Chapter Text
“ Uraume. Can you arrange a meeting for me with Kenjaku? ” Yuuji told the bob-haired monk, previously serving Sukuna but now had devoted loyalty for Yuuji when Sukuna had merged into Yuuji ’ s soul.
They knew what Sukuna had told of Yuuji, how it went from degrading to affectionate, and said that if anything should happen to him, Uraume should serve Yuuji. Yuuji for one was not comfortable being put in a position of worship, though he and Uraume came to an agreement, a middle ground where Uraume should be less formal, at least.
As Yuuji was told by the sorcerer, their service was due for Yuuji, but because of Sukuna’s affiliation with Kenjaku, they were also bounded to Kenjaku to some extent. Now that Sukuna was gone, Uraume’s business with Kenjaku revolved around updating the godforsaken brain of a sorcerer about Yuuji and his development—his new techniques and new strengths, just changes in him as a sorcerer. The calamity Kenjaku wanted him to be, if Yuuji weren’t so keen to being good. Well... Now he’s barely good, barely bad. All he had was his conscience as a guide.
“ I shall arrange something for you, Yuuji-sama, ” Uraume uttered before being excused by Yuuji to leave the premises, “ If I may ask, why? You two are not... accomplices. ”
“ About time I meet dear mother, don ’ t you think? ” Yuuji answered, hollow in his sarcasm. He knew Kenjaku would accept the offer because he had zero reason to reject it. This was his chance to coax Yuuji after all, and Yuuji may have something to bargain with him.
He had given Uraume a month to do two tasks; arrange his meeting with Kenjaku in that month as well as find the other 5 of Sukuna ’ s fingers that he knew Jujutsu Tech hadn ’ t found yet. With the Shibuya incident the year before, it ’ s likely that anyone who had any of the five fingers would keep it under wraps for their own benefit and protection.
With Yuuji’s newfound status—a Special Grade sorcerer, Sukuna’s vessel who obtained his techniques, as well as Kenjaku’s son (which Yuuji hadn’t bothered telling anyone, but that had its own soul markup he discovered), he could be a force of nature if he chose to. He could cause chaos if he willed. He wouldn’t, given enough self control, but both sorcerers and curse users (or sentient curses) would be willing to serve him out of fear. That was a theory, but he knew it’s more than likely.
It ’ s as if he had everything under his thumb, except Sukuna.
Sukuna sacrificed himself to save Yuuji from his suicide attempt, his own sacrifice, and Satoru had hurt him, out of his own exhaustion of picking up after Yuuji
’
s mess. There was no telling of what Yuuji should do. So he went to the closest person he had to an actual family member, other than Choso.
His own mother.
“Quite the choice of location,” Yuuji commented when he had reached a reserved table of an expensive cafe. Or rather, the whole top floor were reserved because it seemed deliberately emptied for privacy reasons.
“If it was too secluded, you’d run away, right?”
“How ridiculous. I’m the one who proposed for a meeting,” Yuuji said with a hollow smile, one of courtesy as he pulled the seat back when he was well seated across the long-haired guy, “Mother.”
Kenjaku, or pseudo-Geto, seemed pleased to say the least seeing Yuuji up close like that. A proper meeting. The both of them dressed in a more casual wear (though Kenjaku just changed his usual Buddhist robe to a typical kimono in the same dark blue shade). He didn’t know what curse or user that accompanied him, when Yuuji had Uraume waiting for him to his side, standing up with a level of loyalty he still hadn’t gotten used to. Then again, Geto didn’t really need anyone to stand guard, when he could summon whatever curse that Geto had consumed within him.
“Seemed that you figured it out. Did Uraume tell you?” he mused, and Yuuji simply shrugged.
“Nah. Got a premonition dream when I died the second time.” The conversation seemed too casual for what should have been one between two rivals of the Jujutsu world. But at this point, it seemed that neither of them cared about that sort of formality and who sided with who. They’re here for a discussion, as so it shall be that.
“What do you want to discuss with me then?” Kenjaku asked once they both settled comfortably. As comfortable as Yuuji could be, at least, face to face with who’s practically their biggest enemy. Was it a bad idea that he’s meeting Kenjaku behind everyone’s back? No one except Uraume knew about this.
“Oh, a lot of things,” Yuuji said, “Don’t know where to start yet though.”
He didn’t know what to feel about Kenjaku looking like Suguru Geto. Or rather, wearing Geto’s body like a puppet. Ironically, it’s like Kenjaku was a core within a cursed corpse. He knew Geto was a face he recognized when he peeked into Gojo’s memory, and that he’s important to him. Lately he’s just in a constant state of confusion of what to feel, so indifference was something easier.
“We have all day. You’re my son after all, so I cleared my whole day for you,” the man spoke with the ever present smile, with the constant malice within the curve of the lips but somehow also amusement or affection. Negative and positive in one smile.
Kenjaku had told Uraume to call for a waiter, to which Kenjaku then ordered pastries and drinks for the both of them (which thankfully Kenjaku was still... human, so the food he ordered catered to it. Also he had a palate from Geto as well). Once the waiter made his way back downstairs, they could finally continue with the conversation without drawing attention.
“Don’t know if I want to refer to you as this old ass evil sorcerer or my mom. This is... confusing. And fucked up, but that’s not a surprise coming from you,” Yuuji commented, eyeing him with a disgusted frown. Just the thought of a brain... like Kenjaku... inside a dead person—
“Wow, harsh,” Kenjaku laughed, making Yuuji frown deeper.
“It’s not like you raised me. There’s no emotional attachment here. Of course I’m a little harsh.”
Kenjaku didn’t seem fazed, nor that he seemed to have anything to say to that. The smile grew even more eerie and even more artificial now, though the body itself was already an artificial body considering that Geto was dead. The same waiter earlier had came up the stairs with their order, and while he was placing the plates and cups on the table, Yuuji was thinking through what to ask first. With the waiter now gone, he figured he’d ask Kenjaku from the perspective that he was also the one conceiving Yuuji.
“I know you made me to be a vessel but why did you leave in the first place?” “I mean, even not because of a personal want, wouldn’t it be easier to keep track of me if you just raised me? Bit odd to let me decide what side to be on, when you and Sukuna are as evil as one can be.”
To grow up without parents—sure he didn’t care at first, because he had his grandpa to raise him. But his grandfather was admitted to the hospital when he was still young, He was not even halfway through his teens either. And his grandpa being there for him didn’t erase the fact that he was an orphan being taken in. Anyone would feel hollow knowing that everyone else had their parents when he grew up in the neighbourhood. And when his granpa died, he technically had no one else left.
Maybe he’s used to being independent, so it didn’t break him down as much as he thought he would. But if it weren’t for the fact that he was scouted into Jujutsu Tech immediately after his grandpa died, he would definitely be without any family left, no matter how malicious they were.
“Well, Yuuji, I’m not a curse. Given enough time and prodding from your overly nice father, it might ruin my plan. It’s a possibility for me to get attached or emotionally invested in worldly things, then not proceed with setting you up to consume Sukuna,” Kenjaku explained when he twirled a small spoon for his coffee, breaking the surface of decorated coffee art foam.
“Why me, though. That I still don’t get,” Yuuji asked. Maybe I should just be casual if he’s ordering all of these anyway... Yuuji thought that as he took one of the cream pastry—fruits pillowed by whipped cream in the middle of a square layered pastry. He’s used to sweeter pastries because of Gojo, and this was milder for sure.
Kenjaku’s expression clearly perked, excited that the question was even asked. Everything he did has reasons, including the choice of partner to create Yuuji. Even someone as malevolent as him would be pleased to have the chance to talk about such a gem he found, that no one else did.
“The Itadori family bloodline... You have no idea how powerful your ancestors are,” he started explaining, getting Yuuji’s full attention, “Some would say it’s related to one of the three of Japan’s infamous vengeful spirits. I’m sure you’re familiar with one of it being the ancestor of your dear Gojo Satoru. A buried bloodline, you are. I’ll leave that for you to discover but if the sorcerers can’t even find out your family history just like how they did with Okkotsu, I doubt they can with you. That’s how rare you are.”
With how much surprises his bloodline had been to him, every new knowledge more surprising than the last, Yuuji couldn’t find it in himself to actually reject what he had said. But someone that used to be so mediocre as he was, to belong to this ancient bloodline—was it a pact that kept his techniques hidden at first? He knew some legends mentioned of cursing a bloodline for 7 generations or some shit like that. Maybe it’s something similar but in a form of a Binding Vow? That kind of risk would increase the likelihood of Yuuji being a perfect vessel.
“Isn’t that more of a reason for you to keep me or something?” Yuuji hovered his palm over the coffee cup in front of him, seeing how it’s still a little too hot to drink. Sweet pastries with a mildly bitter coffee was a pretty good pair. Ironic to his fate of being the sweet entity paired with everything evil in his blood.
“I don’t have to. You, Yuuji, are fated to inflict chaos. You have all the means to do that. You just need a little more push of tragedy, and I’m sure you can be as much of a calamity as Sukuna once was. Well, you now possess his techniques and knowledge right? And since your seppuku, your sacrifice, the Heavenly Restriction broke. Have you found the techniques etched onto your soul from my, well, your buried bloodline?” That was when Yuuji saw the more familiar gaze filled with evil intent. A gaze meant to sway or scare Yuuji, somehow. Convince? All Yuuji felt was challenged.
“...Choso and the others’ seem to have blood related techniques though. Mine are different,” Yuuji commented. The technique apart of Sukuna’s—none of it were blood related. Maybe because of his buried bloodline, and that’s why he was the perfect specimen for Kenjaku? The techniques... He had to hide it from everyone even with the constant surveillance on his progress. No wonder Kenjaku said he could inflict chaos if he chose to. He had enough power to be a menace.
“You’re sharp. Have you forgotten, Yuuji? You’re a one in a million outlier than the other sorcerers. You have a lot of potential with all these hidden bloodline and inherited techniques. Bit of a shame if you don’t use it.”
“I’m not planning on world annihilation, if that’s what you’re trying to imply. I’m still a Jujutsu sorcerer, after all,” he raised the cup to his lips, taking careful sips of the warm drink—cooled enough for being under the constant air conditioner.
“I know you won’t go that far. Your kindness and sympathy had solidified on your soul so I’m aware that’s not possible,” Kenjaku leaned back against his seat, crossing his arms.
“Then what is?” Yuuji asked in a testing tone, a little annoyed with all these interpretive dances of words, “I have a feeling that you planned something similar because you were eager to seal Satoru.”
“Mhm, my son had grown smarter,” he hummed with slight pride, tilting his head observing Yuuji who frowned at the term of endearment used.
“Don’t call me that,” Yuuji muttered in unease, but Kenjaku just smirked, not caring for it.
“You unsealing him had caused a huge delay to my plans but I have planned this for centuries. A few months made no difference to me,” his tone changed back to the more casual-formal tone earlier rather than the pretentious affectionate one, “I’m conducting the Culling Games. Where sorcerers are free to kill, and should kill, until the strongest survive.”
Yuuji audibly voiced out his doubt—a long ‘eh’ being dramatically stretched out as if Kenjaku just told him the weirdest plan for a school project. A game? Really? So this was why he used Idle Transfiguration on Tengen’s barrier across the whole country. And because of that, does that mean this game would happen all over Japan? Of course Yuuji would find it absurd.
“That doesn’t explain why. You sealed Satoru just to host a fight club? Bit of a reach.”
“Of course I’m not telling you the hidden agenda, because you’re still a Jujutsu sorcerer who may spill the whole truths to the Jujutsu authorities. The Culling games are just a catalyst of what I needed. But you have much less trust in them now, have you?” Kenjaku teased. Testing to see where Yuuji ultimately stood based on his own belief. And the silence that followed from Yuuji was enough of an answer. It was a good answer. A mouldable morale.
“Instead of a worldwide genocide,” Kenjaku said when Yuuji didn’t have much to offer, “How would you feel about a massacre within the game? Majority of the sorcerers would be reincarnated sorcerers in their own vessels, or modern sorcerers. Oh so many evil, convoluted people. Some curses, some civilians. You can unleash your beast there.”
“You’re telling me all this as if you’re confident I’m going into this bear trap of a plan you made,” Yuuji said at his offer, almost offended too. Like, what did Kenjaku think he was to do as far as that for fun? He wasn’t like Kenjaku, even if he was his mother.
“Bit sad if my own son wouldn’t join, especially when your mother is the game master. The mastermind. I want to see first hand what you can do,” he faked a sulk as he said that, feigning disappointment and sadness, “And I know you have a bargain in mind. A binding vow, perhaps? Let’s have a civil chat about a pact to be forged between mother and son, why don’t we?”
Right. Of course Kenjaku would read through his intention of even meeting him for a discussion. There’s no way he met Kenjaku to talk him out of evil, even Yuuji knew what would work or not.
“What are your conditions, then? Only when I hear from your side, then I’ll consider if I’m going to play along,” Yuuji said. Kenjaku was someone who had lived for a long long time so it’s best if he listened to how heavy his first condition was. The main, priority condition. And it could even just be a regular thing.
A Binding Vow was a pact, which would be a favour for a favour, but there’s a few different ways it’s done. There’s a temporary vow in which used for tasks, such as how Yuuta made a vow to kill him. Once it’s done, it’s done. The vow would be fulfilled. Then there’s a longer term one, such as how Sukuna once created a pact with him where he could say Extention for body control for 60 seconds, in which doesn’t expire after just one time. This kind of Binding Vow ends when one of the pact holder dies. Then it’d be null.
So if ultimately the pact he’d form with Kenjaku grew too much, all he had to do was kill him. If Yuuji was a force of nature in the making—a chaos not even Kenjaku could control once he relished morality, then he knew he could kill Kenjaku and free Geto’s body. Then the Jujutsu world would owe him for eradicating a huge threat.
“Your participation in the Culling games as Itadori Yuuji is my main condition so why don’t we work around that hm?” Kenjaku proposed.
Well, he did say he wanted Yuuji to join the game so it shouldn’t surprise him that he’d utilize the binding factor of the pact to grant that wish. Why was he so desperate for Yuuji to let loose? Was it because once he tasted full power and privilege, he would easily turn to the dark side? Not even Sukuna could make him turn the other way, so what confidence did Kenjaku had?
It’s not a risky deal though. His participation... Since it’s a death game, he was sure Kenjaku will put forth rules that requires killing, so if you hid the whole time there would be consequences, for sure. Maybe it’s worth a shot.
“Sukuna told me that you can grant him a new body, in the situation where he wanted to reign not in a teen’s body once he gained full power. Now that he... merged in me, and majority of his existence is dormant as far as I’m concerned, I wondered if you could reincarnate him.”
Kenjaku seemed amused to hear that. Maybe because as a sorcerer, he should be pleased that Sukuna was gone, probably for good. And yet here he was telling Kenjaku to bring him back to life? What became of his son, he wondered. As affectionate as he was, to fall for a curse. And from the looks of it, Yuuji gaining Sukuna’s abilities and everything indicated that Sukuna had fallen for him too.
Interesting.
“A life for a life, it seemed like. Your participation in a death game for the reincarnation of Sukuna. Seemed that you had grown a little too attached to him, Yuuji. No one in the right mind would think of bringing back then infamous Ryoumen Sukuna, you know.”
“I know that.”
So you ’ re adamant in your stance to bring back Sukuna? My my, were you two lovers? That wasn ’ t what I expected to happen when I made you. It ’ s not even what I thought Sukuna was capable of at all. What an amusing pair.
“Sukuna have had a pact with me previously to be a participant in the death game. As it stood before, you would have to join because you’re his vessel. Now that he’s not residing within you, I’ll reincarnate him into the game as Sukuna himself. If he hadn’t sacrificed himself, the pact would have stayed with him, but now that I have to reincarnate him, I do need incentive. An extra something to supply to his new body,” Kenjaku explained to Yuuji, tapping the table as he muttered. Yuuji thought that if Sukuna have had a pact previously with him, either to have a vessel or to have a new body, maybe it would make sense that Sukuna came to the attention of what Kenjaku could do.
“I’ve gathered the last 5 fingers for that. I doubt we can reverse a merging and separate his soul from mine without it being fatal to me, but as a start, the fingers should suffice. Uraume will hand it over to you within this week,” Yuuji offered, eyeing Kenjaku carefully at the mention thereof. If this was a vow, he shouldn’t be worried about the fingers being used for something else. Even Kenjaku and Sukuna were solid on not breaking a Binding Vow at all costs, so the fingers being a specific ritual in the vow would be an important inclusion.
“My my, you’re well prepared,” he widened his eyes in amusement, “To go as far as handing the fingers to me instead of Jujutsu Tech. You’re heading towards a route I find favourable.”
“You did say I’m losing faith in them. This is just that.”
He wouldn’t say that this was Yuuji going rogue, but it was close to it. He was willing to join the Culling Games, instead of pushing it from any form of possibility, meant that he would take lives in the right circumstances. A caged arena filled with multiple sorcerers more evil than the next, lust for power to thrive as the last alpha, was just the playground Yuuji could use. And Kenjaku could witness all of it.
“Does my precious son has a request to apply to his reincarnation?” Kenjaku graciously asked. If he took steps to show Yuuji he’s thorough in granting these wishes, it’s all the more likely to gain Yuuji’s trust outside of the vow in place. Although that question caught Yuuji off guard, but it’s nice that the genie granting wishes can’t make a loophole out of spite. At least not about bringing Sukuna back.
”What form will he take when he gets reincarnated?”
“Incarnates usually take form of their human self, but given that what you’d be providing is his cursed fingers, I could also reincarnate him into his cursed form, though I can’t grant the amount of power he would have possess back then,” he answered, pleased at Yuuji’s overall interest in everything he had to offer.
“Would his marks stay?”
“It will. That I can’t get rid of simply because they are marks that transcend death. Even I have no power to change such things.”
Yuuji pouted as he considered it. He wanted Sukuna back also for his own selfishness, to live a life with Sukuna how he wanted. If there were to be any sense of normalcy after the Culling Games, he’d rather Sukuna be in human form because they could just be in the streets with no fear whatsoever.
“Give him a human body. The appearance back before he died as a human. I plan to get out of this Culling Games with him and try to give him a taste of life he should’ve gotten as a human,” Yuuji eventually told Kenjaku, getting the main aspects of this deal out of the way. All that’s left was the other minor conditions to make this more effective, “He did promise he’d be willing to try that if we meet in his next life. Live the way I wanted to.”
He owed Sukuna a good life when he died saving him. And Sukuna owed him as much for everything else that happened. As selfish as his vow may be, for once in his life he wanted to be living without being puppeteered the way he did his whole life, especially as a sorcerer.
“Even in this state, losing faith in humanity, you still wanted to give a natural calamity like Sukuna, the evil that transcend ages and feared in every era, the world,” he praised Yuuji, though to Yuuji, it felt that he was being made fun of, “Is this guided by your personal feelings?”
“It is. Even you said you could’ve been swayed by my father. What makes you think me and Sukuna wouldn’t, with each other?”
“It seemed to me that our main conditions are set, don’t you think?” he said. The both of them had drank their coffees enough that only the concentrated liquid stayed at the bottom of the white ceramic cups, though much of the food was left to be packed. Quite a waste to leave it be.
“Let’s go over what we have proposed so far, then. I still have to doubt you so I need to make sure everything is as I said on paper,” Yuuji told him, before telling Uraume to bring the food downstairs and have them pack them in takeaway containers instead of letting the waiters come upstairs and break the mood.
“It’s good to be cautious, anyway,” Kenjaku smiled at him, “In exchange for your full participation of the Culling games under your own name until it ends, I will bring back your Sukuna in his human form within the game, with his memories up until the merge intact alongside the powers of 5 fingers as a starting point. You’d be in the same colony, however it’s up to you to find him.”
“How long would this game be?”
“Until everyone but the last of each colony participant dies. I’d say two months. But in the situation of you and Sukuna, you’d be allowed to survive as a pair as per the pact. I’ll hand over the rules to Uraume when your servant hands me the fingers.”
“Sounds good enough. At least you’re not trying to mess around my words,” Yuuji mumbled, noting it in his mind about the failsafe plan he had about this. The vow now acted like insurance.
“However, I have other conditions. In order for the Culling Games to be conducted without unnecessary interference, I want you to prevent Gojo Satoru from interfering but he’s allowed to protect or do whatever he pleases outside of the barriers set up for the game,” Kenjaku added. The reason the game was delayed in the first place was because Gojo got unsealed. So if this were to continue, he needed Gojo out of it somehow. And with how Yuuji and Gojo were close previously, it’s something he could take advantage of.
“That meant that I have to explain the game to them. I’m sure you haven’t got the word out about the rules and participation of the Culling Games to the Jujutsu society in general except whoever the hell you formed a vow with,” Yuuji raised the question. It sounded more like a plan than something already set out. Given that none of this had reached his ears as a Special Grade sorcerer, meant that it wasn’t even made a public knowledge yet.
“If you use the fact that it’s a part of a Binding Vow, he will have no choice but to comply,” Kenjaku added. If Gojo go against it, it would cause Yuuji to receive retribution for breaking the condition of the vow, so if he wanted Yuuji safe, he wouldn’t. In addition to the guilt he felt for Yuuji after the boy’s suicide attempt, it’s all the more reason for him to be forced to follow the flow.
“I suppose so. To be honest, I don’t want him to interfere either,” he sighed, looking to the side when Uraume came back to stand by his side, “I’ll handle it.”
“Let me tell you something else, Yuuji. An information no one else have on this game but you. Other than killing every sorcerer and people within the game, you can also end the game by killing me, the game master. If you as much as find me in the game, I’d allow you to try and kill me,” he added. He would have had his own protection when surveilling the game, but he figured Yuuji could have an exception for the fun of it. Familial privilege in a way?
“Death by the hands of your own son? Bit of a weird thing to ask for.”
“I have high expectations, Yuuji. Make me proud,” Kenjaku said, watching Yuuji stand up from his seat while wiping his lips with a beige tissue, throwing it crumpled on an empty plate.
“Oh don’t worry. I think even as I kill you, you’d be proud of me, mother,” he gave Kenjaku a teasing smile, with a tinge of the stray malice behind his eyes—the hint of emotion Kenjaku grasp on and hoped it grows in Yuuji even further, “Food’s on me and I’ll have the takeaways. I’ll take my leave now.”
Yuuji had gestured to Uraume to follow him as he walked away from the table, feeling Kenjaku’s eyes bearing on him the whole time until he disappeared down the stairs. Even when Yuuji paid and took his leave with the white haired servant, Kenjaku can’t help but chuckled to himself at the turn of events he’s presented with.
Can ’ t wait to see what lies ahead for you, Yuuji.