Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“What have you done to me!” Thank the heavens they live in a small house within the countryside, as the roar of the man older than appearances show him to be, the crimson flecks on Golden Sunset eyes flare with untold power. Untold power that he cannot for the life of himself truly access. “You foul son of a bi–”

“Congratulations, Jin.” The woman, in appearance only, the visage of this being changes every century or so. “We have a beautiful healthy baby boy.”

“You enchained my soul for your own experimentation! Count your blessings. I have no ability to reach my Power, something of which I don’t doubt you played a part in binding as well.”

“Well, we couldn’t have our happy little family of three if you did, now could we?” A sinister smile curls over the beast's features and the mere sight of it alone causes the infant in Its arms to wail enough that Jin is quick to scoop him away from the Bitch. “History only remembers your Brother, dearest Jin, but I know better. The genes you two carry must be so very dominant. Our Yuuji looks just like his dearest Chichi and Oji, doesn’t he?”

….

It happens so suddenly and with no forewarning that the only one to truly do anything is the spiteful parasitic Curse that played perhaps a decent sized role in the outcome that was given. 

Perhaps Sukuna was so perturbed by the turn of events because he never truly thought he’d see the brat actually give up . 

Itadori Yuuji was perhaps the most dangerous individual in this entire establishment. To himself . The child had nothing and no one, a fact the King absolutely delighted in throwing back in his face every chance he’d had with no reason to refrain from doing so, an outcast among both worlds due to his status as an Orphan in one and his Vessel in the other. What made the kid so very dangerous was the fact no one truly knew he was shattering right before their very eyes, one glance at the brat and you’d think he was perfectly fine, nothing lurking in the shadows of his ever sunny smile. 

There’s something about harboring the knowledge that you are the reason that someone tried to end their own existence while also being the reason they did not succeed in that endeavor either. It’s a heavy weight that Sukuna carries the burden of. Being his Vessel made the kid immune to poisons and physical illness. It did not make him immune to modern medicine . It was not by being Sukuna’s Vessel that the child didn’t perish as he so wanted to in the dark hours of the night after downing a secret container of various unknown medications he managed to amass from various undisclosed sources.

Despite what he may claim, the Curse is very attuned to the boy who contained him, his mannerisms and daily habits. Sukuna would have attributed it to the sole reason that another Vessel being found that can properly fit his Soul was next to impossible. 

The exact reasoning for why he physically intervened that night is his business and his alone .

…..

“It’s not wrong, I suppose,” Jin aids the child in learning to walk. “You do look just like your Oji and I.” Yuuji giggles as he stumbles over his kimono but ultimately keeps the tears to himself and huffs as he pushes himself to his feet once more, Jin was born in a different time, he dressed his child as he’d have done in his period. “You definitely have your Oji’s determination.”

….

“What in all that is holy are you thinking, kid!” Sukuna can honestly say not once had he ever entertained the notion of shoving his fingers down some pesky urchin's throat to irritate the natural gag reflex to the point of regurgitating the contents of one’s stomach was an act he foresaw himself partaking in. “Cough them up, you hear me brat, you cough them all up right now !”

It had only been because of the brat’s lack of exuberance that the King had peeked out to see the cause for such silence in time to catch the sight of well over thirty various colored tablets and capsules being thrown into the teenager’s mouth followed quickly by a gulp of water to wash them all down. 

Sukuna has never yanked the child into his Domain quite as fast as he had in that precise moment. Modern medicine still has a length of time before it activates within the body, the fight the child puts up against him is sluggish at best, he gives it that much credit because of his generosity, it’s akin to combat with an infant. Yuuji’s attempt at committing Suicide is sudden and direct. 

Though he tries to keep from asserting too much force, the splash that’s created when he sweeps the boy off his feet and lays him flat on his back is still decent in height, Sukuna can’t explain it but the thought of losing the brat now despite his claims to the contrary leaves a foul residue in his mind.

“You don’t get to check out so soon, you brat, not this young! Not when you’ve still so much –” 

No one outside of the two of them has to know of the Curse yanking the kid back against his chest as he shoves his fingers down his throat. Little Itadori gags around them, stomach lurching in the form of a full body shudder, Sukuna reaches his fingers out to the back of the child’s throat just a few slivers more, the tips of his fingers brush the uvula, and the child retches . 

Yuuji gags wetly, stomach rolling in an uncomfortable fashion, and tears pour from his eyes as he empties what little there is in his belly into the waters before him. One retch produces remnants of a snack, water, and stomach bile. A second brings with it mushy colorful remnants of the drastic turn this particular night took without warning. The third mixes with a broken sob, Sukuna adjusts his grip around the boy’s waist, pulling him closer, mind racing as the child retches until nothing’s left to bring up. Leaving them both sitting in a shallow pool of red tinted waters and fresh vomit piled just before them. 

The little one just wails. Soul wrenching sobs echo through the silence of his Domain, he loved tormenting the child, obviously he did, but this was too much. Yuuji doesn’t offer any figments of resistance, the tale signs of a fight for escaping his arms, simply hanging limp against his embrace as he crumbles in a far too physical sense. 

….

“Chichi! Chichi! Will you tell me another story!” Jin scoops the excitable child up once close enough, tossing him above his head to the sound of his shrieks of laughter, before ultimately cradling him in his arms. “Can you please?”

The old soul chuckles softly. “Another story of your Oji?” He settles them on the armchair in the living room. “Let’s see, your Oji was born with a condition called polymelia, he had four arms. Four hands.”

“Was he really good at giving hugs, Chichi?” The child leans in closer. “Oji sounds like he’d be good at giving hugs!” 

“Well, not that he’d ever admit it, especially as he is now. But, Sukuna gave amazing hugs. He looked scary but he was a playful gentle giant.” Jin smiles mischievously. “He'd be able to cradle you in a single hand and–” Yuuji squeals when fingers spider over his tummy. “Give you a good tickle!”

…..

“It’ll be okay, little one, you’ll be okay.” To hear such assurances falling from his lips even brings Sukuna to blink at the sudden absurdity of it, he doesn’t refute them in immediate order, ever adaptable to the environment he’s placed in the Curse just runs with it. “We’ll figure it out. Find a way to coexist in a semblance of peace. It’ll be alright .” There's the calm that comes after an emotional outburst due to the sense of release being met and there’s the calm that comes when someone just has no more tears to shed. Yuuji’s calm is eerily the latter . The boy has, for lack of better term, metaphorically stepped out. Obviously, Sukuna is very much aware that the child is present, he’s got the brat resting against his chest within his arms, his eyes are focused on his far too blank expression . “Just rest, you’ve not slept properly in weeks ,” pointedly the part that’s skillfully left out in that statement is the reason why sleep has been so very hard to come by. “Rest for a while. Get some sleep. I promise you’ll sleep dreamlessly. Close your eyes and rest .”

….

“Don’t let your mother fill your head with nonsense, my Little Cub.” Jin smiles as the boy slowly rises to stand on his thighs, little fingers, the tiniest he’s ever seen in his entire life, curled tight around his as he aids the boy in standing. “Your Oji can be just as cranky as you are when you miss your nap, but he wouldn’t harm you, I believe with my entire Soul that Sukuna would find you dear to him.” Yuuji smiles up at him, a mouth of sparse teeth, and he can’t help but return the gesture. “I am sorry, My Cub, my time with you is coming to an end. When the time comes, you will meet him, and when you do he’ll know who you are.”

….

They sit there, in that spot, in that same position for an endless stretch of time. The Vessel does slowly succumb to exhaustion. Sukuna waits even then after he realistically knows that the kid is fast asleep to ensure he really truly is before moving. Contemplating just when things seemingly changed for them as he carefully rises, grunting soundlessly at the shift of deadweight that is the sleeping teen in his arms, it’s a slight jostle as he secures his grip on the boy.

Yuuji’s head rolls, dropping to the Curse’s shoulder, passed out entirely. It brings him to a pause for exactly sixty seconds or so, breaks from that reverie in quick succession, and Sukuna continues on with his unconscious Vessel resting limp in his arms. 

He wonders if this is what shock feels like, it’s an emotion he’s not used to feeling from his end, his chest tinges more then he’d think it would with something some might refer to as concern. The boy is far too light, a lightweight to be burdened with as he takes the time to walk to his Throne as a means to think, to wrap his mind around what had just occurred and how he’d reacted to what had just occurred and what they meant for them going forward . It’s not like allowing the boy to kill himself would have set him back, Sukuna had enough power to take over the literal Vessel that would have been left to him free for the taking, no more restrictions, no fighting, nothing. So, the question as to why Sukuna choose to intervene to the degree as to get the child to regurgitate the concoction of Modern Day Medicine he’s slowly collected right under the noses of those who lived right there alone with him as a means of committing suicide, was left to be pondered on. 

Bending at the knee, now that they reside at the base of his Throne, Sukuna subconsciously as though from muscle memory pulls the child’s head closer to the crook of his shoulder. Not realizing in the action he’s nearly tucking the brat’s head under his chin, the Curse leaps for the top of his Seat, stuck in his own thoughts far too deeply to realize that he hasn’t sent the brat back yet. Hasn’t banished him from his domain yet. Cradled in his lap sleeps the boy who’s mess they’d left behind that’d simply vanished with a mere thought on the King’s part of things. 

No, as the minutes slowly grew longer, with him staring down at the sleeping child’s features. Cheeks flushed from the breakdown just moments ago, glazed with remnants of tears that had once rained from red-rimmed gold touched eyes, Sukuna unconsciously rubs the mess from the broken boy’s face with the bunched up sleeve of his kimono without even thinking the act through. Doesn’t even pass through his mind as a simple passing fancy before nor as neither after he does so. This was a broken child, he’s seen a great deal of broken people, been the cause of an even greater number of broken souls. But this one, Itadori Yuuji , was not broken by his hand. This was not his work. 

Itadori Yuuji has been cracking at the seams with a mastery of hiding it even from the one who lived within his own head far before they came to be together. Breaking piece by piece in silence until the perfect moment—He was already broken before Sukuna even came into the picture. 

No, there are no thoughts of how this changed things in their relationship going forward, because the answer was written in the experience only moments prior.

It changed everything.

….

Nobody ever assumed to be concerned over the notion of Sukuna taking advantage of little Itadori’s sleeping to take control over his body, it was a thought that had crossed the Curse’s mind quite a few times obviously, but a thought he’d never acted on until now. 

Saturo can honestly say, without hesitation, that opening his door to the incessant pounding of a fist upon the other side and coming to find himself gazing upon the body of his pupil covered in the intricate markings associated with only one Person in existence. Sukuna’s red eyes burn into his, uncovered in the middle of a sleep cycle broken by his constant pounding on his front door. 

“Su–”

“I won’t divulge the reasons for my demand for they are not mine to tell, so don’t ask, and with that out of the way we’re moving on .” The Sorcerer has enough reaction time to catch the fat cylindrical bottle he recognizes as those one garners from any normal pharmacy. The unusual thing, it has his student's name on the label, and the name of the medication prescribed to him, and this is the first time Gojo is even laying his eyes upon this vital piece of Medical Information. “Get those refilled, he has a shrink for them that he hasn’t seen since coming here, get him an appointment on the earliest date possible. Bride the man if you must, I don’t give any fucks about what you must do, get the…. child ….in to see him. There are two more under a pile of shit in the second drawer of his nightstand, I have limited time before he wakes and control is reclaimed, I know you used to house the Shadow Puppeteer and his sister here as children. Make up a room and move him into it.” Sukuna flinches for a pause. “Get that bottle and those other two refilled and move the kid into your spare room. He shouldn’t be alone. Don’t allow him to be alone .”

The white haired man seems to be able to put the pieces together, Lithium has been around for medicinal purposes for centuries, both men know what it’s used for. “Did he–”

“I won’t talk about what’s not my business to disclose.” Usually Sukuna is infuriated at having to repeat himself. But even his tone is one of someone who’s entire world has suddenly turned on its side. “Get those bottles refilled, him in to see that shrink, and kami keep him close but not close enough that you know the truth in those suspicions you hold that I will under no circumstance confirm.” 

He returns the boy’s body to his dorm for the rest of the night, that Gojo idiot would send people to check in on the kid every so many intervals through the night, Sukuna settles the boy’s body under his blankets with his head resting upon the pillow before releasing control. 

Returning to his Domain, he finds the child still sleeping, worn out from the battle he’d been fighting single handedly against himself. Curled up upon the seat of his throne of skulls. Sukuna inhales for a moment and sighs, leaning over to lift the boy in order for him to reclaim his seat, Yuuji would wake in his own body when his consciousness reawakened.

….

“Don’t dilute yourself, Jin, I told you that you mustn’t get attached to the boy. Once your purpose is fulfilled you are useless to me.”

“I will break these chains you’ve bound me with and when I do–”

“It’s been nearly three years, Dearest Husband, and yet you haven't managed so yet.”

“If you so much as harm a hair on his head–”

“What will you do to stop me, oh mighty King of Curse’s .”

…. 

Stepping into the familiar office with his teacher, apparent present guardian as well, the demon no one knows about in the back of his mind simply observing, Yuuji ducks his head because he’s the one who canceled all their weekly appointments while impersonating his Grandfather over the phone. No appointments meant no refills and no refills ended up with him breaking down and Sukuna of all persons shoving their fingers down his throat in an attempt to force him to vomit up his Pill Cocktail. 

Shame hits. Shame and anger. Because he failed and now people know.

“Uh…..”

Gojo curls an arm around his shoulders lightly as he leans in to take over the check in process for them. “I called a day ago, we’ve got an appointment with–”

“Shahroze, yes, I know. It’s good to see you again Yuu.” The receptionist recognized his students name immediately, placed him on hold for a total of perhaps a half minute, and returned with an appointment for them the very next day. Apparently Itadori’s doctor was highly concerned and moved around things in his personal calendar to ensure he saw him at the earliest time possible. The receptionist takes note of the boy’s glazed expression, Satoru knows she knows, and praises her professionalism for not commenting on the clear reason they had to garner such an emergency appointment scheduled as soon as possible. “I’ve sent your scripts to the pharmacy next door. Shahroze should be out in a few minutes, would you like to hold onto Shiba for your visit?”

His Sensei seems confused, but he nods like a broken child mere moments away from bursting into tears, leaning forward for the object with such a unique name. “Yes please.”

She reaches into her desk and withdraws a stuffed tiger, worn and well-loved, from what Gojo had understood over the phone his student has been coming to this particular doctor since he was young. Very young . Perhaps the tiger he clutched to his chest was his own. “There you go, sweetie, go take a seat and he’ll be right out.”

“Is that your stuffed toy, child?” Yuuji lives in a haze now but not so much that he doesn’t notice the difference in the ways Sukuna treats him now. So he nods. “I can tell. You must love it dearly. Who gave it to you?”

“My dad. I don’t remember him much. But he called me his Cub. So when we went to the store one day I saw it and asked him if we could get it because it was a Cub just like me. ”

“Quite an interesting choice in a term of endearment.”

The white haired man doesn’t need to ask to know that they’re speaking to each other when his student tilts his head like a confused…..cub. “Why?”

“The term used to describe a birthed curse is Cub. Interesting that your father would call you as such. Any other names of endearment?”

“He left when I was really young, just disappeared, like mom. Maybe four or something. All I really remember being called was Cub…. Sukuna can I ask you something?”

The King of Curses hums in his mind. “You may.”

“Do you know what a Kamutoke is?”

There’s a brief inhale and Sukuna barely has time for rebuttal when the door to the waiting room opens and they’re taken back for their appointment. Though the inquiry, the knowledge that the child even knows of his–Sukuna is rendered completely speechless for a decent length in time. 

…..

“Yuuji, pay attention for a moment, all I need is a moment.” Jin smiles as he flutters his fingers over the boy’s chubby little tummy, the nearly four year old squeals with laughter and rolls back into Chichi’s lap, giggling as he peers up at him to show he has his attention as was requested. “Let me show you something, something only you can truly use to its fullest power, something you inherited from me by birthright.” Yuuji is immediately intrigued by the new thing Chichi holds out before him. “This, my little Cub, is called Kamutoke. Careful, careful, my beloved, it’s not a toy for you to play with.”

Jin watches closely as the boy takes his Cursed Tool, his Weapon of Power, from him with small itty bitty fingers. 

“Chichi, it feels like you.” Yuuji examines it closer, giggling at the gentle zaps of electricity his fingertips are met with, listening to the hums he hears just like the hums he hears when he presses his ears to Chichi’s chest. “It sounds like you.”

“It is me, Yuuji, in a way. It’s yours, when I go to the other world, it will be imprinted onto you. The Kamutoke will only ever respond properly to your command .” The almost four year old squeals, hugging the Weapon close to his chest, as Chichi wraps him up in a big snuggle. “I haven’t much longer with you. Use my Kamutoke to keep safe until you find your Oji.”

“Chichi?” Golden little orbs look up at him from his chest. “Where are you going?”

“Let’s not worry over that just yet,” Jin isn’t ignoring the truth drawing nearer with every day that passes. He just doesn’t know how to tell his three and three quarters year old son that soon his Chichi will be taken from him. “I see a tummy that needs Chichi’s proper attention, perhaps, my little Cub should be worried about that chubby tummy I’ve caught a glimpse of.”

…..

“How’ve you been, Yuu?” Shahroze asks once they’re in his office, seated comfortably, the manner in which the room is designed is with intention. Yuuji hugs his stuffed tiger closer. “I was quite happy when your guardian called to schedule an appointment. What’ve I missed while we’ve been apart?”

“My grandfather died.” The youth chose a bean bag purposefully, not wanting to sit by his Sensei, not wanting to be too close to anyone. “Why does everyone I love die?”

“They don’t wish too, Yuu, your grandfather and your parents grieve just as much as you are now with being forced to be apart from you.” When it becomes clear that the boy isn’t going to respond to any further verbal stimulus the man turns to the one who called with such haste. “What’s happened?”

“Child, where did you hear the term Kamutoke?”

“My dad. He kept saying it. Said one day it would be mine and the right person to teach me how to use it would come to walk my path with me. Is it some sort of, like, heirloom thing? Like a broach or something?”

“No, it couldn't be the farthest thing from a simple item of jewelry, Kamutoke is a weapon. A cursed tool. Your father mentioned such a thing on numerous occasions?”

“He said it was made to stand hand in hand with his brother’s. Don’t tell momma, he’d say, don’t tell momma we have a means to escape when he resurfaces.”

“His br–”

“ Itadori Jin was the one who brought little Yuu in to see me for the first time, he was around four or so, he was concerned for his mental well being. I don’t want to speak poorly of the deceased but he feared his wife was meddling with his thoughts.” Shahroze glances at the boy in the bean bag. “That woman was no mother, and I don’t mean that in a parental sense, and his father Jin was more than most assumed him to be.” Saturo feels something inside twist in a very uncomfortable manner. “After that visit, I didn’t see Yuu again for nearly a year, when he returned both his mother and papa were gone and he was in the care of his ailing grandfather. He didn’t speak a word to anyone about that timeframe. Still hasn’t.”

…..

Yuuji hides in the coat closet near the stairs, clutching Kamutoke to his chest, watching Chichi and Haha fight each other. 

“I told you not to grow attached!”

“Backing away now, are we retreating now that the chains have been severed.” Jin smacks his hands together before himself, an explosion echoes through the room, a staff of lightning extending in his clasped hands in the appearance of a bow staff with a sharp blade on the end. “You may jest when calling me my Brother’s rightfully earned Title, but you forget yourself,” they collide. Chichi and Haha meet in the middle of the room so fast Yuuji doesn’t even remember seeing them move, an explosion as weapons meet each other, lights flashing as Power Clashes. “Sukuna may have been declared King of Curses but that was not due to my insufficient Power to him. It was merely due to his appearance that he was subjected to cruelty even after death.” Chichi forces Haha back a step then another and another and Haha grimaces as she refuses to retreat another step. “We are and will forever remain the Strongest Curses ever known to Exist.”

“And yet, Sukuna still died, by my own hand no less.” Haha twists her own weapon of Power around and gains a hit on Chichi. “Indirectly it may have been. I bow to your Power but I still own everything about you. You were nothing but a pet needed for my experiment and you’ve done as I needed from you.”

Yuuji stares, eyes wide and unblinking, as Chichi slowly loses his standing. 

What happened next? 

He can’t remember. He won’t remember. 

The smile on Chichi’s face as his eyes drained of light when they met. Knowing he’d be okay. “Keep safe, my precious Cub, until he finds you.”

….

“I don’t think–”

“Yuu, why don’t you go grab a snack from the day room down the hall, I heard they had your favorites out today.” He definitely didn’t see to it that they did. “And some milk to wash the snack down.”

Anyone could see that it was a diversion tactic from a mile away, anyone but the boy in question, who merely hums and scrambles from his bean bag for the door at the thought of a snack.

“He hasn’t been eating, I can tell, I apologize. And there is no other way for me to say this with him here.” The good psych doctor releases a sweeping cursory wave of Energy that surprises the Sorcerer seated across from him. “I know who you are, Gojo Saturo and I know that Yuu is Host to Ryomen Sukuna. My output is so minimal I’m barely noticed. Jin was a good man with a good heart, a wonderful father who cherished little Yuuji to the ends of the earth, but he was no human himself. Just as Kaori wasn’t either. Something happened in that frame of time that Yuuji was the only one to lay witness to and he either can’t remember due to trauma or he refuses to speak on it due to the horror of it all.” So wrapped up in each other and the gravity of the private conversation they fail to notice– “Itadori Jin was born Centuries ago, and he was not an only child, Itadori Yuuji is Host to his Uncle .”

Yuuji doesn’t seem to hear the revelation but from the manner Sukuna’s energy bursts from him the King most certainly had . 

Seeing his patient captivated by his snack and stuffed tiger, Shahroze spares both Gojo and Sukuna a particular look as the slit under the boy’s right eye opens to join the conversation silently as to not disturb the boy. “For the best of all involved, we need to know what occurred in the timeframe he refuses to bring up, and he clearly won’t with me so I leave it to you and his Uncle to unravel.” He clicks on his calendar. “Yuu, I know it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, so I’ll cut this visit here. We’ll see each other again next Thursday at the same time as today. Be sure to take your medicine the way I’ve directed. For the time being I think it would be best if you stayed with Gojo and we can discuss any changes in the arrangements in six sessions from now.”

For the first time since arriving in the actual office, Yuuji looks up, tiger still hugged close to his chest and speaks concisely without any form of confusion. “Can Oji stay with me too?” A bit of a glimpse in the knowledge he gained in that time he disappeared before resurfacing with not a word to speak. “I want Oji to stay too.”

Saturo is still trying to wrap his mind around it all but he’s nothing if not indulgent. “Of course your Uncle can stay with us.”

On his part, Sukuna takes the revelation surprisingly well. “I’ll be at your side the entire time…Little Nephew.”

…..

“Dearest Brother.”

Sukuna was still attempting to wrap his mind around the family he retained at the sudden intrusion of the voice. “Jin?”

“Watch over my son, I beg of you, as a final favor to your Other Half. He has my Kamutoke. Teach and guide him.”

“The things I’ve done–”

“And the things that can still be changed. Raise him as your own, Sukuna, I’ve been watching over him as much as I can but my strength dwindles faster and faster. Protect and Guide my son, your Nephew,” a soft discorporeal chuckle. “He has your laugh.” Sukuna raises an eyebrow at the last remnants of his Brother’s voice. “He reminded me so much of his Uncle. Perhaps you’ll disagree, but when he really gets going, he has your laugh. Your True laugh.” 

“I will see if this be true for myself.” Sukuna feels his Twins essence fading ever quicker and his chest aches at its loss. “Your son, my Nephew, he will be safe in my care, dear Jin. That I vow to you.”

Another chuckle. Breathy. Fading with the wind. “I know.” The silence after is a long stretch of time that leads him to think his brother has finally left his side never to return. “....Thank….You…..Brother…….”

Chapter Text

“Chichi, do you really think Oji would like me like you always say he would?”

Jin smiles as the boy, so young but so wise beyond his years, sealed to a fate that would test the resolve of his very Spirit. But all in due time. This was the time they still had together and he’d not waste a single moment of it.

“Your Oji would without a doubt adore you, My Cub, he always had a soft spot for the children who’d happen upon our home.” Finishing his braid of the child’s long salmon hair, he flops down next to him on the couch, scooping him up into his lap without warning or preamble. His reward is a fit of giggles. “Sukuna was seen as an omen among the village we were born to, when old enough our parents–your grandparents–forced him to leave. I suppose they hadn’t considered I’d take my leave with him.”

Not quite as large as his Brother was, Jin was no average sized man either, able to cradle the small child in one arm with ease. “He had four arms, four hands, twenty fingers….” Yuuji squeals with laughter when Chichi’s fingers spider over his tummy mercilessly. “He’d cradle you in one single arm and tickle you with the remaining three hands he had.”

Moving in with Gojo Sensei also meant he was moved from his dorm to the man’s too. Fushiguro didn’t seem to understand the situation clearly enough but understood well enough to simply nod in acknowledgement as he stepped in to assist in boxing his things up. 

If he saw the drawer with his secret stash of ‘not to healthy self-soothing’ tools he never spoke a word of them. Yuuji never found them again, he supposes his classmate gave the box of items to Gojo when he was otherwise distracted, medication did not make the problem simply disappear. It wasn’t a cure. What it did was make the affliction that was life long easier to manage. 

Sharoze had given him something new, for the time being, Yuuji can’t remember feeling this sleepy and docile when it wasn’t directly by his hand. 

Don’t poke a sleepy bear.

Nobara joined at some point, as did some of the Second Years, going by his directions as to not touch items he didn’t want other hands to touch. Itadori Yuuji doesn’t have a lot physically left to remember his departed Chichi by, a small old cigar box he’d snuck from Jiji to hide his stash in. Realistically, Yuuji knows she meant no harm by it, simply wanted to help him move as quick as they could considering he appeared as though he was about to discover it he truly could fall asleep standing.

His female team member touches the box, lifts it from his bed with her nasty filthy hands, an innocent act even though he’s said not to touch it. 

But that’s his box. His memories. That’s his and he told everyone who came to help not to fucking touch it.

It’s a surge of Cursed Energy that has the staff congregating on the first year’s dorm, with the power and strength of the King of Curses himself, though distinctly not his in origin. “I told you not to touch my fucking box!” The teen feels the King stand from his throne in complete disbelief as he throws a hand out, a spark ripples through the air like that of a small contained bolt of lightning, fingers curling around something far too physical. “You touched it with your nasty disgusting hands–”

“What the hell!” She drops the box with haste, and backs away when her classmate, clearly not in a pleasant frame of mind, advances with this new unknown weapon in hand. “Idiot, I was just helpin–

“Now, now, let’s not do anything rash.” Gojo doesn’t so much as attempt to take the Kamutoke from his clearly unstable student, it was bound with his Soul, there was only one other who could confiscate it without any true threat of harm befalling them. “Sukuna, a little help here would be much appreciated.”

“You got that sedative stick that woman gave you on hand?” A mouth appears on the pinkette’s cheek. “Despite his present state he’s still quite strong. I can’t do much as it stands now.”

“Right here!” It should be alarming at how cordial the two are being, but it clearly revolved around their unwell friend, so opting to keep a closer eye they rest assured that their Sensei seems to have a semblance of comfort in allowing what happens next. “And, slight poke Yuu, out for the count.”

In slow motion their classmate's body starts to fall over, until black markings paint over his skin and he straightens once more, more interested in the weapon in hand then anything. “So there is truth in their words. Jin did bind the boy’s Soul with his Kamutoke.” Sukuna twirls the weapon around with great skill. “The child’s quite upset right now, even as sedated as he is, whatever that box contains is to remain within his knowledge and his alone.” They scramble away as the King of Curses turns promptly for the aforementioned container. “Let’s see what has him so protective of it, hmm.” Promptly ignoring the rest. “If I desire to see what resides in my own nephew's most protected box, I will do so–” The expression of awe that lights his own features when enough voltage meets his reaching fingers that he’s jumping away from it involuntarily. “Well, I’ll be damned.” 

“Chichi, coast is clear!” Yuuji scurries from the doorway of his bedroom to his little bed, where Jin is resting, appears to be resting. With the aid of a well placed hand he plops himself in his dad’s lap. “My secret box?”

“That’s right, your secret box, you must never take it out when your mother is home.” Jin reaches into the pockets of his sweater. “Remember what I told you about your Oji?”

“Yes. Oji was a stronger sorcerer who looked different so people said he was evil. They locked him in twenty fingers. We need twenty fingers so Oji can come back and live with us.” Close, but not quite, Jin hasn’t the heart to correct the child. “Now we have ten!”

“We have twelve.”

Yuuji leans back to peer up at him in confusion. “But I count only ten?”

Smiling, the father presses his lips to the boy’s temple. “You most certainly do. But remember what I said, there are two hidden one’s that only Chichi knows of.”

“Ooh! I forgot!” The little pinkette cuddles into his parent’s chest. “Do we gotta hide those from haha too?”

“We most definitely do.” Jin was not so obtuse to not know he is all a part of some plan set into motion that he truly had only one part to play in, but like his dear ‘wife’, he too can play his own games. “Those are our secrets too.”

As expected the box contains items clearly previously owned by the kid’s late father. Photos and trinkets. And, to the surprise of many, hidden under the photos and other memorabilia are ten fingers. “Out.” Their Sensei takes a decent moment to take in the new development of finding the cursed objects within his students room without any prior warning that they were even present to begin with. Gojo adored little Yuuji, so full of mysteries to be discovered, every day was turning into an unwitting treasure hunt. “Everyone but the teacher out .”

They wait until the door closes for privacy. Sukuna doesn’t trust these sorcerers as far as he can throw them, metaphorically of course, he could throw them all quite a distance. “I live in harmony with his soul, the ease to view any memory he has is within my grasp, so how the Brat manages to continue to keep things hidden from me is beyond my comprehension.”

“You didn’t know he had them?” Saturo doesn’t so much as touch the box but he does examine the contents as the Curse inhabiting his newly discovered Nephew’s Vessel lays them out on the once empty desk. “I was under the impression you could sense the whereabouts of your fingers.”

“So was I.” It goes unsaid how unsettling the Elder’s tone is. “There are many things the child does remember but opts into feigning ignorance of or as stated previously but chooses to forget.” Ten fingers laid side by side upon the desk. Photos follow soon after. Some are modern in appearance, though, closer observation notes a rather distinct appearance alteration on what must be the kid’s mom. “The kid’s mother, at some point she had to have come close enough to death’s door to allow that parasite access to her body, notice the stark difference pertaining to the stitches not being there and then they are .” 

“What would be the significance?” Gojo Saturo will not be so vain as to assume even as The Strongest of this time that there remain things he does not know. 

When it comes to certain things within the Jujutsu Culture it’s best to turn to one's elders for true clarification. There was no one more suited as the Elder in this situation of knowledge seeking and clarification than Sukuna himself. His apparent change of nature to seemingly desire to look after his discovered direct kin in the form of a Nephew is to be taken advantage of in the notion that Sukuna has become more personable. Willing to talk without threat of violence. 

“In the Heian Era it was not unusual for Sorcerers to live long lives. There were many techniques used to prolong life. Some were more, for lack of better term, proper. And others not.” The Curse leans in to examine the photo in his hand closer. “There was one, what name he goes by in today’s age I do not know, but I knew him as Kenjaku. His technique for longevity involved removing his brain and transplanting it into the corpse of another. Disgusting. Even to me.” Sukuna sets the photo down and moves on to the next. The appearance of the woman between the photos before and after is apparent too. “I won’t kid you, I enjoyed the havoc I left in my wake, but even I had to acknowledge there are somethings that are not to be touched. Nature is to be left as it is. The Balance. He liked to experiment, last I had heard, after my death obviously so this is more rumor but I wouldn’t put it past him–he was attempting to make a crossbreed. Even managed to find a woman who gave birth to Curses. In my day they were referred to as Cursed Wombs.”

He does not like where his train of thought is taking him in regards to his poor student. “What are the requirements for his technique?”

“The specifics, I couldn’t tell you. He disgusted even me and I don’t intend for that to be a compliment.” Sukuna smiles faintly at the photo he peers down at of his Twin Brother cradling his newborn child, his Nephew, absorbing the utter adoration in his eyes for the boy who clearly held his entire heart and soul in his small hours old hands. “What I do know is very little, the person he possesses must have been a sorcerer themselves or wielded cursed energy to allow his to settle in gracefully.” A newspaper clipping, old and yellowing, of a fatal accident one stormy overcast evening. ‘Itadori Kaori rushed to General in critical condition with no news on the wellbeing of her unborn child at this time–’ All a tragic accident or an event staged for the future? “The body he chooses to inhabit must be, for lack of a term, recently deceased. There is a time constraint. It matters not the condition his new host is in , what matters is the time the body has been resting.”

The white haired man runs a hand over his face. “Do you think…”

“I have no doubt.” Sukuna nods, setting aside photo after photo, in these there is another boy. Hair the same color as the teen’s undercut. They have the same nose. “Was there anyone else when you came to take the boy into your keeping?” He shows the photo in question, the one that peeked his interest completely, of a dark haired child cradling a pink haired infant in his lap. “Another child?”

“No.” Gojo shakes his head. Taking the photograph being held out into his own keeping. “Just Yuuji and his late grandfather.”

“Then it appears our list of concerns has just grown. From appearance alone, I’d say he was successful in creating at least one of his Cursed Wombs, where the concern lies is on the whereabouts of that dark haired boy now. Curses are territorial, even a halfbreed would inherit that trait, if that older child is what I assume him to be, he would not have parted from our dear little one willingly .” The King of Curses takes stock of everything. “We need to access those memories.” The lineup he’s placed them in almost spells out an unspoken story. “Because something far larger and far darker is at play here. We cannot afford to be caught off guard.”

That sets the educator on edge. “How bad are we talking?”

“Bad enough that I am willing to set aside my personal feelings and align myself with you Sorcerers.” Sukuna grimaces. “Kenjaku saw life as a game that he would win. If these pictures show what I assume they are meant to, it means due to you holding my nephew’s favor you have me as your ally , for he is setting up the pawns for a war.” Straightening, the Cursed King turns to the boy’s educator and guardian. “We cannot afford to wait for the child to reveal what he knows with time, if what I assume is at play we do not have that luxury, our best chance is to know what information Itadori Yuuji does possess as soon as possible.”

Not liking how it sounds, Saturo can recognize certain necessities too. “How?”

“The child, for only gods knows why, is comfortable within my domain. I can cast it over a space in your physical world. So long as he remains asleep, I can overpower the blocks he has put into place to secure those memories, it is the only way.”

“You’re saying we’re going to mindjack him?”

“Yes. And you will be there too, among a few others, because if we are going to war we need to know as much as we can beforehand. And whether I like it or not, the kid doesn’t just like you but he trusts you as well.” Then Sukuna grins. All teeth. “Between the two of us Gojo Saturo, we will bring the world to its knees, well the world that thinks to harm our common ground in the form of this boy.”

Gojo hates to agree with this but when one is backed into a corner one must do what they ordinarily would not. “Who else?”

“Fushiguro and Kugisaki of course. They are his partners. As well as Okkotsu Yuuta.”

The first two make sense but the last– “Why Yuuta?”

Sukuna tilts his head as though listening to words being spoken only for him to hear. “Because, our little one wants him to be there.”