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Sukuna laid on his throne, idly waving a hand in the air with a calm, contemplative look on his face.
He was thinking about the situation outside the inner domain, wondering what else he could do to improve the kids’ lives and fuck with the plot.
Preferably without coming off as insanely suspicious.
(Like hell was he letting Shibuya go down as it was meant to.)
As he mused on the topic, he suddenly felt an intrusion in his realm.
He looked down, internally startled at it.
What...?
As he peered over, he spotted a very familiar mop of pink hair.
Not an unwelcome sight by itself, but it was at the top of an unconscious form lying in the red waters below.
He immediately leapt down the staircase of skulls, landing slowly and with the grace appropriate for the King of Curses.
(What he wanted to do was to run down, to frantically check what the HELL happened to make Yuji come here, unconscious
He wanted to search for his pulse even though he knew the kid couldn't actually drown here – not unless Sukuna wanted to make the liquid do that.)
The blood-like lake gently rippled with his every step as he walked on top of it over to the passed out teen.
(Was Yuji desperate for help and he somehow didn’t hear it? Did Mahito return? Was something wrong with Junpei? After all he had no idea what he was actually doing with the whole healing thing, what if something went wrong-?)
After a few seconds, he stood right before the crumpled form. He couldn’t help but feel disturbed at Yuji looking so lifeless.
Finally, after a moment, he crouched down.
”Brat...?”
He didn’t get to finish whatever may have proceeded that, because suddenly the kid woke up with a gasp.
His golden eyes looked up, spotting Sukuna. Immediately after, he lunged up at the curse.
(He could have definitely dodged it, but subconsciously felt no need doing so for Yuji.)
What!? Did I do something wrong-!? Sukuna thought, panicked.
Then, he realised that it wasn’t an attack, but rather... A hug?
Yuji was hugging him.
Yuji was hugging Sukuna.
His mind screeched to a halt.
”Brat? What the hell are you doing?” he said, barely holding himself back from reciprocating.
Remember the role. Remember the role, you soft idiot.
”I...” Yuji seemed unsure of himself suddenly, almost pulling away. He didn’t though, because he noticed that the other wasn’t even trying to push him off.
”I- Thank you, Sukuna.” he finally said, in the most silent, almost broken tone the curse has ever heard from the kid so far.
(Unless he thought of the goddamned anime, and wasn't that hilarious – he’s been doing a better and faster fucking job at this than the real Sukuna, apparently.)
”What’re you thanking me all of a sudden for, brat?” he tried asking, wondering what Yuji could possibly be referring to.
I did help him with the Mahito situation more than the original I suppose, but I haven’t done anything that different from before-
His thoughts got stopped by the kid speaking up.
”You-,” he paused for a moment. ”You didn’t have to heal Junpei, did you?”
Yuji finally pulled away a little bit, only to stare at Sukuna’s almost flabbergasted face. It would have been funny if he were in any other state of mind.
”The healing Vow, it- It didn’t apply to him.” At that he looked into Sukuna’s wide, red, supposedly evil eyes.
He once again wondered where he has been lied to, exactly.
"He's not a Jujutsu High student, so not even the ‘if I feel like it’ part was in power. I just realised that.”
”Brat-” Sukuna started, but didn’t finish because he got interrupted again.
(God, he was so glad that it was not the real Sukuna piloting. He would have hurt the kid for that, the psychopath.)
”You didn’t have to help him, you didn’t have to listen to me at all! But you did, and Junpei is alive a- And mostly well.”
The King of Curses himself started to internally panic when the kid suddenly teared up.
Yuji squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to stop. ”I... I don’t get it, Sukuna.” He then leaned away just a bit more and used his sleeve to wipe away the few stray tears.
Sukuna smirked, showing a sliver of his teeth. ”What, how I did it? Frankly speaking, brat, I don’t think you would understand even if I explained it.”
When in doubt; act vaguely mean. Just don’t overdo it.
”Heh, I probably wouldn’t, yeah.” The teen once again turned to look at Sukuna’s face.
The weird intensity of his stare honestly freaked the curse out a bit, though of course only on the inside.
”But no, what I don’t get is,” Yuji paused for a moment, almost as if thinking of not saying what he planned on saying.
Then, his face grew determined, and he began again.
"What I don’t get is why you pretend to be evil.”
Sukuna’s smirk faded completely as he froze, for but a fraction of a second, thinking
What?
He tried to collect his thoughts, failing quite miserably.
”What the actual hell do you mean by that, brat?” He attempted to look pissed off instead of surprised, but his mind was in turmoil.
Shitshitshit what is Yuji THINKING, asking the Evil King of Curses that-
The kid looked lost for a moment. ”You- I dunno what I mean, it’s just-”
He half-shrugged, grimacing a bit. "It’s just that it doesn’t make any sense," he finally admitted.
”Doesn’t make sense? What, exactly, doesn’t make sense?” he said, trying to sound irritated. He probably came off moreso as concerned, though.
At that, Yuji finally leapt completely away from the other, standing upright and throwing his hands out. The red waters splashed, but let him stand on top of them.
”This!" He waved his hands around, "You!" He pointed at the stunned curse who now had to look up at him from his half-crouched positon, "I dunno!” He shrugged with his whole arms.
He kept wildy gesticulating as he continued. "Everyone keeps telling me how ‘Evil’ and ‘Despicable’ and ‘Manipulative’ you are, and ‘Don’t trust him Yuji, no matter what he says’-!”
This time it was Sukuna who interrupted Yuji.
"Hm, they aren’t exactly wrong, you know,” he said as he gracefully stood up from the awkward half-crouch on top of the lake.
Irked, Yuji pointed at him with the fervor of a thousand comets. "And YOU say the same things! Why do you say the same things!?”
He shot his arms out in a questioning fashion, his movements causing more ripples to form below them.
"You’ve been at most kinda mean but you keep insisting, on every occasion, that you’re definitely only doing everything for yourself and not to trust you-,” he pointed at himself with both hands. ”-and then remind me to sleep, or- Or to brush my freaking teeth!?”
Sukuna tried to deny his train of thought. ”Your body is my vessel, brat, of course I want to keep it in good shape-”
Yuji wasn’t having it, though. ”Then why do you do the same for Fushiguro and Kugisaki!?”
Well, Megumi might make sense at least potentially... Nobara could too, maybe, thought Sukuna, but didn’t even get to start saying anything before Yuji began again.
”You care! Or- Or at least aren’t nearly as evil as everyone insists you are! I’m not the smartest but I’m not actually an idiot, Sukuna!”
”Brat-”
”And I haven’t missed you calling us ‘kids’ instead of ‘brats’ sometimes!” Yuji would have smiled at that, remembering how nice those times felt, but was too deep into the rant to do so.
He continued, almost fuming.
"Why do you keep being mean when you clearly don’t want to be!?” he finally fully shouted - frustration, fear, uncertainty and hope clear in his voice, stance and face.
Eventually, he pulled his raised arms down.
Then, there was silence.
Yuji kept softly huffing, exhausted from both the rant and the whole day beforehand.
Sukuna, meanwhile, said nothing. He merely folded his arms and looked away vaguely to the side, at the slowly calming red waters they both stood upon.
The silence stretched.
Finally, Yuji spoke up. He sounded uncertain, looking at the shiny surface of the blood-like pool, too.
"I- I’m sorry, you’re like ancient, you probably don’t want to hear some, some brat trying to act like they know anything-”
”No. Stop.”
Yuji startled, looking back up to Sukuna, who was once again turned to him. He was surprised at just how... Openly worried? the powerful curse looked.
Sukuna closed his eyes, inhaled through his teeth, softly clicked his tongue, opened his eyes again, and started speaking.
”I... Still stand by my insistence that neither you nor anyone else should fully trust me,” he briefly held up a hand at the kid’s clear intention of interruption. ”but I have my reasons for that, ones I won’t explain now.”
I'll have to think on how exactly I should establish the dissonance without saying I’m technically a completely different person. Mostly. With real possibilities of relapsing into evil, he thought.
”But-” Yuji started, but Sukuna shot him a look, intense yet not malicious. He shut up again.
The curse stared for a moment more. Then, he sighed with his eyes closed - almost theatrically.
He looked back at Yuji in a faux-irritated way. "You say you aren’t the smartest person and yet have apparently bested me, Ryoumen Sukuna, in my attempt at deceit.”
He hummed, dropping the false annoyance. "In a way, at least.”
As Yuji realised what the other said, he grinned brightly – both triumphantly and hopefully. ”Wait, bested? So did I get it right? You pretend to be evil!?” he asked, excited.
It’s a good thing I’m not a vampire, you literal sunshine child. "Not exactly, br-... Kid.”
The curse tried to ignore the freaking squee Yuji made at the correction.
"I am most definitely no paragon of good, and if I were human would probably be considered barely society-worthy.” He chuckled lowly.
I may be mostly myself but that goddamned evil fuck definitely left a mark on me, damn sadistic cannibal.
”And I used to be exactly what they, and I, keep telling you I am. Perhaps worse.” He frowned, hating to take credit for actions that weren’t actually his.
Sadly, he needed to ensure the kid understood what he was dealing with.
”Huh? So... You changed?” Yuji was a bit... Disappointed that apparently Sukuna wasn’t always this version of himself.
Regardless, he wanted to at least know what exactly he meant by that.
The curse waved his hand a bit. ”In short, yes.”
He hummed again. "Frankly speaking the me from before would have preferred to tear your limbs off and gouge your eyes out with your own broken bones before letting you hug me.”
He frowned. ”Especially since the damage wouldn’t transfer to ‘my real vessel’, your flesh body.”
Yuji took a step back, surprised at the whole admission. ”Wh-What?”
He then noticed the slightly mournful expression that appeared on the other’s face.
Seeing that, Yuji returned forward.
"But- I guess you wouldn’t now, right?” he asked with a sliver of hope.
(He didn’t want to end up being betrayed by one of the most reliable and caring adult figures in his life, please no.)
Sukuna looked at Yuji, a measure of sadness clear on his face. ”No, kid. I wouldn’t.”
He closed his eyes, all four of them, with an almost pained expression. "Honestly, I had to stop myself from embracing you back, earlier.”
He chuckled. "My old self would be screeching in mental agony and wrath at the sheer notion. A version of him doing something as soft as that to another living being? Ha.”
He wanted to continue bashing on Real Sukuna, but then-
”Well, would you like to?”
Sukuna’s eyes shot open, looking at the source of the question.
Yuji stood there, a bit closer than before.
(Sukuna didn’t even notice him approaching, so focused on his own train of thought.)
The teen’s arms were very slightly raised. It was almost like he wanted to open them up for a hug but was wary of overstepping.
”Uh, I mean would you like to hug me? Now that you don’t need to act all distant and annoyed?”
He smiled nervously. "’Cause I already know you don’t mean it anyway?”
Sukuna just kept staring.
Yuji slowly lost the overt enthusiasm, almost stepping back. Suddenly though the curse finally spoke, unusually quietly for himself.
”...If you still wish to as well, even after hearing all that?” he smiled, one of the few times Yuji has seen where it was neither a smirk nor a grin.
He then uncrossed his arms. "I'd love to, kid.”
Yuji grinned and didn’t waste time at that - he once again closed the distance between them with a happy laugh.
He held onto Sukuna tightly, perhaps even moreso this time. After all, there was no undercurrent of sadness unlike the earlier one.
There was a beat where the other just stood there stiffly, and Yuji started thinking that maybe he didn’t actually want the hug.
Then, bit by bit, in an almost afraid manner, Sukuna closed his own arms over Yuji’s back.
And he slowly untensed.
Now, Yuji has had many hugs in his life, he was just that kinda person, but-
Never before had he felt like someone was so desperate for one before they hugged him.
Sukuna held onto him with such gentleness, yet so strongly, with such clear want of it, that Yuji started wondering; Has he ever done this before?
And he answered himself.
Definitely not.
And he doesn’t even have a real body to do that anymore.
As they stood there, tranquil, with Sukuna’s warm (fake, this is merely a projection of his soul) presence making the hug even more comfy, Yuji couldn’t help but get sad at the thought.
He shook himself internally. This is a happy moment, Yuji! he told himself.
He could be all sad about stuff later.
So, after a bit, he decided to speak up once again.
"Hey Sukuna?"
"Mmm?" the one in question hummed from where his head laid on Yuji's shoulder.
"Will you call me 'kid' from now on?"
The other huffed, amused. "Don't push your luck, ya brat."
Yuji grinned and squeezed Sukuna even tighter.
Freaking sunshine child, thought the curse at his antics. I'll worry about the ramifications of him figuring it out later.
After the kid, and myself, have had enough of being wholesome for now.
Sometime soon, definitely.
...
...Yyeahh, I hope the kid doesn't mind a long-ass hug 'cause I kinda underestimated just how much I needed this.
The kid in question, of course, ended up not minding it at all.