Chapter Text
There’s a loud cry from the house. That even the birds chirping alongside it, perhaps trying to sync. But maybe chirping is not the correct word, because they all seem to try to shout something. Maybe a news—
In the house, a baby was born. Bigger than what a normal baby should be, and terrifyingly, four eyes.
The mother seems to be the first one who noticed it, because a scream was let out of her mouth. “Cursed! This baby is cursed!”
Turns out that the birds are announcing the rebirth of the King of Curses years after his defeat against sorcerers. An unwelcome rebirth, even his mother wouldn’t accept him as her own baby, for the second time.
News began to spread like a wildfire; the King of Curse is reborn as a baby. It’s a matter of time when they will kill the baby before he turns into another monster.
Before his mother left, she gifted the baby a name. The last thing that she ever gave him. “Ryoumen Sukuna.” An ancient, feared name that has haunted the world in his prime. A mad human who cursed himself into a cursed object, so that he can enjoy torturing people in different eras.
In the world after his defeat, Ryoumen Sukuna is born once again.
Kugisaki was no longer the girl who can only think of death at the moment she lost his left eye. It’s a traumatizing experience, sure. But that’s what it costs for being a sorcerer. It’s what she signed up for in the first place.
She believes that she has grown up to be a mature person. Her wrinkles and damn back pain proves it. And she is no longer afraid of death, or special grade curses, or anything. She’s there, watching when the ‘Battle of the Strongest’ happens.
She’s there when she saw her friends die one by one in the fight. She’s there when she saw Gojo-sensei getting sliced in half, before Okkotsu-senpai took over his body.
So no, Kugisaki is not afraid of anything now.
But maybe.. deep down in her heart. She’s not as brave as she thought she would be. She’s afraid of seeing her friends die of old age one by one.
Or maybe, she’s afraid for Itadori.
When all of their friends are slowly aging, Itadori still has his teenage face. No wrinkles, no grey hairs, no fine lines. Exactly what every girl is jealous of.
When all of their friends died of old age, he remained there. Standing in the middle of people who have time running closer to their death, while his time is completely frozen. As if he’s cursed alongside Sukuna— or whatever Itadori has told her about them sharing the same soul, and this is the consequences.
However, Kugisaki understands Itadori. She spent almost all of her lifetime with him. It would be crazy if she doesn’t understand how the boy feels all this time.
He has some sort of attachment for Sukuna, despite everything the curse did to him. And of course, it’s crazy. But crazy is something that any sorcerer should have.
“So… you’re going to turn yourself into a cursed object? Like what that crazy guy did?” Kugisaki asked in disbelief.
“Yeah. I mean, what’s the point of living by myself if I can’t do anything? Sorcerers can live by themselves now. And I’m not going to spend my life by just exorcising curses. That would be booooring.” Itadori rolled his eyes. It’s amusing how he doesn’t change.
Still, Kugisaki can’t help but feel upset. “You’ll have to spend a thousand years for someone to consume you. In complete darkness.”
“I just want to help people. I would rather have myself wait for someone to consume me, and my power will be helpful for them. The sorcerer world doesn’t need to know about this news though. Let them think that I’m just wandering around, and not turning into a cursed object.”
“What if,” Kugisaki messages her temple. Her age is acting up again. “Hypothetically speaking, the person who would consume you is a bad guy. Curse user. Bad aliens. Or whoever that has bad intentions.”
Itadori shrugged his shoulders. The edge of his mouth curled up into a faint smile– Kugisaki finds it a shame that he doesn’t smile like he used to. “You know how I am. Even Sukuna’s heart is moved by me. I can do the impossible.”
“Okay.”
Kugisaki breathes out a hitched sigh.
“Okay.”
Itadori is dumb. Kugisaki has agreed with this for a long time, but she doesn’t know that he’s this stupid. If he becomes a cursed object, he’ll be lonely. And he hates being lonely. No matter how long time has passed, he’s still the same boy who cried when he saw Fushiguro who curled up helplessly under Sukuna’s control.
And now, what? He wants to become a cursed object and isolate himself from others? Again?
“I’ve warned you. There’s no turning back. If you ever regret it, no one will be there to comfort you. Even me who’ll be in the afterlife and wait for you. You understand?”
Wait for you.
Kugisaki can’t believe herself. She’s waiting for someone. For a dumb potato even!
Itadori smiled. Now with his teeth showing. “Thank you, Kugisaki!”
“I wonder how Fushiguro will react to this…”
“Hey! He would be proud of me because I’m still being a good person, like he always wanted me to!”
“Nah, he would give you a good beating to knock some sense into you.”
Fushiguro…
Just by hearing that name, she can’t help but feel her lip curled up into a smile unconsciously. She missed him. She missed the three of them.
“Itadori?”
Itadori blinks. Clearly not expecting Kugisaki to call his name with a soft voice. “Yeah?”
“I’m sure Gojo-sensei would be proud of you.”
Itadori’s eyes widened. His lip turns into a thin line, before his eyes become watery. “Yeah.”
Kugisaki has always known that the higher up can be an ass sometimes. But she doesn’t expect the new higher up would be the same.
Not long ago, she heard from an insider that the news of a rebirth of The King of Curses has caused chaos. Which is understandable. But she thinks she misheard it when they said that the reincarnated child is still 5 years old, when they ordered immediate execution.
5 years old!
Weirdly, she can imagine Itadori’s reaction and sympathy showing.
Kugisaki is not a saint. Never. But she has a slight of sympathy, and no matter how cruel and psycho Sukuna has done, a child is still a child regardless.
A child who’s born with four eyes, and believed to be Ryoumen Sukuna’s reincarnation is definitely not on her almost-dying-of-old-age bingo list. And a five years old wouldn’t do mental things like they would believe. Not when there’s still a possibility that the boy would turn out to be Itadori 2.0. A good boy!
But Kugisaki is also not good at parenting like Itadori did. She doesn’t have children to begin with, and still finds it a hassle until now. They cried, a lot. And when it’s not enough, they can grow up violent depending on how you raise them. And Kugisaki is never a patient person to begin with.
So a no no.
But…
Surely, just a year raising the boy is enough for Sukuna to grow up to be a good person, right?
Wait.
There’s still Itadori. The Itadori who turned himself into a cursed object! He’s good with children, especially the problematic one. He’s also great at keeping big Sukuna on his body.
Surely another version of Sukuna wouldn’t hurt, right?
And every version of Sukuna is okay with a little bit of cannibalism, right?
Also no matter how terrifying the boy turned out to be, Itadori would have cute aggression. Kugisaki is sure of it.
So, Kugisaki decided to look for the boy’s whereabouts before the higher up could lay a hand on him. It’s a pain in the ass, but Itadori would be happy, so it’s worth the struggle.
She finds herself in an abandoned forest– not far from a village, and completely isolated from the outside world. There’s also an abandoned shrine that’s beginning to lose its shape. But there’s a weird, malice cursed energy surrounding the whole area. As if it’s acting as a barrier against the outer world.
Kugisaki doesn’t need a double check to know whose cursed energy it is.
Sukuna.
Kugisaki smirked.
If he’s going to play hide-and-seek, then Kugisaki would oblige even with her aged state that definitely would make her get a back pain once they’re done.
“Sukuna. I know you’re here. Come out now.” She scanned the surrounding area, but unfortunately, no sign of the boy coming out.
Then, a cut. Someone is trying to cut her face with a cursed technique. Which is a bad move because she values her face very much, despite the wrinkles on it. A girl will always be a girl.
“You fucker–“ Kugisaki pulls out her nail to where the cut comes from. And, gotcha, she gives the nail a flowing cursed energy and the plan of retrieving Sukuna safely be damned. She doesn’t care because the brat did it first.
Hairpin– then an explosive cursed energy. And surprisingly, a groan of pain.
But the boy still won’t come out.
“Dismantle.” Ah, Kugisaki knows that technique name very well. It’s used there and there like a child's play back on the battle. But she’s surprised that the dismantle’s effect is not really dangerous like she would think it would be.
The dismantle only managed to cut her outer fabric, and 3 trees.
“You! This is my favorite outer!” Kugisaki pointed at the bushes that she believes Sukuna is hiding.
Fine! The boy wouldn’t come out by himself, even after Kugisaki’s good greeting. Then she won’t hesitate to do something a little bit more dangerous.
Turns out she went a bit too far.
Sukuna– now a little boy with red four eyes and nothing but a kimono that looks torn and worn (probably got it from stealing), scars across his face that shouldn’t even exist at 5 years old’s face. He looks at Kugisaki with pure hatred and anger.
Yeah, that’s Sukuna’s reincarnation right here. She finally believed it when she saw that look.
“If you want to kill me, then do it fast,” he spat. Wow what an attitude.
“Hah?!” She yelled. “What makes you think I’m here to kill you? Ugh, don’t tell me that you think I’m like those higher up.”
“You, sorcerers, did it all! You tried to kill me when I was born, and I never understand why!” The boy clenched his fist. “Is it because I was born like the cursed king of whatever it is!?”
“Yeah, now you know the reason, so why are you mad at me now? Look. Even your attitude is the same. No wonder why they tried to kill you.”
Ugh. Then she remembered Itadori. He wouldn’t appreciate this, and Kugisaki can’t handle his sad puppy face. It makes her feel like the worst person alive, more than Sukuna.
Okay. Do it for Itadori.
“Even if I tried to kill you, I know someone who would black flash me if I ever tried to do something bad to you,” she mumbled.
At that, Sukuna’s eyes (four of them) widened. “W- who?!”
Right. The boy doesn’t remember anything. That’s good.
“Remember this, and carved what I’m going to say into your skull. Itadori Yuji is the only one who cares about you, and what I’m going to do from now on is for Itadori’s behalf.”
“I will never kill you, but I will hurt you if you misbehave. And when the time comes, you’ll have to eat a cursed object in order for your well-being.”
Sukuna grimaces, and Kugisaki finds herself looking at him mockingly. “What? Can’t handle a little bit of cannibalism?”
“Foolish of you to say! I survived until now by consuming every flesh of people who either tried to kill me, or looked at me wrongly. I’ll never allow you to do harm to me!”
Oh Gods, Kugisaki thought. Itadori never told me about how big yapper Sukuna is.
On that day, Ryoumen Sukuna is dragged into Kugisaki’s home. Leaving the sorcerer’s higher up in chaos, again.
-
“No. That’s not how you talk to me. I’m older than you, so I’m expecting some respect.” Kugisaki crossed her arms, and looked Sukuna dead in the eye.
“Tsk, why would I do that? You’re a nobody to me.”
“A nobody who saved you from the higher up.”
“I told you I don’t need saving! I’m capable of turning those who dared to make me their enemy into ashes.”
Kugisaki clenched her jaws. “You’re lucky that I’m not Itadori, or else you would be here begging on your knees not to bring him to you instead.”
But the mention of Itadori makes Sukuna interested. It always did. “You keep talking about this Itadori, but never elaborate further.”
“Oh? So you want a bedtime story now?”
“I’ll take back what I said. I’ll turn you into ashes instead.”
But truthfully, Kugisaki waited for someone to ask about her friends. Especially about Itadori. The dumb potato one.
She has waited to tell someone about how foolish the boy was. How reckless he was. And how human he was, despite being the strongest of today.
Maybe, this time, she would let her tough and brave act slip out for a second. She missed her best friend. And Itadori must be lonely, waiting for someone to swallow his cursed object self.
“It’s going to be a long story.” Her voice turns out to be softer than she thought it would be. Even Sukuna is visibly stunned by the sudden change.
“He is…. a stupid potato. A teenager who only hopes to save everyone around him, and makes his sensei proud. He acts like he’s the strongest, but he’s just a little boy who easily gets lonely without his friends.
“Fushiguro would always get angry at him whenever he’s being stubborn, and Itadori would disagree. And there would be a fight between them while I’m busying myself with other things. But I think after Fushiguro’s death, I began to stop acting like I didn’t care. Because he clearly needs someone, I decided that it’s my responsibility to make sure that he won’t do something stupid now.
“But actually? He’s just a sensitive teenager who’s unlucky enough to be cursed with immortality. My selfish last dying wish is for you to reunite with him again. After all, you’re half of his soul.”
Sukuna is unusually silent. But Kugisaki is glad that he understands when not to cross the line for once.
“And if you think no one wants you alive, then I would like to introduce you to Itadori. He’s the only one who trusts and believes in you. So don’t you dare to hurt him again.”
Because Kugisaki doesn’t want to see Itadori’s hurt face.
Life is weird.
Weirder when you have self-realization that you’re on your death bed now.
Kugisaki has always thought that the last thing she will be thinking of is her grandmother. Or her homeland. Or thinking about her regrets. But she found herself thinking about the stupidest things that Fushiguro, Itadori, Gojo-sensei, and she did back then.
When they thought that Fushiguro was getting hit on, they brought out Formation B and embarrassed themselves in public.
When all of them played at the beach with their senpais, and somehow only Itadori who seemed to distance himself. Bringing out his camera and recording every single time of it. As if he knows what curse he’s going to get for the rest of his life. Kugisaki wonders if he still has the video and photos.
Or when Itadori finally can’t handle everything and ended up breaking down in the middle of the destroyed Shibuya. Kugisaki remembers that she’s the one who suggested having a sleepover that night, and they did. Fushiguro for once doesn’t mind letting out his honest feelings, and joins Kugisaki in comforting Itadori.
That night, the three of them are cuddling. But wake up like nothing happens after that. They hate when someone brings out their vulnerability.
Ah. Turns out, life is not that bad.
“You dying already?” A harsh voice interrupted Kugisaki’s thought. And of course, the bratty boy that Itadori loves dearly has to interrupt her.
“Mind your manners, you little shit.” Turns out that letting out a voice is harder than Kugisaki ever thought. And she regrets it immediately, because she can feel her throat burning up.
“Why would I talk respectfully to someone who’s going to die?” Kugisaki rolled her eyes. “So? What would I do after this?”
Huh. Kugisaki shows her amusement.
“I thought you’re going to go back to killing people? What are you? Going soft?”
Sukuna lets out a disagreeing voice. “I’m being respectful to elders right now. Don’t make me rethink it, woman.”
Kugisaki laughed. “Will you fulfill a dying person's wish?”
A silent. No answer from Sukuna, but Kugisaki speaks. After 4 months, she learns that the boy would hate something, but still doing it anyway.
“You remember the room that I won’t allow you to enter?”
“The one who has a creepy energy?” Kugisaki nods.
“That’s where… Itadori is. A cursed object.” She added, but then mumbled. “That potato is following someone’s path.”
“Eat it. Itadori as a cursed object. Then he’ll accompany you until the end of your life.”
Sukuna furrowed his eyebrows. “I thought you loved him?”
“Itadori… That boy’s only wish is for you to consume him. And I’m sure he’ll be celebrating in joy when he finds out that you’re the one who becomes his vessel.”
Kugisaki can feel her time is coming up. She can already imagine the airport waiting for her, and she can’t help but wonder who might be waiting for her. Her grandmother? Fushiguro? No. No way.
“Sukuna.” Kugisaki calls. “Don’t hurt Itadori.”
With those last words, Kugisaki lets out her last breath.
Sukuna always has mixed feelings when the name Itadori is brought up in a conversation. Something inside his soul feels tugged by a strange force, that makes him wanting to know this Itadori more.
It feels like his soul knows something that he doesn’t.
And him not knowing something irritates him more than anything.
Now that the old woman is dead. Laying on her death bed with only Sukuna– the boy she took to her house for only 4 months, as someone who accompanied her until the very end.
Somehow, Sukuna pity her.
She’s dead with clinging on a hope for this Itadori. Even until her death, she hopes for Sukuna not to hurt Itadori. But Sukuna hurts everyone. Even the old woman.
Even if Sukuna finds the old woman annoying and keeps bothering him with insults or comments, he can’t help but do her last wish. Fulfill a dying person’s wish, my ass.
There goes nothing.
Sukuna stood in front of a door. The only place that the old woman never lets him enter in any situation, and not even giving him a reason why until now.
So this is where Itadori is stored, huh?
Sukuna smirked. What a protective woman.
Sukuna opens the door. And he can feel his cursed energy getting sucked just by opening it— as if it’s the key. He can feel the cursed energy of something foreign leaking. It’s a powerful one. And Sukuna, despite believing himself as strong, finds himself getting intimidated and scared of it.
Just a little. That’s what he told himself.
In the small room, it’s covered with talismans. Lots of them. Sukuna can’t even see a piece of real wall, because it’s been covered with a talisman. How dangerous could Itadori be?
There, in the middle, lies a heart. Someone’s heart. Itadori’s heart. Laying on a soft cushion that’s completely the opposite of the disgusting cursed object.
But Sukuna finds it weird that he’s allured to step closer to Itadori’s heart. He knows that every cursed object has malice cursed energy on it, but Itadori’s heart doesn’t. It’s comforting and screams disgustingly positive energy instead. But powerful.
He steps closer.
“Consume me.” A voice whispered. Sukuna never heard of it before, but it feels oddly familiar.
In this distance, he can read the sentence beneath the cushion. Written carefully, and knowing the old woman, she probably is the one who writes it. She loves Itadori anyway.
“I will treat you with the utmost amount of care,
My benevolent light shall shedder,
Against your malevolent violence, a curse that is the bane of human existence.”
Sukuna stops his steps once he’s right in front of the cursed object.
Then, he swallowed Itadori’s heart.