water9826

Latest Posts by water9826

uncle/brother sukuna and little yuuji will always be my roman empire

sukuna: he didn't even help btw

viktor would absolutely know all the fnaf songs by heart

yeah so i had to draw that

the absolute chaos we could have had 😭

wish we could've seen more of these three together ;_;

Last Song: Goodbye from Arcane (Specifically a version made my Samuel Kim who does AWESOME orchestral music. Love listening to him when I’m writing intense scenes!)

Favorite Color: Red! Purple is a close seconds, but red is my OG favorite. The shades of red I like the most are definitely burgundy, crimson, and ruby!

Last Book: The Odyssey by Homer (I love Greek Mythology sm. And listening to Epic the Musical has only made it worse lmao)

Last Movie: Hell House LLC from 2015 (I never watch horror movies but my friends wanted to see something spooky. I got jumpscared sm 💀)

Last TV Show: Arcane Season Two (I will never recover…)

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: I have a HUGE sweet tooth so definitely the Sweet option. Brownie Brittle and Dark Chocolate are my biggest weaknesses 😭

Relationship Status: Single! Never dated and not interested in dating anytime soon, but a QPR would be nice :,)

Current Obsession: Writing too many fanfics…so many ideas for stories about JJK, HTTYD, Hazbin Hotel, and now Arcane bc it’s PEAK. I already have plenty of fics I’m working on but the pile keeps growing!!!

Looking forward to: GETTING A BETTER LAPTOP! The one I’ve been using for years just broke a week ago for the second time and I’m losing it. Besides that, I’m super excited to see Sonic 3! I’ve always known about Sonic but I never really got into it until I started watching Snapcube’s Sonic Fandubs! Now I’m hooked and love the little blue menace (Sonic Prime is so good) Besides that, I’m glad for the holidays so I can finally see my siblings again and I can stay inside more often to write!

(Absolutely No Pressure!) Tagging: @pineapple-cowboy @mwentallyunwell (we’re not mutuals but I think you guys are awesome: @drawbauchery @adyophene @knightfire) @belladonazeppole (you leave such nice comments on my Deer’s Darling Series!)

Tagged By: @n0bluev (thank you so much dearie!!!)

Happy Holidays Everyone! ❤️

Ten People I'd Like to Get to Know Better

Tagged by @daydreamerwonderkid

Last song: String Quintet #5: Minuet in E Op 11/5 G 275 by Luigi Boccherini (I had the classical station on in the car)

Favorite color: Orange

Last Book: To Shape A Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

Last movie: MST3K: Boggy Creek II (because it's tradition when I visit my family for my sister to fall asleep in the recliner while we watch MST3K)

Last TV show: M*A*S*H

Sweet/savory/spicy: SOUR. Or I guess sweet? But I love sour stuff. Pickled foods my beloved.

Relationship status: lol

Last thing I googled: black cat plushie (to show my friend the one I have that I mistake for my actual black cat at least once a month)

Current obsession: Forever Batfam. Almost free to lose myself in Venom!Steph AU, but not quite. Been watching a bunch of deep sea videos again, too.

Looking forward to: I have the day off tomorrow and I'm going to clean my kitchen and read a book!

No pressure tags @dangerousdan-dan @owlovo @sepia-stained-sunset @roseandgold137 @raan-miir-tah @dizaryswrites @spacemeowntain @cursedunicornofeast @your-dead-european-ancestor

Cursed Guardians (A JJK Fic)

AO3 Link

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“Do you hate humans, Sukuna?” The question escaped Ryomen’s mouth before he could think twice about his words. It had been a year since he had met Sukuna, and the thought had plagued him ever since.

With a piece of suspiciously-sourced meat in his mouth, the curse looked at him with a raised, unimpressed brow. His face irked Ryomen. They looked like twins, which only served to remind Ryomen of the reason why he had endured such torment. Two faces. That was what his name meant, and he finally realized that the second face was Sukuna. Two sides of the same coin. 

He hated it.

“Why would you ask me about such a useless topic?”

“Humor me.”

“...Alright. In truth, I cannot say that I hate humans. I simply hate what is weak. While a majority of humans do qualify as pitfully weak, there are a few notable ones that I cannot ignore. If one is strong, then I could care less about if they were human or not.”

Ryomen went silent for a long, long time. Then, he started to laugh. “I did not expect that. It seems that I’ve misjudged you.”

“How so?”

“I thought you were a monster that only craved power and bloodshed, but there is something else to you that I foolishly ignored.”

“It would not be the first time one thought of me as mindless. Tell me, what is this ‘grande epiphany’ you have gotten about me?”

“You’re kind. Far kinder than I could ever be.”

.

.

.

-

.

.

.

The worst part of Ryomen’s day was always waking up. 

Some said that new days brought new beginnings. Others said that new days brought new challenges. Ryomen believed neither. To him, a new day brought old memories. It sounded like a contradictory statement, but when this was your second life, it was easy to be reminded of things from your first one in every little thing. Simply waking up in a warm bed caused countless memories to resurface. Memories of him sleeping on dirt or straw, daydreaming of laying on something softer. Memories of him using a burlap sack as a blanket on his luckiest days. Memories of him begging for a place to rest during the worst of winter and being denied on every occasion. The fact that he now had a comfortable bed with soft sheets and fluffy blankets was still difficult to believe. He had been raised to survive, and no amount of time could take that instinct away. Even after one thousand years. There would always be a part of him that was prepared to return to the streets, that he should not become accustomed to living a comfortable life. That it would be taken from him soon enough and he’d be back to where he started. Starving. Cold. Hurt. And so, so alone.

“Dammit.” Ryomen whispered to himself, forcing his darkening thoughts to quiet. He pressed his palms into his eyes and sighed harshly. The day had barely started, yet he was already spiraling. With little grace, he took off the silk covers of his bed and stood up to head to his bathroom. Having a bathroom attached to one’s room seemed like the height of luxury to Ryomen when he first learned of it. Little did he know that plumbing and electricity was just the tip of the iceberg. The modern era was so advanced that Ryomen had a difficult time believing sorcery was not involved in some capacity. In truth, the only magic at play was human ingenuity. If he did not hate humans as much as he did, then he would have felt respect for them. 

He would never respect a human.

Technically, sorcerers were humans. The only difference is that they had inhuman abilities. It was still enough for Ryomen to separate the two. Humans and sorcerers were two different species in his mind. He hated both, but one of them was far worse in his eyes. 

It had been the human villagers who had scorned him, the villagers who had beat him, the villagers who had hated every fiber of his being.

So he would hate them in turn. 

The pink-haired man silently turned on the shower, hoping the noise would stop his thoughts all together. Ryomen knew he had a bad habit of overthinking. It was what he needed to do to live another day in the Heian Era. He had to think of every possibility and how to deal with it if he were to survive. Staying alert and aware kept him safe. While Ryomen knew he did not need such a mindset anymore, accepting it was far more difficult than acknowledging the problem. The modern world they lived in was not free of its dangers either. In fact, it was more dangerous than the Heian Era.  His old life had been dangerous because he was always at risk of dying from starvation, dehydration, or hypothermia. With Sukuna, things were much less risky from the power they wielded. Now, the one Ryomen treasured the most was in danger of being taken or killed by a monster named Kenjaku. Losing Yuuji once had broken Ryomen beyond repair. The only reason that he had continued to live after his death was due to Sukuna’s piecing him back together. If he lost Yuuji a second time, then there would not be anything left for even Sukuna to heal. 

Not caring if the water was too hot or cold, Ryomen abruptly stepped into the shower. Luck seemed to favor him for once as the water was a perfect temperature. A comforting warmth dripped down his back until the feeling of wet clothes broke him out of his reprieve. Oh. He had completely forgotten to undress. Fuck, I’m really out of it today. After he quickly discarded his sleepwear, Ryomen returned to the warm water with a soft sigh. Each droplet felt like bliss against his scarred back. It was a permanent reminder of the cruelty the villagers were capable of. The raised flesh bore the scars of brutal lashings, most of them were caused by a chain. The chain that had belonged to the farmer Ryomen had frequently stolen from. The same chain that Ryomen had welded into a makeshift weapon. Despite it being centuries since the injuries were inflicted, Ryomen’s scars would forever cause him great pain. Reverse cursed technique could do nothing against scars or phantom pains, so Ryomen knew he would have to live with it. Additionally, there was light scarring around the tattoos that circled his thighs and calves. In his youth, there had been other street urchins who he had to compete for resources with. They enjoyed tormenting him by slicing into the markings that labeled him as a blight amongst the village. Similar to painting over a bland wall, they had wanted to cover his unsightly markings with something better. Before they could cover the entirety of his markings with scars, Ryomen learned how to defend himself and give them scars of their own. Thankfully, the scars along the tattoos on his legs brought him no discomfort. Only Sukuna and himself knew of their existence as the black coloring of the tattoos hid the scars quite well. 

There had once been a time where Ryomen had been ashamed of his scars, but someone had made him realize the truth of scars. 

It was one of the only things he could remember about Yuuji’s mother.

“The marks of your flesh tell quite a story. One that is painful and pathetic but one that is triumphant and wise. It speaks of your failures and your successes. It shows the strength you have gained to survive and the knowledge you have gained to prevent such scars from forming ever again.” 

He had only known her for mere weeks when they had laid together after a long night of drinking sake she had stolen. Even so, Ryomen had loved her deeply. The kindness she showed him made someone as touch-starved and lonely as Ryomen become foolish. Even so, he was grateful to her for giving him Yuuji. He just wished that she had not been a part of the clan he despised so much. The Itadori Clan. But he knew better than anyone that one could not control where they were born into. If it wasn’t for her, Ryomen would not have known the true reason as to why he was cursed to live such a tortured life. 

“I recognize you. You’re a Ryomen, correct? My clan has spun many tales about your kind. The ‘Two Faced Demon’ is what they call you. A being that appears during a twin pregnancy, consuming both fetuses within and using the mother for nutrients until she dies. All Ryomen’s are born with black markings that make them easy to detect. The demon has plagued the Itadori Clan for generations, but would you like to know the truth? It’s a lie my clan has spun to clear its name of any wrongdoing. When a servant or consort becomes pregnant by an Itadori member, she is sentenced to death in the guise that she was carrying a Ryomen demon. Your mother was just another whore they killed to keep their name and their bloodline clean. The only reason you were not killed was because your mother ran away before she gave birth. She was caught eventually, and we thought that you would die to the elements without her. I am glad that you survived. When my clan told me the story of your mother, it planted seeds of doubt within me as a child. Now, I hope that I can help you bring justice to you, your mother, and all that have fallen due to the Itadori’s deceit.”

Ryomen could barely remember her face, but he would never forget her words. For years, he had wondered as to why the gods had forsaken him. In truth, it had never been the gods. It had been the Itadori Clan. They had labeled him as a demon and had likely spread their tales to the masses, his village being one of the fools who believed them. At least, he had gotten his revenge on both. 

Steam billowed out of the shower as the water against Ryomen’s back immediately evaporated. Whenever he was too emotional, his cursed energy would become unstable like the fire he wielded. The anger he felt towards that clan would never fade. However, he had more important things to do. Losing himself in rage was not what he needed for today. He would be testing the four sorcerers for the final time to see if their alliance was something worth keeping. It was a four day event, one day dedicated to each sorcerer. Yesterday was Nanami’s test, and the man passed with flying colors. His natural durability and ability to remain calm under pressure was impressive. Out of all the sorcerers the pink haired man had come to know, Nanami was the one who Ryomen could respect the most. The blonde’s morals were unbreakable. His dedication to protecting his son was truly proven the previous day. Now, Getou was up next. 

Breakfast first. Test later. Ryomen scolded himself. He finished his shower and dried off, trying to free his mind of any further memories or thoughts. There was a six-year-old he needed to check on, so losing himself in his worries was not an option. On autopilot, he dressed himself, brushed his teeth, shaved any stubble, and made his way to his son’s room. 

Only to have his stomach drop. 

Yuuji was clearly having a nightmare, but there was something off about this one. Blood. Crimson streamed from his nose, mouth, ears, and eyes. The boy’s brow was furrowed in distress while his lips muttered a string of pleas to stop. All of his guardians were surrounding him to attempt to comfort him. Once he ran to his son’s bed, he could see the bloodstains all over his blankets. His heart was beating out of his chest. Yuuji was hurt. His son was hurt and crying and scared. Supernova, who was curled around the sobbing boy’s neck, looked the most unsettled he had ever seen the normally calm cat. Chitters of worry came from Chimera and Resonance. Whines escaped from Boogie. Overtime was using his wrappings to card through the child’s hair. 

“What happened?” Ryomen snapped his head to Infinite. The feathered dragon was already staring back, something that the man could feel behind the being’s mask. Infinite had been a huge help in figuring out the treatment for his son’s nightmares. Like Gojo, the cursed soul had unique eyes that could see the unseeable. “Infinite. What. Happened.” 

Infinite clicked sharply at the other cursed souls as he left the rafters. All but Supernova moved to provide pace for the largest of the group. He cooed at Yuuji in an attempt to wake him up, but it did not work. Yuuji continued to cry and bleed. Ryomen felt himself trembling at the sight. Flashbacks of angry shouts, burning flesh, Yuuji’s cold body in his arms filled his mind without mercy. As if knowing the panic about to erupt in Ryomen, Infinite trilled loudly to stop the upcoming spiral. Without glancing at the other, the draconic bird gently pressed his beak against Yuuji’s forehead. Silence filled the room, Ryomen waiting his baited breath, as Infinite looked into the child’s mind. 

Then Infinite wrenched his head away as if he was burned, screeching. 

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!” Sukuna appeared out of thin air, his voice like a thunderous boom. When his gaze locked onto Yuuji, the curse gasped. “Shit! Move out of the way, you dumb bird!” He pushed Infinite out of the way and scooped up the boy in his bottom pair of arms. Supernova snarled, but Sukuna paid it no mind. The curse’s palms glowed a gentle white as his Sukuna’s reverse cursed technique activated. He used his upper pair of hands to begin healing whatever damage Yuuji had incurred. His eyes screwed shut and his mouth turned downwards in a scowl. After a few moments, Yuuji’s cries stopped as well as any further bleeding. Sukuna opened his eyes with an indescribable emotion with them. “He was bleeding internally. The damage his organs sustained was from blunt force trauma, but there is no way that someone was able to break in and hurt him without anyone realizing. The brat isn’t strong enough to do that damage to himself either-”

A shrill squawk interrupted the curse. Infinite was shaking his head vehemently. It was evident that the cursed soul was trying to communicate what he had seen in whatever way he could. His tail opened to the fullest extent, the countless eyes within looking as panicked as Ryomen felt. Complex patterns of trills and chirps came from Infinite. Seeing that neither Ryomen or Sukuna understood, Infinite snapped his beak at the air in frustration. He turned towards Chimera and shared chitters with the shadow being. 

“He saw something, right?” Sukuna asked the other man. 

No response came from Ryomen. His mind could only process Yuuji’s bloodstained face and cries. Why. Why now. Why. NOW. Why does his son always have to suffer? It was not fair. Yuuji was an innocent child who had always been kind to others. He was gentle, selfless, considerate, and so much better than any other person. Yet, time and time again, Yuuji only suffered. First, it was the treatment his son received in their village. Second, the refusal of his elders to treat his ill son during a plague. Then, his son died a slow death that could have been prevented. If it wasn’t for Sukuna, then Yuuji would not have had this second chance. Ryomen had given his soul and body for Yuuji, yet it wasn’t enough. Yuuji had his guardians, Sukuna, and Ryomen to protect him in this new life. Sukuna had gone to great lengths to ensure his nephew’s safety. It wasn’t enough. When would it ever be enough? Ryomen had even allied with sorcerers, something he would have never imagined, to provide more protection to Yuuji. These next couple days were for said sorcerers, who were being tested to see if they are fit for Yuuji. Everything was for Yuuji as Yuuji deserved everything. 

And Yuuji was hurting.

It felt like all the years Ryomen had spent securing the shrine, improving his own techniques, creating a safe house if things went wrong, and overseeing the training of four sorcerers was all for naught. What was the point of all his efforts if Yuuji continued to suffer? What kind of father helplessly watched their child be tormented by nightmares? A useless coward. 

Ryomen was useless. 

He knew how to survive through the harshest winters and summers

He knew how to survive without access to a crumb of food or droplet of water.

He knew how to defeat several opponents at once. 

He knew how to turn entire armies into nothing but smoldering ash.

He knew how to make himself a weapon capable of killing the strongest of sorcerers.

He knew how to remain undetected from his enemies.

He knew how to wield his cursed energy with the same expertise as Sukuna.

He knew how to defend himself.

He knew how to hide.

He knew how to kill whoever crossed him.

But he did not know how to help the person he loved most. 

His precious son. His little cub. His pain never stopped. Was it Ryomen’s fault? Had he angered some greater power by bringing Yuuji back to life? Did Yuuji’s suffering become worse because of Ryomen?

Was resurrecting Yuuji a mistake?

No. Ryomen immediately told himself. It would never be a mistake. 

Even as he saw Chimera’s eyelights twist into an image of his son being beaten by an unknown figure, the pink-haired man refused to entertain such a thought. His nails threatened to puncture his skin with how tightly his fists were clenched. He would find a way to stop Yuuji’s nightmares. It was his job as his father to protect him. Ryomen had been shielding his son from the outside world for good reason. Kenjaku was out there, waiting for the correct moment to strike. However, Ryomen had failed to shield Yuuji from himself. For whatever reason, Yuuji’s mind seemed to only work against the boy. 

“Someone was hurting him in his dream, and the damage appeared on his physical body.” Beside him, Sukuna translated the image Chimera had shown. 

It was troubling news. Ryomen could not help but reach out to Supernova in order to soothe his shot nerves with the cat’s soft fur. Luckily, the feline allowed it. The stress was a shared feeling amongst himself, Sukuna, and the guardians. “How can a nightmare do something like that?”

“A regular nightmare can’t. It’s impossible. For damage within the mind to transfer into damage to the body could only mean one thing.” Before he revealed it, Sukuna paused as Yuuji started to cry again. He held him closer. 

“What is it?! Spit it out!” Not appreciating the silence, Ryomen snapped at the other.

“I’m getting to it, asshole.” Sukuna snapped back. He sighed deeply before continuing. “His soul is being tampered with. There are only three who are capable of that: myself, Kenjaku, and Mahito. The last is a curse that I said won’t be born until 2018, so he is obviously not the culprit. I’d never hurt the brat like that, so I’m out. Kenjaku must be-”

“Didn’t you say that the guardians could detect something like that? They have pieces of Yuuji’s soul to specifically ensure that this couldn’t happen. Are you trying to tell me that Kenjaku magically figured out a way to bypass that?” He did not bother to try to mask the irritation in his voice. Familiar anger began to boil within his veins. Sukuna was not telling him everything. “It can’t be an outside force.”

“Kenjaku has experimented on souls before, so it is possible-”

“Don’t bullshit me, Sukuna! The guardians would have been alerted no matter what! That’s what they’re here for! It’s impossible for them to fail their purpose!”

“I am telling the truth! Yuuji’s soul is being messed with! Why the fuck would I lie about something like that! Damage to the soul is very serious, Ryomen!”

“I know that!”

“Then why are you arguing with me about who is hurting him?”

“Because you’re lying! It’s impossible for the guardians to not feel a single thing if Kenjaku was manipulating Yuuji’s soul! You’re hiding something from me! You always do! Just tell me what it is or else I swear I will kill you where you stand!”

“How dare you accuse me of-”

“There’s something within him, isn’t there?”

Dead. Silence. 

“I-”

“You know exactly what it is, don’t you.” He did not need to ask anymore, it was a fact. Ryomen could recognize the guilt and conflict within Sukuna’s eyes. It was a look the curse got every time Yuuji had nightmares or did something no normal child should do. “Tell me.”

Sukuna refused to answer.

“TELL ME THIS INSTANT, SUKUNA!”

At the shouting, Yuuji’s cries grew into wails. Ryomen quieted immediately, but he looked at Sukuna with a message in his eyes. This isn’t over. The two tried their best to comfort Yuuji as the bleeding restarted. While Sukuna cleaned him, Ryomen smoothed his fingers through his son’s hair. Like always, they stopped their fighting to care for Yuuji. It was tense, and Ryomen was about to snatch Yuuji into his arms to take him to his own room when the door opened.

The four sorcerers had heard the commotion. 

That’s right. They are here for four days to complete the final exam. It’s Suguru’s test day. Great. Just one more thing to deal with. 

-

THE STRONGEST FAM 😎🙊🐺🌸💅🧸

gumibear: can we skip school if you guys are on vacation?

ShadowSister: Megumi no

gumibear: stfu tsumiki

ShadowSister: Fine then

ShadowSister: Guess us girls will enjoy boba and sushi for lunch and not you

gumibear: wait 

ShadowSister: Too late! Meanies don’t get free boba

Lights.Camera.Action: lmao sucks to be u megs!

gumibear: can i retract my statement

ShadowSister: No <3

mimi&co: Didn’t Gojo-san and Getou-san say that they were on a mission?

gumibear: yeah but they’re still away for the next 3 days

Lights.Camera.Action: hm that’s fair

Lights.Camera.Action: 3 days with no school does sound pretty great

ShadowSister: Nanako no

Lights.Camera.Action: nanako yes

gumibear: one more for skipping

ShadowSister: Absolutely not.

ShadowSister: They’re working on this mission. Not relaxing. We should keep working ourselves.

ShadowSister: And you guys need to practice your techniques 

ShadowSister: Megumi, I know that you’re so close to taming Nue

ShadowSister: Nanako, weren’t you so excited to use the new camera Getou bought you?

ShadowSister: As for Mimiko

ShadowSister: You’re doing amazing!! ฅʕ•ᴥ•ʔฅ

mimi&co: ฅʕ•ᴥ•ʔฅ

Lights.Camera.Action: okay no skipping

gumibear: i think u have a curse technique 

gumibear: ‘curse speech of being a good samaritan’

ShadowSister: Or just common sense 

ShadowSister: Now quit texting and start getting ready for school

gumibear: tsk

ShadowSister: I’ll re-invite you to boba

gumibear: deal

A soft chuckle left Suguru’s lips as he read the group chat Satoru had made for themselves and the kids. He could always count on Tsumiki to prevent their younger ones from being irresponsible. She was a kind and respectful girl who kept her siblings in check. Especially her brother. Megumi was quite the menace despite what his calm demeanor would have you believe. The boy knew about the ‘mission’ they were on, and he still wanted to skip school. Ryomen had been pushed quite a lot in allowing Suguru, Satoru, Nanami, Shoko, and Megumi to know about the shrine and Yuuji’s existence. Having anyone else, even if it was Megumi’s sisters, aware of his home was too much for Ryomen. Nanako, Mimiko, and Tsumiki only knew Yuuji as the boy that Megumi tutors, nothing more. It did not feel, for lack of a better term, good to lie to his family, but Suguru did not have a choice. Megumi likely felt the same. While he was moody like any other preteen, he cared deeply for his sisters. Having to keep such secrets was straining. At least, it was for an important reason. 

Even so, Suguru hoped that Ryomen would have enough trust in him to tell his daughters after today. 

It was his turn to be tested, and Suguru knew that his ‘final exam’ would be much different than the others. He would not be facing any of the cursed souls like Nanami had, but Ryomen himself. The man had kept to his promise in training Suguru in the ways of martial arts and cursed energy. Ryomen was brutal with his teachings. Suguru had assumed that Ryomen’s teaching style would be far more nurturing based on how gentle he was with Yuuji. Oh, how wrong he was. The curse manipulator quickly learned that the softness Ryomen showed to Yuuji was exclusive to the boy and the boy alone. Whenever Yuuji was not the focus, Ryomen would become more temperamental and violent than Sukuna. 

Seeing the stark difference between Ryomen with Yuuji and Ryomen with everyone else made Suguru realize something. 

The King of Death. 

It was not just Sukuna’s title. 

It was also Ryomen’s.

When Suguru had told this to his friends, none of them were surprised. Ryomen’s tendency to be a mother hen vanished and was replaced with something far more callous the moment Yuuji was out of the room. The resentment that would appear in the pink-haired man’s expression was familiar to Suguru. He recognized such disgust because it was the same look Suguru would get when looking at non-sorcerers. Over the years, Suguru’s hatred for non-sorcerers had ebbed. Slightly. While he no longer wanted to kill all non-sorcerers, it did not mean that he let go of his old beliefs about protecting them. Tsumiki was the only exception. He would do anything for her, but all other non-sorcerers could rot for all he cared. The rest were monkeys. They would always be monkeys. The only difference now was that Suguru could see a non-sorcerer as a valuable person if they were good enough. Tsumiki was more than good enough to shed any semblance of ‘monkey’ from herself. Besides her, Suguru had not met any other monkey that could escape said title. 

His disgust for monkeys had been the focus of many training sessions with Ryomen. As it turned out, Ryomen held his own hatred for humanity. The difference was that the fire of Suguru’s hatred could be quelled by Satoru and his friends while Ryomen’s hatred had become an unstoppable inferno. Additionally, Ryomen only had Sukuna to talk to for hundreds of years. In terms of ethics or morals, Sukuna was not any better than Ryomen.  

At times, Suguru could not help but wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t had Satoru to bring him to the light. Would he have gone through with his plan to kill all non-sorcerers? Would he have been shunned from jujutsu society and labeled a curse user? Would Satoru have been sent to stop him if Suguru defected? Such questions haunted Suguru’s mind during sleepless nights. However, he would stop himself as he remembered the life he gained now. A life he would not have had if he chose to leave the day Satoru and Nanami called him for help. He was happy now. He had three daughters and a son. He had a boyfriend who was the love of his life. Yes, he had lost his goal to kill all monkeys, but he had gained so much more. Something so much better-

“If you tell me that Riko is a monkey who deserves to die, and you mean it whole-heartedly, then I will join you and help eradicate all non-sorcerers. I’ll even make a binding vow that will ensure my loyalty if you have doubts. Just tell me you hate Riko, and I’ll go with you to make your plans become a reality.”

Yet there were times where Suguru felt…unsatisfied. 

He kept feeling like he had failed in some way. Every time he was assigned a curse to exorcize, the plans he had thrown out came back with a vengeance. Haunting him. Tempting him. Wanting him to return to his initial goals. Reminding him that there would be no more curses if there were no more monkeys. Promising him a utopia to live in once all the non-sorcerers had been killed. 

“What makes you think a society of sorcerers would be better?!”

“If non-sorcerers are monkeys, then I’m a fucking monster!”

“WHAT DOES THAT MAKE THEN, HUH?!”

“DO YOU KNOW HOW BADLY I WANT TO BE HUMAN?! I DON’T WANT TO BE SOME FUCKING WEAPON!”

“I NEVER ASKED TO BE A SORCERER, AND NON-SORCERERS DON’T CHOOSE TO SPAWN CURSES!”

“I’LL NEVER BE A HUMAN! NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY!”

“I’m a freak of nature. So…How can you hate non-sorcerers so much if I’m worse?”

No matter how many times his dark thoughts came back, there was always someone there to prove each belief wrong. Suguru held onto Satoru tightly from where they rested on the couch. His one and only. He would be that someone, time and time again, to remind Suguru about the good that’s worth protecting.

The good that Ryomen kept making him forget.

“Monkeys? You think non-sorcerers are monkeys? That’s an insult to every monkey on this planet.”

“Never forget that hatred. Use it. Control it. Make it the fuel that strengthens each strike.”

“Humans are selfish creatures. They only work in their own self interest. They are idiotic, cowardly, and cruel. The moment you forget that is the same moment that everything you’ve ever loved will be ripped away from you.” 

“Only a creature as powerless as a human would give into fear that would make them beat a child at any opportunity. And only because that child is different from the rest.”

“My son did not die of illness. He died because the humans of my village saw him as the spawn of a demon.”

“Non-sorcerers are not monkeys, child. They’re much, much less.”

“They’re maggots.”

A sudden shriek interrupted Suguru’s increasingly morose thoughts. Satoru ripped himself out of his partner’s arms while Shoko and Nanami shot up from their places on the wide couch. The sound was coming from down the hall where they all knew Yuuji rested. Without hesitation, the group ran to the child’s room to see what had happened. It was not a sound the boy had made, it was too animalistic to be human. 

Infinite was the only one who could make such a sound.

He shared a look with Satoru. “Do you sense anything different?”

“Yes and no. There aren't any new signatures that I can detect. But I think Nanami needs to be in the front.” Satoru’s fist clenched at his sides. The lighter and darker blues within his eyes clashed against each other like warring seas. It was something Suguru had yet to grow accustomed to, the lack of clarity and addition of darkness. When Satoru locked his gaze onto Suguru, the dark blue had seemingly won the battle as there was only a sliver of light blue left. “Stay in the back, Suguru. Yuuji…Yuuji-kun can’t see you or else his nightmare will get worse.”

“Why?” Suguru whispered. The four were now outside Yuuji’s door, able to hear the muffled voices of Ryomen and Sukuna arguing. Unease churned in his stomach. 

“...I just know.” The reply held none of Satoru’s typical humor. 

Nanami frowned at the vague answer, but he still moved to the front like the elder had asked. The day had barely started and Suguru felt like going back to bed already. He did not want to think about why Infinite had screeched, nor why Yuuji could not see him. Was Yuuji scared of him? Suguru had never seen any fear whenever the boy interacted with him. In fact, Yuuji always welcomed Suguru with hugs and giggles. The child even bought Suguru candies because he wanted to make the ‘yucky curse taste’ go away. It was a kind gift that did help Suguru be free of the taste of shit and vomit after he ingested a curse. Did Yuuji do that for him because he was scared? The thought made Suguru sick, but he knew that Satoru’s judgment was not to be doubted. 

Once Nanami opened the door, Suguru knew that Satoru had been right. 

Yuuji was sobbing into Sukuna’s arms as the curse cleaned the boy of the blood on his face. All of his guardians stayed close to offer as much comfort as they could to the poor child. However, his cries only grew louder. Ryomen was carding his fingers through his son's head as he tried to reassure him, to no avail. 

Then Yuuji’s eyes opened, instantly looking at Nanami. Chubby arms reached out to the blonde and the child let out a heartbroken wail. “N-NANAMIN!”

Once Sukuna released Yuuji, the boy sprinted over to Nanamin, burning his head into his legs. His arms were reaching towards Nanami insistently. The man picked him up without hesitation despite the tears and snot. Silence encompassed the room as, slowly but surely, Nanami calmed Yuuji down. It was the first time that the sorcerers had witnessed Yuuji be so upset. While Ryomen had mentioned the child’s tendency to have nightmares, they never thought that they could be this intense. In addition, Yuuji had cried for Nanami with a desperation that disturbed Suguru. He had heard the same desperation in his own voice after Toji told him that he had killed Gojo Satoru. The desperation that only appeared when you could no longer see someone because they were dead. 

He was not the only one who had the same thought. Ryomen was boring a hole into Suguru. The temperature of the room began to rise as Ryomen stood up and walked to the curse manipulator. 

Ryomen placed a hand on Suguru’s shoulder. “We’re going.”

And Suguru did nothing to stop him.

Neither spoke, too overwhelmed with what they had just witnessed to speak. They made their way through the hall until Ryomen’s training dojo was in sight. He did not need to say anything for Suguru to change out of his pajamas with the spare change of clothes he kept. The moment he finished changing, the heat in the room skyrocketed. Ryomen’s body was trembling in barely contained fury. 

“Your test starts now.” Ryomen said, tone free of all emotions. 

“What must I do to pass?”

“Don’t think about that. Don’t think about anything.”

Something happened. Something must have happened for Ryomen to act so rashly. He had heard Sukuna and Ryomen arguing before they entered, but Suguru could not hear what it was about. Even so, the long-haired man breathed deeply. He cleared his mind as ordered. Clearing his mind of the kids, of Satoru’s ominous words, of Yuuji’s terrified cires, of the guilt threatening to swallow Suguru whole. Everything. “Alright.”

“Good. Now,” he paused as vibrant, orange flames encompassed Ryomen’s fists, “take a stance.” 

Suguru allowed the dark shadow of his own cursed energy to cover his entire arms. It was a technique that Ryomen had invented himself. One fueled by hatred. Despite himself, Suguru smiled. “I’m ready when you are, Sensei.”

An equally viscous smile split across Ryomen’s face. “Then let’s begin. Allow yourself to forget the morals that have been ingrained into your mind. There is no need for understanding or compassion in this room. It’s a simple place to be your worst self. A self free of all limitations.” The man stopped to gaze knowingly at Suguru. His numb tone was replaced with the same viciousness of the fire he wielded. “What will you imagine as you strike me, boy? I know I am imagining maggots.”

“Monkeys.”

“Hm. You always do.”

“And I always will.”

-Four Years Ago-

“Why haven’t I heard of this technique before?” Suguru’s voice both held awe and skepticism. His hands, which were on his lap, twitched with the intense desire to note down every word Ryomen was saying. However, the elder had told him that he was not allowed to record any of his teachings. It was frustrating, but Suguru knew better than to refuse the paranoid sorcerer. 

Pride shimmered in Ryomen’s eyes as he answered. “Because it is one I created.”

Questions flooded into the black-haired man’s mind. Creating a technique was something that was considered impossible amongst jujutsu sorcerers. A sorcerer was born with their technique, and there was no alternative. It was this fact that made inheriting techniques so important that clans would refuse to intermingle with one another to keep their bloodline ‘pure’. Those with powerful techniques were seen as superior and acted as such, leading to the development of the Big Three Families: the Kamo Clan, the Zenin Clan, and the Gojo Clan. However, it did make sense that such a terrible hierarchy would encourage others to find ways to improve their own techniques or become stronger. It led to the creation of Simple Domain and cursed weapons. Using new ways to better one’s technique was common, but creating an entirely new technique with no pre-existing foundations was not. Though, it was possible that Ryomen had used something to form the technique. What that was…Suguru almost did not want to know.

In the privacy of Ryomen’s personal dojo, the elder appeared the most relaxed Suguru had ever seen him. It left Suguru feeling uneasy. Ryomen was more calm, yes, but there was a rage simmering beneath the surface that the man was seconds from unleashing. The room suddenly heated up as Ryomen gazed at him with amusement. 

“I can see a million questions flying around in that head of yours.” His tone was teasing, yet his smile was sharp. With a sigh, Ryomen stood up and approached a wall that had displays of various weapons, mostly daggers. He approached the largest knife at the center of the wall and pulled as if it was a lever. A click sounded, and Suguru gasped at the sight. What was once a solid wall had now split in half to reveal a hidden treasure that made bile rise in his throat. It could only be considered treasure in someone’s deepest nightmares. Behind the wall was not a prized blade or jewels or anything remotely valuable. Horrific was the only word to describe what was behind the wall. 

Bones.

Hundreds of them.

Skulls, femurs, phalanges, jaws, and so much more.

And they were human.

Every single one was human.

“What…What is this?” Suguru whispered shakily. 

There was no emotion in Ryomen’s voice. “It’s the remains of all who had tried to kill me. Sorcerers and non-sorcerers alike. Don’t fret, there’s no children in there. Even I would not stoop that low.” 

“That doesn’t make any of this any better! Why did you-”

“Keep their bones?” Ryomen interrupted with a scowl. He quickly schooled his expression before picking up a random skull. After rotating it in his hands for a few moments, the elder turned to look at Suguru. “Tell me, boy, what do you think cursed energy is?”

While Suguru did not want to answer, his curiosity pushed him to see where the conversation would lead. “It is a powerful energy source that stems from intense negative emotions and beliefs. Sorcerers are able to wield it in certain ways while none-sorcerers generate the cursed energy. Curses are born when there is an abundance of cursed energy.” The answer came easily as it was one of the first things he was taught when he first discovered his technique. 

A hum of approval came from the pink-haired man. “Everything you said was technically correct, but there is much you have yet to learn. Cursed energy is not just spawned of negativity, it is a part of nature. It belongs in this world as much as light or sound energy. The only difference is that it was not allowed to grow any stronger due to Tengen’s damn barriers.” His grip on the skull grew tight, making Suguru fear that it would shatter under the pressure. Ryomen then released his hold to place the skull onto the floor where they had once been sitting. The sorcerer sat down with an expectant look that Suguru reluctantly gave into. Now sat, Ryomen pressed a finger on the top of the skull. “Light, sound, heat, wind, electrical, chemical, and countless more are forms of energy we are familiar with. Cursed energy is meant to be an energy formed from death. Over the years, it has been changed to negative emotions by the elders. They did not want the knowledge being spread as it would have led to massacres by those who wished for power…”

Which is what you had done. Suguru kept the thought to himself, knowing that he was in a tense situation that could grow worse if he antagonized Ryomen. An image formed in his head. The painting of the ‘Scorned’ sat atop a throne of bones while Sukuna loomed over him. All this time, he had thought that the image was only showcasing a myth, that it was exaggerating certain aspects of Ryomen’s history to appear more threatening. It was never an exaggeration, and Suguru suddenly felt quite claustrophobic. He needed to leave, warn the others or prepare to attack, but his limbs refused to move. The curse manipulator did the only thing he could do: analyze and learn. “How exactly does cursed energy come from death?”

“Interested, aren’t you? I’m relieved I do not need to waste any more time to convince you of the truth. Death is a part of life, a part of nature, a part of this world. You cannot have life without death. Energy comes from many living things, and the same is reflected to those that have passed on. Our bodies spend constant energy to keep us going. When we die, the energy must go somewhere, so it exits the body as cursed energy. The belief of negative emotions being its source stems from the fact that many people die with regrets, anger, or fear. Have you ever wondered why you feel exhausted after an emotional outbursts? Many animals cannot cry as it can dehydrate them, yet humans do it all the time. Our brains only want to survive, so it would not make sense to waste resources like water due to emotional pain. Unless our emotions are seen as equally important as keeping our hearts beating. Energy is put into our grief like it is put into making your legs move. Combine the energy of our final feelings as we die and the leftover energy our body has left and cursed energy is formed.”

“Then why do schools produce cursed energy if they are not surrounded by death?”

“Have you ever been in class and silently wished for death? Have you ever said you will kill yourself if you fail an upcoming test? Have you ever wanted to die instead of doing a tedious project or presenting in front of the classroom?” Even though Suguru was silent, Ryomen had already gotten his answer. He sighed again, placing his hands in his lap. “When you are young, death is not seen as something terrifying. It’s being hurt that scares a child as pain is far easier to grasp than the concept of dying. The sentiments of death draw in nearby cursed energy like a magnet. Everything we do costs energy, even thinking. That small piece of energy acts like a lighthouse used for boats. Unlike other types of energy, cursed energy can act on impulses. Similar to a brainless jellyfish. It just knows what it needs to do.”

“What about other negative emotions unrelated to death?”

“Well, death is mainly seen as something negative. Like I said before, a living being often dies with regrets or shame. Animals will usually feel fear before death. Those witnessing a loved one die would not be jumping for joy, no?”

“So those emotions are what attract cursed energy, but they will not create cursed energy unless they die?”

“Exactly. Cursed energy is only released in death, but the cursed energy that already exists tends to travel towards places associated with the negative emotions death brings.” 

“...And the bones?”

Ryomen went quiet, clearly thinking hard on how to phrase his next words. He could see the poorly hidden disgust and fear within Suguru’s eyes. However, the man was not going to stop now that he had started. This was important, and Suguru was the one who needed to learn this technique the most. After learning of the boy’s past, Ryomen knew that Suguru was the only person who he could convince to see reason. Suguru had hate in his heart. It was obvious from the moment Ryomen had met him. It was something they had in common. The boy had potential, immense potential, but he was being held back by morality. Specifically, the morality his friends instilled in him. No matter. 

Suguru would succumb to his hatred at some point, it was inevitable. 

As Ryomen picked up the skull again, he continued. “Cursed energy lingers, especially in the remains of the dead. Even in a skull as old as this, there are traces of it to use. Cursed Extraction is the technique I created to absorb the energy from the dead and use it to strengthen my own innate technique. As long as one can wield cursed energy, they can extract it.” To emphasize his point, the skull was enveloped in a bright blue flame, the most common color of cursed energy. He summoned an orange flame in his unoccupied hand. Slowly, the blue flame grew smaller as the orange flame grew larger. The cursed energy was being absorbed. “It improves your techniques, opens doors that would have stayed closed, and makes you the most powerful person in any room.” The blue flame then went out. Immediately, golden flames erupted from Ryomen’s palm. The heat was nearly unbearable as the fire twisted itself into a whirlpool of flames with them in the center. “Cursed Technique Extension is only possible after Cursed Extraction, and you have the highest likelihood of mastering it. You only have to listen.” 

The fire went out, yet Suguru continued to sweat bullets. Ryomen had wordlessly shown him how easily he could kill him with the Extraction technique. It was both a threat to his life and a promise of the power Suguru could wield. All he had to do was take from the dead. 

He…wasn’t as put off about it as he thought. 

Nanami, Shoko, and Satoru would have refused to hear another word after seeing the bones, but Suguru was never like them. They were good people, and he had finally accepted that he was not. He likely never was. Suguru pushed away the mental voices of his friends telling him to leave or not accept Ryomen’s offer to teach him. If they found out, then they would hate him. However, Suguru would do anything to protect them…and the temptation was too strong to ignore. This was Suguru’s chance to grow stronger. “Fine. Show me how.”

A grin flashed across Ryomen’s face. “Good. Let’s begin, shall we?”

Suguru had not hated himself this much in years. “Of course.”

“Hm. The first step I would like you to do is summon a curse, it does not matter what grade it is. Anything will do.”

The black haired man obeyed and manifested a Fly Head, he had hoards of them so parting with one would do no harm. It shrieked and hissed, swinging its bulbous head around to observe its surroundings. Even so, it stayed by Suguru’s side like a dutiful soldier. They were the weakest curses around, but their swarms had proven useful on many occasions. No matter how much he wanted to, Suguru could never forget the horror he had felt when Toji described each inch of his plan to kill Satoru while they fought in Tengen’s Corridors. As Toji had no cursed energy of his own due to a Heavenly Restriction, the assassin had summoned a swarm of Fly Heads to overwhelm Satoru’s already strained Six Eyes. He hid himself and his cursed weapon amongst the flies in order to attack Satoru from behind. Stabbing him again and again and again. Years had passed since then, and Satoru would still wake up screaming about trying to find Toji. Underneath his clothes and hair, Satoru was covered in the scars of Toji’s attack: the multiple stab wounds on his right thigh, the long slice from his throat to his stomach, and the strike through his head. If Satoru had learned how to use reverse cursed technique before receiving those injuries, then there would have been no scars. However, Satoru’s first time using reverse curse technique was when he was on the brink of death. Suguru had scars of his own, a large ‘X’ across his chest, but he had wanted them to scar on purpose. He only allowed Shoko to stop the bleeding with her healing, nothing more. After Riko and Satoru…Suguru had wanted to hurt as a reminder of what had happened, how he had failed to stop that monkey from killing them. 

So, no, Suguru would never underestimate Fly Heads. Never again. 

Rage made all of his doubts disappear. Every reminder of Toji brought back the vengeful teenager he used to be. For now, he would let that part of himself have the death he desired. As if sensing his murderous thoughts, the Fly Head he’d summoned quivered in fear. He ignored the curse with ease. “What comes next?”

“Kill it and absorb the cursed energy it was made of. Not in your usual way, mind you. With my help, you will never need to consume a vile cursed spirit ever again.” The glint in Ryomen’s eyes was protective. It was the same way he would look at Yuuji and, on a few occasions, Satoru. It was very confusing for Suguru. For one, he was surrounded by the skeletal remains of humans. On the other hand, it felt incredible to have someone want to help him. When Ryomen pointed at the Fly Head, the tips of his fingers were glowing a faint orange. “The corpses of sorcerers provide the most cursed energy, but you have an army of curses at your disposal. The quantity makes up for it. Humans provide cursed energy as well, along with all living things, but that is too advanced for where you are now.”

“How do I go about absorbing it?”

“Once you kill the curse, you will only have seconds to absorb its energy before it disappears. In order to make every drop of cursed energy come to you, you must become a lighthouse of death and negativity. Put yourself in the darkest place in your mind. Remember, death brings feelings of not just sadness or regret, but hatred, anger, resentment, or wrath. I suggest you meditate and reflect on the times you have been closest to death. Take as long as you need to get there. When you do, kill the Fly Head and extract its energy.” There was a pause. “Be careful. A reason that this technique is so abhorred is that many died trying to do this. In their attempt to become one with death, they succumbed to it. Remember your sense of self. If you don’t, your soul could be lost and your life with it.”

While Ryomen’s words were not comforting, Suguru appreciated that they were honest. There was no use sugarcoating it. Suguru was agreeing to perform a technique so vile that it had been outlawed and left to be forgotten. He would be desecrating the skeletons of the people Ryomen had killed. Were they all old kills or were they new? Both? How many people had died to provide extra power to Ryomen? Sorcerers encountered death on a daily basis, but it was rarely in the form of murder. They did not hurt one of their own. And here Suguru was learning how to use their bodies for his  own advantage…

Satoru, Shoko, and Nanami could never know. 

With that, Suguru closed his eyes and thought of all the times he had encountered death.

When he was eight-years-old one of his tutors was teaching him about the history of Jujutsu Tech. The man was prattling on about the architects who built some special building that Suguru cared nothing about. His tutor was old, looking once second from passing away. He was all wrinkles and shaky hands. Even so, he was very strict when he needed to be. Suguru’s hands still stung after the lashing he had received yesterday from his tutor’s wooden ruler. Since he was not paying attention, Suguru knew he would be hit eventually. Deciding to start daydreaming, Suguru glanced at a window that showed a bright sky he missed. He had intended on zoning out for the rest of the lecture, but Suguru was broken out of his daydreams when he heard a thud. It was his tutor. Collapsed on the floor. Not moving. Not breathing. Instead of screaming in terror, Suguru simply looked at the body. Completely frozen. It was his mother, who came to check in, who sprang into action and called an ambulance. However, the tutor was already dead. The cause was a heart attack. His parents cried at the tutor’s funeral, but Suguru never did. 

The same thing happened whenever a family member or family friend died. Suguru would simply become a statue that did not speak or cry. He only moved when one of his parents came to carry him away. 

During a particularly harsh winter, Suguru caught an illness that made him hospitalized for three months. It was a form of pneumonia that Suguru could no longer remember the specifics of. All he knew was that it felt like he could not breathe for weeks. There was one day in the hospital where Suguru was alone for once. He had been sitting in bed, struggling to focus on reading a book, when his chest seized. A violent coughing fit overwhelmed his weak body. It felt like glass was in his lungs. At the time, Suguru had been too panicked to press the button that would have alerted the nurses. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get a single breath in. Both of his nostrils were clogged and breathing through his mouth was impossible due to his uncontrollable coughing. Terror gripped him as black spots littered his vision. He was running out of air and fast. Suguru desperately tried to clear his nose, but it did not work. When his oxygen ran out, Suguru remembered the pain disappearing into tranquility. Everything was blurry, yet Suguru felt the most at ease he had ever felt. However, a nurse soon came rushing in and helped him regain consciousness. Suguru still remembered how disappointed he had been that he had been dragged out of his peace. 

Once he became a sorcerer, killing curses never bothered him. At that point in his life, Suguru grew numb to risking his life every day. He had grown used to it after his tutors dragged him to the worst places to absorb curses with no help. Dying to protect people from curses was something noble in Suguru’s eyes. He used to look at his fallen comrades and feel nothing but respect for their efforts. Admiration for their dedication. He used to be so blind…

Then Riko died in front of him. It was not like the time where his old tutor succumbed to a heart attack. Dying from a heart attack was natural. In addition, the man had already lived a full life. Riko hadn’t. She was ripped away from it by a bullet to her brain. For a split second, Suguru had frozen again. What broke him out was when he turned to see the smug expression of the killer’s face. Toji. He felt no remorse over what he had done. Killing a child meant nothing to him. Toji had bragged about killing Satoru as well. Like he was proud of himself. An indescribable rage filled Suguru. Instead of the typical heat one associated with rage, Suguru had only felt cold. The same tranquility he had felt when he was about to suffocate returned to him. It calmed his mind and sharpened his focus. The seed of hatred that had always been there within Suguru had sprouted to its fullest extent as he battled Toji. He wanted that man to die. There was not a single thought of sparing him or making him see the ‘wrongs’ in his ways. No. Suguru did not want to help Toji. Suguru wanted, no, needed for him to suffer. Despite giving the fight of his life, Toji escaped with the smug smile that had never left his face. 

“You should thank your parents. But the blessed like you still lost to me, a monkey that can’t even use Jujutsu. If you want to live longer, remember this.” 

Death was freeing. 

There were many times throughout Suguru’s life where he thought he would be better off dead, wanting that peace he had briefly touched when he was young. The work of a sorcerer was not for the faint of heart. Every day, you were forced to fight horrific monsters or see your comrades being killed by said monster. Sorcerers would never hear a ‘thank you’ as they needed to work behind closed doors. They would have to deal with disrespect from the people they were trying to help. No one could ever be as bad as the higher-ups, though. Every one of them saw a sorcerer as a tool to be used, nothing more. It did not matter if the sorcerer had family, friends, or children. The elders would assign them on mission after mission until they died. It was always the lives of non-sorcerers above their own. 

Haibara had been just another number on the list of casualties for Jujutsu Society. The boy had been so bright and kind. He would have succeeded in any profession he put his mind to, but he chose to be a jujutsu sorcerer. The only job where death was a guarantee. If he had never been a sorcerer, Haibara would have still been alive, likely spreading his joy to others in need. Instead, he was killed brutally due to the incompetence of the elders. It showed just who the elders prioritized: themselves. None of them cared to learn the names of the hundreds who died for their cause. All the elders were more than content to sit upon their thrones behind the doors that prevented anyone from entering. They never showed their faces, which only further proved how little they cared. Special-grade sorcerers were the only ones that the higher-ups paid attention to due to the sole fact that special-grades could threaten their control. 

They didn’t care about the tears Nanami shed when his best friend died. They didn’t care about the innocence lost when they forced a child to become a sorcerer. They didn’t care about the blood spilled in the fight against curses. They didn’t care about how much their sorcerers screamed at night, how much pain their sorcerers endured, how terrified their sorcerers were each day on the field, how overworked their assistant directors are, how their sorcerers were dying due to their mistakes, and how their best sorcerers were treated lower than dirt. 

All they wanted was for their perfect soldiers to do their job without complaint. 

If one pawn fell, then another would be there to replace it. 

Did they ever feel guilt about the lives they had doomed? 

Were they haunted by the blood spilled under their orders?

The most likely answer was no.

For Suguru, he could not have a day where he did not think about the deaths of those he once cherished. When he showered, there were times where the water felt like blood dripping down his back, staining his skin, getting into his hair. The blood was from many places: the gaping hole in Riko’s forehead, the shredded remains of Haibara’s abdomen, and the pool of blood underneath Satoru’s limp body. Once the water grew cold, Suguru was reminded of the lack of warmth when he held Riko and Haibara’s hands. Cold as death. More than anything, what haunted Suguru the most was the plan he never executed. 

He knew how awful his plan was. It was a massacre of all non-sorcerers, children included. But he was stopped before he even started. His children and Satoru mattered more to him, yet there were days where the hatred grew too strong to ignore. He would remember the deaths of his classmates and friends. The worst part was that there was a way to prevent people like Haibara from never being killed again. Knowing how to stop something was always a valuable asset. Not being allowed to stop something despite knowing how was equivalent to torture. 

Monkeys dying meant sorcerers surviving.

Suguru wanted many people to die, but he could do nothing about it. 

Death. It was cold yet inviting. Freeing yet lonely. Peaceful yet destructive. 

How he wished to see Toji die again…How he wished to slaughter each person applauding for Riko’s death. 

He hated them.

He didn’t even know who ‘them’ was.

But he hated them all the same.

One day, he would get his chance to kill them. One day, he, Satoru, Shoko, and Nanami would be free of Jujutsu Society forever. 

Their pain would end. 

He just needed to grow strong enough. 

The Fly Head buzzed in fright. 

Suguru killed it in seconds. 

“Extract the cursed energy.” Ryomen said calmly. 

Now that he had returned to the present, Suguru noticed an emptiness within his chest. It was impossible to ignore, feeling like it was growing wider and wider. The void wanted to be filled, so he gave into the desire. 

It burned. 

“Keep going. Do not stop under any circumstances!”

It felt like his veins were being flooded with fire. Suguru was burning from the inside out, yet his body began to shiver as if he was out in a blizzard. The tips of his fingers throbbed as if they had touched a stove top. Within him, he could feel the curses within him writhe and shriek from the pain Suguru was going through. Thousands of screams echoed for release, but Suguru did not listen. He could feel the void in his chest filling and the pain lessening. 

“You’re almost done.” 

His teeth creaked from how hard his jaw was clenching. Fortunately, the fire and agony disappeared not long after. When he opened eyes he had not realized he’d closed, Suguru noticed the dark shadow covering his arms. If he gazed closely, he could see movements rippling beneath the darkness, his arsenal of curses were ready for when he needed them. He mentally called upon a curse, one that looked like a skeletal bear covered in ice, and recoiled in surprise when both of his arms were replaced with ice covered bones and claws. “Swapping limbs with my own curses…I’ve never thought of doing that.” 

“That was because you were unable to. I take it, you see the value of my technique?” 

“I do.” Suguru could not keep his gaze off of his arms. He felt…powerful, and it only cost one Fly Head! None of his friends would think twice about killing a curse. “Perhaps you can introduce the others to this technique using one of my curses as the cursed energy source.”

Ryomen went silent as he thought it over. Having stronger protection for Yuuji was never something to deny. It was an easy decision to make. “Alright, we’ll use your curses. I hope I do not need to tell you to not tell them anything about the other source, right?”

“Of course not. No one will know.” 

“Let’s hope it stays that way.”

-Present Day-

Suguru grunted as he was thrown onto the hard ground. Dirt flew everywhere, getting into his eyes and mouth. They had moved Suguru’s final test to an abandoned field where no one would see or hear them. It was the umpteenth time that he had been launched several feet, but he recovered quickly. 

As he got up, Ryomen spoke up. “Suguru, I need you to answer this question honestly.”

He wiped his scratched hands on his pants, an uneasy feeling already pooling in his gut. “What is it?”

“When does somebody deserve to die?”

Oh. It was a question Suguru had not expected. His eyes widened in shock, but he kept his composure. The answer was a complicated one. It was something Suguru had wondered about constantly. He would spend hours debating himself on the ethics or morality of execution. Additionally, Yaga had given them lessons on how to deal with curse users. Killing was part of a sorcerer’s job. Over the years, Suguru realized that sorcerer’s did kill each other. He had been a fool to believe otherwise. They killed inhuman curses and they often killed one of their own. There were nights where he raged at jujutsu sorcery as a whole, hating them almost as much as he hated monkeys. Unlike most sorcerers, Suguru was a special grade. The power difference between him and a first-grade sorcerer could not be overlooked. Of course, no one had more power than Satoru as he was in a league of his own. No matter how much Satoru insisted on them being the same. Nevertheless, Suguru knew he was stronger than a majority of sorcerers. In their society, strength meant everything, and Suguru could kill hundreds of people without much difficulty. 

But how he killed someone wasn’t the question. It was when. When does somebody’s life get revoked? Several answers popped in his head, each one bloodier than the last. “It depends, Sensei. You and I both know that there are people who we want to live just like there are people we wish to kill.”

Ryomen hummed. “That is a clever answer, boy. You enjoy thinking of the specifics in any situation, no matter how insignificant. I can respect the caution, but too many questions can grow tiresome-” He stopped as a single raindrop hit his nose. It seemed like the sky wanted to match the ominous environment he had created. The sprinkle would turn into a downpour soon, so he should stop stalling. “I asked you that question for a reason. I wanted to know if it will take a millennia of mistakes until you believe a person deserves to die. Though, I am aware that you are likely the opposite. You were willing to kill non-sorcerer children for simply existing. I was curious to see where the bar lied and if it had changed…Has it?”

Memories of the intense fight he had with Satoru that day in the forest flooded him. It was that day where Suguru dropped his plan altogether. From then on, Suguru had returned to helping non-sorcerer through killing curses. The only things that had changed were his appearance and attitude. Additionally, his friends and he had many heart to hearts about all that had happened to them. It was those moments of affection, trust, and care that made the hope Suguru lost begin to return. Hope for humanity. Hope for himself. Hope for the future. Suguru knew that his friends were destined for greatness. When he learned of Satoru’s plan to become a teacher, Suguru had agreed to join him on the spot. Satoru, his one and only, wanted things to change, and he knew that killing all the elders wouldn’t solve anything. 

“I want to kill them, Suguru. Especially Gakuganji, don’t even get me started on that useless, old fart. It would be so easy, but I know I shouldn’t. And I won’t. The change won’t last if I kill them. Sure, we’ll probably have a few years of peace, yet I know that there will be replacements as bad as the original elders were.” The ice cream in Satoru’s hand was beginning to melt, causing him to take a moment to eat his dessert properly. His unoccupied hand was in Suguru’s. It had been Satoru’s idea to go out for ice cream after seeing that Suguru was having a particularly hard day. Suguru had already finished his own cone while Satoru’s was on his fourth. He squeezed his hand reassuringly. “If change is done by force, there will be resentment and likely people wanting revenge. I don’t want that, Suguru. If I want to change things, I have to do it right. The best way to do that is focusing on the next generation. I want to teach them how to defend themselves, protect them from the higher-up’s corruption, and still let them have a childhood. I know I’ll probably be a terrible teacher, but I want to try.”

Blue eyes locked onto Suguru’s brown. Ever since he had woken up, painful memories of the past kept tormenting him. However, looking at Satoru always helped in lessening the ache. He processed the other’s words and found himself smiling. No matter how he tried to deny it, Satoru was a sweetheart beneath the layers of arrogance and flippancy. Teaching the future generation was actually…a brilliant idea. One that Suguru had not even considered. Rebuilding their world from the ground up was far better than toppling it all down. Suguru had wanted people to die for his plan while Satoru wanted to help. The difference made guilt simmer in his chest. He still had those moments where he felt like a fraud or a monster. Today was one of those days. 

“Hey, look at me, Ru.”

“Ew. What have I told you about that nickname? It’s awful.” Suguru immediately turned to glare at his partner. 

“But it got your attention, didn’t it?” Satoru winked with his trademark smirk. Any anger that Suguru could have felt disappeared when Satoru kissed his cheek. He was truly wrapped around Satoru’s finger, a total goner…and he didn’t mind one bit. 

Suguru broke eye contact. The raw care in Satoru’s eyes was too much for him to take. “I suppose. While I’ve never imagined you as a teacher, I think you’ll be an excellent one. Perhaps Megumi will be in your class once he’s older.”

“Oh my god, that would be hilarious!” Giggles escaped Satoru’s lips. When he calmed down, his voice became soft. It was rare for Satoru to speak gently. He only did so when he was with Suguru, Shoko, or Nanami and was feeling vulnerable. “You don’t have to…but I know how patient you are with the kids. I see how you care for us and how well you teach them when they’re confused about homework. I can’t do that. I can’t explain things like you do or even sit still long enough to give a lesson. It’s definitely selfish of me to want you to be a teacher too. We can both teach the new generation, and they’ll be the greatest sorcerers in history because we’d be teaching them! Just think about it?”

Becoming a teacher would be a massive change, but Suguru had nothing else going for him. He did want to do more than kill curses all day. And he’d be spending even more time with Satoru, which was always a positive. If Satoru wanted him to be by his side, then Suguru would be there for as long as he wanted him. “Sure, why not? My students will have far better grades than yours.”

“No, they’ll be strong AND smart!”

“Unlike you?”

“Hey!”

“It has changed.” Suguru finally replied. The bar had been raised by his friends, and he knew that they would never allow him to pull it down. 

“Has it?” The look in Ryomen’s eye was analyzing. He walked towards the curse manipulator until they were only a few feet apart. Rain was beginning to soak them both, but neither cared. “You have had no trouble lying to your friends about the truth behind my Extension Technique. I’ve heard you rant about your hatred for monkey’s time and time again. Your capability and willingness to cause violence are all determined by your feelings. Biases. Your killings are personal.”

There was no use denying it because it was true. His hatred for monkeys stemmed from the deep hatred he developed after Toji assassinated Riko and Satoru. Even if it was for a second or less, Satoru had died. He came back, yes, but Suguru could not ignore the fact that Satoru was killed by a monkey. After Haibara’s death, Suguru wanted revenge against the ones who were responsible for curses in the first place: non-sorcerers. It had been personal. It had always been personal. “What point are you trying to make?”

“There were only three terms you had to follow if you wanted to have an alliance with Sukuna and me. One, you cannot tell anyone else about the location of the shrine. Two, you cannot tell anyone about Yuuji’s existence. Three, which is the most vital, you must protect Yuuji with your lives.” Hisses of steam were heard as the rain droplets evaporated against Ryomen’s scalding-hot skin. Ryomen clenched his fists and moved into a fighting stance. “A battle is on the horizon, and I need to know if you will be loyal to us. Are you willing to kill for me? Are you willing to betray others in order to protect Yuuji? If I tell you to destroy a town, will you do it?”

“I-”

Whatever words Suguru was about to say were ripped away from him as Ryomen sent a fist into his gut. It was easy to forget that Ryomen was just as fast as Sukuna. This was the first time they were fighting in an open space, and Suguru was widely unprepared. Like a ragdoll, he was tossed into the ground. His body ached, but he would not be going down. If Ryomen wanted a fight, so be it. 

Cursed Manipulation Extension: Replace. This was Suguru’s test, and tests were meant to show how much you had learned. A protective armor of stone covered his arms. It was originally from a first-grade curse he was tasked to exercise after a cave-in at an abandoned mine. Apparently, it used to be a popular spot for unruly teens to escape to. Their deaths birthed a huge curse made of rocks and the wooden beams that had once supported the mine shaft. He would need the extra protection as he could already feel the rain pouring on him begin to heat up. It would soon reach the temperature of boiling water, and Suguru preferred to avoid getting burned. 

He launched himself forward, keeping his body low. Nanami had almost died in his fight with the cursed souls. Ryomen would be just as merciless. The heated rain was proof that Ryomen wanted to burn Suguru. The pain would distract him and give the older an opening that would be fatal. It was already tedious. Steam billowed in every direction as Ryomen grew hotter and hotter and hotter. As Ryomen’s flames were a manifestation of his cursed energy, it did not have the same properties as a natural fire. Nothing could put it out. His hair, drenched from the rain, made his scalp throb with pain. Blisters were already forming, and the battle had barely started. 

As much as it hurt, he had to focus. Ignore the pain. Keep moving. 

“SHOW ME THAT VIOLENCE, BOY! WHY ELSE WOULD I KEEP YOU AROUND?”

“BECAUSE YOUR SON NEEDS THE PROTECTION!” All he could hear was the loud beating of his own heart, drowning out all other sounds. Suguru shielded his face with his curse’s armor and sweeped his leg across the muddy ground. As Ryomen moved back to dodge it, a gaping  maw appeared out of the dirt. He fell into the hole, eyes wide with shock. It felt like he was falling in an endless abyss. 

Until it disappeared.

The feeling of falling disappeared as soon as it started. 

It gave Suguru the chance he needed. With his armored hand, he swung his first across Ryomen’s jaw. An audible crack came afterwards as Ryomen’s head snapped to the side. Finally, the rain returned to its original temperature. 

“My companions and I have been dedicated to helping your son since the day we met! We have agreed to suffer through your training, risked our reputations by lying to our superiors, and always respected your desire for secrecy! What more do you want?!” It was stupid to anger Ryomen any further. Very stupid. Even so, Suguru continued to yell. A momentary lapse had occurred with Ryomen’s broken jaw. He needed to take advantage of it. “What will it take for you to see that I hate jujutsu sorcery as much as you do?!”

A gasp sound was his response. Suguru thought that Ryomen was about to throw up, but the longer the straining exhales lasted, the less likely it was. Ryomen turned to face him with a river of blood cascading down his mouth. The rough gasps were not from nausea. No. Despite having a broken and dislocated jaw, Ryomen was laughing. It suddenly occurred to Suguru that he had rarely seen Ryomen laugh before. Why the hell is he laughing?! 

Another sickening crack with the addition of a squelch made Suguru shiver. Without any signs of pain, Ryomen reseted his jaw with brute force. When he spoke, his voice was slightly slurred. For the first time, Suguru wondered about Ryomen’s sanity. “Very good. How about we shake things up, hm? I will not stop attacking until you have answered my remaining questions or until you have died.”

“How is this a test?! You’re just using me to distract yourself from what happened in Yuuji’s room!” Shit. Shit. Shit. That was the worst thing to say! Ryomen had centuries of battle experience. Why couldn’t he shut his stupid mouth?!

“Of course, I’m using you.” Ryomen responded with surprisingly no anger. It made Suguru tense even further. When someone with a temper as bad as Ryomen grew calm, the worst was to be expected. “Child, you are far more powerful than you give yourself credit for. You can kill all non-sorcerers, but you haven’t. Why?”

“Is that the first question?”

“It is.” 

Suguru prepared himself for the heat, for the burning, yet nothing came. Instead, it was ice. Each droplet turned into a blade that pierced every inch of Suguru’s body. His clothes protected him from the worst of it, but his entire head had no covering. He dismissed the stone armor to regain his full dexterity. 

He was already shivering. 

Focus. 

Unbothered by the drop in temperature, Ryomen surged forward again. He sent palm strikes against the younger’s back, hits to his stomach and chest, kicks behind his knees and at his hips, and chops all over his body. Throughout it all, Suguru did his best to dodge, ducking and weaving gracefully. It was satisfying when Suguru got a few hits himself. 

And the cold worsened. 

His fingers went numb and made his attacks sloppy. 

“Don’t tell me that you didn't know I could control the cold as I do heat. Just as your partner can use the reversal of his Blue, I can use the reversal of my flames.” 

“Cursed technique r-reversal. Of course, you’d know it.” His trembling was almost violent now. 

“Yes. Reverse cursed technique and cursed technique reversal are two different things. Both are very important.” A long sigh left the pink-haired man. “You have yet to answer my question.” He sent a vicious hit against Suguru’s left side. “Why.”

Disorientated by the cold, Suguru took a few seconds to realize what Ryomen was talking about. When Ryomen moved to strike him again, Suguru managed to grab the other’s wrist, pulling it downwards. “I abandoned my plan. It wasn’t worth continuing once I realized what I’d lose if I committed to it.” He then pushed Ryomen away to create distance. They circled one another, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

“What would you have lost?” Their circling grew slower. 

“My family. Satoru would never look at me again if I killed all non-sorcerers.” His eyes were in an intense staring match with Ryomen. Looking away for even a second could be the difference between life and death. He quietly gathered his cursed energy for an attack he had only managed to pull off once. “Shoko and Nanami as well. They would hate me for the rest of my life…And I have a daughter who is a non-sorcerer. I could never bring myself to hurt her. The utopia intended to create would not be complete without her in it.”

Slowly, the hard edges Ryomen showcased began to soften. “That is an answer I can accept. However, I can’t help but wonder what you would be willing to do if their lives were in danger.” Any gentleness disappeared the moment those words were uttered. 

“Is that a threat.” The curse manipulator demanded with a snarl. He summoned the seam that hid one of his largest curses. Its gnarled claws poked through, wanting to maim and kill. 

With a wave of his hands, Ryomen summoned a ring of fire. The flames rose high enough that there was no way for Suguru to jump over without help. Due to the gray sky above them and the dead field they stood on, the fire was the most colorful and brightest thing around. Each droplet of water reflected the amber hue of the flames. “I would never hurt your children, that I can swear on. What I need you to do, child, is understand why I am pushing you so much. You’ve felt the rage that comes when one of your own is killed.” He dropped his hands to his sides and approached. Whenever he took one step forward, Suguru took another step back. “It consumes you, and you are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure it doesn’t happen again! Or would you leave your children to this cruel world?”

The response slipped out before Suguru could think twice. “Of course, I would!” His foot touched the wall of flames, and he hissed in pain. Suguru stood his ground, continuing to build up the army of curses within him into one mass. Maximum Uzumaki. It burnt through a lot of his stored curses, but it was perfect for a situation as dire as this. He had only done it once before. All he needed was a few more seconds until the attack was ready to be unleashed-

His throat was grabbed. 

And he was slammed onto the ground.

Ryomen loomed over him. The dark honey of his eyes shifted to a demonic read. His second pair of eyes, which he constantly kept hidden, opened, and claws grew from his nails. “Yuuji’s soul is hurting him. It would have killed him if Sukuna had not healed his wounds. I have spent all this time…all this energy…training you sorcerers…AND MY SON NEARLY DIES!” The furious roar that Ryomen let out made Suguru’s ears ache. He slammed Suguru’s head against the ground. “What good are you if you can’t do one of the only things I asked of you?! WHY SHOULDN’T I JUST KILL YOU THIS VERY SECOND?!”

“BECAUSE YUUJI WOULD FUCKING HATE YOU!” Suguru spat out. His words made Ryomen freeze for a split second, but it was all Suguru needed to push him off. He stood back up. 

Just in time to block the fist Ryomen swung his way. It took all of Suguru’s concentration to avoid being hit. So much so that he could no longer focus on summoning the Maximum Uzumaki. Only hand-to-hand combat was possible. Mentally, he thanked Ryomen for teaching him more martial arts. Even if said man was using those moves to kill him. They collided again and again. He had lost count of the amount of times he had redirected or parried an attack, but he could not stop. It was a dance of death. Additionally, the smoke from the flames made it harder to breathe. His head swam from the heat, which led to Ryomen throwing him onto his back. Every time, Suguru would kick and claw to break free. Bruises littered their bodies, cuts and scrapes covered their knuckles, and blood leaked from their many scrapes. 

Eventually, Ryomen managed to grab both of Suguru’s arms. The elder pinned them tightly against Suguru’s lower body. He was using his shoulder to make his hold even more uncomfortable. “As long as Yuuji is safe, I don’t care how much he would hate me. I’d kill this entire world if it meant keeping him safe. If I killed everyone this very second, I’d have no problems to worry about.”

“What about Yuuji-kun’s soul?”

“I’d figure it out. Without anyone to harm us, it will be easy to find a cure.”

“Do you truly want to kill us? After the years we have spent together?”

Ryomen released his arms. He looked at the fire encircling them with a far away look in his eyes. The flames were reflected within them. “I want to kill the world for what it has done to me, for what it has taken away from me, for what it has done to my son! You can rot for all I care.”

“That’s a lie.” While Ryomen’s words hurt, Suguru knew the man was trying to anger him. It was something he often did himself: hurt others until they want nothing to do with you. “I have seen you check in on us when we’re training with the cursed souls. Every time that Satoru had a migraine from his Six Eyes, there is always a bottle of pain medication right next to him. After Shoko’s training, snacks are coincidentally laid out on a table the moment she’s done. With me, so much of our training is you helping me find a way to never consume a cursed spirit again. I don’t think you’d waste so much energy like that if you hated us.”

The pink-haired man began to tremble. “Killing you would be easy.”

“Stop saying that-”

Before Suguru could blink, he was on his back with a blade on his throat. It was already digging in deep enough that beads of blood were escaping the wound. Suguru immediately went still. He could summon a curse to remove Ryomen, but Suguru highly doubted that his neck would be intact afterwards. 

“KILLING YOU WOULD BE EASY.” Ryomen repeated, voice nearly shrieking.

There was no deceit to be found as Suguru could tell that this was not the first time Ryomen had slit someone’s throat. From what little Ryomen had shared of his past, Suguru knew it was filled with unimaginable cruelty. Suffering that Suguru was grateful to never experience. Looking at Ryomen reminded him of when he first adopted Nanako and Mimiko. The moment he looked into their eyes, he saw that something had broken within them. Something that could never be fixed. He could recognize the same pain in Ryomen. The difference was that his girls were able to escape and live a better life. Ryomen never did. “I know you are upset about Yuuji, but you must calm yourself before doing something you’ll regret.”

“Wasting my time training you sorcerers is what I regret.” Ryomen replied numbly. 

“So you plan to kill everyone who you think is a burden or threat?”

“Exactly.”

“Then you’d kill every person on this planet.”

“It is tempting.”

“But you would hate it.” The knife dug deeper, and Suguru’s heart jumped several feet. If Ryomen pushed any further, his artery would be severed. While Suguru was strong, he knew that Satoru, Sukuna, and Ryomen were stronger. If it had been anybody else, he would have beaten them to a pulp by now. Except it was not a random stranger, it was a sorcerer with thousands of deaths under his hands and a need for revenge. 

“You know nothing of me, child.”

“Except I do. Four years of training under your tutelage has taught me many things, and one of the most evident traits of yours is that you’re scared.”

“Hah! Being concerned about my son’s safety does not make me some fearful, pathetic mongrel.” 

“You are pathetic, Ryomen-san, and you know it.” It was idiotic for Suguru to keep angering Ryomen, but he had a feeling that Ryomen was close to breaking. He simply had to withstand his rage until that happened. To protect his throat, Suguru gathered cursed energy to cover his throat. While it would not guarantee his survival, it was something. 

“YOU LITTLE WRETCH-”

“IF YOU WERE SO CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITIES, YOU WOULDN’T NEED TO HAVE SO MANY GODDAMN SAFETY MEASURES! IF YOU’RE STRONG ENOUGH, THAN NOTHING CAN HURT YOU OR YOUR SON. BUT YOU THINK EVERYTHING WILL!”

“I INVITE YOU SORCERERS INTO MY HOME, AND YOU HAVE THE GALL TO-”

“You’re scared, Ryomen. You’re terrified all the time, aren’t you?” Just a little further. Hit him where it hurts. “A grown man, centuries old, is terrified of the world because it managed to overpower him time and time again. You don’t want anything happening to your son because you know you’ll be too weak to save him. He’ll die just like he did the first time.”

“SILENCE YOUR VILE MOUTH! HOW DARE YOU. HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!”

“IT’S YOUR FAULT THAT YUUJI DIED!”

“BE QUIET!”

“YOU BLAME YOURSELF ALL THE TIME. I’D DO THE SAME THING.” Suguru swallowed the sudden knot in his throat, hyperaway of the blade against it. “I’ve blamed myself constantly for the deaths of those I care about. It does not solve anything. It won’t bring them back. What’s happening with Yuuji’s soul is concerning, but I promise that we will do all we can to help him.”

“And if I refuse to let you live?”

“Then you will prove to me just how scared you are.” He made sure to keep his voice as harsh as possible. Speaking in such a way would have frightened Mimiko and Nanaki, giving them flashbacks of their time in the village, and Suguru knew he was causing the same thing to Ryomen. Despite being hundreds of years older, Ryomen had stopped aging in his early twenties once he gave his soul to Sukuna. Looking at him without knowing the truth, Suguru would have thought that Ryomen was the same age as him. Currently, Suguru could tell that the young child hidden within Ryomen was on the cusp of shattering. And Suguru hated it. He was doing everything that would trigger his girls on purpose. It was the only way that he could think of to make Ryomen let him go. From how clouded Ryomen’s eyes were becoming, Sugar knew it was working. “Everyone will hate you. They’ll see your weakness and laugh. Perhaps you should do it then. Once everyone sees what you did, they will realize that you were never worth caring about. Yuuji will see that his father is a pitiful man and will want a new one. You were never good enough to him, anyways. You’re worthless.”

The hand that was pressing the blade against his neck began to tremble.

“They’ll hate you and want nothing to do with you.”

It shook even more. 

Ryomen’s grip on the knife was loosening considerably.

What terrifies Nanaki and Mimiko the most?

“You’ll be alone.”

Finally, the blade left his throat as Ryomen dropped it. 

Tiny droplets of water landed on Suguru’s face.

Without the knife, Suguru was able to look up to see the source. It was too warm to be the rain. 

And he was right.

It wasn’t the rain.

It was tears.  

Ryomen had broken. Just as Suguru planned. He slipped out of Ryomen’s grip to kneel next to him and felt guilt grip his heart. Ryomen’s eyes were wide and unblinking, staring at something only he could see. Suguru rubbed the thin cut along his throat as he stared at what he had done. It was necessary, but it was cruel. However, Suguru could not say with confidence if Ryomen didn’t deserve it. Neither of them were stellar people. Pain was something they both deserved. 

On bruised legs, Suguru stood up. Now that he had broken free, he was not sure if he should stay until Ryomen came back to his senses or leave him be. 

The question was answered for him.

With his back to Suguru, Ryomen muttered. “You pass.”

All the flames went out, and Suguru felt sick. This was originally supposed to be a test. A test that was all about gaining Ryomen’s trust. “I-”

The elder held up a hand to silence him. “You’ve earned my respect. Now, go. I will stay here for a while.”

So Suguru left. 

While he made his way to the shrine, the sky cleared and Suguru remembered that, while a few hours had passed, it was still morning. 

After everything…

It was still fucking morning.

you make my bhaal’s so blue~

The chosen but they're all named Heather

Cursed Guardians (A JJK FIC)

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As the blade-like cloth aimed at his throat, Nanami was bombarded with the memories of their first meeting. Well, it was technically their second meeting, but Nanami preferred to think of the second as the first. 

It was a far more pleasant experience. 

For the most part.

-Four years ago-

“Alright, kid, you’re up first. Overtime is the calmest of the bunch, so you’re not in any danger as long as you don’t move.” Ryomen gestured towards the youngest sorcerer of the group. The other three were all sitting on the other side of the pond with Sukuna, who had a drooling Yuuji in his lap. Ryomen, the guardians, and now Nanami were on the opposite side of the pond to create a safe distance for everyone. The cursed soul that Ryomen spoke of was approaching the blonde in a snake-like slither. From the tension coming off of Nanami in waves, Ryomen suggested, “Sitting down might be a better option.”

Nodding to the pink-haired man, Nanami followed his directions. He slowly sat down on the warm grass and allowed the cursed soul to come closer. The closer Overtime got, the easier it was to feel the heat radiating off of the beast. Despite the hardened instincts Nanami had developed from being a sorcerer screaming at him to attack or run, he remained still. His blunt sword had been taken by Ryomen, so he had no choice but to listen. If anything were to go wrong, Nanami had trust in his friends to intervene. It was a recent development for Nanami to finally trust in someone else. With his tendency to be distant and jaded, not many stuck around for long enough for Nanami to trust them. Satoru, Suguru, and Shoko were different. It was nice to have friends again. 

There was something brushing against his cheek. 

Overtime had taken the opportunity to be face to face with Nanami while he was lost in thought. He was usually more aware than this. Though, he was in a unique situation. Like Ryomen had said, Overtime showed no signs of agitation. The wrappings that Nanami had seen cut through concrete walls were being used to gently card through his hair and face. With the proximity to the cursed soul, Nanami was able to notice the different colored wrappings on his throat: the top wrapping was yellow with spots while the bottom wrapping was a solid cyan. Additionally, the sorcerer realized that the metal making up Overtime’s left half was similar to steel wool. It was made up of tightly wound coils that were flexible enough to allow for the cursed soul to move about. Magma peeked through the thin openings of the coils, causing sweat to bead down Nanami’s face from the heat. As if noticing this, the brightness of the magma dulled as a result of Overtime lowering his body temperature. The warmth washed over Nanani like a heated blanket. So this is why Yuuji-kun loves being held by this creature so much.

Normally, Overtime took the form of a mythical naga that was mummified. However, Nanami had seen the curse form his wrappings to resemble legs. It had only happened once, but the blonde could never forget it. During that brief moment of Overtime having two legs, he had seen a mirror version of himself. Same build, same height, same hair, same glasses, same type of spotted wrapping. It was still unnerving to look at the creature who he shared so many similarities to. He already knew the reason for their shared features, yet he kept forgetting such a crucial fact. Sukuna had told them about how he and the cursed souls were part of the first lifeforms on Earth. The rough draft. The rough draft of Nanami Kento. If Sukuna was telling the truth, then Overtime really had been him. Of course, they would look and act the same.

He could not help, but wonder if Overtime was jealous of Nanami being the one allowed to live. 

Or had Overtime already lived a life?

It was possible, but there was no way of knowing since Overtime lacked a mouth. The only facial features the cursed soul had was his glasses and singular eyelight, which could give the nastiest glare or side-eye.  Overtime’s hair was darker than his own, but it bore the same neat style. 

“I suppose you prefer having an orderly appearance like I do.” Nanami spoke softly. His words made Overtime pull away to observe the other quietly. After a moment of the two staring at each other, the cursed soul gave a nod. Shock filled Nanami until he remembered that cursed souls were not like animals. It was expected of them to have high intelligence due to the nature of their souls, according to Sukuna. Not as intelligent as a human, but it was frighteningly close. 

He recovered quickly and nodded in return. 

That was when the cursed soul did something odd. 

The wrappings that made up his arm, usually unraveled to provide extra grip or attacks, wound itself together until it resembled a hand. With an almost fondness present in his actions, Overtime ruffled Nanami’s hair. It brought in painful memories of Haibara, who would make it his mission to mess up his hair every day. The reminder was unpleasant, yet the affection had his body relaxing. While he was nowhere near as touchy as Satoru, Nanami was still a human who craved the company of others. For half a second, Nanami leaned into the touch. Both of them leaned away at the same time with Overtime looking at Nanami with a steady, determined gaze. 

Nanami had been accepted by Overtime. Both as a student and as an ally. Even though the cursed souls acted independently, it was always Overtime who would be the de facto leader when the need arises. From Overtime’s approval, the rest of the cursed souls made their way to Nanami. 

For the first time since Sukuna called them to the shrine, Supernova was willingly interacting with a sorcerer. The others had not shown as much animosity as Supernova had towards Nanami and his upperclassmen, so it was surprising to see the purple cat pad his way to the blonde’s lap before anyone else. During the meeting with Sukuna, the curse had told them that all the curses had a purpose. Nanami remembered what the curse had said clearly. 

Supernova is the most balanced of the guardians. He excels in either long range attacks or close combat. With his ability to reduce or enlarge in size, he can accompany Yuuji wherever the brat goes. I’m not sure how, but Supernova’s blood contains a deadly poison that he can control the lethality of. There is no record of a user of blood manipulation having poisonous abilities, but here we are. His claws are also laced with poison, so don’t let the ass scratch you. There is no cure if you get poisoned. I’ve also seen how Supernova can change the quality of his poison. It can range from paralyzing you, decaying your flesh, or just making you too sick to act. I can use my reverse curse technique to heal you if you get poisoned, but I won’t be happy about it. Just stay out of his way and don’t be a threat to Yuuji, and you should be fine. 

With Supernova, he was the first Yuuji bonded to. The cat’s aggression was only due to his fierce protectiveness of the toddler. However, there was a personal grudge Supernova seemed to have with Sukuna and Suguru. Sukuna did not speak as to why, but it was obvious he knew. Supernova placed his paws on Nanami’s chest, his deadly claws sheathed for the moment. He was just as intelligent as Overtime and gazed at Nanami scrutinizingly. It felt like the fluffy cat was looking into Nanami’s very soul, which Nanami reciprocated. He stared unwaveringly at the feline to show his dedication to helping Yuuji. The world could be at stake if Kenjaku was not stopped. A child’s life was in danger.

And Nanami was tired of having kids dealing with adult’s problems.

There was a soft chirp from the cat. Supernova’s purple eyes were filled with some wariness, but gratitude took up the majority. He hopped off of Nanami’s lap to allow the next cursed soul a chance to examine the blonde, heading towards a delighted Yuuji.

The other cursed souls’ examinations, thankfully, did not involve another staring contest. Boogie was the friendliest of the bunch, giving Nanami a large lick after sniffing him. At first, the dog had been unsettling to look at with the strange skull fuzed to his muzzle. Over time, Boogie had endeared himself to the sorcerers. The bovine-like skull and tusks were actually quite fitting considering how bull-headed and pig-headed the canine tended to be. Stubborn and stupid. Yet surprisingly endearing. Seeing the behemoth of a dog interact so gently with Yuuji had made it far easier to stop seeing Boogie as a demon. Boogie licked Nanami again, displacing his glasses. Definitely not a demon. 

Boogie is the muscle that can make quick work of anyone trying to harm Yuuji. He strikes hard, he strikes fast, and he can take a strike in return. His bark is part of his curse technique. When he barks, you or him or whatever else he chooses will be replaced with anything that has cursed energy. Before every fight, Boogie sheds the horn on the center of his snout. In emergencies, Boogie can switch his place or Yuuji’s with the horn no matter how far away it is. The only downside is that the horn has a time-limit of twenty-four hours. To deal with that, Boogie sheds the horn every damn day and places it somewhere safe. You’ll probably never see him with that middle horn. Besides that, the oaf has acidic spit that makes you hear a very strange song while it eats away at your flesh. He can choose when his drool becomes deadly, so you’re fine if he licks you. Though, it might be just as bad since that dog’s breath reeks. 

The pair that approached once Boogie trotted off were far more withdrawn. Staying close together, Chimera and Resonance approached Nanami and kneeled on his left and right side respectively. An air of mourning curled around the sorcerer’s throat, making his chest feel light and stomach uneasy. He got the sense that…they were the youngest. It was likely a foolish thought as Sukuna has said he and the guardians were millions of years old. And yet…The aura only a scared child can produce was tugging at his heart. 

Nanamin! Nanamin! Na-na-na-na-nanamin! There’s a new bakery that opened, and I know you like bread! Let’s go! 

Nanami-san! We should go to the mall. Itadori is just thinking with his stomach again!

Hah?! No, I’m not! Nanamin, tell Kugisaki that she’s being ridiculous!

Both of you are idiots. Nanami-san I’m sorry for my classmate’s disrespect. 

Like you’re one to talk, Fushiguro! Didn’t you break Nanami’s- OW!

Shut up!

Nuh-uh! I’m gonna- OW! QUIT HITTING ME, FUSHIGURO!

Stop being an idiot, Itadori!

QUIT IT OR ELSE I’LL STICK NAILS IN BOTH OF YOU!

He started it! Nanamin! Defend your favorite!

Oi!

Hey!

Grief. There was grief in the atmosphere surrounding the two cursed souls. The blurred faces and muddled voices were not enough for Nanami to remember anything. What was he forgetting? Nanami shook his head and looked at Resonance first. He had his palm outstretched for her to take if she wanted. She placed the pointed tip of her arm delicately as if Nanami’s skin was made of paper. 

Resonance is the long distance fighter. She gets rid of threats before they can get too close. Her aim is impeccable. Not to mention, she can control the nails she shoots. Though, it costs more energy. With her vines, she can make terrain difficult to move in to give her an even better shot. She also specializes in dealing damage to one’s soul. Hidden in her torso is a straw doll. To use it, she will get a piece from her opponent’s body and stab it into the doll with a nail. Once struck, nails will manifest inside the opponent and burst out, essentially making a living pin cushion. She can do the same thing to a cursed object, causing it to fall from the wielder’s hand as it's nailed to the ground. And, while it isn’t deadly, she will judge the shit out of you if you wear something she deems ugly. Yuuji is always well-dressed thanks to her. 

Unlike the rest, Resonance had no facial features, not even eyelights like Overtime and Chimera. She spoke with her body instead. The vines wrapped around her loosened their grip.  One of the roses scattered amongst the vines bloomed. It was her way to show that she was content. Nanami gave a small smile towards her, unsure if she could see it. Based on how the large rosette on her left side bloomed, she had understood his intent. 

A drip of goop landed on his thigh. Nanami turned to where Chimera was. His shadowy and inky form was a stark contrast to the brightness of a summer’s day. The sun made it difficult to see the cursed soul’s green eyelights, but Chimera made up for it with his power to shape himself into different forms. He levitated the drop of ink on Nanami’s leg to form it into a question mark. With a goopy hand, he formed the image of a snarling, angry wolf and another image of a calm rabbit. 

“Are you asking me if I am friend or foe?”

Chimera nodded. 

“I am a friend. I have no malicious intent towards any of you, especially Yuuji. A child deserves to be protected, and I will do everything in my power to aid in that duty.” Nanami assured firmly. 

The wolf disappeared as Chimera let the rabbit come to life, hopping around until it found its way towards Nanami’s hand. He gave the inky rabbit an experimental stroke. It felt like touching wet ink, but his hand held no stains when he pulled away. 

Chimera is a clever bastard and uses that to his advantage. He has ten shadows that he can summon. However, I have only seen him use nine of them in all the years we’ve interacted. While he can fight in close range or with a few weapons, his main specialty is crowd control. The shadows are excellent when dealing with multiple opponents at the same time or making distractions. Most of his shadows have offensive capabilities, but he has one that is purely defense used for retreating. His variety of attacks are useful in a fight, and Yuuji loves the animals he summons. Chimera can manifest frogs, elephants, rabbits, wolves, snakes, owls, deer, oxen, and tigers. The smaller he makes them, the more he’s able to conjure at the cost of the attacks being weaker and vice versa if he enlarges them. Reducing their size is usually just for Yuuji if he wants to see an elephant or something like that. He’s also the stealthiest of the group. You won’t find the spiky shit unless he wants you to find him. 

Just as he did with Resonance, the blonde offered a hand to Chimera. The shadow creature stared at it for what felt like hours until fingers laced with his. It did not last for more than a second, Chimera bolting away with Resonance quick to follow. However, Nanami noticed that Chimera had yet to call back the rabbit. A sign of gratitude. 

“Huh. They really seem to like you. I have never seen Resonance and Chimera interact with someone like that other than Yuuji.” Ryomen approached with an impressed look in his eyes. He helped pull Nanami from his sitting position, patting him on the shoulder. “Good job. Now, let’s have the next-”

A loud squawk interrupted Ryomen mid-sentence. 

Despite knowing he was in no danger, dread still pooled in Nanami’s guts. Frost covered the grass as the largest and most powerful of the cursed souls approached. A grin was already splitting the draconic bird’s hooked beak. 

With a sympathetic wince, Ryomen squeezed Nanami’s shoulder. “I guess another introduction is in order.”

“We’ve already met,” Nanami said stiffly. Tension coiling in each fiber of his muscles. 

“I’m aware. I don’t think he cares.”

The blonde knew that Ryomen was right. From the sheer power Infinite wielded, he could do whatever he wanted. Infinite was not a pet that would obey its master’s commands. He was a sentient creature who had his own free will. 

Infinite stalked forward. 

“You’ll be fine.”

Nanami doubted that.

“Just…Whatever happens…Don’t look into his eyes.” 

But it was already too late. 

Nanami’s world turned black. 

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When his vision returned, he was on a beach that looked awfully familiar. As he took in his surroundings, the realization hit him. It was the same beach that Nanami had seen in all of the articles about the best places to go in Malaysia. The same white sand. The same turquoise waters. The same palm trees. A gentle breeze tousled his hair, smelling slightly of salt. Despite knowing this wasn’t real, Nanami found himself smiling nonetheless. 

Then he had a second realization.

Infinite was responsible for this hallucination. 

He stood up and began to search for any sign of the giant beaked dragon. While the white sand was the same color as Infinite’s fur, the creature was far too large to stay hidden. Additionally, the red, blue, and purple feathers that were mixed throughout the fur would be a dead give away. Nanami walked against the shoreline while his gaze analyzed every inch of the beach. The waves lazily lapped at his feet, inviting him to relax. He resisted the desire to swim and splash around. Infinite wanted to introduce himself again, and Nanami was not going to let the irritating bird sneak up on him. It was evident that the cursed soul enjoyed toying with people in ways that even Satoru would disapprove of. Infinite was an ally, but Nanami was hesitant to label him as such. The cursed soul had done too much to them for the blonde to see him in a positive manner. Nanami knew he held resentment and anger that could put their alliance with Sukuna and Ryomen at risk. He knew this, yet it was impossible to excuse Infinite. What he had done to Gojo was unforgivable. Did Infinite know how he had permanently damaged Gojo’s brain? If he did, was he regretful or did he not care? It was Infinite that was responsible for the episodes of psychosis, migraines, and overstimulation that Gojo could not control. Did Infinite know what it sounded like when Gojo screamed in agony and wailed in grief? Because Nanami did. He never wanted to know what it felt like to watch someone he cared for be tortured by their own mind. He will never be able to forget how Gojo, loud and boisterous, had whispered Nanami’s name in a shattered voice that sounded so, so  lost-

There was the sound of a chirp. 

His head snapped up at the voice that was far too close. He looked behind him and could not stop himself from softly gasping at the sight. Infinite was mere centimeters away from his face. The blonde took a few steps back to put distance between himself and the draconic bird. Anger and anxiety boiled within his chest, but Nanami knew better than to lash out at something so much stronger than him. 

Several beats of tense silence passed before Infinite did anything. With a long talon, Infinite carefully peeled off the black mask around his head. Once the cloth fluttered onto the sand below, Infinite gazed at Nanami with three pairs of eyes. They were a crystal blue that put the ocean to shame. And there was guilt within them. Another sad chirp escaped the creature’s hooked beak. It reminded Nanami of how Yuuji behaved when he was caught doing something he shouldn’t, shameful and apologetic. 

Nanami’s gaze hardened. “Why did you bring me here? Are you trying to apologize to me for what you have done to my companions?”

Infinite shook his head and pointed at Nanami with a gesture of his head.

“Are you trying to apologize to me?” The sorcerer said, voice far softer from surprise. His eyebrows rose. Nanami had not been expecting such an answer. In truth, he had thought that the creature would throw sand or water in his face with a shrieking cackle. Seeing something as grande and powerful as Infinite behave meekly was strange. All the fury that had been simmering within him cooled to ashes. Infinite was aware of what he had done and he was truly remorseful. However, before Nanami could forgive anything, he needed the cursed soul to know the extent of his actions. “Are you regretful because you injured me or are you regretful because you do not wish to upset our alliance? If I were to be truthful, it is far easier to believe the ladder than the former. You have caused significant trauma to us all, and you did it while laughing. I do not recall you being remorseful when you tortured Gojo-san. The damage you did to him was extensive and permanent, yet I have not seen an attempt to make amends even once.”

Six eyes stared back at him with conflict brewing within. With the bird’s inability to speak, explaining himself was nearly impossible. Nanami wanted to slap himself for expecting a response until a low trill emitted from Infinite. Like the purr of a cat, Infinite continued to trill as he approached the sorcerer once more. He sat on his haunches and used his long neck to pull Nanami close to him in a pseudo-embrace. 

Without his consent, a painful memory resurfaced. 

The sound of a faucet running was the only thing that Nanami’s mind could process. He could not see anything, could not smell anything, could not feel anything. All that he knew in this moment was to wash it off wash it off wash it off washitoffwashitoffwashitoff get it off GET IT OFF-

His knees buckled, making him fall onto the hard tiles. Only a small whimper escaped Nanami’s trembling lips. The teen tried to stand up, but his body would not listen. Did his body not understand how dirty he was? The blood was still there. He had to wash it off! He had to! His second attempt was slightly more successful, but he collapsed after two seconds. His bloodshot eyes burned with tears, but none were shed. He refused to cry. Nanami tugged on his hair to distract himself from the burning. The pain was grounding. It was deserved. He deserved to be hurt, to be punished. It was his fault that Haibara was gone. His fault that he wasn’t strong enough. He would never be strong enough. Never. Never. Never. 

A cold hand pressed against his head. Nanami barely reacted besides a small flinch. 

“Nanami-kun…I heard what happened today. I’m so, so sorry. Neither of you should have been assigned such a dangerous mission.” It was Gojo’s voice, but it was the most subdued he had ever heard him. Normally, Gojo was loud and annoying. This softer version of his upperclassman was unfamiliar. Even so, Nanami did not pull away from his touch. The older boy sat beside him and pulled the younger into his arms. In a watery voice, Satoru whispered with tears falling down his pale cheeks. “It’s not your fault, Nanamin. The curse killed Haibara-kun and the higher-ups were the ones who assigned you guys such a mission. They’re to blame. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

The blonde tried his best to hide his face with his bangs, but Gojo could see the tears flowing from Nanami’s puffy eyes. Gojo just held him tighter. 

“I’ll keep you safe, Nanamin. I won’t let the higher-ups hurt you too. I promise.”

Infinite’s hold brought the young sorcerer the same feelings of safety and promises of protection as Gojo’s had. He was frozen in place, even as Infinite pulled away. Without looking away from the blonde, Infinite bowed his head deeply. So deep that the top of his head touched the ground. 

And Nanami understood. 

I’m so sorry for what I’ve done, but I promise that I won’t hurt you ever again. I’ll protect you with all my might.

Nanami’s world went black once again. 

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When his vision returned, he was face to face with Infinite. Ryomen and his friends were looking at him in concern. He ignored them in favor of reaching a hand towards the draconic bird. His hand made contact with Infinite’s ivory beak. Infinite cooed, leaning into the touch.

“I hope you keep to your word.” Nanami smiled. “Thank you.”

-Present Day-

“STOP THINKING! ACT! YOU’LL DIE IF YOU DON’T!”

He knew that he only had a second left to do something unless he wanted to be sliced to ribbons by Overtime’s wrappings. Nanami could detect all six of the cursed souls preparing attacks of their own. Attacks that could kill him before he could blink. 

Once Nanami could feel the heat of Overtime’s body against his face, he acted. He moved to the side at the last moment before the cursed soul’s wrapping could slice off his head. The blonde raised his wrapped sword high into the air and slammed it down into the grass. Ratio Technique: Collapse.

As if hit by a small meteor, the ground beneath Nanami and the cursed souls ripped open as his technique cut through everything. He would normally avoid using Collapse due to the mess it caused, but he knew he would die if he had not. The risk of death was not an exaggeration by any means. Ryomen had told him and the guardians to go all out. With Sukuna’s reverse cursed technique, any wounds would be healed, and the curse was skilled enough to bring them back from the dead if anything went wrong. At first, Nanami had been hesitant to injure the cursed souls, especially after the years they had spent bonding, but Sukuna reassured him that they could regenerate better than a special grade curse. No hard feelings would manifest after this battle. Each side both understood the reason and shared the same goal. Yuuji was theirs to protect. If they had to kill each other to grow stronger, so be it. With that in mind, Nanami sent another Collapse into the dirt to further disorient the six beings. 

Ten minutes. I have to stay alive for ten minutes in order to succeed. Infinite is the only one who has been barred from using his abilities, but his natural strength and speed cannot be overlooked. I must stay keen on any long ranged attacks from Supernova and Resonance or Boogie’s swapping technique. The others will likely try to overwhelm me with attacks. They are intelligent, but still follow their instincts more than anything else. I need to overwhelm them instead. Nanami tightened his hold on his blade. His training with Overtime had aided him in learning the limits of his Ratio technique and learning how to surpass them. To ensure he was fighting to his fullest capabilities, Ryomen scheduled this battle to be past 6 PM. His overtime binding vow activated a few minutes ago, fueling him with cursed energy. He used a portion of it to give a layer of protection across his body. Breathing in deeply, he focused his aim at the hoard of shikigami Chimera had sent his way. A long, segmented horizontal line stretched across each of them. Only Nanami could see it. He allowed his cursed energy to build around his blade, seeing it glow with a blue flame. Once his cursed energy was close to overflowing, Nanami swung his blade, following the line etched into each shikigami with presion. Ratio Technique Extension: Divide. 

In seconds, the hoard became sliced to pieces. 

Nanami ran past the diced remains of the shikigami. Deadly nails shot past and around him, one slicing his cheek and another slicing his thigh. A beam of blood whizzed past him while several sharpened wrappings slithered towards him. He dodged just in time to avoid being impaled, but it was not long before Chimera sent a second Piercing Blood attack. Nails followed the blood. Each aimed for his heart. 

“True accuracy is a skill many lack. There is a difference between being able to hit a marked target in the center and hitting a target in the center without said markings.” Sukuna held an arrow in his hands and threw it into the air. He gazed at Nanami with a stern expression. “Your technique makes a bullseye for you automatically. Following those guidelines is necessary, of course, but it's limiting your potential. If you can hone your precision to the max,” he paused at the exact moment to slice the descending arrow in half without looking, “then you’ll be a force to be reckoned with.” 

The beam of blood was thin and the nails were small. In the past, using his technique on much tinier opponents was a challenge. He had not seen the use of focusing so much effort to hit something with his technique if he could destroy it with his fists alone. Now, he swung his blade vertically to cut the blood and nails down the middle. The parted nails fell onto the ground harmlessly. Supernova locked eyes with Nanami, readying several balls of condensed blood that Nanami knew he could not completely avoid. He tried to close the distance to make it more difficult for the feline to land a blow. Water would make the attack useless, Nanami had researched the properties blood had and had seen how Supernova tried to avoid the rain and pond at all costs. Luckily, the pond was only a foot away. Without thinking twice, Nanami lunged for it and used his blunt sword to send a wave of water on top of the cat. He used his other hand to grab a rock from the pond to throw it at Resonance. Dirty tactics had been something Nanami hated doing before Ryomen forced him to only train with such methods for two weeks. Mud covered the wet rock, some particles flying off from how much strength Nanami put into his throw. It hit exactly where he wanted: on Resonance’s legs. Since Resonance only had points at the ends of her leg, she relied on the surface to be soft enough to pierce. It was similar to soccer cleats. However, if the ground was too hard for her to pierce it, then Resonance would be unstable. His throw dislodged the cursed soul’s thin, metal legs. She collapsed onto the ground. Resonance had already started to get back up, but the extra seconds without the risk of being pierced by nails were vital. 

Chimera was the next to approach with a sword in an inky hand, which Nanami was quick to intercept with his own. They were at a standstill until the shadow curse summoned a large bird to attack Nanami from behind. Nue. The birds electrified wings could be deadly since Nanami had gotten parts of his torso wet from the pond. If he focused most of his cursed energy into protecting his back, then he would likely remain conscious. He prepared himself from the blow while staying focused on parrying Chimera’s sword. 

WOOF 

The world became a dizzying blur as Boogie switched him with Overtime. The mummy-like being had been keeping his distance beside Infinite. 

Overtime had been next to Infinite. 

Shit. Nanami brought his hands up to protect his chest from the feathered dragon’s talons. He clenched his teeth so hard they creaked as Infinite’s claws left deep lacerations in his arms. Blood instantly started pouring from the wounds, a vein had likely been cut. Ignoring the pain, Nanami pushed himself away from the sharp talons before Boogie could maul him. Boogie and Infinite were the largest of the cursed souls and had the most physical strength. The blonde remembered how Ryomen could flip someone as large as Sukuna without breaking a sweat. He had told him the key to using someone’s weight against them. 

“The joints. Specifically, the knees. When you’re a larger person, balance is everything. Take that away, and they’ll be falling like a sack of bricks. Try it on the blindfolded idiot if he gets too annoying.”

While neither Boogie or Infinite had a human build, they still had joints that Nanami could exploit. Their four legs meant that it would be more difficult to make them topple over, so he would need to double his efforts. He could not use his blade as the two cursed souls were too close for anything besides hand to hand combat. Nanami dropped his blunt sword to free his hands and immediately swung at a charging Boogie. His fist connected with the jaws of the canine’s second skull. It shattered from the force with some shards of bone left embedded into Nanami’s knuckles. Quick to recover, Boogie rammed the horns of his second skull into the sorcerer’s calves. The pain was immense with blood staining flowing out of the holes once Boogie pulled out. However, Nanami used Boogie’s lower position to his advantage. He sent a devastating kick to the cursed soul’s stomach.

Overtime gently poked his legs and arms with purpose. They had finished their training for the day, but it was clear that the mummy-like curse had something to say. Understanding Overtime had gotten easier with practice, so Nanami straightened to give the other his full attention. He poked more at Nanami’s limbs before lifting up one of his sharp wrappings. 

“Are you saying my body is similar to your wrappings?”

The cursed soul nodded. He lifted one of Nanami’s arms, covering it in spotted cloth. When he released the blonde’s arm, Overtime picked up Nanami’s sword that was beside the sorcerer on the ground. Carefully, he pressed the blade on top of a leg. Leaning back, the entity made an equal sign with his wrappings and gazed pointedly at the leg he had placed the blade upon. 

“My leg has equal potential as my sword?”

Another nod. 

“...Please show me how.”

A line with ten segments appeared over Boogie’s underside. Nanami’s foot landed on the seven-to-three mark, which was on the joints of his back paws. In an instant, the back legs buckled, only handed on by a fleshy thread. He had had doubts about his technique being as powerful when he channeled it through something other than his sword. The blonde had believed that his hit to Boogie’s back legs would help unbalance him, nothing more. This was the first time that Nanami was legitimately fighting the friendly dog, so he had not known how the cursed soul’s body would react to his technique.

It would not take long for Boogie to regenerate. He needed to focus on Infinite and find a way to bring him down. The problem lay in the fact that the feathered dragon had a segmented body. Hitting one part would not spread to the rest of his form. Infinite still has joints. His legs are not proportional to his body. Though, I am not sure if his Limitless technique is helping him stay upright. The areas between each segment are likely impenetrable like Gojo-san’s Infinity. Aiming at the joint that connects his paw and leg would be best. It’s essentially his wrist that allows for proper movement. Nanami could hear the sounds of the other cursed souls heading towards him, but he ignored them. His plan to overwhelm them had not been that successful. There was only so much that one person could do against six opponents. They would come later. Currently, Nanami needed to avoid being carved open by Infinite’s beak and talons. By the sound of panting, he knew that he would need to be ready for being switched around by Boogie’s barks soon. Before the canine could do said thing, Nanami grabbed his blade and created distance between himself and the two entities. 

Nanami felt dizziness start to creep over him. He was losing large amounts of blood and the holes in his legs were making it very hard to stay standing. The ten minutes were almost up. All he needed to do was survive. 

And he did.

In a clash of claws, talons, nails, wrapping, and shadows, Nanami stood his ground as the deadliest part of the test began. He brought his blade down and up, again and again. Legs would be cut, arms would be slices, nails would be broken, yet the barrage of attacks did not stop. Black spots littered his vision as more of his blood was spilled. He refused to back down, however. Gojo and Getou were more powerful than him while Shoko had a power that was treasured by Jujutsu Society. Nanami was not as important as them. Nanami was not as strong as them. Nanami was not as durable as them. In the past, Nanami would have accepted this and never tried to be anything more. Things were different. An innocent child’s life was on the line due to a vile curse user who wanted nothing more than to see the entire world destroyed. Kenjaku had the power to kill everybody Nanami held dear if their plans came to fruition. Sukuna’s stories about the curse user were horrific. The complete disregard for another life, the deranged experimentation, the willingness to do whatever it takes to sate their curiosity, and much more that made Nanami’s stomach churn. What kind of person would he be if he did nothing? Especially after bonding with Yuuji, who was the sweetest boy Nanami had ever met. 

What kind of monster would he be if he let that precious boy die?

He could feel his body starting to shut down from blood loss, but he kept attacking and defending as hard as he could. It felt like hours had gone by despite only minutes passing. Sukuna, Ryomen, Gojo, Shoko, and Getou were all watching from a safe distance. Nanami would be damned if he disappointed any of them. The blonde knew how his upperclassmen worried over him. To them, they still saw the thin teenager with a bad haircut and even worse attitude. Gojo and Getou likely imagined the trembling, scared teen he had become after the Sendai mission. All of them were protective over him. While he appreciated the sentiment, Nanami did not want the rest of his life spent being babied by his companions. His entire childhood was spent being responsible and reliable. Being an adult changed nothing. Succeeding at this test would prove to them that he was not to be coddled. He wasn’t special or very powerful, yet Nanami continued fighting anyway. 

Infinite was closing the distance for the umpteenth time. Previously, Nanami was able to shatter the feathered dragon’s wrists to make him lose balance until he regenerated. He had done it several times. However, Nanami’s eyesight had become so blurry that he could not see where the cursed soul’s legs were. A cut to his forehead was responsible. Blood had gotten into his eyes which, paired with his blood loss, spelled bad news for the sorcerer. Still, Nanami prepared himself to strike. Most of Infinite was a blob of white, but the texture of his body varied. He had fur, feathers, cloth covering his eyes and neck, talons, and a hooked beak. Focusing on the draconic bird’s body, he could feel the tattered ends of Infinite’s mask brush against his cheek. Due to Infinite’s large size, he needed to bend his neck to hit smaller opponents. The bird was clearly going to bite his head. In other words, kill him. 

“I’ll have him train you until your technique is strong enough to cut through diamonds and precise enough to cut a droplet of water on the head of a pin. Understood?”

Strong enough to cut through diamonds. That was the expectation Ryomen had set for him. Perhaps there was a bit of exaggeration, but the message was still important. No matter how his body ached and bled, Nanami knew he had to deliver. He was known for being efficient. He got things done. 

His mind became clear as the last thought entered his mind: Get. It. Done. 

As he felt Infinite’s beak start to enter his flesh, Nanami raised his blade as high as he could before bringing it down with a force he had never achieved. Sparks of black and read ignited his sword and arm, fueling him with more energy he knew what to do with. The initial hit made the draconic bird dislodge his beak, but Nanami did not stop. He struck his blade against the bottom of Infinite’s jaw. Black and red manifested into the air. Black Flash. Twice. A move even Gojo had not accomplished. 

The new energy helped the black spots in his vision disappear. With his regained sight, he gasped at what he saw. 

Infinite’s beak had been completely shattered.

Shrieks and whines escaped the feathered dragon who was beginning to flail around in a blind panic. Due to Infinite’s infinity, he had never been hit before. Ryomen had made the being release his greatest defense. Nanami saw as Infinite cried out in pain, reminding him of a child wailing from a tiny cut after a fall. It was usually the shock of the fall that caused the tears. He could not help but feel guilty as Infinite continued to panic. Though, his guilt was overtaken by relief as Infinite’s mindless scramblings caused his long body to knock over the other cursed souls like a stack of dominoes. 

Nanami wanted to collapse then and there, but he knew better than to let his guard down. His head then snapped to the sound of Ryomen’s voice. He sounded the most joyful Nanami had ever heard him.

“Ten seconds, Nanami!” Ryomen said, a proud smile on his face. 

Nanami let out a deep sigh. His body began to relax as the seconds ticked by quickly. He was already imagining the warm feeling of the healing energy reverse cursed technique had. A day-long nap was also in order. Perhaps he should finally go to the luxury hot spring Gojo had recommended-

Then there was a spotted wrapping flying towards his head. 

Precise enough to cut a droplet of water on the head of a pin. He had no time to dodge or protect himself. He needed to cut it or else he would die. The wrapping was even thinner than Supernova’s Piercing Blood. It had taken all of his focus to split the bloodstream, and he had not lost a liter or so of blood. Hitting the earlier Black Flashes helped his energy levels, but it had not cured his blood loss. Nanami grit his teeth as he put everything he had left into his attack. 

He swung. 

And the wrapping split in two. 

He had done it.

This had been the worst ten minutes of his life, but he was thankful for it. As he looked towards the others, he was shocked as he saw them applauding. Shoko’s face was lit up in a rare smile, Gojo was jumping up and down, and Getou was looking at him with a softness that made Nanami feel seventeen again.

Sukuna had already picked Nanami up before the exhausted sorcerer could blink. The warmth of reverse cursed technique covered his body like a blanket. His wounds closed and his pain faded away. When he risked a glance at the curse, Sukuna simply gave a nod of respect. With how advanced Sukuna’s curse technique was, no scars would be left behind. It was like it never happened. The only proof that remained of Nanami surviving this test was the new way Ryomen and Sukuna stared at him. With the ladder, it was with respect. 

Most importantly, Ryomen looked at him with trust. 

Nanami had succeeded. 

-

“So Nanamin got an A?”

“I did, Yuuji-kun. It was a difficult test, but I made sure to study. Have you studied for your spelling test tomorrow?”

“Mhm! Fushiguro helped me with big cards!” 

“I’m glad.”

Yuuji beamed at Nanami before scooping another forkful of noodles into his mouth. This was the first time he had eaten somewhere besides his home, and all of his family were able to come! He was so excited when his Papa told him that his Uncles and Aunt would be visiting for the next four days. They were usually really busy, so they couldn’t come over often. The boy had missed them a lot. When he asked why they were able to sleepover, Uncle Gojo just ruffled his hair and told him that they were on vacation. Fushiguro still had school, but he came to visit with Infinite’s help. Today, he and Fushiguro had studied a lot and played a lot! It was so much fun! He had not even noticed how it had gotten dark until Uncle Kuna came from the backyard, telling him to get dressed. When his uncle had told him that they would be going out to eat, Yuuji had scrambled to his room as fast as he could!

They were eating at Nanami’s favorite restaurant because his Papa said that Nanami deserved it after passing his ‘test’. Nanami had told him that this place served ‘Italian’ and helped him choose what to order. Yuuji did not know the name of what he got, but it was really good! The noodles were thicker like an udon noodle, and the sauce was really creamy! Using a fork was also really cool! He scooped up some more noodles, leaning down to where Supernova was hidden beneath the table. The cat sniffed at the food before taking a bite. He was much less messier in eating than Yuuji was. Yuuji pet his favorite cat in the world as praise. Supernova was the best!

“Little cub, you are making a mess.” Papa gently used his napkin to wipe off the sauce from his cheeks. 

“So is Satoru.” Uncle Getou chuckled. 

“Whuh?” Said man glanced at them with his cheeks full of the same noodles Yuuji had ordered. 

The boy giggled. “Uncle Gojo! It’s not nice to talk with food in your mouth!”

Gojo pouted, but he did not say anything more. After he swallowed his food, the white-haired man pointed at Getou. “He does it way more than me, Yuu-chan! Suguru just pretends he’s polite when he’s with you!”

“That’s not good, Uncle Getou!”

“Yuuji-kun, don’t worry. I have far better manners than your lying uncle.”

“So mean!” Gojo whined, which made Yuuji laugh harder. He loved Gojo and Getou so much! They were super funny like the talking deer girl show Yuuji liked to watch with Boogie!

The rest of the dinner was awesome! Yuuji was super happy to see his Papa smiling and laughing with his uncles and aunt. Fushiguro showed Yuuji lots of pictures and facts about Italy on his phone. His friend always made learning interesting, speaking in a voice that helped Yuuji’s messy mind focus. He was patient like Kenko-Sensei. Maybe Fushiguro and Miss Kenko should meet. They both helped Yuuji learn new things, after all! Saving that thought for later, Yuuji focused on all the foods and places Italy had. He really wanted to try gelato and see the Colosseum! When he mentioned visiting Italy to the older boy, Fushiguro immediately went to a website to look at plane tickets. Yuuji’s eyes bulged as he saw the prices, but Fushiguro looked at them like it was nothing. 

“Gojo?” Fushiguro asked while not looking away from his phone. He 

“Hm?” The man hummed with his hand on his cheek. Dessert would be arriving soon, and Gojo was growing impatient. Yuuji was too! He couldn’t wait to try tiramisu! 

“Can I buy tickets for Italy?”

Huh?!

“Sure! Do you need my card?”

Wait! Not now!

“No, I already saved your platinum card on my phone.”

Gojo had a card made of platinum?!

“Are you inviting anyone, Megumi-chan?”

How is Uncle Gojo so calm? It was so expensive!

“Definitely not you.”

“Aww!”

“Yuuji, we can go-”

“N-No!” Yuuji blurted out. He immediately softened his voice. It wasn’t nice to use his outside voice when he was inside. “Uhm. I don’t think I can go, Fushi. Papa would be sad and the guardian’s would miss me! I’m sor-”

Fushiguro snorted, making Yuuji stop. The gloomy boy was smiling! “I didn’t mean right now, Yuuji. I meant sometime in the next few years when we’re both older. Does that sound better?”

“Oh! Yeah! That sounds great!” Yuuji nodded excitedly. 

“Italy is quite a lovely place.” The voice of Uncle Kuna sounded from Papa’s hand. Since Uncle Kuna was a ghost-y thing that didn’t have a body, he could not be outside the shrine. He ‘retreated’ inside Papa like Venom with Spiderman! Yuuji patted his hand on top of Uncle Kuna’s mouth on instinct, squealing when his uncle blew raspberries into his palm. “Cheeky brat.”

Yuuji stuck out his tongue, thinking that his uncle could not see him without eyes. 

“I saw that, brat.”

“How?!”

“When did you go to Italy, Sukuna?” Shoko interrupted. The other sorcerers were looking at the curse with equal curiosity. As her question set into Yuuji’s mind, he froze. That’s right! His uncle could not leave the shrine! How did he leave to visit Italy! It was super duper far! 

“Eh. I didn’t really go to Italy as it is now. I went…a long time ago. It was nice. I did not get to try any food, but I can still tell this place is not authentic Italian.”

“Well, it never claimed to be authentic. It’s a fusion of American and Italian food, but it is still wel done. Though, I am curious. What other places have you gone to?” Nanami replied with a tilt of his head. 

Before Uncle Kuna could say anything more, the nice waitress that had been serving them brought the deserts they ordered. Nanami got bread pudding, Shoko got a latte, Getou and Papa got cannolis, Gojo got a chocolate lava cake, Fushiguro got a crème brulée, and Yuuji was finally getting his tiramisu! He thanked the waitress as he dug into the cold dessert. It was fluffy and creamy and so so good! The waitress had told him that this tiramisu was specially made for ‘nice boys’ like him. Adult tiramisu, according to the waitress, had alcohol which his Papa said he could not drink until he was older. Yuuji did not really care that he was not eating the real version. The taste of chocolate and chocolate milk were way better! He lifted his fork and showed it to Gojo. “This is really yummy, Go-Go! Try it!”

“Oh? Is Yuuji-kun going to share with me?”

“Uh-huh!”

“You’re so sweet! Mine is really good too, Yuu-chan! I’ll cut you a piece!” Gojo grinned as he cut a generous piece for Yuuji. He got a spare spoon from the table and scooped up a small portion of Yuuji’s tiramisu. They both looked at each other before eating their pieces at the same time. 

Simultaneously, they spoke. “So good!”

Gojo ruffled his hair. The boy smiled from the affectionate touch. His heart felt so full that it felt like it was going to burst! It would only be better if the other guardians were here, but he could find a way to bring them next time! He loved his family. Being with them was the best. They were all so kind and had done so much for Yuuji. They made him feel so safe and loved. His guardians were all precious to him. He hoped he could return the favor someday for all of them. Yuuji knew his family would say that they did not want anything in return. They were too nice to accept his gifts. If he could not make or buy them something, then Yuuji would need to use his actions. Fushiguro had shown him the different ways love can be shown. ‘Acts of Service’ would be the best one to use for his family. 

With his mind made up, Yuuji continued to enjoy his time with everyone. There was laughter, stories, and so much warmth. Even as they left the restaurant to go back home, the warm feeling did not go away. Gojo, Getou, Nanami, and Shoko would be staying for a few more days, so Yuuji began thinking of activities to do with them. It was going to be the best week ever! Yuuji would make sure of it! 

As Yuuji’s eyes grew heavier and heavier, there was one thought that stayed with him. 

Today was amazing.

.

.

-

.

.

A tool is meant to be used. Nothing more. Nothing less. It had no other purposes besides performing what it was created to do. If a tool failed to do what it was made for, then it should be thrown away and replaced with a functional one. 

He was a broken tool. 

He was defective. 

He was useless.

He had failed. 

Yet he was still here. 

Why?

He did not understand. 

It was cold. 

But weren’t tools not supposed to feel anything?

He did not understand. 

He began to shiver, wrapping his arms around himself to conserve heat. Wait. Arms? No, that wasn’t right. Tools had no arms. Tools did not shiver. He truly was malfunctioning. 

Powerful winds swirled around him, spreading the cold from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Crystals of white stuck onto his eyelashes and hair. His thin hoodie did nothing to protect him from the upcoming blizzard. He should start moving before he was caught in the worst of the storm-

He did not understand. 

Tools were often made of simple things like metal or wood. Tools could not feel the difference in temperature. Tools did not have arms, legs, or hair. So why did he-

Oh.

He was a person. 

How strange. 

No wonder he had failed. He had not been in the correct form to perform his duty. He still wasn’t in the right shape, but he did not know how to fix such an issue. For now, he would need to grow accustomed to this body.

There was a blob of pink in front of him. 

Oh. 

That’s right. He was already accustomed to this form. He knew why he was here. He was Itadori Yuuji, the one meant to save the world from its demise. Though, thinking of himself as Itadori Yuuji did not feel right. It felt strange. Wrong. 

He was not Itadori Yuuji anymore.

The boy in front of him is.

“Mr. Grey!”

That was a much better name. It released the memories that only appeared when the boy was here. Yuuji’s presence was the only way for him to remember. 

And he remembered why he wanted to talk to the boy today. 

The boy was not aware of his true nature, he did not know that they were the same person. For the time being, he allowed the child to call him whatever he pleased. He gazed at his younger self. A feeling in his chest began to grow even when he was sure that he was incapable of feeling emotions. It grew and grew. Generating a heat to combat the blizzard swirling around them. What was it?

His sense of self was so fragmented. It was barely able to piece itself together once Yuuji arrived. He felt like he was split into too many pieces that were too far away from one another. The only way to regain his memories was this boy. This boy who was weak and naive. 

This boy who was Itadori Yuuji. 

This boy who was him.

This boy who would lead to the world’s end if he did not step in.

“Come. I have much to show you.” 

“What are we going to do? Is it something fun?”

He hated Yuuji.

“Yes.”

“Woohoo!”

They walked until a large warehouse could be seen through the snow. Once they entered the building, nothing but old concrete greeted them. It was completely empty. It was exactly what he needed for what he had to do. He led the boy to the middle of the warehouse that was illuminated by a single hanging light. The boy stuck close to his side, clearly afraid of the darkness surrounding them. 

He stepped away from the child. “This is where you and I will train.”

“Train?”

“Yes. I sense that your guardians and other family have gotten stronger. They want to protect you at the risk of their own lives. They are willing to die for you.” He knelt over the now trembling boy. His gaze was just as empty as he felt. “You cannot let that happen. No matter what.”

“What d-do I need to do?” The child asked with tears in his eyes.

He felt a familiar heat envelop his fist in sparks of black and red. Perfectly controlled. As he lifted his flaming fist into the air, he spoke again, ignoring the boy’s question. “Dodge.”

He hated Yuuji. 

His fist swung towards the child. 

He hated Yuuji. 

Blood splattered onto the ground.

...

Red was staining into pink.

...

He could hear soft sniffles and whimpers.

...

He raised his fist again. 

...

He welcomed the red and black sparks.

...

He struck and...

...and

............No.

You stupid brat!

Itadori...tell everyone...It wasn't so bad! 

Start by saving me, Itadori.

You've got it from here. 

Thank you Yuuji. For being my little brother. 

Hey, brat, take a good look.

People don't have hearts! They don't...otherwise...that could only mean that they cursed me and my mom with those hearts!

You are me, Itadori Yuuji. 

My students are watching...so help me look even cooler, okay?!

Brother. A man as great as you shouldn't let yourself grow so small. We are jujutsu sorcerers. Me, you, Kugisaki, Mr. Nanami, and all our allies are jujutsu sorcerers! So long as we continue to live, our dead comrades have not truly been defeated! 

Why are you so weak? You're weak yet you cling to life!

You're a strong kid, so...help people. It doesn't have to be all the time. Just whenever you can. You may feel lost. Don't expect gratitude. Just help them. When it's your time to go, make sure you're surro unded by others. Don't end up like me. 

Oh. 

He hated himself. 

That was something he could understand.

I’m happy you’re feeling better!! At least better enough to post lol I just wanted you to know your blog was one on my rotation to check for any updates (on anything, not just writing) 🤗

Awww thank you 🥰

I’m doing better! Progress on the next chapter is FINALLY getting somewhere!

Cursed Guardians (A JJK Fic)

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Kenjaku had a good memory.

There was no such thing as an insignificant detail to Kenjaku. No. Knowledge was knowledge, and it was this knowledge that had allowed Kenjaku to reach the power that they did. Countless centuries had given them the opportunity to hone in their craft, acquire new knowledge, and create plans for the future chaos they would wring. After so many years, there was nothing that could surprise Kenjaku. It was a driving reason for their countless experiments. They wanted to make something utterly unique. Something to entertain them for the rest of time. However, this search for the exceptional only led them to the mediocre. It did not matter how bizarre their research became, it always ended in Kenjaku’s boredom. The Cursed Wombs had disappointed them. The Disaster Curses had disappointed them. The Culling Games had disappointed them. Itadori Yuuji had disappointed them. 

But there was one who never did. 

Ryomen Sukuna. 

Oh, how they still remember the feeling of awe they felt when they first gazed at Sukuna’s abominable form. The Heian Era had been such an amusing time for them. Just when they thought it couldn’t get better, along came the perfect combination of sorcery and humanity, seemingly dropped into their lap to play with. Kenjaku was an ancient being, far older than Sukuna. Due to this, they relished in being able to watch something like them, too corporeal to be a curse but too monstrous to be a human, decimate hoards of sorcerers as if they were flies. There was nothing similar to Sukuna except for themselves. Kenjaku was enamored by said fact. They had always experimented on other creatures, but they had not gotten around to experimenting on themselves yet. Sukuna provided Kenjaku the perfect opportunity to test out new theories on cursed energy on an entity nearly identical to them. The best part was that Sukuna had no inkling to what they were doing. For how intelligent and cunning Sukuna was, Kenjaku had something he didn’t: A good memory.

It had taken a while until Kenjaku realized why Sukuna’s face seemed familiar. His face was covered in tattoos and deformed after all. However, when Kenjaku analyzed the large being’s features up close, they saw a familiar nose, a familiar eye shape, familiar eyebrows, a familiar jawline, and a very familiar hair color. Their realization washed over them like the waves of a tsunami. It took all their self-control to not burst out in hysterics in order to not wake Sukuna, who was lazily sleeping in the bloodied grounds of a battle he easily won. Sukuna sleeping where Kenjaku could hurt him was not a sign of trust. It was a show of power. By resting his eyes, Sukuna was telling Kenjaku that he knew he could defeat them in his sleep, that he did not view them as a threat to take seriously. It had been thrilling to see his arrogance! 

Especially when they remembered a time where Sukuna had been the exact opposite of prideful. 

They had a good memory. With this memory, Kenjaku remembered the young man that had been the stain on his prosperous village’s name. He was a scrawny thing that had to sleep in the dirt and eat what scraps he could find. It had been so amusing to watch the pathetic rat scamper about in order to survive. At the time, Tengen had been their close companion. The two of them had appeared side by side the moment jujutsu sorcery had sparked into existence from the dark powers of the Great Vengeful Spirits. Tengen had always been the more cautious one and had admonished them for their poor treatment of others they deemed boring. When they told her of their new pathetic, pink pet, she disapproved greatly. They had wanted to use the boy to experiment with, but Tengen made them refrain from doing so. She was the better fighter of the two, so Kenjaku relented and settled for simply watching the rat until it perished. Tengen’s ire was the last thing Kenjaku wanted to deal with, yet it became more difficult over the years to not put the pest out of his misery. No villager gave the boy any kindness or even pity, often beating him severely if he was caught stealing. Kenjaku watched from afar as the boy became an unruly teenager that grew more ambitious in his crimes. Now, he stole for both survival and revenge. The emaciated child had filled out enough that he towered over the villagers and could retaliate with equal brutality. It was interesting to see the teen become a young man, barely in his second decade of life. Where there used to be fear, there was now a fierce determination to live. No matter how inhospitable his life became, he clung to it with everything he had. He was so weak, yet Kenjaku could not ignore the growing fire within him. The inferno would have been unleashed if it was not for the impossibly stupid mistake the man made. Kenjaku was furious that the entertainment they had received was waning due to the impossibly small infant the man cared for. All creatures needed to reproduce, Kenjaku knew that, but they failed to see why someone like him would bring a child into the world when his existence was hated by all. It had been a mistake, likely with another street urchin like him with rotten sake to further dull their judgment. When the sickly woman died in childbirth, Kenjaku was not surprised. While it did not surprise them, they were…perturbed when the young man wasted all of his limited resources on providing for the baby.  

Somehow, the baby survived its first year. Then its second. Then its third. 

It died in its fourth year. 

Kenjaku had grown the slightest bit fond of the drooling thing, but they did not shed any tears at its death. It had lived for such a short time that Kenjaku did not see it as a human. Just a tiny being of flesh that used to toddle around its father and giggle every time he picked it up. The man had named it Yuuji. Permanence, benevolence, and humanity . The meanings of its name were too significant for something so helpless. However, the death of his child made the inferno that Kenjaku had waited years to see burst from the man. His madness had led to the villagers screaming at him like they used to when he was a defenseless child. With that, Kenjaku was able to finally learn the man’s name.

Ryomen. 

What a terrible name. It was more of a title than a name, meaning ‘two faces’. Kenjaku had heard the name before with other two-headed creatures. However, they did not know why a man with one face would be given such a name. 

They wanted to find out. 

And they did . 

After the utter failure the healers did to save his son amongst the plague the village was having, Ryomen had lost his heart and warmth, Yuuji taking it with him. Needless to say, Kenjaku was elated to see his hatred turn into something tangible . If they dropped certain scrolls pertaining to cursed energy, cursed runes, and cursed techniques…well, that was no one’s business except Kenjaku’s own. 

Before they could see the power Ryomen fully developed, Kenjaku was called away by Tengen to discuss a serious topic within the lands. Curses were growing stronger as were the sorcerers that would combat them. Namely, the three major clans: the Kamo Clan, the Zenin Clan, and the Gojo Clan. The influx of cursed energy was cause for concern as there was nothing stopping curses from spreading to other parts of the world. Kenjaku wanted cursed energy to envelop the globe. There were so many possibilities with a planet filled with millions! Their insatiable curiosity would be fed with the endless subjects they would have at their disposal. However, their plan to experiment on the world was halted before it could even start by Tengen. She disagreed with Kenjaku’s attitude like she always did, but she went a step further in her attempts to stop them. Instead of lecturing them or giving them a roll of her eyes, Tengen sacrificed her form to become an eternal barrier to keep the cursed energy contained within Japan.

It was appalling to Kenjaku to see an immortal being waste their lives for such an idiotic cause. Kenjaku and Tengen were immortal, they were supposed to keep each other, all of jujutsu, balanced. Kenjaku was a being of chaos while Tengen was a being of harmony. It was her responsibility to reign in Kenjaku’s mayhem with her peace while it was their responsibility to grant excitement into the world with their disorder. Though, no one had been there to tell them what their purposes were. They both assumed them naturally. Tengen was always there to keep Kenjaku in check, and they helped loosen Tengen’s uptight tendencies. With her now being hidden away in the new Tombs of the Star Corridor, Kenjaku had no one to hold them back anymore. 

They had been so distracted that their disappointment about not being able to see Ryomen’s true power did not affect them in the slightest. If their memory was not as good as it was, they would have forgotten all about Ryomen. 

But they didn’t.

When they realized that Ryomen and Sukuna were one and the same, Kenjaku was excited. To them, Sukuna was a perfect being. Like a beautiful butterfly emerging from an unassuming cocoon, Sukuna had shed his former human self to become the strongest sorcerer in history. There was no sign that Sukuna remembered anything from his original human life, including the son he had adored so much. In fact, Sukuna hated children. Whenever Sukuna would invade villages for his own amusement, he never showed an ounce of compassion for the young lives he was ending. Kenjaku had asked Sukuna if he would ever want a child just to see if there was a sign of the four-armed curse remembering Yuuji. 

“Why the hell would I want an annoying, useless brat to care for? They’re a waste of time and effort, pathetic beings who only live due to the pity of others or their mothers. It is disgusting. ” 

Kenjaku was delighted . 

The King of Curses had lost all of his memories of the weak boy Kenjaku had observed all those years ago. Sukuna knew he had originally been a human, but that was the extent of his memory. It was interesting. So, so interesting . All the suffering and loss Ryomen endured had driven him into becoming such a monster after his death. Kenjaku knew that places with negative memories like battlegrounds or graveyards would bring curses into their world. With Ryomen, the boy had lived a life of misery that was equivalent to the pain a thousand burial sites could bring. So much negativity for such an insignificant being. All of the cursed energy accumulated during Ryomen’s tortured life was the reason Sukuna was as powerful as he was. While they had seen humans live terrible lives and become terrible curses, this was the first time that Kenjaku had seen a human become a curse of such might. To them, Kenjaku saw Sukuna as the Earth’s cautionary tale of what the worst of humanity can create. Just like Kenjaku was born into this world to give Earth the ability to change and excite, Sukuna was formed to punish and warn the humans who had taken the Earth for granted. At least, that was what Kenjaku believed. They were not entirely sure, and that mere fact thrilled them. Sukuna was special. He finally gave Kenjaku the chaos they had been craving.

When Sukuna entered a binding vow with them to become a cursed object, Kenjaku was even more ecstatic. He still had no inkling to his origins, which Kenjaku used to their advantage. Uraume had been rightfully suspicious of Kenjaku’s motives with their plan to reincarnate countless sorcerers and curse users after one thousand years. Even so, Uraume would follow Sukuna like the loyal dog they were. Unlike his loyal servant, Sukuna did not see any reason to be wary of Kenjaku as he believed that he was too powerful for Kenjaku to mess with. In a way, he was right. Kenjaku knew that it would be idiotic to try to engage Sukuna in combat, they only found fighting entertaining for observing the abilities their most recent host carried. However, Kenjaku would always have the upperhand in experience. It was their experience that led them to figuring out how to imbue an object with a soul after all. Sukuna had become increasingly bored of his life in the Heian Era and wanted to plan something new for the sorcerers to deal with. It was a selfish reason done for Sukuna’s own pleasure and amusement, which Kenjaku had always respected about Sukuna. He did whatever he desired. 

So Kenjaku fulfilled his wish. Sukuna sliced off all twenty of his fingers for Kenjaku to split his soul into. The binding vow ensured that Kenjaku could not use any of his fingers for their own gain. 

The binding vow said nothing about splitting Sukuna’s soul into twenty pieces. Just that his fingers were to be imbued with his soul, which Kenjaku did. They just left two extra portions for themselves. Twenty-two pieces of Sukuna’s soul. The last two were the smallest, mere slivers that would not be detected by any curse of sorcerer. Kenjaku loved the number. Twenty two. A pair of identical numbers. Two twos. Twins. 

Oh, how they loved the irony!

Ryomen and Sukuna would be the twins that never met, yet were always together. 

Because at the core of Sukuna’s cursed soul, hidden so deep that even Sukuna had not known of its existence, was a human soul that refused to fade away. 

With the two slivers of Sukuna’s soul that Kenjaku kept for themselves, one piece was kept within the brain that had become their true form. By doing this, Kenjaku permanently tethered themselves to Sukuna. It was both a contingency plan and an experiment. The other piece was used for a far simpler purpose. Kenjaku released the minute fragment into the world to see if anyone would be born with a piece of Sukuna’s soul.

And someone was. Itadori Jin. 

Centuries of research and tests made Kenjaku know everything about souls. They were more vital than any organ, yet most did not know of their existence. Being able to see the shape of one’s soul was impossible for non-sorcerers and a majority of sorcerers. Souls were stubborn things. Whatever shape they took on could not be changed unless the soul itself was forcibly changed. Souls were fragile things. Any damage to it could end up in the death of the being the soul belongs to. Souls were vengeful things. They would not forgive nor forget easily even if the owner of the soul did. Souls were clingy things. It was unnatural for a soul to be in separate pieces, so they would do everything they could to become whole again. 

The last fact was what led Kenjaku to meeting Jin.

No matter how miniscule the pieces of Sukuna’s soul Kenjaku and Jin held, they still wished to reunite. It led Kenjaku to stalk the man and wait for the right moment to steal the body of his wife, Kaori. Jin had been so relieved that his wife had miraculously survived the car crash that he did not see the warning signs that something was very wrong with her. Kenjaku was fond of Jin, they really were. He was a loving man who was too kind for his own good. They would always be grateful to him for giving them the perfect opportunity to start the plan they had been concocting for centuries. 

The plan had been so close to succeeding. Kenjaku had been so close to seeing the merger of Tengen and humanity come to fruition. It would have been fun!

Yet they had been left disappointed.

By Sukuna. 

Kenjaku’s plan had failed.

Because of Sukuna. 

No other event had ever caused Kenjaku to feel such disappointment, such shock, such fury, such disgust. 

Nothing had surprised Kenjaku so much.

After everything that Sukuna had done, he had thrown it all away in a mindless fit of rage. He destroyed everything . The entire planet was ruined as Sukuna burned it all down and carved through the lands. He was like a god throwing a tantrum because he could not control himself. It was stupid . Kenjaku had never once thought of Sukuna in such a way before. 

Then Sukuna did something even stupider. 

With the last remaining threads of their consciousness, only able to exist due to the sliver of Sukuna’s soul, Kenjaku witnessed the King of Curses kneel before a broken shell of a boy. Itadori Yuuji. They had named him such for their own amusement . As a joke only they understood. Yet here Sukuna was, embracing and apologizing to Yuuji with a gentleness of a father . 

Kenjaku saw as Sukuna gave Yuuji a painless death.

Kenjaku saw as Sukuna took Yuuji’s soul to form it into a mass of swirling pink light. 

Kenjaku saw as Sukuna’s mighty form grew smaller. 

Kenjaku saw as Sukuna’s infamous tattoos disappeared one by one.

Kenjaku saw as Sukuna’s last wishes went into giving Yuuji a happy life. 

Kenjaku saw as Ryomen appeared for the first time in over a thousand years. 

Once the last traces of Sukuna’s soul vanished, Kenjaku vanished with him. 

Throughout all their years of existence, Kenjaku had never seen someone turn back time to the extent that Sukuna did. He restarted the world. He made the Earth go back millions of years into the past. He had erased everything. 

Well, almost.

Kenjaku was still there. They still had a good memory. 

And they wanted to try something new .

Instead of going down the same path as they did in their previous life, Kenjaku decided to go down a different route. They kept themselves hidden from Sukuna this time, waiting throughout the years as life evolved from the prehistoric to familiarity. 

Seeing how nature changed and improved gave Kenjaku inspiration for future experiments. Survival was the most important goal in nature. To succeed in said goal, one must fight or become extinct. They had never taken the time to observe the normal life Earth had to offer. It had always been boring to them. However, they had nothing better to do until the Heian Era returned. With so much time, Kenjaku realized how even the plants fought for survival, developing increasingly creative ways to thrive. If something was not working, then the plant or animal died. Simple. If something was working, then the plant or animals survived and spread its improved genetics or knowledge to the next generations. 

Kenjaku kept to their studies as they were even less corporeal than Sukuna’s ghostly form, biding their time. They were not meant to exist. They were not meant to remember. They didn’t care. If they were nothing more than a tangle of conscious wisps, so be it. Nothing would make them let go of the fraction of life they still had.

Once Kenjaku learned of the beings Sukuna had created, their grip on the last shreds of sentience became unbreakable. Cursed Souls. A completely new species that Sukuna made for the sole purpose of protecting Yuuji. They were so interesting. So new. Finally, something new. Something to cure their boredom once again. 

Kenjaku did not make themselves known to the six creatures nor Sukuna once the Heian Era returned. Instead, they decided to find the boy that Sukuna had once been. 

He was even more pathetic than before. With stark tattoos on his body, the villagers saw him as a bad omen to be rid of. Kenjaku did not know that Ryomen could be treated even worse than before. Yet he was. Even if he was doing nothing, people went out of their way to harm the apparent demon in their village. 

It had been so easy to manipulate the poor soul. 

With their last shreds of existence, they found a suitable host from a powerful clan. They were uninterested in the more well known clans like the Gojos or the Zenins. Kenjaku needed a sorcerer with powers that would serve them well in their plan. A plan that had many inspirations from their original one, they still had yet to see the Merger come to fruition. However, there were also many revisions and improvements. To start, Kenjaku decided to make the first step of their plan far earlier. They needed Ryomen for this step, so they made sure their host was as beautiful as she was powerful. Itadori Ren was the host they chose, a stoic woman who held the inherited techniques the Itadori Clan held. As a smaller clan, not many knew of the Itadori’s technique. Kenjaku felt like the Earth was giving them a blessing by having the Itadori Clan have the perfect technique for their plan. 

Body Manipulation. This inherited technique allowed an Itadori to directly change the qualities their body had. It could not be used to manipulate the body of another due to it being both taboo and nearly impossible. The most common way this technique manifested was an Itadori sorcerer’s ability to change the way gravity affected their body. It either made their body lighter than a feather or heavier than stone. Itadoris were skilled at seeing their own soul, but they were a humble clan that kept to themselves. It was not knowledge any outsiders knew of. Kenjaku only learned of the true depths of their technique once they inhabited Itadori Ren’s body. The Itadori Clan was unique for another reason besides their technique, their kindness. Everyone in the clan seemed to be genuinely good people, which was unheard of in sorcerer clans. This kindness made Itadoris refuse to use their abilities for cruelty. Luckily for Kenjaku, they had no such morals to hold them back from seeking out the darkest possibilities the Itadori Clan’s technique had to offer. With their prior expertise in souls, Kenjaku learned how to use the reverse of the technique like he did with Itadori Kaori. Instead of just gravity manipulation, Itadori Ren could use her technique to affect her memories by changing certain areas of her brain. It reminded Kenjaku of how the Zenin Clan was known for their Ten Shadow’s Technique, but it was far from the only technique with members having Projection Sorcery. Ren was not the only member with the memory manipulation technique, which Kenjaku used to further their knowledge. It was typically used to make users of this technique incredibly fast learners, able to prevent the memory of whatever they learned from fading. Additionally, it aided them in being more resilient to psychic attacks.

There were so many possibilities for Kenjaku to explore with Itadori Ren’s techniques, but the second reason for choosing her was even more crucial to their plan. Ren was beautiful. With her beauty, Kenjaku used it to attract Ryomen like a bee to a fresh flower. This new world had been far more cruel to Ryomen, so the boy had been desperate for a loving touch. When they had found him, Ryomen had been so shocked that they were being kind to him. Kenjaku was quite amused, but knew better than to break character. Ryomen was in his second decade like he was when he had Yuuji the first time. However, the mother would not be a nameless woman he got drunk with. No. This time, Kenjaku would be the one to have Yuuji. They had done it with Jin, mostly for their own curiosity. Having Yuuji was far more imperative now. It had been a mistake on Kenjaku’s end to not see the potential the boy held. They would never make such an error again. 

After getting drunk like he had previously, Ryomen had become a father. While they did want to do new things, Kenjaku still wanted other aspects of time to remain the same. They needed Ryomen to grow extremely attached to Yuuji or else their plan would not work. So they faked their death by exiting their host. 

From then on, Kenjaku watched and waited.

They waited and waited and waited and waited until-

“Hello, little one. I take it you’re my last student? ”

It had been a tedious process to become a teacher in such a prestigious school, but it was worth it. In the modern era, they decided to inhabit Kaori Itadori’s body once again. This time, however, they stayed with her for much longer. They also got rid of their dear Jin and old Wasuke to ensure that no one questioned Kaori, who was now a poor widow. As Kaori, Kenjaku decided to explore the world in search of the evidence of the creatures they had longed to study. For years, they traveled across the globe to find every piece of evidence pertaining to cursed souls. Eventually, they wrote a book about it, placing it in the catacombs for someone to read. And they knew that someone would be Getou Suguru. From inhabiting his body and memories, Kenjaku knew that Getou came to the catacombs to study what was meant to be forgotten. In this new world, Getou would likely have the same habit. With their knowledge from traveling, they were able to become a respected scholar in both history and biology. Soon enough, they received several degrees that Kenjaku could care less about. The pieces of papers were only useful in getting Kenjaku into the school Yuuji would attend as a teacher. Ryomen had been so careful to keep Yuuji hidden, but this paranoia was what made him predictable. The only school that Ryomen would ever allow his son to attend would be the one that required each teacher to have multiple degrees and yearly background checks. The only school that Gojo Satoru allowed was his adopted son, Megumi, to attend. 

Their theory was proven correct once the little boy entered their classroom. Kenjaku found Yuuji adorable, he was all pink hair and smiles. He looked at them without an ounce of fear. In fact, he had stuck to their side for most of the class. Yuuji was drawn to Kenjaku for a reason. Before Yuuji had originally been born, Kenjaku had given a piece of themselves to the boy in a binding vow. The only thing needed for the binding vow to be fulfilled was Yuuji being born. As long as that occurred, then a piece of Kenjaku’s soul would be sealed within Yuuji. It would allow Kenjaku to be linked to Yuuji like a more unethical version of a normal mother’s intuition. A binding vow between two people needed full consent, but that was boring to Kenjaku. They had not studied for thousands of years about souls, cursed energy, and more to follow the rules and limitations of jujutsu. In other words, Kenjaku cheated their way around a proper binding vow. They were quite proud of themselves for that one! It had been a stroke of brilliance!

While this linking did come with its risks, Kenjaku knew that the benefits outweigh the risks tenfold! 

There was so much to do now that another step of their plan was complete. It would be four more years until Mahito would be spawned, which was the main reason as to why Kenjaku kept to the same timing as before. The curse would be imperative later on. Even though they no longer had Getou Suguru’s cursed technique, they had developed something even better after centuries of experimentation.

Science was all about testing new theories, learning from failures, and improving prior methods.

And Kenjaku had always been a scientist.

Walking down a dilapidated block filled with nothing but dried weeds and rotting houses, Kenjaku smiled to themselves. The first day of class had been a success. It felt almost painful to have to return to their home after meeting Yuuji and the cursed soul cleverly hidden within his backpack. The purple cat was quite familiar, and Kenjaku could spot that distinct stripe across the nose anywhere. Besides Sukuna, they were the only other beings in existence who knew of the people that inhabited the world they originally came from. The similarities the six cursed souls had were only evident to Kenjaku and Sukuna.

It would be hilarious to see how their old failure would react to his superior counterpart. 

They entered a house that looked just as abandoned as the others. Kenjaku walked through the dirty house, ignoring all the bugs and rodents scattering about, and stopped at a metal door with a large lock. Humming a nameless tune to themselves, Kenjaku took out a key to unlock the door. Nothing but darkness existed outside the threshold. They called into it. “Subject Thirteen?”

After about a minute of waiting, Kenjaku could hear the quick footsteps of his newest project ascending the stairs. A jellyfish-like shikigami floated above their project, illuminating the old staircase with cyan light. The shikigami belonged to their recent experiment, a small boy with dark hair and sad eyes. He trembled as he gazed at Kenjaku. It made a sadistic delight fill them to see the fear in the boy’s eyes when the children of their class were not scared of them at all. Subject Thirteen was only a few years older than the six-year-olds Kenjaku taught, but he knew better than to start crying or whining for his parents. 

Because they were dead.

Kenjaku approached the shaking boy, placing a thumb underneath the eye that was not covered by the child’s messy bangs. They wiped the tears away and cooed at them. “There’s no need for that, remember? I’ve already given you your water portion for the day, and it would be dreadful to deal with you if you dehydrated yourself.” Subject Thirteen nodded obediently at their words, unconsciously leaning into their touch. Pathetic. Humans were truly such needy creatures. Since Kenjaku was in a good mood, they decided to provide the affection his experiment desperately craved. Plucking the pale boy from the floor, Kenjaku carried them on one hip. “Come along. I have much to discuss with you and Subject One!”

Another meek nod. Subject Thirteen kept silent as they descended the staircase, the boy’s shikigami there to light the way. Finally, once they crossed the last step, the underground lab Kenjaku had created greeted them. 

As did several others.

“What took you so long?!” Jogo, a curse with the destructive power of a volcano, shouted. Immediately, Subject Thirteen flinched and tried to hide by burying his face in their shoulder. Only to be unceremoniously dropped onto the concrete floor. The volcanic curse looked ready to kill Subject Thirteen, which made the boy squeak and scamper off to another part of the lab. With the experiment gone, Jogo continued his interrogation. “What was so important that you had to drop everything and leave us here for hours?! Neither of your twisted experiments wanted to tell us anything!”

“Because I ordered Subject One and Subject Thirteen not to.” Kenjaku replied simply, sitting down on the large couch the other curses were sitting on. On either side of Jogo was a curse that resembled a tree and another that resembled a squid. Hanami and Dagon. They could not speak, so Jogo needed to do all the talking. They looked at their painted nails with a bored expression. “Is that all you wanted to say, Jogo? Or is there more whining I will have to hear?”

Smoke rose from the volcano molded into Jogo’s head. His singular eye glared at them with malice. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Whatever your ugly head thinks it means!”

“Why you-” Jogo growled in rage. One of his hands glowed with an orange light, intending to blast Kenjaku with a deadly ball of lava. “I’ve had enough of your disrespect, sorcerer! I’ll burn that smug grin off your face!” A wide smile spread across his features, revealing the black teeth he had. The ball of magma and flames made the entire lab start to heat up, but Kenjak felt no fear. 

Just as Jogo was about to throw his attack, his hand was cut off by a beam of blood. 

Subject One had intervened like Kenjaku knew he would. He was truly the perfected version of what Choso failed to be. He was ruthless, powerful, reliable, and most importantly…

Dark purple eyes gazed at them. “Are you alright, Master?”

He was under their complete control. 

“I’m fine! Amazing even! The next step of our plan has been completed, and there is much to do. Subject One?”

“Yes, Master?”

“Go get Subject Thirteen, will you? He’s imperative to the next phase of my plan!”

Kenjaku could not wait to start this phase as it would be far more entertaining than the previous steps. 

Infiltration. 

How fun!

.

.

.

-

.

.

.

The room was both freezing cold and blistering hot. Countless candles acted as the only source of light, their fire causing an uncomfortable heat. In contrast, the atmosphere did not match this warmth whatsoever. Despite the barriers hiding the faces of the elders behind them, their harsh gaze could still be felt easily.

“Yaga. Do you know why you have been summoned here?” A feminine voice spoke from one of the several wooden panels. The disdain in her words was so clear that Yaga could see the scowl the crone had. 

Suppressing a sigh, Yaga responded as respectfully as he could. “I have not been informed of any recent issues, ma’am.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t see any issues with your students.” The same voice snapped. 

“You’ve always been far too soft on them, Yaga.” Another aged voice rumbled. 

My students? For a moment, Yaga was confused as his most recent students were too inexperienced to go on missions. Then the realization hit him, and Yaga could not suppress his frustrated sigh this time. Why is it always those four…

The barrier placed in the center of the room held the only person who Yaga knew the identity behind. Over the years, Gakuganji had become a thorn in Yaga’s side. As the principal of the only other school Jujutsu Society had, Yaga had believed that he would be able to have a rapport with the elderly man. However, Gakuganji was far too close minded and cowardly for Yaga to ever think of befriending. He avoided the other principal as much as he could. One reason was because Yaga simply did not enjoy the man’s company. However, there was another purpose for ignoring Gakuganji like the plague. A much more pressing reason.

Satoru. 

After the fateful Sendai mission, all of Yaga’s oldest students changed for the better and for the worst. The easiest example of this was in Satoru. While the once petulant teenager had grown into a competent sorcerer, Satoru had also become far more unstable . The day that Satoru had woken up after the mission was a day that Yaga could never forget. While Nanami and Suguru were still comatose, Satoru had been thrashing and screaming in his slumber. Yaga was the only person who knew the extent of Satoru’s mental deterioration. He had forced Shoko to rest as the girl’s eye bags were dark enough to be bruises. During his nightwatches, Yaga had seen Satoru grow more and more distressed until he had to be restrained by his wrists and ankles. The boy would wake up at random intervals before falling unconscious several seconds later. When Satoru had properly regained consciousness, Nanami had woken up as well. Instead of hearing the annoying quips Satoru was known for, the white-haired teen had silently stared at his surroundings until his cloudy eyes landed on Suguru, who had yet to wake up. 

He had never seen the boy so infuriated before. Satoru roared in rage as he lunged for his closest friend, snapping the leather restraints like paper. The heavy miasma that came with Satoru’s cursed energy made it difficult to breathe. A still recovering Nanami had tried to reason with the older teen, but was only met with Satoru attacking him like a feral animal. At that point, Yaga had tackled Satoru before the teen could kill either Nanami or Suguru, causing Satoru to scream nonsense in his teacher’s ears. 

“NO! NO! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO KILL HIM! THEY’RE GONNA TAKE HIM! THEY’RE GONNA TAKE SUGURU! LET ME KILL HIM! HE HAS TO DIE!”

With his own wounds sustained from the mission, Yaga struggled to hold onto the lanky teenager. Fortunately, Shoko had arrived just in time to inject Satoru with enough tranquilizer to put an elephant to sleep. Once Satoru went limp, Yaga and Shoko had been at a loss of what to do with him, considering how powerful the teenager was. The answer came to them by Gakuganji, who had been staying at the infirmary to watch over his own students' recovery, storming in. The elder ordered Yaga to give him the unconscious boy, but Yaga had refused immediately. Instead, Yaga followed Gakuganji into Tengen’s Corridors while holding a far too-light Satoru. If it was not for Tengen themselves opening a barrier to contain Satoru, Yaga would have refused to ever force Satoru in such a situation. When Yaga had left temporarily to redo the torn stitches in his stomach, he returned to an awake Satoru banging his head against the invisible barrier. The teen was doing everything in his power to escape while simultaneously screeching about how he would slaughter Gakuganji for something that the elder apparently did. 

Satoru had never been fond of authority, but his hatred for Gakuganji was something else entirely. When Satoru had tried to summon Red, the reversal of his technique, Gakuganji and the elders he had notified enchained Satoru as if he was a criminal to be punished. Despite how aggravating the boy could get, Yaga harbored no ill feelings towards Satoru. To see one of his students be so terrified and hurt , all because of the higher-ups' paranoia, made something within Yaga snap. What little respect Yaga did have for the elders disappeared the moment he saw them laughing about finally putting ‘the brat in his place’ and scheming about making Satoru’s imprisonment permanent. How the higher-ups could see a sobbing boy being tortured with hallucinations and only think about keeping Satoru bound like a weapon only meant to be used when needed…It was disgusting. No matter how his wounds throbbed or how exhausted he was, Yaga refused to leave Satoru alone. Shoko would share his sentiments and keep a protective watch on her friend. 

The damage Sendai had done to his students manifested in different ways. For Nanami, it was his withdrawal from Jujutsu Tech, only loyal to Yaga himself and his upperclassmen. Despite Yaga’s pleas for Nanami to return as a full-time sorcerer, Nanami refused with an unexpected amount of resentment and anger from the normally stoic blonde. For Shoko, she worked nonstop as one of the only reverse-cursed technique users, studying for her medical license in less than legal ways. While the sorceress had dedicated herself to quit smoking, she still took poor care of herself, putting all her energy into the sorcerers she had to heal. For Suguru, the long-haired teen had stopped being as distant, but he also became obsessed with studying cursed souls, the beings that haunted them all. The compassionate boy who was a role model for his underclassmen now had tattoos and piercings and spoke with barely-hidden disgust about non sorcerers. The elders were quite displeased at Suguru’s new appearance and attitude, their supposedly perfect sorcerer no longer perfect. The long-haired boy had been the happiest that Yaga had ever seen, so he had no opposition towards Suguru’s more rebellious-alternative self. However, Yaga had gotten quite frustrated with Suguru when he tried to pierce one of his cursed corpses for the millionth time. 

As always, Satoru was the outlier. 

He became stronger, but he also became unstable. If it was not for Suguru calming Satoru down, all the higher-ups would have been killed in a heartbeat. Early into Satoru’s recovery, the teenager would constantly snap at his superiors, even Yaga on occasions. At some point, Suguru had to be by Satoru’s side at all times until the risk of the elder’s being murdered ebbed. Over time, Satoru regained most of his self-control, but was still prone to outbursts if he was overwhelmed or overstimulated. He had abandoned his blacked-out sunglasses to thick, black wrappings that acted as a blindfold. Having his eyes covered to such an extent helped Satoru’s fractured mind immensely. While he would never be as composed as his younger self, Satoru had enough self-awareness that he would leave before he endangered anyone. 

Except for Gakuganji. 

About six years had passed since the Sendai Mission, and Satoru’s aggression towards Gakuganji had not faded in the slightest. Satoru hated the elder with a passion that Yaga had only seen in Satoru’s love of zunda and cream kikufuku. Which was saying something considering how Satoru would go on hour long spiels of how perfect the stuffed mochi was. Hell, Satoru had written an entire thesis about his favorite dessert just because he loved it that much!

So for Gojo to commit to hating Gakuganji as much as he committed to loving kikufuku…

Needless to say, Gakuganji was easily the most hated person in Japan. 

“The Gojo Clan has expressed their concern about the evolution of Gojo Satoru’s technique. They state that Gojo Satoru is using Limitless and the Six Eyes in ways unbecoming of a member of the Gojo Clan. As the only holder of such techniques, the Gojo Clan are perturbed by Gojo Satoru’s defilement of their clan’s most sacred power.” Gakuganji rumbled behind his barrier. His own resentment towards the younger sorcerer was palpable in his words. There were several sounds of agreement that came from the other elders. “You have the most contact with him, so we expect you to tell us as to why he is acting in such a manner.”

Yaga wanted to bang his head against the wall. This . This is what the higher-ups had summoned him for. They were worried that Satoru was being untraditional with his technique, an ability that had not been seen for over five centuries?! Of course, the ways in which Satoru used his Limitless and Six Eyes would be different from the sorcerers from an entirely different era! With his teeth clenched, Yaga responded. “Satoru’s strength and control over his technique has improved exponentially. I fail to see how this is a problem. Forgive me for asking, but is it not a good thing for Satoru to find new ways to use his Infinity? Jujutsu techniques went through advancements and innovations just like the world around us.” 

“That lunatic has no control whatsoever!” 

“He is a risk to us all!”

“He is likely the reason behind Getou Suguru’s downfall!”

“And Kento Nanami. He drove that boy away, costing us another sorcerer!”

The voices clashed against each other, saying worse and worse things about their most vital member. Indignation was the only thing Yaga could feel. How dare they. How dare they speak about his students in such a way?! Do they not know what they went through-

Gakuganji’s callous words broke through the chaos. “We have reason to suspect that your former students are conspiring with the King of Death.”

His heart stopped.

It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true.

“What are your sources?” Yaga asked numbly. 

“Mei Mei.” Another elder answered, sounding almost smug. “Her services are far easier to acquire now. All we have to do is threaten her crows or her younger brother to make her comply. This is your only warning that we are keeping a close eye on those four sorcerers.”

Just when his disgust at the higher-ups could not become any higher, it skyrocketed with the admission. During the Sendai mission, the cursed soul resembling a feline had shot beams of blood at Yaga, which then went through his torso and onto Mei Mei. Utahime was also slashed, but it was a minor cut across her nose. The older girl was much less fortunate. Her eyes had been injured by the feline’s piercing blood attack. It seemed that the cursed soul could control the toxicity of its blood as Mei Mei suffered from poison while Yaga and Utahime did not. There was no antidote and Shoko could only do so much as a novice healer. Mei Mei would become permanently blinded from the attack, having to use her crows for daily use instead of strictly sorcery. Additionally, her baby brother would be born a few years after the attack. He became the young woman’s guide, always describing the scenery around them. His love for his sister was immense. If she still had her sight, Mei Mei would have taken advantage of that blind adoration. Instead, her little brother aiding her just because he could and not due to any ulterior motives caused Mei Mei to be fond of her sibling. He was useful to her, but he also was the only person that Mei Mei was attached to. In the past, Mei Mei had no ties or loyalties to anyone besides herself and whoever was paying her the most. She still worked as a mercenary, but the higher-ups were now freed from her high rates. 

It was not surprising that the elders would use this opportunity to take advantage of Mei Mei’s permanent injury. For years, Mei Mei had been a loose cannon of sorts, someone that the elders had no control over. Even Satoru was obligated to go wherever he was assigned. Now, they had earned Mei Mei’s loyalty through force and fear. Self preservation was as sacred to her as money, so she did not take lightly to threats on her life or Ui Ui’s. 

Part of Yaga wanted to be furious at Mei Mei, but he knew better than to question the higher-ups. With one word, they could make someone disappear or be labeled as a traitor. If they felt threatened, then they would do everything in their power to be rid of said threat. 

Cowards . Yaga hissed to himself. “Sukuna has not been spotted in years. He disappeared along with the cursed souls. We’re fortunate that we’ve been left in peace for so long.”

“Peace does not exist as long as curses continue to exist. We will enter a war the moment Sukuna reveals himself. He is just biding his time. We cannot afford anymore sorcerers defecting nor betraying us.” 

Yaga felt like his mind was going to explode. Defection. Betrayal. Conspiring with the King of Death.

Just what the hell had his students gotten into?!

-

“ You’re weak. All four of you. If my son is to be protected, then I will make sure that his human guardians are as strong as his monstrous guardians. I am not going to allow any more sorcerers, so you better be prepared to become a one-man army. ”

Ryomen words were far more literal than any of them anticipated. 

“YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE CODDLED IN A WAR! EITHER YOU RUN THROUGH THIS COURSE OR I FEED YOUR CORPSES TO THE KOI FISH! NANAMI, YOU’RE UP FIRST!”

Nanami had never received formal training like Satoru or Suguru. Even Shoko had been an apprentice to a reverse curse technique user before he died after a fatal encounter with a special grade curse. They had someone to introduce them to Jujutsu, whether they wanted to know about it or not. At a young age, his upperclassman knew of their cursed techniques. For Nanami, he was not aware of his technique until he was thirteen. It had been a life or death situation with a group of armed robbers threatening to kill him and his family if they called the authorities. At the time, his parents complied with the request, holding his baby sister in their arms while hugging his terrified brothers and sisters. It was a smart decision to make, but Nanami did not view it as one. Not at all. In fact, he can still remember the intense rage he had felt at his parents lack of retaliation. While Nanami had never been an aggressive person, he had always valued the lives of his younger siblings far more than his own. As the eldest sibling, it was his job to look after them when their parents were at work. He had seen how vulnerable children are, how they needed to be protected by the adults. Nanami, in a reckless act befitting of an angry preteen, shouted at the robbers. They wanted to steal the valuables that would help send his siblings to school, and that was unacceptable. His protective fury made him sprint to the kitchen and grab the largest knife he could find. The roaring of his frantic heart deafened him to his parents' pleas to stop. He hadn’t cared. Nanami charged towards the thieves, something within him igniting like an inferno. In a panic, one of the robbers tried to shoot at his family. Before the thief could pull the trigger, Nanami slashed his kitchen knife in the air as if it was as natural as breathing. Despite the blade not making contact, the man still screamed in agony as his arm was sliced off. The other criminals tried to retaliate, but Nanami was already reading another blow. Blue light engulfed him as he dealt the final strikes. 

He had killed the entire group. 

When Nanami had realized what he had done, he dropped the knife and tried to go towards his family. His siblings cowered away in fear while his father barked at him to step back. It was the first time that Nanami had heard his father raise his voice. After living a life of mundanity and routine, his parents did not know how to handle something new, something different . Neither did Nanami as he had lived the same life of rules and normality. He grew up in a middle class family, lived in a middle class town, took care of his siblings, went to school, participated in sports, did his homework, received high marks on tests, listened to his parents, behaved in a polite manner, and always respected the rules. There was nothing remarkable about Nanami. He was not extraordinary or special like Satoru. He had no larger purpose or goals like Suguru. He could not heal others or be irreplaceable like Shoko. Nanami was prepared to live exactly like his father. Get a job, make money, have a family, and then retire to a foreign country. However, the choice of a normal life was ripped away from him the night he killed several armed robbers without even touching them. After that night, a rift had formed between Nanami and his family that could never be fixed. He became the black sheep of his family, the one that could slice someone into pieces and see ‘demons’. The only person that did not treat him like a ticking time bomb was a boy he had met after running away the same night as the robbery. Nanami could not bear the looks of fear from his family, so he ran from his house until his legs could not move anymore. His frantic sprint had led him to an abandoned park in a completely different side of town. He had always been gifted physically, but Nanami had never thought he could run so far. On numb legs, Nanami sat on a rusty swing, hearing the old chains squeak in protest of his weight. Just as he was about to stand, a voice appeared from behind. It belonged to a boy with brown hair and wide eyes. Haibara. 

It was thanks to Haibara that Nanami learned of Jujutsu High. He had to wait a few years until he could apply, so Haibara recommended that he talk to the teachers to learn more about sorcerers. Nanami declined. An actual sorcerer would need a teacher. He was just a kid with a weird slicing ability. Even so, he still kept Haibara’s words of training in mind. Several times a week, they would meet at the park and go to the nearest open field to spar. Nanami often trained alone as he figured out his ratio technique. He practiced until he knew the ins and outs of his technique and cursed energy as a whole. His tool at the time had been the kitchen knife he used on the robbers until Haibara surprised him with a new weapon on his fourteenth birthday. Apparently, Haibara’s father worked for Jujutsu High as a blacksmith, so he crafted a short blunt sword for Nanami. The man had even created a custom-made case and harness to hold the blade and wrapped it in white fabric with black spots for extra protection. It took several weeks until Nanami became accustomed to the new weight of the sword and how to make the most efficient strikes with it. He had never shown his family his abilities, and he had accepted the fact that they would never see him the same way again. In recent years, their relationship had become slightly less strained. Either way, Nanami didn’t care. He would still protect and provide for his family, but he wouldn’t keep himself awake at night from the hurt his family had caused him. It wasn’t worth the energy. 

As a sorcerer, Nanami kept this ideal of efficiency over anything else. It allowed him to make life or death decisions without freezing and gave him a level-headedness not seen in his other peers. He had tried to use this mindset when he left Jujutsu High and sorcery all together, working as a salaryman like his father had. The schedules, deadlines, calls, and more mind numbing tasks were easy for him to become accustomed to, but there was something nagging his mind every day he was living ‘normally’. 

He had left his upperclassman to fight against six creatures of hell. Entities that had bested Satoru and Suguru, the strongest sorcerers that Jujutsu society had to offer. Beings that haunted him like they haunted his upperclassmen. 

After seven months of working a corporate job, Nanami quit to return to his job as a sorcerer. However, there was a key difference in his loyalties than when he had first defected. He refused to work under the corrupted higher-ups. The only people Nanami took orders from were Yaga and his three upperclassmen. If they needed him, he’d be there.

The fateful Sendai mission had made him, Gojo, Getou, and Shoko become closer. In the past, they were a group that were on friendly terms, but each had their preferred person to hang out with. Haibara had been the heart of the group, bringing joy and laughter to them all. When he passed, no one could fill that void. They grew distant until the elders ordered him to accompany Gojo on a mission despite it involving a special grade curse. He had barely started his second year and was completely outmatched when they arrived at the abandoned warehouse. Neither he or Gojo were faring well against the six aggressive entities trying to kill him. With a stroke of luck, Nanami’s phone had not broken after being slammed into the wall by Overtime. He dialed Getou’s number with shaking fingers before he was ensnared by spotted wrappings. 

Nanami barely recalled the events of what conspired after being taken. The only memories he had were of being placed surprisingly gently onto a patch of grass. Distant sounds of screeching and shouting were not enough to snap Nanami out of the catatonic state he had adopted. No curse had ever made Nanami freeze. He was known for not hesitating, yet he found himself not able to move a muscle. 

That’s when he had felt it. 

A puff of breath,  as cold as the winds of a blizzard, was felt behind his neck.

The first time that he had gotten a proper look at Infinite was a moment that had caused him countless nightmares. Like a ghost of death, the feathered dragon had loomed over him with a hoard of eyes watching him and several ear piercing shrieks of laughter. Nanami had been completely certain that he would be killed, but he remained unharmed. It had happened so quickly, Infinite appearing to tap his beak against Nanami’s forehead before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, that Nanami had thought he had dreamed it. 

He wished it had just been a dream or hallucination. 

It wasn’t. 

The words Infinite had whispered to him would resurface whenever Nanami least expected it. 

“Be selfish. You deserve it.”

“Be angry. You have every right to be.”

“Be reckless. You’ll be limiting your potential if you aren’t. ”

Selfish. Angry. Reckless. Those were words that would describe the complete opposite of Nanami. He had always kept his composure and was strategic in battles, but…

“STOP THINKING! ACT! YOU’LL DIE IF YOU DON’T.”

All six of the cursed souls were charging at him at varying speeds. Each had widely different physical builds and abilities. Nanami did not have the time to make a proper plan when he was seconds away from being killed in Ryomen’s intense training. This was the test that would make Ryomen give Nanami, Shoko, Gojo, and Getou his full respect and trust. If any of them failed at whatever task they were given, then Sukuna promised that he would train them personally. Ryomen’s training was already difficult enough. Sukuna’s battle training would likely be impossible since the curse enjoyed messing with them as much as he could. Today was important. Nanami and the others would be tested to their limits. It would show if their four years of constant training was either for naught or worth the blood, sweat, and tears. 

Nanami breathed in deeply, allowing all of his thoughts to fade into the back of his mind.

He could only feel the weight of his blade in his hand. He could only smell the dew covered grass beneath his feet. He could only hear the cracking of leaves as the cursed souls ran over them. He could only taste the leftover coffee he had drank and the pancakes Yuuji had made for him. He could only see Overtime lunging at him with a razor sharp wrapping aimed at his neck. 

Be selfish.

Be angry. 

Be reckless. 

It went against everything Nanami believed in, but for Yuuji he would do it. 

He’d do anything to protect Yuuji.

I hope everything is going well for you! Wishes you health and happiness :3

Thank you so much! I've been having some health problems as well as a writer's block, but I'm getting better! <3

UPDATE!

The next update is taking longer than anticipated, but it’s coming! Work and health have made it really difficult to write. I’ve written the chapter about four times, and I’ve just now found something I’m sticking to. Since the wait is so long, I’ll make sure this chapter is of high quality. These chapters are always super long so it takes much more effort to write than my other fics. I really hope the wait will be worth it once it’s finished.

Thank you for your patience and I’m so sorry for the additional wait :,)

LAPTOP IS WORKING AGAIN!!!

Next update for Cursed Guardians coming soon!

MY LAPTOP BROKE 😭😭😭😭

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WRITE ABOUT MY SILLY GUYS NOW???

I NEED TO USE MY PHONE LIKE IM 13 AGAIN NOOOOO

YES! SUPPORT ALL THE AO3 SILLY GUYS! I’VE FOUND SOME OF MY FAVORITE FICS OF ALL TIME BY JUST PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SUMMARY 🗣️🗣️🗣️

Another AO3 thing I’m curious about, how do yall decide if something is good enough to read? Usually I follow a rule of 1 kudos for every 10 hits. One because it’s easy math and two it’s yet to fail me. Thoughts? Do you just go for it and pray it’s good?

hastily slapped this together in a few seconds

Gojo would be an absolute menace on tumblr 😭

Satoru booped Suguru and isnt letting him boop back (insufferable evil brat : [infinity mode])

Bonus: Catoru

"who knows what they still do on tumblr"

us:

this is a glorious day for tumblr

me sowing

Onii-Chan🥺

Long time no jjk, have some sweet brothers💜

Cursed Guardians (A JJK Fic)

AO3 Link

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Start Here

It is vital that you retrieve this, Ryomen.

I know. 

We cannot let any of those humans get in our way.

Of course not. I’ll kill them if they try to stop me.

Kill them? Heh. The sorcerers won’t like that.

Do you think I care? I can handle their ire. This is far too important.

I agree, but try not to burn the place to the ground. 

It’s tempting. All of these people are just worms desperate to consume whatever shit is available. I’d be doing them a favor.

Hm. And here I thought you were growing fond of humans.

Never. The four sorcerers we acquainted are the only decent ones. The rest can rot.

There are civilians in this place, Ryomen. We would draw attention to ourselves if there are casualties. It'll be a pain to deal with. 

Like I said earlier, I don’t care. If they try to challenge me, then they die. Simple.

I see.

And what of it?

Nothing. It’s just that…Well-

Spit it out. 

It just seems that I have severely underestimated your dedication to capitalism.

“Shut up, Sukuna.” Ryomen hissed to himself. He was currently in the supermarket looking for a very special item. It had been sold out for months, but Ryomen refused to go home empty handed today. He would fight tooth and nail for what he desired. 

The Limited Edition SPECIALZ DELIGHT: A Ginger and Brown Sugar Ice Cream Swirl With Crunchy Caramel Bits from Cyclop Cat Creamery. 

The mere thought of the frozen treat made Ryomen’s mouth water. He shopped almost exclusively online, using a false address so the delivery person would not discover the location of the shrine. For the last several years, Ryomen had everything delivered to a small house a few hours away from their true home. The house had been abandoned long ago, but Ryomen had chosen it due to it being remote, but reachable for regular humans. Due to the multiple barriers and seals Infinite and Sukuna had placed, no one could enter the shrine without permission. If they tried, they would be killed instantly by the powerful wards placed throughout. By using the house, deliveries could be made without the messenger being spontaneously combusted or sliced into a million pieces. Additionally, the house used to belong to a farmer. At first glance, the fact may seem irrelevant, but it wasn’t for Ryomen. He was nothing if not prepared. The house was small, but it was built upon the vast land of a ranch. The farmhouse gave Ryomen the opportunity to use the place as a way to stock up on emergency supplies. 

Though, the supplies did not only include food or water. The farm the house was built upon was used to grow crops in case of a sudden apocalypse or if Ryomen had to hide his family away for the next decade. On top of that, Ryomen used the ranch to house cattle, chickens, sheep, and horses. This way, Ryomen would not have to purchase goods like dairy, eggs, or meat, things that expire quickly. That meant fewer trips to the store. And fewer trips to the store meant less humans Ryomen had to interact with. And less humans that interacted with him meant less chance of his family being found and killed . 

It was the perfect plan!

Ryomen had grown up on the streets in a village that saw him as nothing but a bad omen. The sensation of his stomach writhing in agony from starvation was more familiar than the warm feeling of a full belly. He was not taking any chances when it came to his son’s life. Yuuji would always have food on his plate and warm clothes on his back. 

The man was also no stranger to war. He knew what it was like to have no form of transportation, no form of escaping, during a time of bloodshed and chaos. He had many memories of falling asleep next to the bodies of the fallen as a young boy, pretending to be among the dead so the enemy soldiers would not target him next. When he made the deal with Sukuna, he had finally learned what it was like to be on the other side, to be the one causing the terror and death. From what he had observed as a boy and as a man, being able to retreat was what determined if you lived or died. So. Horses . Ryomen was familiar with horses, often sleeping with the hooved beasts in their stables during the winter because he had no other place to go. The horses Ryomen had now were descended from the original horses Ryomen had ridden into the many battles he waged. They were strong, loyal, and, most importantly, fast. His mind could rest easy knowing that his son would be able to escape if anything were to happen to Ryomen or Japan itself. 

And this paranoia did not worsen from the fact that his son was going to be starting public school soon. Nope. Ryomen was completely fine with that. 

Liar.

I know. 

He was not a trusting person, and he could not afford to be one no matter how many allies he obtained. After the fateful meeting with the sorcerers, Ryomen had taken it upon himself to venture out in search of the peach seeds that held his son’s soul while training the young sorcerers while also raising his precious son while also also having to look after six powerful beasts and one grumpy curse. Needless to say, Ryomen was exhausted, but he did not trust Sukuna to handle things for him. Not anymore. There had been a strain on their relationship after Sukuna had revealed his many secrets at the meeting. For the sake of Yuuji, the boy who loved his father and uncle so much that he could not bear to be without either of them, they had worked things out. They had fought for centuries, so what was one more fight? That was the mindset Ryomen held in order to keep his temper under control. Yuuji should not have to see his loved ones fight. For the following weeks after the meeting, Ryomen and Sukuna tried their best to act civilly or ignore each other as much as they could. 

As time passed on, they had begun a ritual of sitting by the pond, neither speaking to the other. They would not talk, scream, or even whisper. They simply basked in the peaceful silence. One night, however, Sukuna looked at the man and broke the quiet they had become accustomed to. Instead of the expected insult or sneer, Sukuna had apologized to Ryomen for what he had done. His normally brash voice was soft and remorseful. 

‘I know how special Yuuji is to you, Ryomen. I should not have kept the information of his soul’s whereabouts from you, nor the existence of Kenjaku. I’m…I’m sorry. I should not have assumed it was alright to omit so many things about your son. I thought it would be easier to wait and focus on caring for Yuuji, but I was wrong.’

It had shocked Ryomen to his core when he had heard the curse’s apology. There were several facts about the world. The sky was blue. Ice was cold. Fire was hot. Infinite was annoying. And, the most important fact of all, Sukuna did not apologize . Ryomen had never heard the curse admit he was in the wrong before that night. He had wanted to hate Sukuna, but Ryomen could not bring himself to. Even when he knew that Sukuna was still hiding things from him, Ryomen did not hate him. His trust in him had diminished, that would never return, but he had accepted the apology. Sukuna and Ryomen shared the same body and soul. They could not leave the other even if they tried. Even if neither wanted to admit it, Sukuna and Ryomen were brothers. 

The next few years had been much easier than the first with the additional aid of the sorcerers. Even though Ryomen was doing far too much, he was happy to see his son thriving. He would be turning five in a few days, and Ryomen could not ignore that fact any longer. As much as he wanted to stay in the shrine, Ryomen knew he had to go out and purchase the gifts that Yuuji deserved. The boy had even written the shortest wishlist imaginable after Sukuna and Ryomen practically begged him to ask for something. However, most of the requested presents were for other people, but Ryomen knew it would break Yuuji’s heart if he did not respect his son’s wishes. There were only three things that Yuuji wanted for himself, and Ryomen would rather be burned alive again than not get Yuuji exactly what he wished for. 

Knowing that the trip to the city would take a while, Ryomen had reluctantly asked the sorcerers to come to the shrine earlier than expected. For the past three years, the sorcerers had developed a training regime that involved them coming to the shrine once a week or once a month if they had too many missions. Not all four could come at the same time due to their differing schedules. Their visitation was timed carefully as to not rouse suspicions from the sorcerer’s elders. Nanami, the supposedly strict and avid rule follower, was the most skilled at sneaking out and deceiving the higher-ups. He came up with an interchanging schedule that his group could use to make the sorcerers’ weekly outings seem innocent. Due to the unexpected timing for today, only one sorcerer could attend. It was surprisingly Gojo, the sorcerer who was the busiest of all, who could take care of Yuuji. However, Ryomen had a feeling that Gojo would have skipped out on any mission just to see Yuuji anyway. The white-haired man adored Yuuji, becoming another uncle that Yuuji loved. The two got along like two peas in a pod. 

There was one drawback. Gojo was able to visit, but he had to bring one of his children to the shrine. His adopted son, Fushiguro Megumi, had gotten suspended after a nasty fight in school (a fight he had won) and needed to stay with Gojo. Ryomen was about to refuse until Sukuna urged him to agree. It was strange that Sukuna was so passionate about allowing the older child to visit, but Ryomen had relented and agreed. In the end, the choice was the correct one as Yuuji had squealed and smiled brighter than the sun when he learned that he would be getting to meet a new person. 

There was still much to do for his son’s birthday preparations, so Ryomen shook himself out of his thoughts and wheeled his cart towards the frozen dessert section. Ryomen had a bit of a sweet tooth, though not nearly as severe as Gojo’s, and was delighted to see no one in the aisle. It was early after all. Too early for most people to buy ice cream. 

The Cyclop Cat Creamery was, in Ryomen’s opinion, the best ice cream manufacturer in the country. Many pints of their ice cream had helped Ryomen get through his worst nights. Nights that involved him watching shitty telenovelas or dramatic family comedies on the couch, bundled in a blanket, and crying with a spoon in his mouth. All to distract him from the constant worry and stress he felt. Sometimes, Boogie would join him on the dramas he watched, as long as it featured pop-idol Takada-chan. The man and dog tearing up at each rejection at a sakura tree, each confession at a sakura tree, each break-up in the rain or sakura tree, each desperate sprint through an airport, each admittance of moving away, and even each family member who randomly gets sick. Takada-chan’s movies always had at least one of those events. Though, it was more likely for her films to have all six. 

…So, yes. Ryomen consumed quite a lot of ice cream. 

At least, Yuuji adored the flavors they had as well. Even Sukuna, who ate meat almost exclusively, was fond of the frozen treats. 

Hurry up!

Be quiet! I’m the one who’s paying!

Sukuna grumbled within his mind. Due to the nature of their shared soul, Sukuna could not stay in the shrine when Ryomen left it. He had to stay with Ryomen whenever he went outside their home. It was another reason why Ryomen hated going out in public. The curse would never shut up within his mind, always finding something to complain about. Ryomen received many odd looks when he would respond to the entity in his head, and it took all his self-control to not snap at the humans. He was a single father with too much on his hands. He did not have the energy to deal with the fools who stared at him as if he was insane. Ryomen probably had several screws loose, but he did not enjoy other people thinking that!

The coolness of the freezer aisle helped soothe Ryomen’s nerves. He first picked out Yuuji’s favorite flavors: BLACK FLASH , a dark chocolate ice cream with strawberry and raspberry swirls and LEFT, RIGHT, GOODNIGHT, an ice cream with three separate flavors that included milk chocolate, vanilla bean, and honeycomb. The titles were…odd. But the ice cream was good enough for Ryomen to not care for once.

Buy more.

I plan on buying several pints already. 

Good. Make sure you have enough to feed an army.

…

…

I expect you to tell me why.

…

Sukuna.

Fine. The brat and I will be having a competition to see who can consume the most frozen confectionaries. 

You mean an ice cream eating contest?

…Yes. It was on his birthday wish list…

Ryomen had to bite his lip to stifle a laugh. To anyone else, including Ryomen himself, Sukuna was the biggest asshole imaginable. Granted, Ryomen was as well, but his usual exhaustion hid his poor temperament. Sukuna was the type of person to push an elderly woman into oncoming traffic just because she asked for help crossing the road. An extreme example, yes, but it was great at showing Sukuna’s violent tendencies and astounding levels of pettiness. However, he was a completely different person with Yuuji. He would deny it constantly, but the curse was incredibly soft when it came to the boy. Ryomen shook his head with a small smile as he grabbed a few more pints. Once Sukuna deemed the amount of ice cream sufficient, Ryomen finally went for the flavor he had been waiting for for months.

At last! 

Just as his hand reached for the frozen dessert, another came and snatched the last pint of SPECIALZ DELIGHT before he could blink. It had happened so quickly that Ryomen’s mind needed a few seconds to process what had happened. 

OH, THAT FUCKING BITCH! LET ME OUT, RYOMEN! LET ME BEAT HER ASS! I SWEAR TO GOD, I’LL CUT OFF THAT HAND RIGHT NOW! THE FUCKING AUDACITY! STUPID BITCH! GOOD FOR NOTHING PIECE OF SHIT CU-

With practiced ease, Ryomen ignored the unholy screeching within his head. He tried his best to have a pleasant smile on his face as he turned to the thief person. It was a middle-aged woman with streaky blond hair that was cut into a bob. Her makeup was slightly cakey from the excessive powder she likely used. She had several fake gemstones on her rings and bracelets. 

The woman looked at Ryomen with a disgusted scowl. “What.”

Sukuna’s creative swears and insults grew louder, causing Ryomen to suppress a grimace. He pointed at the pint the woman was holding. “I was about to grab that, miss. I know it’s the last one, but I’ve been waiting for the restock for months. You see, my son is having a-”

“I grabbed it first. Go find another pint for your son.” She pointed a gaudy pink nail at Ryomen. “I suggest looking at the clearance aisle, you people can’t afford this stuff anyway.”

Stay calm. Stay calm. STAY CALM . Ryomen breathed in deeply, his smile resembling a snarl more than anything else. “It’s for my son’s birthday. Surely, you can let go of the ‘finders keepers’ mentality since you are clearly not a child.”

“I don’t care about your damn spoiled brat of a son! This is mine! Go to some other store!”

“No.” Ryomen gave up on trying to be polite the second the crone insulted his son. The woman looked like she had just sucked on a lemon with how pinched her face got. 

“How dare you! Do you know who my husband is! I can have you arrested for this-”

“Do it.” Ryomen said coldly. The woman immediately froze. “I dare you.”

For a few moments, it seemed like the horrid lady was going to give up. However, she got over her brief lapse and scowled harder at Ryomen. “You people have no respect whatsoever! I’m going to call-”

“My people?” Ryomen asked with his fists clenched, already feeling them heat up. 

“Yes, you people! You damn activists that dye their hair and act like they're superior to everyone else!” The woman looked more like a tomato with how flushed her face became from anger. She stomped her foot like a child throwing a tantrum. “Leave us good people alone! I’m not giving you anything! Your stupid son can-”

It was as if the very air around them had gone still. The buzzing of the fluorescent lights could not be heard anymore nor the constant buzz of the refrigeration units. Finally, the woman realized the mistake she had just made. Her eyes grew wide with genuine terror as the man in front of her bore his piercing crimson eyes into her. For a second, it seemed like the tattoos beneath his eyes opened. She blinked hard, and the eyes disappeared along with the blood red gaze. Despite being in the freezer aisle, the atmosphere around them grew unbearably hot. This was the first time that anyone had ever scared her this much. Her hands began to shake as the towering figure came closer. 

Ryomen snatched the woman by the neck before she could utter a cry of help. He let his palms grow hot enough to burn. “The only reason that you’re still alive is because I have errands to do, so I can’t waste my time tossing your eviscerated corpse to the rats . Though, the rats don’t deserve such rotten meat. Perhaps the maggots would take you. They eat all worthless, putrid garbage after all.”

There was now blood streaming down the horrified woman’s neck as sharp claws pierced into her. She had dropped the pint, the reason for the argument, the second he grabbed her. Her hands pawed uselessly at the iron grip the pink-haired man seemed to have. 

“Your behavior is disgusting. If anyone behaves like they are above everyone else, it is you. You’re a rotten woman who no one will miss. I would say you have time to change your ways, but that would be a lie, wench. Now, get out of my sight.” Ryomen unceremoniously dropped the woman who collapsed onto the floor. Her neck was bleeding profusely and part of Ryomen wanted to let the old crone bleed out. However, his common sense kicked in. Leaving a dead body in a public supermarket would come back to bite him. Instead of slitting her through or turning her to ash, Ryomen begrudgingly healed her using his reverse cursed technique. His was not as refined as Sukuna’s, but it would do. After healing her, leaving no scrap of evidence behind, Ryomen picked up the tossed pint. He heard the hysterical sobs from the traumatized woman, but he did not acknowledge her whatsoever. 

Well done, Ryomen. Though, your outburst better not have melted our frozen confections!

“Shut up, Sukuna.”

-

If someone were to ask Satoru about wanting children as a teen, he would have laughed in the questioner’s face and mock the person for such a stupid question. ‘Hell no.’ He’d say. ‘Why would anyone want to take care of snot-nosed brats for the rest of their life?’ He’d jeer.

Well, his younger self could fuck off.

“Megumiiiiii-chaaaaan~” 

“I’m punching you next.” Megumi grouched from the backseat of the car. The eleven-year-old had gotten into a fight with several boys at recess. Based on his minimal injuries, Megumi had won the fight. The boys that had tried to gang-up on his boy were much worse for wear, bearing black eyes and broken noses and scratches that likely came from a protective demon dog. However, Megumi was cradling his right arm and would wince whenever the car went over a bump. There were little to no bruises or scuff marks on Megumi, but Satoru knew better than to ignore the risk of something internal occurring. 

After receiving a call from Megumi’s school, he had to ask Ijichi to drive him since it would be jarring if he warped there. The younger man agreed without fuss, sweating profusely as he readied the car. Despite his jittery nature, Ijichi’s skill behind the wheel was unmatched. It was the only time that Ijichi would appear calm and confident. Once they arrived, Satoru had to pretend that he cared for the feelings of the delinquents Megumi had injured and act like he was disappointed in Megumi. It could not be further from the truth, but Satoru needed to be a mature adult in front of the school’s principal. They had given no punishment to the group of boys that had initiated the fight, but had suspended Megumi for two weeks. The parents of the brats that had attacked Megumi tried to lecture Satoru on his parenting skills. He simply smiled at the morons, thanking them for the advice and assuring them that this wouldn’t happen again. If the school had not been the most secure place Satoru could find, he would have ripped those parents and the principal a new one. 

When Megumi and Satoru entered the car, the elder immediately burst into giggles. In his mind, Megumi was being punished for something minor. When Satoru was his age, he had done far worse things to others. Though, the fact that Satoru had been homeschooled meant that all his tutors were paid to deal with his preteen-self’s horrid attitude. He could get away with anything, but Megumi was not being taught by a private tutor. He went to a public school, and the school had rules. Perhaps suspension was warranted for the brutal beating Megumi had given the boys…Maybe. He needed the full story. Satoru had been trying to ask Megumi about what happened for the past ten minutes, but the boy refused to answer. 

As the scenery of office buildings and shopping districts changed to something far more rural, Megumi perked up considerably. His dark expression faded into one of curiosity. There were hundreds of questions brewing in the boy’s navy eyes. 

“Got something on your mind, Megs?” Satoru glanced at the boy.

Megumi huffed stubbornly, a trait he and the twins share. He tried to make his black hair cover his eyes, but it only made the boy look like he was pouting. Eventually, Megumi spoke. “Aren’t you gonna ground me?”

“I don’t think that was the question you wanted to ask.” Satoru teased.

“Just answer, Gojo.” Megumi demanded, though it lacked the normal fire the boy was known for. Despite how hard Megumi tried to appear apathetic or stoic, Gojo could read him like a book. The boy was nervous, likely believing that he was in deep trouble with his adoptive parent. He had a tension in his body that suggested that Megumi was expected to be struck or yelled at. It pained Satoru to see the boy struggle with the trauma his good-for-nothing father gave him. While Megumi never spoke of the first years of his life with Toji, Satoru could tell that it was anything but pretty. It left him with serious issues involving attachment, abandonment, and being more closed off than a clam. It made Satoru want to kill Toji for the second time. And a third. And a fourth-

He shook his head to rid himself of the murderous thoughts. Megumi was still awaiting a response, looking more uneasy than before. With a soft sigh, Satoru turned away, knowing that the boy hated prolonged eye contact. “I’m not mad at you, Megs. I would have done much worse in your shoes, but you showed restraint. You’re a smart kid, so I know that I don’t need to tell you not to do it again. Not because the bastards don’t deserve it, they did if you ask me. You know what you did wrong, and I know you like this school enough that you don’t want to be expelled. The principal is a jerk, sure, but I’ve seen how well the staff and teachers treat you.” 

“...You’re really not mad?” Megumi whispered, eyes wide. For once, he acted like the child he was supposed to be, which had become rarer and rarer over the years.  

“I’m not, Gumi. Promise.” The white-haired man only used the nickname when Megumi was in deep distress. It showed Megumi that Gojo was being sincere. As the road grew bumpier, made from dirt and not asphalt, Megumi’s curiosity returned. 

The preteen’s brow furrowed in the way that it always did when Megumi was thinking hard about something. “Where are we going?” 

“Remember the friends that Suguru and I visit every month?” 

“Yeah? What about them?”

“We’re going to visit them. They’re pretty reclusive, so that’s why you haven’t met them yet. They’re good people though. It’s thanks to them that Suguru doesn’t burn water when trying to boil it, heh. Anyways, an emergency popped up, and they had to leave immediately. Here’s the thing,” Satoru paused for dramatic effect, raising his index finger. The spiky-haired boy was listening with rapt attention and did not enjoy Satoru’s sudden stop. After several seconds of Megumi’s impatient glare, Satoru continued with a grin. “They have a son, and there was no one else available to take care of him. He’s four, but he’s as sweet as Tsumiki. Well behaved too. I know he is going to love having a new friend. The kid has no friends his age, so be nice to him. He also has… guard dogs that are really protective so do not summon your shikigami unless strictly necessary, ‘kay?” 

Silence followed as Megumi processed the information, analyzing every detail Satoru had provided. As the boy got lost in his thoughts, the road got even bumpier. Ijichi had driven this path several times, so he was able to smooth the ride enough for Megumi’s arm to not jostle. Satoru leaned back in the seat, taking out his phone and opening his favorite group chat. 

THE STRONGEST BITCHES🤞😎

infinity3435: @everyone

infinity3435: omw to see yujiiiii with megs o(≧∇≦o)

infinity3435: jealous @curse_gobbler ? 

curse_gobbler: not particularly.

infinity3435: ur such a liar

curse_gobbler: stfu

infinity3435: make me (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖)

lesbianmalpractice: can y’all not be gay for once

infinity3435: nope  ｡◕‿◕｡

curse_gobbler: no.

curse_gobbler: are u homophobic shoko?

lesbianmalpractice: only when it comes to you two.

infinity3435: wow ಥ_ಥ

lesbianmalpractice: the more fucking emoticons you use the more homophobic i’m gonna get

infinity3435: (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

Nanami.Kento: I thought that we established that this group chat was for emergencies only.

infinity3435: it is

infinity3435: telling you guys that i get to hang out with yuuji today while you guys are stuck doing boring shit is an emergency

infinity3435: very important info

lesbianmalpractice: ur such a dick

infinity3435: u love me tho (◕‿◕✿)  

lesbianmalpractice: not at all

infinity3435: (◕╭╮◕✿)

curse_gobbler: lmao

infinity3435: SUGURU UR SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE 

curse_gobbler: says who?

infinity3435: says your loving partner of 84 yrs

curse_gobbler: satoru neither of us are even close to being that old. you need to stop watching titanic so much

Nanami.Kento: Well, Gojo-san does have the white hair most elderly are plagued with. It is possible that he has fooled us all with his age. Perhaps that is why he acts so childish, it’s to throw us off. 

infinity3435: NANAMI HOW COULD U? ┗( T﹏T )┛

lesbianmalpractice: HAH

lesbianmalpractice: NANAMI JUST CALLED U A FUCKING GEEZER 

infinity3435: u guys are so mean (இ﹏இ`｡)

lesbianmalpractice: ╭∩╮(╹◡╹)

infinity3435: SHOKO 

lesbianmalpractice: ─=≡Σᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕗ

curse_gobbler: (•_•) ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■)

infinity3435: ALRIGHT QUIT IT 

Nanami.Kento: ୧༼ ºل͜º ༽ºل͜º ༽୨༼ ºل͜º ༽╭∩╮

infinity3435: WTF NANAMI

lesbianmalpractice: YES NANAMI

Nanami.Kento: Apologies if I used it incorrectly. I am not accustomed to this type of text.

curse_gobbler: u used it perfectly. couldn’t done it better myself

lesbianmalpractice: ^

lesbianmalpractice: @infinity3435 that’s what u get for shoving the fact that you get to see yuuji in our faces

curse_gobbler: ^

curse_gobbler: i’ve had to exorcize almost thirty curses and now im omw to excorcize more 

lesbianmalpractice: and i’ve been at the morgue all day 

infinity3435: sucks 4 u

Nanami.Kento: At least, the three of us do not have to spend extra time with Infinite. Even if Yuuji-kun and Megumi-kun are present, Infinite never misses an opportunity to train you. And, frankly, beating the shit out of you. 

infinity3435: HEY

Nanami.Kento: Now, please stop spamming this messaging forum. I have work to do. 

Nanami.Kento: Please tell Yuuji-kun that I said hello. 

lesbianmalpractice: goddamn i forgot how brutal nanami could be

cursed_gobbler: mhm

cursed_gobbler: well, i’ll follow nanami’s lead and log off. my train is almost at its stop anyway

lesbianmalpractice: yeah i gotta perform another autopsy soon

lesbianmalpractice: send pics of the little guys satoru

infinity3435: i will 

infinity3435: someway or another i’m gonna have megs and yuuji have a photoshoot 

curse_gobbler: good luck with that

curse_gobbler: you better send them 

infinity3435: you got it shnookums ( ˘ ³˘)♥

curse_gobbler: delete that this instant

infinity3435: no~

“I’m totally gonna start calling him that from now on.” Satoru giggled to himself. He put his phone in his pocket after turning it off. Now, the man could see that they had reached the expansive land of the ranch Ryomen… acquired . Using the rearview mirror, Satoru got to observe Megumi's smile as the boy pressed his face against the window like an excited child. The spiky-haired boy was none the wiser to Satoru’s stare, so he had dropped the indifferent front he tried so hard to keep. It warmed Satoru’s heart whenever Megumi acted like the eleven-year-old boy he was. 

Nothing made Megumi come out of his shell as effectively as animals. He watched the herds of cattle and sheep graze calmly on grass like it was the most intriguing thing in the world. The boy would also look at the many chickens across the lot with rapt attention, he had even unbuckled his seatbelt at this point to be as close to the window as possible. Both Ijichi and Satoru looked at Megumi with a fondness that anyone who knew the grumpy child would feel. After a few more minutes of driving, the house at the center of the ranch was visible. Several horses could be seen relaxing or grazing on the untrimmed yard. When the car made its way to the unmarked driveway, the horses made no move to run. The small herd had horses of various breeds and sizes with the largest towering over the car Ijichi was driving. In fact, it was the largest horse Satoru had ever seen. It was a deep, black color with white hair pooling around its hooves. Based on how it dwarfed the other horses, it was well over three meters tall. Based on the familiar crimson markings around its snout and eyes, Ryomen had likely given the horse considerable amounts of cursed energy to make it so large. Despite its imposing size, it did not appear to care about the presence of the newcomers whatsoever while the rest of the herd was watching them curiously. Satoru could not help but be reminded of Sukuna from the giant horse’s laziness. 

Whenever Satoru and the others were summoned for training, Infinite would appear before them and warp them to the shrine. He had no idea when or even how the damn bird knew where he, Suguru, Shoko, and Nanami lived. Infinite just did and would give whichever sorcerer he visited a heart attack. Wanting to delay Megumi’s meeting with Infinite as much as possible had led Satoru to request to go to the ranch Ryomen had spoken about. The pink-haired man had been ready to refuse before Sukuna convinced him otherwise, agreeing with Satoru that Megumi should not know what teleporting with Infinite felt like if he didn’t need to. Satoru was fine with warping himself and Megumi to the shrine. The ranch and shrine were over an hour apart, but Satoru could care less. He would deal with the migraine that came after warping a considerable distance easily. Ryomen had allowed Sukuna and Infinite to disable the many wards around the temple’s radius. It would be a temporary hold for Satoru to teleport to the shrine without issue, but the older man warned that the wards would reactivate soon and too not dawdle. 

“This is our stop.” Satoru said, unbuckling his seatbelt before stretching his lanky limbs. In the backseat, Megumi was still gaping at the horses in front of them. He gave Ijichi several hundred dollar bills as thanks, causing the younger to sputter and sweat. As an assistant director, Satoru knew that Ijichi was being overworked as much as the most talented sorcerers. There was so little staff that Ijichi had to do the work of at least ten people every day. He was treated with far less respect than sorcerers and expected to do much more work. Because of his younger age, the elders worked Ijichi harder than anyone else, like he was a dog. Yes, Ijichi did not put his life on the line to fight curses, but the higher-ups were giving their best shot at working assistants like Ijichi to death. It pissed off Satoru immensely. If it was not for Suguru, who was ninety-nine percent of his impulse control, he would have happily murdered those in charge of the assistant directors. Ijichi tried to give the money back, but Satoru remained firm. Eventually, he glared at the man. “Take the cash or else .”

It was an empty, vague threat, but it did its job. Ijichi yelped and bowed his head in thanks and accepted the money, blushing furiously. “Thank you, Gojo-san.”

“Don’t mention it. I know the geezers barely pay you a liveable wage. You need it.” Satoru allowed his cheerful front to drop for a moment. The assistant’s eyes were as wide as saucers from the sorcerer’s kind words. Not wanting to dwell on any thoughts involving the elders, Satoru gave his infamous shit-eating grin. “You better buy me something with that~”

Ijichi nodded frantically. As Satoru helped Megumi with his things, the tired assistant gave a small, grateful smile towards the older sorcerer before pulling out of the driveway and leaving. 

“Your friends are cursed users aren’t they?” Megumi said the second Ijichi’s car was out of sight. 

His abrupt words caused Satoru to choke on his own spit. “How did you- I mean- NO. They aren’t. Uh. They’re sorcerers. Good guys. Super duper nice. They’re harmless…” Satoru began to ramble as Megumi gazed at him with an unimpressed look. Dammit. The kid is too smart for his own good. He had planned to tell Megumi the truth in the safety of the shrine, but his cover was already blown. Ijichi had not been told the reasons as to why he had to drive to a random farm, so Satoru could not say anything in the car. It wasn’t that he distrusted Ijichi, he knew the man was loyal to Yaga and his friends far more than the higher-ups. Even so, the less people that knew about Sukuna and the cursed souls meant less chances of being caught. Ryomen would only allow so much information to be spread. Even Yaga was left in the dark as to where his previous students went. Deciding to bite the bullet, Gojo turned towards his son. He held out his hand, which Megumi begrudgingly took, and led him into the house. Two horses walked up to the pair, likely the youngest of the herd. It was a young filly and colt. The filly had a ginger coat, and she was clearly the more dominant of the two. On the other hand, the colt with strawberry blond fur tried to shove his snout into Megumi’s unoccupied hand. As if knowing the hand was injured, the young horse was incredibly gentle, sniffing at the boy’s fingers. The more prideful female did not get as close, but she was interested in whatever Megumi had in his backpack. 

Megumi had a small grin on his face as he went to pet the colt’s snout, much to the horse’s delight. “I don’t think a sorcerer would ever live this far out in the country. They’re needed in the city far too much. If a curse user wanted to stay hidden, they’d live in a place like this.” The boy’s deduction was correct. For a moment, Satoru basked in the pride of how intelligent his boy was. It made it impossible to hide things from Megumi, but Satoru could not help but be proud. 

“You hit the nail on the head, Megs.” Satoru watched carefully for any signs in Megumi’s posture that would indicate if the boy was fearful of meeting cursed users. When he found nothing, he huffed in amusement and ruffled Megumi’s hair. “You’re such a smart cookie!”

“Quit it!” Megumi snatched the hand in Satoru’s hold to swat at the much taller male. The ginger filly whinnied loudly at the two, almost like she was laughing. “See? Even the horses can see how annoying you are!”

“Oh, the pain! To be betrayed by my own flesh and blood! After all the hours I spent bringing you into the world!” He placed a hand on his forehead in fake agony. 

“We aren’t related! And you are not my mom!” Megumi growled with a fierce glare. However, it only made the boy look more like a hissing kitten in Satoru’s eyes.

“So mean!” 

They spent a few more moments with the horses until Satoru finally lead Megumi towards the inside of the house. The door hinges creaked loudly from lack of care. There was a scent of dust all around, but the house was relatively clean. The living room they were standing in was mostly barren, save for a ratty couch and worn chairs. Storage containers could be seen in every corner, organized in a system only Ryomen knew. Gojo knew better than to mess with any of the containers. 

Megumi had gone quiet again, observing the house. 

Eventually, he spoke up. “Your friends don’t live here, do they?”

“They don’t, but no one can disclose the location of their home. I made a binding vow along with the others to not reveal where their place is.” Gojo gestured towards the old home. “This is a middle ground of sorts. It’s safe if others know its location, that’s why Ijichi knew where to go.”

“But if we’re here, then how are we going to get to your friend’s house?” Megumi asked with a frown. The gears in his head were turning as he attempted to figure out the answer. Gojo could practically see the steam coming out of his nose. 

Satoru placed a hand on Megumi’s shoulder, kneeling to be at eye level with the boy. “I know you don’t like it, but we’ll be warping there. The place has countless wards and seals installed so no one can enter. It’s temporarily disabled, so we can travel there without issue. Warping is the only way.” At the idea of teleporting, Megumi shuddered. It was so disorientating, many had asked Satoru how he never experienced the effects of his teleportation. However, Satoru did feel the nauseating sensations that came with warping, he had just gotten used to it after years of practice. Besides teleporting, Satoru knew there was something more important to discuss with Megumi. “It won’t be too bad, Megs, I promise. But there is another thing-”

“Is it about the guard dogs you made up?”

“Damn, you're on a roll, kid.” Satoru muttered, mildly impressed. He pretended to not notice how Megumi’s little chest puffed up. With his knees beginning to hurt, Satoru decided to sit down, Megumi following suit. He pulled out his phone and opened a private album of photos that no one was allowed to see. There was even a passcode to the photo album. Satoru held out his arm in invitation, and Megumi climbed into his lap. Any embarrassment he would have felt was ignored for the boy’s need to learn more. Satoru pulled up a photo that he knew Megumi would enjoy. “You’re right, they aren’t guard dogs. Though, they still perform the same purpose of protecting my friend’s son. They’re called cursed souls. I’m sure you’ve heard of them, considering how much you like to sneak into Suguru’s study.”

“It’s his fault he didn’t invest in good locks.” Megumi defended. The preteen shifted his attention to the photo and immediately had to bite his lip to not burst out laughing. It was a picture of Nanami, but it depicted the man in a way Megumi had never seen before. To start, Nanami was not wearing his signature glasses and suit. He had on a loose, blue tank top and black joggers that were covered in sweat and mud. The normally stoic sorcerer had his eyes wide, looking behind him. He looked like he was shouting at someone with how his head turned and mouth opened. His well kempt hair was an utter mess. He was clearly being chased by something. It reminded Megumi of the many silly chase scenes he had seen in the cartoons he watched periodically with Mimiko. 

The ones responsible for chasing the blonde were three of the strangest creatures Megumi had ever seen. 

It was true that he had snuck into Getou’s study multiple times, but there was not as much information as Megumi hoped. It was mostly boring paperwork that Megumi did not care about. The treasures he did find were more interesting than any nature documentary. Getou had several drawings and notes describing beings called cursed souls. He had wanted to take the papers and read them in his room, but he knew that Getou was as observant as Gojo. He knew there were more details, they just were not in the study. Any items like textbooks or documents were likely hidden within Getou’s inventory curse. Megumi hated the ugly worm. Whenever he got his phone or remote to his television taken away, Getou would put it into the worm for safekeeping. Megumi knew he could not ask Getou about cursed souls without tattling on himself. From what little he managed to read on cursed souls, Megumi knew that they behaved differently from cursed spirits, they were powerful, they were unpredictable, and Getou hated the one that looked like a bird. 

He recognized the three cursed souls chasing Nanami from Getou’s sketches. Getou normally enjoyed drawing the many curses he encountered or consumed, so Megumi was not surprised that he would make sketches of these strange entities. One of them was a purple cat that had long, black spikes shooting from its back. It was the closest to catching Nanami, but the cat had a playful expression on its fluffy face. It had no intention of actually attacking Nanami. Behind the cat, there was a behemoth of a dog following with its tongue lolling out of its mouth. Concealing the canine’s face was a skull that could not belong to any animal on earth. To start, The top of the skull was jagged and uneven, as if there used to be horns that had been broken off, and seemingly fused into the dog’s face. It was wide enough to cover the canine’s wide features. Additionally, there were two tusks that curled upwards from the upper jaw. When Megumi saw the bottom jaw, he lost all hope of trying to identify the skull. It was bisected with jagged teeth throughout. It allowed the real mouth of the canine to move freely. Besides the haunting skull and strang fur pattern, it looked like an ordinary dog. A massive one, but still a dog. From the slobber on Nanami’s face, it seemed that the canine had given the blonde many kisses. Megumi’s demon dogs did not produce slobber, so their licks were exponentially less messy. The boy could not help but snicker at the image of Nanami being tackled by an overexcited puppy the size of a bear. 

The third creature had no animalistic features whatsoever, a stark contrast to the first two. Megumi turned to Gojo, a question on his lips. Before he could speak, Gojo answered for him. 

“The last one looks like Nanami, huh?” 

“Yeah. Did it copy Nanami or something?”

“Sort of.” Gojo pointed a finger at the last cursed soul. It had several spotted wrappings reaching towards Nanami. The left side of it looked like it was on fire while the rest of its body resembled a mummy. Its lower half reminded Megumi of a serpent. All the wrappings were identical to the ones Nanami used on his blunt sword. The cursed soul even had an altered version of Nanami’s glasses. When he looked closer, Megumi realized that the creature was wearing a second pair of glasses on top of its head. Likely Nanami’s. Gojo’s voice broke the boy out of his musings. “I’ll tell you everything when we get there, okay? If we wait any longer, the wards are going to reactivate.”

Megumi nodded, hundreds of questions swimming in his mind. He felt Gojo pick him up and instinctually wrapped his arms around the elder’s neck. The boy prepared himself for the unpleasantness that came with warping. Gojo gave the boy a squeeze, a nonverbal warning that he was about to teleport. He closed his eyes.

He felt the world around them shift and change. It felt like going on an elevator that was going too fast yet too slow at the same time. The elevator moved up and down, right and left, everywhere and nowhere. 

Then they were somewhere. 

“We’re here! You can open your eyes, kid.” Gojo said reassuringly. When the dizziness and nausea faded, Megumi was placed onto the ground. 

This wasn’t a house. 

It was a temple. 

Megumi was about to demand where the hell Gojo had taken him, but was stopped by a pink blur tackling him to the ground. As the boy’s mind processed what had happened, he went to yell at the jerk who slammed into him. However, any anger Megumi had vanished as he locked eyes with his assailant, who was giving him the biggest smile Megumi had ever seen. 

The younger pink boy wrapped like a koala around Megumi pulled away for a moment. “Hi! I’m Yuuji! I’m so happy to meet you!!!”

Somehow, Megumi just knew his suspension would not be as bad as he thought. 

-

If he was being honest with himself, Sukuna did not expect Megumi and Yuuji to be nearly as close as they used to be in this world. 

He had never been more wrong. 

Having Yuuji and Megumi meet was one of the best decisions Sukuna had ever made. Even Ryomen had begrudgingly admitted how grateful he was for Yuuji’s new friend. With a friend that was actually a child and not an adult or ancient curses, Yuuji blossomed. The amount of nightmares that Yuuji had had diminished greatly due to Megumi’s calming presence. 

Sukuna had not anticipated the bond between the two to be as strong as it was. Instead of being the same age, Megumi was roughly six years older than Yuuji now. It made sense back then for the two teenagers to befriend each other. Two teens had similar issues to relate to and were capable of having a balanced dynamic. Through Yuuji, Sukuna had seen how much the boys cared for each other. It had been something that Sukuna could take advantage of, and he did . He expected Megumi and Yuuji to be acquaintances at best in this time. Megumi was someone who was aloof and preferred to be alone. He did not seem like the type to be fond of children. He wasn’t.

But he was fond of Yuuji. 

Instead of ignoring the younger boy, Megumi had more or less decided that Yuuji was his little brother from now on. He was patient with Yuuji, helping him with preparing for kindergarten. Without any sign of the grouchiness Megumi was known for, he would explain the subject of Yuuji’s lesson in a way the boy could understand. It had been quite difficult for Ryomen when he was teaching Yuuji about reading, writing, and colors. Yuuji became distracted easily, often retreating into his own mind or daydreaming. Ryomen had never had the opportunity to teach Yuuji in things like literacy during their life in the Heian Era. The man had to prioritize on not having Yuuji starve or freeze to death every day. He enjoyed teaching Yuuji in the beginning, but soon realized he was out of his league. Ryomen himself had never been allowed to study in his previous life, learning how to survive instead of how to read. It was Sukuna who had taught Ryomen the basics. However, Sukuna’s teaching style was much less gentle. His tactics involved threatening Ryomen about ‘chopping off your dumbass head if you don’t memorize these damn kanji’. Among other threats of bodily harm or cannibalism. Megumi was the complete opposite. He tutored Yuuji without a hint of difficulty, no threats of eating his student alive whatsoever! Sukuna was slightly envious.

As a result of Megumi’s lessons, Yuuji felt more confident than ever about entering kindergarten. 

“Sukuna, are you sure-”

“Yes, Ryomen.”

“But-”

“No.”

“What if I-”

“ NO .”

“You’re a dick”

“Uh-huh.”

For Ryomen’s sake, they had agreed on having Yuuji start kindergarten at age six. The extra year had helped Yuuji be at the level he needed to be for school. If it wasn’t for Megumi’s tutelage, Yuuji would be incredibly behind academically. The many hours Megumi spent with Yuuji made the younger one stick to the preteen like glue. Whenever Megumi visited, Yuuji would follow him around their home like a duckling. Megumi did not seem to mind Yuuji’s clinginess, happily including Yuuji in whatever he was doing. He would talk about what he did at school and his older sisters the most. When he would speak about going to restaurants or shopping trips with his family, the longing in Yuuji’s eyes could be seen as clear as day. The boy had never gotten to know the pleasures childhood had to offer. However, Yuuji did not become angry like Ryomen or Sukuna anticipated. The child had every right to be upset, scream, or through a fit. Even so, Yuuji did not. Yuuji simply became…sad. He would ask a few questions about the outside world to Ryomen or Sukuna and would go quiet after they answered. Yuuji would nod his head before sitting on the backyard porch, Supernova usually settling in his lap. 

Sukuna could not stand the ‘kicked-puppy’ look in Yuuji’s eyes any longer. After many arguments that involved flames and blood, Sukuna had forced Ryomen to agree to letting Yuuji visit Megumi’s house for a few hours. Gojo and Getou had enthusiastically agreed, promising that nothing would happen to the boy. The guardians were not pleased at all. Only Supernova could accompany Yuuji due to his ability to shrink. It was impossible to hide away something as large as Infinite. The guardians’ forms were not discreet whatsoever. At least, Supernova could hide away in Yuuji’s backpack or hoodie. 

They had needed the boy to leave the temple for a reason. Yuuji’s first day of school was tomorrow, so Sukuna thought that a celebration was in order. It had been Gojo that had suggested a surprise party. The limitless user had bought gaudy decorations and entire boxes of Cyclop Cat Creamery desserts for the party. After seeing the competition Yuuji had had with Sukuna, Gojo demanded another contest. Yuuji had been too exhausted after his eventful birthday to have the ice cream eating competition he wished for. His fifth birthday ended with Sukuna and Yuuji eating their bowls sleepily. At the thought of a proper contest, Yuuji had perked up. Gojo and Yuuji talked endlessly about the competition and what they would do. Their energy was overwhelming to say the least. 

“Shit. I melted one again.” Ryomen grumbled. 

“Then let me handle the rest. You need to calm the hell down.” Sukuna responded without looking up from the table he was setting up. 

Even though Yuuji would be gone for less than a day, it was still the first time that Yuuji would be leaving the shrine. The boy could not contain his excitement when he was told the news. It was an important milestone for Yuuji. He would be leaving the safety of the shrine. Despite knowing that nothing will happen to Yuuji with the two strongest sorcerers by his side, Ryomen had never felt more terrified in his life. Sukuna had wanted to yell at Ryomen to shut up, but the trembling in Ryomen’s body stopped him. 

Their shared soul told Sukuna everything Ryomen was not willing to say. 

It wasn’t that Ryomen was a controlling parent and freaking out about his child being out of his grasp. Not at all. Ryomen encouraged Yuuji to make his own decisions and be his own person. He did not want to hold his son back. However, leaving the shrine was different. Ryomen now knew that Kenjaku and the disaster curses were out there. Sure, Kenjaku’s plan would not occur in another few years, but nothing was stopping the curses from harming Yuuji. Kenjaku did not need a plan to hurt his son. The fact that Kenjaku could disguise themselves as anyone in the country without detection made things worse. 

Sukuna saw the haunted look in Ryomen’s eyes. He was grasping a pint of ice cream so tightly that the carton had popped. The pain of flames and grief within their soul gave insight into where Ryomen’s mind was. It was the day the Ryomen had been burned alive with his deceased son in his grasp. The son that a healer had tried to take away and toss into a mass grave. The day that Ryomen left his humanity in the ashes of the village that he had once grown up in. 

The curse himself had seen the event firsthand. Sukuna had seen the soul-crushing agony Ryomen had felt when he realized that his son was not coming back. That type of pain could not be forgotten. Sukuna could still remember the scent of burning flesh and the sound of guttural howls from a man shattered by the cruelty of the world. Ryomen had never been the same, no one would remain unchanged after such an event. However, Sukuna had seen Ryomen’s normal concern for Yuuji begin to revert to the terror the man had felt centuries ago. 

That man would burn the entire world if his son was harmed and not be satisfied even after everything was destroyed. 

That man could not return. 

“Ryomen, go back inside. Watch your shitty television shows with Boogie and cry out the shit in your head.” Sukuna did not phrase it as a suggestion, but as an order. 

The man jolted at the curse’s sharp words. “What about the-”

“I’ll handle it. Go.” Sukuna spoke tiredly. He pinched the bridge of his nose before rubbing his face with a groan. “Yuuji will be back in an hour. I doubt he wants his father on the verge of a meltdown at a celebration meant for him.”

No rebuttal came from Ryomen. He was hesitant to leave until Boogie gently tugged on Ryomen’s hand with his teeth. The dog whined pleadingly for the man to listen. Ryomen resisted for a few seconds before giving in. He glanced at Sukuna, the bags under his eyes more pronounced than they had been in years. “Thanks, Sukuna.”

“Don’t mention it. Ever .” 

“Wasn’t planning to.” The pink-haired man ruffled Boogie’s fluffy mane. Immediately, the dog’s large tail began wagging so quickly that it became a blur. Supernova and Boogie had always been the closest to Ryomen. The purple feline helped Ryomen immensely during Yuuji’s infancy and continued to give his father useful insight on Yuuji’s wellbeing. Whenever Ryomen was overwhelmed after a stressful day or was being haunted by the horrors of his past, Supernova would leave Yuuji’s side, as long as it was safe, to keep the man company. Normally, the breakdowns, anxiety attacks, and other episodes that Ryomen suffered from occurred in the dead of night. Sukuna had no idea how to help, but Supernova somehow did. He would place himself on Ryomen’s chest and begin to purr and knead his paws, allowing Ryomen to pet his silky fur as much as he wanted. Sukuna would always be nearby as silent support, but it was Supernova that did most of the work. Boogie was the one that made Ryomen let loose. The mastiff was the most energetic of the guardians and was one of the few things that can tire an energetic Yuuji out. Especially a Yuuji with a sugar rush . His jovial energy was contagious to Ryomen. When Boogie wasn’t making Ryomen chase him or wrestle, the dog was Ryomen’s movie partner in the shitty dramas he watched. Sukuna had caught the two sleeping on the couch after a binge countless times, a puffy eyed Ryomen using a snoring Boogie as a blanket and pillow. 

It seemed that the guardians helped more than just Yuuji. 

Sukuna knew he would never be the subject of their concern, and he had accepted that. The cursed souls would not attack Sukuna like they did when they had first met, Yuuji would burst into tears if he saw the way Sukuna and the guardians hurt each other. Over the years, the guardians were mostly indifferent towards Sukuna and kept their distance. Infinite would still find new ways to make Sukuna’s days worse, but the bird did not give Sukuna hallucinations anymore. He would take Infinite’s pettiness over his psychic torment any day. 

At least, they were useful today. Without Yuuji, the guardians were lost on what to do. They were restless. Even though they had the perfect opportunity to attack Sukuna, they decided to aid him with the party. It was only for Yuuji’s sake. Infinite made it his personal mission to remind Sukuna of their dislike. The draconic bird would peck Sukuna with his sharp beak and then pretend that he had done nothing. Currently, Infinite had his beak shoved into the pint of ice cream Ryomen had dropped. His lengthy body was tangled in part streamers, but the entity did not care enough to remove them. Overtime slapped Infinite, causing him to squawk in offense, before taking the pint. The mummy used his wrappings to clean up the mess Infinite had made of himself. With Overtime occupied with Infinite, the two remaining guardians had to take on his workload. Resonance had placed herself in charge of decorations and would raise a razor-sharp nail threateningly at anyone who tried to interfere. The roses she conjured were quite beautiful, so Sukuna didn’t mind. 

“Don’t even think about it.” Sukuna growled. 

Chimera had been assisting with the chairs and supplies needed for the competition. However, the inky entity had apparently finished due to the fact that the being was now trying to sick his wretched frogs on Sukuna. Chimera clicked harshly in response, green eyelights narrowing. When his eyelights went to shift into another shikigami, Sukuna growled again. While Infinite was obvious with his hatred, Chimera’s ire with Sukuna was much more subtle. He would summon his frog shikigami the second Sukuna’s back was turned and release the frog the second someone was watching. Chimera’s gama frogs were a pain to deal with. They were not as dangerous as Nue or his demon dogs, but they were annoying. If Chimera was lucky, he would have a frog shoot its tongue directly into Sukuna’s ear. He had been successful a handful of times, and Sukuna remembered each one very well. 

A distorted warble came from Chimera as he stared down Sukuna. Eventually, Chimera’s hatred was put aside, knowing that Yuuji would be upset if his uncle was hurt. Despite not having any facial features besides his eyelights, Chimera appeared to be scowling fiercely. He shrunk into his smaller form, a sea-urchin blob of malcontent, and went underneath a table. 

This was going to be the longest hour in Sukuna’s life. 

.

.

.

-

.

.

.

The crisp air provided by the spring breeze in combination with the warm sun made it the perfect time to eat something cold. Many people were likely partaking in eating their favorite frozen desserts on such a nice day. 

One such family was indulging in the need for an ice-cold treat. However, what should have been a relaxing time spent with others had turned into an all out war. 

“QUIT CHEATING, SUGURU!” A man with white hair and dark sunglasses barked. It was Gojo Satoru, the person known for his sweet tooth, and he was being beaten by his partner. 

Suguru Getou, a sorcerer with a technique that forced him to eat the most vile objects in existence, chuckled. He had just finished his third bowl while Satoru was still on his first. In a sickly sweet voice, Suguru crooned to his boyfriend. “I’m not cheating, darling. You’re just being a sore loser. Even Yuuji is miles ahead of you.”

The boy mentioned perked up from his name being called. His cheeks were full of ice cream, making the child resemble a hamster. Five bowls were stacked next to him and he was already halfway through his sixth. His honey eyes sparkled with glee as he nodded to Suguru, mouth still full. When the boy swallowed, the other adults at the table watched for signs of discomfort, but Yuuji did not even flinch. 

“WHAT?! YUUJI-KUN! ARE YOU JUST IMMUNE TO BRAIN FREEZE?!!” Gojo exclaimed with wide eyes. 

Instead of seeing who could eat the most ice cream at once, the competition centered around who will get the infamous ‘brain freeze’ that comes with consuming something cold. If the competition had been based on the former, then Gojo would win without question. However, the sorcerer had to take miniscule bites to prevent his head from aching. Gojo Satoru was notorious for many things. Being the strongest sorcerer in the modern era, being the first person in five hundred years to inherit the Six Eyes and Limitless, being the fastest person on the planet, being a skilled mathematician and physicist, among many other things. One of said things was the fact that Gojo Satoru had NO tolerance for frozen sweets. His mind was always running one hundred miles per hour, so his brain was vulnerable to experiencing a brain freeze. It was ridiculously easy to make Gojo have a brain freeze. Due to this, Gojo was trying to eat as slowly as possible to prevent it…But-

“AGH FUCK!”

“Language!”

It didn’t work. 

“Gojo! You’re out!” An older boy with black, spiky hair and a megaphone announced from his seat on a lounge chair. Beside him were the first contestants that had lost, Nanami and Shoko. Though, neither person wanted to participate in the contest, so they forfeited after one round. Now, the pair were relaxing on identical lounge chairs the boy was sitting on, a bowl of their preferred flavor in their hands. Each had sunglasses and a matching smirk. 

The man in his twenties pouted, but left the ‘podium’. “Fine, but I’m gonna be the announcer! You suck at it, Megs!”

“I do not!” Megumi shouted, holding the megaphone to his chest. 

“Yeah! Fushi is the best announcer!” Yuuji defended his friend without hesitation. He pointed his messy spoon at Gojo with a frown. “Don’t be a meanie!”

“See! Yuuji said I’m better, so go away!” Megumi made a shooing motion with his hands.

Gojo shook his head with a frown before disappearing. He reappeared behind Megumi’s chair with a microphone in hand, causing the preteen to seemingly jump out of his skin. Wrapping an arm around his son’s shoulder, Gojo smiled devilishly. “We’ll be a tag team then! I’ll do the cool stuff and you do the boring stuff.”

Knowing that Gojo would not take no as an answer, Megumi just rolled his eyes. “Ugh. Fine.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet, Megs!” Gojo cooed before kissing his son’s cheek with an obnoxious ‘MWAH!’ 

Megumi looked like he had been stabbed. When he touched his cheek, his pale skin adopted a twinge of green. “You got ice cream on me, you jerk!”

Instead of responding, Gojo just stuck out his tongue cheekily. As Gojo approached the podium that was really two tables stuck together with a cloth on top, he raised the microphone to his lips. When he spoke, he sounded identical to a sports announcer. “Welcome folks to the most intense competition you will ever see! We pitted several champions against each other to determine who has the Toughest Brain in Japan!” He turned to his son with a flourish. “My fellow commentator, Megumi, will inform us on the rules of the game!”

For a moment, Megumi stayed silent while glowering at Gojo. Eventually, he caved in with a sigh and began to speak in a monotone voice. “You have to eat ice cream until the timer runs out or we run out of pints. Whoever gets a brain freeze is out. The person who lasts the longest without getting one is the winner with the thickest head, I guess.” 

“Indeed! Let’s look at our leaderboard. Tied for dead last are Nanami and Shoko! Who quit after one round to laze around like old people!” Gojo pointed at the aforementioned forfeiters. Neither reacted to their friend’s overdramatics. However, Shoko flipped the taller one off without looking away from her bowl. After Gojo finished teasing the two, he approached the table. He leaned down to the man sitting next to Yuuji. “It seems that Ryomen is the closest to being out! How are you doing, champ?”

The only answer Gojo got from Ryomen was a groan. His head was pressed against the surface on the table. Beside his head was a bowl of melted ice cream. “Trying to drink it was a mistake.” Ryomen’s muffled voice slurred. His hands were wrapped around his stomach in pain. Groggily, he lifted his head to try eating more, but gave up. “Yeah, I’m done.”

Yuuji patted sticky hands around his father’s broad back. “Papa, you gotta keep going! You can do it!” 

“Honey, if Papa keeps going, Papa is going to hurl.” Ryomen said, face still planted on top of the table. However, his words did not placate his son. It had the opposite effect. With determination in his golden eyes, Yuuji shook Ryomen harder. The boy’s inhuman strength accidentally made the entire table shake. 

“You can do it, Papa! I believe in you! You’re super duper strong! Your fire powers can just go FWOO and then HYOI! BRAIN FREEZE HAS NOTHING ON THAT, PAPA!” Yuuji said encouragingly. And loudly. Very loudly. “DO FWOO HOI, DAD! FWOO, HYOI!”

From her seat, Shoko cackled. “Kid’s gotta a point! Fwoo, hyoi is the way to go!”  

Gojo and Getou sent her a withering glare. 

Shoko grinned.

Ryomen groaned. “Yuuji, honey, not so loud. Inside voice-”

“But we’re outside?” The pink-haired boy cocked his head, confused. 

“Then use your Don’t-Make-Papa’s-Ears-Bleed voice.” Ryomen pleaded. He willfully ignored the mocking laughter from the four armed curse next to him. 

Finally noticing how terrible his father looked, Yuuji quietened. “Okay, Papa.”

“Thank you, son.” 

“Does your tummy hurt?”

“Yes, Yuu.”

“Oh! Do you need the orange tea that you give me when my tummy hurts?”

“Not right now, hun.”

“What about hot cocoa? It makes me feel better because it’s so yummy!”

At the thought of consuming another sweet, Ryomen sprang out of his seat with a hand on his mouth. He breathed deeply for a few moments until his stomach settled. Looking like he had completed a marathon, Ryomen panted. “Papa is gonna join the loser’s spot. Beat your uncle for me, alright?” 

Fortunately, his request halted any further questions Yuuji had. Without Ryomen in between them, Yuuji and his uncle could see each other. They locked eyes.

The curse with four arms and similar pink hair bared his sharp teeth in a challenging grin. He had eaten the most out of the group with a tower of bowls wobbling precariously. “So you think you can beat me, brat?”

“Yeah! I’m going to beat you and make you give me piggyback rides every day!” Yuuji replied with the same glint in his eyes that his uncle had. Both were competitive to a fault. “I’m gonna win, Uncle Kuna!”

“That a challenge, brat?” Sukuna leaned towards the boy, his predatory smile growing wider. 

“Yeah!” 

“Good luck, brat. You’re really going to need it.” Sukuna ruffled Yuuji’s hair, his hand large enough to palm Yuuji’s head. 

“Hey! I’m gonna beat you even more ‘cause you did that!”

“You mean lose?”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Yeah-huh!”

“Nuh-uh!”

As the uncle and nephew playfully bickered, Gojo slunk to the opposite end of the table. His grip around his microphone tightened as he bore his piercing gaze into a smug curse manipulator. “With Ryomen out of the competition, it seems that we are down to our final three. I wonder who our next loser is.” 

Getou smiled like a snake that had just caught its prey. He batted his eyes innocently at Gojo. “May I ask why you’re staring at me in particular, announcer?” 

“Because dry ice is next!” Megumi answered before the taller sorcerer could. His bored expression turned malicious. It was a look Getou and Gojo knew well. It was the look their children had before turning into goblins of mischief and mayhem. All the confidence Getou had been feeling vanished as Megumi grinned like the evil miscreant he truly was. “We’re entering the Sudden Death Round!” 

The moment the words left Megumi’s mouth, a screech sounded from the leaves of the largest tree in the backyard. Twigs and leaves fell as the creature inside climbed down. Snow white fur, colorful feathers, and a hooked beak twisted in amusement. It was Infinite, the being who loved tricks more than anyone. Infinite’s talons dug into the bark of the tree as he descended vertically. When he reached the soft ground, the draconic bird trotted to Megumi with a pleased trill. The group of cursed souls that Infinite belonged to did not react to his antics. Similar to Shoko and Nanami, the other cursed souls were sound asleep across the land. Two of them, a demonic canine and feline, had smaller bowls of their own that had been licked clean. The larger of the two, Boogie, was laying belly-up with a full stomach and snores. Supernova, the feline, had hopped onto Ryomen’s lap before promptly falling asleep in the perfect imitation of a loaf of bread. Due to not having mouths, Resonance and Chimera watched underneath the shade of a tree. It was up to Infinite to stir up things!

With his beak, Infinite reached into the cooler that Megumi had hidden and procused three bowls of ice cream. Each bowl appeared to be steaming like a boiling pot. However, the vapor was caused by the chunks of dry ice inside the innocuous container. There was only a small scoop in the bowls, small enough that it could be eaten in one bite. Which was exactly what Megumi had intended. Seeing the surprise on his parents’ faces, Megumi revealed his plan. “I knew that Gojo would want to take over the announcer role. That’s why I accepted the role and did it as lifelessly as possible. It would ensure a 100% success rate of Gojo taking my role.” 

“We really shouldn’t get on his bad side.” Getou softly uttered to Gojo, who nodded solemnly. However, Megumi had heard him.

“Too late.” Megumi deadpanned. 

From his seat at the table, Yuuji raised his hand instinctively, the motion ingrained into him after the many lessons he had had with the preteen. “Fushiguro?”

“Yes, Yuuji?” The older boy replied without a hint of the vengefulness he had shown his parents. 

Yuuji spoke in a small voice, curling in on himself. “Am I on your bad side?”

The sharp features of the ravenette softened. Megumi shook his head. “No, you’re not. You can be dumb sometimes, but you’re not stupid.”

While the adults were confused and slightly insulted by his response, Yuuji nodded sagely with complete understanding. “Got it. They’re idiots, but not morons.”

“Exactly.” Megumi nodded in approval. His voice immediately hardened as he looked at the others. “Now. Here’s how Sudden Death works. You have to eat the scoop in one bite and hold it there for at least five seconds. Try to eat it if you can, though I wouldn’t recommend it. You’ll probably break your teeth. Anyways. The one who can hold the scoop for the longest wins. Infinite?”

The cursed soul chirped in agreement. Within his durable beak and talons, the ice cold desserts did not injure him. He would place a bowl, fan it with his tail, screech, and repeat. When Infinite reached Yuuji, he cooed instead of shrieking, preening the boy’s mussed hair. The remaining contestants each had differing expressions. Suguru looked at his bowl with apprehension. Sukuna looked at his bowl with mild intrigue. Yuuji looked at his bowl like it was a hero to be admired. The contestants that had lost looked on in anticipation with Gojo cackling at the sweat beading down Suguru’s neck.  

Infinite retreated to Megumi’s side and chirped three times. The boy patted the cursed soul on the beak, which Infinite leaned into. Once everyone was settled, Megumi raised his megaphone for the last time. “You will begin eating in…Three…Two…”

Megumi stopped.

The remaining three were as taught as the string on a bow. Copying the technique that Gojo often did to annoy others, Megumi let them stew in the heavy silence. He would have made them wait longer, but Yuuji was actually vibrating with how hard he was trying to stay still. Placing the megaphone down, Megumi cupped his hands over his mouth to yell the loudest anyone had ever heard him. “ONE!” 

Instantly, Getou, Sukuna and Yuuji snatched their spoons. They all had a moment of hesitation as they stared at the plain vanilla ball. Deciding to risk it, Getou took the first bite with Sukuna following suit. Yuuji enthusiastically popped the ball in his mouth like a squirrel snatching a nut. 

“OWOWOW! NO! THAT HURTS! THAT REALLY HURTS!” Getou spat out the chilled scoop after half a second. His mouth felt numb all over. He thought his gums and upper palate were frostbitten. Somehow, it was so cold that it burned. He could hear triumphant cheers of Satoru and the quiet snickers of his other friends. 

Sukuna tried to appear nonchalant with the ice scalding his mouth. He had handled much worse. A little cold could not beat him. He made it to four seconds. The cold became too much, and he spat it out with a painful cough. The curse began using his reverse cursed technique to return blood flow to his numb and tingling mouth. Sukuna had been so distracted by the relief he felt to after being rid of the deadly dessert that he barely heard Ryomen’s worried shouts.

“WAY TO GO YUUJI! NOW, SPIT IT OUT!” Ryomen did not know if he should feel proud or terrified for his son not succumbing to the impossibly cold ice cream. So cold that Yuuji could develop irreversible frostbite. Okay, he was definitely terrified. “YUUJI! SPIT IT OUT! YOU WON!”

Taking Ryomen’s pleas as another challenge, Yuuji shook his head. The little boy went to bite down on the ice cream. He wanted to brag about eating the ball to his uncle, so he did not think twice about the consequences. As his jaw clenched, there was a loud CRACK . 

The air went deathly still.

Yuuji finally spat out the ball of ice cream. However, there was a tinge of red to the vanilla. He turned the ball around in his hands and saw his front tooth lodged into it. The boy yanked his tooth out of the scoop, waving it around excitedly to his father. “PAPA! I LOST A TOOTH! CAN WE PUT IT UNDER MY PILLOW?!”

Ryomen gave a shaky thumbs up.

Then he fainted. 

-

“Pencils?”

“Check!”

“Paper?”

“Check!”

“Crayons?”

“Check!”

“Folder?”

“Check!” 

“Snacks?”

“Check!”

“Water?”

“Check!”

“Lunch?”

“Check!” 

“Supernova?”

“Check!” Yuuji giggled, holding his beloved cat in the air. His Papa was so silly! He carefully placed a shrunken Supernova into his backpack. He gave his father a salute that he had seen in one of the movies Gojo had shown him. “Onii-cat is secured!”

“Then it seems that my little cub is ready for class.” His father sounded happy but sad at the same time. He carded his hand in Yuuji’s hair with a happy-sad face. Saddy? Ha-ad? 

Everyone else had given Yuuji hugs and well-wishes yesterday, but not Ryomen. At first, Yuuji thought his Papa was mad at him, but Uncle Kuna told him to not worry. Uncle Kuna said that his Dad was just sad, comparing his feelings to his guardians because they couldn’t come to class with Yuuji. 

He loves you, brat. So do your guardians. Don’t you think they’d be bummed if their favorite person was somewhere they couldn’t follow?

His Uncle Kuna was really smart. Fushiguro was smart too, but his uncle just knew things that Yuuji could never understand. 

All of the other kids had said their goodbyes except for Yuuji and Ryomen. Yuuji really wanted to go to his class, but his Papa still looked sad-happy! An idea popped into his head, and Yuuji wanted to pump his fist in the air. He stood up on his tiptoes and pressed his forehead against his Papa’s. It was a good thing that his Papa was kneeling. He was too tall!

“I’ll be okay, Papa. I pinky promise!” Yuuji stuck out his pinky. 

His Dad blinked several times before the sad-happy just became happy. He linked his larger pinky with Yuuji, a smile on his face. It made Yuuji feel all warm and bubbly inside! He liked it when his Papa smiled.

“Alright, Yuu. It’s a promise.”

“A pinky promise!”

“Yes.” Ryomen kissed the top of Yuuji’s head. “It’s a pinky promise.”

When his father left, Yuuji turned to finally enter his class. It was so colorful! His classmates were running around with toys or drawing on construction paper. He was so excited! Mister Getou had been teaching him how to draw, and Yuuji knew he needed to draw something for each member of his family. 

“Hello, little one. I take it you’re my last student?” A sweet voice spoke from behind Yuuji. He turned around and saw his kindergarten teacher. She had dark hair tied back with a pretty yellow headband-scarf thing. It had flowers all over and it matched with her yellow shirt and blue skirt. She had her hand out, waiting for Yuuji to take it. Remembering what Nanami had taught him, Yuuji took her hand and shook it as hard as he could. Doing it harder meant more respect, right?

His teacher laughed. “It’s nice to meet you too, Itadori Yuuji. I’m Miss Kenko and I’ll be your teacher from now on.”

“I can’t wait!” Yuuji squealed. He already wanted to run around, his legs were screaming for it! 

“Neither can I.” Miss Kenko said. She smiled at him, and it made Yuuji feel warm again. And cold. The nice lady pointed towards the cubbies. “You can place your backpack over there, little one. There won’t be any need for notes. Today is all about introductions!”

“Okay!” Yuuji couldn’t help but squeal. His first day was going to be cool! Not boring! He ran to place his backpack on a hook and took off his shoes, placing it in the nearest empty cubby. He put on his school shoes and grabbed his crayons. He heard Supernova meow worriedly, so he kept the zipper open. “Miss Kenko said we aren’t doing anything today! You can explore if you want! I love you, Nova! Bye!”

He saw an empty desk and headed towards it. There were four pages from a coloring book, just waiting to be filled! The first page was a volcano with spots, the second page was a forest with lots of roots, the third page was a beach with a big squid, and the fourth page was of a funky-looking cube. Yuuji began coloring in the first page when he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

“If you need extra coloring pages, let me know.” Miss Kenko smiled at him again. 

“I will! I’ll show you when I’m done!”

“That sounds great, Yuuji! I’m looking forward to seeing your skills.” With that, Miss Kenko left as fast as she came. It made sense. There were a lot of other students she had to keep an eye on. 

He got so absorbed in his drawing that he completely forgot about the question weighing heavily on his mind. 

The surname his father had given him was Ryomen. Ryomen Yuuji.

So…

Who was Itadori? 

Canon Antagonist vs. Fanfic Antagonist

CURSED SOUL NOBARA! MEET RESONANCE!

It took much longer than I thought to draw this lovely lady. She was next on the roster, and it was a pleasure to draw her! Albeit poorly :')

Anyways! This is Resonance! She is another part of the chaotic group of guardians that watch over Yuuji. She communicates with clicks (usually made from her metallic limbs) or soft trills. Despite not having a face, she is still very expressive. Her mood can be decerned from the rose on her eye. If its in full bloom, she is content. The more upset she gets, the more the rose will wilt. If she becomes enraged, the rose will leak a blood-like substance while the vines around her multiply. She is specialized in long range defense/offense for Yuuji. She can shoot out the nails from her vines and control where each one goes. Her aim is deadly accurate. She is still able to use techniques like Hairpin on her nails. The nails will grow back quickly as long as she has enough energy. She also enjoys jamming a nail into anyone (aka Infinite) who annoys her. With Yuuji, she is careful not to accidentally stab him. At some point, Yuuji gets special mittens for her arms ;)

ALRIGHT FIRST PIC. The picture on the upper left is my finalized design for Resonance. For the most part. I say that because I am still indecisive of what I want her leg shape to be. I settled on more crooked legs in the end. Drawing her neck and arms were incredibly difficult bc I know next to nothing about anatomy. Luckily, Resonance is not a human so I could get away with some wacky proportions. Overall, I want her to resemble a limp marionette that can walk on its own thanks to the sharp ends of its legs. That theme carried on throughout all my designs. I debated on whether I should tear up her clothes or not since Nobara is known for her outfits. However, it would not make since for Resonance to have zero tears considering how sharp she is and how long she has been alive. She still enjoys wearing new outfits when she can.

Second pic! This image on the top right is an older drawing. Resonance cannot touch Yuuji without risking him getting cut, so she usually likes to dangle roses in front of Yuuji's face to tickle him. The other image is of an older design of Resonance. I cannot reveal the true meaning behind the image without spoiling future chapter ideas hehe

Third and fourth pic! The drawings on the bottom left/right are my first designs of Resonance. I found them in a tiny notepad I had and they're pretty rough, but I wanted to include them anyways :)

Until next time!

a win is a win

INFINITE AND CHIMERA FANART: Shenanigans Edition by the wonderful @n0bluev!!!

*annoying chirp noises* IS SO HILARIOUS! Infinite is just as annoying as Gojo Satoru in canon ;) Perhaps more so because Infinite can screech like a banshee unprompted. This made me giggle so much to see Chimera do the classic Megumi Move: "Fool me once, I kill myself".

I adore the blob Chimera in this! Blob Chimera is best Chimera. He does use this form in the story, and this really makes me want to include it more! Besides Overtime, Infinite definitely enjoys targeting Chimera the most. Some things never change, even if the world is reset from the beginning <3

Thank you so, so much @n0bluev for all this wonderful fanart! It's an honor, and it reminded me as to why I started writing in the first place. Bit cheesy, but it's true. I love writing stories that people will enjoy or make them happy (despite all the angst I include aha) It's one of the best compliments for a writer to receive. However, I treasure each kudos, comment, like, bookmark, etc. from my readers. Y'all are the best!

LITTLE YUUJI FANART by @n0bluev on Tumblr!

ANOTHER PIECE OF ART ENJKNEW;FEKEF- I squealed when I saw this (as well as all the other fanarts but shhh) Yuuji looks so soft in this!! The tears are so symbolic to the inner turmoil surrounding Yuuji both within and the people around him! I could write an essay on this, but that would include too many spoilers for the future of the story ;)

Also...TIGER ONESIE!!! Ryomen definitely bought several tiger onesies in different colors when Yuuji was a baby. And he continues to do so as Yuuji gets older. Tiger Onesies Are Eternal.

And the MARKINGS!!!! AHHH- I have been doing some concepts of baby Yuuji's markings and none of them look right. They either looked too clunky or just plain ugly. THIS THO!! THIS. THIS IS INCREDIBLE. @n0bluev does it again! These markings both look like tattoos and birthmarks, which I really adore. I wanted Yuuji's markings to be different then Sukuna and Ryomen's, but it never looked right. I think making the markings match his skintone instead of being the black tattoos Sukuna and Ryomen have really makes it look softer and less distracting.

Baby Yuuji is love. Baby Yuuji is life. He is the most adorable child in the world. I DON'T MAKE THE RULES!

CHIMERA FANART by @n0bluev on Tumblr!

Another beautiful piece by @n0bluev! I was astonished that they drew something from my story again. It means so much for a silly little fanfic writer like me to get such amazing fanart.

It's the goopy boi! Chimera looks amazing in this! He looks mysterious and cool and AHH

I could not draw the goop nor his eyelights, and this fanart captures it so well! The green is the only color I wanted on him, and it truly pops. They also included the ability Chimera has to shift his eyelights around. AH! He just looks so awesome in this! This piece really shows the ink I imagined he would be made of. The same ink Megumi's domain has. I could never get it right when I drew him. But look! HE'S SO GOOPY AND INKY! It's just as amazing as the Infinite fanart I received. (I definitely did not praise that work enough! Infinite looks amazing and the bandages were done so well as well as his fur and talons. He's THE bird boi)

Thank you so much again for this @n0bluev :)

INFINITE FANART by @n0bluev on Tumblr!

I received this wonderful piece of art by one of my readers on AO3! They're such an incredible artist, and I'm honored to have such a beautiful piece done on my story! Check them out!

Infinite looks so amazing in this! This is almost an exact copy of what I imagine him to look like in my head! I could never draw Infinite in the way that I imagine him, but @n0bluev drew him perfectly! It's so so good, and I get giddy every time I see it! Having someone draw such great art for your fanfic is something I never imagined before. I'm still in shock about all the lovely feedback I receive on my fic! You all are truly incredible <3