway, two upper arms crossed, and that blank look resided on his face once more. You waited for him to speak first, but once again nothing came.

What was he doing?

“I’m ready to go whenever you are.” You flung your bag into the backseat before slipping the keys into the ignition. With a quick flick of the wrist, the engine turned over.

Sukuna scoffed before circling around the car, making his way over to the passenger’s side. He yanked the door open and plopped down, the entire car shifting at the sheer force of him colliding with the seat. His legs were still outside on the ground, and it was obvious it was going to be a tight fit.

“There’s a switch on the side of the seat. Push it back, and you should have a little more room.”

The seat slowly slid back as far as it would go, and Sukuna finally swung his legs inside. Even after adjusting the seat, his knees still brushed against the dash, and he had to lean his head down to not hit it against the ceiling. To call it cramped would be an understatement. His discomfort with the situation was visible, and he was completely out of his element. For a brief second, before you remembered who you were looking at, you almost felt a pang of sympathy at the sight.

Uraume climbed in and sat directly behind you without a single word, which wasn’t surprising. You had only heard them speak a handful of things since your unfortunate encounter the evening before. They appeared to be far more reserved than the man they served.

You plugged your now dead phone into the charger and set it in one of your cupholders. You would need the GPS eventually to navigate to the next temple, but for now, you’d just start heading north. Sliding your hand over the gear shift, you slipped it into drive and took off.

The beginning of the drive was much like your morning hike, completely silent. Occasionally you’d see Sukuna adjusting his body, presumably trying to get more comfortable, but you knew it didn’t help much. He was displeased, but you assumed he was well aware this was the fastest route to achieving what you were both after.

After a while, his gravelly voice broke through the quiet atmosphere.

“Your technique, how exactly does it work?”

You cut your eyes to him. “I told you about my technique last night. It allows me to impose a set of rules on a target of my choosing.”

“It involves the manipulation of cursed energy, does it not?”

“If you already had an idea, why bother asking?” You turned your head to meet him fully. “And why are you so interested in my technique anyways?”

“What, are you worried about something?” His mouth twisted into a wry smile.

“I figure you’re up to something, but if you’re implying I’m worried that you may try to incarnate in my body the way you did to Megumi Fushiguro, the answer’s no, not really.”

You absentmindedly slipped your right hand under the latch of the center console, flipping it open. Fishing around, you felt another protein bar, similar to the one you ate earlier, and pulled it out. You peeled back the wrapper and shoved it between your lips, taking a massive bite.

“After that kid punched you out of Fushiguro’s body, you were nothing more than a pile of gunk,” you began between chews. “Uraume ran off with you, yet here you are in your true form. The likelihood of you finding another vessel that can withstand your cursed energy without dying would be borderline impossible, which means somehow the body you have now is yours and not another’s you managed to incarnate in.”

“So, you think this body isn’t incarnated?” He scoffed. “Then tell me, sorcerer, where did it come from?”

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “But it’s not far-fetched to assume that someone with both abundant cursed energy and highly advanced regenerative skills could do something of the sort given they had enough time.”

Your eyes were back on the road now, but you could sense all four of his burning into you. The weight of his stare was heavy. You could always feel his eyes on you, whether you were looking at him or not.

“You have your own body, and for once since you first incarnated, you can live without being bound to another being. On top of that, you’re at your most powerful in your true form. Only a fool would throw that away on a gamble. Besides, it seems your little brush with death changed you quite a bit.”

You were being honest whenever you told Sukuna you didn’t fear him attempting to incarnate in you. It would likely result in the death of the both of you, and he knew that as well. Whatever he was planning undoubtedly involved forcing you to use your technique for his will, but that was the least of your concerns right now.

You took the final bite out of your protein bar and stuffed the empty wrapper in the door panel. “Getting your ass kicked made you overly cautious. The King of Curses fears death like the rest of us humans, it seems.”

“Say what you will, sorcerer, but the only loss in that battle was not mine.” Sukuna rested his upper right arm against the window, propping his head on it. His fingers gently combing through a few of his blush-colored strands. The lower left eye cut to you, presumably trying to gauge your reaction.

Satoru Gojo.

Of course he was under the impression Satoru Gojo was dead. The last time he saw Gojo’s body, it was being piloted by Yuta Okkotsu, who had been copying Kenjaku’s technique. On top of that, only five people in total knew of his survival at the time. Even fewer knew about the loss of his six eyes.

Ryomen Sukuna thought he was living in a world without Satoru Gojo. Whatever plans he had set in motion were made with the thought process that they would be unstoppable. Should he find out Gojo was alive, it would put pressure on him as long as he wasn’t made aware of the six eyes issue. You didn’t know much about Sukuna, but the man sitting next to you seemed like a completely different person than the one you had heard and read about. His sudden personality shift had the opportunity to tip the scales in your favor if you could exploit it correctly.

He was hesitant to drag out his scuffle with you and instead tried to immediately force you into some sort of vow. Without hesitation, he wanted to accompany you on a quest to find ancient weapons. Any other person would’ve brushed it off as a fairy tale of some sort, but he seemed to genuinely believe you.

Was he feeling desperate?

He had an actual goal now, and it seemed highly likely that it was one rooted in self-preservation. Now that you had acquired more information, the playing field seemed far more level compared to when you first agreed to this mission. Nobody is without flaws or weaknesses, not even the King of Curses.

Some increased pressure might actually force him to reveal his hand, and you still had a couple of aces up your sleeve. After all, you vowed you’d let him accompany you on your search, not that you’d actually find the weapons. Finding them would be beneficial and make the task easier, but you may not need them after all.

You could feel Sukuna’s energy slowly start to burn within him. It was just simmering for now, not yet ready to boil over. You felt no physical reaction like you usually do, which meant it only affects you once his output reaches a certain level.

How your body was reacting to his cursed energy was the only obstacle you feared could get in the way. You didn’t know exactly what was happening, but you knew it was dangerous. Every time it swelled beyond a certain point, not only did it physically pain you, but it also interfered with your ability to make decisions. The feeling was overwhelming and intoxicating, almost reminiscent of being drunk.

Sukuna didn’t appear to know about the effect his energy was having on you. If that were true, it would need to be kept hidden. He’d find a way to weaponize it against you while skirting around the vow he made not to harm you. Giving him any sort of leverage over you at this point would be catastrophic. You needed to understand how and why this was occurring to put a stop to it or at least learn how to deal with the feeling and push past it.

You picked your phone up and checked the navigation you had put in a bit earlier. Still a couple of hours out from your destination. You could provoke him now in an environment you fully control to test the waters. The only downside is you were in close proximity and couldn’t put any distance between yourself and his energy. You were unsure just how far the effects would go. It would be a risk.

Your phone began vibrating in your palm.

An unknown number.

You stared at it for a brief moment, already allowing two rings to pass. Both Sukuna’s and Uraume’s eyes were set on it.

You already knew who was on the other end.

Perfect timing.

This was guaranteed to give you an opportunity to test the limits of whatever phenomenon was occurring while also pushing Sukuna back into a corner. It’d be killing two birds with one stone.

“Hello?” You practically chirped, pulling the phone up to your ear.

“How’s everything going?” Gojo’s voice was light. He was sounding more like his usual self. His recovery must be going well.

“I encountered an unforeseen complication,” you glanced over towards Sukuna, who was already scowling at you. “However, I think I’ll be able to make it work.”

“An unforeseen complication, huh? Want to clue me in?”

“I’m not exactly in a position to talk about it at the moment.” Sukuna had slowly begun to angle his body towards you, probably attempting to figure out who you were conversing with.

If he wanted to know so badly, you’d give it to him.

“I see.”

“If you hear any unsavory details about my mission from anyone before I’m able to explain, please know that you can trust me.” You pulled the phone away from your face and clicked the screen, illuminating it. Sliding your finger towards the speaker button, you pressed down, allowing your conversation to be heard by everyone in the car.

“Satoru,” you tried to hide the slight grin in your voice.

Sukuna’s cursed energy swelled once again. This time the output was high enough to make the nape of your neck begin to ache.

“Yes?”

As soon as Gojo’s voice came through the phone’s speaker, a surge of energy ricocheted throughout your body. Sukuna’s nostrils flared, and his eyes turned dark. There was not a single word that could describe how deep his fury ran. It was a hot, blinding rage, and you could feel every single bit of it.

Sukuna reached over and wrapped his fingers around your wrist. It was unexpectedly gentle, but he was without a doubt trying not to accidentally harm you in his anger. It was the phone he wanted, not you.

The ache in your neck exploded outward and encased your head as a whole. It felt like Sukuna’s hand had slithered inside you and wrapped itself around your brain. Like his palms were wringing out your mind like some sort of wet rag. You never fathomed a pain this terrible yet intimate existed. He felt like he was somehow becoming a part of you.

You attempted to connect with your own cursed energy in hopes it would be the key to fight off this phenomenon, but your attempt was in vain. With his energy this strong, you could barely feel your own and could hardly manipulate it at all. Your body felt like it was no longer your own. His energy didn’t just feel like it was invading your body, it actually was.

What was going on?

Is this a part of Sukuna’s scheme?

The situation was far worse than you had envisioned it being. Whether he realized it by now or not, he already had a way to control you. Waiting to find the weapons was no longer an option; you needed to act sooner.

You gritted your teeth and composed yourself to the best of your ability. You were desperate to gain any sort of control over this feeling. Thankfully, Sukuna was likely too enraged to notice your temporary struggle.

You yanked your wrist from Sukuna’s grasp and deliberately stared back into his four intense eyes. Every part of you ached from the inside out. Your emotions were spiking in immediate response to his, and you felt like you would somehow succumb to his control at any moment. If this was a part of his plan, you wanted him to know that he would pay a devastating price.

“I promise I’ll see this mission through to the very end.”

Chapter Text

It was far chillier in the north than you had anticipated. Despite being early January, the weather had been warmer in the Tokyo area than it was along the northern coast. Regardless, the cold winter winds whipping against your cheeks was a welcome feeling after the hell you had just endured.

A little over two hours had passed from the time you revealed Gojo survived until you arrived at the temple grounds. You were none the wiser about why Sukuna’s cursed energy was infiltrating your body, and you were utterly exhausted after having to endure it in close quarters for so long.

He was still in a rage, and your mind still carried a dull ache. However, putting physical space between you two seemed to drastically lower the intensity of the phenomenon. The further away you got from his outburst, the more tolerable it was. You had been under the false illusion that being in a confined space with Sukuna like that gave you more control of the situation, but you couldn’t have been more wrong. Pushing him like that was a massive mistake, and you had nothing to show for it.

He was somewhere behind you out of eyesight, but you could still feel him. Hopefully he’d keep his distance for a while. You’d be coming up on the temple ruins any moment now, and were hoping you could have some more time apart from him.

You pushed through the last stretch of towering cedar trees, a dilapidated stone walkway of some sort coming into sight. It was just as you said; there wasn’t much left of the ancient temple at all. Mounds of stones, with the occasional partial wall, jutted out from a dirt clearing on either side of the walkway. This temple was far older than the shrine you had just visited.

The area the ruins covered was massive, far larger than you had anticipated despite researching in advance. Being that there were no buildings to search, if anything of value was present, it would likely be buried amongst the temple’s remains. You couldn’t just go digging, so your best bet would be to scour the area for any traces of cursed energy.

You approached one of the fragmentary walls and squatted down. The tips of your fingers gently trailed across the weathered stones. You brought them down into the soil beneath you and pinched some up. The earth was dry between your thumb and index finger. This place was different from the last. It was likely a dead end, and you didn’t expect to find any sort of clue like the previous place you had visited. In spite of this, something felt right in you coming here.

“Did we come all this way for you to play in the dirt?”

A defeated sigh escaped your lips as Sukuna’s sarcastic tone filled the atmosphere. Your moment of peace was too short-lived.

You swiveled your head around only to be met with Sukuna’s signature scowl. “I see you caught up. How delightful.”

“Quiet, brat. What are we doing here?” Within a few short strides, he was towering over you, staring down like you were an insect he wanted to smash into the ground. The anger from earlier still lingered around him, his cursed energy leaking from his body in heavy waves.

“We’re here because this was one of the places of interest on my list,” you said as you pushed yourself up to your feet. Of course he didn’t move. He was as close as he always was.

Sukuna sure did lack the concept of personal space.

“Why?” One of his hands clenched into a fist.

“Not much is known about the weapons. Many people have searched for them over the years, but they always come up empty-handed. I’ve always found it difficult to believe that no one has ever found a single one of them. Even with minimal to no leads, that seems impossible. In my eyes there are two reasons why. Either they don’t exist, or no one is looking at the larger picture.”

Another broken wall caught your eye, and you tried using it as an excuse to get away from Sukuna. You sidestepped around him and climbed back onto the pathway.

“I found proof at the shrine that they exist. That drawing I shared with you yesterday evening. So that means there’s a piece of the puzzle missing.”

“That drawing doesn’t prove they’re real. People create art of legends all the time.” Much to your disappointment, he decided to follow close behind you.

You stepped off the path and made your way over to a partial wall. Kneeling down, you brought your right hand up to a set of grooves on the surface of the stones. They were severely eroded, undoubtedly due to being exposed to the elements. Regardless, what remained was eerily similar to the symbols one would find on talismans or other cursed items.

“Do you see these?” You inquired, completely ignoring his previous statement.

“And what of them? Cursed markings are not uncommon at a site like this.”

“Have you ever heard the story of Hajime Ito?” Your eyes squinted against the harsh sun that shone from behind Sukuna as you turned back to look at him.

He offered up a sardonic chuckle. “You want to tell me more fairytales, huh? Of course I know about Hajime Ito.“

Hajime Ito was said to be the first sorcerer. Cursed energy has always existed, as it’s the result of the negative emotions that thrive within humans. While cursed spirits are solely comprised of this energy, it’s also how human sorcerers are able to use their cursed techniques.

Born during the Kofun era in the southern countryside, Hajime Ito was the first human to be able to harness cursed energy in the fight against spirits. How he was able to do this is largely up for debate due to the variations between stories. Regardless, he’s still widely regarded as the father of cursed energy. Many non-sorcerers even view him as a deity still to this day.

“Whenever the divine weapons were hidden, anyone present at the summit underwent binding vows to limit how much information on them would be passed on. This is likely the theory why not much is known about them.” You pushed yourself up once more and leaned down to gently brush the dirt from your knees.

Standing straight up, you stood directly in front of Sukuna, who was now thankfully blocking the sun as a whole. “All that’s known is that each weapon has its own unique ability, and each one is based off one of the Godai.”

“Which of the Godai?” His right foot began tapping on the ground. His impatience with you was evident.

“Two of the weapons are said to be tāntos, and those are the wind and the water weapons. The other two, which hold powers related to fire and earth, are katanas.”

“Sounds like a children’s story,” he sneered. “And what of the fifth element, void?”

You sighed, bringing your fingers up to pinch the bridge of your nose. “I would’ve mentioned it if I knew.”

It was strange the way he seemed to believe you without hesitation whenever you first told him of the weapons. However, the more you two spoke, the more skeptical he appeared. A million possibilities were running through your head. Was he so desperate after his brush with death that he was clinging onto any hope of attaining more power? Could he just be buying more time with you to enact whatever scheme he was undoubtedly planning? Regardless of his feelings on the weapons, you made a vow he could accompany you on your search, and you intended to uphold it. Whatever he felt on the matter was his issue alone.

“And how does all of this relate back to Hajime Ito?”

“It’s said he had multiple children. Four of his sons apparently had cursed techniques that were based off of the Godai.”

Sukuna’s face began twisting into an expression that almost resembled intrigue. “So you think his children crafted these weapons you speak so highly of.”

“That’s a good theory as well, but not exactly what I was thinking. There’s proof Hajime existed, but there’s absolutely nothing about his children besides a general idea of what their cursed techniques were. I think the weapons were considered his children.”

The dull ache in your neck began to ease alongside his energy. For whatever reason, the anger he had carried for hours finally began retreating as his eyes glimmered with a hint of interest.

Strange.

He continued to look down at you with all four of his eyes while you averted your gaze around him. That’s when you noticed the absence of the white-haired monk.

“Where is Uraume?”

“Fetching me something to eat.” A grin splayed across his face at your immediate reaction. All the color drained from your cheeks as your mouth fell open. You had made a point to try and restrain your emotions around him, but everyone knew the horrid rumors of what Sukuna’s tastes were when it came to meals. He slightly leaned forward as his smile managed to grow even more. “Is something wrong?”

Absolutely disgusting.

“No, nothing’s wrong.” You managed to quickly regain your composure despite the pit that began forming in your stomach at the thought of what he was about to do.

As soon as your revulsion disappeared, so did his vile grin. Sukuna reacted much like he did during your unfortunate encounter the previous evening. The corners of his lips pulled downwards, and the bottom lip barely jutted out. Once again, he was disappointed that he couldn’t toy with you.

“There’s likely nothing around here besides stags anyways. Maybe a boar,” he said with a wave of his hand. He was wholly uninterested in you now.

Sukuna turned on his heels and began trudging off. “I’m off to find Uraume. I’ll come back for you in the morning.”

Morning?

You had expected to be here for a few hours, not overnight. All you brought was one bottle of water and a package of beef jerky.

“Hey, wait! I’m not prepared to stay here all night,” you protested. He continued walking, not sparing you another glance or acknowledging what you said. “Sukuna, I don’t have enough food or water.”

“Walk to your car and get some. I don’t care what you do. Just be back at this temple by dawn.” His response was aloof as usual.

You watched as Sukuna faded from your view, the back of his black haori disappearing over the tree-studded horizon. Pulling your phone from your back pocket, you tapped the screen, allowing it to briefly illuminate.

It was only mid-afternoon.

Your car wasn’t parked too far off. The walking distance was far shorter than what you dealt with at the shrine yesterday. You supposed you could go now before sunset, grab something to eat and drink, and use your opportunity away from Sukuna to call Gojo. He still needed to be made aware of the situation in full. You’d be back before dark and could pull together a makeshift camp in the woods next to the temple.

You reached into your other pocket, sliding out an unopened pack of cigarettes. Your fingernails gently tugged at the cellophane tab to gain access to the flip-top lid.

Pulling a fresh cigarette to your lips, you looked up one last time where Sukuna had escaped your line of sight. You let out a tired exhale.

What a pain in the ass.

  ——————

Effulgent flames curled upwards, dancing around the rack of meat that rested above them. The burning logs softly crashed onto one another as the fire ripped through them, and the aroma of the roasting boar drifted outwards, filling Sukuna’s senses.

He was an incarnated being; he didn’t require basic necessities to live. Something like eating was nothing more than pure indulgence. He did not eat out of the need for survival but solely for the sake of his own pleasure. No hunger pains could be felt yet an all-encompassing desire rippled throughout his entire being at the sight in front of him.

He was hungry.

Uraume had not only hunted an exceptionally large boar but also began cleaning and preparing it for him. A hunk of meat from its rear flank, skewered through a sharpened stick, had been roasting for a while now. The edges of it began blackening and crisping up as its flavorful juices could be seen rising to the surface.

No, he was starving.

Sukuna reached his hand out and grabbed the skewer, bringing the succulent pork up to his face. He wrapped his teeth around it and sunk his canines down. The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile, growing larger with every chew.

Much to his displeasure, he had eaten it all before he was satisfied. Sukuna pulled his gaze up and focused on Uraume, who was continuing to fillet the boar just a few meters away.

“More,” was all he said.

Uraume nodded in response and immediately carried over a slab of the swine’s ribs. They carefully laid it overtop the raging flames, leaving just enough distance so that it would perfectly roast but not burn.

As meticulous as always.

“This is the last meal you’ll be serving me for a while,” Sukuna noted as he leaned back against the stump that was supporting his weight.

Uraume froze and, with a bowed head, turned towards him. “Pardon me, master?”

“I’m sending you away, I need you to do something for me.” His voice was dull and uninterested. Eyes flickering between the darkening evening sky and the fire directly in front of him.

The temperature had begun drastically dropping as the sun lowered into the horizon. It was likely approaching freezing at this point. Both the ground underneath him and the air on his skin were cold. However, he was rarely bothered by feeling chilled. Even so, the roaring flames filled their surroundings with immediate warmth.

“At dawn, we will part ways. I’ll stay with the sorcerer, and you are to begin searching for Tatsumaki. I’ve acquired new information that should aid you.”

“Who is Tatsumaki?” Uraume’s confusion was evident as they drew their brows together.

Sukuna leaned forward and slid two of his hands underneath the ribs, flipping them over to the opposite side. Juice leaked out from the meat and ran down the backside of one of his hands. He placed his now wet hand in front of his abdomen; the large maw that stretched across it opened wide. The muscle inside rolled itself out and began encircling each of his fingers, licking every single trace of the meat from them.

“The wind weapon,” he replied emptily.

“My lord, you already know of these weapons?”

Sukuna’s scoff was immediate. He wasn’t surprised you didn’t question his lack of knowledge of the weapons. You were probably one of the more idiotic humans he had encountered since his reincarnation. However, Uraume not figuring it out was unusual.

“Don’t be an imbecile like that fucking girl. Of course I already know of the weapons.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“

“It’s fine,” Sukuna cut them off with a wave of his hand, completely disregarding their apology. He did not care enough to listen any further. “You will begin your search, and should you find so much as a single clue, return to me. I have no interest in the other three. Tatsumaki is your sole priority.”

“Sukuna,” they began hesitantly. “May I suggest something?”

He peeled his top two eyes away from his soon-to-be meal and up to Uraume. “Speak freely.”

Despite what he said, the tone in his voice carried a warning with it. Sukuna was utterly exhausted and had been since the fight in Shinjuku. After that damn brat had managed to separate his soul from Megumi Fushiguro’s body, Uraume grabbed what was left of Sukuna’s soul and escaped to the mountains north of Tokyo.

You had been right about one thing: Sukuna’s body was fully his own now. If one’s reverse cursed technique was strong enough, it could regenerate limbs, organs, and blood. However, there was a limit to how much someone can regenerate at once. Over five grueling days hidden away, Sukuna had managed to regenerate his original form in its entirety. The only downside is it’s temporarily weaker, and repeatedly draining his cursed energy also took a toll on him. It’ll take time for his body to grow stronger.

Aside from that, he had just learned Satoru Gojo had survived the battle as well. Though judging from the fact he had sent you instead of himself, Sukuna could only presume that meant Gojo was currently in a weakened state as well. With the ten shadows no longer an option to fend off the cerulean-eyed bastard, he needed to move his new plans along with haste.

“If you already have the information you need, allow me to take care of the woman. I’m not bound by a vow restricting me from harming her.”

“No,” Sukuna stated plainly. He reached out and pulled the spareribs away from the flames. He pulled one off and brought it to the mouth on his abdomen. Pushing the bone into the opening, his second set of teeth tore into the meat, and in one fluid motion, they pulled every last piece clean off the bone. “There’s something I need her for. While you search for the weapon, it’s my priority to keep her both occupied and alive.”

Repeating the same motion, he tore yet another bone away from the others and lowered it down to his secondary mouth once again. “Besides, if you faced her alone, you would not survive.”

He didn’t look up this time but could hear Uraume swallow loudly. “That woman is a fucking moron, but she’s powerful. It’s likely she doesn’t even realize the full extent of her powers yet.”

“Yes, master. I understand,” was all Uraume offered up before turning back towards the boar.

Sukuna finished his meat and tossed the bones back towards the fire. For whatever reason, no matter how much he ate tonight, he could not satiate his hunger. Uraume glanced up at him, and he just nodded in response, which is all he needed to express his desire for yet another meal. Another rack of ribs was laid across the fire to roast.

Suddenly, a flare of cursed energy ricocheted through the air. Strong enough to bring him to his feet and stop Uraume in their tracks.

It was your cursed energy, and judging by the way it spread through the environment, it was volatile.

He had put a decent amount of distance between you two, and it was far enough that he shouldn’t be able to feel your energy. That was something not even he could have predicted would happen.

You were just full of surprises.

The way your energy flowed was almost unnatural. It was something he had noticed during your first encounter, and he was feeling it yet again. It would come in bursts like you were constantly putting a plug into it and then releasing it, over and over again. Regardless, that much energy leaking from you could only mean one thing.

You were currently using your technique in a similar way to how you did during your fight with him, which meant you were fighting someone.

Chapter Text

A few hours had gone by since Sukuna had wandered off to join Uraume. He seemed to have put a good bit of distance between the two of you, as you couldn’t feel the signature of his cursed energy any longer. You were pleased to be free of him, even if it was just temporary.

Most of your afternoon had been spent in your car. Thankfully, you had brought along a couple of spare sets of clothes whenever you had first set out on your mission. You changed out of your dirty outfit, ate a makeshift dinner, and were even able to make contact with Gojo. The conversation was far quicker than you would’ve liked, and unfortunately you were unable to get his opinion on the matter of Sukuna’s cursed energy latching onto you. However, he was now clued in on the vow that bound you to Sukuna.

You made it clear to him that the vow would not hinder your ability to complete the objective, and it may even be helpful in doing so. He believed you and agreed that your current position may prove to be useful. You felt a sense of relief that at least someone you trusted was now aware of what you had gotten yourself into.

Your walk back from the car was peaceful. As the sun kissed the horizon, the final remnants of the daylight quickly disappeared alongside it. The temperature began falling rapidly. If you had to guess, it had to be approaching freezing and would only get worse as the night progressed. Neither the blanket you packed in your bag nor the jacket you slipped on would likely be enough. You needed to find a place to make camp and build a fire to keep you warm.

This was the second night in a row you were forced to camp out at your destination, and you had no intention of forming a habit of it. Granted, Sukuna was in a tight spot as he didn’t have the luxury of being able to check into a motel. Regardless, that was his problem and not yours. You agreed to allow him to accompany you on your journey, not to live out in the elements.

The temple now in eyesight, you came to a halt a few hundred meters just shy of it. Rows of towering Japanese cedar, their usual green foliage turned shades of burgundy due to frigid winter temperatures, and a few moss-covered boulders of varying sizes surrounded you. There was nothing special about the area, but the ground had a large enough space between trees to build a decent-sized fire.

You began scrounging for any sticks or logs you could use as firewood. This process would undoubtedly be easier if Sukuna was around, and you could put his dismantle to use. However, building a quicker fire was not worth having to deal with him or his cursed energy.

After finding a few logs, you started arranging some rocks into a circle, forming a small pit for the firewood to lay. Carefully placing the logs, you stuffed some dried leaves underneath and between them. Pulling your lighter out from your pocket, you hovered it overtop of the leaves and ignited it. Before the leaves could catch fire, a soft gust of wind from the north blew the flame out. Your thumb slid down the metal wheel of your lighter once more, but it was in vain as yet another breeze blew through.

A sudden chill slipped down your spine as you felt a pair of eyes on you.

You weren’t alone.

And it wasn’t Sukuna.

A cursed spirit.

You knew what it was without even sparing it a glance. Its aura was strong, likely a special grade. However, its energy output was significantly lower than Sukuna’s, so you were confident you could end this quickly.

A cursed spirit being this far from a populous area would normally be considered an anomaly. Cursed spirits were born from cursed energy, which directly stemmed from negative human emotions. Areas with higher population densities had a larger amount of spirits, and they were often significantly stronger too. Encountering a special grade curse in the middle of the forest told you this was likely one Kenjaku had released.

Despite your confidence in the situation, you still needed to stay on alert. When dealing with a cursed spirit, anything could happen.

You pushed yourself to your feet. “There’s no point in hiding. I know you’re there.”

Dead leaves crunched directly behind you as footsteps approached.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

A sudden halt.

Turning your head to the right, you glanced over your shoulder.

There it is.

Humanoid in appearance, but still carrying strange physical traits that unmistakably belong to a curse. The body was masculine and clad in nothing but a beige hakama. Straight, hip-length black hair was lazily pulled back in a singular ponytail, tied directly under the nape of its neck. Its skin was sickly looking, grey, and devoid of any life. Eyes that were entirely black minus a thin strip of chartreuse that resembled a serpent’s pupil. Thick lines of red, scarred skin branched across the center of its forehead where a singular kanji was branded.

Hachi.

Eight.

What a freak show.

“Are you just going to—“ Your taunt was cut short as streaks of pale skin blurred across your vision. The spirit was already inches from you.

He was unbelievably fast.

Likely even faster than Sukuna.

You barely twisted out of the way in time, but not before a stinging pain shot through your abdomen as a dagger sliced across your stomach in one fluid motion.

Your eyes widened.

It didn’t have that dagger just a moment ago.

You jumped back, putting space between you and the curse. Its expression held absolutely no emotion. Most intelligent spirits enjoyed toying with humans. Whether it was bringing a person physical or psychological pain, they normally reveled in the act. That was just the core of their nature. However, this one appeared to be different than most.

“What is your name?”

The one downside to your technique was that it usually couldn’t be used on the cursed spirits the same way it could on humans. It was rare for a spirit to have a name, and on the off chance one did, it would most likely be a higher-ranking special grade to possess that much comprehension and awareness.

However, it was possible the curse before you now had one. Solely from its appearance, you could assume this one had a decent level of consciousness. That was usually the case with the more humanoid-looking curses.

You waited for its response, but unfortunately, it never came. The curse offered nothing more than a few blinks. Perhaps you had vastly overestimated this one’s intelligence.

The dagger completely disappeared from the curse’s hands, and within an instant it was practically on top of you yet again. Its technique had to be one rooted in speed. The movements were so fast they could not be seen by the human eye. The spirit’s hand grazed your hip, and upon making contact with you, the dagger reappeared.

You leapt back once more, another slice through your skin. Blood began pooling to the surface at the site of the second slash. They were shallow wounds, and as far as you could tell, not a cause for concern at the moment.

“Can you understand me?” Your words were slow and deliberate, putting emphasis on each individual syllable. Even if you couldn’t pull a name from the curse, it’d be a good idea to judge its thinking capabilities.

“Eight.”

Your breath caught in your throat at the deep, raspy voice that escaped from the curse.

Eight? Like the kanji branded onto its face?

Never mind the spirit’s nonsense. It could understand language to a point, so it retained some sort of awareness.

You kept your gaze fixated on the curse, trying to see if it had any tells. For now, you were able to at least partially dodge two of its attempted attacks. All you knew was that it had remarkable speed and could summon a dagger, likely a cursed weapon of some sort, at will. Your opponent was undeniably strong, but with that sort of speed, it likely lacked in physical strength. Meanwhile, your strength was permanently reinforced due to your technique. If you could counter-strike on its next attack, you could likely injure it to some degree.

“I have no name,” the spirit’s voice rasped. Within an instant, your sight was flooded by the silver tip of a dagger staring you in the face. You grabbed onto its wrist with your left hand, nails sinking in, stopping the weapon just centimeters from your flesh.

“I’m just the eighth.” Not even a second after the spirit finished, you brought your right fist, now reinforced with the blue aura of cursed energy, upwards and it collided with the side of its face.

The impact sent the curse flying backwards, likely even further than Sukuna had sent you yesterday. Your assumption had been correct. It was lacking physical strength, which in turn meant it would have poor defense.

“I sure hope that doesn’t mean there are seven more of you lurking around these woods.” You couldn’t quite make sense of what it had meant by being the eighth, although that wasn’t what you needed to focus on. The curse had a noticeable weakness now that could be exploited.

It had landed a good distance away in a moss-covered area. Thankfully, you still had eyes on the spirit. It was likely out of earshot though, which you would use to your advantage.

You glanced down at the two slashes on your abdomen and grabbed onto the cotton of your shirt with your hand. “Shirt, reinforce.”

Your cursed energy sunk itself into the fabric, weaving itself throughout every single fiber to form a barrier of cursed energy around your abdomen. Since you were unable to fully dodge its attacks, you’d let the cursed spirit keep coming to you and push back with brute strength. Your cursed energy interwoven with the fabric should protect your internal organs from taking any damage should the attacks get more aggressive.

You peeled your eyes back up to the spot where you had punched the curse, but it was empty. No sign whatsoever that he was ever lying there.

Suddenly a gust of air hit your right ear. Angling your head towards it, you caught the ends of the obsidian ponytail twisting through the air. A blur of a grey hand and the red handle of a dagger appearing in it could be seen out of your peripheral vision on the opposite side as the spirit circled around you.

Damn, it was fast.

You managed to catch its wrist once again with your left hand, but not before you took a cut across the back of your knuckles. You pulled back your right hand, ready for yet another punch.

The curse suddenly ripped its arm back, pulling you in closer. “I don’t intend to take your life tonight. I want you to come with me.” It spoke slowly, gritting a set of blackened teeth in your face. “I just need you injured enough where you won’t fight back.”

You felt the cursed energy on your back ripple. Glancing over your shoulder, you saw its other hand had reached around you, a second dagger summoned in it. The tip of it was trying to force its way into your lower hip, but your cursed energy held up well enough to reject it.

Cutting your eyes back to the curse, you threw your head back and rammed it forward, both of your foreheads colliding. Pain ricocheted through your face, your previously injured nose now throbbing at the collision. The dark violet-hued blood that was signature to cursed spirits began flooding out of both of its nostrils. Whatever damage you had done to yourself, you caused it tenfold.

You swung your right fist upward, a blue streak of cursed energy trailing behind it, and hit the spirit directly under its chin. At the same time, you released its wrist, causing the curse to fall back once more.

“Sorry, but I already have one bloodthirsty freak I can’t get rid of. Don’t want to add another.”

Thankfully, you were able to be free of Sukuna, even if it was just for one night. The only reason you were able to fight this well currently is because his cursed energy wasn’t here entangling with yours. You had a clear head and could focus on the battle in front of you, which was something you weren’t able to do the night before. Although you supposed it didn’t matter, because if he were present, the spirit would’ve easily been exorcised by now.

You lunged forward this time, hoping the spirit was injured enough for you to catch it off guard, but your attempt was in vain. It not only moved out of the way but completely vanished. You could still feel its cursed energy, so it hadn’t gone far. Likely hiding amongst the trees, attempting to recuperate from its energy. Healing and regeneration was far easier for cursed spirits than it was for humans, and they did so without using reversed curse technique.

Weaving through the towering trees, you trailed the energy signature of the curse. Starting out faint, it gradually grew stronger as the trees began getting closer together. It had led you to an area with far more foliage, likely so it could hide better. The curse was technically at more of an advantage in this location, but you still held the upper hand. Its aura began to grow strong enough for you to know that it was now within meters of you, despite still remaining successfully out of your eyesight.

A singular, purple droplet caught the silver light of the rising moon as it fell soundlessly to the forest floor from the tree closest to your right.

Blood.

Without a second thought, you shot your hand out, making contact with the tree.

“Tree, collapse.”

It came tumbling down, crashing into another tree next to it. Getting caught in the branches, it never hit the ground. However, the movement alone pushed the spirit from its hiding spot. A pale blur jumped onto the branches, nestling itself among the leaves of a different tree just a couple of meters away.

You dashed towards it, hand reaching out to make contact with the tree’s rough bark. Two fingertips barely grazed the trunk before the cursed energy reinforced at your back began rippling again. The spirit was behind you, trying to force one of its daggers into the center of your lower back. You quickly spun around, pooling cursed energy in your right foot, and swung it upwards for a kick. However, the spirit had long caught on to your plan of counterattacking and retreated back, your foot colliding with nothing but empty air.

A searing pain ripped through your left leg as a dagger punctured through the center of your calf. Thankfully your reaction was quick as you moved to attempt yet another counterattack, forcing the spirit to dodge you again. This wound was deeper than the others you had received but still shallow for a stab wound. The blade likely hadn’t sunk in more than a couple of centimeters, and while the surface of the muscle was injured, you could still move. No major vessels had been hit either, so bleeding wasn’t of concern.

Your quick reflexes and the cursed spirit’s desire to avoid your attacks had saved you from the possibility of a far worse injury. You had injured the spirit more than you realized earlier, because despite healing itself, it was doing everything in its power to avoid taking a single hit from you. The spirit had adjusted its strategy, which meant you needed to as well.

Bringing your hand up to your face, you cradled your cheek and chanted your own name aloud. “As long as you choose to fight this spirit, your entire body will be shielded from any attacks.”

Your cursed energy flowed outward from every corner of your body, nestling itself around you to form a shield. Imposing a rule this strong on yourself would drain your cursed energy incredibly fast, and you wouldn’t be able to hold it for long. If you had to guess, you likely had less than ten minutes before you’d burn through all of your cursed energy. This fight needed to end soon.

The sprint launched another attack, its blade slashing towards your body, except this time it stopped short of your flesh, much like your reinforced shirt had done for you earlier. You kicked your right foot up, hoping to sneak a strike in. However, it had already twisted behind you, the blade trying to penetrate through your energy and collide with your calf again. Every attempt you made to counterattack was dodged. Thankfully, your cursed energy held up, and you took no damage.

On the outside, it probably appeared to look as if something similar to Satoru Gojo’s infinity was surrounding you. Every slice or stab would be stopped mid-air just short of your body. However, Gojo’s technique was an impenetrable distortion of space and time. Yours, on the other hand, was merely just a shield of cursed energy that covered every inch of you, and like all shields, it could be weakened. You needed to maneuver yourself to the best of your abilities to ensure the slices didn’t wear down the same spots.

The cursed spirit began attacking in rapid succession, slice after slice. It had likely deduced that your shield of cursed energy was not infallible and would only hold up for so long. In the cursed spirit’s mind, this was now a battle of endurance. You followed its movements to the best of your ability and attempted to launch a counterattack, but it was successful at avoiding every punch and kick you hurled at it.

You and the curse danced around one another, twisting and turning amongst the trees. Slice after slice, you allowed the curse to push you back. You carried a minor limp from your earlier injury, but as long as it was just pain and nothing more serious, you could power through.

Occasionally you’d lunge or roll away and change the direction of your movement, coaxing it to follow. The curse was so caught up in its attack it didn’t even notice the path you had begun leading it on.

Firmly planting your feet in the ground, you turned and met the curse head-on, holding your now crossed forearms out in front of your face in hopes of putting a slight bit of distance between you two.

“You can’t keep this up forever,” the curse sneered.

“You’re right, I can’t.” You admitted, circling your right foot behind you, shifting all of your weight to it. “Ground, collapse.”

You stepped back as the ground in front of you crumbled in on itself. The trees began toppling as the fragmented pieces of earth beneath them fell into the forming crater. After the debris settled, you immediately jumped down into the opening and reached your hands towards a fallen tree. The cursed spirit was trapped under the weight of the wreckage, and, even if just for a moment, its speed was hindered.

You slammed both of your hands down onto the trunk of the nearest tree.

“Tree. Imprison.”

The tree itself began distorting and expanding, sprouting out thick, wooden tendrils that snaked their way through the rubble. They came to a sudden halt after just moments of searching and shot up through the surface of the wreckage, cursed spirit in tow. The winding strands of wood coiled tightly around the spirit’s body like a serpent would its prey.

“My cursed technique allows me to impose a rule on any being or object.” You took a step towards the cursed spirit. “In order to do so, I must touch the person or object and recite their name.” As you took another step over the rubble, a smirk began forming on your face. “However, I don’t have to touch them with my hands.”

“I don’t like being backed into a corner,” the curse warned you as its energy swelled in an attempt to break free from its confines. However, this backfired as the hold on it only tightened in response.

“I send cursed energy out from my body, and it infiltrates a target of my choosing. It’s not the object or person I am manipulating, but my own cursed energy inside it. The entire time you were chasing after me, I led us in one large circle, depositing small amounts of cursed energy from my feet as we went along.” The wooden bonds pushed the struggling cursed spirit down to its knees as you closed in on it. “Resisting is pointless, because when it comes to a tug-of-war of cursed energy, mine will always win.”

Unless it’s Ryomen Sukuna’s energy, that is.

You stood directly in front of the cursed spirit, your hands now at your side. Slowly, you began pooling the faint remainders of your cursed energy in one of your fists, ready to make the final blow.

It was a common misconception that you could only use your bare hands to make contact with your targets, and it was one you rarely corrected people on. Your hands were your go-to, as it was easier and used less energy. Using a different part of your body could be done when in a tight spot, but it used up double the amount of cursed energy. If the body part was clothed or covered by something, it used up triple the amount of energy.

The spirit in front of you watched you cover your body in the shield and, much like Sukuna, assumed your hands were required for the technique. While you did not intentionally deceive Sukuna like you did to the cursed spirit, you imagined that it would still come in handy down the road.

You had hardly any cursed energy left — the stunt you performed using your feet to collapse the ground drained almost every drop from you. Enough remained in your body to reinforce one, maybe two blows, and hopefully, that would be all you needed. Your right fist, now fully drenched in cursed energy, pulled back. The curse struggled even harder. Its fingers began trying to contort themselves into what looked like some sort of hand signs. Any last-ditch efforts at whatever jujutsu it was attempting were a waste. You swung your arm forward, a trail of vibrant blue energy following, and your fist collided with the center of the spirit’s forehead.

Your headbutt from earlier had done far more damage than any punch you threw at it. For whatever reason, the kanji scar on its forehead was its weakest point. Shades of indigo spewed from the curse’s mouth immediately on impact as its blood splattered across you, soaking through the fabric of your shirt.

The curse went limp in its confines, and one more punch was all that was left to fully exorcise it. You pulled your fist back once more and reinforced it with the very last of your energy. Before you could hurl your arm forward, a blinding pain ripped through the nape of your neck and up through the crown of your head. It spread throughout your entire body like a roaring fire, burning throughout every inch of you.

Sukuna.

You collapsed to your knees, face in hands, as tears threatened to topple over your lash line. Your vision grew blurry as high-pitched ringing filled your ears. This was far worse than any of the times before. Without any of your own cursed energy left, his was spreading throughout your body with absolutely no resistance.

With you in this state, your technique couldn’t hold itself any longer, and a loud thud could be heard as the curse’s body hit the ground. A single trembling grey finger slipped itself underneath your chin, pulling your tearful eyes up to meet the cursed spirit’s chilling gaze.

“We will meet again.” Its voice was incredibly weak, each word sounding like a struggle. “And when we do, you will face a terrible reckoning.”

You offered up nothing more than a blank stare in response. The spirit slipped away. It wasn’t as quick as before, but it still had decent speed behind its movement. Not that it mattered, you had neither the energy nor the will to fight any longer.

He would be here soon, and for whatever reason, his cursed energy output was higher than it had ever been — somehow even higher than it had been in the car earlier. As he grew closer, so did the pain. Tears began streaming down your face, and it took every fiber in you to not physically cry out in pain. You’d save yourself that last bit of dignity if nothing else.

The moonlight’s illumination disappeared as a shadow overtook your body. Thankfully, Sukuna’s energy completely retracted as soon as he laid eyes on you, taking the hell you were experiencing with it. You brought your gaze up to meet his. He stood at the crater’s edge, upper arms crossed, looking down at you like you were the most pathetic thing he had ever seen.

Free of his energy, you fell backwards from your knees until you were lying flat on your back.

“You’re injured,” he mused, sounding unimpressed. He jumped down into the crater and within a few long strides was towering overtop of you.

“None are severe,” you replied, your exasperation apparent.

What the hell was he even doing here?

And why did he charge up with such high levels of cursed energy?

He prodded you right below your ribcage with his foot, like you were some sort of injured animal he was checking for signs of life. “Severe enough that you’re crying.”

Another prod from his foot. Your limp body easily moved along with it. “What the fuck happened here?”

His foot extended for a third prod, but before it could make contact, you reached out, grabbing onto his ankle. You sunk your nails in as far as they would go, though you knew it would cause him no pain.

“I encountered a cursed spirit, and I’m not crying because of my fucking injuries,” you spat.

He yanked his ankle from your grasp and squatted down, bringing himself to your level. His signature grin spread across his face at a record speed. “Fighting really brings your temper out.”

After him attempting to get a rise out of you multiple times in the past twenty-four hours, he had finally succeeded, and he looked enthralled. “Enlighten me, if you’re not crying from your injuries, then what is it?”

He was taunting you, trying to push you even further. You knew he was playing a game, one to fuel his own pleasure, and you shouldn’t give in to it.

Sukuna reached his hand out towards your waist, and you instantly swatted it away. “Don’t.”

You rolled over to your side, planting your shaky arms into the compacted dirt beneath you. You mustered what was left of your strength and pushed yourself back up to your knees.

Now that the adrenaline from the fight had worn off, your injuries were far more noticeable. There was not a single part of you that did not hurt. A sharp pain from your left calf radiated upwards throughout the entire leg. Even kneeling on all fours was painful.

A single tattooed arm slipped itself underneath your abdomen, lifting you with absolute ease. You opened your mouth to protest, but he wasn’t having it.

“I’m trying to heal you, you ungrateful brat,” he barked before gently tossing you over his right shoulder.

You could feel two of his eyes burning into you as he began walking towards the crater’s edge. Lifting your head to look back wasn’t necessary — you had a pretty good idea what expression graced his face.

With one jump, he leapt upwards out of the hole you had forged into the earth’s crust, managing to gracefully land without even shaking you. Despite his enormous size, Sukuna was somehow incredibly agile.

He began trudging back towards your campsite, following the trail of footprints you and the cursed spirit had left among the earth. One of his hands rested on your lower back, holding you perfectly still the entire walk. His touch was surprisingly soft. It was undoubtedly an effort to keep you from being injured any further, but regardless, it was still a strange phenomenon to see someone like Sukuna hold you as if you were made of glass.

Sukuna lifted you off of his shoulder and lowered you down onto your back next to the fire pit you had built earlier. He immediately knelt down beside you and brought his two upper hands to your left calf, slightly raising it up and prompting your knee to bend.

“Tell me of the cursed spirit,” he demanded as his fingertips grazed against the open wound through the hole the dagger had made in your pants.

A sharp hiss left your lips at the contact, prompting an eye roll from him. “Pathetic,” he mumbled as a faint white glow emitted from his hands.

“It was a special grade curse and was intelligent enough to communicate and understand language,” you replied, watching the muscle in your leg slowly suture itself back together with the energy he was pumping into it. “Its technique was speed-based. The movements it made were so fast, they couldn’t be seen by the human eye.”

“Yet you’re alive,” he drawled.

A gentle warmth could be felt spreading throughout your leg, replacing the previous pain from the injury. The muscle fibers were now fully repaired, and your skin began to slowly regrow itself overtop.

“I dodged its attacks on instinct alone, and thankfully that was enough to escape with just minor injuries.”

“Tell me,” he cut his eyes up from your leg to meet yours. “Do you always cry over minor injuries?”

You clenched your jaw at his childish jab and began to shift your leg out of his reach. A third arm shot out, grasping the underside of your knee to hold it firmly in place.

“And you’re going to sit here while I heal you, so I don’t have to fucking listen to you complain about it later.”

His cursed energy peaked slightly in annoyance, causing your head to begin aching. Without any of your own cursed energy left to fight it off, any minor shift in his energy would cause you excruciating pain. Angering him would only cause you more harm, and you both physically and mentally could not withstand any more tonight. It would be best to just allow him his snarky comments.

As the skin finished fully regenerating, he laid your leg back down and reached upwards. Sukuna lifted the hem of your shirt and inched two of his hands onto your lower abdomen, placing one above each of the slashes. The same white glow appeared at the contact between the two of you.

“Unusual to encounter a cursed spirit this far from humans,” he commented, though it sounded as if he was just speaking aloud rather than directly to you.

Though you felt it was smart to reply, just in case he was expecting one. “Likely one Kenjaku released.”

The slashes on your abdomen healed far quicker than the wound on your leg. As soon as the skin was sealed, Sukuna climbed closer to you. You propped yourself up onto your elbows before fully sitting up. One of his hands slipped under your chin, tilting your face upwards and towards him.

“Your nose is broken in three spots.”

One of those was from your brawl with Sukuna from the prior evening, which meant you had caused the other two during the fight with the cursed spirit. Perhaps you didn’t realize how badly you had injured yourself after all.

He placed two fingers on the tip of your nose, and his energy instantly began sinking into your bone to help mend it back together.

“The spirit had a kanji branded into its skin in the center of its forehead. It turned out to be its weak spot. I kind of rammed into it with my own head.”

His scoff was immediate. “Idiot.”

The pain in your face began easing off as the lower part of your nose was now healed. Sukuna slid his two fingers up the bridge of your nose, stopping midway and began healing the second fracture. “What did the kanji say?”

“Hachi.”

“Eight? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

You shrugged in response. “I don’t know. It kept saying it had no name, that it was ‘the eighth.’ Although there were no other spirits around, so I have no clue what that was supposed to mean.”

You let out a sigh of relief as the second fracture healed itself, and Sukuna moved his fingers up to the final fracture. He placed one on each side of your bridge, directly between your eyes.

“We’re staying here tonight, and we’ll head out tomorrow morning.” You hummed in acknowledgement of his statement. “You’re completely drained of cursed energy, and I don’t want to have to deal with it. You’re to sleep as soon as you’re healed.”

You couldn’t stand the way he spoke to you, but he was right. Nothing but residuals of your energy remained within you. As soon as the third fracture was healed, he pulled back and reached for your left hand, taking it between two of his. Your hand completely stiffened at the contact, and you fought the urge to rip it away from his.

“Is Uraume joining us tonight?” You inquired as he began working to heal the gash on the back of your knuckles.

“No, I sent Uraume off on their own for a while.”

“Why?”

He immediately cut his eyes up to yours. “Personal matters.”

You knew Sukuna had been plotting something since the moment your paths crossed, but you had yet to figure out what. Uraume missing was likely a piece of that. However, you knew he wouldn’t divulge any more information if that was the case.

You averted your eyes downwards as he continued healing your hand, although you could feel that his gaze never stopped burning into you. As soon as the final wound was healed, you looked up at him, and the second your eyes met, he ripped away from you like your touch had physically burned him. A look of pure revulsion crossed his features as he rose to his feet.

“I’m going to find some more wood for this pitiful excuse of a fire you tried to build.”

Every word dripped with venom, and for whatever reason, his energy began swelling up again. Throbbing spread through your head instantaneously, though you grit your teeth in an attempt not to show your pain. The last thing you needed was to clue him in on the effect he had on you.

He furiously stomped away from you, not sparing you another glance.

For whatever reason, he was pissed. However, you didn’t feel like doing the mental gymnastics to figure out what you did this time to send him into a fit.

“Sleep.”

His demand was the last thing you heard as you watched his back disappear through the trees, though you could sense that he never traveled too far from you as he scoured for more firewood.

After grabbing the blanket you packed and changing out your bloodied shirt, you settled down and allowed sleep to overcome you before Sukuna had the chance to return.

Chapter Text

It was unbearably bright, as not a single cloud graced the azure sky. The breeze carried a slight chill, although it was still a good bit warmer than it had been days prior. Soft tendrils of smoke gently drifted upwards from your mouth with each drag of your cigarette. Somewhere behind you, you could hear the sound of the brittle winter blades of grass crunching beneath Sukuna’s feet.

The shrine you both just visited was yet another dead end. Not a single clue to help aid you in the search for the divine weapons. It had been just three days since your battle with the cursed spirit. The following morning when you awoke, your cursed energy had been almost fully replenished, and the two of you set out almost immediately. Since departing the temple ruins, you had managed to investigate four more sites along the northern coast. That brought the total of places you’ve now searched to six.

You continued your leisurely pace throughout the meadow until a small boulder appeared in your line of sight. Walking over to it, you sat on top of it and stretched your aching legs straight out.

Whenever you had originally planned this excursion, you envisioned it going a lot differently. Sukuna tagging along put a damper on things. He had often insisted on only visiting one location per day before making camp and settling down for the evening. Only once did you visit two places in the same day, and that followed a brief argument between the two of you. Ideally, you needed to visit three to four locations daily. Otherwise, you’d be spending months on your search.

Besides the fact he was slowing you down majorly, he was also why you had to sleep out in the elements. For whatever reason, the majority of Kenjaku’s spirits stayed south of Tokyo. As the southern parts of the country are being overrun, many citizens have been evacuating north. Cities, towns, and even smaller inconspicuous farming villages were being filled to the brim with refugees. Visiting any sort of inn was off the table as long as he was involved.

“I’m not surprised that you’ve led us to yet another dead end.” Sukuna’s mocking tone echoed throughout the meadow as he approached you, casting a shadow as he grew closer to the rock where you sat. “It’s quite pathetic, actually.”

Sukuna had been speaking to you a lot more since he and Uraume parted ways. However, it was mostly just him complaining or mocking you. You ignored him most of the time, only offering the occasional response if he began to show signs of annoyance.

It was strange. You knew it was due to him being bound by a mutual vow not to harm you, but regardless, as of right now you viewed him as more of a nuisance than anything else. Though he probably thought of you much the same.

“Brat, I’m speaking to you.” He kicked his right foot out, colliding with the boulder. It wasn’t strong enough to move or crack it, just enough to attempt to gain your attention.

You cut your eyes to him. His face was twisted into its usual scowl, and his cursed energy was slowly beginning to spike as he grew annoyed with you. One thing you had learned about him is that he hated being ignored. You assumed it was due to the fact that he chalked it up to a mere weak human daring to disrespect a being such as him. In fact, if it weren’t for your vow, he’d likely punish you for such a thing.

“So far, I’ve searched six places in total and found one clue. Considering how well hidden they are, those aren’t bad numbers,” you quipped.

You crossed your right leg over your left, allowing you to extinguish your cigarette on the sole of your boot. After sliding the butt into one of your pockets, you pulled your backpack forward to unzip it.

“We’re not going to get anywhere at this pace,” he growled.

“On that, we can agree,” you mumbled as you fished out a package of beef jerky.

That was another thing. You had hardly eaten at all since this journey began. With the exception of three salmon and mayo onigiri you purchased from a convenience store during a stop for gas, you’ve been living off of protein bars and jerky. Something as simple as going to a restaurant was impossible with him, so it was nothing but gas station food for the time being. Plus, with you camping, they had to be non-perishable. It was an annoyance.

You popped open the bag and reached in your fingers, but before you could even grab on to a piece, Sukuna stuck out one of his hands and ripped it from your grasp.

“Hey, I was eating that!”

He immediately plopped down on the ground in front of you with a huff. Leaning back on both of his left arms, he slid two fingers from one of his right hands into the bag. Pulling out a piece of the jerky, he shoved it in its entirety into his open mouth.

“I watched you pack another in your bag,” he said between his loud, obnoxious chews. He returned his fingers back into the pouch and pulled out two more pieces. Holding them in front of his face, he maneuvered the chunks of jerky around, examining them. “This food is one of the better ones I’ve had since reincarnating.”

“It’s dried meat, of course you’d like it,” you said with an exasperated sigh as you dug for the second pack. “After we leave here, I’d like to drive back to my apartment in Tokyo. We can stay there for a couple of days while I reevaluate our search. Also, that’ll allow me to clean up and gather more supplies.”

Your apartment building was in one of the wards completely overrun by cursed spirits. The entire neighborhood evacuated and was now considered abandoned. Taking Sukuna there for a few days should pose no risk to civilians.

He offered nothing more than a grunt in acknowledgement of your statement. With no opposition from him, as soon as you both finished eating, you’d head back to your car and be on the way. The thought of a bath and a warm meal was enough to bring a small smile to your face. You popped open the second package of jerky and began dipping your fingers in.

“On your feet,” Sukuna’s sudden command boomed out. Its loudness caused you to flinch. You glanced up to see him now pushing himself to his feet.

Now what?

“We’ll leave when I finish eating.”

“We’re not leaving.” He reached down and snagged the bag from your hands yet again before dropping it on the ground next to him. “On your feet now.”

Seriously?

With a click of the tongue, you reluctantly indulged him and followed suit. Rising to your feet in front of him, you crossed your arms as you stared back, awaiting his explanation.

“You’re going to use your cursed technique on me.” He extended his lower right arm towards you, urging you to make contact.

“And why would I do that?”

Sukuna gave no answer to your query but instead grabbed onto your right hand, forcing you to make contact with him. Your palm collided into his wrist and was absolutely swallowed by its sheer size. You’d probably be unable to fully wrap your hand around it if you tried.

“You need to learn the concept of personal space.” You attempted to pull your hand from his arm, but within an instant he caught it, forcing you to maintain your contact.

“Now.” His tone was far more stern. He was growing annoyed again — you could feel his cursed energy wanting to spike.

Despite your cursed energy being replenished, you frankly had no desire to provoke him. Especially considering it would likely end with you following his order at some point anyways.

You sighed as you tightened your grip on him and began sending cursed energy out from the tips of your fingers. His stare was analytical as he focused on the blue aura seeping out from your hand and into his body.

It suddenly clicked. He was attempting to figure out the mechanics behind your cursed technique.

“Ryomen Sukuna.” His eyes cut up to yours at the sound of his name bouncing from your tongue. “If you release yourself from my grip, your arm will break.”

“You only know one trick, is that it?” A smirk grew on his face to accompany his taunting tone.

You fought the urge to roll your eyes. “More like this isn’t worth putting any effort into.”

He ripped his arm back from your grasp, and the second the contact broke, your energy began to go to work. The both of you stared as his arm began twisting and contorting. The noise was disgusting, and it took everything in you to suppress a shudder at the sounds of his bones snapping. Sukuna, on the other hand, seemed completely unbothered by the situation. His face never once betrayed any sign of pain.

“I thought as much, but wanted to confirm it. It’s your own cursed energy that you’re manipulating. The reason you have to make physical contact is to transfer it to the person or object. So that contact isn’t negotiable,” he said as he rotated his injured arm, studying every inch of it. Suddenly he cut all four eyes up to you. “However, if that’s the case, you should be able to transfer energy from any point on your body, not just your hands.”

Shit.

The fact that you could use the rest of your body to transfer cursed energy was something you didn’t want him to discover. It was one thing you had to keep up your sleeve to help level the playing field between the two of you.

If you outright refused to respond to his statement, it’d be a dead giveaway. However, if you vehemently denied it, it’d also clue him in.

“In theory, I should be able to,” you began, carefully choosing your words. You kept your voice steady. “However, I’ve never done it. I’ve always just used my hands.”

The lie you offered up seemed reasonable enough to believe.

Instead, a snort immediately escaped him. “You’re the worst fucking liar I’ve ever met.”

Your face immediately dropped. You knew you weren’t a terrible liar, so how could he always tell? Deceit and manipulation were a part of the specialized training you had received all those years ago.

Your upbringing as a sorcerer was far from a normal one. While others trained solely to hone their cursed techniques and fight cursed spirits, you were forced to expand your skill set in unusual ways. Deceiving others was something you excelled at.

“That crater I dragged you out of was a perfect circle. That’s an incredibly rare feat.” A faint white glow began emitting from his injured arm. “It’s unlikely that you did that from hitting the ground in one spot, and the easiest way to allow your cursed energy to infiltrate the ground in that pattern would be through your feet.”

“Astute as always, I see.” You watched as the bones in his arm slowly started moving back into place. “You’re correct. I can use other parts of my body for my technique, but it drains my cursed energy significantly faster, so I can’t fight nearly as long.”

You reached down and grabbed the bag of jerky you had just opened that lay next to Sukuna’s feet before turning around to store it and his empty one in your backpack. “I have a significantly lower cursed energy output than most special grade sorcerers. In fact, it’s likely on par with that of a first or even second grade. It’s both my technique and what I’ve accomplished in my line of work as a sorcerer that rank me so high.”

Turning back around, you notice his arm was now fully healed, like it had never been touched by you at all. As you raised your gaze back to his, you noticed he had never taken his eyes off of you.

“It’s a shame,” Sukuna drawled, leaning down until he was eye level with you. “Such a remarkable technique was wasted on such an insignificant pest like yourself.”

You offered nothing more than a grunt in response as you turned back around. Snagging up your backpack, you began your trek towards the car. Sukuna’s pestering could wait until after you ate an actual meal.

You heard a huff from behind immediately followed by his footsteps trailing you. Reaching into your bag, you pulled out another cigarette. As you went to light it, a shadow was cast over you from behind, completely engulfing your body.

You spun around, and a hand reached out, catching your shoulder and holding you in place. Sukuna was now towering over you, an almost unsettling look gracing his face.

“You’d do well to remember that you and I are not the same. At no point have you or will you hold the upper hand against me, sorcerer. Your secrets will not save you.”

With that, he removed his hand from your shoulder and walked ahead of you, disappearing through thick foliage on the opposite side of the meadow you two were traversing while you stood firmly in place.

What the hell was he even talking about?

Chapter Text

It was quite the somber sight — your once bustling neighborhood was now nothing more than a ghost town. As the evening drew close to midnight, its sky was nothing more than a black abyss. Thunderclouds blocked off the light of the moon, with the only source of illumination coming from your headlights and the seldom street lamp.

You applied pressure on the brakes, allowing yourself to slow down enough to effectively weave through the debris that littered the barren streets. As you drew closer to your apartment, the scene in front of you only grew more bothersome. Your neighborhood had been in bad shape since the Culling Games first started, so this was nothing new that you were bearing witness to. Regardless, it still struck a nerve to see your colorful, lively neighborhood be reduced to such a state.

Many of the surrounding buildings and homes were in ruins, with only an occasional one still intact. The area was completely evacuated. However, it seemed to remain a hotbed for cursed spirits. You could sense hundreds, if not thousands, within just a couple of kilometers. Albeit most of them seemed to be incredibly weak.

You cut your eyes over to Sukuna, who was crammed into the passenger’s side of your car. His seat was reclined partially. Otherwise, he’d have to duck to avoid hitting his head on the roof. Two upper arms were folded across his chest as his two lower ones rested in his lap.

Both of his legs were ramming into the dash despite the seat being fully pushed back, and he was shoving the left side of his body into the door to avoid intruding across the center console into your space. It was likely not out of consideration for your comfort, but more so he truly did not want to interact with you if it was avoidable.

Sukuna’s head was angled toward the window, with all four eyes gazing out of it. Every time he had been in your car so far, his discomfort was obvious, though you knew he’d never voice it. This current world was not built for someone like him.

Then again, was it ever?

As far as sorcery goes, Sukuna was the ideal being. He possessed both exceptionally large amounts of cursed energy and the capability to wield it with razor-sharp precision. However, even if he did not have that, he still would be a force to be reckoned with.

His sorcery abilities were unfettered largely in part to his remarkable physical form. A second set of eyes gave him enhanced perception, while two extra arms allowed him to weave hand signs more efficiently. Plus, an extra mouth afforded him more opportunities to chant incantations. It was as if he was specially evolved to be an unsurpassable sorcerer.

Without a doubt, his body gave him advantages in fighting that no other human would ever be able to achieve. In the world of jujutsu, Sukuna was perfect.

But what of the world outside it? The parts of one’s world where sorcery did not matter — the parts where one just existed. How had Sukuna fit into that world in his previous life?

You snapped your head back to the road in front of you before giving it a soft shake to rid your mind of such a ridiculous question. He was your enemy and, upon finding the divine weapons, would soon become your opponent as well. There was no room to offer a being such as him any empathy, no matter how fleeting the thought may be.

Ryomen Sukuna was considered to be the most vile, evil human to ever walk this planet. He was cruel and sadistic. Bound by no code of honor and lacking absolutely any morals, he lived solely only for himself. Upon returning home, you would plot out a new course in your hunt for the weapons, and once acquired, you would rid this world of him once and for all. You’d allow yourself just one month to do so.

A familiar building began to come into your sight. Just five stories tall and made from concrete, it was simple. No frills or amenities, just basic and reasonably priced apartments. Regardless, it was your home, and considering everything you had been through the past few days, you had never been happier at the sight.

You pulled into your usual spot on the side of the street and shifted into park. Reaching behind you, you grabbed your bag before swinging the door open and jumping out. The lights at the bottom of the stairwell were lit, which meant your building still had electricity.

Excellent.

Wasting no time, you quickly ascended the stairs all the way to the fifth floor, where your apartment was. The wind was beginning to pick up as you fumbled with your keys in the breezeway. Slipping the key into the lock, you turned it counterclockwise and pushed the door open. Holding the door open with one hand, you ran the other across the wall until it settled on the light switch.

You kicked your boots off to the left of the door and immediately entered the kitchen. As much as you wanted to shower and change into clean clothes, cooking came first. You had been five days without a decent meal, and it was at the forefront of your mind.

With a soft thud, you let your backpack fall from your hand onto the tile floor. You pushed it aside with your foot before sliding your keys across the granite countertop.

Making your way to the refrigerator, you bent down, reaching for the handle on the bottom drawer. You pulled the freezer door open and began examining the contents, seeing what your options were. It was limited, as you knew you’d be on the road and hadn’t been shopping since you had been assigned your mission.

An unopened bag of frozen tuna steaks, a singular salmon fillet, and four packages of steak were all that awaited you. The tuna would likely take the least amount of time to prepare a meal out of, so you grabbed onto the plastic bag and lifted it up.

The front door could be heard slamming shut, and within an instant, you could feel two sets of eyes on you. Glancing up, you saw Sukuna standing opposite you, with his arms crossed.

Right.

You still had him to deal with.

You glanced down at the frozen tuna in your hands. Usually it would be non-negotiable to prepare a meal for a guest staying in your house, but he was no ordinary guest. If he could even be considered a guest at all. Something like basic hospitality should be completely off the table. He absolutely didn’t deserve it.

However, there was one issue that could arise. Even if Sukuna did not have to eat for survival, he ate for pleasure. He was bound to desire something to eat at some point during his stay here, which meant he’d seek it out on his own. You knew what kind of vile appetite he had, and although there wasn’t a human within multiple kilometers, he might still make the trek to find one.

Perhaps if you could sate his hunger before it fully develops, you could avoid something like that happening. But what could you offer him that he’d be willing to eat?

You scrunched your nose in annoyance.

What a pain in the ass.

“Woman,” he grumbled. “What the hell are you doing?”

You finally looked back up at Sukuna, and it was the first time you had actually looked at him in hours. Every time had been nothing more than a fleeting glance, but studying his face now underneath the fluorescent kitchen lights, his exhaustion was apparent. His stare was blank and almost unfocused while his shoulders slightly drooped into a lazy posture.

Strange.

You knew his behavior had been off throughout your short time together, but you didn’t realize the extent of it. Something was off with him, you knew that much. Even though you hadn’t personally met Sukuna before your unfortunate encounter just a few days prior, you knew enough about him to know he’s been acting uncharacteristically the entire time.

While he’s been aggressive and cruel towards you, he’s also been a lot easier to deal with than you could’ve ever imagined. You had mainly chalked it up to him being stuck in a vow that ensures he cannot harm you and possibly a change in his personality due to his brush with death. But what if there’s something else you’re missing entirely?

“I’m making something to eat, and I plan to make enough for the both of us. If you want to partake, then you’re welcome to do so.”

“What makes you think I want to eat your shitty fucking food?” His empty expression quickly twisted into a scowl.

A sigh escaped your lips as you dropped the bag of tuna back into the freezer. He was really going to make such a simple task impossible. “Well, don’t. That just means there’ll be more for me, so I won’t complain.”

He scoffed before you could even finish getting the words out of your mouth. “And what was it you thought was even worthy of offering to me?”

“I don’t know,” you replied truthfully, throwing both your hands up in exasperation. “I do not know what I’m making yet. Think about it if you want, or not. I really do not care.”

A second scoff.

You looked back down into the freezer at what you had to offer him. There was a large chance he wouldn’t eat no matter what you served him. However, if there was a way you could possibly prevent him from harming any humans, you’d try anyways.

He seemed to like the beef jerky he stole from you earlier, and you knew Uraume had served him roasted boar a couple of nights prior. The steaks were probably your best bet. If he did decide to eat what you made, he’d probably eat a vast amount of it. You imagined he had an appetite as large as his terrible fucking attitude.

You reached for the packages of steak. Each one contained three individual steaks, so if you cooked two packages, you could feed him five and eat one yourself. Hopefully that would be enough.

You stood up and walked over to the sink, setting both packages to the side. Sukuna’s eyes burned into you as you sliced into the packages and pulled out the frozen meat before setting them in a large bowl of water to help them thaw.

“It’ll likely be an hour or so before it’s ready,” you informed him as you turned back around, pulling a rice cooker out from one of the bottom cabinets. “If you’d like, you can go clean yourself up. I have a tub large enough to comfortably fit you, and I know it’s been a while since either of us bathed.”

You set the rice cooker on the counter and plugged it in. Glancing over your shoulder, your eyes met his as he just stood there glowering at you.

“Or not. Do whatever you want. It’s just an offer while we have access to running water.” You reached up into one of the top cabinets and pulled down a bag of rice and an unopened bottle of mirin. “But if you do decide to bathe and want me to wash your clothes, leave them outside the bathroom door, and I’ll stick them in the washer while you soak.”

Nothing but silence.

You continued your task of prepping dinner as you finished rinsing and putting the rice in the cooker. You opened the fridge to pull out a few more ingredients.

Steak donburi is what you had settled on to make. It was a fairly quick meal and loaded with protein, so maybe, just maybe, it would be up to his standards. You weren’t even sure if he’d eat the rice, but you assumed he’d at least try the steak and the egg.

After a few minutes of glaring at you in silence, you could finally hear Sukuna stomp away in retreat, and soon after, the sounds of a slamming door and running water followed.

“Thank god,” you muttered under your breath. He acted more like a petulant pest than the King of Curses.

You made your way over to the bathroom, and right outside the door was a black haori and a matching pair of pants. Scooping them up, you walked back towards the front of the apartment. In the front entryway, a small washing machine and dryer were tucked away behind a pair of folding wooden doors.

Shoving them in the washing machine, you poured in some soap and pressed start on the cycle. As soon as they finish, you’ll just use your cursed technique to dry them rather than use the dryer so Sukuna wouldn’t have to wait.

You shouldn’t even be doing his laundry at all, but they were the only clothes he had, and frankly, you didn’t want him sleeping on your furniture in them. It had been five days since you had last bathed, and it had likely been even longer for him. He didn’t appear to be someone with bad personal hygiene, but he more so just hasn’t had the proper facilities to do so.

You could hear the sound of water cease as you headed back towards the kitchen to get started on the steak, and you could hopefully pull something together that would be enough to satisfy Sukuna.

                      —————————

The water had long gone cold since Sukuna stepped into the bath, but regardless, it still felt good on his body. His head was leaned against the wall behind the tub, with all four of his arms resting along the sides. You were right — he did comfortably fit into the tub. It had been a long time since he was able to relax like this.

A pair of footsteps could be heard just outside the door, followed by a soft plop. It was likely his now-cleaned clothes being brought back to him. The footsteps softly retreated, and the second he was sure that you were gone, Sukuna sat up and reached down towards the drain to lift up the plug.

As much as his muscles longed to continue soaking, an aroma wafted throughout the apartment and smelled of freshly roasted meat. He originally had no desire to even try whatever pitiful excuse of a meal you would attempt to serve him. However, he supposed it wouldn’t kill him to give it a try. Even if it was nothing more than an excuse for him to further berate you.

As soon as the water began draining, Sukuna pushed himself up to his feet and stepped over the edge of the tub onto the tile floor. A single gray towel laid across the counter next to the sink, although it was unfolded and likely used. He brought it up to his face and took a large whiff. The right side of his upper lip immediately curled into a sneer. It reeked of you.

Disgusting.

Sukuna tossed it over his shoulder, and a soft sound could be heard as it collided with something behind him. The fact you even possessed the nerve to imply he needed to bathe was astounding. Whether it was true or not was irrelevant. Usually he would never tolerate such impertinence, and if it had been anyone else who had said such a thing, it would’ve been the last words they ever spoke.

That goddamn vow.

Although he supposed it really didn’t matter. Soon, you’ll be suffering a fate far worse than your minuscule brain could ever comprehend. The thought alone was enough to bring a brief smile to his lips.

He reached down to the cabinet underneath your sink and yanked open one of the doors to reveal a stack of neatly folded and presumably clean towels. Pulling one out, he started atop his head and began vigorously rubbing the fabric against his wet hair. He then slowly moved onto his face and his torso, allowing the cotton to absorb the dampness from his skin before finishing off the lower half of his body.

Now fully dry, he made his way over to the door to see his freshly washed clothes lying in a folded pile right outside. He slipped on his pants and haori before following the tempting scent back to its source.

Sukuna had been correct, and it was the scent of roasted meat. He leaned against the wall and observed as you were slightly bent over the kitchen counter, a knife in one of your hands diligently slicing through a chunk of meat, while the other hand held it in place. As soon as you finished the first piece, you moved on to a second.

The outside appeared to be charred, giving it a deep brown crust on its edges, while the inside was a reddish hue. A bright, scarlet liquid seeped from the center. At least a moron like you had enough common sense to prepare him some sort of red meat.

“Have you decided whether you want some or not?” You inquired, never once looking up as you pushed the second now-sliced hunk of meat to the side and reached for a third.

“I suppose I’ll indulge. I do look forward to seeing what else you can pathetically fail at.”

With a click of your tongue, you briefly cut your eyes over to him before returning them to your task at hand.

You thought you were difficult to read, and to most people you probably were. However, Sukuna was not like others, and even being as idiotic as you were, you should’ve realized that by now. You could play aloof all you desired. He was still able to peer through the cracks of the feelings you regularly tried to repress.

Emotions often act as a catalyst for exposing one’s weaknesses. Unfortunately, you seemed to possess the ability to quickly regain control of yours. Even after your draining fight with that cursed spirit, you had gotten ahold of your anger before it began to spiral. It was a sign of a decent mental fortitude.

No matter, he’d still find a way to wear you down bit by bit. If he could not physically control you, he needed to find a way to do so mentally. He would patiently chip away at your exterior as he awaited Uraume to return with Tatsumaki, and in time, whatever lies beneath the surface will be laid bare for him to see. All he desires will finally be his for the taking.

Sukuna sauntered over to the wooden table in the center of your living room and lowered himself down as he awaited you to serve him. He dragged his fingers across the table in front of him. The surface was completely empty. In fact, besides furniture, your apartment was almost completely bare.

It was strange — most humans decorated their personal spaces according to their tastes or hobbies, but yours was completely void of anything of the sort. No pictures of family or friends graced the walls, and no forms of entertainment were to be spotted. It was like a blank slate.

Whenever you had first mentioned coming back here, he hoped he’d be able to gather more information on you just by observing where you lived. However, it wasn’t likely, judging by his current surroundings. He’d have to acquire what he wanted through different methods.

“It’s steak donburi,” you informed him as you made your way over with a bowl in each hand. You stretched out your left arm to place the bowl directly in front of him, and a pair of metal chopsticks clattered onto the table immediately after. “It’s nothing but rice, steak, a few seasonings, scallions, and eggs.”

Sukuna leaned over to inspect the meal in front of him. Short grains of fluffy, white rice were almost completely covered by thin strips of the meat you had sliced up. Two large amber yolks were perched atop, with the occasional green speck littering them.

You placed your bowl opposite Sukuna’s and lowered yourself down to the floor as well. Your portion was a similar size to his, except with only half the amount of meat and much more greenery.

He observed as you pushed your chopsticks into the yolks on top, allowing them to break and spread their gooey interiors throughout the dish. You carefully picked up a slice of the meat and some rice before bringing it to your mouth. Gentle, deliberate chews followed before you reached to pick up another piece.

Sukuna knew you were starving. You were unlike him, which meant your mortal body actually required sustenance to survive. For the past five days, you had lived off of small amounts of food, never once having a full meal. Despite the hunger you must feel, you still ate mindfully and leisurely. It was a show of self-restraint in a situation where one did not need to exhibit such behavior.

Interesting.

He looked down at his own food and finally reached towards his pair of chopsticks. It looked and smelled decent enough, he’d give you that much. Most modern food did not appeal to him in the slightest, but this he may just be able to stomach.

He lifted the bowl up with one hand and used another to pick up two slices of meat before bringing the chopsticks to his lips. Upon tasting it, he immediately clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes.

He loudly chewed and swallowed before hurriedly grabbing two more pieces of the meat, this time dipping them into one of the egg yolks and picking up a small amount of rice along with them.

“Is it tolerable enough for you?” Sukuna glanced up to be met with your inquisitive eyes. You seemed genuinely curious.

“Hardly,” he growled through gritted teeth. “I find myself barely able to choke it down.”

It was actually an adequate meal. No, it was more than adequate. But he’d sooner fucking die than ever tell you that.

The two of you briefly ate in silence, but it wasn’t long until Sukuna’s meal was devoured and he once again found himself feeling unsatisfied. He dropped the empty bowl, allowing it to clatter against the table and break the quiet atmosphere.

“More, now.”

With a gentle sigh, you reached outwards and lifted up his bowl. “Thankfully I anticipated you having a large appetite.”

You soon returned with his bowl replenished. However, this time your opposite hand carried two books in it, one of which he recognized as something you had discovered the night of your fateful meeting.

Setting his meal in front of him, you made your way back to your seat before opening the book he wasn’t aware of. You pulled out a singular folded piece of paper and opened it up, allowing it to spread across the table.

A map of Japan.

“This is where we are.” Your finger hovered over the star that was labeled as Tokyo.

You insolent brat.

“I know where Tokyo is on a fucking map,” Sukuna spat.

You completely disregarded his statement, allowing your finger to slowly trace further down. Another thing you often did that pissed him off.

One of his lower hands that rested by his side began tightly clenching into a fist, his knuckles turning a shade of white. This was not the first time you had ignored him, although if he could have his way, it would certainly be the last.

“Originally I had planned to start my journey at the northern part of the country and work my way down.” Your finger glided further down the map, beginning to near the southern coast before it came to a halt. “However, due to unforeseen circumstances, there will be a change of plans, and instead we’ll start in this area.”

Sukuna did not give a shit what the two of you did nor where you went on your pathetic little search. He just needed to keep you occupied and in one piece until he could get ahold of the wind weapon. He just grunted in acknowledgment and continued to eat the meal in front of him.

“There’s a bunch of abandoned towns in this area, so I’m sure we’ll be quick to find shelter and supplies. Plus there’s a bunch of locations to be searched just within a few hours of one another.” Your finger began to tap on a few different locations on the map, although he really paid no mind to exactly where they were. “We’ll be able to hit multiple within the same day and get through them faster.”

Sukuna knew you were impatient to cover more ground and finish your mission as fast as possible. You wanted to be free of this laborious task, and more importantly, him. However, slowing your search down was beneficial to him at the moment. While you were busily entwined in your hopeless quest, it allowed him more time to lay the groundwork for his scheme. But more so than anything else, stalling you gave him time to rest.

Forming this new body of his from cursed energy alone was utterly exhausting and had taken everything out of him. He had been hoping to be back to normal by now. However, his body was still desperately trying to recover from the strain he put on it. You somehow hadn’t realized it yet, but he was weakened in this state, and had you been able to pick up on it, there was a chance you could have finished him off during your first encounter.

How unfortunate it was for you to have already missed your only opportunity to complete your mission. Sukuna grew less fatigued by the day, and it won’t be much longer until his regeneration is fully completed.

You babbled on about your plans for the search, but he wasn’t paying attention. Rather, he finished the second portion of the meal and pushed the empty bowl to the side as he awaited your obnoxious rambling to cease.

After you finally shut your damned mouth, you carefully lifted up the map and refolded it neatly before setting the open book in front of him. Sukuna glanced down with one of his eyes and immediately straightened his posture, leaning forward at the sight that was now before him.

“Where did you get this?” He carefully reached down, his fingers caressing the worn pages.

Each page held a drawing of two weapons. On the left were two tantō blades, and on the right were two katanas. It looked like something had been written underneath each individual weapon, but the bottom parts of both pages had been ripped out. In the center, stretching across both pages, was a singular kanji, sanguine in color.

Divine.

That’s how you knew of the weapons.

“I stole this from the Gojo clan’s personal library years ago along with a few other books that contained information on the weapons.” Sukuna’s eyes immediately snapped up to you. “I was forced to return the others but managed to keep this one concealed.”

You claimed you were after the weapons as a way to successfully end Sukuna’s life, so why did you steal this book years prior to his incarnation?

You sat up on your knees and leaned across the table, pointing with your index finger at the pages. “Apparently the weapons each have individual names, but someone tore them out years ago.”

Sukuna ran his finger along the jagged edge where the fragile paper had been torn. That’s why you only referred to them as the divine weapons.

Kazan, the fire weapon. It was a katana and the largest of the four. The hilt was a vibrant red hue and adorned by delicate gold ornaments in the shape of flames that could be seen protruding from underneath the wraps. Its tsuba and blade were golden as well.

Tsuchi was the earth weapon and was also a katana. It was the plainest of the four weapons. The hilt was an emerald green, with the tsuba and blade both being silver. No intricate carvings or adorations could be found anywhere on it.

Suiryu was the formal name of the water weapon. The tantō’s blade itself was golden, while the hilt was wrapped with various hues of blue. Suiryu’s tsuba was not circular but instead shaped like a wave. It was the smallest of the four weapons.

And finally, Tatsumaki, the second tantō. The prize Sukuna was eager to get his hands on. It’s said to be the strongest of the four weapons. The blade along with the tsuba were both silver in color and carved with intricate designs, while the hilt was wrapped in lilac with silver adorations peeking through.

All four weapons possessed a unique ability, although Sukuna only knew what Tatsumaki and Suiryu were capable of. He knew significantly less about the katanas.

“How is it these weapons that allegedly have the power of a god exist, yet I’ve never heard of them despite living in an era close to their existence?” He cut his eyes up to you.

“They’re not talked about outside of the three major clans. Only members of the Gojo, Kamo, and Zenin families are allowed to know of their existence.”

Good. You really were clueless. He figured as much, but it never hurt to check.

“And you claim to be from a non-sorcerer family,” Sukuna drawled as he pushed the book back towards you. “Yet you know plenty about them.”

For a brief second he saw it. A fleeting look in your eyes that if one were to so much as blink, they’d miss it entirely. A look Sukuna couldn’t quite put a name on. Was it anger or sadness he saw? Perhaps even disgust. Maybe a mix of all three.

“It’s complicated,” you shrugged, pushing yourself to your feet. “And not really worth discussing.”

It may not have lasted long, but that momentary expression gave him what he was so restlessly searching for, a possible weakness he could exploit. Whether it was the mention of your family or the three big clans, he did not yet know. However, he’d find out soon enough who you were and what all you hid.

He couldn’t resist the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Nothing you’ve said since I met you has been worth discussing, yet I’m still charitable enough to listen. What’s one more useless story?”

You snatched the book up and gave him a polite smile, one that he knew killed you inside to force upon your face. “It’s late, and I believe we’re both tired. I need to go clean up and get some rest. Goodnight, Sukuna.”

Sukuna soon found himself alone after you made a quick exit, not even bothering to clear the dirty dinnerware from your table. He glanced over at the now-closed bedroom door you had escaped through, and a soft chuckle erupted from his throat.

It appeared you were already being pulled apart at the seams. He’d just be the one to fully unravel you.

Chapter Text

It was an inexplicable feeling. One you felt before and had hoped to never feel again. The feeling of an all-encompassing unease that took root in your abdomen and spread throughout your body like a fire. It infiltrated every corner of your body and quickly turned into one of pure despair.

Yes, you had felt exactly like this only once before. The night you had first met Ryomen Sukuna.

Over the past few days, you occasionally thought back to that day and how you had felt just prior to your encounter with him. A handful of times, you wondered if it had been some sort of ill omen — a warning of what unfortunate fate would befall you.

Here you were, a full week later, and once again feeling the same. Except this time, he wasn’t the source. Currently, he posed you no threat due to your mutual vow. So what exactly was filling you with such dread, if not him?

You wondered if the man trudging behind you could sense if something was off.

You glanced over your shoulder at the King of Curses. He looked utterly uninterested in his surroundings. That unusual blank stare stretched across his face once more.

The previous evening had been both the second and last night you spent at your apartment in Tokyo. You had woken him up before dawn broke and immediately headed south to continue your search for the divine weapons. This was just the first stop of the day.

“Sukuna,” you called out to him, your voice low. “Does something about this place feel strange to you?”

He spared you a glance from two of his eyes. “It feels like an old empty shrine.”

You returned your gaze to the hallway in front of you. The wooden floor was stained black, while the walls on either side of you were red in color. This was the largest shrine you had been to yet. There must’ve been over two dozen rooms, which was unusual. From the exterior it appeared to be a typical shrine, but once on the inside, the place felt more like it was constructed to be someone’s home than a place of worship.

Though it was gargantuan in size, every single room you had entered so far had been empty. Not a single piece of furniture or decor could be found in the vast building. Despite this, you could pick up on the faintest trace of cursed energy.

Once you had searched every room on either side of the corridor, you were left with one final door at the end. It was the room from which the cursed energy was radiating — that much you knew.

Reaching your hand out, you slid the door open in one swift movement, and your mouth went dry at the sight before you.

It was almost exactly like a scene you had witnessed just a week prior. A barren room except for one singular table against the opposite wall. Dark wood with intricate carvings spanning across its entirety and a lone, worn talisman resting atop.

The situation you found yourself in was far too similar to be a coincidence. This shrine had to have some sort of connection to the very first one you visited, where you had uncovered the illustration of the water weapon. You knew this much without having to explore further. However, that didn’t explain the feeling you carried deep within you.

You were quick to stride over to the piece of furniture, hands extended to snatch up the talisman. Almost identical to the one you had collected from the first shrine you visited, although the cursed energy emitting from it was different.

You lifted up the piece of paper, and as soon as you removed it, a sudden strong wave of cursed energy could be felt rising from the ground below you.

Could it be?

No. It was strong but not strong enough to be one of the divine weapons.

You shoved the furniture out of the way and lowered yourself onto the ground. Just like before, a single small indentation could be found on the wooden panels beneath you.

Footsteps could be heard making their way over towards you as the tips of your fingers slipped into the minuscule space. You pried up one of the boards to reveal part of a singular stone step.

You glanced up and over at Sukuna, who was now standing just a meter away from where you were kneeling. “Do you remember what I told you the night we met, about where I discovered the drawing of the weapon?”

He cut his eyes from the hole in the floor to you and narrowed them. “Nothing you’ve ever said has been worth remembering.”

A sigh fell from your lips. You knew he could likely recall what you had told him. He was just being a pain in the ass, per usual.

You began lifting the next three boards up, revealing more of the staircase. This one somehow managed to be far steeper than the first and appeared to lead further underground. Reaching into your back pocket, you fished out your phone to turn on your flashlight. Shining it down into the abyss, all that could be seen were the stairs with no end in sight.

With one last tug, you freed the final board and scooted over to the edge, maneuvering yourself down. Your left hand grabbed onto the wall for balance, while your right kept a firm grip on your phone.

You took a few more steps down before looking up at the opening above your head. Sukuna could technically fit down the staircase, although you assumed he’d likely stay put. You opened your mouth for a brief moment to call out to him and let him know you’d return shortly but instead promptly closed it. He couldn’t care less about what you were doing, and it’d be nothing more than a waste of breath.

You descended the staircase swiftly, although it was as you predicted, and this one was far deeper than the first shrine’s underground passage. As you grew further from the surface, the trail of cursed energy grew more pronounced.

A solid, level surface finally came into your line of vision as the walls around the staircase slowly began to widen. There was no narrow tunnel waiting at the bottom of this staircase, but instead it opened up into one giant chamber.

This place was different from the first, as far as appearances went. There were no shelves spanning the room, with no scrolls or aging books gracing the chamber. Instead, a single wooden chest sat in the middle of the room. It was old, the outside worn down by the passage of time. If the age of the shrine was anything to go by, whatever was inside was older than Sukuna himself.

Waves of cursed energy consistently pulsated outwards. Too strong to be just a talisman, it was likely a cursed tool or weapon of some sort, although you knew it was still far too weak to be one of the divine weapons.

You were quick to make your way to the chest, dropping to your knees in front of it and extending your right hand without a second thought. The decision to do so felt more unconscious, like your body was acting before your brain had a chance to catch up.

Brushing against the rugged wood, you moved your fingers toward the lid. A sudden pricking sensation caused you to softly recoil.

A splinter.

The sliver of wood protruding from your right index finger was large for a splinter. Regardless, you reached for it with your left hand and pinched it, pulling it from its confines within your skin. A small speck of blood rose to the surface, which you immediately wiped on your pants leg.

You grabbed onto the chest once again, this time allowing the tips of your fingers to carefully slip underneath the notches. There was no lock or latch you needed to undo, just a quick tug, and the ancient hinges were crying out as you pried the chest open.

A singular beige piece of cloth sat in the center of the interior, noticeably wrapped around something. You carefully picked it up, the fabric rough against your skin, and unwrapped it with haste.

Inside, a mirror no larger than your hand rested. It was circular and framed by a thin line of gold. The reflective surface itself was perfectly clear, without any sign of age. You flipped it over to reveal a lone kanji engraved into the back of it.

Deceit.

You gently traced the engraving with your fingertips. Its cursed energy was undeniable as you held it in your hands, although you were unsure what it did. You hadn’t heard of a cursed mirror during any of your research.

Flipping it back over to the reflective side, you gazed into it only to see yourself staring back. You tilted it at different angles, brought it closer towards you, just inches from your face, before extending it away from you. No matter how you looked at it, you couldn’t figure out what its purpose was.

“What are you doing?”

You jumped, startled by the sudden sound echoing throughout the chamber, before raising your eyes up to meet four crimson irises.

Sukuna. You were so engrossed with the cursed object you hadn’t even heard him come down here.

You looked back at the mirror one more time as you rose to your feet and extended it out towards him silently. Maybe he knew what the cursed tool was, and if not, perhaps he could figure it out.

“A looking glass of some sort,” he remarked as he took it from your hands, surprisingly careful in doing so. “So, this is where the cursed energy was emitting from.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“No,” his reply was curt as he rotated it around in a similar manner to how you had. His boredom was apparent as he immediately shoved it into your face, waiting for you to take it back. “You told me you were hunting for weapons that promised the power of a god, yet I stumble upon you playing with mirrors.”

You quickly snatched it from his hand. “I think it might be important.”

“It’s a fucking mirror,” he scoffed.

“It’s a cursed object.”

“There have been thousands of cursed objects throughout history. Do you think all of them were important?”

Your brows furrowed as you leaned down to grab the fabric it had been encased in. “Whatever, I’m taking it with me.”

Yet another scoff. “I don’t give a shit what you do.”

Your fingers carefully wrapped the mirror back up into the piece of cloth, securing it as tight as you could. Normally you would just stay here and try to figure out what exactly the cursed tool did, but you couldn’t shake the uneasiness within you.

“I want to head back to the car,” you informed him. Your mouth drew into a straight line as you unconsciously pulled in your bottom lip.

You quickly turned on your heels to begin heading back towards the steps. His lower right arm shot out, grabbing onto yours, and stopped you in your tracks.

“You seem more on edge than usual, sorcerer.” A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth as a taunting tone escaped him. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of this old shrine.”

You pulled your arm from his grip and allowed it to rejoin the other holding the mirror. Your gaze was still cast down at the cloth you clung tightly to. “I just don’t feel well, is all.”

Ascending the stairs was quick work compared to your descent, and soon enough you were climbing out of the passageway and back into the main building of the shrine. Sukuna’s footsteps could be heard somewhere behind you, although you wasted no time heading back towards your car. You had acquired a possible clue and were ready to leave.

You switched your phone’s flashlight off and opened your messages, sending a quick text to Satoru asking him if he was aware of any cursed mirrors. Thankfully, you had phone service at this shrine. With a quick click, you locked your phone and slid it into your back pocket.

Soon you were exiting the shrine’s front entrance. The sun from earlier was growing dimmer as dark clouds began littering the sky. It looked like it would soon storm.

How strange.

January was Japan’s driest month of the year, yet this was the third storm you had witnessed within the week. On top of everything, it had stormed the first night you met Sukuna. The night you had previously felt like this.

No.

The two shrines being related to one another was likely, but the weather had nothing to do with it. You were just on edge and being irrational.

You shook your head and pressed on towards your car. Thankfully, it wasn’t parked far and came into your sight quickly. Pulling your key fob out, you unlocked it and slid into the driver’s seat. Sukuna was somewhere behind you, you could sense him. However, he was taking his sweet time.

Another drop of blood had formed on your fingertip where the splinter had been, and you were quick to wipe it away.

Unwrapping the mirror, you brought it close to you again, this time examining it in the daylight. Twisting it over, its gold backing still managed to shine even with the sun’s heavily muted rays. You stared at the engraved kanji, tracing it over a few times with your fingertip.

Deceit.

You flipped it back over once more, this time your breath catching in your throat.

It wasn’t you staring back.

No.

It was you. Just you as a child.

You instinctively dropped the mirror at the sight, and it fell into your lap as you brought your hands up to your face for a brief moment.

What the hell was that?

You reached for it once again. However, this time, the reflection was normal. It was you, the current you, that you saw.

“Surprised by how ugly you are?”

You flinched at the sonorous voice.

Sukuna.

He stood just a couple of meters from your open driver’s side door. His upper arms were tightly folded across his chest while his two lower arms rested by his sides.

When did he get here, and how much had he seen?

“This is the second time today I’ve startled you so easily,” he drawled as he drew closer to you. “Are you going to lie to me again, or are you going to tell me what’s got you so on edge?”

You began wrapping the mirror back in the fabric. He didn’t need to know about what you saw in the mirror, at least not until you could figure out more about what it does.

“Truth be told, I’m unsure.” You opened the center console and carefully placed the cursed object down in there before cutting your eyes up to his. “I’ve felt uneasy since we got here.”

Reaching towards one of your cup holders, you grabbed the pack of cigarettes sitting in there and pulled one out, bringing it up to your lips. “It’s hard to describe, although I keep saying it’s uneasiness, I guess you could say it’s more of a dreadful feeling.”

Your fingers pushed down on the little metal wheel, allowing the lighter to ignite your cigarette. “I’ve only felt this feeling once before, and that was the night I met you.”

“There’s a cursed spirit nearby,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Its energy is probably causing you to feel this way.”

“What?”

“I said, there’s a cursed spirit close to us. Do you need me to spell it out for you?” He sneered.

“I don’t understand.” You took a long drag, prompting smoke to swirl out from both your nostrils and your lips. “I’ve encountered many cursed spirits, and none of them filled me with such a terrible feeling.”

“It’s a strong curse, likely far stronger than the one you fought a few days ago,” he shrugged.

Hachi. The eighth.

You had thought about that curse once or twice since your battle. It had promised the two of you would meet again and that you would face a terrible reckoning for what had transpired. You didn’t think much of it, as Sukuna’s cursed energy was flooding through you at the time with little resistance and had been causing you immense pain. It didn’t matter now, as the curse was long gone and would unlikely ever cross your path again. Regardless, it was still such a strange interaction. Though, you could say the past week as a whole has been strange.

Taking another drag off your cigarette, you glanced down at your now-closed center console that housed the mirror. It seems you’ve yet again found yourself with more questions than answers.

Your first priority now was to find a place you and Sukuna could both rest. There were plenty of abandoned towns and villages nearby. You might be able to find one with power still. Once that’s done, you could try to examine the mirror further and hopefully find out what you had just seen in its reflection.

Whatever cursed spirits were lurking nearby likely wouldn’t cause too much of an issue as long as you stuck close to Sukuna. While you carried a powerful technique, its usage against curses was far more limited than against other humans. However, there wasn’t a single curse that could best Sukuna in a fight, and as far as you knew, he still needed you alive for something.

Taking one final drag, you dropped the cigarette in a makeshift ashtray before looking up at Sukuna. “Let’s go. We’re going to try to find a place for us to stay.”

He made his way over to the passenger door and climbed in. Slipping the key into the ignition, you rotated it clockwise and started the engine. Suddenly, goosebumps spread across your entire body. A similar feeling, but this time it was almost different.

As if there were a pair of eyes on you.

You glanced out your driver’s side window one last time. Sukuna had told you it was a cursed spirit, which could be true. However, you knew it couldn’t be too close in proximity. Otherwise he would’ve likely engaged it in battle by now.

So, why was it that all of a sudden, you felt like you were being watched?

Chapter Text

Your feet carried you across the tatami flooring, an almost finished cigarette in your hand. You and Sukuna had found yourselves in an onsen town near the southern coast. It was just two hours shy of the shrine you had visited yesterday and was the first town you came across that managed to still have electricity.

Just by looking at it, you could tell it was a lively tourist destination before the Culling Games had forced a mass evacuation on the southern half of the nation. The now-barren streets were littered with small cafés and souvenir shops, but the real star of the place was the ryokan you discovered.

At just six guest rooms, it was a rather small inn, but regardless, it was luxurious. It provided you and Sukuna with enough space where you weren’t in contact with one another constantly but allowed close enough proximity where he’d ward off any powerful cursed spirits that could come near you.

The place you were staying was nearby multiple other locations you could search for clues, had a kitchen with some salvageable ingredients, and, above all else, a private onsen that you planned to take full advantage of.

You reached out and slid the door open, allowing the January air to brush against your cheeks. It wasn’t terribly cold this far south, but it still carried a slight chill with it. You sauntered over to the hot spring. It was decently sized and surrounded by a vast array of stones and lush greenery. The scene truly looked like something out of some extravagant travel magazine.

Bringing your left hand up to your mouth, you took one last drag of the cigarette before putting it out in a makeshift ashtray. You allowed the cotton yukata you donned to effortlessly fall to the ground and made your way down the bamboo steps leading down into the onsen.

Warm water slowly crept up your body as you descended into the pool. You had been here just over twenty-four hours, and the majority of the time you had spent toying with the mirror. Not once had it shown you anything other than your normal reflection. Its purpose and the strange, fleeting image it had shown yesterday remained a mystery.

Satoru Gojo had replied to your text yesterday evening to inform you that he had no knowledge of such a cursed tool but would try to find something out. However, you weren’t going to hold your breath. You doubted he would be able to unearth anything on it, and if he did, it would likely take far longer than you were willing to wait.

You had already scoured the old book you stole from the Gojo clan’s private library long ago as well as the illustration you found at the first shrine. Both attempts at discovering more were in vain as you kept coming up empty-handed. Currently, the only two clues you had were the brief reflection of your childhood self and the engraved kanji on the back of it, which read deceit. There had to be something you were missing.

Sukuna was absolutely no help, which was expected. He had holed himself up inside one of the rooms as soon as the two of you arrived, and you hadn’t seen him since. Not that you were complaining — any amount of time without him was welcomed with open arms. However, you found it frustrating that he was the one who forced you into this pact and bound the two of you together, only to do basically nothing since then.

He almost seemed like he was intentionally slowing you down at this point, which was possible, but you hadn’t a single clue why he would do so. You were yet to find out what his endgame was, and that was yet another answer that felt impossible to find.

There was also still the issue of how his cursed energy affected you. While it hadn’t been much of a problem the past couple of days, as you’ve avoided angering him so his cursed energy output was fairly low, it still didn’t make any sense. You thought the situation over quite a bit and had gone back and forth on whether he was intentionally doing it or not.

At first, you were almost fully convinced that he was purposefully using his cursed energy to infiltrate your body for some unknown reason. However, it only ever occurs whenever his emotions rapidly rise. Sukuna could certainly change his cursed energy output anytime he wanted, so if he was actually trying to harm you that way, he wouldn’t need to do so in a fit of rage. As it stood, it seemed as if not only was he not doing it, but he didn’t know it was happening at all.

You stretched your arms out and set them on the stone behind you and leaned your head back, your gaze settling on the night sky above you. It was remarkably clear out, and the stars were brighter than you had ever seen them.

A soft sigh tumbled from your lips as your eyes fluttered shut. Multiple problems ate away at you, and too many questions were left unanswered. It felt like every step forward was two steps back. Solving the issue of the mirror would come first. You truly believed it could be beneficial to your search in some way. Once you completed that, everything else would come after.

You continued to bask in the hot spring, allowing its warmth to consume you and provide you with a much-needed moment of peace. As you soaked, yesterday’s events replayed over in your mind more times than you could count.

A sudden sound from inside the building pulled you from your thoughts, and you quickly opened your eyes, glancing towards the inn. Sukuna was rambling around in his room. It was the first sound you had heard from him at all in over a day.

You needed to get out and get dressed in case he started to explore the property more. Him stumbling upon you soaking was not an encounter you wanted to have. You made your way out of the onsen and reached towards a stack of towels by the doors. After using it to dry your body, you wrapped it tightly around you and made your way back into your room.

The sliding of a door and footsteps could be heard, but thankfully they were heading away from you. You opened the closet and reached towards a fresh yukata. Composed of soft linen and alabaster in color, it was a simple yet delicate piece of clothing. You slid your arms through and wrapped the front around before grabbing a matching obi.

It was common for ryokans to provide guests with yukatas and kimonos to wear during their stay. Wearing them while you were out searching for the weapons would be highly impractical, but they were perfect for whenever you were staying at the inn.

The sound of footsteps could be heard once again, as well as a door opening and closing. Sukuna had already returned back to his room after just a couple of minutes. You had no idea what he had been doing for the past twenty-four hours in the slightest, but you imagined it hadn’t been much, considering how silent he had been the entire time.

You slid the closet door closed and headed towards your futon in the center of the room. The mirror rested on the floor next to it, along with both books. Lowering yourself onto the futon, you reached for the book you found in the first shrine you visited.

Flipping through the pages, you finally settled on the drawing in the center of the book. A mysterious man, illuminated by the moon and bloodied from battle, gripping a tantō in his right hand. You gently traced your fingertips over the kanji scribbled at the bottom of the page.

Divine.

It had now been just over a week since that fateful night you met Sukuna and found this book. You must’ve stared at the art before you at least a hundred times over since then.

Only the three major clans possessed knowledge of the divine weapons. It was an unspoken law of the sorcerer society, and one that had been strictly followed for over a millennium. You were just an anomaly — someone who was shown something forbidden and accidentally acquired knowledge beyond what was allowed.

All three of the clans had various documents and books pertaining to the weapons, but much of it was incomplete. Just scraps of knowledge pieced together that led to absolutely nothing. In the current age, it was more for a historical record than anything else.

Throughout history, all of the clans had conducted their own searches for the weapons. Whenever the scales would shift too far in one direction, whatever clans found themselves at the bottom would seek out in a desperate hunt with hopes of acquiring an otherworldly power. Time and time again they would come up empty-handed with nothing to show for it but wasted time and resources that could’ve been spent elsewhere. Eventually, those who were told of the weapons grew to believe they were nothing more than folklore.

As far as you knew, the book in front of you now was the only record of the weapons that did not belong to the three head families. Had this been found earlier, before the sorcerer world was flipped onto its head, it would’ve been monumental and likely ignited a new interest in the divine weapons among the clans. However, none of that mattered now. It was up to you, and you alone, to uncover their whereabouts and use them for the sake of the world.

It was strange. Such a large book to only contain a small amount of information. The majority of the pages were completely blank, and what it did contain was in the middle of the book, not at the front. It was like something else had once been written in it, only to have been erased.

You flipped the pages back to study the lone kanji that came just before the drawing. Stretching from edge to edge, it took up the entire page.

Prophecy.

You slipped your finger underneath the page to return back to your previous spot whenever the edge of the paper sliced across the tip of your right index finger.

A paper cut.

And on the same finger you had gotten the splinter in yesterday. At least, the paper cut wouldn’t bleed.

A sudden realization washed over you as you cut your eyes down to your finger.

Blood.

Your finger had been actively bleeding whenever the image appeared on the mirror. Immediately, you rose to your feet and rushed over to your backpack. You dug through it, tossing out random items you had packed onto the floor until you came across what you needed to test your theory, a pocket knife.

You made your way back to the mirror and knelt down next to it. Taking the knife into your right hand, you lifted up your left and softly slid it across the tip of your middle finger. It was a shallow cut, but enough to allow blood to begin welling up on the surface.

Reaching down, you carefully grabbed onto the mirror and raised it up, placing your bleeding finger onto the back of it where the kanji was engraved.

A strong wave of cursed energy surged from the mirror, and immediately the reflection shifted, the same childlike version of you from the previous day now staring back. What the image meant you weren’t exactly sure, though a few theories began to take root in your mind.

The reflection was short-lived and, within just a few seconds, completely disappeared. You flipped the looking glass over, only to see that your finger was no longer bleeding, and there was no blood anywhere to be found. It had completely absorbed it.

So, blood was not only the key, but in order to work, the mirror required a constant supply of it. There was something you wanted to attempt with the cursed tool, but you still didn’t know the extent of its power yet. The cursed energy it had emitted was already strong on an inconsiderable amount of blood. You weren’t sure what exactly would happen if you fed it more.

You needed to be cautious and take precautions with what you were about to attempt. There were things you needed to do first in order to prepare should anything go south. You rose to your feet, bringing both the book and the mirror along with you, and set off to prepare for the ritual you would soon perform.

—————————

It had been perfectly silent for well over an hour. You were up to something. Sukuna knew that much.

Since the two of you arrived at the inn, he had spent the majority of his time resting and trying to recover his strength. He was starting to feel more like himself, and with every day that passed, he continued to grow stronger. If one had to guess, it would likely only be three or four more days until this new body, his body, was fully regenerated.

You, on the other hand, had hardly slept at all. He’d occasionally wake from his slumber to reposition only to hear the constant sounds of you moving about. You had been completely restless, and he assumed it was over the cursed object you discovered in yesterday’s shrine.

Sukuna’s suspicions were soon confirmed whenever the mirror exuded a wave of cursed energy, and the sound of you traversing the property, searching for something, followed. Soon after, he was met with pure silence. If it weren’t for the fact you were currently using your cursed technique, he would’ve assumed you fell asleep.

The amount of cursed energy you were releasing was rather small, so whatever you were doing with your technique seemed to be a mundane task. Regardless, he found his interest to be piqued.

Sukuna made his way out of his room and followed the trail of your energy. It led him down the hallway and towards the courtyard behind the inn. He reached out, sliding the door open, only to reveal you sitting on your knees, perched atop a patch of grass.

You were completely encircled by dozens of talismans that looked as if you had drawn them up yourself. An off-white yukata loosely draped across your body as you held one of them in your hands. Your fingers gently grazed the top, depositing small amounts of your cursed energy into it before setting it to the side, allowing it to join the others. Beside you in the circle was a knife, the cursed mirror, and the book you had discovered the night the two of you met.

He leaned against the doorframe, examining you as you continued your task at hand, never once lifting your head to acknowledge him. Either you were so entranced by what you were doing that you didn’t notice him, or you felt his presence and didn’t care enough to pay him any mind.

“Sorcerer, what the hell are you doing?”

Your eyes were fixed on yet another talisman. “I want to test something out.”

Sukuna’s face instinctively twisted into a scowl at your vague answer. He walked over to where you were standing. Upper arms crossed, he stood just inches from you, staring down at whatever your pathetic little project was. “You will look at me whenever I’m speaking to you.”

Your lips slightly parted to allow a soft sigh to escape as you tilted your head back to return his gaze. “I can get the mirror to work now, but I wasn’t sure what it’s fully capable of, so I wanted to take some precautions is all.”

He rolled two of his eyes. You were such a fucking loser. “Are you so frightened by an old mirror that you have to go to such extreme lengths?”

“I suppose one could say being overly cautious is just in my nature,” you mindlessly mumbled as you diverted your stare back downwards to finish what you were working on.

“And what is it exactly that you think the cursed object does?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” you replied, repeating the same process of allowing cursed energy to pool in your fingertips before depositing it in the symbols onto the thin piece of paper you had picked up. “However, if I had to guess, I think it reveals deception.”

Setting the talisman down, instead of picking up another, you began weaving hand signs in rapid succession. Sukuna counted a total of eight different signs. However, only five were familiar to him, the other three were a complete mystery. You repeated the sequence four times before a burst of cursed energy flared upwards, surrounding both you and the cursed object next to you.

He reached his hand out towards the thin blue veil that now surrounded you, only for it to be immediately shoved back upon contact.

A barrier.

No, not a normal barrier, but one that you had reinforced with your own cursed energy. Its purpose was likely to serve as some sort of seal. A barrier like this would be considered a more advanced level of sorcery, especially being able to push back Sukuna’s own energy with force. He was almost impressed someone as worthless as you could pull off such a feat.

“The mirror showed you something yesterday afternoon.” While he hadn’t been close enough to your car to catch a glimpse of whatever it was you saw, the look on your face had been one of absolute horror.

You pulled the cursed tool directly in front of you and flipped it over to reveal its backside. “Yes, it did. It showed me a reflection of myself as a child.”

Reaching over to grab the knife and the book, you placed one on each side of the mirror. Once they were aligned in front of you, you lifted your gaze back to him once more. “And while I hold a theory that it reveals deceptions, I may be wrong. For all I know, something sinister could be sealed within this cursed object.”

Sukuna threw his head back as a loud laugh rumbled from deep within his chest. You really were the most idiotic human he’s ever encountered. “You were so petrified by an image of you as a child that you built this elaborate barrier.”

The corners of your mouth slightly dipped downwards, and for a brief moment, you almost looked taken aback.

He walked over to a nearby rock before lowering himself down onto it, his cackling finally ceasing. “Do you realize just how fucking pathetic you are? It’s truly laughable.”

You said nothing else to him and instead reached for the book in front of you, opening it up. He had seen it once before immediately following your first encounter with him. It was almost completely empty except for one drawing of a man holding the water weapon and two words, prophecy and divine.

The page you opened to was completely blank, and Sukuna pieced it together almost instantly. You thought activating the mirror would allow you to read the pages that appeared to be empty. It was a theory worth entertaining. Based off of what you told him about your experience at the shrine where you met, the one from yesterday was remarkably similar. He could see how you arrived at such a conclusion, but would it actually work?

He unconsciously leaned forward where he sat, resting his upper left elbow on his thigh and leaning his head against it. You picked up the knife with your right hand and opened the palm of your left.

So the looking glass required human blood to work.

“And if this mirror does uncover deceptions, what exactly does that have to do with the book you found?”

Of course, he already knew the answer, but he wanted you to have to explain it yourself. Being able to pull back the curtain on how your mind worked and pick apart your words one by one provided him with more insight on you, and would ultimately give him a larger hold on you in the end.

You were a strange person, guarded and overly paranoid. He wasn’t able to just simply observe you like he’d be able to with most humans, so he had to pull back each layer slowly and deliberately.

“Deceit takes many forms,” you said, bringing the knife to your skin. “Outright lying is just one.”

You brought your gaze up to him and pressed down. The sharp tip began piercing through the palm of your hand. “Withholding information is another form.”

The cut was fairly shallow and only allowed a small amount of blood to rise to the surface. You pressed it onto the back of the mirror, and instantly it began absorbing into the engraved kanji. A wave of cursed energy emitted from it, and you immediately flipped it right side up. You held it at an angle next to the book, and while he couldn’t see the reflective surface, the small smile forming on your face told Sukuna everything he needed to know.

It worked.

Within just a few seconds, the blood you had given the looking glass was already completely absorbed. You were noticeably unsurprised by this as you set the mirror back down and picked up the knife once more.

“Very well, but what does that have to do with it showing you an image of yourself as a child?”

You froze. It was brief, and you recovered yourself almost instantly, but Sukuna caught it. Within that moment, your eyes held the same exact look they did whenever he had inquired about your family a few nights prior. It was a fleeting emotion they held, one he couldn’t fully discern, but it’s what he had been looking for — a weakness of yours he could exploit.

No response was offered. Instead, you pressed the knife back to your hand, just above the first wound. The blade sliced through your flesh, this time with far more pressure and depth. Streams of sanguine began to pour from the site and ran down your wrist, soaking the white sleeves of your yukata.

Your eyes were glassy, likely from the sting of the cut, and reflected the light of the moon as you knelt there, feeding your blood to the cursed tool in front of you. Strong surges of energy rushed from it as you held the mirror back up to the empty pages.

Sukuna watched as your eyes moved side to side, and you’d occasionally adjust your positioning. He involuntarily licked his lips as his gaze fell to the blood now dripping down your forearm.

He was hungry.

No. Ravenous.

His eyes began darkening, and he grew restless at the sight in front of him.

No.

He would settle for something else for now. There were plans already set in motion, and he needed you to fulfill them. He was bound by that goddamned vow anyways. Afterwards is whenever he’d finally get a taste.

Sukuna was pulled from his thoughts as you set down the mirror and began to slice at one of your sleeves. A clean-cut piece of fabric fell, and you instantly began wrapping it around the wound on your hand.

He chuckled under his breath. You figured he wouldn’t be willing to heal you and didn’t want to push your luck with the cut.

“Well, what did it say?” He barked out, causing you to flinch in surprise.

You kept your eyes on the fabric, pulling it until it was taut. “ Suiryu. ”

Sukuna’s mouth instantly went dry at the name that tumbled off your tongue. He was thankful your eyes weren’t on him, because his reaction was hardly contained.

“Suiryu is the name of the water weapon,” your voice betrayed your giddiness as you moved the talismans, breaking the barrier that held you in.

You quietly stood up, collected your things, holding them with your right arm, and began to head back inside. The second you attempted to stroll past him, he was on his feet and behind you before you could even react. His lower right hand reached out, grabbing onto you and pulling you into him.

A small gasp escaped your lips as your back collided with his abdomen. He snaked his hand upwards, allowing it to rest along the base of your neck, and he used it to pull you in as close as he possibly could.

Your body was rigid, and he didn’t need to see your face to know you were nervous at the sudden contact. Sukuna’s grip was firm, not hard enough to harm you, but just tight enough to make you wonder if maybe he had found a loophole to the vow you two shared.

His lower left hand lifted yours and supported it while his upper left hand pulled at the makeshift bandage you had just wrapped around yourself and let it fall to the ground.

“There’s something I want you to do for me,” he drawled, softly pressing his fingertips onto the wound and allowing his positive energy to soak into it. A soft, white light could be seen as the cut slowly began to close itself. “And until then, you will keep yourself in one piece.”

While you didn’t know exactly what his plans were, he knew that you were aware he had ulterior motives for accompanying you on this journey.

His upper right hand reached for your chin, pulling it upwards and to the side, allowing your gaze to connect with his. “I told you that you will fucking look at me when I’m speaking to you.”

You just swallowed in response.

“Tell me you understand!” He demanded, tightening his grip on both your chin and neck.

“You’re different tonight,” was all you whispered back, your eyes searching his.

He just laughed in response. You were finally starting to piece it together. It’s a shame it took you this long. Had you noticed sooner how weak he had truly been, you would’ve saved yourself from a lot of pain and suffering down the road.

Sukuna released his grip on you and stepped back. Without another word, you scurried inside, your head down the entire way. He watched as you quickly opened and shut the door, likely hurrying towards your room and as far away from him as you could safely get.

A grin flashed across his face. You’d find out soon enough.

Chapter Text

Drinking in your state had definitely been a questionable idea. It only took a few drinks before you began to feel light, like everything that had been weighing down on you had finally been lifted. It wouldn’t last long. As soon as the alcohol’s effects wore off, you’d be back to the same atrocious situation you found yourself stuck in — a grueling journey to find ancient weapons strong enough to eliminate the King of Curses.

But for now, even while still working towards your ultimate goal, you felt free. And you’d take that fleeting moment of peace.

The sake flowed effortlessly down your throat as you tilted the small ceramic cup back to ensure not a single drop went to waste. You set it back onto the wooden table in front of you and reached for an emerald-hued bottle to pour yourself yet another.

You were already on your fourth cup. That in itself probably wasn’t a lot over the course of a few hours. Though, considering your slight blood loss and the fact you had hardly eaten anything all day, it was starting to hit you hard.

Two days had passed since you were able to figure out that the mirror was capable of revealing hidden text within one of your books. The vast amount of blank pages actually were filled to the brim with information. However, in order to read it, you needed to supply the cursed tool with your blood.

Considering that it consumed the blood quickly and required a large amount to continuously work, you had to break the book down into multiple sections to ensure you weren’t losing too much. You would make a shallow cut, feed it to the mirror, quickly read what was hidden on the page, and then copy it down into one of your notebooks so you’d eventually be able to freely access it whenever you needed to without the help of the cursed object.

It was a rather mundane thing, and one you had carefully carried out over the last couple of days. You had hardly made a dent in the book, but the information you were retrieving was absolutely priceless. Ancient, lost knowledge was being unearthed for the first time in over a thousand years, and you were the one accomplishing such a remarkable feat. However, it was a time-consuming venture, and one you’d like to speed up if at all possible.

You instinctively reached towards the knife, sunk it into the delicate flesh along the backside of your hand, and allowed your blood to rise to the surface. Giving it to the cursed tool, you then held the mirror in front of the book and carefully read the inscription before writing it down in your personal notes.

Most of it so far had just read into the five Godai, and a bit had gotten into the element of sui itself. Occasionally, surface-level information on the water weapon, Suiryu, would make an appearance, but it was often how it related back to the philosophy of the Godai. There was nothing yet on what it could do or where it could be found.

The pen you were holding clattered onto the table as you reached towards your cup. It was growing late. You could see the almost-full moon creeping up to the center of the sky through the windows. Once your sake was finished, you’d likely retreat back to your room for the evening and rest up.

You cut your eyes down to your left hand, littered front to back in dozens, if not hundreds, of cuts. Despite not having much depth, they were still incredibly sore, and you tried to avoid using that hand as much as possible outside of your work with the cursed mirror.

Honestly, you could probably get Sukuna to heal it for you, and that would give you a fresh canvas to work with. Replenishing your lost blood would also allow you to speed up your process. He’d likely outright refuse if you asked him, no matter how polite you attempted to be. However, if you sliced yourself deep enough, he’d likely do it on his own accord. He apparently wanted you in one piece for whatever nefarious plans he’s already charted out.

Your bottom lip pulled itself in as you absentmindedly chewed on it, lost in thought. Could you trick him into healing your hand? He’d undoubtedly know your intention behind it, and it wouldn’t be much of a trick. However, if you injured yourself enough, he may feel as if there was no choice.

No, it probably was a bad idea. It’d just anger him, then you’d have to deal with his cursed energy giving you a massive migraine, or whatever it was that it did to you. The soreness of the open cuts hurt far less than his cursed energy did.

Tucking the mirror back into the same fabric you originally discovered it in, you slid it into the book before stacking it on top of your notes. After pushing everything to the side, you picked up a roll of gauze you found nestled in a first aid kit and began to wrap up your wounded hand.

A sudden noise could be heard down the hallway from you. Footsteps, followed by a door opening and closing.

Sukuna.

You hadn’t seen him since he healed your hand in the courtyard two evenings prior. In fact, you hadn’t really even heard him all that much. This was only the third time in forty-eight hours that he had left his room. You weren’t entirely sure what he had been doing since your arrival at the inn, but the only logical answer was he had been sleeping the entire time.

The last encounter you shared with him had been strange. Something was off about him. His eyes were brighter, and he didn’t look devoid of life. Even beyond that, he just felt different. His demeanor felt as if it was shifting to something else than what you had grown used to since your first encounter with him.

It was probably something you should investigate further just in case. However, whether it was your mind being preoccupied by the idea of finding the weapons or the blanket of false security your shared vow provided you, it just wasn’t at the top of your priority list.

The heavy sounds of Sukuna’s feet began to grow closer until the man himself appeared in the open archway of the common room where you sat. His blush-colored strands were sticking out for once instead of being slicked back. One of his eyes had a minuscule amount of crust in the corner while all four of his arms hung lazily by his side. The black haori he usually donned was missing, and his white pants were incredibly wrinkled.

He had just woken up.

Neither one of you spoke as he stood there. You waited for him to say something, but instead, after a few moments more of standing in silence, he trudged over to the table where you sat.

“You’ve been busy,” he remarked, four eyes cutting between you and your things.

“I have.” You kept your voice even as you took a sip of your sake. “Enjoy your nap?”

You expected him to glower in return, followed by some sort of empty threat, but instead the corner of his mouth turned upward as he lazily motioned to your bandaged hand. “Enjoy slicing into your flesh for days on end to acquire a bunch of useless fucking knowledge?”

In a rare turn of events, it was your face that contorted into a scowl at his jab. “And how would you know it’s useless?”

“I see you’re chattier than usual tonight.” He reached his bottom left arm over, prying the cup from your grip. Raising it up to his face, he gave it a quick whiff. “Not a surprise considering you’ve been drinking.”

Instead of setting the cup down and sliding it back to you, like one would think, he brought it to his lips and downed it in its entirety.

“Tastes like shit.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m the one drinking it, and not you.” Now you were the one prying the cup from his hands as you leaned over the table.

Sukuna allowed you to take it back with ease. No fierce glare graced his face, and no comment about your lack of respect could be found.

“Can an incarnated being even get drunk?”

“Don’t know and don’t care.”

“So you drank my sake because?”

“Because I had the desire to do so, and there’s more, so cease your whining immediately,” he demanded, shoving the nearly finished bottle towards you. “Actually, go fetch me a cup while you’re at it.”

Letting out a defeated sigh, you pushed yourself off the tatami flooring and crossed the room to grab another cup. You silently scolded yourself for not heading back to your room sooner. Having to deal with that bastard is not how you intended to spend your evening.

You reached out for a cup similar to yours, and your eyes darted towards the unopened bottles of sake on the shelf. The bottle you were drinking out of was almost empty, and if he drank anything like he ate, you imagined you’d be needing to grab some more.

Snagging two more bottles of sake, you tucked them between your left arm and abdomen and grabbed another cup for Sukuna with your right hand. You could feel his eyes on you the entire time you had your back to him, and sure enough, four scarlet irises were burning into you whenever you turned around.

“Now there’s no need to look at me like that,” he drawled out, his voice the smoothest you had probably ever heard it. “I just find myself to be in a good mood this evening and feel like indulging in something.”

You instinctively swallowed; you didn’t realize you were looking at him like anything. Your guard was lowered more than usual, and you needed to be careful. Something was still up with him, and you couldn’t place your finger on it.

“How was I looking at you?” You inquired as you lowered yourself back down to the floor. Sitting adjacent to him, you carefully poured him a glass before pushing it in his direction.

“Like I ruined your evening.”

“Who’s to say you didn’t?”

He just chuckled in response before pointing to your cup that he had emptied just a minute prior. “What, you don’t want to have another glass?”

Actually, you really did want another cup since he had downed yours. You cut a quick glance between him and the sake before reaching out towards it.

Just one more wouldn’t hurt.

You winced as you wrapped your left hand around the cup to steady it in place while you poured with your right.

“It’s unfortunate that you’re unable to use the reversed curse technique,” he remarked as he downed his glass of sake in one go before pushing it out towards you for a refill. “Your little project probably would’ve been finished by now.”

“I understand the concept behind it. You multiply your negative cursed energy against itself, and in doing so, the now positive energy can heal you.” You carefully poured yourself more sake then began to fill his cup as well. “I was just not given training on how to do so.”

Sukuna scoffed in response. “It’s not something you need training for. You just do it. If you grasp the concept, you should be able to figure it out on your own.”

“Do you think I haven’t tried? I’ve attempted to heal myself more times than I can count over the years.” You reached into your obi and pulled out an unopened pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “It’s never worked, and I’ve never had anyone to guide me on the matter.”

“You are such a fucking idiot. Your entire technique revolves around cursed energy manipulation, and yet you can’t multiply your own energy against itself?”

“Your good mood sure lasted a while,” you deadpanned as you fumbled with the cellophane wrapper, peeling it back and flipping the cardboard top open.

“Oh, I’m in a wonderful mood. Best I’ve felt in a while, actually!” A hearty chuckle escaped his throat, and a wicked smirk expanded across his face to match his sinister tone.

Sukuna’s behavior was growing erratic and unreadable. First the other night in the courtyard, and now here, sitting across from you. There was a strange tension rising in the room, and you were beginning to grow uncomfortable.

You brought your lighter to the cigarette that sat between your lips and lit it ablaze. As soon as your sake was finished, you would return to your room and leave him be.

“Why do you smoke those?” He suddenly inquired, motioning towards the pack now sitting on the table. “What purpose do they serve you?”

It was strange that he was attempting to carry on a seemingly casual conversation. However, tobacco didn’t make its way to Japan until the Edo era, long after his death. Being that he’s reincarnated, he’s bound to have a genuine curiosity about the modern world from time to time.

Picking up your cup, you took a sip between drags of your cigarette. “They release a chemical in your brain that induces pleasure.”

“So they serve no purpose to you outside of pleasure?”

You shrugged your shoulders in response, taking yet another sip of your sake. This time much larger than the first. “It’s the same as people who indulge in delicious meals or consume alcohol. The reason why people gamble — why they fuck one another. It feels good, as simple as that.”

Finishing the last of your sake, you placed the empty cup on the table and rose to your feet, slightly swaying as you ascended. “Pleasure is a tricky thing. It’s often fleeting and can come at a steep price, yet people will always fall into its maw. You’re no stranger to pleasure either, Sukuna. The entirety of your existence has been lived solely according to your own desires.”

“It only comes at a cost for the weak,” he replied coolly, finishing his second cup before slamming it on the table. “Now sit back down and pour me another drink.”

Streams of smoke swirled from your lips as you gazed down at where he sat. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow or whenever you’re not sleeping next.”

“No, you’re going to sit back down and stay here.” He was irritated. You could feel his cursed energy begin to bubble up.

“And why would I do that?”

“I’ll heal your hand.” He said it so casually as he lifted one of his own to point towards the cream-hued bandages wrapped snugly around you.

Your eyes widened slightly. He was up to something. Sukuna never did anything for others unless it served a purpose for him as well, but you knew that allowing him to heal you would allow your task of searching the book to go by significantly faster. He was offering to give you exactly what you needed.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

He chuckled, propping his upper left elbow on the table and allowing his cheek to rest against it. “The idea of reversed curse technique is a marvel to you because you can not do it. However, it’s nothing to me. No different than walking or breathing. It takes absolutely no effort on my end.”

His words weren’t a jab, nor was he being petty. It was the honest truth and reminded you once again that despite your abilities, he was far more powerful than you could ever hope to be. It also helped remind you why the divine weapons must be found with haste. Without them, you’d never stand a chance against Sukuna. You needed him to heal you so you could make that happen.

Swallowing your discomfort, you plopped back down where you had previously sat. You reached for the open bottle, and you poured him another serving of sake, completely emptying the first bottle.

“Pour yourself another,” he demanded, yanking his own cup back towards him.

“I’m good, I’ve already had enough to drink.”

“I said, you will pour yourself another,” his tone was nearly as sharp as his glare.

“Why do you want me intoxicated?”

“Why would I heal someone who won’t even share a drink with me?”

You begrudgingly reached towards the second bottle and twisted off the cap. “I don’t trust you.”

“Good, you shouldn’t.” Sukuna downed his now-third cup and pushed it back towards you for yet another refill. “But I didn’t ask you to trust me. I asked you to stay and have a drink.”

The clear liquid gushed out from the newly opened bottle, filling both his cup and yours. You brought it up to your lips, allowing the alcohol to pass through with ease.

“What all have you found in that book of yours?” He was quick to change the subject, his cheek still resting against his palm.

“Unfortunately, not a lot. As you very well know, I’m constantly limited by the fact I can not replenish lost blood, so going through the book in its entirety is taking me longer than I like.”

“And the little that you were able to read?”

You slid the notebook you had been using to copy the text towards him. “It’s all in here.”

He offered up nothing more than a “hm” as he picked it up and flipped through the few pages that you successfully transcribed. You watched as his fiery eyes carefully scanned each kanji, taking it all in.

You took one final drag of your cigarette before dropping the butt into the first sake bottle that was now empty.

With a click of his tongue, he set the notebook onto the table and lazily shoved it back towards you. “Just as I assumed, utterly worthless.”

“It’s not worthless.”

“Well then enlighten me, woman. What purpose will that philosophical bullshit serve in our journey to find these weapons?”

You finished your fifth, and hopefully final, glass of sake and set the cup down, pushing it to the side. “It may be of value to us, and we just don’t know it yet. Alternatively, it may not be of value now, but it could be one day.”

Sukuna let out a quick, dry laugh. “Somehow everything you say manages to be even more idiotic than the last.”

“And yet, you asked me to stay and keep you company,” you huffed.

“Do not put words in my mouth again,” he warned, reaching out towards your now empty cup with one arm and the bottle of sake with another. “I asked you to stay and have a drink, not to keep me company.”

“I don’t want another—“

“I do not care what you want!” Sukuna filled your glass to the brim as well as his before he motioned for you to take it. “You’re going to have another.”

He watched intently as you reluctantly reached towards the cup, dragging it back towards you. “Why do you want me to get drunk?”

“Who said that’s what I wanted?”

“You’re practically force-feeding me sake.”

“You really are an ungrateful bitch, you know that?” He sneered, sharp canines exposing themselves as his lip curled upwards. “I offer to heal your injuries so you can continue to search for your little mythical weapon that you plan to use in an attempt to end my fucking life, and you’re sitting here bleating about how I’m offering you a drink.”

You gave him nothing but a glare in response as you yanked the sake upwards and took a large gulp. “I was really enjoying my night before you came in here.”

“Well, I’m still enjoying mine,” he quipped as he finished his glass and poured himself a refill.

Your sixth cup was now empty, and you were feeling the sake’s effects harshly. While you weren’t completely inebriated, you definitely were far from being in a stable state of mind. Your body was beginning to feel hot, and your legs had grown numb. As much as you absolutely did not want another glass, you knew he’d force you into having another anyways.

You reached out and began to pour yourself another cup. Tilting the bottle over too fast, the sake surged out, splashing up the sides of the cup and spilling over onto the table.

“Shit,” you mumbled as you set the bottle back down, almost knocking it over in the process as well before Sukuna shot one of his arms out to stabilize it before anything else could spill.

Glancing around the room, no towels or napkins were anywhere in sight. You offered up a sigh before settling on using the sleeve of your yukata to wipe up the mess. After all, it wasn’t too bad of a spill.

“How terribly ungraceful,” Sukuna mused. You didn’t even have to look up. The grin on his face was evident from the tone of his voice alone.

You wiped up the spilt sake to the best of your ability with your sleeves, soaking them through in their entirety. Had you been sober, the wet fabric clinging to your forearm may have been a bother. However, after all you drank, you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

Planting your arms behind you, you leaned back on them, averting your eyes to the ceiling before shutting them. You felt as if you were floating, and now you were really wanting to go to bed.

“Tonight is the most the two of us have conversed since our meeting.” You could hear Sukuna’s voice, but you stayed in the same position, not giving him so much as a glance. “It’s a pity, really. I often find myself wondering about you, yet you’re always so closed off.”

“You’re not much of a social butterfly yourself,” you mumbled in response. He replied to you, although you had no idea what he said. All you knew was that you wanted his rambling to stop.

Sukuna continued to speak for another five or six more sentences, but it continued to go in one ear and out the other. The last two sounded far more aggressive, and you could feel his energy rising. He was probably pissed you were ignoring him, although you really didn’t care. You could probably fall asleep here and now even with him pestering you.

Suddenly, the sound of your name made your eyes fly open. Surely you were audibly hallucinating. You offhandedly told him your name once sometime during the first few days after the two of you met. It had been while you were still up north, driving to some shrine to search for more clues. You mentioned it in hopes he’d stop referring to you as a sorcerer, but he had never once given you the courtesy of actually using it.

You leaned forward, your attention fully on him now. “What did you say?”

Sukuna repeated your name as you just stared back at him in shock.

“I’ll let you leave, and I’ll heal your hand like I promised. However, there’s something I want us to do first.”

The prospect of leaving somehow managed to grab your attention even more than him speaking your name did. “Which would be?”

“I’ll ask you three questions, and you must answer them honestly.”

“Why should I do that?” You inquired, slightly cocking your head to the side.

“To make things fair, I’ll allow you to ask me three questions as well. We’ll take turns asking.”

“Yeah, like you’d ever be honest.” You may have overindulged, but you weren’t near intoxicated enough to believe him.

“Well then, how about we both vow to tell one another the truth? Even you know I’ll be forced to honor it then, or else I’ll be the one paying the price.”

Your lips parted as a soft yawn escaped. It seemed ridiculous to enter another unbreakable vow with him over something so trivial. It seemed innocent enough on the surface, but you knew that Sukuna was renowned for his usage of binding vows, and he knew how to exploit them to his benefit. Yet, it was almost tempting to agree to his terms. You may not get another opportunity like this again.

“Fine,” you mumbled, weakly sticking out your right hand.

His upper left one shot out and gripped onto yours, giving it a tight squeeze. “Looks like we have an agreement.”

You attempted to retract your hand, but instead his grip grew tighter as he pulled you closer, your body now leaning over the wooden table that separated the two of you.

“Let’s drink on it, what do you say?” His signature wicked grin made yet another appearance as he picked up his cup.

He finally released you, allowing you to sink back down to where you sat. Glancing down at the cup of sake you had poured yourself earlier, you wrapped your hands around it. The mess you made had prevented you from consuming it yet. If you drank it, this would be your seventh cup of the night and fourth within a roughly thirty-minute time span. You really didn’t want to consume it, but there really wasn’t much of a choice if you wanted to leave anytime soon.

You watched your rippled reflection in the clear liquid as you brought it closer to your face. “This is my last one.”

“Fine by me,” he chuckled as he downed his serving in one go. You followed suit and did the exact same.

“What do you wish to ask me?” You pushed your cup somewhere off to the side.

“Your family’s name, what is it?”

Your answer was absent for a moment, as you just stared at him. You were unsure what your facial expression was, but you imagined it gave off far more discomfort than you wished to disclose. Speaking about yourself or your past was not something you often did. Hell, you didn’t even like to think about it. Although, you supposed there was no escaping it now.

“I don’t know.”

Sukuna’s already thinly veiled annoyance with you grew into something far deeper as his face twisted into anger. His cursed energy began surging, and even this intoxicated, it somehow still felt like it was scorching your brain from the inside out.

“I genuinely don’t know! I was taken from my family at a young age, and I have hardly any memories of them. And, you know that’s the truth because we both just vowed to be honest with one another.” The words came tumbling out of your mouth in rapid succession, all of them blurring together in an attempt to ease the flare of his cursed energy.

He knew you weren’t lying, but it seemed as if it still wasn’t the answer he had been hoping for. Even though his energy began to simmer down, it was still apparent he wasn’t pleased with you.

“Ask your question now.”

It was your turn now to press him for whatever answers you desired, yet out of everything you needed to ask him, your mind completely drew blanks. Suddenly, it dawned on you why he had forced you to drink so much. He likely didn’t want you in the right state of mind whenever you were asking him questions.

“I will not repeat myself — ask me your question immediately.”

“Where is Uraume?”

“Running an errand for me.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything.”

“I promised you my answers would be truthful, not that they would be specific.” He leaned slightly forward and fixated all four of his eyes on yours to make sure you were watching as he taunted you. “Before you agree to a vow, you should really negotiate the terms.”

Bastard.

You weren’t surprised at all by what he was saying as you knew there had been a catch all along. Regardless, he was really getting under your skin. “Ask your second question.”

“Who took you from your family?”

“A sorcerer.”

“I will admit that I made an error, which is incredibly rare for me,” he began slowly, completely ignoring the answer you gave him. “Whenever I saw you spilling the sake, I was under the impression you were far more inebriated than you actually are. Unfortunately, I realized my mistake too late once you asked about Uraume.”

“I’m drunk, not fucking stupid.”

“That’s highly debatable.”

You glowered at him as you began unconsciously tapping your foot against the tatami flooring. “You hoped I would speak freely and answer all of your questions without holding back and in return would ask you nothing but nonsense. That’s quite the gamble, Sukuna.”

“You can leave now, little sorcerer.” The words came out through his clenched teeth.

Without any hesitation, you grabbed all of your things and rose to your feet. You stood up far too fast and stumbled backwards, barely catching yourself before you fell. Your legs felt like jello, likely due to a mixture of the large amount of sake you consumed and sitting for so long.

You began moving towards the door and stumbled once more. This time it was one of Sukuna’s arms that balanced you.

“Clumsy idiot,” he muttered, his upper left hand firmly planted on your shoulder as his lower right reached for your bandaged hand.

“What are you doing?” You attempted to pull back from him, but instead of successfully escaping his grasp, he pulled you in closer.

His hand successfully made contact with yours and tugged on the end of the bandage, allowing it to fall to the floor. “Do you want me to heal your goddamn hand or not, you ungrateful brat?”

“We didn’t finish the questions.” You tried to wriggle out from his grip once more. This time his second left hand grabbed onto you and dug into your hip.

You glanced up at Sukuna and watched him as he began healing you. A faint, white light could be seen in your peripheral vision, and the soreness of your wounds began to slowly ease.

Your gaze carefully traced over the entirety of his face, examining every single line and curve, as he continued to heal you. It was currently hardened as if he was concentrating. He had previously stated earlier that using reversed curse technique took no effort on his end, and you knew that wasn’t a lie. So, what was it that had him so lost in thought?

Suddenly two eyes were cutting over at you, and you attempted to rip yourself back from him, but he pulled you in closer, your right hip colliding into his body. His grip was as tight as it could possibly be without physically hurting you.

“I still have one question left.”

“You’re just going to get a vague, bullshit answer anyways now that I know your game.”

“When we first met, you told me you had no interest in the weapons for their power, and that they were solely being sought out to kill me. Yet, you stole one of those books about the weapons years ago before I even incarnated. Why?”

You remembered the conversation the two of you had shared just a few nights prior in your apartment, and you had known then how badly you slipped up. Of course, he’d remember it too. You should’ve expected it to come up at some point.

Between his close proximity, the uncomfortable question, and your growing dizziness from the final beverage you had just consumed, you were desperate for escape.

“I wanted to seek them out at an earlier date. It was the truth that I’m not interested in personal power. I was planning to fight someone far stronger than I am and thought I would need them.”

You could see the wheels turning in his head at your answer as you pulled away from him completely. He allowed you to step back without another word.

Almost making it out of the entryway, the sound of your name stopped you in your tracks. It was the third time he had called you that tonight. You turned to face him, your eyes undoubtedly betraying your surprise.

“There’s something about you that’s been bothering me for a few days now. Actually, ever since your pathetic little battle with that cursed spirit.”

You reached your arm out, grabbing onto the wall in an attempt to steady your wobbling legs. “And what’s that?”

“If I ask you directly, I know I won’t get an honest answer, but I do know that you’re hiding something from me.”

“Sukuna, I don’t know what—“

“Leave now. I do not want you in my sight. But know that one way or another, you’re going to give me what I desire to know.”

Chapter Text

Forever changing, sui takes no form. It is in a constant state of movement. Eternally ebbing and flowing much like the human mind and the emotions that take root in us. Much like the blood that courses through our veins.

Like blood, huh?

Speaking of blood, yours must have been completely consumed by the mirror, because it stopped working as soon as you finished reading the sentence you were on. The exposed kanji in its reflection quickly became replaced by nothing more than the worn, barren page on which they were written.

What a pain in the ass.

With a quick click of your tongue, you laid the mirror back down on the tattered fabric you used to wrap it and pushed both the book and your freshly written notes to the side. You had been at this for a long while, and a break was long overdue.

Reaching towards a glass bottle that rested in the center of the table you sat at, you slid it towards yourself. It was a top-shelf whiskey you had found hidden behind some bottles of sake. You had never drunk this particular brand, although you did recognize it from your days as a bartender working in a nightclub.

The amber-hued liquid it housed cascaded into your glass with ease, and soon you were bringing the bitter beverage to your lips. A grimace briefly overtook your face as it left a fiery sensation trailing down your throat.

You much preferred the sake you had drank previously to the whiskey that filled your cup now. However, after that pink-haired bastard force-fed it to you last night, you wanted something different.

Thankfully you hadn’t gotten sick from your overconsumption. Immediately after you got healed, you stumbled carefully back to your room and passed out. However, you felt the harsh after effects soon upon waking, with an unforgiving headache eating away at you. You’d likely stay away from any more sake for a couple of weeks.

Standing up, you walked through the tatami of the common room, freshly poured drink and bottle in tow. You crossed over the threshold, and your bare feet ghosted across the cold, wooden floors of the hallways until they brought you to the courtyard’s entrance.

You gently slid open the door with one hand while juggling both your drink and the bottle in the other. Before stepping through, you glanced to either side of you one last time, only to be met with empty hallways. You hadn’t seen or heard Sukuna since your encounter last night. Despite your current annoyance at him for his behavior the previous evening, you often caught yourself wondering throughout the day when he’d wake from his sleep again.

Small droplets of dew splattered up onto your ankles and saturated the bottom hem of your yukata with every step you took across the grass. The moon was full, shining brightly in all its glory, and was surrounded by millions of twinkling stars. Not a single cloud could be found as its ethereal glow illuminated the entire landscape before you.

Being that the entire town had been evacuated for over two months, the ryokan’s courtyard itself was unkempt. The grass was in need of mowing, while the gardens that weaved through it were overgrown by shrubs that begged to be trimmed down. Regardless of this, it still managed to be beautiful, though you imagined it would be absolutely stunning had someone been maintaining it.

You began lowering yourself down onto a gravel pathway that ran between some bushes. It wasn’t the most comfortable spot. However, the plush lawn was far too damp and would soak through your clothing.

Setting the bottle down to the side, you planted your left hand firmly behind you and shifted your weight back onto it, allowing you to gaze up at the night sky. The self-inflicted wounds you had acquired from using the mirror briefly stung and prompted you to wince. Your right hand stayed wrapped around your glass, occasionally raising it up to take periodic sips.

It was nice out. Not a single sound could be heard beyond the soft breeze rustling leaves and the faint sound of crickets chirping in the background. You knew you shouldn’t stay out here too long. There were things that needed your attention far more than the night sky. Even though you had been working with the mirror all day, you still felt as if you needed to somehow do more.

You technically weren’t on any timeframe to complete your mission, and your excursion with Sukuna had thankfully kept him occupied enough that he hadn’t wreaked any havoc. However, he was incredibly unpredictable, and more so than usual the past couple of days. The greatest threat the world could possibly face was currently traveling with you. Everyone was relying on you to finish this grueling mission, and you needed to push forward.

You downed the remainder of your whiskey with a large gulp and began pouring yourself a second glass. You’d allow yourself one more drink before you’d head back in. Although considering how heavy-handed your pours were, it was more like having two drinks instead of one.

Nestling the bottle back into the rocks, you reached for the pack of cigarettes and lighter tucked tightly into your obi. You flicked the top open only to reveal a nearly empty box. Three cigarettes were all the cardboard housed.

“Shit,” you muttered under your breath, reluctantly placing one between your lips.

The town would undoubtedly have some in one of the stores, and it would likely have a supply large enough to satiate you for a while. However, you didn’t have the energy nor desire to rummage through various abandoned buildings searching for a pack of cigarettes this late at night.

On top of having larger priorities, you also didn’t want to risk straying too far from Sukuna. This part of the nation was riddled with cursed spirits, and there was no telling what sort of monstrosities Kenjaku had released. The nature of your technique already put you at a disadvantage whenever it came to curses, and it being late at night in an area you didn’t know well would only add on to that. It would be much safer to wait it out until morning than attempt to venture out on your own after dark.

Your thumb spun the small metal wheel and pressed down on the red button, allowing its flame to ignite your cigarette. You took a long drag and let out an even longer exhale, the translucent smoke drifting through the air. You’d just have to make the other two last for the rest of your evening, which meant you’d likely only spend another hour or so with the mirror.

You lifted up your cup and absentmindedly swirled it around. The golden beverage hit the sides of the glass like waves against a shoreline as you instinctively glanced back at the ryokan. Watching the muted lights filter through the sliding door, you continued nursing your drink through puffs of your cigarette.

It was strange. You half expected Sukuna to make an appearance by now. He had a habit of showing up around this time, yet there was no sign of him. In fact, there wasn’t even any reason for you to believe he would show up. No sounds could be heard and there had been no shift in his energy. There was nothing but emptiness as you gazed at the inn.

So why were you waiting on him to show up?

You tilted the glass back yet again. However, only a few drops slid onto your tongue this time.

Huh.

You were already finished and didn’t even realize it.

Cutting your eyes down, you noticed your cigarette was nearly down to the filter too, which meant your break had unfortunately come to an end.

You took one last puff before scraping the butt against a piece of the gravel and clutching it tight in your palm to throw away once you got back inside.

Shifting your weight to your heels, you pushed up to your feet and reached down to snatch up the bottle. You felt something in the air shift as you took a step back towards the inn.

The breeze came to a sudden halt, and it felt as if the temperature dropped multiple degrees within an instant. The sound of crickets faded, and soon enough, everything was unbearably silent.

There was a sense of unease you could feel along with the stilling of the atmosphere. It wasn’t the same feeling that you had felt the day you discovered the mirror or whenever you had met Sukuna by any means. There was no all-encompassing dread nor fear, just a sense of strangeness.

You came to a stop and briefly pivoted your body back towards the courtyard. Sure enough, everything was as unmoving as you expected.

With a soft shake of the head, you began to turn back around only to collide into what felt like a brick wall. Your body stumbled backwards as gravity took hold, beginning to pull you towards the ground. A massive hand reached out, catching you before you could fully fall, and repositioned you upright.

“You’re awfully clumsy when you drink, aren’t you?”

You cut your eyes up to be met with four vibrant red irises peering down at you.

Sukuna.

When the hell did he get here?

You hadn’t heard him approach or sensed his presence at all. Had you been so caught up with whatever sense of unease overcame you that you didn’t notice?

No, that was only a short moment that you had been distracted.

Had he purposefully snuck up on you for whatever reason?

Was he the sense of unease you felt?

You instinctively pulled away from him, his hand falling as you took a few steps back.

“Now is that the thanks I get for catching you?” The corner of his lips pulled down as if in some sort of frown.

He was being weird again. No matter how hard you tried, you could never get a read on him. Just whenever you thought you figured him out, something in him would shift, and you’d find yourself right back at the beginning.

“I apologize. You just startled me.“ You kept your response curt. “I was actually just heading back inside.”

You took a few steps forward and attempted to go around him, only to have him block your path.

“Heading off so soon?” Sukuna wrapped one of his hands around the bottle you clutched. You offered up little resistance. His fingers alone were probably twice the size of a normal human’s and would be able to take from yours with ease even if you had.

He twisted the top off and tilted the bottle back, taking a couple of chugs. Swallowing it with ease, he passed the bottle back to you and wiped his mouth with the back of his upper left hand. “The sake was better.”

“On that we can agree. However, after my indulgences yesterday, I didn’t feel up to any sake tonight.”

Judging by the grin that grew on his face, your annoyance with his behavior the prior evening was thinly veiled.

“Don’t tell me that you didn’t enjoy our evening together. I thought we had a delightful time.”

You nearly recoiled as he leaned over you, his eyes reflecting the radiance of the full moon. His head partially tilted to the right as he traced over every inch of you. Something about it felt analytical, and you felt the sudden need to hide underneath the scrutiny of it.

His behavior the past few days had been less than pleasant, so much so that you think you preferred the Sukuna you had grown used to. The one who did nothing more than complain about your lengthy hikes to different shrines and grumble about how you were a worthless idiot.

“Did you come out here to shove more alcohol down my throat?”

“No, but it looks like you’re doing a fine job of that on your own.”

An exasperated sigh fell from your lips. “May I go in now?”

“But the night is still so young,” he drawled as he lazily pointed to where the moon was situated in the sky. “Why are you in such a hurry to retire to bed?”

For whatever reason, he once again had no intention of letting you leave.

“Look, I only have two cigarettes left, and that’s enough to last me another hour working with the mirror. Can we do whatever it is you’re trying to do another night?”

“So you’re in such a hurry to wrap up your evening because you’re almost out of your cigarettes,” he scoffed. “Are they that important to you that you can’t function without them?”

You grit your teeth at his little jab. Whenever he worded it like that, it sounded absolutely ridiculous.

“I can function without them fine,” you muttered. “I just don’t want to.”

“Such a simpleminded being.” His judgmental tone was filled with disdain.

“Yeah, and how is that any different than you eating copious amounts of food whenever your body doesn’t even require it to survive?”

“Are you genuinely fucking stupid?” He sneered at you. “I’m not referring to whatever vices you have. But if something is that essential to your life, why don’t you just go and get more?”

Oh.

You clicked your tongue and briefly contemplated your response. Telling him you were unnerved by the possibility of encountering another cursed spirit while on your own was not something you wanted to do. It would give him the impression that you relied on him for something, and even if it was true, you didn’t want him to know it.

“Well?”

“Because I don’t have the energy to go dig through abandoned stores in the middle of the night looking for cigarettes.”

One of his hands reached out and grabbed you by your left wrist, elevating it up into plain sight. He pried open your fingers, causing the extinguished cigarette butt you held to fall onto the gravel beneath you. In doing so, multiple wounds that stretched across your palm were revealed.

“But you have enough energy in you to drain your blood for that cursed looking glass?”

“It’s not like I enjoy using the mirror, but it has to be done.” You gently tugged your wrist backwards, but his grip only tightened. “The weapons must be found.”

“So you can attempt to put an end to my life, is that right?”

“It is.”

A chuckle escaped his throat. “And what will you do whenever this plan you’ve put so much into falls flat and you fail?”

You yanked your wrist, this time much harder, but he still refused to free you from his grasp.

“I guess we’ll find out if the time comes.”

“I suppose so,” he mused, his grin stretching ear to ear, pearly white canines glimmering brightly. “The idea of fighting you, actually fighting you, intrigues me. Excites me even.”

Your nose scrunched up at his strange confession. What the hell did he mean by actually fight? The two of you already fought during your first encounter with one another. It ended with you beaten and forced into a mutual vow with the King of Curses.

“What do you—“

“Come, woman.” He pulled your arm, dragging you forward, his eyes never leaving you and he strode backwards towards the ryokan. Instead of leading you to the door, your direction changed towards the left side of the building.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Town.” No further explanation was offered as he released his grip and stepped behind you, one of his hands placing itself on your center back, fingers splayed out. He gave you a shove, nearly causing you to stumble.

“Why are we going to the town?”

“Do you want your fucking cigarettes or not, you ungrateful brat?” He barked out, giving you a second shove.

“I already said I didn’t want to go into town tonight, and if I did, why would I want to go with you?”

“You’re too scared to go alone, now pick up your fucking pace before I change my mind.”

You threw him a glance over your shoulder, his eyes meeting your now widened ones immediately.

“Don’t look at me all surprised. It’s no secret how easily frightened and overly cautious you are.”

You diverted your gaze back ahead of you and pressed your lips into a tight line. It was incredibly frustrating how he could read you like a book, but you couldn’t figure out a single thing about him.

The both of you circled around the side of the building and made your way onto the front lawn. You leaned over and set down the empty glass you had tucked underneath your right arm so you could grab it whenever you came back. Glancing at the bottle of whiskey in your hand, you briefly considered leaving it as well, but honestly, if you had to deal with his weird behavior again tonight, you’d likely be better off having a couple more drinks.

The asphalt road you climbed onto was cold beneath your bare feet, and its rough surface dug into your flesh. You wished you were in shoes, although it was highly doubtful Sukuna would’ve allowed you to waste time going inside to get some. He did go everywhere barefoot, after all.

The ryokan wasn’t too far away from the town itself. You could see silhouettes of buildings in the distance. It likely wouldn’t be more than a ten or fifteen-minute walk. You brought the whiskey bottle up to your lips and took a large gulp, your face contorting into a grimace the second you swallowed.

A large hand reached over your shoulder and grabbed onto the bottle, prompting you to drop your grip on it. You rolled your eyes as you looked back at Sukuna chugging your whiskey.

You were still pretty sure that he couldn’t even get drunk, and you knew that he didn’t enjoy the taste of it. He just wanted to annoy you.

The buildings slowly became more distinguishable as you grew. The occasional flickering streetlight passed overhead as you crossed the small bridge that led you over a waterway. You had briefly driven through on your way to the inn but hadn’t stopped to actually explore.

Overall, the town itself was largely still intact, which was rare for the southern half of the nation. A few buildings had suffered severe damage, a handful of them partially collapsed with their roofs caved in, but other than that, you wouldn’t think anything was wrong with the place.

Regardless of the lack of damage though, judging by how many curses still roamed the nation and how few sorcerers there were, it would likely be years, if not a decade, before people could return.

Turning back towards Sukuna, your hand reached out and motioned for him to pass the glass bottle back to you. Eyeing him up and down, you grabbed it and took another swig.

“You better hope there’s something worth a damn that I can eat in this place,” he huffed.

So that’s why he came with you. He wanted something to eat.

“Likely nothing that’ll appeal to your sick tastes.”

He said something back to you, but you couldn’t make out anything other than the word insolent, as the sight of a market just two blocks away had you sprinting.

You soon found yourself met with a glass storefront. It was small, but from what you could see inside the dark building, it’d likely have what you’d need.

Sukuna maintained his steady pace, taking his time to catch up as you pushed the door in, and thankfully, it opened with no resistance.

The town still had electricity, which meant the lights themselves were just shut off. Just enough moonlight trickled through the windows to help guide you to the back room, where you searched for the breaker box.

At some point, the sound of Sukuna’s feet grew closer, immediately followed by the crinkling of plastic and items smacking against the floor. The glutton was already rummaging through searching for something to eat.

Fighting the urge to roll your eyes as you pried open the front panel on the silver box and started flipping the switches encased within it. A low hum of electricity could be heard for a brief moment before the nearly unbearable fluorescent lights flickered on throughout the entire store.

You ghosted back towards the front of the store, sliding behind the counter until you found the brand of cigarettes you smoked. Grabbing a few packs, you just tucked them into your obi. They’d stay there well enough until you got back to the inn.

“Did you find something suitable for your appetite?” You absentmindedly inquired as Sukuna’s footsteps approached from behind you.

“The same dried meat you eat,” he said loudly between his chews. “It’ll suffice.”

Sure enough, you turned back around to see him shoveling jerky into his mouth at an unprecedented rate. You watched as he’d stick one of his hands into the bag, scoop out a handful, force it into his mouth, give it a few chews, and swallow before repeating the process again. Within just a minute he was dropping the empty bag to the floor and already opening another.

Giving your head a shake, you pushed your way out from behind the counter and down one of the aisles to see what all the store had. A familiar pink and silver can in one of the coolers suddenly caught your eye.

Peach chuhai. It had been a while since you had one.

You pulled the aluminum can from the cooler, twisting it around to read the label on the back. Popping the top, you took a quick swig.

Mild sweetness and artificial peach flavor were quickly overshadowed by the bitterness of the alcohol. The fact it was room temperature due to the coolers being shut off for so long did it no favors either. Your face twisted up at the aftertaste as a shadow slowly grew over you, with a massive hand reaching to pluck the can out from yours.

“Somehow everything you consume is significantly worse than the last.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that I got it for myself and not you,” you snapped, taking back the can only to be met with the fact that it was almost empty. “Did you have to drink all of it?”

Calloused fingertips were quick to grip your chin, diverting your gaze to the humming cooler next to the two of you. “Grab another one, you petulant brat.”

You cut your eyes to Sukuna and tried to pull away from his grip, but he held firm. “Has anyone ever told you that you have absolutely no concept of personal space?”

“Yeah, you,” he spat.

“Oh? And here I thought that nothing I said was worth remembering.”

He leaned down, fingers still digging into you, not enough to actually hurt but strong enough to likely remind you of who he was. “It sounds like you’re the one who’s clinging onto every word I say.”

Sukuna’s words dripped with venom, but if he was actually angry with you, it didn’t show. His cursed energy didn’t flare up in the slightest like it usually did.

Was he just teasing you?

He leaned away from you, dropping his hand from your face and back to his side. “Where is that brown liquid you brought with you?”

“The whiskey? I set it on the front counter when I was getting more cigarettes,” you leaned to the side, pointing to where the glass bottle was perched.

“Grab whatever you want out of here, we’re leaving. I want to look around this town some more.”

Your nose involuntarily scrunched up as he walked away from you. You really needed to get back to the ryokan and try to get some more work in with the mirror. Although you had a feeling that wouldn’t be happening.

With an exasperated sigh, you grabbed a couple more cans of the peach-flavored alcohol and made your way out of the store, trailing behind Sukuna, who was already wandering ahead of you.

His lower left arm clutched a couple more bags of jerky and the bottle of whiskey, while the lower right swung lazily by his side. You couldn’t see either of his upper arms, but you assumed they were crossed against his chest. Even being a decent stride ahead of you, his shadow blocked the moon’s illumination and swallowed you whole.

He suddenly turned left on a side street, strolling between a pair of buildings. His eyesight never strayed from his path, and he paid no mind to the various stores on either side of him. It didn’t look like he was exploring but more like he already knew where he was going.

You opened one of the cans you were carrying and began to indulge as you continued behind him on his path. Soon the two of you ended up on the edge of a forest alongside the northern outskirts of the town. A single trail of cobblestones weaved through the towering trees and was adorned by a massive wooden sign signaling an onsen ahead.

Sukuna still hadn’t spoken to you or even done much besides occasionally drink from the whiskey bottle he carried, so you had no clue why he was dragging you out to the town’s hot springs.

He slowed his pace as the air grew thicker with the steam that the warm water emitted, and you watched as he eventually came to a full stop, a massive pool of water dancing in the moonlight directly behind him.

“If you wanted a soak so badly, we have a private onsen back at our ryokan.”

“I’m well aware of that,” he remarked, standing on the rocky edge of the hot spring. “And I’m not looking for a soak.”

So he was just being weird per usual then. You completely disregarded him and plopped down onto the ground. It was rough, and various stones dug into the underside of your legs, but it wasn’t nearly as damp as the nearby grass.

You finished off the first can of chuhai and opened up your second before fishing out a cigarette and your lighter.

“This is a natural bath, not a man-made one,” Sukuna said. Although you were too busy fumbling with your lighter to give his rambling much mind.

The tip of the cigarette began to glow hues of orange as you ignited it, harsh smoke filtering down your throat and into your lungs.

“I told you to look at me when I’m speaking to you!”

You could hear the scowl on his face before you even raised your gaze upwards, and sure enough, when you finally did, his disdainful expression was in fact waiting for you.

“Did you even hear anything I said?”

You tilted your side slightly to the side, from the lines in his face and the acid in his tone, he seemed irritated with you. However, his cursed energy was stable once again, and that never happened whenever he lost his temper with you.

“Yeah,” you nodded your head, taking sips from the can between drags of your cigarette. “You said this place is a natural onsen.”

“Your impertinence never fails to astound me,” he hissed, taking three large strides until he stood directly in front of you before lowering himself to the ground. “And I told you to look at me whenever I’m speaking to you.”

Well, you certainly didn’t have much of a choice now that he placed himself directly in your line of sight.

“As I was saying, this hot spring has been a place of interest for over a millennium. I came here once traveling through the area.”

So that’s why he looked like he knew where he was going.

“I suppose you could say there was no purpose in us coming here beyond my curiosity.”

You offered no response but a nod as a silence overtook the both of you. It wasn’t one of discomfort or awkwardness, just emptiness. His eyes carefully flickered over you as you finished both your cigarette and the second chuhai you had brought along.

Squeezing the now-empty aluminum can in your palm, you rose up to your knees and plucked the whiskey from where it sat next to him. If you were stuck out here with him for the time being, you may as well enjoy yourself.

“I’m surprised you haven’t complained yet about needing to return to the ryokan,” Sukuna drawled as he jutted his lower pair of arms behind him and leaned his weight back onto them.

“And if I did, would it change anything?”

“No.”

“I’m surprised you’re out here relaxing under the stars.” After taking a swig, you set the bottle between the two of you before sitting back down. “Was sleeping for days on end not enough for you?”

“My rest was much needed, and I’ve truly never felt better.” A grin overtook his face, stretching as wide as his mouth would allow. “But you seem displeased. Don’t tell me you’re waiting for me to awaken.”

“Absolutely not.” A lie that you silently prayed sounded a lot less forced to him than it did to you. “I’d sooner wait for hell to freeze over.”

Heat rose to your cheeks as you diverted your gaze towards the ground. You definitely had spent part of your day wondering when he’d leave his room again. However, you’d never admit such a thing out loud. It was something you had done out of familiarity, or possibly even boredom, and nothing more.

“You’re much more expressive when you’re intoxicated.”

“I’m not drunk,” you scoffed.

Another lie. You had started to feel it after you finished the first peach chuhai. That light, euphoric feeling that coursed through your body and filled you with ease. It was far more pleasant tonight than the prior evening when Sukuna had force-fed sake to you. You were somehow actually enjoying yourself, even stuck in his presence.

He completely ignored your statement and instead sat up to rip the top off of a bag of jerky he brought along with him. Forcing it open, he pulled a handful out and tilted his head back, dropping it all in his mouth at once.

Watching him as he reached down into the bag once more, your eyes widened as you realized it was the maw on his abdomen that was opening wide, allowing him to insert the meat onto the massive tongue and instinctively chew once it was brought back inside.

You had never seen him eat with his second mouth before.

“Does it have a sense of taste?” Your eyes widening even more as you realized the words intended to be nothing more than a fleeting thought actually escaped from your lips.

“It’s a goddamn tongue. Of course it can taste.” He looked at you like you were a fucking idiot.

“Sorry, I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting someone with an extra mouth, so I wouldn’t know.”

“It’s common fucking sense.”

You huffed, reaching out towards the bottle between you, when suddenly a hand was grabbing onto your wrist and yanking you forward. Everything happened so fast you couldn’t fully process it as you were dragged forward and fell right onto Sukuna’s lap, four sinister eyes barreling into you as soon as you collided with his thighs.

“You’re curious if the maw on my stomach is capable of tasting, are you? We’re going to test it then.”

Panic surged through you as the mouth fell open, a massive tongue rolling out. The muscle wrapped itself around your forearm as his hand pulled yours into the opening, sharp canines grazing against your wrist.

Was he going to fucking bite off your hand?

No, he couldn’t. The vow he made with you — no. It didn’t matter.

You could hear your heartbeat pound, and your breath got caught in your throat. Lifting up your free arm, you shoved him back as hard as you could, and he put up absolutely no resistance. The tongue dropped its hold on your arm and retreated back into his mouth.

Falling straight onto his back, he pulled you with him, hand still firmly wrapped around your wrist. Knees digging into the stones, one planted on either side of him, you landed on his abdomen, just below the mouth, which was now closed.

A loud, roaring laughter erupted from his chest as your face contorted into a mixture of rage and confusion.

He was fucking with you.

You yanked your body backwards and attempted to shift your weight to stand up, but he instead pulled you tighter to him.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Don’t be fucking dense,” he hissed. “I’ve been trying to get a proper rise out of you since the day we met. It’s not my fault you forgot that I can’t hurt you even if I want to.”

“I didn’t fucking forget.”

“Then why did you panic?” He barked right back at you.

“I don’t know!”

“I think you need to relax. You’re always so on edge,” he said it casually, like he didn’t just pretend he was going to tear into your flesh like some sort of apex predator.

“No, I’m not.” The words sounded more like you were pouting than anything else.

He pushed up with his upper arms, allowing him to lean on them and raise his head and the upper part of his torso off the ground. “It’s just lie after lie with you, isn’t it?”

You scoffed, ready to get your jab in whenever the sensation of his hands grabbing onto your hips made you realize what sort of position you were in.

Intoxicated and disgruntled, you hadn’t fully pieced it together until now. You were straddling him wearing your yukata, and with the entirety of your weight pressing against his abdomen, your underwear was rubbing against his bare stomach.

Sukuna’s flesh was hot under you, pressing against your inner thighs and through the thin layer of cotton that covered you. A heat of a different kind was now noticeable in your core and had likely been festering since you landed on top of him. How the hell did you not realize it until now?

Rough fingertips traced down from your hips to where they connect with your upper thigh. The brief contact was enough to make the pressure in you skyrocket, the fiery feeling only growing stronger.

“I was wondering how long it’d take you to notice.”

You were absolutely mortified at what was transpiring and opened your mouth to say something, absolutely anything, but your voice failed you as nothing could escape from your parted lips.

“At a loss for words, are we?” A smirk crept across his face, but it was different than the one he usually wore. It lacked cruelty and appeared to be comprised of something else entirely.

Was getting you into this position the intention all along?

“You did this on purpose.” Your accusation came out far weaker than you had hoped, but in your humiliation, you were desperate to place blame on anyone but yourself.

“I didn’t do anything.” His voice was smooth and slow, fingers still drawing in a circular motion through the fabric of your yukata. “You’re the one leaving a wet spot on my stomach.”

As soon as the words fell from his mouth, you were quick to push yourself away from him, and he allowed you to pull free without a fight. Lacking both the strength and grace needed to jump to your feet, you instead fell backwards and landed directly between his open legs on the rough ground.

Your eyes were diverted towards the ground, unable to look him in the eyes during what was likely the single most embarrassing moment of your life.

In one swift movement, Sukuna was on his knees, leaning over where you sat. “I didn’t expect you to pull away so hastily. After all, I thought you were no stranger to seeking out pleasure.”

Your gaze shot back up to his as he recalled the drunken conversation the two of you shared the prior evening.

Without missing a beat, he continued forward, his increasing proximity forcing you to instinctively lean back. An arm planted itself on either side of your body, as your attempt to put distance between the two of you was solely in vain.

Soon you were forced to lean your weight onto your arms as your lower back made contact with the ground beneath you.

A low rumble came from deep within him as he laughed, his smirk growing into a toothy grin.

Everything was moving so quickly, you couldn’t fully piece it together, but your embarrassment was soon replaced by a familiar ache between your legs as he slotted himself there.

Absolutely not. This could not happen.

“I am not going to fuck you,” were the only words you could force out, soon followed by the sound of a harsh swallow.

“Of course not,” he chuckled, a hand finding its way to the waist of your yukata before briefly pausing. All four of his eyes lifted up to yours. “I’ll remind you once more since you seem to keep forgetting, I took a vow that I would not harm you.”

He pulled open the fabric like curtains, the cold January air colliding with your now exposed skin. “If you truly don’t want any of this, all you have to do is ask me to stop, and I’ll be forced to oblige.”

None of it was making any sense to you, how the two of you ended up in this position or why his attitude towards you had suddenly shifted so quickly within a short amount of time. Perhaps the most perplexing part of it all was why you couldn’t bring yourself to demand he stop. Instead, as the desperate need for some sort of touch overwrote every shred of common sense in your brain, you just watched as his fingers slipped under the edge of your panties.

A soft gasp fell from you as his hand sunk lower and lower until it made contact with your swollen clit. His movements were unbelievably slow and deliberate. Something that was rather uncharacteristic of him, but the sensation was so remarkable, you couldn’t bring yourself to think too deeply into anything at all other than him.

Sukuna’s skin was incredibly warm, and his breath was unreasonably hot against your cheek as he leaned in closer to you, a fingertip sliding down your slit to your opening, collecting your slick, and traversing back up to where you needed contact the most.

Foolishly caught up in the moment, you leaned forward in an attempt to capture his lips in yours, but he was quick to angle his face away, not allowing you to do so.

“You’re impatient,” he clicked his tongue. “That’s a dangerous trait to have, you know.”

His tone was light but almost sounded as if it carried some sort of warning with it. You had no chance to inquire what he was speaking of or to pout about his rejection as a string of symphonious moans emerged from you instead as his finger began encircling your clit with more pressure.

His hand was quick to remove itself, and within an instant, all you could hear was the sound of tearing fabric as the cool atmosphere crashed down on your newly exposed core. A piece of your torn underwear flying over his shoulder as he tossed it out of his way.

“You could’ve just pulled them down,” you scoffed. However, your voice lacked any real bite as you awaited his touch to return.

He leaned back, a low grunt escaping his mouth as he spread your lips with one of his lower hands. His index finger prodded at your entrance, carefully tracing over it and applying a light pressure before he decided to slide it in with one singular motion, all the way to his knuckles.

Fuck, one of his fingers alone was absolutely enormous.

He curled his fingertip upwards, hitting that sweet, gummy spot inside that drove you absolutely insane. Your head fell backwards, eyes half-lidded, staring up at the night sky.

Sukuna carefully removed his finger, a thick string of your slick connecting your sopping cunt to his hand, glimmering in the moonlight.

“I must admit, I do wonder how you taste,” he remarked, raising his now-soaked finger up to eye-level, examining it.

You stared with wide eyes, expecting him to lick your juices clean off his finger, but rather, another hand, this one far more aggressive, grabbed your face on either side, forcing your mouth to part.

“You tell me.” His demand was instantly followed by his finger forcing its way into your open mouth.

Your lips reflexively wrapped around him as he held you in place with his iron grip, forcing you to look directly into two pairs of ruby eyes as you sucked yourself off of him.

“Well?”

You just nodded your head in response. He hummed in approval, dropping his grip from your face. Soon his finger yanked free from your lips and quickly rejoined your cunt.

Sukuna pressed two of his fingers in as he returned to you, but his carefulness was fading quickly as the pace grew far more aggressive. His movements were methodical, thrusting and curling upwards, hitting the perfect spot every single time.

You couldn’t tell what was louder, the sounds of his fingers relentlessly fucking you or your cries of ecstasy.

A second hand was soon between your legs, this time rubbing your clit with the same rhythm as the fingers spearing you open. Head thrown back once more, your eyes rolled back as a pressure began to balloon up inside your abdomen.

“You’re close.” You heard him remark, but for some reason, it sounded more as if he was speaking to himself rather than to you.

A third arm snaked itself around the upper part of your torso, pulling you in close to him, but never once breaking the momentum he was building in you. Your face wedged itself in the crook of his neck, and your arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders as you grew closer and closer to your peak.

You were right on the precipice, truly so close, yet somehow you still wanted more.

No, you needed more.

Pushing your body into his as hard as you could, your nails dug into the muscles on his back, clawing into his thick flesh as your hips desperately bucked into his unforgiving hands.

A small, rational part of you that wasn’t delirious from the pleasure was absolutely disgusted. Your conscience was screaming at you the entire time, and of course you knew shame and self-loathing would soon kick in once everything came crashing down.

Letting yourself be so consumed by something as trivial as lust that you were clinging onto Ryomen Sukuna as he buried himself knuckle-deep inside you was unforgivable, but fuck, you had never felt so good in your entire life, and it was from his hands alone.

“Sukuna,” you breathed into his neck, each syllable fractured as your climax was mere seconds away.

The pressure that had accumulated within you began to explode. Unfettered ecstasy coursed through you, but it was short-lived as the euphoric high was instantly replaced with an excruciating pain.

A burning sensation ran from the nape of your neck up the back of your head and wrapped itself around your skull. A feeling as if tendrils made of hellfire were inside you, wrapped around your brain, and squeezing with an intensity the likes of which you had never felt.

It was Sukuna’s cursed energy, and fuck, it had never felt worse.

You didn’t have time to think or fully piece together what was going on. All you knew was that your body felt like it was burning from the inside out, and there was no escape. You bit down into him where his shoulder met his neck, teeth ripping through his flesh like some sort of animal.

The pain came to a sudden halt, and then a deep, sinister voice completely devoid of any emotion followed. “So, it does hurt you.”

You unlatched your teeth from him, streams of red pouring from the skin before he instantly healed over the holes you’d left behind.

Pulling back, you stared at him, eyes wild and full of horror. Tears welling and sweat beading on your forehead, you struggled to catch your breath.

He had known about the cursed energy all along.

“What did you say?” Your voice was shaky and weak.

He pried his fingers out from inside you and rose to his feet, wiping them on his fucking pants leg.

“I first noticed it after your fight with the cursed spirit. I was healing you when I sensed my cursed energy was flowing into you.”

You remembered it so clearly. With your depleted stores of cursed energy, his had infiltrated your body with ease, and you had no way to fight it off. After he insisted on healing you, he had stormed off in anger, but you hadn’t even bothered to wonder why he was so furious.

“But there was something I couldn’t figure out.” Upper arms crossed, he stared down at where you were still planted on the ground. Looking at you like you were nothing more than some sort of parasite. “At first I thought you were deliberately doing it, but as time passed, I began to wonder if maybe you weren’t aware of what was happening.”

“And what the hell does this have to do with anything?” You were quick to cover up your exposed body, disgruntled and confused by everything that had just transpired.

“I was going to just ask you about the situation in a way that would ensure you were telling the entire truth. Unfortunately, you were not very cooperative, so I had to seek out other methods.”

The previous evening whenever he had forced you to drink and put you into a binding vow with him. It was all beginning to make sense.

“In order for you to absorb cursed energy as strong as mine, I imagine it would take a decent amount of effort. However, if you were fully immersed in something else, you wouldn’t have the concentration to do so.” Sukuna’s head tilted to the side as he continued to look down upon you, eyes digging as deep as ever.

You felt a deep-rooted rage blossom within you as you slowly rose to your feet.

“So I had to keep you completely occupied while I upped my cursed energy output. If my cursed energy still infiltrated you while I kept you in a position where you were unable to focus, then I’d know it’s not intentional on your part.”

The sound of skin colliding echoed throughout the clearing as your fist collided with Sukuna’s jaw. He stumbled backwards at the force of the impact, blood sputtering out from his lips, and a loud laugh soon followed.

“I do often forget you use your cursed technique to enhance your strength,” he smiled as he used one of his thumbs to wipe the blood from his bottom lip. “You are stronger than I give you credit for.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Your voice was shrill as it bordered along the lines of being an all-out scream.

You watched as his face went from the amusement of being hit to analytical to a sudden realization.

His expression contorted into something that could only be described as pity. “You didn’t actually think I wanted to fuck you, did you?”

Your expression quickly changed from one of unfiltered rage to unmasked horror as he broke out into a fit of wild laughter.

Tears welling in the corners of your eyes that had threatened to spill over your lash line began to flow freely as he stood there cruelly cackling in your face.

Cheeks growing red and puffy, you brought your hands up to them in a desperate attempt to wipe away the tears.

“You are a vile creature, Ryomen Sukuna.” Your voice cracked as you continued to try and contain your emotions.

His incessant laughing came to an end, and the corners of his mouth turned downwards ever so slightly. He was mocking you. “It was far easier to get you to break than I imagined. Apparently something as simple as rejection is all it takes.”

“Do you think I’m genuinely upset over that? You absolutely humiliated me!”

“Humiliated you how? There’s no one here other than you and I.” He took a step towards you. “Nobody will ever know what transpired here, and you have no reason to feel any sort of humiliation around me, because it would be impossible for me to think any lower of you than I already do.”

Sukuna extended his finger and stuck it right in the center of your chest. “You are nothing more than a worthless human and probably the most idiotic being I’ve met throughout all my years of living. Your only redeemable quality is your cursed technique, which you are too weak to even properly wield!”

“At least I have redeemable qualities!”

“If you think you can wound me with petty insults, you are sorely mistaken, woman.” Stepping back, he pulled his finger away from where it prodded into you. “Besides, you shouldn’t fret. It was you, after all, who claimed that pleasure came at a steep price, was it not?”

“I’m leaving,” was all you could force out as you turned your back towards him.

Tears continued to fall down your face as you sprinted away. You could hear his sinister laugh rumbling and echoing as you retreated back down the path and to the street. Your gaze landed in the opposite direction from which you came. It’d lead you away from the ryokan and away from Sukuna for the night.

The moon was beyond its peak in the sky and already had begun to lower itself back down. It was just a few hours shy of sunrise. If you could find a place to relax until then and sober up, you’d be able to think more clearly, and things would get much easier for you then.

You wandered down the road for a while, the town nowhere in sight whenever you glanced back over your shoulder. Enough distance was likely between you and Sukuna now, so you should be able to stop. You veered off the street into a surrounding forest.

Tears began to silently trickle once more as the evening’s events replayed in your head over and over. Eventually, they turned to audible sobs as you found yourself sitting against a tree, head resting against your knees.

You felt utterly humiliated and defeated. Sick to your stomach with shame about what you let take place earlier and filled to the brim with rage.

You didn’t want this mission anymore, you didn’t want to be around Sukuna, and you didn’t give a shit about those stupid fucking weapons.

The sound of footsteps could suddenly be heard approaching from behind you, and you felt your heart drop to your stomach.

Sukuna.

Did he seriously fucking follow you?

“I don’t want to be anywhere fucking near you right now.” Your voice was worn down from all the crying, but your anger was still apparent.

“Well, that’s a shame. I’ve really been looking forward to our meeting.”

You brought your hand up to your mouth, barely containing a choked sob before it broke free.

Sukuna’s voice didn’t sound like that.

It was far lighter than his, yet somehow still carried a sinister edge to it.

You had a bad feeling about what was waiting behind you, and as if you didn’t feel sick enough already, you grew so nauseous, you genuinely believed stomach bile would come up at any moment.

So caught up in your emotions, you hadn’t felt them approach.

There were two. Neither one was human.

For a brief moment, you squeezed your eyes shut and took a ragged breath before rising to your feet.

You turned around, and your gaze was met with two cursed spirits. Both with kanji branded in the center of their foreheads.

Go. Five. 

Roku. Six.

Chapter Text

The air grew unbearably cold in an instant.

Lifting your arms up, you instinctively clutched them to your chest as you staggered backward, desperate to put any space at all between you and the two curses.

A wave of nausea overcame you. Your stomach’s bile, saturated with the alcohol you had mindlessly indulged in earlier, now threatened to rise up from your gut and spew out.

The fact that you were holding your breath didn’t help much either, but something as simple as breathing seemed hard to come by when faced with a moment like this.

You were a former jujutsu sorcerer, and unfortunately, your current travel companion was the strongest sorcerer in existence, now reborn as a curse, who had sealed himself into an unbreakable vow with you.

Realistically, the situation in front of you now was far from the worst you’ve experienced, yet you couldn’t fully fight away seeds of panic that threatened to bloom within you.

The cursed spirits were both humanoid, although one looked far more like a human than it did a curse.

A singular kanji was branded into the center of its forehead and spelled out roku.

Six.

You stared at the curse in front of you now, with its sickly pale skin devoid of all life. It had straight, slicked-back orange hair and a singular pair of pitch-black eyes with a thin emerald-hued strip down the center for pupils. Wide, long sleeves protruded from the black robe that draped across its body and just barely grazed the ground beneath.

While the first cursed spirit had left you unnerved, and both the fight and its words occasionally replayed throughout your mind in the days since, you had just written the spirit off as some sort of freak. Just another curse that Kenjaku had released upon the nation that had yet to be exorcised by the sorcerers.

To you, the words that spewed from its mouth had been nothing more than bullshit. Never once did you truly believe that there could be others like it.

“Hachi told me that you were strong. So why is it that all I see before me is a frightened, sobbing girl?”

Hachi?

So their numbers are their names?

“And I know he’s not a liar.”

He?

They appear to interact with one another as if they were humans despite being cursed spirits.

Humanoid in appearance, high levels of intelligence, ability to understand and speak human languages, and forming their own identities. You already knew the previous curse was a special grade, but with the new information you were taking in, they were far stronger than you had realized.

The rank of special grade was incredibly broad. Be it a cursed spirit, a sorcerer, or even an object, the ranking was given to those depending on a variety of factors. Reserved for only the anomalies of the jujutsu world, one acquired it due to possessing immeasurable strength or destructive power. However, because the category itself was so vast, referring to something or someone as a special grade did little to help assess their true strength.

You were a special grade sorcerer yourself. However, so was Satoru Gojo, and the difference in your individual strengths was immense. Against him, you wouldn’t last even half a second.

You had greatly underestimated the first curse. It was important you did not repeat that mistake with these two. You were still unsure what cursed technique they both had, but even without that information, you knew it was about to be a challenge, significantly more so than your first fight.

Neither the first curse, Hachi, nor these two had shown up while you were around Sukuna. In fact, they had waited until that distance between you was vast, likely multiple miles, before showing their faces. If that truly was the case, they knew you were traveling with him and exactly when the two of you went in separate directions.

Have they been watching this entire time?

That feeling you had felt before.

Had they been the cause?

You had felt it twice. On both the night you met Sukuna and at the shrine where you had acquired the cursed mirror. That feeling of an all-encompassing dread that was so terrible it urged every inch of your body to run and cower.

You took another instinctive step backwards. Your body was practically moving on its own now.

You didn’t fully understand what was going on, but you needed to get away from here and attempt to close the distance between you and Sukuna.

Still intoxicated from the alcohol you drank earlier, with tear-stained cheeks and a disheveled yukata after your unfortunate moment with Sukuna, you weren’t in the right mind to fight, and escape likely held the best odds for your survival. You needed to run and find that pink-haired bastard.

Fuck.

You were so frustrated.

It was Sukuna’s fault that you were even in this situation in the first place, and now you needed to rely on him for help.

Your feet continued to carry you backwards, stepping over various sticks and stones protruding from the damp grass.

The forest you found yourself in was one with uneven terrain and abundant foliage, which was something you could likely use to your advantage. You doubted that their speed was on par with that of the previous curse you fought, and even if it was, you could try to use your technique to alter the environment around you to throw them off course.

In doing this, you would drain your cursed energy quickly, but that hopefully wouldn’t matter, as your only goal was to escape and not fight.

However, something about the way Roku was staring at you told you he wouldn’t let you slip from his grasp so easily.

He took a step towards you, his thin pupils widening and a grin stretching from ear to ear.

An expression so sinister it was on par with the King of Curses. The spirit in front of you may not be as strong as Sukuna, but you were willing to bet that he was just as depraved.

“You needn’t be so frightened. We don’t have any plans to kill you yet. You were requested alive.”

Your mouth went dry. They wanted you alive, just like the first curse had said.

But why?

“So there really are eight of you after all, is that right? I really thought your friend was just full of shit.” You hated how pathetic you sounded after an evening of crying. Any venom you attempted to put behind your words was in vain, as the cracked voice that escaped you came across as nothing more than utterly pathetic.

“You are terribly mistaken,” an unfamiliar, gruff voice spoke. It was cold and monotone in nature.

You cut your eyes over to the curse from which it came, the kanji on his forehead spelling out go.

Five.

Go towered over you and Roku both. If you had to guess, he was likely even approaching Sukuna’s height. His flesh was a bluish-gray hue, and he lacked any hair. Multiple eyes spanned across the entirety of his head. Between the top, both sides, and the front of his face, you counted thirteen eyes. Although you knew he likely had more in the back that you couldn’t see.

“Twelve,” was all the curse said.

Twelve!?

There’s twelve of them?

Before you could even finish forming a coherent thought, Go was already speaking once more.

“Go ahead and grab her. We don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”

“There’s no need to rush me. We still have time to play around,” Roku replied, taking yet another step towards you. “He’s not anywhere nearby, and something tells me that he won’t come searching for her just yet.”

They were talking about Sukuna.

Your assessment had been correct. They were attempting to avoid him at all costs.

Which meant it was time for you to leave and go find him.

You began pooling your cursed energy into the fingertips on your left hand and spun around, hurriedly latching onto a nearby tree.

Your hand made contact, fingers splayed across the rough bark, ready to run as soon as it fell. You would repeat the process throughout your retreat and collapse both the trees and ground beneath you as you ran. This would likely make their pursuit more difficult, and if you timed it right, it could even hurt one of them.

“Tree, collapse.”

And that’s when you felt it.

Absolutely nothing at all.

You offered up a sharp, audible gasp, and your knees suddenly felt as if they were made of gelatin. As soon as your cursed energy left your body, it completely dissipated, which meant your technique had failed.

Nullification.

If one of their techniques was capable of nullifying yours, that meant your speed and strength were no longer enhanced either, as they were constantly being reinforced by your own cursed technique. Without these capabilities, you were no more than the average human.

Running now would be damn near impossible. You could attempt it, but you likely wouldn’t get anywhere.

A cruel cackle could be heard roaring from behind you as you stayed frozen in place.

You turned back to look at the curses, eyes scanning them as Roku continued to laugh with his head thrown back. The other curse, Go, stood there with his arms crossed in silence.

If retreat was no longer an option, and fighting was never even one to begin with, what the hell were you even left with?

Roku’s laughter finally ceased, that same wild look in his eyes from before returning once again. “There are few things in this wretched world that can truly bring me joy, but one of them is watching someone’s face whenever they realize their technique has been ripped away from them.”

“My brother here,” Roku pivoted his body and pointed his thumb back behind him towards Go, “has very special eyes.”

Brother?

They weren’t just a group of curses working together towards some goal — they viewed one another as family.

“As long as at least one of his eyes has you in its sight, you will be unable to utilize your cursed technique.”

His eyes.

You directed your attention back to Go and watched as each one of his eyes was constantly moved, scanning every inch of his environment. In order to regain your technique, you’d need to blind him somehow.

It was a tricky technique he had, and it would be a pain in the ass to exploit what appeared to be its only weakness. Having so many eyes meant even if you took a few of them out, all he’d have to do is rotate his head to get you back into his field of vision.

You also weren’t even sure how to attack him. With your technique being nullified, you were struggling to come up with any sort of concrete plan. You didn’t even have your backpack with you, so you had no supplies at your disposal either. Even something as simple as a pocketknife would have been better than nothing.

Your eyes flickered over to where Roku stood. His cursed technique was still a mystery to you, but you already knew that in your current state, you were wildly outmatched. If Go’s technique was what kept you from using yours, then Roku likely wouldn’t let you near him if you just charged in trying to openly attack.

“Why do any of you even want me in the first place?”

“That’s irrelevant,” Go replied, but this time from behind you.

Your body went rigid at the feeling of a hand pushing against the center of your back, lightly shoving you forward.

In the brief moment you removed your eyes from him, he managed to position himself behind you, and you never even noticed.

Despite his gargantuan size, he was fast. Stealthy too.

You tossed him a glance over your shoulder, your equilibrium getting thrown off from the sudden movement. For a brief moment, it felt as if you could feel the world spinning on its axis.

No, he was neither of those things. You were just still intoxicated and weren’t fully aware of your surroundings.

Another shove, urging your body to move.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” Roku hissed as he stormed up. His arm latched onto the front of your shoulder, shoving you down onto the ground as he placed himself directly in front of Go.

The impact of your body hitting the cold, hard ground beneath you knocked every last bit of air from your lungs. Your breath was ragged as you attempted to take in more oxygen while desperately scrambling to push yourself up.

“I’m not here to play along with your sadistic games. We were told to bring the girl in unharmed.”

“Alive! We were told to bring her in alive,” Roku interjected, quick to cut off his brother.

You managed to bring yourself up onto all fours whenever a sizeable hand slipped itself underneath your abdomen and lifted you up. The curse set you back on your feet, hand reuniting with your lower back to give you a third shove.

Peeking over your shoulder, you were met with at least a dozen eyes peering down from above as Go towered over you.

“I do not wish to use any more force than necessary. Please consider cooperating with us.”

You gulped, much louder than you would’ve preferred, and just nodded your head in agreement.

Despite the fact that he appeared to lack whatever vicious tendencies coursed through his brother’s veins, he was every bit as intimidating, if not more.

There was no way you could actually leave with the curses, that much was certain. Even if they wanted you alive now, you likely wouldn’t stay that way for long.

However, your cursed technique was off the table as long as Go had you in his sight, and you still weren’t sure how you could blind him just yet. Agreeing to willingly go with them even for just a few minutes until you could figure something else out was your best and likely only viable option left.

“Good.”

You began to take a step forward as Roku positioned himself in front of you and Go both. His top lip curled upwards as his fingers began to twitch.

“No,” he sneered, eyes falling from his brother down to you. His tongue briefly flicked his bottom lip. “I want to play with the prey first.”

“And what will become of our situation should you accidentally kill her?”

“I won’t!” Roku barked out, his nostrils flaring wildly as his fingers continued to twitch, now moving faster than before.

Cursed spirits were violent by nature, any sorcerer knew that much. However, you had never seen a being with such an insatiable desire for bloodshed in your life. He looked as if he would combust if he wasn’t allowed to sink his claws into you.

“That is not for you to decide.” Go spoke as he stepped beside you, one hand pushing Roku to the side and the other carefully wrapping itself around your bicep. “Now go seek out Nana. She’s likely awaiting your update.”

Nana?

Seven?

There’s another one nearby?

“Why won’t you go update Nana?”

“And risk the girl regaining her cursed technique? Don’t be foolish.”

You could feel multiple of Go’s eyes burning into you as your gaze met the ground below.

Even if you could find a way to temporarily blind him and escape, you would now have the third curse to deal with. The odds were stacked against you, and the situation was far more dire than you had realized.

Two was bad enough, but three?

Go’s fingers gave your upper arm a squeeze as he began to walk, signaling for you to keep your word of cooperation and follow alongside him.

“Fine,” Roku drawled, malice dripping from his tongue as he spoke. “But I will return, and soon.”

You didn’t dare to raise your eyes as you continued to walk. However, you heard Roku as he stomped off in a completely different direction, leaving just you and Go alone.

The footsteps soon disappeared, and so did the firm grip the curse held on your arm. He continued by your side, never once stepping ahead or behind you. Out of your periphery, you watched as multiple eyes scanned across your entire being, unwavering and unblinking.

The moon was full and still incredibly bright, lighting up the path you traversed with ease. You finally lifted your eyes upwards to peer at the orb of light. It was well on its way back down, and if you had to guess, daybreak was roughly only three hours away.

How long had you been gone now? You weren’t sure but assumed it had been quite a bit due to the distance you had already wandered away from Sukuna before encountering the cursed spirits.

You dropped your gaze back down before sneaking a glance over your left shoulder, only to be met by absolutely nothing but a vast forest.

Had Sukuna even grown suspicious of your absence yet? Or would he not care until it was too late?

“You would know if he was here.”

You swung your head back around, directing it towards Go. “What?”

“Ryomen Sukuna,” he replied. “You would sense his presence before you saw him. You of all people should know that, seeing as you’ve been traveling together.”

Your feet came to a screeching halt as you dug your heels in the dirt. Go immediately followed suit, reaching his arm out in case you decided to suddenly rebel against your agreement and attempt to run away. Instead, you tilted your head back to look him directly in the face.

“Why do you know his name?”

“I do not follow.”

“You knew I had a travel companion who’s strong, and you wanted to avoid him. That much I’ve gathered. However, something like strength can be gauged from a distance. But why is it that you, a cursed spirit, know his name?”

“I see.” His hand wrapped around your wrist as he took off again, pulling you close behind him. “Trying to piece together fragments of information in a desperate attempt for answers will do you no good. Your fate remains the same regardless.”

You already knew they had been watching you, but how closely? As of now, you knew hardly anything at all about the curses and knew nothing at all about their motives. Was it possible that it had something to do with Sukuna?

Pulling back as hard as you could, you tried to rip yourself free from the curse’s grasp, but instead he tightened it and yanked you towards him.

“I told you that I did not want to use any force on you, and you agreed to cooperate.”

“Why do you know Sukuna’s name?” You demanded, using your free arm to reach towards his hand that held a grip on you.

He immediately caught your second hand with his, now having both your arms in a hold. “If I tell you, will you cease this nonsense and follow me?”

There was a growing irritation in his voice, and it was the first time since you had encountered him that he was expressing any emotion at all.

You just nodded, and in response he dropped the hold on your arms.

“It’s because every sorcerer knows who Ryomen Sukuna is, and I once was human like you.”

Your lips parted slightly as a gasp attempted to rise to the surface, but it instead died in your throat.

An admission so horrifying your entire body grew cold, and it took everything in you to stop your hands from trembling.

A human becoming a curse after their death wasn’t unheard of. In fact, a sorcerer must be killed by jujutsu, or they run a higher risk of becoming a cursed spirit after their death.

Your eyes flickered back to the kanji on Go’s forehead. Scarred skin, red and raised from the branding process. These weren’t normal cursed spirits, born solely from the hatred that seeped out from mankind. They were manufactured. Someone, or something, had taken human sorcerers and forced them into becoming vengeful spirits, then marked them as if they were nothing more than cattle.

But who could do such a thing?

No. It didn’t matter. You didn’t need any more details about these curses right now. If they were all former sorcerers cursed into becoming what they currently were, it was obvious what possible fate awaited you.

Forget Sukuna, and forget forging any type of plan. You needed to leave immediately. No matter how dangerous or difficult it may be, you could not spend another second longer here.

The destination he was seeking lay ahead of you, while Roku was somewhere behind you as far as you knew. Neither one of those would be viable options, so you’d need to either head to your left or right.

Without another thought, you took off running as fast as your feet would carry you, veering off to your left. You wouldn’t be fast enough to actually outrun Go, but you didn’t need to. All that mattered was finding a way to take his eyes.

You could hear a deep sigh behind you, immediately followed by heavy footsteps. His pace picked up, and he grew close to you right as a small stream came into sight.

Perfect.

It wasn’t wide, nor did it appear to be very deep. However, it was at an incline, with running water cascading over protruding rocks, and it could work to your advantage well enough.

Your feet were already burning, and your breath grew ragged as you pushed just a little further, your right foot stepping over rocks and into the stream. The water splashed upwards, soaking your yukata and covering the lower half of your calf.

A hand collided with your arm once more as Go had caught up to you. He opened his mouth to speak, but before the words could come out, you kicked one of the rocks he stood on, sending it flying out from underneath him. This unbalanced him, causing him to lose his footing and fall backwards into the water.

You jumped on top of him, planting a knee on either side of his abdomen as you forced downwards with all of your body weight in an attempt to keep him pinned down.

The various stones and rocks of the riverbed dug into the fragile skin on your knees, one of them even slicing into your flesh, but your adrenaline was pumping far too much to pay it any mind.

Go managed to push his head and neck upwards, emerging out from underneath the water. He was stronger than you and could absolutely throw you off of him at any time, but it appeared he was still somewhat disoriented.

Without wasting a second more, you grabbed onto his head and forced it into your torso. His face harshly collided with your ribcage with a loud smack, causing you to grit your teeth at the contact.

Reaching your right arm out to the edge of the stream, you dug your hand into the ground, scooping up sand. It grew sticky the second it made contact with your wet skin.

“If I gouge your eyes out, you’ll only regrow them!” You hissed as you brought your hand back to his head, slamming it into a pair of eyes he has on the backside.

He thrashed as you pushed the now paste-like sand into his eye sockets. You could feel it as his eyelids began rapidly blinking around your fingertips.

You reached out for yet another handful, this time allowing it to fall from your hand above the top of his head, landing with a loud splat before you repeated the motion two more times.

Go continued to thrash, this time pushing with more strength and nearly knocking you backwards. You pressed into the ground beneath you with all your might. A rush of sanguine could be seen as the stones below dug deeper into your knees, cutting them open and allowing your blood to flow freely.

“But you still have human-like reflexes. You cannot help but blink whenever the grains of sand rub against your eyes, and the more you blink, the farther it’ll spread underneath your eyelids.”

“You bitch!” He choked out as you rapidly rubbed the mixture into as many of his eyes as you could.

Suddenly he pulled his head back and rammed it into your abdomen, pushing onto your diaphragm and knocking all the air from your body. You toppled backwards, falling into the water yourself, and expected him to leap on top of you, but the contact never came.

Within an instant you were on your feet, staring down as he was desperately flushing his eyes out with the water, attempting to remove the sand from his eyes.

It worked.

You didn’t need to get far, just out of eyesight, and your cursed technique would return.

Turning on your heels, you began sprinting away and the distance between you and the curse was growing fast.

Almost there.

You turned around to glance at Go one final time, who was still kneeling in the stream, when suddenly something latched onto your ankle, pulling you to a halt.

Falling forward, an arm reached out to catch you while a hand firmly planted itself on the upper left quadrant of your back.

Glancing down, you noticed the appendage was clad in the same black robe Go wore.

Fuck.

Hot breath ricocheted off your cheek as the curse lowered his head down towards yours. You could see the bright orange hair out of the corner of your eye as he drew closer, lips nearly brushing against your ear.

“What did you do to my brother?”

His voice was different. It lacked the cruel, depraved edge it carried earlier. Something far more sinister and calculated lurked beneath the surface.

Roku no longer wanted to play with you for his own sadistic pleasure. No, he was enraged.

The hand on his back grew warm to the touch, and without warning, an earth-shattering pain was spreading throughout your body. Falling forward, you collapsed on the ground in front of you, letting out a shrill scream.

You could feel as the backside of your ribcage shattered, bones bursting like glass hitting a tile floor. How many were broken, you were unsure of, but at least a handful of your ribs were fractured.

Tears pricked the corners of your eyes as you attempted to push yourself off your knees, but a hand reached back out, gripping onto your right forearm and lifting you into the air with ease.

“My cursed technique is quite a brutal one,” Roku spoke as he glared down at you with empty eyes. “I can create and emit shockwaves from the palms of my hands.”

His touch grew warm once more, and a white-hot searing pain spread throughout your arm. Your body dangled just off the ground as he continued clutching onto the now broken arm. The tears now flowed freely as your head fell back, another scream escaping your lips.

“These shockwaves can travel through anything. However, in close contact, the force is too much for a human body to withstand. The pressure absolutely decimates bones and organs alike.”

“We need her alive!”

You could hear Go somewhere pleading with his brother to drop you, along with the sounds of water splashing and cascading over the rocks, but it all began blending together as you couldn’t focus on anything other than your pain.

Roku said something you didn’t fully catch right before letting go of your arm. As soon as your feet hit the ground, you began to stumble before he caught you once more. His hand this time found its way to your stomach, while the other grabbed your chin and forced you to look upwards at him.

“Whenever you awaken, you’ll find something waiting for you far worse than I.”

His warm hand gave way to probably the most painful attack yet. A high-pitched ringing overcame your senses and the corners of your vision grew blurry. Vomit rose up, and the bile spewed from your lips down the front of your yukata.

Losing your balance, you hit the ground with a thud, a small pool of blood forming underneath you.

Your breathing grew labored as your vision doubled. The sounds of Go yelling at Roku began to grow distant. You were unsure what they were arguing about, but you assumed it likely had to do with you.

You didn’t know what all injuries you had acquired, though you knew they were extensive, and no matter how hard you tried, there was no more fighting back.

You had lost.

Soon you’d lose consciousness, and they’d run off with your body. No more Sukuna, no more chasing the divine weapons. Just whatever sick fate the cursed spirits had in store for you.

Suddenly something cold splattered across your cheek as Roku and Go’s voices ceased talking, only to be replaced with a garbling noise. You attempted to turn your head only to be met with a flash of bright orange flying through the air.

Raising your eyes back up to the sky, your vision began to fade to black as the moonlight’s illumination began to dull, and the last thing you saw was a pink blur leaning over you.

Chapter Text

Soft, delicate skin gave way to dreadful splotches of burgundy where fresh bruises had already begun to grow.

The only sound that could be heard was the patter of a gentle rainfall against the ryokan’s roof and soft breathing that accompanied the subtle rise and fall of your chest.

You had acquired multiple fractures across your ribcage as well as shattered bones in your right forearm. A few of your internal organs had suffered damage as well, but those were of no consequence now. Anything that posed a significant threat had long been healed before Sukuna even pried you from the pool of your own blood.

What exactly happened between the time you had stormed off and whenever he found your unconscious body was a mystery to Sukuna and likely would not be solved until you came to your senses.

Reaching down, he grabbed onto a small towel and dipped it into a bowl of water before bringing the plush piece of fabric up to your bare sternum and carefully wiping the skin underneath.

Your yukata had been absolutely drenched, from what appeared to be a mixture of water, blood, and your own vomit. Sukuna was certainly not a caretaker, nor did he have any desire to actually bathe you. However, he decided he would at least take off the soiled garment and scrub the stomach acid from your skin. The last thing he wanted was the stench of rotting bile wafting through the place where he was staying as well, especially considering he had every intention of keeping you on a shortened leash from here on out.

He hadn’t met the cursed spirit you had encountered back whenever you were both in the northern part of the nation, nor had he thought much of it. At the time, you claimed he had no name and was only referred to as “The Eighth.”

Japan’s current environment was much like the Heian era. Millions of spirits wandering free, terrorizing every unfortunate human that crossed their path, sorcerer and non-sorcerer alike. So you coming face-to-face with an oddball spirit wasn’t anything to raise his suspicions.

However, the scene Sukuna had stumbled upon tonight, two curses standing next to your mangled body and bearing marks similar to the one you had fought before, made him realize something was truly amiss.

Scoffing, he dunked the cloth back into the water before wringing it out and bringing it back to your body, this time just below your naked breasts, deliberately moving in a slow, downwards motion.

Curses working together wasn’t unheard of. Just a few months prior in Shibuya, it was the cooperation between curses that led Kenjaku to successfully seal Satoru Gojo in the Prison Realm. Though even lacking more critical context, something told him that this situation was far different than that. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about the entire thing felt off.

Oh well.

Sukuna did not care who they were or what they were truly after. They’d undoubtedly drop like flies the second they stood against him. In fact, the only reason he was even slightly agitated in the first place was because they had almost taken his prize.

He stopped his cleaning before bringing one of his hands to your face. His thumb carefully traced just below the outline of your lower lip. “And we can’t have that, now can we?”

Pulling back, the wet towel got tossed somewhere over his shoulder, hitting the ground with a splat. It was decent enough of a job, and you could take a proper bath once you awoke. Now all that remained was healing the remainder of your broken bones.

The ribs in front had already been mended back together as a byproduct of him fixing your internal organs. Really the only thing left was your right arm and your back.

Positioning himself on your futon, Sukuna reached out with his lower left hand and carefully lifted your right arm. It had already begun swelling and was nearly twice the size of your left. The injury was quite complex, with multiple break points between your upper wrist and elbow. It almost reminded him of how your technique broke one of his arms during your first fateful encounter with one another.

But this was not self-inflicted, he knew that much for certain. In fact, never once while the two of you were separated did he feel the surge of your cursed energy like he had during your fight with the first curse. That begs the question, did you even try to fucking fight back?

The right corner of his lip instinctively pulled upwards as he laid his top left hand on top of your limp arm.

“Useless woman,” was all he uttered as a faint, white glow emitted from his palm, allowing your bones to slowly move back into place. The second it was finished, he placed it back at your side. Now he just needed to work on your back, and he would be done.

What a pain.

He repositioned himself, this time allowing an angle where he could slip his two right arms underneath you. Slowly he pried you from the futon’s plush surface and brought your upper body into his.

Your unsupported head flung forward, landing on his shoulder, where it continued to rest as he held your lower back in place with his lower right hand. His upper hand planted itself on the purpling skin, ready to use his reversed cursed technique to finish mending you for good when the softest whimper suddenly escaped you.

Sukuna stilled for a brief moment as if he had turned to stone and cut all four of his eyes down to you, waiting to see if you had woken. Soon the rise and fall of your chest returned. This time he could feel its movement through his haori.

The positive energy began flooding out from his hands and soaking into your body whenever he saw your face contort into something that resembled an expression of distress. Soon your lips softly parted, and a quiet moan fell from them. Sukuna stilled once more, this time his fingers inadvertently digging into your wounded skin.

The sound had been one of pain, and not like the moans of pleasure he had meticulously ripped from your throat just hours prior. Though it frankly didn’t matter, he could still feel a faint spark in his lower abdomen.

Enough.

He pulled back and immediately rose to his feet. Your lifeless body fell back down, hitting the flooring hard with a loud smack, and you now laid partially off the futon.

Sukuna stared down at your body, completely bare with your arms sprawled out. Your facial expression was neutral once more, and no further sounds escaped you as you remained unmoving.

One of his hands clenched at his side, knuckles whitening as he grit his teeth. “Learn to heal yourself, you shitty fucking sorcerer.”

With that, he took his leave. Turning on his heels, he stomped out of your room and took a sharp right. His heavy feet carried him down the wooden floors and led him directly towards the ryokan’s kitchen.

His newest excursion was likely in vain, as most of the sustenance in the kitchen had long expired, though he honestly didn’t care. He was starving, and Sukuna would find something to appease this craving of his, no matter what.

Though he knew it wasn’t rooted in traditional hunger but rather an ache to be satiated by something else entirely, he would not call this urge by what it actually was. He would not allow a desire for something as frivolous as physical pleasure to take root in him.

Reaching out, one of his lower hands slammed the kitchen’s door open. The force was so harsh, it caused the wall to tremble. Immediately he made his way to the refrigerator and yanked it open. Leaning back, he inspected its contents but, sure enough, was met by nothing more than rotting vegetables and meat.

He wasn’t surprised in the slightest. This part of the nation had been abandoned for months. Pushing the doors shut, he glanced to the side, a familiar bag catching his eye.

Some of that dried meat you introduced him to awhile back. It definitely wasn’t what his palate preferred, but it was tolerable.

It’ll suffice.

Snatching it up, he made his way to a chair adjacent to a small table in the corner and plopped down. With legs spread wide and two of his arms resting along the sides of the chair, he leaned back and began to bring pieces of the meat up to his face, slipping it between his lips and giving it a thorough chew before swallowing.

The motion was repeated a handful of times, and soon the bag was empty, leaving him with nothing but an unsatisfied hunger that continued to simmer below the surface. He was growing more irritated by the minute.

Ryomen Sukuna was a being that did not want for anything. The entire world revolved around both his pleasure and displeasure — and it always had. Anytime he hungered for something, no matter what it was, it was his free for the taking.

It wasn’t so much that he was denying himself you. In fact, he could’ve had you just a few hours prior. You had told him earlier you wouldn’t fuck him, but seeing you lying there, eyes wide, sucking your own slick from his fingers like your life depended on it, he knew that was a lie.

You would’ve done anything he asked in that moment, and you would’ve enjoyed every last second of it. Because, like him, you were also a glutton for pleasure. You just shielded the world from that side of you and sought out your forms of pleasure by different means.

No, it wasn’t that he couldn’t have you. Even now, after what he had done to you, it wouldn’t be hard to work his way back in. You were a fucking fool, and likely a week or so of sweet talk would be more than enough to get back in your good graces.

It was the fact that at his core, he was utterly repulsed by you. A weak, fragile being who was no more significant than the dirt beneath his fucking feet, and once you served your purpose to him, you would be disposed of as such.

A pathetic excuse for a sorcerer like you didn’t even deserve to sit at the same table as him, so why would he ever actually sink himself into someone the likes of you?

Yet no matter how much he knew this to be true, he’d be lying if he said the thought alone didn’t make his cocks twitch.

All four of his eyes fell downwards to the bulge growing between his thighs. Both of his cocks were already partially hard and getting larger by the second. For a brief moment, he considered attempting to seek out something else to eat. However, he knew what he actually needed to do to rectify this issue, and if he didn’t fix it, it would likely only deepen.

Sukuna’s legs instinctively widened further as one of his hands began to travel south, fingers slipping underneath the waistband to wriggle down his pants and allow his cocks to spring free.

His upper right hand found its way to his upper cock and firmly wrapped itself around the thick, black tattooed band that rested at its base. He gave it a couple slow and deliberate pumps before his lower right hand followed suit and did the same to the second one.

A guttural groan escaped from his lips as his cocks were now fully erect, with clear beads of fluid forming at the tips. He paused, bringing his thumb to the head of his upper cock before dragging the liquid down the center of his shaft, carefully tracing over the veins that arose from it.

He finally began to pump both of his cocks at a faster pace while thoughts of you, with your eyes closed and head back, mindlessly rocking your hips back and forth, keenly fucking your tight, wet core on his fingertips, infiltrated his mind. The cries of ecstasy being pulled from deep within you as you neared your climax echoed in his psyche.

He wanted — no, he needed — more.

Suddenly the maw that stretched across his stomach was parting, and the monstrous tongue it housed was slinking out. It found itself climbing downwards, leaving a trail of wetness down his lower abdomen as it sought out his own length. Sukuna retracted his hand from his first cock as the sopping muscle met it instead.

Thick strands of saliva slowly dripped from the tip of the tongue, soaking both cocks from head to base. It swirled around the top one’s tip painstakingly slow before giving the slit at the end a few flicks.

The feeling was unbelievably wet and warm, much like your needy cunt had been for him not too long ago. His tongue finally fully curled itself around his top cock with a tight grip, and another groan erupted from his throat at the contact.

He gripped onto the armrest of the chair with one of his hands, nails digging in as his head tilted back. His eyes grew heavy and closed at the sensation of the tongue traveling up and down his hard cock. Droplets of drool went flying about and drenched his surroundings in the process, while his palm worked diligently on pleasing the other.

Sukuna could feel the blood rushing to his head as the world around him grew silent. The only thing he could now hear was a vulgar squelching sound echoing throughout the kitchen, accompanying his chorus of explosive grunts.

He finally snapped and let his carnal desires fully take root. Digging his feet into the hard floor beneath him, he began bucking his hips upwards, and for just a brief moment, he imagined it was not his own tongue wrapped around him, but instead the same desperate cunt that had been clenched around his fingers earlier in the evening.

His pace grew far more aggressive as he continued to fuck himself relentlessly. His breath became labored, and the chair in which he sat began quaking underneath him as it scraped harshly against the floor. It was likely on the verge of collapsing, but he couldn’t bring himself to fucking care.

It was rough and raw, nearly violent how he was having himself. He was so close, yet it still wasn’t quite enough.

More. More. More. More. More. 

The words were loud in his mind, repeating as if some sort of mantra. His worn, calloused hands and slick tongue had brought him to the precipice of pleasure, but they couldn’t give him more. He had to take more.

His cocks needed to be buried deep inside you, your walls stretching and clenching as they slid down his co—

The fantasy shattered into pieces as his body jerked, and hot ropes of white began spilling from both his cocks as he finally reached his peak. He released the grip his tongue held, retracting it back into his mouth before giving his bottom cock just a few more pumps, making sure that every drop of his sweet release broke free.

With a loud sigh, he leaned back in the chair, eyes wild with pieces of hair out of place. His breathing began to even out as his muscles began to relax. He sat for a few moments, listening to the sounds of rain falling against the roof. It sounded as if it was waning and would soon reach its end. If that was the case, he’d likely go for a soak in the onsen.

Casting his gaze downward, he examined the remnants of his pleasure that he had left behind. Sticky, alabaster puddles littered his softening cocks and thighs alike. It was quite the mess. However, Sukuna’s hunger had been satiated for now, and that’s all that mattered to him.

With a harsh click of his tongue, he reached down and tugged his pants back up while rising to his feet. He needed to go clean himself.

Sure enough, it appeared that the rainfall had completely diminished as he strolled through the hallways. He needed to go back to his room and seek out something else to wear so he could go bathe.

A familiar open door came into his field of vision as he neared his quarters, and a gentle, rhythmic breathing could be heard once more.

He would soon pass your room, and against his better judgement, he’d likely stop to peek in to ensure you were still unconscious.

Stopping in his tracks as soon as he reached the threshold, he leaned against the doorway to be met with the sight of you in the exact same position he had left you in.

Completely bare, halfway hanging onto the flooring, and still as a statue. The only difference now is that goosebumps had begun to spread across your body. You had grown cold, not enough for it to stir you from your slumber, but cold nonetheless.

You looked completely and utterly pathetic lying there, and for some reason, it really fucking pissed him off.

Sukuna entered the room with a scoff and swung the closet door open with a loud bang. Reaching for a pile of folded yukatas resting on a shelf, he grabbed onto whichever was on top and pulled it out.

Crimson in color, with some sort of intricate design embroidered with black thread along the edges, it was a formal outfit and definitely not one you’d choose to sleep in. However, you would get whatever the hell he gave you. He wasn’t going to waste his time searching for something more suitable for resting.

You should be grateful that he was willing to even do anything for you at all.

He walked back over to where you laid, dropped the outfit down next to you, and lifted up your body in a similar fashion to how he had done so earlier, leaning it against his shoulder again.

Before he could grab the yukata to unfold it and drape it over your body, a section of skin with darkening skin branching out caught his eye.

That’s right.

He had never finished healing your wounds, and by the looks of it, they were quickly worsening. With a roll of the eyes, he placed another one of his hands over where your fractures were and allowed his energy to flow freely to penetrate your injuries.

You flinched against his shoulder, whimpering just like you had earlier. Looking down, he examined your face, and you were still completely out of it.

How odd.

You hadn’t moved at all whenever he had carried you back to the ryokan or healed any of your other injuries. Whatever the curses had done to your back had been far more severe than—

No, that’s not it.

Sukuna looked, really looked at you, and that’s when he noticed it. Your body was absorbing his cursed energy once more. That alone wasn’t a surprise to him. He had known for a while now that you were capable of doing so. However, his cursed energy was not dispersing throughout your body. It was pooling together and building up in one singular location.

The nape of your neck.

He put the healing on pause and crept his hand upwards until it rested just below your hairline. After he withdrew his positive energy, it slowly began dissipating from your body as well. He continued to gently trace the back of your neck as the last remnants of his energy vanished from you.

Pressing his index finger into the spot where it once was, he released a burst of cursed energy directly into it, and the second it left his hand, your body violently jerked into his, mouth flying open with a sharp gasp.

He quickly pulled back, and allowed your breathing to return to normal. Eyes never once opening, your head rolled softly to the side, now facing him.

Whatever reaction your body had to his cursed energy seemed to be a mystery to you and him both. The first time he caught you doing it, Sukuna hadn’t been sure whether it was intentional on your end or not, which is precisely why he had pulled the stunt earlier in which he seduced you. But even after discovering the truth, he was still left with far more questions than answers.

He brought his finger back to your neck, rubbing it softly, but not using his cursed energy this time around. There was something peculiar about that spot, but to the naked eye, it appeared to be absolutely nothing.

If only there was a way—

Suddenly an idea popped into his head, prompting the smallest of smirks to grow across his face. He wasn’t quite sure if it would even work, but it was certainly worth a try.

Frantically glancing around the room, he began searching, but for some reason, his eyes couldn’t find your things.

That’s right.

Before he had encountered you in the courtyard earlier, you had been drinking in one of the common rooms.

He was quick to his feet, allowing your body to hit the ground once more, and paced off down the hallway into where you usually worked with that book you were deciphering, and as soon as he entered the room, he saw a tattered piece of fabric and the reflective edge of the small mirror it held.

Snatching it up without another thought, Sukuna was back in your room within seconds, pulling you back into his arms. This time your face was flush against his neck, allowing his chin to rest atop your head. He needed a clear view for what he was about to attempt.

Using one of his hands, he utilized his cursed technique, slashing into the opposite hand and creating a wound just deep enough to provide a steady stream of blood.

He pressed his now open wound onto the back of the mirror and held it directly behind you.

His eyes widened, and his grip on you tightened as various cursed markings suddenly appeared in the reflection. Just like the mirror had shown you hidden words in the book about Suiryu, it revealed whatever sigils marked you.

It was an advanced form of jujutsu, that much was certain. The markings looked similar to other ones commonly used in sorcery, yet somehow vastly different. They almost appeared ancient, as if they outdated even him. They were completely unreadable, and no matter how many times he attempted to read it back, Sukuna could not discern what was written.

They were neither engraved nor tattooed, but rather ran underneath your flesh and stretched across the entirety of your neck. He had truly never seen anything like it. However, if he had to give his best assumption, it was likely a seal of some sort.

But, for what?

He gently began tracing the outline of them and let out a small burst of cursed energy, prompting you to twitch under his grasp, but he payed your movement little mind. As soon as his energy came into contact with it, the sigils lit up, emitting a faint violet glow.

If you had no idea why Sukuna’s cursed energy was intertwining with your own, that likely meant you had no idea about the seal, which meant at some point before he had ever encountered you, someone, or something had put it into your body without your knowledge.

Perhaps this was why those strange curses had been after you. But even if that were the case, it was rather odd they hadn’t made their move until after he had begun traveling with you, especially considering they seemed to fear him.

Whether or not that’s why you had been attacked by the cursed spirits was irrelevant to him now. What Sukuna truly desired to know is why such an advanced seal would be woven into your body in the first place.

Seals were designed with either the purpose of keeping things out or forcing something to stay trapped within. It certainly wasn’t designed to prevent any sort of invasion, as it quite literally sucked his cursed energy into you on a regular basis. Which meant it likely was put into you for the sole purpose of containment. Whoever did this was trying to restrict you in some form or fashion for an unknown reason.

You were always so secretive and reserved, attempting to hide away and never reveal anything. Occasionally you had slipped up and unintentionally given away too much. But tonight? You had completely cracked, and Sukuna was finally able to peer inwards.

There was definitely far more to you than what meets the eye, and for such a powerful sealing to be implanted within you, he’d be willing to bet you were far more powerful than he originally thought.

A sinister grin began creeping up as a low chuckle emerged from deep within his chest. The mirror fell to the bedding below as Sukuna fully embraced you, now wrapping you in all four of his arms.

The quiet laugh grew into something more akin to a cackle as his smile exploded, the sharp edge of one of his canines reflecting the moonlight’s illumination as it filtered in from behind the clouds and through the window of your room.

His grasp on your lifeless body grew tighter, and as his laughing ceased, he buried his face in your hair. His eyes fluttered shut, and his abdomen expanded as he breathed you in.

“It seems you were quite the prize after all,” Sukuna cooed as he brought his lips down to your scalp and pressed them against your sensitive skin. “And I have a feeling you’ll do so many remarkable things for me.”

Chapter Text

It was a terrible feeling.

A dull ache from behind you that grew into something more painful as it trailed upwards. You felt weak, as if all the life had been sucked from you. Everything felt wrong, but you couldn’t even muster the strength to open your own eyes to find out why. All you knew was you were hurting, and your body cried out for rest.

You laid there in the silence and felt the rise and fall of your chest as you teetered on the precipice of sleep. Occasionally you’d lose consciousness, everything fading to black, and suddenly, the persistent pain behind you would sink its teeth in and rip you back to the land of the waking.

How long this continued on for was something you were ignorant to, nor did you care. The only thing you had any desire to do was sleep until you physically could not any longer. At least it was until unwelcome images began coursing through your mind, jolting you awake in a panic.

Scenes of agony and suffering dealt by the hands of fearsome cursed spirits. Over a dozen eyes peering down at you, warm hands absolutely devastating your defenseless body, faces scarred by branded numbers. It was all coming back to you.

Your eyes flew open with a loud gasp, and you immediately pushed yourself to your knees in a panic. It was dark — fuck, it was so dark you could hardly make out what was around you.

Where were you?

No, more importantly, where were they?

You extended your hands out, desperate to seek out some sort of clue to your whereabouts. They glided against the surface below you, soft and plush, likely a futon, before traveling to something more firm and familiar.

Tatami?

With your eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness and your fingertips kneading into the tatami flooring, you were quickly able to decipher that you were back in the ryokan.

Sukuna.

He must have sought you out and found you before the curses were able to escape with your body. You didn’t remember anything beyond the final blow Roku had landed on you. All of your memories faded to black the second that last shockwave ricocheted throughout you.

Your breathing began to regulate once you registered that you were in no immediate danger, and you leaned over towards a floor lantern, fingers fumbling around the bottom until you were able to hit the switch and illuminate the room.

As your gaze fell downwards, you noticed that a deep crimson yukata lazily clung to your body. Made of fine silk and adorned with intricate designs along the edges, it was absolutely stunning. You had seen it in the closet previously but pushed it aside, as you had no reason to wear something so formal solely for lounging.

The yukata hung partially open in the front as if the attempt to tie it closed had been lazily made. You weren’t wearing any undergarments either. Sukuna must’ve changed your clothing while you were unconscious. Your nose instinctively crinkled at the realization.

And judging by the way you moved so freely, he had healed your wounds. Well, most of them anyway. Your head was still hurting quite bad, but other than that, you felt brand new.

Sitting back on your knees, you reached your arms upwards, stretching out your back. Seeing that it was still night out, you hadn’t slept nearly as long as you imagined. Whenever you encountered the curses, the moon was already falling and daybreak was just a few hours away. If the sun hadn’t risen yet, you’d only been out of it for two hours at most.

Unless—

No, certainly you hadn’t been unconscious long enough for at least a full day to pass. Sure, you had been injured and blacked out, but it hadn’t been that bad, had it?

You needed to find Sukuna and try to piece together what happened after your memory went blank. He was the absolute last person you wanted to see right now, but at least he’d be able to fill you in on what happened to the curses.

Whatever happened between you and him was something you’d address at a later date. It — no, he — was absolutely maddening, and you weren’t sure how you’d grapple with moving past whatever shame filled you at the fact you came undone the second he laid his filthy hands upon you. But for now, you’d push your pride to the side.

First it was Hachi, followed by the brothers Roku and Go. All three of them had specifically sought you out for some reason unbeknownst to you, and it wouldn’t be outlandish to assume that they’d likely return. Not to mention, there were fucking twelve of them.

Using your hands for leverage, you pushed yourself up to your feet only to be overwhelmed by a sudden wave of dizziness.

Certainly you weren’t still drunk, were you?

No, that wasn’t right. If your guess of two hours was correct, that should’ve been enough time to sober up. Maybe Sukuna hadn’t healed as much as you thought he did.

You stumbled into the wall, leaning your forearm against it in an attempt to steady yourself. Just a few seconds prior, you had felt completely fine minus that one weird pain, so what the hell was going on now?

The sound of a door sliding could be heard, but you didn’t dare to raise your eyes off the floor where they were firmly focused. The vertigo was finally easing, and you didn’t want to stumble once more. Especially not in front of the bastard who was now watching you. Hadn’t you been humiliated enough for one day?

“I was wondering when you would awaken,” Sukuna drawled.

“How long was I out for?” The question came out far more aggressive than you had intended. Not that it wasn’t warranted — in fact, he deserved far worse. However, he knew about your body absorbing his energy now.

No, actually, he had known for a while apparently. But now he knew it was not intentional and it physically harmed you. The last thing you should do is piss him off in your weakened state.

“Roughly eighteen hours. Though the past two or three you’ve been quite restless.”

Eighteen?

Eighteen hours?

Your eyes widened at the realization that you had in fact slept through the entire day into the next night after all. Your head snapped upwards, meeting his four brilliant irises, shining brightly from the lantern light they reflected. He looked every bit as serious as he sounded.

Though the quick movement of your head was quite the mistake, as it felt like the room was spinning circles around you.

You leaned your back against the wall and began to slowly slide down until you finally lowered yourself to the tatami beneath you. The second you were sitting once more, whatever dizziness you felt completely dissipated.

“What the hell is your problem?” His tone was apathetic.

“Just got dizzy is all,” you mumbled, your right hand reaching to cradle the back of your neck. “And I have a terrible headache for some reason.”

Sukuna grew unusually silent and just continued to stare at where you currently sat. His face morphed into something completely unreadable, and his upper set of arms crossed. For once he had no snide remarks to throw your way.

“What, don’t have anything to say?”

“And what would you like me to say to you, sorcerer?” He walked over and squatted down directly in front of where you sat.

“I don’t know. Usually by this point in our conversation, you’re already belittling and berating me.”

“And is that what you want?” His voice was like velvet as one of his hands reached out and enveloped your chin between his fingers, tilting it upwards. “For me to degrade you? I always imagined you’d be the type of woman to prefer praise.”

Your face twisted into a scowl, and a loud smack echoed through the room as your open palm collided with the top of his hand, slapping it away.

He was trying to get under your skin like he always fucking did, and you knew you shouldn’t bite. Instead, you should remain level-headed and inquire about what happened to the curses. It would be the rational and logical thing to do.

But, you were tired of having to hold your composure for the sake of the mission.

“Don’t touch me.”

He instantly leaned forward, reaching his hand back out towards your face.

“I said,” you caught grabbed onto his wrist with your right hand, this time stopping it just as the tips of his fingers began to graze your cheeks, “do not fucking touch me.”

“I saved your pathetic life, and this is how you thank me.” The corner of his mouth quirked up into the beginnings of a smirk. “You didn’t mind me touching you whenever my fingers were—“

“Enough!” You could feel the heat rising to your face, and you were unsure whether you were more embarrassed or infuriated by his taunting.

The entirety of your time since that incident occurred had been spent either fighting to stay alive or resting from whatever injuries you sustained. You hadn’t even had the time to fully process what occurred between you and Sukuna, but, of course, before you got the chance to, he was throwing it back in your face.

The smirk continued to grow at your sudden outburst while he pushed himself up to his feet. “Oh, don’t go getting all riled up now.”

Sukuna reached into his pocket and grabbed something, tossing it towards you with far more velocity than was probably necessary.

Your eyes looked down at the rectangle that landed at your feet with a thump.

A pack of cigarettes.

That’s why you had gone to town in the first place. He had accompanied you to the convenience store to get cigarettes.

Unopened and with the cellophane wrapper crusted in dried blood, which was undoubtedly yours, it was one of the packs you had stuffed in your obi. So much happened. There was no telling where the rest of them were.

You picked up the box and ran your fingers over the filthy packaging. Suddenly something collided with the back of your hand before falling onto the floor.

A lighter.

You looked back up at the man who was now towering over you.

“Whenever you’re done with your little tantrum, come and talk to me.”

You watched, jaw clenched, as he strolled out of the room with a blank look in his eye.

Your hands grasped onto the pack of cigarettes and pried the cardboard box from the packaging in which it was housed.

Seeking out food and water perhaps should’ve been the first thing on your agenda, but in all honesty, you didn’t want to follow that insufferable bastard out.

Whether he healed you or not was irrelevant. For him to wait for you to awaken, solely to come in here and antagonize you, then accuse you of being the one out of line, pissed you off enough to where you did not want to cooperate with him no matter what information he could offer you.

The cigarette’s filter rested between your lips as you brought the lighter up, thumb flicking the small metal wheel, allowing a flame to ignite it before taking a deep inhale of the toxic smoke.

You’d wait awhile, and perhaps he’d fall asleep. Even if not, you’d give him enough time to make himself scarce to his own room before venturing out of yours, and in the meantime, you’d just lie in your room and hope you could piece together enough about your attackers to give you even the slightest bit of insight into their true motives.

                      —————————

It had been over two days since you last saw Sukuna. For whatever reason, he truly had not come to bother you, and it appeared he was telling the truth that night whenever he said that you would be the one to seek him out.

Except you had no reason to until now.

Your feet ghosted across the wooden hallways of the ryokan, the hem of your yukata just barely grazing the floor below. It was a dreary day, with a steady rain accompanied by dark clouds hanging overhead. The sounds of the droplets colliding with the roof overhead and the harsh whistling of the southbound breeze were all you could hear as you continued your search for Sukuna.

Your right hand twitched ever so slightly at the idea of having to see him, while your left, tightly wrapped in bandages from using the mirror again, gripped onto your sleeve.

The first day after you awoke was mainly spent lying on your futon, replaying everything you knew about those curses. Hundreds — if not thousands — of possibilities coursed through your mind.

After nearly a full day of ruminating on your thoughts, which turned out to be nothing more than conjecture due to your lack of crucial evidence, you were getting nowhere. You decided that a break may be beneficial and attempted to shift your focus back to the weapons for the time being.

You immediately took yourself back to the book and the cursed looking-glass and began to dive deeper into the ancient pages, hoping for any sort of clue about the water weapon, Suiryu.

As the first evening grew to a close, you tried to seek out sleep only to be met with a restless night of tossing and turning. Every time you began to doze off, you were met by violent images flooding back into your psyche.

All you could see every time you closed your eyes were Roku and Go.

The second day was not any better. While your strange headache finally disappeared, the lack of sleep combined with the simmering anxiety that you refused to acknowledge made it difficult to focus on what the book said.

You spent hours mindlessly scribbling transcriptions into your own notebook for later reading before you eventually gave up and found yourself at the bottom of a whiskey bottle.

Following your evening of indulgences, sleep had still managed to evade you once more. Not even the alcohol you drank could lull you to sleep, as the memories of those scarred faces continued to haunt you in the quietest hours of the night.

Until you knew more about those curses, and why they were so desperately seeking you out, you wouldn’t be able to get anything done. You had a few ideas on where to start now that you knew a bit more after your encounter with Roku and Go, but you couldn’t proceed in the endeavor without Sukuna’s cooperation.

The two of you were intertwined in an unbreakable vow, which meant you were stuck together. Should you want to go somewhere and venture off course from the objective you both agreed to, he’d have to approve.

Speak of the devil.

The King of Curses came into sight as you continued down the hall. He was perched in an open doorway leading to the courtyard. He leaned back on his lower two arms while the upper two rested idly by his side.

A stray drop of rain would occasionally bypass the overhang of the roof and splatter against his skin, but he seemed to pay it no mind as he sat there mindlessly gazing out at the storm.

Your stomach dropped, and you momentarily paused, wondering if maybe you had made a mistake and should once again try to figure things out on your own.

No.

You needed him to cooperate with you, and asking him outright would likely be the easiest avenue instead of just acting on your own whims.

Carrying yourself to the open space, you silently lowered your body down next to his. Out of your periphery, you could see as the larger eyes on the right half of his face cut over to you, eyeing where you currently sat.

You had never given much thought to Sukuna’s appearance beyond how it gave him advantages in battle except once on the car ride back to your apartment in Tokyo where you wondered if his unique proportions ever troubled him beyond sorcery. Other than those occasions, it hadn’t really crossed your mind.

It was obvious Sukuna was born with his two extra eyes, but had the skin surrounding the ones on the right side — rough, raised flesh of a different shade protruding out — always looked like that, or was it some sort of scar?

“You’re staring.”

You hadn’t even realized you had turned your head to look at him. Instinctively swallowing, you diverted your gaze back out to the courtyard and watched as the rainfall collided with the plush grass and stone walkways.

A crack of lightning could be seen in the distance, soon followed by a dull rumble of thunder.

“The weather today is nice,” was the only thing you could get out in a weak attempt to slice through the atmosphere’s strange tension.

You did not have any desire to be in the same inn as him, let alone sit by his side, and it was obvious.

“You’ve been hidden away for days now, and meaningless small talk is what you choose to open this conversation with,” Sukuna scoffed.

“I suppose so,” you mumbled, allowing silence to take hold once more.

“In what fucking world is weather like this considered nice?”

For whatever reason, he seemed to be in a foul mood and far more closed off than he had the last time you saw him. Besides eyeing you the once when you first sat down, he couldn’t even be bothered to spare you a glance.

You needed to tread carefully. Otherwise, he may not agree with what you wanted to ask of him.

“I guess I just enjoy the rain. I have ever since I was a child.”

His head slightly angled towards you, all four eyes now settling on you.

That got his attention.

You figured it would. It was rare for you to speak of yourself or your past, and Sukuna had not been shy about his desires to learn more about you.

He sat in silence, waiting for you to say more, and you’d give it to him, if for no other reason than to hopefully soften his mood.

“Something about it is comforting to me. Although the very first memory I can recall is of the rain, so perhaps that’s why I enjoy it so much. I was no more than three years old, and all I can remember is standing with my nose pressed against the window, being absolutely mesmerized by the downpour.”

Your fingers reached for the pack of cigarettes and lighter that was tucked into your obi. Pulling it out, you grabbed what was your second-to-last cigarette before bringing it up to your lips.

“Though before I was adopted, I lived in a rural village somewhere in the southern part of the nation. The entire community was riddled with farmers, including my own family. Rain was something to be celebrated, so maybe I subconsciously remember that.”

He let out a hum in acknowledgment but didn’t respond to what you had admitted to him. Instead, his head turned fully towards you, and he watched as you took a painstakingly low drag off your cigarette.

“You look like shit.”

You inwardly chuckled. Of course, he’d find a way to insult you above all else.

“I haven’t been sleeping too well the past couple of nights,” you shrugged.

“So I’ve heard. You’ve been quite on edge, moving about for hours on end only to eventually fall asleep and start mumbling.”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes. “And what have I been mumbling on about?”

“Haven’t cared enough to pay attention.”

The smoke wafted upwards from your lips as you took yet another drag. “What happened to those cursed spirits?”

“That’s what’s been troubling you, huh?”

You shrugged once more, this time not offering up an audible reply.

“Foolish of you to lose sleep over. But since you’re so bothered, I took care of it since you were too much of a weakling. Never once while we were separated did I sense your cursed energy.” His face contorted into a nasty scowl, one that you had long grown used to. “Did you even try to fucking fight back?”

“One of them had a nullification technique. The one with the eyes all over his head, his name was Go, and as long as he had me in his sight, I was unable to use my technique. And by the time I figured out a way to deal with him, the other showed up and attacked me.”

Taking one final hit of your cigarette, you dragged it across the wet ground underneath where your feet dangled.

“So yes, I tried to fight back. And I like to think I did a decent job considering that I lost my enhanced strength and speed once I lost access to my technique. I was no more than an average human against two special-grade cursed spirits.”

Sukuna harshly clicked his tongue at your sudden change of tone. Your newfound annoyance was thinly veiled. “Are you going to pitch another fit?”

“No, I’ve come to ask something of you.”

“Then ask.”

“The cursed spirits — there’s twelve of them. Well, there were twelve of them before you got ahold of Roku and Go. I know that they’re targeting me for some reason, though I do not know why. But I do know that these are vengeful cursed spirits. All of them were once human sorcerers forced into being curses. Someone, or something, manufactured them for some objective.”

Sukuna leaned forward and rested his upper right arm against his knee, using it to prop up his cheek. “And what does any of this have to do with me?”

“I want to see if I can piece together why they’re after me. I’ve had a few possible ideas, but there’s still so much that doesn’t make sense. And they won’t attack me as long as you’re around, I know that, but—“

“Stop rambling and get to the point!” Sukuna barked out.

You clenched your jaw, struggling to keep your sharp rebuttals to yourself, and mentally reminded yourself not to snap at him. That you needed him.

“There’s a place I think I might be able to gather more information. The Jujutsu Intelligence Division’s Headquarters. It houses a massive library that has information on every sorcerer that’s lived since the Sengoku Period and any notable ones from before then. It’s not too far from here actually. The Intelligence Division was purposefully placed away from both the main Jujutsu Headquarters and the schools.”

The corners of Sukuna’s lips turned upwards into the beginnings of a smirk. “Fine, we can go.”

You instantly perked up and turned towards him, a small smile rising to the surface. As much trouble as he’s fucking caused you, at least he agreed with you on this one issue, and that alone took a lot of weight off your shoulders.

“On one condition.”

Of course.

Your elevated mood was incredibly short-lived as you felt the first positive thing to happen to you in days threaten to dissipate. “Which is?”

“Beg for it.”

His smirk had turned into a wicked ear-to-ear grin, his immensely sharp canines on full display.

You glowered in return. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

“If you want us to take this little detour, you’ll have to beg for it. Hurry up and get on with it before I grow bored.”

You squeezed your eyes shut for just a moment and let a harsh exhale escape your nostrils. Somehow, every single day, he found a way to be more vexing than the last.

Damn it.

He pissed you off like no other, and you wanted nothing more than to storm back to your room to avoid him for as long as humanly possible, but you needed this.

“Please,” was the only thing you could push past your lips, and it was noticeably strained.

“No, not good enough.”

You took a deep breath before attempting a second time. “Sukuna, can we please—“

“Still not good enough.” His voice grew louder. “Try it on your knees.”

“I am not—“

“Come on.” He snapped his fingers with one of his hands while pointing to the wet ground underneath the two of you with another. “Bow before me and grovel at my feet.”

Your face burned hotter with every word he spoke.

“Have you not humiliated me enough already?” you hissed as you attempted to push yourself to your feet.

Before you could fully stand, you felt a rough tug on your arm that brought you falling back down. “Not too long ago, I couldn’t get an ounce of emotion out of you and now you’re reacting to the simplest of jabs. You’re slipping, sorcerer.”

“I wonder what happened in the past week that could possibly put me in a sour mood.”

He scoffed at the sarcastic remark that fell from your tongue as he moved one of his hands to grip onto either side of your chin.

“Do you realize how severe your injuries were whenever I found you?”

No.

You didn’t have a single clue what had transpired after Roku began his assault on you.

“I didn’t think so. Lying there in a pool of blood and vomit, internal organs mangled with more fractured bones than I could count. I saved your life, and never once have I received a proper thank you.”

“You saved my life because it benefitted you, not as a favor to me.”

“Does it fucking matter?” Sukuna’s grip grew tighter as he forced your face closer to his. “I still saved you. You wouldn’t be here without me, and now I’m willing to accompany you to accomplish something that has nothing to do with my reasons for being here.”

You tried to shy away from the hot breath that cascaded across your cheeks, but he wouldn’t let you budge.

“Perhaps you can see why my patience is running a little thin.”

Like the bastard actually had any patience to begin with.

No matter how hard you tried, you could never get a read on Sukuna or his emotions. That was to be expected from someone like him, but regardless, he remained too erratic. His true intentions were still a mystery, and it was that exact unpredictability that made someone like him so dangerous.

While Sukuna may not be an immediate danger to you, one day he would be. Yet, somehow you constantly found yourself in situations where you needed to rely on that very being who posed you the largest threat of all.

“Say please and we can go.”

You opened your mouth again, but before anything escaped, he was cutting you off once more.

“And actually fucking mean it.”

You stared back at him, your eyes focused on all four of his as he awaited your reply.

“Sukuna, will you please come with me?”

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” He sneered as he dropped his grip on you and stood up. “We leave in the morning.”

You watched as he turned on his heels and retreated towards the kitchen area with not another word spoken.

Perhaps he was in such a terrible mood because he was hungry.

Oh well, it wasn’t a big deal.

He agreed that the two of you could seek out more information on the twelve curses, and that’s all that mattered.