#sukuna dark angst

[dark-night-hero]

Imagine a love that hurts. That would make you curse out the world as it was taken away from you. A love that is so deep and unforgettable it hurts. A love that is mutual, bound to beat the odds but heaven forbids so it was taken away from you or rather- you were forced to part ways under superficial circumstances.

"No... no no no no no no. No! You can't do this to me (First name)! You can't-!"

Imagine a love that hurts. With every step you take away from him felt like needles going through and poking your heart. You did not mean things for the two of you to end like this. If you knew loving him would hurt like this. Would end up like this, you should have known better. You would have known better than to cause such mistake. But things were gone and done. And never once did you ever regret loving him.

Imagine a love that hurts. But it was okay since it was with him. Sure you would have known better if you knew things would lead you to here but loving him was a different thing. He is arrogant, temperamental, foul mouthed and full of himself but that very same man is now on his knees just for you. Pleading and begging for mercy all for your sake. That was unlikely of him. He was much better of without you, without a weakness.

"Ryomen" You called him out softly as you were forced in your knees.

"Don't make me more miserable than I already am." Leave. Leave and never look back.

Imagine a love that hurts. A love that he never thought he would ever feel until you came into his life. And those words, those words he knew you did not mean that. It hurts, it hurts to hear you say that thinking you could make him turn around and leave. If he knew love would hurt this much, would cause you to be hurt let alone be taken away from him. He should have never... but he cannot.

"You don't mean that."

"But I do." Don't blame the world nor you, blame me. Blame me for causing your weakness.

"I'm sorry" You barely whispered with a smile as everything went black.

Imagine a love that hurts. The way he were to watch in his knees and then it happened in an instant. Blood sputtering in front of him, his cheek felt somethig damp as he watch you fall on your front, eyes open as your head flew away from your body landing in front of him. Love is kind and warm. But it hurts, that what's makes it so dangerous it could cause other people harm. It could make other lose themselves. And in this case, all he saw was red.

[ⓒdark-night-hero] 2024° :D

[lizardboiii]

ANGER MANAGEMENT┃R. Sukuna

[Possessive!Sukuna x Fem!Reader]

・❥・

│Summary: Anger management was by no means your strong suit. No amount of lessons or prayers could change that. In fact, it feels like you’ve been doing a lot worse lately with the appearance of a new neighbor in your next door apartment.

“You're an insufferable bastard and I hope you move.”

“Eat shit and die.”

“Fuck you.”

・❥・

│cw: 18+, SFW, vulgar language, slight PTSD, blond man

│w/c: 3.4k

│chapters: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii)

│notes: Blonds and therapy. Who's to say you can't have both?NeighborsAU!, AncestorsAU!

・❥・

│Chapter III : IRKED

WACK

You startled awake at the feeling of a foreign object smacking against your face. Snapping up from your position on the couch, you looked around wildly for the source.

“Wakey wakey, (y/n)~” Yuuji smiled down on you as he went to unleash another strike onto your perplexed form.

Recovering quickly, you violently grabbed the pillow before it met its mark and ripped it from his hands, “YUUJI!”

The pinkette only laughed your anger off as you chucked the pillow back at him. A tight knot formed in your stomach as you growled at him. Frowning, you took a deep breath. There was no need to flip out on Yuuji. He was just joking.

Shaking your head you checked your phone for the time, 11:46am.

“SHIT!”

You stumbled off the couch and stuffed your phone into your pocket. The beginnings of an adrenaline rush making you spin past a taken aback Yuuji.

Yuuji stumbled and watched you with confused eyes, “Huh? What’s going on?”

You raced for the door, “No time! See you later, Yuuji!”

Yanking the door open you were quickly stopped by a firm chest. ‘Stopped’ as in slamming into someone's chest face first. You grabbed your nose bridge in pain as you glared at the offender.

Sukuna loomed over you with bored eyes, “Leaving?”

You scowled, “Yes, and it’d be nice if you could move your fat ass already.”

Sukuna smirked, “Of course. But,” a large hand moved up from his pocket.

You flinched when he snatched the base of your neck. His thumb rested on the dip of your collarbone while the rest of his hand sat comfortably behind your neck. Slowly he traced the pad of his thumb across and up the crevasse of your neck before he landed on a spot.

Caressing small circles in your skin with his thumb, Sukuna’s stare bore into your neck, “You sure you don’t wanna cover this up first?”

Your brows tightly knitted together as you slapped Sukuna’s hand away in disgust. His smug smirk instantly reminded you of the brief conversation you held with him last night.

His rough voice asking you to stay.

Skillful wandering hands. 

A sharp yet sensual bite to your sensitive neck.

You shot a hand up to your neck to cover the rediscovered bruise. Sukuna’s eyes shone bright at your flustered expression.

“Of course,” He picked up a strand of your hair and twirled it, “I wouldn't mind if you're trying to show it off.”

Snarling, you gripped your neck harder, “Get your hands off me.”

You grunted when he suddenly tugged on your hair, “You weren’t complaining last night, rat.”

In an instant you swiped at him, just barely grazing his skin, “I’ll flay you alive, bastard.”

A dangerous smirk showed off his sharp canines, “I’d like to see you try.”

You let out a frustrated groan as you flung your hands up in defeat, “I don’t have time for this you pink haired bastard!”

You recklessly shoved past him while grumbling curses at him underneath your breath. Wicked laughter only mocked your late departure as you scrambled into your apartment.

Fucking bastard.

Taking a deep breath you quickly ran into your room and grabbed the first pants and shirt you saw. The colorful loose fitting sweats barely matched your poorly picked out shirt.

Running around your apartment like a mad woman you brushed your socks, ate your teeth, and combed a granola bar.

Wait- 

You brushed your teeth, combed your hair, threw day old socks on, then grabbed a granola bar as a quick breakfast.

Throwing on sneakers, you raced out of your apartment. As soon as your foot entered the hallway you internally groaned at the sudden need to glance over at a certain door. 

The expectation of Sukuna still standing at his door waiting for you wrapped around you like a blanket, suffocating you. Against your better judgment you took a hesitant peek over at Sukuna’s apartment. 

His door stood tauntingly still. The only indication of anyone else living on your apartment’s floor was the muffled noise of pots and pans clattering. Yuuji was probably making breakfast for the two of them.

You pressed your lips together. Why did you even think Sukuna would wait for you? It’s not like he had an obligation to speak with you. Yet, you couldn’t help the small prick in your heart at Sukuna’s disappearance.

Shaking away your thoughts you made haste to the elevator which took you down to your building's parking garage. The air was chilly as you stepped out into the concrete fortress. 

It was to be expected. The winter months were beginning to wrap up as the year moved along.

Hell, even March was closing in. 

The thought made you frown. Just a couple more weeks and you’d be visiting your parents for your scheduled family vacation. It was tradition to take a ‘family spring break’. 

Jumping in your car, you sighed at the thought. You hadn’t seen them in person since you first moved into your apartment almost a year ago… when your lessons first started.

You clenched your steering wheel hard. How disappointed would they be if they found out you still hadn’t even made it a month yet?

Checking your car's clock you cursed, 12:05pm. Your lesson started at 12pm. Anxiously, you pressed your foot down on the gas harder.

This was the third time this week you were going to be late to one of your scheduled meetings, and you knew they were catching on. You shuddered at what a certain blond would say to you.

Arriving at a quaint building you took in its familiar brick exterior. The place looked more like a college dorm facility than a professional rehabilitation center. Though, the building was next to the border of the local campus which explained its college look. 

You pressed your lips together tightly, your expression contorting to match your inner anxiety. The thought of being so close to the main campus made you queasy. Finding the courage to get out, you slammed your car door shut and trotted inside the building.

Signing in at the reception desk, you gave the old receptionist a forced smile. The elder lady beamed at you with a genuine grin in return, “Late again I see miss (l/n)!”

You let out a hoarse laugh, “Yep…”

Uncomfortably ending the conversation you eventually made your way over to the intimidating wooden doors that led to the group discussion room. 

Reluctantly, you ripped one of the familiar doors open. Upon entering you were met with spinning heads and speculating stares.

Silence filled the room as you stood awkwardly by the door, unmoving. You chewed on the skin of your mouth when a voice finally acknowledged you.

“Miss (l/n). I’m glad you could make it.”

You flinched at his stoic voice, “My bad, Sir. I had a late night.”

The blond man crossed his legs and pushed his glasses up with his pointer and thumb, “Just like the past few nights?”

You cleared your throat. The feeling of eyes on all sides of you bore into your soul.

“Why don’t you have a seat, Miss (l/n)?”

“Y-Yes.”

・❥・

You internally cheered when the meeting had finally adjourned. Stretching your stiff limbs you were quick to grab your stuff and get the hell out of there.

“(y/n).”

You turned around and forced a smile, “Nanami.”

The older man sighed, “Come into my office.”

You clenched your teeth, “Of course.”

Following behind the taller blond you frowned. You knew exactly where this conversation was going.

Nanami opened the door to his office and held it for you. You shot him a mumbled thanks before you slumped into one of the leather chairs that sat across from his desk. 

Keeping your eyes straight ahead, you didn’t bother to look at your surroundings. You had been in this room enough times to know every detail in it. 

From the stupid stress balls with smiley faces on his desk to the ever growing collection of diplomas on his walls. You couldn’t forget about the eye rolling ‘hang in there’ poster with a doe eyed little puppy.

However, Nanami wasn’t a full time anger management coach as hard as that was to believe. His full time job was working at the university as a psychology and criminal justice professor. His side gig was dealing with unorthodox people… like you.

Nanami slowly crossed the room and sat down in his brown leather chair. He clasped his hands in front of him and waited for you to speak.

It was always like this. He knew that you understood what you did wrong. So, instead of pointless questions he allowed your guilt to spill the beans for you.

You sighed heavily, not wanting to argue with him today, “Alright I get it. I was late three times this week.”

You waved your hands around dramatically, “But it’s not like that even means anything. I’ve just been busy.”

You could feel the anger in the pit of your stomach heat up, “What right do you have to judge me?! It’s not like you're labeled some freak who needs help!”

A loud silence flooded the room. 

Nanami sighed, “As I suspected.”

Your eyes widened at your mistake, “N-No I didn’t mean that! It’s just that I've been stressed. I swear to you I’m doing a lot better!”

His gaze held your own, “Do you understand the amount of money your parents have put forth into this program?”

You flinched, “Of course I understand-”

“Then why do you not act like it?”

You bit your lip at his question, “I do, I’ve been doing better-”

Nanami held up a hand to silence you, “You had been getting better (y/n). You were on the right track.”

Every syllable he pronounced made you inch back in shame.

“For the past month I have observed a sudden change in your behavior. You’ve been less receptive to the lessons and even disregard coming on time.”

You clutched your hands together in your lap, “I know.”

“So what is it?”

You looked at him confused, “What?”

Nanami frowned, “What changed in your life that made you angry again?”

Flashes of Sukuna hit you like a brick. That fucking bastard did this to you. He was the reason you were getting yelled at. That piece of-

“You're blaming someone else aren't you?”

You jumped at his statement, “He’s a part of the cause! Of course he’s to blame!”

“Accountability, (y/n). We discussed this earlier this week if you would’ve paid attention.”

You clenched your teeth together harder, your knuckles turning white as you clutched the chair's arm rests, “It’s just…been hard.”

“What has been?”

“Living next to some scum bastard I can’t stand to look at! Everyday I’ve had an encounter with him! I can’t have a moment's rest for god's sake!”

Nanami threw you a look before grabbing a happy blue stress ball. He handed the worn ball to you expressionless. You angrily took the dumb ball and squeezed the life out of it.

Counting down, you took a breath, “I understand that I have definitely started some of the fights. But you wouldn’t understand how infuriating he is. It’s like he does it on purpose!”

Nanami nodded, “It hasn’t gotten physical yet I assume?”

You felt your stomach drop. Vivid flashbacks of Sukuna’s head bouncing off the door entered your mind. The sick satisfaction you got from the thunk of his skull hitting the hard wood. Suddenly, the sound of loud sirens entered your ears as you tried to push away more memories.

“No.”

Nanami hummed, “Good, then you're still on the right track. As much as I’d hate to remind you, we wouldn’t want another incident to extend your stay here. You're lucky that girl dropped the charges.”

You squeezed your eyes shut, flashes of red and blue starting to form, “I know.”

“(y/n).”

You forced yourself to look at him.

“Although you have been slipping lately, that is nothing to be afraid of. Relapsing is easy, that is why you are here.”

You clenched the ball harder.

“Do you remember the first day you came here?”

Did you remember? Of course you did. You practically assaulted him in his own office.

You laughed, “I think seeing you here was more of a shocker than having to come.”

A faint smile made its way onto his face, “(y/n) I want you to come back.”

You raised a brow, “I’m already here?”

Nanami shook his head, “No, come back to college.”

You froze, “W-What?”

“I want you to return back to college and finish out your degree. You were only months away from graduating when you dropped out.”

The stress ball in your hand morphed around your fist, “I’m not allowed on campus anymore.”

You shot daggers into his glasses, “You know that.”

“Online.”

Nanami straightened his back, “Finish your courses online and continue your dream.”

You casted your gaze to the floor, “Why should I?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

You clenched your teeth, “Why do you even care?”

“You were my best student.”

The ball in your hand blurred as tears dotted your eyes, “…I don’t know if I can.”

Your throat felt constricted, “I-I want to but-” Your breath came out ragged, “What if-”

“Prove to me you want this.”

You lifted tear filled eyes to an outstretched hand. Nanami held a single coin. A 30 day chip.

“Prove to me you’d do anything to go back to school. Even earning this. If you can manage at least one month I will talk personally with President Masamichi to allow you to finish out all your classes and graduate. No questions asked.”

You stared at him with wide eyes. The coin beckoned you to take it. To get away from your dead end job and become something.

“It’s your choice (y/n).”

You took a deep breath and snatched the coin from his hand, “I want to go back. No matter what it takes.”

Nanami nodded, “I look forward to see you back in my class.”

You laughed lightly, “I’m sure you’ll regret that like the first time.”

The blond merely shook his head, “Not once did I.”

A warm feeling filled your chest. The coin heated your palm as your tears slowly dried. Could you really save your ruined life?

“Ah, one more thing,” you watched as he pulled out a thick Manila folder.

“You’ve missed so much during these past few days that you’ll need to extend your stay today. Though unfortunately this means I will have to work overtime.”

Your jaw dropped as he began reading off papers. His lecture not stopping for any of your small pleas. 

This guy-

・❥・

You walked into your apartment exhausted. Mindlessly throwing yourself onto your couch you yelled into a pillow, allowing the stress of the day to leak out of you.

You had to stay two extra hours in Nanami’s office listening to every part of the lectures you missed. The man didn’t even let you go to the bathroom.

It didn’t help that after you finally escaped from your lessons you had to stop by the grocery store once you remembered you had no food in the house. 

Your luck only ran out more when you got stuck in rush hour traffic. You sat in bumper to bumper traffic for three hours trying to make it through the city only to find out the store was closed for technical maintenance.

What the hell did that even mean? It was like the universe was trying to get you to fail already.

Pouting, you rested your chin on your pillow and scrolled through your phone. A quick answer back to all your messages left you bored after a few minutes. Glancing at your phone’s clock, your eye twitched, 6:45pm

You sighed heavily and flipped onto your side. It was well past dinner time and you didn’t even get to eat yet. A loud stomach growl signified the need for you to finally get up.

Scraping yourself off your couch you made your way over to your open kitchen. You were certain you at least had one cup of Kraft Mac And Cheese left.

Flipping on the lightswitch, the sound of a flickering light caught your attention. Abruptly, the lights in your kitchen went out along with every other source of electricity following in suit.

You clenched your teeth together and opened your fridge. A pit in your stomach formed at the sight of a scarce fridge engulfed in darkness. The damn thing had turned off as well. Trying your stove you cursed when it also made no indication of being on.

You came to the sudden conclusion that everything in your apartment had been turned off. Fuck.

You weighed your options. Stay home and starve for the night with the hopes of your electricity coming on by morning. Or, drag your sorry ass over to Sukuna's and see if his electricity was up and running.

If his wasn’t you could report the issue much faster if it was a building issue rather than just your own apartment. But did you really want to talk with Sukuna? Especially after the day you just had?

Groaning you rubbed your brows. Screw it. Might as well make it a test of faith for the next month to come.

Swiftly exiting your apartment you took notice of the lit up hallway. At least now you knew the entire building’s power wasn’t out.

Knocking on Sukuna’s door you waited for familiar footsteps. No answer.

You knocked louder. Nothing. 

The quiet buzz of the hallway's lights mocked your pathetic attempts.

Growing agitated you went to bang on the door with your fists before you caught yourself. Calm down. Breath.

After a quick count down from 10, you gently knocked again. Faint rummaging flowed from the door's crack but there was still no answer.

You clenched your hand in a fist. Why did you even care at this point? You knew the building's power was still on.

You should just go to the reception desk and report-

Sukuna’s door leisurely opened to reveal a figure you knew all too well. You swallowed hard at his lack of attire.

Sukuna’s tattooed chest was on display as gray sweatpants hung dangerously low on his hips. Your eyes trailed his pronounced v-line before you snapped them back up to his eyes. Shit.

“What?”

Sukuna crossed his arms and leaned against his door frame. You watched as his arms flexed naturally showing off the thick lines that decorated his skin.

You chewed your lip, “Is your power on?”

“Obviously.”

Your jaw twitched, “Mines off. Can I borrow your kitchen?”

What the hell were you saying?? You didn’t even want to talk to him now you wanted to use his kitchen??

Sukuna snorted, “Why should I?”

You glared at him, “Listen, asshole. All my shit went out, you can at least spare me your damn microwave.”

Sukuna rolled his eyes before his pushed off his door frame. You grunted when he carelessly shoved past you and walked over to your door.

“What are you doing?”

Your brain spun as Sukuna abruptly walked into your apartment like he owned the place.

“Fixing your problem so you don’t bother me.”

You had little time to rebuttal his insult as you internally worried about the disarray of your apartment. The place looked like a hurricane went through there.

“W-Wait a minute!”

You ran after his form pathetically holding your hand out to stop him. Embarrassment filled your face as you watched him look around your apartment in disgust.

“You live like this?”  

You growled, “I haven’t had time to clean, dick!”

Sukuna scoffed, “Sure. Where’s your Breaker Box?”

Composing yourself, you led him to a small room near the front of your apartment. The ‘room’ was barely the size of a closet, Sukuna’s form just managed to fit.

The box sat attached to the back wall along with long forgotten brooms and other random items you shoved in there. Immediately, you heard Sukuna tsk before he retreated out of the small space.

“It looks like everything is on. You must’ve blown a fuse.”

Sukuna scratched his neck, “Have the desk worker call you an electrician in the morning, for now you can stay at mine.”

You nodded, “Okay. Wait what-”

Sukuna didn’t bother waiting for your answer before he started walking back to his own apartment.

You stood in place, jaw to the floor. Did he just ask you to stay the night?

・❥・

[wenumsmol]

𝕊𝕦𝕜𝕦𝕟𝕒 (𝕐𝕦𝕛𝕚) 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

Content Advisory: Fem Reader, Eventual Smut, Eventual Dark Content, Sukuna/Yuji Hybrid, Exterminator Sukuna (by day)/Rocker Ryo (by night), Reader Has Trauma, Mentions Of Being Abused (Reader), Graphic Everything (If you can't stomach content covering abuse, stalking and sexual assault this isn't a fic you want to read. I'm going all in), Bartender Reader, Reader has a kitty and a cat (lol). ~ I might have missed something but I'm sure I covered the triggering stuff. ~ WC: 3k words. A/N: The chapter titles sometimes have links to songs of the same name. If you want to listen while you read, it's an option. Minors do not interact with my works. Ageless blogs and underaged blogs will be blocked.

ᴛʜʀᴏᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴜᴀʟɪᴛʏ ᴘʟᴀʏʟɪꜱᴛ

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ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 1: 𝔈𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚖 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍, 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎. 𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙰𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚎𝚛. 𝙵𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚎𝚛… 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚔𝚢𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙵𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚞𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜, 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗, 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚛. “𝚂𝚑𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚞𝚙, 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢,” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚍, 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚕𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝. 

𝚃𝚢𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙, 𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚓𝚘𝚋 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚘𝚑 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚜𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚙 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎.

𝚃𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎. 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚢𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜, 𝙷𝚘𝚝 𝚂𝚊𝚞𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛. 𝚂𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜, 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜, 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚊𝚕.

𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟻 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚞𝚟𝚎𝚝 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎. 𝙱𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚑, 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚜𝚜, 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚗 𝙽𝙿𝙲.

𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚞𝚙/𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎, 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚍-𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚏. 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜. 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚊𝚢.

𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚙𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐. “𝚂𝚊𝚞𝚌𝚢 𝙱𝚘𝚢,” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚢 𝚞𝚙, “𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗’.”

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 ‘𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚢’ 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝. 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚊 𝚛𝚞𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚍. 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛. 𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚋𝚘𝚢. 𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙰𝚗𝚝𝚒-𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐-𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕.

𝙰𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎, 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚛𝚞𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜. 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚜 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜. 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚘𝚊𝚙𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, “𝚐𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌,” 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢. “𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔’ 𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚎,” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎. “𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌!” 

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚙 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚛𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚙 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗. 𝙰 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜-𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗-𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕, "𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚑?" 𝚃𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜, 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 ��𝚕𝚕.

𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎.

“𝙿𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚞𝚙,” 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚔𝚢 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍, 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚍-𝚞𝚙 𝚗𝚊𝚟𝚢 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 ‘𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗.’ 𝚄𝚙 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚜. 𝙲𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚓𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎, 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔. 𝙿𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚑 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖, 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔.

𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜, 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍… 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚘𝚗? 𝙷𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚜. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍.

“𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕, 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗,” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚍. 𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗'𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔, 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎.

“𝚂𝚘, 𝚞𝚑, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚛?…” 𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗, 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏𝚏. 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚞𝚋𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜, 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚕𝚝, 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝚆𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚒𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 .

“𝚈-𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚜𝚞����𝚎,” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚊 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗. 𝙷𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚣𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚞𝚕𝚔𝚢 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎. 𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖, 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏.

𝙲𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚜𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚋𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜— 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚠𝚔𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝, 𝚛𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚊𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎. 𝚆𝚊𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚢.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚡𝚢 𝚓𝚞𝚖𝚙 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠.

𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚔𝚢 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚓𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚠𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚛.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚔𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎'𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚐 𝚣𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎, 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚋𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚏 𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚓𝚘𝚋 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚜? 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚓𝚘𝚋.

𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚚𝚞𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚝.

𝙷𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢, 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚐𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙰𝚍𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛, 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍, “𝙺𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗?”

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞? 𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚍𝚜—𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝙴𝚡𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛.

𝙼𝚢, 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗…

𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚙 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚌𝚔, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙳𝙹 𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚑𝚞𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚞𝚙 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚙 𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛.

𝙽𝚘, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚞𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚑𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚕𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝙱.𝙾. 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚓𝚘𝚋 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎'𝚍 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚞𝚝. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚕, 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢.

“𝙰𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝,” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝙰𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗. "𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜," 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛-𝚘𝚏-𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛. 𝙰𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚙 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎.

𝙴𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏-𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚐 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍-𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎-𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚒𝚛-𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝, 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 '𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚢'. 𝚂𝚘 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚝. 𝚂𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚕. 𝚂𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊 𝚍𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚜. 

𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑, 𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙸𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚢 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕-𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚒𝚛. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜. 𝙷𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. "𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝. 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎." 𝙷𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚒𝚌 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚛, 𝚞𝚗𝚏𝚊𝚣𝚎𝚍. 𝙸𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚞𝚙 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎- 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐- 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚡𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚢. 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚜𝚒𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚜.

"𝚂𝚘, 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢?" 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑? 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐? 𝙶𝚘𝚍𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚍𝚞𝚖𝚙.

"𝙿𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗' 𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐," 𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜, 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚜. 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟���𝚛𝚢𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎'𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚖. 𝙵𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌.

"𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚜?"

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍, 𝚑𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑. “𝙽𝚘𝚙𝚎," 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚍, 𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 '𝚙'. "𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗’𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚂𝚊𝚞𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎. 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎.”

𝙷𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜. 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚊𝚍. 𝙱𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚗𝚎𝚠𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚕.

“𝚂𝚊𝚞𝚌𝚎?” 𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚛. 𝙷𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚐 𝚋𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚋𝚞𝚐 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚐𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚎. 𝙷𝚎’𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚜𝚜… 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚕𝚍.

“𝙼𝚢 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚢.” 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍… 𝚜𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠.

𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚙𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍, 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢.

“𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛… 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚢?” 𝙷𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚗, 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚐𝚊𝚣𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚊 𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚏.

𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠, 𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝙷𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚞𝚙, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐.

“𝙲𝚊𝚝, 𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗,” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜. 𝙶𝚎𝚝 𝚊 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕.

 “𝚄𝚑 𝚑𝚞𝚑… 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚒𝚝?” 𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍, 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙷𝚘𝚝 𝚂𝚊𝚞𝚌𝚎. “𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚠𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝 𝚒𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝’𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗’,” 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚐𝚛𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚕𝚢. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙷𝚘𝚝 𝚂𝚊𝚞𝚌𝚎.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚏, 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚗. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚜. 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚡 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚜 𝚜𝚘, 𝙷𝚘𝚝 𝚂𝚊𝚞𝚌𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚍 𝚐𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢.

𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚡 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛. 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚙 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠, 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.

“𝙽𝚘 𝚋𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚎, 𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚍. 𝙳𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢,” 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚔, 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚢. 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚛𝚝 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚎. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘. 𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝙷𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎? 𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍? 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐.

“𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚋𝚘𝚢, 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜,” 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢, 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚢. "𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕-𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍."

"𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚍," 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝙸𝚏 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚔.

𝚃𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚕𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚞𝚐 𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚙 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚒𝚍𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚛𝚝-𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚔𝚎-𝚞𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚢 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚂𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚞𝚙.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚝𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚑. 𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚟𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚐𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚕. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚒𝚜𝚑. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚎. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎. “𝚂𝚘, 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕-𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚐?” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜.

𝙷𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎. “𝙽𝚊𝚑, 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚓𝚘𝚋. 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚜 𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.” 𝙿𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛���𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠. 

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗. 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚙𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚢. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚋𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚊: 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚡𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎. 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚒𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚊𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚜. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜. 

𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎. 𝙰 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕. 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞�� 𝚊 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 ‘𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝’. 𝚆𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎? 𝚆𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚗? 𝙰 𝚍𝚛𝚞𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚛? 𝙰 𝚙𝚒𝚖𝚙? 𝙾𝚛 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕? “𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜?”

"𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎," 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝. "𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚕𝚎𝚝'𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚗’ 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛," 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎, 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚙.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝. 𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚠𝚔𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘, 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍, 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖.

𝚁𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚛𝚞𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜.

“𝙱𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖,” 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚠, 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚊𝚣𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔, 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚢. “𝙶𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝,” 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚜𝚘 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙷𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚜, 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔. 𝙾𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍.

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚕 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚜. 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑 𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚞𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚜. 𝙷𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚗.

𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚎𝚢𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝, 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚎.

“𝙳𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕,” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚐𝚞𝚕𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔–  𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕, 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎. 𝙾𝚛 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚎.

𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚝𝚕𝚎, 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎, 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍– 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚗𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚟𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚟𝚎–  𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢. “𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞,” 𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢.

Throes of Duality Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Do not repost my work on any sites as your own. Do not translate my works. Do not piss me off.

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[kel-lance]

TAAOTJJK FIC MASTERLIST

Most are nsfw so in general NO MINORS but I’ve got a lot planned out and seemed I work best when ovulating 😭 so updates may be hectic but I would encourage donations as I got fired for protesting and boycotting bc my job was invisibly helping 🇮🇱 so I’m glad I’m out of there but finding a job where I’m at is hella hard. I’m just tryna keep my 4 cats comfy. Anything helps thank you for reading!

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Written and Posted:

Mafia AU (up to 19 ch planned out) TW: Dead dove dont read (DDDR) Minors do not interact (MDNI): SA, Physical Assault, DubCon, NonCon, Mindbreak, Public Humiliation, Breeding, Ownership, Gaslighting, Multiple manipulation, RWORD, PTSD, a lot more toxic sh.

Premise: You’re a floater, just loving life as free as you want, until you decided to rob the wrong person. Now there’s confusion after Sukuna takes u back to his place after taking u in that alleyway. After that you just start moving through the gangs due to internal disputes. Shit just gets wild. (Almost everyone has a turn)

Ch1

Ch2

Ch3 (NEW)

Ch4 (NEW)

Ch5 (NEWEST)

Team bonding (up to 5 ch planned out) - TW: Dead dove dont read (DDDR) Minors do not interact (MDNI): SA, Physical Assault, DubCon, NonCon, Mindbreak, Public Humiliation, Multiple manipulation, RWORD, PTSD, a lot more———-

Premise: Sukuna takes over Yuuji’s body, takes u in front of everyone, and threatens them that if they don’t do their homework with you, he’s gonna show u how he wants it. (He instructs everyone to play w u and keep it away from yuuji as his little game.)

Ch 1

Ch2

Ch3

Movie night (up to 9 ch planned out) Warnings: MDNI, Group sex, camera use, teasing, humiliation, mmfmm, everyone’s bi/pan, overstimulation, worship,

Premise: u host a movie night with Megumi Toge Yuuji and yuta. You’ve already been seeing them all but never had them altogether like this before. No one’s gonna be watching the movie.

Ch 1

Ch 2

Yandere Gojo (3/3 parts) TW ——-MDNI—-DDDR——- kidnapping, dc/nc, abuse, cream pie, ownership, etc. ————

Premise: I forgot but he’s mean

Ch 1

Ch 2

Ch 3

Eyeless Gojo: TW ———Warnings: mention of death, blood, killing, morally grey, slight mind control, Gojo just reacting to his cptsd in this universe, slight grooming (adults ideals on Gojo and their children), mindbreak, yandere(?)———————-

Premise: Going back to the start of their first year, meeting, processing, feeling, learning, loving, it’s all new and too much for Gojo. He’s more pathetic and lost and needs Geto, and Geto is even more frayed from the ideals surrounding his best friend. Geto gets into gojos head, so he takes out what people think make him Gojo and not himself.

Prequel:

Part 1

One shots: (TW)

Stepdad Nanami: ——MDNI——GROOMING, not really incest, Age gap, manipulation, broken home, slut shaming (at ur mom lol), drug mention

Premise: Your mom starts dating this guy and he’s nicer than anyone she’s ever kept around, really nice. The best even, sucks how they’re getting married. (Until they split for part 2.)

Divorce Lawyer Hiromi: Warnings: MDNI, Age Gap, StepDad mention, Public, exhibitionism, idk have fun. (Pt 2^^)

Premise: Your stepdads too busy for u but he brought his lawyer home. For work right? Or for you?

Quickie w Yuta: -- Warnings: MDNI!! DC/NC, exhibitionism, cream pie, humiliation, manipulation, ownership, etc...

Premise: Yuta’s some boyfriend.

Tutor Gojo: ——MDNI——WARNINGS: DUBCON/NONCON, implied prof/student relationship, bullying, degradation, blackmail, a few more ——MDNI——

Premise: Gojo overhears that you need a tutor

Sub!Choso: MDNI——collars leashes whip’s edging stomping humiliation blindfolds restraints gags overstimulation pegging taunting slapping blood play period sex {all mentioned}

Premise: He walks in on your date (sub!Nanami) and begs for his own collar.

Yandere?!Yuta: Wrote this months ago and don’t want to reread or fix it up but I feel there should be some warnings though I wouldn’t really know what they’d be other than lying? (NEW)

You decide: (finished)

Poll 1

Poll 2

Poll 3

Poll 4

Writing currently:

- Toge x reader: Toxic!Dom!Toge bein a classic ♏️

- How the JJK Men React to you Waking Up From a REALLY BAD injury

- 1 request

Requests are: OPEN. Updated 06.11.24

[nykuna]

THE IRONY OF FATE

Chapter 1 : The beginning of the end.

pairing : Ryomen Sukuna x fem reader

cw : angst, mention of drugs and alcohol, slow burn, romance

synopsis : After leaving all your bad memories behind in your homeland, you leave the country with your best friend to start afresh. The ghosts of your past seem to keep haunting you, but when you finally get your life back together, your new-found stability seems to be shattered when you meet this mysterious stranger one night.

Is he a blessing or a cruel joke of fate?

jjk alternate universe : no jujutsu sorcerers, everyone is human.

The sun starts to set when your alarm goes off, 10PM, working nights really starts to take its toll on your health, but it's not like you have a choice anyway.

Staring at the alarm on your phone, you feel unable to get out of bed; you worked a double shift the night before and only got a few hours' sleep, plus a strange feeling is tormenting you. Something in your guts is telling you that today’s gonna be a bad day, but whatever, you’re used to them now.

You work as a barmaid in one of the city's fanciest clubs, and your boss has always insisted that you come to work dressed, since it's not unusual for you to serve celebrities of all kinds.

~

Once you're ready, you finally emerge from your room to find your roommate Lily. She’s your best friend since childhood, and you've both decided to move to another country to start afresh after a series of unfortunate events in your native land.

You've barely had time to get to the living room when she rushes from her room to show you her phone.

[boxing championships in tokyo, professional fighting…]

You could only read the first sentence when she explains her excitement seeing that you're having trouble keeping up.

« It was yesterday y/n!! They might still be here today, i’m ready to bet they’re gonna go to your club tonight… » she chirps, now you understand where she’s going, she has the biggest crush on one of the fighters hence the excitement.

« Let me guess, you're coming tonight and waiting for him to arrive to shoot your shot am i right?" You laughed, she pouts at you while you put your shoes on. « , i could use a pretty boxer to change my mind, if he does come, better hope he brings a friend » you wink before leaving the apartment.

~

You finally arrive at work a little early. You decide to sit at the bar and watch the show unfold before your eyes. The lights are dimmed and you're watching a group of men who seem to be chatting away, when something catches your eye.

You must have missed the news, but a group of traditional dancers perform fire-wielding choreography to music that seems to send the audience into a kind of trance.

You don't know if it's because you're tired, but the whole thing seems almost unreal to you, and you lose yourself in your thoughts, watching the sparks fly over your head.

You used to love that kind of performance, especially fireworks, that was his thing. It had become your tradition, whenever something went wrong, you went to light fireworks on the beach and laugh till you dropped. Fire had always been paradoxically comforting for you, but now that he's gone, it seems the bright lights have nothing to offer you anymore.

You're still reminiscing about all those precious memories when your colleague pulls you out of your thoughts.

"You should go and get ready y/n, your shift starts in 5 minutes!" Suguru tells you, smiling gently.

Back in reality, your eyes open wide as you realize you've been in your thoughts for 20 minutes, you hurry to join Suguru behind the bar, then into the break room to change and finally start your shift. But the foreboding you've had since waking up doesn't seem to want to leave you in peace, something hovers in the air and you're unable to put your finger on it.

For the next few hours, you'll be making drinks and chatting with customers, and even though you don't like wasting your time on trivia, you know that by doing so you can guarantee yourself a generous amount of tips.

Your night finally brightens up when you see Lily walk through the door, thanking the bouncer and walking towards you with a big smile.

« Y/n !! How’s your night going ? Seen anyone…? » she asks, looking around in the hope of finding what or who she's come for.

"If he's here he's not in the main room, i would’ve seen him, but suguru told me there was a table upstairs that had ordered a huge amount of drinks, and that a lot of girls seem to be milling around..." you explain while cleaning glasses.

« oh my god so it might really happen…I'll wait for you to finish, and then would you come upstairs with me?" she asks, making sweet eyes.

« Obviously, I'm not going to let you into the lion's cage on your own," you smirk and go back to serving your customers.

~

Finally finished with your shift, you head into the break room to find Suguru slumped on one of the sofas.

"Do you want to go for a smoke? I can't stay longer tonight..." He says, handing you a cigarette.

"Hell yes, I've been looking forward to this all evening" You tell him as you untie your hair and put on your jacket.

You head for the rear exit to avoid the chaos of the main smoking room, as you pass through the door, the cold wind engulfs your lungs and wakes you from your emerging fatigue.

You walk with your coworker to the nearest bench and ask him how his evening went.

"Not great, the boss is really becoming unbearable. I wonder if I'm going to start looking for a new club to work at to be honest." he says with his head in his hands, looking really exhausted, depressed even.

"What has he done now for you to come to this? And if you leave, I don't know how I'll cope, you're the light of my nights" you try to cheer him up by making him laugh, but there's some truth in what you say. You've been working here for two years now, it was Suguru who helped you get hired, and he's now one of the people dearest to your heart, no longer just a colleague but a true friend.

Even so, you couldn't help noticing that his mental health seemed to be plummeting lately. He's not the type to rant about his feelings, but you think it might have something to do with his ex-girlfriend who left him a few months earlier for another man.

"I'll be honest, it was never my dream to work here, I had bigger plans but I met her and dropped everything for her, she wanted someone stable so I took the first job that came along and now here I am, she's dumped me after I sacrificed everything for her, and I have to put up with an abusive boss who only increases our hours without paying us of course."

You sit beside him in silence, this being the first time you've heard him confide in you so much. You're grateful that he feels comfortable enough to tell you all this, but part of you can't help worrying. How much was he repressing his feelings, and for how long?

"I don't know the whole story, but what I am sure of is that you shouldn't stand by and watch your youth and dreams slip through your fingers, by staying here you're letting her steal a part of you. I know that whatever your dreams are, you're capable of making them come true and-" before you can finish, his phone rings.

He looks at the name on the screen and apologizes sincerely, but explains that he must take the call at all costs. You tell him there's nothing to worry about and that you'll see him the day after tomorrow as you're off tomorrow. He kisses you on the cheek and thanks you for your words before leaving for his car parked a little way off.

Now you find yourself alone in the dark night, lit only by the club's neon lights. You realize that you've never smoked a cigarette and decide to have a quick one before joining Lily, your thoughts continuing to orbit around what suguru has told you.

You reach into your bag and pockets for your lighter, but it's nowhere to be found. You realize Suguru must have left with it.

You wander around, hoping to find someone who can lend you one without having to go to the smoking room.

After a good 5 minutes wandering around without success, you spot smoke around the corner of the building. amen.

You move towards the figure, but can't help realizing just how imposing he is, as you gradually see him appear through the fog.

You just stand there, maybe it's the sizzling red lights that plunge you back into the memories you're trying hard to forget, or maybe it's this tall, mysterious stranger standing alone, upright with his back to you. Your mind is probably playing tricks on you, but you can't help feeling some kind of attraction to him. Your foreboding is tormenting you more than ever, and it doesn't bode well.

"You're just going to stand there?" A deep, stoic voice forces you out of your thoughts. When you look up, you realize that he's now facing you, but he doesn't even deign to look at you. His aura is intoxicating, the attraction you felt earlier almost unbearable. He's wearing a black hoodie and matching jogging pants. Your eyes trace his body back to his face. Tattoos can be seen out in the darkness on his face, and seem to run down his neck, maybe even further.

"Shit, sorry, I got lost in thought, do you have a lighter I could use?" you ask, trying to sound as indifferent as possible. But your voice is probably shaking, because no matter how intimidating and obviously unpleasant he can be, he's extremely attractive and it's been a long time since you've felt that way about anyone.

He finally lowers his head to look at you, you do your best to hold his gaze, but it's hard to remain impassive. You must really be going crazy, but you could swear his eyes are sparkling red. again, it's probably just the combination of the lights and your twisted mind making you hallucinate.

"A lighter? only if you come and have a drink with me afterwards" he smirks. You can't help but notice a sparkle in his eyes, almost like a predator cornering his prey. Unfortunately for him, you could see right through him, as you yourself are used to this game, this hunt.

Besides, you were meeting Lily for drinks anyway, so a little male distraction wouldn't hurt.

"That's fine with me, you can go back inside if you're done I'll join you." you say as you turn to lean against the wall, hoping to breathe one and pull yourself together.

"pretty girl, I doubt you could join me on the VIP floor dressed like that, no offense." he says, lifting your head by the chin.

"I could go in my pajamas if I wanted, I work here dumbass." you escape from his grip and throw your still lit cigarette at his feet. "find someone else to piss off, I have to join someone anyway." That's all you say before moving towards the entrance.

~

You were a little annoyed to say the least, for once you'd felt really attracted to someone, and he turned out to be an asshole. But as you walk back into the club, you can't help but smile again at the thought of finding Lily.

Heading for the stairs, you stop to greet Shoko as she starts her shift, grab a couple of drinks for you and Lily and continue upstairs.

Once you're upstairs, the atmosphere is completely different. Unlike the people downstairs, who indulge in socializing and fiery dancing, everything is more subdued here, with bottle girls taking turns to serve customers who treat them like dirt.

You spot Lily at the back of the room, scanning her surroundings. She's sitting in one of the booths, laughing with a group of people who have obviously spent an obscene amount of money on alcohol.

As you walk towards her, your eyes widen, she was right. You immediately recognize the tall, white-haired man she's spoken of so often, and see that she's wasted no time in talking to him. You smile as you imagine how happy she must be, especially as he seems to be enjoying her company.

Lily's eyes light up when you arrive at the table, and she jumps into your arms. She introduces you to everyone and you finally sit down next to her.

You tell her what happened a few minutes before at the back of the club, she can't believe her ears and starts insulting the stranger, laughing along with you.

"If you don't want to go home alone tonight, you're spoilt for choice" she chirps, and she's absolutely right. Everyone around this table is particularly beautiful. But you wouldn't expect anything less from a group of top athletes.

"Mind if i borrow her ? I'm gojo satoru by the way, but since you're close to Lily, you can call me satoru" the white-haired man steps forward to greet you. Not really your style, but you do understand Lily's interest.

"no problem she's all yours, y/n delighted" you smile as you watch them go downstairs to get drinks, which seems strange given that VIPs are served at the table, but seeing the wink Lily gives you as she leaves, you understand that they probably want to be alone for whatever reason.

You find yourself alone, so you look around hoping to find a familiar face, and how disappointed you were to realize that the only face familiar to you was that of the asshole from earlier.

His eyes meet yours and he smiles sideways, stands up and approaches you. There it is, the attraction, the lump in your stomach, maybe it's the alcohol you've ingested, but he looks even more handsome in the light, the color of his eyes still blood-red to you and you can't look away.

"missed me too much baby?" he says, sitting down next to you, much too close.

You take a breath, for some reason the air is almost unbreathable in his presence. You can feel your heart racing in your chest, but why? You weren't likely to find out any more tonight, after his question, you finished your drink in one gulp, it was going to be a long night.

more updates on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/56234707/chapters/142859620

nyc <3

[undermine-the-instinct]

Stop looking at me with those eyes!! JJK Pt l | Pt ll | Pt lll

Characters: Sukuna, Mahito, Kenjaku, Choso.

Warnings: YANDERE. Minors DNI. Due to the nature of said characters I will classify this as yandere/ darkfic. Soft(?) Gore mentions.

(A.N:I don't know what you did to get these men's attention, but good fucking luck, lol)

Love is what they this, this lesser thing beings pursue for some semblance of worth, importance. A liability, and a weakness that {Sukuna} doesn't have. But he supposes that is love by human standards. Curses fare no better. He will not debate whether curses can love or not, he does not exist to either, and he will hold himself to no standards but his own.

You are soft and sweet in his arms, and he enjoys that. Your sounds please him, whether in pleasure or pain. He savors the taste of your blood on his tongue. He wants to rip you to shreds, but he holds himself back. It will be too troublesome to find someone good enough to replace you.

So he supposes that he loves you, in his own way. The only way that matters.

He admits that he greatly enjoys the way you look at him. Your eyes shine, and while mortal means of wealth never enticed him, these are the only jewels he wants to hold in his hands.

"Stop looking at me with those eyes."

You're held up against his side, cradled in one pair of arms, bloody and tired and limp. He is not quite sated after his latest binge, and so he holds you; the remains are scattered around you both, twitching and shivering in the open air. Much like you are, you have to stop that–Predator instincts demand he sinks his teeth into you. Your flesh is a delicacy that he knows well.

But your sweet eyes– so wide and tinged with horror, are alive and bright, like lanterns cutting through the dark mist of night. So pretty. What would he do without them?

"Stop looking at me like that pet, or I'll pluck your eyes out again, like the pretty jewels they are." They were soft and veiny in his mouth, popping like gushers. Reverse cursed technique keeps you in one piece.

As if to taunt him, your eyes gleam brighter with your tears, and his hands twitch around you.

He must always catch himself. Sometimes he doesn't. He wants to keep going, keep going further and further till you're nothing more than viscera, blood in his mouth. Until the pain turns you into a curse, held above them all, just like he is. It would be better for you. It would be better for him.

But, no, not yet. He enjoys your human softness. He deserves it.

"Oh dearest." Your tears fall out unbidden, and he sighs, brings you up to his face, and licks the tracks they run down your face. Sweet, just like the rest of you.

You will stay here forevermore. You will never belong to anyone else, much less yourself.

♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡

{Mahito} is a creature born from every nasty thing humanity has ever felt or thought or done. A maelstrom, a calamity. Not a catastrophy. He is still happening after all.

Love is twisted for him, it's a thing of malcontent for him. In fact, it's one of the main things that made him up. A lover's anger at a cheating partner, vicious joy at their pain, the satisfaction of a lover's vengeance. The soft vindictiveness that comes after, when you pick up the pieces and put them back together again. It twists and quivers up in the light, and Mahito offers it all to you with a smile and horrid gleam in his dual colored eyes.

"Stop….stop looking at me with those eyes." You can barely whisper. There is a weight in your chest. Mahito quirks his head, a mockery of innocence, and doesn't even pout to make light of the situation, like he usually does.

Maybe its because he's never gone this far before. His pupils are blown out, leaving hardly any color, and they don't leave you. It scares you. He is smiling, he has been smiling this entire time, and you hate that smile. It has never been a good thing.

"Do I scare you?"

You keep quiet. Because you can't think, and you know better to blurt out the first thing in your head.

Yes, yes, you do. You know you do. And I know you like that.

"Your soul is finally trembling back into place." He hums, trailing his hands along your prone form, and you can't help the little whimper that slips past your clenched teeth. You can't handle it again. But Mahito grins, and squeezes, hard. Like a child with a fresh new toy. You're sure he's leaving bruises. The kindest touch he's given you so far.

"I worried for a moment that I'd have to mish-mash you back together, but you're fine. We're fine."

You are not fine. You are absolutely not fine.

"I tried to be gentle, like you asked me to. I tried to be considerate. But, just, look at you." The shaky exhale of his breath sends your heart racing, and your hands rush over to clamp over his wrists. He lets you.

Your skin is broken and bruised and bleeding. Your head is fuzzy, but panic keeps you alert. Your heart lugs in your chest, heavy and thumping and you feel the blood pound in your ears, it makes you want to tear yourself out open in order to stop the sick rhythm. You are sore, and you can't tell what exactly is broken, or bent out of place, but you're not dead, not this time.

You don't know how many next times you have.

Mahito softly shakes his head, looks down at all your broken and bloody bits. A breathless smile spreads across his face, while his brows furrow in question.

"How am I ever going to replace you?"

You whimper.

♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡

{Kenjaku} has means of helping you 'reincarnate'. He says helping, but really, you don't have a choice in the matter.

He has done this dozens of times, every time he obtains a new body. You are always the first thing he attends to after, your resurrection is priority. He wants your opinion, he says, and your attention, he doesn't. Your love. You're the only one worthy, and interesting, enough of standing by his side. You will remain there.

He smiles at you in this new meat suit, long black hair and smooth skin, a monks ensemble. He sits cross-legged, chin in hand.

"Stop looking at me with those eyes dearest."

"Or what? You'll pluck them out again?" You join him at the low table, if only to glare at him closer. He smiles, almost blissful.

"Not this time, I think this form suits you more than the last. I'd hate to blind you once more."

"I'll kill you one day, Kenjaku." He nods, mockingly.

"They say love is the greatest curse."

"You don't love me." You don't hiss, you don't growl or grit the words out through clenched teeth. Your hatred and malice is a dark, cold thing, settled in the pits of your belly like sediment at the bottom of the deepest ocean. It slips from your lips like the oldest poison.

"We've done this song and dance for centuries. Your morbid curiosity and lust for power is what keeps me here. I'm a pet."

"No love," he reaches over and boops your nose. He has gotten more playful in this body, and it makes you see red. It makes you afraid.

"You're an experiment."

"Like your cursed wombs?"

"No, something more personal." You roll your eyes, and move to serve your own tea. Fuck him.

"And what experiment am I an unwilling participant in, hm? How long it takes to break me?"

"How long it takes for you to love me," he corrects. The lines of the body's scar are shiny pink in the light. You want to tear it bloody.

"Which is one and the same, I suppose."

♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡

{Choso} exists for his brothers, and that is all. That is all he wants and all he feels he was truly made for, and there is no room for anything else.

Anyone else.

Much less you.

"Stop looking at me with…those eyes." He doesn't understand adoration, only duty, and he is unused to the soft rapture in your eyes. It is wasted on a being like him, anyways.

"What eyes?" You droll out, still clearly lost wherever your mind went. He tries not to think where.

"You know what eyes you're making. Stop it." He hates how the softness leaves you, brow tugging down.

"Oh, sorry. I don't want to make you uncomfortable with all the, um, staring."

"It's not the staring. It's the reason behind it. Your feelings are wasted on me. Place them elsewhere." You don't flinch but your shoulders hunch, and he does not take back his words. They are true and they need to be said. Your feelings are wasted on him.

He just wishes he didn't return them.

"...I can't help the fact that I love you."

"You don't." You can't. You can't.

"Even if you did, it doesn't matter."

"Don't say that. Of course it matters."

"If love ever mattered my brothers and I wouldn't exist. You would understand the situation, and what this means for all of us. Your love is shallow, because you only see that which is in front of you." He sighs, and does not meet your gaze. He doesn't know what you see.

"There is no future for us." And no future that he can secure you.

His…father created him and his brothers on a vicious whim. He will not let you be dragged into that same cruelty.

There's no need to weep. He lets you leave to compose yourself, and doesn't let you take his heart with you.

A half curse, half human thing such as he– half wretched and half tainted blood, all sharp edges and harsh things.

He was not made for love. He was not made for soft things. He was born for tragedy and he will end that way too, and he will comply with his duties as an older brother.

He can not offer you soft things. Even if he dreams of your smiles.

So, please. Stop…looking at him with those eyes.

[kinq-sleazee]

The Detriment of Our Origin

Sukuna X Black Reader

MDNI (18+) | slight angst, slight religious undertones, implied obsession, sukuna has a big dick, sukuna covers reader’s mouth , idk what this is

Part 1

Forever was never the goal.

Two lost souls met on the outskirts of sanity. Desperate for something to hold on to. Something to ground them.

You just wanted to feel.

Anything.

Pain was fine because it kept you in the present. Stopped you from floating into the cold vast darkness of your own mind— that was a dangerous place to be alone.

He could give you pain.

He was pain.

He was born to take , break and consume.

Ryomen took, broke, and consumed you.

Your soul flaked off bit by bit with the subtlest of caresses.

Actions that would’ve caused butterflies and coy smiles from any other man manifested in blazing desire and yearning that left you wrung out in the spaces between life and death.

The supple velvet of his plush lips proceeded the keen edge of the teeth that sunk into your flesh.

Razor-like nails carved patterns into your body, ornamenting you with his marks for all to see.

Sukuna never gave you anything. Why should he ? He is a god. Your god. He took what he wanted. He took your pleasure. He stole your desire.

Each orgasms was forcefully extracted by the unmerciful roll of his hips against your core. Those punctuated thrusts that burrowed impossibly deep—so deep that your quaked and spasmed.

His hands were everywhere. On your breasts. In your hair. Over your mouth. Curled into the sheets. He was everywhere. He is everything.

Sukuna would lean back to watch where the two of you connected, loving the evidence of your arousal coating his cock like snow in a winter field. It made him want to fuck into you harder. Just to hear the carnal squelch of your soaked cunt. Poor hole weakly submitting to an intrusion that was much too big and much too rough.

His strokes were sinister.

Each thrust angled to attack that gummy spot that drew choked sobs and hoarse cries from your throat.

He loved you like this. An angel crying for the devil

[juliewillruinu]

Garden of Forbidden Melodies | Chapter three | Sukuna x oc

Tw: None (other than Sukuna being a whole thirst trap👅)

ᴘʀᴏʟᴏɢᴜᴇ, ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ, ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴏ, ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ....

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆: 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝒄𝒆

GHana's breath came in ragged gasps as she ran, the cold mountain air cutting into her lungs. The weight of the biwa in her hands was unbearable, a constant reminder of the monstrous power she had barely managed to contain. Her heart pounded not just from the exertion but from the lingering fear that at any moment, Sukuna could break free and lay waste to everything she held dear.

The forest was dark, the only light coming from the thin sliver of the moon that barely peeked through the dense canopy above. Every shadow seemed to shift and writhe, every sound magnified in the oppressive silence of the night. The path up the mountain, familiar as it was, felt more treacherous than ever. But Hana couldn't afford to stop, couldn't afford to let her fear slow her down. She had to reach her brother.

As she pushed through the dense underbrush, branches clawing at her clothing, a sudden chill swept through the air, unnatural and biting. Hana slowed her pace, her senses on high alert. The cold wasn't just the mountain wind-it was something else, something foreign. Her grip tightened on the biwa, the cursed energy within it pulsing with a strange rhythm, as if it, too, sensed the presence of something... or someone.

A soft, almost inaudible sound reached her ears-a rustle, a whisper of movement that seemed to come from all around her. Hana stopped, her breath hitching in her throat as she strained to hear. The forest was still, but the cold was deepening, seeping into her bones, turning her blood to ice.

Then, from the shadows, a figure emerged.

Hana's heart leaped into her throat as she took in sight before her. A person, tall and slender, cloaked in a flowing robe of deep, icy blue that blended almost seamlessly with the darkness. Their skin was pale, almost translucent in the dim light, and their long, white hair framed a face that was sharp, elegant, and utterly devoid of warmth. But it was their eyes that sent a shiver down Hana's spine-cold, emotionless, and a shade of blue so deep it was almost black.

The figure regarded Hana with an expression of mild curiosity as if she were a puzzle to be solved. They stepped closer, and Hana instinctively took a step back, her heart pounding in her chest.

"You've got something that doesn't belong to you," the figure said, their voice soft, almost gentle, but carrying an undeniable edge of danger. "You've got Sukuna-sama."

Hana's breath caught in her throat. She knew who this was-Uraume, the mysterious attendant and confidant to Sukuna, known for their icy demeanor and lethal precision. The stories Hana had heard painted Uraume as an enigma, a force to be reckoned with, always by Sukuna's side, bound to him by loyalty and something darker.

"I don't want any trouble," Hana stammered, her voice trembling as she tried to keep the fear out of her tone. "I just want to protect my village."

Uraume's lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smile, but there was no warmth in it. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Sukuna-sama doesn't take kindly to being imprisoned, especially by someone as insignificant as you."

The words stung, but Hana held her ground, even as her knees threatened to give way beneath her. "I did what I had to. I won't let him destroy everything."

Uraume tilted their head as if considering Hana's words. "You're brave," they said softly, almost as if they were complimenting her. "But bravery won't save you from what's coming. Hand over the biwa, and I might let you live."

Hana's grip tightened on the instrument. She knew she was no match for Uraume-she could feel their cursed energy radiating like a frozen wind, sharp and lethal. But if she gave up the biwa, she'd be condemning her village to certain destruction. And more than that, she'd be giving up the one thing that could contain Sukuna, even if only for a short while.

"I can't do that," Hana whispered, her voice barely audible.

Uraume's eyes narrowed, and the air grew even colder, the temperature dropping to a point where Hana's breath came out in visible puffs. "Then you leave me no choice."

In a blur of motion, Uraume closed the distance between them, their hand outstretched toward the biwa. Hana barely had time to react, her body moving on instinct as she raised the instrument to block the attack. But before Uraume's hand could make contact, a surge of energy erupted from the biwa, a blast of light and sound that sent Uraume stumbling back.

Hana's heart pounded in her chest as she realized what had happened. The biwa-its power had reacted to Uraume's cursed energy, protecting her. But Hana knew it wouldn't be enough. Uraume was too strong, too skilled. She had to get away; she had to find some way to protect her brother before it was too late.

Without a second thought, Hana turned and ran, her feet pounding against the forest floor as she sprinted up the mountain. Behind her, she could hear Uraume's soft footsteps, eerily quiet as they pursued her. The chill in the air deepened, and Hana could feel her strength waning, the cold sapping her energy with every step.

But she couldn't stop now. Not when she was so close.

Finally, she burst through the treeline and into the clearing where the small shrine stood, her brother's figure barely visible in the doorway. His eyes widened in fear as he saw her, but Hana forced a smile, trying to reassure him even as her heart raced.

"Inside," she called out, her voice trembling.

Her brother hesitated for only a moment before retreating into the shrine. Hana could feel Uraume closing in behind her, their presence like a cold shadow at her back. She stumbled toward the shrine, her hands trembling as she struggled to think, to plan.

"Hana."

Uraume's voice was closer now, and Hana whirled around to face them, her heart pounding. Uraume stood at the edge of the clearing, their expression calm, almost serene, as if they were merely waiting for Hana to accept the inevitable.

"Give me the biwa, Hana," Uraume said softly. "It's the only way to end this without bloodshed."

Hana's hands trembled as she clutched the instrument to her chest. She knew Uraume was right-there was no way she could win this fight. But she couldn't just hand over Sukuna. She couldn't just let him loose on the world without a fight.

"I won't," she whispered, her voice shaking.

Uraume's expression hardened, and the air grew colder still, frost beginning to form on the grass at their feet and began to creep towards Hana.

"Uraume." A deep voice echoed from her now glowing biwa. "Stand down."

Her biwa began to glow, and it only intensified as time passed, its energy crackling in the air as Sukuna's deep, resonant voice echoed from within. Hana's heart stopped at the sound, her breath catching in her throat as she watched Uraume, once so fearsome, now kneeling before the presence that had just manifested.

"Lord Sukuna-sama, Uraume murmured with reverence, their cold demeanor thawing as they lowered their head in submission. The oppressive chill that had blanketed the area began to dissipate, replaced by a different kind of tension-a dangerous, intoxicating energy that seemed to pulse in rhythm with the biwa

The instrument in Hana's hands vibrated violently as if the curse sealed within was straining against its confinement. She could feel Sukuna's power, raw and unfiltered, seeping into her very bones. A sudden fear gripped her, but it was too late to react in time. Before her eyes, the biwa's glow coalesced into a blinding flash of light, forcing her to shield her eyes.

When the light faded, a figure stood before her, larger than life, exuding the same aura of overwhelming dominance as when she first met him in the brothel. Ryomen Sukuna had taken form.

Hana's breath hitched as she took in his appearance. Pairs of eyes, each gleaming with malevolent intelligence, stared down at her from a face that was both beautiful and terrifying. A small mask covered the left side of his face, enhancing the sinister allure of his features. His four arms were muscular, each hand adorned with sharp, claw-like nails that looked as though they could tear through anything they touched.

Isamu, who had been watching from the doorway of the shrine, let out a terrified gasp. Sukuna's gaze flicked toward the boy, and a cruel smirk played on his lips before his attention returned to Hana.

With terrifying speed, one of Sukuna's hands shot out, gripping Hana's chin with a firm but calculated force. The warmth of his touch was in stark contrast to the cold terror that had gripped her heart. He tilted her head up, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"You're trembling, Sukuna murmured, his voice dripping with amusement. "Fear, or excitement?" His gaze swept over her face, lingering on her eyes and her lips as if memorizing every detail. "You know, it's a pity to see such a pretty face hidden beneath that hat." With a swift motion, he knocked the bamboo hat off her head, sending it tumbling to the ground.

Sukuna's eyes, all four of them, roved over her, taking in the details of her figure and her clothing, now torn and dirty from the chase. His expression was one of dark fascination as if he found something about her utterly captivating.

His thumb brushed against her lower lip, lingering in a way that was both unsettling and intimate. Hana's breath caught in her throat, her mind racing as she tried to make sense of what was happening. The danger was palpable, yet there was something else in Sukuna's gaze-a flicker of curiosity, of interest that went beyond mere violence.

"You've managed to capture me, woman," Sukuna murmured, his voice low and smooth. "But it seems you didn't know what to do once you had me. I could kill you now... or," he leaned in closer, his lips brushing against her ear as he whispered, "Now whatever will you do?"

Hana's heart skipped a beat, her pulse quickening. She knew she was standing on the edge of a precipice, one wrong move away from certain death. But there was something in Sukuna's tone, something that made her believe he wouldn't kill her yet, at least.

"Let go of my sister!" Isamu's voice, small but fierce, rang out as he darted forward, kicking at Sukuna's leg with all the strength he could muster. Hana's eyes widened in terror as she realized what her brother was doing.

Sukuna's gaze flicked down to the boy, and without hesitation, he released Hana and snatched Isamu up by the back of his kimono, lifting him effortlessly into the air. Isamu struggled, kicking his legs frantically, but Sukuna held him with the ease of a predator toying with its prey.

"Sukuna, please!" She yelled out in desperation. Oh, how enjoyed the way his name rolled off her tongue.

Sukuna looked at her, his eyes narrowing. The amusement that had colored his tone moments before was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating look. "This brat," he said, shaking Isamu lightly, "means something to you, doesn't he?"

Hana nodded frantically, tears welling up in her eyes. "Please, don't hurt him. I'll do anything!"

A dark smile curved Sukuna's lips as he considered her words. "Anything, you say?" His eyes bore into hers, and for a moment, Hana felt as though he could see right through her, into her very soul.

"Then you will be mine," Sukuna said, his voice leaving no room for negotiation. "My songbird, my pet. Amuse me, entertain me, and I might just let your brother live."

Hana's breath was caught in her throat, her heart beating in her ribs. The choice before her was no choice at all— her brother's life hung in the balance.

Sukuna's grip tightened slightly on Isamu, causing the boy to yelp in fear. Hana's resolve hardened, and she nodded, her voice trembling as she spoke. "I'll do it, so please let him go."

"Good." Sukuna's smile widened his thumb once again tracing the line of Hana's jaw. "You made the right choice, little bird. And now," he released Isamu, letting the boy drop to the ground, where he scrambled to his sister's side, "We'll have lots of fun together."

[snorlax-zz]

THE QUEEN OF HIDING - Ryomen Sukuna

➼ PROLOGUE

───※ ·❆· ※─── ───※ ·❆· ※─── ───※ ·❆· ※───

Summary : With his boundaries crossed and rules defied, Ryomen Sukuna, the king of Noroi Land declares war against the Akumakyo Land, determined to show them their places.

But when a single warrior scratches the pride and authority he has held for over thousand years. He is left with more questions that only one could answer.

Content Warnings : Violence, gore, sexual themes, fluff, angst, ooc, Female reader, canon divergence, morally gray reader, cannibalisim, heavy smut and dark themes.

Note : Might contain grammatical mistakes or typos. I will usually write long fics and may contain multiple chapters.

Minors do not interact.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

In the world where sorcery existed, the world was slowly consumed by the curses causing the world to fester, fall into deep dark void. Among the blood that was shed, walked three legendary people who were bestowed with three different gifts to restore the world to it's former glory.

The three went through immense trouble, sacrifices and pain to eradicate the source of curse. Upon the slow restoration, the three decided to bask in their glory, divide the land among themselves and continue with whatever was left.

That was until they realise, one of them had darkness creep deep inside his heart, the darkness slowly manifesting itself into his blood, the energy strangling his mind with thorns until only mushed brains and bloodlust was left.

But one of them couldn't stand the sight of her beloved losing his mind. In the process of restoring her love, many things went wrong which ended with her beloved becoming a curse.

Heartbroken at her failure, she cursed herself along him, singing the vows that only she would remember, one that would tie her soul to his so that he can live long and not perish away in void.

"Your Grace, the duke seeks your assistance in the court" A short timid voice brought you out of your dream, you sighed a little, closing the book shut and keeping it back inside the little bag you always carried, tied around your waist belt.

"Tell Your Majesty that I will be arriving shortly" The guard nodded, bowing down to you before retreating with fast pace to what you assume is to inform the king.

You looked at the pond in front of you, your reflection wavering due to constant movements from fishes inside. It was that time of year where the curses were going to go rogue, your assistance only meant one thing, that you were going to be sent on battlefield.. alone.

You swallowed the bitterness of your thoughts against your own kingdom, shaking your head at such trivial thoughts. You were the their best sorcerer if it came down to things like this, but this time something was making you uneasy.

Something was off, you definitely knew that.

Looking at the orange bleeding through the sky,the sun was about to go down, a sudden swoosh of air made the hair on your body stand up. You shuddered a little at the cold, pulling the hood of your pitch black cloak over your head.

You headed towards the entrance of the court, your steps thudding dully against the carpet, your back straightening with a serious dead look in your eyes.

"I can't wait to sleep"

---

"My King, the curses are beginning to rise again, we are unable to hold them down"

"Release them!"

"B-But-" Before he could even continue, the neck was slashed from it's body, blood splattering everywhere on the ground, gurgling pathetically out of the wound. The body twitched, playing out it's muscle memory after it fell down with a thud on the ground. The blood seeping down into the ground, gracing the king.

“What a waste of food” He muttered under his breath with disappointment, shaking his head in disapproval when Uramae looked at him if he was supposed to take him to kitchen.

"Still standing all while defying my order? Disrespect" He growled loudly, lifting his one finger up and then down and everyone (the other soldiers) instantly got on their knees, their foreheads touching the bloodied surface of the court.

Sukuna hummed in satisfaction, widening his grin. He rested his elbow on the hand rest, his cheek pressed against his fist while he looked down with a hard gaze, his red eyes glaring through the souls.

"Get ready my sinners, we will be devouring the duke of Akumakyo and it's citizens as a feast to my curses" He smirked, a throaty chuckle leaving his lips when he saw his followers cowering in fear.

Oh, how much he loved the feeling of instilling his fear in them.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

A/N: I am sorry I am kinda new to this. I don’t know own any characters aside from the OC’s. Half of the characters are from jujutsu kisen manga - gege akutami.

I love a strong headed female MC

[kikufuku01]

I Love You, Always

Sukuna X Reader

Part 13 Confrontation ♡♡♡ Part 14 Three Brats series m. list

Reblogs, comments and likes are appreciated!

A/N: Hey guys~ sorry that I haven’t posted in the last 2 weeks! Something came up and it was really hard for me to update anything, so to make up for it, I combined 2 chapters into 1, so it’s a little longer than usual. Please remember that this is a work of fiction and that all actions done by any characters are based on realistic human emotion. With that said, enjoy!

Sukuna’s eyelids flick and flinch which causes him to wake up. The reason as to why is simply because the bed felt too warm, and that’s when he remembered all the events from last night. His heavy eyelids blink a few times when he realizes you’re also in his arms. A tiny smile pulls onto the corners of his lips as he stares down at you, and you just look so beautiful with the early blue hue of 7am shining down on your skin. His heart pounds slightly harder when he leans down to place a soft kiss on your forehead, and if anyone were to ask him what he thinks of you, well, he’d hate to admit it but his ears would burn red while his dimples would appear. The man might not be in love yet, but he’s surely to fall, if a god would let him.

“Mmm…”

You stir in your sleep, unconsciously snuggling closer to his chest. He wonders if you’re aware of how cute you are.

“Hey,” he starts to shake you gently, “wake up.”

This time you wake up and look up at him with wide eyes. The moment you see his smiling face, yours turns hot and you quickly break free from his hold and turn your back towards him. Shit! There’s a lot of embarrassment going through your mind and you can’t believe what happened last night. Your arms come up to cover your clothed breasts while you curse at yourself silently.

Sukuna thinks it’s cute that you’re feeling shy. It’s been a long time since he’s seen you like this, but he’ll have to savor this moment another time. For now, he plans to try and confirm loose ends with you. He reaches over and draws a long line up your spine with one finger, “you’re gonna hide from me now? Don’t tell me you plan to hide forever.”

“Ugh,” you groan but a smile still crawls onto your face. With no other choice, you slowly turn back around to face him, but right as you do, he leans over and begins to attack you with soft kisses.

“Stop,” you whisper.

A string of laughter blends together and it lightens the mood drastically. Still, you back away from him and plug your nose as a joke, “I said, stop. We haven’t brushed our teeth.”

Sukuna’s mouth falls agape, but he lunges at you again, however, instead of kissing you, he snatches your hands away from your face and blows his breath into your face.

“Gross!”

You screech and grimace, though you haven’t actually smelt it. When you can no longer avoid him, you finally breathe in and smell what he’s blowing at you. Now, you’re not a weirdo, okay?! You aren’t! But… It’s actually not bad at all. His breath doesn’t smell bad, in fact, it doesn’t really smell like much.

“Oh,” you let out. You sniff even harder while there’s a disappointed look on your face. You playfully shove your nose into Sukuna’s mouth, “it doesn’t smell bad at all.”

He backs up from you and nods cockily, “maybe you’re just attracted to me. I think your pheromones say ‘yes’ to me, don’t you think?”

You immediately furrow your eyebrows at him, “uh, I don’t think that’s how it works… maybe it’s just brain chemistry?”

You choose to lay flat on your back as you stare at the ceiling and ponder. When you’re done thinking, you lol your head to the side and pout, “so, are you telling me that when I smell your natural scent and like it, I’m also releasing oxytocin or?”

Sukuna shrugs at you, “crap, I don’t know about all that shit. I didn’t exactly pay attention in school.” He lays back down and sighs, “all I can say is that I feel the same way. Your skin smells intoxicating and I like everything about you. You’re comforting.”

Your heart is doing somersaults and there’s a stupid grin on your face again, but you’re not sure if it’s appropriate for you to feel this way. You and Sukuna aren’t together, yet you’ve slept with each other. It’s natural to have some doubts, is it not? What if that whole thing was a spur of the moment due to you guys just exploding at each other? The both of you could be blind by lust and sexual attraction, but who is to say there’s more?

You may not realize it, but Sukuna can see your face visibly drop. He decides it’s best if he reassures you now, even if this stupid shit is new to him too. His big hand comes to grab yours and then he nibbles on your fingertips, “I like you. I hope you believe me.”

It’s really hard to say it back to him, because there’s still uncertainty in you, but you manage to smile just a little. Sukuna’s throat bobs up and down when you don’t respond, so you sit up in bed and avoid looking at him, “I think…” your voice trails off but you continue to speak, “I should talk to Kaede before anything goes further.”

“That’s fine with me.”

Sukuna follows your action by sitting up as well but the cool air makes his nipples perk, so you laugh at him, “you cold?”

He deadpans, “obviously. Got a shirt I can borrow?”

“None that’ll fit you,” you say as you get off the bed. You go towards the door and open it slowly to peek outside. Since no one else is awake yet, you turn back at him and offer another small smile, “I'll sneak one of my dad’s shirts for you. Is that good enough for you?”

He blinks a couple of times but then hums, “sure.”

Once you close the door behind you, you walk up the stairs with light steps. But uh… the scene is one you wish you never witnessed because their clothes are scattered on the ground… I know, it’s gross to imagine! But it’s no wonder they didn’t hear you! Your mom was getting it in as well! Ew! Seriously?! At their big age?! Ugh… You take a deep breath and hold it as you creep inside on your toes. You reach their walk-in closet with success and go in to swiftly take a shirt before running out.

By the time you make it towards the stairs, you’re back to breathing normally and you walk down with ease. “Here,” you toss the shirt at him and watch as he holds it up. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed as he checks the sizing of the shirt. After staring for a few seconds, he huffs and then puts it on. The shirt is a bit tight on him, but it compliments his muscles! You try to walk past him, but Sukuna manages to grab at your waist and pulls you towards him.

“Yes?”

You’re looking down at him with confusion but all Sukuna does is rest his chin on your abdomen while staring up at you with doe eyes. Your initial instinct is to cradle his head, but the stubborn in you fights back and you quickly step away from him to break contact.

“Sorry,” you mutter. “I got flustered.”

Sukuna just grins to himself before standing up, “it’s okay if you wanna play hard to get. I’m good at playing along, remember?”

“I wasn’t–��

You cut yourself off, since it’ll be useless to argue back. You puff up your cheeks before walking towards the window, “you should probably go before they wake up.”

Sukuna won’t let his disappointment show. He puts on a proud smile and partially sticks his lower half out the window. He turns back at you with puckered lips, “could I get a kiss, at least?”

Yeah, it seriously feels like everything is moving at the speed of light, and you understand that you’re partly to blame for that, but it’s all moving too fast. Not too long ago, you and Kazuya stopped seeing each other, just yesterday you and Sukuna talked it out, fucked and now he’s acting like everything is all sunshines and rainbows when it’s not. You’ve still got to talk to Kaede about this first and see how she feels before you continue or start anything with him. Yes, it’s hypocritical of you of all people to feel this way since you practically begged Sukuna to fuck you, but still! Now that you’re in your right mind, you want to slow things down and figure this shit out.

Regardless of these thoughts flying past your mind, you pucker your lips and lay a soft kiss against his. It’s a sweet kiss, and it makes your heart flutter like crazy, but it still feels wrong. Sukuna pulls away first and grumbles something you can’t understand before he speaks to you again, “should I tell Kaede instead?”

“No.” Your head snaps up in an instant, “no, I’ll talk to her. She’s my friend.”

Sukuna pulls at one of your cheeks, “you sure? She’s my friend too.”

“I’d like it if you refrained from saying anything. You can still meet up with Kaede, but don’t speak of this yet. I want to tell her myself, but I’m not sure when I want to do it. I want to mentally prep myself first, ya know?”

Sukuna tilts his head a bit, releases your cheek and then gives you a gentle slap. When you glare at him with seriousness, he lets out a soft laugh, “you’re cute.” His hands surrender in the air and he leans back, “alright, I won’t say a thing until you tell her.”

He gives you another quick kiss and hops out the window. As you watch him climb over the gate, it amuses you how a man like him can act so cute at times. There’s a possibility that Sukuna could be a really great actor, so…

♡ ♡ ♡

You’ve been stalling. You’ve been stalling really bad! It’s been four days and you haven’t spoken to Kaede yet. Oh, you’ve also avoided meeting Sukuna in person. One of the reasons why you’re ignoring Sukuna is because you’re just straight up embarrassed. He’s messaged you to hang out, but you keep telling him to wait. Whenever Kaede texts you, you tell her you’re busy. From your knowledge, they both hung out and ate lunch together, but Sukuna left early.

You’re actually on your way to meet up with Kaede, but you continue to pace back and forth. She wanted to meet at the mall so you could do some shopping, so you finally agreed. You see her in the distance, which makes your guilty little heartbeat quicken. She’s dressed up and looks beautiful like always while you’re dressed down. If she knew what you were going to tell her, would she still have dressed up?

You hate to say it but is this really worth losing a friendship over? Is Sukuna worth losing a friend? There’s a possibility that Kaede might not even care but the better half of you already knows the outcome. All there’s left to do is accept the pain and hurt that you’ll receive in the long run because going back to Sukuna means opening a bandaged wound. Even if you yourself think it’s ridiculous to choose love over friendship, your mind becomes hazy with the memory of Sukuna’s rare loving red hues, which makes the selfish side of you want to tune out all of your morals.

“Y/n!”

Kaede strops brushing her fingers through her hair and quickly waves you down while she steps towards you, “good, you’re here! I’ve been trying to get a one-on-one with you for forever now.”

She eagerly loops her arm through yours and tries to drag you forward with her but your feet stay planted to the ground, making it hard for her. Her lips form into a small frown at your resistance and right as she’s about to question you, you speak up.

“Kaede, before we do anything, I have something to say.” You shut your eyes, since you can already feel the impending doom that’s to come. “You might not want to see me after I tell you this, though…”

She changes her stance but still has her arm looped through yours. When she stares at you a little longer, her smile falters, “why do you look like that?”

“Like what?”

“Guilty.” The curiosity in her voice settles into something more stern, “did something happen?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Based on your seriousness and the gloomy aura emitting from you, Kaede figures she should be a bit more serious. She slips her phone into her back pocket and decides to focus on you, “oh no, did you and Kazuya break up?”

Shit, she still hasn’t gotten the hint. You stand taller, “we never started, but that’s a part of it.”

“Don’t let Sukuna know.” She exhales dramatically with wide eyes, “he’ll go berserk.”

Your voice wavers with anticipation, but you speak anyway.

“That’s the thing, Kaede. Sukuna knows.”

Kaede’s body immediately stiffens, and she finally unloops her arm from you. She takes a couple of steps back as her eyebrows pull down, “what? Why am I the last to find out?”

“Kaede,” you clear your throat and avoid her eyes, choosing to look down, “this is about Sukuna.”

“What about him?” There’s a horrible feeling that’s brewing in the pit of Kaede’s stomach based on your body language, but she decides to turn a blind eye to her intuition. She forces on a smile, “I noticed that you two weren’t getting along well. Don’t tell me you guys stopped being friends. I really like him.” She makes sure that the end of her statement sounds firm, almost like a warning.

Boom. There’s the first pang in your chest. You lift your head to look at her, “you really like him?”

“Yes, I do.” Kaede confirms everything with a sweet stone look on her face. “I like him a lot, so I’m really hoping that you two are still on good terms.”

Shit. What the fuck are you supposed to do now? This would’ve been solved if you weren’t so stupid all the time, but you can’t help who you are. While you’re searching for the most appropriate words, Kaede’s eyes narrow on you.

“Why are you so quiet?”

“You’re making it really hard for me to say this,” you admit in a cowardly tone.

Kaede waits for the bunch of people walking by to get past you guys before continuing the conversation. When there aren’t a bunch of strangers to listen in, she opens her mouth.

“Say what? Just spit it out.” Her smile towards you is becoming more and more artificial, “you’re making me nervous.”

Due to nervousness, you begin to fiddle with your phone, “I like Sukuna, too. I didn’t realize it until–”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” She cuts you off before you can finish and scoffs, “you like him?”

Her usual friendly eyes are now staring daggers at you and you swallow your pride, choosing to stand tall. You speak with a clear voice, “please don’t look at me like that.”

“How could I not? I’ve asked you time and time again if you liked him and all you ever did was deny. Now you’re telling me that you like him?” Another scoff comes from her mouth, but this time it’s more sarcastic, “this better be some kind of joke.”

“It’s not a joke, Kaede. I’m serious.”

She waves her arms in the air out of frustration, “how did this happen?”

“I started realizing my feelings a little after we kissed.”

Her head snaps towards you instantly, “you two kissed?!” She points her finger at herself, “behind my back?”

You already knew how this would play out, so why does it still hurt? You step towards her, maybe as a way to feel closer to her again, “it wasn’t my intention to kiss him that night. I– I asked him to take me to a party so I could meet someone.”

When you see her judgmental eyes, you speak quicker, “I wasn’t sure about Kazuya, so I wanted to test something out. After a few drinks, we were both drunk and ended up kissing.”

“Wow, you’re such a sneak,” Kaede laughs at you while fanning herself, “doing this behind both mine and Kazuya’s back. Tell me, why wasn’t I invited?”

“I–”

“You planned this all along, that’s why I wasn’t aware.”

The way she speaks about you to your face hurts like hell. You understand why she’s hurt, but how could she speak to you like this? It was never your intention.

“You act like I meant to do it!” You snap, now glaring at her as well. “I felt horrible the next day because I knew that you liked Sukuna, and I thought he liked you back, so I asked him to keep quiet about it. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, Kaede. I really didn’t think I’d like someone like him.”

By now there are tears welling in Kaede’s eyes. She sniffles softly, “no, you were trying to save face. I never thought you’d be this kind of person, y/n.”

“I’m not!”

“But you are!”

Kaede steps up to you and continues to glare with all her might, even if the tears are falling down her face. And gosh, you look like the worst kind of person right now because there are no tears coming from you. She must be questioning whether you were ever really her friend. Another tear falls, “what else happened, huh?”

Oh shit. How long have you been holding your breath for? You only realized now because you finally let out a breath to breathe, “why are you so upset? Did you two do anything?”

The way she’s reacting has you doubting everything Sukuna’s ever told you. Why else would she be so upset?

Kaede shoves you back weakly, “no, but you knew I liked him! What else happened between you two?” She quickly glances around to make sure there are no prying eyes and then resumes, “he liked me, I was sure of it.”

There you go again, not knowing what to say. The truth is you’re a bad person for sleeping with him when you knew it wasn’t right.

She releases you, “stop getting quiet on me. You seduced him, didn’t you? You seduced him!”

Fine, you’ll just suck it up. This time you swallow down the lump in your throat and look right into her eyes, “I didn’t do anything. He came to me, Kaede. All those times when he and I almost parted, he always came back to me.”

She begins to wipe her eyes with her slender fingers and finally backs away from you, “you two had sex, didn’t you? Don’t lie to me.”

Kaede sees how your jaw tightens at her accusation and it’s enough to confirm everything. You turn away because you can’t bear to see her reaction.

“Yes, we did…”

Her breathing hitches, “and was he satisfied? Did he say he was?”

Why would she bother asking these kinds of questions? It’s only going to add fuel to the fire. There’s such a heavy weight in your chest that it feels almost impossible to breathe. How the hell are you supposed to answer her? As if possessed, you speak without thinking.

“He didn’t need to, Kaede.”

Like a ticking time bomb finally exploding, her face turns red and she shouts.

“You’re a whore! I hate you! How could you, y/n? How could you do this to me?”

You reach out for her hands, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Just leave. I don’t want to see you anymore.” She snatches her hand back from you, “if you thought I’d give you my blessing, you thought wrong. I hope your relationship is fickle and shallow.”

“Kaede.”

“Fuck off.”

She storms past you, not giving you a chance at saying any more. Fortunately, she asked to meet up at a time when there aren’t a lot of people, so no one saw or heard your argument just now, but it still made you feel like shit. As soon as she’s gone, the waterworks decide to start and now you’re full on crying. Because you’re still in public, you’re trying your hardest to hide your face, but it doesn’t stop the fact that you’re crying. Kaede was one of your longest friendships and now it’s all gone because of what. Did you seriously just let a man ruin your friendship? Should you crawl back and beg for forgiveness? But something about Sukuna keeps you captivated… You’re really just a dumbass that’s blinded, aren’t you?

The ride back home isn’t a pleasant one. Your mind is clouded with thoughts and concerns of what to do and what’s to come afterwards. You haven’t replied back to Sukuna either. The only thing you told him was that you were meeting with Kaede and that’s all.

♡ ♡ ♡

Sukuna clicks the power button on his phone for the nth time and groans when he doesn’t see any text notifications. Just how long are you going to sulk over having to fess up? He’s 100% sure you’ll back out today and will just end up shopping with Kaede. Sukuna glances over at Satoru and clicks his tongue, “quit checking for scratches on your bike.”

They’re both sitting outside in the front yard of his place with the gate left open. Satoru’s motorcycle is parked on the stone ground while the white bag filled with a variety of snacks and drinks lay on the freshly cut grass.

Satoru whines softly and circles his motorcycle once more, “you don’t understand, man. Once you get a bike, you’ll be just as paranoid as me.”

“That’s your seventh time checking though.” Sukuna kneels down and his fingers graze over the smoothness of the motorcycle’s paint, “why did you come to my place anyway?”

“I don’t know. I was bored.” He gently pokes at Sukuna’s cheek, “how are you and y/n?”

Sukuna smacks Satoru’s hand away from his face and shrugs, “we’re alright, so stop asking.”

Satoru shuts up and studies Sukuna’s expression. He looks at his body language and then his eyes go wide; so wide that his eyeballs might roll out. His mouth falls open while an exaggerated sound comes out and then he slaps his hand over his own mouth.

Sukuna sneers at him, “what?”

“You guys fucked.”

When Sukuna looks away, Satoru lets out an excited squeal and playfully rolls his eyes, “how long have you both had this kind of relationship, hm?” He continues to poke fun at Sukuna, “why are you quiet? Oh! Don’t tell me… since that night?! That party, the one she got wasted at.”

“No,” Sukuna grumpily answers back. He groans to himself and pulls out a cigarette, “we kissed that night, but she felt bad about it, so it caused us to drift apart.”

Satoru nods his head along like this is the first he’s hearing of it. I mean, he already knew. He’s a genius at reading people and he knows how to read a room. If anything, he’s always known, because he isn’t stupid. It’s just more fun to pretend like you’re clueless, so he plays along and hums softly, acting like all of this is shocking news.

“Wow, I had no idea at all,” he lies.

“Yeah well, I went to return her necklace a few days ago and we just exploded at each other. After getting everything out, we kind of just… fell into each other.”

Satoru snickers, “so, you fucked.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s great! I was wondering when you’d make a move.” Satoru draws out a sigh and decides it’ll be fun to keep playing around, so he taunts Sukuna a little more, “if the both of you were gonna keep ignoring one another, I was just gonna say ‘fuck it’ and make a move on her first, since you weren’t.”

Sukuna’s red orbs stab into Satoru while his fingers flick the ash off his cigarette, “the fuck did you just say? You like y/n or what?”

Satoru’s grin grows more sinister as Sukuna continuously falls into his trap, “not at all. Y/n isn’t my type, but I was willing to make an exception.”

Sukuna’s hand raises and he holds his cigarette towards Satoru’s neck, a silent little threat, “don’t get any funny ideas.”

The taller man sighs at his grumpy friend because he’s truly a dummy. The guys in love and he doesn’t even see it. He doesn’t even have to bet anything to know that Sukuna most likely thinks he only has a crush on you. It’s just so fucking obvious. Regardless, he won’t press any further.

“I’m just kidding, jeez! You’re always so serious!” Satoru sticks out his tongue and stands straight from squatting. His long arms stretch out and flex, “can you go inside and ask your chef to make me something yummy?”

His nose scrunches in annoyance, “just eat the junk you brought over.”

“But I want real food right now,” he sulks.

“Then go ask her yourself, dumbass. I ain’t your fucking slave.”

“Gosh, you’re so mean to me.” Satoru sticks his nose up high and turns his head away from Sukuna, “I’ll be right back.”

Sukuna doesn’t bother to watch Satoru go inside. Instead, he pulls his phone back out and checks for any texts again. Still nothing, damn. His eyes flick onto the motorcycle and he begins to touch the motorcycle with a blank face. He’s always wanted one, but he thought it’d be no use to him. The reason is because he likes traveling on foot, by train, bus etc. It helps him feel connected to the world because that way, he’s still surrounded by people.

Out of nowhere, a hand slaps down onto his shoulder and it makes him flinch. Sukuna’s hand quickly retracts from the bike and he looks up at the intruder with viscous eyes. They soften the moment he recognizes who it is.

“Oh shit, you scared me.”

Kaede chuckles sweetly at him and pulls her hand back, “that’s a first.”

He watches her dust off her skirt before squatting down to sit beside him. Sukuna raises a concerned brow at her, “did you need something? You should’ve called me beforehand.”

“Sukuna–”

Ah, that’s when he remembers. He cocks his head a bit, “weren’t you supposed to be with y/n?”

The mention of your name leaves a bitter taste in Kaede’s mouth. It makes her feel gray inside and her hands clench into a small first, “would you let me talk?”

“My bad, go on.”

She wastes no time on getting to the point, “did y/n seduce you?”

Sukuna rubs the tip of his cigarette into the ground, “would you be more specific?”

“I like you, Sukuna.” Kaede’s smile drops and scoots closer to Sukuna with a look of sadness, “I thought our feelings were mutual, with all those moments that we flirted. We’ve gone to places and eaten together on multiple occasions all without y/n, Sukuna. We’ve held hands at times and…” her voice breaks down as she loses the last of her confidence, “don’t you like me?”

Sukuna removes his gaze from her and turns back to look at his house. When it’s clear that Satoru won’t be back for a while, he nods, “as a friend, yes.”

She shakes her head at him, “couldn’t it be possible that you’re mistaking your feelings towards y/n for lust?” Kaede notes how Sukuna’s expression changes and she scoffs softly, “you both had sex, right?”

So, she knows. You fessed up. That’s great, actually.

Sukuna smiles in a not so obvious way, “we did.” Gosh, it feels so fucking good to finally get it out. His head bobs up and down like he’s confirming it still, “I like her, Kaede. I’ve always liked her.”

Fat, thick tears roll down her pale cheeks, “so why did you string me along? Did I wrong you in any way?”

“Not at all.” Sukuna wipes her fallen tears with one of his thumbs, “at the time, y/n told me that she was into Kazuya, and she didn’t want to hurt you, so she told me to give you a chance. I tried, Kaede, but I couldn’t forget about her.”

“You never gave me a chance.”

Sukuna’s sparing tone becomes more stern, “Kaede.”

She chooses to ignore him and grabs his hand, “give me a fair chance. Forget about y/n today and give me all of your attention.”

Sukuna uses his other hand to grab Kaede’s and he gently pulls her off of him, “Kaede, I think you should leave before you do something stupid. You’re better than this, come on.”

Kaede’s lips continue to tremble as she tries to calm herself, “why are you doing this to me? You know that I like you.”

Disappointment runs through Sukuna’s veins through and through. He knows where this is headed, he’s not dumb. It sucks because he does think Kaede is a great friend, she’s a different kind of fun, but he knows he’ll lose her as a friend after today. His head falls forward because a part of him does feel bad, even with his shallow little heart, but he has to do what’s needed. After letting a couple of seconds pass, he grabs her by the side of her upper arms and pulls her up with him to stand on her feet.

“Respect yourself and don’t stoop so low,” Sukuna says carefully. He doesn’t like to see pretty girls cry, it doesn’t make him feel all that great, but he wishes she could respect herself a little more because she’s a great person that’s just a little blinded by love, that’s all. Kaede begins to hiccup as she cries and he gently rubs her head to help sooth her, “I’m a trash guy, Kaede. You’ll find someone better.”

Kaede sniffles her nose and looks up at him again with new tears, “but I don’t care about that stuff. That fact is that I like you.”

“I think you should go, sweetheart. If that’s all you came here for, then you should leave.”

He stays firm with himself and it completely shatters Kaede’s heart. She knows the pet name he used is just to cushion the rejection, but it hurts like hell. And honestly, she has every right to be upset and heartbroken, because for months he strung her along. Sukuna played with her feelings and then crushed her heart right in front of her, so of course she’d feel this way.

Kaede stumbles back a few steps and glares at him with pure hatred, “you’re jerks. All of you.”

Sukuna’s lips twitch to say something but she aggressively wipes her tears and spins around to stomp through the gates. His vision stays on her figure until she completely disappears. “Fucking hell,” Sukuna silently mutters to himself. What a headache.

“That was quite the confrontation.”

Satoru’s voice sings out from behind and he’s carrying a plate of fresh food with him. Sukuna’s previous expression morphs into confusion while his stomach growls from the savory smell, “how did she make nikujaga so quick?”

Satoru grins like a child, “when I went inside, she was already preparing lunch so I guess I got lucky.” He gently glares at Sukuna and holds the plate closer to his chest, “I’m not getting you a plate, so go get one yourself.”

“Can’t I just pick off your plate?”

“No!”

A subtle breeze blows past the two as they sit on the bench outside and feast. One of his employees had followed them to the yard so he could collect the dishes when they were done, but Sukuna waved him off and told them to leave for the day after cleaning. Since it’s usually just Sukuna home, he’d usually just send them back home after they did some chores and then he’d go and venture outside carelessly.

Satoru pats his bloated stomach and burps out loud, “that was delish!” He shimmies his shoulders to express his happiness and then pouts, “anyway, back to Kaede. How dare she say we’re all jerks!” His head violently whips towards Sukuna, “what did I do to her?!”

Sukuna plops his plate down on top of Satoru’s, “you’re just a bystander caught up in the drama, I guess.” He lets out a loud, obnoxious laugh at Satoru’s offended expression and hooks his arm around his neck and pulls him closer, “what’s it matter to ya anyway, hmm?”

Satoru’s feelings are not hurt by any means. He’s just a little bummed that he now has one less person to bother, so he uses his forearm to shove Sukuna off of him and copies what you always do. He holds his nose up high and mighty with an over-the-top snobby frown, “you’ve taken away another one of my joys. I’ll have to come bother you more often since you chased Kaede away.”

“I’m sure she’ll come around once she gets over this.”

“Doubt that.”

“Damn, you think so?”

Satoru raises his eyebrows, “oh my god, you’re helpless…”

♡ ♡ ♡

It’s already dark now. He sent Satoru home a long time ago yet there’s still no response from you. He only sent you two messages all day but you haven’t read them. It’s really making him worry, even when he knows you’ll be fine, so he puts on his shoes and gets in the car that’s waiting for him.

When he pulls up in front of your house, he waves his chauffeur off and then jumps up to climb over the gate after making sure the coast is clear. He sees that your bedroom lights are off, so he’s a bit concerned if you’re even home. If you aren’t, then he’ll just wait for you in your room. With impatient fingers, he checks to see if your window is unlocked. Fortunately it is.

He shuts the window behind him and examines everything in your room all while listening for your parents. It’s faint, but he can hear them watching tv in the living room. At first he thinks you might be with them, but then he sees the lump that is you under the blanket.

“Y/n?” he quietly calls out. “I’m here. I hope you don’t mind that I’m here.”

You’re unresponsive, just like your texts. Despite the serious and gloomy situation, he finds you cute. His lips twitch into a soft grin and he crosses his arms over his chest, “that’s you under the sheets, right? Are you just not going to answer me?”

Still no answer.

“Fine, be that way.”

With that said, Sukuna removes his shoes, grabs the blanket and jumps right under with you. He pulls the blanket over both of your heads and lets his eyes adjust to the darkness.

You frown at the sight of him, “why did you crawl under?”

“To see you.”

His tone of voice is way too cute for this kind of setting. In fact, he doesn’t sound fazed at all.

You furrow your eyebrows at him, “for what?”

Sukuna shuffles closer towards you and flutters his eyes, even though you can’t really see it well, “because I missed you and wanted to see your pretty face.” His hands come up to cup your face but he’s taken back when your cheeks are damp. His smile drops slightly, “are you crying?”

You don’t mean to laugh but it comes out softly anyway because he’s so stupid, “no, my eyes are sweating.”

“That’s funny.” His thumbs continue to wipe at your cheeks, “never heard that excuse before.”

You turn your face slightly to avoid his touch, “why are you wiping them?”

“I always do.” Sukuna’s voice is even gentler as he speaks to you. “I’ll always wipe your tears away, y/n, so cry all you want.”

While the wounds in your chest ache, those shameless butterflies in your stomach begin to flutter at his corny words. Despite wanting to cry more, another reluctant fit of giggles came out, “you’re so unoriginal. Now no tears are coming out.”

Sukuna nods, “good, I hoped that would happen. I’ll always be here to stop your tears, too. When you’re ready to come out and face me in the light, let me know. I’ll come out with you.”

“You don’t have to stay under.”

His smile drops, but he’s still in a playful mood, “I want to, stupid.” He gently knocks the top of your head with his knuckles.

“Okay,” you whisper.

You have to admit that it feels nice having him by your side. There’s just something so comforting about Sukuna, even with all the red alarms that go off around him. You don’t fully understand what it is about him that has you so wrapped around his fingers, but it’s making you cherish all the wrong things; and even when you know that, you can’t seem to care about anything other than him as of lately. Of course, there’s still that guilty feeling that looms over you, but a part of you just wants to be selfish. You want to be with him all alone. You want him all to yourself. Does that make you bad or are you just human?

As you lay there and drown in your thoughts, your mind runs through every scenario that you and Sukuna could’ve been. If you had just been honest with yourself from the beginning then you’d probably have happier moments than now. A good fifteen-twenty minutes pass before you finally tap his arm. When you do, Sukuna lifts the blanket off of both your heads and desperately breathes the fresh air.

“Finally. It was getting stuffy under there.”

You feign annoyance and scowl at him, “you didn’t have to, asshole.”

“I wanted to, for you.” When he’s done breathing in all the air he needs, he tilts his head back towards you, “Kaede came to talk to me.”

You’re not in the mood to talk about it much, but it’s better to face things head on so it’s over faster. You flip onto your back and look up at the ceiling, “I figured.”

“She was very upset. Was it hard for you?”

Is he seriously asking you this? You blow raspberries at no one in general, “well, it didn’t feel good to crush her feelings. It sucks losing a friend.”

Sukuna snuggles into your bed and gets comfortable while asking, “want to throw me away instead and get her back?”

“No…” you say without much thought. When you realize your answer, you quickly try to back yourself up, “even if I dumped you and went crawling back to her, she’d never take me back.”

You recall your previous text messages to your other friends today and your heart stings all over again. You messaged them hours ago and the reason why was because you wanted to get in touch with Kaede after she stormed off on you, but no one has responded. It’s obvious that they’ve read your messages though. Your chin trembles with your lips, “none of my other friends have responded to me, so I assume she told them that I snatched you away from her.”

He wants to be serious about this, he really does but… his priority is cheering you up. Sukuna holds his chin and acts like he’s in thought, “she isn’t exactly wrong…”

A loud scoff comes from you after hearing him and you can’t believe your ears. You already know that you’re in the wrong, does he have to rub it in?

“Way to make me feel like shit.” You smack his arm, “get out, I don’t want to see your face.”

Once you begin to push him away, he firmly grabs your wrists with a smug grin, “I’m kidding, y/n.” With one swift move, he pulls you on top of him and then releases you. With one hand, he pushes your hair out of your face and smiles up at you with crescent eyes, “you’re cute when you’re sulking. I’ll hold you until you feel better.”

He pinches one of your cheeks and then you scoot down lower to lay your head on his chest, “it really sucks. I understand why she’s hurt, but it’s not like I intended for this to happen.” You clench a fist and lightly but violently pound down onto his shoulder, “you’re such a curse, Sukuna.”

Your statement makes him laugh out loud and you really enjoy the sound of it. You love how you can feel the vibration of his laughter through his chest.

Sukuna places his left hand over the back of your head and pretends like he’s holding his heart, “ouch, I’m wounded by your words.” When you’re finally laughing with him, he pats your head affectionately, “you’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You lift your head up from his chest and stare at him, “you think I’ll be slandered online?”

Sukuna shakes his head at you, “nah, she’s not that kind of person. We know her, halfie. I think she’s just hurt, but she’ll get over it. She and I never did anything, so I don’t understand why she’s so hurt about it.”

“You strung her along,” you say in a dead tone.

“Because you wanted me to,” he replies in the same way.

You cannot help the fact that you roll your eyes at Sukuna for his smart answers. “Fuck,” you groan, “everything is because of me. I’m a horrible person. Look at me, I’m laying here with you while she’s out there crying her heart out.”

His warm hands come up to hold your face once more and he gently boops your nose, “you’re my horrible person.”

Ugh, he’s so fucking cringy. You scowl at him for the nth time and lay back down on his chest, “can you shut the fuck up and just hold me?”

“Anything you want, doll.”

Without any hesitation, he wraps his arms around you and holds you close to his heart. Initially, he wanted to come here to check on you and confirm what you were and where you both stood, but he thinks he can wait until you feel better. Until you’re ready, because he can tell that you’re not ready to speak about it. Sukuna’s patience will always be lenient with you and only you.

His long fingers run through your hair at a set rhythm as a way to continue soothing you while his right arm stays wrapped around your waist. His way of soothing you is probably working because you’ve been so quiet. If anything, he thinks you might’ve fallen asleep. To test the theory, he halts all movement and waits for you to say something or complain. Oh, nothing.

Sukuna gently shakes you and speaks in a hushed tone, “Y/n? You fall asleep on me or something?”

Wow, you just hate responding to him today, don’t you? It’s obvious that you fell asleep, so he carefully lifts you off of him and lays you down on your side. Sukuna slowly lifts the blanket from him and goes towards your door with light footsteps. He locks the door to ensure he won’t be found out about just in case your parents ever decide to try and come in and then moves to lock your window.

He gives your head a soft caress, “sweet dreams, doll.”

Sukuna crawls under the blanket again and gives your cheek a quick kiss before he holds you again.

♡ ♡ ♡

It’s really tough when you lose all contact with your friends. Everyone is either making excuses to not hang out with you or they’re just straight up ignoring you whenever you text them. It’s clearly obvious that Kaede spilled the beans about you to them, so you’re being shunned. Yes, you knew this was coming the second you kissed Sukuna that night, but you just can’t stop. The only one by your side is Sukuna, but you’re not dating. You’re too nervous to make things official with him so he hasn’t pestered you about it. You’re still kissing… still fucking. Yeah, yeah, you know! It’s another bad way to start something but you’re still ashamed of what you did to Kaede, so getting into a relationship with him right away is like you bragging while stomping all over her. It’s practically you dangling him in front of her face, even though she’s blocked you on everything. The friends that no longer hang out with you still follow you on all of your socials, so word would still get around. That’s another reason why you haven’t updated or posted anything. You’ve just been rolling around with Sukuna and you hope he’s not hurt that you don’t want to be in an official relationship yet.

Today is another one of those days. He’s been sneaking over and spending the night more frequently, even when you tell him he can’t. Well, it’s not like you’re really trying to kick him out either, so you can’t complain. Anyway, you’re trying to enjoy your sleep but it’s kind of hard with Sukuna breathing down your neck. From the way he’s breathing, you know he’s awake.

Sukuna shoves his head into the crook of your neck and takes another whiff. He woke up earlier but he wasn’t sure if he should wake you or not. He has a morning issue right now but it feels a bit wrong to touch you in your sleep, so he’ll just have to deal with blue balls. His eyes close again so he can focus on falling back to sleep, but he just can’t. He loves the way your skin smells, so he nuzzles his nose into your neck and inhales slowly.

“That tickles.” You finally give up the act and turn to face him, “just how long are you going to sniff me for? I can’t possibly smell that good.”

“Oh, but you do.” A low chuckle rumbles from Sukuna, “I tell you this all the time, doll.”

“Whatever,” you move your hand and go to graze his hardened dick, “I woke up because something hard was pressing up against me. Can’t you learn how to control your hormones?”

Sukuna’s face leans closer to yours while a sinister smile curves onto his lips, “how could I, when you’re right in front of me?”

Your mouth gapes at him, “Sukuna, it’s like five in the morning.”

“All the better. They’re still asleep.”

Anyone in their right minds would know not to do these kinds of things while other people are in the house. You shouldn’t even be going this far with Sukuna because you’re not together; also because it’s too early in general to do this with him. You should still be mourning over your lost friendship, but the greed in you has taken over. Yes, you do feel bad for Kaede, but for some reason that you can’t help, all that matters to you in this world right now are you and Sukuna.

Sukuna’s lips collide against yours and you instantly melt into the kiss like a fool. You fall for his kisses every time and they always feel so good, even when you say they don’t. You enjoy the thrill of the rush, the excitement and the way your heart pounds so fast. You want to bask in it all.

He pulls you on top of him and groans when you automatically straddle him. He can feel the warmth of your cunt resting on his crotch and he thinks you’re such a fucking bitch. You were wet this whole time, fucking minx. You’re still fighting for dominance in the kiss while trying to keep quiet, but the blood is rushing to your brain. You can’t really think straight, if you’re being honest.

“Don’t break my heart,” you whisper against his mouth.

“It’s my heart we should be worrying about,” Sukuna rasps. “I think I’m going into cardiac arrest, doll.”

You click your tongue and give his chest a gentle slap, “you’re always so dramatic,” you murmur fondly.

He shakes his head and holds your gaze, “I mean it.”

Reluctantly, you place your hand over Sukuna’s chest and gasp. “Holy shit.”

The way his heart beats so fast would have you concerned if you didn’t know any better. You retract your hand from him and try to fall over to the side but his arms hold you in place. He shows you a crooked grin, “where ya’ going?”

“Don’t want you dying on me,” you say with a playful attitude.

Sukuna visibly frowns at you but he’s not about to beg you for some sex, so he just sighs for a loss and shrugs, “alright, alright, I’ll leave you alone.”

“You can touch yourself if you want.”

He titters to himself at that, “nah, I just might pounce on you if I do.” Sukuna sticks his tongue out at you as you turn your back towards him. Once he’s made sure that you’ve fallen back asleep, he searches for his phone and scrolls through social media. At first he’s on youtube watching god knows what, then he ends up on tiktok. Since he doesn’t want to disturb your sleep, he makes sure that the volume is barely on but sometimes he can’t contain his cackling. Each time he laughs a bit too loud, he peeks over at you to make sure you’re still asleep. He’s already starting to feel sleepy again when his phone suddenly dings.

Kaede: Hey, Sukuna. I know you probably don’t want to see me right now and that it’s been a while, but I was wondering if we could talk. -6:42am

Shit. Sukuna pushes himself off the bed with his forearms and leans over to check if you’re really still asleep. Based on the way you’re breathing so lightly and the subtle snores, he knows you’re in a deep slumber. What time is it? He checks the time and it’s almost seven.

Sukuna: It’s early. Couldn’t we talk at a later time? It’s cold right now and nothing is open. -6:44am

Kaede: I don’t have time later today. Just meet me at my house, if you will. -6:44am

Sukuna: Can’t promise we can talk for long, then. You cool with that? -6:45am

Kaede: That’s fine. -6:47am

Sukuna carefully lifts the blanket off of himself and lazily slips his shoes on. After he’s done, he shuffles around the bed and places an innocent kiss on your temple, “sweet dreams, doll.”

He doubts you’ll even notice he’s gone but whatever. He’s trying to be as quiet as ever when lifting your window, and he’s holding his breath the whole time he’s doing it. The second he makes it out of your house, he exhales and slides the window down, making sure it’s not closed all the way so he can sneak back in later. The way he’s acting makes him feel like a criminal, which is kind of funny, but that’s also whatever.

The walk to Kaede’s house is a long one, so he whips out his phone and calls Yuuma and tells him where to meet up. Gosh, why the hell are mornings so fucking cold for? Sukuna swears his balls have shriveled up by now. He rubs his hands together for warmth but the moment he sees Yuuma’s car, he speed walks towards it and gets in.

“Good morning, Sukuna.” Yuuma’s speech is broken and awkward as it’s wrong for him to call on Sukuna informally, but the man has ordered him to do so, so what else can he do. “Will I be taking you home?”

Sukuna yawns for like, the hundredth time, and shakes his head firmly, “no, you remember where Yamamoto Kaede resides, correct?”

“Yes, sir– Sukuna…”

The older man is tripping over his tongue at the mistake he’s made but it earns him the low rumble of laughter from Sukuna, which eases his mind. He laughs along with Sukuna as he begins to drive to said destination.

“Will I be taking you home as well? If so, I can wait outside until your affairs are done.”

Hmm… Sukuna has no clue what else Kaede might want to talk about, so he’s unsure of how long it’ll actually take. While it’d be useful for Yuuma to wait outside her house, he’d feel bad for the older man if he had to wait a while. Usually, Sukuna wouldn’t give a flying shit, but deep inside, he’s got a soft spot for Yuuma, so… He shakes his head yet again, “no, it’s fine, thank you. If I need a ride, I’ll call for someone else.”

Yuuma’s groggy eyes widen with surprise and he takes his eyes off the road for a split second, “are you sure? I don’t mind waiting.”

“Eyes on the road,” Sukuna says sternly. “I know your wife is waiting for you at home. She’s almost due, is she not?”

“Uh, yes… about that–”

“I’m not an idiot, Yuuma. I understand that you’ll need time off when the baby is born, so I shall grant you that. It’s not something that concerns me much, that’s why I haven’t called for you as often. If that was your concern, then rest easy.”

Lowkey, it eases Sukuna’s mind that his most tense employee’s shoulders finally relax when he’s told that he can. It makes him feel like less of a villain. Yeah, they’ve come a long way. Feels like yesterday he was beating on Yuuma, demanding him to buy cigarettes and liquor while he was still underage… But after Yuuma would buy it, Sukuna would patch him right back up! So it’s kind of okay, right? Right???

♡ ♡ ♡

Knock knock knock…

Sukuna’s knuckles tap the cold glass and he waits a couple of seconds before he eventually sees the curtains slide open. The bedroom lights are off, but the outside has lightened up a lot from when he first came out, so he can see her clearly. She’s barefaced, as expected, and she’s got a vintage themed nightgown on. There’s not a smile on her face and she doesn’t greet him with friendly eyes like she used to. Completely understandable.

Kaede slowly reaches her hands out and she presses the pads of her fingers against the glass to slowly lift the window up. She steps aside so Sukuna can crawl in and then shuts it again.

Fucking shit… it’s awkward as hell. That’s how she feels. For all she knows, Sukuna probably doesn’t sense anything at all. He might not even feel weirded out about the whole thing, since he didn’t mind meeting up.

“You can sit on the bed if you want.”

Kaede’s head follows him as he makes his way to the bed. While she chooses to stand, he sits on the edge comfortably but still hasn’t said anything. She chews on her bottom lip as she contemplates what to say.

“You called me here, so talk.”

“I’m sorry for lashing out at you the way I did.”

Why is she apologizing to him? One of Sukuna’s eyes twitched, “you have nothing to be sorry for, Kaede.”

Part of her wants to ask about you because she’s genuinely curious, but seeing Sukuna in the flesh again makes her mind go blurry. She grips the fabric of her nightgown with a tight fist and decides to give up all of her pride. Every little thing about Sukuna drives her over the edge and she just can’t seem to stop liking him, even after he so coldly rejected her heart. She tried to delete all of the photos and videos they’ve taken together but her fingers just kept hovering above the delete button. It was too hard to erase such joyful memories… if anything, she’s the true victim of it all. You both played her like she was a fool, but she only has herself to blame for wearing her heart on her sleeves.

It’s been a while since she’s looked at them, so Kaede holds her phone and stares at the gallery again whilst Sukuna sits quietly by himself. There are lots without you, since you were so busy stringing Kazuya along all those months ago. An unstable smile is all she can give as she scrolls higher and higher.

Kaede’s personal favorite photo is this one. She can’t remember why you weren’t there, but she and Sukuna went back to the amusement park. The same one they first met at. They spent all day waiting in long lines and eating either overly sweet or savory foods, and not once were you mentioned. It must’ve been around the time you started distancing yourself, then. Back to the photo… It’s one that she took on her own phone while they sat in the cramped photobooth, so her phone is also reflected in the picture screen. She cherishes this photo so much because he seems so relaxed. It’s candid photos of him, but they’re still cute regardless. They’re sitting shoulder to shoulder while her phone is positioned next to her face. She’s smiling and making cute faces in each of the photos while he’s smiling from ear to ear as he messes with the provided filters. Like always, Sukuna’s hair is loosely gelled back in a messy manner but that’s what makes him so sexy, along with his charisma.

It’s different today. Soft, fluffy and down; a rare sight indeed. It’s not like she’s never seen this side of him, but his duality is also his allure. It keeps you on your toes; makes you wonder what else there is to discover about him.

Kaede lays her phone down and stares at him again. Her voice is low, almost inaudible. “My parents aren’t here.”

Sukuna lifts his head slowly and raises an eyebrow at her, “what?”

He heard her, he has good ears. Just, what? The hell would she say that for? Sukuna scowls, “if they weren’t here, then you should have said I could use the front door.”

She ignores him. Instead, she grabs the fabric of her dress and tightens her fists while she swallows another large lump. Kaede pushes herself off the wall and strides towards Sukuna with a look of determination. When his head is fully lifted to look at her properly, she pulls the dress up and off over her head, revealing her own full nudity.

The moment Sukuna sees her, he turns his head away, though it’s too late. He’s seen it all. The rejection causes another painful sting to Kaede’s heart, but she continues her action by coming closer. He’s still seated on the bed, so she stands taller than him. Her delicate fingers grab hold of his cheeks and she turns his head so he can see her.

The fact that his eyes only stay locked on hers bugs her. It makes her feel like she’s not worth it. Like she isn’t beautiful. Why can’t he look? Why won’t he look? Hot tears begin to well in her eyes as her heart crumbles and falls.

“Why won’t you give me a chance, Sukuna? Please, give me a chance.”

Sukuna automatically frowns. He doesn’t understand why Kaede likes him so much. He hasn’t done much, only the bare minimum. Of course, there were moments when he genuinely enjoyed spending time with her, but that’s because she felt like a good friend. Perhaps if you weren’t in the picture then the outcome would be different; but even if that were the case, like he said before, he and Kaede wouldn’t match well in the long run. They’d clash. Either way, the tears he caused leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.

He sighs at her, “why are you going to such lengths?”

“You make my heart beat faster every time. Just thinking about you makes me feel giddy, Sukuna.” Kaede whimpers softly as her shoulders begin to shake, “you’re a great person to me Sukuna. You protect me when I get catcalled, you make sure I’m never cold and that I’m full.”

She gently wipes away her own tears, “you keep saying that you’re bad, but I’ve yet to see a single bad thing about you, Sukuna.”

Sukuna finally removes his eyes from hers and lets his eyes trail down her naked body. He looks her up and down, getting a good look before meeting her eyes again. With a cold voice he says, “you don’t know the first thing about me.”

She sniffles at him, “then let me in and tell me everything from the start. I don’t care who you are or what you do.”

He stands up from sitting and looms over her smaller frame, a permanent scowl on his face, “I told you to respect yourself, Kaede. You’re beautiful all around, so it’s a waste that you’d stoop this low.” Sukuna walks past her a few steps and bends down to pick up her nightgown. After doing so, he walks back in front of her and grabs hold of her arms, placing them into the loose sleeves. After he successfully does so, he properly puts the dress back on her.

“I hate that the most, Kaede. I hate when women make advances on me, even when they know I don’t want it.”

His words grate harshly against her ears and all she can do is cry silently at her own humiliation. Sukuna wipes her tears away but she slaps his hand away from her face.

“I’ve never hated anyone as much as I hate you…” she mutters in a raspy voice.

All Sukuna can do at this point is sigh. He holds his hand out at her, “if you don’t have the guts to erase me, then I’ll do it for you.”

Kaede’s head snaps up at him with wide shot eyes, “what?”

He stares back at her with a blank and bored expression. She’s never seen this kind of face on him before… she’s never felt this kind of intimidating aura from him. It’s like she’s staring at a stranger. How dare he look at her with such strange and uninterested eyes.

Sukuna smirks down at her, “you heard me.”

“I’ll do it myself, asshole…”

Her heart stutters when she hears him suddenly laughing. He’s laughing? No, this isn’t just any laugh… she can’t explain it, but it makes her feel smaller than she already is. He’s being cruel. Is this the real Ryomen Sukuna? Has he been putting up a facade this whole time? No way… she can’t tell.

Sukuna shows her a cheeky smirk and taps her shoulder, “good.”

Just like that, he walks away, without pausing to look back at her who had gone very still. In less than a few seconds, he’s already out of her room and all she can do is fall to the ground and sob. It’s stupid that even after he’s been so cruel, she can’t seem to let go. Her left hand pounds at her chest while she wails softly at her own embarrassment. It took everything in her to do this. To message him… to show herself bare. Sukuna always tells her that she’s beautiful, so why doesn’t she feel like it? He made her feel so cheap with the way he looked her up and down, but what made it worse was how he went to the extent of dressing her.

♡ ♡ ♡

“Phew,” Sukuna groans when he’s finally in front of your bedroom window again. He walked the whole way back to really clear out his mind yet he still has a bitter taste in his mouth with the way things went earlier. He’s never really had many friends in his life, so if he were to be true to himself, it is a shame that Kaede couldn’t give up. However, he doesn’t have time to linger on such useless matters, so he throws her out of his head and lifts the window to crawl back in.

Thank the lords! He’s been gone for about an hour or something and you’re still asleep, so that means he can squeeze right back in. As soon as he spoons you he can feel himself loosen up. Yes, this is it. This is what he wants. He wants to lay down with you every night and wake up with you in his arms every morning. He wants to have every one of his meals with you by his side and he’d love it if you felt the same way too.

Knock knock knock!

“Y/n? Y/n, wake up.”

Holy shit! You shoot up in bed at the sound of your mom’s voice and turn to look at Sukuna. He’s clearly unbothered since he’s still asleep but right now you kind of need to wake him. You begin to shake him back and forth, but he won’t budge.

“Y/n? Are you still asleep? It’s almost ten in the morning.” She begins to knock and shake the knob, “Y/n?”

“I’m awake.”

You glare at Sukuna and jump off the bed. Since he won’t hide, you’ll just have to pull the blanket over him and hope for the best. You unlock your door and poke your head out, “did something happen?”

“Yes, actually.” She’s busy texting on her phone, but continues, “Ayumi and Asa need you to look over Haru and Ren. Your father and I will be away for the rest of the day due to business, so we can’t do it.”

You take a good look at her with big eyes, “I have to watch them today?”

She glances up from her phone and cocks her head to the side, “yes, so if you have plans, cancel them.”

“Well what about Hotaru? He won’t be here?”

“No, something happened so they said they’re going to take him to the hospital to get checked out. She’ll let you know when she’s here, so get ready for the day.”

Jeez, why do you feel like today is going to be a hectic one? A seven year old and five year old… that’s gonna be one hell of a ride. It was easy with Hotaru because he wasn’t as mobile, but these two boys are energetic and run around a lot. Are you ready to watch over such naughty kids? Oh! Right! Sukuna too! That’s a whole other problem, and he needs to leave asap. You cannot risk the possibility of these kids blabbering their mouths about some weird man with pink hair being here, so he needs to go as soon as your parents leave.

Taglist: @luckyrocks86 @mykyoon @hxlalokidottir @wo-ming-bai @adoraspace @yourusernames @raviolixxx @blackjanexx

[sugojosgf]

#rb m is the tag i use when i repost my own work

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[viixen01]

✰ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ✰

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[lizardboiii]

ANGER MANAGEMENT┃R. Sukuna

[Possessive!Sukuna x Fem!Reader]

・❥・

│Summary: Anger management was by no means your strong suit. No amount of lessons or prayers could change that. In fact, it feels like you’ve been doing a lot worse lately with the appearance of a new neighbor in your next door apartment.

“You're an insufferable bastard and I hope you move.”

“Eat shit and die.”

“Fuck you.”

・❥・

│cw: 18+, Slight NSFW, vulgar language, younger sibling behavior

│w/c: 4.5k

│chapters: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii)

│notes: Quality sibling time is enhanced with spaghetti propaganda. NeighborsAU!, AncestorsAU!

・❥・

│Chapter II : INFURIATED

Hiding from your problems was one thing, but hiding from someone who lived directly next door was another. After your little ‘session’, guilt struck you like a truck. There was no way you could look Sukuna in the eyes in your current state.

So, here you were today sitting at home like always but with one thing different. Obnoxiously loud rock music barreled through your apartment like a hurricane. Your walls shook vigorously with every base drop.

Now normally you’d give your sweetheart neighbor a pleasant surprise visit, but not today. You had gone two days in a row without seeing his face, and you definitely needed another week to even hear his voice.

Cringing, you thought back to how you've been practically sneaking out of your own apartment when leaving for work. It was routine at this point, poke your head out, look both directions, and make a b-line for the elevator. You were surprised with how well it was actually working out.

Sighing in defeat you swaddled yourself with a blanket on your couch in some hope of drowning out the music. You groaned when you noticed the music somehow getting louder.

That’s it. Whipping up to your feet, you haphazardly threw your blanket to the ground and stormed over to your door. Practically tearing the door off its hinges, you entered the hall virtually frothing at the mouth.

Your anger carried you over to Sukuna’s door with a quickly extinguishing confidence. You stood before the white door and bit your lip. You’d be able to look at him, right? You didn’t even really do anything bad, right? 

Letting out a deep sigh you facepalmed. You were by no means a coward, but right now you felt like one. Raising your fist to knock, you held it still in another moment of hesitation. Should you just suck it up and go home?

However, fate had chosen for you as the door suddenly swung open up to a taken aback Sukuna. His eyebrows rose at your smaller figure, hand still lingering in the air.

You were quick to put your hand down, “Could you turn down the music?”

Sukuna leered at you, “No yelling this time?”

Flashes from two days ago entered your brain. Sukuna’s rough voice, deep and dangerously addictive.

Shamefully, you bore your eyes into the floor and mumbled, “Just turn the damn music down.”

You heard Sukuna shift above you, a thoughtful hum passing through his lips, “I can’t hear you.”

You shoved your heels into the ground, “Turn down the music, please.”

Sukuna whistled, “And a 'please' too? What’s gotten into you, piggy?”

You felt like you could tear your hair out. Looking back up at him through your lashes you scowled at him. His red eyes scanned your face with such amusement you wanted to punch him again.

“Turn down the fucking music, scum.”

Sukuna smiled wildly. You noted how his pearly white teeth held a slight sharpness to them. Like a predator.

“No.”

You snarled at his pleased expression. What the hell did you even expect? In the spur of the moment an idea shot through your head as you glanced behind him. His dreaded speaker sat passively on his kitchen counter, music still flowing out of it in waves.

“Move.”

Sukuna raised his brow before you shoved his body aside and stormed in. You’d never been in his place before, only catching glimpses whenever you fought.

The room smelled faintly of a sharp woodsy scent, something you recognized but weren’t sure from where. Scanning the entrance you noticed his place was the same layout as your own apartment only flipped.

It was surprisingly neat too. The entire place was organized without a single dish in the sink. You cringed when you thought back to the state of your own apartment. He put you to shame. 

A large hand hastily grabbed the back of your collar and pulled, choking you in the process, “Where the hell do you think you're going?”

You grabbed Sukuna’s hand and tried to pry it off, “If your so incapable of turning down your own music your poor considerate neighbor will help.”

Sukuna pulled your form closer to his chest, “I don’t think so, rat.”

You struggled against his grasp causing his other arm to wrap tightly around your waist. You cursed under breath at the secure hold.

Sukuna leaned down into your ear and chuckled, “Listen if you wanted in so bad you could’ve just asked.”

You swallowed hard at your predicament. Pressed up against him, you could feel the outline of his toned chest engulfing your back. His arms felt impossibly muscular, trapping you tightly with them. 

Slowly, the hand that fit snugly against your waist made its way higher, directly pushing underneath your breasts. 

Your heart was beating so fast you could hear the thumping in your ears, “Get off.”

Sukuna’s other hand moved from the collar of your shirt to roughly grab your chin. Harshly pulling your face up, he grinned at your panicked expression, “What if I don’t want to?”

Your face burned at his proximity. Too close. Trying to pull your face away, you winced when Sukuna’s calloused hands squeezed your face harder. The crescent of his nails dug into your skin creating small droplets of blood.

Trying to ignore the ache in your cheeks, you glared into his sharpened eyes. You could swear their eerie red shone brighter. Swallowing, you watched him glance from your eyes to your lips then back to your eyes again.

You internally scolded yourself as you found your eyes doing the same. However, you lingered on his lips for far longer. They looked soft. The curve of his cupid's bow looked as if they might even fit perfectly with yours. 

Mindlessly, you felt yourself lean forward into him, eyes still locked on his lips. How would he taste? Minty? Or perhaps sweeter?

You bit your lip and forced yourself to draw back, this was not the time to be seduced by your neighbor. A dark chuckle made you return your eyes back up to deep red ones.

“Scared of a little kiss?” Sukuna pulled you forwards, lips just grazing your own, “Or just scared you’ll like it.”

Your body shivered as you closed your eyes, “Fuck off.”

SLAM

“BROTHERRRRRR!!”

You flinched so hard at the new voice you thought your soul left your body. Tearing your face away from Sukuna’s grip, you tried to shove him off you. Sukuna’s grip reluctantly gave way as he turned his attention to the new intruder.

“Yuuji,” you swallowed hard at the venom that laced Sukuna’s voice, “Why are you here so early?”

Yuuji merely scratched the back of his neck laughing off his brother’s bitterness, “I figured since I was late last time I’d come a bit early today!”

Sukuna rubbed his face with a deep sigh, “Of course you did.”

You sucked in your cheeks at an oblivious Yuuji. You had to thank the kid though. He just saved your sorry ass from becoming a certain playboy’s next victim of the night.

Pouting at his brother, Yuuji’s eyes eventually found you, “Hey (y/n)! How’s it going?”

You shrugged, “Better now.”

Glancing over, you side eyed an irritated Sukuna. He glared down at you with disdain as you threw him a fake sympathetic look.

“Are you here for dinner too?” Yuuji smiled brightly as he pulled two full grocery bags from behind his back.

“No-” “Yep!”

You quickly cut off Sukuna with a malicious grin. Hey, if you had to suffer through his music he could afford you a meal. 

A large hand started shoving your back towards the door, “No. She was just leaving.”

You dug your feet into the ground, pushing against him, “Hey!”

“What!? No way! You have to stay!” Yuuji jumped in front of your path waving his arms frantically, “We have more than enough to spare anyway!”

Sukuna’s hands moved to grip your shoulders tightly, “I’m feeling pretty hungry.”

“Pleaseeeeeee,” Yuuji held his hands out in prayer.

You flinched as Sukuna’s grip strengthened, “Fine. She can stay for just dinner.”

Yuuji shot his hands up in the air in victory, “Yes! Let’s get cooking!”

You smiled at his cheery form. He was just as bright as the first time you ran into him.

・❥・

A soft knock rang out through your apartment as you sat on your couch painting your nails. Sighing heavily you set your polish down and shook your hand to dry it. Blowing on your freshly drying nails you opened the door to see…a familiar figure???

Your eyes widened at the sight of a tinier Sukuna. Though, this one had light brown eyes that looked as if they were melted gold. His hair was messier too, with black roots below his matching pink hair which contrasted with Sukuna’s pure pink look.

In some sick coincidence his face sported two tiny birthmarks under his eyes that matched the two tattoos under Sukuna’s eyes. There was no doubt he was another spawn from wherever the hell Sukuna crawled out of.

You stared at his form in a stupor, “Uh, hello?”

The boy’s eyes widened in confusion as he frantically looked at you then down to a scrap of paper in his hand, “Uhhhh, sorry I think I have the wrong apartment!”

You laughed at his troubled expression, “I take it you're related to another certain pink haired gentleman?”

You gagged in your mind. Gentleman your ass.

The boy ruffled his hair and laughed tiredly, “Right on the mark.”

You pointed to the door next to yours, “One over.”

He followed your finger and smiled brightly, “Ah, thank you so much…”

You lifted your hand, “(y/n) (l/n).”

“Itadori Yuuji! I’m here visiting my brother,” He firmly grasped your hand and shook it.

You felt taken aback by the strange interaction. It felt like you were in some alternate dimension with a normal well behaved Sukuna. 

“Well Yuuji, I must say you are far more pleasant than that brother of yours, that’s for sure.” 

Yuuji laughed, “I get that a lot.”

You matched his smile with your own, “It was nice meeting you, Yuuji. I hope to see you around some time, it’s nice to have a civil conversation for once.”

Why couldn’t this one have moved in next door?

“Same here, see you around (y/n)!” Yuuji threw you a salute before spinning on his heel.

You watched as he trudged over to the correct apartment and knocked. Poor kid, having to deal with that asshole for a brother. Not bothering to have another altercation with Sukuna, you quickly retreated into your apartment and returned to your nails. Grumbling when you noticed you managed to smear one.

・❥・

You smiled fondly at the memory as you watched Yuuji cook from the kitchen’s island counter. To your astonishment you managed to run into him far more than you thought you would after your first encounter. He surprisingly visited Sukuna several times a week. 

Soon enough, you managed to find out he went to the local university as a student. He lived in the freshman dorms but stayed with Sukuna whenever he wanted some alone time. You grimised at the thought of Sukuna being a safe haven. As if.

Speaking of the devil, Sukuna stood next to Yuuji cutting up tomatoes for the spaghetti sauce. As much as you liked watching him slave away for you, you figured you might as well help out as a courtesy for Yuuji.

You called out from the counter, “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

Yuuji hummed, “You're our guest, no need to worry!”

Sukuna scoffed next to him, “It’s better if she doesn’t get her hands on the food anyway. Who knows what she’d put in it.”

You frowned, “I’ll have you know I’m a fantastic cook!”

Sukuna turned to you with a sly grin, “Is that why I constantly hear your fire alarm going off?”

Clenching your fist on the table you snarled, “Some foods are better burnt!”

His eyebrows turned inward, “Like what?”

You chewed on your lip looking for an answer before you abruptly stood up and walked over to him. Snagging up a knife, you held your hand out for a tomato.

“I’ll show you how good I am.”

Sukuna held your gaze tauntingly before he dropped a small tomato in your hand, “Then show me.”

You huffed and set the tomato down on the cutting board. Slicing, you went slow trying to make all the cuts even. You scowled as your plan failed, only making your cuts even more uneven. 

Turning to Sukuna, you looked to see how he was faring. There was no way he was doing that much better than you. 

Your eye twitched in disbelief as you watched him cut through tomatoes at the speed of light, each slice perfect. 

Sukuna side eyed you, “Need some help?”

You growled and slammed your knife into the tomato harder, “No.”

You halted your movements when you heard an annoyed sigh and the drop of a knife. Casually, Sukuna placed himself behind you and wrapped his arms around either side of you. His left hand immediately grabbed your own and helped you hold the tomato steady while his right assisted your cutting.

“No need to take it so slow,” Sukuna lifted your hand and brought it down firmly, “A good rhythm is all you need.”

You grumbled and followed his movements, the feeling of his body becoming a lot more apparent.

Sukuna leaned into your ear, “Just like that.”

You flushed as he sped up his pace, slicing the tomato faster. Your senses felt on overdrive as you drowned in his cologne, something you ignored earlier in favor of staring at his lips. You held the knife harder trying to ignore the growing heat in your stomach.

“You're doing so good for me.”

The knife sliced through the final chunk with blaringly loud ringing. You felt like you were on fire. 

“Good girl.”

Keeping your gaze on the chopped tomato, you prayed Yuuji was too preoccupied to look to his left. But just as quickly as your tomato was cut, Sukuna’s warmth was gone.

Wordlessly, you glanced to your left at a humming Yuuji. You flinched in surprise when you noticed him glance over as well. He threw you a cheeky grin and raised his eyebrows, eyes darting between you and Sukuna. 

Your jaw twitched as you playfully punched him, “Quite, brat. I just needed help with cutting.”

Yuuji smiled smugly, “Sureeeee~”

Another punch to his arm sent him into a laughing fit. Little brat. You were starting to see the Sukuna in him right now.

・❥・

Laying on your stomach on the living room floor, your mouth was watering at the smell exiting the kitchen. You sighed pitifully as your stomach groaned. How much longer?

The blessing ding of a timer made your head snap up in the direction of the oven. An equally carnivorous Yuuji rocketed through the kitchen and grabbed a testing spoon. You watched fervently as he tasted the sauce.

With a hungry grin Yuuji turned to you, “It is complete.”

You jumped to your feet and made a mad dash to the kitchen, “Finally!”

Like starved animals you both hastily grabbed plates and began dumping pounds of freshly made spaghetti on them. Yuuji snagged a pitcher of water before he claimed a seat at the table as you followed in suit.

Excitedly, Yuuji lifted his filled fork up to his mouth only for a hand to grab his head. Sukuna frowned at him, “You didn’t save any for me, brat.”

Hearing his words you looked at Yuuji and then the empty pot. Sheepishly scratching the back of your head, you grabbed a spare plate and began dumping your extra servings onto it. Hesitantly, Yuuji coughed up some of his own before placing the plate down in front of Sukuna’s seat.

Sukuna merely sighed at your childishness and pulled out his chair to sit down in front of you. You were thankful you weren’t sitting next to him but you weren’t sure if sitting across from him was any better.

Twirling your fork in your noodles, you watched the brothers playfully interact. Yuuji shook his fork in defense at Sukuna who was attempting to steal more food. The two argued like a married couple.

You smiled softly at the sight before a soft pang hit your heart. You thought back to your own family. The home cooked meals, careless banter, attentive family members. But that was long gone. You had run from them like you always ran from everything.

Your mistakes had done enough damage for a lifetime, you couldn’t afford to be in the presence of their sympathetic eyes. 

“(y/n)?”

You glanced over to a concerned Yuuji. Well, concerned from what you could tell. Sukuna’s hand took over most of his face as he was shoved away.

You let out a puff of air at the sight, “Hm?”

“PROTECT MY LAST MEATBALL!”

Your eyes widened as Yuuji flung a stray meatball from his fork at you.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” 

You scrambled to catch the loose meat before it hit the floor, recoiling at the wet feeling of the sauce. The sudden screech of a chair indicated a pissed Sukuna bolting from his seat. 

“Put that down!”

You panicked as Sukuna stormed over to you. A quick flash of Yuuji throwing his hands over his head asking you to pass made you sigh.

Sukuna picked up his pace, “DON’T YOU DARE!”

In defiance, you chucked the meatball at Yuuji as Sukuna reached you. The sphere flew through the air before Yuuji caught it in his hand. Sukuna snarled as he lunged at Yuuji.

Laughing hysterically, Yuuji threw the meatball back at you as Sukuna wrestled him to the ground. Catching the meatball, you gaped at the pair of brothers fighting.

Yuuji flung his body around wildly trying to escape Sukuna’s relentless hold. A swift kick to Sukuna’s face made you snort.

Yuuji screamed when Sukuna regained the upper hand causing you to grab the counter trying to catch your breath. You shook uncontrollably as your laughter slowly became unstoppable.

“KAHH, (Y/N) HELP ME!!!!”

Yuuji struggled on the ground as Sukuna pinned his arms behind his back. You sucked air through your teeth at the sight, “You're on your own for this one, pal.”

Yuuji cried out as Sukuna slammed his body down one last time before he lashed at you, “Throw that shit away right now.”

You smirked at his aggravated expression before dropping the meatball to the ground, “Opps.”

The precious meatball landed on the tiled kitchen floor with a sickening plop. All at once Yuuji cried out in loss as Sukuna yelled in frustration. Letting go of his brother, Sukuna sprinted at your form.

You laughed harder and ran behind the island counter. Sukuna slammed his hands on the marbled surface as he glared at you from across, “Clean that shit up, right now.”

You flipped him off, “Kiss my ass.”

You yelped in surprise when Sukuna abruptly hurled himself over the counter and grabbed you. Pulling you over the island, he picked you up by your hips and threw you unceremoniously over his shoulder. 

You lifted yourself up on his shoulders and pounded on his back, “Put me down, asshole!”

Sukuna rolled his eyes, “Fine.”

You cried out when he ruthlessly threw you down on the couch. Your body bounced up and down from the force as you scowled up at an annoyed Sukuna. Beside you, Yuuji lay drained on the floor as he cracked up laughing at Sukuna's pissed face. 

Crossing his arms, Sukuna frowned at you both, “You’ll both be cleaning my kitchen if you ever plan to leave this place alive.”

You glanced at Yuuji who gave you a look before he mocked Sukuna, “Who died and made you king?”

The stomach-turning cracking of Sukuna’s knuckles shut Yuuji up immediately, “I mean, yes sir!”

You smiled, “I suppose I could help as well.”

Getting up from your spot, you and Yuuji quickly got to work cleaning the mess. Yuuji washed the dirty dishes while you sat on the floor scrubbing the sauce the meatball left off.

Wiping up the soapy water from the floor, your brows creased as legs came into your view. Glancing up you frowned at a smirking Sukuna.

“That’s a good look for you.”

You sat up from your crouched position and rubbed your back, “What do you mean?”

“On your knees in front of me.”

You choked on your spit, “What-”

Smooth laughter mocked you as you quickly stood to your feet. You crossed you arms and glared at him, “Your fucking disgusting.”

Sukuna leaned his back against the counter, “Damn, and I was getting used to the view.”

You threw your dirtried rag at his face. A swift hand easily caught it and threw it back. Agitated, you tossed it on the counter, “You're insufferable.”

Sukuna laughed, “You're an easy target.”

Before you could wring his throat, a cheery Yuuji let out a loud exaggerated sigh, “I can’t believe the night is almost over.”

Thank god. You were starting to realize how much you hated Sukuna again.

“Wait!” You flinched at Yuuji’s mood switch, “Let’s watch a movie!”

“Absolutely not.”

Yuuji pouted at his brother's words, “Come on! I never get to hang with (y/n)! I bet you get to all the time!”

You internally cringed. Like you’d ever willingly hang out with Sukuna alone. 

Yuuji huffed as he realized his begging was getting nowhere with Sukuna. Finding another solution Yuuji turned his attention to you.

Throwing you puppy eyes Yuuji stuck out his lower lip, “Pleaseee!”

“No-” “Alright.”

Cutting off Sukuna, you resigned yourself to Yuuji’s pouting. What can you say, you were a sucker for the golden retriever ones. At least your presence would annoy Sukuna.

Yuuji smiled, “Alright!”

You sighed, “What movie?”

Yuuji scratched his chin, “Anything with Jennifer Lawrence.”

You deadpanned at his response. Of course.

Once you finished cleaning you were quickly moved by Yuuji into the open living room. Claiming a seat on the end of Sukuna’s couch, you curled up in a ball and watched Yuuji scroll through Netflix. 

He currently sat on the floor with his back propped up against the edge of the couch. A pillow tucked comfortably behind his back. Sukuna, on the other hand, sat on the opposite end of the couch, his legs taking up the rest of the L shape.

“Just pick a damn movie already.”

Yuuji huffed, “Then you pick!”

Sukuna rested his head on his fist, “No.”

Yuuji exclaimed a loud sigh before settling on a random movie, “If this sucks, that's on you.”

Sukuna moved his foot to kick Yuuji in the back of the head, making him yelp and rub his scalp. You shook your head at their antics and tried to focus on the start of the movie. 

You blinked when a certain female character came on screen. Jennifer Lawrence. You looked at Yuuji who was staring at the screen intensely. Shoving your fist into your mouth, you tried to contain your laughter. At least he’ll be happy even if the movie blows.

・❥・

Sweltering. 

You were so hot you felt like you were dying. 

Attempting to turn to your side you froze when you realized you couldn’t. Peaking your eyes open, your mouth dropped when you came face to chest with a larger body. 

It didn’t take you long to realize you were cuddled up with Sukuna on the longer portion of the couch. 

His right arm curled suggestively around your waist and rested on your hip bone. While your own arm clung possessively over his chest. 

You gawked at the situation. Internally freaking out, you tried to free yourself as quickly and as quietly as possible. You must’ve fallen asleep during the movie, but how you got in this position was beyond you.

Gently slipping out of Sukuna’s loose grip, you carefully sat up. You blinked again in confusion when a newly appeared blanket slipped off you and cascaded down onto Sukuna’s chest. That wasn’t there either last night.

You rubbed the bridge of your nose and checked the time on your phone, 3:04am. Shit it was late. You’ve definitely overstayed your welcome.

Moving to stand up, you jolted when a large hand captured your wrist and pulled you back. Its frigid temperature cooled the aching heat of your skin. 

Quickly, you snapped your head over to what you thought was a sleeping Sukuna in shock. His head laid lazily on top of his folded arm as his tired eyes took in your shape.

“Where are you going?”

You shivered at the raspiness that took hold of his voice, “Home.”

A shift from below you made you tear your gaze away from him. Looking at the floor, you eyed a sprawled out Yuuji who was snoring loudly in the center of the living room.

“Why?” Sukuna’s thumb slowly traced circles in your wrist, almost enticing you to stay.

You went to answer before strong arms captured your waist, “Just stay. It’s already late.”

You clutched the previously discarded blanket as Sukuna’s hands rubbed up and down your sides, feeling every curve you had to offer.

Slowly, a hand crept underneath your shirt caressing your bare skin. Its icy touch shot sparks through your entire body. 

“I can’t.”

You shuddered when your shirt lifted slightly as soft lips kissed your lower back. Their fullness sensually traced the dip of your spine before lifting away.

“Stay,” A rough thumb swiped tantalizingly slow underneath your waistband, ghosting over your v-line.

All you could manage was a silent nod as Sukuna’s arms pulled you back into him. His straying hands returned back to your stomach and clutched your body close. You closed your eyes and allowed him to bury himself in the crook of your neck.

His faint breath tickled your neck slightly before his lips started to trail the curve of your shoulder. You gasped lightly when he stopped near the crevasse of your neck and bit hard. He sucked and nipped at the spot making you tremble before he licked it clean.

Pushing his face further into your newly formed bruise you heard his breathing even out, signaling him falling asleep. Once soft snores entered your ear you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

Allowing yourself to melt in his grasp you sighed, were you still dreaming? When you wake up will that mark still be there or was this just another one of your perverse hallucinations?

You squeezed your eyes shut. A small part of you prayed it wasn’t the last. That it was real. But you’d never admit that. 

Tonight you’d allow yourself to be wrapped up in intoxicating arms. The hatred that filled them turned still until the morning. Once you woke up you’d go back to how things were. The buffer of Yuuji no longer containing the festering anger that crawled beneath your skin. 

You’d go back to despising Sukuna.

｡･:*˚:✧⤷

・❥・

[wenumsmol]

Ｍａｓｔｅｒｌｉｓｔ

𝕊𝕦𝕜𝕦𝕟𝕒 (𝕐𝕦𝕛𝕚) 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

Content Advisory: Fem Reader, Eventual Smut, Eventual Dark Content, Sukuna/Yuji Hybrid, Exterminator Sukuna (by day)/Rocker Ryo (by night), Reader Has Trauma, Mentions Of Being Abused (Reader), Graphic Everything (If you can't stomach content covering abuse, stalking, and sexual assault this isn't a fic you want to read. I'm going all in), Bartender Reader, Reader has a kitty and a cat (lol). //Male Masturbation//

ᴛʜʀᴏᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴜᴀʟɪᴛʏ ᴘʟᴀʏʟɪꜱᴛ

Ｔａｂｌｅ ｏｆ Ｃｏｎｔｅｎｔｓ

𝐂𝐡.𝟏: 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠. (posted).

𝐂𝐡.𝟐: 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞//𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐓𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡. (posted).

𝐂𝐡.𝟑: 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝. (pending).

Minors do not interact. Minors and ageless blogs will be blocked. Comment on this post to be added to the Taglist! Ageless blogs will be blocked, so make sure you have your adult status or specific age visible on your blog. Do not repost my works as your own! All of my works belong to me.

[macawritesupdates]

hey hey hey! idk if you will accept this, but i wanna see a mainly angsty sukita fanfic, alpha!yuuji and omega!sukuna, one where sukuna and yuuji used to be close, but then sukuna notices yuuji starting to drift away from him and become more distant sometime in their relationship. he gets worried and tries to ask yuuji about it, but yuuji always ignores the topic when it comes on mind. sukuna tries to change for yuuji, maybe by acting more submissive or being more kind (that depends on you on what type of changes!) to yuuji, trying to win him back. ngl idk what else to add, but im just really sadistic so i enjoy angsty fanfics. the rest depends on you, but i know the readers will love it if you end it happily:) depends! thats all, ty! (sorry for the bad writing im more of a reader than a writer, also i really love your works and your motivation to write so much for your requests 😭)

You asked for it ; w ; Here is a super angst Sukita where I did not give it the happy ending as it seemed you wanted this request to rip a heart out ; w ;

SO WARNING FOR SUPER HEAVY ANGST ON THIS ONE. MUCH ANGST, NO COMFORT. ALL HURTY. >>Trigger warning for suicide mention<<

<<CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: A Change of Heart <<

[fleurdelluna]

tags!