#cg!sukuna

[epickiya722]

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!!!

[water9826]

Cursed Guardians (A JJK Fic)

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He had won. 

He had finally won. 

Sukuna let out a sigh and let his body relax on top of the warm sand. The beach he was currently resting in was surprisingly tranquil. The waves were calm and the breeze was comforting. Such sensations had nearly been forgotten by the ancient curse. During his destructive rampage, he had paid no attention to the environment around him. He was too focused on killing those wretched sorcerers and any who defied him. Now that he had won, he could appreciate the new world he had created. He’d be the true King of Curses. King of the World. 

There was a problem, however. 

He was a king with no subjects.

After defeating the limitless user, no one was left to stop Sukuna’s plans to subjugate the entire world. His power had returned to him, restoring his true, godlike form. No vessel needed. Because of the overwhelming surge of power Sukuna received once the white-haired freak was killed, he entered a mindless state. He was so caught up in his own destruction and violence that he didn’t notice who he was destroying. The plan he had concocted for centuries was tossed to the side as he committed a genocide to all forms of life on Earth. There were no humans left to terrorize or curses to dictate. 

Even Uraume was not spared of his senseless cruelty. When he had realized that his most loyal assistant was killed by his own hands, it was already too late. Sukuna had slaughtered everything. The plant life had no hope of recovering, any wildlife had been incinerated, and the oceans were empty. Such destruction was not in his plans. Sukuna knew he was seen as an irredeemable monster, a psychotic murderer, a megalomaniac through and through, and the list of titles continues. While Sukuna did agree with most titles, he did not agree with being called mindless or anything that insinuated he was an idiot. 

It had taken time to become the curse he was now known as. Sukuna had been human once, a fact he forgot more often than not, which meant that he was not born with his incredible powers. He was patient and persistent in his journey to grow stronger. Eventually, entire villages fell at his hands and his hands alone. With his intellect and abilities, he became a one man army. No one stood a chance against Sukuna. Even his public execution had been planned, convincing the townspeople to burn him at the stake with a piece of wood Sukuna had carved ancient runes into. The runes imbued him with cursed energy as Sukuna perished to the flames, ensuring he would be reborn as a curse. 

Sukuna never did anything without a plan. He was strategic and the strongest. The former aspect was often forgotten by his opponents. While the sorcerer with the six eyes technique was born strong, Sukuna was not. He was not an arrogant fool who would deny such a thing as having no weaknesses. Such delusions would make Sukuna more vulnerable. Gojo was born a prodigy, Sukuna made himself a prodigy. His efforts had paid off in the end as he had become the most feared creature in the world. 

And yet…

He had acted like a mindless beast until the world he was supposed to rule over became nothing but a hollow husk. 

There was nothing Sukuna could do. There was nothing Sukuna could do to reverse it. 

This was not part of his plan. He was not supposed to be the only inhabitant of this planet. The desolation he had wrought was too much . Sukuna had gone too far. Such a concept was foreign to the curse, but it was true. No one survived his wrath. He would have to live out the rest of his existence in solitude. 

“Are you happy?”

If Sukuna had regular hearing, he would not have heard the weak whisper of the boy next to him. Fortunately, his senses had always been heightened, and his godlike form only served to strengthen his senses even more. Even so, a weight settled in his gut when the boy, who was known for being anything but silent, spoke in such a manner. 

Yuuji sat next to the giant entity without an ounce of fear. In fact, there were no emotions that could be detected on the teen’s scarred face. The normally expressive boy had been reduced to a shell of his former self. Itadori had been so quiet that Sukuna momentarily forgot about his existence. He had let the teenager live as a form of revenge. As his vessel, Sukuna learned things about Yuuji that he never wanted to know. Most notably his morals, something that annoyed the curse to no end. 

Despite his many years of living, Sukuna had never seen someone as selfless as Itadori Yuuji. He could not remember a single soul who had even a fraction of the boy’s kindness. Above all, the pink-haired teen prioritized the lives of others far more than his own. It infuriated Sukuna to have such an idiotic being as his vessel. At first, Sukuna planned to kill Itadori immediately after regaining his true form. When Sukuna went to end the boy’s life once and for all, he had paused at the broken look in Yuuji’s eyes. Yuuji had been staring at his beloved sensei’s and best friend’s lifeless forms with such agony that Sukuna found himself unable to harm the teen. He had expected Itadori to stand up in a fit of rage and initiate a battle that Sukuna had been craving ever since Yuuji ate his first finger. Nothing of the sort came. Yuuji was kneeling on the bloodied ground with a stream of silent tears flowing down his face. He was in a completely vulnerable position, yet Itadori did not seem to care as he continued to look at Megumi’s and Gojo’s mangled corpses.

“I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” Yuuji spoke so brokenly that his words were nearly indecipherable. He bowed his head until his forehead touched the muddy ground. His arms wrapped around his waist as sobs began to wreck his body. It seemed like Yuuji had no control over the force of his sobbings, which were so strong that his ribs seemed to strain with each heaving breath. Tears and snot started to flow in a nonstop current. Between his sobs, painful whimpers and endless apologies left the boy’s quivering mouth. 

Sukuna stood there as if he was paralyzed. The boy he had come to know had been shattered beyond repaired. The boy whose morals were so strong that Sukuna’s own dismantle technique could not slash through. The boy who never backed down from a fight, even if the odds were not in his favor. 

The boy who had shown an amount of kindness that Sukuna had never experienced before. 

He could not bring himself to kill Itadori Yuuji. 

“What?” Sukuna was brought out of his thoughts as he remembered the question Yuuji had whispered to him. A question that Sukuna had no proper response to. 

“I asked if you were happy.” Yuuji whispered in the same lifeless tone as before. He continued to look at the waves and the horizon in the distance with a glossed over look in his eyes. His arms were wrapped around his knees, his head sat atop them. “Are you?”

Sukuna, for once, was struck silent. Of all the questions that Yuuji could have asked, this was the one that he would have least predicted. A strange feeling coursed through his chest, moving to wrap around the base of his throat. It was heavy and painful, not allowing him to speak anymore. All he could do in response was glance at Yuuji with confusion clear in his four eyes. 

At the curse’s abnormal silence, Yuuji lifted his head to make eye contact with Sukuna. It felt like the first time that Sukuna had seen the teen in years. So much had happened that he felt like centuries had passed. Yuuji’s face seemed wrong to Sukuna. It was covered in scars, along with the rest of his body. When he had forcibly removed himself from Yuuji after consuming the twentieth finger, the teen had suffered immensely. All the tattoos that Sukuna had showed up on Yuuji in the form of thick, ugly scars that caused the teen constant pain despite the scars looking fully healed. The fact that Sukuna had not noticed until now disturbed the curse in a way he did not expect. What troubled the curse even more was that no sadistic glee had arisen from seeing the damage Sukuna had caused. Instead of pride or smugness, the feeling in Sukuna’s chest and throat got worse. It hurt . 

Itadori let out a breathy chuckle, moving to sit with his legs crossed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked such a stupid question. Of course, you wouldn’t ‘dignify it with a response’.” The teen paused. He put his hands in his lap in a desperate attempt to hide their trembling. His head hung low, and he broke eye contact with the stunned curse. “Can I ask another question though? Promise it won’t be as dumb as the first one.”

With no refusal from the powerful curse, Itadori took it as a sign to continue. “All I want to ask is why. Why did you do this? I thought you wanted to kill jujutsu sorcerers and humans…not everything . Why go this far? I..I don’t understand... And above all else…Why haven’t you killed me yet? That’s what frustrates me the most. You killed EVERYONE except for me!” A spark of the fire Yuuji used to have reappeared. He looked back at Sukuna with a fierce glare. However, just as soon as it came, it left. The fire died inside the teen instantly. He looked back down, wrapping his arms around himself. His voice grew wobbly as tears filled his eyes. “ Why? Why haven’t you killed me? Is it to prove some p-point? Because there is no one left to prove it to! I know I failed! I know I’m weak! You killed everyone, and I c-couldn’t protect them! I just want to see my friends again…… Please …… I-I…I don’t want to be here anymore…” The last part broke Yuuji into a fit of  agonizing sobs. His hands covered his face while his fingers were pulling harshly on his hair. His body trembled from head to toe. Pleas left his lips, but it was like the boy was speaking gibberish with how unstable his voice was. To make things worse, Yuuji began hyperventilating along with his frantic sobbing. The poor teen could not get in a single breath. It was a sight Sukuna could not stand. 

The painful weight constricting his throat and chest suddenly disappeared. Sukuna grasped the folds of his kimono tightly with one of his clawed hands. Before the horrid feeling could return and silence him, Sukuna blurted out his response. “I can’t!” 

That seemed to shock Itadori so much that his rapid breathing and sobbing began to slow. It was enough for Yuuji to get the air he needed. Of course, Yuuji was nowhere close to being calm, but at least he was not in danger of passing out. Bloodshot eyes locked onto Sukuna’s with a look so utterly lost and devastated that Sukuna felt his body moving before he could register what exactly he was doing. Four strong arms wrapped around the smaller boy in a secure embrace. Instantly, the sharpness in his throat and chest returned with such an intensity that Sukuna let out an audible gasp. With lack of a better term, Sukuna felt bad . Very bad. 

Then it dawned on him. 

Sukuna felt bad for Yuuji. The curse that had slaughtered billions felt guilty. 

Despite the absurdity of the feeling, Sukuna felt his eyes burn. 

As the strange embrace continued, Yuuji’s breathing became normal, and his sobs stopped completely. Tears still leaked from his eyes, which were opened wide in shock. While Sukuna did not enjoy the sensation of his kimono getting wet from the tears and snot, he could not bring himself to reprimand the crying teen. Even as the boy buried his head into Sukuna’s torso in a poor attempt at hiding, the ancient curse found himself not feeling disgusted at the touch. 

Meanwhile, Itadori felt absolutely pathetic. He was hugging the curse responsible for the death of his loved ones. Of the world . Sukuna was the sole being responsible for the disappearance of all life on Earth. And he was hugging the entity so tightly as if he was terrified of Sukuna letting go . He probably was terrified. In all honesty, Yuuji could not remember the last time he was embraced in such a way. It felt like he was betraying his friends by clinging onto the curse who killed them. And yet…Yuuji continued to melt further into the warm embrace. It was completely out of character for Sukuna, but Itadori was not in a state to care. He was always a touchy person that had gone most of his life touch starved. Gramps usually yelled at his attempts to hug him as a kid, so Yuuji refrained from hugging his grandpa ever again. Most friends he made in school were from sports and calling them friends was a stretch. The best he would get was an arm around his shoulder or a pat on his back. 

Then there was Jujutsu High. 

Megumi rarely hugged him. It just wasn’t in the teens' nature. The hugs he did receive were awkward and short. Yuuji enjoyed them, but he would feel terrible if Megumi continually forced himself to hug Yuuji when the introverted boy was uncomfortable with it. Instead of hugs, Megumi showed his affection through threats or brief shoulder pats. The sorcerer would also summon his remaining Divine Dog, named Cocoa by Kugisaki, for Yuuji to pet or his rabbits for Yuuji to hold. Expending his cursed energy in such a way just to make Yuuji happy was more than enough affection for the pink-haired teen. 

Nobara hugged him slightly more often than Megumi but not by much. She hugged him tightly and for several minutes after punching him for ‘faking’ his death. She also hugged him after he helped her with her many shopping trips or if he did her hair. He had learned how to style hair because his hair was quite long when he was little due to Gramps constantly forgetting to schedule a haircut. Eventually, Yuuji taught himself how to style and eventually cut it. His skills proved useful in getting Nobara into a good mood or forgiving him whenever he accidentally ruins one of the girl’s clothes. Her hugs were strong and warm just like Nobara herself. 

Gojo’s hugs were quite frequent, especially during Yuuji’s time living in the basement. Out of everyone, Gojo and Yuuji had the most in common. He knew his sensei was an experienced sorcerer with an intelligence that Yuuji could never hope to achieve. However, the times where his teacher let himself goof off with Yuuji were the teen’s favorite ones. Because of Gojo’s technique, it meant so much more when Yuuji hugged him. Gojo would willingly turn off his Infinity so Yuuji could embrace him or the other way around. Whenever the older sorcerer hugged him, Yuuji felt extremely cold but secure. It might be due to his technique that Gojo constantly felt like he was made of ice, though Yuuji had never thought to ask. Even so, Yuuji knew he was the safest with Gojo closeby. 

Nanami’s hugs were secretly Yuuji’s favorite. They were extremely warm and lasted as long as Yuuji wanted. He knew Gojo would go crazy if he found out that Yuuji favored Nanami in something and not the Infinity user. It was hard not to indulge in Nanami’s hugs, something that Yuuji realized was a privilege that no one else had. When Yuuji had first met the blonde, he had thought that Nanami hated Yuuji’s guts. In fact, it was the opposite. Nanami protected Yuuji with such ferocity that could scare the most powerful of beings. He always reminded Yuuji that fifteen is a child’s age, so he should act like one. He always said how it was an adult’s responsibility to put a child’s life above their own. He said this with such certainty that Yuuji nearly cried every time Nanami said it. Nanimi always prioritized Yuuji’s health and happiness above all else. For instance, after the failed mission to kill the curse with the patchwork face, Nanami had hugged Yuuji when he saw the teen breakdown and blame himself for the death of Junpei and the curse escaping. Ever since, Nanami allowed Yuuji to hug him without complaint. In fact, Nanami would wrap his arms around Yuuji and soothe them down his back. Each time, Yuuji would start crying into Nanami’s chest, resulting in the man humming to Yuuji until the boy felt better. 

Gojo was incredibly protective of Yuuji, and the teen saw him as a silly older brother most of the time and a caring parent during quieter times. However, Nanami acted like an attentive father all the time, making it impossible for Yuuji to see him as anything but. Nobara and Megumi were his family as well. They both acted like older siblings that kept him out of danger or younger siblings that always squabbled with each other. Ijichi was caring in his own nervous way, reminding Yuuji of an uncle he’s always wanted but never had. Despite his over the top mannerisms, Yuuji adored Todo as well. Todo had taught him so much and taught him in a way that Yuuji’s thick-headed self could understand. It had taken a while, but Yuuji loved Choso and saw him as his older brother. Choso loved Yuuji as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Learning that both of them were Kenjaku’s biological children was strange, yet it only served to make their bond stronger. He also loved the second years, especially Yuta who had the most soothing voice Yuuji had ever heard. He had even been incredibly fond of Junpei, the boy who he failed to save. Still, the brief time spent with Junpei was full of so much laughter. Junpei’s bright smile was something Yuuji would never forget. 

He loved them so much. 

He had people that cared about him.

He had friends.

He had family. 

He couldn’t imagine his life without them.

Yet he had to. 

They were all dead. 

They weren’t in his life anymore. 

They would never be in his life ever again. 

Yuuji let out a soft whimper as he tried to hide himself completely in Sukuna’s embrace. He wanted to be angry. He had every right to be angry at the monster before him. The monster who spared him instead of letting him see his loved ones again. Sukuna was horrible. He had committed such atrocities that were forever burned into Yuuji’s mind. Despite this, no anger came.

There was nothing left inside of Yuuji. He was numb. He was so tired . He didn’t want to fight anymore. There was no point in defending an empty world. There was no one to protect or help.

He just wanted to die already.

His grandpa had wanted him to die surrounded by loved ones. Those were his last words, and Yuuji had done everything he could to honor that request. Having and giving others a proper death became Yuuji’s strongest goals. It was what fueled him to continue on despite the cruel world he was living in. It was what kept a bright smile on his face and hope in his soul. 

If Yuuji died now, he would have no loved ones to hold his hand or say comforting words on his deathbed. He would die alone . The one thing that Gramps begged him not to do. It was his last request. Gramps used his last breaths to tell Yuuji to help others and have people surrounding him when he died. Yuuji failed his grandpa. He couldn’t even honor his promise to his grandpa. He never thought he would fail in that of all things. Yuuji was supposed to do everything in his power to keep his promise. But he didn’t. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“What?”

The speed that Yuuji used to snap his head to look at Sukuna should have broken his neck. It was like the world had been flipped upside down. Left was right. Up was down. Hot was cold. And Sukuna had apologized . 

Sukuna sighed, further surprising the teen. “I’m sorry. I can’t kill you, and I don’t fucking know why. I just can’t.” The curse’s words were soft and sounded defeated. His four crimson eyes stared at Yuuji with a maelstrom of emotions that the boy had no energy to decipher. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“You didn’t?” Yuuji wanted to rage at that. Out of all the times that Sukuna chooses to be merciful, it was when Yuuji wanted to die the most . He wanted to scream at Sukuna that the curse was lying and that Sukuna did mean to kill off the entire planet. All that Yuuji could manage was a whisper as numbness settled into his soul again. 

“No. It was never in my plans to leave this planet devoid of life. I didn’t intend to touch anything outside of Japan either. Jujutsu sorcerers and curses only reside on this island, nowhere else. I had no reason nor want to exterminate all life on Earth.” 

“Then why did you do it anyway?”

The emptiness that returned to Yuuji’s features and voice displeased Sukuna. Now that he had identified the guilt that had been suffocating him, Sukuna noticed how said guilt became heavier. “To put it simply, I lost control. Once my true form was regained, the amount of power I gained blinded me to everything besides total destruction.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Regret what exactly?” Sukuna responded carefully. He knew that saying yes to such a vague question would be misleading, and Sukuna had no need to lie. 

Yuuji went quiet for a long, long time. His expression remained empty and his dull golden eyes held no hints of what the teen was thinking. A shivering breath left the pink-haired boy and he buried his head into Sukuna’s torso again. “Do you regret not getting to try ice cream?”

At first, the curse was incredibly confused by the odd and seemingly random question. It took him several long moments before a memory resurfaced with such force that Sukuna could not even try to repress it.

-

Hey, Suku!

Don’t ever call me that again, brat. The fuck do you want?

I have a question for you, and it’s really really important that you answer it!

Hm. It is quite bold of you to assume that you are worthy enough for your brainless questions to be dignified with a response. 

That’s a shame. Well, I’ll go ask Gojo-san because he’ll definitely answer my question ‘cause you-

Ask me the damn question this instant, brat. Don’t you dare call for that insufferable sorcerer.

Okay, I won’t. Now, I have to know, O Lord Sukuna. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

What.

C’mon! I know you have one!

Brat, I have no knowledge of this ‘ice cream’ you are referring to. 

Oh yeah, you’re old as shit. Well, ice cream is this really awesome dessert that comes in a lot of flavors like chocolate or vanilla. It’s cold and really creamy and perfect for when it’s hot out. The flavors are usually sweet, but I have tried some weird ones that aren’t. I think I tried one that tasted like chicken-

Why are you talking to me about such nonsense?

Because I’m bored, that’s why! We have been in this basement for weeks, and I don’t have my phone anymore! 

Tsk. Of course your pathetic mind would grow restless after such a short amount of time.

Hey! You’re still responding to me, so that must mean that you’re bored too. 

I am not. 

You are. You’ve been much more chatty ever since we started living in the school’s basement. I don’t think there is any harm in learning more about each other. 

I will never cease to be amazed by your stupidity, brat. 

Rude. BUT! You still haven’t answered my question!

I do not care about such pointless things! I am an immortal curse, food is not necessary for me and hasn’t been for thousands of years! 

So you didn’t have any form of dessert when you were alive?

The era that I was born into was horrid. I have no fond memories of it, and if there were any confectionaries, I do not remember the taste of it. 

Maybe I can help! What if I make or buy a dessert, and you summon one of your mouth things to eat it! 

That is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard.

You didn’t say no.

……

Yes! I’ll ask Gojo to purchase some ice cream to start off! I bet you are going to get such a bad brain freeze! It’s pretty painful, you know. I think you won’t be able to handle the coldness. 

How dare you assume such a thing?! I am not weak! I can handle temperatures so low that it would make your very blood turn to ice! 

You’re on!

-

They would never have that ice cream competition or any other fond talks for that matter. The months they spent in the basement were the most peaceful moments Sukuna had ever experienced. It was shocking how easy those memories faded away once Sukuna gained more and more of his fingers back. Remembering those many talks the two had made Sukuna squeeze Yuuji tighter. 

Yuuji hated being alone, so he enjoyed asking Sukuna questions about his life and interests. In the curse’s mind, this was Yuuji’s way of trying to get information to use against Sukuna. When he realized that the simple questions Yuuji asked held no information that would benefit the sorcerers, he interacted with the boy often. No one had ever shown such an interest in Sukuna’s life before. Uraume was more of a loyal assistant than a friend. They never asked him about what his favorite color was or what his favorite type of flower to smell was. Yuuji had done so with such enthusiasm that Sukuna found himself indulging the teen with endless answers. When Yuuji was not asking him a random question, Yuuji would cook for himself and Gojo. The teen was an incredibly talented cook, receiving constant compliments from Gojo and hums of approval from Sukuna. Yuuji always made large portions because of how much Gojo had to eat to sustain his bottomless pit of cursed energy. At the same time, Yuuji made so much so that he could give Sukuna a taste of the meals he created. It was a kind gesture that the curse never anticipated. He was introduced to the world of comforting cuisine and addictive junk food thanks to Yuuji. 

At some point, Sukuna had started initiating conversations with Yuuji instead of waiting for the boy to say something. The curse found great joy in making Itadori burst out laughing in the middle of training with Gojo by telling a horrid joke. A majority of the curse’s satisfaction came from embarrassing Yuuji and catching the Six-Eyes sorcerer off guard. However, a small part of him felt a warmth whenever he would see Yuuji’s bright smile and joyful laughter.

It was as if leaving the basement made Sukuna’s fondness for the teen leave as well. 

He had never reflected on their time in the basement until now. Sukuna found it easy to toss away the newly formed bond to focus back on his plans to destroy the jujutsu world and regain his full power. Because his plans had failed from his own forthcomings, Sukuna found himself feeling a sense of guilt that had not existed during any of his genocides or attacks. 

All his efforts to be the King of Curses again were for naught. While his power and form were restored, the purpose of doing so was gone. He could not rule over subjects that were dead. He could not enjoy a world that was empty. The reason why he had kept holding onto the mortal realm was the hope of being reincarnated and returning to his rightful place as King of Curses. Not allowing himself to die caused Sukuna to be in a strange limbo for thousands of years. He had to spend so many centuries unable to feel the sun on his skin or have anyone but himself to talk to. Sukuna stayed in that horrid limbo, planning what he would do once he was reincarnated, for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to be alive . He had planned to spend the rest of his immortal life enjoying the warmth of the sun, the beauty of the forests, or even the softness of an animal's pelt whilst conquering his enemies. 

Sukuna destroyed all that he was looking forward to. After everything that he had done to ensure that he would win, he still lost. The curse was left questioning everything that he had done, repeatedly asking himself if it was worth it or not. No concrete answer came, which was an answer in its own right. Throughout his many years of living, Sukuna had not experienced this amount of uncertainty or doubt in any of his plans. Although, all of his prior plans succeeded. This was the outlier, therefore, Sukuna’s reaction would be different as a result. This utter failure to execute his meticulously prepared plans left Sukuna’s entire being reeling. 

He had lost.

He had finally lost. 

It was a lie to say he had won. Sukuna was unfamiliar with the concept of losing. He had prided himself on his ability to come out on top no matter who his opponent was. Whenever he saw beings weaker than him, Sukuna felt so disgusted by them that he killed the pathetic creature without hesitation. The weak had no place in this world, in Sukuna’s world. Failure was one with the weak while victory was one with the strong. 

Was Sukuna weak, now? The beliefs he had carried for centuries were being turned against him. The weak failed. Sukuna failed. Such a thought only served to further unsettle the curse. The path he had taken led to the death of Uraume, the death of wildlife, the death of all plant life, the death of humans and curses he was supposed to dictate, the death of sorcerers who were the only ones that could give him a worthwhile fight. 

There were endless paths Sukuna could have taken, but he chose the one that would end in the most mayhem and death. An intrusive thought wormed its way to the forefront of Sukuna’s scattered min d. What if he did have that ice cream competition with Yuuji?

Once the thought appeared, it did not go away. Images of Yuuji laughing as Sukuna ruffles the teen’s hair. Images of Yuuji and Sukuna having a dramatic debate over who the best character was in a dumb movie franchise. Images of Yuuji hugging Sukuna only to reveal that he had covered the elder with flour. Images of Yuuji and Sukuna trying to push each other into a pool. The pure happiness and warmth the images emitted were so strong that Sukuna felt like he was looking into an alternate timeline that did not exist. Additionally, Sukuna felt like he was intruding on the memories of a real person despite the images being conjured by Sukuna’s own mind. 

It was a path that could have existed if Sukuna had altered his plans. He would have simply planned to regain his body, nothing more. He would not have started a worldwide genocide. But what’s done is done. He could not alter the past.

“Sukuna?” 

Said curse was broken out of his downward spiral by the boy he was conjuring joyful memories of. The ancient being felt the tiny arms clutching onto him release. Yuuji’s head was bowed, tear droplets staining the smooth sand beneath them. As tears continued to fall onto the sand, it became darker and heavier from the wetness. It was as if the tears were transferring their burden onto the pure white sand below. Itadori fell to his knees, arms hanging limply by his sides. Caught off guard, Sukuna stepped back. It felt like he was a grand tree looking down onto a mere ant. Seeing the boy on the ground while Sukuna’s monstrous form towered over him made his gut twist unpleasantly. In the past, Sukuna had always seen Yuuji’s smaller stature as pathetic. He reveled in the way he loomed over the teen, whether on his throne upon hundreds of skulls or in his larger form. Such feelings did not arise, which frustrated Sukuna slightly. Unfamiliar feelings and thoughts were infecting Sukuna’s cruel nature. It felt as if his very soul, which was supposed to be colder than the dead, was being enveloped in warmth. Warmth that surely didn’t belong to him. Nevertheless, it seemed like Sukuna had no way to reverse the softening of his whole being. The King of Curses knelt on one knee before the boy. While the curse was still much taller than the boy, the sentiment was still present. Kneeling before a sorcerer, a human, a child. It was something no one had managed to achieve from the King of Curses. Sukuna put one of his large, clawed hands on the boy’s impossibly tiny shoulder. “Yuuji.”

Yuuji’s lips wobbled when he heard the curse say his name for the first time. To make things worse, the ancient being said it was such concern that Yuuji wanted to rage and wail at the same time. The warmth of Sukuna’s hand was a stabilizing presence instead of a threatening one. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Itadori desperately wanted the warmth to come from anyone else besides Sukuna. It should be Gojo’s voice, soft with worry, asking him if Yuuji is okay and saying ‘Sensei’s here, Yuuji-kun. I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re with the strongest after all! Don’t worry, okay? You will always be safe with me.’ While Gojo reassures Yuuji, Nanami would envelop the boy in his comforting embrace without saying a word, simply humming a soothing tune and rubbing the poor boy’s trembling back. Megumi and Nobara would practically force Yuuji to take a day off, showing Yuuji how much they cared for him with Nobara painting his nails and Megumi cooking the chicken meatballs Yuuji had taught him so he’d have something warm to eat. Eventually, he would try to sleep, and Choso would enter his room, kneeling next to Yuuji’s bed, and begin to gently card his fingers through Yuuji’s hair to make Itadori’s tossing and turning cease. 

That’s what his family would do if they saw Yuuji in his current state. They would show him how much they adored him, letting them reciprocate the love Yuuji so often expressed to them. It would have been so nice. Yuuji would have the void in his heart be filled with the love of the people who meant the most to him. He wouldn’t be alone anymore. 

“Yuuji.”

But he was . Fuck, he was alone . He was really alone.  Yuuji bit his lip harshly to prevent any more sobs from escaping. All the strength in his limbs had gone, his once unwaverable will to keep going had been ruthlessly shattered as the reality of the situation settled in. Once he saw Gojo and Megumi’s corpses, his will to live died with them. The steady weight of Sukuna’s clawed hand was offering comfort that his pitiful body accepted. He did not have the strength to shove the curse’s hand off or lift his head to glare at the monster. Another hand went in his hair, smoothing his messy hair with soothing strokes. The void within him grew bigger. Choso was supposed to do that. Not him. Not him. NOT. HIM.

“I want to leave…” Yuuji murmured with his broken voice. “Please…”

“I know, Yuuji.” Sukuna felt pain surge through him that was more agonizing than any other injuries the curse had ever experienced. “I know. 

“ Please . I want to go. I want to leave! I want to see G-gojo-san and Megumi-mi  and No-Nobara and N-N-Nanamin! I want my brothers back! Ch-Choso a-and and Todo a-and Yuta! I want to be with them , Sukuna! Please! I don’t care what you do, just let me die!” Yuuji’s lip split from the amount of force the boy was using to restrain himself. Blood pooled from the deep wound, but Yuuji did not stop with his frantic pleas. “I miss them, Sukuna! I can’t take it anymore! I want to be with them! Let me be with them ! PLEASE!” His last pleas had become shrill as Yuuji’s pleading intensified, his voice cracking from the strain.

The pain within Sukuna was indescribable. Said pain should not exist, but it did. It felt like the pure agony that a father felt for their sick child, unable to help their little one feel better. The hopelessness as the child’s pain grows, and the father has no way of soothing the precious child. The fury the father feels as his child is seen as a lost cause, tossed aside as other sick children are prioritized by parents that can pay better. The father is incredibly young and stands outside the medical hut helplessly. The desperation the father has to heal his ill child, who grows weaker as his pain grows stronger. The horror of seeing his child wail about how much it hurts and how he wants it to stop. The emptiness the young father feels once he feels the sunshine his child emitted fade away. The pure torture the father feels as the healers he travels days to see state that the light of his life, his baby boy, his little tiger was already dead. 

‘I’m sorry, Ryomen-san. He has been dead for days. There is nothing we can do.’

‘We know the grief you feel is immense, Ryomen-san, this plague has been hitting the entire valley quite hard.’ 

‘Ryomen-san, you must let go! That child is infected. We must burn it with the others!’

‘Yuuji is gone, Ryomen!’

Those memories were not his. They couldn’t  be his. It should be impossible. Sukuna’s human life was nothing but a blur. He could not remember a single thing besides his last deeds and execution. What came before did not matter in his quest for power. His past was insignificant. 

He felt Yuuji lean into his hand that had been stroking his hair unconsciously. Sukuna had not realized he had done such an action. The boy had gone silent again. Somehow, Yuuji’s silence had a sense of finality to it. It was as if the shattered pieces of Yuuji had been further shattered until it had turned into dust. Dust that was blown away by the breeze of the beach, becoming one with the countless grains of white sand. 

Sukuna decided to ignore the calamity within his mind and soul. He stopped kneeling to sit on the sand, placing Yuuji on his lap. The boy’s smallness continued to shock the god-like curse. There were no more vengeful, sadistic thoughts. He didn’t want to use the boy’s vulnerability against him. He didn’t want to harm the boy anymore. The defeat Sukuna had experienced was immense. Once the curse accepted his loss and banished any more violent desires, he felt a strong wave of pure adoration and regret for the broken teen in his arms. The affection he had for Yuuji was so familiar to Sukuna despite the curse never experiencing such an emotion. He often ridiculed the behavior of humans. Deeming their emotions and companionships as pathetic. For the umpteenth time, Sukuna’s own beliefs had turned on him. 

Despite seeing himself as above all other beings, Sukuna still experienced the very emotions he had despised. Humans were not supposed to turn into curses the way Sukuna did. Perhaps this was his punishment for going against the rules of nature. The human self he had once forgotten was now returning with a vengeance. 

Yuuji’s form was limp for the most part. The only proof that he had not died were his shaky breaths against the curse’s kimono. With his soul being pulled in opposing directions, Sukuna was at a loss of what to do with the boy. He couldn’t bring himself to kill him, yet he also knew how horrid it would be to live on this desolate planet. Sukuna hated both options.

Sukuna could make a third one. There had to be a way for him to start over and undo what he had done. He could create a new world that would not end up the way this world did. Briefly, the images of Sukuna and Yuuji laughing and smiling popped up again. That feeling of the images being memories from a different world. A different time. 

In this form, Sukuna had seemingly endless powers. He was a god. As a god, Sukuna should be able to make a new world, a new timeline. If he couldn’t, then Sukuna and Yuuji would be stuck on this miserable planet with no hope of happiness. Happiness. That is what he wanted for Yuuji. 

He had to try

“Yuuji. I never got to answer your question earlier. My apologies.” Sukuna kept his voice low since it felt like he would spook the poor boy otherwise. Yuuji did flinch at the curse’s sudden words, but he quickly went back to being limp and motionless. Although, Yuuji did give the slightest nuzzle into Sukuna’s torso, the only source of warmth the boy had left. He used his lower set of hands to hold Yuuji and the upper set to card through his hair and rub his back. As gently as he could, Sukuna placed his chin upon Yuji’s hair. It felt necessary to have as much contact as possible since this would be the last time this world would exist if everything goes right. “I do regret not getting to have that competition with those frozen confectioneries with you.”

Yuuji stiffened the second the words left the curse’s mouth. As Sukuna’s answer was processed in Yuuji’s tired mind, the teen let out a quiet, amused huff. A few tears slipped down Itadori’s already stained cheeks. However, the smallest of smiles made its way onto Yuuji’s scarred face. 

“I have lost this battle that I started. I am not delusional enough to say I experience any degree of victory. All my efforts were wasted, and I have only myself to blame. Now, I find myself doubting my prior actions, wondering what could have been if I hadn’t been so power-hungry.” Sukuna felt a twisted grimace appear upon his features at the admittance. “I felt such a sense of contentment during my time spent with you in that dreaded basement. I have not experienced such serenity ever since. I should have realized how much more fulfilling my existence felt when I was not focused on violence and cruelty. That contentment, that serenity, that fulfillment was all due to you, Yuuji. You are truly an incredible boy, and I am ashamed that I never told you that. I am ashamed that it took the destruction of the entire world to see your extraordinary self. The amount of strength and kindness you possess are unmatched compared to the many, many beings I have encountered these past several centuries.”

The more Sukuna spoke, the easier it became for him to speak of his regrets and the apparent love he had always had for the small boy. Sukuna saw the small smile on Yuuji’s face wobble in the attempt to contain his tears. It did not work as more tears fell, but Yuuji’s smile grew a bit wider. Sukuna paused for a moment, considering how he should go about explaining his plan to Yuuji. When he glanced down at the boy, the answer came to him. “I have failed, but I may be able to try again. However, I will not use this chance to redo what I have done. Quite the opposite actually, I want to return this world back to its former glory. I do not think I can make our world the same as it used to be. There will be fundamental changes to everyone because there are always consequences with meddling with time.” He felt Yuuji gasp sharply, starting to shift beneath him. Sukuna lifted his head off the boy, only to be met with Yuuji’s astonished gaze. The once dull color of his eyes brightened, returning to its golden glow. A genuine smile appeared across Sukuna’s lips for the first time in centuries. “If all goes well, you will have a new life with your friends and family again. I can’t guarantee how your new life will go, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are protected and cared for.”

Yuuji’s smile grew even more until it was the same bright smile the teen was known for having. Hope had returned from its once extinguished flames. There was a hint of confusion in Yuuji’s eyes, but it was overshadowed by the sheer joy of possibly getting to be with his loved ones again. Nevertheless, Sukuna noticed the teen’s bewilderment. “I am well aware that such actions are out of character for me. However, I find my soul softening as memories and feelings I had once forgotten resurfaced. I don’t know when in this conversation that this change occurred, but I know I do not feel like the curse I was previously. There are various reasons for this, but I don’t wish to burden you with such information.” Sukuna could feel his power beginning to fade. It was an infinitesimal amount, something that would have almost gone undetected if Sukuna were any less aware. But he was aware. The curse took the feeling as a warning that he was running out of time. If he waited any longer, he would not be able to reform the foundations of time. 

“The window of opportunity I have to make such a fundamental change seems to be growing smaller by the minute. It was foolish of me to believe that my true form would last. I am supposed to be dead, afterall.” Sukuna placed a hand on the center of his chest. His soul was both changing its shape and growing weaker. It began to resemble the pitiful souls humans were supposed to have. His time as a curse was truly ending. “We must act quickly if this plan will work.”

To create a new world was completely different than summoning a domain. However, the base concept was similar. Sukuna must create something from nothing. His main priority was to give Yuuji the lives he had lost. His Malevolent Shrine was a physical manifestation of Sukuna’s soul, it became the primary place where Sukuna resided. Each detail that his innate domain had was due to Sukuna’s will and his will alone. If he were to create a world that prioritized Yuuji’s happiness above all else, he would need the boy’s soul. Only Yuuji’s own soul would know what would make the boy feel the safest and happiest. Taking his soul would come at a hefty price. 

In other words, he would have to kill Yuuji. 

It was laughable that the time where he needed to kill the boy the most was the only time where Sukuna didn’t want to kill him. However, he knew there was no other way. If there was another option, Sukuna did not have enough time to think of one. He released Yuuji from his tight hold. The boy knelt on his knees on the ground, his hands on his laps. Unlike last time, Yuuji did not tremble, and he was smiling. The words Sukuna wanted to say were trapped in his throat. His left hand on his upper set of arms was raised in the air. He felt paralyzed. 

Itadori placed his head on Sukuna’s palm. He looked at Sukuna with nothing but gentle acceptance in his golden eyes. The teen nodded at the frozen curse. 

Yuuji already knew. 

Gathering his fading resolve, Sukuna steeled himself and pressed his palm firmly into the boy’s forehead. He tried to show as much reassurance in his features as possible. The hope of a second chance was too powerful for the both of them to ignore. Sukuna let out a breath and closed his eyes, not knowing that Yuuji had done the same. 

There was a moment of silence between them. Yuuji was completely relaxed, looking more at peace than Sukuna had ever seen him before. Sukuna breathed deeply and readied his cursed energy. 

With one strike, Itadori Yuuji was no more. 

Sukuna caught the boy’s lifeless body. A hole was in the center of his forehead, the wound pouring out rivulets of blood. The teen’s tortured life had met a painless death. Even after killing the boy who had made such an unexpected impact on Sukuna’s damned existence, Sukuna had to do something worse. He needed the teen’s soul, not his body. 

Flames began to envelope the corpse of the child Sukuna had made suffer. Unlike his other times setting his enemies ablaze, there were no screams of pain from his victims or laughter from Sukuna. The flames took on the peach color of Yuuji’s hair. Each flick of the flames were caresses to the boy’s scarred body. His flesh wasn’t being melted off in the gruesome way Sukuna was familiar with. Itadori’s limp form simply turned into small sparks of pink light. The brightness the boy was known for was now more literal than metaphorical. Sukuna could not help but smile at that. 

Eventually the only thing left of Yuuji were the bright pink sparks. They were formed into a large sphere with several tendrils reaching out. Each tendril had peculiar characteristics. The sparks had taken on different shapes and colors for each item found on a tendril. For instance, one had roses while another had wisps of  shadows, both were curled around their chosen tendril in a protective embrace. There was a tendril that was wrapped in spotted fabric. There was a tendril that had blood shielding its entirety along with a purple scarf. The brightest of all the tendrils was one that had black and white rings with blue spots. The rings interlocked with one another, resembling an unbreakable shield. There were many more tendrils that had the oddest of items wrapped around them. A human-shaped earthworm, a pair of glasses with purple frames, a miniature pachinko machine, and even a miniature set of hands that seemed to be clapping. 

This boy was truly loved by many. Sukuna could not recognize who each corresponding tendril represented. He had a suspicion that the one with the interlocking rings with eyes belonged to the Six-Eyes sorcerer and the one with the shadow wisps belonged to the Ten-Shadow user. Even though he did know the names of those particular sorcerers, he felt like he was not allowed to speak their names anymore. No matter, he would not need to for this plan to work.

As gently as he could, Sukuna grabbed the soul. Yuuji’s soul was so fragile, and Sukuna was not accustomed to handling such delicate things. Warmth welcomed him the moment he touched the soul. Some of the tendrils backed away while others were in a striking position one would see on an aggressive snake. With his current power level, Sukuna knew he could conjure things with a wave of his hand. Additionally, he had summoned whatever he had wanted in his innate domain. Willing a new world to manifest with the help of Yuuji’s soul was the only method Sukuna had thought of. It had to work. It had to. 

“Please fucking work.” Sukuna murmured to himself. He sunk his hands deeper into the soul, going at a pace that a tortoise could rival. When he felt like he had a stable hold on such an intangible object, he made his bottom set of hands begin to stretch the soul. He gathered cursed energy into each of his four palms. The soul brightened at the additional energy, strength returning to its wavering form. Carefully, Sukuna withdrew his upper set of hands. A crimson outline of Sukuna’s cursed energy surrounded the curse. He lifted the soul into the air. 

The sunny beach turned dark and the waves stilled. Yuuji’s soul was bright enough that the sun no longer needed to light the world. Sukuna noticed the darkening of the sky and the stillness of the air. Despite killing all life on Earth, Sukuna still felt like he was being watched. It felt ironic that Yuuji made the world pause instead of Sukuna. What remained of nature all stopped to observe the boy’s soul. Sukuna closed his eyes to concentrate on the boy’s now pulsating soul. He breathed deeply several times until the curse entered a meditative state. 

A calmness enveloped Sukuna’s mind, allowing all other thoughts and distractions to fade away. His arms copied the waves of the sea, back and forth and left and right. Each movement caused Yuuji’s soul to grow wider and taller. After copying the motions of the ocean, Sukuna began to have his arms resemble the twirling winds. His lower pair of arms curled upwards to the right and his upperset curled upwards to the left. He would rotate which set of arms moved left or right. This caused the soul to swirl until it resembled a portal. The curse stopped his circular movements once he realized Yuuji’s soul was the appropriate shape. It was time. He brought forth every ounce of power and will he had left. All he had to do was say what he wanted. That is how it always worked. 

“Let this world restart. Let life return to its surface. The life I had taken away.” Once the last word left his mouth, Sukuna felt power drain from him rapidly. Unbeknownst to Sukuna, whose eyes were still closed, the markings along his body started to fade. 

“Let Yuuji be happy. Let him be protected. Let him be loved in the way he deserves.” Sukuna felt another wave of weakness overcome him. His knees began to slightly tremble. He bit his lip as he forced himself to continue. “I want to be there for him, but I am aware that I have done nothing to deserve a second chance. Let his family and friends have this new chance at life.” 

Behind Sukuna, six voids of varying colors manifested. From left to right, the colors of the voids were blue, yellow, black, orange, purple, and red. Mangled limbs began to emerge along with strange clicks and hisses emitting from the voids. Sukuna chose to ignore the noises as he pushed through the weakness spreading to each inch of his body. His bottom pair of eyes disappeared completely. The tattoos he had had ever since he became a curse were vanishing in quick succession. Only the tattoos on his wrists and jawline remained. 

“Let everything be born anew. Let a new timeline emerge while this one is forgotten.”

Sukuna’s lower set of arms disappeared. The portal grew bigger, a myriad of colors spread from the center of the soul. Each entity from the voids had now fully escaped. 

“Let this world be fit for Yuuji.” The entities entered the portal without hesitation.

Sukuna’s tattoos on his wrists and jaw disappeared.

“Throughout hell and earth, I alone am the disgraced one.” Sukuna had a tiny smirk at his twisting of the infinity-user’s infamous phrase. The trembling that had started in his knees had spread to all areas of his body. He was gasping for breath and sweating buckets as he used the last of his cursed energy into manifesting everything he had requested. The world went dark for the curse as his godly form returned to the body of a human. 

No longer was he a towering curse with power that can defeat billions, he was simply an average sized man that lacked extra body parts and tattoos. 

And thus, the King of Curses was gone.

Ryomen stood before the portal blazing with light. He opened his honey colored eyes to look fondly into the manifestation of his son’s being. It emitted the warmth his boy held for everyone around him. The environment around the young man started to decay. Violent gusts of winds were pushing him forward, towards the odd portal. Ryomen was never one to ignore a hint, so he walked towards it with a fond smile. 

“I can’t wait to see you again, my little tiger.”

[theclearblue]

People saying that people are switching up on Yuta to be a hater, and maybe that's true for some but I've been a hater since Culling Games lmao I have a right to complain

[fagmegumi]

can everyone stop freaking out about jjk going fast and making apocalyptic predictions of how its gonna be rushed and bad and what the fuck ever. Let the man cook

[chocolatina]

the way yuji says yes so easily is so 💀 what about all the times he wanted to protect megumi he even ate the finger to save him 💀

[laindir]

“Or something worse happens to her”

You know how sometimes you keysmash a random, half-serious tweet mindlessly into the void almost exactly ONE year ago, only for it to seemingly be true now ???

what the hell Akutamiiiii lol

[runabout-river]

Thoughts on JJK chapter 270 (spoilers)

Before I write my thoughts down, I have to confess that they've been tainted by a post I read I after reading the chapter. I decided to write the first part of my review as I had initially wanted to but the second part will discuss the things I read afterwards.

We start the chapter with a beautiful scene of a grave belonging to Tsumiki but my first thought was... what about Tsumiki's soul that had prevented Megumi from killing a girl?

If this is what Tsumiki's end and Megumi's final reaction to that would be, why did Gege bother including her soul as an active character into the story?

I also tried to find the raws to see what exactly was written on her grave. Only her surname? And was it also in English?

After that we get to Tengen and what happened to her and it was exactly here where my thoughts of this chapter went a big 🤨😵🧐🤬🤪

So Yuji just punched her out? And nothing more happened to her? The Culling Games are over? How did that happen? And through which remains would she stay stable? There was nothing left of Sukuna, at least nothing that had gone through Kenjaku's ritual. The only place she would be stable would still be inside Megumi. Her barriers are magically stable as well.

What a... neat ending to all those plot threads...

Then we come to Maki finding her past helpers and telling them that all the reincarnated sorcerers would be separated from their hosts by Yuji soon and...

That's against established canon. We already had the discussion that the souls of the host's can't be saved because they've been pushed down to complete darkness. Choso couldn't feel the soul of his host anymore and that was how the narrative absolved him from any wrongdoing because now he didn't have to give his body back for ethical reasons and he hadn't made an unethical deal to be reincarnated either.

Only Megumi was said to have a chance of being saved and no one else.

So now I'm here and scretching my head thinking... was Gege so desperate or time constipated to end the manga that he threw that point out? Or is sth else going on here...

We get Takaba back and he has a suspicious looking partner now, with whom he can do more comedy.

Now I don't think that's the real Kenjaku there. It's more likely that Takaba simply imposed that hairstyle on his new partner because he's missing his short time best friend.

For an actual Kenjaku comeback, he wouldn't have Geto's body anymore. Imo, Kenjaku did have spare bodies lying around he could've fled to at the last second though.

We get more loose ends being tied up and for Higuruma it's clemency. This is another point in the "everything turns out perfectly good for the good guys" part we have been bombarded with in this chapter.

I'm like, Gege, isn't this too much? Wasn't JJK darker than this? Even Shoko gave up her smokes. The military plot is just "we'll deal with them" and there's no mention of JJ societal instability with the clans falling apart.

Either he really wanted to wrap every loose end up... or

Gege forgets Megumi's scar on a pretty big panel and we get an anime love complication with one chapter remaining. It was funny though.

Then we come to the end where we're set up to believe that life of the first year trio will go on as it should've been without those major Shibuya/Shinjuku complications.

Just going on missions and living life like that.

Now, one could accept that kind of ending (why isn't that in chapter 271 though?) But it comes off as so... lackluster and mended with fire after big chunks of the plot were cut off.

After I had finished the chapter, I was the most disappointed at everything that had to do with Tengen and the CG. So Gege sets up that the sorcerer life will continue afterwards. Even without wanting a Part 2, just ending the CG and Tengen's story like that is... unnecessarily boring and wasted space for nearly everything that came before that.

But then I read @thepersonperson post on how the last 3 chapters of JJK could possibly have been an induced dream sequence this whole time.

Induced by Yuji through his ability of creating fake memories right before defeat/death. His own DE is an application of this and Sukuna's strangely similar ability of talking with freshly deceased people in a dreamscape.

When Yuji had first expanded his domain, I went on such a ramble at the time about these strange abilities of them both. What I said back then was that Yuji wasnt an active/aware participant of them but by now he had acquired Sukuna's CT and again a DE.

This could mean that his induced dream sequences could've evolved enough that he became aware of them instead of only pushing them into someone else. In other words:

Yuji is dreaming of his best happy ending.

And here truly experiences that but he can't tell until now that it's a dream. He might very well be lying on the ground now about to die.

The post I linked adds more details to this theory like inconsistent character placements and "mistakes" like Megumi's scar suddenly missing, which would be commonplace in a dream.

That last picture up there with the guy who's supposed to be cursed but it was actually his girlfriend who had her perception of reality altered as well as the name of this chapter, would be the final hints about the last few chapters having been another glitch in perception.

Now only one week is left then we'll get our final answers to JJK. If this dream theory is true, then Gege will establish himself as the biggest troll, either with a JJK 2 or with a tragic ending.

(And if this really comes true, then I don't think I'll manage to escape the spoilers)

But whatever might come and even though I'm meh about the end (as it's presented to us right now) I still love JJK and immensely enjoyed reading, watching and engaging with it 😄

[liveinblankets]

୨୧

cg sukuna hcs for all your cg needs! i hope this is good !! no id yet, sorry about that ! </3

ⓘ dni : nsfw / 18+, gore, proship, pro-ed/sh, non-child-safe things, ddlg (etc.).

[alleunwalk]

because of how sad jujutsu kaisen has been i've been thinking what if they were just all actors and this was just one big drama series/movie.  I CAN DREAM OK?!

jjk actor au 

itadori: he's pretty much the same off-camera and on-camera. just generally so nice and kind to everyone on set. extremely good at remembering his lines last minute (gg photographic memory). always buys the hair/makeup and stylists coffee.  megumi: extremely loud, bubbly, and a total goofball. often breaks character just from laughing so much.  nobara: shes more soft-spoken, dainty and gentle off-camera but she's still a girlboss in her own way. shes a popstar/idol when she's not acting.  gojo: he's surprisingly a lot more reserved off-camera than on-camera but he can be goofy with his castmates, especially geto's actor. loves mentoring and giving advice to rookie actors.  geto: he's a lot louder and extraverted off-camera but put him in a room with gojo and they will literally pop off. the directors and crew groan when they see them together tbd. he and gojo's actor actually used to hate each other back in the day but they became the best of buds during the first tableread. their chemistry on-screen though constantly blows everyone away.  nanami: another goofball off-camera. known for his superior range. played in movies ranging from comedy, horror, and heart-tugging romance. put him in a room with gojo and geto and it ends up being immense chaos that the staff loses their minds. 

*the three of them can not take an interview seriously but they're all known to be extremely A-list top of the top actors in the industry who all have won awards. 

utahime: consider her like the 90s superstar actress of her generation. she started acting since she was a child. just superior all around and an absolute legend. cares for the younger cast very dearly.  shoko: another legend to walk among the set. was also a runway model. she's extremely smart off-camera too and was known to go to a prestigious university. hangs out with utahimes actress a lot.  *all of the cast get shook when they come on set-- the power these women hold is just unmatched. the beauty, grace and class they hold.... 

you can basically think that gojo, geto, nanami, utahime, shoko, sukuna, and toji are all just academy award winning legends among their generation. 

sukuna: his personality is pretty similar to yuji off-camera. just super sweet and kind. was amazed the casting directors found someone who looked just like him as a kid. loves joking around with yuji. breaks character a lot too because yuji keeps making him laugh.  toji: the cast tends to joke about how he could look like megumis real dad. loves telling dad jokes-- which only megumi ends up laughing at for real. (he calls him dad as a joke during cast interviews.) 

maki: a lot more reserved off-camera. gives off really chic vibes and everyone is intimidated by her cool, suave personality. started her career off as a model.  mai: also reserved, just like her sister. they're both pretty introverted off-camera and tend to keep to themselves but hangs out with nobara's actress a lot on the weekends as a trio. they love shopping and going to cool restaurants together.  inumaki: loves pulling pranks on people and filming tiktoks behind set. this kid doesn't take anything seriously but that's what people love about him.  panda: under the panda costume/CG effects is a guy who's just stellar at voice acting but people get shocked by how handsome he is when he doesn't have the costume on. super silly with inumaki and often joins his pranks.  yuta: similar to itadori- his character is the same on/off camera that people can't tell if he's acting. really famous for acting in a lot of melodramas.  todo: HUGEEE nerd and softie off-camera. is the biggest scaredy cat on set hence he's the main target for all the pranks when the cast pulls them (cough* inumaki). loves collecting plushies as a hobby. would not hurt a fly. him and yuji really did become best friends irl. miwa: down-to-earth, just very sweet. pretty much the same on/off camera. she's good at crying on command.  muta: he's very talkative and just loves chatting with anyone and everyone on set. he wants to know everyones life story. just super genuine. like his character, he has a huge crush on miwa.  kamo: SUPERRRR clumsy off-camera. he's always accidentally slipping on the fake blood or dropping something. it's okay though, he just laughs it off.  momo: tends to sit in her trailer and plays video games when it's downtime. very laissez faire about everything but that's what makes her so easy to work with.

mahito: extremely serious off-camera. only keeps things professional. doesn't mess around when it comes to work. doesn't have any bloopers when it comes to his scenes. he's a really nice guy though when you get to know him. choso: golden retriever energy. super talkative and loves getting to know people just like muta. he remembers really endearing memories about people. asks staff members how they're doing and checks up on them. loves hanging out with yuji on the weekends. 

[hxhhasmysoul]

Okay so I have read this other translations where sukuna said kenjaku sealed his finger in yuji making him cg player by birth and to strengthen his body as host so yuuji carries a part of sukuna's soul . If you want panel I can send you.

What you said about reincarnations is right and gege also pretty much followed the similar route.

The hair thing yuji has might be because of assimilation of sukuna's finger in him coz body=soul and this kind of make me want to consider yuji as similar to cursed corpse... And we still haven't seen jin hair color and wasuke was old .

Another thing I was reminded by your ans was, it was always said maki chose HR and rejected jujutsu first by maki then sukuna implying she did it out of her own volition but when could this have happened, now sukuna's eating his brother in womb statement reminds me of a phenomenon in certain religion where they say babies retains memories and when in womb but forgets after their birth . I am saying this coz both maki and sukuna are twins so they might be conscious enough to do things while in womb.

Not to forget womb / pregnancy itself is a significant theme in jjk and of course womb realm...

Lol I am babbling at this point coz I am happy that yuuji is not twin and not even biologically related as I wanted him to be..

Your ask and this reply by @cursedvibes got me to reread what Sukuna says. His words may be mistranslated, the official translation isn't out yet and I don't have the raws, but he could kinda hung up on his first murder.

The hair thing was a joke, you're absolutely right that we don't know if Jin's hair is peach, I hope it is :D

As to the finger the translation vary whether the finger sealing and the culling games player things are connected.

But the womb thing.

I kinda think it's funny how Sukuna talks about his twin in some of the translation and I'm curious what it looks like in the original. He talks about consuming part of himself, but then the translation says "our soul" and "his soul". If he really use some for of "we" and a third person pronoun (gendered or not), it's really interesting.

He kinda bounces between acknowledging his twin as a separate being and talking about the twin like something that belonged to Sukuna. I also don't think he's ever before justified a murder he committed. He uses the circumstances as a justification, he puts blame on his/their mother.

He first says he rejected the fate of being a twin and it sounds like: I did it for power. As if he knee back then that being a twin in the jujutsu world sucks. So maybe he was actually conscious in the womb, he had memories, memories of jujutsu. Of course he might be rationalising here something the regularly occurs with twins, aka one absorbing the other without any conscious decision being involved.

But then he talks about self-preservation. He never says he killed his twin, he absorbed part of himself which also kinda sounds like a justification. If he sees the twin as part of himself, if it's "their" soul, he saved them both by consuming the twin. If he didn't eat his twin, all parts of him would've died. He and his twin.

He also seems to see Yuuji as a separate being from himself. A vessel made for him, for sure, someone related to him, but not like with his twin, not like a part of himself. Yuuji has inherited things from Sukuna's twin and Sukuna acknowledges it, but I can't imagine him thinking that he and Yuuji have the same soul.

He also doesn't seem mad that his twin's soul lead a separate life from him. And he doesn't seem to see it as his own life. It's also interesting how all his disgust and annoyance is at Kenjaku, he never questions that his twin had kids with Kenjaku. He never considers that his twin might hold a grudge against him, regardless whether it was how the twin felt or not. Is it him being selfish? Emotionally inept? Protecting himself from the thought that his twin might hate him? Thus from the thought that he'd done wrong by him?

It kinda makes me think he's got a lot of feelings related to the twin and to what happened between them in womb, consciously or not, and he's just refusing to feel these feelings XD

[epickiya722]

Not the first time I talked about Kenjaku deciding "let me just birth Sukuna's vessel". Did so here and here.

Before, I really didn't have a legit reason as to why I think Kenjaku did that. Today, I have a reason. I don't think I'm right and I would say it's a reach.

Also, before I get into this, do I think this should be something for Yuji, let alone the path he wants to take? No. Absolutely not. To clarify, this is just what I think Kenjaku wanted.

For Yuji, I think that what he needs is to take his own path. [I should probably do a post about this...]

But... what if Kenjaku went the route of birthing Yuji... to have someone surpass Sukuna? Maybe even be the "next Sukuna"?

As of 257...

I'll spare you the longer details since I already said them in my other posts, but in summary... if Kenjaku could make contracts with other Curse Users and just give them a body, why was it necessary to birth Sukuna's vessel. Hell, why not use Jin as a vessel for Sukuna? Wouldn't he have been perfect given he already was a part of Sukuna anyways being his reincarnated twin?

Here's what I think... Kenjaku likes to push limits. They like to experiment, sometimes for a laugh and for the sake of satisfying their curiosity.

What if that was the case for Sukuna? What if this whole time they wanted to see if they could create someone that with the capabilites of surpassing Sukuna? The thing is Kenjaku doesn't seem the type to actually care about "being the strongest" so when someone like Sukuna who boasts being the strongest, they took as a challenge just to have a laugh. Maybe even spite him?

Which is something given that Yuji is also someone who doesn't care to surpass someone.

Even though, he can could it almost effortlessly.

He had incredible strength, durability and speed. He can beat world records. He can outrun cars. He can do anything without the need for cursed energy.

He was indeed the perfect vessel for Sukuna. But a little too perfect. Yuji held the capability to control Sukuna.

Now, keep this in mind. Kenjaku is just as old as Tengen and has knowledge of jujutsu that still has to be learned by others.

I bring this up because of chapter 258. Kusakabe makes it a point of saying that because Sukuna used his technique in Yuji's body, his (Yuji's) body adapted to using Shrine. However, Sukuna have only been in control of Yuji's body and used Shrine twice. What if that was all it was needed to be unlocked for Yuji to later apply his own efforts into using his own version of it?

And Kenjaku knew this. Again, Yuji can suppress Sukuna, but there are expectations. For one, he has to willingly gave up control. Two, if he consumed too many fingers at once. The latter, Jogo knew. And who told him?

Kenjaku.

What if Kenjaku purposely told Jogo that because they wanted Sukuna to have that chance to use his techniques in Yuji's body for Yuji to have?

There's also the tidbit when Kenjaku tells Yuji in 136...

"I expect much from you." Of course, Kenjaku would! Rethinking about the final confrontation in Shibuya, Kenjaku says Yuji's name 4 times, twice in which of making Yuji an example. While it makes it's easier to understanding what Kenjaku is relaying to them, it also comes off like "vessels like the one I created" in a sneaky, bragging way.

That brings to mind this to me from chapter 158.

I brought this up in another post how I joked how Kenjaku already having Yuji signed up in the Game is like a parent who signs their kid up for clubs and whatnot even though the kid doesn't want to.

And well, Kenjaku actually did just that. Not like Yuji willingly signed up. In this case, it was more he was a lab rat Kenjaku was observing. What if this was the time that Kenjaku was continuously watching Yuji to see how he progressed after Shibuya? When they say "I expect much from you" this is what they meant? Yuji's performance in the CG and beyond that?

In 203 with this translation, when Choso questions Kenjaku what's the plan they have for Yuji, Kenjaku responds that Yuji already fulfilled that role with being Sukuna's vessel. Even far as calling Yuji "a thing".

I'll admit I actually was appalled by this because in 160, Kenjaku addresses Yuji as "my son" to a girl Yuji was schoolmates with. Sasaki isn't some sorcerer, let alone haven't seen Yuji for months and probably won't ever again. There was no benefit to that.

Here's what I think, Kenjaku may feel a blend of both feelings for Yuji. He's their son, but also a thing in which they created.

Both proud that Yuji is their most successful experiment he is. Like, "You're still mine because I created you, I can do what I please, you're nothing more to me but the role I assigned you".

I also think when it came to Choso, Kenjaku could have just not wanted to reveal anything to him and at the same time set him off to throw him off his game. Again, Kenjaku likes to have a laugh.

There's also that "He will become the eye of the storm of the new era". Talking about Yuji here. This line of dialogue just feels like Kenjaku dismissing Sukuna in a way that's like... I don't know how else to explain it because to me, if Yuji was meant to be Sukuna's vessel I feel like Kenjaku probably would bave said something like "Sukuna will once more be the eye of the storm".

Back to my original point. What if this was Kenjaku saying Yuji is to be the next Sukuna? A better Sukuna? A new King of Curses?

Think of what an eye of a storm is like. That's the safest place right? The place one would want to be. The safest place while everything else falls into destruction. That works for both Yuji and Sukuna. They both have this aura to them that attracts others in a way that's either "I fear you", "I'll be your ally" or "I want to challenge you".

Sukuna and Yuji have a lot of bad things happen around them. Sukuna relishes in it while Yuji doesn't. This is just one of the many instances that they do mirror and oppose each other.

With this "eye of the storm" line it also sounds like Kenjaku has no intention of making Yuji being included in the Merger. It's an unnecessary line really if Kenjaku had plans to make this one huge monstrosity of a curse by combining everyone to Tengen. Why say "the new era" bit?

Was Yuji meant to lead as a beacon of sorts? Like, how Sukuna did in his time?

And I say Yuji because once more, what if that was the intention? To create someone that could surpass Sukuna? Challenge him and replace him?

If Kenjaku could just assign bodies, why not have it for Sukuna instead of birthing a cage for him? Also, why seem so interested in Yuji's progress? Why say one thing about Yuji and then be contradicting the next? Couldn't have used Jin's body? Watch Yuji's every move since the beginning because let's be real, Kenjaku probably planted that finger at the school for Yuji to find and either way was going to find a way to get Yuji to consume that finger. Which makes it stranger that this happens months before the CG! What if that was Yuji's headstart to get him progress?

The Merger may be for laughs, but what if whatever the outcome was of that Merger was going to be Yuji's next challenge?

To finish off, I think Kenjaku had plans for Sukuna to just be someone to be challenged by their creation. A creation meant to replace him. Sukuna is more adapted to the old ways, but Kenjaku tends to be more open minded to the eras evolving. Probably exhausted from Sukuna's ever repeating cycle of being "the King of Curses" and decided to create the very person that could be the evolved version of him. A version of him that's even greater than Sukuna.

What if Yuji wasn't just born to be Sukuna's vessel? What if Sukuna was just meant to be that stepping stone for Yuji to awaken into someone better, someone greater, someone that could replace Sukuna and that accomplishment that Kenjaku wanted to claim and use to mock Sukuna?

Yuji is the soul nephew of Sukuna, their souls have even intertwined and they do share much in common. They're two halves of the same whole.

Yuji is that challenge, he's Sukuna's mirror. A Sukuna, in a way, that could have been.

His existence is like Kenjaku's way of saying "your greatest enemy is yourself".

[water9826]

Cursed Guardians (A JJK FIC)

AO3 Link

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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. 

.

.

.

.

.

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. 

.

.

.

.

.

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.

[kaoruko-han]

KHR really spoiled me when it come to charasong. I would beg for charasong of the JJK characters:

_ Sukuna's cover of Special Z

_ Yuuji, Megumi, Nobara and Gojo cover of Lost in Paradise

_ Gojo's cover of Ao no Sumika

_ Geto's cover of Akari

_ Inumaki's charasong entirely with food and you realize that it's actually a recipe

_ Yuuji trying to get Megumi to sing at a karaoke

_ Maki and Mai doomed sibling duet

_ Uraume's charasong about how to cook human's meat

_ Todo Choso and Yuuji song about the importance of brotherhood (Choso and Todo keep interrupting each other)

_ Nobara and Maki duet about their date in that one phantom parade cg

_ Shoko's song about how she lived her high school days post Geto departure

_ Riko's song about her daily life while being aware that she's a sacrifice and it slip through the lyrics or music sometime

_ Close to her, Yuki's song about how she was a star plasma too and how she's aware of most of the stuff that happen in jjtech

_ Nanami's song that is utterly depressing where he's not actually telling straight up his situation but when you know the context you want to cry

_ Nobara's song about how better she is now that she live at Tokyo but still miss Fumi and Saori sometime

_ Kokichi and how he live through a screen

Ok it became hcs more than anything lol

[fagmegumi]

YOOO WHAT THE FUCK CH 220 WAS CRAZY

[spookypookies]

Hiya! I was wondering if u could make yuji or sukuna or both cg headcanons or one shot, you can choose which! ^^

(JJK)

i don't feel comfy with writing much for sukuna so yuji it is!

Yuji is a very soft cg

lots and lots and lots of hugs

if you wanna play pretend totally cool he'll play what ever you want!

will bring you everywhere

holds your regression items in a bag for you and packs extra

if you need comfort he is THERE for you

he will feed you if you are too small to do so and will cut up the food for you

he likes to hold you and carry you around

if you don't have a paci he will let you suck on his fingers

ihope you enjoyed this!

[ezralva]

Wait.... What?? I don't get it...if Sukuna ate his twin that means the soul is dead then why is it still wandering around? I guess if it's a reincarnation then that makes sense for it to end up as Itadori Jin thus making Sukuna loosely Yuuji's uncle...but hmm...why do I feel like it's not as simple as that?

So what the chapter is telling me is that...once Yuuji was conceived, Kenjaku sealed Sukuna's fingers in him and thus he was already destined as CG player from the start?? So there was already Sukuna's fingers inside Yuuji even before he swallowed the first time??

Doesn't that make Yuuji is actually part of Sukuna's soul himself??? Like from when he was born...not after he met Megumi... For real this is confusing...

And to think that Kenjaku had that planned out from the start meant he already knew whose soul it was resided in Itadori Jin and so he snatched Kaori's body like fuuqqq that some nice shit he cooked up. Fr Kenjaku was such a brilliant mind that I can't help but respect him despite hating him... Anyway the one who totally cooked is Gege.