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The old manor now occupied by the King of Curses didn't look as bad as Yuuji had anticipated. Hell—the entire area seemed like a safe haven compared to the ruins left of Tokyo. Curses and curse users came and went like they owned the place. At this point, they basically did.
Yuuji heard the whispers as he approached the property—felt the pointed stares and pointed fingers. Some interested, some threatened by his presence. Yuuji knew that if he didn't strike now, he might not have another chance.
He stood his ground and puffed his chest out. He took a deep breath and hollered at the top of his lungs.
"Hey! Sukuna! I know you're in there! Get out here! You wanted out of me so badly, but here you are cooped up in someone else's house! You scared?"
The curses and curse users around Yuuji prepared to attack. But he didn't falter.
A dark form zipped through the property's entrance. It collided with the shadow of the curse user nearest to Yuuji. From it, Ryoumen Sukuna rose—2 and a half meters tall— from the ground. Surprised by the King of Curses sudden, very close appearance, the curse user fell backwards.
Yuuji recognized that Sukuna had utilized Megumi's technique. So easily. As if it was his own. As if it had always been his.
But Yuuji didn't allow himself to focus on that. He reminded himself of why he was here to begin with. Unflinching, he stared up at the King of Curses's smug face.
"What an unpleasant surprise." Sukuna's statement contradicted the twisted glee on his face. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing,” Yuuji replied.
"You and your comrades found somewhere to hide. I didn't have to. Did you all figure out a way to defeat me? Are you bait?"
Yuuji met Sukuna’s mockery with honesty. "I came alone."
Not believing him, Sukuna briefly scanned the surrounding area. The crowd around them did, as well.. When he realized that Yuuji was telling the truth, however, he focused back on him—amused.
"And you thought you could take me all on your own?"
There was a flash of white. Uraume appeared beside Sukuna, suddenly. The area dropped several degrees, fueling the goosebumps already covering Yuuji.
"I apologize for my tardiness, Sukuna-sama," Uraume spoke, head bowed. "Shall I dispose of this intruder?"
But Sukuna refused their help. His face turned more serious when he looked back at Yuuji. "What did you come here for?"
"I have a deal for you."
Curiosity growing, Sukuna questioned, "And what would that be?"
"I do as you say and be your prisoner."
Gasps erupted throughout the crowd.
Sukuna burst out laughing. "And why would you possibly want that? In exchange for the safety of your comrades? You will never stop being so predictable, brat." The crowd joined in with him. Uraume raised a hand to their mouth but amusement showed clearly in their plum eyes.
Yuuji hid the irritation that built up within him. "I know. I'm simple and predictable. My request is something that I know wouldn't be difficult for you."
Sukuna caught his breath. "And what's that?"
"Not you, or them," Yuuji answered, gesturing to Uraume, "Or anyone else who has lived or will live on that property will lay a hand on a Jujutsu Sorcerer."
Despite his clear mirth, Sukuna looked closely at Yuuji.
"And what's stopping me from locking you away right now?"
Yuuji didn’t flinch at his threat. He had prepared for this. "I won't fight you any step of the way."
For a single moment, Sukuna seemed disappointed. But his glee returned three-fold. He got up close to his former vessel. "Now where's the fun in that? Entertaining me with every one of your futile attempts is all you're good for."
"I have nothing left. You caused that. And you know that my friends are counting on me to help them defeat you. We would be nothing against you. But without me there to be a burden, they’ll have a better chance against other curses."
Sukuna considered him. Yuuji was almost sure that Sukuna was about to cleave him or laugh in his face for being unable to convince him.
Instead, Sukuna crossed his arms. He rose to his full height. "You will be my prisoner,” he declared, “You will remain by my side or within the walls of the property at all times. You can defy me all you want, otherwise. Those are my terms."
Uraume seemed more skeptical of this agreement, however. "Sukuna-sama..."
Sharing a similar mindset to the icy curse user, Yuuji wondered what Sukuna was playing at.
"And nobody who has lived or will live within that property will hurt a Jujutsu Sorcerer. I'm all yours." Yuuji extended his hand out to Sukuna.
"Deal."
Sukuna's massive hand clasped his. Between them, cursed energy erupted. A chain-like energy wove between their individual souls and locked into place. The end that connected to Yuuji was seemingly yanked, pulling him closer to Sukuna. It was familiar to their connection when Sukuna inhabited Yuuji's body. But he didn't allow himself to dwell on it.
"This will work out nicely," Sukuna remarked, pleased.
He turned around and walked back to the property.
"Uraume," he addressed them indirectly, "Make preparations.”
Despite their reservations, Uraume did as they were told.
Yuuji followed them even without the influence of the link that connected him to Sukuna.
Upon arriving at the property, Yuuji was immediately given a new set of clothes and his Jujutsu Tech uniform was disposed of. He was fitted with a montsuki—the nagagi a soft ash color, the hakama dark like charcoal, and the haori a deep crimson. He would never admit outloud how comfortable the material felt. It was nicer than any of the traditional clothing he had growing up.
All of the servants eyed him with suspicion. He didn't blame them. He knew that proposing this deal wouldn't earn him any friends. He would probably lose some because of it.
Despite Sukuna's assurance, Uraume had Yuuji's arms bound behind his back with talisman paper that restricted his cursed energy flow and strength. They were quick to remind him that the leniency of the deal, it would serve him well to not be anymore of a nuisance that he already was.
Once Sukuna made sure that his prisoner looked acceptable, he had Yuuji accompany him to another settlement where they would meet with Kenjaku and other curses and curse users.
Not one to be subtle, Sukuna summoned Nue—now a great, monstrous beast—to fly himself, Yuuji, and Uraume to Kyoto..
Riding on the exposed shikigami, curses and curse users that had now made the sky their domain watched as Ryoumen Sukuna kept his former vessel close. There was no way that those who remained at Tokyo Tech wouldn't learn of his whereabouts now and what he had agreed to. The notion was discouraging but ultimately unavoidable. This had been Yuuji’s decision and his decision alone.
What Yuuji expected to be a long trip ended up taking less than an hour. When they landed at the new complex, Yuuji learned that they were now at the Kamo residence, Kenjaku’s base of operations. The name sounded familiar. He recognized it from the Kyoto student. Gojo had also mentioned them being one of the 3 great families.
The reminder of his teacher—of the life that came before—stung.
Sukuna, Kenjaku, Yuuji, Uraume, and several other curse users piled into the tatami meeting room. The other attendees made their distrust and mockery of Yuuji crystal clear. Sukuna mostly ignored them.
Yuuji and Uraume sat a little farther back from Sukuna on either side of him. Yuuji had been seated on his knees much like Uraume. He had never been very good at sitting seiza and struggled to hide how the numbness assaulted his feet.
Several hours of discussion passed on topics that Yuuji didn’t completely understand. Talks of territories and the birth of new curses and cursed techniques. Many mentioned ancient sorcerers who they had once met having been reincarnated. Yuuji tried to pay attention but was more bored and tired than anything else.
Just when he thought the nightmare was over, everyone else was dismissed—leaving only him, Sukuna, Uraume, and Kenjaku. Sukuna and Uraume didn't hide their intolerance for the curse user's unpleasant nature. And Yuuji came to see why. There was something that bothered him about Kenjaku. They were oddly familiar with him. Yuuji had his own thoughts on the curse user. But he knew to not underestimate them. Before him was the sorcerer who sealed Gojo, afterall. A powerful, ancient sorcerer that had connections Yuuji couldn't begin to imagine.
“I’m sure that you didn’t imagine the joys of delegationing once you regained your body,” Kenjaku remarked.
Yuuji swallowed the rage building in him at Kenjaku’s words. Words that they might not have even considered.
“Your body. That person’s body. Tsumiki-nee-chan’s body.”
They were all just meatsuits to these sorcerers who cheated death. The thought occurred to Yuuji that that could have been him. It should have been him.
“Indeed,” Sukuna replied, “Those seeking greater strength are apparently too weak-willed to rule themselves.”
“Don’t be like that. You should be honored.”
Kenjaku’s gaze wandered away from Sukuna to his side—where Yuuji sat. Their eyes briefly connected before the sorcerer looked back to the King of Curses.
“With you away so frequently, someone has to keep an eye on your prisoner. I’m sure that Uraume is very capable, but they’re always with you.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuji saw the ice sorcerer tense up.
Sukuna, though more composed, appeared to have the same reaction.
“If I decide to not take him with me, he has agreed of his own free will to not run away.”
That didn’t seem to faze Kenjaku. “Still…should the need arise that you need someone to drop by to watch over him, let me know.”
Their offer sent a chill down Yuuji’s spine. He would be more irritated—them implying that he was a child in need of supervision—if the sorcerer didn’t unnerve him.
Lost in his own worry, Yuuji was surprised when Sukuna reached back for him. He was hauled close. Sukuna stared down the stitched-forehead sorcerer.
“That won’t be necessary. Focus on your own schemes.” Sukuna’s words left no room for discussion.
Despite their obvious disappointment, Kenjaku’s smile had yet to diminish.
"That's too bad. Hopefully we can catch up some other time."
Much to Sukuna and Uraume’s relief—along with Yuuji’s—business was done and they returned to the manor at the edge of Tokyo. Yuuji had never thought that he would be so eager to return to the property.
A banquet awaited them upon their arrival. In the grand hall of the main building, a variety of elaborate dishes were laid out across floor tables. Curses and curse users from all over the nation had arrived to celebrate Sukuna’s rise to power.
When Yuuji was offered food, he accepted—defying Sukuna’s expectations. He knew that he would need his strength if he was going to survive this deal. With his arms still bound, he had to rely on the servants to feed him—some making the experience better than others.
But no amount of comfortable clothing or delicious food would bring solace to Yuuji’s circumstances. He repeated that fact to himself like a mantra..
Seated close to Sukuna once more, the guests made it a point to stare and gawk at him—a Jujutsu Sorcerer, Sukuna’s former vessel, and his prisoner. To the few who lacked the decency to keep their mouths shut and refrain from making suggestions as to what Sukuna should do with him, they were promptly punished and sent away.
Sukuna’s protection did little to provide Yuuji any comfort, though. He had ruined any opportunity to gain Yuuji’s trust long ago. This was made all the more true as the bastard confirmed to the hall full of strangers that all of Yuuji’s hair was natural. The room had burst into laughter and Yuuji wished to be put out of his misery.
And lastly, after several more hours on the tour of making Yuuji regret his life choices—perhaps even existing—a group of human women and men were ushered in. Sukuna picked a random woman out of the line. She was rushed off to be made adequate for entertaining the King of Curses.
Yuuji took pity on the woman. He figured that he’d be stuck with Uraume and the servants for a few hours. He could handle that, Yuuji told himself.
Sukuna returned to his quarters to await the concubine, his former vessel and prisoner in tow. Endless refusals sought freedom from their captivity, but Yuuji kept them contained. He knew that Sukuna was expecting him to fight. Yuuji refused to give him the satisfaction and allowed himself to be led away.
They reached the large, lavish room lit by candles that Sukuna now called his own. Sukuna changed out of his samue pants and was given a kimono by Uraume that greatly resembled the one he had worn in his innate domain. It was surprising to Yuuji to notice the drastic difference between the Sukuna who he had shared a body with and the Sukuna standing before him.
“It’s rude to stare.” Yuuji’s train of thought was interrupted by Uraume’s sudden remark and them yanking his arm. “Sukuna-sama, are you sure you want him here right now?”
“I brought him here, didn’t I?” There was no arguing with that logic from the King of Curses. Sukuna made himself comfortable on the futon that had been laid out. “Just put him over there,” he gestured, unbothered, to the opposite side of the room—as if Yuuji were no more than a piece of furniture.
Uraume reluctantly did as they were told. They dragged him to the side of the room with his back facing the wall. On Sukuna’s orders, they opened the sliding doors. The evening sun poured in as soon as it was allowed entrance and bathed most of the room in warm color. Despite the circumstances—despite the silhouette of the city that was once Tokyo that stood in the distance, Yuuji thought it was beautiful.
Uraume tugged at him so he was once again facing Sukuna. They brought a single finger to their lips. “Not a sound from you,” they hissed.
If Yuuji had been paying attention, he would have noticed that he and Sukuna shared the same eyeroll.
Uraume made sure that everything was as it should be and stood by the door awaiting further instruction.
“Well done, Uraume,” Sukuna praised them, the sincerity that slipped past his arrogant exterior surprising Yuuji. “You may go. Send her in when she arrives.”
Ever the loyal steward to their master, Uraume fully acknowledged their master’s demand. “Should you need anything, I or another are here.”
“Good, you are dismissed.”
Uraume bowed to their master and exited the room. But before they could even shut the door, Yuuji saw Uraume notice something. Uraume looked back towards Sukuna.
“My lord, she’s here.”
“Send her in.”
Uraume gave whoever they were looking at a brief, wordless stare. When they were done, they stepped to the side and allowed the unknown person to stand before the doorway. Yuuji recognized her as the woman who Sukuna had selected. She stood with her head bowed.
“Good evening, my lord,” she spoke with an even, practiced, and soft tone.
“Enter,” Sukuna spoke.
The unnamed woman stepped through the threshold. Uraume slid the door shut not a minute after.
The woman raised her gaze to address the King of Curses. To avoid making direct eye contact, she looked to the back wall. She spotted Yuuji. If not for her practiced expression, her face would have likely twisted in disgust and confusion. This caught Yuuji off guard.
Sukuna, noticing the faintest shift in the mood, was entertained.
“Ignore him,” he told the woman. “He’s nobody.”
The woman swallowed any complaint she might have had. “Yes, my lord.”
“Come here.”
The woman approached his bed and sat on her knees before him. She focused her attention solely on Sukuna but kept her gaze humble.
From where he sat, Yuuji couldn’t help but admire the woman’s appearance. Yuuji had already thought that she was already beautiful when he first saw her in the main hall. Pale skin, dark brown hair, and deep blue eyes. She was now dressed in a kimono that matched her eyes with pale yellow gingko leads embroidered across the lower half and sleeves. Her hair was pulled up with gold pins, loose but not messy. White make up had further lightened her skin and rouge emboldened her full lips.
He forced himself to remain stoic despite the mix of emotions that continued to accumulate within him.
Upon Sukuna’s instruction, the woman undressed himself. She showed no hesitation in letting herself be exposed bare to Sukuna or even Yuuji, as if the teenager had simply vanished from the room.
Sukuna took his time letting his hands wander over her body. As if he owned her. Her flesh. Her never life. His touch seemed greedy yet patient and almost tender.
Yuuji gulped at the sight—at a loss for words. Only able to watch.
After letting Sukuna begin to have his fill of her, the woman reached her arms around Sukuna’s broad shoulders, nimble fingers playfully caressing over the skin that had yet to be exposed. She carefully glanced up at Sukuna, just enough to acknowledge him.
Sukuna took hold of his obi and pulled it loose. He tossed the strip of fabric aside—letting is fall right before Yuuji. Sukuna kept his eyes trained on the woman on the offering served to him and pulled open his robe. This earned him a sharp inhale from the otherwise stoic woman. He told her to continue. The woman ran her hands underneath the silk fabric to feel over his firm, tattooed skin.
Sukuna cupped her sharp jaw and drew her closer. Like a predator striking, he claimed her lips. The woman seemed startled but didn’t fight him. She moaned into the kiss and held onto him.
Sukuna adjusted himself and the woman. He shifted her into her lap and turned slightly. Yuuji could see the near-naked pair melded together, kissing passionately.
Sukuna opened his eyes. All four red, ringed orbs turned towards Yuuji. He focused in on the boy. Myrrh filled his face.
Horror filled Yuuji as he realized too late what was happening. It only dawned on him right then what he was being forced to witness. His entire body tensed up—alarm filling his widened eyes. He didn’t have to scream at Sukuna to stop and bring attention to himself—The King of Curses had already noticed his unfiltered response. He got the reaction he wanted.
Yuuji only realized then that he was as much a part of this as the poor woman.
He cursed himself and his naivete.
Yuuji didn't know how much time had passed. His only indicator was the dimming of the sunset behind him. Clothing lie before him in a forgotten pile before him.. The room smelt heavily of perfume, sweat, and sex. No matter how much he tried to disassociate from the sight before him, the sound of moans, mutterings—most incomprehensible, others filthy—and wet slapping of skin was inescapable. Yuuji was squirming in his seat from what seemed like hours of the King of Curses teasing him. He couldn’t have been imagining it, Yuuji reasoned. The bastard took every opportunity while taing the woman beneath him to look away from her in Yuuji’s direction. The one time that she tried to bring his attention back to her—barely cupping his jaw—Sukuna roughly pinned her arm down. She didn’t try again.
Yuuji could only continue to watch helplessly. He sat, bound, in the King of Curses's quarters as Sukuna thrusted into the woman without a care in the world. Neither attempted to hide the sounds they made.
Yuuji agonized over how long was Sukuna planning on drawing this out. Did the woman even like this? Was she alright? Sukuna probably expected him to offer himself up in her place. There was no winning. Sukuna already got the reaction he wanted.
The experience was only made worse by Yuuji's own erection that refused to die down. There was no denying that watching this naked, beautiful, random woman be fucked didn't do things for him. His eyes traveled over every inch of her form. No matter how rough the King of Curses was, she followed his touch, accepting everything.
And as much as he hated to acknowledge it, Sukuna, equally naked, was all bulk and firm like a mountain. His tattoos stood out against his skin. Every one of them. Even the duel stripes that Yuuji hadn't expected. The King of Curses commanded—no, took control and took as he pleased. His hands left bruises, yet he knew how to please. For as much as the woman craved mercy, she was also granted ecstasy.
Yuuji didn't know whether he wanted to be the one consuming or the one being consumed.
NO!
If he could have slapped himself, he would have.
This wasn’t about him. This wasn’t about him! This was all a sick game to Sukuna. He couldn’t let himself get worked up over this. He just had to get through this.
As the final rays of the sun peaked over the horizon, Sukuna pulled away from the panting woman and laid beside her. He stretched out like a big cat across the futon, uncaring for anything besides his own pleasure.
"Today was particularly pleasant,” he boasted, more to himself than to anyone else.
The woman replied with her usual practiced remark between pants, “Yes, I agree, Sukuna-sama," Yuuji could see her facade hanging on by a string as she stared up at the high ceiling..
Those damn red eyes drifted back to Yuuji—as if his former vessel were a magnet whose force he couldn't resist.
"And what do you think, brat?" The King of Curses purred, preening in his full glory.
Yuuji didn't grace him with a response. Only a pointed, loaded glare.
Sukuna rose—having already forgotten the exhausted woman beside him—and approached Yuuji.
"Something to say, brat?"
Despite the command as he towered over the other, there was little venom in his voice—only a thrill.
Yuuji was certainly not fine while having Sukuna, naked, standing over him. And the boner he had desperately tried to fight off bulged under his hakama. Yuuji sank pathetically under the other’s display.
Sukuna picked up his discarded kimono. He tied shut the robe and closed the space between him and Yuuji, smile cocky and eyes filled with something that Yuuji couldn’t name—wouldn’t try to. He roughly grabbed Yuuji's chin and turned him to face the open landscape through the open sliding doors behind him. Yuuji was once more met with the scene that these awful walls had at least temporarily protected him from. Despite the open view of the city illuminating with a familiar and different glow, it was no longer the Tokyo that he knew.
He leaned closer into Yuuji. "Have a look, brat.”
The words sent a too familiar chill down Yuuji’s spine. He forced himself to remain as calm as possible.
His face was yanked back to look up at the King of Curses. “Don’t lie to yourself. This is everything you never knew you wanted.” Sukuna’s gaze briefly softened yet remained unable to hide his undying smugness. “Things didn’t have to be this way. You could have had all of this without losing everything you hold dear.”
Yuuji hardly believed that. He truly knew that Sukuna wouldn’t have changed anything that had happened up until then.
He pulled Yuuji closer until the other could feel his breath on his ear.
“But instead, you had to be a brat.”
Sukuna always knew how to make the teenager react. Yuuji almost did. Sukuna must have been pleased to see how red in the face he could make the other.
And just as easily, Sukuna dismissed the true vitriol he was denied and took in the boy trapped beneath him. Yuuji could hear Sukuna inhale his scent deeply—watched his massive chest fill.
Sukuna was so close.
Yuuji was spooked as a large hand landed right above where his wrists were tied together. At a snail’s past, the touch dragged up his back. Even fully clothed, Yuuji felt as though Sukuna’s touch was burrowing beneath his skin. He struggled to calm his breathing. Another hand of hold of Yuuji’s side.
“What is he doing?”
Two hands grabbed his legs. Yuuji’s breath hitched without him knowing. Sukuna pulled his knees apart and moved forward. Yuuji could no longer hide the fear that consumed his expression.
Sukuna wouldn’t go this far, Yuuji reasoned. Not with him.
The King of Curses wedged one leg between Yuuji’s. His knee dug against Yuuji’s clothed, leaking cock. Despite his best efforts, a rough whine escaped Yuuji. As an unforgiving rush cycled through his body, Yuuji’s thoughts spiralled.
Why had he gone alone with having his arms bound? Because he hadn’t wanted to give Sukuna the satisfaction of fighting back. But now he needed that freedom back. Even if pushing against the beast of a man wouldn’t have done anything, at least he could have fought back.
Sukuna didn’t make him look up, but Yuuji’s gaze was naturally pulled in his direction. Despite all of his power—all that he had done—he looked down at his former vessel fondly. He repeatedly ground his knee against Yuuji. With nowhere to escape, Yuuji could only accept what he was given. As memories of the past half-year flooded his thoughts, it dawned on Yuuji that no matter what he did, he could never escape the King of Curses’s actions.
A breathy scream was forced from his lungs as the coil of arousal building up inside of him became too much to bear. Cum spurted free from his clothed, sensitive cock. Yuuji writhed in binds—desperate to get out of his skin. Out of his now wet hakama. Out of this room. But Sukuna's hold only got tighter, as if reminding Yuuji that he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Good boy.”
He was left dangling in a heavy fog for an unknown amount of time. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Yuuji questioned why he should care. But it did matter to him.
As he slowly regained his senses, Yuuji tried to focus on the threat before him, the woman that lay discarded nearby, and the reason why he had agreed to this awful deal to begin with.
"Get out."
The woman rose from the futon and rushed to claim her kimono. Her composure had all but shattered. She paced limply out of the room, not without throwing a glare over her shoulder directly at Yuuji.
Despite facing the ire of a woman who he had never even met, Yuuji felt sorry for her. He couldn't help it. No matter how consensual, she couldn't have known that this would have happened. Yuuji was the one who had agreed to this deal—even if he had never considered just how far Sukuna would take this.
Guilt entwined itself with his sympathy. The wet spot on his hakama only served to fuel his shame. His thoughts spiralled, leaving him ruminating.
He had been turned on by something that he should have never had to witness. By someone who he had no right to be turned on by. By the primary cause of all the destruction that he had witnessed and even that which he had not. He hadn’t stopped it. He should have taken her place.
“I deserve to be here.”
"Is that humanity, I see? Concern?" The King of Curses teased.
Yuuji turned his attention back to Sukuna, who hadn't looked away from Yuuji for one moment.
Yuuji forced his smile. "Sorry, I know you hate that."
Sukuna smirked at his remark. "Perhaps. But from you, it's pathetically endearing."
"A celebration is in order."
Yuuji was left aghast—what little ecstasy that remained, shattered—and had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. As is Sukuna hadn't been reveling in his victory all day. As if everything that had just transpired never happened.
The King of Curses pulled himself off of Yuuji and sat back to make himself comfortable. He snapped his fingers and two servants promptly entered, each carrying a tray. The first servant’s carried a ceramic flask, cups for serving sake, and a can of soda. The condensation that gathered on its metal sides let Yuuji know that it had just been taken off ice. The servant poured the alcohol into the serving cup.
The second servant's tray carried a set of tools and a long pipe. They opened a box that contained tobacco leaves and filled the bowl of the pipe. The first servant moved to light a thin stick from one of the many candles around the room. They returned and lit the dried leaves before sitting near their own tray again. Once the leaves caught fire and the flame built, the servant holding the pipe cupped their hand over their mouth and extinguished the flame, leaving only an elegant stream of smoke. They handed the pipe to Sukuna, who right away brought it to his lips, inhaling the smoke just enough to fill his mouth.
He exhaled with a pleased sound.
"You're dismissed."
The servants bowed and left the pair’s drinks and all of the tools for the kiseru.
Sukuna took another slow inhale and savored the taste. After he exhaled, he briefly looked away from Yuuji to examine the intricate pipe.
"This wasn’t around when I was alive. Kenjaku only recently introduced me to smoking. The burn isn't terribly unpleasant but it's surprising at first. There were few uses of drugs in my day."
Yuuji wondered how he was supposed to respond to that. Celebrate Sukuna for destroying everything and taking the things that appeased him?
Unaware of the boy’s thoughts, Sukuna’s gaze returned to Yuuji. He gestured to the cold soda can.
"You like this, correct?"
Sukuna pushed the soda can closer to Yuuji, waiting for his response. When Yuuji didn't answer, he pulled back his hand and lifted the guinomi. He briefly nursed the sake before addressing the other once more. The previous mirth in his voice waned.
"I didn't expect for you to show up so soon—et alone like this. What was it that finally broke you? No, that's not the right word. You'll never break, will you?
“Did you resign to the fact that you and your comrades could never defeat me?”
Yuuji remained quiet—his face like stone.
Sukuna continued, "Tell me this, what leads a child like you with your circumstances to refuse to succumb to your own helplessness? Kenjaku has more information than I do, but I figured that I'd ask you directly."
“What does Kenjaku have to do with this?” Despite Sukuna's words, Yuuji didn't allow himself to get sidetracked.
"You took an interest in my memories?" Yuuji half laughed.
"Of course, as feeble as your mind is and how boring you can be, I had to entertain myself somehow. What makes you unbreakable? Tell me."
He thrusted the pipe in Yuuji's direction with perfect precision. The kiseru's smoldering bowl was pointed beneath Yuuji's chin, forcing him to look up at Sukuna.
But he remained defiant.
"No, I only agreed to be your captive. I don't have to tell you anything."
Sukuna's brow quirked. He put down his cup and leaned over before Yuuji. He reached his hand out over Yuuji's shoulder. Large, calloused fingers teased the skin peaking out from the haneri. He cupped the back of Yuuji's neck and gave a light squeeze. He wouldn't kill Yuuji, but knowing that he could was probably part of the thrill for Sukuna.
"What? No empty platitudes on hope and friendship? You usually love to run your mouth,” he snarled with a look of barely contained interest. “I thought that I had managed to calm you down some. Yet despite everything, you remain a petulant brat."
Yuuji fumed in his binds. No matter how much he defied him, Sukuna always managed to tear free a few reactions that he was looking for.
But that didn’t mean that Yuuji couldn’t give Sukuna some of the resistance that he so craved.
He smirked in response, trying to match Sukuna's own.
"To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. But after everything I've seen today, I feel let down."
"What was that?" Behind his usual unfazed demeanor, blinked in surprise. Their sudden shift told Yuuji to tread carefully.
"Smoking? Drinking? Partying? That's not what I expected of the great King of Curses. Did you finally remember what it's like to be human--"
Yuuji's face was snatched by one of Sukuna's many hands. His palm covered everything below his nose. The grip threatened to break his jaw. Sukuna pulled Yuuji closer.
"There it is—that smart mouth. I almost missed it. However, you're prettier when you don't open your mouth.”
The King of Curses took another moment to take in the defiant teenager in his grip before returning to his vices and the view outside. The pipe was refilled and lit and the sake was poured.
Yuuji used the opportunity to ground himself. He knew that he had to be selective with what reactions Sukuna could get.
After indulging himself for a bit, Sukuna looked back at Yuuji. He was smiling. He didn't look intoxicated. Just...satisfied. He slowly released the other's face. His hand remained close, but oddly gentler. He caressed the areas where he had passed particularly hard. Felt Yuuji's lips. Enjoyed the pout that showed so many emotions yet hid so many more. Ones that Yuuji would try to not give in to again, just yet. He begrudgingly let the King of Curses do as he pleased.
Sukuna brushed his hand over the side of Yuuji's face, barely cupping it and feeling his soft locks. He scooted closer to Yuuji. Yuuji tensed up, afraid of what to expect. That Sukuna would repeat what he had done before. But he was met with a different surprise. Sukuna sat crouched down by him, as if ready to whisper a secret. Goosebumps rose across Yuuji’s skin.
A deep, knowing voice—laced with booze, tobacco, and brimstone—surrounded him.
"Ah, chrysanthemum
Red leaves fall and yet you rise
Allure and intrigue"
Yuuji shivered at the haiku. He didn't exactly understand it but he could feel its sincerity. He tried to calm his breath.
Despite everything, this was still Sukuna.
The King of Curses rose and took Yuuji into his arms. One of his hands grabbed a candle as they crossed the vast room. He sat down at his floor desk and placed Yuuji beside him.
"Watch”
The King of Curses’s sudden change deeply disturbed Yuuji—leaving him unsure of what to think or do. He followed Sukuna’s movements. He didn’t always consider the right possibilities—he hadn’t considered everything that could have happened when he handed himself over—but he didn’t pick up on any malice from the other. He settled into his seat and played along.
Laid in an organized manner across the desk were all the tools needed for ink painting—some that Yuuji didn't even recognize. Sukuna started by using a water dropper to place a tiny puddle upon the ink stone. He then grabbed a well used ink stick and ground it against the black surface. Yuuji couldn’t help but admire the other's technique.
When a thick pool of ink coated the stone, Sukuna put the ink stick aside and picked up a brush. Vertical, right to left, Sukuna effortlessly wrote. The ink showed no blotches upon the paper, only crisp lines. Yuuji recognized a few of the kanji from language studies class, many old and having changed their original meaning, but enough to understand. This was the poem that Sukuna had recited.
Had he come up with that in the moment?
When he finished, Sukuna put down the brush over its resting block and cleaned the excess off of the ink stone on a spare piece of paper overlapping with several marks. One hand remained resting on the edge of the desk as Sukuna turned to Yuuji.
"Uraume will hang this later. When the season changes, I'll make a new one."
“Winter…”
Sukuna rose once more and carried Yuuji with him.
"I can walk, you know," Yuuji grumbled. "It's not like I'm going to run away."
"There's no need."
Sukuna returned them to where the pair had sat prior. But this time, he had Yuuji sitting in his lap. Yuuji nearly jumped out of his skin. He never could make sense of Sukuna and this day only amplified that feeling tenfold. The King of Curses was a moody, cruel bastard—Yuuji knew that very well. But attentive? Affectionate? Yuuji refused to accept that.
Throughout the day, Sukuna had been all too pleased to celebrate the capture and ownership of the one who had delayed his rampage—to put him through as much shame as he had unknowingly brought onto the King of Curses. Some of his actions came as no surprise. Others, however, puzzled Yuuji to no end. He had to remind himself of why he was there. What he had left behind. Everything that he had lost. The only role left for him.
Sukuna looked down at him and hummed, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.
"Tell me what's troubling you."
“You know what.”
Calmly, Yuuji replied, "You wouldn't understand."
This made Sukuna laugh sharply. "I wouldn't understand? That's a bold claim."
A reaction wasn’t bad if it got a rise out of someone else, Yuuji reasoned to himself. He had already lost everything. What more was the loss of his empathy?
Yuuji looked up at Sukuna, expression hardened. "You'd never understand what it's like to feel like a human."
While he didn’t know the reason for the barely contained surprise on Sukuna’s face, Yuuji didn’t need to. He savored the venom that dripped from his own words.
“There was a time that I thought we could get along. You could help me and I could help you. But then you went and ruined it. What did you tell me? ‘The weak should accept their suffering’? Well, congrats, I have. Now you get to choke on it. It’ll be the closest thing to humanity you ever have.”
Sukuna wavered.
Before Yuuji could revel in the other’s’s reaction—no matter what it may be—he was hauled up by his hair. Sukuna rose onto one knee and snarled in his face—challenging Yuuji to defy him once more.
"Is that your idea of mockery, you little shit?”
Yuuji was far from finished. Months of resentment—of his own curses—boiled to the surface. The curse tasted bitter, but it went down smooth. "You are a hollow shell of a man.
"All the vessels and the booze and the violence will never make up for what you've never had and never will have."
Another crack formed in Sukuna’s defenses. But just as quickly, he pulled himself back together—more monstrous than before.
"Is that the best you've got? Do you want to see me cry? Like you? To scream and beg again and again. No. Unlike you, I have the strength to resolve my own problems. You, meanwhile, have nothing left to show for your miserable life except for what you brought into it—how you’ve cursed others."
Who was Yuuji to defy the King of Curses—a man of ancient, unspeakable cruelty? Despite his best attempts, he could only hiss in the face of Sukuna’s roar. Yuuji’s acceptance of the truth of Sukuna’s words spilt free a momentary angst from him that tasted better than anything that Sukuna had ever partaken in before.
He grabbed Yuuji and threw him against the futon, splotches of the bedding still damp from his previous activities. Sukuna shoved the other’s head into the cushion and bent him over. Sukuna ground himself against Yuuji’s clothed ass steadily, taking his time. Yuuji’s breath hitched as he felt Sukuna’s cock prodding him.
Sukuna reveled in the boy’s unwavering defiance. Even crushed under his foot, Yuuji struggled to throw him off. Despite the show of apathy that Yuuji Itadori had presented the entire day, Sukuna could always spill what the vessel had poorly hidden. Submission of any kind was not in Yuuji’s nature and he could never pretend otherwise. That’s why Sukuna had worded the binding vow as he had. Yuuji Itadori’s defiance was the King of Curses’s to covet.
“You forget, brat, I have seen the worst of humanity. Was born into it. Witnessed it. Took part in it. You think you can endure anything? You know nothing of suffering.”
"You don't know anything about me!" Yuuji yelled, shoving his head to the side under the King of Curses’s hand.
Yuuji’s statement made Sukuna cackle. He stopped grinding only to firmly grasp Yuuji’s ass. He ran his thumbs along the crack and pressed where he knew the other’s hole to be.. Even through all of his layers, Yuuji could feel him. He hissed in pain and pleasure at the pressure..
"But I do, brat,” Sukuna cooed cruelly, meeting Yuuji’s own vitriol. “I've seen everything. And I will never let you forget any of it." He ground himself back into his former vessel.
Sukuna’s words and his actions shook Yuuji to his very core.
But he still had vitriol that had yet to be offered.
He turned his head completely and gazed up at Sukuna. "Good. Now you have me. And you're just going to keep taking more. Because you're nothing without what you can take."
Out of the corner of his eye, Sukuna’s expression was unreadable. Yuuji thought that he had struck a nerve with how the King of Curses paused against him.
He was pulled up and thrown onto his back. Sukuna crawled between his legs and wrapped a hand around his throat. His presence expanded before Yuuji, but the teenager refused to cower. Sukuna could kill him—could have killed him already—but Yuuji knew that he wouldn’t
Sukuna’s smile—the curl of his expression—threatened to split his face. His hand tightened around Yuuji’s throat. “I do have you. You’re mine. You always have been. This was your choice, stupid boy. Swallowing my finger. Throwing yourself into my domain. You clearly revel in your own suffering, and now I’ll give you what you so desire.
“Even if I don’t kill your comrades, there are countless curses and curse users loose across this land that don’t need my command to do so. That, I can promise you.
He leaned in close and delivered a threat weighted with desire and malice. “I will make you regret ever surviving my reincarnation.”
Yuuji didn’t doubt him. He knew what he had agreed to. Even with his hands bound behind his back, even with Sukuna’s hand around his throat, even trapped in the King of Curses’s domain, even facing the uncertain fates of the only friends he had left, Yuuji refused to bend to him.
Yuuji shoved upwards with all of his might. Even against Sukuna’s monstrous strength and the increasing loss of oxygen, he sat up completely. His and Sukuna’s foreheads collided. Blood dripped down their faces. Spit leaked from Yuuji’s mouth and air finally returned to his lungs. Neither flinched. They met each other’s curse head on.
"Do your worst."