Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

~*~

„Wake up, Angel, wake up!”

Sukuna didn't know why he had grown fond of you. You were a human that usually pissed him off.

Why then was he on his knees, holding your small body against his tattooed one? Why were his hands shaking? Why did he look so pissed and yet scared?

“Don’t leave me...”

The King of Curses was scared? Ridiculous.

“Please!... ”

He had always wanted you dead and there you were, dying on his hands.

Why then was it all different that time?

~*~

Sukuna didn’t like you at first.

He had met you when Yuuji was on the second year and you were starting your journey as a shaman. You were an only first-year student at that time. Gojou, that annoying bastard, introduced you to a group and his stupid vessel almost immediately made friends with you. It was truly a matter of time that you two started dating a few weeks later.

You became Yuuji’s girlfriend even if you knew the truth about him. The truth of a blood-hungry curse living inside of him, sharing a mind and body with him.

And yet, it didn’t draw you back from Itadori.

Soon, Sukuna would promise himself. Soon I will break you.

After all, you were a weak human, under control of your own emotions that were called love and friendship. Silly human emotions, Sukuna would never understand them. They were simply ridiculous to the King. He was above them, obviously.

And yet, it could have been better for Sukuna to see the future and the situation he allowed to be pulled in. Maybe he would have avoided all of it.

~*~

There were a few facts about you that Sukuna had learned for past months.

First of all, you were petite.

If not because of the truth that you were first grade, he would think you were a kid from primary school. Yuuji was tall, Fushiguro was tall, that blue-eyed bastard was even taller than his students… and there were you, looking like a dwarf between them. If Sukuna changed with Yuuji, he would crush you with one hand only. That thought was rather amusing to the King.

Second, you were an albino.

Your hair was semi-long and white, your skin was pale and covered in freckles. Your eyelashes were long, curly and white as well. Your eyes were red, without that hidden evil light as Sukuna would see among curses. Your eyes were created red by Mother Nature herself.

During his golden age of jujutsu, white animals were easily killed and displayed as trophies. He lived over a thousand years and he never met a human albino. It meant you were rare.
You’re going to be my trophy, brat, he liked to promise himself.

Third, and probably the most annoying to the King, was the fact that you didn’t have a smell.

Sukuna was a powerful curse that was able to smell the souls of humans, sense the cursed energy in sorcerers, feel their true potential. He could even read in minds if he only wanted to.

And yet, he couldn’t read you at all.

Your soul didn’t smell. You either didn’t have curse energy or it was really, really tamed inside of you because he couldn’t feel it either. Your head was empty and, if not because of your interactions with Yuuji, he would have thought you were lacking in emotions too.

He could see your body was weak. He could sense you were supposed to die young one way or another. Even if Mother Nature created you, she didn’t give you a chance to live a long and happy life. The cruel yet beautiful Mother Nature, indeed. And, to made it all funnier, you became the shaman, shortening your already poor chances to survive.

Ridiculous, Sukuna would grow angry at you for no particular reason. But still, did the King of Curses need a reason to hate you? No, because he was a perfect yet dangerous creature, and you? You were a weak, petite, smell-less human.

You were boring. Obviously different from the people around you (that Sukuna could read easily) but still boring to the King.

And yet, there was something in you that made Sukuna think more and more about you. He couldn’t name it and that made him grow angry.

Such a ridiculous and pathetic woman.

~*~

When he appeared in front of you for the first time, he thought he would scare you.

No, he wanted to scare you. He wanted to see your terrified eyes, to hear your shaking voice, to watch you squirm away from him.

Yuuji and you were preparing supper when the aura changed in the kitchen. Sukuna stood behind you, his two pairs of eyes were stabbing in your back, his grin was growing bigger and bigger in anticipation. He was waiting for you to turn around and look up. He wanted to watch your face twist from happiness to fear.

Yet, your reaction threw him back.

“Oh, it’s you. Hello, do you want some beef or you prefer chicken?” You casually asked, your eyes locked with his for a few seconds and then you focused on ingredients in front of you again, carefully cutting some vegetables.

Excuse you, what? What the fuck was that?

Were you, a weak human, asking him, the King of Curses, if he preferred beef or chicken?

How. Dare. You–
How ridiculous of you–!? 
Wha–?!

“You know, I would prefer a soul of the innocent...” Sukuna growled with an ugly grin, a vein popped in his forehead. He wanted to grab a knife and stab you to death, see your ‘precious’ beef and chicken soak in your blood, watch your red eyes dying, losing that light in them–

“Oh, we don’t have it on the house for now. Sorry.” You said and smiled without looking at him. It made him dumbfounded even more.

“Oi, are you stupid or trying to be funny? Why aren’t you scared of me? You know that I can easily kill you, devour you and you will do nothing to prevent it?” Sukuna hissed and stepped closer, his aura grew stronger and colder and he looked down at your petite body.

You didn’t even flinch but he finally got your attention. You turned around and looked up at him.

“Then kill me.” You simply said and the King’s body paused, his eyes grew wider.

There was a minute of silence between you two, none of you looked down nor even blinked. Your red and calm eyes were watching his, angry and fuelling with crimson magic.

The King didn’t know what to feel about it. Were you mocking him? Were you testing him? Were you trying to get on his good side by being brave and funny? Were you taking a pity on him? Were you stupid or a dumbass?

Why weren’t you scared of him?

Why couldn’t he read your mind?

Sukuna was pissed so bad.

He swiftly seized your throat and lifted you with ease, pulling closer to his tattooed and steaming with fury face.

You didn’t even flinch nor you made a sound. Your eyes were still locked with his. In that situation, you reminded him of a ragdoll.

“You are disgusting.”  He spat in your face and let you go, watching you stumble a bit before you grabbed the counter and steadied yourself. You touched your throat but your eyes were still on his... and then you smiled.

“Hearing that from the King of Curses himself makes it kind of a compliment, don’t you think?”

What the fuck was wrong with you?

Chapter Text

Later it was only worse.

Sukuna couldn't find any fun with you. As if there was no fun with you. You never struggled when he caught you, you never argued when he cursed at you, you never even begged him to stop harassing you.

Whenever Sukuna threatened you, promising he would kill you painfully, you always answered him with that calm voice of yours:

“Do it.”

Were you insane or a masochist? Where were your instincts? Where was your will to fight, will to live?

Though, would it be impressive for him to have such balls as you did? At some point, yes. The first time when he fought with Fushiguro and saw that spark of will to fight and will to survive in him, Sukuna's body sang from excitement.

Seeing your face, emotionless, almost made him puke from disgust.

That was boring. You were boring. He had no fun if his potential victim wanted to die. 

Or were you bluffing? Were you, a brat, having a mind-play with him, The Great Sukuna?

He should leave you alone. He supposed to ignore you if he couldn’t have his fun with you.

And yet, Sukuna couldn't stop thinking about you.

Who were you? No, what were you?

You started to be intriguing, in your own, twisted way to him… Still, Sukuna didn’t like you.

~*~

Despite evil plans that were happening in Yuuji’s mind without him noticing, your relationship with the boy was growing stronger, healthy and happy.

Gojou would like to tease you that opposites attract. You couldn’t agree more.

Yuuji Itadori was your opposite, indeed. He was always happy and bouncy, talking loud and a lot; in one word, ADHD. You, on the contrary, were calm and collected. Some older students even said you were always so serious, Kugisaki believed you were just shy. Were they right? Maybe in some percent.

It was hard for you to trust people or be open with them completely. You had a past you didn’t want to share with anybody. Only Gojou knew the truth about you since he had become your tutor after your parents’ tragic death. You grew up by his side, promising to become a shaman one day.

And there you were, old enough to join the school officially. You didn’t plan to make friends. You didn’t even plan to have a boyfriend but there you were. Happy, with friends around you and boy that you loved so much.

Sometimes you felt a pang of guilt creeping into you for hiding your dirty secrets from them. You believed that one day they would understand it and accept you.

After the horror you had survived, a lot of people would have given up long time ago… but not you. Even if it was hard sometimes, you found a reason to live and kept close to him.

Yes, you found a reason to live in Yuuji.

He was the reason you smiled often or even chuckled sometimes. He made you feel light and complete. Any emotions you shared with Yuuji weren’t rude, fake or awkward (that they could be with other students you didn’t trust sometimes), because with Yuuji your will to live was strong.

He made you happy. You wanted to soak in that happiness of his. You allowed him to heal you from your dark past. You allowed him to shush those demons in your head... even if he wasn’t aware of your past nor your true identity. He knew something was off but he never questioned it nor he stopped respecting you.

Which made your love to him even stronger.

Not yet, you used to promise yourself, I will tell him when the right time comes.

Whenever Sukuna dared switch with him without full consent, you weren’t afraid of him nor you played dumb or fake. Because you’d endured a lot in your life. Too much, precisely, to be scared of the King himself. To him, you were rude and disgusting... but it didn’t make you sad. You were aware of your nature. Was the King though? Probably. He wouldn’t appear so often and tease you if not because of that, would he?

The truth was that your will to live was as strong as your will to die. It only depended on who was with you, Yuuji or Sukuna.

Oh, a sweet irony that two of them shared the same body.

~*~

It took Sukuna a while to realize something. Even if your soul was smell-less you, or rather your body, wasn’t.

Whenever his stupid vessel was around you, he could smell the jasmine in the air. He had never pay attention to that, even tried to ignore it; until he realized that sweet smell was coming from you.

The smell of your perfume precisely.

Soft, subtle, flowery scent. Somehow jasmine suited you. Such a unique fragrance note of soulless you.

Still, disgusting, the King snorted at his thoughts of him finally being able to smell you, but not the way he had always wanted.

Oh, sweet irony indeed.

~*~

Sukuna didn't get it.

What was the point of sleeping with the girl in the same bed, when you didn’t do that before sleep?

He knew Yuuji was a virgin. He couldn’t tell it about you, not that he cared... but there you were, curled into Yuuji’s body, sleeping so peacefully it made Sukuna sick.

He promised himself to make you cry, to make you angry, to annoy you, to spice things up so Yuuji would thank him later, just do anything to draw a negative emotion from you.

So one night, using Yuuji’s vulnerability of being asleep, he switched with him. His eyes flared with red magic in the dim room as he looked down at you. He grinned ugly, twisting his lips so high it would hurt; his aura heavy and thick, able to suffocate a living being in front of him.

It had to work because you stirred and your eyes opened heavily. You eyed a chest that was Yuuji’s definitely yet that time it was covered in tattoos. You knew who was watching you from above.

You looked up, unsurprised as always; that reaction made Sukuna growl.

He was ready to pin you to mattress, to mark you and bite you, to scratch at you, to carve in your flesh, to cover the bedsheets in your blood, to hear you moan or scream or – finally – hear you beg him to stop, to have mercy, to–!

Sukuna’s body paused and his galloping dreams halted and dispersed when you yawned like a kitten and nuzzled to his chest again; you closed your eyes and went back to sleep.

His eye twitched, his body shook. He bared his sharp teeth and growled at you, clawed hand rising, ready to strike.

“Oi, stupid brat, don’t ignore me–!”

Even if he wanted so bad to make you hurt at that moment, he couldn’t do that. His shaking hand were mid-air, centimetres from your body, and he couldn’t force himself enough to bring pain to you.

What was going up with you?

No… What was going up with him?

Sukuna’s hand landed past your hip as he sighed deeply in annoyance, giving up. That wasn’t his plan at all.

You supposed to be suffering, not him.

Chapter Text

Such an irritating smell.

Sukuna didn’t understand what he was doing another night. He had felt the need to switch with Yuuji so he did it without a question. Whatever the King wanted and needed, he was going for it.

Maybe he was curious how would you react to him that time? Maybe that time things would be different? Maybe that time he wouldn't have such difficulty to harm you?

That was rather foolish of him to believe, but he realized it too late… and cornered himself. Sukuna blamed Yuuji’s stupid, human feelings towards you for making him so unsure.

The brat’s soul is affecting me more than I should allow to…

There he was, holding you asleep in Yuuji’s dim room in utter silence. He didn’t raise his cursed energy nor he tried to move so much. He didn’t feel the need to wake you up that time.

His four eyes looked down at your sleeping body. If not because of your warm and steady breathing on his shoulder, he would swear you looked dead.

Such a fragile body, lying still, barely moving and breathing. Your petite silhouette was almost shining because of the moonlight that was beaming through the window.

Yuuji would call you cute; to the King, you were still disgusting.

Sukuna’s hand involuntary landed past your head, touching softly some strands of your white hair. For him, it looked like snow. He always wondered if it would melt under his touch.

Your hair didn’t melt but felt like silk to him.

He hummed, his eyes were watching you with that unusual curiosity in them, partly hooded yet still glowing with red magic.

Sukuna pressed his face into the crown of your head and took a deep, careful sniff.

Jasmine… Disgusting indeed.

Despite his cruel thoughts, he curled around you, keeping you close.

Do humans always feel so warm?  He wondered but still, he blamed Yuuji’s feelings for making him weak.

~*~

“You know I can eat you alive?”

You heard that rough and deep voice again when you were in the middle of studying. You looked above your book at Yuuji- no, Sukuna that was sitting on the bed in front of you. Four of his eyes were watching you intently as if trying to read you.

He always looked as if he tried to solve a mystery. Little did you know that mystery to Sukuna was no one else but you.

“Then eat me.”

Sukuna wasn’t even surprised by your answer; to be honest, he predicted that.

He sighed deeply and leaned forward, resting his elbows on knees. You, on the contrary, returned to your lecture.

“Why are you like this?” You heard his voice again and could feel his red orbs watching you, eating you. You didn’t flinch nor did you feel uncomfortable.

You got used to being observed.

“Like what?” You asked sincerely, turning the page.

“Like that, unaffected, as if you were soulless!” He spat and immediately paused because you had tensed.

...you actually tensed even if you tried to cover it with your calm attitude.

He doesn’t know the truth about me and trying to read me still… You realized.

Meanwhile Sukuna – finally – was getting somewhere.

“Oh? Did I touch a sensitive topic?” He grinned and hummed, lying on the bed nonchalantly; hands behind the head as he looked rather proud. That time he was interested in further conversation with you. That time he had a point to continue.

On the other hand, you were silent, focused on your text. It was like a ‘yes’ to Sukuna and he cackled. You only rolled eyes, ignoring him.

“Now tell me, is this why I can’t smell your soul? Because you don’t have one?” He asked proudly, cocking a brow. You didn’t even spare him a glance... but you knew better that lying to the King would make it all worse.

You decided to play it smart.

“I didn’t know you can smell souls.” You said calmly; Sukuna only huffed.

“I can do much more but you, shamans, know shit about me.” He growled and locked his bigger eyes on the ceiling. You glanced at him and caught one of his smaller eyes still looking at you.

Yuuji always warned you not to talk with Sukuna or listen to him. You knew that Sukuna was the purest evil on the earth and normal human being would run far away from him, or at least to try.

But, from your own experience, you knew that evil wasn’t born but made. Curses were created from evil emotions like anger, revenge or even desperation. You were always curious how Sukuna ended as the curse... Gojou had told you once that Sukuna used to be a sorcerer a long time ago.

“Can you tell me more about yourself then? It will stay between us, promise.” You said as you put down your book and crossed your legs, sitting up and locking eyes with him.

Sukuna cocked a brow and squinted eyes at you. Was it a new game you wanted to play with him?

“Are you trying to distract me?” He asked, baring his sharp teeth. You only shook your head.

“No, I’m genuinely curious, that’s all.”

No one had ever asked or spoken to him about his previous life. No one was interested in him as a human, sorcerer or demon-God... No one was ever interested in his opinion anyway.

And there were you, asking him to tell you more about himself; such a pure curiosity and childish innocence were written on your face.

Like a mouse playing with a tiger to be spared.

As always, he couldn’t read your true intentions, no matter how much he tried. He groaned in kind of annoyance and ruffled his hair. Damn, Yuuji’s habits started to affect him as well or what?

Ridiculous.

“What kind of enemy would I be to you, shaman, if I started talking about my talents, hmm?” You only smiled at his mocking words.

“You’re already the worst living and walking curse so you can boast a little.”

Somehow that sentence made Sukuna’s breath hitch. Did you actually compliment him or rather offend him? He couldn’t tell… nor explain a sudden tightness in the chest. Yuuji’s fault, for sure!

A strange idea invaded his mind and he grinned.

“Let’s play a game then. One question for one question, an answer for an answer. Deal?” You tilted your head and cocked your brow. You had a feeling that conversation would bring nothing good... On the other hand, you were already pulled into his game, if you wanted to admit it or not.

You hummed quietly in thought and leaned in, resting your chin at your palm.

“Yuuji warned me to not make any deals with you but there’s nothing I can lose anyway.” You said sincerely and Sukuna’s grin grew wide.

So silly. So prideful. You will be my trophy soon, brat.

“Know my good side and go first, Miss.” He said and bowed his head a little but you knew he was mocking you. Not that he was making any good or bad impressions on you anyway. At that time you were neutral towards him and anything he was doing.

“You said you can smell souls, what else can you… I don’t know, sense? Feel?”

“That’s two questions–”

“One but a complex sentence.” You quickly said and Sukuna snorted; those study eyes still on you.

“I can sense cursed energy in shamans too. So I know if someone is strong or weak. And yes, you suck at both aspects.” You were close to pouting but instead, you quickly retorted:

“That’s two answers.”

“One but a complex sentence.” Sukuna smirked, strangely amused, and you couldn't help but chuckle at his word play, shaking your head as you closed your eyes.

Oh, you just missed a pure surprise on Sukuna’s face because of that.

Sukuna finally saw the change in you and heard your chuckle. You chuckled in front of him.

You rarely chuckled and even if, it was always with Yuuji around you.

Yet, his ears were blessed with a sound from you. It wasn’t a pained sound but – to Sukuna’s own surprise – he didn’t mind it at all.

Strange, ridiculous even...

He quickly returned to his casual expression as he watched you intently.

“Who or what are you?” You heard his unusually calm voice and looked at him. He wasn’t angry nor bashful. His usual grin was gone and he looked serious.

Sukuna was serious yet not seeping with anger. Not that time.

You had expected that type of question so you weren’t surprised.

You leaned back into the pillow, resting your head on the wall. You thought of a proper answer for a solid minute and you were genuinely surprised that Sukuna didn’t rush you. His eyes never left you, he was waiting patiently. Strange, especially for him.

“Something you can’t break even if you want to try.” You finally said and locked eyes with his. You could tell this answer caught him off guard by the way his eyes widened just a bit.

“I think you still don’t get it, brat. I can ruin you.” He growled without heat and you only smiled, politely.

“No, you can’t. I am already ruined.”

Chapter Text

You were surprised when Sukuna disappeared suddenly, only to realize that Yuuji had taken back control of his body, using Sukuna’s sudden shock at your answer.

“He was there, wasn’t he? Did he hurt you? What did he want this time?” Yuuji asked, full of concern but you calmed him down, reassuring that you two had a talk, nothing more.

“I have to control him better. He used to talk a lot but nowadays he’s quiet and I am worried he’s planning something bad.” You heard your boyfriend and, to be honest, you wouldn’t be surprised if Sukuna indeed was planning something. Still, you weren’t afraid of him. You only smiled at Yuuji and hugged him.

“Don’t worry. I’m here to protects us.” Yuuji only chuckled weakly and hugged you back. You missed out his worried expression. He wanted to believe that was true; that you were able to protect at least yourself from Sukuna.

Unfortunately, worse was about to happen.

~*~

A week passed since that evening and Sukuna finally understood the meaning behind your words.

Fushiguro, Yuuji and you were on a mission. Three of you were supposed to ‘clean’ the abandoned hospital that was being haunted. Sukuna was as always bored, watching the progress of the mission through Yuuji's eyes. Nothing big or scary was happening; another silly work to do. He could sense that his finger was not there; such a waste of time then.

Sukuna had learned that you, despite being a shaman, never used your cursed energy. You usually ended up in the background, with one of Megumi’s Shikigami to protect you while you were guiding Yuuji through the fight with curses. You were always good at reading their next moves and because of that, Sukuna started to believe you were a witch.

Still, he was growing impatient. He wanted to feel and see your cursed energy. You supposed to be the shaman, for fuck’s sake, and there you were, acting like a GPS, not a warrior!

...GPS, right? That was what Yuuji called you sometimes so Sukuna followed, believing it was an acronym of something ‘mighty’... But knowing Yuuji, he called you after his favourite band or song, or whatever; so it was probably stupid… and Sukuna fell for it.

Ri-di-cu-lous.

Sukuna sighed deeply, sitting on his throne, legs crossed, cheek resting on knuckles; as always alone in his domain. He had stopped watching your fight with those weaklings. It was boring anyway-

Suddenly his domain shuddered and his eyes opened widely. He sensed one of his fingers… why then though? Was it hidden previously? How was it even possible for the King to not sense his finger before? No, it wasn’t his finger...

No, someone had appeared and released a beast.

Sukuna immediately returned to ‘spectating’ through Yuuji’s eyes, just on time.

“You!” Yuuji was furious, watching Mahito laugh and almost dance from pure excitement. The curse had appeared in one of the corridors, surprising the group.

“Oh, hello there, shamans, long time no see! How’s life? Hopefully good since it will end soon? Oh, you have a new face in your team?” Mahito leaned in, looking down at your group.

“...but it isn’t so new to us, is it now?” Mahito’s eyes hooded with dark as he chuckled lowly and dangerously.

Yuuji purely hated that guy. Whenever Mahito appeared, Yuuji knew there were going to be troubles; a lot of them, shitty troubles. Yet, Yuuji was caught off guard by Mahito’s words.

Why was Mahito talking as if he knew you?

Yuuji was confused and looked at you; he was about to ask but his eyes widened and a surprised yet strange noise left his throat.

“Y/n! Y-Your eyes! They’re... y-yellow?!” Yuuji called but you didn't spare him a glance nor did you look at Megumi who was surprised and frozen as well.

Your target was in front of you; you were focused on Mahito only. Your enemy, your tormentor.

The one who had cursed you with a human-curse bond and created something evil from innocence.

He created present you.

Unbearable fury was gathering in you; the power to destroy, the urge to kill. The feelings not completely new to you yet giving you a new face that was unfamiliar for your friends.

“You’re still alive, huh? Impressive. I would have sworn that you had died a long time ago, eaten by your own cursed soul. Now, now, little girl, do you want to dance with me again?” Mahito grinned and then bowed as an evil laugh started rumbling in his chest, and soon echoed in the corridor.

Not Yuuji or Megumi could see what was happening in your body but they sure could sense your growing cursed energy that started suffocating them a little bit.

Only Sukuna was able to see and feel what was going on for real.

His eyes were wide open as he sat straight on his throne, watching you transform.

Your eyes had changed into yellow and were glowing with pure wrath; your teeth were bared and sharp, your hair was floating. Heavy energy started to gather around you–

No… Not around you. From you.

From your cursed soul.

So strong, so vicious, so suffocating, full of scream and cries, desperation and revenge.

Such a beautiful song to Sukuna’s ears. The song of pure agony.

Sukuna jolted from his throne with excitement and started laughing as well. Slow and low at first until his domain started to rattle from the echo of his laughter.

Such a thrilling experience. Finally something new in you!

Finally! You finally showed your true face, you finally-?!

“Huh?”

Sukuna’s laugh halted immediately as he had spotted his domain being eaten by sudden, hissing darkness. He was able to blink in surprise only and then he found himself in the middle of black nothingness.

He couldn’t see you nor even sense Yuuji's body.

Now, where was he? How was it possible he landed somewhere else than his domain? Was it even possible to get him somewhere else anyway? Last time Mahito had dared touch his soul, he ended up badly. Sukuna made sure of it.

But this? He was clearly being ‘invaded’ but who by?

Or rather what–?

“Mimi?”

Sukuna heard a small, broken voice and looked in that direction. His brows furrowed as he spotted two children in the middle of darkness.

Cursed spirits? Innocent souls?

...no, were those... memories?

“Sister, wake up? Please… P-Please don’t leave me… I’m sca-ared...”

Sukuna stepped closer, watching the scene from above. The girls couldn’t see him; he was like a ghost to them. The smaller one was hiccuping and clinging to the other one, lying dead. Their small and pale bodies were covered with shreds of past clothing, while the skin was scattered with a lot of bruises... along with blood and cursed energy, almost sticking to the children like a parasite.

Who were they? Sukuna could tell they were albinos... from the past? But why was he there? Who called him? Who dared to-

Suddenly the smaller girl looked directly at him, making him blink in slight surprise.

Oh, so she can see me now, cannot she?

“Save me...”

Sukuna heard that soft, broken voice and his eyes grew big when realization hit him hard.

He would never mistake those eyes. He had seen them too many times through Yuuji. Those red, dull eyes and white eyelashes covering them around.

It was you… You as a kid.

“Y/n-” Sukuna had managed to whisper before he was forced to jump away from attacking curse. The small girl was calling for him, hand outstretched and begging for help. The serpent-like black spirit was wrapped around her, holding her close. Sukuna could see the evil spirit was created from the dead body of the other girl since its tail had a beginning in her opened mouth. The curse had hollow, white, glowing eyes and black, long, messy hair that was covering its slim muzzle.

“LeEaAve...” It hissed, making Sukuna smirk in fake pity.

“You dare attack me in my domain? Know your place, weakling–”

“YyoUur domAain?” The curse cackled, showing off sharp teeth and suddenly Sukuna felt a strong yet surprisingly small palm grabbing and squeezing his face.

“Out of my head.”

Sukuna blinked, finding himself outside the darkness, outside his domain, right on the surface yet still locked in Yuuji’s body. Now, now, what happened? Did the brat force a switch or-?

He wasn’t able to finish his thought as he was pushed back with brutal force that sent him into a nearby building, easily crushing the walls.

“Y/N! Yuuji!” Sukuna heard Megumi’s petrified voice and, for a brief moment, he wondered who had dared to scare his precious, little shaman like that. He groaned and casually sit up, his body not even with a scratch despite a situation that had happened a few seconds before. His four eyes looked around and halted at such unfamiliar sight in front of him.

Sukuna realized that Megumi hadn’t shouted because he was scared for Yuuji and you. He shouted because he was scared of you.

There you were, standing a few meters in front of him, in the glory of cursed energy that had changed your look completely. You grew two pairs of white wings - bigger and smaller - of which free feathers were circling around you, ready to strike whoever dared to step closer. Your whites become black and your red eyes were replaced by dirty yellow; you grew a vertical eye on your forehead too. Your hair was floating, white and illuminating. A pure mess and shreds were left from your school uniform when your body grew bigger and your small hands were replaced by long, slim yet sharp claws.

Sukuna’s breath hitched at the sight of new you and his hand raised, out of his control.

“An angel...” He whispered and paused when a red and warm liquid landed on his cheek. He felt a sting of pain and looked at his hand… now cut and missing, blood splattering everywhere.

Sukuna realized it was one of your wings that had cut off his hand and then you were centimetres away from his face, hissing at him with bared and sharp teeth.

“Beautiful...” He whispered and grinned like a drunk man. You were so beautiful like that.

His poor compliment didn’t stop you to send him into a nearby wall once again. This time the King wasn’t surprised nor confused. This time Sukuna was laughing, already jumping on his feet, arms outstretched, claws sharp; his cut hand had already grown back.

“Utterly beautiful! Such unique energy and body!”

Sukuna seemed to have the best time of his long life.

On the other hand, Megumi was sitting there, petrified, overwhelmed... and dumbfounded. He had witnessed as his best friend changed into a monster only to see the King joining the bloody fun too. Right in front of his eyes, there were two curses classified as a special grade.

Mahito was long gone. He had used the distraction and run away, leaving your group to your own fun. Megumi understood that Mahito had triggered something evil inside of you to act… but – during the chase after Mahito – your anger suddenly focused on Yuuji or rather, on Sukuna. Did the King do something as well? Megumi couldn’t think straight but he knew he had to do something, anything.

He raised his shaking hands and focused, ready to summon Nue... but something had happened before and he could only watch in pure horror the scene in front of him.

You had made a strange yet full of pain noise. Your body stopped and started shaking violently. Your wings flapped and dispersed in one second, leaving your - forcefully and painfully - transforming body bare. You started moaning and crying from pain as you held your head. Your knees hit the ground as you started coughing and vomiting blood.

Even Sukuna was surprised; he had paused and was watching you wither in pain with his four, wide opened eyes.

You seemed to get back to your original shape and mind. You were so weak; your cursed energy was gathering back inside, and going humble and silent in you once again; your body was tore from inside out. You felt like shit and you bet you didn’t look better.

You felt unbearable agony as if you were dying in a fire. Each cell in your body was screaming from pain, begging for help. A sudden fever hit your body, making you tremble even more. You tried to remain consciousness; you couldn't give up, not like that–

But you were weak. Your body was weak, unaccustomed to the cursed energy that was tied with you. You were always told to watch out, to be careful with it. Gojou would remind you to not use it unless necessary... and yet, you were played like a damn kid.

During your missions, you were always ready for anything, for anyone... but Mahito.

The bastard is still alive… Damn it. You could only think about it… and then, unwillingly, you started hiccuping. You wanted to end all of your pain in that moment. You wanted to get rid of your memories. Your past flooded your mind, biting at your already ruined soul again, and again, and again.

They were biting, scratching, ripping, devouring, crushing, eating despite your screams in the black nothingness...

“M...make it...sto-op...” You whispered, not knowing who would be able to help you right now. Gojou was not here. You had brought that on yourself and you were punished for that. Such a simple yet brutal rule.

You rolled on your side, wheezing like a dying rabbit.

There was a shadow over your lying body but you had no strength to even look up. Your eyes were filled with tears but blurred picture suddenly changed and you saw familiar pink strands… and four, crimson eyes watching you intently.

You involuntary shivered when a hand appeared in your vision, so close to your face, too close, and you flinched when that hand landed on your forehead.

You gasped for breath and more blood run down your chin as you felt a strange but not so unpleasant warmth, slowly spreading down in your body. It was calming you down; you were so tired and growing sleepy.

Someone was shouting from the distance and you heard a soft chuckle close to your face. The closer figure was saying something but you couldn’t catch it. You couldn't endure any more of it and finally gave up. Your vision vent black and you heard nothing.

~*~

Sukuna had been watching you the entire time. His grin had dropped as fast as it appeared, his brows furrowed in annoyance.

You were in pain. He finally had you in pure pain and agony; moaning, crying, begging, shaking under his feet…

Why wasn’t he happy then?

Why, from all feelings he could experience, was just a tightness in his chest?

He believed it was Yuuji’s fault, as always. Brat's strong feelings towards you made his body act like that.

Ridiculous.

“M...make it...sto-op...” He heard your soft, begging voice and he believed his heart skipped a beat.

Were you calling for him? No, impossible. At such state, you weren't aware of your surroundings, he believed.

Why then did Sukuna feel that you needed him?

Without realization, he started taking steps towards you.

“Stay away from her, Sukuna!” He heard Megumi but ignored him completely because that time his eyes were locked on his new toy.

He crouched next to your body and pulled you on his lap with strange gentleness. He chuckled, his eyes glowed with crimson magic.

“Sukuna!” Fushiguro shouted again, preparing to attack but Sukuna only shushed him and waved a clawed hand.

“Be quiet, Megumi, I’m trying to do something here.”

He focused on your face, watched more blood leaving your mouth. His hand flared with red magic and he touched your forehead. You made a soft noise that Sukuna found rather adorable. You sounded like a caught rabbit that tried to fight for her last breath with a wolf that was sinking his sharp teeth in her body deeper and deeper…

“Now, now… I can’t let you die like that, brat. The fun has just started. After all, you’re going to be my trophy...”

You sagged on his lap and his grin grew bigger.

Since that day Sukuna had two favourite people to observe as they grow.

Fushiguro Megumi and you.

Chapter Text

“You owe us an explanation!”

Megumi was fuming at Gojou. Yuuji was in the room as well, surprisingly quiet as he was recalling the scene before and after Sukuna had switched with him during the mission.

Three of you had been found by Nanami who sensed the powerful energy during his patrol and simply run to check it. What he found surprising was the fact that Sukuna, the King of Curses, was healing you as Megumi was sitting nearby, watching with a puzzled expression. As soon as Nanami appeared, Sukuna hid in his domain, leaving Yuuji to cling to you and cry like a baby.

Three of you were immediately taken to the school and healed. Megumi and Yuuji’s conditions were stable. Two of them were wounded more mentally rather than physically.

On the other hand, your condition was serious and two shamans had to heal you, to put you and your soul back together. Megumi, Yuuji, Gojou and Nanami were present in the room; nervous, worried and praying for you. After healing, you were left alone in your room as Fushiguro and Yuuji visited their sensei in his lounge.

Three of them sat in unbearable silence on the sofas; two students in front of their teacher.

Gojou - that Gojou Satoru - was silent and serious; such a rare sight of him not being a goof for more than a minute. Megumi knew that topic was either sensitive or secret… or both.

“What happened to y/n? Why did she become… a monster- that thing!? Is she a vessel to a curse like Yuuji? Say something, damn it!” Megumi couldn't stand the stillness anymore as he jumped on his feet; finger up, pointing at his guardian. 

“Fushiguro...” Yuuji stood up and gently touched his friend’s shoulder, trying to calm him down. Megumi growled, still feeling pent-up from anger and powerlessness, yet he sat down; his foot was bouncing as he locked eyes on Gojou, waiting in anticipation. Yuuji took a seat next to his friend and rested his elbows on knees; he was squeezing his fingers so tight the knuckles turned white.

Gojou took a deep breath. He always knew that sooner or later something bad would happen. He knew that sooner or later the truth had to be told. He wished you were with him. After all, he promised to keep your secret safe, but now… He believed the boys in front of him deserved to know the truth. Who knew, maybe they could understand it and help you later, at least he wished for it.

“When we found y/n in the abandoned prison, we didn’t know who she was. She wasn’t a human nor was she a curse. She was just a kid and even if elders wanted to get rid of her, I offered my help. I adopted her and promised to protect. A few of my loyal friends were helping me in further investigation, to understand everything...” Gojou started, his voice surprisingly low and shaky.

“I would like to show you what happened that day because it’s going to be hard to explain- to even recall all these horrible visions once again. We found a way to access y/n’s memories and were able to ‘watch’ everything first-order… but I do believe it would be against any human rights to show you it right now, so you have to listen to me and try to believe in it. It won’t be easy but I know you two deserve to hear it after what has happened today...”

Gojou’s took a moment to entwine his fingers; he nervously squeezed them and continued:

“Y/n and her twin sister had pure souls. They were rare and because of that, cursed spirits were gathering around them and try to eat them. It was a matter of time that girls' parents were killed and eaten while they were kidnapped, still being just kids. A group of intelligent curses held them in the old prison. They were torturing them for the entire month, ripping and healing their bodies and souls over and over again. They were trying to create something awful, something brutal and violent to Mother Nature. Mahito was a young entity that time but his twisted love to experiments on the souls was as high as is nowadays–”

Gojou paused, looking at boys. He hoped it wasn’t too much for them at once. They were silent, sweaty, listening to him still; a pure horror written on their faces. Sensei spotted an additional, small eye on Yuuji’s right cheek that hid its presence in the shadow. The single eye was there, watching Gojou as well. Somehow Gojou wasn’t surprised. He knew that Sukuna had some plans towards you since he had healed you instead of killing. He continued, paying no attention to the silent King.

“It is said that twins have a unique bond between them since the first days of their living and growing together in a mother’s womb. That bond is crucial in jujutsu world and can be used as a powerful ace towards enemies. Who knows, maybe girls would have become shamans and helped us a lot? We could only dream about it nowadays because Mahito’s plan worked. The cursed spirits succeeded in breaking that bond and creating a new one, from evil emotions and intentions.”

There was a long pause and Megumi asked with a weak voice:

“What... exactly happened?”

Gojou looked down and took a deep breath as he continued:

“Despite girls’ will to survive and the strength that they had built during that month, y/n’s sister died in her hands. Desperation and grief filled y/n as her sister’s soul fed on that and grew up of wrath and revenge. Even as a dead kid, y/n’s sister tried to protect her. But her pure soul got corrupted and changed into a vengeful spirit. She wanted to grow faster, stronger and kill everyone who dared hurt them. Her mind was gone by that time so she easily located the weakest target. Her own sister, y/n.”

Yuuji flinched, his eyes were slowly filling with tears. You… his precious girl… you were so broken and you had been carrying such a burden on your own for so long, too long. He wished you had told him earlier. You accepted him with Sukuna inside, so obviously he would accept you with whatever was inside you.

“Y/n’s sister devoured her soul and after a massacre, she realized she had killed the one she supposed to protect. The urge to kill was replaced with the will to survive again. So the cursed soul of the sister replaced the original soul of y/n, creating a new, unbreakable bond. Y/n isn’t herself anymore nor she is her sister. She is something in between and because of her weak body, she can’t use her cursed energy so often, simply because it’s destructive to her. Because of that unique bond, she has other talents so she can be useful as a shaman but she has to be careful and never fight alone. Mahito had triggered y/n... and both of the girls lost control, blinded by wrath. You saw them transform in their most deadly shape... but the curse energy was too strong and started damaging them. The rest you witnessed... That's the truth about y/n.”

Gojou finished and looked up at his students. Megumi was trying to be tough but he had tears in his blue eyes. Yuuji gave up on trying to hold himself a long time ago. He was crying and sobbing quietly, wiping his eyes in sleeves. The King’s eye was gone but Gojou knew Sukuna was still watching through Yuuji’s eyes, sitting locked in his domain.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. It was y/n’s request… Please, don’t think bad of her nor me... and please, help her. She might not live a long life but since I adopted her and become her guardian, I promised myself to make her life happier. I trust you so I know you two will understand it… Please, keep it secret till the day that y/n decides to tell the truth to the rest of our students.”

Yuuji and Megumi only nodded, they didn’t trust their voices. They were too overwhelmed by their feelings, thoughts and the whole situation they got pulled in; but they were ready to fight for you and protect you.

That was for sure.

~*~

Sukuna was sitting on his throne, thinking about what he had heard. Everything started to make sense to him.

It made sense why you were behaving in such an unreadable way, why you rarely used your cursed energy, why your soul didn’t have a smell-

Sukuna called you soulless…

He cursed at himself because he realized during that evening he had offended you by that word.

He realized why you had said you were ruined. He understood why you weren’t affected by his words and actions; by him bullying you.

Sukuna understood that you had experienced pain and fate worse than his own.

In jujutsu world, a soul was the most intimate part of both sorcerers and curses. Though, the curses knew about this fact more and were able to use it as an advantage. Even if their bodies were destroyed – but the soul was strong enough to survive – they could regenerate and reshape the body. As long as the soul was in one piece, the body didn’t matter.

The King had been ‘killed’ once and then his fingers were chopped off to be used as cursed objects. He was almost forgotten by people who used to treat him as a God. After one thousand years slumber, he found a perfect vessel to be reincarnated… only to hear that shamans were going to try to kill him again. Good luck, idiots.

But you?

You shared a fate worse than death.

You had been being killed for the entire month. The curses had been tearing your body and soul, devouring, playing with, torturing, chopping, ripping, eating, feeding on you and your emotions, growing stronger from your pain... Only to heal you– no, rebuild you and start the horrible fun over and over, and over again. Your entire being had been dying and being brought back to life in a twisted cycle.

Sukuna understood that you were robbed from any dignity, both as a human being and pure soul.

You weren’t a human nor were you a curse; you became a breed that shouldn't even exist.

Your existence was like a slap to Mother Nature.

Truly, you were ruined in every aspect… and yet, Sukuna called you beautiful.

The King realized you weren’t boring. You were unique.

Despite your cruel and dark past, despite your broken being, you were able to stand up and live; to smile and be kind to everyone, even for the King of Curses.

You and your pure-ruined heart… Sukuna grinned ugly but his eyes were filled with grief.

Fushiguro called you a monster but to Sukuna, you were an Angel.

His Angel of Agony.

I won’t let you die. They will pay for ruining you before me...

“Sukuna?”

The King snapped from his dark thoughts as he heard Yuuji’s broken and weak voice from the outside world; he wasn’t surprised to hear Yuuji. Obviously, he predicted that event.

Took you long enough, brat.

~*~

You were lying in the bed, locked in your room. Your breathing was shallow and quick; you were running a fever again. Despite you being covered in an additional blanket, you felt cold, shaking in your sheets.

The doctors had healed your internal bleeding but your soul couldn’t be fixed as easily as your outside wounds. It had to regenerate by its own and it needed time. A lot of time, maybe even an entire week.

You were so weak and exhausted. You dreamt of falling asleep but you couldn't rest for real because of the pain in your body and soul. You started crying quietly, overwhelmed by everything.

Because of your hiccups, you didn’t hear the opening doors. You didn’t hear quiet footsteps and you didn’t see a shadow looming over your bed.

You paused and your heart froze in your chest when you felt a dip in your mattress, right behind you. You carefully turned around, wishing it was Gojou or Yuuji… You were half correct.

Four eyes were glowing in the dark, locked on your small body.

You involuntary hiccuped again, a lump appeared in your throat and you trembled. There was no chance you could calm yourself now nor were you able to sleep.

“Sukuna...”

💙 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 💙

Chapter Text

"Sukuna..."

Sukuna’s heart skipped a beat when you called his name for the first time. There you were, lying powerless, crying and being vulnerable, calling for him with that weak and sweet voice of yours… Lucky him indeed.

The King realized that you had never addressed him by his name not had you been calling him some rude names. You always held a conversation with him without using names...

...but that time Sukuna knew why.

It was the real you speaking to him and looking at him at that moment.

After Gojou’s explanation, the King had put things together. He realized that whenever he appeared, your sister was doing the same, shifting between two of you, keeping the 'real' you safe. No wonder he couldn't read you so easily since there were two of you inside one body and with one soul.

The real pure you were always with Yuuji and friends. Your collected and serious sister always accompanied him.

A clever trick, he admitted to himself.

Sukuna kicked off Yuuji’s shoes and took off that stupid uniform; the piece of clothing joined the shoes on the ground.

“Please… don’t...”

Sukuna heard you again and that made him amused; he leaned in and smirked.

“Silly brat. Now you’re showing a will to fight? After months of me, threatening you? Make up your mind.”

He knew you could do nothing; you were so powerless right in front of him. You were too weak to even raise a hand at him but he didn’t come to you to bully you more or better, to kill you.

“I come with a peace offering this time. I knew the shamans would do shit to help you.” He said and grabbed the sheets, taking them off of you with a swift move.

You made a weak sound in protest, feeling so bare even if you were covered in bandages and in your pyjamas. The cold hit you even more and you whimpered in discomfort.

Ohh, such beautiful sounds you were making to the King... He was truly amused but you had no idea his true intentions were far from being naughty or evil at that moment.

He sat next to you, looming over your petite body; his eyes were watching you intently. A giant and heavy hand pressed gently on your chest and you sucked a breath, ready for the worst, to feel pain, to watch your heart being ripped out… Only to feel a familiar warmth spreading in your body, relaxing you instantly. You groaned quietly in relief and looked at Sukuna through heavy eyes.

Sukuna easily read your unspoken question – clearly written on your face that time – and grinned.

“Only a curse can kill another curse. Little do shamans know that a curse can heal another curse.”

You blinked weakly at that statement, your body – despite being in front of the King of Curses – was growing warmer and calmer. You unconsciously put your hand over his, making the King’s brow rise.

It wasn’t an attack from your side nor was it a weak attempt to push him away. To his surprise, you gently squeezed his fingers and let it stay like that. Sukuna could see you were trying hard to remain conscious but his magic was already working on your body too effectively.

Gladly, the King smirked and focused on you completely, trying to read and feel only your soul again. Since he had been pulled in your domain by accident (or not), he was able to distinguish your beings.

You didn’t have your pure soul anymore, but your cursed soul had a kind of faint smell that Sukuna couldn’t put a name to it. He could only imagine how sweet you must have smelled as a child, how delicious your soul had been… Pure souls were truly like the finest treats for curses, very rare. Such a wasted treat was lying right in front of him.

Wasted? No. You were much better like that, more interesting, more unique. There would have been no fun with you if you had been wasted; but since Sukuna had some fun with you, you were truly a special little treat for him.

All for me.

“Why?...”

You whispered so quietly he almost missed it. He blinked away from his thoughts and looked up, focusing on your claret, lidded eyes.

“Because I can. Now sleep, you look like shit.”

It wasn’t a satisfying answer but probably the best you had ever heard from the King himself. You gave up to your body needs and fall asleep with the warmth in your chest, touching and healing your poor soul in such a gentle and soothing way.

Sukuna watched you falling asleep. Your body had stopped shaking a long time ago and was getting better because of his magic.

He didn’t dare to move your hand but he locked eyes on your petite hand on top of his big and clawed one.

Like a mouse touching a tiger.

And yet, you had been able to crush him and send to a nearby building with that hidden power of you and that petite hand of yours.

Now, isn't that interesting? He grinned to himself.

After ten minutes of healing, Sukuna decided it was enough. He paused, eyeing your body and your hand, still gently squeezing him.

He blamed – as always – Yuuji’s feelings for what happened next.

Sukuna laid next to you and gently pulled your back to his chest, holding you close to his body, spooning you. Your almost entwined hands landed on a nearby pillow in front of you as he used his free hand to tuck two of you in sheets. He buried his face in your hair and sighed in contentment, secretly smelling that sweet scent of jasmine. His body was able to rest and he closed his eyes. His job was done.

Sukuna took a proper care of you. The King of Curses actually took care of you.

That was unusual of him, he knew that.

But still, all he could think of was the fact that human bodies were so warm.

~*~

“Is this what you want, sister?”

You were standing in front of your twin sister, in the middle of darkness. You weren’t scared, you knew that place very well. Even if you rarely visited your Innate Domain, with your sister trapped here forever, you had never felt unwelcome here. After all, it was kind of your home. The place where you had died and you had been reborn in.

You nodded at your sister’s question and smiled softly at her.

“Yes, I am sure. Let me face him more often so I can work on my own courage. I don’t want to be scared of him since he’s a part of Yuuji.”

“He wants us dead.” Your sister hissed, her yellow eyes narrowed. You shook your head; still a bit confused and unsure what had happened but he, Sukuna himself, helped you… both of you.

“He healed us. Twice.”

“For his own, twisted purpose.”

You looked down. Your sister might be right but still, you couldn't believe that Sukuna, despite him threatening and mocking you too often, wanted you dead. At least, not so soon.

You and your pure heart indeed.

You saw a good everywhere, even in the worst of the worsts, in the King of Curses.

“I want to...give him a chance...” You admitted shyly and sighed. You were naive and silly but still, you couldn't help your nature. You heard your sister sigh and then she stepped closer, embracing you in a soft hug. She wasn’t angry anymore. There was a soft smile on her face that only you could be blessed with.

“Do what your heart tells you. But remember I’m here, ready to help and protect you.”

You chuckled and hugged your sister back.

“I know and thank you. I am so grateful for having you, Mimi.”

Chapter Text

~*~

The next morning was slightly awkward. You woke up because of shaking and hiccuping Yuuji that was holding your body close to himself; he must have been crying quietly for a while.

You slowly turned around to face him. The movement made him pause as he blinked his tears away and looked at you.

“Y/n...” He whispered with a hoarse voice and hiccuped again. He couldn’t believe you were alive and the situation from the previous evening wasn't a dream of his feverous mind.

At the end of their talk, Gojou had warned him that you were going to heal for a long time… or even fall into a coma because of the injuries on your soul. Yuuji was petrified by that; after hearing a horrible story about you and your origins, he received another mental slap. He had to do something, he knew. He didn’t want to lose you and he hated himself for his own idea but... he had to turn to Sukuna for help.

To his surprise, Sukuna had agreed, surprisingly quickly and without ulterior motive. Sukuna’s only demand was to see you on his own more often. Yuuji was too exhausted mentally to even question the King about his ridiculous idea… You needed help, you needed to live – that was what mattered to him. Yuuji agreed to that without a second thought; he missed Sukuna’s small smirk in victory.

They had switched the previous evening. Sukuna let Yuuji watch everything; to King’s surprise, Yuuji was humble and quiet the whole time… Not that Sukuna cared too much. He focused on you and his job and after that, Sukuna let Yuuji switch with him again, leaving you in boy’s embrace.

“Did… did it work?”  After a few minutes of silence, Yuuji asked Sukuna in his head. The King only snorted ugly at him.

“You doubt in my power, brat? Better be grateful and don’t ask stupid questions.”  Yuuji couldn't help but chuckle weakly; his heart strangely warm despite the harsh tone of his inner demon. He nuzzled to you, his teary eyes closed as he took a deep sigh in relief.

You were safe… You were going to live and wake up the next morning.

“Thank you… I am grateful, really...”   Yuuji whispered before he fell asleep from exhaustion. Your warmth soothing, both for his body and soul. 

Sukuna said nothing as he closed his eyes while sitting on his bone throne.

Stupid brat. I would have done that without your begs. I wanted to do that. You should have learned by now that I always do and get what I want.

But those words Yuuji couldn’t hear since the King – unlike Yuuji – had the power to hide his thoughts from each other.

Next morning there he was, crying from joy and relief, from guilt and fear that he could have lost you but, in the end, he didn’t. That it wasn’t a dream, that your breathing on his hands was there, was real.

You hugged him tight as your own tears gathered in the corner of your eyes. You felt both relieved and guilty; relieved to see him in one piece and guilty from making that precious boy cry.

“Yuuji...” You whispered and your heart shattered a bit when he cried out louder, sobbing and hiccuping; you held him tight and gently run your hand up and down on his back in a soothing manner. Your own tears were silently running down your cheeks.

A few minutes passed but you two needed that; a good cry to calm your emotions and galloping thoughts. When Yuuji stopped shaking, you gently touched forehead with his.

“I’m so sorry for everything. For making you cry, for scaring you, probably more than once. Did… Did Gojou-?” You started with a soft voice and Yuuji looked up, nodding at your unspoken question. Your heart skipped a beat, Yuuji knew the truth about you… Was he going to accept you anyway? You prayed inside as you took a deep breath and gently touched his cheek.

“I’m sorry for not telling you the truth personally then. I… I will understand if you… you want to end this relationship and...” Your voice broke a little and you hated yourself for that.

You wanted to be calm, to be collected as usual. But the reality was cruel as you realized something. Even if you had accepted Sukuna in Yuuji’s body, Yuuji shouldn’t be forced to accept you and your cursed soul, especially if you had been hiding the truth from him since the beginning. You believed Yuuji felt betrayed by that. It would be fair to give him a free hand, sad but true.

You didn’t trust your voice anymore and let two of you hang in awkward silence. You were scared of hearing his next words, but still waiting for them in tension.

Meanwhile, Yuuji paused at your words and blinked, his eyes widened in a pure shock and confusion.

“What?” He squeaked and grabbed your shoulders, gently shaking. “Leaving you? Are you in a fever or what? How could I leave you? There’s no way I could leave you because of that!” He was babbling frantically. For Yuuji, the thought of you not being around was enough scary for him to be even considered as an option.

“You have done so much for me, you accepted me even if you knew about Sukuna… How could I not do the same for you? I am not scared of you nor your past. I am deeply sorry I was unaware of everything. Of your pain and your haunting past, your nightmares... You’ve been bearing this burden for too long on your own but since now, let me be by your side and help you… Please, please y/n, don’t leave me...”

Your heart was swelling in your chest as you were listening to Yuuji’s statement. You tried hard not to cry from overwhelming feelings such as happiness and deep relief; after all, you failed and let yourself sob. You couldn’t believe in your luck. You hugged him tightly, hiding face in his chest as his large arms embraced your body, hugging you back. He run a hand through your hair and smiled at your small hiccups and ‘thank yous’ being whispered over and over again.

Gojou must have heard both of you since he charged into the room, startling both of you. You believed he would scold you or shout at you for being irresponsible on the mission but, to Yuuji’s and your surprise, Gojou joined you on the bed, hugging both of you tight.

It wasn’t a new behaviour of your guardian, at least not to you. He used to embarrass his students very often or piss off Nanami with his ‘ridiculous’ actions. But you knew Gojou too well to see his real emotions behind that funny mask he tried to put on too often around you.

This time you knew he was more than happy and relieved to see you alive. You knew he was scared of you whenever you went on a mission and seeing you completely fine after such terrible events made him feel relieved to the bottom of his heart.

You hugged both of your favourite men, grateful for having them by your side, despite the ups and downs. You trusted them with your life.

After the group hug, it was only better. Even if you felt fine and full of strength, Gojou and Yuuji made sure you stayed in your bed.

“You need to have a day off at least! I will bring food, you stay there!” Yuuji was already running down the corridor; you hadn’t even had a chance to say a word.

The mood must have been contagious because Gojou jumped on his feet, full of his usual optimism.

“Yuush! Then I will bring you some books and games!” Your sensei was out of your room as well; once again, you hadn’t had a chance to even raise a finger.

You couldn’t help but feel like a spoiled kid; though it was a good feeling.

As you were promised, you spent the entire day in your room; with Yuuji, food, games on your portable console or good music in the background.

Fushiguro visited you before dinner, checking up on you as well. He used Yuuji’s absence to have a small talk with you (your boyfriend was out to bring you hot dinner). Megumi sat on the chair, entwining his hands together and he leaned in, watching you with his blue and surprisingly soft eyes.

To be honest, he was like a brother to you. Megumi and you had got to know each other because of Gojou. Your guardian was a parental figure not only for you but for Fushiguro and his sister as well; though the siblings were under school's supervision, making it more official while you were the adopted child of Gojou that supposed to be dead long time ago; you were kept secret. You two hit it off with each other when you entered the school as the first-year student. Megumi never mentioned anyone he had known you earlier (and vice-versa) but you had a feeling he was protective over you since the beginning.

Because of that fact, you felt the need to explain yourself. You owed him that.

“Megumi… I’m sorry.” You managed to say with a soft voice after a minute of silence between you. You still felt guilty for what had happened. You knew he probably felt betrayed but he was good at not showing it. Megumi only sighed deeply, looking down. You knew you failed him as a friend... But then Megumi chuckled, making you blink in surprise.

“Don’t be. I’m glad you’re alive. I admit, I was scared of you but you know what?” He looked in your eyes and your body involuntary paused, waiting in anticipation for the rest.

“When I recall everything, I can see you not as a monster but as a badass. You were able to kick Sukuna’s ass and that’s rare. It’s good to know we have a strong ally, in both of you.”

He smiled and your heart swelled in solace as a small chuckle escaped you too. You knew he had forgiven you and accepted you. You knew he was truly grateful; after all, he never lied, no matter how bad the truth was. You respected him for that the most. You also knew his words were directed both at your sister and you. You couldn’t be happier.

“Thank you, Megumi, I-” You paused when he suddenly sat by your side and hugged you sideways, ruffling your hair.

You didn’t know if you deserved such kindness and generosity from all of them. But you promised yourself to get stronger and better so you could be able to protect them, not be a cause of their troubles.

You hugged your friend tight, your heart was full and happy.

“Oiii! Am I dreaming? Megumi is hugging someone?” You heard Yuuji’s surprised yet still teasing tone as you two turned around to see him in the doorway; a tray of steaming food in his hand. Yuuji grinned happily at you, Gojou appeared (as always from nowhere) behind him.

“That Megumi-kun? Where, where? Lemme take a picture or ten!”

Megumi groaned and stood up, quickly leaving the place. His softness long gone since two dumbasses had ruined his moment. You couldn’t help but feel a little bad for Megumi… even if you found the whole teasing a bit amusing.

It was truly a good time. It made you feel like a casual teenager, unaware of dark magic, curses and jujutsu outside your small yet comfortable room… and then, the evening came quickly.

You were lying between Yuuji’s legs, back to chest as he had his arms wrapped around your middle. You were munching on popcorn while watching some western comedy. Such a serene atmosphere indeed.

But there had been a bugging thought behind your head for the whole day and you knew you had to do one more thing.

Showing gratefulness towards your family and friends was natural… So you couldn't forget about him. Even if you were close to death yesterday, you remembered who helped you for real. You knew that if not because of his mercy, you would have been into a coma, probably.

You waited for the end of the movie and then turned off the tablet.

Now or never! You thought, taking a deep breath.

“Yuuji… Can I ask you for something?” You asked slowly, slightly nervous. Yuuji looked down and blinked at you, sensing your sudden change of attitude.

“Always. What is it?” He kissed the top of your head and you immediately felt guilty because you knew he was not going to like your next words.

“Can you change with Sukuna for a few minutes?”

There was a silence as his eyes were growing bigger and bigger in disbelief; as if he was checking if you were joking. You weren’t and he made one of his typical noises.

“Huuuuuuh?!”

You quickly crawled out of his lap and faced him, hands up.

“I know what you’re thinking, I knooow. I know you don’t want to do that but please, there’s… something I have to tell him, personally.”

That was it. Even if you thanked Yuuji, Gojou and Megumi, you hadn’t thanked Sukuna yet. You knew the King must have been watching you and listening to you through Yuuji’s body; you believed he had been judging you as well for being a spoiled and ungrateful brat. Still, you wanted to face him and endure his possible scoffing.

Yuuji was still unsure, you could tell by the look on his face. He knew you could be stubborn. He knew you wouldn’t let it go so easily. He saw you being so determined at that moment he could only sigh in defeat.

“I will switch back if he tries anything funny...” Yuuji murmured more to himself than you and closed his eyes.

You watched with slight fascination as his face and body was slowly being patterned by black ink. You had been preparing yourself for the entire day to face him all alone. You had a feeling it wouldn't be so bad or scary... or at least you were telling yourself that.

There was a pause on Yuuji’s face after tattoos had formed there… and then four eyes opened, piercing you with their crimson irises.

You involuntary swallowed quietly but held his gaze.

Sukuna tilted his head slightly as if surprised. He didn't miss your determined expression and sweaty forehead nor did he miss your white knuckles as your hands had been gripping at the material of your pants.

She’s nervous. So it must be the real her… Gladly. 

If only you were able to hear his thoughts, you would have understood easily his savage grin that plastered on his face. Sukuna leaned in and you unconsciously straightened up.

“Took you long enough to call for me. I almost thought you forgot about the previous evening or that you were going to ignore me and my kind heart completely, Miss.” His voice was rough but not heated. He seemed to be teasing you in his own typical way.

You were watching him, your heart was beating fast at the experience of meeting with him face to face. You expected his cursed energy to rise and mock you even more but the King only rested his chin on his hand as his eyes were locked on you. You realized you had been silent for a few minutes but he was waiting patiently. How unusual of him… He truly had to be in a good mood.

“I...” You started and braced yourself, looking in his bigger eyes. “I wanted to thank you... for… helping me, twice. You didn’t have to and yet–” You paused and looked down. You tried to find proper words to show your gratitude but you didn’t get such a chance.

The clawed hand grabbed you and lifted your chin, fingers dug in the flesh of your cheeks as Sukuna’s face were centimetres from you. Your eyes widened and you involuntary shivered but you didn’t dare to pull away nor even make a sound.

He won’t hurt you he won’t hurt you he won’t– 

Sukuna looked deep in your eyes as if reading your galloping thoughts. He growled and squeezed fingers around your jaw.

“You owe me, brat, a lot. Don’t forget it.” He hissed but once again, his voice wasn’t heated. At least it was not as rough and sharp as you had remembered through his first encounters with your sister.

“Are we understood?” He met your silence so he squeezed your cheeks harder but, despite his claws digging into you, it didn’t hurt. You realized your mistake and nodded quickly; he snorted at that and leaned back. His hand was still on your cheeks as he seemed to be studying you.

When Sukuna finally let go of you, you didn’t miss the way his thumb had brushed against the corner of your lips. You found that gesture as a strange affection and gentleness coming from him… Even if you didn’t know or understand why; it surely was strange and confusing.

You two were silent again and you felt the need to say something more.

“I… uhm, I will do whatever you want. I will be stronger or–” You heard him snort abruptly and then he laughed heartily.

“Now, now, don’t make promises you might regret later, silly goose...” Sukuna said with a low voice and grinned ugly. It rubbed you in a wrong way but what did you expect? He was the worst of the curses after all. Still, he was unsurprisingly nice to you. At least that time.

You said nothing more but Sukuna was watching you intently.

“Is this everything you wanted to say... or do?” He asked after another minute of silence.

It had been awkward for a while but still, you were glad to be able to talk to him. You smiled and nodded.

“Yes. Once again, thank you for… watching over me.”

Disgusting. Annoying.

Sukuna’s brows furrowed, his grin was long gone. He had expected more from you.

After all, you had hugged everyone but him.

He had healed you, twice. He kept your bed warm, kept you safe and protected. He did much more than those dumbass shamans all around and yet you only thanked him verbally.

...why did it piss him off so much though? It was just a silly, human, pathetic even thing to do, to hug. Blegh.

That was wrong. He felt betrayed by his own twisted needs.

Since when he cared for attention? He, the King of Curses, the strongest evil entity on the earth?

Ridiculous...

The King said nothing more and you watched his markings slowly disappear. You had a feeling that something was wrong but you didn’t think of any good reason.

It would be much easier if you knew what was going inside his mind.

Yuuji during preparing food for you:

Sukuna: Oi, brat. Take those two muffins as well.

Yuuji: Ah, right, y/n loves them-! ...wait, what? How did you-? Huuh? *cofused noises*

Sukuna: ... *sweating but plays deaf*

Chapter Text

💙 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 💙

~*~

You returned to school and your errands quickly. Despite being a first-year student, you were hanging out with your older friends most of the time. With them you didn’t feel like a rookie, nor did Yuuji, Megumi and Nobara treat you like one. Everything seemed to be better. You enjoyed your time in and off school.

It’d been a week since you encountered with Mahito and you realized something.

You didn’t want to think so highly of yourself but you started to believe that you had formed some kind of 'agreement' with Sukuna after that memorable evening.

Sukuna was appearing more often as if checking on you. Sometimes his eye formed on Yuuji’s cheek without his realization and the King was watching you in silence. Other time you had a feeling he was smelling you in your sleep but you blamed your tired mind for making such ridiculous assumptions. After all, why would Sukuna be interested in your – as he said – smell-less soul?

Involuntary, such events started to draw you closer to him. You were growing curious about Sukuna. What did make him become the King of the Curses? How did his life look when he had been a human? What did he like to eat? ...or more precisely, did he need to eat as the curse?

One evening you found enough courage to start one of the topics with Yuuji.

“Does Sukuna tell you anything about himself?” Yuuji blinked at your question while cooking meat; he hummed in thought.

“Hm… Not really? At first, he used to threaten me a lot. He usually talks about how bored he is and how he’s going to destroy the world once he gets out. He mocks me a lot that I’m weak and ungrateful to his existence. He threatens he’s going to kill Gojou whenever he appears in our vision... But, hmm, whenever I’m with you... he’s silent.”

You cocked a brow at that.

“Silent? As if sleeping?” You asked and Yuuji shrugged his shoulders.

“I am not sure if he can sleep. I believe that sometimes he simply switches off, bored by everything.”

If you two only knew that Sukuna had been watching and listening to you silently the entire time.

~*~

“Hey, Yuuji, do you think that they had chocolate back in Sukuna’s golden age?”

It was another of your questions about Sukuna that Yuuji heard. He cocked a brow and put his book down, looking at you staring at the box of chocolates. He could see you were growing curious about his inner demon more and more. Even if it was weird at some point, he believed you were just being cute with your pure and innocent curiosity.

“I know you love white chocolate with almonds but I like to believe that Sukuna would be into dark chocolate… or maybe fruity pralines?” You explained and Yuuji couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“Don’t make fun of me...” You pouted as you put one of the chocolates on your tongue. The taste of coffee filled your mouth and you almost hummed in pleasure. You two had got such a present from a nice old lady after helping her in the garden.

“Ah, I’m not, promise. I just can’t see him eating sweets.” Yuuji crawled closer to you and you offered him a praline that he gently yet eagerly swept from your fingers by his tongue. “Unless it’s a praline filled with blood...” He snorted at his own joke and rolled on his back, head landed on your lap.

“I believe we don’t have such a praline in our box...” You teased back and gently ruffled his hair. He chuckled but you hummed in thought.

“Hmm… But imagine. Cherry praline or chilli praline?”

“Cherry.”

You two paused after hearing Sukuna’s voice. You looked down and found familiar mouth and eye formed on Yuuji’s cheek.

“What?!” Yuuji bounced a little, ready to slap Sukuna away but you quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping him midway.

"Y/n?” Yuuji blinked in surprise at that. You only smiled and quickly picked the proper praline; you offered the chocolate to Sukuna’s mouth.

The demon looked at you then at the praline, as if making sure you didn’t want to play on him… His tattooed tongue wrapped around the sweet and pulled inside, munching.

“Wait, you can eat?! I mean, can I eat twice then?!” Yuuji suddenly grew excited, his eyes were shining at the thought of eating two burgers at the same time.

“You’re annoying, brat.” Sukuna murmured to Yuuji and disappeared before you could even ask if the praline was good enough to him.

“Ah! Rude!” Yuuji pouted but then he grinned happily. “Now, wasn’t that interesting?” You smiled back and hummed, playing with Yuuji’s pink strands.

“Oh, it was.”

After that day, Sukuna would appear more often to snatch Yuuji’s food right under his nose. You didn’t know if the King was playing on your boyfriend’s nerves or he was genuinely curious about modern food but would never admit it aloud.

You quickly got accustomed to offering food to Yuuji twice at the same time. One pair of chopsticks were going to his mouth, the second pair was going to his cheek where Sukuna’s mouth usually formed.

To be honest, you loved to watch them. Yuuji was as always enthusiastic and even excited he could eat double portions. Sukuna always wore a neutral expression but you knew he had to like the taste. After all, he had never spit food back at you.

~*~

It was the weekend, winter evening.

Yuuji and you had two days off so you decided to be lazy after a whole week of hard work, both at school and missions outside about clearing some haunted places.

Yuuji was snoring quietly, wrapped around your middle, head rested on your stomach. He took a nap while you were reading a book; a warm and soft light was illuminating from your bedside lamp.

One of your hand was drowned in Yuuji’s strawberry strands, as you were gently massaging and scratching his scalp.

You heard a buzz on your left side. Your phoned showed you a message from Nobara; knowing her, she sent you another meme, not that you minded.

You gently let go of Yuuji’s head to get your phone but you paused midway when you heard a low rumble.

“Don’t stop...”

You blinked in surprise and immediately looked down. You hadn't even seen when Sukuna switched with Yuuji, occupying his place. Two eyes on his left side opened and looked at you, slightly annoyed.

“I said something.” You heard him gruff and your hand quickly returned into his strands, obediently. You forgot about the message as thoughts flooded your mind.

What was going on? Why was he there? Why were you petting him instead of your boyfriend? It was wrong but also not since two of them shared the same body?

As if sensing your disturbance, Sukuna sighed but nuzzled more to your stomach, making you freeze.

“Brat likes when you do that. He sleeps better and doesn’t bother me in my domain so I can take a break from him too.” He explained and closed his eyes, answering your unspoken questions.

You relaxed slightly but said nothing. Your hand was playing with his strands lightly and carefully as you watched the King lying on you like a big, spoiled cat… No, you were lying in one bed with a tiger precisely.

You had a feeling it was a weak excuse even for Sukuna but you didn’t dare to question his opinion.

If he wanted to say it, he might have summoned on Yuuji’s cheek only. There was no need of him to switch entirely with Yuuji... and yet, the King surprised you once again.

You couldn't help but smile as you put down your book and focused on him completely.

Your free hand landed on his back, as your fingers started tracing his muscles, gently, soothingly, carefully. You were watching for his reaction, believed he might stop you soon and probably be annoyed by your boldness.

But none of that happened.

As you grew more courage, you started tracing his tattoos at his nape and down his shoulder blades. You rarely saw his back like that so you decided to use that occasion and learn the patterns.

You felt him shiver and he rumbled loudly, making you pause immediately. You were ready for him to form a mouth on his back and bite you for being too touchy.

But, once again, none of that happened.

Your hand started moving gently over his tattoos once again and then you realized he had purred previously because he made the same sound again.

He was like a damn tiger indeed.

You couldn’t help but smile at that, feeling a little victorious.

You knew you would be called crazy by anyone for allowing Sukuna to touch you like that. You knew you should be scared of him and try to reach Yuuji, to get his boyfriend back. You knew you should just do anything to stop Sukuna from being spoiled like that… but you couldn’t force yourself to even feel bad about it.

Yuuji and you were about to live a short life. You two knew it from the beginning. Yuuji supposed to be executed once he got all Sukuna’s fingers in him, while you could die on any mission because of your weak body and poor health condition.

But it didn’t mean that two of you would sulk and not even try to enjoy your short life.

If you wanted it or not, Sukuna had become a part of this life.

You believed he deserved to get his own bit of happiness. Were you insane? Sure to Megumi. It was just you and your pure heart.

You didn’t know for how long had you been petting him, but you grew tired and your eyes were heavy. You were getting sleepy but still, your hands remained on Sukuna.

You didn't feel anxious at the thought of falling asleep next to the King. It was a strange and odd thought but you felt rather safe in his arms.

Oh, sweet irony.

~*~

Sukuna didn’t have in plans to blow his cover. You didn't even see when he switched with Yuuji. His face was buried in your belly and his tattoos were hidden mostly by his blue T-shirt. He couldn’t think of a better opportunity to find some relaxation as well.

Damn, the useless brat is always spoiled while I do the worse job and get nothing. Unacceptable, Sukuna believed that was a solid reason for him to get closer with you.

But when you stopped petting him, he called you out before he could have spared a mere second to think about what he was doing.

Fuck. No more fun for me, he immediately thought.

He could hear as your heart was beating faster and faster as your muscles tensed and didn’t want to relax again. He got so angry at himself for spoiling such a moment…

But then, to his own surprise, he felt your hand back in his hair; the feeling of being petted wasn’t as free as previously though. The tension didn't leave your body and Sukuna could almost hear the hum of gears in your head as you were trying to process, what was happening.

“Brat likes when you do that. He sleeps better and doesn’t bother me in my domain so I can take a break from him too.”

He didn’t lie. Well, at least not with one part.

Yuuji indeed loved when you were doing that. He indeed slept better but the brat would never access Sukuna’s domain without his permission.

You somehow believed… or at least you were polite to not question it further, for what the King was secretly grateful.

Sukuna believed he made it all awkward; he shouldn’t have spoken and pretended to be asleep. He thought of switching and get your 'precious' Yuuji back but he paused in his tracks; your other hand touched his arm and went down, massaging his shoulder blades.

Oh… Oh, were you teasing him? Was it a game you wanted to play with him? At least your body seemed to start relaxing again– Fuuuck, why did it feel so good?

Sukuna blamed Yuuji’s emotions towards you and that sensitive human body of his. He couldn’t help but shiver and rumble in pleasure, making you pause again. His heart skipped a bit.

Oh, he fucked up this time, for sure, you were not gonna-

Your hand started moving again, that time you were tracing his visible parts of tattoos. Ohh, if you only knew his tattoos were sensitive–

He encouraged you to touch them more by rumbling again… and he was so happy when you didn’t stop that time.

Sukuna smirked in victory and allowed himself to put his guard down completely. It was a strange and odd thought but… he trusted you. As if you even were a threat to him and he supposed to be worried about his safety, you petite, weak and disgusting human being, but still.

He didn’t know for how long you had been petting him but he knew it was long enough for you to get tired. He was listening to your heartbeat going slower; your breath deepened and your hands stilled on his body. At that time, Sukuna knew you had fallen asleep so he didn't dare make a loud complaint.

He knew that sleeping position wasn't going to be good either for you or Yuuji.

He sighed quietly, still feeling the warmth of your hands on his tanned skin. He already missed them moving around but he wouldn’t admit it aloud, never.

Sukuna gently unwrapped from you and put on your side. He reached for the switch and turned off the light, pulling sheets over two of you as he spooned you.

Once again he snuggled into your hair, smelling your scent.

Your sweet jasmine perfume…

Disgusting, he reminded himself but stayed close.

He was about to ‘switch off’ as well when he felt a shift of cursed magic in you as you turned around to face him. His eyes lazily looked down, just in time to see a marking appearing on your forehead.

The black tattoo of the third eye, vertical.

Ah, yes, the form of the Angel.

A pair of yellow eyes flashed in the dim room, looking annoyed at him.

“Long time no see, big sis.” Sukuna smirked but didn’t pull away. You were watching him intently but the King seemed to not care at all as he closed his eyes.

“Why are you doing this?” He heard your low and stoic voice. He realized how different you and your sister sounded yet somehow familiar. Just like him and Yuuji... Well, close enough.

“I’m doing what I want. Don’t question me.” He gruffed, still without looking at you. His clawed fingers were playing with the ends of your hair, his nose buried in the top of your head.

You would never understand his philosophy, the power of want and need, the power of getting whatever you wished for without questioning it. He wasn’t a human to doubt himself. Not anymore.

“What are you trying to achieve?” He heard you, still determined to get any piece of answer from him. You were annoying so he sighed deeply but without heat.

“Just sleep. Don’t ruin my moment.”

Sukuna could sense you were watching him for another few minutes before your cursed energy hummed lowly and dispersed. He peeked at you and caught your tattoo to disappear as well. Your twin sister was gone.

Sukuna sighed in contentment and smirked; he curled around your small frame, holding arms around you with surprising gentleness. He truly enjoyed the warmth of your body on his.

That way of getting a break was perfect for him.

Chapter Text

“No way! I’m not playing with her, she’s too good!”

Nobara threw her cards in the air as Yuuji pulled tokens towards you, grinning happily. Megumi sighed deeply, unamused and collected as always.

Four of you had a free evening and decided to play some games in the lounge. You were paired with Yuuji while Nobara and Megumi tried their best to win against you two.

“She’s cheating! She must have! She’s always good at reading people as if she had the third eye!” Nobara was fuming without heat. You all got used to her being loud and very expressive. You could only smile happily, almost innocently. Almost.

You would lie if you had said it wasn’t such satisfaction to win four times in a row.

You didn’t miss Megumi’s shifty eyes between her and you as Yuuji winked at you. You shook your head at Megumi secretly to imply you weren’t using your power. You were just lucky, that was all.

Megumi crossed his arms and cocked a brow at you, as if not believing you. You just shrugged, feeling pity for them, in kinda way. The boy sighed and Nobara huffed; she landed on sofa, sprawled and annoyed.

“Let’s play something else...” Kugisaki murmured and hummed in thought.

“You still have to buy us dinner for winning–” Yuuji reminded quietly. After all, you two win the prize, fair and square.

“We. Know. Yuuji.” Both Megumi and Nobara hissed at him through teeth and you couldn’t help but chuckle at that. You truly loved interactions between them.

“Oh, y/n, you didn’t reply on my message yesterday.” Nobara said suddenly and sit up, eyeing you.

You blinked and recalled yesterday’s evening. Oh… Oh, right. Your cheeks were involuntarily painted in a very light shade of pink and you were grateful the light in the room was dim.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was distracted with some book and then fell asleep.” You didn’t lie, well, at least in half. You truly had fallen asleep but you hadn’t been distracted with a book… Something big and rather dangerous distracted you strongly.

You must have spaced out because you didn’t see Nobara had shifted closer to you, checking up on your face; she clearly saw your blush. She grinned, putting a hand on her chin as she eyed Yuuji, the boy as always innocent.

“Some book, you say?” You blinked at her teasing tone and flushed even more. You instinctively raised your hands, you were not ready to admit to anything connected with Sukuna.

“Was that book heavy and thick? Did it light up some passion in you?” Nobara teased more, cackling like an old witch. You, on the other hand, were close to dying from embarrassment. Your face was so red that even dim light wasn’t helpful. You easily read her naughty thoughts, the hidden meaning behind such ‘innocent’ words.

Megumi’s eyes were literally sending you the sincerest condolences of becoming the topic number one out of sudden. The topic of naughty things.

You weren’t so innocent to not read through it. After all, your tutor was Gojou – that Gojou Satoru – who loved to tease Nanami with dirty jokes too often. It usually led to Gojou either disappearing or hiding behind you, using you as a shield that (he was sure) Nanami would never break through. Even if you wanted to avoid it or not, you – despite your inexperience and young age – were too often around naughty topics so you could easily catch them on.

After all, Megumi was the oldest one, Yuuji was after him, then Nobara and then (little poor) you. But when it came to being naughty, it went in a much different way. Nobara was in the first place, then was Yuuji, then (poor) Megumi and you. These two would joke dirty back and forth while you and Megumi stood in the background, either blinking at the wording or being completely unamused.

“What did you send her anyway?”

You almost cried out in bliss and happiness that Megumi had spoken as the first, changing the topic completely before Yuuji had a chance to say a word to continue it. You could see your boyfriend had caught it and grinned, getting ready to ‘roast’ Nobara with some irrational fiction that not even happened between you two, just to play the game with Nobara and show who was a bigger perv.

Yuuji almost whined at Megumi for interrupting and Nobara sighed, unamused. No more dirty topics, such a pity for them.

“I sent her a quiz about what type of animal you are. It’s silly but funny game. Wanna try?” She said and pulled out her phone, quickly sending the link to boys.

You pulled out your phone and read the message. Indeed, there was a link to the website.

“Ohh, I wanna try it!” Yuuji grew excited, checking out his phone. Megumi eyed three of you and sighed, defeated. Even if he said no, he knew Nobara would force him to do that.

“But before you try, say what do you see yourself as, hmmm?” Nobara smiled widely and squinted eyes at Yuuji. “I believe you areee… a wolf!” Yuuji blinked at that.

“A wolf?” Yuuji mimicked, slightly surprised.

“More like a puppy.” Megumi corrected and you couldn’t help but snort. He indeed was more often like a happy puppy. Yuuji pouted at Megumi who smirked almost politely. Oh, the battle was on, you could feel it in the air.

“It suits you better, mister lone wolf.” Yuuji stuck out a tongue at Megumi; the boy furrowed brows.

“Fine by me.” Megumi simply said and shrugged.

“I think Yuuji is more like a lion.” You decided to take the floor and was immediately rewarded by sideways hug and peck on your cheek.

“Thanks, sweetheart. I can always count on you.” Yuuji said happily and you chuckled. Nobara hummed at that, eyeing Itadori carefully.

“To be honest, when Yuuji wants, he can be as dangerous as a lion.” She recalled a few missions during which Yuuji was a true monster, even if he relied on his power only.

“See! Mister raven!” Yuuji said victorious, grinning at Megumi who spared him no glance as he was focused on the screen of his phone.

“Let’s just do this test and get over with it.” He said with a bored tone and you nodded, focusing on your phone. Yuuji shifted closer to you and you used that occasion to snuggle to his side. Megumi crossed his legs, Nobara nestled in pillows and four of you started tapping quietly at your phone screens. After two minutes, Yuuji broke the silence.

“Done!” He said happily and looked at Megumi, smiling cockily. At that time you knew he just won the game and got the ‘lion’ personality. He didn’t want to show off yet thus he focused on you instead, giving the rest time to finish their quiz.

“What do you have?” He whispered like a happy kid and nuzzled to you, peeking at your screen. He saw the picture of a white mouse and chuckled. “Suits you~” He said sincerely and ruffled your white hair. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes but you smiled at him, nuzzling to him more. You truly loved that goof.

“Are we all done?” Nobara asked, you nodded. “Phones on the table!” She ordered and all of you put your phones on the table, eyeing one another's answers.

“Yuuji got the lion, damn.” Nobara murmured and Yuuji laughed in victory, arching his chest.

You read the summary and couldn't agree more. Lions were independent, confident, creative, true leaders; stood for power, anger, self-control and wisdom.

“Easy~ Oh, Megumi got the raven! I was correct twice! You have to buy me a dessert too during the dinner–”

“In your dreams.” Megumi corrected harshly; Yuuji gave his best puppy eyes and whined. Unfortunately for your boyfriend, Megumi knew that trick too much and didn’t fall for it.

You read a summary of ravens. They were crafty, responsible and protective; stood for wisdom, secret knowledge and death. It suited Megumi as well, especially with his power of summoning Shikigami.

“You’re a fox, Nobara.” You smiled at your friend and read aloud. “You are creative, loyal and observant. You stand for mischief, playfulness, agility and wisdom. Fair enough.”

“Obviously~” Nobara said, looking rather proud. She crossed arms on her chest and tilted chin. Megumi just cocked a brow at her and then focused on your screen.

“A mouse, huh?” He said quietly as if surprised with that answer. Did he expect you to be something else? Though, he continued.

“Mouses are brave, modest yet reckless. You stand for kindness, creativity, intelligence and foresight–”

“Foresight! See! I told you, she has the third eye!” Nobara snapped, pointing a finger at you. You didn’t miss boys shifty eyes. Though, they remained silent, as if unaffected by Nobara’s statement. You just shrugged and smiled innocently. If your friend only knew…

I will tell her soon. You promised yourself.

“Hmmm, I wonder what Gojou sensei would be?” Yuuji said and leaned into the sofa, catching his chin in thought. Nobara followed, her brows furrowed.

“Sloth probably.” She said deadpan. Yuuji wheezed and started laughing.

“I can see him as a husky! You know, black and white, blue eyes, eager to play and be funny only to change into a beast in one second.” Yuuji explained, still snickering. Megumi cocked a brow at them.

“Husky? He reminds me more of a cat. Appears from nowhere, creates a mess then leaves as if nothing happened and it wasn’t him.” You nodded at that. Gojou was truly like a cat to you, both lazy since he could sleep almost everywhere and mischievous since you knew he could smile at you so innocently while his mind was such a dangerous place.

“Sooo what about Nanamin?” Yuuji continued his pondering.

“I can see him as a hawk.” You said and Yuuji nodded eagerly.

“Oh yes, with his Ratio Technique he would fit as a hawk perfectly.” Yuuji explained and quickly asked, grinning at Nobara. “Maki senpai?”

“She’s either a swan or an owl!” Nobara almost jumped at her bold statement. Yuuji chuckled at that, he predicted Nobara’s enthusiasm. You knew your friend adored Maki and treated her like a big sister and role-model. Sometimes you believed that your friend had a little crush on senpai but you never asked it aloud nor you tried to tease. You valued your life too much to try your luck with Nobara.

“What about Sukuna?” Megumi asked quietly, bringing attention. Yuuji and Nobara’s faces fell. They were in shock at first but then started naming by turns, serious and almost seething with anger. It was getting out of hand.

“A snake.”

“A vulture.”

“A blind-worm.”

“A spider.”

“A hyena!”

“A piranha!”

“The worst kind of an animal!”

“Definitely the worst!”

The awkward silence was set in the room. Nobara’s mood was spoiled, Yuuji was pouting in anger, looking aside. You had an feeling that he was listening to Sukuna’s insults towards him for making fun of the King like that.

You locked eyes on the floor as you recalled yesterday’s evening… and any situation you had had with Sukuna. Despite him being the famous and cruel King of Curses, you knew he had a good side too…

You couldn’t just tell your friends what he had done to you, how much he had been helping you; how gentle he could be despite his harsh words or names towards you or how spoiled he could behave when he was alone with you. Like a giant cat, dangerous yet still able to purr when he was pampered.

“A tiger...” You whispered and realized you said it aloud. You flinched, praying that no one heard that. Obviously, everyone heard that and immediately focused on you.

“I, uhm–” You started, nervous but Nobara snorted and cackled at that.

“A tiger? Why that?” She asked, genuinely curious. Your heart skipped a beat and your cheeks heated, involuntary.

You knew you couldn’t tell them the truth! First of all, they wouldn't believe you. Second, even if they believed you, they would call you a madwoman for spoiling that King of Curses. You calmed yourself down and decided to play it smart, as always.

“Because Yuuji is a lion so that would fit? And, uhm, his tattoos? On the face? Like tiger’s stripes?”

Nobara listened varefully and hummed in thought, nodding slowly. You were able to calm your heart a little bit as soon as you knew she bought that. You felt Yuuji pulling you on his lap as he hugged you from behind, resting his chin on the top of your head.

“Soooo, a little mouse is surrounded by two big cats? How cute~” He teased and grinned. You gently nudged him.

“That mouse can kick you, you know?” You tried to play tough but Yuuji hugged you tight, literally drowning you in his hoodie. Your poor attempts of getting yourself free made Nobara laugh. You missed Megumi’s soft eyes on you. He knew you truly could see good in the worst of the worst.

“What was that, little mouse? I can’t hear ya~” You groaned loudly and huffed when Yuuji kissed your forehead, soothing you a bit. You crossed your arms and pouted but Yuuji knew you were nowhere close to being angry. You earned another kiss, that time on your nose and you couldn't help but snort, defeated.

You truly loved that goof.

~*~

At the same time, Sukuna indeed was throwing some heavy insults towards Yuuji. First, for bringing him, the King of Curses, into that childish game and second, for making fun of him in front of his friends. How. Dare. He. Death wish, for sure!

His stupid vessel owed him his poor life! If not because of him, The Great Sukuna, Yuuji would have been long dead, being consumed by worms!

What an ungrateful, stupid, good-for-nothing motherfu–!

“A tiger...”

Sukuna halted in his spoken words and galloping in fury thoughts; his eyes widened and his breath stuttered. He had heard you and was glad that Yuuji looked at you so he would be blessed with the sight of you.

He could sense your rabbit heart, he could see your big and shiny eyes, he could see your small blush on your cheeks, either from embarrassment or...

“Because Yuuji is a lion so that would fit? And, uhm, his tattoos? On the face? Like tiger’s stripes?”

Sukuna blinked at that yet leaned back in his throne; he rested his cheek on his knuckles, eyeing his other hand, especially his claws and patterned wrist.

A tiger, huh? He grinned at that thought, his eyes full of contentment despite his one-minute-earlier urge to kill.

You always surprise me, little mouse.

At that moment, he wished he was a free curse, with his old body and full energy, unbounded. He would have stolen you as his prize and kept you safe and protected from everything and everyone; from stupid and dumb shamans, from hungry curses, just anything.

If you had become his mistress, no one would have even laid their eyes on you, just in fear of him, the King and his wrath.

You would be mine only…

Sukuna rumbled deeply at that image and then sighed, annoyed. If not because of the fact he was ‘trapped’ in Yuuji’s body, he would have done so much with you. Oh, he could only wish and dream… and try to behave because of Yuuji. Sukuna was still slightly  impressed how Yuuji could easily switch with him and keep a tight rein on him, the King. Because of that inconveniency, Sukuna didn’t have free will to do as he pleased.

Ridiculous, he growled, his eyes gleamed with crimson magic.

Still, your curiosity and openness towards him were amusing and gave him hope. Maybe he would win your heart? No, no maybe. Sukuna grinned ugly, flexing his claws in the air.

I’m going to make you mine, one way or another, little mouse.

The echo of Sukuna’s low, slow and sinister cackle reverberated in the dark domain.

~*~

Sukuna couldn’t understand the need of kissing, or rather the modern way of kissing.

It was not as if he didn’t like kissing or receiving the kisses, no-no. It was such a pleasurable experience after all that usually led to more naughty and dirty things. Back in his age (and with his original God-demon body) he had so many women he was able to drown in pleasure… and vice versa~

Oh, if only Sukuna was free, to be an independent being again... He would have showed you the real way. He would make your body sing to him, be putty in his clawed hands. He would devour you, your heart and your soul completely. You would be at his mercy. You wouldn’t be able to even think of Yuuji, that inexperienced bastard. Sukuna would make sure you call his name as he owned you only.

...and there were Yuuji and you, ruining everything he had ever learned in his long life and wanted to do with you.

You two would kiss rather goofily and then you held your hands for a long time, like the excited kids in a kindergarten getting ready to go on a journey to a nearby park and believe it was a jungle.

It was slightly annoying to Sukuna; as if he was watching a romantic comedy... but he wasn't laughing at all and was cringing instead.

Not to mention the sleeping aspect. Despite being a few months together in your ‘blooming’ relationship, the two of you didn’t sleep with each other.

Oh, yes, you two would sleep in one bed, wrapped around each other like octopuses but it never led to more spicy things. Never.

Sukuna was, at least, disappointed.

“When are you going to sleep with her?”

Sukuna manifested on Yuuji’s cheek one morning when the boy was alone, making his vessel screech and slap his cheek out of instincts. The King was growing tired of treating him like a damn mosquito so, once again he appeared but this time on his hand, eyeing the boy, unamused.

“W-What are you talking about now?” Yuuji’s voice was raised and he was blushing. Sukuna rolled his eye.

Such an amateur. Ridiculous.

“Don’t be a virgin more than you already are. When are you going to sleep with y/n? And nooo, don’t you dare to say that you’re sleeping with her almost every day. You know what I mean, you stupid brat! What’s the point of having a girlfriend when you don’t to that?!” The King got pissed more than he had planned to, so he reminded himself and put his usually bored face on.

Though, Sukuna met the awkward silence from Yuuji’s side.

“Well?” He asked, growing impatient again. At least the brat stopped slapping and shushing him, that was good.

“It’s not so easy as you think it is.” Yuuji started and sighed, scratching the back of his neck. “She’s still young. Plus, she’s Gojou sensei’s adopted daughter... I’m already lucky he likes me so I can date her–”

“Young? How old is she anyway?” Sukuna completely ignored the part about the blue-eyed bastard. He almost forgot you were under that annoying shaman’s protection… Still, as if Gojou himself was able to stop him, The Great Sukuna, from getting what he wanted.

“Well, she’s... close to seventeen?”

Sukuna’s world paused for a few seconds.

He straightened up on his throne of bones and skulls and his eyes blinked a few times in disbelief; he groaned aloud, massaging the ridge of his nose as he gave up on getting angry again and simply leaned back instead, controling his breathing.

“I haven’t heard more ridiculous thing in my entire life. Back in my age, fourteen years old girls were getting married and used as wives or lovers! Y/n is seventeen? She’s going to be an old maid soon!”

Yuuji’s attitude immediately changed and he growled, looking down at his hand. Without further thinking, he angrily poked a finger in Sukuna’s eye.

“Oiiiii, take that back! During your age everything was different and crazy, you old fart- OUCH!” Sukuna’s mouth bit hard on Yuuji’s finger. That was a punishment both for poking his eye and calling him the old fart.

Such a disrespectful, annoying vessel!...

The two of them were biting and hissing at each other for a few more minutes. Then Sukuna gave Yuuji some time to lick his wounds and patch his bitten fingers; another three minutes had to pass in silence so the boys were able to talk calmly again.

Yuuji was the first to break the silence as he sighed deeply.

“Listen, I know that after a thousand years of being body-less, you are obviously pent up. And knowing you, you have a big experience with women so you are growing impatient. But still, a 'friendly' reminder, it’s my body, my decision and my girlfriend. So I’m not going to do that anytime soon. I want to show her respect and wait for her to get ready to take another step... and I expect you to not be a troublemaker here, are we understood?” He explained and looked sternly in Sukuna’s (unamused as always) eye on his palm.

“Idiot. Just claim her as ours so she won’t run from us.”

There, the compromise. Blegh.

Yuuji almost sobbed in utter defeat. What was Sukuna talking about? You? Run? Where? Claim? Ours? What?

Yuuji was both shocked and annoyed. He had no patience towards Sukuna to explain everything once again. Sukuna surely made it all awkward…

The young shaman blinked as he realized something. Since when he was talking so freely about you with Sukuna?...

...and why, the hell, was Sukuna asking about you anyway?!

“Why is she suddenly ‘ours’? I thought you didn't like her...” Yuuji murmured and furrowed brows; Sukuna’s eye squinted at that, thinking about the proper answer.

“She’s more interesting than you will ever be.” The demon said after a solid minute of silence.

Yuuji’s world shattered a bit; the boy pouted, feeling like a kicked puppy.

“...now that was brutal, even from you.”

Chapter Text

It had been a month since you encountered with Mahito. You knew he was hiding somewhere, alive, planning evil as always. Even if your need to avenge your sister and you were strong, the voice of reason was still stronger. You were a badass to Megumi, a strong girl to Yuuji but a weakling to Mahito. You knew that even with your power you could do nothing against him.

Through these years you two had changed; not he nor you were kids anymore. Both of you became young adults with cursed energy so powerful inside your bodies that was able to kill. But there was a major difference between the two of you: when your body was weak and could be destroyed by your own soul during any serious fight, Mahito’s soul was growing stronger and stronger, feeding on pain and agony, on hate and evil around him, acting as the finest fuel. He was still ahead of you. He was a curse in completion, you were still a half-human, with a high sense of justice.

Just you and your pure heart with a cursed soul? Such a combination indeed.

No wonder that the King himself was interested in you… or at least you thought so. After all, he rarely appeared in front of others but you. It meant something, right? Sometimes, you were naive to believe he saw something good in you, something valuable. It was rather a bizarre thought to believe he was acting as your... friend.

After all, it was easier to believe you were like a new pet to him, probably.

But little did you know how strong were his ‘intentions’ until that memorable day.

It’d been raining for a week and feeling of doom was crushing for even the most cheerful souls. Gojou had a special mission for four of you. According to ‘windows’, a high level of cursed energy had been located in an abandoned church, on the West of Tokyo.

Teachers expected that it would be a challenging mission, that was why they sent Nanami with your group as a backup. The man wouldn't act unless necessary so still four of you had to carry the mission.

No one expected it was a trap that Mahito had set for you.

When you entered the building, a feeling of deja vu hit you. You believed you had met with that energy before. You paused, looking around; you could tell the four of you just stepped into curse’s domain since the building inside was much, much higher than the building from the outside.

“Y/n? Is everything ok?” You heard Yuuji’s soft voice and felt a gentle squeeze on your arm. You involuntary shivered but forced a smile. You didn’t want to make him worried. After all, you promised to be stronger and protect them.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine. Sorry for scaring you, just–” You paused abruptly, a bead of sweat rolled down your neck. You could feel your sister’s soul humming inside in annoyance, desperation, wrath… and fear.

“It seems familiar...” You whispered and didn’t miss the familiar red eye that immediately had appeared on Yuuji’s cheek… before you heard Megumi’s shout and Nobara’s screams “Again?!” in anger. You turned around to see your friends were being kidnapped by the cursed spirits, deeper into the domain.

“Shit, they want to split us-!?” You realized and tried to grab Yuuji’s hand–

–only to meet with the air in the empty space.

Your eyes widened when you realized you were left alone, in the middle of pitch-black darkness.

That darkness wasn’t as familiar as your sister’s domain.

That darkness was hostile.

“Y/n-chaaan~” You heard a sinister whisper right in your ear. A stitched hand appeared in front of your face but you were too paralysed in overwhelming fear to try to run or fight, to even make a move.

“Play with me once again~”

Echo of your scream was eaten by darkness.

~*~

“Megumi!” Yuuji was running after the spider-like curse that tried to eat Fushiguro on the way. The black hair boy summoned one of his Shikigami that quickly distracted and slowed the curse so Yuuji could hit it and destroy with his Divergent Fist.

Megumi landed smoothly on the ground when the curse was killed. He straightened up and huffed, looking around, getting ready for another attack. Yuuji stood back-to-back with him, his fists prepared.

“They split us! Fuck!” Yuuji cursed. He wasn’t even sure what had happened. In split second you and Nobara had been gone so he had chased Megumi, the one he could see still.

“Change with me, brat.”

Megumi flinched and looked at Sukuna’s mouth that had appeared on Yuuji’s cheek. He didn’t dream of another meeting with the creepy King nor did he miss him, not at all. But Megumi knew that if Sukuna himself wanted to change with Yuuji at the beginning of their mission, the boy could only imagine how big shit they had found themselves in.

“I refuse.” Yuuji retorted but Megumi didn’t miss his shiver and sweaty forehead. Megumi knew that Sukuna was serious for some reason that time. Yuuji knew that too but was too prideful and determined to fix it on his own rather than admit his hidden fear and worry and simply allow Sukuna to take care of their problem.

“Do you want to save your precious girl? Then trust me.” Sukuna rumbled, annoyed and Megumi blinked in sudden realization. Just like before, Sukuna tried to… help… you? That thought was still bizarre to Megumi but not impossible. After all, the King had saved you during that memorable mission...

“Trust you?! Hah!”

Megumi switched off from ranting Yuuji as he started to analyse the situation. He knew Yuuji was going to be stubborn and try to save you at the cost of his own life… but he also knew that if his theory was right, all of them were going to die, no matter how heroic and chivalry Yuuji wanted to be. Yuuji was strong indeed, but he couldn’t fight with all curses by himself.

If the King himself wanted to step in… it had to be a sign, a bad one. Megumi decided to risk it, trust his intuition and shush the fearful heart for once.

“Yuuji… let him.” Megumi spoke with a strangely soft voice. Yuuji’s eyes widened in disbelief, betrayal almost as he looked at his friend.

“Wha-?! Megumi, you know that-!”

“I will be next to you and stop him if things go too far, promise.” Megumi said determined and didn’t miss Sukuna’s twisted grin on boy’s cheek.

“See? Even Megumi learns fast, brat. Better listen to my pet.”

“Who is your pet now, you creep?” Megumi retorted, to King’s amusement.

Yuuji felt complicated and overwhelmed at that point. On one hand, he wanted so bad to save all of you and get out of that hellish place. On the other hand, he knew that Sukuna couldn’t be trusted so easily and that he had something vicious planned, for sure. Yuuji hated to think about it, but when it came to Innate Domains, Sukuna had all the cards. It was very hard and humiliating for Yuuji to admit that without Sukuna’s power, he could do little towards that powerful domain they had been locked in. That thought was both petrifying to Yuuji and fuelling him with wrath.

But that situation was different. That time you were in real danger and Sukuna had offered his help without making a new deal. Yuuji decided to use this occasion… and pray to Kami-sama to keep his friends out of Sukuna’s claws.

“I don’t trust you, Sukuna… but I trust you, Megumi.” Yuuji said slowly and looked at his friend with hidden determination… and desperation. Megumi easily read him and nodded, promising to be careful. He stepped back and watched Yuuji transform.

His honey eyes changed into bloody red, his pink hair stuck up and black tattoos appeared on his face. The mouth disappeared from his cheek but the big grin twisted his lips, sharp canines flashed in the dim light. A low but vicious laugh echoed in the domain, making Megumi shiver unconsciously.

“Ah, wonderful… Been a while since I felt so good like that, like right now.” Sukuna purred and then punctuated two last words, turning to Fushiguro; the boy instinctively raised his hands, preparing to defend himself.

“Now, now, my little raven. No need for you to be frightened. After all, you trust me, right?” He grinned and his eyes flashed with crimson magic. He outstretched his clawed hand to Fushiguro who eyed him suspiciously.

“...no touching.” He said and Sukuna rolled four of his eyes. The King quickly appeared behind the boy and scooped him on his arm, letting him dangle from his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, a very fine one. A ‘manly’ shout of surprise that Megumi had made was amusing to the King, as well as boy’s poor attempts to kick off of his shoulder.

“What the hell are you doing!? Let me go! Put me down!”

“This way will be faster. I can’t let you wander all by yourself now, Megumi. After all, you promised Yuuji to keep an eye on me...” Sukuna didn’t miss Megumi’s shocked eyes on him. But the demon – no matter how Megumi was precious to him – didn’t want to spend any more minutes on explaining himself, especially if you were in danger.

“Now, hold tight. We’re going on a ride~” Sukuna grinned and broke through the floor with his foot, letting the darkness swallow them.

~*~

You woke up in a place ripped from pure nightmares. Hands were everywhere, tangled, entwined, twisted, creating weird patterns and bridges, looming over you, ready to grab you and shatter even if they stood still. You found yourself sitting on a giant palm, slim and clawed fingers were pointed towards you, caging you. You tried to calm your hammering heart, scared to move even a little just to not trigger anything.

You didn’t know exactly where were you… but you knew it wasn’t a safe place.

Did Mahito learn Domain Expansion? That wouldn’t be a big surprise to you. After all, he was growing power too strong and vicious for anyone those days. One way or another, you were trapped, to not say you were in deep shit.

“Ah, you finally woke up, little canary.”

You looked up in the direction of the voice and found Mahito on his hand-throne, looking at you with a smug face and shining with danger eyes. You furrowed brows but remained silent. That somehow must have impressed the demon because he whistled and leaned in.

“Not crying and begging? Trying to be tough? So it must be your sister… Hi there, Mimi. Long time no see. As always trying to protect your little sister, are you?” He chirped sadistically and ginned ugly. His double-coloured eyes were hooded with blood lust.

“I heard that because of the PTSD you had lost some of your memories and yet, your instincts were telling you a correct thing. A church or a prison? Doesn’t matter as long as we can expand our domains, trapping all of you there. I have to admit this place is very similar to the previous one. We did our best to resemble it anyway… so we can play again and again, over and over… I wonder how long are you going to survive this time, little bird...”

Mahito’s voice was velvety poisonous and your heart stopped in your chest as the feel of old pain returned. The pain of being killed and reincarnated non-stop. The pain of dozens claws and jaws over your petite body. The warmth of your running blood, the hotness of their cursed energy tearing you apart, devouring you from inside out...

You let out a small gasp, feeling yourself falling into a panic attack, your bones rattled and your vision blurred... and then you saw the darkness, slightly comforting from the previous one.

In that one moment, your sister had pulled you deeper in your domain, trying to safe the rest of your pure heart. But even if ‘you’ were not the one that controlled the body, you still could feel the piercing pain.

You started screaming and crying, locked in your old friend darkness, not even knowing if someone was going to hear you.

~*~

Megumi failed at trying to be unaffected by Sukuna’s actions as soon as the King had shattered the floor underneath them, sending them into the maw of unknown darkness.

He shouted shortly and was shushed quickly by the unbearable pressure in his lungs from the falling.

For a second, Megumi believed that Sukuna tricked him too, that he was going to die any second. He unconsciously grabbed on Sukuna’s arm and shut his eyes tight, praying for Kami-sama to give him a quick end.

To Megumi’s surprise, Sukuna landed smoothly and put him down on his shaking legs. The boy stumbled involuntarily and blinked, looking around; they were in the middle of black nothingness. He wasn’t even sure if he stood on the ground or was in the air.

“Breathe in and out, don’t you dare faint on me now, Megumi.” Fushiguro heard Sukuna’s voice and looked at him, huffing in annoyance.

“I will be fine. Stop calling me by my name.” Sukuna only grinned wider and chuckled, pushing hands in the pockets of his pants.

“Fine, fine, Megumi-chan. I need you to stay close.” Sukuna said with a velvet voice and made a few steps forward. He paused suddenly as if listening. Megumi, even if he wasn’t fond of that idea, he had to obey; he stepped closer but remain some distance between him and the King.

“Do you know where are we?” Megumi asked quietly, trying to look for anything in the pitch-black darkness around them. He didn’t know if he was able to summon his shadow Shikigami here...

Sukuna knew exactly where they were; he had a theory how the pitch-black nothingness was working but he didn’t want to share. At that moment, he was waiting for the sign. He knew it would appear sooner or later.

Sukuna’s head jerked, listening to the left. His eyes flashed with crimson magic as his eyes focused on a small girl, running towards them, crying aloud. She looked like a ghost, all-white just with her eyes being red only.

“Mister! Save us!” Ah, there was the sign. His little, adorable sign.

The girl clung to his leg, looking up with eyes full of big tears, running down her freckled face. She was trembling, hiccuping and wheezing. She looked so miserable.

“P-Please! My sister– Please! ”

If anyone dared to even make a step towards Sukuna without his permission, the King would literally chop that person to at least ten pieces. But he knew who was crushing his leg in such a desperate plea at that moment.

His eyes filled with unusual softness as he leaned in and gently patted girl’s head. Megumi had been watching him intently and was taken by surprise when Sukuna leaned in and patted... the air. The boy was filled with confusion… and a bit of fear. He had a feeling they weren’t alone here. Sukuna’s weird actions only proved that.

“Lead the way, little one.” He whispered and girl’s eyes immediately filled with hope and relief. She nodded eagerly, turned around and started running forward. Sukuna easily followed her small steps. His smile was gone and his four eyes flashed with crimson and dangerous magic.

“Wha- Wait!” Megumi was still dumbfounded as he called; but followed Sukuna, catching up to his fast steps. He looked around once again, ready to catch anything in the black nothingness, any little sign. Once again, he wasn’t the chosen one.

“Who are you talking to? What do you see?” Sukuna spared a glance at Megumi, his eyes read his mind easily.

So he can’t see her… Interesting.

“Follow me.” The King reminded Megumi without further explanation.

~*~

You didn’t know how long had you been trapped in Mahito’s domain. All you were aware of was pain, and pain only.

You forgot how to breathe, your muscles were not working properly, twitching and soaked in your blood; your vision was blurry from tears, your mouth full of saliva mixed with your vomit. You were balancing between losing and regaining consciousness.

You jerked suddenly, feeling a pair of hands ripping your wings again, that time slower. That fucker had been ripping off and repairing your wings over and over again. You screamed at the tortures, your voice hoarse, your eyes were yellow but painted in the red of your own blood.

“Fascinating. Your soul changed into a unique shape. An angel, huh? Oh, sweet irony, a cursed soul changed into something godly! Aren’t you just perfect, y/n?” You heard a low and menacing voice whispering right in your ear, making you shiver in fear. A hand grabbed you by your hair and yanked; a tongue licked at your cheek, tasting your blood. You made a weak sound, coughing up more blood. Despite feeling powerless, you still felt incredibly disgusted at being licked by that bastard.

“Hey… Do you think you will grow another pair of those pretty wings if I keep ripping them? You already have two pairs… What if I make an archangel from you? Heeeh~”

You were too deep in your pain and misery to even try to imagine that. You just wanted all of it to end, quickly, painless.

Why were you so weak, so powerless, played like a ragdoll? Fooled like a baby into bear’s cave to be devoured.

You could feel there were last minutes of your life… There was no way someone could save you, not with such wounds, both on your body and soul. You had been doomed as soon as you had entered that damn church.

You unconsciously thought about Yuuji, your sunshine.

You wanted to see his smile again, to feel his strong arms around you, keeping you close. You wanted to feel safe and protected, happy and unaware of the evil around you two. You wanted to feel his warmth instead of your hot blood running down your body. More tears run down your face as you closed your eyes and sobbed quietly, powerless.

I’m so sorry, Yuuji… I wanted-

Your thoughts were interrupted by sudden temblor inside the domain… and you felt an unbearable amount of seething cursed energy, much, much stronger and suffocating than Mahito’s.

The demon felt it too; he let go of you and jumped on his shaking feet. His eyes widened in disbelief and fear as he looked in the direction of the power. The tables had turned and he was going to be a plaything, a mere dust in front of the sandstorm.

“No way… Again?!” Mahito screeched. His domain started to collapse, shattering into pieces of black glass.

You laid and watched it all with the powerless, quaking body; but such relief appeared in your heart when you had recognized the energy. You smiled weakly at four eyes buzzing with crimson magic in the darkness.

“S...ku...na-a...”

The tiger appeared into bear’s cave.

Chapter Text

Mahito hadn’t felt the upcoming definition of wrath. He had felt nothing since he closed himself in his own domain, believing he was safe there. He had used a lot of his cursed magic to create stronger palace than previously. He had made sure that all of you were split.

...and yet, he was surprised and petrified when the King of Curses appeared in front of him so suddenly, manifesting his power in the worst possible way. The red magic painted Mahito’s vision, a furious roaring was ringing in his ears. His heart was frozen, body and soul at the mercy of the beast from the top of a food chain.

Why though? Why the King was helping shamans? Mahito couldn't understand that bizarre thing. He wanted the King to work on their side but that dream was far, far from being the truth. After all, Mahito had learnt his lesson the hard way, a year ago; the moody King almost killed him when Yuuji had broken into his domain, forcing the demon to touch Sukuna’s soul again.

But at that moment, the King looked as if he was helping and protecting the shamans. One of them stood behind him, ready to attack while the other one, almost dead, was spared from the destructive manifestation of the cursed energy that had been sent to frighten Mahito. That was such unnatural to them, curses, helping shamans, their natural enemies. Maybe Sukuna wanted to kill Mahito first and then play with the kids on his own? That would be fitting…

Mahito only hoped… but that thought was shattered as soon as he heard Sukuna’s vicious, low and serious tone; steam blew from between his sharp teeth as he growled at Mahito.

“Oi, how dare you touch my prey, asshole?”

When Sukuna had finally found the black ball of energy hidden almost perfectly in the darkness around, something hit him.

The smell of your blood.

He wanted to fix things as a bastard-y gentleman, show off a little and tease and mock everyone around as he loved but at that point, something had snapped in him. Instead of knocking, he barged into Mahito’s little globe; fury buzzing from his eyes, steam blowing from his mouth. When he finally located you, when his eyes landed on your body, shattered and in blood, too much blood to his taste, he believed his heart exploded with pure rage.

One glance at Mahito set the demon in the air, already chopped into thousand pieces. Megumi’s breath hitched and he wheezed a little; he barely stood on his legs since the King had sent cursed energy towards Mahito.

What frightened Megumi the most was the fact that it wasn’t even the peak of Sukuna’s power, not even close… After a few seconds, he was able to breathe again and he blinked in surprise. Something was off.

He had expected blood to run around, he had expected screams from Mahito, he had expected a true massacre… He watched in disbelief as Mahito’s minced body turned into dust and dispersed along with the glassy domain.

Megumi blinked and looked around, they were back in original place, the old and ruined church. They made it… but did they kill Mahito? It looked like but Megumi had a strange feeling it wasn’t a victory for them.

As soon as Sukuna’s cursed energy slashed through Mahito’s body, the King knew it wasn’t the demon himself but his copy. The poor bastard had learnt his lesson and prepared himself that time, huh? Such a strange and powerful technique. Almost intriguing, almost.

Sukuna paid no more attention towards the shitty dust as his eyes landed on your body and he immediately softened. He blamed Yuuji’s screams in his mind (to do something quickly) for making him so weak at that moment. He knew it more than anyone there. He just wanted the brat to shut up so he could focus for a mere second. Yuuji’s vision was blocked and his voice put down. It was only Sukuna in the control. It was enough to get his job right.

Megumi watched as the King took off his– Yuuji’s uniform while making his way towards you. He knew the King would help you, as he had done that before. That time Megumi didn’t try to stop him. After all, the boy trusted the demon. Odd thought but not impossible.

Megumi was worried if you were going to make it that time. He had never seen you in such a condition. He was getting sick from looking at the blood around you. He had seen a lot, he was called heartless a few times because of his cold attitude… but he would never get used to seeing his friends dying.

It was like a deja vu and, for a second, he saw Yuuji with a hole in his chest… but he reminded himself that that time Sukuna didn’t play the bad guy.

Megumi realized that the King rarely played the bad guy when he was with you.

Meanwhile, Sukuna’s eyes were glued on you. You were still breathing but was very, very weak. You lost too much blood and your cursed energy was almost drained. Still, your heart was beating, echoing strongly in his ears.

He still had time.

Sukuna crouched next to you and very gently pulled you on his lap. He wrapped you in Yuuji’s uniform; it looked like a blanket on you. He carefully wiped your mouth from saliva and blood and brushed his claws over your cheek. He wasn’t sure if you were able to see him through your exhausted eyes but he knew you could sense him, feel him.

The King checked your forehead, his teeth gritted. He knew he couldn’t do the same healing technique like previously on time. You were too weak, slipping from him already. He felt a pang of anxiety which was already so strange for him, but he wasn’t completely out of control like Yuuji would have been in his place.

The King had a reputation to hold after all.

He knew what he had to do. He knew none of them around would be happy about it… but as if he cared for their opinion.

Sukuna gently touched your cheek, warmth was still there. He cradled you in his strong arms and leaned in, ignoring Megumi’s soft noises made from confusion at the sight the boy was just witnessing.

“Give me your pain...”

Sukuna whispered quietly and then his lips wrapped around yours. Your chest jolted as the sudden energy run through your body. Your hand jerked forward and grabbed weakly on the nearby thing; your hand landed on his forearm precisely and your eyes struggled to open.

Megumi watched in horror as Sukuna was kissing you. He couldn’t understand why the King was doing that… until he saw wounds manifesting on his body. The same pattern as you had carved in your body. Your wounds were being mended and knitted, leaving your flesh whole with drying blood as the only sight of you had been hurt.

“Impossible...” He whispered, his eyes locked on King’s arms and back. He watched as the wounds were healed pretty quick, leaving hissing steams on tanned and now glistening in sweat skin. The speed of that healing was impossible, definitely hard to explain and later, to believe in… but Megumi just saw it, witnessed it. That was real.

Wonderful and frightening at the same time.

Meanwhile, Sukuna parted lips with you and Megumi blinked in surprise; he could see a red string of magic between you two. The King was literally eating your pain.

“Megumi! Y/n! Yuu-?!” Nobara yelled and run from behind the corner, Nanami hot on her heels. Both had followed the cursed energy, ready to help you all but they froze with horror and halted abruptly as soon as they recognized Sukuna’s tattooed back. Then, they saw your bloody body lying in his arms, looking dead and Megumi was sitting nearby. The boy looked at his friend and teacher in fear, he knew what was about to happen.

Nanami immediately raised his butcher knife, ready to jump and strike the King of Curses for touching you and feeding on you. He could see Gojou’s wrath on him. Gojou would have never forgiven him for allowing you to die in such a horrible way; pure fury indeed flooded Nanami. But before he was able to strike, Megumi jolted forward, shielding Sukuna with his own body.

“No, Nanami! Don’t! It’s not as you think it is!” Nanami found it even more surprising but he halted, thrown back at Megumi’s words. The man furrowed his brows and he bared his teeth, shaking from unbearable anger; a sweat run down his chin.

“Explain yourself, now!” Nanami ordered harshly. For him, it was pretty obvious that the King had killed you and was feeding on your cursed energy. There was too much blood around you, too much...

“He’s helping her, I swear! He’s taking her pain and healing wounds on his body! Look at his back!” Megumi pointed at King’s back and two of them followed, squinting eyes. They watched in shock and disbelief as red patterns of wounds were appearing on his skin only to quickly disappear, with a hiss of steam.

“Impossible...” Nanami whispered dumbfounded, almost dropping his weapon. Nobara made careful steps, her eyes wide when she spotted a red string between Sukuna’s and your lips. His smaller eyes snap opened at her, startling the girl who squeaked in fear and instinctively pulled back; her back hit the wall and she straightened up.

“He won’t hurt you...” Megumi said quietly and Nobara shot him a glare. Since when Sukuna, the King of Curses, wasn’t dangerous? She preferred to be safe rather than sorry.

A low rumble echoed in the walls as everyone focused on Sukuna. His body seemed to grow larger, veins popped out. Megumi watched as the red string between you two started to turn black… only to see Sukuna snapped the string with his sharp teeth before the dark colour could even reach his lips. They watched as the black strand slowly returned to your parted lips.

It was done… but you still looked dead.

The tension was unbearable as all of them were watching your unmoving body, praying inside for you to move, to give them a sign you were alive.

A small and wheezing cough made the group jolt and they let out a deep breath in relief.

You shivered and tried to open your eyes, unsuccessfully. You heard a soft hum and felt a hand on your cheek, gently caressing your skin. You thought of Yuuji at first and blindly reached for his hand. Long fingers wrapped around your hand gently and then squeezed you, as if assuring you, you were safe.

You groaned quietly and involuntary shivered when you sensed claws at the end of that gentle hand.

You immediately knew who was holding you with such gentleness, whose hot breath was tickling your forehead, whose arms were cradling you like a baby.

You couldn’t help but smile weakly in relief. Your shaky hand squeezed his one weakly. You wished you could see him, look at his rare expression but your eyes were too heavy and glued by the mix of tears and blood to open on your command.

“Su...kuna-a...” You whispered heavily and coughed again, trying to fill your lungs with fresh air, that time without any sight of pain in your body.

“There you go, atta girl. Slow and steady, in and out...”

You heard King’s soft whispers and instinctively mimicked his breathing, coughing more. You allowed your body to be weak and held by those strong arms. Maybe it wasn’t very heroic of you, to get comfortable in your enemy’s hands, but you couldn’t help nor even care about that in such a moment.

You felt safe. You felt grateful. You believed those patterned arms held you whole, not allowing you to shatter again.

“Y/n?” You recognized Megumi’s voice coming out from the left. You weakly tilted your head a little bit, smiling. He was safe as well. You wondered if Sukuna had helped him as well…

“We’re getting back to school. I’m calling Gojou, they will wait for us with doctors. Nobara, you call Kiyotaka, he picks us up.” Nanami’s serious but somehow shaky voice echoed around and was followed by Nobara’s soft ‘yes’. You heard footsteps and distant talking.

You sighed in relief, knowing that all of them were safe. Dear Kami-sama, you would have never forgiven yourself if one of your friends had died because of you. You sobbed quietly, both in happiness and shame. They could have died because of you…

“Shhh… Sleep. We’ve got you.”

You heard Sukuna’s soft but deep voice and felt his hand on your forehead. He must have used one of his tricks on you because you suddenly felt yourself slipping into darkness again. The last thing you remembered was the fact that your head nuzzled under his chin as your body sagged in his arms.

You had no other option than being swallowed by your pitch-black nothingness, eager to put you back together.

Megumi was still by your side. He wasn’t injured but still felt tired, mentally exhausted. His breath was deep and heavy, his legs were shaking a little as he sat on the ground, in front of Sukuna and you.

“Thank you...”

Sukuna blinked at Megumi’s very quiet whisper. He peeled off his eyes from you and looked at the young shaman, slightly surprised. But once his irises landed on him, he easily read the boy and smirked weakly.

That little ‘thank you’ meant a lot, both for the demon and for shaman himself, and was surprisingly nice. Sukuna knew Megumi was grateful for him saving you, that he was glad he had trusted him and encouraged Yuuji to switch with the King. Despite his previous fear and worries, things ended rather good. Megumi was relieved to know he had made a good choice.

Sukuna said nothing but Megumi read the answer from his smirk. It was in between of ‘you’re welcome’ and ‘I would have done that one way or another’. He couldn’t help but smile just a little bit. He watched as Sukuna pulled you closer, as his lips brushed secretly against your forehead when he pretended to fix Yuuji’s uniform around you.

Megumi was truly good at reading people; he rarely could be fooled. He could see that Sukuna – even if he usually played smart or unaffected – had a weak spot in you. Megumi wondered if that was because of Yuuji’s love towards you… or that the King himself started to catch some human feelings? Was Sukuna unaware of that though? Megumi could only be grateful that you, somehow, gained another and very powerful guardian by your side.

The image of actually soft Sukuna was broken pretty quickly by loud sobbing. Megumi’s head jerked up in shock but then he sighed in relief, seeing Yuuji crying and clinging to you. At least that would never be a surprising view in Megumi’s eyes.

~*~

The shamans were being watched from the distance by two men that were hidden on top of the roof, to high to be spotted and too far to be sensed. The warm wind was playing with their hair and clothing, the echo of upcoming storm buzzed through the cloudy sky.

Mahito had been snickering under his nose the whole time; Getou looked rather unamused, judging his companion.

“You failed, again.” He spoke sternly, his black eyes hooded with annoyance.

“No, my dear friend. After all, it was a good experience.” Mahito grinned widely, his eyes locked on pink hair boy. Getou cocked a brow, silently asking for further explanation.

“We have learnt an important thing about the King.” Mahito continued and licked his lips, snickering more. His double-coloured eyes filled with mischief.

“Sukuna has a weakness.”

Chapter Text

All of you were quickly transported back to school and when Gojou and doctors saw you, they were at least shocked. Despite your terrible look (uniform in shreds, you literally painted in blood and unconscious in Yuuji’s arm) you had no single wound nor even a scratch on your body.

“Now you owe me an explanation.” That was the only sentence Gojou said to his students. Megumi and Yuuji only nodded, knowing that his teacher would expect them in his lounge later.

The boys let the doctors take care of them and, once again, despite having a few scratches, their physical conditions were good... but mentally, they were exhausted.

Yuuji didn’t want to leave your side, trying to follow you from room to room. Whenever he didn’t see you, he had a pang of anxiety creeping into him. He didn’t want to lose you, he didn’t want to leave you, he promised to protect you…

...and yet his inner demon had saved you, not him. Sukuna had been saving you and keeping a better eye on you than he, your boyfriend. That was just… wrong.

Yuuji started to believe he wasn’t a good man for you.

Yuuji had always believed he was strong. His grandpa had ‘cursed’ him with his last will to save as many people as he could… but he realized that his power wasn’t enough to keep you safe and sane. You, his sunshine, his love; you, with your cursed soul, could be helped only by Sukuna and his cursed energy. Sukuna’s goodwill might be treated as something casual. After all, Sukuna was the King of Curses and something like healing was like a piece of cake for him. But only because Sukuna was the strongest evil entity on the earth and Yuuji had seen Sukuna being brutal more than a few times, he didn’t trust him and his 'goodwill' at all. Yuuji believed he involuntary put you in danger by becoming your boyfriend. Such a decision helped Sukuna get closer to you.

Yuuji wished he had such power to protect and heal you. Sukuna wouldn’t be needed then and he would be the only one to keep you safe.

Unfortunately, he could only dream about it since Sukuna's and his souls were connected, tied up in one body till the end of his days.

You were bathed, put in pyjamas and tucked in bed. You were left alone to sleep and gather your energy back.

The silence set in your room as Yuuji stood by your bed, watching your chest moving up and down, in a slow and gentle rhythm. Yuuji knew you were safe and sound but still, the more he was looking at you, the more he wanted to cry. He felt so weak, so pathetic. He believed he didn’t deserve you.

The boy didn’t want to leave your side… but he knew he had to. With a deep sigh, Yuuji stood up, looked at you for last time and went to meet with his sensei. Megumi had already been waiting for him.

There was an unbearable silence as three of them were sitting in front of one another. Such a deja vu… but that time, the young shamans had to confess their ‘sins’ and said the truth. Even if Nanami had reported to Gojou what he had seen, Gojou still needed to know the beginning.

“Whose idea was it?”

That was his first question. Yuuji kept his eyes down, brows furrowed in worry and guilt. He had been fidgeting with his fingers for a while, trying to collect his thoughts. When he believed he was ready, he took a deep breath. He had to explain himself, he owed it Gojou after all.

Time to be a man and admit your weakness, Yuuji...

“It was-” He started but was quickly interrupted by Megumi’s stern voice.

“I did it. I am the one who's supposed to take responsibility for that.”

Yuuji involuntary shivered and looked at his friend, his eyes were wide. Megumi was as cool and collected as always. On the other hand, Gojou seemed to be intrigued at that moment, almost surprised. Megumi used their silence to continue his explanation.

“As soon as we entered the building, we got trapped and then forced to split. Y/n and Nobara disappeared in darkness while I was kidnapped by a curse. Yuuji run to help me and when we got rid of the spirit, Sukuna appeared on Yuuji’s cheek to offer us his help. He said that if we wanted to see y/n alive, he should take over.”

Yuuji was getting nervous. He believed Gojou would be at least disappointed with them to rely on the enemy’s power but he was surprised, seeing Gojou strangely calm and invested in the story. Megumi continued with his voice still calm yet brief.

“Yuuji didn’t want to do it but I knew we had to trust him. I believed it was Mahito’s work and we didn’t have much time to try and fight on our own. Sukuna was able to save y/n once so I hoped he would be able to save her once again. I convinced Yuuji to switch with him, promising I could stop him if something bad happened. When Sukuna appeared we dived into black nothingness and then he led the way to Mahito’s domain, hidden in the darkness–”

Megumi paused suddenly, distracted by something unusual; his eyes widened a little, Yuuji quickly followed him; both watched as their sensei leaned in and lifted his blindfold a little bit, allowing one of his eyes to look at Megumi. Yuuji couldn’t tell if the sensei was impressed and shocked… or furious and cold. What Yuuji knew for sure was the fact that he felt cold shiver running down his spine, feeling the pressure just by the glance into that icy-blue eye, watching them, reading them, judging all three of them.

“Sukuna found a way out?” Gojou whispered and boys believed it wasn’t a question for them, that the sensei asked himself, trying to understand something as if the information that Megumi had provided was the most bizarre thing.

The young shamans were a little dumbfounded. Why did Gojou sound so surprised? What did make him so agitated? The information about Mahito’s domain being hidden in the darkness? No, he was surprised about Sukuna’s abilities. But why?

Yuuji was thinking hard, trying to recall past events. Meanwhile, Megumi was hit with a sudden realization. His eyes went wide, fingers squeezed around his knees but he tried his best to remain calm and collected.

The black nothingness wasn’t normal, I knew it. What was it then?

There was a solid minute of tensed silence between three of them and then, Gojou suddenly laughed. He hid his eye under the blindfold, grinning happily and showing off his white teeth. He leaned back into the sofa and crossed his arms on chest.

“Oh, silly me. Obviously only he would be able to walk around the black void and even find Mahito there, hidden or not. My, my, the King of Curses is truly amazing, haha!”

Gojou seemed to be care-free and mocking in his typical way… but boys spotted a bead of sweat running down Gojou’s chin. They knew the situation was serious, they knew Gojou had realized something but didn’t dare to share it with them. They didn’t like it.

“What a fool… He believed I wouldn’t find out the truth?”

Yuuji heard Sukuna’s deep and mocking voice in his head and he involuntary swallowed, getting nervous as well. The King was watching them, as always… and, once again, he was drawn in the situation, especially when it was connected with you.

Yuuji could see a pattern but he didn’t want to believe in it; it was impossible and too scary to be the truth. After all, Sukuna was the King of Evil, human feelings were unfamiliar to him. Yuuji reminded himself that Sukuna had been playing in some twisted game with all of them, that he didn’t care about you, that he couldn't care about you the same way Yuuji did.

Yuuji loved you, Sukuna wasn’t supposed to. The love was forbidden to the King. The love was unfamiliar to the evil. After all, since the King was able to love anyone but himself?

Yuuji wanted to believe that Sukuna didn’t like you. It was easier to believe that his demon hated you and was just playing with you, and with your emotions.

Why then Yuuji started to feel insecure and doubtful?

Sukuna truly was his inner demon, eating up his courage, positive thinking and confidence.

Yuuji truly disliked Sukuna.

If only Yuuji knew how amused the King was at that very moment, both by Gojou’s behaviour and Yuuji’s silly thoughts.

“Fools.”

The echo of Sukuna’s low and sinister laugh resonated in Yuuji’s mind but the boy did his best and tuned out, focusing on his reality instead.

“Well then, Sukuna found Mahito and what happened next?” Gojou asked casually, Megumi focused again and continued, carefully picking his words.

“He… He charged into Mahito’s domain and killed him, but he turned out to be a copy, made from dust. Then we were pulled back into reality, back in church. Y/n was in… in very bad condition, almost slipping...” Megumi’s voice cracked a little when he remembered the blood, pools of blood all around you... He shook off the image and focused on his sensei.

“Sukuna took care of y/n’s wounds. He… healed her.”

“How?”

Megumi expected that type of question but still, it made him flinch. He felt a little bit awkward of saying the truth just because of Yuuji’s sake. It looked like Yuuji didn’t remember the scene or Sukuna had tuned him out. That was why his friend was rather casual about it. He believed that Yuuji hadn’t seen Sukuna kissing you, that he was still unaware how Sukuna did that. He just knew Sukuna had healed you. Because of that, Megumi decided to play it smart, just to not hurt his friend’s feelings.

“I believe he transferred his cursed energy into her so he was able to… to take her wounds and heal on his body within seconds.”

Gojou paused at that. The King had taken your wounds and healed on his body? That was a sacrifice hard to believe in, especially if they were talking about Sukuna. The King lived only to his pleasure and displeasure after all. Why would he take (voluntarily!) your wounds and heal on himself? Why did he want to keep you alive at all cost? Why was he so interested in you?

Gojou couldn't put a name on it but he had a theory. You were either another toy for Sukuna or he was interested in your cursed energy. Why though since he had an endless amount of cursed energy? Gojou believed he wasn’t interested in your soul since it was a ruined piece; long gone was your pure soul that might be a true snack for the King. Yet, Sukuna had an interest in you and he wanted something from you for his own twisted needs.

One way or another, Gojou didn’t like that fact. He knew that if Sukuna saw anything good for him in you, it meant troubles, big, shitty troubles. He still had to play his role, to not give yourself away with his fears and worry his students but he promised himself to be more aware of the situation between Sukuna and you, to keep an eye on you two. After all, he was your adoptive father. He would be a total fool to let the King of Curses play around with his daughter.

“Intriguing...” Gojou only said and hummed in thought, letting Megumi continue his story.

“We were surprised by the sudden appearance of Nanami and Nobara. Nanami wanted to intervene but I stopped him. We kept an eye on the situation and when y/n woke up, Nanami called you. Meanwhile, Sukuna disappeared... and Yuuji was back. That’s all of it.”

Megumi finished, his eyes were calm yet distant. At that point, Gojou knew that Megumi had seen more but didn’t want to share it. Was it because of Yuuji? Did Sukuna do something unusual that Megumi wanted to protect Yuuji’s from, perhaps the ugly truth? Or maybe the King and young Megumi-

Gojou had to slap himself mentally. No, that thought was utterly ridiculous. Since when Megumi and Sukuna were cooperating? They were enemies; the shaman and the King. Additionally, the King was known for having no friends and allies. Why then would he and Megumi work together? That didn’t make sense… Unless both of them wanted your good. That would be a good reason for such unusual cooperation.

Gojou didn’t know if he should be concerned about his student or be rather proud. There was no need to pull on Megumi’s teeth, especially in front of Yuuji who looked blue. Gojou knew that if his student wanted to speak with him openly (and without additional pairs of ears), he would visit him sooner or later.

“I understand. Thank you for everything..." Gojou said and nodded to his students. It looked like he wanted to say something important... only to turn out into his goofy self again, breaking the whole image.

"You’re free now, you can go and rest. Shoo, shoo then!” He waved his hands nonchalantly.

The boys looked at him and then at each other, slightly surprised. They expected a punishment, a reprimand, anything bad from Gojou and yet, their sensei went easy on them, at least that time. They didn’t want to question it so they nodded as well and stood up. Megumi left with usual quietness, Yuuji wished his sensei a good night but his voice wasn’t as cheerful as usual. Gojou waved at them goodbye with a smile... but his cheerful expression dropped as soon as the door was closed and he was left alone.

“Fuck...” He cursed quietly to himself, biting at his thumb; his leg started bouncing on the floor.

Gojou had always known that sooner or later the situation would get out of his control. Nothing was good at that time, nothing. Not only your secret had been revealed but also you had become a target for Mahito. The elders were pushing on him to finally give up on you and get rid of you. They believed you were the abomination that supposed to be destroyed a long time ago.

Old cowards, Gojou truly hated them.

Gojou knew he had to talk to Nanami and try to get to know more about the situation that had happened. Maybe his friend would give him a piece of advice too? A much better one that those old fuckers had given... and then, even if Gojou didn’t want it, he had to talk to the principal. They had to make a decision about you, if you were able to continue the school under such circumstances. He didn’t want to risk losing you nor he did want to crush your dreams completely.

Being a father was truly an exhausting profession… Especially if there were two demonic-bastards after his daughter.

~*~

“Thank you for… covering me, Megumi...”

Yuuji and Megumi were standing in front of your room, talking in hushed voices. Megumi was watching Yuuji, his eyes observant and calm as always. He was getting worried about Yuuji’s mental state. Such events that had been happening recently weren’t good for him. To be honest, they weren’t good for all of them at all, not mentioning you.

“No need to thank me. You would do the same to me, I know it.” Megumi said with an unusually soft voice and Yuuji couldn't help but smile a little as he nodded. Obviously, he would do anything for his best friend. After all, Yuuji owed Fushiguro a lot.

“Go to bed and rest. You look bad.” Megumi said and turned around, walking to his room.

“You too...” He called to his friend and heard Megumi snort before he disappeared behind the corner.

Yuuji knew you needed rest… but he had to see you. He didn’t want to leave you alone nor did he want to be alone. He knew he wouldn’t be able to rest without you close to him anyway.

He quietly sneaked into your room and sat at the edge of your bed. His tired eyes were watching you and a small smile appeared on his lips.

You were his sunshine. He truly loved you even if he wasn’t a hero he had always wanted to be.

His hand gently touched your hair, tucking loose strands behind your ear. You let out a small hum and leaned to his hand. Oh, you were adorable, just like a sleeping kitten asking to be petted. How could he say no?

Yuuji gently touched your cheek and leaned in; his lips kissed your nose and fingers brushed against your freckled skin. He wanted to touch foreheads with you but suddenly a low growl resonated in the room… and he felt sharp teeth sinking in his palm.

For a mere second, he believed that Sukuna decided to play the role of an asshole and mock him even more but his eyes widened in fear when he realized who had bitten him.

It was you… or rather your sister.

Yellow eyes were glaring at him, brows furrowed, veins popped out and pulsing in your forehead, teeth sharp and sinking deep into his flesh, holding him, trapping him. Hot blood run down his palm and into your pillow, soaking in soft material already.

“Y/n–” Yuuji started softly, his voice shaky. He wanted to show you were safe, that Sukuna and Mahito were gone, that you were back in your room, that you were safe with him but he didn’t have such a chance.

A small but strong hand sent him on a nearby wall; a loud thud accompanied his louder yelp.

“Y/n! Calm down!” Yuuji tried again, slightly petrified by your sudden change. He was dumbfounded and couldn’t understand what was happening. Was it his fault? Maybe he shouldn’t have touched you? What if he triggered you by accident? Oh, he was already blaming himself for putting you in anger… and anxiety. He could see that you- or rather Mimi was there, scared, blinded by her instincts and desperate but still ready to protect both of you, no matter the cost.

There were loud steps and soon Gojou and Megumi charged into the room, alerted.

Mimi immediately focused on them and hissed in a warning. Her eyes focused on Gojou and she started growling lowly, menacingly; claws dug into bed as she crawled out of sheets, her back arched. At that moment, she was like a hunting panther, waiting and getting ready to jump at her prey.

“Yuuji! Catch her!” Gojou shouted quickly and Yuuji, even if he was startled a little by sensei’s sudden command, did as he was asked for. Using Mimi’s focus on Gojou, he pounced at her and rolled down with her on the floor. The girl yelled in anger, trying to get free but Yuuji wrapped arms around her shoulders and legs around her thighs, her back to his chest as he held her tight. He yelped when the girl sank her sharp teeth in his forearm again.

“Sensei! Do something! I will hold here!” Yuuji called desperately and watched his sensei rushing to him. His blindfold was gone and he tried to lock his eyes with Mimi. Even if the girl had been focused on Gojou previously, at that moment she was avoiding his eyes, struggling in Yuuji’s strong arms, crying and roaring both in anger and fear.

“How amusing. That kitten will rip your forearm off and then she jumps at your throat–”

“Shut up, Sukuna! You’re not helping!” Yuuji yelled aloud at his inner demon's teasing, startling a little Megumi who had got by his side, trying to help them in calming Mimi down.

The King would be truly amused by the situation. He would love to simply sit and watch as three adult shamans were struggling with little you… but his grin dropped as soon as he felt something disturbing happening in your soul.

He could feel you tearing apart from inside.

Something was haunting you in your dreams and the presence of shamans was not soothing to you in reality, not at all. Sukuna could feel that your fear and lack of self-control were developing, pulling you into deeper desperation.

Sukuna didn’t like it, not at all.

Meanwhile, Gojou was getting confused… and scared. Why could he not calm you down? He knew you had one of your hunting nightmares that time but he was always able to pull you out from the danger. Why he couldn’t do it that time? You- or rather Mimi was avoiding his eyes, she didn’t let his cursed energy touch her and soothe her. She was like a rabid and cornered animal, desperate to get free even at the cost of her own life. The shaman started to lose his cool and control over the situation.

“Oi, Mimi, y/n! Wake up! It’s me-!” Gojou paused abruptly as soon as he felt the shift of cursed energy in Yuuji. He didn’t even have time to yell ‘no’ as he looked up... right in four eyes glaring at him with utter ire.

“You’re hurting them, you fucking prick.”

The King growled lowly, his eyes flared with crimson magic. Gojou’s brows furrowed in anger as he held King’s glare, his blue eyes emitting the icy-cold aura.

“You shouldn’t be there.” He growled back and Sukuna cackled ugly at that, showing off his sharp teeth in a shit-eating grin.

“Oh, really? Looks like your precious daughter has calmed down. I wonder who is responsible for that...”

Gojou realized that bloody screaming and growling indeed had stopped. He slowly looked down to see you sagged and unconscious in Sukuna’s arms (already healed from previous bites). His eyes widened and he involuntary let out a gasp.

That was impossible… It wasn’t a good sign for him, not at all. If Sukuna was able to control your state just with his touch only– Gojou didn’t like it, not at all.

As if reading his mind, Sukuna chuckled evilly and pulled your small body up on his lap, holding you tight against his chest. He nuzzled his nose to the top of your head, his eyes never left Gojou.

“Looks like daddy failed, such a loser.”

Gojou’s cold-blue eyes glared at Sukuna with unbearable fury and urge to kill. A casual opponent would be frightened and scurry away within seconds… but Gojou was facing the King of Curses himself. There was a mere chance that he would be affected by that.

Four eyes were watching the boiling and piercing-blue eyes with the unbearable yet teasing joy. Sukuna was so amused his soul was almost humming from victory. Just to piss Gojou more, he purred almost innocently and nuzzled his cheek to your forehead. His clawed hands squeezed around your frame, finger gently pushing in the curves of your flesh.

“Leave.” Gojou’s voice was seething, his aura seemed to be deadly-cold. The King grinned ugly, cackling lowly.

“You’re such a fool, Satoru Gojou. In any aspect. First of all, you believed I wouldn't have found out the truth about y/n? Who do you think I am? Never forget that I’m the King for many reasons…” His voice was calm and low but piercing and cold; so brutally honest it was stabbing shaman’s soul. His four eyes were locked into icy-blue irises, still unaffected.

“Second, you believed to be stronger than me and to win against me even if you can’t calm your adopted child? Disappointing. All of you are so naive, so weak with your cursed energy and tricks. You want to feed the brat with all my twenty fingers and kill me?” The King snorted ugly at that, his eyes flared with crimson and dangerous magic as he bared his teeth in a twisted smile.

“Good luck. I will turn your precious world into fire and dust and you do nothing.” He hissed and cackled, still holding your body close to him with such unusual gentleness. Clawed fingers started playing with free locks of your hair. Gojou didn’t miss any of it even if his eyes were drilling into Sukuna’s red orbs.

“You owe me. All of you, dumbasses, owe me a lot. You, shamans, owe me, the King of Curses. How ridiculous is that, hmm?” Sukuna mocked them brutally, feeling like a b-day boy.

A few minutes of pregnant silence were the biggest melody for the King. Their expressions were priceless, the ones that Sukuna would remember only to recall later with fond memories; the memories of his victory and shamans’ ignominious defeat.

He truly hit the jackpot that night.

Meanwhile, Megumi instinctively pulled away as soon as Sukuna appeared. He was sitting on the floor, plastered to a drawer and dumbfounded a little. He watched with slight fear and impression as two strongest entities were trying to hold their gazes, trying to win a word-play. At that time Megumi could feel the difference in which way Sukuna usually treated him and how dangerous and vicious his energy was towards Gojou. He knew that Sukuna detested Gojou and always threatened to kill him… but Megumi was unaware of such a scale.

Both of the men seemed to be having an internal battle, and you and your soul were the main prizes.

Meanwhile, the King broke the silence as the first, his expression neutral but still with a glee in his four eyes.

“I believe I’ve won this round. Now, if you be so kind and let me do my job, I would be grateful.” He couldn't help but still mock them a little.

Such statement allowed Gojou to snap a little from his destructive emotions and thoughts as he watched the King in disbelief. He watched as Sukuna scooped you in his arms and stood up, lifting your limp body as if it was just a feather. Gojou immediately followed him, eyes still locked on the curse.

The King spared him an unamused glance, his brow cocked. He saw Megumi standing up as well, not leaving Gojou’s side. Sukuna sighed and rolled his eyes.

“You shamans are annoyingly stubborn.”

“If you believe I’m stupid enough to–”

“I thought we cleared that up already?” Sukuna interrupted Gojou, his expression bored. The shaman bared his teeth, clenching fists at his side.

“I won’t let you stay alone with y/n. Over my dead body–” Sukuna snickered at that, smirking almost innocently. Almost.

“Oh, don't tempt me now, daddy.” He winked mockingly at Gojou and then focused on you, ignoring unbearable fury on shaman’s face.

He gently tucked you in your bed, tossing away the bloodied pillow as he reached for a clean one. He pulled sheets over you and then… sneaked next to you, curling around your small frame.

“The fuck are you doing?” Sukuna heard Gojou’s seething voice too close for his comfort and sighed deeply.

“I’m going to sleep.” Sukuna said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world at that moment. There was a pregnant silence again and Sukuna growled, clearly annoyed.

“You can leave. Since you are so useless, I am going to take care of things since now.”

He could see Gojou battling with himself. The shaman was still furious at him, both for offending him and touching you so easily right in front of him. Sukuna only smirked at that, victorious.

Your girl is mine, Satoru Gojou, even if you like it or not.

Megumi seemed to be at least puzzled. He was looking between Sukuna and Gojou, thinking of a possible outcome or a compromise. He sighed quietly and then sat at the end of your bed.

He decided to stay and have an eye on the King once again. If things went wrong and Gojou was about to jump on Sukuna, and two of them started a bloody fight, Megumi believed he would be able to sneak out with your body and keep you safe and away from overprotective but still dangerous men.

Sukuna cocked a brow at him as if slightly surprised but then he grinned at Megumi, as if in praise.

“What? I’m staying.” Megumi simply said and crossed his arms.

Sukuna said nothing but he smirked only and then he focused on Gojou instead; the shaman’s eyes were locked on his student. Gojou seemed to be at least impressed, as if something clicked in him out of sudden and his hostile attitude started to calm down.

“We’re staying then.” He corrected and sat on the chair, crossing his legs. He pulled his blindfold on one of the eyes leaving the other free and still locked on Sukuna, just in case.

“So much of faith in me after all I’ve done...” Sukuna teased with a pitiful voice.

“You’re ridiculous.” Gojou responded snarky, making Sukuna’s brows furrow.

“That’s my line, asshole.”

Sukuna sighed deeply. He had wasted enough time for them, it was time to focus on you and repair the damage that stupid shamans had caused to you. The demon closed three of his eyes as his smaller one was still watching shamans, just in case. He hoped they would fall asleep soon, leaving him alone. He didn’t like being watched, but when it came to saving you, he could make an exception or two.

Sukuna wrapped an arm around you as he pulled you close, focusing on your cursed energy, humming inside of you.

He easily followed the scent of your cursed soul and allowed himself to be pulled in and swallowed by your darkness. Soon he was following the echo of your cries... and the roars of your demons.

Hang on, brat. The Boss is coming...

Chapter Text

You had been stuck in that nightmare again. You, as a kid, trapped in the darkness with your tormentor and his friendly curses, tearing you apart over and over again.

You were running across the black nothingness, wheezing, crying and prying for Kami-sama to end it quickly. Inhuman sounds and roars could be heard from behind you, the sign of something big and hungry chasing you.

You wished you could disappear; to hide somewhere or just to sink into darkness. There was nowhere to hide, there was no place in your black nothingness to hide in or behind and very white being (you precisely) was like a beacon in the middle of a stormy night. You could only run till your heart didn’t give up.

You didn’t dare to look back. You didn’t want to see his face again. His blue and grey, full of bloodlust eyes, his ugly grin and straight teeth; his laugh was still echoing behind, haunting you, so close to you, too close.

“Stop-!” You pleaded, crying louder in such desperation.

How long had you been running? You could never tell while being in that domain because time didn’t exist there. It was only you and your tormentor. You believed you were close to passing out from exhaustion.

“Y-n-chaaaaannn~ Come play with meeeee~”

You heard that velvety poisonous voice and your adrenaline kicked in again.

“No! Stay away!” You cried, tears blurred your vision… as if that made a huge difference. After all, all you could see was pitch-black darkness and nothing else. You truly had enough.

“Some-o-one… p-please!...” You wheezed desperately and gasped, almost choking on your own saliva. You could feel the rotten breath on your neck, claws reaching out to you, ready to grab you, to rip you again.

Kami-sama, please!–

You cried louder, your voice was broken and hoarse. You didn’t want it, you didn’t want it, you didn’t want it, you truly had enough, you–!

Suddenly the world around you started to shake and you heard a loud roar, unfamiliar to you… but it was so scary, so deep, so haunting you didn’t even think it would be your ally.

You screamed in pure fear and started running faster, still having a shred of hope to – somehow – get away.

Mahito’s laugh stopped as soon as you heard the roar, but you were so deep in the middle of a panic attack to even realize it.

And then the world shook again… and again…

You realized that something big was walking there, making such loud and menacing steps… and you realized it followed your tracks.

Once again you didn’t dare to look back, to see what was chasing you, to look at that monster. You believed that Mahito’s curses combined together into one big shit-pile beast just to frighten you to death.

Your lungs were on fire, your legs were shaking, your strength was draining fast, too fast. You blinked your tears away, vision got cleared, as you saw something red on the horizon. You gasped in surprise and hope, there was something new other than black nothingness. It had to be a sign!

You gather the rest of your strength to get there… Only to feel your hope being shattered again, only to realize it was a very bad place to be in.

As soon as you saw the blood, you halted. Your heart froze, your breathing stopped, your eyes widened in disbelief and grief; more tears blurred your vision and run down your scratched face.

“M...Mimi...”

Your dead sister’s body was lying there, her eyes white, her mouth open. She was soaked in still running blood that was eagerly eaten by gooey darkness underneath her. The liquids mixed up and started expanding, slowly, menacing, towards poor you.

Soon you felt the cold and warmth at the same time touching your bare feet. You shivered and looked down, the red was running into darkness and glowing as if showing... a path.

Maybe could you run? Maybe your sister was helping you–! Maybe there was a chance for you to survive that time?!

You snapped from your fear and forced your body to move. You were panting loudly as your eyes were following the path. You looked behind, getting ready to run where the blood was leading you… but you paused again, almost having a heart attack.

You realized that the footpath hadn’t been made for you.

At the end of the bloody way stood a demon. It was giant, had four arms and two faces with two pairs of crimson eyes. Its body was covered in black tattoos and crimson magic was buzzing from clawed hands. It looked at you and roared again… by the giant mouth located on his stomach, full of sharp teeth.

It was the same roar as before.

The demon made a slow step towards you and then again, and again.

They were the same steps as before.

You were petrified. You could only watch with big eyes and shake like a leaf during a storm; you were hyperventilating, your heart was close to jumping out from your chest; the echoes of your screaming insides were ringing in your ears.

Your small body couldn’t take any more the pressure and you fell on knees, right on the path, in the mix of gooey cold dark and warm blood.

I’m giving up– I can’t– It’s too much, I can’t–!

You curled in yourself, holding your head tight and close to your knees as you shut your eyes. You started trembling, begging and crying quietly to let it all end quickly. You didn’t know precisely if you wanted to be spared or killed painlessly. You wanted to wake up that was for sure.

Suddenly everything went quiet; only your pleading cries and hiccups could be heard in the darkness.

You didn’t dare to open your eyes and look up since you could feel someone’s presence right in front of you.

Do it quickly, do it do it do it–

The moment you felt a hand on your head, you instinctively yelped in fear and curled more, crying and trembling.

You expected to be pulled up and forced to face the four eyes demon, to be eaten by that giant mouth on his stomach, to be ripped again by his four arms, both your body and soul…

But none of that happened.

Despite you shaking so horribly, the hand was still on top of your head. You realized it was warm, gentle touch; a soothing warmth was slowly spreading in your body.

Nothing hurt… There was no pain, no danger.

Was then the hand even real? Did you imagine it?

You sniffed weakly and opened your eyes, carefully peeking up. Your breath hitched and your eyes widened in surprise when you saw a man in front of you.

Why was there another human in your never-ending nightmare? What happened to that four-arms demon? Where was it? Did… Did someone save you? Was that man… friendly?

“There, there...” His voice was low and deep but it was gentle; he smiled at you too.

You were dumbfounded, blinking rapidly as if checking if the man wouldn’t disappear. He was real.

You trembled more and sniffed but carefully sat up; the hand was still on your head, gently petting you. You took a closer look at the man crouching in front of you.

You were surprised to see him dressed in a light-coloured kimono with navy-blue edge and blue scarf around his neck. He had pink, straight-up hair and tattoos on his face. You involuntary flinched when you realized he had four eyes; the smaller ones just opened to look at you. Even if you could see sharp canines when he smirked at you, you didn’t feel oppressed like you used to with Mahito.

Mahito’s shit-eating grin was unbearable and haunting to you; this man’s grin was… strangely soothing, almost familiar.

“Look at you, runt. So messy...” The man said softly and sighed; he moved another hand towards your face. You spotted long and sharp claws at the end of his slim fingers and involuntary hiccuped again, shutting your eyes, getting ready to be struck.

“Shhhh… It’s ok, I’m not here to hurt you. The bad guy is gone.” The man said and you felt the soft material wiping your face in such a gentle way. You peeked to see he used the long sleeves of his kimono. You gasped in protest, he would get it all dirty because of your blood and snot! But the man shushed you again and you let him clean you.

Not knowing why you relaxed at that… or you were too exhausted to even try to run again and simply gave up at that moment. Your body was on fire, shaking from overstraining; you were still hiccuping and trying to calm your breath. The man’s touch – despite his demonic look – was gentle and soothing. Soon, he was done.

“T-Thank you, m-mister...” You said very quietly, your voice broke. He paused at that and when you dared peek at him, he looked taken aback. You believed you had offended him by calling him 'mister' but then the man chuckled and gently ruffled your hair.

The man sat in front of you and crossed his legs, resting his elbows on knees. His eyes never left you and you were getting confused.

Why was he helping you? Why was he there anyway? You thought you were alone, trapped in this beckoning nightmare… Why did it change?

“Mister… my sis-sister–” You started with a weak voice, unsure what to do or even think.

“What is wrong with her?” He asked casually and you made a small sound in disbelief as your eyes widened. You must have looked either hurt or funny because the man cocked a brow at you and then smirked. Was he blind despite him having four eyes? Or was he mocking you in such a cruel way?

“Mimi, she’s–?!” You squeaked and turned around, ready to show him the dead body… only to realize that your sister was gone… and around you were blooming red spider lilies… dozens of them.

Long gone were darkness and nothingness. Whenever you looked, you could see yourself being surrounded by red, glowing flowers; you found yourself in the middle of a crimson meadow.

Your eyes widened and your breath hitched… it was beautiful. The smell of flowers was subtle and fresh, much better for your lungs than rotten breaths of curses and blood around.

All of it was much, much better, as never before in your haunting nightmare. It was soothing. Comfortable. Safe.

“You… d-did you do that?” You squeaked, slightly excited, and looked at the man; he seemed to be content with your reaction.

“Did what, little one?” He asked with amusement, lazily resting the chin on his knuckles as he leaned it; his eyes were watching you with softness.

You looked around, gently touching the flowers as if checking they were real. It wasn’t a magic trick, you realized. They were there, solid and real. You involuntary giggled and then took a deep breath in and out; you were feeling much better, light and safe. You were finally able to breathe.

You had never dreamt about all of it before. The man, the flowers, the meadow… everything of it was new to you and yet so beautiful, giving you long-craving peace.

The man’s hand appeared in your vision and you paused, out of instincts. You thought he was going to touch one of the flowers next to your hand but instead, his finger gently sneaked under your small palm. You involuntary shivered but squeezed him; his slim fingers were much bigger than yours, his claws were sharp and able to hurt… but he was far from being hostile. All he had shown you were caress and gentleness. You almost forgot how it had felt to be pampered by gentle hands.

You looked up, a lot of questions were written on your face. You saw his bigger eyes looking at your entwined hands, contemplating; his smaller eyes were watching you but this time you didn’t shiver in surprise or fear. You started to feel content with his demonic presence.

“Are you my guardian angel?”

You asked shyly and – once again – you saw him being taken aback. His four eyes focused at you and you swore there was grief hidden behind them.

“I am far from being an angel...” He said and gently squeezed your hand through his two fingers.

“...but I promise I will protect you, runt.” He smiled and you couldn’t help but gasp quietly, your eyes wide, your heart full of joy and hope. The tightness in your chest dispersed at that very moment, leaving your body light and weak. It was such an overwhelming experience you let out a small moan and unconsciously fell forward; the man made a sound of surprise but he caught you and carefully pulled on his lap.

“Adrenaline finally wore off, huh?” He asked more himself than you but you made a small sound in contentment and involuntary nuzzled to his soft, warm kimono. You made him chuckle with amusement and his hand came up to pet your head again.

“Now, don’t get scared, I will heal you, ok?” He asked and you looked up, watching him smile at you. You almost whined.

Why was he so nice, gentle and caring? Did you truly deserve such a hero? You had been praying inside for a while for him to not be one of Mahito’s pawns, sent to let your guard down only to kill you mercilessly. You didn’t want to get your hopes so high only to watch it shatter so brutally later. Your poor being wouldn’t endure such betrayal.

But your heart was telling you to trust this man; after all, he promised to protect you. He was powerful, much powerful than curses you had dealt with before, you could easily tell that… but he didn’t have such an odour around himself. The odour of blood and rotten flesh, the odour of death.

That was a difference between him and Mahito; the one that helped you to trust him completely.

You nodded and closed your eyes when his hand touched your forehead. Your brows furrowed and you tangled hands in his kimono, holding so tight that your knuckles turned white. You made it out of instincts; you were ready to feel pain during healing, as you used to with Mahito that was forcing his power on you.

You heard the soft hum of working magic and you involuntary gasped out… only to realize it wasn’t painful, none of that was painful. You made a shaky breath in relief when a soothing warmth started spreading in your body and you sagged in man’s lap, holding tight to him.

You heard him hum in contentment and felt him playing with your hair.

It was so quiet and peaceful around. The flowers seemed to gloom with unnatural light, dispersing the darkness around. The man’s warmth was soothing, his strong heartbeat was echoing in his chest, slowly lulling you.

You didn’t even feel when you fell asleep. The man kept you close after he was done healing you. He played with your hair, watching you intently; a small smirk was plastered on his face. You were so tiny and cute he would love to eat you alive... but he knew better he would curse himself later for doing that.

When you woke up, you were slightly confused and embarrassed. You shouldn’t have put your guard down but you couldn't have helped it either. The man’s action literally had lulled you to sleep, right on his lap, curled into his chest. You shyly looked up and saw him watching you. He smiled a little and ruffled your hair.

“Did you have a good nap?” He asked; his hand big and heavy on your head but not uncomfortable. You nodded, bashful.

“Thank you–” You said quietly but paused; your eyes widened as you took a closer look at yourself. You believed you were still dreaming.

You were dressed in a white kimono with a pattern of red flowers, similar to the one from meadow around you. You touched it as if trying to check if that was an illusion. It wasn’t.

The material was so soft and warm, similar to the man’s clothing; long gone were old bandages and shredded pyjamas, dirty from your blood and gooey darkness. You didn’t look like a ragdoll pulled out of the bottom of trash; you finally look decent, like a human being.

“Did you do that with your magic?” You asked with a cheerful voice and looked up; your big eyes full of surprise and adoration. The man only chuckled.

“Did what?” He asked with amusement and you couldn’t help but giggle. He was silly, pretending he wasn’t a magician even if he was pulling magic tricks here and there.

“If you had your rest, let’s keep moving.” He said and cradled you in his arms as he stood up. You instinctively wrapped your small hands around his neck, holding tight. You allowed yourself to rest your chin on his broad shoulder. He held you close and secure and you realized he was tall.

Big, tall, powerful and dressed in white… Was he not an angel for sure?

You saw him smirk as if he read your thoughts. You slowly turned your head and took a closer look at his face and tattoos; you were fascinated by them. A black ink made such an intriguing contrast between his pink hair and tanned, smooth skin; still, it was fitting. Your hand unconsciously touched his cheek to feel his black markings and his eyes immediately focused on you.

“What is it, runt?” He asked with smooth tone and you flushed in embarrassment. You realized you got carried away, that was rude of you. You were such an insolent child...

“Ah, s-sorry...” You squeaked bashfully and he smirked again as he slowly carried you through the red meadow in the middle of pitch-black nothingness.

“No need to apologize. You surprised me with your feather-light touch, that’s all.” He admitted and you nodded politely, still secretly peeking at his black patterns. You spotted his smaller eye glued to you and you couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s your name, mister?” You asked quietly after a few minutes of marching. He hummed and turned his head to look at you, smirking.

“It’s rude to ask me for my name when I don’t know yours.” He said and, once again, you blushed in embarrassment. You pouted at yourself and you nuzzled to his shoulder as if trying to disappear. You were acting rudely and yet, he hadn’t punished you for that. You believed he was amused by you and your actions.

“Y/n, mister.” You admitted quietly after a solid minute of silence. He only smiled wide when he finally got an answer from you and his face looked forward; his big eyes were focused on the way but the small one on his right cheek was still locked on you. You started to be fascinated by how his eyes worked…

“Atta girl. You can call me Sukuna.” The man responded and you couldn't help but feel pleasant warm spreading in your chest at his little praise.

“Sukuna…” You revoiced his name and then smiled happily. “That’s a nice name, a strong one.” You admitted cheerfully and allowed yourself to nuzzle your head under his chin, curling more into his soft scarf. You truly felt safe, protected and spoiled. The man squeezed you gently and held you close as he walked down the path of bloody flowers.

“I can say the same about your name, little one.” Sukuna answered with a soft voice and you felt him smiling down against your hair.

You wondered what was going to happen next… Where was the path leading you? Perhaps Sukuna knew it? It wouldn’t be impolite to ask about it, would it? You decided to give it a try.

“W-Where are we going?” Your voice involuntary broke and you realized something.

You didn’t want this man to get you somewhere and then leave you. You wanted to stay with him longer… You didn’t feel lonely and oppressed as you used to be in that type of dreams.

You finally found a friend who was able to share that haunting nightmare with you. You weren’t alone. You didn’t want to be alone again.

“I’m taking you home.” Sukuna said and you squeezed hands into his kimono out of instincts.

Home… You didn’t have a home. The black nothingness had become your home-

“This darkness is not your home and you’re not alone.”

Your eyes widened at his statement and your eyes glued to his face. You didn’t know if you should be concerned of him, being able to read your thoughts, or you should be touched, both by his words and actions. Option number two won and you involuntary shivered; tears gathered in your eyes as you sniffed, feeling so vulnerable.

“Just… don’t leave me, p-please?” You pleaded with a weak voice and sobbed quietly. You felt him nuzzle to you, shushing you with a soft voice. A gentle hand started rubbing on your back.

“I won’t. I’ll be next to you when you wake up, promise. After all, I’ve been promoted to your guardian angel, haven't I?”

That statement made you smile as you sniffed against his neck. You said no more but sighed in relief as you closed your eyes and let your dream disperse.

Chapter Text

You woke up to a hand gently rubbing on your back. It was such a warm and comforting gesture that almost put you back into sleep. You could tell it was early in the morning. The birds were singing outside, the sun was slowly peeking in and dancing on the walls of your room.

...wait, your room. You were back at school. You were safe.

Your memories flooded your mind as you recalled the previous day and involuntary shivered. Ah, right, blood, chaos, fear… and kind of miracle.

Mahito had kidnapped you and tortured you but the boys saved you. The last thing you could remember was Sukuna putting you to sleep… still, you had a feeling you missed something very important since you saw glimpses of your dream in your mind.

...black nothingness, red flowers and…

...the man in white?

You tried to recall more but your head was already aching from overthinking.

You let out a small sigh and when you finally blinked away your sleepiness, you saw a familiar chest in front of you… covered in tattoos. You paused at that, believing you had just jumped into another dream.

You saw a clawed hand moving between you and your eyes instinctively followed. You saw Sukuna putting a finger on his lips, mentioning you to be quiet. You nodded slowly and then followed his claw again as he pointed at someone behind you. You carefully and quietly turned your head and spotted Gojou sleeping and snoring in the chair; Megumi was sleeping at the foot of your bed. Yuuji, or rather Sukuna was facing you and holding you close.

You blinked a few times, obviously confused as you carefully put your head back in the pillow; your brows furrowed in thought.

That’s the weirdest dream I’ve ever had… You said to yourself and heard Mimi’s small snort.

You wish, sister…

Your confusion reached a new level and you involuntary tensed. If that wasn’t a dream then...

What did the hell happen? Why three of them were in your room, literally glued to you? Did Sukuna try to do something funny and the boys stayed to keep an eye on him? No, no way, that was impossible, after all, Sukuna–

You snapped back into reality when you felt a big and clawed hand gently doing circles on your back. It almost looked like the demon in front of you sensed your distress and tried to soothe you.

...after all, Sukuna had been helping you the entire time, maybe even too often for others liking.

You knew you supposed to start worrying and see his actions as a red alert. Sukuna was the damn King of Curses, he liked no one, he cared for no one, he respected no one and even if, he treated people as his pets.

Exactly. You were his pet, you knew that. Who else would he see in you anyway? Perhaps a broken toy? You were providing entertainment for him, you were aware of that.

...but still, why you couldn’t see him as a truly bad guy?

Why did you feel grateful for having him around you instead of being afraid? Maybe something wrong was with you, not with the world?

His slim fingers slid into your hair, gently playing with your strands and you felt him shifting closer to you.

You knew you should have pushed him, that you should have been scared, self-conscious, just do anything to stop being in his arms… but you couldn’t do that. Even if your heart skipped a bit at the sudden realization of your powerless and being at his mercy at that very moment, your body didn’t fall into panic.

You felt strangely safe and protected… Especially if you knew you were trapped in tiger’s claws.

Oh, sweet irony.

You slowly looked up, meeting with his red eyes. You realized that there were small rings in his red irises, something you hadn’t noticed before. Such a strange, maybe even dangerous feature that reminded you of a real predator… yet strangely beautiful to you and suiting him.

Sukuna’s eyes were hooded, watching you with a softness that was so rare and unusual on his face but strangely fitting his demonic appearance. He had said before he couldn’t read you so easily but you started to believe he understood you more than your father, boyfriend and friends put together that were around you all the time.

You might not have a very open relationship with Sukuna. You barely talked with him about your problems or fears, but whenever you felt lost, he was there.

You might try to hide from him, try to save your very intimate being – your broken soul – but you had a feeling he would find you anyway.

Why?

He was your enemy after all… He supposed to be your enemy. You were the shaman and Sukuna was the King of Curses. You were naturally-born enemies... and yet, nothing what had happened between you two for past months had no sense. As if two of you weren’t foes… What were you then?

He was a part of Yuuji, that was for sure. You two started sharing your life since you had decided to become Yuuji’s girlfriend, even if Sukuna (or you) wanted that or not.

You believed he hated you, that he wanted you dead. Then, after your first encounter with Mahito when Sukuna had finally seen your true form, something in him changed and he started paying attention to you, watching you, listening to you, helping you, saving you…

Sukuna knew the truth about you. Even if Gojou had explained everything to Yuuji and Megumi only, you knew there had been the third listener.

That memorable day, he had discovered the very secret part of you. Something he couldn’t have figured out on his own. You had a feeling Sukuna had already reached your cursed soul, touched it and played with it, with your very intimate being.

You had always thought he would use the truth against you. Play on your nerves, mock you, laugh at you for being such an abomination among not only shamans but curses too.

You supposed to be his plaything…

Why then was he looking at you with such grief?

This is weird… and wrong… You should believe in that but you couldn’t.

You involuntary shivered and curled into yourself, overthinking again.

Yuuji always knew how to keep you company, how to make you laugh and cheer you on. You felt happy and complete whenever you were with him. He was your other half as you believed.

But Sukuna? Sukuna was able to understand and touch your soul, your inner being. He was always able to reach to you from inside, to understand your mind and keep you safe and secure; keep you happy in his own unreadable way.

That didn’t make any sense since Sukuna was the King of Curses, the strongest evil in the world that supposed to be feeding on the pain and sadness, on fear and desperation.

You were like a perfect meal for him… and yet, he always kept you sane.

...why?

The more you thought, the more you started to doubt yourself and the world around you. Was it something wrong with the world then, not you?

You let out a shaky breath as you shivered again. Your heart was beating faster, anxious thoughts were flooding your mind when you couldn’t find an answer for such a simple question, why?

Sukuna seemed to feel your distress and he pulled away, surprised.

“Oi, oi–” He started quietly, withdrawing his arms from you. He must have believed you started to be scared of him but that was far from being true. You shook your head and caught his hand, wrapping your small palms around as you kept it close to your chest. He said nothing but you could sense his growing confusion.

Before Sukuna could try to pull away again and face you, you curled into his chest as you gave a small and quiet sob, making him stiff.

You couldn't understand the overwhelming feelings that had flooded you, making you so weak and powerless within seconds. You started to doubt everything you believed or always been taught about. Nothing made sense.

Love made no sense.

Despite your galloping thoughts, you knew one thing for sure. You wanted to be held in his arms. You wanted to be by his side. You wanted to believe you weren’t just a pet for him.

“Why can I not hate you?...” You whispered more to yourself than him, but Sukuna caught it anyway. You missed his wide eyes, his shock and disbelief.

If you only knew the King was as confused as you were at that moment. If he only could read your mind, understand your poor thoughts and prevent you from falling into bigger distress and making you cry.

The King truly hated your tears.

Sukuna didn’t want to see you hurt.

That was weird for him to care about a human being that much but all that Sukuna wanted to do that time was to hold you close in his arms and never let you slip away. He wanted to keep you close and prevent from any harm. You had experienced too much pain and he started to believe it was too much for you. He didn’t want to see you shatter from inside again. He didn’t want to listen to your cracking soul.

For a mere second, Sukuna believed he overdid everything, that your mental condition was his fault. He shouldn’t have interacted with you so often, he shouldn't have helped you, he shouldn’t have treated you in a special way. Instead, he should have played his role of a villain and not growing fond of you. He shouldn't have been soft, especially for a human like you. He was the King of Curses, for fuck’s sake! It was Yuuji’s fault–!

...was it now?

...could he truly blame Yuuji’s feelings towards you for all of that?

Sukuna started to doubt himself as well... and he didn’t like it, not at all.

“I hate your tears.”

Sukuna’s tongue slipped and the realisation hit him hard. What the hell was that? Why did he say that aloud? He supposed to be happy to see you cry, to see your misery, he knew that! Yet, his heart was aching in that weird way he couldn't name nor understand.

His words made you pause and he believed he fucked it up for real that time. He expected to be hit, kicked off the bed or yelled at; he expected any typical womanlike reaction from you as he had seen in all those stupid romantic comedies through Yuuji’s eyes you had watched with him. But, to his surprise, you chuckled weakly and shook your head. Your hands squeezed his palm and he involuntary tensed, getting ready for anything.

Little did Sukuna realize he hadn’t been ready for that reaction.

“Thank you...”

You simply said when your mind finally calmed down and you accepted something you had been trying to hide or even deny for a while. His few words helped you realize what you had started to believe in and fear of at the same time.

No matter how hard you try to say anything bad about Sukuna, you simply couldn’t. You owed him your soul and life. You trusted him, what an odd thought indeed, but not impossible.

All is fair in love and war, huh?

You were weak for him, you knew that. But you accepted your weaknesses, there was no point in fighting with them anyway. Your heart was sold not only to Yuuji but to his inner demon too.

Your heart was sold to Sukuna.

You knew he supposed to be your enemy and he might never have such fond feelings towards you. Yet, you couldn't deny your own and growing feelings towards him.

You pure-hearted silly sister… You heard Mimi in your head and you couldn’t help but chuckle at that. It sounded rather miserable.

I know, I am dead one way or another. You responded and gently squeezed Sukuna’s fingers… before you leaned in and kissed his knuckles gently.

“I truly can’t hate you...” You whispered and closed your eyes as your cheek nuzzled to his fingers.

You expected to be slapped. You expected to be yelled at. You expected any cruelty from Sukuna for touching and kissing him without his permission.

You surely didn’t expect him to shiver and gasp. You didn’t have enough courage to see his reaction and you tried to keep your head low… but you felt Sukuna’s hand gently embracing your cheek as he urged you to look at him.

You saw that his eyes were hooded, looking at you with softness and comprehension. His smile was gentle and soothing. You believed he looked… touched. You saw him leaning in but you didn’t pull away. You ignored your escalating heartbeat when you felt his nose touching yours as he whispered with an unusually quiet voice.

“You pure-ruined heart...”

Your breath stuttered in surprise and your eyes widened... but you realised he didn’t offend you nor was he mocking you. His eyes, his voice, his smile, his gestures… All of it looked as if he–

You involuntary blushed and swallowed quietly, you believed your heart was about to explode. You found enough courage in yourself as you gently entwined fingers with his on your cheek, holding him close. He let out a small purr as if in contentment, his claws were lightly stroking your skin, his eyes never left yours.

You didn’t know who to blame (probably your pure and naive heart), you started to believe you were dreaming, that Sukuna would never show you such genteelness and understanding... but no, that was your reality.

Were you truly special to him or was he just playing with your innocence?

You didn’t know why but you started to believe– no, that you wanted to believe that Sukuna may–

...he may–

Your entire body and soul froze when you heard a soft murmur from below. You realized that Megumi was slowly waking up. You could almost imagine him being at least shocked (if not disgusted) to see you snuggling and sharing kind of intimate moments with the King of Curses.

Sukuna must have realized that too, that the situation would be at least awkward to all of them. His soft expression dropped quickly and he looked slightly annoyed. He even sighed quietly and shook his head as if cursing his damn luck. He refocused on you and you could see he was literally battling with himself. You expected him to say something, do anything to let him hold his reputation of being just a nasty curse... but it looked like the King was lost for words.

Sukuna knew he didn’t have enough time to make it all right, to even try and explain himself but still, he wanted you to know you weren’t a nuisance to him. He let his actions speak louder than his unspoken words.

Sukuna leaned in, embraced your face with his clawed hands and touched foreheads with you; his eyes closed slowly and he let out a small sigh, the corner of his lips curled up. You saw his tattoos disappear and you didn’t know why you felt sad about it. His hands grew heavy and his fingers stilled on your skin, soon slipping down your cheeks and onto the sheets. You blinked and realized you were facing sleeping Yuuji.

Sukuna was gone.

Your heart was aching, your thoughts were tangled in a big mess. You had so many questions you wanted to ask, you wanted to talk to him, explain everything... but you knew that it wasn’t a good time nor a proper place for such honest discussion, especially if Gojou and Megumi were in your room still. You could almost see with your imagination as Gojou was jumping on Sukuna and beating the hell out of him for touching you so openly.

That way was the best then, just to hide and pretend that nothing happened. Yet, you hoped you two would finish your talk other time since you weren’t lucky that morning. You ignored your aching heart as you nuzzled to Yuuji. You closed your eyes as well, pretending to be asleep.

You heard Megumi’s carefully shifting and sitting up. You felt his eyes on you but you believed he had checked on everyone before he stood up and quietly escaped your room.

You let out a sigh in relief and wrapped your hands around Yuuji, keeping close to him. His warmth was comforting, his hot breath was almost ticklish against your shoulder… and yet, you wanted another man to face you at that moment. You truly hated leaving things unfinished or unspoken.

Pure-ruined heart… What did he exactly mean by that?

You let yourself be pulled in your thoughts as you started to recall Sukuna’s behaviour.

Little did you realize that Gojou’s snoring had stopped much earlier than Megumi’s soft noises even appeared. Little did you realize that Gojou had been watching you for a while, silently thinking and judging three of you.

He still believed that being a shaman was much easier than being a father.

~*~

Sukuna was sitting on his bone throne, grumpy and annoyed as he was focused on the red water in his domain.

He truly liked Megumi as his pet and cared for him but that silly raven had interrupted him in something important… and now Sukuna was more than just disappointed.

On the other hand, he started to see the situation turned to his advantage. It turned out to be good even if he was ‘forced’ to hide out of sudden. After all, he had a reputation to hold and at that intimate moment with you, he almost ruined everything.

For a second, Sukuna believed he would forget about all of that… awkwardness and return to be ‘normal’, to be like his old self, the uncaring demon that usually had fun from people’s misery and treated them either like pets or pieces of shit.

...to be like my old self? The King frowned and shook his head.

It was impossible since you had appeared in his life and turned his world upside down. A small, weak and pathetic human was able to shake the very core of the King of Curses and change him and his rotten soul.

How ridiculous is that?

Whatever feelings were gathering in Sukuna that he couldn't name, were definitely annoying and unbearable to him. He supposed to be the King of Curses, the demon… and yet, all he wanted to do was to see you, hold you, watch more of your lovely reactions, hear your voice-

Ridiculous.

He knew that getting back control of Yuuji’s body and seeing you wouldn’t be a smart move. First of all, what would he even say? ‘Hi, I’m back but let’s forget about our conversation from a few minutes ago?’ If not because of the already (slightly) ridiculous situation with you, he didn’t want to meet with Gojou either. He could tell that shaman had been awoken and been listening to you two, pretending to be asleep. Another proof it hadn’t been a good time to make a move… and the demon wasn’t in the proper mood to deal with that blue-eyed bastard once again.

Still, Sukuna couldn’t help but smirk, recalling the previous evening with Gojou. After all, the King had shown the shaman his place. That victory was already his, despite the circumstances.

Sukuna groaned quietly and his eyes focused on his hand. His expression immediately softened as he could still feel your soft lips on his knuckles. He found that gesture odd but not unpleasant. He smirked and brushed his own lips over knuckles, his eyes hooded.

You don’t hate me, huh?

The King was truly amused by that statement of yours.

You always know how to surprise me, runt, he chuckled to himself but then his smile dropped as he realized something.

As much as you didn’t hate him, Sukuna didn’t hate you either.

As much as he had wanted to bring you pain in the very beginning and make you his trophy, his desires changed and became different.

He had been catching himself for having weird, almost human desires even if he was the curse. Whenever you were around, no matter how hard he tried to be in character, he simply couldn’t.

Sukuna’s eyes widened and he felt that aching pain again in his chest as he realized you were making him weak.

He was so weak for you and yet... he had never felt more alive before. You, the petite and weak girl with such naive yet pure heart, made him, the abomination of evil, feel alive again.

Such an odd thought, the King would never even think about it, nor even believe in it. If someone had said he was about to catch some feelings for a human girl, not only the King would have laughed at that person but also he would have cut them into pieces for offending him.

...but there he was, being weak for a human girl, being weak for you.

How did that even happen?

You used to be a nuisance, he used to hate you, to be even disgusted by you and your presence... but now he couldn’t even think to not see you or keep you at his arm's length every day.

What was it? What was that weird and aching feeling that had been eating him from inside out for a few months?

The King had to reach into his past to find an answer for an odd question that had been bugging him for a while and that he had tried so hard to deny.

Did he ever feel the love? Did he know the feeling such as love?

He remembered being loved and praised by people and his servants. The villagers used to send him food, animals, kids and even women as a sacrifice, just anything to please him and bring his grace upon the lands. Most of the children ended up as his servants while women joined his harem. He could tell he had a good life as a God-demon creature, he couldn’t complain. Yet, despite being among people ready to serve him, to please him, to even kill for him, he remembered being… unsatisfied.

Sukuna felt being… appreciated by them but could he call it ‘love’? Such events and praises in honour of him were usually made because of… fear. People would do anything to get on his good side and please him, thus to survive a day or two longer. People used to be driven by fear, by the will to survive, by selfish emotions to simply exist under his eyes and perhaps avoid his occasional wrath.

It was not the love.

Whatever people had shown him back in his golden age, he couldn’t call it love.

But you?…

You had shoved him more generosity than he had ever experienced with his servants and women before.

Whatever feelings Sukuna could feel towards you were… unusual. Unfamiliar. Almost odd. Almost impossible to even exist in his rotten soul. Almost impossible to be felt by such a cruel curse like him.

...and yet, you taught his heart how to sing.

The King always believed he would never find a good match for himself. After all, he was perfect in every aspect. The King, the god, the demon, the curse…

That was right. You two were full of opposites he could list over and over again.

...what then brought you to his attention?

Sukuna could tell for sure that you were much different from people he had ever met. Your heart was pure and naive yet somehow brave and curious. Your body was weak yet strong, your soul cursed and not even yours yet so unique and hard to read.

He might learn a lot about you… and yet he wanted to know more of you.

He had never had a special person in his life, he had never had a friend. He simply believed he didn’t need to… until he met you.

Since the very beginning of knowing you, he had strong feelings towards you. Those feeling were evil and rotten at first… and then they changed to something that made him doubt his nature.

He was the curse but he didn’t want to use your body only and then abandon you. He didn’t want to eat your flesh and rip out your soul to devour later.

He was the curse but the thought of losing you was both infuriating and petrifying to the King.

Sukuna started to be anxious since he realized that he, The King of Curses, had a weakness.

You became his weakness.

Sukuna was the worst of the curses, the walking and living evil… and yet, all he wanted to do was to see you smile and happy. He wanted to hold you in his arms, enjoy your warmth. He wanted to listen to your sweet voice, feel your hot breath on his neck or chest, feel your small hands on his tattoos and in his hair, playing with his strawberry strands. He wanted to kiss you, your lips, your eyes, every little freckle on your body. He wanted to spoil the hell out of you, make you squeal underneath, make you laugh and moan, make you–

Sukuna blinked from his galloping thoughts and sighed deeply, hiding his eyes behind his fingers.

He didn’t recognise himself and started to believe you must have cursed him with your charm.

Otherwise, it was still hard for the King to believe he started to have human feelings towards you. He couldn’t blame Yuuji’s feelings for making him weak, not that time.

Sukuna and love? That should have never mixed together.

...and yet, the Devil fell in love with the Angel.

Sukuna chuckled weakly, looking through his fingers. His eyes were hooded but the crimson magic was alive in his red irises as he looked at the darkness set in his domain.

You have become a little curse of mine, Angel… You and your pure-ruined heart indeed.

Chapter Text

“I refuse.”

You were sitting in Gojou’s private lounge, your teacher was in front of you. His expression was a mix of shock and pride. He sighed deeply and tried to explain his idea once again.

“Y/n, I’m trying to tell you–“

“I refuse.” You interrupted him again, your eyes stern. “You won’t lock me up in the school forever.”

After another incident with Mahito, the elders decided to get rid of you. Gojou said they wanted you to be locked inside the school since you were like a bait to Mahito, plus you could be dangerous to your friends and could hurt them on any mission by losing control over your cursed energy again.

You believed that elders wanted you dead since they were a bunch of cowards and didn’t see a true potential in you, but your sensei wanted to protect you anyway, thus the idea of grounding you to soothe up the elders a little bit.

“I won’t run and hide. I am the shaman, I fight with curses and any problems on my way, not avoid them.”

Gojou sighed at that and dropped his head low. You were stubborn, he knew about it even more than Yuuji. You felt a pang of guilt crawling up your back at his broken puppy reaction. After all, Gojou just wanted to protect you… but still, you had your right.

“Please… You know I can’t just sit and watch from the distance. I won’t live long so at least I want to have a good death. I want to die for something important, for someone in fight… not because of my own weaknesses or because of a bunch of old cowards.” You tried softer this time, you didn’t want to be locked in your room for the rest of your life. You would have killed yourself by overthinking everything.

Gojou looked up, his lips put in a grimace.

“You’re more and more like Yuuji. I don’t know if I should be proud of feel betrayed...” He murmured and you couldn’t help but chuckle. He was weak for you, both of you knew that.

Gojou leaned back into the sofa and groaned theatrically.

“Fine, fine, let’s say I have a plan B. There’s another option how to not piss off the elders completely but I need more time.” Your eyes shone with sudden hope as you listened to your teacher in anticipation.

“I can bring you a special cursed object that can be compatible with you and your cursed energy without bringing you pain.”

You blinked in surprise, slightly confused. You were told that cursed weapons and even objects might not be good for you, that they might not listen to you since they would sense you as a curse, not a shaman and work against you. That was why you grew curious and slightly excited, eyes locked on your guardian. The man chuckled and smirked.

“You heard it right, such an object exists. It’s a rare and powerful thing but I believe you will handle it.” Gojou explained as if reading your unspoken question, clearly written on your face. Then he leaned in and hummed, smirking like a devious cat. “You two might create a very unique combination...”

You nodded slowly, still confused and growing more curious but nonetheless, you were eager and determined to change. You were ready for anything to help you out. After all, you promised yourself to be stronger. If there was a change to control your cursed energy better and not be a nuisance to your friends on missions, you simply wanted to try it.

“Once I get it, we will start training in secret. You have great potential but you need help first. I will do anything to make you stronger. Father’s promise.”

You were touched by his words and you quickly bowed deeply, showing him respect.

“Thank you. It means a lot to me and it will be an honour to have you as my personal teacher.” You said and when you straightened up, you sent him a big and happy smile. He returned the gesture, chuckling quietly.

“No need to thanks me yet–”

“Is there something I can do? Help you with or–?” You asked already excited but Gojou raised his hand, halting you.

“Leave it all to me. I might disappear for a few days but I will be in contact with Nanami. He will keep an eye on you… all of you.”

You didn’t miss Gojou’s tone at his last words but your mind was invaded by a sudden image. You could almost hear Nanami’s raised voice at Gojou “I refuse, I’m not a nanny!” but still, you knew better than Nanami was a softie for your group and would do that with or without Gojou’s request.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Gojou almost chirped with his sweet voice and you instinctively paused. Oh, you knew he was about to say something unpleasant. He always went for a sweet mood whenever he had to announce something important. You saw him leaning in, index finger lazily raised as he smiled almost innocently at you.

“Till the day of my return you are… grounded.”

The world around you paused and you blinked a few times, processing your guardian’s words. Your good mood was spoiled. So much of the fun, so much...

“...eh? Grounded?” You squeaked, looking up. Gojou only nodded and then leaned into the sofa, nonchalant as always.

“No way!” You shouted, throwing your hands aside. “I still have to sit in my room all alone and pray for everyone’s safety? Come on, I am better than that! I can go on a mission–” You could see your teacher was amused, his voice chirpy despite his cruel words.

“Double grounded for raising your voice at your dad.”

Your eyed widened even more as you opened your mouth, dumbfounded, shocked and slightly pissed. Oh, you hated when he was behaving like that.

“But Satoru–?!” You jumped on your feet and tried again. You saw him raising his index finger again and you immediately winced. A warning, just like a soft breeze... before the big storm.

“Triple grounded for calling my name!” He called and you almost sobbed, falling back on the couch. You hid face in your hands, groaning quietly.

“...that’s ridiculous.” You murmured more to yourself than him but Gojou caught it anyway.

“Whaaat was thaaaat?” He asked sweetly, leaning in with a hand over his ear. You bit your tongue, eyeing him grumpily as you folded arms on your chest.

“That’s better~” Gojou teased and chuckled. Maybe he wasn’t as stubborn as you but he had some (unfair) tricks up his sleeves. Such dad tricks, precisely.

You said nothing more but you were no longer excited. You didn’t want to be locked up. You knew you were going to be either bored and get too lazy or have an existential crisis for doing nothing while overthinking everything.

You sighed only, looking up at Gojou. His smile was gone and he looked serious. You could tell he was battling with himself. You straightened up, tilting his head.

“Is there… something else?” You asked quietly, worried.

You knew that something was off. Since that memorable morning when you had woken up with three men in your room (scandalous!), you could see they had been behaving oddly. Gojou was avoiding it, changing topics on purpose as soon as you tried to ask what had happened. Megumi was silent but you could see he was worried. Yuuji was averting his eyes whenever you brought the issue on the floor. After all, you had found a bloodied pillow in your room and you feared that something very bad happened.

“Don’t trust Sukuna.”

Gojou’s serious tone pulled you out from your thoughts. You blinked and looked up, confused.

“Why… all of sudden?” You asked quietly even if you knew it was a dumb question. After all, Sukuna was the King of Curses, your enemy. He indeed had helped you a few times but Gojou seemed to never question it… until that day. Until that evening that led to a more awkward morning.

Gojou was silent but you could sense his judging eyes on you, even if he wore his blindfold. You furrowed brows in worry as you instinctively averted your gaze.

“Please, tell me what happened that day?” You tried again, your hands shaking. You squeezed them on your knees to keep yourself calm and not to show too much of your distress.

“No one wants to talk about it. Why? I know something bad happened but I can’t face the problem if I don’t understand the situation. I found the pillow with blood on it… P-Please, tell me it was my blood.” Your voice shook as you focused on Gojou again, you were on the verge of tears.

Such pleading and desperate look must have touched Gojou because he flinched and then sighed, defeated.

“It wasn’t yours...” He said quietly and your blood froze, body went pale.

“W-Who-?” You started, shaking now but Gojou interrupted you.

“It was Yuuji’s. You had your haunting nightmare and Mimi saw an enemy in him when he had touched you. She bit him and threw him on the wall. Megumi and I got alerted by his voice and barged into your room but it was too late. She took control over your body, she wanted to protect you, obviously. I knew what I had to do. I ordered Yuuji to hold her still even if she bit him again. We tried to soothe her but she seemed to be in amok. So I tried to look at her, enter your dream and pulled you out, enter your domain–” Gojou’s voice was unusually full of grief and guilt. He lowered his head, taking a few deep breaths.

“I couldn’t get in.”

Your heart froze and you shivered. You believed it was a sick joke of his, not the actual truth. Gojou used to be the one and only that could enter your Innate Domain (without being overpowered easily) and get you out from your never-ending nightmares. The fact that he had failed was petrifying to you. You realized you somehow must have blocked your father from helping you that evening.

Oh no… What if– Your eyes widened in fear as your breath stuttered.

What if I blocked him forever? What if me as a child see him as an enemy now? Oh, Kami-sama, what have I done…

“Gojou, I’m so sorry...” You whispered brokenly, shaking off the fat tears that threatened to fall down your cheeks. Gojou sensed your distress, getting scared and guilty immediately. He was by your side within seconds and he pulled you close, embracing you in a big hug. That was why he didn't want to tell you the truth… but he knew you deserved to know it no matter how hard it was for both of you.

“Shh… It’s not your fault. Don’t apologize. I… I should have put my cool and reached out to you as usual but… I failed. It’s my fault, I’m sorry.”

You hid your face in his sweater and sobbed quietly, clinging to him. He held you close, rubbing on your back. You didn’t want to accept the fact that Gojou couldn’t have entered your domain to safe you. You were already worrying about the possible future... and it wasn't very bright.

“But… if… if I get stuck in that nightmare again, I-I-” You sobbed, your heart was aching. No one would be able to help you, you feared that.

“Shhh. Don’t worry. We will find a way to get control over your domain. I promise you that.” Gojo said, pulling you closer.

“How t-then– Who?” You asked quietly but paused, your eyes widened and your breath stuttered.

Once again, you saw the glimpses of Mahito, red flowers… and the man in white.

If Gojou hadn’t entered your domain to save kid-you, who did that?

Then it hit you. You understood why you had woken up next to Sukuna, why the demon had behaved in such unusual, almost unnatural way to him, why he had been so soft.

The man in white was no one else but...

“...Sukuna.” You whispered quietly, your mind blank. You heard Gojou’s deep sigh against your hair and his upset tone.

“Unfortunately. I can’t tell if you let him in or he barged into but he was the one that settled you down, both Mimi and you.”

You involuntary shivered and pulled away, your hands were shaking. You didn’t know if you should feel relieved or start to panic. If Sukuna became the only one that was able to settle you down since that memorable evening, you were more than screwed. You were doomed.

With such power over your cursed soul, he could do horrible things. He could be like Mahito, haunting you forever, use your weaknesses against you, play with poor you on your own territory-

But he didn’t. He has never done that.

You heard your sister’s voice, loud and clear in your mind. That statement helped you calm down a little as your common sense started to return. You blinked a few times, trying hard to remember the dream. It was like walking through the fog, catching a few glimpses of kid-you and Sukuna. But even if you saw so little, you could tell that whatever he had done it must be very helpful to the child-you trapped in the never-ending darkness.

You recalled that memorable morning. You had woken up with your mind and body calm. You rarely felt serene or fresh whenever that dream decided to haunt you at night.

Once again, you realized that Sukuna not only had kept your soul calm but he kept your mind and body sane as well. He had discovered the very hidden secret of you that not even Yuuji was aware of yet… and he didn’t use it against you.

It was another proof for you to believe that Sukuna may see you more as just a pet, that he may–

“He helped me still...” You whispered quietly, overwhelmed a little by everything.

Gojou only sighed and leaned in, looking down at you.

“Even if, he did that on purpose. He switched with Yuuji without his consent and… let’s say we didn’t have a friendly conversation.”

You looked up, wishing to see his blue eyes. You had a feeling they would tell you more than his already worried expression. With that, you would have understood and felt him better.

You could only imagine how savage and brutal was Sukuna with his words toward Gojou. You knew the King despised your adoptive father; Yuuji had mentioned that a few times.

...and if Sukuna had been able to soothe your sister and you, you could almost feel how proud he must have been and how he had used it against Gojou.

“Megumi and you stayed with me to keep an eye on him, right?” You asked quietly, your sensei only nodded. With that final answer, it all made sense of what had happened that evening that led to a very weird morning. The bloodied pillow, shame on Yuuji’s face, worried Megumi, Gojou trying to avoid them at all cost...

After all, during that memorable evening all of you had failed as shamans and let the King of Curses fix the problem, your problem. All of you relied on Sukuna’s power, your biggest enemy.

How ironic was it?

At that moment, you felt guilty and powerless. If not because of you, none of that had happened.

You realized why Gojou started to be worried for you. After all, you involuntary had given Sukuna too much power at once. He already had your soul trapped in his claws. The King sussed you out, you and your very secret.

No wonder Gojou believed that Sukuna wanted to play with you only, to use his knowledge against you, to hurt not only you but Mimi and him as well.

...but that what Gojou believed in anyway.

You, despite new facts, still couldn’t see Sukuna as a bad guy.

That memorable morning… you could still see his eyes filled with grief right in front of you.

If he had wanted to hurt you, he wouldn’t have felt pity towards you, right?

Gojou would never understand it. Megumi would never understand it. You started to fear that even Yuuji wouldn’t understand your feelings towards Sukuna… but you knew that one way or another, you had to speak with your boyfriend about that. You knew you had to clear it from the beginning to avoid terrible misunderstanding in the future.

“I’m sorry for bringing you troubles...” You whispered quietly and sniffed, wiping your wet cheeks. You didn’t know what else to say. You hoped it was enough. Gojou sighed and ruffled your hair, hugging you gently.

“Please, be careful. Don’t let him mess with your soul and overpower you completely.” You heard his soft voice and all you could do was to nod. You couldn’t look at him, your face nuzzled into his sweater as you hugged him back.

You truly felt bad for Gojou. You owed him your life, you wanted to be a daughter he would be proud of, you always tried your best. Apparently, your life had written a different scenario for you.

You had found yourself at a bad time, in a bad place and with a bad man, the King of Curses precisely to many times… and you believed more were about to come.

You would never admit it aloud (and to anyone from your family and friends) but you had admitted to yourself a long time ago that Sukuna had something magnetic in him, something that lured you more towards him even if you knew you should be wary. You were like a moth drawn to warm light… right for the patiently waiting spider to be struck and eaten alive.

Despite the truth, despite the events, despite even the fact that Sukuna was the King of Curses, the worst of the worst, you couldn't see him as the bad guy.

You were truly like a mouse playing with a tiger, wishing to be spared, wishing to become his friend...

At that moment, you felt betrayed by your own, silly heart.

~*~

You truly didn’t like the idea of being locked in your room, but you knew better to not try your luck with Gojou. After all, you didn’t want to piss him off for real and watch him roasting you cruelly.

You were sitting at the windowsill, watching the raining sky.

Yuuji, Megumi and Nobara were on a mission and you couldn't wait to see them again and hear about their fights. You missed interactions with them. You felt lonely and powerless sitting like that.

The less you were occupied, the harder your brain was working.

You were thinking about past and recent events, mostly connected with Sukuna, trying to justify them. Two days passed since your talk with the King. Yuuji seemed to be unaware of what had happened between his inner demon and you. Sukuna didn’t appear as well and you started to worry if he truly played with you or if you understood his words properly or… or perhaps he was waiting for you to call him?

To be honest, you started to doubt yourself as well. Did you do good with showing such trust in Sukuna? You kissed his hand and declared you didn’t hate him.

...it almost sounded like a declaration of love, almost!

Whenever you recalled that morning, you could feel your cheeks getting hot and red. Your heart was hammering whenever you remembered his soft hands on your face, his beautiful eyes watching you with such adoration- Stooop!

You sobbed in embarrassment and ruffled your hair in a nervous habit.

“Baka! Baka, baka, baka!” You shouted at yourself and kicked off the poor pillow from under your feet. The fluffy thing landed on the floor, unmoving.

Your silly heart was still winning over your common sense and you didn’t know if you like it or not.

“That’s why I didn’t want to stay alone. I can’t stop overthinking myself...” You whispered and curled your knees, hiding your face.

Not only you were doubting yourself and your interactions with Sukuna but you also felt bad for hiding anything from Yuuji. He showed you such loyalty and trust you couldn’t bear having more secrets with him. You owed him an explanation.

You knew you had to speak with him about Sukuna and you; you knew he was not going to like it… You were brainstorming how to do that without making him feel bad or betrayed. The last thing you wanted to do was to hurt his feelings for real.

...and after that, maybe you could find enough courage to face Sukuna and try to understand what was he aiming for by helping you all the time?

Your cursed soul? Your sanity? Your body?

…your love and obedience?

“Baaaaka!”

You whined pathetically, your face was red; another pillow landed on the floor.

You couldn’t think of a better representation of your utter defeat by the look on the fluffy being displayed miserably on the carpet.

Chapter Text

One evening, when Yuuji and you were chilling together in his room, you decided to put yourself together and start the topic that had been bugging you for the past days. You knew you had to do that, sooner or later. You preferred it as soon as possible to avoid more brainstorming and awkward situations between Yuuji, Sukuna and you.

“Yuuji, can we… talk about something important?” You asked bashfully but your heart was determined. Yuuji blinked away his sleepiness and focused on you.

“Sure, what’s up?” He nuzzled to you, locking his honey irises on you. He already looked too cute and innocent to be asked such a brutal question but you couldn’t say A without saying B.

“I wanted to ask you something… I know it’s gonna be weird but… I’ve been thinking about it… or rather it’s been bugging me… It’s just… You can ignore me, I know I won’t make any sense or… I am scared of hurting you but–hmph!” You were halted by Yuuji’s soft hands on your cheeks as he squeezed them and leaned in.

“You’re babbling again. Breathe in and out and bring it on me.” He grinned, his eyes were soft, almost amused by your poor attempts to explain yourself away. Your stomach flipped a little, you knew he didn’t deserve it, not at all. You believed you were about to be the worst girlfriend ever.

“It’s about Sukuna...” You started and could see his eyes widening a bit before he gently grabbed your arms.

“Did he hurt you?!” He exclaimed so suddenly, nervous and sweaty. You quickly shook your head, gently putting hands on his forearms to soothe him.

“No, he didn’t, promise. I would have said earlier if that happened.” You assured Yuuji and saw him exhaling slowly. He focused on you again but you could see he was getting anxious. You didn’t want to keep him in suspense. Time to face it!

“Sukuna is… a part of you and, do you think it is counted as cheating when I interact with him?” You said that on one breathe and Yuuji’s body paused at that as he blinked in surprise, his eyes widened.

“W-What?” He whispered so quietly you believed he had died a little from inside. You tried your best to explain yourself, soothe him once again.

“I mean– You know, when he appears from nowhere and… uhm, just hangs around… and sometimes he… uhm, he pretends to be you and… he either messes with me or is just needy- Oh, Kami-sama, what am I saying?” You hid your face in your hands, you could feel your cheeks heating up.

You were embarrassed and wanted to disappear. You shouldn’t have started such an awkward conversation. You wanted to travel back in time and pretend to be a good girlfriend!

You felt Yuuji’s fingers gently but firmly taking your hands off as the boy locked eyes with you.

“He touched you or forced to do something, didn’t he?!”

You could see tears gathering in Yuuji’s eyes and you felt your heart slowly breaking. You knew he was already blaming himself for allowing Sukuna to mess with you two. You were too shocked to even think of a proper response but Yuuji must have read your silence as a ‘yes’ because he let out a shaky sob as his head dropped.

“I shouldn’t have trusted him, what have I done... It’s all my fault, I’m so sorry y/n, please, forgive me...” You heard his sob and immediately wrapped around him; your own tears threatened to run down your cheeks. You had never felt so guilty in your life since that very moment.

“No, nonono, Yuuji, look at me.” You cupped his cheeks and lifted his head. Your eyes met with his and you touched foreheads with him. As ridiculous as it might sound, Sukuna had never forced you to anything despite Yuuji’s fears. You knew you had to reach Yuuji before he would lose it completely.

“I promise you for my cursed soul that he did nothing wrong.” You said firmly but it didn't work. Yuuji was still on the edge of breaking down completely.

You sighed deeply, collecting your thoughts. You pulled his head and hugged him to your chest. You felt him wrapping around you as he hid his face in your sweater. He was shaking, trying hard not to cry so loud. One of your hands started rubbing on his back, the other played with his hair, massaging his scalp. You started to explain everything, step by step, hoping he would listen and understand.

“The truth is that I’ve been thinking about us, four of us. I accepted you with Sukuna and you accepted me with Mimi… but recent events have helped me understand something… I tried to not believe in it. I promised myself to be open with you, to never have more secrets from you that’s why I’ve brought up this topic. I’ve started to doubt myself… and wanted to face it.”

Your words seemed to be working since Yuuji had stopped shaking and now was looking at you; his eyes still full of worry but he was listening to you closely, holding tight to you. He said nothing even if he looked confused but you knew he allowed you to speak your mind free.

“Sukuna has been helping us for a while, helping me especially. I know I shouldn’t think so highly of myself, that I supposed to be aware. He’s helping me for his own, twisted reason probably. I know I am silly and naive to trust him and to have faith in him, Mimi keeps warning me about him but… I just can’t ignore him.” Your voice shook a little but you swallowed the lump in your throat and continued.

“It doesn’t matter what others keep saying, I can’t see him as a bad guy. I may end up badly because of that, I know but all I want to do is to have a happy life with you… and him. He’s a part of you we can’t fight with or ignore forever… and I don’t want to treat him as my personal healer only. I just want to give him something from myself… Just a bit of kindness, understanding, a-affection… I believe he deserves to be treated with respect too, no matter what others see... P-Please, don’t think bad of me. I know how it looks like but…” You had broken down in the middle and you were shaking more and more in his arms. Tears were running down your cheeks as you tried to wipe them frantically.

“Yuuji, I love you, I truly do. With my soul and heart. I trust you and can’t live without you but...” You sobbed and paused, looking at him, ashamed and full of guilt.

“Is it possible to have feelings for… for two of you trapped in o-one body?”

You finally admitted that and sobbed more. You dropped your head, hiding your face and tears in his shoulder as you shyly hugged him.

You were ready for him to snap, to shove you off, to be angry and yell at you. You believed it would be impossible for him to accept the fact you started to have some feelings towards his inner demon, the one he hated the most, the one that was threatening to kill him.

You expected anything bad to happen. You knew you deserved it.

Strong and huge arms wrapped around your small frame and pulled you on his lap. You immediately clung to him, keeping your head low. Yuuji hugged you tight, hiding you in his body completely. You could feel he was shaking a little but he let out a shaky laugh and he kissed the top of your head.

“What am I supposed to say?”

You heard his soft voice against your hair as his hand started rubbing on your back. You two had been hugging each other in silence for a while, disturbed only by either your or his quiet sniff.

Yuuji was truly grateful you told him the truth. He was happy you trusted him enough to speak your mind free… no matter how hard or even weird the reality had just become. On one hand, he felt relieved… on the other, he knew he supposed to be honest with you too. Yuuji took a deep breath, pushing his fears away as he spoke:

“To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it too. About this… 'relationship' between the four of us... I… I started to doubt myself if I was good and strong enough for you. I wish I could be able to heal you and protect you like Sukuna. Sometimes I believe I don’t deserve you...”

You heard him explaining himself and at the last part, you squeezed him tight as if trying to say ‘no, don’t think like that!’. You didn’t dare to interrupt him since he hadn’t done that with you, that was why you let your actions speak louder than your words. You looked up and locked eyes with him. He was watching you with so much fondness and kind of comprehension. You almost melted in his arms, under his gaze full of love.

“I think I started to be jealous of his power… and got scared that he would… get you all for himself, use you, hurt you… I was getting worried whenever you were growing curious of him, that maybe one day he would be more interesting to you than I was… but, on the other hand, I was proud you weren’t scared of him. It only proved how awesome you are, how badass you are.” He grinned and chuckled weakly, you immediately followed, feeling your heart squeeze in your chest... but then he sighed in kind of defeat, smiling brokenly and you felt a pang of anxiety creeping into your soul.

“Now I can see you were trying to befriend him. You are truly a pure-hearted person... You see the good even in the King of Curses, huh? You are truly crazy… but it only makes me realize how much I love you and how this feeling is getting stronger, day by day.”

You let out a shaky gasp as your eyes widened at his confession, touching the very being of yours. A lone tear run down your cheek that Yuuji gently yet quickly wiped with his thumb. He leaned in and gently kissed your lips as his hands cupped your cheeks, holding you close.

You let out a small, shaky breath in relief and leaned in, kissing him softly as well. You felt him smiling against your lips as he looked deep into your eyes.

“I love you, y/n, truly. It’s still… a bizarre thought for me to let you trust Sukuna so openly but, on the other hand, who am I to stop him or you from… building up your relationship? I mean, I know he would mess with us one way or another since he doesn’t listen to me even if I say 'no' and try to block him but… but please, be careful still and… don’t let him force you to do anything. I would have never forgiven myself if he…” Yuuji paused, his brows furrowed in worry but you entwined fingers with his on your cheek and gently squeezed them. You shook your head and smiled softly.

“If he wanted me for fun and my body only, he would have done that a long time ago.” You assured Yuuji who gave a small nod, still trying to process everything.

“I want to believe that having him as a kind of ally won’t be a bad thing for us, that we can treat him as your… evil twin.” You added and made him blink in surprise and then he snorted.

“Evil twin? Ok, that’s adorable.” Yuuji admitted and you both chuckled. You stayed close, rubbing noses with each other. Emotions calmed down, dark and evil thoughts were slowly leaving your minds, letting you breathe in and out without a pang of guilt.

“I trust you, whatever you want to do, I trust you with your decisions.” Yuuji said quietly and hugged you tight. You wouldn’t have dreamt of a better response from him.

“Thank you.” You simply said and hugged him tightly, your heart still shaky but so light.

“Adorable. Anyway, is she finally and officially ours? Can we claim her now?”

You two paused in each other’s embrace after hearing a rough but surprisingly amused voice. You pulled away, your eyes widened when you looked into Sukuna’s red eye that had appeared on Yuuji’s cheek. He was wearing his signature grin and your heart involuntary skipped a bit.

Obviously, Sukuna had been listening to both of you but you hoped he wouldn’t have appeared so fast. Not knowing why, his words made you feel hot while your boyfriend immediately winced and blushed furiously.

“You always have to ruin everything, you asshole!” Yuuji snapped at Sukuna and slapped his cheek. You watched the mouth to appear on his other cheek, your eyes simply followed and stopped there.

“Ruin? You two are having sweet and lovely chitchat about me... without inviting me and asking for my opinion? How rude of you–” Yuuji slapped his other cheek, making you wince this time. You could see your boyfriend was merciful neither for Sukuna nor his reddening cheeks.

“Brat, you’re annoying and start getting on my nerves...” Sukuna grumbled lowly, appearing on Yuuji’s palm.

You saw Yuuji gritting his teeth, ready to slap the hell out of his palm but you squeaked quickly ‘no!’ and stopped his arm midway. He blinked and looked at you, confused and nervous.

“You’re hurting yourself, stop it.” You said firmly, eyeing his purple cheeks. He almost whined, bashful out of sudden but you saw Sukuna smirking widely, victorious.

“Exactly, brat. Stop hitting yourself. You might get stupider.” Sukuna barked and laughed evilly but you immediately put a finger on his mouth, shushing him. Both Sukuna and Yuuji were surprised, watching you with wide-open eyes.

“And you be nice!” You gave the demon a warning, your eyes furrowed as you raised a finger at him.

Sukuna blinked at that, dumbfounded. He believed he had seen a glimpse of yellow irises in your eyes. Meanwhile, Yuuji couldn’t help but snort at the situation, trying to stop his snickering. He simply got amused when he realized you were giving a reprimand to his hand on which the King of Curses had manifested.

Hearing brat’s snickering, Sukuna snapped from his bewilderment and pouted.

“Look at yourself. Being superior and bossy all of a sudden...” He murmured to you, making Yuuji watch him in shock and amusement. He had never believed or even thought that Sukuna could be ordered around… and actually, listen to someone. You only smirked at Sukuna and leaned closer to his small face; you didn’t miss his eye widening in surprise. He reminded you of a scolded child that was still trying to fight back.

“And look at you, my King. You clearly like it.”

Once again Sukuna was effectively shushed but that time he knew who was being so bossy and superior. His wide eye was watching your yellow irises in kind of shock and disbelief. He realized that the tables had turned quickly and he was played off by you… two of you, precisely.

Such clever, little beasts…

Maybe Sukuna would have said something, maybe he would have come up with a proper response but as soon as he heard laughing Yuuji, he accepted his ‘defeat’, only because for the sake of you. He furrowed his small brow, pouted at both of you and disappeared.

You immediately snapped from your daze and felt bad even if you were slightly amused by his childish yet adorable response. Maybe Yuuji’s laugh was too contagious because you started chuckling as well. You tried to shush him though but ended up being pulled on his lap as he hugged you tight.

“Now, I know I can be cool about that ‘sharing’. You’ve just proved to me you can handle him much better than anyone I know~”

Yuuji admitted and kissed your nose, making you blush and chuckle more. He knew you would be able to hold Sukuna in reins for sure.

~*~

Sukuna indeed had been listening to two of you, being so honest, so open, so happy and sappy... he almost felt sick. Damn lovebirds.

He furrowed brows and huffed in annoyance when Yuuji accused him of hurting you. The brat even dared to think Sukuna wanted to use you and hurt you in the worst possible way.

How low do you think of me, you asshole?

Sukuna might be the worst of the worst, he might hurt a lot of people… but still, he had his own rules and honour he followed. Having the woman against her will was still unacceptable for him. He was not into such a horrible and disgusting way of manipulating either.

His annoyance quickly dispersed when he heard your confession.

His four eyes widened a little when you admitted to having feelings towards him. Once again, he felt that weird aching in his heart that he couldn’t stop, no matter how hard he tried.

Ah, there you are… playing with me and my rotten soul again, Sukuna believed you bewitched him for real.

Yet, he couldn’t help but smile softly as his eyes hooded.

You had said you couldn’t hate him… Now he knew for sure that your feelings were truly opposite to hate.

As much as he hated seeing your tears, as much as his urge to soothe you was getting stronger, he knew he couldn’t just switch with Yuuji and hug you so tight you would melt into his embrace. After all, he didn’t want Yuuji to show his true feelings, especially if the brat saw him as an opponent.

Kind of declaration of war? I’m into it, brat.

Sukuna smirked to himself and chuckled. He preferred to keep playing his role of a bastard. Obviously, he would make an exception or two when it comes to you but still, he wouldn’t be himself if he didn't join the talk without messing with both of you.

He couldn’t help but love playing on Yuuji’s nerves… and interact with you more, hoping to see more of your (cute) reactions.

“Adorable. Anyway, is she finally and officially ours? Can we claim her now?”
.
.
.

Once again, the King wasn’t disappointed even if the tables had turned so suddenly in the middle of the conversation. Your sister and you literally played with him, maybe even ridiculed him in front of Yuuji... but – to his own surprise – he didn’t feel offended.

Sukuna didn’t want to show more of his cards even if he had a proper response for Mimi and you. He couldn't be too open with you, especially if Yuuji was watching and listening to him carefully. As with Megumi in that memorable morning, Sukuna decided to withdraw…

...but as soon as he entered his domain, he couldn’t help but laugh, freely, openly, almost… happily.

I am going crazy, that’s for sure, he thought to himself and slid claws in his hair, playing with his strawberry strands. When his chuckle was finally hushed, he smirked and purred.

He truly felt better when he was with you.

That kind of agreement between Yuuji, you and he would bring him more benefits than loss… and Sukuna would be the biggest idiot even if he didn’t use such an opportunity to be even closer with you. He didn’t mind to make another deal with Yuuji if you were the main prize.

That was why Sukuna decided to make it all clear as he invited the brat into his domain.

~*~

That night Yuuji found himself in Sukuna’s domain. He blinked in surprise and looked around, the place was as scary and eerie as he had remembered. Though, the boy was confused. What was he doing there? He couldn't remember the last time he had been there... He was not welcome in that place after all. Did he anger the King and now was in trouble? He believed and involuntary swallowed, looking up.

Sukuna was sitting on his bone throne, in his full glory. As always with bored expression yet piercing eyes; cheek rested on his knuckles, legs crossed. His appearance was literally asserting domination, the superiority that Yuuji would never achieve.

But Yuuji had such stubbornness that the King found both amusing and infuriating.

Even if the boy had looked surprised in the beginning, he was watching the King with toughness written on his face. His bended knees were ready to run and jump on the curse, his clenched fists eager to beat Sukuna… or at least to try.

“As always looking at me with fury.” Sukuna broke the silence as the first; his voice low, bored but still mocking. Yuuji only grinned ugly.

“As always looking at me with grudge.” Yuuji retorted and heard Sukuna sighing deeply, unamused.

“What do you want? You clearly want something if you summoned me here… Last time I was dead when you– ...I am not dead, am I now?” Yuuji doubted for a second, a shiver run down his spine. What if the King had killed him in his sleep only to take control of his body and-

Yuuji felt the shift of cursed energy and blinked… Sukuna was gone from his throne; but before Yuuji was able to look around and get ready for an attack, he heard the annoyed voice on his right.

“No, you’re still alive but you’re sure too loud.”

Yuuji instinctively jumped away, looking at Sukuna with frantic eyes. He raised his fists and bared his teeth. To his surprise, Sukuna looked... calm.

The King just stood there, hands hidden in the sleeves of his white kimono. He was watching Yuuji with bored eyes, one brow was cocked as if he was showing off his displeasure towards the boy’s rude behaviour.

“Chill your ass. I want to talk.” Sukuna gruffed and rolled his eyes when Yuuji looked at him dumbfounded.

“Talk? About what?!” He was truly loud, too loud; but Sukuna wasn’t in the mood to slice Yuuji’s head, not that time.

“I wanted to make it all clear. The whole… agreement between three of us.” He said and his words must have put Yuuji’s guard down because the boy lowered his hands, watching the King with big eyes. He was surely surprised but still aware of the potential danger. After all, he was talking with the King of Mischief and Wordplay.

“What is it then?” Yuuji asked slowly, his eyes observant. He could see that Sukuna was unusually serious… and Yuuji realized it made him feel anxious more than if Sukuna used to laugh at or mock him before.

Sukuna’s four eyes were watching Yuuji, reading him easily. He was secretly amused by the brat’s doubts and fears but still, he had no respect towards him since Yuuji had never shown him respect. Something for something, after all.

“I’m doing that for y/n’s sake, not yours. Don’t think so highly of yourself. We haven’t become cool friends nor brothers out of a sudden. I’m not gonna treat you any special way.”

Yuuji blinked at that statement and Sukuna could see a tiny pang of sorrow that had appeared in the boy’s eyes before he furrowed brows at the King, wearing his casual-angry expression.

“Sure thing. As if I ever was someone special to you, my beloved King...” He hissed and bowed mockingly. Sukuna’s eye ticked and a pulsating vein appeared in his forehead.

The King truly hated his ungrateful vessel… but he said nothing. He watched Yuuji, reading his mind, feeding on his doubt and guilt, on his fear and anxiety.

The brat didn’t want to lose with him, the King, which meant he didn’t want to lose you, to give up on you so easily… even if he had agreed on such terms with you and then with Sukuna while his heart was full of fear and the feeling of being powerless.

Yuuji clearly didn't like the idea of Sukuna being a part of his relationship with you.

Sukuna watched as Yuuji averted his eyes and sighed deeply, ruffling his hair; the King knew such gesture was his nervous habit and the boy seemed to be thinking hard. He waited patiently, slightly curious of Yuuji’s next words. He could almost hear the hum of gears in his head. For a second Sukuna believed they were about to overheat and he would watch Yuuji’s brain explode with such amusement. Unfortunately, his vessel might be dumb but was surely resilient.

“It’s still an odd thought for me to… share y/n with you but I am doing that for her sake too. I just don’t want to see her sad or hurt. Not anymore.” Yuuji said finally, his eyes determined and with a hidden shine, looking directly at the King.

Then there are two of us.

The King didn’t say it aloud but he – to his own surprise – identified with Yuuji’s words. He would never admit Yuuji for having any good feeling inside of him, especially not towards you. It was easier to pretend to be a bad guy than explain himself in front of some stupid teenager. As if Sukuna cared for Yuuji’s feelings and vice versa.

After all, the King had a reputation to hold.

“Sharing is caring, Yuuji.” Sukuna couldn’t be himself if he didn’t mock Yuuji more than once. He chuckled and grinned ugly when Yuuji huffed at him, clearly offended.

“As if you know something about it, you selfish asshole!” Sukuna clicked his tongue and shook his head, clearly displeased.

“Ungrateful snot.” He hissed at his vessel, leaning over.

“Old fart.” Yuuji spat and grinned victoriously when he spotted more pulsating veins in Sukuna’s forehead.

“Indeed, I am much older than you. That’s why I believe you should respect me at least for my bigger knowledge, you minger.” Sukuna growled lowly, his eyes flashed with red magic but Yuuji seemed to be unaware of already being in the fire rather than start playing with the fire.

“In your dreams!” He huffed and folded his arms on his chest, looking away.

Sukuna knew he could have such a ‘lovely’ conversation with Yuuji for eternity that was why he decided to stop it there. He would be the adult that Yuuji needed but was not aware of it yet. That was why Sukuna ignored the boy and was ready to send him back to reality without further explanation, but Yuuji’s next words made him pause.

“Do you love y/n?”

Sukuna’s heart skipped a beat and he was grateful that Yuuji couldn’t read his thoughts. He wore his neutral expression when he slowly turned his head towards Yuuji, looking bored and unaffected as always.

“Don’t be ridiculous now.”

Yuuji was watching him carefully, concentrated; his brows furrowed, body tense. He didn’t want to give up, not yet. He was looking for anything on Sukuna’s face that would betray him.

Good luck, brat.

“Do you have any warm feeling towards y/n as she has towards you?”

Sukuna’s eyes widened for a mere second as he lifted his chin, looking down on Yuuji. The King was clearly judging him for making such ludicrous assumptions.

As if I ever tell you the truth, you fool.

Sukuna decided to play it smart. He smirked and then laughed at Yuuji’s words; the boy was obviously confused.

“I’ll tell you what is love...” Sukuna started and grinned, leaning in. His four eyes were shining, literally eating Yuuji, making him uncomfortable.

“It’s a curse, the oldest and merciless one. You’ve been clearly cursed with love, brat. You want to protect y/n at the price of your life and sanity. Very heroic… and very stupid.” Sukuna made a step towards Yuuji and smirked when the boy stepped back, watching the King with big and confused eyes. He could almost smell fear from the brat as he was waiting for King’s next words.

“I am already a curse, the worst one. I can’t be struck with something so ridiculous as love. Never forget it.” The King hissed, his grin dropped and eyes lit with red magic in a warning, literally drilling in his vessel. He had waited for Yuuji’s small nod before he straightened up and turned his back towards the boy.

“Now, get out of my domain before I wake you up with my brutal methods.”

Sukuna didn’t look at Yuuji but he could sense his shock, confusion and then... sorrow.

“You have a twisted logic of love. I almost pity you… Almost.” Yuuji said with a stern voice. Sukuna let out a seething growl and immediately slashed his clawed hand through the air towards Yuuji... but instead of slicing the boy, one of the old skulls took his hit, shattering into pieces and falling into the red waters of his domain.

“You’re lucky this time, brat.”

Sukuna growled lowly and furrowed brows, hiding his hand back into the soft material of his kimono. He was alone, as he supposed to be. The silence set in his domain and his eyes focused on the part of his domain hidden in the darkness.

He won, he made it all clear. He showed Yuuji who was the boss.

...why then Sukuna could still feel the tightness in his chest?

That is truly ridiculous.

~*~

The next morning was rare for you those days because Yuuji had a day off. He didn’t have to wake up before you, leave you alone in bed and go on a mission. You didn’t have to spend the day in your room, praying for your friends’ safety and waiting for them to come back, waiting for them like a puppy would wait for its owner’s return.

You woke up early, as always. It was still dim in the room but it didn’t stop you to feel your boyfriend being curled around you. You smiled sleepily and slowly turned around, nuzzling into his chest.

Yuuji had a habit to sleep shirtless. He could wear trousers, shorts and even socks but he had to be topless. He had explained himself that he simply loved the feeling of your warmth on his skin. He was clearly touch-starved, liked skin-to-skin experience even if he had never been too frisky to make you uncomfortable.

Not that you were complaining though. As much as it might sound pervy, you loved such an experience too. You got used to his hot skin against your back, his hands entwining with yours. You loved nuzzling your face into his neck, rub his back and watch him slowly waking up. His usual expression was going from goofy to wearing a big smile, he usually hummed and curled around you more as if silently asking for more pets. You usually obliged, happy.

The previous evening was important for both of you. You still couldn't believe your luck, that everything went rather smoothly and the three of you made a kind of agreement. It wasn’t a dream, it was your reality.

After all, making kind of agreement with his inner demon wasn’t an easy task for him. Still, you hoped it would be good for all of you. Better that than constant fighting, jealousy and a lot of misunderstanding.

You truly loved Yuuji. You knew you owed him a lot. Would your love and adoration be enough for him to repay your debt? You hoped so. You had promised to be by his side till the end of your days. You had promised to spoil him more, to bring him the happiness he deserved for going to hell and back for you.

Talking of being spoiled…

Since you had woken up first (as usual), you decided to show Yuuji your appreciation and give him some pets. Your eyes were still closed as you pressed closer to him, wrapping your small arms around his broad chest. Your hands started tracing his spine as your face nuzzled up to his chin. You hummed against his throat, gently kissing his Adam’s apple.

You felt him shift slightly, his hands wrapped around you, pressing you closer to his sturdy body. You smirked against his skin and nipped at his neck, peppering him with soft kisses.

You could sense he was slowly waking up and you felt victorious...

...but your smile dropped and your body froze when – instead of a happy hum – you heard a rumbling purr.

At that very moment, you knew Yuuji wasn’t there with you. You knew who would purr so dangerously yet seductively at the same time, making your body pause and your heart skip a beat. You knew that purring too well.

Your eyes immediately opened wide and you saw familiar black patterns running down the boy’s chest.

As if sensing your obvious mistake – and your poor attempts to wiggle free – the demon possessing your boyfriend’s body let out a cackle as he curled around you more, trapping you in his arms. You let out a high-pitched squeak as your cheeks were squished to his chest and you prayed he didn’t sense the hotness that spread over your reddening face. You felt a clawed hand gently playing with your hair as the man purred again against the top of your head.

“My, my. The first day of our agreement and you’re already getting frisky?” His voice was rough yet lazy, sending shivers down your spine. You sensed him leaning in, you could feel his smirk against your earlobe.

“Naughty girl.”

You believed your heart exploded at that moment, both from embarrassment and sudden excitement.

“I’m s-sorry!” You squeaked and tried to pull away, clearly panicking and not thinking straight. “I touched and kissed you without y-your permission, I didn’t mean to! I thought i-it was Yuuji!” You explained yourself but you failed at getting free, again. His arms were stern around you but not oppressive as he held you close.

Sukuna rumbled again, as if annoyed (either at your words or your general rudeness) but he leaned closer, humming lowly. You could feel his hot breath over your temple and you instinctively closed your eyes, whining slightly.

You wanted the earth to open beneath you and swallow you whole. You felt so embarrassed, so hot… you must have looked so bad in his eyes, you knew it. Oh, you had a feeling he was going to mock you and judge you, ohhh you could feel him grinning like a Cheshire cat already.

You were getting ready for his judgement. Bring it on!

...but another minute passed and Sukuna did nothing nor he did say anything.

...was he gone?

Did he leave you out of sudden? Was it his new way of playing with your already poor heart, the ‘cold bastard’ play? Cast a bait and run away?

You found enough courage to peek up at him.

Your eyes met with four crimson irises watching you still with unbearable amusement.

You involuntary shivered, let out a small squeak and you quickly hid your face, resting your forehead against his chest. You kept your eyes down, your cheeks were hot and red but you prayed he didn’t see it because of the dim light in your room.

You heard him cackle as he pulled you closer, his nose nuzzled to the top of your head.

“You’re blushing… because of me? Adorable~”

Obviously, he saaaaaw it! What did you expect anyway? He was a demon, he probably was able to see in darkness! Ohhh, you knew he was going to be smug about it later, he was already proud, damn bastard!

You said nothing more but you pouted. He had to either feel it or see it with one of his four eyes because his hands sneaked into your hair, his clawed fingers started playing with your strands.

At that moment, you realized that – despite his usual mocking, sometimes harsh words – he always held you in his arms as if you were made of glass. Soft, gentle yet firm touches, so rare to experience them from the King of Curses yet not unpleasant… or unwelcome.

“I’ve never said you need to have my permission.”

You heard him after another minute of awkward (for you) silence. You blinked at that and looked up. His face was neutral but you could see the joy in his eyes. You nodded slowly and allowed yourself to relax in his arms. That was… rather nice of him to say. You didn’t expect such words from him anyway.

“You surprised me… So I wanted to make sure I didn’t offend you.” You admitted quietly and heard him sigh deeply.

“If only the brat was as polite as you are...” You cocked a brow at that but the King said no more. You decided to not push your luck and spoil his good mood with your silly questions. You could guess his words revolved around Yuuji, though...

You realized you had a good opportunity and you wanted to use it.

You had had an honest talk with Yuuji, it was time to have an honest talk with Sukuna. Even if the circumstances were odd and you clearly hadn't expected him to appear so fast, in your bed, with you wrapped around him, in the very morning precisely, but still, you two were alone.

“So… I think we have to talk about… agreement–”

“I think we don’t have to.”

Sukuna cut you off, his voice clear but without heat. You blinked at that, slightly confused. You had a lot of things to explain, to make yourself clear and you knew Sukuna owed you at least one explanation as well.

“Let my actions speak louder than my words.”

You heard his soft whisper and felt his lips on top of your head, gently kissing your hair. You paused in his arms, almost forgetting how to breathe. Your eyes were wide, your cheeks started to heat up again and you believed your poor heart was already gone, exploded from unbearable joy.

Such a simple sentence resolved your doubts and his action indeed spoke louder than any words.

You couldn’t help but chuckle as you admitted with a weak voice:

“...s-same then.”

You heard Sukuna’s breath hitch and then he purred, hugging you tight. He hid his face in your hair but you could feel his big smile. You let yourself be free and you wrapped your hands around his back, pressing to his inked body.

Despite hugging your boyfriend’s inner demon, the feeling and sensation felt so right.

Chapter Text

💙 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! YOU GUYS ROCK! 💙

~*~

Sukuna would never say it aloud but he hated being far away from you.

You stopped going on missions with Yuuji and friends and he hated not seeing you around them all the time. He had asked Yuuji what was going on. The brat explained you were grounded by that blue-eyed bastard and you were locked in your room for a while. He hated that for real. As if you were safe in the school, among those good-for-nothing cowards…

Sukuna was truly growing angry and impatient whenever Yuuji was sent on a mission. Once again, he wished he had a separate body, he would have avoided being stuck with Yuuji all the time and be forced to watch such ridiculous missions. Instead, he would have spent more time with you.

“Just do it quickly and get back to school.” Sukuna liked to rush Yuuji in his mind.

“I'm trying, ok?” Yuuji growled back at Sukuna, keeping their conversation inside his head. He could see Sukuna was slowly getting possessive of you and having you around. To be honest, Yuuji preferred to keep you at his arm’s length too but he knew better than to not go against orders and get into the headmaster’s black books. It was hard to admit but he sympathized with his demon at that time.

“Don’t worry about y/n. She’s safe with Nanamin.” Yuuji added later, his inner voice quiet and unusually soft. He heard Sukuna’s ugly snort in annoyance but the King said nothing more. As if he had to explain himself in front of Yuuji.

Ridiculous, the King said to himself, sighing deeply.

As always Sukuna was spectating everything though Yuuji’s eyes. Even if he didn’t like it, it was better than watching his darkness and bloody water around or counting skulls and bones above him over and over again. The two first missions were baby-mode like, not even worth remembering. They made Sukuna yawn a lot and soon the demon dozed off for a few minutes.

But during the third mission, something interesting happened.

“Fuck, a special grade curse here?! How did we not sense it?!” Nobara was yelling, her iron nails were flying in the air, hitting the curse that was roaring at them, disturbed and growing angry.

“I will be a bait for now!” Yuuji shouted and jumped away, thinking about some decent plan while Fushiguro summoned Nue to distract the curse and help Nobara with getting through the solid armour.

As soon as the curse appeared, Sukuna’s domain literally shuddered, waking up the bored King. He blinked lazily, annoyed but then his senses sharpened as he felt something so interesting, so unusual, rather impossible and yet right in front of him; something he had never even dreamt of. Four of his eyes opened wide and glowed with red magic as he got back to spectating.

He saw the curse, large and powerful that was attacking the team. It was white and had red eyes; a special grade curse that looked like an albino, interesting. It was still offending to him to even think he was put in the same line with these beasts. What a sick joke. Truly, shamans were driving him crazy with their lack of knowledge, despite the millennia to learn.

But as much as Sukuna loved to curse the world and shamans, he had something better to focus on. He sat straight on his throne of bones and skulls as he took a sniff. His body paused and his eyes widened. He believed he was a victim of a very sick joke that Mother Nature decided to play on him.

But he was The King of Curses, he never made mistakes. He obviously felt that in the curse. He felt that and smelled it, very faint but surely here. He had been finally able to name that faint scent around you when he had entered your nightmare that night. He had been able to make it real and create a soothing meadow just for kid-you. No wonder the scent was so familiar to Sukuna those days, too familiar it made his stomach twist with anger.

A scent of red spider lilies.

The smell of your domain.

The smell of your cursed soul.

He realized that the curse had to be one of those who had been torturing you as a kid; because of devouring your unique soul, the curse had grown unique abilities and appearance too. That was why the spirit was able to hide from the sorcerers for a long time. That was why it was stronger than the usual curse. It all made sense to the King…

...and that’s why Sukuna could smell it. That piece of shit had a piece of your pure soul in itself.

That was unacceptable.

Sukuna’s domain shuddered violently as he snarled menacingly. His cursed energy burst around, making skulls fall from the pile and rattle under the pressure.

He didn’t question his next move, he didn’t spend a mere second to even think of the consequences. All he just wanted was to kill that curse personally and suck the essence out of it. You supposed to be his trophy. Such a low-level beast didn’t deserve to have a piece of you combined with its rotten soul...

If the King wanted something, he simply went for it.

Sukuna switched with Yuuji within a few seconds, the echo of his low and dangerous laugh run around the field, making everyone freeze in fear.

Megumi and Nobara sensed the rapidly growing cursed energy in his friend and instinctively jumped away; they were confused and shocked as they watched the appearance of King in disbelief.

“What is he doing here?” Nobara hissed nervously at Megumi, the sweat run down her chin. Megumi’s eyes were wide as well, he shook his head, purely confused.

“I… don’t know...” He whispered weakly, his blue eyes were watching Sukuna with slight fear.

“What are we doing then?” Nobara asked, nervous. She prepared her hammer but Megumi could see her hands were shaking even if the girl tried to hide it.

Megumi knew that they had no chance to fight against Sukuna… but he believed that the King didn’t appear without a solid reason. Megumi wanted to believe that Sukuna wasn’t there to hunt them… but still, why was he there?

It didn’t make sense to Megumi why Sukuna had appeared since you weren’t with them, you weren’t in danger… and yet the King was there to help them? Was that even possible to receive his help for nothing in exchange, just because the King felt whimsy?

Megumi’s mind was working hard but he stuck to the one option that surely was crazy even for him but it could be their best option.

“We… are waiting and watching for now. Just stay close to me.”

Meanwhile, the white curse sensed the King himself and roared in fear, squirming away. It tried to run but Sukuna was faster. One blow of his clawed hand in the air shattered the curse, and to make it hurt more, the King set the curse on fire as well.

His crimson eyes were watching as purple-blue flames were devouring the beast. Its screams of agony were truly amusing to the King and he chuckled quietly, darkly. His clawed hand flew into the fire – without damaging him obviously – and he gently grasped something invisible to the shamans but so precious to him. He pulled his hand back to his chest, opened his claws and looked down, grinning like crazy.

There was a small white orb in his opened palm, shivering slightly. Its foggy tail wrapped around his finger and the orb seemed to be looking at him, confused and scared.

The King would love to look at the orb for a little while longer but he didn’t know how much time he had left before Yuuji would be able to switch back with him. He didn’t want to risk losing such a treasure he literally ripped out for himself from the rotten curse.

Sukuna gently embraced the orb with his other palm and chuckled quietly when the white essence bumped into his skin, squeaking like a scared animal.

“Don’t worry, little one. You’re safe now because...” He whispered with unusual softness but his eyes lit up with crimson magic out of sudden as he leaned in, baring his sharp teeth.

“...you’re mine.”

He purred in possessive amusement and his tongue leaped down, suckling the squeaking essence out of his palm without a further warning. He easily swallowed the white soul, his throat bobbed in wild satisfaction.

Sukuna straightened up, his chin looked up as he closed his eyes and opened his arms. He hummed in pleasure, feeling the essence spreading in his body, settling in his soul, making him stronger… and hungry for more.

Divine… Indeed, the best snack.

Sukuna purred darkly, veins popped in his arms and hands as he flexed his claws in the air.

“More… More! Give me more!” He called out, knowing that someone had been watching and listening to him. His roaring laughter reverberated around, the cold wind howled along...

...but the evil laughter halted as fast as it appeared and Sukuna wasn’t able to have more fun; Yuuji had forced the switch, pulling the King back into his domain.

“Wait, what?” Yuuji whispered, confused by the scene in front of him. He looked around, seeing only ashes left from the beast. Sukuna… had killed the curse? Yuuji was hit with a pang of fear that somehow Nobara and Megumi had been killed and turned into ashes too but his heart found relief as soon as he heard Megumi’s voice behind.

“Yuuji!”

“Oh, Dear Kami, thank you! Are you two ok?” Yuuji asked, clearly touched when his friends approached him, his hands were shaking a little. Meanwhile, Nobara was fuming.

“Are we ok? What the fuck was that? Why did Sukuna change with you? I thought you had better control over him!” She was yelling, threatening Yuuji to hit him. The boy was already apologising, feeling bad, guilty and embarrassed.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry! I am as confused as you are! I’m glad he didn’t hurt you though– Ouch!” Nobara landed a slap across his arm, making him wince and apologise even with more desperation.

Meanwhile, Megumi focused on something intriguing. He stepped closer to the burnt area, looking at the ashes. He swore he had sensed something unusual in that curse… and he knew Sukuna sensed that too. That was why he killed the curse without any mercy. That soul was completely destroyed and couldn’t reborn in a new life. The King himself judged the soul… what for though?

The King was always clever, no wonder he had hidden himself with fire, hiding his actions from shamans... but Megumi swore he had seen him pulling something out of the curse, then he ate it and called someone. Megumi had more questions than answers at that point. All of it was at least disturbing for the young shaman. Anything he thought of made no sense. After all, why the King of Curses would like to ‘eat’ cursed energy since he had an endless amount of power within himself?

It’s not going to be the first and last time… That’s for sure.

Whatever the King had in plans, Megumi had a feeling that something bad had just started. He didn’t like the feeling that had settled in his soul after witnessing the execution. It reminded him how cruel and raw with his power and need Sukuna could be.

And yet, his common sense was drowned out but his gut feeling.

“We are not going to mention that in the report.” Megumi said loud out of sudden, turning towards arguing Yuuji and Nobara. They immediately paused and blinked at him in surprise and disbelief. Did they hear it right?

“What do you mean?!” Nobara yelled, agitated. She started to have enough of these dumbasses. First was Yuuji with his not so strong self-control and then Megumi was talking like a damned.

“I know it sounds crazy but... Sukuna must have had a reason. He attacked only the curse. He helped us… but it's better to keep it between us and not put Yuuji in a bad light for elders.” Megumi explained and Yuuji didn’t know if he should be grateful for his friend of thinking about his sake… or be scared that Megumi was growing trust in Sukuna. Was the King’s plan to steal Yuuji’s best friend for himself as well? Yuuji hoped not.

Meanwhile, Sukuna was laughing darkly in his domain, listening to and watching the whole situation. Yuuji was truly amusing with his fears while Megumi’s action somehow made him feel proud of the young shaman.

Good pet, Sukuna thought and ‘disconnected’ from Yuuji. He heard and saw enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Because of such events, he had better things to do and he couldn’t wait to finally focus on them. He was literally purring when he stood up and looked around the pile of bones.

“I know you’re hiding. Come on, get out.” He called with an amused, clear voice. He was far from being angry at that time even if he didn’t like to play in hide-and-seek.

“You’re in my domain, silly. I can sense you, I can smell you. Come on, don’t be shy...” He teased with a sweet voice, eyes already focused on a particular skull as he started stepping down, slowly, carefully. At that point, he was like a man that was approaching a scared kitten. He could hear small squeaks of fear from the inside of the hollow skull.

He crouched next to the bones and smirked, outstretching his hand.

“There, there, come on.” He whispered softly, watching the shivering skull with childish amusement yet so grown-up patience.

The white orb shyly peeked from the hollow eye of the bone, watching his clawed hand. It looked up, right in four eyes watching it intently and squeaked, hiding again.

Sukuna sighed and sat down, open hand remained close to the skull. Since he swallowed the essence, it was already his no matter how hard it tried to hide. It was truly a matter of time that the soul would see him as a friend, not an abuser. The King hoped it would grow fond of him as much as he was already fond of it. Apparently, he had all the time in the world to wait and see; being trapped for a thousand years and acting as cursed objects helped him mastered the virtue called patience.

After a few minutes of waiting in silence, the soul peeked again. That time it didn’t shiver nor squeaked in fear. Sukuna could sense the little one was confused and wary. He couldn’t help but smirk when the soul carefully approached its palm, its foggy tail twirled around, gently touching his claws. The King didn’t dare to move, giving the small soul time it needed. The small soul truly acted like a kitten; it sniffed his fingers, then flew around his hand as if checking for traps. Sensing absolutely nothing bad, it finally decided to give it a try as it settled shyly on his palm.

Sukuna let out a rumbling purr in contentment and very carefully raised his hand, leaning in. The small orb twirled between his fingers, squeaking in a warning. Sukuna found it rather adorable.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. You’re too precious to be ill-treated.” He explained and gently touched the soul with his claw. The essence was soft and silky, half-transparent but somehow squishy. Sukuna involuntary pressed too much and the soul made out a loud squeak in discomfort. It twirled angrily and bapped his claw with its tail. Obviously, it didn’t hurt but Sukuna blinked at that and quickly pulled his finger away. He watched the soul squeaking at him, clearly angry. The King couldn’t help but bark with laughter.

“Ohh, aren’t you just adorable, little one?” He teased and chuckled more when the soul hissed at him and flew to his face, bumping angrily into his cheeks.

“Hmm, keep going, it’s rather ticklish.” He chuckled and closed his main eyes, letting his smaller watch the soul with amusement. The white orb was still angry but got flustered. It squeaked for the last time and then dove into his scarf, hiding in the soft material.

Sukuna opened his eyes lazily, a big smile was plastered on his face as he watched the soul settling in. He purred and got up, getting back to his throne.

“Fine by me, little one.” He said and gently petted the soul through the silky material.

Sukuna settled on his throne with a content sigh. He was so lucky that day, once again he hit a jackpot. He was no longer alone in his domain but he surely had to keep it secret from others, Yuuji especially. Sukuna’s fingers gently petted the soul through his scarf and he sensed its small purring. The King couldn’t feel more victorious and he grinned widely, his eyes glowed with crimson magic.

“Just you wait, my little. I will hunt all those fuckers for you.”

~*~

The same situation appeared the next day, on mission number two. Once again, Sukuna appeared from nowhere just to blow the hell out of the curse and possess something precious to him. Megumi was with Yuuji and, once again, the young shaman was both petrified and amazed. He started to see a pattern. It was an albino curse again, special grade, with a very odd cursed magic. Megumi could see that Sukuna had an interest only in that type of curses since he had done nothing during their previous mission.

While Megumi was thinking hard, trying to find a proper theory, Yuuji was growing anxious and scared. Sukuna used to stay out of his missions… but suddenly he was gaining more power. Yuuji feared that Sukuna was ‘training’ to possess his body for good. He didn’t want to think of the possible outcome of that. He simply feared what Sukuna could have done to his school, to his friends… even to you. Agreement or not, Sukuna was still infamous the King of Curses, the pure evil.

Even if Sukuna seemed to be helping him by killing the curses with one hit, Yuuji would be stupid to just ignore it and be happy about it. After all, Sukuna had said they were no friends nor brothers. He was still wary of the King.

“W-What the hell was that?!” Yuuji yelled at Sukuna inside his head, clearly panicked.

“I was bored.” Sukuna said with his casual coldness as if the situation was pretty normal and Yuuji was - as always - exaggerating everything. The boy blinked in surprise, his eyes wide, full of confusion and disbelief. He said nothing more, he knew the demon would ignore him anyway... but the feeling of becoming powerless was creeping into Yuuji's heart more and more.

Meanwhile, Sukuna was grinning like a Cheshire cat, sitting on his throne in full glory and victory.

He believed he wouldn’t be so lucky and had to wait a long time for another ‘treat’. Yet, to his own surprise, the King was truly blessed when another special curse was sent to him the very next day. His demand had been heard by the other demon and he was truly amused. He easily took the curse down, possessed its essence and got back to his domain as if nothing bad happened. He started to like that game called ‘hunt’. He finally found a distraction, a way to entertain himself when you were not around.

It was already a lucky day for Sukuna when he got not only one but two special curses on his plate.

The third curse appeared on mission number four. The rules had been set, truly simple. Sukuna switched with Yuuji, killed the curse mercilessly (he found a way to stretch his bones and recalled some of the punishing methods of killing, because why he would be merciless for them since they had been nowhere merciless towards you?), sucked its essence and disappeared.

It would be all perfect if not because of Yuuji who totally freaked out.

“No! I have enough! What the fuck are you doing!?” Yuuji called aloud, outstretching his hands, watching intently and waiting for Sukuna to appear on one of his palms and face him. The King was in a good mood so he appeared on Yuuji’s cheek instead; a grin was plastered on his small lips.

“What are you talking about?” Sukuna almost purred, looking up at Yuuji. He didn’t miss Megumi’s eyes on them, observant as always.

“Stop appearing out of sudden! You’re scaring me and everyone around!”

Sukuna could feel Yuuji’s hammering chest and trebling insides. He rarely had a chance to get on his nerves with such intensity. Sukuna believed he found another way to entertain himself, the way that Yuuji wouldn’t like for sure. Sukuna played along, hummed at Yuuji’s words almost innocently.

“Megumi doesn’t seem to be scared, rather intrigued…” He pouted and then grinned, focusing on the young shaman. Megumi sent him a glare and turned around, watching the blood and dust splattered on the ground. Once again, merciless, cruel way of killing the albino curse. Meanwhile, Yuuji was still relentless.

“Just stop it! You will get us into trouble!” Sukuna was growing annoyed, the brat was always too loud to his taste.

“I can do what I want–”

“As if!” Yuuji fumed and slapped Sukuna’s small face, forcing the King to disappear. He didn’t want to be mocked again. He had enough of his inner demon and his childish behaviour.

Megumi could see his friend was both angry and petrified. He didn’t blame him. Megumi bet he wouldn't have behaved better if he had had an ancient demon inside of him, acting up too often.

Yuuji’s fists were clenched and the boy was breathing fast and shallow. His eyes were unfocused, he was clearly falling into a panic attack... but suddenly, Megumi’s strong squeeze on his shoulder brought him back to reality and he snapped from such a dizzying state.

“I’ve got you. Always.” Megumi said loud and clear and Yuuji let out a deep sigh in relief.

He could read a lot from that simple statement, it was enough for him to calm down a little bit.

Still, Yuuji prayed none of them was in danger because of Sukuna’s reckless behaviour.

~*~

“I swear to Kami-sama, you better find the object and get back here.”

Nanami was on the phone, staying on the roof. He had been watching his students under the radar. He had promised Gojou to keep an eye on his students and be in touch with him, keep informing him about unusual events. Gojou didn’t want to make another mistake; he had learnt his lesson after that memorable evening. Sukuna’s words, even if kind of truthful, had poisoned the shaman badly.

“How bad the situation is?” Gojou asked, surprisingly serious. Nanami only clicked his tongue.

“The third special grade curse has appeared, obviously right under Sukuna’s teeth. It’s not normal that they spawn so often. Someone has to be in control of them...”

Nanami’s observant eyes looked around, searching for any sign of another curse that might be with them, watching and enjoying the show. Unfortunately, he could sense nothing.

Either there was no one around… or that someone had clever tricks to use and mislead the shaman.

“I think we both are thinking of the same man.” Nanami only huffed at that statement from his friend.

“No shit, Sherlock.” The shaman had to pull his phone away when Gojou laughed hard, making him wince.

“Ah, you always lift my spirits, Nanami.” The shaman said nothing but he was listening to Gojou still while watching his students leaving the field.

“I’ll be back in a few days. Take care, Kento.”

“Same.” Nanami was ready to hang up but he heard Gojou’s usually weak voice:

“Thank you for doing that.”

The man cocked a brow at his phone, clearly surprised and then he sighed.

“You’re still an idiot.” He said grumpily and clicked the red button, hiding the phone in his suit. The man sighed deeply, the wind played with his hair.

“We both are idiots.” Nanami whispered to himself, eyeing the dark clouds.

The storm was coming.

Chapter Text

“Wha... What are you doing?”

You blinked in surprise and tilted your head, seeing Yuuji in the doorframe.

“Oh, you're back, hi!” You said with a peppy voice and grinned happily. Your boyfriend was standing still, watching you with big eyes... and a slight blush on his face.

“Are… uhm, you ok? Do you need help?” You tilted your head again and looked up, confused.

You realized that your yoga pose might look either painful or hard to do for an amateur but it was a piece of cake for you. You grinned happily, straightening your legs as you kept your weight on your arms.

“Ah, no worries, just stretching~” You said nonchalantly and opened your legs in the air, keeping the balance.

“You’re calling that pose a stretching?!” Yuuji called out, clearly becoming red. You couldn’t help but laugh at his obvious flushing. He looked both shocked and… maybe a little bit aroused? His face was just adorable, that was for sure.

Yuuji knew you were grounded by Gojou and had to wait for his return to start your training. He also knew that you hated sitting still in your room and sooner or later your unused energy would burst. That was why you had started exercising, saying you wanted to keep up with him and friends and be in shape. The last thing you wanted to do was being too lazy and forget how to fight. You used the school gym from time to time to lift weights or run on the treadmill but you spent most of the time in your room. You preferred to do stretching; it was the best way to keep you concentrated and relaxed at the same time. Plus, your muscles were staying in shape, being tough and agile.

Yuuji swallowed thickly, eyeing your body. You were dressed in tight black leggings and a red tank-top, shoeless. Your hair was tied in a bun and you had black forearm pads on which you were now leaning your body weight. Yuuji couldn’t help but see you looking so adorable yet sexy like that.

Apparently, his inner demon seemed to be pleased as well.

“I didn’t know she was that agile...”  Sukuna murmured in Yuuji’s mind. The boy involuntary nodded... and then furrowed brows. Did he just unconsciously agree with Sukuna? Unbelievable!

“Me neither… Oi, stop looking at my girlfriend.”

“I see what you see. You’re the one scanning her body, you pervert.”  Yuuji immediately turned around, clearly busted. He pouted, still red; his heart was hammering in hidden excitement.

“Oi, who told you to turn around. Get back.”  Sukuna ordered deadpan and Yuuji snorted in obvious victory.

“Ohh? What was that? Who is the pervert now, huuh?”  He teased Sukuna and involuntary shivered when he felt the demon’s eyes forming on his nape.

“You’re such a pussy.” He heard Sukuna’s bored voice from behind and yelped in surprise, slapping the small face out of instincts.

“Stop it!” He called with a squeaky voice to his demon and jolted when he suddenly felt a small hand squeezing his arm. He whipped around, looking down, clearly startled. He hadn’t seen when you stopped exercising and quietly approached him. His body instinctively tensed when his eyes involuntary eyed you again.

Why were you so small and so cute? Looking so innocent yet sexy at the same time, that should be illegal! All Yuuji wanted to do at that very moment was to crush you hard against his body and hold you forever!

“Amateur… but still, a pervert.”

“Shut up!” He called aloud at Sukuna’s inner taunting and you cocked a brow, smiling innocently at him. You knew Sukuna must have been speaking to him, probably mocking him. You got used to hearing Yuuji snapping out of sudden even if the room was quiet.

You eyed your boyfriend. His clothing definitely needed washing… a well as he, but you didn’t see any injuries. You sighed quietly in relief. You were truly glad he came back safe and sound. You didn’t know what was going on missions. Whenever you asked, Yuuji said that they were hard and exhausting but otherwise, he was doing his best. Still, you had seen him coming back with a shredded uniform and little injuries, sometimes he could get back so scared and out from reality but one firm hug from you seemed to cure him immediately. You were glad that your love and affection were working, soothing him almost instantly. If Yuuji fell into low self-esteem because of your whim to befriend his demon-

You shook out from your dark thoughts, focusing on Yuuji instead, your sunshine. It was time to relax, you knew your boyfriend deserved some good treatment after a rough time on missions. You knew he needed you and your love still... as if you were going anywhere and would dare to leave him. You loved him, at his best and worst and you knew he loved you too. He was important and you were grateful for having him by your side; that was why you started spoiling him more and more those days. You patted his shoulder, smiling up at him.

“Go and take a shower. I’ve prepared your favourite meal.” At the mention of food, Yuuji’s eyes shone and he looked down at you with his familiar yet still adorable childishness.

“Really, y/n? You’re spoiling me!” He squeaked happily and hugged you tight, earning from you a small yelp in surprise and then your laugh.

“You’re lucky I love you.” You teased and ruffled his strawberry hair, hugging him back. You sensed another person watching you and you tilted your head, immediately meeting with one, single red eye that had formed on his cheek.

“Hi there.” You greeted Sukuna and your knuckle gently rubbed on his cheek. “I have something for you too.”

The eye squinted, watching you with a kind of amusement.

“Do you? Gladly~ Hopefully, is it something sweet to eat? After all, I’ve been a good boy, I deserve a reward...” Sukuna almost purred proudly and Yuuji immediately pulled away from you, poking at the demon’s eye.

“As if! You’re giving me troubles, you asshole! OUCH!” You winced along with your boyfriend when you saw sharp teeth biting down on Yuuji’ finger… not that you hadn’t predicted that. You had seen them arguing a lot those days. They were truly like twins.

“You’re so annoying, brat!” Sukuna growled at Yuuji who was suckling blood out of his finger.

“You’re the bad and pervert here!” Yuuji called and you blinked in surprise.

Wait, what? What did you miss?

Oh… Oh, hang on! Really?

You quickly understood why he had turned around when you were in the middle of the stretching. He indeed had been talking with Sukuna, probably stopping the demon from peeking at you. Your heart involuntary skipped a beat and you eyed herself. You knew you were nowhere to be as attractive as Yuuji’s favourite actress. After all, you were rather small, white and full of freckles… but knowing that two of them get flustered by seeing you in your gym kit made you somehow proud and content.

“You… like what you see, huh?” You said and couldn’t help but blush. You looked up, your eyes were shining and you grinned happily. Yuuji blushed because of your adorable expression and then he felt awkward, knowing you understood what had happened. He was about to say he loved you the way you are, even if he knew you liked to doubt yourself a lot but a smug purr from his cheek made him pause and the next words from the cursed mouth made him angry.

“Oh, very much–”

A loud slap echoed in the room and you involuntary flinched. Ouch, that must have hurt like hell... You could see even Yuuji’s skin was getting red from the hard slap. Your boyfriend was pouting both in anger and embarrassment, red and feeling awkward but, for you, he still looked cool and cute. You couldn’t help but chuckle at that, your heart full and light. He might be a young man, older and stronger than you but sometimes he was more like a big and adorable child.

“Karma will return, you know that?” You gently teased him, hugging his arm as you caressed his abused cheek.

“He can try.” Yuuji murmured but leaned in and smiled softly, kissing your forehead.

You truly loved that goof… and the inner demon of his, even if you tried to keep it all cool.

~*~

Even if Yuuji tried hard to keep you company those days, you could see he was exhausted and needed rest. You tried to put him to bed after his missions many, many times but he was stubborn and would use his ‘tricks’ on you that were melting your heart in an instant.

“I will have a black coffee. I’ll be fine. I rarely see you nowadays, I want to spend more time with you! Pleaaasee?” Yuuji would like to say (and beg). Even if his words made your heart skip a beat (a lot), you didn’t want him to get exhausted because of you.

The evening was as you had predicted. Yuuji fell asleep while watching a movie with you. You were settled between his legs, your back to his chest as his arms were wrapped around your waist loosely. He was snoring quietly, face nuzzled sideways into piles of pillows.

You were munching on popcorn quietly, making weird faces at the action from the movie. It was truly a weird one, B-horror, kinda boring even if full of gruesome scenes. You eyed the time and sighed quietly. You decided to go to bed earlier than usual knowing that you would get very proper and long rest.

You wanted to turn off the TV and give Yuuji the rest he deserved but you felt the shift of his cursed energy and instinctively paused in your track. His previously moveless body gently wrapped around you, strong arms squeezed your waist and his chest glued to your back. You heard a soft rumble and a face pressed to your shoulder. You involuntary blushed and shivered, knowing exactly who was behind and decided to keep you company.

Sukuna was appearing to hang out with you more openly since the agreement. No matter how often Sukuna would change with Yuuji, it still took you by surprise. He was still using Yuuji’s vulnerability during sleeping to easily switch with your boyfriend and - as he liked to say - “have some time alone with you without Yuuji’s yapping at him”.

You didn’t mind that. Frankly speaking, you might be nervous and awkward a little around the King but still, you were excited to hang out with him too. After all, you promised your boyfriend to “befriend his demon and make it all easier for three of you.”

Though, sometimes you were doubting who was going for whose heart…

During previous days – and after your ‘terrible’ mistake in other morning – you learnt the pattern. For example, you could tell the difference who was hugging you in the morning. Yuuji usually had his arms wrapped around you loosely and he snored a lot. Whenever Sukuna was there, you could feel him curled around you, big arms holding you tight to his firm body. He was also quiet, breathing softly against your hair or neck. You could also tell the difference not only with the cursed energy around these two but the temperature of their bodies as well. Sukuna seemed to be much warmer.

Such warmth was pressing to your back at that very moment as his huge arms gently squeezed your small frame, holding you close, safe and secure. Whenever Sukuna appeared, you had a weird feeling he was much bigger than Yuuji… or he was using your size difference for his advantage.

You could feel him nuzzle to your neck and you could swear he was smirking against your skin. You didn’t want to freak out so much and bring him some wild satisfaction of scaring you or making you flustered. That was why, without looking at him, you raised your hand and offered some popcorn.

You could almost feel him cocking a brow in bewilderment but then, he leaned in and leapt a snack by his tongue… licking your fingers on the way.

It wasn’t the first time he did that. You could see he had been testing the waters, nibbling on your fingers occasionally when you were offering food to Yuuji and him. You believed he was either playing on your boyfriend’s nerves… or he tried to make you embarrassed or even force you to snap at him.

But you did your best to be smarter than Sukuna, trying to be unaffected.

...yes, trying. That was the catchword.

Once again, you shivered and blushed but said nothing. You didn’t feel oppressed, you couldn’t say that he was scaring the life out of you… but whenever he was getting so snugly, so touch-starved, your senses were acting on instincts. You couldn’t help but Sukuna was still intimidating to you.

He was truly like the tiger that found you, the small mouse, and decided to keep you as his little prey that he could play with very often.

Still, you were happy for having him with you, no matter how odd that would look for your family and friends.

You sighed in contentment and focused on the movie, your body surprisingly relaxed in Sukuna’s arms.

You were glad you weren’t alone during that B-horror movie… Even if the situation looked kind of hilarious. When your boyfriend was too tired to keep you company, his evil twin was there to save the night. You had a feeling you cheated a system by having two boys to yourself (and one of the relationships should be forbidden)… but you felt happy about it.

You suddenly jolted when a giant spider appeared in the scene and you pressed yourself into Sukuna… who eagerly pulled you closer. Maybe you didn’t have arachnophobia but still, the sight of a giant, eight-legged monster with too many eyes to your taste and deadly claws wasn’t the nicest one and could give chills.

Add the picture of such a monster chasing a human and eating it alive? Nope. Nopety nope.

The scream of a woman being devoured alive echoed in the room and you flinched, unconsciously grabbing and squeezing Sukuna’s hand. Once again, the demon entwined fingers with yours rather eagerly.

You believed the scary scene was over but more monster-spiders appeared to terrorize the city. You groaned quietly, feeling rather disgusted. You wanted to say how stupid that horror was when your body paused, your senses flew high.

You felt something on your palm but you tried to ignore it, blaming your pumped mind. Your heart was hammering in your chest and you started sweating. You didn’t dare to move not even to look down.

You rarely could be scared by others or even be pranked but you believed the atmosphere rubbed off on you and you became sensitive, to not to say vulnerable. After all, it was the middle of the night, you were watching a horror movie about monsters… while having a very real and alive monster right behind you. That was why you believed you were imagining things… only to realize they were for real.

Something wet and slick appeared on your palm, making its way to your fingers, slowly, carefully… only to gently nibble at them.

That was enough to trigger you.

You let out a small scream in fear and jolted, pulling away, already short on breath.

“What the-?!”

You squeaked and looked down, ready to slap or kick the thing away but you paused midway; your eyes went wide and your mouth agape as Sukuna barked in laughter. You were both petrified and confused at the sight. You blinked a few times to make sure it was real.

There was an additional mouth on Sukuna’s palm that was grinning at you and lolling out its long, tattooed tongue. Sharp teeth glistened in the dim light of the TV and the King lifted his hand so you could watch it closely.

You couldn’t tell if you were dumbfounded or interested more. After all, you got used to Sukuna appearing on Yuuji’s hands and cheeks… but seeing his mouth to appear while The King was using the body was at least surprising… not to say intriguing.

You had been too focused on the mouth you didn’t see Sukuna leaning in. You tensed as soon as you heard a low purr and felt his hot breath on your ear as he whispered in a husky voice:

“Oh, that was adorable, you pipsqueak~”

You involuntary pulled away and blushed, both from embarrassment and anger. Your brows were furrowed as you looked up at him, pouting.

“You’re horrible.” You whined and gently slapped his arm, earning another chuckle in victory from the King.

“I will take it as a compliment~” He winked and you believed your heart burst in your chest. Since when Sukuna, the cruel King of Curses, was using Yuuji’s trick on you? That was unfair!

Your mouth opened and you wanted to say something but your mind was blank. You shut your lips and pouted at him instead, ignoring the screams from the TV. Your observant eyes were watching his, gleaming with red magic in the dim room, obviously full of joy. His remarkable grin was plastered on his face as he was patiently waiting for your response.

Be smart about it, y/n. Don’t let him have all the fun, tease him too! You tried to cheer for yourself.

“No more snacks for you.” You said deadpanned out of sudden and you saw him blink in surprise… before he laughed again, shaking his head.

“Aww, come on, I couldn’t help. It was a perfect set-up to mess with you.” He explained with a toothy grin, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Such a weak attempt to flatter me.” You huffed, crossing arms on your chest. Sukuna cocked a brow and grinned.

The King knew better you weren’t angry at him for real, that you were acting, clearly playing with him. He had seen you being angry and furious through Yuuji’s eyes many times, that was why he knew he could mess with you a little bit more.

“My, my, poor me, what am I supposed to do now to flatter my dear?” He tapped his chin with his black claw and hummed in thought. He might look troubled and concerned but you could clearly see he was teasing you. It was hard to not see the glee in his four eyes. He was a good actor after all… but not as good as when he was with you.

“Hmm, ah yes, I can see it now.” He exclaimed suddenly and his hands flew to you. “Come here, you little urchin~”

You were able to squeak only when his arms wrapped around you and pulled you on his lap. You couldn’t help but chuckle, trying to push him away when he pressed his face to your neck. You yelped and tensed, scared he was going to bite you but, to your big surprise, Sukuna started purring aloud, tickling your sensitive skin... and making you struggle more. It was the ‘worst’ form of torturing you and your sensitive skin, the tickling!

“Noo! You read it all wrong!” You squeaked, already defeated but still trying hard to hold your laugh; the more you tried to wiggle free, the more his arms were tightening on you. His rumbling mouth was merciless, purring and growling to cause vibration coming down your neck.

“No? But I clearly read it in your mind...” He teased with a husky voice, and you could feel his claws gently tickling your ribs. You jolted, patting his shoulders. At that point, you were both red from laughing and feeling so exposed. Damn him, he learnt such an ‘ugly’ trick from Yuuji for sure!

“Nooo, Sukuna, mercyyy!” You whined and wheezed, patting his back, clearly defeated. You heard him rumble for the last time as the sweet tortures halted, leaving you all giggly and exhausted. Sukuna kept you close as you allowed yourself to be sprawled on his lap and chest. Your arms gently wrapped around him, hugging him softly.

You could sense him smirking against the skin of your shoulder as you sighed in contentment, resting your head on his nape.

“Good effort but it’s impossible to read my mind, you know?” You said, half-joking half-serious, your voice was deeper and he knew what was going on. You felt him shifting as he leaned in the pillows, still holding you close to his body.

“Why not?” He asked and you gently pulled away to look at him. His eyes were hooded, gleaming with joy and watching every little move of yours; his lazy grin was showing off his sharp teeth and he seemed to be purring quietly.

You hummed and your hand slid into his hair, playing with his strawberry strands. You saw his smaller eyes rolling in pleasure before they closed even if he tried to remain neutral.

“Because it’s a dangerous place and you should watch out.” You said, touching foreheads with him. You could hear him gasp which he quickly covered with a purr and then he smirked.

“I think I can handle it. But you better stay away from my mind...” He said with a low voice and you felt his hands going up, touching your spine, brushing over your ribs.

You hummed in contentment, cupping his cheeks. Your thumbs gently stroked his smaller eyes, earning a groan from him. You smirked at that small victory and leaned in.

“Why? Maybe I would like it?” You said with a low voice and Sukuna paused; his eyes widened when he saw a familiar glint of dirty yellow in your eyes. He grinned ugly, touching noses with you.

“Trying to be clever as always?” He rumbled, his hands squeezed your hips as he pressed you closer to his body. He would never say it aloud but the dirty yellow in your eyes was so hypnotising.

“Adorable little things.” He purred, amused and saw you - or rather Mimi - grinning wide; when he blinked, he met with your claret eyes again. You were back, clearly flustered but still determined to keep up with the game with him and be as smooth as your sister had been. The King couldn’t decide which version of you did he prefer. The cute and flustered you or the bossy and smartass Mimi. You were truly a fascinating little girl, that was for sure. His unique treasure.

“That should be illegal, you know?” You whispered with your shaky voice, gently tracing his tattoos. You felt him shiver and your heart skipped a beat. You were surprised he was able to lose a bit of his cool attitude just because of you... or perhaps you found a sensitive spot of his?

“What precisely?” Sukuna asked but you could see he was giving in the pleasure of being pampered on his tattoos. You were more than happy to continue that as your fingers were stroking his ink with a feather-like touch.

“Looking so good while being the worst.” You whispered, feeling a bit dirty because of your own words; hotness spread on your cheeks. The King paused again, eyeing you, trying to read you. Even if he had learnt and remembered your smell, even if he had been watching you, learning about you, he still couldn’t read you.

You were such a puzzle to never be solved yet always be surprised with.

“I’m flattered.” Sukuna smirked softly, closing his eyes and he wrapped arms around your waist, keeping you close and secure against his chest.

You smiled at him and let the comfortable silence set between you two. You were enjoying his warmth and his hands on your waist as much as he was enjoying your gentle fingers on his inked face.

“Give me more of yourself… Teach me more.” 

You almost missed his whisper and you blinked in surprise. It wasn’t an order… it sounded more like a request, a pleading almost. You focused on him and you could tell Sukuna looked... troubled. As if he was battling with himself; should he lean to the pleasure more and allow you to expose him or should he remain as a cool bastard and play and tease with you as usual?

You had learnt by that moment that the King was already having a weak spot for you… and vice versa.

You smiled and leaned in, looking deep in his red irises.

“Close your eyes.” You whispered softly and Sukuna looked at least surprised. He eyed you and you could feel his body involuntary tensed. You found that rather adorable, especially if the mighty tiger started to feel anxious because of the little mouse.

After a few seconds of silence from him, Sukuna groaned quietly but closed his eyes, all four of them. You smiled softly (knowing he trusted you completely) and allowed yourself to touch his face more. Your fingers traced his cheeks and down his chin, as you leaned in and very gently kissed the corner of his smaller eye. You felt him jolt in surprise as if he got scared you wanted to hurt him but once he realized you kissed him, he let out a shaky breath and sagged a little in the pillows underneath.

That reaction only encouraged you to kiss his other smaller eye, then his bigger eyes, right and left. You could see his brows furrowing a little but not in discomfort nor anger. He swallowed thickly when you kissed his nose (and the tattoo there) and went up to his brows, making them relax again by peppering them with soft kisses.

“Y/n...” Sukuna whispered your name with such a weak voice you felt yourself getting weak… and hot. Oh, ohh you were truly charmed by him. You reminded your heart to be still even if you knew the King could still sense your rabbit heart without looking at you.

You smiled and cupped his cheek, raising a little. You felt his hands tightening on you as if he was worried you tried to leave him out of sudden. Your innocent chuckle might have helped him to settle down a little because his hands loosened, allowing you to raise from him on your knees.

“My King...”  You whispered and you reached his temple, giving a peck on his skin only to land your soft and hot lips against his forehead, right on his tattoo. You closed your eyes and allowed yourself to linger in that intimate moment.

Sukuna tried hard to control himself, he wanted to remain as a cool bastard for real... but as soon as your hands landed on his face, as your fingers started tracing his sensitive tattoos, as you asked him to close his eyes with that sweet, innocent voice of yours, as he felt your soft lips on his eyes, your hot breath tickling his cheeks, as he finally felt you going up, he lost it all. He controlled himself enough to not whine at the pleasure you were giving to him but his breath was giving his true feelings away.

Sukuna knew he had a reputation to hold. It was easy to play around with others, to play with Megumi, to make Yuuji angry, to shatter Gojou’s pride, to let Mahito think he was the genius. Sukuna truly could play on everyone’s feelings… but yours.

He promised himself to not be lost into pleasure, into your innocence and warmth that you coated him in… You literally opened your soul to him, your very intimate being. You trusted him enough to let him heal you.

That was why he knew he had lost to you a long time ago and there was no need to pretend when he was just with you.

Sukuna truly had a weak spot for you, he trusted you. He had laughed at Yuuji for being cursed with love but there he was, behaving no better.

You charmed him, you were truly befriending him.

Sukuna, the King of Curses, was bewitched by a human girl.

You are truly a little curse of mine, Angel…

When Sukuna felt your hot and soft lips on his forehead, kissing his tattoo up there, he was simply touched.

Why though? It was a simple kiss on the forehead, nothing impressive. Just a very subtle way of kissing. He had had better and more pleasurable kisses...

...yet, he could feel your emotions thought the kiss. Your innocent love, your passion, your adoration.

He had never felt so alive, so wanted, so… loved.

Sukuna knew he lost it, completely.

His eyes opened wide as he let out a shaky moan. His arms pressed you tight to him as if he was trying to hide himself and swallow you at the same time. Your hands kept him still, gently, assuring... and then he felt an unfamiliar heat on his cheeks. He believed it was the warmth of your hands but once he looked up and saw his reflection in your beautiful eyes, he realized he was so wasted.

Maybe he wasn’t as blushy as Yuuji, the brat could get purple within minutes and he couldn’t hide it but still, you, such a weak and fragile creature, made him, the King of Curses, blush.

Sukuna hoped you didn’t see it. A small, subtle blush or not but still the blush. He didn’t want you to mock him for letting himself be carried away and be so- no, to be too vulnerable in front of you.

What kind of curse he was to let the human play with him so easily? For a second Sukuna felt humiliated and he let out a shaky growl.

“The fuck was that?” He said but his voice was nowhere to be scary or intimidating. He sounded as pathetic as Yuuji could whenever he was begging for something, and Sukuna didn’t like it. He should have controlled himself better. He was the curse, not a teenager!

Once again – but surely not for the last time – Sukuna blamed Yuuji’s weak human body and those ridiculous feelings towards you for making him so wasted.

Despite Sukuna’s attempts to look scary and (perhaps) frighten you, you remained close, watching him with those soft eyes of yours.

“Affection.” You answered his question with that sweet, chuckling voice and he gruffed, furrowing brows.

“Disgusting.” He pouted but didn’t pull away… nor did you stop tracing his tattoos. He could see you were clearly waiting, watching him with a kind of amusement.

The King was truly a weak man for you.

You’re going to be a death of me, Angel…

“Do it again.”

Sukuna ordered and couldn’t help but smirk in small victory when you eagerly returned to peppering his face with kisses.

The King was clearly the one that lost the battle (again) but he didn’t mind it. As long as you were the happy winner, he felt victorious.

Chapter Text

~*~ 

| (Un)Wanted Love |

~*~ 

| Unusual Healing |

“Oi, oi, what happened?”

As soon as Yuuji returned to school and saw you with a patch on your cheek, he went into his ‘mother hen’ mode. He looked worse than you, tired, the uniform had holes, he was all dirty and in the blood (you prayed it wasn’t his blood) but still, he was more worried about you and your small injury than himself. Sometimes you believed that even if he had missed an entire arm, he would still worry about others first.

“I’m fine, it’s nothing, seriously–” You tried with a sheepish voice but Yuuji squeezed hands around your arms. He looked determined... to not to say scary.

“What happened?!”

You flinched a little at his high-pitched voice and you chuckled nervously, scratching your neck.

Time to admit your ‘sin’, sister… You heard a familiar voice in your head and you involuntary pouted.

You’re not helping, Mimi.

“I… uhm, I was exercising in the room and… uhm… I got hit by a ricochet of… the medicine ball...” You slowly explained and looked up; by the glance on his face, you knew Yuuji was clearly judging you and your ‘talent’ for finding troubles, no matter the place.

“Don’t give me that look! I lost balance while doing yoga, accidentally kicked the ball, it hit the wall and got back to me before I could react!” You explained yourself with a squeaky voice, both angry and embarrassed.

Yes. You were that lucky. As Gojou would say, you were “a magnet for troubles”.

Yuuji looked no longer worried or confused… He was trying to hide his laughter, covering his mouth with hands, unsuccessfully. You didn’t know what was worse, him judging you how pathetic you could be sometimes or him laughing at you of how pathetic you actually were.

“You’re horrible!” You shouted without real heat and Yuuji gave up, laughing freely.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I tried to imagine that and I couldn’t help!” He said, still giggling. He tried to hug you in apology but you bapped his hands. You crossed your arms on your chest and pouted.

“Meanie!”

“Ah, y/n, come on–” Yuuji’s voice halted abruptly and you watched with big eyes as tattoos started to appear on his face. You felt even more nervous when four eyes opened and pierced you. You believed Yuuji’s eyes had been judging you… How foolish of you. Once the four red eyes locked on you, you realized how it felt to be judged for real. You involuntary stepped back, your heart was hammering in your chest.

Why was Sukuna there? Why did he appear out of sudden, in the middle of the day, without a warning? How big shit did you find yourself in?

You had a feeling the King would mock you for being a wimp, call you some ugly names and maybe boast he had to heal you for the nth time, still calling you pathetic, weak being…

Whatever Sukuna had in mind, you were started to feel scared for real.

His posture looked bigger, mightier and he let out a small growl. He looked displeased, to not say pissed. Little did you know he got annoyed because of Yuuji who not only had laughed at you but now he was screaming bloodily in his mind, trying to get back control of his body. He was truly a very annoying vessel...

You shivered and started backing up when Sukuna made fast steps towards you. Your back hit the wall and you were cornered within seconds. You let out a small squeak when Sukuna trapped you between the wall and his sturdy body. You instinctively raised your hands in defeat and closed your eyes, whining and curling to yourself.

“I know, I know! I’m sorry, I’m an idiot–” You started with a weak and nervous voice but froze as soon as you felt his big hand very gently cupping your injured cheek. You heard him sigh deeply as his claw was caressing your skin. You grew some courage and peeked at him… he looked nowhere to be angry. He looked rather distressed.

“Silly goose.”

Sukuna said with that rare, soft voice of his and you opened your eyes wide, looking up. You involuntary blushed when he smirked at you. The rays of the sun played on his face, making him look so... human.

“Keep your head up, ok?” He asked and you snapped from your thoughts, nodding softly. You got curious about what he wanted to do. You felt him pulling carefully at the patch, taking it off. You grabbed on his hoodie, hands tangled in the material out of instincts. You involuntary winced and whined when the glue irritated the sensitive skin and you heard Sukuna shushing you.

“Might be worse.” The King murmured more to himself than you once he saw the wound. Suddenly, he grabbed your chin between his two fingers as he kept you still, tilting your head. His gesture was firm but not rough.

“It may sting.” It was his last warning and then you watched him (in slight fear of the unknown) leaning to you, so close, too close. Your heart almost jumped out of your chest when you sensed his hot breath on your wound as he smelled your blood and then, you heard him growl against your cheek… only to feel his hot tongue giving you a long and slow lick at your wound.

Your entire body froze but, at the same time, you felt hotness spreading inside your every cell; as if you were boosted suddenly by his cursed energy but that mighty feeling dispersed as soon as it appeared. It indeed stung a little but it was your last concern at that moment.

...you didn’t know how to feel about that gesture. On one hand, you felt almost dirty by having his tattooed tongue licking your wound and your blood. On the other hand, it felt so bizarre, so weird yet close to being... intimate. The whole situation made your head hurt from overthinking.

You must have been stuck in the same position (and probably with the same silly expression) for a while because Sukuna had pulled away, now looking at you with his typical amusement and pride.

“Oh? Did I break two of you? Our girl seems to be frozen, brat? Oi, are you with me? Oi, Itadori-kunnn, did you finally pass out in my domain? Am I alooone?” Sukuna mocked Yuuji aloud and chuckled darkly, clearly feeling frisky.

You were able to pull yourself out of the daze and you gasped quietly. You blinked in surprise, your face felt hot (and you knew you were too red to your taste). You carefully touched your cheek, still feeling the hotness of his tongue on your skin.

“What… did you do?” You asked dumbly and Sukuna only grinned, gently turning you around so you could look at yourself in the mirror. Your eyes widened when you saw your cheek all healed, not with a single scar or bruise over there.

“H-How?” You squeaked and turned around, facing him.

Sukuna could tell you were clearly fascinated (rather than disgusted) by that little trick of his. He grinned happily and leaned in. That time you didn’t pull away and he was more than happy to see it. He touched noses with you and purred in contentment. Your small, secret swallow was just adorable to him.

“I’m the King for many reasons, runt~” He said and you involuntary leaned closer. You were ready to hug him, to show him your gratefulness, to hide your excitement in his hoodie because – even if it was still weird and a little bit disgusting – it was still amazing and-

“Too close!”

You yelped in surprise and jolted when a mouth appeared on Sukuna’s face, yelling aloud. You blinked in surprise, clearly dumbfounded. You recognized the big honey iris and pouty mouth on the tattooed cheek.

“...Y-Yuuji?” You squeaked, believing it was just a weird dream. Primo, tongue-healing from the one and only King of Curses. Secundo, your boyfriend on Sukuna’s face… substituting demon’s mouth– Wait, what? That was too much for you at once. You believed your brain was overheating at that very moment.

Meanwhile, Sukuna looked annoyed and displeased as he straightened up and rolled his eyes.

“Oh, so you’re alive. What a shame...” He said deadpan and sighed deeply. On the other hand, Yuuji looked so agitated as if he wanted to rip out from the demon’s face.

“The hell was that?! Who did allow you to lick her?! That was disgu-!”

You jumped when a loud slap echoed in the room. You blinked in surprise, watching Sukuna’s clawed hand almost digging into his cheek.

“You’re too loud, brat...” He seethed and growled in annoyance as he watched Yuuji appear on his second cheek.

“Dude, that hurt as hell! The fu-!?” Another slap echoed in the room along with Sukuna’s dark and low chuckle.

“Ohhh, Karma’s a bitch Itadooori-kun~” Sukuna purred darkly, his eyes lit with crimson magic as a twisted grin was plastered on his face. He focused on his palm, raising his hand and preparing for the attack.

As Sukuna predicted, Yuuji appeared once again, yelling in discomfort but was shushed quickly by Sukuna’s punishing slaps.

“I’ve been waiting for so long to do that, you ungrateful brat!” He laughed like a maniac and you didn’t know if you should laugh with him at the ‘ridiculous’ situation that had occurred or be petrified because of his growing excitement and urge to punish. On one hand, you had been warning Yuuji about slapping Sukuna so harshly. On the other hand, seeing Sukuna so ranty, clearly having fun like a child, was rather amusing to you.

But as much as you liked to see more of them acting like hilarious brothers, you knew you had to stop it before the real bloodshed.

You stepped closer to the King without a fear. You smiled a little and gently wrapped hands around his wrists, stopping him in his tracks. Sukuna immediately paused and pulled himself from his haze, his body sagged a little. He blinked and four of his eyes immediately focused on you; the mischief was long gone from his irises and the curiosity appeared in them instead.

“Sukuna, thank you.” You said simply with your soft voice and pulled him down, kissing softly his nose; you focused precisely on his tattoo over there, knowing he would like that much better.

The King paused, his breath stuttered, his body froze as he tried to understand what just happened. Did he miss something? What kind of trickery did you use on him at that time? His eyes went wide and once again he felt a slight heat on his cheeks. He glanced at himself in the mirror and almost cursed himself, seeing a shade of pastel pink covering his cheeks.

Ridiculous… I am truly bewitched.

Sukuna blinked slowly, slightly embarrassed but then he looked at you, smiling at him so sweetly, so innocently. You weren’t judging him, you weren’t mocking him and he clearly felt touched by that small kiss of yours. The King couldn’t help but smile softly. He was truly weak for you. He was about to say something... when a peppy voice spoiled his chance, ruining his mood in an instant.

“Oh, Sukuna, did our girl break you?”

Yuuji clearly has a death wish. Mimi spoke to you in your head with obvious amusement in her voice. You almost whined, feeling betrayed by your own boyfriend.

You swallowed quietly when you saw a vein popping in Sukuna’s forehead, pulsing, expanding on his tanned skin. His growl was so low, so menacing it made you shiver and then you jumped at the loud slap. Once again Yuuji got ‘exterminated’ from the King’s cheek.

“Shut. up. you insolent brat! You’ve ruined my moment!” Sukuna’s voice was thunderous… but Yuuji seemed to not be aware of playing with the walking hurricane.

“Good! You can finally see how I feel whenever you poke your nosy nose, asshole!” Another slap.

“I will make you die a horrible way, brat...” The hidden promise.

“You know I can’t die without you!” Yuuji sounded rather smug and you couldn’t help but chuckle when Sukuna was clearly losing his mind by slapping Yuuji here and there as if he was fighting with annoying mosquito. Even if you feel bad for both of them, you couldn’t help but feel amused.

Boys, always fighting who’s the alpha… Mimi sounded so done you couldn’t help but snort.

Fair point, but hey, life is funnier that way~ You responded in your mind and caught Yuuji’s eye on you. He looked rather mischievous and you could swear he was about to send another bomb on Sukuna.

“Oi, y/n! I allow you to kiss our dear King more just to see him all flustered and riled up like that!”

A pregnant pause was set in the room.

Such a beautiful ricochet… Mimi whistled and you took a deep breath.

Mimi, my dear, you’re still not helping. You felt yourself sweating a little, getting ready for more troubles.

Sukuna finally calmed down but he was looking like a pure (and proud) devil when he focused on Yuuji, smirking so wide and so smugly, watching the boy with judging yet pitiful eyes.

“Oh, Itadori-kun, if you only knew...”

You mentally slapped yourself, wishing for the ground to open and swallow you whole. Sukuna was cackling darkly and Yuuji looked more than just bewildered. His eye was wide as he was looking between you and his inner demon, mouth hanging low.

“Eh? Huh? Whaat? Y/n?! What is he talking about?!” Yuuji was almost whining, clearly stressed while all you could do was to hide your very red cheeks behind your hands.

At that moment you were grateful there was only one body with two different personalities. If you had had two of them as separate beings, you believed you wouldn't have stopped them from fighting over you.

...despite the ‘terrible’ situation, you couldn’t help but feel amused, knowing that both of them had feelings for you and they were able to express them in their own ways.

You started to feel like you were dating Yuuji and his evil twin for real.

~*~ 

| The Stolen First Kiss |

(When Yuuji is still on Sukuna’s cheek...)

Yuuji: Don’t you dare kiss her, Sukuna! You’re forbidden from that!

Sukuna: Forbidden by you? Don’t be ridiculous, brat. By the way, she had her ‘first’ kiss with me… but, frankly speaking, it shouldn’t be treated like that since the circumstances were rather odd. *shrugs*

(The pregnant silence sets in the room…)

Yuuji: …

You: …

Sukuna: ...hm? *cocks a brow*

Yuuji: What do you mean you kissed her?!?!

Sukuna: *winces* ...too loud. *annoyed*

(You.exe has stopped working at that point...)

Yuuji: Explain yourself now!

Sukuna: Jeeze, I healed her by kissing last time–

Yuuji: Wait, you want to tell me you did that when you had tuned me out?! Now I know why Megumi and Nobara were acting so weird! You asshole, you didn’t say anything!

Sukuna: You didn’t ask.

Yuuji: You should have told me!

Sukuna: I thought healing was important, no matter the way.

Yuuji: Wha– You’re the worst!

Sukuna: Thank you. Now, tell me something I don’t know. Surprise me, brat. Come on, let your last two brain cells collide–

Yuuji: Shut up! I can’t believe it… Since now you can’t block my vision, are we understood! You’re too dangerous!

Sukuna: Hai, hai… Are you done? *yawns*

Yuuji: NO!

Sukuna: *deep sigh* ...buttmunch.

Yuuji: What did you call me?!

You: *brain is overheating/cheeks are red*

Sukuna: *looks at you and smirks* Oh? What’s that? Disappointed, silly goose? *leans in*

You: *heart is hammering when you look at him* ...Uhm, n-no, I mean, I’m s-surprised?

Yuuji: Y/n! You’re too chill about it! *whines*

You: W-Well, it didn’t count if… happened like that, the healing and… Uhm, right?

Sukuna: *grins wider and is still watching you*

Yuuji: You’re still defending him, y/n? *sad puppy eye*

You: I’m trying to be fair and you’re not helping me Yuuji… *nervous*

Yuuji: Oh, right… APOLOGIZE! *to Sukuna*

Sukuna: With pleasure~ *purrs* Should I kiss her properly this time, as an apology?

You: *are close to dying*

Yuuji: ABSOLUTELY NOT! I won’t accept it!

Sukuna: Not gonna kiss you, brat so I don’t need your permission… *smirks and tips your chin up/noses almost touch* Now, let me show this brat how you supposed to be kissed~

You: *are so red/heart is hammering so fast and… you faint*

Sukuna: *is surprised but catches you* …ops?

Yuuji: …I hate you so much, so, so much, Sukuna.

Sukuna: *is strangely amused how you reacted to him* Oh, well, a hug will work too. I will apologize to her later~ *hugs you and keeps you safe and secure in his arms*

Yuuji: Over my dead body!

Sukuna: *chuckles darkly* Oh, don’t tempt me now, brat~

~*~ 

| Their Eyes |

“Why do you keep looking at me like that? Are you planning something mischievous, runt?”

Sukuna asked you one evening when you two were lying and listening to some relaxing music. You couldn’t help but glue your eyes on his. You smiled at his gruffy voice and climbed on his chest. He let out a deep sigh as if in disapproval but you knew better he secretly liked it. After all, he had never bucked you off and usually wrapped his arms around you. That was the time when you felt his arms around your hips as he looked down, holding your gaze.

“I realized something.” You said softly.

“What is it then?” He cocked a brow at you. You could see he was growing curious.

You indeed saw an unusual pattern.

Gojou’s icy-blue eyes were beautiful… but usually made you feel judged, exposed. One glance from his eyes left you shivering. He may send you his beautiful and innocent smile but his eyes always told the different. 

Sukuna has four eyes that were piercing and full of hidden evil; painted in bloody red with rings inside his irises. They could glow in dark, watch your every little move… but you never felt oppressed. They may be scary and intimidating but you never felt threatened by them. 

It was fascinating how two of the strongest men you had ever known share such features, blurring the line between being good and being evil.

“Come on, penny for your thoughts?” Sukuna teased when you kept being silent. You smiled even more, ready to tease him a bit.

“Will you handle that, my King?” You saw his eyes widening a little at the phrase and you could swear his heart skipped a beat. He let out a small growl and grinned.

“Who do you think I am to not handle whatever you want to say, silly goose? Come on, hit me with your absurd.” He laughed, challenging you. You kept calm, smiling at him innocently.

“You have beautiful eyes.” You finally said…

...and you could see he didn’t handle that very well.

Sukuna literally paused underneath you, his eyes grew big and his breath stuttered. The light in the room was dim but you could swear his ears became redder. You couldn’t help but chuckle when he growled at you and hid his face in the crook of his forearm.

“Why so sudden? What a creep...” He murmured but you nuzzled under his chin, hugging him tightly. 

“Hmm and look who says that…” You teased and looked up, seeing his smaller eye watching you still.

“You’re bad at peeking, you know that?” You teased again and earned a huff from the King, clearly being busted by small you. Though, you knew precisely what would lift his spirit and made him a purring tiger again. You raised on your hands and leaned close to his face. You knew he sensed you, you could feel him tensing for a mere second as if preparing for more of your teasing...

...but you were far from hurting him or mocking him even more.

You leaned in and kissed his cheek, aiming for his tattoos.

Sukuna let out a small, very quiet mewl and you couldn’t help but hum against his cheek in victory. 

“I knew your tattoos were sensitive...” You whispered, a matter of fact and Sukuna finally glared at you, baring his teeth. Yet, you knew better he was far from being angry for real. You had learned a lot about his tsundere personality for the past months.

“You know shit. Don’t be cocky! Better beg for my forgiveness, runt!” Sukuna growled without heat, squeezing your waist. You knew better what to do, you were more than eager to play with him more.

“Oh, my King, have mercy on me! What should I do to be spared?” You wailed like a damsel in distress, trying to roll around but strong arms kept you still, providing you from running away.

Sukuna snorted at your acting skills and grinned widely, clearly amused. He rumbled and pulled you close, touching noses with you. His four eyes focused on your claret ones, his hot breath brushed across your lips as he whispered in a husky voice.

“Kiss my beautiful eyes and lay me to sleep~”

Chapter Text

“Why are you killing them personally?”

Megumi asked Sukuna one day after the King had appeared out of the sudden and destroyed the fourth curse. Such events had been happening almost every day and Megumi could see a pattern. He used the occasion of being alone with Sukuna. He hoped that the King would be ‘favourable’ and say much more to him than he was saying to Yuuji.

“You’re feeling that too, aren’t you? That’s why you're after them?”

The King seemed to pause at the second question but then he lazily turned his head; a big and sinister smirk was plastered on his face as he was looking at Megumi with amused eyes.

“Feeling what, little raven? I was bored in my domain and decided to have fun for a few minutes.”

Megumi didn’t buy such an explanation, not that one nor the previous ones too. Megumi wasn’t stupid and Sukuna knew about it but still, he could see the King was playing with him as he used to and loved to. Perhaps it was a test of how smart Megumi was… or how brave he could be in front of Sukuna? The young shaman thought of that possibility too.

“What else do you want to tell me, Megumi? What else do you see?” Sukuna’s voice was velvety smooth… despite his darkening eyes. Megumi involuntary shivered as he realized something.

It was a test. The King was testing him and his deduction. The boy didn’t know if he supposed to be happy about it… or start to be scared of Sukuna’s ulterior motive.

Still, he didn’t want to fail that test.

Megumi had a feeling – or at least he hoped – he would get some information from Sukuna if the King was pleased with his answers. He decided to play it smart.

“It’s easy to see a pattern, you know? You can’t fool us forever.”

“Why not? It’s rather entertaining.” The King interrupted, grinning widely. Megumi furrowed his brows but continued. He was being tested after all.

“You’re after albino curses with special energy inside of them. Why though? I thought the King doesn’t need to get more cursed energy for himself? Despite your smile and cool attitude you’re...” Megumi paused at that, locking eyes with Sukuna who was watching and listening to him patiently.

The young shaman could see despite Sukuna’s twisted grin that would suggest the demon’s joy, the King was seething with anger. His energy was so suffocating, so superior and overwhelming it could kill on the spot without him trying hard. But Sukuna wouldn’t be himself to not boast a little about his power; that was why he was going for more brutal ways of wiping the cursed spirits out of existence, not giving them a chance to even look at the King as they always ended up being burnt alive by purple flames. To Megumi, Sukuna was obviously...

“...furious.”  Megumi whispered and looked up, his heart skipped a beat at the change in King’s face.

Sukuna’s smile was long gone and his brows were furrowed. His eyes were wide, gleaming with red, dangerous magic, watching every little move of the young shaman. The King hid his hands in the pockets as he took a step towards Megumi who instinctively stepped back.

“Clever little raven...” Sukuna rumbled quietly, his voice low and dangerous.

Megumi felt a cold shiver running down his spine and he raised his hands, ready to defend himself. He didn’t plan to anger the King… but if Sukuna wanted to kick his ass for being too noisy, then Megumi would accept the challenge. He had changed since their last fight, he wouldn't let Sukuna treat him like a ragdoll again. Not anymore.

But, to Megumi’s surprise, Sukuna made no more steps, simply watching the young shaman with his four eyes, reading him, feasting on his little fear mixed with determination.

Sukuna realized he underestimated his little shaman.

Sukuna couldn’t tell if he supposed to be proud of Megumi for being a smart ass or start to be careful around him to not blow up his plan. Sukuna knew that Megumi wasn’t stupid and he couldn’t be fooled as easily as Yuuji. Even if he wasn’t able to feel or sense as much as the King, he was very observant and had – what other shamans were lacking of usually – the sixth sense.

Little did Megumi know that during Mahito’s assault at you, he had been in your domain without realising that fact. He may not be able to smell the death around but surely he felt something.

The same thing that was in the curses.

The same thing that was luring the King to get outside, to almost rip from Yuuji’s body and claim what (he believed in) was rightfully his.

“Why are you helping me? You haven’t mentioned me in your reports yet, have you? Why that?” Sukuna asked Megumi with a low but not so heated voice. The young shaman blinked at that and involuntary relaxed. The test was still on, it seemed.

“I think ‘help’ is a strong word for that...” Megumi said sincerely and hummed in thought. “...but I have a feeling the case is connected with y/n–” The young shaman heard Sukuna’s low growl and watched the demon stepping closer… but this time he didn’t step back. He held demon's gaze as he clenched his fists.

Sukuna’s eyes widened a bit as he easily read Megumi’s thoughts. To his relief, Megumi wasn’t interested in you as a lover. The King would simply not stand another admirer of yours; Yuuji was already giving him headaches. Pet or not, his little adoration and friendship would have ended here but...

...for Megumi you were like his younger sister. He hated the thought of losing another important person in his life, the person he cared for truly and dearly. His older sister had been cursed and fallen into coma years ago; somehow Megumi felt responsible for that even if Sukuna could see it wasn’t his fault. Megumi cared for you in his own way. He didn’t want to lose you. He didn’t want to see you hurt, to see you die.

Sukuna was pleased with that information.

You’re truly something else, Fushiguro Megumi…

Sukuna’s face changed again and Megumi knew he scored a hit once again. He tilted his chin up, standing proud. Sukuna smirked in amusement, secretly admiring how his little shaman had grown up.

“I don’t care if I am right or wrong to trust you. I follow my conscience, that’s all. For now, I don’t know what are you doing, not yet… but as long as you keep y/n safe, I can overlook anything.”

Sukuna’s eyes widened a little at that statement, clearly taken aback. Megumi had caught that rare view before the King put his ‘proud bastard’ mask on and cackled lowly, ruffling his spiky hair. If the boy only could look into Sukuna’s soul and see what he had caused to the ancient curse… Even the King was surprised because he couldn’t understand such a bizarre yet nice feeling that had spread in his soul, the feeling of having a kind of ally...

Oh, a sweet irony that his ally was no one else but a shaman. The King found it rather amusing. He even cursed at himself how could he even doubt in his little pet, his motives and deduction? Sukuna’s anger was long gone as he sent Megumi his gleeful smile.

“Gladly.”

~*~

“You shouldn’t risk being here...”

Getou was standing in the shadow of the building, watching Mahito. The young curse was sitting at the roof, feet dangling. The man was humming, a big smile was plastered on his face as two-coloured eyes were watching two shamans below with unbearable and twisted joy.

“He is too fixated on the smell anyway to even try and sense us, Getou.”

Mahito responded, grinning wider. Getou only sighed and shook head; the man was growing anxious whenever Mahito sent one of their special curses only to watch the King killing it with unbearable brutality.

Getou wasn’t pleased with all of that, not even close. Especially when they had to put their plans away because of you.

Since Mahito had realized you were alive, he promised himself to end you with the finest way. He promised himself to drag you, your friends and family down, to the depth of the worst nightmares. He had already failed twice... but it appeared on the way that Sukuna, the King of Curses, seemed to have a weak spot for you.

Mahito believed he had hit a jackpot with such unusual knowledge... but he wouldn’t be himself if he didn't add more drama into his already great puppet theatre.

Not only he confirmed the theory of Sukuna catching human feelings for little you (was that even legal for a curse to fell in love with a human, more even, with a shaman?) but he came up with the evillest of his plans.

The plan of how to kill you without getting his hands dirty… and break Sukuna’s soul completely.

Mahito believed he was able to kill two birds with one stone.

That was why he kept sending to shamans the old curses that indeed had taken part in torturing your sister and you; because of your unique energy of pure souls, the curses had grown stronger and was able to survive for years, becoming kind of aces in Mahito’s little army.

For some of his comrades, it might be such a waste to send the poor ‘kittens’ to get eaten by the mighty Tiger but Mahito didn’t care too much. He had a twisted plan in his head to achieve. Nothing would stop him, nothing.

Mahito’s double-coloured eyes were still focused on Sukuna, his rotten soul hummed in pride and excitement.

“Just look at him? How can I say ‘no’ when he’s so happy like that? Look how our King is amused!”

Mahito laughed maniacally and Getou furrowed brows. All he could see and feel was pure wrath emitting from Sukuna as his friend seemed to lost his mind, more than usual.

“You will get all of us killed.” Mahito looked up at Getou, slightly annoyed.

“You still don’t trust me, huh? How sad...” The young curse made a sad face but Getou was far from being touched by that. His black eyes were stern, clearly judging Mahito.

“My dear friend. I admit that our plan has changed but it’s all improved now. At first, I wanted to kill y/n on shamans’ eyes, watch them fall into despair and rage, plus clean the mess from years ago. I truly believed she was dead, ugh...” Mahito explained, his voice dropped to a bored tone just at the mention of you but then smirked again. His eyes became dark as he focused on Sukuna who was devouring the white essence, the fifth piece; his soul hummed from excitement at that sight.

“But now, I can’t wait to see his soul break. Can’t you see it? Our dear King is literally digging his own grave... but once he realizes what he has done, y/n will be long cold.”

The curse cackled darkly and then started laughing maniacally, believing he was safe in the special curtain that he had set around his friend and he, preventing anyone to see and sense them while they were watching the show.

If only Mahito knew that Sukuna had been playing his role perfectly, letting the young curse think that the King was his puppet.

~*~

Sukuna was sitting on his throne, amused. His cheek was resting on his knuckles while another hand was in the air, playing with a small but very lively white orb. His eyes never left it, watching it with fondness and adoration.

The small white spirit was playing between his fingers, diving and nuzzling, twirling around, poking at his claws, making the King chuckle.

“Adorable little thing. You’re growing bigger...”

The white orb resonated as if letting out a purr and then it nuzzled to his palm, nesting there.

“...and heavier. Gladly~”

The King hummed and gently closed his hand, pulling it close to his chest. The white orb seemed to be breathing, pulsating with weak light, clearly content with Sukuna’s presence. The King couldn’t be prouder than at that very, almost intimate moment.

“Don’t you worry, little one. I will put you back together...”

He whispered as the orb sneaked under his scarf and found its favourite place, close to Sukuna’s neck, being hidden and protected perfectly. The King chuckled again and leaned his chin closer to the spirit, purring slightly. His clawed finger gently stroked the orb, his red eyes gleamed with delight.

“You know what, Snowflake? He’s truly an idiot. He thinks he understands the nature of souls. Yea, sure, he has a lot of aces up his sleeve but it's not enough to win against me. He still knows little about souls… but it’s good for us, isn’t it?” He grinned, looking down at the small soul. The white orb had fallen asleep, being lulled by his voice yet still purring in contentment for the King.

Sukuna chuckled at that sight, his soul was strangely light and delighted. He sat comfortably in his throne full of bones, keeping his clawed fingers close to the soul, petting, stroking, protecting.

“I will play his game, Snowflake. I will show him, who’s the puppet master here...’’

The echo of King's low and sinister cackle reverberated in the dark domain.

~*~

Yuuji was lying in bed, holding you close to his body. Once again, the boy couldn’t fall asleep. He was getting worried over everything that had been happening around him. Such fear combined with anxiety didn’t let him rest properly even if his body was exhausted. His poor mind was like a buzzing mechanism at that moment, totally restless.

Yuuji sighed quietly and nuzzled his face into your hair. He couldn’t help but smile at your scent. You indeed smelled sweet, a mix of your peach shampoo from your hair and jasmine perfume from your neck. Such a combination was soothing to him those days.

You were unaware of his problems but he wanted to keep them to himself. It was easier to pretend that his days were just exhausting rather than try to explain his fears and doubts, to make you worry for him unnecessary. He supposed to be your man, not a crying boy. He wouldn’t accept such a weakness from his side since he had promised to protect you.

Yuuji hadn’t told you about his problem with Sukuna during missions, that his inner demon was gaining more control over his body, switching without a warning. What frightened Yuuji even more, was the fact that Sukuna not only kept forcing the boy to switch with him (to kill some strange curses and get something out of them that Yuuji couldn't put a name to it yet) but he even dragged Megumi into his plan. That Megumi, who was the smartest in his group, hard to be fooled around. If Sukuna had gained a kind of ally in Megumi, Yuuji believed more and more than the end of the world was getting close.

...but Yuuji had been aware of the King’s every conversation with Megumi (since Sukuna 'promised' to stop blocking his vision) and he started to believe that Sukuna indeed had a reason to do all of that. Still, Yuuji had that weird, almost frightening feeling it would end badly, on everyone's end.

Yuuji shook his head and tried to calm his hammering heart. He truly had enough of all of it. Not only Sukuna was causing him new problems but also he was escalating the old ones.

That was why he was getting worried about you more and more.

Yuuji wanted to believed that Sukuna wasn’t playing with you and your feelings, that his demon didn’t want to break your soul… and break Yuuji’s whole being as well. After all, Yuuji had agreed to the idea of you trying to ‘befriend’ the King. Yuuji wouldn’t handle watching you falling into despair because of Sukuna’s play, his own soul would break and the guilt would crush his spirit completely. He knew two of you were being at risk by trusting Sukuna.

Yuuji started to have mixed feelings about the agreement but he would explain to himself that as long as you were happy, he didn’t want to stand in your way. He didn't want to shatter what you had already built with two of them. He was scared of being rejected and abandoned, scared of breaking your trust completely. That was why he had found an easier way, to pretend.

Sukuna was right with one thing. Yuuji loved you so much he was ready to put his own life and sanity to keep you sound and safe. Yuuji would easily risk putting you first, at the cost of his own safety.

Love was truly the worst and merciless curse.

Love was a curse… or at least Sukuna believed in it.

Yuuji had been recalling the King’s words very often, the way Sukuna had answered his questions, the way he had behaved... He still feared that Sukuna hadn’t been open with him completely... but, on the other hand, why would he be?

Sukuna was known for being dark and mysterious. It was not a surprise then that the curse had been hiding a lot from Yuuji, the boy wasn’t that stupid to be unaware of that fact. Still, whatever he was able to see, was making him worried even more.

Yuuji knew that Sukuna had been playing a lot, especially with you just to piss him off, to make him jealous and doubtful even more.

What was even worse? The fact that Sukuna had been using Yuuji’s tricks to make you happy, to make you laugh, to make you safe and content... as if the demon was trying hard to learn from him, to mimic him, to replace him–

Yuuji’s eyes widened and he instinctively curled around you, seeking comfort and trying to calm his escalating heartbeat and breathing.

...replace?

Little did the boy know he started to fall into a panic attack. He was able to focus on that one word only, the words were multiplying in his mind, flooding his sanity.

Replace replace replace he’s trying to replace me replace replacereplace– 

“Stop it.”

Yuuji snapped from his daze at the stern and rough voice that resonated in his head. He blinked a few times, believing he misheard it.

He didn’t.

“Stop overthinking. I can’t find my own rest when you keep being awake, thinking of such ridiculous things. How old are you, five?”

Yuuji involuntary furrowed his brows. Ah, Sukuna had joined the mess in his head. He wouldn't have dreamt of that possibility.

“It’s all your fault. You keep making me like that. I hope you’re proud, you fucking bastard.” Yuuji responded in his head, huffing quietly. 

He heard Sukuna’s sharp snort and he could almost see as the King was watching him with his typical grudge written on his face.

If only Yuuji knew that Sukuna just stopped himself from teasing the boy more. The King knew better to switch his roles very often and keep kind of balance. That was why he had to play the role of the adult for Yuuji at that moment, even if he would love to say (and boast about) that he had just saved the brat from falling into a panic attack and, once again, Yuuji was - as always - oblivious.

What an ungrateful vessel indeed…

Only Sukuna was aware that Yuuji’s breathing and beating heart were calming down. Even if his head was still full of worry, Sukuna could see the thoughts weren’t as toxic as previously. The boy’s spirit, previously fearful, gained more stubbornness, the one that Sukuna knew and rather preferred in Yuuji.

Seeing the good effects, the King continued his ‘therapy’ with the brat.

“Listen. The less you know the better is for everyone. I am far from being your enemy right now, so you better appreciate it.”

Yuuji pouted, clearly offended. His fear turned into anger, the one he usually held towards Sukuna.

“I start to regret having any trust in you...”

Sukuna wasn’t surprised nor offended, yet he started to be annoyed.

“No need.”  His voice was stern and clear but without heat. Yuuji blinked in surprise when he realized that Sukuna sounded almost… tired.

“Sleep. Just sleep, brat...”

Yuuji knew better than to not ask Sukuna questions that wouldn't be answered anyway. Still, Yuuji wanted Sukuna to believe in him a little bit more, be more open perhaps, maybe even trust him… but Yuuji knew it was rather impossible for the prideful and selfish King to see anything worthy in him, his vessel.

Chapter Text

“So… a ring, this ring precisely, is going to help me get stronger?”

You were sitting on one of the sofas in Gojou’s lounge, in front of your father and Nanami. Gojou had returned after three days of looking for the ‘perfect’ cursed object for you.

...and he brought you a golden ring with a small ruby piece in the middle that supposed to imitate the eye. 

“Ahh, what’s with that face, y/n? You seem to be sceptical!” Gojou called with his cheerful voice. Nanami and you were silent but you two shared the common feeling, pure confusion.

“...a little bit?” You admitted quietly and focused on the ring again. The cursed object was lying in the elegant black case, on the table in front of you. It looked… normal. You tried your best to even sense the cursed energy within the object but no chance.

“Ah, you hurt my feelings, y/n...” Gojou called, making his ‘kicked puppy’ expression. Nanami huffed at that, folding arms on his chest.

“No wonder she is surprised and sceptical. You promised to bring something cool and yet...” Nanami cocked a brow and tried hard to not grab Gojou at his shirt, shake him and yell “Is this the ‘powerful thing’ for which I’ve been working overtime for past days, you idiot?!”. Gojou must have sensed your awkwardness combined with Nanami’s growing anger because – as always – he laughed again, ruffling his already messy hair.

“Oh come on, guys. Never judge a book by its cover! This little thing can do real magic!” He said, making a rainbow gesture with his hands. Nanami glared at him and Gojou instinctively pulled away, pouting. 

An awkward silence set between you for a few more seconds before Gojou sighed and dropped his cheerful tone. He knew he had to explain things to convince both of you into his plan. You were more than curious and eager to hear what he had in mind after all. 

...and why, of all cursed objects, he had brought you an inconspicuous piece of gold.

“This ring belonged once to a half-human, half-curse queen. I know what you are thinking right now, I know what I said before, that breed is extremely rare but still not impossible. Only three sorcerers in our long and bloody history mastered the duality of their natures and used it for the greater good. Others, well. Let’s say they didn’t get a happy ending…” Gojou shrugged nonchalantly and you involuntary shifted on the couch, slightly nervous at his suggestion. Nonetheless, you were listening to him carefully.

“The main problem with you, dear y/n, is that you’re neither a curse nor a human. You’re somewhere in between but share similar problems as half-breeds. You too have troubles with controlling your cursed energy. The constant battle of natures, remaining human or let yourself be a curse… It’s hard to master but not impossible.” Gojou smirked, raising his index finger. 

Your eyes shone with sudden hope. Was there truly a chance for you to… to be like the others? To stop being a nuisance and finally put your energy and your cursed soul into something good? You eyed the ring, still sceptical. Maybe it was because of your doubtful nature… or the fear that Gojou might try to trick you, use you for his mysterious plan. You couldn't help but had a weird feeling he wasn't telling you the whole truth.

“How does it- ...that ring is going to help me?” You asked quietly, making Gojou smile even wider.

“This little thing is there to help you find the harmony, to teach you how to feel your cursed energy, how to use it without destroying your body. It will help you to synchronize your soul, body and your cursed energy, creating almost celestial harmony. Once you and that ring find a common tongue, we will use it to master your cursed techniques… along with taming your Innate Domain.”

Your eyes widened at the last part and you involuntary shivered. Interfering into your Innate Domain always ended with something horrible, either you being hurt or Gojou being 'eaten' from his cursed energy. Nanami also looked troubled, looking at his friend with ‘are you kidding me’ expression? Even if he had never experienced the horror of your inner world, he was familiar with the topic. 

You started praying that your father truly tried to prank you and you wanted that joke to end quickly. Meanwhile, Gojou seemed to be far from his typical carefree and joke-a-lot personality, even if he was smirking. On the other hand, you knew that sooner or later Gojou would cover this topic… You were surprised it was that fast, to not say too fast.

“I’m not joking. For now, you are trapped in your past. Your fury towards Mahito, the fear towards your traumatic past, the doubt towards your nature, all of it works like a ticking bomb. Wrath is the worst emotion for shamans, it works like a detonator, opening the gates for the very evil hidden within all of us. It works twice the worse on you since you share your soul and body with Mimi. You promised to be stronger, didn’t you? Then find harmony with Mimi and you will achieve your goals. Turn your defect into your strongest weapon.”

You blinked at that and involuntary shivered, feeling exposed. You looked at your teacher who was watching you with a soft smile. He was right about you being trapped in your own past and nightmares which led to losing control over your own body and soul... but you couldn’t agree with one thing.

“Mimi and I trust each other.” You said firmly. Gojou only shook his head, raising his index finger.

“No, my dear. Your body and soul are desynchronized. You don’t trust each other because every time you are in danger, Mimi pulls you into your domain. She literally hides you from any danger, putting everything on herself. That’s a big mistake. You have to face the danger together if you two want to get stronger.”

Gojou’s words hit you more than you wanted to admit… and you could feel they reached your sister too. There was a pang of anxiety and fear in your soul that suddenly changed into anger only to fade out with a soft hum. Your sister clearly wasn’t pleased with that statement but you two knew Gojou was right.

Your father sensed the inner battle within you and he leaned in. He lifted his blindfold, looking at you with one of his icy-blue eyes. You involuntary tensed, knowing he tried to ‘read’ you. Though, there was a small and warm smile on his face and the feeling of being ‘judged’ by his one eye immediately faded. You knew you shouldn’t fear your father and you felt bad for reacting like that… but you had to agree his eyes could be beautiful and frightening at the same time. You unconsciously sighed, focusing on the ring again.

There was nothing left anyway. You decided to try whatever option Gojou had in mind.

“So… what can I do?” You asked with a slight determination in your voice and heard Gojou’s chuckle. He was truly amused with your statement, feeling proud. 

“Oh, it’s simple, y/n. We have to teach you how to fall into ‘zone’ and have fun from the fight, not the overwhelming fear that keeps poisoning you and your soul, immobilising you. You will have us – I mean Nanami and I – to teach you everything, to support you but you have to believe in your abilities and yourself first, y/n. Once you do that, I have a feeling that nothing will stop you. So, y/n, are you up for that challenge?”

It sounded almost too good and too easy to be true but you didn’t dare to question Gojou more. After all, you promised yourself to be better. There was no going back.

All you could do was to nod and trust your guardians.

~*~

“So, this ring is supposed to help you keep better control over your cursed energy?” 

Yuuji asked you the same evening, hugging you from behind. You two were chilling in the bed, both were looking at the small golden thing you had been playing with between your fingers. As your father had asked, you didn’t put the ring on. You left that ‘important moment’ for tomorrow when you could start your training under Gojou’s eyes.

You nodded at Yuuji’ words and sighed quietly, still doubtful a bit at the ‘magical properties’ of the cursed object.

“Gojou said he’s going to train me. Nanami will join us from time to time because of his schedule. We suppose to start tomorrow and, well, I have to prepare myself for “no discount tariff”, as he said.” You explained and chuckled but your voice sounded shaky anyway. Yuuji immediately sensed that and cocked a brow, shifting closer to you.

“Feeling scared?” He asked quietly and you couldn’t help but furrow your brows in worry. You sighed quietly and nodded, pressing your back more into his warm chest. His arms immediately hugged you tight as he pecked a kiss on your cheek. You smiled widely at his sweet gesture, grateful for having him by your side.

“Anxious, I think?…” You admitted shyly, still thinking of what Gojou had said. You didn’t fear Gojou and his potential methods of training you. What scared you the most was the fact you two were going to try ‘tame’ your domain. You still couldn’t believe such… abomination could be ‘repaired’ and then used as your advantage, as your wild card. All because of a small, rather inconspicuous trinket. 

Still, you wanted to believe in it, no matter how ridiculous it looked like.

“...but I know that we’re doing that for greater good so I have to put myself together and don’t be such a weenie. I promised myself to be stronger so I will do and try anything to achieve my goals.” You explained and smiled a little, nuzzling nose to his cheek.

Yuuji chuckled at your ‘bad’ joke and hummed in thought.

“Hmm, but you’re already a badass~” He said and winked. You laughed sincerely at that and shook your head even if your heart skipped a beat. He was impossibly cute, always making you feel cherished. Meanwhile, Yuuji seemed to be proud for making you laugh as he smiled widely, his honey eyes shone.

“You supposed to say ‘a disastrous badass’, come on, even principal’s Cursed Dolls have more fluidity than me!” You didn’t stop teasing him with your ‘bad’ jokes… nor Yuuji did stop praising you.

“Even if, you’re still more beautiful than them~” 

Oh, it backfired right into your heart and you couldn't help but laugh again, blushing hard. You forgot about your worry, your anxiety and doubt left your body as soon as you eagerly continued that ‘love-hate bickering’ with Yuuji.

Meanwhile, Sukuna had been listening to and watching both of you as always… and the King wasn’t in a good mood. 

He was somehow glad that Yuuji lifted your spirits, he hated when you were putting yourself down so often. He knew you were strong… just lost and inexperienced but he would never blame you. As usual, he was holding a monologue inside his mind, away from the brat's consciousness.

One of the important roles of the father is to teach the offspring how to survive in this brutal world. Clearly, that blue-eyed bastard failed even that.  

Sukuna sighed deeply, massaging the ridge of his nose as his eyes closed in disappointment.

But who am I to expect a miracle from such dumbass shamans who still know shit after my death… which means over a thousand years to grow, evolve and get better but let’s waste it-! Fuck, such a bunch of idiots. They clearly don’t know what to do with you and your cursed energy, my dear Angel.

Sukuna groaned to himself and returned to spectating on time… He had to blink a few times, believing he was seeing things.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t. His anger immediately increased as bloody magic lit in his eyes.

Are you fucking kidding me?

Sukuna rumbled lowly, clearly disgusted. His domain shook as well, disturbed by the King’s growing anger. 

Really, Gojou? From all cursed objects and even weapons that would be compatible with y/n, you decided to bring her that cursed ring? I knew you were an idiot… Now you’ve proved you're a fucking moron. 

Sukuna growled even more, his body tensed. A few skulls fell down from the pile, rattling on the way. Such loud events had triggered something small and precious to get out from his scarf. The white orb flew around and squeaked at him as if questioning his sudden bad mood. It even gently nuzzled to his cheek and purred, trying its best to soothe the King.

At such a pure and adorable gesture, Sukuna couldn’t help but relax immediately. He sighed deeply but smiled, purring back to the orb.

“Ah, pardon, Snowflake. I disturbed your sleep.” He said and offered his clawed hand to the fuzzy ball that twirled around his fingers and soon settled on his palm. It churred at Sukuna who cocked a brow, clearly surprised.

“You want to know what happened? Fine. I will start with ‘I’m surrounded by idiots who know shit about cursed magic’, how’s that?” He explained half-joking half-serious and the white ball squeaked at him, demanding more information.

Sukuna groaned dramatically (obviously without heat) and rolled his eyes as he settled comfortably on his bone throne.

“Fine, fine. Gojou brought y/n a cursed ring that supposed to help her with taming the cursed energy. I can’t decide if he’s a sadistic prick and wants to make his adopted daughter suffer even more ooor… he’s testing me and my reaction to his not-so-brilliant idea.” Sukuna hummed in thought, stroking his chin. 

“Do you think he wants to piss me off by that? You know, like provoke me to get out and - at least - yell at him for being a fool?” He asked and looked down at the white being settled comfortably on his palm. The orb shook its small head, Sukuna only snorted, unamused.

“You’re right. He is able to piss me off with or without his ‘brilliant’ ideas.” The King sighed in defeat and focused on his little friend instead. He started gently petting the white orb and he smiled softly when it started purring, clearly happy with the attention from him.

“I bet he didn’t even tell y/n about the previous user, Demonic Muzan also called Lady Atrocity...” Sukuna murmured more to himself but the orb heard him anyway and squeaked at his words, demanding more information.

“Ah, sure, let me explain– Hm? Ohh, don’t give me that look, Snowflake. I didn’t know her personally, obviously, but – let’s say – I ‘heard’ about her.” The King grinned in amusement as he hummed in thought, recalling the past century.

Sukuna might be trapped in cursed objects and flesh of other curses for a thousand years, still, he knew a lot. He knew how to see without looking. He knew how to feel without touching… and he was smart enough to put things together to know what was going on around him for years. 

He was the King for many reasons after all and he mastered sensing things all around him.

“So yes, Lady Atrocity, half-breed. The lady shaman who used to be merciless with curses, very strong and effective, loved and praised by students, feared by demons… until she realized she was being used by other shamans. It was too late though and she was killed by her so-called friends...” Sukuna’s voice suddenly dropped into a dangerous tone and his eyes darkened. 

“Sounds familiar...” He rumbled, involuntary recalling his past… 

...but before he could be fully pulled in and swallowed by his demons, the white orb squeaked in a worry and bumped into his cheek, successfully making him snap from his daze and get back to his reality.

Sukuna let out a small gasp and blinked in surprise, looking down, clearly touched. He couldn’t help but chuckle softly at such a gesture. He leaned in and nosed at the white being, secretly grateful for not being alone in his domain, not anymore.

“Thank you, Snowflake. What would I do without you, hm?” He purred and smirked when the orb squeaked happily, nuzzling eagerly to his face. His clawed hand embraced gently the orb, its tail wrapped around his slim fingers, clearly content and safe.

“Gojou will fail at training.” Sukuna said quietly after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “He wants to help y/n but he doesn’t understand her nor her cursed being... or he doesn't want to accept the truth about her, what a fool.” The King sighed deeply and leaned backwards, keeping the white orb close to his chest. 

“I have a feeling I will have to put a lot of my cursed energy into healing y/n, again.”

~*~

The next day you started your training and you would lie if you didn’t admit you were slightly excited about that. Gojou and you were standing in the middle of the forest that was a property of the school; a perfect place to train under the radar and not to worry about potential civilians. Gojou seemed to be excited for both of you because he called the forest ‘an unlimited field to play in! So, a playground in short!’ – you (strangely) liked that wordplay. Another plus of training in the wild was the fact that even if (somehow) Gojou couldn’t control you and your cursed energy, the chance of hurting someone around you was close to zero.

As Gojou asked in the previous afternoon, you kept the ring off your fingers. You were scared of putting that cursed thing on your own anyway so you were glad to finally try the ring on, under Gojou’s observant eyes.

You took out the ring from the elegant case, giving it a determined look. Your hands were a little bit shaky, both from excitement and a bit of anxiety.

The black box got back into the pocket of your hoodie while the golden thing landed slowly on your finger...

...and nothing happened.

You didn’t know what exactly were you expecting. Probably everything but this?

No blood, no biting from the cursed thing, not even a palpable change in the cursed energy, not a ‘boost’ effect, no feeling of being eaten alive… Nothing. Literally nothing.

Well, at least it fit your small finger... or perhaps it adapted to your size without you seeing a thing? That would be cool! Like in those movies with magical objects where the ring could change into a small dragon or– 

Y/n, focus. You were called out by your sister and immediately pulled out from your weird thoughts, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Is it… working?” You asked quietly, clearly confused. Your eyes must have been stuck on the ring for too long because you didn’t even see Gojou had moved closer to you. Your sensei startled you as he leaned in, watching you very closely (even if he wore his blindfold still).

You were about to question the situation even more when Gojou smirked and straightened up.

“Clearly~” He said with a cheerful voice and you couldn’t help but cock a brow at that statement. On the other hand, who you were to question your father, the strongest shaman anyway? If he sensed the change in you, all you could do was to believe in it.

“Well then? What are we going to start with?” You asked, looking up at Gojou. He seemed to be in a good mood… what was already alerting you.

“Hit me.”

“...I beg your pardon?” You paused at such words, blinking even more. Gojou’s smirk seemed to get wider and you involuntary shivered.

“You want me to do what?” You asked again, believing it was another sick joke from your guardian. Gojou only laughed and lifted his index finger, putting it on his lips.

“I want you to hit me.”

You blinked again, dumbfounded even more. Why would your training start with hitting your adoptive father? What was going on? Where was the hidden meaning of that?

Gojou seemed to be amused by your growing confusion but he decided to spare your brain from overheating by explaining his plan:

“To be precise, I want you to try and hit me. Your training will end as soon as you land a hit on me. You can use whatever knowledge you have gained, whatever tricks you have learnt… Simple task, right?”

“Not at all!” You immediately squeaked, making him laugh.

Gojou demanded the impossible from you! After all, how could you get through his Infinity and Six Eyes in general? It had to be a cruel joke for sure!

“I thought we were going to-” You started with a weak voice but were interrupted.

“Start from the very beginning? Nonsense. You already know the basics. We don’t need to waste our time on such things, you know. By the way, you’ve been unconsciously training with me since your childhood, that’s a plus, isn’t it?” You believed that if Gojou had his blindfold taken off, he would wink at you at that moment. 

You blinked in surprise and thought about his words; you couldn’t help but agree. As a kid, you remember playing with Gojou who – as it turned out later – was secretly teaching you (through simple games) how to not be scared of small curses around you and either ignore them or shoo them away, how to feel your cursed energy, how to understand its power and later how to control it and use it... and you had been doing good until Mahito appeared and messed in your life.

If you only knew Gojou was thinking the same but about Sukuna. He still blamed the King for appearing in your life and messing with your poor feelings and soul. Truly, your guardian despised the demon… and he knew the demon hated him. The feelings were mutual then but Gojou feared you were going to be used by Sukuna and be hurt the most. He didn’t want to lose you. That was why he had to train you, that was why he didn’t want you to rely on the King and his power. You were too important to Gojou to be left behind anyway, either being executed by elders or being killed by the King of Curses.

Unaware of Gojou’s galloping thoughts, you continued:

“But how do you want me to, well, win against you?” You had to ask even if you knew it was rather a rhetorical question. “It’s rather impossible to– Ouch!” You were suddenly flicked in your forehead. You looked up and pouted at your father who had teleported in front of you within seconds.

He's showing off with his powers too much… You couldn't help but agree with Mimi. 

“Already putting yourself and your abilities down. Come on, think. I bet you have an idea or two~” You sensei encouraged you but, frankly speaking, your head was empty.

“An idea or two? Not even a half!” You squeaked and made Gojou laugh as he ruffled your hair. His hand stilled on the top of your head as he hummed lowly and leaned in, keeping a face-to-face conversation.

“You can pass the test easily. There’s one technique that would guarantee a hit on me… The question is, are you ready to break your chains and use it on me properly?”

Your body froze and your eyes widened. Not only Gojou’s husky tone sent you chills down your spine but the hidden meaning behind his words left you petrified. 

He won’t let go with that Domain Expansion shit, will he?  Mimi sighed deeply and you swallowed, looking up.

“I refuse–” 

“Don’t be such a scaredy-cat!” Gojou laughed and his hand left your head as he lifted his blindfold, piercing you with his icy-blue eyes.

“I know you’re better than that… Don’t you think, Mimi?” He asked with a velvety voice, grinning widely, as if challenging you.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

You realized that Gojou had been taunting Mimi to come out and have a spar with him. You involuntary got anxious when you felt the familiar shift of your cursed energy. You knew your sister wanted to pull you back in and take care of the things but… you both realized it was impossible.

“What?...” You whispered quietly, looking at your palms. You could feel the cursed energy heating up your body… but your sister seemed to be ‘trapped’, unable to switch with you at the moment.

The ring, it blocks me. Mimi explained and you couldn’t tell if she was more surprised… or angry.

One thing you knew for sure, Gojou was delighted as he laughed freely and straightened up, clapping slowly.

“Ah, it works better than I imagined. Perfect. We can start then...” He smirked and snapped his fingers. 

You didn’t have time to even squeak but when you blinked, you found yourself high, too high, floating right in the sky.

“Wha-?”  You gasped and found yourself falling, leaving Gojou standing casually in the air.

“Satoruuu?!” You yelled in sudden fear and confusion. You nervously looked down, seeing a giant lake underneath. 

At least it’s not a land and we end up in the water… Mimi said, deadpan while your heart was close to bursting from overwhelming pressure, both in your body and your mind. You weren’t happy with either options, water or ground, you didn’t care. Falling down was already petrifying, making your brain shut down completely. 

“Quickly! Think of something, y/n! I believe in you!” You heard Gojou’s voice nearby and nervously looked around. Your teacher kept teleporting to you, staying close and encouraging you to find a solution, as he said, rather quickly.

“That’s ridiculous!” You yelled and heard his cheerful laugh. 

“Come on, birds have no problem with that!” You saw him grinning wide and was ready to insult him for pulling out such ridiculous assumptions when you were hit with an idea.

...wings.  

Quickly, we have to use our wings! You called to your sister in your head, balancing in the air.

I’m trying but it’s hard! You could hear and even feel that Mimi was struggling. You sensed the energy gathering in your back as your arms sparkled with a white streak of lighting... 

...but the water was much closer and you knew your time was over.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath as you prepared your body for the impact. You positioned yourself in the pencil-diving technique to be easily swallowed by the depths.

...but you didn’t land in the water.

You were stopped right before the surface by the invisible force.

You slowly opened your eyes and let out a gasp, both in surprise and relief. You spotted Gojou in front of you, casually standing on the water.

“You weren’t fast enough!” He said dramatically and sighed as if disappointed. You were ready to lecture him about the general safety during this training first but Goju snapped his fingers and you fell into the water anyway.

You quickly got on the surface, gasping for air. You growled and glared at him, clearly offended.

“That wasn’t fair! Nothing was!” You called, pointing at him. 

“Life isn’t fair in general, y/n.” He shrugged nonchalantly and hummed in thought. “We have to give up on sky diving for now… Oh! What about walking on the water? It’s easy! Use your cursed energy to–” His voice was too peppy for your taste. His general attitude was too carefree for your taste. You didn’t like it.

You believed it was one big joke. From the beginning, you had a feeling it was just a cruel joke from Gojou to show you how weak and pathetic you were. You knew it was a dangerous path, to follow your negative emotions but you couldn’t help it. Your bones rattled from the anger inside as you showed off your gritted teeth.

“Stop it! I’m not a God like you!”  You yelled and it must have worked because Gojou stopped abruptly in his babbling and looked at you, rather sad and disappointed.

He snapped his fingers and you two landed back on the ground, in the middle of the forest. You allowed yourself to simply sit there and try to calm your body from shaking. It was both from cold water (that soaked in your clothing, making you feel uncomfortable) and from more negative emotions that starter to rattle your core. Even if you tried hard to keep it cool, all you could feel was gathering wrath in your body and soul… Such an ugly feeling, working on you even worse and faster since your emotions were combined with Mimi’s. Your sister wasn’t feeling great either.

You heard Gojou’s deep sigh and watched him sit in front of you. He gently patted your head, dispersing some of your negativity just by his touch. You were able to take a few deep breaths, your mind becoming clearer.

“I’m not a God either, y/n.” He started with a calm voice, his eyes strangely soft yet with hidden sadness.

“I might have been too harsh but I wanted to show you something, proved you my words. Mimi and you are desynchronized. As long as you have a ring on, you won’t be able to switch with her. You two have to start working together. You have to combine your body with her cursed soul and vice versa. You have to work as one. Otherwise, you two end up badly...” 

You could hear a genuine concern in his voice. No teasing, no mocking, no taunting. He was worried for Mimi and you and you started to feel guilty for being mean and doubting him the whole time.

“I know...” You started quietly, slightly ashamed. “Sorry for yelling at you.” You added and heard him chuckle. 

“Don’t be sorry. I think I deserved it anyway.” He said and ruffled your wet hair, the feeling of wrath was long gone. 

“Come on. Let’s get you some dry clothes and try again, with a simpler task this time.” Gojou stood up and outstretched his hand. You nodded slowly and grabbed his hand, allowing him to put you on your feet.

You had a feeling it would be a long a tiring day.

~*~

Indeed, it was a long and tiring day. You ended your training in the late afternoon. You were so exhausted you barely even walked but you forced yourself to take a quick shower – to clean yourself from all the dirt and leaves – and eat something to not pass out completely. Then you allowed yourself to be locked in your room, be tangled in your fluffy blanket as you tried your best to relax.

...but your brain had other plans, making you overthink everything that had happened during the day. Your mood had been spoiled before but your poor brain believed it was not enough.

You were too deep into your plans and strategies for tomorrow you didn’t even hear the opening doors. You were murmuring under your nose, curling more into yourself, hiding more from the world, getting yourself trapped in your endless planning… No wonder your heart skipped a beat and your body paused when you felt the presence next to you. Somebody sat on your bed, right behind you.

“Y/n? Are you ok?...” You heard Yuuji’s soft voice, the tension left your body as you groaned aloud, making him chuckle.

“That bad, hm?” He asked and you felt him lying next to you. 

“I brought you some muffins, want to eat them?” It was a sweet gesture, you had to admit, but at that time you were far away from having a taste for anything sweet.

“Y/n? Are you alive?” Yuuji started to be concerned because of your silent treatment… apparently not only him.

“Such a sad burrito.” You heard a rough voice and involuntary tensed, again. You were such a nervous mess because of the events that had happened during your training. You were truly unlike you, almost feeling ashamed.

“You’re not helping, Sukuna, shoo.” Yuuji murmured and you heard a gentle slap. You involuntary breathed in relief. It looked like Sukuna had appeared on Yuuji’s cheek or hand, he didn’t switch with Yuuji entirely... which was good. You didn’t want to face Sukuna either. You had a feeling he would be either angry at you for pushing yourself too hard… or would laugh at you for being a moody brat that couldn’t catch up with some simple tasks. 

Meanwhile, Yuuji had a feeling your day must have been really, really bad. He rarely saw you in such a condition, silent, moody, almost depressed. Though, even if he respected you and didn’t want to push on you, he knew he didn’t want to leave you alone either. 

Yuuji wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t try to lift your spirits anyway.

“Hmmm… I don’t know about you but I think I will have a rest with my favourite pillow.” You heard him and then felt him wrapping his arms around you. He pulled the bundle-you close to himself. He smiled widely when you let out a small groan but curled around him, secretly seeking for his warmth and attention.

“Ahh, so nice~” He purred and nuzzled close to your face, or at least he believed it was close to your face; the thick and fluffy blanket almost made it impossible to see and feel.

“Hm, what if I was able to make it feel better?” Yuuji asked after a few seconds and gently rolled on your curled body, trying his best to untangle you from the blanket. He failed at that (for now) but at least he succeeded at making you speak.

“Yuuuuji, you’re heavyyy...” You whined, far from being offended at that moment even if your muscles were aching still.

“Shhh, pillows don’t talk.” You heard his smug voice and couldn’t help but snort at that. Pillow, huh? You squeaked suddenly and involuntary jolted when his hands (somehow!) sneaked underneath the thick blanket and squeezed your hips.

You had no option other than to roll aside and pull off the blanket, getting ready to counterattack.

“Yuuji, I swear-!” Your boyfriend couldn’t dream of a better opportunity as to simply use the opening and get to you. Within seconds, Yuuji sneaked underneath, wrapping around your body almost possessively as you let out a yelp in surprise. He was too fast and too strong, as always! Damn beast!

...but such a cute beast.

Yuuji was smiling so bright and wide it almost melted your heart. His body was much bigger and heavier but you realized it felt right to have him on you, almost acting as your weighted blanket.

You gently bapped his head for squeezing you too tight as you let out a sigh, slightly blushing. You were clearly defeated and you let your hands fall past him, covering him in the fluffy blanket as well. You pouted without heat when Yuuji touched noses with you and he let out a small snicker in victory. Then, he spoke with his peppy voice:

“Oh, wow! My pillow has just transformed into the blanket with a lovely and beautiful surprise inside. My, my, I think I've been charmed. I'm not letting go of you now, sweetheart~” He grinned happily and you couldn’t help but gave up completely at that moment, your heart was conquered by his love and silliness once again, your bad thoughts dispersed immediately.

You let out a small chuckle as you wrapped around him eagerly, sighing in contentment. 

“Silly...” You murmured teasingly and Yuuji kissed your cheek, smiling so bright it touched your very being. He was truly your Prince Charming, always finding a way to lift your spirits. 

“But your silly~” Yuuji winked and kissed your nose, making you smile widely, your heart light.

You couldn’t agree more as you let out a happy laugh. You truly loved that goof.

BONUS 

| Baptism of Fire |

(The same evening, you summarize your training to Yuuji, still laying next to each other and cuddling.)

Yuuji: ...he wants you to do what?! *mouth agape as he looks at you, concerned*

You: ...to get through his Infinity and land a hit on him? *pout*

Yuuji: ...that’s impossible! 

You: I know! *groan* It sucks.

Yuuji: *hums in thought* I know Gojou sensei is non-standard in every aspect but seriously, he warped you right into the sky and then let you fall into the water? *frowns*

You: *nod and sigh* Yes. He believes I have to be prepared in every situation thus the ‘hardcore’ way of training.

Yuuji: ...well, he is not wrong but maybe it was too much for your first day of training?

You: Hah! Try to tell him that! *huff*

Yuuji: *snorts and shakes head* Riiight, rather impossible... To be honest, I am surprised. It’s completely different from what I had.

You: *blink* Gojou trained you too? How was it? *excited*

Yuuji: Weeeelll... *scratches on his neck/awkward* I had to stay awake and watch dozens of movies while sitting with one of Principal’s Cursed Dolls. The trick was that I had to keep the doll asleep with my cursed energy, keeping my emotions in check. Whenever I allowed myself to be distracted by some emotional scene, I got punched right in my face. It hurt a lot and I almost choked myself with drink or food at sudden punches but after all, it wasn’t that... bad... Ahem! *chuckles nervously at your stern eyes on him*

You: ... *keep silent yet observe him still*

Yuuji: ...y/n?

You: *huff without heat and turn around to show your back to him* Traitor.

Yuuji: Ah! Y/n! Don’t see it like that! *fake whine/he tries to muffle his chuckle knowing you’re teasing him/ hugs you from behind* I told you you’re a badass so you need special training~

You: Hah! You won’t flatter me with your sweet words, silly! *eyes him with a grin*

Yuuji: *grins back at you* Hmm, what about some kiss then? *leans in*

You: You can always try... *pull him in*

(When you two are a giggling and flirting mess, someone else is having another crisis...)

Sukuna: *has been listening to two of you as always and now is pissed at Gojou and his ridiculous methods of training with you/his aura is menacing and heavy, making the nearby skulls rattle aloud* 

Snowflake: *is squeaking and trying its best to calm him down/bumping into his cheeks and hands*

Sukuna: *grins ugly/eyes are flaring in red magic as he flexes his claws* Gojou, you bastard, I will make you cry bloody tears...

Chapter Text

“I want you to start using your Domain Expansion properly.” Gojou was trying to encourage you another day... even if you had a feeling it was more like pushing rather than his goodwill.

“I still refuse.” You were as always stubborn. “I have to control my cursed energy properly before I will even risk to–” 

“What if I use my Domain Expansion on you?” Gojou interrupted you, his voice cheerful but you knew your father too well and easily caught on his hidden warning. Your body froze, your eyes widened as you swallowed thickly.

No way, he can't be serious, can he?

You must have made a funny face because he smirked and put hands into the pockets of his pants, standing nonchalantly.

“You know how to stop me from using my domain on you, don’t you?” He teased a little and you averted your eyes, slightly offended.

“Tell me.” 

You almost jumped when Gojou teleported right in front of you, leaning down to face you. That day, instead of his blindfold, he wore his black glasses. You braced yourself to look into his heaven-like eyes... even if you had a feeling you were being judged by the Kami-sama itself. No matter how many times you could see his eyes, they were giving you chills.

“Come on, don’t be shy.” Gojou teased and you sighed deeply, defeated by his childish stubbornness.

“You can nullify one domain by using another domain, which means you need to have a stronger domain than your opponent's if you want to succeed.” You recited out of spite.

Gojou clasped his hands and sent you thumbs up, grinning widely; you rolled your eyes at that. 

“Bravo! That’s my girl! Now, if we recalled theory, time for–” You saw him folding his fingers and you jumped at him immediately, yelling ‘no!’; to your surprise, Gojou actually listened and paused, cocking a brow at you. You looked at him pleadingly, clearly distressed. 

“Gojou, you know that at this point my domain is–”

“Raw and untamed? Dangerous for both of us? Yes, I am aware, and?”

You felt as if he just slapped you. Sometimes you wished he was more respectful forwards you and tried to, if not understand you, then at least listen to your fears and potential problems… but you knew better you were demanding too much from the shaman that had always been strong and never doubted in his own power. At that point you knew it would be hard for Gojou to even imagine himself as a weak person... or, more precisely, it would be hard for him to imagine being in your shoes.

Your clearly distressed face and lack of proper words to explain yourself made Gojou sigh deeply. He gently patted your head and you involuntary averted your eyes, feeling slightly ashamed of your behaviour. After all, your father wanted to help you. Even if his methods weren’t very objective, you had to believe in him.

...you wanted to believe in him.

As if sensing your doubt, Gojou crouched in front of you, seeking for your eyes. You pouted and braced yourself when you finally looked into his blue irises, trying your best to keep his gaze. Gojou only smiled and shook his head, slightly amused by your stubbornness.

"You may believe in me but you don't believe in yourself still." He said as if reading your thoughts. He gently flicked your forehead and you instinctively flinched, pouting even more. Such a dad move to 'torture' you with.

“Y/n, you are not aware of that yet but your domain isn’t just a hellhole full of your haunting demons that triggers your nightmares and trauma from time to time.” Gojou started with a calm and clear voice, gaining your full attention. 

“You know what is it?” He asked and you slowly shook your head, confused yet intrigued. Gojou smirked, showing off his white teeth.

“It’s a perfect maze with no walls. The never-ending nothingness, the black void that was created by your sister and you to lure others in and eat them alive, to get stronger as a curse. That’s why we have to try and tame it, understand the raw energy better, put a good use into it and create a technique out of it so you can use it and have a full control over it as a shaman.”

You listened to Gojou’s explanation and you involuntary furrowed your brows. You clenched your fists at your sides, your energy hummed in your soul. Once again you started to feel that unpleasant negative emotions gathering slowly under your skin, rattling your bones.

You don't see them the way I always do. That's the difference.

Gojou - even if he was not able to read your thoughts - immediately sensed your cursed energy and pointed at your chest.

“See? You’re already full of pain and negative emotions. It’s high time to turn your energy into something good, and by that, I mean something that won’t destroy you and make you fall into madness. You have to keep the–”

“The balance, yes I know, keep the balance.” You snapped and groaned quietly, massaging your temple. “It’s all easier said than done, you know?” You sighed deeply and saw Gojou standing up. He chuckled innocently, ruffling your hair.

“That’s why I’m here.” He said with a toothy smile. For a second, you wished you were as positive as your sensei. Maybe with his attitude, you would have finished your training the very first day? Such a fever dream... 

“There’s a thin line between sanity and insanity. The corruption of the mind is the corruption of the soul. Try to find yourself on that thin line and you will be fine.” Gojou kept encouraging you still and you couldn’t help but sob quietly, giving up a little.

You knew Gojou tried his best to help you... but sometimes his words sounded more like an enigma rather than a hint. You believed that if Nanami was with you two from the beginning, he would call out Gojou for sharing ‘useless knowledge’ and immediately changed the methods of your training. 

As if speaking your mind, Gojou announced suddenly:

“By the way, Nanami has a day off and will join us tomorrow. I will let you two have sparring, I believe he will be the good one to work on your speed and mobility.” 

You blinked in surprise and then nodded eagerly. Finally something new! You were truly relieved to hear such good news even if you knew that Nanami was a strong shaman, very fast, very precise and very strict. He would be challenging to you still, no favourable tariff from him too but you hoped he would be easier to understand and better to work with than Gojou. After all, your father was non-standard in every way.

“For now, let’s try to ‘awake’ your cursed energy and maintain in your body without damaging you, deal?” Gojou suggested, getting excited like a child. You, on the other hand, almost whined, your hopes and dreams shattered as you got pulled back into brutal reality.

Who were you to say ‘no’ anyway? As if Gojou understood the word ‘no’ or would go easy on you this time... For a second, all of it was familiar and you couldn’t help but smile a little at the vision of four eyes demon that appeared in your mind. The King also didn’t like the word ‘no’ and would do as he pleased. 

Told you, they always fight who’s the alpha…  You heard Mimi in your head and you had to bite on your tongue to not snort aloud.

~*~

As you were promised by Gojou, the next day supposed to be different... and you hoped it would be better too. 

Nanami indeed joined you two. You were surprised to see him without his typical suit but still in fancy jeans and a grey shirt. You missed his colourful tie, though his remarkable glasses were on. For a second, you wondered if you ever saw him without his glasses... Definitely, it was a rare sight. 

“Ohayyoooo Nanamiii-chaaan!” Gojou greeted him and tried to hug him but Nanami shifted away, smoothly avoiding physical contact with the other man.

“No need to greet me like a baby. Let’s get to work.” He said firmly and Gojou pouted.

“You’re so cold, as always...” Your sensei whined and Nanami crossed arms on his chest, unaffected.

“At least I’m efficient. Y/n, how’s your training with that asshole?” Nanami focused on you, ignoring Gojou’s depressed state, leaving him behind. You couldn’t help but smile at that, you missed their interactions. Good old silly dad and his friend, the serious uncle. 

“Uhm, I could have been better, I believe?” You said sincerely and you saw as the invisible arrow hit your adoptive father, pulling him deeper into a black hole of depression. 

Sorry, Gojou, but it’s true... You tried to justify yourself, slightly feeling bad. Nanami didn’t need more explanation as he sighed deeply, fixing his glasses. 

“Why am I not surprised?” He murmured more to himself than you two.

“Nanami-chaan, how could youuu...” Gojou whined, lying on the ground and being on the verge of (fake) tears. “You’re a meanie...” He pouted and you saw Nanami’s eye ticked as the man turned around to face Gojou; you immediately prepared yourself mentally for his scolding.

“Knowing you and your stupid, non-standard ideas, instead of explaining things step by step, you were showing off with your powers, subjecting her to your complicated and ridiculous tests. I bet you sent her into the sky or threw her into the water and you, obviously, tried to use your Domain Expansion on her and all of that to force her to do things out of instincts, without even a mere second to let her think and focus. Now, tell me that’s not what has been happening for past days.”

The pregnant silence that set around was more than proof to Nanami.

Even you were surprised that your second guardian guessed everything perfectly and left Gojou speechless... Well, almost speechless.

“You sure you don’t have hidden cameras around here-GHU!” Nanami immediately kicked Gojou, who tried his best to roll around and avoid merciless stomps on his poor bones. “Ok, ok, I deserve it, mercy! Ouch! I can’t help I like setting the bar pretty high, ahaha! Grhu!” Nanami paused at that, the pulsating veins clearly visible in his forehead.

“You set the bar in the sky, you dumbass! Stop escalating her problems!” He hissed and continued his ‘punishment’ on Gojou... who looked rather contented and amused, despite him acting like a damsel in distress.

“You’re hurting my feelings, Nanamiiiinn!”

“I don’t wanna hear it from you!”

You sighed quietly and watched them bicker back and forth; a small smile was plastered on your lips. It was rather amusing to see Gojou’s ass being kicked by Nanami. You truly missed their interactions. Such events were pulling you back in time when Gojou and Nanami used to babysit you. Just like then and now, their methods of teaching and treating students were totally different... and yet, together they were an unstoppable duo. You were truly blessed to have them as members of your little family. 

When the men finally cleared the air (and the show was over for now), Nanami returned and focused on you again. 

“What’s your main task?”

“...to land a hit on him.” You said quietly and Nanami cocked a brow at that answer.

“Like get through his Infinity?” He asked, rather surprised. At your small nod, he closed his eyes in disappointment and sighed deeply.

“You’re disrespectful, Gojou...” Nanami murmured and turned around, facing Gojou who was lying (dramatically) under the tree. At his words, your father casually sat up, crossing his legs; behaving nonchalantly as always.

“Come on. There’s two of them on one, poor me. That’s already unfair.” Gojou ‘complained’, pointing a finger at you. You got confused for a moment and then you understood his mean joke.

Oh, like you and I on one, ‘poor’ him?  You asked Mimi in your head, slightly offended. Your sister only snorted ugly in response. Your dad was truly a non-standard parent.

Meanwhile, Nanami seemed to achieve a new level of nervosity because of Gojou’s ridiculous explanation. The man didn’t find that ‘joke’ very amusing.

“...I can’t believe you’ve said that.” Nanami seethed and Gojou immediately tensed, scooping away. “I can’t believe you’re older than me.” 

Nanami’s eyes were sharp, drilling into Gojou mercilessly. The white hair man chuckled nervously and shrugged nonchalantly. 

“It’s not my fault you have an old soul, Nanami-chan~” 

...you had never seen Gojou running so fast, Nanami hot on his heels. 

You were truly grateful for having Nanami around. You knew he would put and keep Gojou in line... but at that very moment, you had a feeling none of them would be helpful for you.

You decided to give yourself a break and eat your muesli bar. You sat under the tree and watched two grown men ‘fighting’ with each other. 

At least it is confirmed. Mimi murmured in your head and you cocked a brow.

What precisely? You asked, getting a bite on your treat.

Gojou is a masochist. You snorted so hard at her words and almost choked. 

Just listen! If he turns off his Infinity around Nanami only to let himself be kicked easily in his not-so-sorry ass, it must be a sign! Does it mean that Nanami is the father superior to all of us?

At that point you were laughing hard, lying on the soft grass. When your laugh died a little, you wiped your tears and sniffed.

I guess we will never know. You responded to your sister, still giggly as you took a sip of water from your bottle.

Men never grow up anyway, right?  Mimi murmured in your head. 

“Yuuup.” You sighed and instinctively winced at Gojou’s loud yelp. Even if you felt sorry for your father, you knew he deserved it for all taunts towards Nanami. 
.
.
.

At least fifteen minutes had passed before Gojou and Nanami decided to return to you and took the training seriously. 

You were standing in front of Nanami who was rolling up his sleeves; Gojou was sitting on the tree, watching you two with a pouty mouth yet big curiosity hidden in his eyes.

“Since you have that ring on, Mimi can’t switch with you easily. You two have to feel your cursed energy and put it into good use. I know that Gojou had good intentions but clearly sucked at the demonstration and attempts. That’s why we start with baby steps first.” Nanami explained and you nodded, feeling determined.

“Imagine you are a boxer. Try to hit my hands as strong as you can but instead of mittens, try to use your cursed energy to coat your hands. That’s how not only you will protect your hands but you will put some energy into every hit, making them stronger.”

...it sounded much, much easier than any task Gojou had tried with you for past days. At that moment, you truly felt blessed by Nanami’s presence and you tried hard to not tear up from overwhelming happiness and relief. You finally got a teacher that understood your needs!

Dear Kami-sama, thank you for Nanami!

“I won’t hit you back, for obvious reasons, but I will block and parry your hits, trying to distract you. Are we understood?” He asked, watching you with his sharp and observant eyes.

“Yes, sir!” You couldn’t help but feel excited. You allowed yourself to salute, giving him a toothy grin. Nanami huffed without a heat, smiling at you a little; then he assumed his position, becoming serious again.

“Hit when you are ready!” 

You nodded eagerly at his order and you closed your eyes, trying to concentrate, to feel your energy flowing through your body. You raised your hands and clutched them in fists, feeling sparkles running down your fingers. 

When you opened your eyes, you saw white streaks of lightning dancing on your hands. Just like before with Gojou, once again you could feel the hotness gathering in your fingers. You could tell your cursed energy was much different than Yuuji’s or Nobara’s. Instead of blue fire, you were coated in living thunders. 

“Don’t lose your focus! Hit!” You heard Nanami and allowed yourself to be lost in the moment.

You let out a battle cry as you jumped at the man, landing a hit after hit. You were pushing him back but he was still keeping his cool, easily sparring your attacks. With the particular one, Nanami grabbed your wrist and sent you behind himself, trying to distract you.

You let out a growl but you did a pirouette in the air and landed smoothly on your hands and feet. Your eyes sharpened as you started to see his weak points. You attacked again, unaware of your changing appearance.

Gojou knew that Nanami had you under control, his friend always had things under control... but as much as Gojou knew Nanami was strong, he knew his friend wouldn’t stand for too long against you.

Gojou watched as the tattoo of a vertical eye painted on your forehead. He saw your gritted teeth changing into fangs, your fingers extended, your nails changed into sharp claws. The whites of your eyes changed into black but your eyes remained red which was already intriguing to him. It looked like your sister and you started to cooperate... but he didn’t like the ‘taste’ of your cursed energy. 

You were losing control too easily, using your negative emotions to fuel you. Gojou knew that at some point you would lose yourself into your hidden wrath... as if he allowed for that anyway.

Meanwhile, Nanami had more difficulties with sparring your attacks. You were growing faster and stronger... and your appearance was closer to look like a cursed one rather than your human one. Your hair grew and was floating, illuminating with the bright light. White thunderbolts were snapping around your body, concentrating on your arms. You no longer tried to hit him with your fists. Instead, you tried to slice him with your sharp claws. 

Nanami jumped away to give yourself a second to breathe and parry your another attack but his eyes widened in surprise when you disappeared from his sight... only to look up and see you going down like a snow leopard. 

The man instinctively crossed his forearms above, waiting for your claws...

...but they never reached him.

Nanami saw you hitting and scratching at the invisible wall that was created above him. You growled in annoyance but before you could run past the wall and reach him, the invisible force sent you away from Nanami.

Gojou was standing in front of his friend, his blindfold was fully taken off.

“You clearly underestimated her, Nanami.” He started, surprisingly serious. He watched you rolling on your fours and hissing at him. You truly looked like a rabid animal.

“That’s why I was ‘rough’ with her from the beginning. You can’t look at her as you look at other students. You can’t take it all easy since there’s no word like ‘easy’ when it comes to y/n.” Gojou raised his hand, his icy-blue eyes never left you.

You let out a menacing roar and started running towards them on your four, clearly lost in your negativity and controlled by the urge to kill. 

“Wait, what do you want to–” Nanami let out a quiet breath when he recognized the position of Gojou’s fingers. “No, don’t use it on her–!” He got up, trying to stop his friend...

...but it was too late. 

“Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void.”

Nanami involuntary tensed at Gojou’s words and watched the world shifting around them into Unlimited Void. He knew he was safe as long as Gojou wanted it but since his friend used his technique on you, Nanami truly got scared that your brain and you would be damaged for real...

...and yet, the man was surprised again.

He expected you to pause abruptly and be ‘eaten’ by the unlimited knowledge that was forcefully put in your mind. The last thing he would ever expect was you running at Gojou with your full speed, clearly unaffected by his technique.

“What the...” Nanami watched in horror as Gojou’s white void was being eaten by black, hissing darkness. Gojou only smirked, his eyes shone.

“Can’t you see it, Nanami? You have a true beast in front of you.” Gojou casually sparred your attack and sent you away as he looked around. Finally, they found themselves in your domain... but not the way he wanted. 

Gojou spotted that as soon as your domain nullified his, the colour of your eyes changed to dirty yellow. He knew that Mimi was in full charge again and he was more than surprised to see that your sister repelled the ring’s effect on her. Gojou was able to sense the humming and raw energy creeping from around, lurking in the darkness, watching them, getting ready to burst and swallow them and their energy... but he was cool about it even if it was your sister’s playground and Nanami and he were about to be her main course.

Meanwhile, Nanami slowly looked around, clearly confused. A bead of sweat rolled down his chin as he sensed something overwhelming, hidden in the black void; something was clearly there, blended perfectly in the deepest blackness, trying to lure them in.

Such a deep, dark strength.

“How is it possible?” Nanami asked weakly. If he didn’t see with his own eyes as Gojou’s domain was being nullified, he would never believe there was a person able to do that. After all, The Unlimited Void was a very powerful technique, able to crush the strongest will.

“Her mind is already trapped in a different place that’s why I can’t reach her with my void. She is somehow ‘immune’ and keeps going, driven by her urge to feed on the stronger user, first on you and now on me. Long story short, her own domain demands our blood.” Gojou explained and Nanami involuntary tensed. The man understood the feeling that had been creeping up his spine, making him feel uncomfortable, almost exposed.

His eyes landed on you, snarling at them menacingly as you started running, trying to attack them again. Your cursed form looked like a banshee, all white and glowy against the background of pitch-black nothingness.

At that moment, you were truly like a beacon... that led to nothing else than just calamity. 

“You see, her Innate Domain isn’t refined yet. It’s a tangled mess of raw energy that gets triggered to action whenever y/n is put into other domain.” Gojou continued his explanation, sparring your attacks with his Infinity, nonchalant as always.

“She literally lures everyone in and tries to eat them and their cursed energy. That’s how she is getting stronger, or rather she wants to get stronger. It’s been happening since the very beginning when Mimi died and used her wrath to possess the curses’ energy, feed on them and protect y/n. They seem to be stuck in that loop of wrath and fear. Even if they look and behave hella dangerous, they’re still just twin kids trapped in the past.”

Gojou sent you on his side, unaffected by your inhuman roaring. He furrowed his brows, his eyes gleamed with determination.

“That’s why I want to break it. That’s why I want them to accept their past and move forward. That’s why I want them to work together, to synchronize because now...”

You tried to attack them and, once again, you landed on the invisible wall. You banged with your fists and scratched with your claws at the force, roaring in fury. The men watched you still, Gojou with his typical calmness and Nanami with hidden fear in his eyes.

“...she’s neither a curse nor a human.”

At Gojou’s explanation, Nanami clenched his fists, watching you with pure sorrow. He realized he was a fool to believe you were easy to train with. He believed Mimi and you were similar to Yuuji with Sukuna... but he could see now how complex your problems were.

“I know you didn't want her to suffer because of her domain, Nanami, but if we leave her like that, untrained and untamed, she will destroy herself from the inside out. The sisters will literally eat each other.”

Gojou’s eyes squinted when he saw the white energy around you buzzing and cracking so violently. He could see your hands going purple from obvious burnt. He had a feeling you would try to use your cursed wings soon and he knew he had to stop you before that. 

After all, Gojou couldn’t risk your life too much. He wouldn't call himself your father if he didn’t have an ace up his sleeve anyway. 

“That’s the end of our training for today, y/n.” Gojou said with a smirk, his eyes gleamed with blue magic as he snapped his fingers. 

The darkness dispersed within seconds and all of you were back on the field, in the middle of the forest.

Nanami heard a loud thud and turned around, seeing your lifeless body lying on the cold ground. He rushed to you but Gojou was already crouching down by your side, checking out your wounds.

“Not that bad...” He murmured to himself but Nanami was clearly petrified once his eyes landed on your lifeless body, your wounds and your ruined clothes. 

“Not that bad? Are you kidding me? Her arms are burnt!” He yelled at his friend, crouching down. He very gently scooped you in his arms, minding your wounds. You looked dead but once he heard your small whine in pain, he breathed in relief. 

“Relax, Nanami. Our doctors will take care of her. She didn’t damage her soul so much this time sooo it’s already a kind of success, right?” Gojou grinned happily but Nanami was far, far from being proud or happy at that very moment. The man didn’t have the energy to yell at Gojou even if he would love to reprimand his friend for being so ridiculous and unaffected by your misery.

“Let’s just get her back to school.” Nanami said firmly and Gojou nodded, teleporting all of you within seconds.

~*~ 

Yuuji was more than petrified when he returned from the mission and saw you lying in the bed, unconscious, with bandaged hands and clearly in pain. 

He was standing there, taken aback; shivers run down his spine as he swallowed thickly.

“What...” He whispered quietly, unsure what to do, what to even think. He stepped closer and sat on the chair by your bed. He eyed your body up and down, you seemed to be in a fever, shivering under your thick sheets. 

Yuuji couldn’t understand what had happened. You supposed to train with Gojou, be safe and protected... since when your training changed into something so dangerous that left you in pain and shivers?

Apparently, not only Yuuji was touched by such a miserable picture of you.

“Want me to heal her?” 

Yuuji blinked from his daze and slowly looked down. Sukuna’s eye and mouth were on his palm, looking at him with an unreadable expression. Yuuji let out a sharp breath and involuntary furrowed brows, looking at his inner demon with jealousy hidden in his eyes.

Ah, yes, once again he couldn’t do a thing to help you. Once again, the mighty King was there to save the day. Yuuji clenched his other fist and gritted his teeth, he truly felt useless.

“Don’t treat it as a big deal. We have an agreement, right?” The young shaman blinked at Sukuna’s surprisingly concerned words. Did the demon read him and decided to pity him? No, impossible, the boy believed he was imagining such things. After all, since when Sukuna was taking care of Yuuji’s opinion and his inner feelings? 

Yuuji hissed at his powerlessness as he tangled fingers in his pants, squeezing at the material too tight. Sukuna didn’t miss it... nor he did make an insulting comment. The demon patiently waited...

...and when Yuuji finally gave a nod, he switched with him within seconds. He forced brat to appear on his cheek so he would have things under control, just as he wanted to in those days. 

Sukuna sat at the edge of the bed, gently taking your hands in his clawed ones. He sensed the damage and rumbled, clearly displeased. His magic lit up around his hands and then two of them watched the red energy being soaked in your bandaged hands and forearms. You let out a small sigh in contentment and soon your body stopped shivering. Sukuna couldn’t help but smile at that as he allowed himself to gently caress your hands with his thumbs. 

Yuuji didn’t miss that and his brow furrowed in worry. He didn’t want to question his inner demon, the occasion wasn’t proper anyway, but he could see the pattern, no matter how Sukuna wanted to pull the wool over his eyes. 

“Should I have a word with her damn so-called father?”

Yuuji blinked in surprise at Sukuna’s low and full of hidden malice voice. The boy got confused and Sukuna snorted ugly at his obliviousness.

“Can’t you see it? He brings more pain to her than actual good...” Sukuna growled and Yuuji went silent. The boy didn’t want to question Gojou’s methods, even if he knew they were non-standard... but he had to agree with Sukuna that you hadn’t been doing good since the first day. Whatever was happening during your training, Yuuji could see it cost you your sanity... and now your health. On the other hand, the young shaman knew the talk between Gojou and Sukuna would end up badly and he didn’t want them to start the real fight.

“I think... Gojou knows what he’s doing, right?” Yuuji said quietly, unsure; Sukuna let an ugly cackle at that.

“Clearly not.” Sukuna said firmly, focusing on you again. 

Whatever you had done at your training to damage yourself like that, the King knew you might not remember a thing the next morning. Though, he knew you would wake up safe and sound. After all, the demon made sure you were healed fully and slightly pumped in with his cursed energy. He knew your sister and you would put it into good use and perhaps surprise Gojou with a strong attack. 

Sukuna would love to watch you kicking Gojou’s ass. He believed it would be so entertaining. 

Though, a strange thought invaded his mind. What if Gojou was pushing you because of him? What if Gojou indeed was testing Sukuna? What if he wanted to get revenge through you?... No, impossible. It would be a very low blow.

Sukuna shook off from such ridiculous thoughts. After all, Gojou might be stupid but he wasn’t that cruel, especially towards you, his precious daughter.

“It’s done.” He said to Yuuji. The brat had been quiet for too long, it was both unusual and alerting. “Switching back so you can stay with her.”

Those words made Yuuji blink and before he was able to question Sukuna, he was back in his own body. He was clearly confused but secretly happy and relieved.

“Thanks...” He said quietly and lied next to you, wrapping his arms carefully around you. 

“You’re welcome.”  Sukuna responded in his mind and surprised Yuuji again. Since when Sukuna was so nice to him? Did he miss something? It wasn’t an April Fool’s Day, was it? Though, somehow Yuuji felt better about it... but he wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t play on Sukuna’s nerves just a little. 

“...why all of sudden? You don’t want to disturb me? Take all the glory for yourself, as always?” It came out more snarky than teasingly and Yuuji bit at his lips in a nervous habit. Oh shit, he knew he was about to be punished. He felt the cursed energy crawling under his skin, buzzing in a warning... but then it dispersed as fast as it appeared and he heard the annoyed yet clear voice in his head.

“Unlike you, I know when to withdraw, shut up and stop talking unnecessary shit.”

Yuuji (even if a bit confused) pouted at that, slightly offended but then he realized that Sukuna was far from being angry with him for real. Even if Yuuji was still jealous of Sukuna’s power, remaining aware of the demon’s trickiness, he started to see that the agreement between the three of you was bearing fruit.

Chapter Text

💙 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 💙

~*~

When you woke up the next day, you truly felt surprisingly fresh and full of energy... which was rather suspicious. You did remember that Nanami and Gojou had been training with you... but in the middle of sparring, you had blacked out. What happened this time? Did you lose control over yourself again? Or, more important question, did you hurt anyone?

No, we didn’t. Gojou stopped us. You heard Mimi’s voice and immediately sighed quietly in relief at such information.

Good. No one had been hurt. Thank you, Kami-sama.

...still, you couldn’t remember what had happened. It was annoying, as always.

You slowly blinked and looked around. You were in your room, alone but you knew Yuuji had slept next to you. After all, he had left his clothing on your chair. You eyed the time, it was half-past nine so no wonder you missed Yuuji. You rarely slept for so long, you were rather an early bird. 

You realized you hadn’t seen him for more than a day and you felt sad about it. Just because of your training and his missions, you two shared less and less time together. As usual, you prayed in your mind for his success on the missions and his safe return.

You sighed quietly and turned on your side, nuzzling to your pillow...

...yet you paused at the feeling of another material rubbing on your face. You blinked in surprise and looked down, eyeing your bandaged hands.

...wait, what? Were you hurt? Why then didn’t you feel any pain?

“How... that happened?” You whispered quietly, eyeing the bandages that were tied up to your arms. Despite looking like a half-mummy, once again you were surprised at the lack of feeling any kind of discomfort.

We used too much cursed energy yesterday and, well, you ended up with burnt arms... Mimi explained slowly, her voice surprisingly full of grief.

“Burnt?...” You whispered, clearly bewildered and furrowed brows. You flexed your fingers, seeing and feeling that they were nowhere to be stiff or in pain thus not damaged.

Suddenly, the realization hit you.

Your eyes widened and you quickly sat up, unwrapping bandages from your hands. As you predicted, your hands were healed, left in perfect shape. Not even a scratch from the first day of your training was left behind.

You immediately knew who was responsible for that.

You couldn’t help but feel touched by such a genuine gesture from the King. Your heart skipped a beat and you felt that pleasant warmth flooding your heart and soul. You let out a small sigh in contentment and flopped down on the pillows, looking at the ceiling. 

Once again, Sukuna took proper care of you. Even if he wasn’t fond of healing your weak ass very often, he was doing it still. He truly had a weak spot for you, hadn’t he? Could you call yourself lucky then? At some point, yes. On the other hand, your debt towards Sukuna – instead of reducing – was growing bigger.

I’m sorry, I failed again... You heard Mimi’s weak and broken voice and shook your head.

Not your fault, Mimi. We ended up good anyway. You said to your sister and... then it clicked in you. 

Wait, you remember yesterday even if I have holes in my memory? You asked, clearly surprised. You two used to share the same experience... unless your sister was a clever little beast and, as always, was hiding the truth from you, for your own good. 

Mimi kept being silent and you sighed deeply. You couldn’t decide if you were grateful for your sister thinking about your safety still or you were slightly offended to realize she didn’t trust you enough.

Mimi, you don’t have to hide them from me. As Gojou said, we have to trust each other. Come on, we were in that together. I am responsible for yesterday’s events as much as you are. You encouraged your sister and felt the familiar simmering in your soul; you knew Mimi was battling with herself, clearly distressed.

Mimi, I appreciate your concern but I’m no longer a baby. I can handle our memories. I have to. You tried again, soft yet determined. Your sister was silent for another minute. Finally, you heard her sigh in defeat.

Fine, you’re right. Just... don’t take too much on yourself, ok?

You smiled in small victory and nodded, closing your eyes. 

The blackness welcomed you... only to pour at you the missing pieces of memory from yesterday. You were flooded with sudden information and pictures, with the nasty feeling of wrath towards your guardians, the urge to kill them and then your inner pain and burning flesh of your arms.

You jolted upright, letting out a short scream. You grabbed on your head, panting fast as the sweat formed on your forehead. Your eyes were opened wide and you almost choked on your own saliva. 

The feeling was truly disturbing as if eating you, invading you fully and you didn’t like it.

I warned you... Mimi said quietly and you quickly shook your head, swallowing down.

“No... no, it’s ok...” You whispered and tried your best to calm yourself down. You took a few deep breaths in and out and slowly lied down, focusing on the ceiling. Soon, the nasty feeling that had rattled your core was gone and now you were trying to collect your thoughts.

Despite your attempts to stop Gojou from interfering with your domain, you unconsciously had dragged not only your father but Nanami too right into your world full of nightmares. 

“We lost control again.” You said quietly, feeling a pang of crushing guilt. “At least no one got hurt...” You added, closing your eyes. You heard Mimi’s soft sigh, feeling your shared soul simmering under your skin, trying to find comfort as well. 

We did... but we were able to synchronize better. This ring, no matter how silly looks, seems to work. Mimi said and you lazily opened your eyes as your hand raised. You eyed the golden ring that glistened in the morning sun. 

Even if you had blackened out, you could tell your sister and you started to work together. You indeed had made some progress. Unfortunately, as soon as you had entered your domain, the connection was gone. Gojou was right then, to master your synchronisation with Mimi, you had to learn how to tame your domain... no matter how scary on unpleasant that was for you. 

“So, we’re not giving up, right? No matter the risk?” You asked quietly and furrowed your brows in worry. You involuntary recalled the events from yesterday. 

As far as you knew that Gojou was able to stop you and tame your bursting cursed energy within seconds, you got concerned about Nanami. You knew your second guardian was a strong sorcerer... but apparently, even you were a handful for him. 

You were truly glad you hadn’t hurt him even if you tried your best to have good and peaceful sparring with him. Unfortunately, your cursed powers were overwhelming not only for you but for others too. 

You were truly cursed with such abilities that were easily playing on your feelings, making you feel guilty, scared and abstract. The worst was only one feeling you could never pipe down in your mind.

The nasty feeling of being like a rabid animal, trying to kill the ones that cared about you.

...could you still be called a shaman?

...a human even?

Your fists tangled into your sheets as you furrowed your brows. Your lips shivered and you sniffed uncontrollably. Your heart sank a little as you started to feel anxious.

You were truly an abomination.

You couldn’t stop your tears rolling down your cheeks even if you tried hard to be tough. You hid your face in the crook of your forearm as you allowed yourself to have a moment.

Apparently not only you felt like that. You felt the cursed soul of our sister humming in your body as if trying to soothe you. Mimi gave you a few minutes to let your emotions out. She knew you needed such release to stand up and move forward. 

“Are we able to... to be normal?” You asked quietly, breaking the silence. You sniffed weakly, still hiding your face. At least you were no longer crying yet feeling slightly hollow.

You heard Mimi’s low hum, her cursed energy made your skin tingle as you involuntary gasped. You knew you angered your sister and you felt bad about it. Before you could even say sorry, you heard Mimi’s stern and determined voice, echoing in your mind:

Gojou promised to help us, to teach us. You promised to get stronger, I promised to protect you. To achieve our goals, we have to stop running away from our problems and finally face them. If you believe I will let you be swallowed by our demons, you are wrong, y/n. Even if you feel abandoned, remember I am always with you and I will be by your side till the rest of our days. You are not going anywhere without me. Are we understood?

Those words hit you more than you had expected. 

You laid there, your eyes wide-open as you were processing your sister’s words. You felt touched by them, the warmth and appreciation towards your big sister spread in your body. You couldn’t help but chuckle quietly yet freely, your soul and mind calmed down again. 

“Thank you, Mimi.” You said those simple yet important words, you knew you didn’t have to say more. After all, your twin sister knew you the best, was able to read you and understand you without words more than anyone. 

You felt her smiling, her cursed soul finally settled comfortably in your body.

It’s not the end. It’s just the beginning. After all, I have to kick Gojou’s ass both for taunting us and making us do such ridiculous tasks. I will show him who’s the boss!

You let out a happy laugh, shaking your head. You loved your sister’s rebellious character. She was truly an anchor for you from the very beginning. If not because of her, you wouldn’t be where you were nowadays. You may be shy and naive in your nature but your sister was able to make you cross your own limits, help you be stronger, stubborn and witty. You truly loved her and couldn’t even imagine your life without her. 

Are you with me to kick dad’s ass?

“Yes!” You exclaimed happily, giggling more. You felt Mimi grinning widely, her voice resonated loudly in your mind.

I can’t hear you, baby sister! Are you with me? She taunted you. 

“Yes, I am!” You shouted and jumped on your feet, feeling full of energy and determination. You grinned happily, eyeing the morning, clear sky behind your window. The day supposed to be a beautiful one, giving you even more hope.

Good. Let’s do this then, sis!

~*~

It was early afternoon. You were standing in front of Gojou on the training ground. What you did first was to bow deep and apologize for yesterday. Gojou seemed to be taken aback at your genuine gesture as his eyes widened behind his black glasses. He laughed happily (maybe a bit awkwardly too) and then he waved a hand at you, smiling widely.

“Ah, no need to apologize, y/n. It was a good experience for all of us.” Gojou admitted and eyed you, humming in thought. 

“To be honest, I was worried you would need a break or worse, you would stop our training because of yesterday’s events. Knowing you, you had to deal with your own tangled feelings and emotions first. Yet, I’m glad to see you so determined, full of fighting spirit.” Your father stopped and chuckled suddenly, you must have made a funny face and you immediately blushed in embarrassment, pouting a little.

“Don’t give me that look, I know you too well. You know you can rely on me, right? I wanted to talk to you, shush your worries and encourage you... but I think Mimi was the first one, am I right?” He leaned in, his glasses slid down his nose as he looked at you with his icy-blue eyes. His expression was soft and calm, you didn’t feel judged nor exposed. You smiled shyly and nodded. 

Gojou grinned happily and ruffled your hair, giving you a quick hug. 

“That’s my girl! Are you up to more challenges then?” He teased as you straightened up, coming face to face with him, determination written on your face. 

“Yes, I am!” You said loud and firm. Gojou cupped his chin, humming at you, his brow cocked, his observant eyes located on yours. 

“Even if they will be very hard?” He teased with a low voice and you nodded firmly, furrowing your brows.

“Even if. I’m ready.”

You had to impress him because his serious face fell down and he laughed happily, being himself again. 

“That’s the spirit! I’m so proud of you!” 

Gojou exclaimed and, before you could even smile at him, he scooped you in his arms, lifting you up with ease. You let out a small squeak in surprise and instinctively grabbed on his shoulders, trying to stabilise yourself; but his strong arms wrapped around you and hugged you tight, keeping you safe and secure.

You heard Gojou’s happy hum and could feel he was giggly. Such a big baby... You couldn’t help but sigh in contentment at that and hug him back, your legs dangling in the air. You allowed yourself to close your eyes and linger in that happy, family moment, feeling somehow understood by your father.

If you only were good at sensing real emotions, you wouldn’t miss Gojou’s serious face. His brows were furrowed, his hooded eyes were looking down, shining with blue light.

At that moment, your father was battling with himself. 

As soon as he saw you, he realized you had been healed which wasn’t a big surprise to him. He had predicted- bah, he had even hoped Sukuna would heal you, with or without Yuuji’s request to do it. Just because of that, you didn’t need to spend a day or two in bed, letting your cursed soul be repaired on its own thus you would return to your training faster. 

Gojou knew it was a bad way of thinking, dangerous even and he felt guilty about this situation. To be honest, he didn’t like it at all and barely tolerated it. Gojou preferred to heal you on his own... Unfortunately for him, he was unable to do that. No matter how strong he was as a shaman, his cursed energy would never fix you. 

...that was why he knew he had to be smarter to achieve his goals. 

That was why he wanted to ‘use’ Sukuna a little bit, use his powers for your good.

It was still a bizarre thought for Gojou to even imagine that Sukuna cared about you for real and wasn’t driven by his own, twisted urges to devour you or your cursed being but the shaman could try his best and allow the King to be ‘generous’ towards you.

Though, Gojou hadn’t predicted one thing.

As soon as he hugged you, Gojou sensed something else. There was a slight change within your cursed energy. Your aura turned from white to pinky and it felt... stronger. 

Was it because of the ring and the events from yesterday that might have awoken something between Mimi and you or... was it because of Sukuna who decided to ‘mess’ with your energy as if giving you a slight boost? Whatever it was, Gojou didn’t like it and had a bad feeling about it.

Gojou knew one thing for sure, as much as he would bear with Sukuna healing you, he wouldn’t stand demon’s cursed energy mixing with yours, as if poisoning you from inside, changing you for his own twisted reason. 

Such a thing would truly make Gojou sick, making him feel even more guilty for letting the King mess with you too much and still be the one step before him. 

The shaman simply couldn’t allow himself to be outplayed by the King, especially if your human being was at stake.

Gojou hugged you tight, trying to calm the anxious thoughts that flooded his mind. You seemed to be unaware of your cursed energy being changed, still looking so happy and determined to achieve your goals. Your father didn’t want to give you another earful nor did he want to argue with you about Sukuna once again... but Gojou wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t promise to keep an eye on things.

Adoptive father or not, Gojou still felt responsible for you and would never forgive himself if you ended up being hurt, either by Sukuna... or even him.

~*~

When you were training with Gojou and Nanami, someone was working hard as well.

Sukuna kept hunting for albino curses and, as Megumi promised, the young shaman kept it all secret, letting the King do as he pleased, indeed becoming his kind of ally... even if Megumi still remained aware around the ancient curse, sometimes feeling overwhelmed by his aggressive behaviour.

Whenever Sukuna got rid of an albino curse, Megumi simply thought that he witnessed another execution. Why though? The answer was simple: Sukuna wasn’t just killing the curses. He was murdering them with the unbearable brutality and the greatest finest, as befits the King of Curses.

The young shaman never doubted in demon’s abilities and always believed that Sukuna hadn’t shown them his true potential... yet the ancient curse seemed to be displaying his abilities too often. That was why Megumi knew the King took the situation with albino curses to the next level, the one the young shaman couldn’t understand yet.

Though, as much as Megumi had been afraid of Sukuna from the very beginning (because of their first unfair fight and the memories of Yuuji’s heartless, lifeless body that were still haunting him in his nightmares), the boy started to grow accustomed to the presence of the King. 

Oh, sweet irony. 

“You always burn them... why?” Megumi asked one day. 

Sukuna ate another part of the pure soul and then turned around to face Megumi. He grinned almost innocently, flexing his claws in the air. His hand had pumped veins because of the effect of the pure soul of him, his insides were tingling in the pleasuring daze as well. 

The pure soul was truly a kind of drug for curses, the best snack he had ever had in his long life. The more, the merrier, yet – instead of low-level curses – the King could control his hunger easily, letting the power gather within him and patiently wait to be used in the future.

“Why? Hmm, see it as an act of mercy from me.” The demon purred with a smug tone, his eyes lit with red magic as he watched Megumi observing the burnt field.

Just as always, Megumi tried to understand Sukuna’s actions, to find more clues and connect the dots. The King could tell that the young shaman – even if he trusted him enough to let him do as he wanted – was still aware around him, keeping him at distance, not letting him get too close. 

Sukuna was (as always) amused by Megumi and his attempts to understand his great plan. Though one thing the King knew for sure, his little raven would never stop surprising him, making him feel proud at the way he was progressing with his abilities and techniques. 

“Mercy, huh?” Megumi murmured to himself, furrowing his brows. Once again, he didn’t get any meaningful information from Sukuna, being played around and misled by the King. The ancient curse smirked softly, his eyes locked on the young shaman, watching him with amusement still.

The true reason why the King always burnt the curses was simple. The cursed fire was able to clean the pure soul from the influence of the curse’s corrupted bodies. Sukuna could easily control his flames, thus he had never damaged the pure soul but let it ‘bathe’ and strengthen in his cursed energy... before he could eat it and savour the unique taste the best possible way.

Sukuna was (as always) amused by Megumi’s curiosity. Even if he knew the young shaman was observant and couldn’t be fooled as easily as he used to be, the King kept up with his game, trying to maintain his secret for as long as he could.

That was why Sukuna found a new way to distract Megumi from thinking too much about the situation, the way that was entertaining to the old King more than he would admit.

The way full of wordplays and innocent flirt. 

“Are you hurt, Megubae?”

Sukuna asked out of a sudden and grinned widely when he saw Megumi’s body pausing in his steps. The boy slowly turned his head, his eyes squinted when his face showed nothing more than pure disgust.

“...who are you calling what now?” He seethed and Sukuna couldn’t help but bark in laughter. He was truly contented by Megumi’s responses. He couldn’t help but simply love teasing the (poor) boy.

“If you’re hurt, I can kiss you and heal you instantly. You know that trick and you know it works, no bait here then. What do you say, hm?” The King asked and winked at the young shaman who eyed him as if Sukuna grew a second head.

“You are so fucked up.” Megumi responded after a solid five seconds of silence and turned on his heel, stomping away. 

Sukuna chuckled darkly and teleported next to the boy, startling him a little, but before Megumi could even let out a sound, Sukuna had pulled the boy to his chest and ruffled his hair, as always being amused by Megumi’s poor attempts to shove the King away.

“Out of my comfort zone! You’re fucking gross!” The boy yelled, his fists met with the rock-like chest. Sukuna only grinned, leaning his cheek to the top of the boy’s head.

“Aww, you’re so cold, Megumi~” He purred and snorted when Megumi tried to kick him. The King remained unaffected, ruffling the boy’s hair still. He let the shaman struggle for a little while longer, having such a joy provided by his little raven...

...but as soon as he sensed Yuuji’s fighting spirit simmering under his skin, Sukuna let go of the boy and allowed his vessel to take control of the body while he hid in his dark domain with an innocent grin plastered on his lips.

“Ack! Sorry, Megumi! I tried to get back as fast as I could! Are you all right?” Yuuji immediately called with his shaky and nervous voice, checking out his friend. Megumi gestured he was fine yet he sighed deeply, still slightly disturbed (and disgusted) by Sukuna’s behaviour. The young shaman started to believe that as soon as Sukuna had heard that the boy was somehow on his side, the ancient curse had become cockier. 

“I swear, he’s getting too... handsy.” Megumi murmured angrily, fixing his uniform. Yuuji smiled awkwardly, almost brokenly.

“I’m sorry. Don’t take it personally. You know he’s just messing with you...” He said with a weak voice, keeping his eyes down. He felt unbearably guilty for causing his friend such inconveniences. Megumi frowned at Yuuji’s too low mood and quickly steeped closer, gently squeezing his arm.

“I know, it’s ok. Don’t you dare blame yourself.” The young shaman reassured his friend and smiled when Yuuji nodded slowly, looking into his eyes. 

“Our promise remains the same. I’ve got us and everything under control.”

Yuuji forced himself to snort, too ugly to his own taste but he nodded again, feeling a little bit better. 

“Thank you...” He simply said even if he still didn’t know how to properly show Megumi his appreciation, especially if his friend was risking his own life for his and Sukuna’s sake. 

Yuuji was truly grateful for having Megumi on his side and kept praying for his friend’s safety though he still felt bad whenever Sukuna was taking control of his body. Whenever that appeared, he was able to do (surprisingly) so little... as if the King didn’t want him to disturb his massacre with albino curses, allowing him to get back only when Sukuna was satisfied.

It sucked. It was frightening. It was giving Yuuji even more anxious thoughts... and the boy didn't like the situation he got himself in, not at all. 

Megumi could see that Yuuji wasn’t like himself on the missions anymore; though the young shaman knew he had to be the stronger one among them, especially if he was able to see that Yuuji started to be both mentally and psychically exhausted because of the events that had been happening for two weeks now. 

The young shaman didn’t blame Yuuji for the almost depressed mood, he believed he wouldn’t feel or behave any better. He knew the King was playing with all of them, right under their noses. The ancient curse obviously had his reason to mess with them so bad, to keep things secret. It was truly frustrating to watch the King’s show without having full control of the situation... but Megumi knew it was even more discouraging for Yuuji to let it all happen. 

Megumi was very observant and even if he looked and behaved antisocially, he understood people the best. The young shaman knew Yuuji was blaming himself for all this mess. He knew his friend tried to keep it all cool, tried to be strong and untouched, but Megumi could see Yuuji’s fighting spirit was getting lost. 

Megumi had never thought about nor even he had imagined the time when Yuuji would ever lose his spark, his positivity, his unique spirit to make things better. He had always believed that there was no way to suppress his friend’s craziness... and yet, Yuuji was getting dull and numb.

Megumi clenched his fists and sighed quietly. As if he let his friend be eaten up by that darkness born in his mind... and the cursed spirit bound with his soul. Though Megumi couldn’t get rid of one, bugging thought. 

Once again, Megumi wasn’t so lucky to receive a hint from the King, to look through his plan and perhaps be able to find a solution for the mess.

Once again, the King knew what he was doing even if he behaved rather ridiculously in front of the young shamans. Though the King wasn’t stupid and all of that show was being put on to hide his reasons and let him take a step closer to achieve his goals. Because of that, Sukuna simply deterred the young shaman from getting answers to his uncomfortable questions, distracting him with his unconventional yet clever tricks. 

As always, Sukuna was one step before them. 

~*~

“What do you mean I have to be nice? I’m the King of Curses, I don’t know such a word as ‘nice’, Snowflake.”

Sukuna was sitting on his throne, unamused as always while the white orb was flying around and squeaking at him. The King sighed deeply and rolled his eyes when the soul bumped into his cheek again, growing angry at his stubbornness.

“No, I don’t get it. I told him I am not his enemy. He is making a big deal out of this, not my fault. He doesn't have to worry and yet he is exaggerating everything. Moreover, he should be grateful for my help. Such an annoying vessel I got, I swear.”

The white orb was clearly unamused by his words and fumed at him. Then it flew to his nose, aiming for his tattoo over there... before it bit the King hard, making him jump more in surprise than in actual pain. The ancient curse groaned, eyeing the agitated orb in disbelief.

“Snowflake, stop it. You’re being mean right now.” Sukuna wrinkled his nose and gently pulled the soul away from his face, massaging the bitten place. He sighed deeply, hearing more angry-squeaking noises from his little friend. He rolled his eyes again and swiftly scooped the soul close to his chest, looking down.

“Fine, fine, you won. I will listen to you so stop yelling at me.” He said loudly, clearly defeated. He pouted a little when he realized he found another weak spot in him. First was you, the weakling, now was the pure soul. Who was going to be next? The King didn’t want to even think of it. 

At his words, the white orb squeaked and paused in the air, looking at him through his fingers, as if surprised by Sukuna’s quick change. Then it flew to him and gently nuzzled to his cheeks, purring happily as if thanking him. Sukuna snorted, sighing deeply and acting as if he wasn’t touched or content... yet a small smile was plastered on his face.

“You’re lucky I like you. Otherwise, I would eat you again.” Sukuna murmured without heat, offering his claws for the orb. The soul churred happily, flying swiftly between his fingers, snuggling to his skin like a little kitten that was asking for attention. The King couldn’t help but chuckle at that, relaxing as well as he sagged into his throne. He allowed himself to pamper the little soul by gentle play with his clawed fingers.

“I know what you mean. You’re not so silly and you can sense Itadori’s bad mood too, huh?” Sukuna said with a deep sigh after a solid minute of comfortable silence. The soul slowed down in its flying and soon wrapped around his fingers, paying full attention to the King. It churred softly, making Sukuna’s brows furrow.

“Yes, obviously my mood has been spoiled too. Just because of his constant worrying, he’s been giving me more headaches too...” He murmured, slightly annoyed and sighed deeply, closing his eyes.

Indeed, Itadori hadn’t been himself for a while. Past Sukuna wouldn’t even care for brat’s feelings and emotions, remaining unaffected by brat’s suffering or even better, be happy about it, but nowadays Sukuna could barely stand it... and it was pissing him off. 

Since when, he, the Great Sukuna, couldn’t handle a mortal and his dilemma? Since when, he, the King of Curses, couldn’t understand (or ignore) something so ridiculous as ‘feelings’? He should be above them after all. He should be unaffected by them, he had a reputation to hold and yet, there he was, behaving no better than Itadori, worrying and overthinking everything.

Ridiculous...

Sukuna could feel Itadori’s negative emotions, slowly gathering in his mind, poisoning his soul. Jealousy of King’s powers, fear of being replaced by him or being left by you for not being the strong man he had always wanted to be, anxiety and doubt over every little action that Sukuna had done towards Megumi and you... All of it was just the beginning of the iceberg and Sukuna didn’t like it.

The King didn’t like the way Itadori saw him but he couldn’t blame the brat for that. After all, from the very beginning, they wished each other’s death. Just because of you and the agreement, they started to tolerate each other... or rather tried to.

Sometimes Sukuna was amused by Itadori’s naive thinking. The brat clearly didn’t see the differences between your love towards him and your ‘enthralment’ towards the King. Itadori didn’t see how important he was for you, how you always spoiled him either with your cooking or pampering, how you were so open with him and trusted him the most. 

Just because of Itadori, you left your shell and gave a try to live your life the best way you could. Itadori became kind of your sunshine... and Sukuna was simply annoyed at the boy for being so oblivious. His vessel didn’t even see how lucky he was to have you as his love. He didn’t know how blessed he was and what kind of jewel he had in his hands. He didn’t know that all he needed to heal his soul was you, your love, your trust and understanding...

...and yet, the brat was scared of your potential reaction at all his weaknesses and he thought it would be better to hide his fears and doubts from you, believing you would see him as a weak, unworthy man.

You should trust her more and let her be your guiding light, brat. After all, it’s hard to admit but there’s no ‘me’ without you, my host. 

That was why Sukuna knew he would never replace Itadori even if his vessel feared it. The King wouldn’t even try to hurt you by making Itadori disappear from your life... 

...because I would be gone too. Sad but true. 

Sukuna sighed deeply, hiding his eyes behind his palm. He heard a small squeak from the soul but didn’t reply as he allowed himself to think more, to be pulled in that dangerous and yet unusual of him thinking of ‘what ifs’. After all, he had a feeling he was the adult in this group, the one that was responsible for all of you.

Even if Sukuna knew he had to do something and try to fix the problems that he may-or-not caused, he didn’t have an idea how to do it... and that was beyond ridiculous, especially for him, the mighty King.

At that point, Sukuna’s main problem was the fact that Itadori’s usual fighting spirit was slowly being killed by himself. 

“Such a ridiculous nuisance...” The King murmured quietly and heard another squeak from the soul who desperately tried to sneak under his hand. Sukuna sighed and raised his palm slightly, allowing the soul to snuggle to his nose.

“What? You do have some idea how to fix it?” He asked, slightly surprised when Snowflake squeaked again and nodded at him. 

“Huuh? I should try to trust and respect him more? No way, that’s ridiculous.” Sukuna scoffed and looked away, slightly offended. The little soul squeaked at him questioningly, gently bumping into his fingers. It churred, slightly worried and the King snorted quietly at that, easily reading the small being.

“...so you realized I’ve been trying to keep the insolent brat in a good mental shape, huh? You clever little beast.” He smirked ugly at the soul but he was far from being angry. The grief filled his eyes, his body tensed.

“Indeed, nothing can be hidden from you, hm?” He whispered weakly and the small soul purred again, gently squeezing his fingers. 

“I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, you are a pure soul, very sensitive to the energy around. No wonder you easily feel his and even my emotions mixing up and slowly messing with us... That is so ridiculous if I allowed the brat to affect my soul that bad. I should have been careful from the very beginning.” Sukuna clicked his tongue, massaging his temple as he groaned aloud. The small soul squeaked at him, his smaller eyes lazily looked down.

“...and you dare say I can be nice only if I want to? Indeed, ridiculous. You’re so adorable yet still naive, Snowflake.” Sukuna said bitterly, feeling the familiar tightness creeping into his chest. He involuntary swallowed and tried his best to remain unaffected... but as he had said previously, he couldn’t fool the pure soul so easily.

Snowflake squeaked at him, clearly alerted. It unwrapped from his fingers and flew close to his face, gently nuzzling to his tattooed skin. Sukuna couldn’t help but snort weakly at that, the tightness in his chest only increased as he unconsciously tangled his hand in his kimono, keeping the claws close to his beating soul.

Even if he tried so hard to ignore, to quench and then to get rid of this unfamiliar yet so annoying feeling, he couldn’t do it so easily. Sukuna started to believe that even if he ripped his heart and soul with his sharp claws at that very moment, he wouldn’t feel the pain... yet that feeling would remain the same, bugging him over and over again.

The feeling of being... wrong. 

It can’t be me, can it? No, I should be blaming the brat still. All of that mess is because of Itadori’s tangled feelings and emotions. He is affecting me more and more... But what if the pure soul has been affecting me as well? As if trying to fix my corrupted soul? No, I don’t have to be fixed, I can’t be fixed. I abandoned humanity a long time ago, I’ve become the monster to be above any limits, any weaknesses. I’m the King of Curses, I cannot be– 

Sukuna simply didn’t recognize himself as well. As much as he laughed at Itadori for being so overwhelmed with his emotions, the King hadn’t felt better either. 

The bugging, almost ridiculous thought that poisoned his always clear mind and unbreakable spirit, the loop of misfortune events that he dared to be pulled in because of Yuuji and Gojou... and the fact that he let you be dragged in adults’ problems as well, at the cost of your life, your soul and your identity. 

The King had a very bad feeling, that whatever he tried to do or help with (Yuuji, Megumi and you), it was going to end up bad... and the most infuriating thought for him was the fact that past him would be proud of those unfortunate events yet the present him almost feared them.

...and then the King realized something. The box inside his mind, the one that had been hiding his dark thoughts, just opened. The unwanted glimpses of his past life flooded him, the memories he hated and had promised to never return into. 

The haunting remembrance that had created the present him.

Sukuna’s eyes widened and darkened as his heart stopped beating, his body paused completely, alerting the pure soul more. The little soul had been trying to stop the King from falling into his own darkness, unsuccessfully. 

“...it’s all going to be my fault, again.”

At Sukuna’s weak and broken whisper, Snowflake paused in its attempts to calm him down, its small body lost some of the glow. The King didn’t catch it as he seemed to fall more into his own mind-trap, entering the dark and hidden place of his mind that he had promised to never even brush with a spare thought. 

The guilty conscience. 

Sukuna realized he would be responsible for the whole mess that had been happening around you (and even around Itadori, Megumi and that bastard Gojou) despite him trying his best to keep you safe and sound. Just because of him and his actions, Gojou and Itadori seemed to be pulling away from you, hiding with their own secrets. 

Such a wild goose-chase... Ridiculous.

The pure soul could sense that Sukuna was slowly getting lost in his own mind, being flooded by unpleasant memories but before the small soul was able to squeak or even touch him and try its best to comfort him again, a small and weak voice resonated in the dark domain, making them freeze. 

“Sukuna?”

The King was being dragged back into reality as he slowly blinked awake, his head instinctively raised up. Snowflake quickly dove and hid in his scarf, listening to the voice above as well.

For a second, Sukuna believed that his own domain started playing tricks on him, deepening the guilt trip. After all, the brat rarely spoke to him first, especially nowadays when he was holding a kind of grudge towards Sukuna. Though, if his vessel was talking to him openly, the King knew the situation had to be crucial.

“Are you there?” He heard Itadori’s voice again, even weaker this time. The soul squeaked at Sukuna who quickly pulled out of the ‘worried’ state and furrowed his brows.

“Where could I be anyway?” He responded lazily, far from being angry or hostile. He rested his cheek on his knuckles as he focused on Itadori’s body and soul, trying to read his vessel as best as he could. He always did that, that was how he had more information than just from the boy’s words; that was why the King was able to keep full control, usually played the first fiddle, leading and guiding young shaman’s thinking into the best option... both for Sukuna and him, obviously.

There was a pause but Sukuna heard the brat chuckled weakly, almost brokenly. He involuntary furrowed his brows but remained patient. He could sense Itadori was battling with himself. The King knew the brat needed some time, that was why he didn’t say a word, to not distress his vessel more. After a solid two minutes, the brat finally spoke:

“When will it stop?” 

Itadori’s voice was so weak and scared it made Sukuna frown. The demon’s four eyes widened a little as he shifted on his throne. Even the small soul paused in its beating, hidden in his scarf. Though, it kept sensing both of them, the beloved King and his vessel’s hidden emotions.

“What will stop?” Sukuna asked, his voice loud yet without the usual firmness. He could sense that Itadori was distressed and he didn’t want to put him into a worse state, for the greater good of both of them.

There was a pause on Itadori’s end and Sukuna started to get nervous.

“...the curse hunting.” The brat’s voice was too weak to Sukuna’s taste...

...but that wasn’t the worst thing that the King experienced that time. Once again, Itadori’s negative and tangled emotions literally poured down at Sukuna. Fear, doubt, shame, anger, hopelessness, powerlessness...

...and once again, Sukuna felt the unpleasant tightness in his chest, trying to squeeze his core and rattle him completely. Though, as always, Sukuna tried his best to remain himself as he simply blamed Itadori’s human emotions for that affliction. It looked like their souls were combined more efficiently than Sukuna wanted them to be. 

“It won’t stop soon. It’s just the beginning.” Sukuna answered sincerely, trying to be open and honest (as his little soul wanted him to be) but the King felt Itadori’s fear raising again, affecting him again. He hated that feeling, the feeling of being weak and vulnerable despite him being the King of Curses, despite him sacrificing his human being to become the perfect entity... 

...and there he was, the Mighty Sukuna Ryoumen, being rattled through his core by some teenager’s emotions, by his vessel’s soul.

Ridiculous.

As if sensing his spoiled mood, Snowflake rushed to nuzzle into his neck as it started purring soothingly. The little soul kept encouraging the King to be patient and regardful towards Itadori. The curse immediately rumbled to the soul, grumpy as always but without hidden anger.

“...what Mahito and you are playing in?”

Sukuna expected a lot... and yet, Itadori surprised him. That question rubbed off Sukuna on many levels he didn’t even want to admit but before the King could even say a word, Itadori continued, his words slowly added salt to the hidden injury:

“I know it is connected with y/n, you can’t deny. Despite you thinking so low of me, I can deduce a lot yet I’ve decided to be silent... but nowadays I can’t stand it, it makes me feel sick. Something is off, something is going on and you keep those secrets for yourself. It pisses me off but whatever it is, I swear, if you are playing around just for your twisted needs, risking Megumi’s life, fooling with y/n and her feelings, I’m going to end both of us earlier than you would even expect.”

Sukuna kept silent, his eyes were wide as he was sitting on his throne, being completely overwhelmed. Even the little Snowflake stopped in its actions, the gleam around it dimmed. Not only Itadori’s words stabbed at Sukuna’s being but his unleashed fears poured at the King, almost suffocating him.

Sukuna unconsciously squeezed his clawed hand over his chest, close to his heart, feeling sick as well. He frowned when he realized he couldn’t distinguish his own feelings from Itadori’s. At that point, it was surprisingly too much for the King to brush it off.

“That’s... not it.” Sukuna said, his voice too weak to his own taste yet Itadori heard him.

“Then tell me what is going on?” The brat kept pushing but the curse knew he couldn’t reveal himself, not yet, not like that. 

The King knew it was still too early to talk about everything, to reveal his plan to Itadori, to show him his true intentions. Sukuna simply feared that if he dragged Itadori into his plan, the brat couldn’t be a good help... or worse, that his plan wouldn’t work because of Itadori’s obvious and easy to read personality. Gojou and Megumi would immediately spot that something was off and suspicious which would lead to more questions, more actions taken toward the King... or even you. 

Sukuna knew that if his plan got revealed, you would be in great danger. The King couldn’t allow for that. He hadn’t been working so hard to let it all slip from his claws so easily. Just as Itadori had started to pretend to be happy in front of you, Sukuna knew he had to pretend to be neutral in front of his vessel. After all, he supposed to be the bad guy here. He had to stay in his role for as long as he only could.

“Sukuna?”

The ancient curse had to be silent for too long because Itadori seemed to be both surprised and worried that he either offended the King or... broke him.

Such a stick in the mud.

Sukuna groaned and closed his eyes, massaging a little his temple; the other hand was still over his chest, squeezing at his kimono. The little soul twirled behind his scarf, keeping close to his body.

“Do you trust me, brat?” The King started, taking a deep breath. There was a pause on Itadori’s side and then the boy responded with a weak, slightly unsure voice.

“...no.”

Sukuna wasn’t surprised with that answer, nonetheless, he sighed deeply.

“That’s fine. You don’t have to trust me... but I would like you to believe in me. Do you have any better options anyway?”

At that question, Itadori went silent. 

Sukuna could read the brat’s thoughts galloping in their shared mind. The King was indeed right. Megumi had been covering Sukuna’s actions for Itadori’s sake so the boy wouldn’t be locked in the basement for being a threat... or worse, to be executed on the spot for not being able to control the ancient curse the way he supposed to. Just because of those unfortunate events, nowadays his vessel had a knife to his throat...

...but not only he could feel and sense that.

As much as Sukuna hated it, he knew he was responsible for that mess. That was why he believed that as long as you had Gojou watching over you, Itadori had to be supervised by the King himself.

The soul is right. I have to start respecting him more, gain some of his trust. Otherwise, we are all dead.

Sukuna took another deep breath, focusing on the small soul hidden in his scarf. The presence was soothing to the King and once the white orb looked at him, it purred quietly as if cheering for him. The King couldn’t help but smile a little, his mind finally settled.

“Itadori, despite your fears, y/n, your friends and even you are safe with me. I told you, I’m far from being your enemy nowadays. You can almost say that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’, it went something like that anyway.”

Sukuna said loud and clear, peeking up. There was a pause from Itadori’s side but the King could sense his mixed emotions; the brat was clearly touched as his genuine surprise changed into relief and then a kind of joy...

...only to be replaced with doubt and fear again.

“I swear, if you ever corrupt y/n–” Even if Yuuji’s voice was shaky and broken, was also full of hidden threat and will to fight. 

Sukuna furrowed his brows, slightly annoyed at brat’s stubbornness in the aspect of you (as if he had ever hurt you and hadn’t been helping you the entire time) as he retorted quickly:

“Oh, shut up and get off my back, will you? Y/n is already corrupted. After all, she’s Gojou’s adopted daughter, she couldn’t have asked for a worse role model.” 

The domain went silent and Sukuna believed he not only spoke too harsh but he also broke the poor vessel even more... but to his surprise, he heard a small snort from Itadori as his vessel’s soul swelled with joy. 

“Sometimes I think that if you had your own body, Gojou and you would act like an old couple constantly fighting over kids and blaming each other for their mistakes.” 

The King cocked his brow at that statement, clearly bewildered; then he groaned aloud and rolled his eyes, feeling the small soul shaking from laughter in his scarf. As much as he loved his little friend, he felt slightly offended by the whole situation. 

“Y/n and you watch too much TV, you’re imaging impossible.” Sukuna responded, folding his arms on the chest. Once again, Itadori snorted, feeling more and more relaxed. 

“Aren’t you the one that makes the impossible possible?” Sukuna couldn’t help but think it was a smart move by his vessel. The King grinned, eager to play this game and secretly keep Itadori entertained, far away from too destructive thoughts. 

It’s beyond ridiculous but if it’s working...

“How would it be then, hm? Should I make you fall asleep, Itadori? It’s over your bedtime, baby boy. Mommy Gojou is going to be mad at you in the morning for having eye-bags, again.”

There was a loud whine as Itadori cringed at the thought of having Gojou and Sukuna as his parents. Apparently, that image was too much for his already poor mind.

“Ugghh, that was cringy. You spoiled the fun...” Yuuji groaned and Sukuna huffed at that.

“You started that, don’t blame me.”

“I didn’t expect you to follow that joke!” At Itadori’s quick response, Sukuna only smirked, strangely feeling amused by the situation.

“Surprise, I guess?” The King teased and heard a snort, though he had to wait longer for the response. He could sense that the brat was still aware of his tricks and he stayed silent, as if trying to find proper words or ask another question but Sukuna decided to be faster, eager to end Itadori’s bugging thoughts.

“Ears up, brat. We’ve got her.” 

There was a solid pause in the previously busy mind of the boy as Sukuna kept listening to and feeling his body and soul. The King could say that, once again, Itadori felt a kind of relief. It was obvious that his vessel didn’t trust him fully yet but it was a good sign for Sukuna. 

The seed had been planted.

The King knew that sooner or later Itadori would see and learn, stop fighting over unnecessary stuff, get rid of his destructive emotions, perhaps trust Sukuna more and – more importantly – focus on the love towards you and from you, on protecting you and living his best by your side. 

“...thanks, I guess?” Itadori’s voice was quiet but not as weak as previously. Sukuna only grinned widely, sprawling on his throne, clearly proud of the results of his actions. 

“You’re welcome. Now get some sleep and stop bugging me. I want to get some rest too.” Sukuna complained but his voice was far from being harsh or demanding. Itadori didn’t respond but Sukuna could feel his heart growing with joy. He bet that the brat was smiling too while snuggling to you. 

Soon, the King could sense Itadori’s consciousness switching off completely. Once again, he was left alone with his little friend. Snowflake seemed to be content the most, as it was snuggling and purring to Sukuna’s neck. The King couldn’t help but chuckle weakly at that, sighing a little as he started petting the small soul through his silky scarf.

“That talk wasn’t that bad, was it now, huh? Are you proud of me? You shouldn’t...” He teased but the white orb purred even louder, eagerly snuggling to his fingers. 

Sukuna would never admit aloud to have kind of doubt in himself and his actions. Even if he unconsciously had started falling to his own demons, the little talk with Itadori helped him realize something very important. 

The curse knew that past him would laugh at him, calling him pathetic for his weakening heart and soul but Sukuna knew what he had to do.

He smirked at himself, flexing his claws in the air. His eyes had gleamed in the dark domain before he closed them, allowing himself to rest and be lulled by pure soul’s purring.

That’s right. If Gojou doesn’t take care of things, I will. A crazy thought or not, I will become responsible for brats. After all, I have to keep them safe... until I execute my plan.

~*~

“Achooo! Ughh...” 

You heard a quiet giggle and turned around, squinting your eyes. Yuuji tried his best to muffle his giggles with his hands, unsuccessfully. You groaned quietly and sniffed aloud, wiping your nose with the tissue. You felt terrible, weak and achy, and didn’t have mood and strength for anything, even the love-hate bickering with your boyfriend. 

Two days ago, there was heavy rain during your training with Gojou. You literally had no dry place on your body once you got to your room; you were completely drenched and looked no better than a drowned rat. That evening you had prayed to all gods to not get sick since you knew you had to be put into bed for another five days (at least) while you still wanted to continue your training.

Unfortunately, Kami-sama had other plans for you. 

Despite you praying fervently, you got sick anyway. That was why you had been sitting in your room for two days now. Yuuji was taking care of you, preparing food for you, giving medicine and trying to keep up your spirits. You were truly grateful for having him around but...

...it was harder and harder for you to be enthusiastic all the time, especially if you felt so bad. You hated being in such a vulnerable state for so long. Plus, there was a bugging thought behind your mind to quickly get back to your training and not waste any more days.

At that point, your determination and will to fight were getting stronger than your common sense. Little did you know how destructive it started to be for your mental health as you were blinded by your goals. You were about to learn it hard way soon...

Another muffled giggle echoed in the room and you looked at your boyfriend, pouting at him.

“Don’t make fun of me...” You said with a weak voice and sneezed again, making Yuuji laugh freely.

“Ah, I’m sorry, sorry. Not making fun of you, promise. I can’t help you sneeze like a kitten, that’s adorable!” He explained with a toothy smile and offered you a mug of hot tea with honey. Even if your mood was still spoiled, you gratefully reached for the mug.

“I don’t feel adorable though- Achhoo!” You stopped yourself from getting the mug just in time, that was how you avoided being burnt by the precious tea that would be spilt all over you. 

“I’m literally dying here...” You joked weakly and groaned again, your bones were aching more and more. Damn evenings during which the cold was always getting stronger, making you feel like a used rug; because of that, you had a feeling you wouldn’t get a pleasant rest at night either.

You truly hated being sick. 

Your senses were indeed dimmed because you didn’t feel the sudden change of cursed energy in Yuuji. You wanted to get the mug the boy was holding still for you but you paused, clearly confused while squinting your eyes.

...since when Yuuji had black claws–?

Oh, oh wait.

The mug was suddenly taken away from under your nose and placed on your bedside table by a hand with patterned wrists. Such tattoos didn’t belong to Yuuji, obviously.

Your senses immediately sharpened as you looked up, surprised and anxious, meeting with four red eyes glaring at you. Sukuna looked at least triggered, watching you closely. 

You decided to be casual but, as always, ended up with a poor try.

“Ah? Hi, Su– Achoo!” You sneezed so hard you almost flopped on the bed as your body shook. Your nose was getting redder, aching even more. Damn cold...

“What are you doing here?” You asked sincerely, wiping your nose. Sukuna let a low rumble as he swiftly settled next to you. You were surprised by his action and immediately scooped away, keeping the distance. You could tell by his reaction he wasn’t pleased with that. He looked at least dumbfounded.

“I don’t want to give Yuuji a cold...” You explained quickly, bashfully and the King cocked a brow at you, processing your words. Then, he snorted ugly and shook his head, keeping his four eyes on you.

You shifted awkwardly on your bed, clearly being judged by Sukuna. You still didn’t know why he had appeared out of a sudden. What did you do? What did trigger him?

You peeked at him, your eyes met with his, stern ones. You involuntary flinched, feeling like a lamb in front of a tiger. You had a feeling the King was there to mock you or just to watch you being in such a vulnerable condition. You believed at that point he was probably both amused and interested in the human body’s weaknesses. You were already in a bad mood because of the cold, you didn’t want to be scolded by Sukuna either.

...though, once again, you were surprised by the mighty King and his actions.

“You said you were dying... Do you need to be healed again, runt?” 

You literally paused at his words, your eyes widened at Sukuna’s words as you slowly looked up. The King looked far from being angry, his eyes were full of hidden concern. 

Your heart involuntary skipped a beat at such a sight and you let out a small breathe. You couldn’t help but feel the familiar warmth spreading slowly in your body and soul, raising your spirits.

Oh, Dear Kami-sama... Sukuna was worrying for you even if it was just a cold? The King kept surprising you still, trying his best to learn some human interactions. Unbelievably adorable.

You couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as you shook your head. Once again, Sukuna looked surprised by your reaction. He furrowed his brows and pouted as if offended by your small laugh.

“My soul is fine, Sukuna. It’s just a human thing, to be sick from time to time. It’s nothing dangerous, promise. I don’t feel well so I joked about dying. I’m sorry for worrying you but, nonetheless, thank you for your offer.” You explained and smiled at him widely, almost goofily. You couldn’t help but feel giggly, your heart still warm and happy because of his words.

Sukuna folded arms on his chest and snorted ugly, cocking a brow at you.

“You’re such a weakling if germs attack you so easily...” He murmured but you didn’t feel offended, his tone was far from being heated anyway.

“A little warning next time, if you would kindly mind? What if the mug with hot tea landed on y/n, huuh?” 

You heard a quiet murmur full of pretension and immediately looked over Sukuna’s cheek. As you predicted, Yuuji was there, with a clearly spoiled mood.

Sukuna’s mood immediately went down as well as he sighed deeply, furrowing his brows. 

“I always have things under control. Stop insulting me, brat.”

“I haven’t even started yet!” Yuuji immediately called with his typical agitation and Sukuna rolled his eyes, clicking his tongue. 

You knew the King wasn’t a big fan of loud noises and – of Sukuna’s misery – Yuuji was known for being full-mouthed (at that very moment, literally ). Once Megumi called Yuuji ‘a walking commotion’ and you could see (and strongly agree) why though. Apparently, by being combined together, these two created an unusual and unique duo. 

You couldn’t help but giggle at your boys, feeling grateful for having them. They helped you lift your spirits within seconds. Your bad moon dispersed, your heart was full and calm.

Despite your good mental condition, your body was still weak, you felt cold and tired. Once again, you sneezed and groaned, feeling miserable. You felt the sudden chill and wrapped yourself in the fluffy blanket, shivering slightly. 

Once you settled, you didn't miss Sukuna’s observant eyes, watching you still. You were about to talk to him again, try to soothe him and convince you were fine when your boyfriend spoke first:

“How long are you going to be there? Can I get back?” Yuuji asked, clearly unamused but Sukuna immediately retorted short ‘no’ and then shifted closer to you. You blinked in surprise, your head perked up as you started watching him carefully. You wished you could read his mind, it would be easier for you to understand him and his motives... though, you didn’t have to wait long for his move.

Within seconds, you saw him getting rid of Yuuji’s hoodie. The piece of clothing was tossed aside, your widened eyes followed it and then got back to Sukuna. You got both surprised and confused, yet you involuntary eyed his muscles and tattoos. Even if you knew Yuuji’s body too well, you couldn’t help but glue your eyes to his demon. Once again, you had a weird feeling Sukuna looked different, mightier, bigger...

Your dulled senses didn’t see such events as a potential danger for you but still, such action (and the view) left you shocked, speechless and even dumbfounded. Though, you heard Yuuji’s sharp tone:

“Oi, you bastard! What the hell are you doing?!”

You immediately snapped from your daze and let out a small yelp in surprise, when Sukuna got to you even closer and pulled firmly at your blanket, unwrapping you from the fluffy material with his smooth moves.

“H-Hey, Sukuna! Don’t do that, it’s cold-!” You let out a small (and kinda pathetic for your taste) whine and you squeaked loudly when Sukuna pulled you close. You were about to pull away and question him when he let out a low rumble as if in a warning and you involuntary tensed. 

The King’s strong and skilled arms scooped you to his (bare!) body within seconds and soon you were straddling his lap, laying on his chest as he was resting on the pile of pillow Yuuji had built for you to sleep in. He tucked you in a blanket and wrapped arms around your back, keeping you close to him. Sukuna let out a sigh, clearly content with his actions... while you were still being tensed and dumbfounded, plastered to his chest and unmoving.

You blinked a few times, trying to process what had just happened. You could feel gathering hotness on your cheeks as you started to feel at least bashful. You had no problems with snuggling and hugging Yuuji's bare chest. After all, he was your boyfriend... but with Sukuna, things always looked different. 

There you were, lying on the bare chest of The King of Curses, such a rare event. You couldn’t tell if his demonic warmth was slowly spreading and soothing your body... or your internal screaming was heating you up from inside out. 

You shivered, feeling his hands slowly moving up. You swallowed thickly and slowly looked up, finally facing him. You saw him smirking down at you, his four eyes gleaming in the dark with red magic, full of hidden joy. His clawed hand gently touched your forehead, checking the temperature.

“So red and hot. Clearly sick.” The King teased and winked, making you blush even more.

Even if you were joking previously, now you started to be dying for real. Your common sense tried to take control over your galloping thoughts as you squeaked aloud: 

“W-we can’t! You w-will catch a cold!” You tried to protest, feeling more and more awkward. To make things worse, you glanced at Yuuji as it seeking for his help...

...you could see the boy was both confused at Sukuna’s sudden actions and jealous of him hugging you so effortlessly. After all, Yuuji had been trying to hug you tight for two days but you had to refuse for his own good. Yuuji understood it and respected your wish...

...apparently, Sukuna’s dictionary didn’t contain the word ‘no’.

“Don’t be ridiculous, runt. I’m a powerful entity. I won’t catch such a thing as cold.” Sukuna said rather proud and you saw Yuuji’s eye rolling on his cheek, clearly annoyed.

You opened your mouth to protest but not even a sound left you. You were battling with yourself, slightly stressed. You simply didn’t know if that was a good idea at all... Sukuna must have seen your troubled expression because he sighed deeply and ruffled your hair lazily.

“You’re cold so let me keep you warm.” He murmured as if pretending to be unaffected, bored even. You could guess it was because of Yuuji’s sharp eye, watching and challenging him very often. You had a feeling they were having a heated conversation in their shared mind though they pretended everything was under control. You also knew that Sukuna didn’t want to, or rather couldn’t show you more of himself while being watched.

Always fighting for alpha’s position, huh? You thought and couldn’t help but sigh at that, relaxing a little. You immediately got their attention; once multiply eyes were focused on you, you smiled softly at your boys. 

You understood why Sukuna had offered such an unusual way of helping you. After all, his demonic body was much warmer than Yuuji’s human one, he could easily keep you warm better than your favourite blanket. Though, you couldn’t decide if you were touched by his gesture and let yourself to enjoy this moment... or you should be worried over Yuuji who had to witness such things, clearly not being the only one able to hug and take care of you. You had a feeling you supposed to kindly refuse Sukuna’s offer...

Apparently, the answer to your troubles came faster than you had expected.

“Just keep your hands up.” You heard Yuuji’s warning towards Sukuna. The demon only smirked in victory but – to Yuuji’s and your surprise – the King listened to him, playing around no more.

“Hai, hai, Itadori-kun.” Sukuna sighed and settled comfortably, letting out a small hum in contentment. 

You were both surprised yet content with the solution. You couldn’t help but relax as well, already feeling Sukuna’s warmth spreading in your body, soothing you and your aching muscles. You wanted to show your gratitude so you leaned in and kissed his cheek, or rather Yuuji’s small mouth over there. 

The boys immediately paused, they seemed to be genuinely surprised. Yuuji even blushed, his honey eye shone at you. You could tell he was happy with your gesture and you couldn’t help but let out a small giggle, your heart strangely calm and full.

“Thank you, both of you. I really appreciate it.” You said and allowed yourself to wrap around the broad chest as you hugged Sukuna. He let out a small snort but you knew better he was happy just by seeing the pure joy hidden in his eyes. Yuuji seemed to be settled down as he kept watching you with his soft eye.

“You better be grateful, silly goose.” Sukuna murmured into your hair when you nuzzled under his chin, right into the crook of his neck; your favourite place after all.

You felt Sukuna’s arms going up, wrapping around you gently yet firmly as he held you close, rubbing small circles on your body. He let out a small purr and you couldn’t help but sigh in contentment at that. You closed your eyes, listening to his heartbeat and gentle purring, enjoying his warmth, his big and gentle hands moving slowly up and down your body.

You realized how much you missed being hugged and hugging your boys back, how good, soothing and even healing it was for you nowadays. You couldn’t be more grateful for having two of them taking care of you, your body, soul and heart. You smiled widely, feeling much, much better at that very moment. 

Who would have guessed your evening may end up so nicely?

Despite your previous dark thoughts about the restless night, you had a feeling you would be able to sleep like a baby tonight, being guarded by your lion and the mighty tiger. 

BONUS:

(A few days later...)

Yuuji: Achoo! 

You: *offer him medicine and a mug of hot coffee* See, I warned you, both of you... *obviously worried*

Sukuna: *on Yuuji’s cheek* Tsk, not my fault the brat has a weak body-

Yuuji: Shut up! Achoo! 

Sukuna: *remembers your cute sneeze and then compares to Yuuji’s incoherent sounds* ...you sound like a dying moose. 

Yuuji: Oh, fuck off! It’s your fault!

Sukuna: ...I didn’t change you into moose, did I?

Yuuji: *close to losing his sanity*

You: *patting his back* There, there, better drink your coffee...

(Despite their ‘hilarious’ argument, you blamed yourself anyway.)

Chapter Text

| (His) Cursed Twins |

~*~

“Daddy…”

At the familiar voice, Gojou heavily opened his eyes and met with the black void. He slowly looked around and sighed. 

Once again, Gojou found himself in this weird dream he could call a nightmare. He rarely had bad dreams, he didn’t even remember his good dreams whenever he woke up. Yet, since Sukuna and Mahito had dared to appear and mess with your life, Gojou became... anxious.  

It was a new experience for him but he could tell he wasn’t a big fan of that feeling. Even if he was good at hiding things outside, covering everything with his smile and silliness, the guilt was eating him from inside, usually tormenting him in his restless nights. 

It was one of such nights and even if Gojou knew it was only a bad dream of his, he couldn’t stand the negative emotions that were gathering in his soul, slowly eating up his sanity. After all, he supposed to be above them and yet, when it came to you, the shaman was simply weak.

“Dad, please, help...”

The weak and broken voice resonated among the blackness again. Gojou swallowed thickly, sensing the presence behind him. He reminded himself it was just a dream, that you were safe and sound, sleeping with Yuuji in your room, though he knew he had to face the visions. After all, no matter how hard he tried to ignore or disperse the visions, new ones were being created in front of his eyes, tormenting his soul even more. There was no end otherwise than to look at them or just wake up and pray for better sleep.

The loud hiccup and long whine made his heart sink as Gojou took a deep breath and slowly turned around, looking down at a small girl standing in front of him. Her head was down but the shaman could hear and tell she was crying quietly, trying her best to hold up. Her small body was shaking, she was desperately wiping her wet face with her small, clawed hands. 

It would look almost familiar for Gojou if he recalled the nights when you used to come to him after your unsettling nightmares, asking him to sleep with you, to keep the demons away.

The scene indeed would look like from his memories... if not because of one, important fact. His little girl’s cute pyjamas were soaked in blood, her freckled body had a lot of deep wounds while her cursed energy was unsettled and buzzing around.

“It hurts... Please, it hurts...”

Even if Gojou knew it was just a vision, his heart sunk at the weak voice and the miserable sight. The man swiftly crouched in front of the girl, his hands shook when he raised them, trying to embrace and soothe the child.

“It’s ok, y/n. I’m here, daddy’s here...” 

The child hiccuped aloud and stepped closer, the small hands raised, grabby and needy, seeking for his comfort... but as soon as his hands touched the child, the white figure dispersed like a blob, leaving the man alone in the black nothingness.

It wasn’t anything new and yet Gojou was disturbed. He furrowed his brows and shut his eyes tight, trying to wake up from this dream. He didn’t want to chase the visions of you over and over again, watch you being either hurt or being killed. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, you couldn’t be saved by him, not here, not in this nightmare.

Though, one thought was bugging him. Dream or not, he supposed to be the strongest shaman ever... and yet, he couldn’t save his own, adopted child from her inner demons. Could he be called your father then?

“You’re not her real father anyway.”

Gojou’s body paused and his eyes widened at the rough and deep voice that resonated behind him. At first, his face shown great shock because he had never heard that voice in his dreams before even if he easily recognized it. For a second, the shaman feared that the demon was able to enter his dreams, visit him like that and disrespect him with his ridiculous reprimands even more but then the man reminded himself that it was rather impossible and that he would sense and stop it in the real life anyway.

Hearing that infuriating voice but not sensing the real demon was the proof for the shaman. Still, he wasn’t content with the sudden turn of events, not at all.

After all, his subconsciousness created the picture of that man just to torture him even more. It almost looked like his fears formed into the biggest threat for humanity.

Gojou’s irises gleamed with the blue magic as he slowly turned around. Once his eyes met with four red orbs, his brows furrowed as he clenched hands in fists.

“You.” The man hissed through gritted teeth, the pure hatred filled up his heart.

The King of Curses was there, in front of him, grinning ugly, clearly content. The demon cackled darkly, his demonic eyes pierced Gojou, sending the waves of his cursed energy as well. 

A subtle warning or show of strength... that disturbed Gojou more than he wanted to admit. 

The shaman reminded himself, that Sukuna was not a real threat, that he wasn’t real, that all of it was just a very bad dream... a dream that was becoming weirder and weirder with every minute. If Sukuna appeared here, Gojou could call it the worst of his nightmares already. 

“Despite having Six Eyes, you can’t see the truth, can you? Or more like, you don’t want to see it.”

Gojou would love to just jump on the curse and beat the absolute shit out of him but, once again, he reminded himself it was just a dream. That was why the shaman ignored the King completely as he turned around and started walking forward. He didn’t know where he could get since he was trapped in the black void anyway, but he knew one thing for sure, he wanted to be far away from that bastard.

“Your precious life is falling apart. Your system will follow it soon.”

Gojou gritted his teeth, trying to shake off from this nightmare. He started walking faster but the voice seemed to be right behind him, no matter how far and fast he tried to go.

“Are you ignoring me? Rude–”

“Fuck off. You’re not even real.” Gojou snarled without looking at the King. He met with silence... that was quickly disturbed by a bark of laughter.

“How do you know?”

Gojou said nothing as he kept walking. He felt the presence next to him but didn’t look aside. He knew the spectrum of Sukuna was casually walking next to him, perfectly matching his fast steps and still looking nonchalant in his walking. 

“Hmm, am I the projection of your guilt then? The ultimate judge to lower the axe on you for your sins?” 

“You wish.” Gojou snarled, his eyes lit with blue light as his hand flew to the left, dispersing the vision of the King. The shaman used that occasion and looked around, trying to find any sight of exit, a door perhaps or a building, just anything that would appear in this black void so he could grab on and try to get out.

“Fool’s errand. I’m a part of you right now. No matter how hard you try, you won’t run from your fears, right, Satoru?”

Gojou wasn’t lucky because the King was back, casually walking on his other side. Gojou did his best to ignore the visions, trying to wake up, to escape. 

Apparently, he was left alone with his personal ‘judge’ as his only and clearly unwanted company. The shaman realized he preferred to meet and be tortured with ghost-you over and over again rather than be forced to have a ‘man talk’ with Sukuna.

His already bad dreams upgraded to another level just by that bugging presence of the King and Gojou didn’t like it... nor did he like the soft hum from Sukuna, the velvety like yet poisonous tone that was affecting his soul and sanity more and more.

“Did I poison your mind so bad that evening you’ve started to dream about me? Interesting, especially if I told you the truth. Hard to swallow the voice of wisdom now, hm?”

Those words touched Gojou more than they supposed to.

“Shut up!” Gojou snarled as he paused abruptly in his tracks. Once again, he smashed his fist to the side, dispersing Sukuna’s ghost effectively. 

The silence set in the black void as Gojou breathed heavily in and out. His eyes were wide, hands shaking, beads of sweat were running down his cheeks and chin. How long was he going to be trapped there? How long was he supposed to listen to Sukuna? He truly had enough of this nightmare, of all of this.

Apparently, Gojou only triggered the worst visions to come after him.

“D-Dad...ple–”

Gojou’s body tensed when the broken voice was cut down suddently and he heard a wet, nasty noise instead. The man let out a shaky breath, feeling weaker and weaker. His eyes reminded wide as he slowly looked behind, his heart stopped at the sight.

“Do you truly care for her, shaman? Or have you already given up, letting me devour her completely?”

Sukuna’s ghost was back in front of Gojou but the projection looked more demonic, more evil, more menacing, almost seething with unbearable strength and urge... and then the King smiled, showing off his bloodied and sharp teeth as he started laughing.

Gojou blinked, mesmerized at sudden change... only to see a new vision in which Sukuna was holding your small, bloodied body close to his chest, his clawed hands were slowly ripping off your clothes, the echo of his laughter never stopped.

The shaman tensed and instinctively reached to you, trying to get you out from Sukuna’s claws but the vision dispersed and was replaced by the even more disturbing one.

Gojou’s heart sank at the picture of motionless you, being devoured by Sukuna. Your half-naked body was pressed against the tattooed chest as the demon was feeding on your blood and energy, biting down on your delicate neck and down your arms. The red eyes never left him, drilling right into his soul, feeding on shaman’s shock and internal pain.

“She’s already mine...”

Gojou needed a second to act. His fear and shock changed into wrath as he roared like a demon, jumping forward, right at the King... but once his fists touched the demon, the vision dispersed. The shaman let out a shaky breath and looked nervously around, trying to locate you and save you.

...try to help you still even if he knew those were just the ugly visions that his mind decided to play on him.

“Y/n!” He called, his voice desperate, full of pain and fear.

Wherever he looked, he saw the black nothingness... but the echo of sinister laughter resonated in the void, ringing so loud in his ears, being so annoying and so distracting he almost missed the vision of your body slowly being sunk into black waters of the void.

Gojou ran to you and fell on his knees, trying to grab on your body, pull you out... but the black goo seemed to be stuck to your body, devouring you slowly, mercilessly, right under shaman’s nose.

...right under your adoptive father who still could do nothing to save you, his daughter he had promised to protect. 

“No, please, don’t-!” Gojou called desperately, your body was no longer visible for him but his hands were stuck deep in the black, bubbling and hissing goo. 

A piece of white material waved in front of Gojou and he looked up, meeting with Sukuna that had crouched in front of him, smiling almost innocently. His red eyes were boring into the shaman, his gleeful smile plastered on his lips. 

“You lost the game a long time ago, shaman. You keep living in delusions.”

Gojou said nothing but furrowed brows, looking down as he slowly shook his head. He knew he still had a chance to save you. He had to.

Gojou growled, a will to fight awoken in him as he tried to pull out from the black water... only to feel the resistance. He paused and frowned, Sukuna only sighed deeply and clicked his tongue.

“Such vitality. How disgusting.”

“What have you done?! If not because of you, y/n–!” Gojou rasped but Sukuna’s firm and low voice cut him off.

“The humanity you’re trying to get from y/n is long gone and you know it. You lost her a long time ago, shaman. Time to accept it.”

Gojou snarled at Sukuna and tried to hit the vision of annoying King again but he felt the tug on his hands and looked down, meeting with the real representation of his hidden guilt.

Two lantern-like eyes lit up suddenly underneath him, looking right at him, right into his soul. The man let out a shaky gasp as his eyes widened in pure fear and sorrow. 

“No, please, not like this...” Gojou whispered pleadingly but the black goo hissed around him, slowly creeping on his arms, wrapping around his legs, pulling him into velvety yet dangerous darkness.

"You know what is your biggest problem, shaman? You see the world in black and white while it's painted in the beautiful mix of greys... Occasionally mixed with bloody red." Sukuna's low and chuckling tone resonated around Gojou, pulling him into bigger distress.

“No... I won’t accept it! There is a way, has to be–” The shaman called desperately, the hidden promise of a challenge written in his eyes towards the King as he looked up... but Sukuna was gone.

“FoOlLishH.”

Gojou heard the ominous whisper from above and then a low chuckle that soon changed into dangerous hissing. With fear in his eyes, Gojou struggled against the black goo and watched helplessly as the mass was changing into a familiar shape of the serpent-like curse with long, messy hair. Its maw opened, showing off the sharp teeth, the white eyes gleamed within the pure darkness, shedding light around, so ominous despite being white. 

The curse tried to speak but instead of a voice, the gurgling noises came out, mixed with coughing up blood. At that point, Gojou gave up, hanging his head low as he started shaking uncontrollably, crying silently.

He had never felt so powerless before.

“Da-AddyYy...”

Gojou heard the broken voice of Mimi and you, combined together, sounding nowhere to be normal nor even human. The man sobbed, feeling the serpent body tightening around him and then he felt the sharp teeth sinking into his body, the black waters devouring him completely without giving him a chance to even take a breath– 
.
.
.

A loud thud resonated in the room and Gojou blinked rapidly, both confused and scared. His body was shaking, covered in sweat, his chest was rising and falling rapidly as the man could feel his hammering heart, trying to rip out from his chest. The man wheezed and abruptly sat up on the floor, coughing violently, as he grabbed on his chest, feeling suffocated.

Even if he knew he finally escaped the nightmare, he could still feel the nasty feeling of being eaten alive. 

Gojou closed his eyes and did his best to calm his body, soul and mind. He forced himself to start breathing deeply and slowly, letting the air go in and out, filling up his lungs, soothing his shaking body. He quickly scanned the school with his abilities, sensing all his students and friends sleeping peacefully in their beds. You too were in your bed, safe and sound, with Yuuji that shown no signs of Sukuna’s activity on him. 

It was just a dream... a fucking and very disturbing dream. Gojou reminded himself and slowly opened his eyes, locking them on the floor. 

The breathing technique seemed to be working but still, he felt overwhelmed. He slowly raised his shaky hand and massaged his temple, feeling the upcoming headache. He was not sure if it was from the violent fall from the bed or the stress he had suffered in the nightmare.

Gojou swallowed and realized his throat went dry. He had to drink something, push the formed lump down his throat. 

The man slowly lifted himself on the bed and turned on the bedside lamp. The warm light illuminated the room, creating a kind of secure place. Gojou sighed in contentment and stood up, his legs were shaky as well. He made his way to the table and was about to reach for the glass of water when his eyes landed on something else.

The blue eyes eyed the bottle of whiskey that Nanami must have left in his room the previous day. His friend didn’t look like but only he knew Nanami liked to have a drink alone since Gojou kept away from the alcohol. After all, it was dulling his senses a little, giving him vision issues and he simply couldn’t allow himself for that. 

...yet, at that very moment, having a taste of whiskey on his tongue was very tempting.

Gojou’s hand was looming over the bottle, the man was battling with himself for another minute and then he snorted brokenly, his shaky hand reached for the glass of water instead.

“That’s stupid... What am I even thinking about?” He murmured to himself as he drank the whole glass in one gulp... but it was not enough.

“Now I need some sugar...” Gojou sighed and eyed the time. It was past two a.m. He still had a few hours of sleep... but he wasn’t eager to get back into his personal nightmare. 

The man grabbed on his hoodie and swiftly put it on as he quietly left the room. His legs led him to the kitchen where he secretly hoped to find some cookies you may have left for him.

Gojou would deal with the stress different way than reaching for alcohol. 

After all, he had to remain cool and collected. Too many people were relying on him. He simply couldn't fail and allow himself for weaknesses.

...and yet, Gojou couldn’t get rid of the nasty feeling that glued to his heart.

The fear of losing you. 

~*~

It was another day of your training and, as Gojou had said, everything was getting harder. Even if you had been excited and determined previously you were getting more and more frustrated because of lacking progress. 

You had a feeling you were stuck in a rut. Every day you woke up early, got ready for the day, had training with Gojou during which your body usually ended up either damaged or too exhausted to continue, you got back to school, took shower, ate something and let yourself be – as a particular demon called you once – a sad burrito. 

You started to understand why Yuuji was going to sleep so early after a hard day of working. You weren’t behaving better, crashing into sleep so fast, definitely not being like old you, able to stay up for the entire night just to read a good book or to watch some movies. Sometimes you missed such ‘freedom’ and a kind of childhood innocence but then you reminded yourself you were supposed to be a young shaman. After all, you accepted that style of life, knowing all the dangers, the pros and cons and the fact that it cost a lot of strength, sanity and especially normality. 

That was why you kept pushing yourself harder, usually reminding yourself to be tough and not complain too much, to see the bright side of your hard work despite the self-sacrifice. Even if you were exhausted, your mood was spoiled and sometimes you were doubting yourself more than usual, you still believed that the hard training would pay off soon. 

...you wanted to believe in it anyway. 

You knew Yuuji didn’t have an easy time either that was why you tried to stay strong, to not push all your doubts and burden on him. You simply didn’t want him to worry about you but Yuuji wasn't stupid to not see the first signs of your burnout. Even if he tried to talk to you subtly and suggest a break, you were too stubborn to even consider that.

“I will be fine, Yuuji. It will be over soon, promise.” You used to convince him even if you could see he didn’t look convinced at all. Still, Yuuji was polite enough to not push on you either. The last thing both of you wanted was to have an argument over such a thing.

That was why you kept trying to focus fully on your goal. All you could do was to push harder, to get better, to not disappoint the people that relied on you...

...especially because of one demon that (as you bold to think) would be very displeased in you giving up so easily.

Even if you were going to sleep exhausted, you were waking up full of energy, almost tingling with excitement from the sudden boost within your cursed energy. You had a feeling Sukuna was connected with that fact even if he kept being silent about it. You had experienced the blessing effects of his magic before and you were more than grateful to see him secretly rooting for you and your success...That was why you knew you couldn’t give up so easily and let his secret efforts be wasted.

Little did you know during that time all of you fell into a vicious circle that was about to end in the most unexpected way.

~*~

Things between Nanami and you got better despite the ‘small’ incident in which you pulled him into your domain and scared the life out of him. Being eaten up by your guilt, you had visited him one evening to apologize properly.

You wouldn’t be yourself if you visited him with empty hands, that was why you brought a tray with a cup of his favourite Irish coffee and a piece of cake you had baked for him; a kind of peace offering. 

During your explanation, you were bowing a lot and Nanami seemed to be troubled with that. He was not used to being apologized so sincerely, especially if he saw no need for it. Though, he hugged you tight being grateful for your kind offer.

“No need to be sorry. I admit I got worried and even scared but I can see you’re feeling better. I’m glad that nothing serious happened to you. I know it was more painful and stressful for you than us.” He said and despite his smile, you caught a glimpse of grief in his eyes. 

“I’m still sorry and I promise I will do my best to... tame it all.” You said and bowed your head. Nanami only shook his head and ruffled your hair.

“I know you will. You always do but don’t worry too much, you have us. We will help you.” You smiled at his words and nodded, keeping up the bright face...

...yet, the lump formed down your throat.

Would they be able to help you? You still had a feeling you were missing out on something important and such bugging thought was driving you crazy.

Nanami easily saw through your mask but he said nothing. He could only imagine your stress and doubts of all your actions that Gojou had put you in, consciously or not. If you only knew how bad the man had been worrying both for you and his friend.

After all, Nanami could see that Gojou and you – instead of getting closer – were slowly driving apart, keeping secrets from each other while he was between you two, trying to find the solution on his own, trying to make things better.

He didn’t like being powerless. He didn’t like that feeling of quiet before storm...

...but he supposed to be the most responsible out of your family, the reliable one; losing his cool wouldn’t help anyone. 

That was why Nanami knew he had to get ready, wait, see and intervene if things turned out badly.

~*~

Even if the air was cleared between Nanami and you, a different situation happened with your father.

During the first days of your training, Gojou decided to adapt Nanami’s idea. He let you attack him and try to land a hit on him...

...but it seemed that he either became bored or something triggered him because he changed his style completely.

Gojou became not only rude and intimidating but also... rough.

Not only he was taunting you a lot but he was using his tricks on you too often. Sometimes you ended up with real wounds because of him, sometimes he forced you to use your energy too much so you burnt yourself. 

Sometimes your father’s eyes were unbearable to stand. His blue irises were drilling the very core of you, judging your being, your abilities and your soul completely. Most of the time you had a feeling he was pissed even if he tried to laugh anything off. 

You weren’t a kid anymore to believe him so easily. You knew the reality was different and just because of that, you started to feel even more guilty, putting even more pressure on yourself to not let him down, to make him proud and prove yourself to be a good shaman. 

...but the more the atmosphere was thickening, the more you started to feel like a burden. 

You believed all of that mess was because of your lacking progress and Gojou seemed to be losing his already great patience with you.

You really tried to keep up with his tempo and ideas, you truly did but you started to feel... afraid of him. 

You knew he was doing that on purpose, to build pressure, to make you snap and start using your cursed energy properly but day after day, instead of growing stronger, you were getting anxious.

It was a very bad sign but you started to be scared of your father and his methods. 

You even started to doubt in his help and good motives. You started to feel as if you were betraying him just by thinking so rude of him... but one thought kept bugging you.

What did he try to achieve by treating you so brutally anyway?

You could understand a lot of things... but that one thing. Since when the show of brutal strength was the key to success? 

...especially if you were keeping in mind your family bonds still. 

Apparently, not only you must have been concerned. 

Nanami was keeping an eye on you two more often and you had a feeling it was because of Gojou’s puzzling behaviour. Even if you could see and feel that something very bad was happening in your father’s mind, you didn’t dare to question him. You knew you wouldn’t get a truthful answer anyway. 

Even if Gojou kept his cheerful and goofy face, you could feel his real emotions during fighting as he kept pouring some of his anger on poor Mimi and you. You weren’t a big fan of that tough father, not at all.

“Come on, is that all what you’ve got? I know you are better than that. You’re stronger than that. Give me yourself, both of you! Y/n! Mimi! Come at me!” Gojou yelled at you from above, his voice far from being a tease.

Once again, he was standing in the air, watching your poor attempts to jump and get him. You couldn’t help but feel like a lion cup that was attacking an adult giraffe.

“Think of ways to get there! I see at least ten!” 

Good for him. Mimi growled in your mind and you too couldn’t help but feel both tired and offended.

I have enough of his sassy behaviour. Let’s change it. Just as we planned, are you ready? Mimi asked and you immediately nodded, determined.

Mimi and you come up with an idea to gather your cursed energy in your legs and use the tree as a trampoline to get to Gojou. Your plan was simple but it might work and give a few precious seconds to use your father’s potential surprise and try to get him.

You quickly climbed and braced yourself on the branch, your eyes angry and focused on your teacher. You let your emotions boost your cursed energy a little but not enough to lose control. White thunderbolts sparkled around your legs as you took a deep breath in and out... and then you bolted up in a straight line towards Gojou, letting out a battle cry. 

You were too focused on your target and on controlling your cursed energy within you that you were unaware of some ‘minor’ changes around you. You (obviously) missed Nanami’s shocked expression when he spotted a red hue at the end of your cursed energy and felt the sudden, almost vicious strength following within you.

Apparently, not only he saw and felt that. 

Gojou’s brows immediately furrowed and his icy-blue eyes lit with hidden anger. His cursed energy boosted, alerting Nanami and making your mind pause.

“Satoru, don’t–!” You heard Nanami’s yell but before you could even react, dodge mid-air or try to turn off, it was too late.

Gojou used his Infinity to get you down, brutally. 

Apparently, he used too much force because not only he knocked a breath out from your lungs but also you ended up on a tree. Even if you believed you got used to general discomfort and pain during your training, this experience was something new for you...

...and it wasn’t a pleasant one.

Once your back hit the tree, you heard a loud crack... and then felt the unbearable pain spreading in your body, almost paralysing your limbs. Your eyes widened both in fear and shock as you let out a silent scream. Then, you slid down the trunk and landed on the ground with a loud thud, wheezing and coughing violently. You were shaking uncontrollably and you didn’t know if you were dying because of an almost broken spine or you just fell into a panic attack because of that brutal act from your parent...

...or both.

“That’s enough for today!” Nanami’s voice echoed around the field but you barely caught it. 

You felt dizzy, the ringing in your ears was unbearable and you believed your insides were about to explode. You were unaware of coughing up blood unless you saw the red mixture on the ground, right in front of you.

At that moment you fully realized what happened and you felt more than just violated. You couldn’t help but start to sob and cry aloud, feeling so miserable, so lost and so broken, just like a baby.

It was enough for Gojou to snap from his daze... and be petrified by his actions.

“Oh fuck, no, nonono-” Your father teleported next to you and crouched down. He tried to help you sit up but you let out a fearful yelp as you flinched and tried your best to scurry away from him. 

You didn’t want him to touch you. 

You didn’t want his help.

You didn’t want to hear his sorries and excuses.

At the same time, you wanted to disappear and jump at him with fists. 

You were both angry at and scared of him at that very moment... and you knew it was because of mixed feelings coming from your 'self' and your sister’s.

You were in a kind of zone, battling with yourself. You were shaking violently, panting hard, trying to catch some air greedily but instead, you were wheezing. You could feel your body heating up from your desynchronised cursed energy and you could hear your sister’s voice ringing in your mind, upset, dark, vicious. 

He went overboard with it! He has to pay for that! The fuck he thinks he’s doing!?

You let out a pained groan, feeling your nails going longer, sharper. Your sister clearly wanted to take control of your body but your 'self' was far away from thinking about revenge at that moment.

“N-no, M-Mimi, calm down-!” You sobbed brokenly, your eyes big and fearful. “Stop it... sto-op!”

“Y/n! Mimi! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-! Let me fix it, please, I can fix you-!” You heard Gojou’s desperate voice from behind and before you could even look at him, you felt his hand on your head.

Once again, Gojou used his powers to stop both of you from hurting yourself even more.

You let out a sharp breath and your body paused. Your cursed energy quenched, all your fear, anger and whole negativity dispersed, leaving you hollow and numb.

A single tear run down your cheek as you lied there, unmoving but still breathing heavily.

At that moment, you truly had enough of everything and everyone.

“Step away, Gojou. You did enough for today.” You heard the cold and serious voice of Nanami and you involuntary shivered, instinctively curling to yourself. 

Not only you felt the panic attack raising again (along with inside voices bugging you and destroying your already broken confidence) but also you felt terrible about the situation. Just because of you and your weak body, your guardians were about to argue again.

You truly just wanted to disappear.

“But Nanami–” Gojou’s voice was shaky but it seemed that Nanami had enough of everything as well. The man wasn’t in a mood to listen to your father anyway as he seethed:

“I said step away.”

A silence full of tension set between the men while all you could do was to try to calm yourself from loud sobbing.

You sensed Gojou standing up and stepping away. Then you heard soft steps and a gentle hand touched your back. You instinctively flinched and whined because of the pain. For a second, you wondered if your back were truly broken but just because of the pumped adrenaline, you were not aware of that fact yet. 

“Y/n?” You heard a soft voice and slowly looked up. Even throught the tears blurring your vision, you could tell Nanami looked at least distressed.

“Can you stand up?” He asked as you sniffed quietly, trying your best to sit up. You wobbled a little, trying your best to raise yourself on your shaking hands but within seconds you failed. You were shaking, feeling more and more like a weakling. You lowered your gaze and shook your head, feeling pathetic.

“It’s ok, let me help you then. I will lift you up and take you to the doctor.” You could only nod as gentle yet firm hands scooped you under your knees and your lower back. Even if Nanami tried his best to be gentle, you couldn’t help but hiss and groan aloud because of pain. 

Once you were held secure against Nanami’s chest, you allowed your head to fall on his shoulder as you closed your heavy eyes. You felt your guardian walking fast, eager to take you to the doctor.

You wished you could shut your voices, simply stop caring about anything but still, it was harder said than be done. Not only you were in pain, physical and mental, clearly ashamed of your weakness... but you also started to be scared of the person who supposed to protect you. 

You couldn’t believe that Gojou, your adoptive father, had dared to hurt you that bad just because of your combined ambitions.

Even if you tried to find an excuse for him, trying to explain yourself that all of it happened just because you were too weak while he wanted to make you stronger, you knew it was not worth it and, instead of helping you, he hurt you. 

He broke not only your body but your trust and spirit too. 

That was why you closed your eyes. You simply didn’t want to look at Gojou even if you could sense his eyes drilling in you in worry and shame, seeking for your response, for a spare glance from you. 

“I’m sorry, Nanami, I–” You heard Gojou’s very soft voice from the side. Nanami abruptly stopped and turned around, facing his friend.

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to her! Look at her! She’s barely holding herself! She’s bleeding, her cursed energy is even a bigger mess than from before the start!” He was yelling and you involuntary winced, curling more, trying to disappear. 

...you were truly a magnet for troubles.

Nanami was fuming. You had never heard him so agitated before. You could even sense his cursed energy twirling underneath his skin. You believed that if he hadn’t hold you, he would have punched Gojou right in the face.

“But Nanami–” Gojou tried again, he sounded even more distressed, almost hopeless. Nanami must have sensed the tension in your body because he stopped yelling, though his voice remained cold and piercing.

“Use your fucking Six Eyes properly and look at the mess you’ve been creating. Not only you’re allowing for all of that but you’re hurting her as well. You literally dragged her back to hell you promised to protect her from. Just because of your ambition, you’ve completely lost your mind.”

There was a pregnant pause. Your quiet sniffs could be heard still, your heart was slowly breaking down, being crushed by unbearable guilt. 

If only I were not an abomination...

“We’re done, Satoru. I won’t let you train and hurt her again.” 

Gojou said nothing more nor Nanami wanted to stay there all day long. He had already wasted some precious time by trying to talk some sense into Gojou. He turned his back on him and rushed with you to the school, leaving the broken shaman alone, in the middle of the dark forest.

~*~

 When Shouko saw you, she wasn’t surprised. Even if she always felt bad for you, she got used to the picture of you, in pain, with bruises and bleeding wounds. 

...but once she heard who caused more pain to you, the cigarette fell from her mouth, landing quietly on the floor while the woman was sitting with wide open eyes, clearly shocked.

“Satoru did what?” She asked quietly but Nanami quickly responded:

“I will explain everything later. Now, please, help her.”

Shouko only nodded, slightly distressed yet determined as she tried her best to heal you.

You were lucky your spine hadn’t broken at the impact even if your back was bruised a lot and a few scars were left there. Your external wounds were taken care of but both the doctor and Nanami could see that your mental condition was damaged the most.

You clearly retreated into yourself, staying quiet and almost hollow.

They got worried but they also knew you needed some time alone. That was why none of them tried to talk to you, to soothe you. They knew at such state you would neither understand them nor believe them. They knew you had to calm yourself down first, gain your consciousness back before you were ready to talk about it.

After a while (and with the big help of Shouko) you were bathed and dressed in clean clothes. Then Nanami took you to your room.

...but still, you couldn’t fully process nor accept what had happened at the training ground.

You were sitting on your bed, eyes down, hands shaking and entwined. Nanami was sitting in front of you, watching you with worry. He could see you were slowly getting back to reality, understanding the situation more and more, that was why he tried to talk to you:

“I know it’s harder said than be done but don’t worry and don’t think too much. Rest for now, you need it. You’re free from any missions and training for next week so regenerate properly. Meanwhile, I will take care of... of everything, deal?”

You heard his soft voice and you involuntary sniffed, nodding slowly. Nanami sighed and stood up, gently petting your head. You tried your best to not tear up right in front of him. 

Your head was full of questions and worries, full of negativity but you knew you could do nothing about it. After all, you had done enough. It was time for adults to take control of the situation. 

Still, you were more than grateful for Nanami’s help and offer. You forced yourself to smile as you looked at him, feeling bashful and awkward. You responded with a shaky voice:

“T-Thank you, Nanami... and I’m sorry–” 

“Don’t. None of this is your fault.” Nanami interrupted you with a stern but not harsh voice. Your eyes widened but then you looked down, squeezing your hands. You heard Nanami’s sigh. You could tell that he knew you still blamed yourself for the mess but he was far away from giving you a lecture. It was not a proper time for it anyway.

“Try to get some sleep, ok? Call me whenever you need something.” He said with a gentle tone again and you nodded slowly. Nanami was standing there for another minute, watching you, as if making sure you were truly fine. Then he moved, you watched him leave from the corner of your eye.

You didn’t know how many minutes had passed but once you knew you were alone for real, you let yourself howl and cry into the pillow, letting out all emotions that had been bottling up for a while now.

You truly had enough of everything and your head started to hurt from overthinking. 

You wished the ground split open and swallow you whole. 

“F-fuck, no w-w-way...” You hiccuped after a few minutes of intense crying once you spotted blood on your pillow. You quickly looked into the mirror, realising that your body decided to betray you once again by the nosebleed you couldn’t get rid of for a long time.

~*~ 

Sukuna had been worrying for you for the past weeks. He had been watching you and healing in secret but it seemed to not matter. You still looked exhausted, you had black eyebags, your eyes were dim and your moves were stiff. At that point, you reminded Sukuna of a porcelain doll. He could see you had been pushing yourself too much and your body was clearly at the edge of collapsing. 

Sukuna could see that whatever was going during your training, wasn’t good either for your body or your mental health. He hated watching you fall into a kind of unhealthy ambition that was closer to insanity than anything good. Even if he tried his best to heal you and pump you in with his energy, he started to believe he only caused more trouble for you. 

It seemed that instead of getting easier, Gojou was getting more strict...

...which was rather weird and hard to believe just because Gojou always seemed to be careless, irritating and childish. 

Is he able to sense my cursed energy in y/n even if I do my best to mask it? Is he testing me for real? Can’t that bastard see it’s all worthless and he should change the tactics? Stubborn fool...

The more Sukuna was thinking and speculating, the more his hatred towards Gojou was growing stronger every day. 

Even if, Sukuna knew that Gojou cared about you still and the King believed the shaman would never hurt you for real...

...until one evening during which one of his nightmares came true.

As usual, Yuuji returned from a mission and, after bathing and changing clothes, he immediately went to your room, eager to see you and hug you after a long and tiring day of fighting...

...but when Yuuji’s eyes landed on you, tore up, with a nosebleed, shaking like a leaf on your bed, his heart stopped in his chest, along with Sukuna’s soul.

“Y/n?” Yuuji asked quietly and once you spotted him, you couldn’t stop yourself from howling, your heart and soul completely shattered. Yuuji immediately rushed to your side while the King was observing in shock and disbelief, sitting stiff on his throne.

Sukuna truly hated your tears and watching you cry so loud and so miserably through Yuuji’s eyes was torturous to him. 

Yuuji tried to talk to you, calm you down and understand what happened. You were wheezing and hiccuping so much you were barely understood...

...but it was enough for boys to hear that Gojou had overdone the training and he dared to raise his hand on you.

The world just stopped in Sukuna’s four eyes and his soul grew hollow.

The one thing he had always been so sure of, just shattered like thin glass. 

Gojou hurt you.

Gojou hurt you for real.

Gojou dared to hurt you... That was unacceptable. 

Sukuna felt the rage rising within him. At that very moment, he wanted to switch with Yuuji so bad and just shred the shaman into pieces...

...but he stopped himself and his wrath dispersed when he watched you breaking down completely, his soul was howling along with you.

You were crying, shaking, gesticulating a lot. You were calling yourself a weakling, an idiot, an abomination, you even said you fucked up everything even if the King knew nothing of that was your fault. You even said you wanted to disappear so all of the problems would end for everyone.

That hit both Sukuna and Yuuji the most since they understood the hidden meaning behind your words.

At that very moment, Sukuna just wanted to switch with Yuuji and hug you so tight, hold you safe and secure in his arms, hold you whole and prevent from shattering even more. He hated your tears, he hated when you were calling yourself such bad names. He knew you were strong and unique... but so misunderstood by the world you were living in. 

But as much as Sukuna wanted to touch you and soothe you, he knew he couldn’t do that so freely, so suddenly. He didn’t do that because of both Yuuji and you. The King simply didn’t want to either startle or piss you off. You two were already in great distress that was why Sukuna felt his presence – instead of helpful – would be disastrous. 

That was why he stayed put, or at least tried to. The bones from his throne were being crushed by his strong grip, the echo of his menacing snarling resonated in the dark domain.

Snowflake, as always, tried its best to keep his cursed energy in line as the small soul was flying around, squeaking at the King and bumping into his face. 

“I’m ok, Snowflake, I’m ok...” The King quickly said with a distressed voice and – without even looking – he gently scooped the small soul into his palm, keeping it close to his chest. The soul churred at him in worry but settled still in his hand, remaining aware of the situation and ready to intervene.

Meanwhile, Sukuna’s eyes were glued into the picture of reality in which four of his eyes were following every move of you.

No matter how much he wanted to help you, get things in his claws, Sukuna was still glad (and even impressed) for the very quick and proper reaction from Itadori both at your nosebleed and breakdown. The King didn’t even need to speak in boy's mind, guide him or suggest things. That was why Sukuna prepared himself to watch and listen to your story, even if he knew it was going to be hard.

Once the first wave of your breakdown passed, you were able to explain (still with a shaky voice, full of hiccups though) what had happened. You explained that Gojou hadn’t been himself for a while but you had been too anxious to ask him about it; that he had been harsh with you, pushing you on the edges, mocking you too often and just being rude. 

Until that very day when everything in him snapped and he literally sent you on the tree with wrath.

It was still hard for you to believe and even process fully but it was the brutal truth, your adoptive father had used the wrath on you. He had abused you mentally and physically.

Both Yuuji and Sukuna couldn’t even imagine and believe that Gojou lost control...

...especially that Gojou, the strongest shaman, the main pillar in jujutsu world, the one that supposed to be a role model for everyone. 

Even if there might be a reason to push you so hard (for your good), Gojou supposed to be disqualified from hurting you. 

...and yet, he was the one to screw things up.

And I am supposed to be the monster here... Ridiculous. Sukuna said to himself, furrowing his brows.

For the rest of the evening, Yuuji did his best to calm you down. He let you talk and cry, listening to you patiently and still. He took proper care of your nosebleed (also of your bloodied clothes and sheets) and soon you were free from such a nuisance. 

You calmed yourself down too and stayed on Yuuji’s lap, literally clung to him. You were still sniffing a lot but at least you stopped shaking so violently. He had his arms wrapped around you tight, hands were rubbing on your back softly, soothing you and making you relax.

Soon, the adrenaline wore off and your body was more than exhausted. Even the vicious voices of your guilt finally shushed, leaving your head empty. You allowed yourself to be lifeless in Yuuji’s arms as he easily carried you and lied down with you in bed, keeping you close, safe and secure.

Yuuji had been listening to you the whole time, not allowing himself to even miss a word out from you. He hadn’t dared to speak through your breakdown, he knew you needed to get rid of all negativity without being stopped or questioned. He knew you would calm down soon and he was waiting for it so he could try and cheer you up. When he finally collected his thoughts, he started with a soft voice, reassuring you:

“It is truly hard to believe and understand what happened and I don’t know the answer not the excuse for Gojou’s strange behaviour, though I know one thing for sure. Whatever happened between you two, it wasn’t your fault. That mess was not created by you.” He said the last sentences with a stern but not harsh voice, making you shiver involuntary. 

Deep down in your heart, you knew he was right... still, it was hard for you to believe in it.

You had a feeling you were missing something out that you had done something wrong, otherwise Gojou wouldn’t be so rough... but you were too exhausted to even think of it properly and connect the possible dots. 

Instead, you let yourself listen to your boyfriend while being snuggled into him. His heartbeat was like a soothing melody for you, his smell was calming you down, his strong arms were holding you whole. You were both happy and relieved to have him by your side, especially during these days.

“Frankly speaking, I’ve been getting worried about you and I wanted to talk with Gojou about your state... It looked like I was late, though I’m glad that Nanamin was with you and stopped that madness in time. I can only imagine the rough time you were put in with Gojou during your training. I wish I was there with you, maybe things would have been better...”

You swallowed thickly, nodding shyly. You too wished things had gone a different way. 

“I know that, despite the difficulties and inconveniences, you wanted to train hard, to get stronger and be better as a shaman but if you start it anew and you will have to pay such a price, literally losing yourself day by day, know that I won’t allow for that.” Yuuji said firmly, squeezing arms around your small frame. Your eyes widened in surprise but you said nothing, listening to him still. 

“I want you to know that you’re not alone and you have never been, don’t forget it. You have me and my shoulder to lean and cry on. You have Megumi and Nobara by your side, no matter the situation. Bold of me to say, I know, but I believe that even Sukuna is there for you to help, despite his rotten personality.”

Even if your heart was growing full, you couldn’t help but snort quietly at his last sentence, hiding your bashful smile in the material of his hoodie. Yuuji smiled at that as well and leaned in, gently kissing your hair. There was a good sign for him, you were able to smile again. 

“I can’t tell what is going on between the adults but one thing I know for sure. Trust Nanamin, he knows what he’s doing. He used to help me a lot and, to be honest, he always does better than Gojou... If he promised to take care of everything, he won’t break his word.”

Yuuji said and you nodded again, sighing deeply. You knew he was right. Even if Gojou was the strongest shaman you had ever known, his lack of social and family skills were truly troublesome. You remembered that whenever something important or dangerous was happening, Nanami was there to take care of you. It looked like in this duo-parents of yours, Gojou was the strength while Nanami was the brain.

Even if you liked it or not, all you could do now was to trust your guardian and wait for the train of events. 

“Also, I know you were doing your best during the training, you always do, no matter the field. You’re not a weakling, you’re strong on your own, you are unique and you better believe in yourself more... and, for the love of Kami-sama, I beg you, never ever call yourself such bad names and stop blaming yourself for every mess. Never ever say you want to disappear either... Never–” His voice suddenly broke and he curled around you, squeezing you tight.

“...I can’t live without you.” You heard his honest yet weak whisper and your heart swelled in your chest. You couldn’t control the tears that gathered in your eyes as you sniffed quietly, tangling fingers in his hoodie. You nodded weakly, both happy and touched at his confession. 

“S-same...” You whispered sincerely, closing your eyes. You truly couldn’t be the same person without Yuuji. Sometimes you even wondered how your life would have looked like if you hadn’t met him. 

He was truly your sunshine. 

“Thank you, Yuuji, you’re the best...” You whispered honestly and nuzzled to his chest. You heard his soft hum and then you felt him kissing the top of your head as you sighed in contentment.

Even if your heart started to be light and full again (thanks to Yuuji, obviously), you were still exhausted after the events of the day and you could feel you were about to crash out soon. 

Yuuji could see that too as he gently tucked you in sheets and your favourite fluffy blanket, keeping you close to his chest. He would protect you at night and provide you safety, as always. After all, he was your man. 

“I love you so much, y/n.” Yuuji said quietly but firmly, kissing gently your temple. You smiled at that and looked up, your eyes tired and swollen because of your tears and yet full of love towards him. 

“I love you too...” You whispered weakly but sincerely as you sighed deeply, getting comfortable in his arms.

“Sleep, y/n. I will be there, watching over you. Tomorrow is another, hopefully better day. If not, I will make it for you.” 

You heard his soft whisper and you couldn’t help but smile at that, your heart full and content once again. You nodded weakly and then you closed your eyes, sighing for the last time.

You allowed your mind and body to shut down and finally get some proper rest.

Still, deep in your heart you truly wanted to believe that everything between Gojou, Nanami and you were going to turn out for the best.

You hoped that tomorrow would be better too, especially if you had Yuuji by your side.

~*~

Sukuna kept an eye on you the whole time. 

He watched you falling asleep, tired, exhausted yet with a small smile plastered on your soft lips. He knew that Itadori’s words helped you a lot, healed you and made your heart full. Sukuna was more than glad to see it, and, once again, he was kind of proud of his vessel. 

Though, despite Itadori’s brave and encouraging words towards you, the boy seemed to be fighting with his own demons in secret. Apparently, the boy had been under his own stress for a while, thanks to Mahito and Sukuna. The King could hear Itadori’s tangled thoughts, feel the anxiety creeping into his body, paralysing him. 

Sukuna didn’t like it, not at all.

“He will never learn, will he?” Sukuna murmured to himself, Snowflake only squeaked quietly at him, peeking out from under his palm. 

“Despite our talk, the brat is still worrying. What am I supposed to do this time?” The King said, clearly annoyed as he huffed aloud...

...but his eyes suddenly filled with grief and his brows furrowed in worry.

“It looks like, despite my promises and good intentions, I created a big mess. Still, that bastard had no right to hurt y/n but I do believe that he snapped at her just because of my magic combined with hers. Damn it, he’s such a fool to not see the big opportunity I have been providing here. If only I could get back in time and warn y/n earlier...”

Sukuna groaned aloud and tilted his head, clearly distressed. 

As he promised Snowflake earlier, the King was responsible for all of you now. It wasn’t all about him and only him anymore. His pleasure and displeasure had to be put away. Nowadays, the ancient curse was more than just connected with the shamans, especially with Yuuji, Megumi and you. 

It was hard to believe even for past him but he started to see a kind of bonds, association, family in you, the brats...

...but he would never ever admit to it aloud either. 

Ridiculous, I’m clearly getting old and soft.  

Still, the King could see that (more or less and unconscious or not), he was responsible for getting and creating more troubles for both of you...

...and yet, he couldn’t just disappear from your life, leaving you all alone and hope it would put an end to all of your problems.

Rather impossible since the real problems would literally appear if not because of me, being alive and among them.

Sukuna sighed deeply, massaging his temple. He had to find a solution, quickly. As much as his old self would love to watch the world burn and people go crazy, the present him was getting anxious about that thought, especially of hurting Yuuji and you even more than he had already done.

“It’s all my fault, isn’t it?” Sukuna whispered quietly, his eyes tired and dim.

Snowflake heard his weak voice and immediately sensed his bad mood, affecting him faster than usual. The little soul didn’t think too much as it bolted right into Sukuna’s face, squeaking and bumping into his cheeks vigorously.

The King blinked in surprise, listening carefully to the squeaking and clearly agitated soul. His little friend had been more lively recently but the King didn’t mind it. He was far away from being annoyed at such behaviour of Snowflake. After all, the little soul had become kind of his helpmate, his guide. Sukuna rarely listened to anyone and yet Snowflake became the exception. The pure soul had good instincts, no wonder the ancient curse liked to get ‘inspired’ by his little friend.

That was what happened again and Sukuna was suddenly hit with a realization.

The King’s four eyes widened as he straightened up, looking forward, into the dark of his domain as if being struck by sudden vision only he could see.

“You’re right...” He said out of a sudden, the soul paused mid-air, surprised at his change. Then, to Snowflake’s shock, Sukuna slapped his cheeks a few times as if getting rid of bad thoughts. He definitely learnt that from comedies Itadori and you were watching too often.

“You’re absolutely right. I promised you something, didn’t I?” He raised his voice and his four eyes landed on the small soul. Snowflake squeaked quietly, slightly confused. Sukuna only grinned happily, outstretching his hand for the soul, his black claws gently brushed its tail. 

“What would I do without you, Snowflake?” He asked softly and watched the soul slowly wrap around his fingers. Once Snowflake was settled on his palm (still confused a little but watching the King carefully), Sukuna gently petted it, purring soothingly. 

“It all makes sense now.”

Itadori may have you whenever he felt down but Sukuna wasn’t left alone in his eerie place either, surrounded by the darkness of his domain, with the bugging thoughts of his own and the piles of empty skulls to keep him company. The King was more than happy to realize (and accept) that he has his own, little guiding light, his sweet sparkle right next to him.

Snowflake belonged to Sukuna only. Not only he saved the small being, literally ripped it from the rotten bodies of the curses but he also provided safety and gained its trust. He could tell that Snowflake was more than happy and even honoured to have him as its guardian. These two definitely shared a unique bond. That was why the ancient curse would never let anyone steal it from him. Never ever.

As if there was a brave soul to even stand against me.

Even if Snowflake could read someone’s mood and soul, it still couldn’t read in minds. The little orb looked at Sukuna, wishing the King would be more clear. As if sensing the unspoken question, Sukuna only chuckled, pulling the soul closer to his chest. 

“It’s hard to admit but I’m such a fool to let brat’s emotions combine with mine and even take control of me. Itadori may be still wary and moody but I can’t give up so easily, especially now. They still need me.” Sukuna admitted, humming in thought. 

“Our previous plan may not work completely but, for the love of evil, I’m the King of Curses for a reason. There’s no ‘no’ in my dictionary, I make impossible possible. That’s why I have to think of something else.” He admitted and grinned at Snowflake who squeaked at him bashfully. 

“That’s right, my little. One way or another, I will fulfil my masterplan.” He promised the pure soul and his eyes gleamed with red magic.

“All I have to do is to wait for a proper opportunity and offer another deal... and you know it's not a big problem for me since I have mastered a virtue called patience.” He teased and winked at Snowflake who shook its small head but purred happily, content and faithful in its King. 

Sukuna was aware that the situation got more than just serious. After all, having brat doubting himself over everything was already enough for him; having you at the edge of the total collapse was even more torturous for him. 

Such inconveniences he couldn’t allow himself for. 

If Sukuna supposed to be the leading adult in this ‘family’, he would truly take care of everything.

The King was aware of the fact that he had to risk a thing or two... but he was sure that in the end, things would turn out victorious; not only for Itadori and you but for him as well.

Sukuna knew what he had to do as the first step in his great plan. That was why he waited patiently for the deep night.

Once the King knew both of you were asleep, he changed places with Itadori. His four eyes opened slowly and eyed your tired face. He couldn’t help but sigh, feeling bad for you. His brows involuntary furrowed as his hands gently slid into your hair, fingers played with your white and silk-like strands.

Gojou will pay for all of that mess. 

Sukuna promised himself and scooped you closer. His hands coated in red magic and he gently put them on your back, letting his energy run through your muscles, to heal and soothe you. Obviously, it worked almost immediately because you let out a small moan in contentment and instinctively pressed closer to his body. Sukuna couldn’t help but grin victoriously as he purred softly to you and allowed himself to kiss the top of your head.

“It’s ok, I’ve got you, runt.” He whispered more to himself than you as he kept healing you, pumping you slowly in with his energy in a larger amount than usual. 

I've decided, I will give you a new shape, the one that Gojou tries to hide so desperately, the one which that bastard is so afraid of. The King grinned, his eyes gleamed with red magic, shining like live embers in the dark room. 

A few minutes passed and Sukuna’s magic finally died in his claws. The demon stayed close to you still, wrapped around you while purring softly. He has his own methods to keep you soothed and contented after all. In addition, he found a perfect way to steal some time to spend with you only, to satisfy his own needs and desires while keeping them secret from Itadori.

...and yet, someone else decided to join his idyll. 

Sukuna’s four eyes reminded closed even if he sensed a shift of cursed magic in you. Your body slowly moved and he knew you were looking at him, questioning his actions. He couldn’t help but smirk a little. 

Interesting, despite the ring on her finger, she is able to change places with y/n still. As I thought, she's truly an interesting and unique curse.

“Feeling better?” The King asked and peeked down, meeting with dirty yellow eyes that were shining like a cat’s in the darkness around. Mimi was back, along with the tattoo on her forehead, watching him with her three judging eyes.

“Why are you doing this?” She asked straight from the shoulder and Sukuna cocked a brow, having a deja vu. He couldn’t help but snort at that, earning a small growl from the girl. 

“Still about the same, huh?” Sukuna teased a little, the sister remained unruffled.

The King remembered one of their first talk ever. He realized that Mimi had asked him the same question before, thus the deja vu... though, her tone was much different now. She was no longer hesitant or angry yet curious but Sukuna could easily tell she was still wary, still guarded.

Sukuna couldn’t help but think (and hope) that perhaps Mimi stopped seeing him as a nuisance and started to see an ally in him. Frankly speaking, he would be more than content with that. 

“If you want to use us, to hurt us too–” 

Sukuna heard her quiet voice and immediately rumbled in a warning at such ridiculous assumption, his eyes gleamed with red magic. Mimi didn’t even flinch at his show of strength, she didn’t look offended nor she looked amused. She wore the neutral expression as always, holding his gaze.

“I’m far from hurting you two, Angel.” Sukuna admitted after a solid minute of staring at each other and he heard Mimi’s small snort, clearly in disbelief.

“What do you want then?” She was as stubborn as usual but Sukuna found it amusing instead of annoying like previously. He decided to play his favourite game, say the truth while the other would still believe it was either a tease or a joke from him. That was why the King grinned at her and leaned in, touching noses with her.

“I want to see you grow.” 

Sukuna said sincerely and could see that Mimi’s eyes widened.

The girl seemed to be shocked at first as if she misheard him; then she furrowed brows and focused on him as if looking for mischief in his eyes. Sukuna’s observant eyes never left her and he could tell that Mimi – despite her brave face put on – was nervous, her body tense in his arms. Suddenly, she smiled ugly, pitifully, showing off her sharp teeth in a grimace.

“I would like to see you try.” She said, her eyes lit with a red gleam; a hidden threat. 

The King’s eyes widened in surprise, he didn’t expect that reaction from Mimi. He kept looking at her, both curses held each other’s gaze as if trying to read the other one’s mind. 

Sukuna as always failed and yet, he didn’t feel like a lost one. The demon smirked fondly, his eyes lit up with vibrant red as he leaned closer to the girl, touching foreheads with her.

“Is that another challenge from you, Angel? If so, I will gladly accept that.” He purred, pulling her closer to his chest, trapping her in his big arms, in his claws full of safety for both of you.

Mimi was left speechless...

...but only for a moment. She growled quietly at Sukuna and tried to push him away. She was never fond of the King being so snugly because she knew how the guard could be lowered so easily with that trick of his. She simply didn’t want to be as charmed as you were nowadays; after all, she was there to keep an eye on you, keep you out of a danger, not to be pampered by an ancient curse.

And yet, after meeting with a great stubbornness from the King, Mimi had to give up with the resistance. She let out a deep sigh and laid here, almost unmoving as she accepted her fate of being a personal pillow to the King. 

Hearing no more growls and sensing no more bumping on his chest, Sukuna smirked in small victory and looked down at Mimi. Despite her pouting a lot and battling with herself, he could see that the young curse was slowly getting accustomed to him. She may be a tsundere but Sukuna could feel and tell better who she was for real and what she wanted so bad.

He could give it all for her, the answers for her questions, the great strength, the safety... all she had to do was to believe and trust him just like you did.

“You’re truly ridiculous...” 

The King heard her small murmur and couldn’t help but snort at that. Indeed, Mimi’s sharp tongue was amusing to him.

“That’s my line, Angel.” He simply said and sighed in contentment, tucking the small girl into sheets. Mimi made out an incoherent noise and mumbled something at which Sukuna cocked a brow.

“What was that?” He asked curious, watching her still.

Mimi huffed at him, furrowing her brows.

“...don’t call me an angel.” She responded quietly and Sukuna couldn’t help but cackle at that. Oh, she was truly adorable. He had a feeling that Megumi and she would become best friends in a different reality.

“I will call you what I want.” Sukuna simply said and pulled her closer, trapping her in his arms for good. To his surprise, Mimi didn’t pull away nor she did try to bite him. The King could see that the girl was battling with herself, trying to find a proper response...

...but once she saw that Sukuna was being serious with all his words and actions, she gave up and let him do as he wanted. After all, there was no need to argue with him in the middle of the night, especially if Mimi knew she wouldn’t win against King’s great stubbornness. 

Instead, the young curse sighed quietly and nuzzled her head into the pillow, right under Sukuna’s chin as she closed her eyes. 

The King was more than pleased with that reaction as he fixed the sheets around the girl, keeping her safe and secure in his arms. Soon he watched the tattoo slowly disappear; Mimi tuned out, leaving you all for happily purring Sukuna. 

You may not believe me yet, Angel, but your sister and you are more than safe with me. Soon you will understand. Soon I will make you my Queen.

~*~

| (His) Cursed Twins |

~*~

BONUS 

| The Grumpy Kitten |

(Other night, you are sleeping while Sukuna is keeping you on his lap, healing you as usual.)

Sukuna: *has his arms wrapped around you and he is nuzzling his face into your hair, smelling you and purring softly*

You: *let out a small purr and nuzzle closer out of a sudden*

Sukuna: *is surprised yet amused/purrs as well to encourage you/it worked!* Hmm, I didn’t know you could purr like me, kitten... *he whispers to himself and looks down at you/blinks in surprise at a sudden (and rare!) picture in front of him and smirks* 

You: *have a tattoo of an eye on your forehead/closed eyes and a small smile on your lips*

Sukuna: Oh? Isn’t that interesting now? Enjoying yourself, big sis? 

Mimi: *pauses in her purring and tenses/busted!/looks up at him with unamused face/pouts in anger* Shut up, don’t think so highly of yourself. 

Sukuna: *grins* Such a feistiness- *sees the tattoo disappear* Ah, no, come back, purr more to me. 

You: *hum in your sleep/unaware of what has just happened*

Sukuna: *sighs quietly, defeated/nuzzles more to you/snickers* Damn, that was cute...

Chapter Text

💙 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 💙

~*~

The next day you woke up late in the morning, unsurprisingly if you considered the events from the previous day. Even if your body and cursed energy were feeling ‘sated’ (as usual, and you knew because of who precisely), your mind was still at a low point. Maybe you didn’t feel as bad as yesterday, your worries were haunting you still.

You sighed quietly and slowly blinked awake. Your slightly furrowed brows immediately relaxed when you saw Yuuji in front of you, sleeping peacefully. The boy was snoring softly, as usual, his hands loosely wrapped around you, his hot breath tickled your forehead, playing with a few strands of your fringe. Your heart immediately swelled with happiness and joy, especially after recalling his words from yesterday. You smiled softly, so glad and relieved to have him by your side, to see him next to you... though you realized something and your mind went sharp.

Yuuji was still sleeping next to you, unaware of the time.

You jolted and sat up, shaking him briskly to wake him up.

“Yuuji, Yuuji! You will be late for a mission!” You called, feeling slightly distressed. You didn’t want to cause him more problems, you had promised yourself and now there was a chance he overslept because of you, being physically and mentally exhausted because of events from the previous day you had served him.

Yuuji woke up startled, ready to punch and crush whatever had dared to scare you.

“What? Where?” He called with a raspy voice, looking around feverishly. He had to blink away his sleepiness as he scanned the room left and right.

Though the room was safe and clean, he didn’t sense any cursed energy around either. What was going on then? What did scare you so much? Did you have a nightmare perhaps?

Yuuji looked at you and his brows immediately furrowed in worry. You still looked slightly distressed, maybe not as much (and bad) as yesterday but still not in your perfect shape. He knew the difference, he could easily tell it.

“You overslept, y-your mission-!” Your voice quaked and Yuuji hummed, cocking a brow. He overslept what? A mission? Oh, oh right.

It clicked in Yuuji and he groaned at himself, shaking his head.

“Ahhh, looks like I’ve put some stress on you unwittingly, I’m so sorry for that, y/n.” He said and slapped a hand over his forehead. You blinked in surprise, a silent question written over your face as you patiently waited for his clarification.

“We don’t have to worry about it today. The truth is that I woke up on time and got ready for duties but Nanamin stopped me and sent me back. He said that my responsibilities had changed, that Nobara and Megumi didn’t need my help on the mission and that I was needed somewhere else...”

You listened to him and blinked in surprise, tilting your head. He was needed somewhere else?

Oh.

Your heart skipped a beat when you caught the hidden meaning behind his words. As much as you loved the idea of Yuuji taking care of you and you knew you needed his company the most these days, you still had to remain your head cool. You didn’t want to be a nuisance to another person. It was enough for you to know that Gojou might have fallen into annoyance because of you. You simply didn’t want Yuuji to get to the same point either.

Your body involuntary tensed as you squeaked quietly:

“B-But-”

You heard the quick ‘shh’ and then strong arms wrapped around you gently yet firmly, pulling you on Yuuji’s lap where you settled comfortably. The boy hummed and kissed your temple lingeringly; then he tipped your chin and smiled softly, looking at you with his honey, shiny eyes, melting your heart and soul even more.

“No ‘butts’. Nanami spoke to the principal about our situation. After discussion, they decided to give us a week off. Nanami convinced the principal we needed some time alone to put ourselves together and charge up our batteries before we could be sent on any mission again. That’s why I returned to your room but you slept so peacefully I didn’t dare to wake you up and inform you about the changes. I sneaked back into bed and quickly fell asleep.” Yuuji explained and left you a bit speechless. It was hard for you to believe in such luck, on the other hand, you felt strangely relieved and put at ease after hearing that. Apparently, the principal was not as black as he was painted.

“...so, we won’t be in any trouble, right?” You had to ask anyway, you had to be sure. Though, in secret, you wished it wasn’t a cruel joke of the elders to put your guard down.

Yuuji only shook his head and smiled widely, reassuring you.

“Not at all. I know you might be surprised, I was surprised too but I believe they sincerely gave us some break, some time to... you know, heal.” He said the last sentence strangely quiet and you didn’t miss his smile dropping down as well. To you, Yuuji looked ashamed and you wondered what memory put him in such melancholy. Your heart squeezed uncomfortably in your chest when a strange thought passed your mind.

...what if he is troubled because of me?

No wonder, you gave him so much stress yesterday, you put your burden on his shoulders even if you had a feeling he had been bearing his own problems for a while now. Instead of being a supportive girlfriend, you had to be babied by him.

Yuuji must have seen your sudden drop of the mood because he quickly cupped your cheeks and urged you to look at him.

“Hey, if you believe you cause me more troubles, stop that immediately.” He said firmly, furrowing brows a little. You couldn’t help but whine, your lips trembled. Yuuji sighed deeply and pulled you into a bear hug, letting you hid in his body as he started stroking your back up and down.

The truth was that he had fallen into his own trap.

Yuuji recalled the previous day. When you had been training with Gojou, he had been on the mission with Megumi, trying to control his own demons.
.
.
.

As usual, the boys were fighting with a bunch of low-level curses, though that time Yuuji was going paranoid for real, getting ready (mentally and physically) for the albino curse to appear from nowhere and trigger Sukuna.

Yuuji simply didn’t want to be surpassed by his inner demon again. He was supposed to have control over Sukuna... but past weeks helped Yuuji realized how low he was in that twisted hierarchy or privileges.

Even if none of his fears came true and they got rid of curses safely way, Yuuji still fell into a kind of dangerous zone that was close to an anxiety attack.

“Yuuji? Oi, Yuuji!”

His body literally stopped and his mind was full of tangled thoughts he couldn’t stop from escalating further. It was a pure mess, chaos even, both in his heart and soul.

“Yuuji, look at me! Can you hear me?!”

At some point, Yuuji was unaware of Megumi’s frantic attempts to shake him off, to pull him back into reality. The boy was unaware of Megumi’s hands on his shoulder as his friend tried to wake him up, he was unaware of his panicked voice, he didn’t even feel the firm but not rough slap on his cheek as his consciousness was falling more and more into the abyss, slowly being eaten by his inner demons lurking there, laughing at him, hissing in need, begging for more-

“Yuuji!”

“Itadori.”

Suddenly the inner chaos stopped within a second.

At the low and firm voice of Sukuna's that had resonated strongly in his head, Yuuji was able to snap from his daze as he shivered violently and deeply breathed again, almost choking while trying to swallow because of the dry throat.

Yuuji finally felt strong arms around his waist that helped him sit down. When he regained more consciousness, he realized that his legs had got weak and now were shaking too. His eyes wandered up to meet with blue ones, clearly concerned.

“Yuuji, are you with me?” He heard Megumi’s weak voice, his friend was crouching in front of him, insuring him the best way he could.

Yuuji slowly nodded but then he realized something.

It happened again. Just like before with you in bed, just like now with Megumi he lost control over his mind. He let his dark thoughts swallow him whole but this time, the feeling was overwhelming. Not only it was dangerous for him but for his friend too as he let Megumi put his guard down to focus on and help him. It was irresponsible behaviour of him, especially if they were in the middle of the mission and he literally risked their life by that.

What was even more devastating for Yuuji was the fact that Sukuna – once again – put his senses back on right track. The biggest of his inner demons (and the real one) was responsible both for Yuuji’s anxiety attack and for his quick recovery.

How twisted was that? How even ridiculous it sounded? Yuuji didn’t like it but he knew it was no right time and place to think of it.

The boy shyly lifted his head and slowly met with Megumi’s eyes as he forced himself to smile.

“Ah, t-thank you Megumi and sorry, I’m s-so sorry, I didn’t–” Yuuji tried to cover himself up but Megumi shook his head firmly, still holding on to his shoulders tightly.

“No, Yuuji. It’s enough. I have to talk to Gojou about it.”

Yuuji involuntary flinched when he understood Megumi’s reason. Even if the boy felt as if slapped, he knew he deserved it. It was a final countdown to finally admit to his sins in front of his teachers, he had it coming. He had been hiding the truth for too long, risking not only his life but his friends’ too.

He failed both as a man and as a friend.

No matter how hard Yuuji tried to put on a brave face, ignore his problems and try to move on, he couldn't deny he had been stressed for too long thus the panic attack. He knew that Megumi was very observant and he couldn’t be misled so easily. After all, Megumi had been covering Yuuji’s ass for too long. It was high time to try and change it.
.
.
.

That was why Yuuji had been moved away from the duties. The boy knew that Megumi must have had an honest talk about the whole situation either with Gojou or Nanami. Then, one of them must have informed the principal about the problems and they had decided to lock him up in the school for the greater good, for the time until they settled to either kill him or spare him and try to find a solution to his ‘malfunctioning’.

No matter how ridiculous and irrational it sounded, Yuuji hoped that Megumi hadn’t told them everything, sharing every little detail of their scheme. The boy was more than sure that if only Gojou got to know that Yuuji had been losing control over Sukuna for a long while now, he believed his teacher would be the first one to enchain him and put him back into a basement full of cursed spells on the walls again.

...but this time, at least two executioners would accompany him.

Yuuji involuntary shivered and shook mentally his head. Knowing about your tense situation with your adoptive father, he started to pray that both you and he were safe from Gojou’s real wrath.

You watched Yuuji in silence, trying to read his thoughts. Your boyfriend seemed to be stuck in some bad memory because his brows were furrowed and his eyes were looking down, almost hollow. You didn’t say a word but you decided to remind him of your presence, to show him he was not alone with his problems.

Your hand gently cupped his cheek and your thumb brushed over his skin.

It worked because Yuuji immediately pulled out from his thoughts and looked at you, sighing deeply. He put his hand over yours and nuzzled to your palm, taking all your warmth and caressing. He smiled softy and you returned the gesture; his eyes locked on yours, and even if your hearts were full of love to each other, both of you were looking rather sad.

As much as Yuuji was helping you, you wanted to help him too. Unfortunately, you had a bad feeling he was either not ready to open up in front of you or he was hiding things from you on purpose. One way or another, you didn’t want to push on him, to not break his trust completely. That was why you stayed put and prayed Kami-sama for his safety.

“To be honest, I haven’t been doing great on my missions too...” Yuuji admitted after a solid minute of silence. You didn’t say a word as you allowed him to continue, listening still.

“I was put under a lot of stress as well but didn’t want you to worry about me. Though, I can see you’ve been worried still. I know I owe you an explanation but... the truth is I am still not ready for that, not yet.” He said weakly, almost feverishly and you could tell he was not only stressed but scared too. Once again, you said nothing but you gently squeezed your tangled fingers, still keeping your hand on his cheek. Yuuji seemed to be touched by that as he allowed himself to continue.

“I can’t ask for too much but I hope you understand that and... you will forgive me. All I can say is that I’m sincerely sorry for hiding out things from you but... I believe I have to try and find a solution on my own before I will be ready to admit to my weaknesses in front of you.”

As much as you wanted to hear the truth, as much as you wanted to help him, once again, you didn’t want to push him, to make him hide more into himself. You were grateful for his words still, after all, he opened up just a little. You knew he just needed more time, he had to make step by step and you simply respected that.

All you could do was to nod and smile up at him. You tilted your head and sighed. Once you felt Yuuji tensing up at your reaction, you shook your head and reassured him in your own way.

“It’s ok, Yuuji. Thank you for being honest. I respect that and know that I am ready whenever you are ready. I’m here for you as long as you are here for me, never doubt it.” You saw his eyes going wide, hope and happiness lit up in his honey irises and he nodded briefly, clearly touched.

“Frankly speaking, I haven’t been better and I’ve created a lot of mess, I can feel it, though I knew you had been dealing with your own problems for a while now. Even if you tried hard to hide it, I could see it still. That’s why I’m sorry to hear about that, of you being in deep shit too... I guess we are both magnets for troubles, huh?” You tried to reassure him and joke at the same time to release some tension. You could hear you succeeded because Yuuji snorted sharply and then chuckled as he pulled you close and embraced you in a bear hug.

“Thank you for everything. I know it will be lame but I hope that you know I love you dearly, so, so much...” He whined half-jokingly half-serious, crushing you to himself. You squeaked at his show of strength and then you chuckled, clinging to him as well.

“If you’re lame then I’m lame too because I love you even more.” You admitted, ruffling his hair. You heard him gasp as he pulled away enough to face you.

“No way, I do.” He decided to argue a little and you couldn't help but laugh. You grinned up at him and shook your head.

“No, I do.”

Yuuji huffed at that and touched foreheads with you. He knew better you could be pretty stubborn and since he would love to ‘argue’ with you for a little while longer, he admitted to himself you won this round. All he could do was to kiss your temple as he hummed in content.

“You know what?” He started with a soft voice, holding you safe and secure on his lap. You almost purred, nuzzling more into him, enjoying his warmth and musky scent.

“Hmm?”

“Since we have been given such an opportunity to be together these days, let’s use it the best way we can.” Yuuji suggested and you felt him smiling against your shoulder. You couldn’t help but sigh in contentment as you nodded eagerly. Your heart swelled with the promise of joy and proper rest, for both of you. That was what you needed the most nowadays anyway.

“Yes. Let’s make up for the lost time.”

~*~

After breakfast in bed (that seemed to be more like lunch for two of you because of the late hour) Nanami visited you... but he wasn’t alone to check on you.

Gojou was behind him, surprisingly thoughtful and quiet.

Two of them were standing in the front of the door as if preparing themselves. None of the four of you said a word as Yuuji and you were watching your teachers in anticipation, waiting for their move. Both of you started to be nervous, getting ready to hear the absolute worst.

Even if Nanami seemed to be as collected and calm as usual, the tension was clearly set in the air and after two more minutes, it started to be unbearable, especially between Yuuji, Gojou and you.

Nanami could see that two of you were literally scared of Gojou... and he could see and sense that his friend was getting aware of that too, as he was handling that fact worse and worse.

The older shaman started to believe that either Gojou or Yuuji and you would dare to hide or to try and run away any more second.

That was why Nanami knew he had to act up quickly, gently kick his friend to move forward and finally admit his mistakes.

As much as Nanami wanted to respect your feelings and spare you from seeing Gojou, he knew that his (dumb) friend owed you an apology and you needed to hear that. Apparently, he had to take care of another problem connected with Yuuji.

Even if he didn’t want to do that, he knew he had to separate you from your boyfriend and leave you alone with Gojou as he needed to speak with Yuuji in private. Otherwise, all of you would be even in bigger shit than you had believed you were already in.

“Yuuji, come with me. Let’s give them a few minutes. Gojou needs to tell y/n something and we all know what’s that.” Nanami’s firm but not cold voice resonated in the room and he gently nodded towards Yuuji and you as if reassuring it was going to be ok.

You involuntary swallowed and locked eyes with your boyfriend. Yuuji seemed to be anxious too and was ready to say ‘no’. You knew he didn’t want to leave you alone nor you did want to face Gojou either but you knew that sooner or later you had to do that.

You believed that facing him sooner would spare you a lot of trouble in the future.

You took a deep breath and nodded at Yuuji, determination was written on your face even if your heart was quaking in the chest.

I will kick his ass if he tries any funny business again... You heard Mimi’s annoyed yet full of promise voice in your head and you mentally smiled, feeling reassured by your sister.

“You can go, I will be fine.” You said quietly to your boyfriend. He watched you for another minute as if trying to read you, to make sure you were truly ok with all of that. Once he realized you were determined enough to face the problem alone, he simply nodded.

You watched him leave with Nanami, he was able to look at you for the last time (and you were able to send him a small smile) before the door was shut... and you were left alone with Gojou.

You were sitting on the bed, keeping your eyes low. You still couldn’t brace yourself enough to look into his eyes and you wouldn’t have lied if you said his blue irises started to haunt you in your dreams.

Gojou was silent for the first minute, though you could see him shifting nervously out of the corner of your eye. You knew he was getting ready and you could almost feel how hard it was for him to admit to his mistakes, to finally say that one, important word.

“Y/n, I...” Gojou started with the voice so full of sorrow and pain it almost made you feel sad and guilty for him. Almost.

You reminded yourself you had done nothing wrong. Misunderstanding or not, you hadn’t thrown the rock first. Gojou was supposed to be the adult here and admit to his mistakes and try to fix them.

Moreover, he was supposed to be your adoptive father you needed for real, not the big goofy guy that was taking care of you from time to time, whenever he felt it. The strongest shaman or not, if he decided to be a family with you, he better kept up that promise.

It was time for Gojou to live up to his responsibilities, to finally be serious about something.

Even if you didn’t want to look at him, you still wanted to hear his explanation, at least his poor-or-not attempts. He owed you that.

You heard them faster than you had expected.

Gojou indeed had a difficult time speaking up his mind. His thoughts were still tangled, the unbearable guilt of hurting you was crushing his heart and soul. He could see that you were anxious around him, clearly avoiding his eyes. Your silence was more hurtful for him than any Nanami’s rough yelling and cursing towards his person.

That was why Gojou knew he shouldn’t waste more of your time. It was better for both of you to finally tell what was supposed to be told a long time ago.

It was the time to be serious, to be a man.

Gojou took a deep breath, locking eyes on small you, his weak voice resonated in the room, carrying out the most sincere apology from him ever:

“Y/n, I’m so sorry, for everything. I failed you while you trusted me. Instead of helping you, I brought more trouble to you. Instead of protecting you I-” Gojou paused here, the lump that had appeared in his throat started to be hard to swallow.

“...I hurt you, horribly, probably breaking your trust too. I know my reasons can’t be justified, I won’t even try to do that. I simply admit I lost myself on the way and involuntary dragged you in that madness of mine. Nanami was right about my methods since the beginning, they were irresponsible and ridiculous. I should have come up with something better, started slowly and respected your feelings and needs. Instead, I lost control over the situation, over myself and you got hurt because of my mistake. I’m not a perfect father, I know that, that’s why all I can say is that I’m really sorry.”

You were listening to your father carefully, still being silent. Your heart squeezed uncomfortably in your chest, a lump that had appeared in your throat was unbearable to stand. You furrowed your brows but nodded slowly, knowing that your adoptive father still had something else to say.

As if seeing you getting him permission, Gojou continued, his voice even weaker:

“About our sessions, I believe it’s better to... to stop training for now. You should take a break while Nanami and I try to find a solution to this... situation.”

His words strangely hit you even if you knew they shouldn’t have. He called that mess ‘situation’ while all you could hear was just ‘problem’.

The problem he had created by himself and now didn’t know what to do.

You already forgot about your almost broken spine and the pain that accompanied you yesterday. The truth was that your body didn’t hurt anymore. What hurt you the most though was your broken trust towards your father... and perhaps your shattered pride and determination to try and change for the better.

You were supposed to get stronger and yet you had a feeling you were still just a nuisance, an abomination that couldn’t be fixed, being judged by everyone, by your family the most.

As if reading your destructive thoughts, Gojou spoke again, trying to reassure you:

“I’ve never admitted it aloud but you’ve been doing good during our training, much better and faster than I expected... and I was very proud of you. Really. Though instead of helping, I fucked everything up and I can only blame my ambitions for pushing on you too hard. I just wanted to... get all the best from you. I have never wanted to hurt you, never. I should be the last person to ever done that to you and yet... I failed horribly. Once again, I’m sorry.”

By the corner of your eye, you caught Gojou bowing down, head low. The proper addition to his spoken apology. Though, at Gojou’s honest confession, your heart literally stopped beating, settling heavily in your chest.

What did he just say?

Your mind was full of tangled thoughts as you were trying to process his words. Did Gojou say you had been making progress? Since when? Moreover, he was proud of you? What? He admitted to his mistakes, he blamed himself as he should. What was up with that sudden praising then?

For a second you believed he tried to pull the wool over your eyes, to soothe your already broken heart and soul. As much as you appreciate his apology, his honest-or-not words were not expected by you and took you by surprise.

Your hands unconsciously tangled in the sheets as you involuntary recalled your training. You recalled his furious eyes, the blow of his cursed energy, the pain in your spine, the fear, your breakdown, your tears and fears...

You realized that – just as during the unfortunate training – you were both scared of and angry at Gojou at the same. You sensed your energy twirling underneath your skin as you tried to remain cool and collected. You kept being silent still.

You missed Gojou’s expression when he sensed your tangled emotions through your cursed energy. He felt your fear and anger, your broken trust and sorrow. He wished you looked at him, just for a second. Maybe you would change your mind after seeing his sorrowful eyes full of hidden guilt and regret.

As much as Gojou was able to stop the time, he wished he was able to rewind the time and never ever let himself hurt you like that.

The damage was done and he knew he had to pay for his mistake.

You heard Gojou’s very quiet sigh, a whine almost. He must have realized and accepted his utter defeat. You were as stubborn as always though, this time your reasons were justified.

“I will understand if you don't forgive me... but remember you are still important to me and I care about you. I love you as a father, I really do... even if I am a terrible parent.”

You swallowed thickly, your breath stuttered. His voice was so weak and shaky, fearful even, so unfamiliar to be heard from Gojou, the strongest and prideful shaman ever. You couldn’t help but sigh quietly at his last words that somehow reached the very small you, the baby girl that still loved her adoptive father so much she could forget about his sins and mistakes, she could be blind to the blood on his hands, she could be unaware of his inner wrath. The kid-you was, as always, ready to forgive Gojou... but the pleading of kid-you, still within you, had to remain hidden and her words had to be ignored.

Even if Gojou's words reached your heart and gave you a bit of hope again, you had to stand on your own. You reminded yourself he had to try better than that to flatter you, to let your heart be sold to his parental love again. Your poor mental condition was at his fault.

You wanted to take a break, both from him and from the whole mess. You knew your body and soul were in poor condition to take a not-so-heated decision. You knew your words might hit him hard, on the other hand, you hoped he would understand and respect your feelings to leave you alone for a while.

“Apology accepted.” You said quietly yet firmly and found enough courage to look at him. Gojou seemed to be positively surprised and then relieved as if realizing you had given him hope to fix his mistakes... Oh, how a bad daughter you were to just shatter that picture, as you reminded yourself to keep him still in line.

“...but I don’t want to see you for a while if you don’t mind. I need... time to get over with all of this mess.” You said firmly and focused your bedsheets again, keeping your eyes away from his. You could tell your words took him by surprise as you heard him taking a sharp breath.

“Y-Yes, yes, of course... I understand.” You heard his broken voice and caught him shifting nervously again.

“W-Well then, see you around?”

You knew he wanted to see you nod but, once again, you reminded yourself to stand on your own. You remained untouched and silent.

Gojou said nothing more as he easily understood the hint. His steps were slow and quiet but you heard him leaving your room. Once you were sure to be left alone, you let out a groan as you flopped on the bed, hiding your face in the pillow.

That talk was... hard. Obviously needed, maybe a bit surprising but still just hard. You felt strangely exhausted, unsatisfied even.

At least he apologized. Mimi murmured in your head as if trying to soothe you, reassure you a little. You groaned again and rolled on your bed, looking at the ceiling.

“Yeah... at least.”

~*~

While you were having a conversation with Gojou, Nanami took Yuuji into the lounge when he made sure they would have some privacy. Yuuji seemed to be anxious (because of leaving you alone with Gojou) and confused (since Nanami kept being silent). Though, the young shaman had a feeling that Nanami wanted to inform him about something important, that he wanted to talk to him without being overheard.

As much as Yuuji wanted to remain calm, the dark thoughts were back in his mind, keeping his head tight and heavy.

The young shaman started to make real-or-not scenarios. What if Nanami was disappointed in him? After all, he didn’t trust his teachers enough to come to them and ask for help with Sukuna... What if Nanami was about to say that Yuuji was going to be executed? That would explain why he took him outside the room, away from you. If you heard that terrible news, Yuuji knew you wouldn’t handle it pretty well. To be honest, he wouldn't handle it pretty well either.

...maybe he could try to run away with you? Leave the school behind, try to hide in the mountains and pray for the gods that shamans wouldn’t find you there? 

...that was a tempting option at that very moment.

A firm hand landed on his shoulder, startling him a bit. Yuuji made a small, pained sound as he pulled himself from tangled thoughts. He looked at Nanami with his big and scared eyes. The older shaman easily caught that and his brows furrowed in worry.

As he expected, Yuuji’s mental condition was in very bad shape.

“Sit, please.” Nanami’s voice was firm but not rough. Yuuji nodded slowly and scanned the sofa behind. Soon Nanami and he were sitting in front of each other, a small glass table was between them.

Yuuji seemed to get nervous again, the silence and anticipation seemed to be unbearable to him. Meanwhile, Nanami’s observant eyes were taking it all as he was thinking of the proper explanation.

The older shaman decided to be bold and not even try to beat about the bush.

“You don’t have to be scared or worry too much. Your secret is safe with me and me only.”

Yuuji blinked dumbly, clearly taken aback. He was trying to process Nanami’s words, growing even more confused. Seeing the boy’s obliviousness, Nanami only sighed as he leaned on the sofa and crossed arms over his chest.

“Long story short so you better focus, Yuuji. Megumi couldn’t find Gojou yesterday because of his situation with y/n and sudden disappearance. That was why your friend turned to me. He explained everything, what has been happening for a while on your missions, how all of you risked everything to keep it secret, how both of you have taken the burden on your shoulders and, despite you trying hard to remain cool, you’ve been falling into fear and panic more and more because of Sukuna and his puzzling actions. I believe your panic attack that happened yesterday was the last straw for Megumi. That’s why we are here and I’m talking to you. Are you following me now?”

Nanami explained patiently and – after hearing these words – Yuuji believed his soul just left his body. The boy went pale and restless, his heart was hammering in his chest, beads of sweat run down his forehead as he was watching Nanami with big, scared eyes.

This is the end, I’m going to be executed.

Of all people, Megumi had had to find Nanami. Of all people, Nanami was about to be Yuuji’s personal judge. The boy didn’t know if he was supposed to be grateful for that or start to worry because he failed his favourite teacher so bad. After all, he promised to stay away from troubles and not die before him... Only to had fallen into the biggest shit he hadn't even predicted to be in.

Yuuji knew he owed Nanami an explanation, a sincere apology even. Though, as soon as he opened his mouth to say ‘I’m so sorry’, he was stopped by Nanami’s silent sign. The man had risen his hand, shushing the boy successfully before he could even say a word.

Yuuji blinked in surprise, dumbfounded even more. What was going on?

Despite Nanami’s calm and collected voice, his eyes remained stern and observant. The man fixed his glasses and sighed deeply, clearly showing his disappointment.

“You two couldn’t be luckier, you know?”

Yuuji’s body paused at that as he furrowed his brows. He started to believe he was pulled into a kind of twisted game in which his life was put on the line, a very thin one.

“What... What do you mean?” He asked slowly, remaining focused and wary.

Nanami’s eyes never left the boy as the man took a deep breath.

“As much as you have been hiding your secrets, I’ve decided to do the same. That’s why I know I have to confess my own ‘sins’ so you can understand our position. As much as your secret is safe with me, I expect you to keep my information between us only.” Nanami briefly explained, crossing his legs.

Yuuji’s eyes widened but he nodded slowly, keeping his ears open. He didn’t want to miss anything, especially if he could see the situation was serious.

“Are we understood?” Nanami asked and Yuuji immediately squeaked short ‘yes!’. Nanami couldn’t help but smile a little both at the boy’s determination and the way he unconsciously leaned in, focusing fully on the older shaman.

“The truth is that I’ve been keeping track of you for a while. With Megumi’s confession or not, I had already known about your situation, about the ‘deal’ between the three of you. I know Megumi has been covering both Sukuna and you. I’ve watched the King killing albino curses.”

The more Nanami spoke, the paler Yuuji’s face became. The boy seemed to be shocked at first, he believed Nanami was joking but as soon as he realized the shaman was serious, a pure fear appeared in his eyes and a bead of sweat rolled down his chin.

“...why?” Yuuji managed to whisper, his throat was tightening every second, the mind was becoming more and more confused.

Nanami kept his sharp eyes on the young shaman, his brows furrowed slightly. Despite Yuuji’s obvious fear, Nanami knew he had to continue, for the better of two of them. The faster he was about to explain the situation, the more Yuuji was about to calm down and trust him properly... or at least, Nanami hoped.

“I’ve been doing that for Gojou. He asked me to keep an eye on y/n and you since that memorable evening, when Mimi attacked you and Sukuna showed him his place.”

Yuuji blinked, his eyes widened and his body paused. He recalled that evening when Sukuna had changed with him to save Mimi and you from falling into despair. That day Yuuji had been aware of everything, The King hadn't shushed him, such a show of mercy.

Yuuji had heard everything, almost felt everyone’s mixed emotions and rage too.

That evening Sukuna had played with all of them. He had proved to Yuuji he could take better care of you by showing off with his powers and tricks. He had proved to Gojou he was neither a good father nor a shaman, he had called him a loser too.

You, shamans, owe me, the King of Curses. How ridiculous is that, hmm?

Yuuji shivered at the memory of Sukuna’s words, swallowing hard. He tangled fingers in the material of his trousers, knuckles turned white.

The young shaman realized that Gojou’s pride had been damaged badly that evening, if not to say shattered... No wonder the shaman had decided to keep an eye on everything, to find more reasons, more proofs to finally get rid of the intractable King–

“Though, the truth is that as soon as he started showing kind of unhealthy obsession to overtake Sukuna and prove his bad, I cut him off from any information.”

Yuuji’s heart stopped for the second time, his jaw dropped as he tried to process what he had just heard.

Since the beginning of Nanami’s explanation, Yuuji believed he was in big shit. He believed that Gojou was going to hunt him down for:

a) keeping all those secrets from him;

b) that he actually put more ‘trust’ in Sukuna than the teachers and, finally;

c) that he had agreed with the King of Curses they would ‘share’ you, trying to make you safe and happy by their double efforts.

Yuuji had been sure his days were counted already...

...only to hear that Gojou didn’t know about anything of it.

Oh, sweet irony, that was enough for Yuuji to finally snap.

“Wait... wait, wait-!” The young shaman panicked, raising his hands abruptly as he furrowed brows in disbelief. “What are you talking about? I-I don’t understand... Is that a joke? Am I dreaming?” The boy looked around as if trying to find an anomaly, a key to escape that simulation. He even pinched his hand, the pain was real and he didn’t wake up after that.

Meanwhile, Nanami huffed slightly, keeping his eyes on Yuuji still.

“You know I’m not a fan of jokes.” The older shaman said and Yuuji seemed to be struck again.

His eyes widened as his thoughts run wild, giving him a bad headache. His troubles doubled in that one second, the anxiety grew up as well. Though, instead of keeping his thoughts inside his mind, he let his tongue run free, gibberish or not he knew he had to get rid of them, or at least try to.

“You- You want to tell me that Gojou has been doing... bad because of Sukuna’s action, that’s why he had behaving weird and... he hurt y/n... be-because of me?” That solution hit Yuuji hard and he gasped for air, suddenly feeling suffocated by the unbearable guilt.

“...all of that mess is because of... me?...” He whispered, grabbing on his chest, his eyes wide, his breath quick and shallow.

That was unacceptable. He had promised to protect you, he had even made an agreement with Sukuna just to keep you safe, he had put trust in the damn King of Curses-

...and that was his mistake.

Instead of keeping you safe and sane, he became the reason for your troubles. If not because of Sukuna, Gojou would never fall into his weakness. If not because of him, Sukuna would never put a finger on you. If not because of him, Megumi and Nanami wouldn’t risk their lives to protect him.

The promise he had agreed to his grandfather before his death was about to shatter.

You’re a strong kid so help others. Just save as many people as you can, even if it’s only one.

...instead, he felt he had been leading his family and friends straight to hell.

“I’m a failure...” Yuuji whispered blankly, entering the forbidden zone again. By the paleness on the boy’s face, Nanami knew he had to intervene right now.

The older shaman immediately got up and crouched next to the boy, gently but firmly shaking his arm.

“Yuuji, look at me.” He tried, his voice calm and clear. Despite his honest attempts, the boy seemed to be in his own, messy world already.

“It’s all m-my fault... First Gojou, then y/n, n-now you. You’ve been keeping everything secret, right under Gojou’s nose– He knows. I know he knows, he must–!”

“Yuuji.” Nanami tried again, seeing Yuuji’s big tears running down his face. His heart was breaking along with the boy but Nanami knew he had to remain calm. Being on edge wouldn't help either Yuuji or himself.

“E-E-Even if it turned out good for Megumi and I- t-that he didn’t found Gojou yesterday and you appeared instead...” Yuuji tangled hands in his hair, howling almost. His wild eyes finally focused on Nanami, a pure fear reflected in them.

“They c-can expel you... No, they can kill you for helping us, for keeping it all secret– No, nonono. I can’t let you risk your life for me. I can’t– I promised–!”

Yuuji was hiccuping so hard, almost choking on his own saliva. He curled in himself, trying to hide from the world, from the crushing guilt and fear. He didn’t even feel Nanami’s strong arms trying to hug him and calm him down, he didn’t hear his words.

He believed he was dying. He wanted to die, he knew he deserved it. He wanted–

“Itadori.”

The vision of Sukuna appeared in his mind, clear and real. The King was looking at him with sharp and glowing yet not heated eyes. His clawed hand seemed to glow with strange, white light that immediately caught Yuuji’s attention. The boy had been able to catch a serpent-phantom tail that was wrapped around clawed fingers... before the light suddenly flared up, almost blinding him. He caught Sukuna’s movement, the way the demon gently pressed his hand to his own chest...

...the same second Yuuji’s body paused, his howling suddenly cut off.

The boy gasped for air, blinking away his tears. He instinctively grabbed on his own chest, feeling the strange warmth spreading inside of him, flooding his heart and his soul with calmness and safety. Long gone were his destructive thoughts, the crushing feeling of guilt disappeared as well. Yuuji felt light, free from care as if something pure just cleaned and healed his soul.

“Yuuji, look at me!”

The boy blinked slowly, looking towards the voice. He saw Nanami crouching in front of him, his face full of worry and fear. He realized he had fallen into another panic attack and got his teacher worried so bad.

“There you are, now breathe, in and out, mimic me.” He did as he was told, slowly filling his lungs with fresh air. After a few minutes of breathing, he spoke quietly, shyly almost:

“I’m fine...”

As soon as he spoke these words, Nanami sighed deeply, surely unconvinced. The old shaman seemed to be stressed badly even if he tried hard to remain tough and collected.

“You sure?” Nanami asked, eyeing Yuuji carefully. During the boy’s panic attack, he hadn't missed the way the boy behaved... and that he had suddenly paused in his wailing as if struck by something or someone.

Yuuji nodded slowly, his face strangely calm, too calm. For a second, Nanami got worried the boy just entered another stage of despair, the emptiness. Though, Yuuji’s eyes were full of light. Even if the boy seemed to be surprised as well, he didn’t look scared or worried.

That was strange, relieving but still strange.

“I’m sorry for scaring you but... I’m fine. I don’t know how but... I feel better.” Yuuji said with a soft voice, still keeping his hand over his chest, lingering into that phantom feeling of someone touching his core.

...did Sukuna do something to his soul? Even if, what was that and since when Sukuna’s magic was white?

Maybe my mind projected things?  Yuuji thought for a second, his brows furrowed slightly as he wiped his messy face. Before he could fall into his own thoughts again, Nanami had spoken:

“No, I’m sorry for putting you under more stress. I should have chosen my words wisely. I didn’t mean to lead you up to a panic attack.” He said sincerely, wondering still what had happened inside Yuuji’s mind for real.

The boy shook his head and smiled sadly.

“It’s ok, no hard feelings. I feel better now and we can talk about it, this time with a clear head.” Nanami couldn’t help but blink in surprise at that. Yuuji still wanted to talk, after all of that mess? Was it truly a good idea? Just to pretend that nothing happened and continue it?

What did Sukuna do to you? Nanami’s brows furrowed instinctively. It must have been the King, there was no other option.

“Are you sure?” The older shaman had to ask and when he heard loud and clear ‘yes’, all he could do was to sit back on his seat and continue the talk.

“Can I start?” Yuuji asked shyly and Nanami nodded, encouraging him to say whatever he wanted to. He hoped this time the boy wouldn’t fall into his own trap.

Apparently, Yuuji’s mind remained clear, his thoughts collected and not as destructive as previously, more like full of understanding and appreciation towards his teacher for his kind of commitment.

The boy started slowly, choosing his words wisely. Even if he kept fidgeting with his fingers, his mind followed the path of unusual calmness and wisdom.

“As much as I hate the thought of keeping even more secrets to myself in exchange to try and protect everyone else, I know I have to do that. I- I realized we turned the way we cannot get back now and I know that sooner or later we are going to face the consequences of our choices.”

Yuuji paused here, the picture of mad Gojou flashed in his mind. He had a feeling that Gojou would sniff out their agreement and his teacher wouldn’t be happy about that. Though, deep in his heart, Yuuji knew Nanami was right, having his own reasons to keep it all secret. If only Gojou knew the whole truth, Yuuji believed that this knowledge would crush him completely. That was why Nanami had to play around... Yuuji didn’t judge him since he was no better. The young shaman was familiar with that already. After all, he knew that sometimes lying was the only option to keep safe the ones he cared about.

A little lie wouldn’t hurt, would it? He hoped, at last.

“I-I fear it still, I can only imagine the wrath of Gojou or the elders... but I shouldn’t be surprised since I agreed to all of that, the secrets and playing around. I became the shaman by unfortunate events and sometimes I have to remind myself why I agreed to that. I’ve been warned of shaman’s labours many times, I am aware that sooner or later we are going to either die or fall into madness but I promised a lot of things to people I love and I know I cannot fail them.”

Yuuji looked at Nanami, his eyes full of hidden determination and will to fight, the old spark in those honey eyes was back. The speech somehow impressed the older shaman, his eyes remained wide opened as he kept listening to his student.

“As much as I appreciate your help, Nanamin, I won’t allow you to die for me. I-I can’t let more people be involved in that, I can’t ask for more help. I’ve already pushed my luck too high. That situation with Sukuna and y/n... It has become my burden and I should be responsible for all of that mess. I know I have to become stronger, I don’t know how yet but I will do my best to–” Yuuji paused abruptly when he saw Nanami’s raised hand.

The shaman had to stop him before making another promise. He knew the boy was able to put even more on himself just to protect the people he loved. Sometimes Nanami didn’t know if he should be impressed by Yuuji’s way of thinking or call him a moron. One thing Nanami knew for sure, the way Yuuji tried to follow on his own was full of pain, destruction and rather impossible to achieve.

“You forgot about one thing, Yuuji. All of you are still just kids and you need an adult. You need me and my help.”

Yuuji’s eye widened at that, his brows furrowed in worry even, his lips trembled.

“But... why? ” The boy asked so quietly Nanami almost missed it. The older shaman sighed, cursing himself for his own weaknesses.

He had promised to never get involved too much with other people, to never build a strong friendship, to be above the human feelings, all of that just to be more efficient at his work and to protect himself from meaningless death...

...and there he was, crushing his inner comfort, putting himself in danger, risking his own life to save a bunch of kids, to protect them both from elders and (potential) Gojou’s wrath.

Why, you ask? Sometimes there’s no answer for such things. Sometimes you just do as your heart tells you. Nanami thought, realizing something important.

As much as he tried to keep his distance, he couldn't deny that the kids became his only family. After all these years of raising Megumi and you with Gojou, of meeting Yuuji and guiding him, of being by your side, being involved in your lives, he had become part of it, involuntary or not. He would never admit it aloud but he truly felt responsible for all of you and he loved you all in his own way.

Just because of that important fact, Nanami knew it was worth risking everything, even his own life.

“Nanamin?” The older shaman heard Yuuji’s soft voice. He blinked awake from his thoughts and looked at the boy; Yuuji seemed to be at least troubled.

“Why?” The boy asked again. Nanami didn’t miss his hands almost crushing his knees, the knuckles turned white. He knew it had to be hard for Yuuji still, no matter how determined the boy tried to be. Though, he was handling the situation much better than before. He indeed had cleared his head enough to be aware of the situation and the potential danger. That was why he couldn't accept Nanami's decision so easily... and that was why the older shaman knew he had to make the situation clear.

“I've already made a decision and I am not going to change my mind, no matter how hard you will try to stop me. I believe I’m doing that for the greater good.” Nanami said sincerely, his eyes never left Yuuji as he continued:

“I know it’s hard for all of you to keep up with that game of ours but trust me. I will do my best to keep you safe. If something happens, I will be the first to put a blame on.”

Yuuji was taken by surprise and he didn’t know if he should feel grateful for having such an ally or actually be angry at his teacher for risking his life for the mess Yuuji had created. After all, it was unusual for Nanami to get attached to other people, to even risk his career (not to mention his life too) and be involved in such a mess–

“Don’t think too much. Just accept it.” Nanami spoke again and Yuuji blinked awake, his brows furrowed slightly.

As much as the boy got worried, a strange thought invaded his mind and made him smile a little. Yuuji realized that no matter how harsh or cold Nanami tried to be, he was always the first one to help him get up from his knees. He couldn’t be more grateful for having almost the father-like figure by his side. It truly meant a lot to him.

Yuuji knew that deep in his heart Nanami cared for his students, even if he was the first one to reprimand them.

“I believe we have to make clear another thing.” Yuuji tilted his head, curious yet slightly anxious.

“The truth is that I don’t trust Sukuna nor do I understand his reason to help us... but as long as y/n, Megumi and you know what to do about him, I trust you.”

Such words hit Yuuji more than he would ever imagine and he couldn’t help but let out a gasp. He instinctively grabbed on his chest again, clearly touched by Nanami’s promise. He let out a small chuckle, maybe too broken to his taste but still sincere as he smiled at his teacher, truly feeling grateful for his presence.

Yuuji could argue still and try to get Nanami away from that mess though, the boy knew that trying to convince Nanami to leave – once his mind was set on goal – would truly lead to nothing. All the boy could do was to simply accept it, just as his teacher said.

“Despite sharing a soul with Sukuna, even I don’t know what to do or think about him, what will be good or bad for us... but I’m glad to hear we have you on our side, Nanamin. Thank you for that.”

Yuuji admitted sincerely and Nanami seemed to be touched as well... but only for a second. Putting his casual mask on, the shaman huffed and shook his head, trying his best to hide the small smile that had formed on his lips.

These kids will be the death of me. 

“Good, at least we know where we stand. Now, grab on the cookies I hid under the pillow and enjoy them with y/n.”

Yuuji’s eyes widened as he let out a small noise in surprise. He blinked, clearly dumbfounded but he quickly looked under the pillow. As Nanami said, there was a box of cookies waiting for him.

Yuuji took them and looked at his teacher, seeking for an answer to his unspoken question. Nanami easily read him and smirked.

“Since our talk never happened, pretend I took you here just for them. Let’s get back to y/n.” He said and stood up, fixing his shirt.

Yuuji couldn’t help but snort at that as he started snickering, mostly in relief. He got up as well, standing in front of his teacher. Nanami was truly a clever beast, calm and collected despite the fire around, always thinking of everything and everyone, trying to be one step before.

I wish I would be like him one day. Yuuji thought to himself and, out of instinct, he hugged his teacher, showing him his gratefulness.

Nanami paused in his way, clearly taken aback by Yuuji’s sudden hug. His hands raised, looming awkwardly over the boy as he eyed him. He couldn’t help but sigh and smirk at the way Yuuji was nuzzling to his chest and smiling so blissfully. He was truly just a kid, no matter how hard he tried to be a responsible adult.

“Thank you, Nanamin. You’re truly the best.” Yuuji admitted and Nanami huffed at that. Even if he furrowed his brows in usual disapproval, deep in his heart he was touched by Yuuji’s words. He sighed deeply but instead of shoving Yuuji, he embraced the boy, patting his head.

“There, there. Don’t you dare cry, you will ruin my shirt.” The man murmured and heard Yuuji snicker. The boy hugged him even more, lingering on the warmth and the feeling that appeared in his soul and spread in his body.

The blissful feeling of having someone he could trust fully, a kind of serenity.
.
.
.

Little did anyone know that Nanami’s attitude made someone impressed. Only a white, fuzzy orb settled in the clawed hand knew that the King was more than content with the outcome. His soul was humming along with Snowflake’s purring, a small smirk was plastered on his face.

The ancient curse had to agree that the old shaman had surprised him, though he couldn’t even dream of a better opportunity that had just appeared in front of him. Why would he not use it for his own good?

After all, that was a step forward for him and his great plan.

~*~

Nanami watched as Yuuji got into your room, cheerful as usual while sharing some good news of having the box of cookies. The man caught himself smiling and he quickly shook it off, fixing his tie as he walked down the corridor. As he predicted, Gojou was waiting for him, sitting at the windowsill. He was (surprisingly) wearing a pensive look... such a rare picture of the circus-like man.

“Did you apologize?” Nanami asked, his voice stern as usual. Gojou’s head perked up and the man slowly nodded.

“Yeah. The apology was accepted but she doesn't want to see me.” Gojou sounded genuinely sad but Nanami knew better he deserved some silent treatment from you.

“I’m not surprised.” He simply said and moved past his friend. “Come on, we have a work to do–”

“Kento.”

Nanami paused abruptly at the sound of his name. Gojou rarely used it and even if, only when they were alone. The man turned around only to see he was standing face to face with his friend. Gojou’s glasses were gone and the man was unbearably close to Nanami, slightly towering over him. His icy-blue eyes were watching him carefully as if trying to read him, to see through him...

...but Nanami knew Gojou for too long to fall for his tricks so easily. Nanami simply got used to those dangerous eyes and their charm was ineffective on him. No wonder Nanami’s face remained unamused.

“What it is?” He spoke casually and he swore Gojou’s eyes had lit up strangely before the man asked:

“Is there anything I should know, Kento?”

Most of the people would be caught off guard at that very moment, hearing such a question... especially if they were hiding something important. Nanami knew that Gojou liked to catch his students off guard like that, to either test their abilities in lying or see if they could stand his gaze. Though, Nanami wasn’t his student nor was he imprudent to fall for that ugly trick.

Nanami’s eyes squinted as he shifted closer to Gojou.

“Yes. Start working on yourself, Satoru.”

~*~ 

As Yuuji and you had promised yourselves, you two were spending most of the time together, locked in your room. You decided to be lazy during your time off, as you were laying in the bed, cuddling with each other and either playing some games or watching comedies. You allowed yourselves to relax for real and you two took your time while healing, both physically and mentally from the recent events.

Apparently, Megumi and Nobara got more time for themselves too, being able to catch some breath. The principal started sending third-year students on the missions once they had got back from a monthly practice. It was a fair exchange since your group had been taking care of duties while they were out of the city.

No wonder that Megumi, Nobara, Yuuji and you would spend some of your free time together, either watching some soap operas or playing card games. Nonetheless, evenings were reserved for cuddling sessions with Yuuji since it was the best way for both of you to charge up your inner batteries...

...but one night you were surprised by an unusual request.

“Sukuna asks if he can see you...” Yuuji said out of a sudden, his voice quiet yet confused. You blinked in surprise and cocked your brow while looking up at him. You were straddling his hips, sprawled on his chest as he was half-laying half-sitting on the pile of pillows you two had built. You two loved cuddling like that, sitting in a kind of pillow-fortress while listening to music or having some lovely-dovey chitchats.

You were too focused on Yuuji (and too happy with him) during these days that you almost forgot about Sukuna... On the other hand, you realized he hadn’t shown up in front of you since your mental breakdown. That was strange, especially if you were certain that the King was there, listening and watching to two of you as always, keeping an eye on you.

...why then he hadn’t shown up yet?

You started wondering what happened? Maybe he wanted to give you some time and not bother you with his usual demands? That would be sweet of him... almost too sweet and too dreamy to believe in since he was the King of Curses. He liked troubles, the small and the big ones but still troubles. Would Sukuna truly give up this opportunity to not tease you?

What if – during your breakdown – he had got so surprised, so shocked, maybe even disgusted by the true colours of you and lost the rest of the interest in you? That thought made your heart squeeze in fear. You didn’t want to lose the well-built friendship with Sukuna just because of your ‘childish’ rampage.

...on the other hand, you reminded yourself you were still just a weak, boring and broken human being. You had a feeling that despite any promises, Sukuna would get bored by you, sooner or later.

“Y/n?”

Yuuji’s soft voice pulled you back to reality and you smiled up at him. Your dark thoughts dispersed but the feeling of nasty anxiety remained in your heart.

“You don’t have to do that if you don’t feel like it.” You couldn’t help but sigh in contentment at your boyfriend. As always Yuuji thought of you and your full comfort. You smiled widely and touched noses with him, being grateful for having him.

“No, it’s ok. Got surprised, that’s it. After all, I don’t remember forbidding him from seeing me?” You said sincerely and Yuuji nodded slowly. Then he cocked a brow, looking aside. At that point, you knew he was listening to Sukuna in his head. At that moment, you wished you could read in mind. Your curiosity would be satisfied all the time.

Yuuji’s eyes suddenly changed, confusion appeared in them and he seemed to look at least troubled.

“Uhm... That’s surprising - since he has never been so honest with me - but he said he wanted to give you time to regenerate. That's why he didn’t bother you.”

Your eyes widened as much as Yuuji’s and you made a small gasp in surprise. For a second, you got scared that, despite Sukuna's words, he could easily read your mind and now was playing with you and your poor heart. You knew you would be called naive for believing him so fast and so openly but you couldn't help it. Your pure-hearted nature was too strong to be even fought with.

Your heart immediately skipped a beat and melted at such confession. All your previous doubts, dark thoughts and troubling anxiety were gone. You even slapped yourself mentally for being a bad girl(friend) as you had dared question Sukuna’s intentions. They came out as the good, the perfect ones. Truly, the King of Curses Sukuna kept surprising you, for better and better.

At this point, you wanted to see him, to hear his voice, to see his bloody eyes and his cocky smile. You knew you owed him a lot... and you were more than happy to provide him some company.

“Well, if you don’t mind me hanging around with him for a bit?” You asked shyly, keeping an observant eye on Yuuji. You caught him getting sad but just for a brief moment, then he smiled a little and slowly nodded.

“It’s a part of our agreement after all, right?” He shrugged and chuckled, too sad to your taste. You immediately furrowed your brows, eyeing him with worry. Yuuji tensed a bit while catching your reaction. He didn’t want to make you worry and yet, he failed. He could see your lips opening up, ready to say something or question him more... That was why he knew he had to make a move as the first.

Yuuji quickly kissed your lips, shushing whatever question had tried to roll off your tongue. You blinked in surprise and made a small sound as you leaned to him, kissing him back. His hands cupped your cheeks, fingers slid in your hair as he kept you close. Then, he touched foreheads with you, his eyes shone with a kind of melancholy.

“I love you...” He said quietly yet sincerely. Even if his kisses and sweet ‘love you’ were familiar to you these days, this one made your heart flutter in your chest. You were blushing so much you almost feel your own heat on his hands.

You whined in pure bliss and leaned in, kissing his lips sweetly. This time Yuuji made a small sound of surprise as his hands flew past you, hugging you close to his chest.

“I love you too. Never doubt.” You whispered into his lips, your eyes locked with his. Your words must have touched him because he made out a small gasp (as if in relief) as his eyes lit with adoration. He nodded at you, smiling widely.

“So, see you later? Bite him hard if he tries any funny business...” He teased and you couldn’t help but chuckle at that. You nodded quickly, ruffling his strawberry hair. Yuuji gave you the last smile, let go of you reluctantly, looked at you for the last time (this evening obviously) and then he took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

You pulled back slightly, watching the black inky patterns manifest on his face. No matter how many times you saw the process, it was still fascinating. You would never get tired of it.

You felt the shift of cursed energy in the body underneath you, humming gently, without showing any threat towards you despite belonging to King of Curses. Though, you involuntary tensed – or more like you got surprised – as you had felt the clawed hands squeezing your waist. Four eyes opened slowly, red irises focused on you as a lazy grin spread across his lips.

“Hi, runt. How are you?”

Oh, seeing him in his full glory, hearing his low and soft tone... You just realized you had missed him for real. You couldn’t help but blush and chuckle at him.

Sukuna shared the same body with Yuuji and yet he was so different. He was nowhere to be mistaken with your boyfriend, starting with their appearances and ending with their personalities.

...and there he was, with that lazy yet sexy voice of him, sounding almost like a purr of a tiger. Was he doing that on purpose? Probably. It was rather impossible for him to be so oblivious. Teasing or not, you knew he succeeded in making your heart weak for him.

“Much better.” You admitted shyly yet sincerely and paused suddenly in your thoughts. You knew you owed him something. “...thank you for keeping me in shape during training and... well, the whole bad time. I know it was you.” You added and looked at him.

For a brief second, Sukuna’s eyes widened a little, his face showing a bit of shock and adoration towards you... but then, as always, he quickly covered it up. He cocked a brow, huffed at you and then he snorted, shaking his head almost politely. Though, his clawed hand rose and ruffled your hair. Ah, being nonchalant as always.

“Don’t mention it.” He murmured but you knew better his true intentions. You watched as softness appeared in his eyes while he kept playing with your strands, relaxing more and more underneath you.

You hummed softly and allowed yourself to touch his cheek. Your thumb brushed over his tattoo and then over his small eye. You felt him tense for a second, his keen eyes locked on you as if trying to read you, predict your next move...

...and then, he rumbled, so deep you felt the vibrations coming from his chest. It almost sounded like a warning but before you could pull back and apologize for being so bold, Sukuna had swiftly caught your hand, his clawed fingers had wrapped around your small wrist.

You couldn’t help but squeak, getting ready to be bitten for your misbehaviour...

...but, once again, you were surprised by the King.

You felt Sukuna nuzzling to your open palm, purring so loudly yet softly. You watched him bewildered, the tension in your body was slowly passing. You started wondering if his body grew warmer as usual or you were getting hotter by yourself, clearly being caught in that sweet moment of his...

...the answer came quicker than you believed.

Sukuna opened his eyes, eyeing you lazily, his smile grew as he purred at you:

“I do enjoy listening to that rabbit heart of yours. It is such a good melody to my ears...”

You believed your heart was close to dying at that moment. Not only Sukuna’s words had taken you by surprise but your heart immediately started thumping, getting ready to just burst out right in front of the ancient curse.

You saw Sukuna’s eyes shifting down as if looking through your clothes, right at your heart. He smirked and looked back at you, purring more into your hand.

“Ah, there we go~” He said almost innocently, his voice still husky.

While he seemed to have the best fun, on the other hand, you seemed to have a mental shutdown. You didn’t even know what to think since your mind was full of either tangled thoughts or girly screams. If you had been blushed previously, you knew you were as red as a tomato right now.

Meanwhile, Sukuna was watching you, trying to remember all your sweet reactions, trying to imprint them in his memory to cherish later while being trapped back in his domain.

He would never admit it aloud but he had missed you. As much as he respected your time to heal properly, he missed the interactions with you, your gentle hugs, your warmth on his body, your small hands on his skin, your soft lips on his tattoos...

...no wonder he couldn’t have pretended to be unaffected by you. As soon as your hand had landed on his cheek, he knew he had lost. That was why he had decided to spoil you by allowing himself to be gentle. After all, you deserved all the kindness and softness nowadays as you were healing inside. Though, he couldn’t help but tease you still. He loved watching you struggle with your own emotions too much.

On the other hand, Sukuna wished he had his four arms back. He could trap you in his claws and provide the best cuddling session to you... but that could be saved for later. He rumbled at that idea and nuzzled more to your open palm.

Your hands were so small yet soft and warm. He truly could break your wrist just with two of his fingers though he would never forgive himself to even hurt you by accident. Despite having deadly claws, he knew how to manage them.

Such a fragile being. I have to be double careful, to not let her be hurt and to not hurt her by myself. Sukuna thought, locking eyes with you again.

You were as red as a beetroot and he couldn’t help but laugh gently. You immediately pouted at him and Sukuna could almost hear the buzzing mechanism in your head as you tried to understand his not-so-usual behaviour. Yet, you remained silent, unsuccessful to find a proper question, a word even to speak to him.

Though, Sukuna knew better you secretly enjoyed it just as much as he did. Your heart might be thumping loudly, your body might be tensed a little, you might be silent, pouty and red, pretending to be offended by his bold behaviour...

...but your true aura was telling him differently. The bright, happy yet innocent colours. Sukuna felt lured by them as he wanted to get more of you. He would never get enough of you.

The King rumbled again as he nuzzled to your hand almost greedily. He eyed your small fingers, he would love just to nibble on them, to gently bite your wrist, to leave a sign of him on you, to mark you as his own...

...but he knew better such a temptation would be much of a violation.

He would never forgive himself for scaring you for real, for breaking your trust towards him just because he couldn’t stop his urge. After all, Sukuna was better than any low-level curse that was led by its instincts. He knew better how to behave.

...and he had a good teacher in you. After all, from the very beginning, he had been watching you, analysing you, remembering your moves. He was good at acting, pretending and mimicking.

That was why he quickly came up with an idea to satisfy his need while still being humble towards you. All he wanted was your positive reaction, a move that would make him made his own.

Sukuna opened his eyes again, not knowing he had closed them while thinking. His red irises locked on your, claret ones. He could see you tried your best to hold his gaze and he couldn’t help but feel amused.

Once again, he watched you pout as he purred into your hand almost innocently. Then, he watched you lean and, for a second, he believed you would lie on his chest, just as you (and he) loved. Though, you didn’t do that yet your hand pressed to his cheek on its own as your fingers brushed over his tattoos. You made a small, adorable sound, your lips curled in a shy smile.

Ah, at such combination, Sukuna felt the familiar and pleasurable tingling running down his spine. As much as he would love to be spoiled by you again, he knew it was his time to pay the debt.

Just by that sweet gesture of yours, by cupping his cheek and brushing his skin with your soft fingers, Sukuna knew he finally received the sign he had been waiting for.

The King gently covered your small hand with his big one and pressed it to his cheek. He made sure he got your full attention. Once your eyes locked with his, he purred almost innocently and smirked... then, he gently pressed his hot lips into your hand as he kissed your palm.

You immediately squeaked in surprise, blushing hard. Even if your body straightened up, your hand remained still, gently trapped in his. He felt shivers running down your spine but you, as always and to his amusement, tried your best to remain calm and collected.

Sukuna’s eyes never left you as he kept purring against your skin. His claws gently entwined with your small fingers as he kept your hand close to his face. Seeing no true resistance from you, he decided to continue his plan.

His hot lips landed on your open palm again but this time you only gasped, watching him with big, surprised eyes. Sukuna purred again, gently open-mouthing your skin, going down to kiss your writs only to get back and kiss your finger, one by one.

You seemed to be stuck, caught like a deer in headlights, so red, so full of questions yet surprisingly happy. Your breathing was short and quick, full of gasps and surprised noises. You let out an adorable whine when Sukuna kissed your palm again, rumbling deeply to cause vibrations. He watched you going red again as your heart was hammering in your chest. He truly loved that sweet melody of yours. Much, much better than your shouting and crying.

“Wha... What’s that for?”

After a few minutes of being kissed, Sukuna heard you speak...

...though, it sounded like you had managed to get a few sounds out of you, so close to being like squirrel's squeaks.

The King couldn’t help but chuckle, smirking at you. In the reflection of your eyes, he could see that a pure joy danced in his, bloody ones; gone were hunger and mischief. He looked nowhere to be a dangerous curse, the mighty King. He knew he had a reputation to hold...

...but he couldn’t care less about it at that moment. Only you mattered. You and your happiness, your serenity.

Sukuna could see you were touched by that spoiling of his, literally melting in his claws, opening and being vulnerable again. All for him, all by him.

“Hmm, let’s call it ‘affection’, deal?”

The King said innocently and watched your eyes widening at his words. He heard your heart skip a beat and then it was thumping again, louder and louder. You let out a small whine in embarrassment, your cheeks seemed to be unbearably hot as you looked down, trying to hide your face behind your hair. Unsuccessfully, especially with four eyes of his.

“Played out by my own words... Not nice.” You murmured so quietly that Sukuna almost missed it. He couldn’t help but blink, feeling pride swelling in him, feeling victorious for making you like this.

Sukuna let out a gentle laugh in victory, amused by your small sounds of protest. He only purred and nuzzled to your palm as he continued peppering your skin with kisses, purring on the way like a damn tiger he truly was.

“Now we’re even, my dear~”

BONUS:

(A few minutes later...)

Sukuna: *is still purring and peppering you with kisses* I might burn that picture of you in my mind, being so sweet, so vulnerable and so putty in my hands...

You: *blush hard and gasp/furrow brows* Oh, shut up... I can make you being putty in my hands as well... *pouty*

  Sukuna: Hmm, do you? *purrs and smirks/is amused*

  You: *squint eyes at him* Yes, I do and you know it. Should I start kissing your tattoos to prove it? *smug/you think you got him there...*

Sukuna: *grins/eyes shine in the dim room* Hmm, only when you let me kiss every little freckle of yours afterwards.

You: *blinks/dumbfounded* ...but my body is full of fre- *realisation hits hard*

  Sukuna: *chuckles/amused* Exactly~ *winks*

You: *gasp/full red* P-Pervert! *bap him*

Sukuna: *laughs victoriously*

  (Meanwhile...)

Yuuji: *is traumatized* ...wake me up.

Chapter Text

💙 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 💙

Chapter Text

🎉🐯❤️ Happy New Year! ❤️🐯🎉

Chapter Text

❤️ THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT, YOU GUYS ROCK! ❤️

Chapter Text

💙 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 💙

~*~

“Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.”

– Arthur Miller

Sukuna kept visiting you more often, previously asking Yuuji for permission. You could see your boyfriend was flabbergasted every time as if trying to find any catch in Sukuna’s sudden change. You could tell that Yuuji seemed to appreciate it a little bit... though he looked worried and almost betrayed (usually by himself since he always got the last word in) whenever he was leaving you with Sukuna.

Even if Yuuji tried to be cool about it, you knew the truth. You were always good at reading people and catching your boyfriend’s unusual behaviour wasn’t a tough task for you. His shifty eyes, his small frowns, his shaky hands, his forced smiles...

You could see he was doing that for your sake though, even if you were supposed to appreciate it, you felt wrong about it. You felt as if you were the bad one here, as if you were betraying him, almost cheating on him.

You had tried to say ‘no’ a few times, soothe and assure him that if he didn’t feel good about it, he should just say it and you would understand; but whenever you tried to take Yuuji’s side, the boy got anxious, immediately raising his voice and trying to convince you he was fine.

“I’m ok with that, don’t worry. He’s just mocking me, as always. Also, I have a feeling that even if I say ‘no’ he will appear anyway. I don’t want to give him satisfaction in stealing my place forcefully so I will be smarter and say ‘yes’. See? Big brain time. I will play his game. We will see who’s the boss here!” Yuuji would say with a goofy smile.

He always tried to get away from the uncomfortable situation either with a joke or a big smile. You didn’t like it, not at all, especially if you could see the hidden pain in him.

But you knew Yuuji could be stubborn too, maybe not as much as you but good enough to win a conversation, move on and just pretend that nothing had happened.

That was why you kept pretending as well. You didn’t want to annoy him with over-worrying, you didn’t want to make him hide in his shelf even more just because you started asking uncomfortable for him questions, you didn’t want to put him under the pressure more than he had already been in.

You felt guilty, you knew it was wrong, but you were telling yourself it was all for the greater good... while still keeping an eye on him.

Give him time, don’t oppress him. Just hope he will get accustomed good enough to open to you soon, to share with your fears. You can’t lose him, just put yourself in his shoes, feel him. Be good. Be patient. He just needs time. 

As much as you wanted the boys to be (at least) on good terms with each other, sometimes you believed you wished for the impossible.

On one hand, you weren’t surprised. After all, Sukuna was the King of Curses, the pure evil, the worst kind of monster. Who would try to be friends with him anyway? It was like having a death wish. No wonder for some people you were the crazy one that trusted Sukuna and allowed him to be around you so openly and willingly.

You had a feeling that Yuuji would never trust Sukuna completely, always having a kind of wariness within. Though, you couldn’t blame him. You knew Yuuji had his reasons (those obvious and those hidden within him) and he wanted you to just be safe. After all, seeing your love around your mortal enemy wouldn’t be a pleasing view for anyone.

Just because of those events, you started wondering if you should break the agreement. You hated seeing Yuuji forcing himself for things he didn’t like. You felt bad whenever you enjoyed your time with Sukuna too much.

What about Sukuna though? Well, even if he was a prideful and selfish King, you could catch his melancholic eyes whenever Yuuji forced the switch, just to hide from you and your unspoken questions. You could see that even Sukuna felt at least wary whenever Yuuji was shutting himself from both of you.

The agreement between the three of you started to be a ball and chain. Though, after breaking it and pretending that nothing had been happening between you for the past months would help you anyway? Would the three of you live the same way? You started to doubt that as well.

The three of you felt into kind of bad cycle that kept speeding up, no matter how hard you try to stop and fix things. No matter what you tried to do, to come up with a plan, you always found yourself at a dead end.

Not only your situation with the boys was bugging you, but you also couldn’t get rid of a nasty feeling that had appeared in your heart some time ago.

The forefeel that something bad was about to happen soon as if you were about to lose something important... or someone.

It was like the calm before the storm and it was making you nauseous for real.

You hated feeling powerless. You gated giving up... but you could do little about the situation for now.

Wait and see and then react. Try to behave, try to learn, try to fix... but don’t scare Yuuji away, don’t make things worse. Kami-sama, please, just guide me.

~*~

One evening you got hit with an unusual idea.

Even if you had promised yourself to not intervene too much to not scare Yuuji away, you started wondering if there was a chance to improve the relationship between boys, just a tiny bit but still?

What if your boyfriend started to see more good than bad in Sukuna? What if you showed the boys they shared some similarities despite them being mortal enemies? What if they started seeing each other as annoying twin brothers rather than the bitter enemies that were trying to conquer your heart? Maybe because of that their relationship would get better? It might be a silly thought of yours but it was worth a try... at least you hoped it was.

How could you accomplish that though? You wanted to use your natural talent to make the King be open with himself more but still remember to not cross the line and started to be too oppressive. The last thing you wanted to do was to annoy the King for real and create even more animosity.

You truly wanted to help both of them, you were so determined to even use some tricks just to try and fix things between the three of you. You believed you were doing good, you hoped you were doing the right thing...

...if only you knew your plan was about to backfire soon. 

If you only knew.

~*~

Your week off passed fast, maybe even too fast, and the last day of your shared idyll was about to start. During breakfast, Yuuji and you got informed that the next day your group would be sent on a mission.

Even if you wanted so, so bad, you couldn’t say ‘no’ and disobey. You got an order, you had to carry it out. Though, you got a little anxious about it, believing you were not ready to fight with the curses yet. You were still lacking in progress when it came to your cursed energy... not to even mention about your inner domain that was still just a pure mess.

As if sensing your inner troubles, Yuuji immediately entwined hands with you. Once you pulled out from your thoughts and focused on him, he smiled and kissed your hand.

“I will be by your side all the time. I won’t let you be hurt, promise.” He reassured you and your heart melted at that. You couldn’t help but chuckle weakly, secretly wiping your small tears. You swore you were getting too emotional these days. Yuuji hummed and pulled you into a bear hug, just the way you loved. You immediately clung to him, feeling grateful for his being and his love, for him keeping you whole all the time.

“I know, I appreciate it so much.” You said, sniffing quietly.

You felt Yuuji kissing the top of your head as he hummed again, rubbing your back.

“Since it’s our last day off, let’s spend it the best way we can, deal?” You heard him and blinked, slightly relaxing. When you looked up and saw him smiling so wide, so goofy, your heart was sold for him for the nth time. Yuuji’s smile was as always contagious so you couldn’t help but grin as well as you nod firmly.

“Yes, let’s have fun like there’s no tomorrow.”

You did as you two had promised yourselves, focusing on each other the whole day. Your heart grew calm and content while being with Yuuji, your anxious thoughts dispersed and the nasty feeling tuned out. You felt good, you felt better, you felt safe.

You decided to worry about tomorrow later...
.
.
.
...and then, the evening came.

As usual, Yuuji and you were lying in bed, hugging each other and just enjoying your presence. The light was dim, the music was playing softly in the background, the moon tried its best to peek through the curtains into your room, to spy on both of you a little longer.

You were lying on top of relaxed Yuuji, sharing some sweet talks with him. Your voices were hushed, your eyes were shining, catching the soft light from your bedlamp.

Despite the day full of fun and attractions (especially one event stuck in your mind when Yuuji had tried to follow your movements during your morning yoga thus he became the human – and sobbing in ‘misery’ – pretzel), Yuuji and you were relaxed, your minds at ease. Long gone was a worry for tomorrow. Long gone were any anxious thoughts.

What mattered at that time was Yuuji and you; the atmosphere was so pure, so serene. You wished you could stay like that forever, trapped in time, in that one moment.

...but the harsh reality reminded you how unrealistic your wish was.

At first, you felt Yuuji’s body tense. When you looked at him, you immediately knew what was going on. His wide eyes were stuck at one point past behind to you, his lips formed in a thin line, his brows furrowed. You knew he was talking to Sukuna at that moment, you could almost hear the buzzing in his mind while he was trying to make the right choice.

You decided to act, to help him, to soothe him.

Your hand gently cupped his cheek and his frantic eyes immediately focused on you. Yuuji took a sharp breath but then he exhaled it slowly, heavily. His expression turned into sorrow, the one you truly hated to see on him these days.

“Just stay with me.” You said softly yet firmly. You saw him blink in surprise, a bit of hope shone in his eyes only to disappear as fast as it appeared. You saw that forced smile of Yuuji’s and your brows furrowed involuntarily. You were more than sure about his next words. You had been hearing them too much recently.

“...he will change with me anyway so what’s the point?”

Yuuji’s voice was so soft yet broken it twisted your heart. You shook your head, cupping both of his cheeks. Your determined eyes pierced him as you ordered louder.

“Stay.”

Yuuji’s eyes widened and stuck in yours. You could see the mix of emotions running through him, through his soul. His lips trembled.

“Y/n, I-”

“You’re exaggerating again, brat.”

You heard the ruff voice right under your palm. You involuntary flinched and quickly pulled your hand away, looking down at the small face that had appeared on Yuuji’s cheek. The red eye seemed to glow in the dim room, the mouth was pulled down in a grimace. The King was clearly annoyed at Yuuji who immediately straightened, feeling both scolded and exposed.

“I’m not, shut up.” He retorted with dissimilar weakness in his voice. A red flag appeared in your mind and when you started to worry for Yuuji’s mental shape for the nth time, Sukuna seemed to decide and push his buttons more, adding oil to a fire.

“All I wanted to was to have a minute with y/n. Then you can return to your mundane stuff and ignore the fact I do exist in you. Not a big deal, right?” At Sukuna’s words Yuuji tensed, furrowing his brows. His hands clenched into sheets, holding them tight.

You knew it used to be not a big deal for Yuuji before though, nowadays, he seemed to be more fragile, more vulnerable to Sukuna’s words and actions.

...as if the King’s existence, instead of giving him adrenaline and pumping him with determination, was sucking all the life and happiness from his soul instead.

“It is a big deal since you are always ruining my moments...” Yuuji hissed quietly, his eyes darkened. Another red flag waved in your mind and you flinched involuntarily; it was felt by both of them.

Yuuji’s expression immediately changed from dark to fearful as he looked into you with guilty eyes. You knew he was blaming himself for ‘scaring’ you.

“Yuuji, that’s not-” You tried to explain yourself but it was too late. Your boyfriend had decided for both of you, leaving you hanging, again.

“I’m sorry, it will be better for us if I switch with Sukuna for a while just to calm my mind. I don’t want to scare you or disappoint you even more...” Yuuji said with that sad smile and you shook your head, trying to disagree with him.

“But please-”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tune out completely. I will keep an eye on you, as always.” Yuuji promised and all you could do was watch helplessly the switch. Your heart swelled in pain and you furrowed brows in distress.

Meanwhile, the black marks slowly painted his face, the eyes changed from honey to bloody ones, his hair raised a bit and the body below you hummed with restrained danger within.

As much as you loved watching the transformation, always being fascinated by that, at that very moment you couldn’t feel any joy within you.

You straightened up and released the shaky breath you didn’t know you had been holding. You were trying to hold yourself still even if your eyes seemed to start burning, your mind was full of unusual silence that kept getting faster, making you sick more and more.

Despite your inner chaos, you were straddling the boy’s hips still. Your eyes were down, almost hollow and stuck in that one, unimportant point of Yuuji’s hoodie.

There was the pregnant silence.

As much as you started to feel ‘betrayed’ by your boyfriend, you could sense that the demon below you seemed to feel at least awkward.

Sukuna’s body was still tense but you could feel his eyes drilling into you as if begging you to look at him. You spotted his hands moving on your sides, ready to grab and hug you but then they stopped mid-air. You heard a deep, heavy sigh and then a small growl. You couldn’t help but flinch again, feeling even more distressed by the whole situation. Your lips trembled and you sucked a shaky breath.

The King immediately tensed and paused as well, his mid-air hands shook as he held his breath for a solid minute.

“I didn’t want to spoil the mood.” You heard his unusually quiet voice and you blinked up at him, being pulled away from your mental demons into not-so-better reality.

You were surprised when you realized Sukuna looked even more annoyed and distressed than you as if he was fighting with his thoughts... or maybe he was talking to Yuuji still, trying to convince him to come out? Perhaps they were having another argument your ears were spared from? At that very moment, you wished you could read in minds, it would be a lot easier to understand your boys better.

As soon as Sukuna’s eyes met with yours, a pure sorrow appeared in his red irises.

“All I wanted to say was that you can count on me tomorrow so you don’t have to worry much.”

At his sudden explanation, your heart squeezed, making you both sappy... and incredibly guilty. Moreover, your voice of reason was truly merciless this time.

There he is, trying to be sweet and heroic again. No wonder Yuuji feels threatened by his romantic attempts towards you- 

Mimi, just hush. You cut your sister even if you knew she was right. Though, at that very moment, you didn’t want to listen to her opinion. Your thoughts were making you feel unbearably bad. Simply you didn’t want more guilt to be put on your arms. You could barely stand the way it was already.

...though you knew you allowed for that. You started to feel (and even believe) you were the main reason for those bad events.

“I appreciate it... really.” You responded with a weak voice after a solid minute. Your lips trembled when you tried to force a smile at Sukuna.

You knew you had to pretend... but it was getting harder and harder for you to do it. Your body and soul had limits and you had a feeling you were slowly reaching them.

The King rumbled quietly, his eyes never left you, watching and catching every move of you. He truly hated watching you all miserable and vulnerable, being so exposed, so fragile. Gently, he put his hands back on sheets even if he wanted to hug you, to keep you whole and warm. Though, he had a feeling he would involuntary force you to do things you didn't need (or want) from him right now. He didn’t want to escalate your sadness, he could never forgive himself for that either. He hoped that you would cheer up after hearing the truth from him...

...but it worked the opposite way and he cursed both Yuuji and him for that.

“Stupid brat, why are you behaving so ridiculously? Look what you have done.” Sukuna huffed at Yuuji through their shared mind.

“Me? You’re hilarious for blaming me, again. You shouldn’t have appeared in the first place. You knew how important this evening was for us but still, you decided to ruin everything. Now just take the blame and suffer the consequences, you asshole.” Yuuji snarled and the King couldn’t help but roll his eyes mentally.

Such antics. The disorders of puberty of his vessel were truly annoying (and unintelligible) to the ancient curse.

“You will never believe I’m on your side now, will you?” Sukuna growled without heat but he met with silence. He knew the brat was aware but had decided to play deaf. Another way of Yuuji’s to protect himself and another way of his to piss off Sukuna.

“Fine, whatever you prefer. At least I hope you will learn something from that lesson of mine.” He announced and tuned out, focusing on you only again.

“Y/n?”

Sukuna’s soft voice pulled you out from your thoughts. You looked up at him and you couldn’t help but snort bitterly. He was trying still to cheer you up, what a stubborn curse indeed.

“You look like a lost puppy...” You said weakly, smiling sadly. Sukuna hummed at that, cocking a brow at you. He tilted his head, clearly intrigued.

“A puppy? I thought I was a tiger.” You shook your head at his poor attempts to make you smile even more... though you couldn’t force your heart to lie.

Even if you couldn’t say it aloud, you had started to feel better with every word of his as you knew Sukuna was trying to change your track of mind, lead you away from dark and anxious parts of your consciousness. As usual, he was damn good at that, at keeping you calm and sane.

“You’re silly.” You admitted, slightly defeated, not knowing what else you could say to keep up the conversation with him. You heard him rumble below and saw his hands raising anew. Once again they paused mid-air as if waiting for your approval.

You had to admit he read you right. All you wanted and needed at that very moment was a hug... from Yuuji, not him.

You could only appreciate his efforts as you clenched your hands on his hoodie and simply shook your head. You saw his hands twitch... and then they got down and settled on the sheets, close to your thighs still.

You were more than glad that Sukuna had respected your wish and withdrew. Even if you needed comfort so badly, you had to say ‘no’. Why was it hard for you to let Sukuna touch you? The answer was quite simple.

The memory of Yuuji that had left you behind was still vivid in your head. As much as you would like to be hugged (and kept hold), you felt you would hurt Yuuji even more by fulfilling your own needs so selflessly.

At that very moment, you knew you had to think for the greater good for all three of you.

...even if you were meeting with that damn ringing silence in your mind over and over again.

“What can I do for you then?”

You heard Sukuna’s weak voice and you blinked in surprise, peeking at him. His red irises were shining in the dim room, reminding you of smouldering coal. You couldn’t help but just be weak for those damn eyes. You smiled softly at him, letting yourself be pulled in your thoughts again as you recalled a wise sentence you had heard once: “the eyes are windows to the soul”.

Whenever you look into those two pairs of eyes, you could tell there was a bit of truth in that quote.

Sukuna’s bloody irises could be very intimidating and piercing. If people were able to kill by sight, you believed Sukuna would become the King in that field as well. No wonder he always command respect, after all, he had a reputation to uphold, though he didn’t have to try very hard.

Even if he brought pain and fear not only to curses but shamans too, you could never see him as the worst evil walking on this world.

Why though? Just because of the way he looked at you.

Maybe it was bold of you to think you were special to him. Sometimes you had to remind your mind to not think highly of yourself. After all, he was the King of Curses and you? You were just a small, broken and ‘soulless’ human being.

...still. The way his eyes always melted in sorrow whenever you were down – as if he wanted to crush you to himself and hold you whole. The way his eyes always gleamed with that dangerous red spark whenever you cried – as if he was ready to get to hell and back while kicking some asses on the go. The way his eyes shone and laughed with you whenever you chuckled – even if he tried to play the cool bastard and usually mocked you. The way his eyes always widened whenever you touched him or told him sweet words – as if he had never experienced the softness before.

...as if he was unfamiliar with kindness, even alien to it.

Sometimes you believed you saw a glint of fear in his eyes – as if he was scared and ashamed you caught him being vulnerable. You could almost imagine his inner monologue: “I’m the King of Curses, I can’t be weak to these human and ridiculous feelings!”.

...and yet, Sukuna always got back for more. More touches, more words, more kindness... more you. You could see him being more open not only with you but Yuuji too – even if your boyfriend was unaware of that, kept sticking to his guns of Sukuna being the mortal enemy.

...but you knew. You could tell. You believed. Why though?

No matter how harsh Sukuna’s words could be, how rude he could get, how well he could play, his eyes never lied, always telling you the truth, always showing you his true colours.

It was so then, at that very moment, when the King was watching you patiently yet pleadingly, waiting for your answer, for your green light. He was more than ready to do anything just to bring you joy.

...and you could do everything to help both Yuuji and him, even if you had to play dirty and use his weakness towards you against himself.

“Will you do anything?” You asked quietly, shyly even that Sukuna almost missed it. His eyes lit up as he breathed out quickly:

“Yes, anything, promise.”

You couldn’t help but smile a little, feeling a kind of power in your hands. Sometimes you wondered if Sukuna was aware of that fact yet kept playing with it, giving you hope and joy on purpose. Would he truly be aware of him putting so much power and opportunity to use in your small hands without any consequences? Would it be true for the sake of-

...of what precisely? Friendship? Family bonds? Love?

No matter what was his true reason, you could tell he was weak for you... and vice versa.

Even if your heart fluttered in happiness at his words, a pang of guilt squeezed your chest.

You knew that using such an opportunity (all for the greater good, as you reminded yourself) would be unfair towards Sukuna (since you literally wanted to use his promise against him). Nonetheless, you knew it was a rare chance and you had to ask for that.

You had to, you had to-!

You looked up, your eyes lit up with rising determination yet humble please, your voice weak as you whispered:

“...then please, tell me more about yourself?”

...so we can understand you better and Yuuji may stop seeing you as a threat. 

You could see that Sukuna was taken aback. His eyes widened, his breath stuttered as his body tensed underneath you. You kept your gaze, as silence between you two kept growing. After a minute, you began to pray inside for his move, approval or not, but just an action, a single word out of him.

You started to regret your bold question, you had a feeling that Sukuna wouldn’t appreciate your nosy nose trying to get into his past and recall probably not so good and pleasing memories of his. After all, the past should be left in the past... but you knew it was easier said than done since your own demons keep beckoning, haunting you still, affecting not only you inside but outside too.

You knew that talking about demons was usually a big deal. After all, it was like opening fully, being vulnerable and fragile in front of someone... while praying inside that your listener wouldn’t use it for their good or against you.

You had opened your soul (unconsciously or not) to Sukuna... and he had never truly hurt you by possessing such sensitive truth about you. Moreover, after that memorable night during which Sukuna had helped you in your dreams, you could see his behaviour changed. He started paying you more attention, healing any tiny scratch of yours, making sure you were safe and protected, trying to keep your inner demons at bay...

Why though? You were just a ruined soul and yet it looked like he saw something precious in you.

...it looked like he tried his best to fix you.

You mentally shook your head and almost slapped yourself. Now, that was ridiculous of you to think like that. You let your imagination run wild and you started imaging too much. Silly goose indeed.

After all, you almost knew that even the King of Curses wouldn’t find a cure for you. You resigned yourself to the fact your pure soul was long gone.

...you were an abomination that shouldn’t have been created in the first place.

And yet, oh the sweet irony, there you were, much alive, sharing your mind and soul with one and only King of Curses, the ancient and the most murderous creature on the world.
.
.
.

Sukuna indeed was taken aback because of your request. His soul paused, his eyes widened as he kept looking at you, trying to understand what precisely you wanted from him.

...or, more likely, why did you want to learn about him more?

The King believed you already knew enough about him and his past. Why would you want to hear his opinion–

Suddenly, Sukuna was hit with a deja vu. He recalled the past evening during which you two had played the game ‘a question for a question’. Just like before, you had asked about his point of view. You were interested in his opinion, not just cold facts from history books.

What was even funnier in that situation was the fact that Sukuna knew the real you had asked him such a question for the first time. After all, during that memorable evening, it had been Mimi that tried her best to distract him. He would never say it aloud but still, he believed it had been such a clever trick of your sister to play on him.

Though, after learning the truth about both of you, Sukuna could always tell the difference between you and your sister. He knew how to distinguish both of you. It was piece of cake for him, especially if he could see and read more from a person than an average human being.

That was why he knew the pure, curious you genuinely asked him about his past.

He couldn’t help but felt touched about that. On the other hand, a pan of anxiety appeared in his soul.

Would it be good for you to talk about him and his brutal past? Would it be a good distraction from your already haunting demons?

...would you not change your opinion about him and start seeing him as the real monster he was?

Sukuna tensed again, furrowing his brows in worry. The idea of him getting back to his origins wasn’t very pleasing for him. After all, he hadn't locked his past demons deep within himself without a reason. Remembering all of that again would be tough even for him.

...though, one look at your troubled yet innocent face made his heart full again and he knew what he was about to do.

It was all fair to open in front of you once in a while. It was all fair to teach you about him and his fears... even if it was still hard for him to admit (and accept) he had ones.

...but it was all fair since he knew the truth about your sister and you. Even if he had a feeling Mimi was keeping the missing piece out of his reach, he already knew more than the others. After all, you had let him step into your dreams, your endless nightmare, your domain, your emptiness of the missing soul,

You let him see your soulless core.

That was why Sukuna knew he had to get ready to face his own truth, to face the not-so-dead demons he had been keeping at bay for a long, long time. He knew he would have enough strength to do that, he knew he was able to do that...

...only if you were next to him, only if you could be his judge, hopefully the merciful one.
.
.
.

The silence began to be unbearable.

Just when you decided to withdraw from your bold question and apologize, you heard Sukuna’s soft snort. You involuntary tensed and slowly raised your eyes, curious about his reaction.

“Hmm, baby wants a bedtime story?”

You blinked in surprise, keeping a careful eye on him. Sukuna didn’t seem to be angry or offended. Even if he had been all tensed before, now he looked chill and relaxed, teasing you in his good, old way. He wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t tease, would he? Though that was his real charm and you could tell you were already falling for it again.

Your heart grew warmer as you nodded shyly.

“Yes, please?” You said with a squeaky voice and made a small noise when the body underneath you rumbled deeply, causing chills to run down your spine.

Oh, dear Kami-sama, don’t tell he saw through me and he did not like my plan. You thought immediately and tensed out of instincts, ready to be pulled in his another game and - perhaps - be punished for your misbehaviour. After all, how dare you to trick the King, how dare you use his goodwill against him, how dare you–

You flinched and made a small scream (of surprise) when you felt his warm hands wrapping around your calves. You immediately froze along with him, both of you kept looking at each other with big, almost fearful eyes.

...and then you realized that Sukuna had rumbled previously only to start purring soothingly. His fingers – even if he paused as soon as you had made a sound – gently, shyly almost moved up as you felt his thumbs rubbing soothing circles on your flexed muscles.

You shivered involuntarily and let out a shaky breath, trying your best to calm your racing heart. You had to admit his gesture had surprised you, totally catching you off guard... on the other hand, you didn't feel oppressed by him and his touch. You could feel he was trying his best to make you relax.

“Why are you so nervous?” You heard his soft voice and you quickly shook your head, feeling somehow exposed and so, so ashamed. As much as you wanted to say a word, your throat was too tight to let out a sound, as you were getting even redder and redder. For a second you believed your head was going to explode from the raising temperature of your blood. 

You were such a mess, an awkward, pure mess.

“Look at me.”

Sukuna commanded with a clear yet soft voice. You didn’t realize you had lowered your eyes again as soon as you were ‘caught’ by his keen irises.

You gathered all your courage and summon the rest of your common sense as you faced him for the nth time that evening...

...and you immediately felt bad for him for your ridiculous behaviour just by the way his eyes were glued to you, full of anxiety and sorrow, as if pleading: ‘I won’t hurt you, so don’t be scared of me, I beg of you’. You unconsciously nodded, as if charmed by his imagined-or-not promise, your heart growing calm more and more.

“Do you think it's a good idea to hear about me?” Sukuna asked you after a minute and you couldn’t help but tilt your head. There was a genuine concern in his question. Then, it clicked in you and your eyes went wide. Oh no, was he ready to withdraw to keep you comfortable? No, nono, not now–! You reminded yourself to calm your damn ass and stop ruining your plan.

That's it! Y/n, stop sabotaging yourself. For the love of Kami-sama, focus, focus on your goal. Stop being so weak for his puppy eyes, pretend you don't feel his hot skin on yours, ignore the chills running down your spine, just-

...geez, calm down, should I intervene and show him his place or what? The bored voice of your sister was like a dash of cold water.

...you're not gonna help there either, Mimi. You quickly retorted in your shared mind. Though, you didn't admit it somehow helped you get back on track.

Woah, now that's rude.

Even if you kept battling with your sister (and yourself), having a kind of crisis, Sukuna kept enjoying your adorable faces and reactions you were making unwillingly. He could almost hear your buzzing mechanism as you tried your best to behave in front of him. Unnecessarily.

Adorable kitten. If you only were able to read minds and hear his words, you would easily understand why he smiled at you at that very moment. Though that smile was bitter-sweet again and then you heard more of his 'concerns':

“I don’t want you to have nightmares because of me.”

At that confession, combined with his weak voice, your body and mind immediately stopped running wild. Your heart squeezed and then paused... only to melt in your chest, warming up your soul. You couldn't help but smile softly at him. You swore that man was just impossible... Was he sure he couldn't read your mind? Sometimes you doubted. 

“I know they won’t be as bad as the ones I’ve been having since childhood.” You tried to be funny as you told that bitter joke but the way Sukuna’s eyes widened and he paused underneath, you knew you failed. Such a wonderful job.

“I’m sorry, that was mean of me.” You said quickly, feeling ashamed. You heard him hum again and saw him shaking his head slowly.

“No, I get it. I feel you.” Sukuna admitted quietly and you saw a glimpse of grief in his eyes. You took a breath and was ready to say more, perhaps clear the heavy atmosphere but you paused as soon as you saw his melancholic eyes being stuck past you.

You realized he was probably battling with himself, trying to decide if he was supposed to keep going or withdraw for your sake. You started to feel bad again but you kept quiet since you didn’t want to push on him more. You believed you had already embarrassed yourself enough to even pretend to fix things. All you could do was to wait patiently for his 'verdict'.

After a solid minute you heard him speak:

“I will tell you whatever you want under one condition.”

You blinked at Sukuna's words but immediately nodded, curious about his deal and determined to meet his ‘demands’. You saw him grin in that small victory of his, his eyes lit with that mischievous spark again.

“Lay down on me and keep me warm.”

You.exe had stopped working... but only for a few seconds. You made a squeak, your face reddened as you looked at him with big eyes. How bold of him, unbelievable!

...though, it wasn’t anything new. Even if Sukuna never admitted it aloud, you knew he liked keeping you close. Acting like his blanket (even if he didn’t need one since he was hot on his own, literally!) to get some information seemed to be a fair price.

You couldn't help but pout, furrowing your brows a little, trying to show how 'offended' you were by that deal. On the other hand, Sukuna chuckled and hummed, clearly feeling like a winner.

“Is that a yes?” He teased and you felt his hands moving up, gently wrapping around your back. You rolled your eyes theatricality and sighed. There was no way you were able to pretend any longer.

“Fine, fine.” You admitted, clearly defeated. You couldn’t help but huff, especially after hearing his hum in pure contentment.

“Atta girl~” You heard his low purr right in your ear and you were glad he had pulled you close (just because of that you were able to hide your reddening face in his shoulder) though, you knew he either saw your blush with one of his eyes or he just felt the warmth radiating from your cheeks right into his skin.

You felt his skilled hands moving around and you realized he had wrapped you in your favourite, fluffy blanket. Sukuna even offered you a small pillow so you could rest your chin on soft material instead of his well-built chest (not that you minded but still, it was nice).

Past you would think he was doing that for his twisted reason, to (perhaps!) lower your guard and use your naivety against you. Though, the present you knew how soft and caring Sukuna could be, hiding his true motives in plain sight. No wonder you quickly realized he was doing all of that ‘preparation’ not for his good but for your sake.

You started to see he was doing all of that for you as if preparing to keep you safe and comfortable, as if trying to soothe you before he would ever start his story.

...such a clever beast he was, winning your heart over and over again.

Yuuji won you over with his sweet and innocent love, that was a fact. You two share a unique bond and even the thought of a possible break up with him was already devastating for you. On the other hand, Sukuna’s mature and responsible side seemed to be what your soul needed for real. 

...oh, the sweet irony indeed that you felt safe and protected with the demon most of the time.

“You look like you might start purring soon.”

You blinked in surprise at Sukuna's words and were pulled back to reality. You didn’t even realize you had relaxed so much you were just lying on top of him, clearly contented. You flushed and huffed in already low defence, trying to hide in your fluffy blanket.

“I can’t purr, I’m not a tiger like you...” You tried to be smart and use his own words against him but you forgot you were talking to the King of Mischief.

Sukuna’s eyes lit up at your words and he rumbled in contentment. You felt his hand patting your head through the fluffy blanket and then he chuckled.

“Hmm, right. That’s a happy burrito I prefer to see.” You almost gasped at it in 'disbelief' and hid completely in your fluffy hideout, trying hard not to burst from the hotness that was spreading in you over and over again.

...damn him, the clever beast.

You heard Sukuna’s gentle laugh in victory and felt his arms wrapping around your small frame, keeping you close to his body. You felt his face coming closer to your hidden one as the purring was growing louder, vibrating through his body, resonating to yours and making you relaxed even more.

Once you hummed in contentment and finally settled on him loosely, Sukuna knew it was a sigh to start.

“What would you like to know about me?”

You heard his unnaturally quiet, so unsure even voice. Your eyes widened a bit, a pang of guilt hit you right in your heart as you finally looked at him. You could see his good mood was gone and he became serious.

Even if you started to feel bad and wanted to withdraw, you knew you couldn’t do that. It went too far and Sukuna had already committed. Saying ‘no’ to him right now would be worse than a slap on his face.

That was why you knew you had to continue your ‘act’. You had to be fair, to Sukuna, to Yuuji and yourself.

“Why did you become evil?” You asked swiftly yet quietly and paused along with him. “Ah, sorry. That was out of a sudden.” You explained yourself and looked up, meeting with his eyes, full of mixed emotions... but once again, you recognized grief the most. Sukuna said nothing but was watching you, studying you, as if expecting you to say more, to enlighten him.

“You can’t be born evil. Curses are made, not born. They’re created from evil emotions, usually the extreme ones like wrath or despair.” You started with a soft voice, watching him carefully. Sukuna’s eyes were shining in the dark, never leaving you. You weren’t intimidated by them, you could tell the King was listening, not judging. You continued, your voice becoming softer and softer.

“You were a human before, one of the strongest shamans. Well, I’m no one to judge that since I became-” You paused here, your heart gave a squeeze as the words left your tightening throat: “...this thing, this abomination, but you can understand why since you saw my dreams, though I’ve been wondering... who hurt you?”

You saw his eyes widening in pure shock as his breath stuttered. His hands unconsciously squeezed your hips but you didn't move or make a sound. You did your best to be calm and respectful, watching him with soft and full of understanding eyes. The King looked troubled for the first seconds and then he snorted weakly, averting his eyes.

“Hurt? Me? Don’t be silly now, runt...” He said but you could tell it was the weakest excuse he had ever come up with. Still, you wanted to comfort him, to show him you were there for him, just as he was always there for you, no matter the cause. That was why you rose a bit on him, your hand extended slowly and gently cupped his cheek, urging him to look at you again.

Sukuna tensed at the touch but then he cocked a brow and bared his teeth in a (fake) grimace.

“Oi, you’re using your dirty tricks again, I will bite you.” He murmured low as if trying to scare you but you knew better he would never do that. After all, Sukuna had had many occasions before and never used real violence towards you.

You smiled reassuringly as your fingers started caressing his cheek, brushing over his tattoos. You knew that gesture would soothe him within seconds, no matter how hard the King tried to hide it or deny it.

“Then bite me.”

Sukuna blinked at your words and then groaned, rolling his eyes as he leaned back into the pillow... but still not away from your hand as he kept his chin close to your palm.

“You’re impossible.” He murmured, clearly defeated with your deadpan answer. You chuckled in small victory and rested your chin back on the pillow on his chest. His eyes looked aside and you knew his mind was going places. You waited patiently, giving him as much time as he needed.

After a while, he surprised you with a sweet gesture. His clawed hand touched yours, as he pressed your fingers to his cheek. He looked down at you with a rather rare and unreadable expression, making your heart skip a beat.

“Someone had to...” Sukuna said quietly, his voice surprisingly weak. You blinked in surprise and he easily caught your confused expression. He huffed without a heat, furrowing his brows.

“You asked why I had become evil. My answer is simple - because someone had to.”

Your eyes widened, his answer was surprising, maybe even unexpected and yet so honest, though it created more questions than gave you answers. You hummed in thought, entwining fingers with him. Then you let go of his cheek and you could swear he looked disappointed a little even if he tried to look unaffected, as always.

You surprised him by wrapping your hand more firmly around his and then you used them as your chin-rest. You had smiled happily yet innocently after catching his small blush and then you nuzzled more to his body, enoying his warmth.

“Tell me more then, please?”

Sukuna was looking at you as if you grew out a second head. He looked rather adorable (even if he supposed to be a bloody demon), especially when he rolled his eyes as if trying to be annoyed. You knew he was far from being angry, especially if he didn’t pull away from your grasp, letting you lay on him as on the finest cushions.

“There’s nothing to tell you about...” Sukuna murmured but little did he experience your stubbornness - and being adorable at the same time - on his own skin. He might have seen a lot through Yuuji’s eyes... but being exposed to your charm first hand? Apparently, it was too much for Sukuna.

“I won’t believe in that. You’re the walking legend, you’ve seen a lot, learnt a lot, and obviously, you know a tale or two. Whatever you share with me, it will stay between us, promise.” You gave your best puppy eyes as you almost whined teasingly, nuzzling more to him. Sukuna cocked a brow both at your wording and action and took a deep breath. He averted his eyes again, his ears burnt red and you knew you had won.

Damn you and your pure-heart. Sukuna indeed let you swallow his soul and heart completely.

On the other hand, if he had said A, he had to say B and, maybe, try to satisfy your hidden curiosity.

“Fine, so you're up to a kind of history lesson with me?”

Sukuna asked and his eyes returned on you as you nodded eagerly. He snorted and gave you a small smirk. You could sense his body relaxing underneath as he nuzzled into bed, still holding on to you like on his favourite pillow.

“Hmm, long story short then. I was born in ancient times in Hida province, I changed into a curse that survived almost a thousand years in peace and then I was ‘killed’ by the shaman called Michizane Suga-bastard in Heian period. Fun fact, they were the most peaceful centuries, as if because of the fact I was sealed. Oh, the sweet irony that the ‘hero’ of the time became the Vengeful Cursed Spirit after his death. There, your daily dose of history from good old Sukuna.”

The King wore a wide, almost innocent grin as his four eyes focused on you, watching you and your reaction with pure joy. You blinked in surprise at his words, your draw dropped a little and then you snorted, shaking your head.

“Nooo, that was too short. Not a good story!” You almost whined and Sukuna cackled, enoying your complains. You didn't catch his darkening eyes as he hummed in thought.

Maybe it would sound interesting to you if you knew the ugly truth that was hidden behind that name. Michizane Sugawara, the man who was responsible for sealing him, a legendary jujutsu sorcerer, one of the Three Great Vengeful Spirits of Japan... and the ancestor of Gojou’s family.

Yes. Sukuna, the King of Curses, had been ‘killed’ by the blue-eyed bastard’s ancestor. No wonder he hated the shaman, not only for the sake of their connected past but for everything else; to Sukuna, Gojou was cocky, vein, loud, ridiculous, a powerless-god that believed he could change the world. The King despised these types of people the most.

...but the King decided to spare you from such a knowledge. He believed you would have to worry about Gojou and him even more and he wanted to avoid that. For a brief second, Sukuna even wondered if Gojou knew the truth... Perhaps? At least that would explain their mutual hatred towards each other-

"Come on, don't be like that..." Your adorable whine pulled him back into reality as he smirked down on you.

“Fine, fine. The real storytime." Sukuna said in theatrical defeat. "To be honest, I don’t like recalling my human life but I can make an exception just for you so you better be grateful.” He said and raised his index finger as if in a fake warning. You smirked and nodded, getting comfortable to hear his story. Sukuna allowed himself to think for a solid minute before he started:

“I don’t remember the details from my childhood or about my family... but I remember that the times were hard and brutal. I was in charge of a province, full of villagers and soldiers. I was truly one of the best. You can say that awesomeness still runs in my blood.” He said with his cheeky grin, winking and you couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Oh, he was truly a charmer, no matter the occasion.

Yet, his smile dropped a little and he furrowed his brows as if trying hard to recall more.

“I remember the war was coming... and that one day we were raided. I tried to protect my people, my honour, but-” Sukuna paused at that, his eyes darkened and looked distant, as if he got locked in the past, as if he was looking at those moments he was speaking of, reliving them again. He unconsciously squeezed your fingers and you gently squeezed them back. That seemed to help him because he snapped from his daze and looked at you, his eyes sad.

“...I was betrayed.”

Sukuna whispered, his voice unusually weak. His eyes went dark as he let out a sharp breath.

“I was betrayed by people I used to trust the most. I almost died that night...To be honest, I think I actually died as a human but was brought back to life by wrath.” He hissed and his eyes gleamed dangerously in the dim room. You involuntary swallowed, feeling the buzzing cursed energy in him, underneath your body but you didn’t pull away. You kept your chin on your entwined hands as you kept listening to him, almost seeing the story before your eyes.

“I promised myself to avenge my honour and my people. I started hunting the renegades, tracing them one by one and killing without mercy. Them, and their families, women, kids... At that time it didn’t matter, I went for them and their blood... and when I get them all, when I finally snapped from my wrath, I realized it didn’t bring me peace. My heart was gone, my soul felt so corrupted it made me sick... So I returned to my province, my home, wishing for my heart to be healed there. I believed that if my people had seen me alive, if they had heard what I’d done for them, for their sake... they would have shown me gratitude, they would have filled that emptiness in my soul with their admiration-” Sukuna paused there, his eyes full of grief.

“When I saw them, petrified, angry, shocked, disgusted- when I saw my reflection in their eyes, I knew I had become the monster I used to protect them from. My soldiers and fellow shamans were trained by me to take care of the curses... and that night the curse appeared in the village. I did appear in the village.” His eyes were hooded, no longer watching you with grief but with melancholy.

“Despite my training, they didn’t have a chance against me. I killed them all. I razed the village I used to love to the ground. I let my wrath take control over me and when I woke up from the daze, I knew I was no longer a human. That night I was fed on everything, on wrath, betrayal, sorrow, grief, any extreme emotions you can think of. My energy devoured it all, changing me into a monster. The curse with four arms and two faces.”

“After that ‘incident’, I hid in the mountain. I was studying jujutsu, cursed energy, magic, weapons... even souls. Everything, anything I could think of. After all, I had no better things to do. At least that was what I believed in that time. Nowadays I knew I tried to find a solution for myself, cure me of my curse... but the more I learned, the more I realized that being a curse was much easier than being a shaman. So I accepted my fate, my new ‘me’ and allowed myself to live.” The King shrugged as if nonchalant but you could see he didn’t look proud of himself.

You two shared a few minutes of silence as your mind was processing his words.

The more you heard, the more you could understand the true nature of the King. You always had a feeling that Sukuna was not as bad as he was portrayed, that there was a missing piece, something no one could know about him. Now you knew what it was since he had shared the truth with you.

You knew that Sukuna was not only betrayed but also misunderstood... just like you.

You realized you were, somehow, similar to him. Though, unlike Sukuna, you hadn’t confronted your demons yet nor you had accepted your true nature. To be honest, you still couldn’t tell who you were for real. Were you more like a shaman... or you were becoming like a curse?

...what if you started to change into the second one, that was why Gojou had been angry at you?

You shook yourself mentally and unconsciously squeezed Sukuna’s hand. You didn’t want to fall into another anxiety attack from overthinking that was why you quietly asked Sukuna to continue.

Even if Sukuna had sensed your change, he said nothing. His four eyes kept watching you as he gently squeezed your hand back, comforting you. Then he sighed deeply, thinking.

“What did happen next? Well, I had built myself a home, a kind of palace in which I was gaining knowledge for many years. I simply watched the world running, people travelling and expanding territories. More and more villages were being built around my mountain. Funny thing that the villagers started to call my home their shrine years later. They believed I was a God but once they saw me, they quickly changed their minds. Many soldiers, shamans and even warriors were sent to kill me. It was funny to see them try. At first, it was amusing, a kind of entertainment for me. But soon it become annoying and whenever new brave souls tried to fight against me, I killed them and sent fire on their village. Kind of a warning for others to not mess with me, their God. It worked, surprisingly the opposite way, because they started to bring me offerings. Food, animals... children and women...”

Sukuna paused there and looked at you. He expected you to be disgusted, or scared... but you surprised him with your pure curiosity written on your face. Your eyes were big and shiny as you were drinking his words and knowledge with that childish innocence. Sukuna couldn’t help but smile softly as his free hand gently ruffled your hair.

He was truly weak for you because, no matter what was happening, no matter what he was saying, you had never looked at him as if he was the big, bad monster here. Just because of that, he knew he had made a good choice of choosing you to be his judge.

“You can say that I built up a kind of closed community in my palace. I had servants, women in the harem, people who wanted to get on my good side. They were all selfish and whenever they tried to betray me... well, it didn’t end well for them. Men, women, even kids... they all got what they’d worked on. I know I was merciless and I didn’t care about it because, for me, everything I had ever done was-” He paused here, looking for a proper word.

“Justified?” You whispered and four of his eyes locked on you. He let out a small rumble in thought and then nodded.

“Yes, justified...” Sukuna mimicked you and his eyes looked down, once again becoming dark.

“I paid evil with more evil.”

There was a pause and you saw he was gathering his thoughts as if trying to justify himself and his actions.

“Curses suppose to grow stronger and bigger when they feed on negative emotions. I was lucky because I’d been surrounded by such extreme emotions whole my human and monster life. I’d gain knowledge that didn’t last till these days, unfortunately. What a shame. Modern shamans would have learnt a lot. I’d been put into slumber for thousand years and woke up to this modern and weird world, to modern jujutsu magic that is just a disgrace for old Gods like me. Even if I was the evil one, I truly hoped you, shamans, got better... but people still haven’t learnt from their mistakes. This world is going to execute itself. It’s going to die, one way or another. That’s why I don’t believe in modern gods and humans... but I do believe in Mother Nature. She’s still the cruellest one.” He smirked at the last sentence and looked at you, his eyes still full of melancholy.

You had a feeling he finished his story and you smiled at him.

You were grateful for being the lucky one to get to know the truth. You could understand Sukuna’s character much more: why he had become evil, why he was so good at everything, why his knowledge was so big. After all, he had been training for centuries to achieve his God-like experience. Still, you feel sorry for him. You could only imagine the feeling of being betrayed by the ones you were supposed to love and protect. You knew that even the strongest ones wouldn’t be left with huge scars over their souls and hearts. Human or curses, the feeling of being swallowed by the hollowness would be mutual.

“All of it... it must be hard for you.” You said sincerely and Sukuna gave a small laugh.

“It was, I admit, but it stayed in the past and no longer has control over me. On the other hand, my experience was not as hard as your fate was for you." The King said and you furrowed brows in worry, your face full of questions.

"I was an adult when they betrayed me and a demon-God when they ‘killed’ me. You and your sister were just kids when the nightmare started.” He explained with a sad yet soft voice and you involuntary shivered. You were somehow touched by his words even if you had felt a pang of fear in your heart at first. No matter how many years had passed, that topic was still sensitive to you.

Unlike Sukuna, you didn't forget or lock your past deep within yourself. Unlike the King, you kept living in that nightmare, pretending you were just fine with your demons beckoning and beckoning.

You might be misunderstood by your adoptive father, you might be hated by elders, you might be dog meat to Mahito, you might be the true abomination that was like a slap to Mother Nature, and yet-

...Sukuna never judged you. The King never looked at you as if you were the walking corruption. Sukuna was the closest to knowing and understanding the truth about you. He saw you in good and bad, he had many, many occasions to just use you, feed on your misery, even swallow you whole like a damn snack and yet, he stayed by your side, being both your friend and your guard hound. 

You could see you two truly shared more and more similarities. No wonder you two understood each other without words.

Then, your body and soul froze as you realized something. You realized you two had another, almost unreal, ugly and brutal thing in common.

You two met the Death itself. 

“...were you scared?” You asked very quietly, your voice almost breaking. Sukuna immediately sensed your distress and pulled you closer. His clawed hand landed on your back, rubbing on them soothingly.

“Scared of what, little one?” He asked, genuinely concerned he had either offended or scared you by his sincere words. He prayed he didn’t as he watched your body shivering more and more.

“...dying.”

Sukuna heard your mere whisper and his eyes widened. He immediatelly connected the dots and realized what you had had in mind by asking him such a question. He realized that despite your experience, your horrible past, your miracle-or-not-survival, you were still just a kid that was afraid of dying.

“I was... and I still am.”

Sukuna could see that his honesty must have shocked you because you let out a sharp breath and then you hugged him tightly, hiding in his neck. The King immediately purred to you and wrapped his arms around you tight, holding you close and secure, allowing you to let your emotions out by shivering and crying silently. He still hated you crying but he knew better that tears purified the soul.

Sukuna knew you needed that at that very moment. All he could do was to be there, right beside you, trying his best to keep you whole. He kept purring soothingly and rubbing on your back as he allowed himself to fall into his thoughts.

The King was aware that for some people he might sound ridiculous. After all, he was the King of Curses, the strongest evil entity on the earth, the walking disaster. How could it be even possible for him to be scared of dying?

Well, maybe he wasn’t precisely scared of dying-

...but he surely was scared of the world without you. He was scared of being apart from you.

Losing you were equal to dying.

You were keeping his evilness at bay those days. He dread to think you would no longer be by his side. If anything like that happened, if he ever had to say 'goodbye' to you, the world would end just with him.

Sukuna smiled bitterly at himself when he realized something. He was created by wrath... but he started to believe he would be killed by love.

I told the brat he had been cursed with love and look at me, being no better. Oh, sweet irony.

Sukuna kept you close for another few minutes, letting you collect your mind. He could sense you were no longer distressed and that little panic attack he had caused because of his words finally passed. You were there, lying on top of him, wrapped in your fluffy blanket, nuzzling to his chest, simply enjoying his warmth and presence like a damn kitten you were for him. He couldn’t be happier as he shared some sweet moments with you.

The King sighed in contentment (and kind of a relief too) as he allowed himself to snuggle to your cheek. He earned your chuckle and purred at that, nosing your skin more even if you tried to hide from him.

"Hmm, baby has cooties? Since when?" He teased and earned a small pat on his chin from you.

"Look at yourself, big boy." You teased back, looking at him with still wet yet full of adoration eyes. Sukuna only smirked and purred more, holding you close, safe and secure. You eagerly pressed to him more.

“Just thank you..."

Sukuna heard your soft voice and smirked against your temple. He knew better how to read your thanks.

Thank you for sharing your story with me. Thank you for opening to me. Thank you for helping me. Thank you for understanding me. Thank you for being here. 

“You’re welcome, runt...” He whispered and gently kissed your forehead, earning a small squeak from you. He couldn’t help but chuckle, purring more. You were just adorable.

“ ...and I thank you for appearing in my life, Angel.”  He said it to himself and closed his eyes, enjoying your presence, your warm body, your squeaks and laugh and your rabbit-heart whenever he was showing you that ‘disgusting affection’ you had been teaching him. Sukuna would never admit but you made him both the strongest and the weakest man in the world, just by 'cursing' him with your love.
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.
.

Little did Sukuna know that he had lowered his guard too much... and didn’t sense Yuuji that had been listening to the King since the very beginning.

The more Yuuji could sense Sukuna's true colours within their shared soul, the more nauseous and suffocated he became.

As soon as the boy heard demon's confession, his heart broke into pieces. The words that his inner demon spoke to himself were the proof he had been looking for and yet had been still afraid of.

Why? Because the boy’s worst nightmare came true.

Yuuji knew that Sukuna loved you.

Chapter Text

"The break would never come as long as fear could turn to wrath.” 

- John Steinbeck

“I can’ believe it’s been almost a month! We haven't been together on a mission for so long!” Nobara was as loud as always and you couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm.

You wished you had as much energy and good spirit as she had. Maybe it would be easier for you to focus on reality and forget about your restless night, full of awful dreams. As soon as you had woken up you couldn’t get rid of the taste of blood on your lips.

It was not a good sigh. You knew it... and yet, all you could do was to listen to your teachers and fulfil your duty.

That was right. The week off for Yuuji and you was over and – as you had been ordered the previous day – you had to return to duties, with or without your agreement.

As much as you were still full of doubt, Nanami got your back, as always. He had convinced the principal to let you return to do missions. He had explained that, despite your sudden need to cut off from training because of Gojou’s behaviour, you had been doing better and growing stronger. Though, seeing your slight fear – despite you trying hard to hide it - as if Nanami seemed to know you better than Gojou – he had met with you face to face to calm you down. He had said one thing that had been successfully planted in your mind:

“I believe you will keep growing up with your cursed energy around others. You will learn more from your friends than from Gojou. Some believe that shamans are better as lone wolves. I used to think like that as well but I have changed my mind recently. No one should face such evil and darkness all alone. There’s strength in working as a team. You will build trust. You will cover each other’s back and even if one of you gets in trouble, there will be a second one ready to fight for you.”
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.
.

Such words, such trust in your strength and worth from Nanami somehow lift your spirits. You couldn’t help but smile at such fond memory that, once again, calmed down your mind a little.

As much as you still considered yourself as ‘not ready’ and would prefer to stay locked and train more, you had to admit you missed having your past routine and much more interactions with your friends. Thanks to that you felt like a normal girl.

“Ready to show off your new techniques? I heard that Gojou was a tough opponent.” Nobara’s voice helped you return to reality as you focused on her, teasing you and grinning.

You snorted in response and shook your head.

“Well, it’s Gojou after all, right? He doesn’t go easy on anyone.” You said and smiled awkwardly.

“...even on us.” You heard Mimi’s murmur in your shared mind but you didn't respond to your sister.

“I will do my best!” You said instead, raising your fist. Nobara immediately followed you, raising hers as she almost jumped in excitement.

“That’s the spirit! Let’s kick some ugly asses! Right, Megumi?” She roared, nudging the boy, who – as always – sighed deeply, his face expressionless.

“Right, riiight.” Megumi murmured only, making Nobara pout in disappointment. You couldn’t help but chuckle. You indeed missed such interactions.

You truly wanted to show you hadn’t been slacking off. You wanted to show your friends you too could be as strong as they were... even if you hadn’t got full control of your domain and cursed energy yet. Still, you believed – or rather wanted to believe – you had enough knowledge and experience to, at least, be decent.

Teamwork is a way to success. Believe it. You told yourself, preparing mentally for a soon-to-be battle

You missed Megumi’s observant eyes on you as you focused again on Nobara.

“I swear, it’s good to have another girl in the team. Dealing with these two doughnuts all alone was tiring!” Nobara kept complaining and you snickered at that. Ah, yes, girls’ power! Megumi, as always, ignored her while Yuuji pouted.

“Aww, come on, Nobara. It wasn’t that bad, was it now?” He teased with a smile but his voice was way too sad. It was alerting enough for Megumi and Nobara to immediately look at him, concerned and confused. You only lowered your head, furrowing your brows in worry.

You saw Yuuji had been mopey since the morning. When you had asked if something happened and he wanted to talk about it, Yuuji only waved a hand at you and responded with a forced smile that ‘everything is ok!’. Obviously, you didn’t buy it but didn’t want to push on him either. You decided to keep an eye on him though.

...after all, you still felt the taste of blood on your lips.

“Yuuji–” Megumi started with a serious voice when, suddenly, a building in front of your group literally exploded. The wind made all of you pause as you looked up, seeing low-grade curses bursting out of the building, swarming around and hissing like bugs.

“What the fuck?! We haven’t even reached our planned destination yet!” Nobara yelled in shock and anger, quickly grabbing her hammer.

Yuuji immediately jumped to your side, pushing you behind himself. Megumi summoned Nue for himself and one of his Divine Dogs that got by your side. You got confused at first but then you realized they were preparing for the old formation of the group: you guiding them with your Third Eye while they kept you safe.

“Wait, I can help today–!” You suggested quickly but Megumi turned to you and squeezed hands over your shoulders, stopping you. His eyes were surprisingly calm yet stern as he spoke to you:

“I believe it but trust me. Leave it all to us. Yuuji, you know what to do.” Megumi turned to Yuuji. You too looked at your boyfriend, praying to find some support from him–

...but as soon as you saw his face, shivers run down your spine.

“Hai, hai. Don’t have to tell me twice. Damn, I knew it would be another ambush. Such a fucking nuisance.”

Yuuji’s eyes were full of hidden wrath and disgust, his lips tightened in a thin line, his voice so sharp yet somehow hollow, his cursed energy seemed to be buzzing under his skin, ready to burst out, ready to kill on the spot whatever curse dared to come closer.

“Yuuji–” Your voice was unbearably weak but Yuuji seemed to not hear you. He was already in his little world full of anger and disgust towards his enemies.

Your heart squeezed at such a fearful sight as your mind was flooded by bugging questions. Was he always like that? That was how his missions had been looking like for the past month? How many of his unspoken thoughts had he been hiding? How long of his negative emotions had he been bottling up?

...how much of his negativity was coming out just because of you?

“Y/n!” You had no more time to think about the mess at such moment since Megumi’s voice had pulled you out from your daze. You quickly responded with a short ‘Hai!’ as you summoned your Third Eye, starting to guide them.

Now focus. The team needs you. Teamwork is the key. Remember. You told yourself once again, Nanami’s words had stuck with you like a mantra.

Despite the situation being very tense, you all were doing pretty good. Your friends were killing the curses one by one. If one of them dared get close to you, Megumi’s Divine Dog would take care of it. Most of the low-level curses were successfully exorcised.

...but it was not the end of your troubles.

A special grade curse got out of the hidden nest located in a nearby building and made its way towards your group.

Nobara stayed by your side, getting rid of smaller curses with her flying nails while the boys tried their best to kill the curse fast. You were guiding them still, focused yet praying for their safety. You could see why it was taking them more effort than usual – the curse had a spiked mail that was very hard to get through.

You kept your cursed energy under control but you could sense your body growing weaker because of your Third Eye Technique... More precisely, because of Yuuji’s immense speed that made you double your efforts to keep up with him and warn him in time.

Sometimes you had a feeling he was faster than your vision, sometimes both the reality and your vision intermingled and you couldn’t tell the difference. You were getting confused and even fearful because of that, to not say close to losing your sanity. You didn’t want to fail him after all. His life was put at risk and you were his guide, literally. You simply couldn’t miss anything.

...and yet, you were still slightly anxious because of Yuuji’s behaviour, his cursed energy seemed to be growing fast, slowly falling into toxic anger, the one that could be very dangerous to shamans.

You could see it was getting to be destructive to Yuuji. You wanted to stop it all but you knew you couldn’t. It wasn’t training during which you would demand a break. This time you were on the battlefield, surrounded by enemies. You couldn’t give up so easily, especially if Yuuji crossed his sanity zone just to protect your group.

The taste of the blood got stronger in your mouth. Damn it.

If you only were like Sukuna and knew what was happening in Yuuji’s mind at that very moment, if you only knew the boy was being eaten by the worst of emotions that could bug shamans – wrath, maybe you would have avoided the fatal mistake.

...you wouldn’t have seen your world being painted in blood.
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Sukuna may not be as anxious as you were but he was clearly confused by Yuuji’s behaviour. Since the morning the brat had been awfully silent...  yet resistant. It was not like Sukuna complained at sudden silence from Yuuji, especially since he didn’t like Yuuji being too loud and excited like a damn puppy all the time, yet it was unusual of him to behave the opposite.

What was even more alerting to Sukuna was the fact that Yuuji shut his mind completely from the curse. Still, the King could feel the gathering emotions, the pure negativity that was ready to burst.

It was like a red flag.

“Oi, brat, what the hell is going on with you?”  The King had been trying to talk to his sense many times but the boy seemed to ignore him.

Once again, it wasn’t a surprise for Sukuna to be ignored... and yet, he could tell this time was much more different.

...as if Yuuji was not under his influence or control anymore.

Sukuna didn’t like it nor did he like the surging murder spree in Yuuji.

The one he knew too well. The one he had always hoped Yuuji would be free from.

The wrath.

The King nervously shifted on his throne unconsciously. His eyes were locked on the vision from Yuuji’s eye, how the boy moved and attacked, how his battle cries were getting rougher.

Sukuna couldn’t shake off a feeling that he was looking in the mirror, that he was looking at past him murdering the village he used to love... and – to his own surprise – he really, really wasn’t a big fan of it.

“Oi, Itadori, shake it off, it’s going to be too dangerous.”  The curse tried again, this time being serious. Though Sukuna could sense the more he spoke, the angrier Yuuji became. His cursed energy started to be as vivid and cruel as his own.

This time the flag wasn’t red. It was burning.

“Oi, Yuu-”

“Shut. Up! I don’t want to hear anything from you!”  Yuuji yelled at Sukuna in their shared mind and the King was more than bewildered. He had never heard and even felt the boy being so agitated.

His past self would be amused by that situation, seeing Yuuji on the edge, slowly falling into madness... but his present self was getting distressed. At this point, the King had a feeling he was barely holding any control here.

“Hey, change with me, I will help-”  Sukuna suggested but, once again, Yuuji only yelled at him with his voice full of hatred.

“No!”

The King was taken aback. Instead of typical anger at the boy’s ridiculous behaviour, he started to feel that uncomfortable tightness in his chest, the one he still couldn’t understand and the one he didn't like at all.

At such a chain of events, Snowflake truly got alerted. Even if the soul had been awake the whole time and kept listening to boys, only now it got out of Sukuna’s scarf to intervene. It squeaked quietly, watching Sukuna’s face. The King only shook his head at his little friend yet his lips twisted into a smile full of a grimace.

“Don’t play stubborn now, you are unaware of the danger-”  Sukuna tried again, his voice surprisingly praying.

“Oh, I am, very aware! You are the fucking danger! You’ve always been!” The King’s four eyes widened and he too felt the sudden anger growing writhing him. The brat was being utterly ridiculous now. He truly couldn’t have thought of a better place and time to be moody.

Sukuna couldn’t help but grow lowly, his eyes flashed red. Snowflake squeaked, its small tail shivered unwillingly. Unfortunately, Sukuna missed it as he focused on Itadori fully, letting the negative emotions slowly influence him and cloud his judgement.

“That’s it, brat. I’m switching with you-”  Sukuna hissed as he got ready to take control of Yuuji’s body and stop his madness–

“Good luck, you fucker...”

–only to pause on his throne in shock after feeling the resistance from Yuuji, fuelled by his wrath and hatred towards the King.

Impossible.

Sukuna realized that Yuuji went too far already to be easily put back on right track. Though, what was even worse to come – and of what the King was more than aware – was a fact that only a few steps forward were separating Yuuji from being lost in himself... just like Sukuna had been lost as a human long, long time ago.

Not now, brat, you damn fool. 

Sukuna knew he had to stop that vicious circle, no matter what. Otherwise, not only them (Yuuji’s body and Sukuna’s cursed soul) would be damaged because of that mess.

The King feared to see you crying again because of them. He truly hated your tears.

Snowflake was getting more distressed as it tried its best to get Sukuna’s attention. Somehow it succeeded as the King looked down at the small soul, his eyes wide and full of doubt.

Not now. Not like that. 

The King had promised Snowflake to be the adult of your group, of that small family you all had created and pulled him in. He had promised to be the one responsible for you, the young shamans. Though, Sukuna sometimes forgot that all of you were still just a bunch of kids with flying emotions he couldn’t sometimes understand.

What did I do wrong this time?

“Yuuji, let me help-”  Sukuna tried with a surprisingly patient and soft voice, trying to soothe his vessel.

“I told you to shut up! Stop being a hero, you’re pissing me off! I am strong too! I am worthy too! I am-!”

Yuuji’s words hit Sukuna so hard he was sitting on his throne, in an utter daze.

...just because within such words, Sukuna was finally able to feel Yuuji’s hidden emotions as they had broken free and flooded him raw, suffocating him.

Sukuna’s thoughts were immediately tangled in a big mess but one thing he knew for sure.

The King realized he had made a terrible mistake.

He allowed Yuuji to live in fear of losing you because of him. He allowed Yuuji to be jealous of every little move towards you. He allowed Yuuji to feel unworthy of literally everything even if the boy was doing great. Such negativity from his vessel changed into something toxic and dangerous.

It changed to one thing that Sukuna truly despised the most and hated in himself.

The wrath.

“...what have you done, you fool.” Sukuna whispered, feeling weaker and weaker.

He didn’t feel Snowflake bumping into his cheeks. He didn’t hear the desperate squeaking from his little soul. He didn’t see the red fountain through Yuuji’s eyes that was coming out of their shared body. He didn’t feel the darkness slowly eating his domain because of the dying boy.

All that Sukuna was aware of was Yuuji’s body being consumed by wrath.

The King literally led to his own destruction once again.

.
.
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“YUUJI!” You shouted in pure dread, seeing your boyfriend getting struck... and almost being cut in half.

Your heart stopped in your chest, your eyes widened and your throat tightened. For a second, you believed you had seen it all with your Third Eye only, that it was just a horrific vision and you had warned your boyfriend in time–

...but then you realized that your vision and reality had merged together.

You believed it was just a very, very bad dream.

You saw Yuuji’s lifeless body falling down, hitting the ground with a loud thud, blood splattering around and gathering around his unmoving body. Nobara and Megumi yelled in shock and fear while your eyes focused on his pink strands... slowly soaking in a red, thick liquid.

You didn’t know how to breathe. You didn’t know what to say, to shout... but your body moved on its own anyway.

You run towards his body, unaware of Megumi’s shouts and curse’s roars. You were focused on Yuuji only and when your knees hit the ground next to him, when you saw his chest being cut deep, his insides slowly going out, his body shivering in pain–

...you wailed, crying your soul out.

You have never felt so powerless and scared before, so suffocated and distressed. As if you were not in control of your body, thoughts and soul anymore. As if you were the onlooking at these horrible events. You couldn't accept your reality and prayed to Kami-sama that it was just a bad dream, another of your fucking nightmares you could rip yourself from–

...but it wasn’t.

“Yuuji! Yuuji, please! Look at me! Stay with me!” You were crying and sobbing so loud, trying to keep his head up in your shaky hands. You could see he was battling with staying awake, blood was pouring from his mouth and down his neck.

“Yuuji! Don’t leave me, please, pleaspleaseplease-” You leaned in, gently hugging his head and crying aloud into his temple, desperate, fearful... and slowly losing hope.

You heard him cough and you let out a sharp breath, looking at him. His honey eyes met with yours and your heart paused in your chest as you realized he was trying hard to speak. No, nono, you didn’t want to hear his last words. They couldn’t be his last words! Not like that, not here–

“...I... di-dn't want... to se-e you... hurt...”

Yuuji whispered very quietly in his dying breath and smiled softly... and then his eyes closed, his head still in your hands.

...it was over. Just like that.

Your sunshine was gone.

You were sitting still, watching him with big, tearful eyes. His words had hit you so hard you believed your heart just burst in your chest, as if your soul left your body, ready to follow him wherever he had gone. You had a feeling you were stuck in an empty body of yours with your eyes still locked on his lifeless now face.

You couldn’t move. You couldn’t think. You couldn’t breathe. You believed your world just ended.

You felt so hollow, so alien in your own body.

You didn’t even know what had been happening around you for a while. You didn’t hear your friends shouting at you, you didn’t see the curse winning over Megumi.

You felt something warm on your knees and you looked down, seeing blood slowly soaking in your uniform.

Yuuji’s blood.

You felt so sick and desperate you could just disappear, just die at that very moment and follow Yuuji to – hopefully – a better place.

You felt a sharp tug at your arm and you snapped from your daze. You looked up to see Nobara yelling something at you... but because of the constant ringing in your ears, you couldn’t hear her words. You could tell her friend wasn’t in a good shape as well.

Your eyes travelled around to find Megumi being tossed on the nearby building. The curse roared in victory and then, as if sensing you watching, it focused on you, slowly making its way towards your place.

Your hollow eyes looked into curse’s rusty-red ones. The beast smiled at you, licking its long, sharp teeth.

“Ah, there you are, little morsel...”

You shivered when you had heard such a nasty voice ringing in your ears. You easily understood the curse’s language and you just recalled how unpleasant the feeling had always been for you. You didn’t miss having this ability. You were always fine whenever Mimi was blocking that signal.

...and yet, there you were. Struck by hopelessness that lowered your guard and will to live to absolutely nothing. You felt dirty again, being coated in that overwhelming disgust as you could feel back in time when you used to be a kid surrounded by dozen of curses.

“Mahito says you’re very tasty...”

You felt another tug that almost jerked you up but you instinctively lurched yourself from whoever’s hands. You heard yelling again and slowly looked up, seeing Nobara by your side.

The girl seemed to be taken aback but you slowly shook your head, informing her to stop her tries and leave you be.

“What?! What the fuck are you doing, y/n?! Do you want to die?!”

Her voice finally reached your ears as your body was getting hotter from inside. The fire appeared in your eyes as you focused fully only on that damned curse. The curse that had dared to take your sunshine away.

Unforgivable.

Your cursed energy was slowly buzzing underneath your skin, your veins were getting visible as well as the white sparks around your sharpening nails. Your hair got longer and started floating, your whites turned black.

Nobara watched you transform in pure shock... and slight fear. She could sense the powerful energy slowly raising in your body. The energy so dark, so vicious and so hungry it made her weak.

“What the-” The girl whispered and took a step back only to be surprised by a sudden yank. She let out a yelp only to realize it was Megumi that had grasped her hand and now was running in the opposite direction.

“Megumi, what is going on?!” She called, confused. Megumi spared her a glance and then looked at your silhouette, furrowing his brows. He too could feel the energy gathering in you... much, much more powerful than from his first encounter with Angel-you. That was why he knew he had to protect both Nobara and himself from your upcoming rampage.

“Just stay away from her. All we can do now is try to contact Nanami. With Yuuji’s being gone, only Gojou will be able to stop her.” He explained briefly, leading them to (as he hoped) a safe zone from your cursed energy. He managed to keep an eye on you still, just in case to intervene – or rather try to. Then he pulled out his phone, quickly calling Nanami.

If such explanation and action were supposed to calm Nobara down, it truly failed. The girl was even more distressed but she knew she had to trust her friend – especially if he seemed to know more than her. Later (if they survived) she would ask for details.

For now, all she could do was watch you from a far distance, trying to understand what was happening with your body and soul.
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.
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“Your friends have left you... How rude of them... but I’m here...”

You watched the curse getting closer and closer, its smile was getting bigger and creepier.

“I won’t leave you... We will be together, till the end... and even after...”

The curse cackled and your brows furrowed. You felt the urge to puke.

“Now, let me have a bite...” 

You saw its’ giant teeth looming over you, the saliva dripping down, right on your uniform. You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath.

Your mind was surprisingly calm for a brief moment.

...and then you felt the inner fire lighting up in your core.

“I’m no longer a kid.” 

You responded in the curse tongue and opened your eyes. The rings of yellow and red irises pierced through the curse as your arm lit up in electric cursed energy. The red tendrils run along with your white thunderbolts as you hauled off the curse and you let out a battle cry... that got closer to being an inhuman roar.

The curse paused in shock at the sudden change in you but it was too late to dodge.

The beast wailed as the energy hit it, immediately seeping into its body and dancing around its mail, paralysing it – only to blow the curse apart from the inside out within seconds, scattering its pieces all around.

You growled lowly and the energy snuffed out from your arm. Your glowing eyes took a glance full of disgust at the remains of the beast.

“Dog meat.” You said in doubled voice and let your energy calm down fully.

...and then you snapped out from your battle state, letting a shaky breath out.

You weren’t sure what precisely had happened, or rather how you had done that but at least the curse was dead.
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“Megumi, look. She... killed it.” Nobara said to his friend, slightly impressed. Megumi had phoned Nanami just in time and now focused on you. It looked like the alert was false.

“...she didn’t change fully. She’s back to herself.” Megumi whispered more to himself than Nobara, being surprised. Looked like your training with Gojou was somehow successful. Megumi missed Nobara’s curious eyes, as she had promised herself again that she would ask for details later.

“Come on. I think it’s done for now. She needs...” Nobara said as she moved towards your place. Her brows furrowed when she spotted you hugging Yuuji. She couldn’t help but feel a shiver running down her spine when she heard your weak wailing.

The adrenaline wore off from all of them and reality hit pretty hard. Now it was time to face the consequences of their failure. Even if Nobara and Megumi were slightly resistant, they knew what had to be done. It was hard for them but they know you suffered the most.

It was time to take care of their friend’s dead body. It was time to help you get through this mess.
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.
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“Y-Yuuji...” You whispered quietly, your voice tight, hoarse and broken. More hot tears run down your cheek as you carefully pulled his heavy head on your thighs. You leaned in and touched foreheads with him.

He was so, so cold–

“Yuuji, please...” You whispered, sniffing quietly. Some of your tears fell on his pale face, mixing with his dried blood.

Despite the harsh reality, despite the cruel proof of his dead body lying right in front of you, you still had hope that Yuuji would be back within minutes. He would wake up casually, and greet you so you could cry in happiness instead of sorrow.

You didn’t want to accept the fact he was truly dead. You couldn’t see that would be the end of him. Not like that, not now.

“Yuuji!” You called miserably, curling around him as if trying to shake him off from his state. His blood around you two was growing cold and you started shivering.

“Y/n, he can’t hear you anymore. I’m so sorry.” You tensed and looked up at the sad voice that resonated next to you. You saw Megumi and Nobara standing next to you, sad, broken as you all share the pain of losing your friend.

At least they were fine, at least they survived.

You sobbed more and looked back at Yuuji. Your shaking hand touched his cheek, the thumb brushed over his skin, revealing the characteristic mark under his eye–

...and then you realized something as new hope pierced your heart, pumping you with determination anew.

“Yuuji can’t hear me but someone else should–”
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“Wake up, Itadori. You’re dead.”

Yuuji heard a pissed voice from his left and then felt a harsh kick right under his ribs. He jolted with a yelp, startled as he looked around.

What was happening? Where was he? Oh– Right. Once again, he was in Sukuna’s domain, sitting and being drenched in blood-like water. Lovely.

“What... What are-” He asked quietly, feeling confused even more. He tried to recall the last thing he had seen. Wasn’t he in the middle of a battle?

“What ‘what’? What are you doing here, you ask? Clearly playing dumb.” Yuuji heard the irritated growl from above and looked up, flinching at the unpleasant sight in front of him.

Sukuna was looming over Yuuji, his four eyes were lit with dangerous scarlet magic, his face clearly pissed. Yuuji immediately furrowed his brows, challenging the King in his old way.

“What did you do to me? Why did you bring me here?” He asked and jumped on his feet, ready to fight the King. Sukuna looked dumbfounded for a mere second and then let out a low growl.

The audacity he’s having right now... Looks like his consciousness of dumbness is back.

“What did I do? What did you do? What the fuck was that?!” Sukuna’s voice was harsh and piercing, almost hissing at Yuuji with barely holding anger.

Yuuji wasn’t far behind as he bared his teeth and clenched his fists, slowly yet successfully recalling his previous situation with the curse.

“You were distracting me! I was doing good! I wanted to-!”

“You clearly lost control over everything and now what, you want me to praise you? You fucking moron!” Sukuna stepped closer and kicked Yuuji again, making him stumble. The boy let out a small yelp but then growled and waded into Sukuna with raised fists.

The King easily avoided his punch and manhandled Yuuji, sending him on the piles of skulls. He was ready to beat the hell out of the boy and maybe put some sense into Yuuji’s peanut-like brain but then he heard a small squeak from his scarf and felt a gentle tail wrapping around his neck, soothing him.

He immediately paused, his eyes widened as he sensed Snowflake’s intentions.

Such a method wouldn’t help. Such a method would lead to more hatred between them. Such a method would break Yuuji even more, especially if Sukuna was able to overpower him within seconds.

Eye for an eye and the world goes blind, huh?

This time all of it wasn’t about the strength. This time both of them failed equally. They broke the promise they had made a while ago.

The promise of not seeing you sad or hurt.

Sukuna heard Yuuji’s battle cry but he didn’t react. Soon, he felt the boy’s fist on the cheek, the strength behind his punch made the King move backwards as he stumbled a little.

Slightly surprised by the sudden outcome, Yuuji’s eyes widened. Though, he didn’t lose his focus as he got ready for Sukuna’s merciless attack–

...the one that never came.

“What the hell are you doing, fight!” Yuuji called, seeing Sukuna standing still. It somehow made him tense even more. After all, he didn’t know what to expect from the King.

...but once their eyes met, Yuuji’s anger dispersed.

Sukuna looked almost heartbroken... which was a very good joke since he didn’t have a heart.

Long gone was irritation from his face. Instead, his four eyes were watching Yuuji with grief, as if pleading him to stop it all.

Yuuji’s fists involuntary fell down as his own brows furrow both in confusion and fear.

No, shake it off. It must be another thick of that bastard, to play a sad card on me. Don’t fall into that now, Yuuji. Stay focused. The boy told himself, gently clapping his cheeks. Then, he clenched his fists anew, getting ready.

“You won’t fool me again, Sukuna. I’ve heard enough of your lies. Now, fight, you coward!”

Sukuna didn’t move an inch, watching him with those melancholic eyes still. It irked Yuuji even more.

“What the hell is your problem now, huh?!” Yuuji yelled, feeling more and more distressed. “What do you want from me, you’ve got everything, what else do you need?!” Tears appeared in his eyes and threatened to fall down his cheeks.

“Don’t go this way, Itadori.”

Yuuji paused after hearing Sukuna’s surprisingly quiet yet pleading voice. The boy shut his eyes and shook his head. He didn’t want to hear demon’s life lessons or reprimands. He didn’t even want to look at him. He truly had enough of everything. He wanted to disappear.

“You heard me yesterday, you felt my true emotions, am I wrong?” The King asked in that soft voice again. The silence from his vessel was a proper answer for him.

What a comedy of errors we have found ourselves in. 

Little did Yuuji know he was already walking down the forbidden path. If he only knew he would soon become Sukuna himself... simply, by losing you.

...and yet, the King was more than aware that Yuuji’s poor mental condition was his fault. The boy had reached his breaking point.

You reacted with aggression to your own fears. Unnecessary. If you only knew how wrong you have been this whole time. If you only saw y/n’s love towards you just through my eyes... everything would be different. 

“I have been on the losing side since the very beginning. You just haven’t realized it, not yet.”

At such words, Yuuji’s slowly raised his head, looking at Sukuna with big, confused eyes. The King couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Finally got your attention, brat.”

Yuuji said nothing but furrowed his brows and sniffed quietly, wiping his small tears. He looked at Sukuna again, an unspoken question was written over his face.

“I don’t want you to follow my path full of wrath, Itadori. I know this pattern too well and there’s always a price you have to pay. It’s not worth it, believe me.”

Once again, Yuuji was taken aback. His eyes went wide as he focused fully on Sukuna, taking his every word to his vulnerable heart. Though, seconds later the boy looked as if he tried to disagree but didn’t know where to start with. Sukuna only sighed and shook his head, slightly disappointed.

Kids these days, I swear.

“As I’ve said, you can’t see it now but I know you will understand it soon.” Sukuna reassured Yuuji again, looking at him sideways.

“You’re not alone, no matter what you think or believe in. You have y/n. Don’t fuck things up like me and let her be your guiding light.”

Yuuji’s heart paused at Sukuna’s words as his breath stuttered. What did he just say?

...or more precisely, what did he try to prove?

For a second Yuuji seemed to be paralysed as he was trying to understand King’s hidden message. Was it a catch somewhere? No... Sukuna seemed to be – surprisingly – genuine in this conversation, probably for the first time.

What was it then? What was Yuuji missing so much?–

...then it clicked in him within a minute and he gasped as realization hit in hard.

“You’re–” Yuuji was about to explain himself when both of them paused at a familiar voice, echoing weakly in the domain.

“ ...una!”

They easily recognized you calling from the surface.

“Y/n!” Yuuji called back without thinking and looked up desperately as if trying to see you right here and now. He almost forgot he had made a terrible mistake, leaving you with his dead body all alone for too long. He prayed you weren’t in danger, he prayed you were safe despite calling out for him–

“Sukuna! Please! Help!”

Yuuji’s body immediately paused and his eyes darkened. The picture in his head was brutally shattered, again.

Ah, ah right. You weren’t calling for him... Why would you call for your useless boyfriend anyway?

Suddenly, Yuuji felt a strong hand squeezing his shoulder, forcing him to look up. Sukuna was there, right by his side, watching him with his red, serious eyes.

“You’re starting it again. I’m telling you, I’m not your enemy. Stop it.”

Strangely, Yuuji felt ashamed, being caught in his vulnerable moment again. He looked down, trying to hide tears that gathered in his eyes again. Despite Sukuna’s previous (and very encouraging words), Itadori still was unsure what to think. It would be too easy to believe his inner demon so quickly... right?

“Listen up. We both fucked up. You made y/n cry again by being reckless, I let you be swallowed by despair.”

Yuuji felt strangely both touched and exposed by Sukuna’s words... but shame crushed him even more.

He was responsible for your tears. He had said he didn’t want to see you hurt but, in the end, he hurt you the most. You watched him die. You were left alone because of his irrational behaviour. No wonder you didn’t see him as your hero.

Sukuna watched Yuuji being heartbroken and falling apart again. He sighed quietly as he realized that both of them didn’t need a big talk, just a good one.

The King kept a watchful eye on Yuuji easily reading his thoughts, feeling his emotions. Even if Sukuna wanted to clear things between them for good, he knew the time wasn’t proper – especially when he heard another of your desperate call and involuntary shivered.

“Stay here. I will take care of everything.” He said to Yuuji who slowly nodded, keeping his head low. Sukuna spared him a glance for the last time and then he disappeared to take control of their shared body.

Yuuji wanted to believe that the King had missed his big tears that now were running heavily down his cheeks. The boy would be rather glad about that. After all, he had shown enough weaknesses in front of his inner demon and now was paying for all of it. At least that what was he believed in.

Yuuji sniffed quietly and sat at the pile of bones, wiping his face. He couldn’t help but chuckle brokenly, looking up.

Sukuna became the hero that Yuuji had always dreamt of being, especially to you.

“You have been on the losing side, huh? Look who’s victorious still.” He whispered to himself.

The echo of his powerless sobbing resonated in the dark domain.
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.
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Meanwhile, you had been trying to get Sukuna out for at least five minutes. You had been crying more and more, slowly losing the rest of your hope. Nobara and Megumi tried to calm you down but you were stubborn, keeping yourself close to Yuuji’s body.

“Sukuna!” You sobbed again, your voice got hoarse. You kept Yuuji’s head on your thighs, a shaky hand was gently squeezing his cheek. You sniffed and quickly wiped your face with your sleeve. Still, a few of your tears dared to fall on Yuuji’s pale skin, adding to the dried mess of blood.

“Y/n, please. Let go of him.” Megumi tried to pull you off, again. You frantically shook your head, pressing even closer to Yuuji’s body.

You couldn’t leave it all like that. You couldn’t stop trying. You couldn’t just give up. Not now, not like that. You needed your sunshine. You needed him.

You needed both of them. 

“Sukuna, you bastard I know you hear me! Please! I beg you, come out! Please–” You sobbed desperately, touching foreheads with Yuuji.

It couldn’t end like this. It couldn’t. It couldn’t! Kami-sama, please–

“...I beg you... I will do anything, please, Sukuna, please...”

“I told you to not make promises you will regret later.”

You heard a rough and hoarse voice from below and felt a mere breath on your temple. Your head jerked up as your heart paused in your chest. You blinked your tears away, clearing your vision. Your eyes widened in joy when you saw four red eyes slowly opening to look at you.

Sukuna coughed the blood from his lungs and groaned, carefully eyeing his wounded body. Such a pool of blood and guts. Unbelievable.

“Fuck, that’s pathetic–” Sukuna was not able to finish his complaint because you let out a sob in relief and hugged him tightly, keeping him close.

For a moment, you felt him tense and then he let out a deep sigh. His clawed hand came up to gently squeeze your forearm.

“Shh, don’t cry, runt. You will get your snoot all over me...” He murmured quietly as if offended but you knew him better. Even now, in such a miserable situation, he tried to soothe you first. You couldn’t help but chuckle weakly at that, sniffing more. You felt him smiling against your temple as you kept hugging him.

The warmth was getting back into his body.

There it was, your silver lining. The reward for being persistent, for believing in his return. The cold blood around your entwined bodies stopped bothering you.

Megumi and Nobara were more than grateful and relieved that Sukuna indeed had appeared. They watched with slight fascination as red tendrils started to mend and knit Yuuji’s fatal wounds, making his body whole again.

Within a few minutes, Sukuna was able to sit up properly and move his legs. You reluctantly let go of him but stayed close to his side still, relieved and happy yet surprisingly tired. You had to lean on your shaky hands to not collapse here and there as you tried to shake it off.

Sukuna didn’t miss it, he knew what was that. He had seen such symptoms before.

“Adrenaline wore off, huh?” The King asked with a soft voice and smirked when you unconsciously leaned towards him. “You think you can handle that for a little while longer?” He asked as he gently petted your head.

You sniffed weakly and nodded, looking at him with still teary but relieved eyes. You didn’t say a word. You know you didn’t have to. The look on your smiling face was enough for an answer for him.

All that matters for you was the fact that they were back. They were truly back.

Sukuna let out a soft sigh at you and then focused on Megumi and Nobara, eyeing them carefully, looking for potential wounds.

“What about you? Are you ok, brats?” He asked them casually.

Nobara seemed genuinely surprised that Sukuna showed a slight concern over their state. That was unusual... but not completely unwelcome. Oh the other hand, Megumi seemed to be unaffected (since he got used to King’s sweet nothings) as he sighed and nodded.

“Sure, could be worse.” Megumi responded and couldn’t help but smile a little, secretly happy to see Sukuna saving the day – and not only the day.

As far as he was grateful for Sukuna’s ‘miracle’, Megumi started wondering how Yuuji was handling it. He had a feeling his friend wasn’t feeling good right now, knowing how he took his failures deep into his heart.

Sukuna didn’t miss Megumi’s secret smile nor did he miss his thoughts. The demon wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t tease his favourite shaman a little bit longer. The King hummed as if concerned, eyeing a few of the boy’s wounds.

“Oh, Megibae, you don’t have to be so humble. If you need healing, just say. You know I would be more than happy to kiss you~”

Ah, there was back the flirting, at such proper time. Well done, bravo.

Megumi’s good mood immediately dispersed as he furrowed his brows, eyeing Sukuna with pure disgust. The boy was clearly offended, even more than usual, just because his friends had to witness such nasties.

“Who are you calling Megibae and no, gross, fuck off.” Megumi retorted briefly, huffing as he focused on a nearby building.

“Aww, playing the cold card again. You’re awful, Megumi-chan...” Sukuna almost whined and pouted, playing the broken one – as if he did nothing wrong and such a tsundere side of Megumi backfired at him unnecessarily.

On the other hand, Nobara and you easily got the reference and couldn’t help but snort a little at Sukuna’s bad joke. Even if it was rather inappropriate, it helped you all release some tension. You involuntary blushed as well, recalling the past events. After all, it was you that had been healed first by Sukuna’s kiss–

“Look, you’re making her embarrassed. Cut it off if you don’t want y/n to be jealous.” Megumi pointed at you, immediately making you exposed.

“Don’t drag me into that now...” You murmured to Megumi and pouted. Sukuna obviously didn’t miss your blush. He hummed, looking rather pleased with that reaction of yours.

“Y/n would be jealous? Nonsense. I can have you both~” Sukuna teased more, making Megumi facepalm himself. On the other hand, Nobara was poorly hiding her snickering.

“I don’t remember agreeing to polyrelationship, especially with you.” Megumi said sternly, hoping Sukuna would finally let him win.

“Soo, you’re not against polyrelationship in general, hm?” Ah, right, Sukuna leaving Megumi alone? Such a pipe dream.

Megumi sighed deeply, loudly, obviously done with King’s teasing.

“Let’s just wait for Na–” The young shaman tried to change the subject but, once again, he was interrupted by another wave of low-level curses. They burst from another building, gathering in the air and hissing angrily.

What the hell was going on? Someone was playing Portal-trick or what?

Your friends and you immediately were hit by the second dose of adrenaline, getting ready to fight. Nobara cursed aloud, Megumi spit some of his blood on the ground while you shifted in front of Sukuna. This time you wouldn’t fail. This time you would protect them. After all, you owe Yuuji something. You too didn’t want to see them getting hurt again.

Just because you were focused on curses, you missed Sukuna’s reaction. At first, he blinked in surprise and then his eyes widened at such a genuine gesture from you. You, the small human, were protecting him, the King of curses. Sukuna couldn’t help but smirk, feeling both amused and touched.

He would love to linger at that moment, watch that determined face of yours, listen to your heartbeat, your blood being pumped in your veins–

...but then his mood was spoiled immediately by the multiply screeching from curses.

“I’m getting so tired of it.” Sukuna growled quietly, eyeing the mindless beasts with his four, glowing eyes. He decided to end it quickly. Mahito had done enough for today, it was time to show who owned the playground.

The King grabbed your hand, firmly but not harshly as he urged you to sit between his legs. Then, he pulled your head to his chest, rumbling lowly.

“S-Sukuna, wait–” You squeaked when your cheek bumped into his chest. You heard him snort in amusement as his fingers gently brushed over your nape. He let out a lingering purr as if trying to soothe you, to put your guard down.

“That was adorable of you to get ready to protect us but let the King take care of this mess.” You heard his low, soft voice towards you... and then he rumbled dangerously at the nearby curse that seemed to be getting closer to your group.

You involuntary tensed, still alerted and tried to look up at Sukuna. You didn’t have such a chance because of his hand that gently wrapped around the back of your head, holding you close to his chest.

“Shh, don’t look. It won’t be an appropriate view for such a little Angel like you...”

You heard his hushed voice close to your temple. You could only nod before your body went stiff at the sudden energy coming out from him. The energy that was so vicious and murderous it almost sucked out the life from all of you around. Sukuna growled again– no, it was far, far from his playful or annoyed growls you had heard from him before.

The King literally snarled, sounding so animalistic, so beastly and full of rage.

You involuntary gasped and curled more into him. You felt his popped-out veins under your fingers, pumping the blood and cursed energy all around his cursed body. You felt the low rumbling coming out from his chest and you could tell without looking his teeth were bared and sharp–

At that very moment, you truly felt like a mouse trapped under a tiger’s paw.

...and yet, you weren’t scared. Despite being curled into the most murderous curse in the world, your soul was calm. You felt his hand gently playing with your hair as if distracting you, soothing you even if his claws were getting heavier, longer, sharper, deadlier.

“Get ready, Megumi.”

You heard Sukuna’s order and Megumi’s short “yeah”. Getting curious, you peeked aside to see Megumi holding (clearly confused and asking questions) Nobara and almost hiding her in his jacket, as if protecting her the same way Sukuna was doing with you.

You sensed King’s other arm slowly raising, his energy literally buzzing around your body–

...and then you heard the wailing screams of curses.

You could only imagine what Sukuna was doing to them, how petrifying and horrifying it was. You could almost hear the splattering blood and shreds of bodies falling all around, the cracking of the fire that was burning the curses alive–

You involuntary shivered, closing your eyes as you pressed your face into his neck. Sukuna rumbled at that and you felt his chin resting on top of your head as if assuring you that you were completely safe with him. You obviously knew it, otherwise, you would try to push him away or beg him to stop. As much as you felt protected and safe, that day was already overwhelming for you, making you more than just sensitive to everything that was happening around you.

That was why you allowed yourself to wrap your arms around his torso, gently but firmly clinging to him. You tried to switch yourself off from the reality and all the scary noises around you as you focused on his strong heartbeat instead.

Soon, you felt his arm wrapping around you too, holding you close. You couldn’t help but smile a little as you let out a soft shaky sigh. You kept your eyes closed and your head low. You had enough of your haunting nightmares to add more from reality to your collection.

You didn’t know how long it lasted but soon everything went quiet... unbearably quiet.

You were still clinging to Sukuna’s body and you were unaware you had been shaking for a while. You instinctively tensed when you felt another arm gently yet firmly wrapping around you. The King let out a small purr to calm you down and you let out a deep, heavy breath, unaware you had been holding yourself for a while now.

“Atta girl, in and out. Mimick my breathing.” You heard Sukuna’s soft whisper and you nod, trying to breathe properly, grateful for having him by your side.

It seemed to be over and you allowed yourself to linger into the safety that the King of Curses was providing you.

Oh, sweet irony.

As soon as the inhuman screams and roars died out, Megumi slowly and carefully looked around. Nobara, still being tense yet stubborn and determined, peeked out. She shivered as her eyes widened, seeing the true debris that was left from the buildings (the nests) and the curses all around.

The girl let out a groan, smelling the blood and dust in the air, almost feeling dirty from the mess around even if she remained clean. Despite her tough personality, her knees become weak. It was too much for her... even if she had seen a lot, this atrocity was too much.

Megumi immediately sensed her distress and helped her sit down, allowing her to catch a breath. He remained calm and focused, almost untouched. After all, he got used to all of it – to Sukuna’s raw power, to his fury and the massive ruins around the King’s ‘playground’. The young shaman wasn’t surprised since he had been fighting shoulder to shoulder with Sukuna for a month. He had seen a lot... but that day Megumi would remember as the bloodiest one.

The young shaman looked aside, seeing Sukuna holding to you tightly. He thought Sukuna would look smug and proud... yet, Megumi was surprised with Sukuna looking rather melancholic.

Was it because of you since you were put in suffering after having witnessed Yuuji’s death?

...or perhaps because of Yuuji who had lost control and let them be ‘killed’? Only Sukuna knew.

Megumi blinked wake from his thoughts as he saw Sukuna’s hand raising again, pointing past him. The young shaman involuntary shivered, feeling himself at gunpoint, and then he saw Sukuna’s claws flick in the air–

...only to hear the rumble behind.

Megumi turned around abruptly, seeing the top of one of the farther buildings being sliced and then collapsing.

“Wha... What was that for?” The boy asked, clearly confused.

“A warning.” Sukuna responded casually and his hand returned to wrap around you.

Megumi’s brows furrowed in thought. What did Sukuna try to hide this time? What did he see? Did he just prevent another ambush or–

Megumi’s eyes widened as he realized something.

If that was a warning... who for? More curses? The boy doubted since the King had literally cleared the ground within a kilometre. Not even a special grade curse would dare to come out and face him after that.

Was it for the master behind that mess? Probably. Was it Mahito then? That would be more than just correct. After all, no one else could be as persistent to make their life a misery as Mahito.

Megumi had a theory that Mahito had been watching your group since that memorable day, when he had met with you, awakening the nightmares in your soul anew. Moreover, he was almost sure that the albino curses belonged to the curse too as he kept sending them to the King – like sheep that would be led to a slaughter caused by a hungry wolf.

...but why? What for? This thing Megumi couldn’t figure out since he knew he was missing something important, something that was hidden right in front of his eyes–

Megumi was lost in his thoughts. No wonder he missed four eyes watching him intently. A smirk appeared on Sukuna’s face.

Clever little raven– 

Loud running steps made all of you look to the left. Instincts tell you to get ready, but as soon as you saw who it was, you all breathed in relief.

“Sensei!” Nobara called at Nanami who finally got to them, clearly tensed and short of breath.

At first, the man glanced at Megumi and Nobara – good, the kids were in one shape. Then, he quickly looked around, pausing at the view of the post-massacre. Megumi had called him you were ready to start a real fight... Was all of it your creation then? He quickly searched for you, finding you safe and sound... right in Sukuna’s arms.

Ah, there he was. The true culprit of that debris.

“You’re late, shaman.” Nanami blinked in surprise at King’s low yet not heated voice. The man focused on the curse who was hugging you close. His smaller eyes seemed to be watching you while the main ones focused on the shaman, piercing him with bloody red irises.

For a second, Nanami felt exposed, as if the King looked through his mind and soul.

“The kids are safe but I thought you were around.” Sukuna admitted and Nanami felt judged.

Indeed, he was supposed to be around... but the elders stopped him at school and he couldn’t get there on time–

Sukuna growled lowly, dangerously and Nanami eyed him briefly, his brows furrowed. What was that for?

...and then it clicked in Nanami as he realised his mistake, though, it was too late. He had let Sukuna read him. He had let Sukuna have a peek into his head. No wonder the King understood him without further questions.

“Cowards. Good-for-nothing old cowards.” Sukuna murmured more to himself than to Nanami and the shaman realized the King was speaking of elders. The man sighed quietly and fixed his glasses.

Nanami was more than certain that Sukuna must have heard his conversation with Yuuji... or that the King had been aware of his presence since the beginning but was ‘polite’ enough to not intervene and blow his cover right in front of his students.

Nanami had enough of Gojou being on his back later, he didn’t need to break his students’ trust even if he had been doing that for their safety, for – as he believed – the greater good.

“You saved them, right?” Nanami asked and Sukuna only snorted, as if offended, furrowing his brows. He didn’t have to answer. He believed his non-verbal reaction would be enough for a response.

After all, once again the shamans had to rely on his power, the power of the King of Curses. What a low blow was it for the jujutsu world? How pathetic shamans were to even dare–

“Thank you.”

Sukuna’s body paused at such unexpected words and his eyes widened. What was that? He slowly looked up at Nanami, believing he had misheard it. The shaman was thanking him, the curse? The world had to be ending soon.

The King eyed the man again, reading him easily. Apparently, it wasn’t a sick joke nor a mock from the shaman. They were genuine words. How strange.

Sukuna didn’t know what to say. To be honest, he didn’t need to say anything. He was the King of Curses, why would he even explain himself or question the shaman?

Ridiculous. 

The curse only huffed and nodded slowly – it was enough for Nanami who nodded too.

There it was, a mutual understanding. Nothing more to do or say.

Meanwhile, sensing no more danger around and seeing your teacher having arrived here, you started to feel exhausted. After a pure trauma you had witnessed, you just allowed yourself to be held by Sukuna. You were close to falling asleep, knowing you would be safe but then you felt the King leaning into you. His hand rubbed on your back, waking you up a bit.

“I will switch with Yuuji now, ok? He needs you, very much...” Sukuna whispered to you and you involuntary tensed, looking up with big eyes. Right, Yuuji. If he didn’t go out till now, he must have felt ashamed and preferred to stay inside. Unnecessary.

“Yes, please. I want to see him.” You whispered, your voice surprisingly calm. You truly wanted to face him... even if you were getting anxious he wouldn’t like to face you after his failure.

“Ah, as always, thank you, for everything.” You added quickly and smiled softly at Sukuna. He hummed, his eyes watched you still, trying to read you. His clawed fingers gently caressed your cheek. He must have sensed your anxiety because he touched foreheads with you.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you. Both of you.” He whispered and you nodded slowly. Somehow his words calmed you a bit as you put your hand over his, nuzzling into his palm.

No matter how grateful you were and how much you already owed to Sukuna, you knew you needed to see Yuuji.

You closed your eyes, trying hard to keep yourself collected. You sensed the cursed energy shifting and dispersing and then the hand, that had been holding your cheek with softness, suddenly tensed.

You opened your eyes slowly and looked at Yuuji, meeting with his honey eyes full of light.

“Y/n–” You heard his hoarse voice, you spotted tears gathering in his eyes.

You believed you would be calm and happy, welcome him properly–

...but you snapped, behaving like a kid that found his sunshine back. You let out a broken cry as you threw yourself at your (alive) boyfriend, hugging him tightly.

You felt him tense at first but then he wrapped around you too, holding you close to his moving up and down chest. Both of you started shaking and crying, saying sorries over and over again as you clung to each other, not believing you were lucky enough to be able to see again.

Megumi and Nobara sighed in relief, more than happy to see Yuuji alive. Meanwhile, Nanami eyed the battlefield, not missing anything. His brows furrowed as he fixed his glasses, his nose wrinkled at the smell of blood and dust all around.

The King’s playground was truly nothing else but a true art of wrath.