Chapter Text
Sukuna sighed, tossing a stray skull into the air before catching it, a repeating cycle that did absolutely nothing to entertain him.
That, unfortunately, was how he could describe most of his hours spent here. Sans the time when his Vessel would join him and chase away the monotony of his current existence.
That wouldn’t be the case today. Not for quite a while at least. Yuuji was busy, after all.
He hadn’t paid much attention to the details but as far as Sukuna was aware, the Brat and Six Eyes were on a mission in a weird cave. Because of who was accompanying his Vessel, Sukuna hadn’t bothered to view the outside world at all today, lest he encounter that dumbass.
It was no secret that he generally tended to tune out of listening to or observing anything whenever that fool Gojo was around. Partly because of how unrelentingly annoying the man was.
The other part was that he knew no one would be able to harm Yuuji as long as he was with Gojo and thus, Sukuna would not be needed to assist his Vessel.
It was mostly the former though.
He genuinely could not fathom why his Vessel adored that man so much. Perhaps it was because of their similar personalities, but even the mere thought of that left a bitter taste in Sukuna’s mouth. His Vessel being linked in any way to such a disgrace to Sorcery was insulting.
Similar personalities or not, the Brat’s mannerisms, while overly enthusiastic and extroverted, had an endearing quality to them. Six Eyes was just stupid.
And to think that he was considered The Strongest.
Pathetic.
Though, he thought with another sigh, the skull tasting air yet again, Yuuji would most likely give Sukuna the rundown of the day’s events once the mission was over.
It had become somewhat of a ritual for him to drag his Vessel down into his Domain once the brat had succumbed to sleep. They would then either engage in sparring matches, lengthy conversations of various topics pertaining largely to the world of Curses and Sorcerers, or a mix of both.
Whichever option they ended up settling on always resulted in Sukuna subtly teaching Yuuji some of his vast amounts of knowledge. It was a blessing that Yuuji and Yuuji alone had the honour of receiving.
It was actually a privilege, in all honesty, to be gifted knowledge by the King of Curses himself.
The Brat had realised that early on and eagerly consumed any and everything Sukuna taught him. With his ability to learn and adapt quickly to information and skills, Yuuji was becoming more and more formidable each day thanks to Sukuna’s teachings.
It was only to be expected. He was Sukuna’s Vessel, after all.
The thought almost made him smile.
If nothing else, he realised he actually liked passing his immense knowledge down to someone who could actually utilise it. He hadn’t thought he would ever be in the position to do something like that, let alone find it enjoyable in any way.
If he let himself tell the truth, the time he spent with his Vessel, guiding him and conversing with him, was probably the best time he’s had since his awakening.
Perhaps, it even ranked above anything else he’d ever experienced in his first life. And wasn’t that saying something.
His thoughts drifted to the only downside of the whole thing.
As nice as they were, with these interactions came his Vessel’s constant and oftentimes awed musings of his friends and his ridiculous Sensei.
Now, Sukuna did not necessarily mind hearing of his Vessel’s so-called friends, particularly Fushiguro. The anecdotes were usually frivolous and of no value to the Curse himself but, occasionally, he found a titbit of interesting information that he could potentially use in the future.
No, Sukuna did not mind his Vessel’s ramblings.
Not unless they were about that… that…
He tossed the skull up with more force than necessary.
That idiot.
“So... This is your Innate Domain.”
Sukuna paused, catching the skull in his palm. It felt oddly heavy.
That voice…
Had he really been so annoyed just thinking about Six Eyes that he’d conjured his voice into his Domain?
He could detect no other curse energy in this place besides his own. Even Yuuji’s was…strangely absent…
“It’s rude to ignore someone when they’re talking to you, ya know?”
That voice again!
Sukuna sat up in his throne, crushing the skull in his hand before scanning his Domain once more.
He had not imagined that voice. There is no way that his own mind would conspire against him in that manner.
He growled when he couldn’t detect even a hint of that bastard. Neither here nor in the outside world. In fact… Sukuna couldn’t detect anything in the outside world and—
“Up here Gorgeous.”
That grating voice was so close, clawing at Sukuna’s eardrums like nails. His red eyes trailed upwards, narrowing into a glare when they landed on the familiar black shroud that covered crystalline blue eyes.
“Gojo Satoru.”
“That’s me.”
Sukuna’s breath hissed out from between his clenched teeth as he glared at the Sorcerer who had somehow invaded his Domain. The bastard was levitating upside down in front of Sukuna. Had he been just a bit lower they would have been face-to-face.
Then, Sukuna would have punched him.
As it was, the Curse sent a powerful blast of energy at Gojo, unsurprised when the man teleported away and reappeared at the base of Sukuna’s throne.
The Curse’s gaze hardened as he tried and failed to mentally eject Gojo from his Domain.
He should have been able to do it easily and yet, what was supposed to be an ability that came as naturally as breathing seemed to escape him. The lanky Sorcerer did not budge no matter how hard Sukuna concentrated on removing his presence, pulling another growl from the Curse.
“Is that how you treat all your guests, Sukuna?” Gojo drawled, his lips curved in a grin as he tucked his hands into his pockets.
Though he was now effectively looking up at the King of Curses, he held himself as if he were the one seated on a throne.
The gall.
The fucking audacity.
“Remove yourself from my Domain.”
“You can’t do it yourself?” Gojo asked, though his tone implied he knew very well that Sukuna was unable to remove him.
What was this? Some sort of ambush to eliminate him?
No.
No.
There was no plausible way for him to be separated from Yuuji without killing his Vessel. And Hell would freeze over before Sukuna or Gojo would allow that to happen.
So what—
“I’m trapped here,” Gojo called out suddenly, drawing Sukuna’s attention.
“Trapped here? That hardly explains anything,” Sukuna
Gojo sighed, as though he weren’t the one being a pest.
“I got hit with some curse and wound up here in your Innate Domain. I’m guessing it was some sort of Soul Transfer technique as I don’t…think my body is damaged? Either way,” Gojo clapped his hands together unnecessarily loudly, “I’m here now.”
“I can see that,” Sukuna hissed, baring his teeth. “And you’ll leave immediately if you know what’s good for you.”
“I would leave if I could, trust me. I just figured since it was your Innate Domain, that you’d probably have a method of getting me out of here that would be safer for all of us than me busting out of here with my curse energy. It could be dangerous. Especially for Yuuji-kun.” Gojo shrugged lightly. “You know this place better than anyone else, after all.”
Sukuna bristled. The usually idiotic man’s reasoning had actual logic behind it and that annoyed him.
As much as he hated to admit it, risking Yuuji’s safety was something he would want to avoid at all cost. And when involving people as powerful as Gojo Satoru, the risk to his Vessel was very high if anything went wrong.
Sukuna ran a hand through his hair in irritation and once more attempted to mentally eject Gojo.
Still, nothing.
“Whatever trapped you here is preventing me from sending you out”, he said, more to himself than to Gojo.
“You sure you’re not just too weak to do it to someone as amazingly powerful as me?” Gojo drawled.
Sukuna clicked his tongue. He flicked out his hand and, much to his chagrin, his Cleave technique simply bounced off of Gojo’s Infinity.
It should not have come as a surprise. After all, he had witnessed the Infinity in action when he spied on the world through Yuuji’s eyes. Hell, he had even felt it during the brief fight him and Gojo had had when they first met. Yet, it still served to piss him off to a severe degree.
Of course the Six Eyes fool couldn’t let the failed attack go without commentary.
“Ooh, that felt like it would’ve hurt if it touched me,” Gojo teased.
Sukuna scowled down at him disdainfully.
“It would have killed you.”
“Man, that would’ve sucked for me!”
“There is quite literally nothing I care less about than anything you have to say,” Sukuna hissed. “With your ignorance any moment of reprieve would—”
Sukuna paused, something clicking into place that his anger had previously overshadowed.
“Reprieve? From what?”
In an instant, Sukuna had leapt from his throne and landed right in front of Gojo. Sukuna’s current form was bigger than Yuuji’s so there was only about an inch of difference between their height. Now, while things like that usually never mattered to him, the mere thought of having to look up at Satoru Gojo anymore than he had to made the Curse nauseous.
“Quite a jump, old man. I’m impressed.”
Ah. That irritating voice brought Sukuna back to the present.
He met Gojo’s eyes through that ridiculous blindfold.
“Die.”
“….”
“…”
“Uhm, no? You came down here just to—”
“Now is not the time for your bullshit,” Sukuna said, taking a threatening step closer. “Aside from me ejecting him according to my will, a way in which Yuuji returns back to his own body after entering my Innate Domain is through death. So, die so you can leave this place.”
It took a moment for the words to fully register in Gojo’s feeble, little mind and once it did, the man frowned. Sukuna felt the disapproval radiate off of the Sorcerer in waves, his bright Curse Energy clashing with the darkness of the Curse’s domain.
“You’ve killed Yuuji in here?” Gojo asked.
Sukuna grinned maliciously, though the part of him that now somewhat liked his Vessel winced at the guilt the question brought.
Not that Six Eyes would ever be made aware of that.
“I have. Many times. In the most interesting of ways. Why else do you think his pain tolerance is that high, hmm?”
“And now you two are friends?” Gojo’s tone was nearly acidic, faintly coated by his false joviality.
“What? Are you saying you wouldn’t ever befriend someone who killed you?” Sukuna asked mockingly.
Something flashed over Gojo’s face too quickly for Sukuna to decipher before the Sorcerer spoke.
“Do you still kill him whenever you want to?”
“What I choose to do with my Vessel is none of your concern, Six Eyes,” Sukuna purred, delighting in the anger growing on the Sorcerer’s face.
While Sukuna still killed his Vessel in here whenever the Brat became too annoying, he hadn’t done it in any way that hurt much in a long time.
It was the closest he had come to kindness in a thousand years and Yuuji understood that.
“He is my darling student so it is my concern,” Gojo spat.
Sukuna scoffed, tucking his hands into his Kimono sleeves.
Gojo Satoru obviously didn’t understand what the Curse’s benevolence looked like and it was a clear point Sukuna would exploit for as long as he was able.
“The bond that my Vessel and I share is far greater than that of Teacher and Student. You would do well to remember your place, fool.”
“Yuuji is—”
“Yuuji is probably very, very concerned about his precious Sensei,” Sukuna mocked, pitching his voice higher to match Yuuji’s. “So, die so that you can return to the real world and leave me alone.”
When it looked like Gojo would argue, Sukuna added, “Are you really so infatuated with me that you would continue to converse with a literal Curse than return to your darling students?”
There was a momentary pause in which only the faint dripping of water could be heard.
Then, Gojo laughed.
It was a fake laugh, of course, because Sukuna doubted the man had ever done anything genuine at all. Still, the sound grated on his nerves.
“Infatuated with you? Hilarious, oh mighty King of Curses. You nearly killed me with that one,” Gojo said, wiping away an invisible tear.
Sukuna growled low in his throat.
“Turn off your Infinity and I shall introduce you to true death,” he threatened.
Gojo scoffed and pressed his palm over his chest.
“No thank you, I’ll take myself out.”
“Then do it you—”
A blinding flash of light cut Sukuna off. He raised an arm to shield his eyes and leapt back a few feet, his entire Domain shuddering with a sudden, nearly overwhelming surge of curse energy.
Begrudgingly, Sukuna had to acknowledge the Sorcerer’s power. As much as it pained him to admit, Six Eyes had not been lying about being the current Strongest Sorcerer.
Not that it would matter much once Sukuna regained his full power and swatted him like a fly but still, the Curse could acknowledge a strong opponent.
There were a few seconds of silence before Sukuna peaked over the edge of his sleeve and watched the last dregs of light fade away, leaving behind an empty space where Gojo used to be.
Since Sukuna had not been able to detect Gojo at all before, he couldn’t properly determine whether or not the nuisance was actually gone. So, he waited for about ten minutes for the idiot to show up again or for anything to change.
When nothing seemed to happen, Sukuna released a silent sigh of relief.
“Finally.”
He flexed his fingers and extended himself beyond his own mind, reaching for Yuuji and their deep connection. An inhuman snarl caught in his throat when he found a blockade of sorts. One which, no matter what he did, he could not bypass.
He tried to “See” through Yuuji’s eyes but found that same blockade there as well. Any and all attempts made to connect with Yuuji, be it mentally or physically, were blocked.
Unholy words coated his tongue as the reality set in - He could not reach Yuuji. He couldn’t interact with the outside world either.
He returned to himself and glared down at the barren ground beneath his feet.
But at least he didn’t have to deal with Gojo.
“This is surprisingly comfy.”
That voice…
“You kinda zoned out for a bit there.”
No.
No.
No, no, no.
Sukuna whipped around, his eyes narrowing as they stared up at the white-haired bastard sprawled on Sukuna’s throne.
“Your little plan failed so I guess that leaves us with no options other than waiting for my students to rescue me,” Gojo sing-songed.
“Remove yourself from my throne before I remove your head.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Surprisingly, despite his bravado and defiance, Gojo did teleport off of the throne. He reappeared near the far end of the bloody pool surrounding the skull mountain, lifting a hand in a sluggish wave.
“No need to worry. I’ll keep out of your way Sukuna-sama,” he called teasingly, drawing a growl from the Curse.
Even from this distance, Sukuna could see the shit-eating grin on the man’s face.
“Enjoy your Domain-watching. The view from up there is pretty boring though. You should consider adding some plants or something.”
With that, Gojo walked off into the darkness beyond the blood pool. His Infinity ensured that not even his footsteps were heard, nor a whisper of any of his other movements.
Interestingly, Sukuna could now feel the Sorcerer’s energy. It was faint, barely a droplet in an ocean, but it was just enough for the Curse to keep tabs on Gojo’s location.
Was it… accidental? Had dying or the usage of Gojo’s power granted Sukuna the necessary details to now sense the man?
Or…
Gojo had been on the throne. He had let Sukuna wait for minutes on end before announcing his presence. He had been far, far too smug.
Had he…
Sukuna let out a silent breath, bringing a hand up to rub at his forehead to stave off the first headache he could feel building in a thousand years.
Those Brats better fucking save the bastard quickly.