WARNING: Some death and gore. There will also be a very short sexual assault scene, but it won't be written out in detail.

Sukuna's really been my punching bag these last few chapters lol

SUKUNA WOKE UP TO A warm body pressed against his side and a chilly breeze pushing against his other side. He cracked one eye open and stiffened.

It was nearing winter time now and the weather was getting colder, especially at the crack of dawn when Sukuna had woken up. However, he could hardly feel the brutal chill anymore when he laid eyes on the slumbering body beside him. His whole face heated up when he spotted Shisui's face just inches away from his own.

His breathing nearly stopped.

The two of them were sleeping far away from the river and deeper into the forest, surrounded by trees to keep them warm from the cold winds. They were laying down on the ground, cuddled next to each other without a care in the world.

She was perfectly at peace, gentle breaths leaving through her nose. Her nose was pinkish from the cold, but she didn't seem to be shivering. The night before, Sukuna had removed his kimono to throw over her body to keep her warm, leaving him in just his hakama pants.

His body was good at regulating its temperature so extreme weather never really bothered him. But now, he felt like he was on fire.

Too close... she's too close! He inwardly panicked, failing to keep his cool. He inched back a bit and turned his head away to avoid looking at her.

He let out a sigh of relief, letting his mind finally distract him by trying to remember how they got in this situation.

Yesterday... his house was nearly bombarded by a mob of angry villagers who were out for his blood. Somehow, they knew important facets of his past—facets that he didn't even know about. Sumiko had confirmed it all to be true, but how did the villagers even know about that? Where did those rumors come from? Who spread it?

Nevertheless, he ran away after finding out the truth. Shisui chased after him and stayed with him the whole day. And then...

And then Hideshi came, he thought, his face darkening as he recalled the scene with that piece of shit his aunt deemed as her lover (the thought of them together still made him retch in disgust, gods why was his aunt's standards so low?).

Hideshi had seen Shisui's face and recognized her in an instant. He threatened to harm her, to kill her. And Sukuna... Sukuna just reacted. He realized later that he had overdone it by using his technique, but he couldn't help it! At that moment, he had become more animal than man; reacting on instinct instead of reason and his instincts were screaming at him to protect Shisui and get rid of the threat.

And he had done it. He protected Shisui from him and got her away from the scene. Sure slicing up Hideshi's arm was a little too much, but Sukuna didn't feel guilty about it all. He was just glad that Shisui wasn't afraid of him for what he had done. In fact, it was all too easy to get her to forgive him.

After they ran away (again), they settled some place deeper in the forest, farther away from civilization. They even slept there overnight because of his refusal to return home. No doubt his aunt would chew him out for what he had done to Hideshi.

A low growl pulled him away from his thoughts, followed by a familiar dull pain that came from his stomach. With a grown, he pushed himself up, bare skin exposed to the cold wind. He looked down and saw that the mouth stationed on his stomach was practically drooling, desperate for food.

He was hungry. Starving actually. He didn't eat at all yesterday and now that he thought of it, Shisui probably hadn't either since she ran off to go find him before she could even get breakfast. What an idiot. A loveable one nonetheless, but still an idiot.

He gingerly shook her awake. "Shisui, wake up," he mumbled sleepily. "Come on, wake up, stupid."

"You're stupid..." She grumbled under her breath, blue eyes slowly cracking open. With an overexaggerated groan, she sat up and stretched her arms out over her head.

"You should get home and eat something," Sukuna suggested. "You didn't eat at all yesterday."

"And what about you?" She asked, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.

"I'll have to return home as well and..." He trailed off, scowling because he really didn't want to do this. "Apologize to my aunt and Hideshi..."

Just thinking of that vile pig made him want to gag. He had probably told Sumiko all about how much of a monster he was and how he had 'tried to kill him' and whatnot. Probably told a false story about how Shisui was evil and egged him on too. How annoying, especially since he would have to clear everything up and apologize, ugh.

"Shisui," he spoke up. "About last night..."

But she was already shaking her head, knowing what he was about to say. "I told you, it's okay. I'm not afraid of you or anything. You were just protecting me," she smiled in reassurance.

He had already explained to her the night before about why Hideshi hated her so much. It took her a while to remember—it happened a long time ago and the event wasn't anything special to her—but she finally recalled being scolded by a slave for jumping into the koi pond. She reacted the way a six year old girl would whenever she was being yelled at: she cried, which attracted the attention of one of her brothers who then went to her father about what had happened. Everything after that was a little blurry, but now she understood why Hideshi reacted the way he did when he saw her.

She didn't blame him for hating her, nor did Sukuna's actions scare her off. It wasn't as if he actually killed him anyway (she didn't think she would even care if he did).

He sighed in relief and the two of them stood up together.

"Here's your kimono," she handed it back to him. "I guess... we'll see each other later, huh?"

"Yeah..." He muttered. "I'll stay clear of the villagers. I know you announced your clan's 'protection' over me, but..."

"I know," she nodded, grimacing. "Better to stay safe than sorry."

And then she walked over and wrapped her arms around him, bringing his body in for a hug. Sukuna stiffened. Affection was something he had (begrudgingly) grown used to since meeting Shisui, but now he just felt different.

"I'll still love you unconditionally."

"I love you."

"You mean the whole world to me. I don't care if you're a human, or a cursed spirit, or a hybrid."

Her words from before echoed in his head, a never ending mantra that embedded itself into his mind. A pleasant warmth surrounded his chest, but he shoved the thoughts aside.

She didn't mean it that way.

They were just friends.

Shisui was promised to someone else.

(A horrible man worse than Hideshi. He still didn't trust him, but maybe he was just clouded by jealousy and bitterness. Maybe he was the man Shisui deserved because Sukuna knew very well she deserved better than him. What could he ever give her? He wanted her to be happy and if Junichiro was her happiness, then Sukuna would just have to stand back and let her go.)

After they parted ways, Sukuna trudged back home. He purposely kept a slow pace, not wanting to reach his destination right away. Unfortunately for him, he was a tall guy with big steps so it didn't take him that long to be standing in front of his house's door.

With a heavy sigh, he walked in and kicked his sandals off.

"Aunt Sumi, I'm home," he droned.

No reply.

He took a few steps in and stopped. A wonderful smell wafted into the air, but when his eyes scanned for the source, his stomach sank. The dining table had been set with a whole array of food already there, but flies had already gotten to it as if the food had been left there overnight. But that wasn't all, he could see streaks of red splashed over everything; it drenched the food, the table, the floor, and even the walls.

"Aunt Sumi!" He yelled loudly, running deeper into the house in hopes to find her. She wasn't there.

Shit, shit, shit! He couldn't detect any cursed energy residuals which meant whoever had done it was either a non-sorcerer or it was a sorcerer who was knowledgeable enough on how to cover up their residuals.

He ran out of the house, heading straight to the village to get some answers and too blinded by rage to really think straight. Did Hideshi hurt Sumiko? No, his injury was too bad for him to do that. It had to have been someone from that angry mob.

But she was just a woman, a non-sorcerer at that. Surely they didn't kill her, right? Maybe they kidnapped her in hopes to hold her hostage.

(But that couldn't be it because there was too much blood, so much fucking blood, he was so hungry, so fucking hungry, he wanted to go back and lick the blood off every surface because his stomach was so empty and he was so fucking hungry—)

Finally, he reached the center of the village and heard a horrible ringing in his ears.

For a brief moment, everything stopped. The whole world went still and even the pain in his stomach went away.

There was a massive crowd of villagers gathered in front of him. They were shrieking about something and a few were even wailing, their cries piercing through the wind, but he ignored them, his wide red eyes zeroing in on what they were circling around.

His aunt's head was on a pike.

He knew it was her right away because of her hair—a vibrant shade of pink just like his own. It drifted in the air in clumps of pink and red, dried blood matting it together. Her baby blue eyes were dull and drooping, her mouth gaping open to reveal that the wooden pike had entered the bottom of her head and went through the top of her skull.

There were other pikes surrounding her—a pair of bloody legs and arms whose skin was littered with grisly looking wounds as if a wild animal had mauled her to death. Every piece of her was there, speared through and clawed. Everything except for her torso.

There was another set of pikes nearby belonging to Hideshi who was in a similar state, but Sukuna could hardly care about that. In an instant, all of his anger vanished, leaving him with shock, disbelief, and a sense that this was all just some sort of nightmare he was trapped in.

"AHHHHHHH!"

"IT'S HIM! THE MURDERER!"

"HURRY! SOMEONE GET HIM!"

Sukuna didn't remember what happened next. All he remembered was a bunch of blurry faces turning to him, their movements slowed and his vision hazy. He remembered getting attacked by several of the sorcerers. He didn't even try to defend himself, too numb and in shock to move a muscle.

When Sukuna clicked back into his mind, he found himself sitting in a dingy cell. There were talismans stuck to the walls, covering every inch so the surface beneath it couldn't be seen. His wrists were shackled and chained above him, spreading out on both sides, and his mouth was covered by some sort of muzzle.

He didn't feel like a person anymore. Like a human being. He felt like a trapped animal. But then again, these people never saw him as a human anyways.

Suddenly there was a harsh sting on his face as he had been slapped. He slowly looked forward, finding a sorcerer kneeling before him.

"Going to speak up now?" He was saying. Sukuna realized that he was in the middle of some sort of interrogation.

"..." He didn't say anything.

"Do you know why you're here, Ryomen?"

"..."

"You killed your aunt and her lover. You killed the two people who raised you."

Hideshi never raised him. All he did was steal from him and his aunt and slept in their house. But that didn't matter anymore because he was dead and so was his aunt.

"..."

"You're sick," the sorcerer looked at him in disgust. "You claim to be a human, but no human would treat another like that. You ate the rest of their bodies didn't you?"

Sukuna finally looked up, brows furrowed slightly.

The man was unfettered. "Their torsos were missing. You ate those parts, correct? Just like how we humans find the stomach of an animal nutritious, you curses eat the stomachs of humans for the same reason, don't you?"

"...I didn't kill them," he finally spoke up, his voice hoarse.

The man snorted in disbelief. "You can't lie your way out of this one, Ryomen. We know it was you. Those marks on their body—they weren't straight or clean. They were claw marks. And there's only one clawed monster in this village who is capable of such brutality."

"It wasn't me," he insisted. "I-I would never kill my au—"

"—I don't believe you," the man said coldly. Then, he rose to his feet and that was when Sukuna noticed the sword strapped to his side. "I am going to execute you now, Ryomen no Sukuna. You will never hurt anyone ever again."

He unsheathed his sword, a sharp sching! sword piercing the air. Sukuna tensed up, ready to defend himself. He could still feel his power within him, the talismans they chose to put around the room were too weak to hold him down. He would probably be hunted down by the rest of jujutsu society afterwards, but he didn't care. Right now, he needed to be free so he could find out who killed his aunt and—

"Ryomen no Sukuna is not to be executed today," a strong voice exclaimed.

Both men turned their heads to the sound and saw Shisui storming down the hallway before stopping behind the set of bars. There was a dark look on her face as she stared the executioner down. The other man, recognizing her status, lowered his sword and dropped down to a bow.

"Uchiumi-sama," he acknowledged. "Forgive me, but I don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation."

"I understand plenty and I'm telling you now, Sukuna did not kill Sumiko or Hideshi." She stated fiercely.

He looked at her in astonishment. "My lady, Ryomen no Sukuna grievously injured Hideshi the night before! He sliced his arm open! If he hadn't reached the village in time for the sorcerers who knew Reverse Cursed Technique could heal him, he would've lost his arm! Or worse, die from the blood loss!" And now he is dead along with his lover! It is obvious that Ryomen came back to finish the job! He is the murderer!"

Shisui shook her head. "He is not. Sukuna injured Hideshi to protect me. Hideshi was a former slave of the Uchiumi Clan and reacted angrily when he saw me. Sukuna did what he had to to keep me safe. Additionally, he was with me the whole day and night in the forest. He did not leave my side once."

"But—"

"—Watch what you say next," Shisui glowered, her voice lowering into a dangerous hiss. This was a Shisui Sukuna had never seen before. "You dare speak against a member of the Uchiumi Clan? I told you all the day before that he was under my protection and you all went against my orders and had the gall to do this."

She angrily motioned to Sukuna's shackled and battered form. The man didn't notice it, but her hand was trembling from rage. She wanted to reach in between the bars and throttle him, to whip him the same way her father whipped unruly slaves. He dared to hurt Sukuna. He dared to lay hands on someone she cared about. To treat him like he was lower and dirt and go as far as to accuse him of murdering his own aunt.

"Open the cell!" She demanded. "Open the cell and release him or it'll be your execution happening today!"

The sorcerer had no other choice. He knew Shisui wasn't a sorcerer and lacked the strength he had, but she was an Uchiumi and he wasn't suicidal enough to go anger anyone from that family—sorcerer or not.

He sheathed his sword and hastily freed Sukuna from his shackles. Sukuna's arms dropped to his sides.

"Leave," Shisui ordered.

The man bowed and quickly left.

Once he was gone, her angry demeanor disappeared, replaced by pain, relief, and sorrow.

"Sukuna..." She whispered, rushing into the cell and dropping down on her knees in front him.

He didn't even look at her. "How... how did you...?"

"I found out after I returned home," she answered gently. "Ryu-nii told me that a letter was sent to the Estate, asking for the presence of my brothers and father to take part in your execution. I tore the letter apart and came here immediately after I heard. Sukuna... I'm so sorry."

Everything was happening so fast. The rumors that were spread around the village, Sumiko confirming the truth of what really happened back in their old village, Hideshi attacking them in the forest, and now their brutal deaths. It was overwhelming even for her, so she knew it must have been worse for Sukuna. She could hardly believe what was happening now...

Sukuna lifted his head to look at her, eyes shining with tears.

"I didn't kill her," he whispered as little droplets spilled from his eyes.

"I know you didn't," she murmured, reaching out to wipe them away. "You would never hurt anyone, Sukuna. You're too good."

But Sukuna didn't want to be good anymore. What did being good ever get him? He tried to be good all his life and what he got in return was the scorn of the villagers and the death of his aunt—the only person who bothered to raise him.

He had enough anger and hatred to burn the whole world down, but he never acted out on it. He didn't want to be a monster like they said he was, but now... now he wanted to be that monster.

━━━━━━･❪ 💧 ❫ ･━━━━━━

"I want him to stay with us," Shisui said, staring up at the eyes of her father.

Sukuna had no home to go to and even though he was an adult and could claim his house, he didn't ever want to step foot back there. He was certain that his aunt's murder had taken place there—the amount of blood stains that covered the place certainly proved it. He didn't want to stay there. That wasn't his home anymore, just a painful reminder of what he had lost.

And he had lost a lot. His mother and father, along with their families, were already dead before he even knew of them and now he had lost his aunt too. He didn't have anyone except...

Except for Shisui.

She was all he had left.

(But he would lose her soon too because he was a monster, an abomination, a curse that brought death and destruction to everything around him and not even Shisui would be safe from that.)

"...I can't allow that," Suiten replied carefully. The haughtiness and arrogance that he once radiated with was extinguished, replaced by wariness as he eyed the pink haired man standing beside his youngest.

Sukuna's eyes were empty, bruises littered his skin, and his kimono was tattered in various places to reveal his battered form. Despite that, something about him was... different now.

His cursed energy, which had always felt disturbing to most sorcerers, seemed so much worse now. It's presence was massive, coating the room—the estate even—with a horrible sense of doom. It felt too sinister, too wicked, and too evil, as if Suiten had allowed the Devil to walk through his doors.

He glanced over at his sons. He could tell that they felt the change too. His sons—save for Ryujin—always looked Sukuna as if he was scum stuck to the bottom of their shoes, but several of their faces were pale, their strong demeanors faltering the longer Sukuna stood before them. Suiten couldn't even blame them.

Shisui's eyes flashed defiantly at the rejection. "And why not?"

"He has no place here," he responded. "I cannot just allow some man to live amongst us and—"

"—Then make me her personal guard." Sukuna interrupted.

Suiten clamped his mouth shut. His tone was emotionless, but there was a vicious glint in his blood red eyes. I'm not going anywhere, they seemed to be saying, so you better accept me or else.

He didn't feel like he had much of a choice left.

"Alright," he agreed, feeling the horrified stares his sons sent him. "That is... manageable. I shall have someone take you to your quarters—"

"—No," now it was Shisui's turn to interrupt him. "I don't want him staying with the slaves or other servants. He's my personal guard, he should stay in the room near mine."

Suiten opened his mouth to argue and even scold her for daring to cut him off, but slight movement from the man standing beside her made him consider against it. He wisely decided to nod in agreement in hopes for the conversation to end.

"Then it's settled," he stated.

Shisui bowed in respect. Sukuna did not. Instead, he quietly followed after her as they left the room together. Once the sixteen year olds were gone, everyone in the room finally felt like they could breathe again.

For the next few weeks, nothing eventful happened much to the relief of Shisui and Sukuna.

Things became much easier after the latter officially moved in and was given the title of Shisui's guard. They avoided venturing out to the village as much as possible, but when they did go there, none of the villagers could do a thing to him. They surely despised him more than ever, especially since they all still believed him to be the one responsible for Sumiko and Hideshi's grisly murders, but they could never touch him now. He was Shisui's personal guard. A part of the Uchiumi Clan. Trying anything on him would be a death sentence under Shisui's orders—and after what transpired during Sukuna's attempted execution, everyone knew the girl was cruel enough to sentence that punishment.

Back at the estate, Sukuna had a lot of privileges too—privileges that the other workers of the Uchiumi Clan didn't have.

He didn't have to sleep in the cramped quarters with the slaves nor did he stay in the barracks with the other guards. Instead, he had his own grand room right next to Shisui's along with his own private bathing room. His clothes weren't the same uniforms of the other guards; he had ornate, luxurious kimonos and yukatas that he never thought he would ever own. He had access to all kinds of meat that he could eat whenever he wanted.

It was great, really. He would've indulged himself in those privileges if he hadn't been busy trying to find answers on who killed his aunt.

His new status granted him enough power to get his questions answered, but nobody knew a thing. He went back to the jailhouse where he had previously been thrown in, but no one could tell him any details because they all believed that he was the killer. Shisui tried to help him as much as she could, but even then the answers were lackluster.

Nobody knew how the bodies got there. Nobody saw anything suspicious during that night before they all went home. Nobody knew a thing and it was driving him mad.

"I think it's all connected," Sukuna stated one day while Shisui was busy feeding the fish in the koi pond.

She turned to look at him, a knowing look in her eyes. "You mean...?"

He nodded. "The rumors... and now my aunt's murder. It's obvious that someone is trying to get me killed."

"And they're trying very hard too," she added. "Your old village, Ota, is very far from here. It's not even from the same province! Whoever learned all these pieces from your background traveled miles just to get the information they needed."

"They spread it around the whole village in hopes to get me executed," he murmured. "When that failed, they killed my aunt and Hideshi next, then framed their murders to make it look like I committed them."

They went so far as to mimic his claw marks too...

"One of my brothers or father might know who started the rumors," Shisui frowned as she turned over to the side of the courtyard. "But they're all in some important meeting now..."

"Important meeting?" He inquired.

"Something like that," she shrugged. "Father's not saying much about it though. Not even Ryu-nii knew what it's about. Maybe he'll tell me if I ask... But anyway, we'll have to ask them later."

"I'll ask Ryujin," he said. The eldest son wasn't as awful as the others.

Shisui hummed in response before reaching into her feeding back for more food for the fish. When she realized it was empty, she folded the bag up and turned to Sukuna.

"I need to get more feed. I'll be right back!" She exclaimed, already walking away.

"Be careful," Sukuna drawled. Though he doubted anything would happen to her in her own territory, he had been growing paranoid lately. Shisui was the only person he had left, if he lost her too he might just...

No, he shook his head. It wasn't good to think about that.

Shisui sped down the hallway and went to the supply room where the fish feed was. She heaved the bag into her arms and rushed back to the courtyard.

Suddenly, one of the double-doors opened and out stepped her father and brothers, who were joined by an elderly looking man she had never seen before.

Is he the reason for the important meeting father spoke of? She wondered, trying to get a closer look at the unknown man. That was almost impossible for her since she could only see the lower half of his old face. The upper half was shadowed thanks to the wide ajirogasa* hat he wore on his head.

Regardless, whatever happened in that meeting seemed to lift up everyone's spirits save for Ryujin, who stared at the old man warily.

Her father said a few things that she couldn't hear and they all parted ways. The old man walked down the hall, the same direction she needed to follow. Once her father and brothers were gone, she quietly resumed her walk.

"Hello there," he greeted her once they were side-by-side.

"Hello," she returned politely.

"You must be Shisui," he said.

"That's correct. And you, sir?"

"Ah, my name does not matter," he said vaguely as they finally reached the hall overlooking the courtyard. Sukuna was still there, boredly cutting an apple with his technique before popping the slices into his mouth. "That man over there is your guard, isn't he? Your father mentioned him in passing."

"He is," she beamed. "He's also my friend, Sukuna."

"I've heard a few things about him," he mused. "Quite confusing things. People say he's a curse. Some told me he works as a sorcerer."

"Sukuna is a sorcerer," she told him. And if he really was a curse? Then she wouldn't care. Sukuna was Sukuna. To her, it didn't matter what species he was.

The old man fell silent. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could feel his heavy stare on her friend. He must have noticed it because he turned back to her and smiled.

"Forgive me. I was merely trying to assess him." He explained.

She perked up. She knew that sometimes sorcerers could assess the strength of another sorcerer just from their cursed energy alone. "Oh? And what do you think?"

"I believe he's the strongest I've ever come across." He said confidently.

"You think so?" She asked, eyes wide in amazement. She always knew Sukuna was powerful, but everyone always looked down on him. It was nice hearing someone think differently.

He nodded in confirmation. "I believe he can take down the whole Gojo Clan if he wanted to." He replied, the upper corners of his lips lifting into a strange smile. The sight of it made her shiver, but she managed to smile back.

What an odd thing to say, she couldn't help but think.

The man finally left after that, and Shisui walked back to Sukuna.

"I just met the creepiest man..." She trailed off.

Sukuna looked a bit alarmed at hearing that. "Did he do anything to you?"

"No," she shook her head. "It's nothing really, he just said something weird. Can I have an apple slice too?"

He begrudgingly handed her one, muttering something about how she needed to learn how to cut her own apple slices one day. She smiled cheekily in response before enjoying the fruit.

"By the way," she began. "Father's meeting is done. You should go ask Ryu-nii about who started the rumors."

I wonder what that meeting was about though... and who was that man?

━━━━━━･❪ 💧 ❫ ･━━━━━━

The second he finished his apple, he left to go find Ryujin. He stalked down the halls to find the older man, the slaves clearing the area whenever he stepped into their peripheral.

But then as he crossed an opened hall that revealed the west courtyard, muffled sounds met his ears.

"—ch-chiumi-sama—!" Came a woman's frightful squeak.

"—Be quiet," a low voice hissed.

Sukuna paused and turned to the side, his eyes spying two figures at the far end of the courtyard. He saw a long, dark blue haired man he immediately recognized as Kuraokami, the youngest of Suiten's sons. To his surprise, he had pushed a female slave to the ground and was already trying to tear her dirty clothes away. Even worse, there were other guards and slaves in the area, and none of them were doing a thing. The slaves had scurried away, terrified of becoming a target. The guards just ignored the scene, but the more lecherous ones watched in interest.

"Please don't," the woman begged him quietly. "Please, please, please—mmph!"

Kuraokami said nothing, turning the woman around and shoving her face into the dirt.

Sukuna should've been filled with outrage and disgust, but all he could feel was indifference. He truly didn't care, even when the woman's begging grew louder and her attacker grew more violent. His red eyes remained blank and cold.

He had no connections to that woman. She wasn't Shisui, so why should he care? Why should he step up to save some stranger?

Suddenly, a hand shot out to grab his shoulder.

"Don't," the new voice whispered to him, before urging him away from the scene and further down the hallway.

"Unhand me," Sukuna growled, pulling away easily. He glared down at Ryujin, who had pulled him away. "What are you doing?"

"Stopping you from interfering," Ryujin answered. "I don't like it either, but it's best to let it go."

He scoffed. "Oh trust me, I wasn't going to bother interfering." Ryujin frowned at that, but Sukuna wasn't finished. "Though, I'm curious. Shisui always said you were the kindest of her siblings, shouldn't you stop that crazy brother of yours from defiling that woman?"

"That woman," he repeated in a clipped tone. "Is a slave that... that my brother is in love with," he finished with a defeated sigh.

Sukuna arched a brow, unimpressed. "You call that love?"

"I cannot answer that. This family has a twisted view on what love is," Ryujin said darkly. "It was good of you to not interfere. Kuraokami does not like it when people get in the way of his 'love'. He has already killed that woman's husband and children and is planning on making her his concubine—whether she likes it or not. Had you stopped him from... taking her, he would've ruined your life."

"He can't do anything to me," Sukuna scoffed. He had 'trained' with the brothers multiple times in the past and none of them could handle his strength.

"Then he'll hurt the one you love, and Kuraokami isn't afraid to hurt his own family." Ryujin warned with a pointed look, and Sukuna tensed up.

He was talking about Shisui. Oh, how funny... Shisui always talked about how wonderful her brothers were. To think one of them was willing to hurt her just to get his way.

"Why hasn't your father put a stop to this? I doubt that man would ever accept having a slave be part of the family..."

"He doesn't, that's why he allows them to be concubines instead. A slave could never be a wife." He explained. "My brothers have several concubines that were former slaves here. Even my father had a few, but he killed them when he... acquired his wives."

Sukuna didn't really want to ask, but he was curious. "Acquired?"

"'Stole' would be more appropriate," Ryujin murmured. "It's like I said, my family has a twisted view on what love is. My father kidnapped my mother—me and Shisui's mother—and her family had no choice but to give her up. Toyoko-san comes from a non-sorcerer family, and when they tried to take her back, he slaughtered them all. Chikage-san was offered up as a mercy bargain. And his youngest wife, Maho, is his favorite cousin and he wished to keep her forever. My brothers are no different."

"And you?" He asked skeptically. He knew Ryujin had no wife and family, a fact that grated on Suiten's nerves constantly, but he had to know: did he have a sick twisted view of love as well?

Ryujin's face crumpled. "I... I don't think I am."

"You don't think you are?" He narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Ryujin whispered. "I don't wish to have a wife because I don't want them to be treated the way the women are treated here. And I don't wish to have children because I am scared I'll pass off this... this vileness to them."

Sukuna harrumphed. "Does Shisui know about this? About any of this?"

"No," he shook his head. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't tell her. Please, Sukuna. Shisui's relationship with us may have its ups and downs, but I fear that she'll endure the same self-loathing I feel if she were to learn the dark truth about us. She's about to be married soon, and she sees love as something so pure and joyful. Let her... let her remain ignorant. Let her be happy."

Something shifted in Sukuna's head, and an awful idea clicked in. If he told Shisui the truth about her family, would she feel doubts about her own engagement? Would she be afraid? Worried? Would she feel so scared and uncertain that she would call the whole thing off?

He wanted to tell her. He wanted to run up to her and tell her every dirty little secret he learned about her family so she would be too scared of the idea of 'love' and leave Junichiro for good.

...But that wasn't right. Doing something like that would hurt her, and he knew he couldn't do that.

(But he wanted to. Gods, did he want to.)

"I won't tell her," he bit out. "She... loves that idiot. If she knew, she'd just be scared off."

Ryujin remained silent, his sharp eyes analyzing his expression. Realization dawned on him. "Sukuna... do you love my sister?"

He froze.

"Love her...? Of... of course I do, but not in the way you're implying," he lied, his eyes averted.

"Sukuna..." Ryujin said softly.

"It doesn't matter how I feel," he said stiffly. "She's getting married anyways."

"I'm sorry, Sukuna." Ryujin looked down. "If it means anything, I would've preferred you to marry her instead. I can tell you love my sister very much."

And his love was pure as well, and that was all Ryujin wanted for the people he cared about. To experience a pure and tender love, not the kind he was exposed to by his family.

Sukuna could feel a familiar, painful ache in his chest. He didn't want to talk about this anymore. He was desperate for a change of topic, and that was when he remembered why he was here in the first place.

"I don't wish to speak about this anymore," he forced himself to say. "Ryujin, I was looking for you. There's something I'd like to discuss."

The older man blinked at the sudden change of topic. "Oh? What is it?"

"Shisui said that you were the one who told her about the rumors spreading about me two days ago."

"Yes, I—"

"—Do you know who started it?" He demanded.

Ryujin frowned pensively. "All I know is that the rumors originated from an old traveler who returned from Ota. He told a few villagers of what he learned, people overheard, and the rumors spread from there."

"This old traveler, do you know his name? Or what he looked like?" He pressed on.

Ryujin shook his head. "I'm sorry, I was just told that he was an old man who wore an eboshi hat."

Sukuna frowned. "An eboshi hat?"

"Yes. Quite strange. Eboshi hats are usually worn by nobles, but this man traveled alone without any servants or help." He replied.

"...Thank you for telling me this, Ryujin. I should get going now, Shisui's waiting for me."

Without another word, Sukuna turned and walked away.

An old man in an eboshi hat... 

— author's note —

* This is an ajirogasa hat and YES the old man from the Uchiumi Estate is "Kei". Why was he there and what was the meeting about? Well, here's a hint: it has something to do with a certain arc that happens after Shibuya 😉

Also, these are meme gifs made by mxghostbee from tumblr (i love you for this 💖):