Chapter Text
Take me into tour deep
I wanna lay in your world
Present day
The blankets were a tangled mess, but they couldn't cage the shivering body or provide any comfort for the boy. Yuuji lay curled on the mattress, his breath hitching in the quiet of the room. His eyes burned, salt-stained and raw from hours of an emotion he couldn’t quite name. Or was there more than one? It felt like he was drowning in his own skin.
- Sukuna, please - Yuuji made another attempt to reach to the curse. It's not like he is being ignored, he actually got some replies out of Sukuna and he also can feel his presence at all times. The curse just doesn't cooperate at the moment.
Even so it's Yuuji's first plead, till now he either demanded or shouted at the one who currently uses his body as a vessel. The silence stretched, until the air in the room suddenly felt heavy, charged with a cursed energy that made the hair on Yuuji’s neck stand up. The familiar mouth formed on the back of his hand, without his usual sneer at the moment.
- I've already told you, brat, it's not possible - the King of Curses replied, his voice echoing not just in the room, but inside the very marrow of Yuuji’s bones. The boy sat up, wiping the tears with the hand that is not currently used by the curse to speak to him.
- You said nothing is impossible for the King of Curses. Was that just another lie? - A low, dangerous growl vibrated in Yuuji’s chest.
- I did. But what you are asking is for me to drag your consciousness into my domain while you are this fragile. The sheer weight of my domain as it is now would crush what little is left of your mind. I am not taking risks with my vessel.
- It won't kill me, Yuuji snapped, you know it won't. You’re just a coward. You don't want to face me. - The air in the room went cold, the King just got called a coward, he doesn't remember anyone calling him that in more than a thousand years. He knew he was pushing it, but the memory of it was still too fresh to let it go. He knows if they would not talk right now, then more than likely they would never talk it out. - Beside, my mind is as fine as it can be considering you live in it.
First of all, ouch. The mouth on Yuuji’s hand snapped shut so hard his teeth clicked, a silent admission that the brat had drawn blood with his words. Second of all Sukuna knows Itadori is right, he would never admit it though. It being the fact that since the brat ingested the sixth finger the line between them had blurred. It also being the fact that he kissed the brat earlier this day. Since he gains more and more of his original power with each finger, he now can materialize his body, or better saying, Itadori's body. No more confined to his domain in Yuuji's head, but still constrained to be within ten meters at most from him. Sukuna can feel the edge of that radius like a wall. The worst of this situation is that his powers cannot be transferred as long as he is contained in his vessel's body.
The first time he did it and found out he was so disappointed that he went right back to his domain. Yuuji did laugh at him, when his attack on the brat did not have succes. It surprised him, that the brat did not run to his most adored sensei to rant about the new found ability of the curse. He kept Sukuna like a shameful secret, and that intrigued the King more than any battle. He did say he can come out anytime he is bored or wants company. Did not specify it needs to be when he is alone too. What a strange and interesting little thing you are, Yuuji Itadori.
Sukuna had retreated into the depths of the innate domain, lurking in the corners of his mind, watching through the boy’s own eyes as he lived his mundane life. But the sixth finger was a restless thing. It hummed with a primal hunger that wouldn't let either of them sleep. It began to affect his missions and it could not go unobserved by his friends and teachers. The boy was a tad quieter than his usual cheerful self which raised some questions. Still, he did not share it with anyone.
The beginning
It took almost two weeks for the king to appear again in his room. Yuuji just came from a mission and threw himself on the bed. He was so tired that he couldn’t even bring himself to get to wash himself. Tomorrow is laundry day anyway. Just as he was about to fall asleep the shadows in the corner of the room began to bleed together, thickening into a shape that was far too solid to be a ghost.
- Don't tell me you came to attack me again? I am so soo tired i might let you to just do it. - Yuuji didn't even lift his head from the pillow only opened an eye as he watched the curse.
- Don't tempt me, brat. - replied the curse, he did not move a centimeter from his position, grounded like a monolith in the corner of the room as he was studied by the honey-brown eyes that were fighting to stay open. Sukuna, in return, stayed with his arms crossed tightly on his chest, his eyes studying Itadori as if seeing him for the first time under this new light.
- Are you finally letting me sleep? Or is this your tactic? To not let me rest so you can take control over my body? - Sukuna almost slipped and said he would like to take another form of control over the brat's body but stopped himself in time. There was no need for the kid fo know that he is physically attractive to the curse. There was no need for the kid to know just how much the line between hatred and hunger had thinned.
- It's not like i am doing this on purpose. - stated Sukuna matter-of-factly which made Itadori raise an eyebrow waiting for an explanation or some context. - The buzzing. It buzzes in my head too and even if i don't need sleep like you do, it's still hella annoying to have that static drowning out my thoughts.
- So if it's not me and not you, then why are you always lurking at the edge of my consciousness?
- Since you ate the sixth finger, the power has become restless. It’s hard to contain it because I have no direct control over my techniques, and you have no control over the darkness bleeding into your mind. The fingers are trying to expand the territory by force.
- Sucks. I am not letting you take control over your power though.
- Yeah, there was absolutely no need for that clarification. I am also not getting tamed like some household pet by surrendering my mind to your pathetic morals.
- No need for that specification either. - Yuuji watches as the curse smirks and he swears he can see that the curse found it funny - Now what? How much of an expansion are we talking? I am not letting you roam the streets unattended.
- I cannot do that. The farthest I can be from my vessel is ten meters. It seems your body is a more stubborn cage than I anticipated. - It was not supposed to sound like praise, but he cannot hide how amazed Sukuna is by Yuuji’s power and resistance. Truly a vessel made for him only.
- Hmm, so what are you saying is that you are on a leash? - Yuuji let the words hang in the air, a daring smirk tugging at his own lips. He can feel the murderous intent flaring in the curse’s eyes like a sudden forest fire.
- Careful, brat. My powers cannot be used out here, but I can still summon you into the deep of my domain and kill you a thousand different ways.
- Oh well, nothing new then. Are you staying over there all night? I really wanna sleep while the buzzing is quiet and you lurking in the shadows as the stalker that you are is not on my top fifty preferred ways to sleep.
- Are you inviting me to bed, Yuuji? - The curse smirked, and he couldn't lie to himself he found this one tempting. The thought of being that close, where he could feel the boy’s warmth from outside his body and not from within his body is ridiculously bringing him joy.
- Might as well get a good night of sleep ehile the noise is gone. It’s better than you hovering over me like a ghost. - The boy did not take the bait, even if he understood the undertone of Sukuna’s words.
Sukuna didn’t wait for a second invitation, half afraid it wouldn't come, so he decided not to dwell on it. He moved with a predatory silence, the mattress dipping significantly under a weight that felt far too heavy for a mere manifestation. He didn't just sit, he claimed the space, his presence spreading across the sheets like spilled ink. Yuuji instinctively pulled his legs back, making room. The boy was so close to him, yet still no part of them touched, which is insane considering it's a one and a half person bed.
- Make yourself at home, why don't you? - Yuuji muttered, his voice dripping with a dry, exhausted sarcasm as he watched Sukuna stretch out with infuriating grace. - Oh, wait. You already did. You’ve been squatting in my insides for months. I guess the bed was just the natural next step for a high-end tenant like you. - Sukuna tilted his head, a slow, dark smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. He didn't seem bothered by the jab, if anything, he looked amused by the brat’s audacity.
- It is a bit cramped, Sukuna drawled, his eyes tracking the way Yuuji refused to look away, but you’re right, brat. It does feel like home. After all, I know the rhythm of your blood better than you do. I’ve memorized every corner of this cage from the inside out.
- Great. Glad the King of Curses is comfortable, Yuuji snapped, pulling the edge of the blanket back toward himself with a sharp tug. - Just try to keep your sharp claws on your own side of the bed. I’m not in the mood to wake up with extra ventilation in my chest.
- Oh i already have my own side in your bed? Aren't we moving too fast, little boy? - Sukuna leaned back on his elbows, his smirk sharpening into something predatory and mocking. He expected a flustered stutter, or perhaps another angry outburst. Instead, Yuuji just exhaled a long, ragged sigh and pulled the duvet up to his chin. He didn't even turn around to face the curse.
- We’ve been sharing a heartbeat for months, Sukuna, Yuuji muttered, his voice thick with the heavy onset of sleep. - At this point, a pillow is basically a formality. If you’re gonna be a permanent squatter, the least you can do is stop flirting and go to sleep. I’m too tired for your ego tonight.
The silence that followed was absolute. Sukuna’s smirk didn't just fade, it froze. For the first time in a thousand years, the King of Curses found himself with a throat full of words that wouldn't come out. Stop flirting? The sheer, casual audacity of the brat to categorize his malice as flirting felt like a direct hit to his pride, and yet, he couldn't find a retort sharp enough to cut through the sudden, strange weight of Yuuji’s honesty. He stayed braced on his elbow, eyes wide and fixed on the back of Yuuji’s head. He waited for the punchline, for the fear, for the just kidding. It never came.
Within a minute, Yuuji’s breathing evened out into the deep, rhythmic pull of someone who had finally found peace in the middle of a storm. Sukuna stared at the boy's slumped shoulders, he slowly lowered himself onto the mattress, his movements stiff, his mind a chaotic mess. He looked at the ceiling, the buzzing in his own head finally replaced by the steady, quiet thrum of Yuuji’s pulse, which had already became so familiar to him.
- Tch. Brat...he whispered into the dark, but there was no bite left in it. He didn't close his eyes for a long time, simply half lying there wondering when, exactly, the cage had started feeling like a home to him. And what even is a home? Can he even remember how a home felt? Had he ever had a home? Maybe he had one a long, long time ago. Before he became a curse and maybe if he searched deep into his memories he would find some information about his life, but he is afraid of what he can find there.
The morning sun didn't just rise, it stabbed through the thin curtains, an aggressive light that Yuuji definitely wasn't ready to face. He groaned, the buzzing in his skull reduced to a dull, post-migraine thrum. For a split second, he forgot. Then he felt the weight beside him. Sukuna was sitting upright against the headboard, arms crossed, staring at the far wall with an expression of pure, concentrated loathing. He looked like he hadn’t moved an inch, a dark monument of pride currently sharing a one person mattress.
- Oh wonderful...You're still here, Yuuji croaked, his voice thick with sleep. He sat up, his hair a bird’s nest of pink strands pointing in every direction.
- Ten meters, brat, Sukuna hissed, his eyes slowly sliding over to track Yuji’s messy state. - Where exactly did you expect me to go? To the hallway to sleep on the rug? My existence is currently tethered to your pathetic, shivering frame. Believe me, I am just as disgusted by this proximity as you should be. - Ok, to be fair he could have retreated to his domain, but he for some reason stayed so that Yuuji could get a full night of decent sleep.
- Morning to you too, sunshine, Yuuji snapped, rubbing his face. He still felt gritty from yesterday’s mission but for the first time in a while he slept like a baby. - And for the record, you take up way too much space for someone who's technically a ghost. I feel like I slept on a rock. - Now that's a lie and he knows it.
- I am a physical manifestation of the King of Curses. I do not "shrink" to fit your cramped, peasant lifestyle. - The bed was indeed suited only for one person and yet somehow they made it work and Yuuji does not want to know if he somehow ended up drooling on the King of Curses at one point this night.
Yuuji rolled his eyes, the adrenaline of a new day finally kicking in. He caught a glimpse of the clock. 8AM. Training with Megumi and Nobara starts in about NOW.
- Shoot! I'm late! - In a blur of panic, Yuuji threw back the duvet and bolted toward the bathroom at the end of the hall. He didn't think, didn't calculate, he just ran.
He made it exactly nine and a half meters.
Just as he stepped out of his room, the "leash" snapped taut. It wasn't a physical rope, but a violent, gravitational yank in the center of his gut. At the same time, back in the room, Sukuna was ripped off the bed with the force of a high-speed collision.
- BRAT—! The curse hit the floorboards with a heavy thud and was dragged a full two meters across the wood before Yuuji got back into the doorframe, gasping for air as the tether nearly turned his insides out.
Yuuji slid down the doorframe, clutching his stomach, only to see Sukuna standing in the middle of the bedroom, gasping for air, his yukata disheveled and his eyes glowing with a homicidal intensity that could have leveled a city. And he is so so sick for thinking that Sukuna is a delightful scenery right now. - If you ever, Sukuna began, his voice dropping into that "animalistic" register that usually preceded a massacre, drag me across a floor like a common hound again, I will ensure that the extra ventilation in your chest becomes a permanent feature.
Yuuji, still breathless, looked up at him. - Yeah, noted.
- Move, Sukuna growled, stepping over the threshold into the corridor - We are going to your training. And if you run again, I am taking your legs.
- WHAT??! What do you mean we?? - exclaimed the teen - We ain't going nowhere. I am going to my training and you are going back to have fun amidst your skulls. - Yuuji raised to his feet and looked into the red eyes of the curse. - If someone sees you they will anihilate both of us and i didn't prep my skin for the execution today, so no, big guy, you retreat back to your domain and I go and live the few days I have left. - As he spoke, Yuuji looked at the emotions of the curse, which frankly are not easy to read. Even so, Yuuji could tell that Sukuna wanted to go with him. Maybe he is lonely and bored by himself. Thought the boy wwith sympathy for his tenant. Sukuna tsked and in a blink of an eye he was gone. With his disappearance, appeared the buzzing in his head.
- Great, from one headache to another. - muttered the boy and finally he was on his way to the training grounds.
He is still surprised that Sukuna left so easy, basically without a fight, but was content with the fact that it saved the time, considering how late he'll get to training.