HIIIII IM BAAAACK!!!! 😃 Good news: semester's over so I can go back to writing!!! Also, JJK Season 2's been confirmed for July 2023... 😭 Bruh, I thought it was gonna come this winter wtffff

Another thing, I learned from the last update that "Ryomen" isn't really Sukuna's surname and is more like a title... BUT OH WELL! Let's just pretend it's his family name ok??? Thx guys 💖

WARNING: pregnancy gone bad. Like... REALLY bad. Like Bella Swan giving birth to Rheumatoid Arthritis (or whatever the fuck her name is) bad. Oh, and beware the cannibalism.

RYOMEN NO SUKUNA WAS A human, but he was born to be a curse.

Pounding footsteps could be heard as a pink haired figure sprinted through the halls of the large traditional-styled house. As she ran, the sound of glass-shattering screams echoed throughout the hallways, making everyone stare off at the direction of the noise with pale faces.

"Nee-san!" She cried out, opening the sliding door with a loud slam.

She stepped into the room, only to gasp in horror at what she saw. Her elder sister laid on the bed, writhing in pain like a woman possessed as several men struggled to pin her flailing limbs down. Her stomach was bulging, having carried a baby for about nine months, but she could see little bumps that would come and go, as if the baby was trying to violently free itself from her womb.

"O-oh gods, K-Kotomi!" She wailed at the sight.

One of the men who was pinning her sister down snapped his head towards her. "Who are you?! Get out of here! Get out!"

"Doctor, please, this is my wife's sister!" Kotomi's husband, Ryomen no Genzo, exclaimed before turning to face her. "Sumiko, I-I don't understand what's happening, but it's the baby again! It's always been causing her pain, but lately it's gotten worse and now Kotomi just—she just—"

"—ARRRRRRGHHHHHHH!" Kotomi howled in pain, her face drained of color and shining with sweat.

Sumiko shuddered at the agonized sound. Kotomi's pregnancy had always been a complicated one and abnormal when compared to others. For the first few months, everything was fine. Kotomi was glowing with health and motherhood, and was the envy of village women. But then as the pregnancy moved on to the later months, things took a turn for the worst.

She would regularly complain about horrible sharp pains coming from her belly where the baby resided. She would be struck with dizzy spells and would faint during random times of the day. Her hunger, amplified by the baby's hunger, would grow worse. It was almost like nothing would satisfy the baby's needs. And then came the bleeding. For the past few days, Kotomi would bleed. At first, they assumed that she miscarried, but the baby was still alive and painfully kicking. That was when they realized she was internally bleeding from organ damage.

Kotomi became the envy of the village to the source of everyone's pity.

"The baby must be ready to come out now," Sumiko rushed to her sister's side. "Where are the midwives?!"

"Can't you see this isn't a normal pregnancy, girl?!" The doctor shouted, pushing her away.

"It's the work of the demons," one of the men agreed. "There's demons plaguing this village and it's found itself a home in your sister!"

Sumiko almost snapped at him, but Kotomi let out another horrid scream that made everyone wince. And then—

"ARGHHH!" Genzo suddenly shrieked, his terrified eyes plastered onto his wife's stomach. "THE BABY! IT'S—IT'S—!"

Eyes snapped downwards, only for everyone to release similar shrieks. Sumiko stumbled away from the bed in horror, watching as a large laceration appeared on her sister's bare stomach—cut open from the inside.

Blood spurted as more cuts appeared, and Sumiko wanted nothing more than to look away from this awful sight, but her body betrayed her. She couldn't move, couldn't close her eyes, or turn away. She was stuck watching in breathless horror as her sister was ripped open from inside the womb.

Kotomi's screams died out sometime during it, but Sumiko could hardly function to realize that her sister was dead. When their horrified screams lessened, replaced by retching and labored breaths, a loud wail pierced the air, followed by a pair of tiny, bloodsoaked hands appearing from the opened belly.

Sumiko was the first to make a move. While the men stayed in paralyzed shock, she took cautious steps forward until she was standing at the bedside.

Kotomi... was dead. For the past few days, she had always looked like a walking corpse thanks to the abnormalities of her pregnancy, but now it was real. Her once fair skin was pallid and greying, her pink hair looked thin and straw-like, her rosy lips were beginning to lose their color, and her once bright blue eyes were staring back at her, dull and lifeless.

And then her gaze traveled downward to the source of the loud wailing. She tried not to throw up at the amount of blood pouring out and the ribbons of skin barely being held together.

Her breath hitched; inside Kotomi's opened stomach was a baby. It was so small and covered in blood and various other liquids. It wasn't as chubby as other newborn babies either, which was a concern. It's little mouth was stretched open as it continued to scream and thrash around. At the top of his head was a small patch of pink hair.

I hope they have my pink hair, she recalled her sister saying with a soft giggle.

You got your wish, sister, Sumiko thought numbly, but then she began to realize something. There was something terribly wrong with this baby.

Her body stiffened; the baby was waving his hands around and there she was able to spy something black. A closer inspection made her realize that those black spots were his nails—they were black, sharp, and resembled a deadly animal's claws than an innocent baby's nails.

Her breath hitched. Those nails... she looked back at all the gore and carnage that was her sister's remains. The baby... Kotomi's own baby had ripped her apart and killed her. The very baby Kotomi loved and adored despite all the pain it caused her, the same baby Kotomi couldn't wait to hold and cherish.

And it had caused her downfall.

Sumiko felt herself grow sick. The baby was waving it's little arms around desperately before it managed to grasp a hanging piece of flesh from his mother. It yanked once, easily ripping through the bloodied piece of skin before placing it into his mouth. She had to hold back the urge to vomit as she watched him gnaw at her sister's meat with it's gums.

He's eating her...!

The baby's cries began to lower in volume, as if the taste of human flesh was all he needed to calm down.

With trembling hands, Sumiko reached in and picked the baby up. She held it against her chest, not caring about the blood that was now staining her once lavish kimono. The baby looked away from his own bloodstained hands and locked eyes with her; blood-red rubies meeting with her blue eyes.

Genzo had brown eyes. Kotomi had blue. So where did these eerie red eyes come from?

The moment of peace didn't last long. He began to wail again, squirming in Sumiko's hold. She nearly dropped him from how much he was moving around, but she held him against her firmly.

"Kotomi...?" Genzo whispered hoarsely. "Sumiko, is Kotomi...?"

Slowly, Sumiko turned around. "She's gone, Genzo..." She croaked. "And your son, he's..."

She trailed off. She didn't really know what to say. 'Your son killed your wife'? 'The baby ripped her open'? 'He was trying to eat her corpse'? Either way, the next few hours became a blur to her. The most she remembered was her brother-in-law talking to the doctors, the crying of children, and the hushed gossip of the residents. She didn't know what was going on anymore. All the voices and noises were just fading in and out of her ears.

By the time night fell, she was still wearing her bloodstained kimono and the baby was still in her arms. She couldn't remember if he had ever been fed or not, but his constant wailing had tired him out so much that he fell asleep.

Suddenly the door to the room quietly slid open. She looked up numbly, locking eyes with an equally as empty-looking Genzo. He entered the room, closing the door behind him. His gaze drifted down to the slumbering baby.

"They're going to kill him," he whispered.

His words were enough to finally jostle her out of her daze. "W-what?"

"The doctors are convinced that he's some sort of oni and..." He swallowed thickly, looking away from his son as if the sight of him was too painful to bear. "Honestly, I can't even blame them. It—he sliced open his mother with his—his claws. No human can do that."

Sumiko rose to her feet, clutching the baby closer to her as she stormed over to him. "What do you mean they're going to kill him?!" She hissed, barely able to keep her voice low.

"They spread the word to the rest of the village and now they're up in arms. They want to kill him before he could curse the village or—or something like that. Sumiko—"

"—Why didn't you stop them?! This is my nephew, Genzo! Your son!"

"Because I had a wife to grieve over, Sumiko!" His voice rose. "And children asking me why their mother won't be coming back! I didn't realize what they had done until it was too late! If you don't get out of here soon, the village will kill the baby!"

Her skin ashened. "No. No, no, no. T-there must be something you can do...! You have to stop them! Convince them to leave!"

He shook his head. "I can't. Even your own parents are agreeing with the villagers. Your parents are furious, Sumiko; they believe it was my fault that the baby turned out like... like that..." He managed to say, his mournful brown eyes taking in the sight of his newborn son's blackened claws for nails.

"Please..." He begged her. "You have to leave. Take the baby and go. Now."

"I... I can't just...!"

"Sumiko, I'm sorry to put this on you, but I can't keep the baby here. The villagers and your own parents are out to kill him; and even if they weren't, I cannot keep him here. What if he hurts his siblings when nobody is around? What if my other children discovered what he had done to their mother and turn against him too? M-my hands are tied here, you are the only other person who doesn't want my son dead...!"

"But where do I even go...?! How will I find support or—or—"

She was cut off by the sound of angry voices coming from outside of the estate. Genzo cursed under his breath and peeked out the window. Sumiko looked over his shoulder, eyes widening when she saw a massive crowd of men just outside of the gates. They looked ready to kill, with weapons drawn and rope in their hands.

"They're here," he whispered gravely, stepping away from the window. He turned to her. "I already have a cart ready for you. Go through the back. Keep yourself and the baby hidden inside the cart until you're at a safe distance. A driver will take you as far away as possible. The cart consists of money, food, and precious goods that you can sell for a good price. It should be enough to last you a few years."

Hurriedly, he led her to the back of the estate where a horse-drawn cart awaited her. An anxious looking man sat on the strong looking steed, and he didn't even acknowledge them as they approached.

"What will you do about the villagers? They won't be happy that you've orchestrated our escape," she pointed out warily.

His expression was pinched. "I... I'll think of something. But you must hurry, Sumiko. My guards cannot hold that large mob back for long."

He helped her climb onto the cart before throwing a white tarp over it, covering her and the baby who was beginning to stir and grumble in annoyance.

"Take them as far away as you can," she heard Genzo instruct the driver. There was a short pause before she felt the cart begin to move.

Even though it wasn't necessary, she held her breath. She feared that if she made any noise, the mad mob could hear her and thunder over to her direction to kill her and the baby. It was irrational, but that was what overwhelming terror did to you. It made you irrational, made your mind malfunction, and your heart explode.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed hiding under the tarp with the baby wiggling around, but she didn't leave until she heard the driver say it was safe to come out.

As she moved the tarp over her head, she slowly sat up, and brought her knees up with the baby laying on her lap. The night wind made her chilly, so she tugged the blanket around the baby in hopes to keep him warm.

She was far away from the village now. Far away from home, her family, and lastly, her dead sister. The dead sister who had been brutally killed by the very baby that was currently nestled in her arms.

She stared down at the baby, making contact with his creepy red eyes and felt no sign of hatred towards him... just pain.

The village she lived in was small, but she came from a noble family and was the youngest out of three siblings. She had one older brother who was long gone now after getting married, and her older sister, Kotomi. Despite already being fifteen, Sumiko remained unmarried due to being seen as an unsuitable wife. She was too disobedient, never liked bothering with her studies, and always rambled on about random topics that most men would find unladylike.

But she wasn't a fool.

She was rational enough to not pin the blame on the baby in her lap.

(But no amount of rationality could help her explain why his first instinct was to eat his mother's flesh.)

Despite the horrible death he gave his sister, she couldn't find it in herself to hate him. The burning anger was always short-lived, and she would get sucked into her old memories of when Kotomi was still alive, warm blue eyes looking lovingly at the baby in her belly as she stroked the growing lump.

"What do you think it'll be?" She remembered herself asking. "A boy or a girl?"

"I don't mind either way," Kotomi replied, her eyes so warm and sweet as she looked down, as if the baby had already been born and was in her arms. "Genzo and I already have sons and daughters, after all."

"Have you decided on names yet?" She asked.

Kotomi nodded excitedly. "Oh, yes! Sukuna for a boy, Sakura for a girl."

"Sukuna," Sumiko muttered to herself, wet tears drying her face as she let out a bitter scoff. "Ryomen no Sukuna. 'Two-faced spirit'. What an awful name you've bestowed to your child, nee-san."

It seemed strangely fitting though, but nevertheless, she would never let her hatred consume her. Kotomi would've wanted her to love her child unconditionally, and she wanted to fulfill her wishes.

She knew the baby was innocent. She knew he wasn't some 'malicious demon' as the villagers would call him. It wasn't the baby's fault that he was born with claws. He didn't know what he was doing and besides, people weren't born evil.

But what she didn't know was that some people were born to be evil.

Nobody knew it yet, but Ryomen no Sukuna was going to be one of the most evilest beings to ever walk the Earth.

━━━━━━･❪ 💧 ❫ ･━━━━━━

Six years.

That was how long they were gone and honestly, Sumiko didn't feel too wistful about it. The driver had taken them all the way to the Hida Province, or more specifically, to a faraway village called Yorokobi and ever since then, neither of them had any issues about people from their old village hunting them down. She hadn't received any word from Genzo or her family, but honestly, she didn't seem to mind.

But that didn't mean that everything was well in Yorokobi. Sumiko had tried her best to keep Sukuna's... abnormalities under wraps, but when he fell sick just weeks after arrival, she grew desperate. She went to a doctor and upon seeing the red eyes and claws on the baby, he was understandably shocked. He helped the baby recover, but word had spread throughout the village about the 'evil child' being cared for by the strange newcomer who had no husband or family.

Their only saving grace was the fact that the people here weren't so quick to act on it. Unlike in their old village, the villagers here didn't throw a riot and tried to hunt them down. But the animosity was there; especially towards Sukuna for looking more demon-like than human. Sometimes she heard whispers from a few villagers claiming that she was housing a 'cursed spirit', though she had no idea what they meant by that.

Sumiko always did her best to block them out. Sukuna was just a child, and while he certainly wasn't the most... sweetest or affectionate little boy, he was innocent. He was studious, always reading the scrolls and books she would buy him, intelligent for his age, helpful, and somewhat polite. He wasn't a 'demon' or a 'curse' like how people would perceive him as. He was a normal boy who just so happened to have a few oddities to him.

His appetite had also grown over the years. She wouldn't be surprised if his stomach had no end to it because it was like nothing could ever satisfy him. The one thing he seemed to enjoy was meat, even at a young age. The issue with that was how expensive meat was in the village. The money and goods Genzo gave her wouldn't last for long with his appetite.

(Sumiko thought back to when he ate bits of her dead sister and began to think that maybe the real reason Sukuna was so hungry all the time was because she wasn't giving him the meat from the right species, but she tried not to think about it.)

Speaking of oddities... it turned out his eyes and claws weren't the only strange things about him. Sukuna could see things too, though she had no idea if they were actually real or not. There were times where he would speak of grotesque looking creatures around the house or the village. There was even a time where he claimed that there was a monster latched around her neck. She remembered watching him poke the air with a pointed claw before telling her that he had gotten rid of it.

She wanted to pretend that he was just playing around with her, but Sukuna was always so serious for his age. He rarely ever lied to her too, so he had to have been telling the truth... but invisible creatures that apparently only he could see? How could she possibly believe such a thing?

"Aunt Sumi," a small hand tugged at the bottom of her yukata, pulling her away from her thoughts.

She looked down, smiling at the pink haired boy who peered up at her blankly. "Hmm?"

"There's a dead body outside of the house." He said flatly.

"I—what?" Without another word, she dropped her chopsticks and rushed to the door. Sliding it open, she choked on her scream when she spotted the seemingly dead body just several feet away from her home.

He wore no shoes, dirty hakama pants, and was naked from the waist up, leaving his bare back to be revealed to the skies. There were grisly looking slash marks and welts on his back—and all fresh too, indicating that whatever had hurt him had happened quite recently. Judging by the short, two-paneled style of his hakama pants, he must have been a commoner or a slave of some sort—possibly punished by someone of higher standing.

But that wasn't the only thing she noticed. As she warily approached him, she realized that he was still breathing. He was alive, not dead.

"Sukuna, go back inside and set out one of the mats we have," she ordered, quickly coming to the man's side.

"Are we bringing him in? He smells bad," he grumbled in protest.

"Sukuna, now please?"

There was a heavy sigh, followed by shuffling footsteps. Sumiko somehow managed to drag him into her home without aggravating his injuries too much, before carefully dumping him on the mat Sukuna set up on the floor.

"Why are we helping him?" Sukuna asked her.

"Because we should," she replied gently. "You should always help someone when they're in need, Sukuna. It's the right thing to do."

"Oh." Was all he said. And then: "Do I have to share my books with him?"

She smiled in amusement. "No, so don't worry."

He relaxed at that and she couldn't help but chuckle. As smart as he was, he really was just a child.

"Now, can you please get me a bowl of water and a cloth? I should help wash his wounds..." She trailed off, grimacing at the amount of blood pouring out of his marks. It was like witnessing Kotomi get ripped open all over again. She tried her best to push the thought away.

She spent around an hour washing the man's back and putting a salve over his injuries, pretending not to notice the hungry glint in Sukuna's eyes as his gaze roamed over his bleeding, open wounds.

The man finally woke up with a groggy groan sometime later. He weakly looked up, only to make contact with Sukuna's bright red eyes and immediately flinched back.

"Calm down, you're safe here," Sumiko said soothingly.

"Wha—where am I? Who are you people?" He asked, his voice cracked and hoarse, as if he had spent the whole day screaming.

"My name is Fukudome no Sumiko and this is my nephew, Ryomen no Sukuna. Forgive him, he was just curious about you. He means no harm," she explained. "We found you just outside of our house, bleeding out. Someone hurt you, didn't they? We can help take you out to report it."

He let out a loud scoff. "That won't do anything—not when the ones who did this came from one of the most powerful families in the world."

Sumiko paused. "...Royalty? I wasn't aware there were any royals here..."

"No, though I believe they're close," he said gravely. "The Uchiumi Clan."

Both aunt and nephew straightened up. Sukuna looked vaguely excited, though he hid it well. He had never met the Uchiumis, but he had seen them in the village a handful of times. It was always the same people—a tall man with his four sons. They reeked of power and superiority, but that wasn't what Sukuna cared about.

It was the fact that they could see them too. Those odd creatures that only Sukuna seemed to see. He knew they could see it because he witnessed them kill those creatures with a mere wave of their hands. He would watch on in awe as they used water to slice through a creature hiding up in the trees, or strike a glowing fist through a creature that had attached itself to one of the villagers. He even copied the latter on the curse that was wrapped around his aunt's neck and killed it!

"You know the Uchiumi Clan?" Sukuna couldn't help but ask.

"I was their slave," the man sneered. "Years ago when I was just a boy, my father was arrested for committing violence upon someone. I fought against them when they tried to take him away, but they threw me behind bars too. We both got sold to the Uchiumis."

"And I suppose they weren't very good masters," Sumiko concluded with a wince. Her old household had slaves too, but not that many since they weren't that wealthy. Even then, they didn't treat their slaves like scum, but moreso as helpful servants.

"What are they like?" Sukuna was desperate for answers.

"The Uchiumi Estate is hell on earth," he hissed. "That family is full of demons. Hell, even some of the other slaves are just as bad. The ones whose families have belonged to the Uchiumis for centuries—they're loyal to them, as if their minds have been twisted around to throw away their dignity for anyone with the name of Uchiumi. It drove my father mad, he tried to escape, but the Clan Head flayed him to death. And me, well..."

"You tried to escape too?" Sumiko guessed.

He grimaced. "No. I stayed. Tried to keep my head low. I had one of the easier jobs: to oversee the koi pond, but—ugh—there's this damn brat who kept making my job harder. The youngest of the main branch kids. I don't really know her name, so I call her 'Fish Girl' instead. She was the one who nearly got me killed."

Sumiko furrowed her brows. "I apologize, but... a child? How would she even—?"

"Spoiled brat got me in trouble," he huffed. "For some blasted reason, she always liked to play inside the koi pond and it was a hassle to get her to stay away. I had enough. Yanked her out of the water and yelled at her to stop. She started bawling. I knew then that I was in trouble. One of the slaves reported me to one of her brothers, who then rushed to their father. He flogged me for hours... and then he threw me out to let me rot."

"And then we found you..." Sumiko finished, her expression conflicted. "I... surely you shouldn't pin this on her, she's only just a child—"

"—A child of the Uchiumi Clan is no different than a demon," he hissed. "You don't understand how monstrous that family is! And the head, Suiten, he's pure evil, but he's protective over his children, the youngest especially. He tortured me just for making her cry for something that was her fault. And then she came and interrupted the session. She couldn't see me, but I could hear her. She came in to ask her father to play with her, humming innocently as if she hadn't just watched me get dragged away screaming for help. If I ever see that brat again, I'm going to strangle her."

She frowned. "I doubt she really understood what happened—"

"—You are the one who doesn't understand! The Uchiumi Clan is full of monsters, they're more abnormal then your boy over here and he's the one with red eyes and claws."

He nudged his chin to Sukuna, who remained silent, his red eyes boring into him as if he was analyzing him for any weaknesses.

She stiffened. "Do not speak of my nephew in that way."

Sukuna shook his head. "It's alright, Aunt Sumi." He said, before turning to the injured man. Slowly, he picked up something from behind him. It was revealed to be a small bowl of salt. He picked a handful of it and lifted his hand up so it would be hovering dangerously over his battered back.

The man stiffened.

Sumiko blinked in disbelief. "Su-Sukuna, what are you—?"

"—I have some questions about the Uchiumi Clan. If you don't answer them truthfully, then I will pour salt all over your wounds." The little boy threatened.

His aunt's jaw dropped. "Sukuna!" She shouted. "Just what do you think you're doing?!"

"I am doing what I have to in order to get answers," he answered calmly, before staring deep into the man's eyes. "Now... tell me about their powers."

━━━━━━･❪ 💧 ❫ ･━━━━━━

Sukuna would never admit it, but he was glad that the foul-smelling man (who's name was actually Hideshi) stumbled upon their lives. Sure he turned out to be a worthless bum who was only after his aunt's money, but the most useful thing he had done was tell him everything about sorcerers and the jujutsu world.

Those peculiar creatures that he could see were called cursed spirits, evil manifestations of negative emotions created by humans. Jujutsu sorcerers were the ones who exorcised them with magical powers. A huge majority of the world's population consisted of non-sorcerers; people who couldn't see the curses or had any special abilities like his aunt and Hideshi. There were a few sorcerers who could see the curses, but couldn't exorcise them like the daughters of the Uchiumi Clan and a few of the villagers here.

Yorokobi Village was one of the sorcerer villages in Japan, so a majority of the people here were well aware of curses' existence regardless of whether they could see them or not. That surely explained all the hateful looks Sukuna would receive... they all thought he was a cursed spirit that could somehow be seen by everyone.

But they were all wrong. He was a sorcerer. Or, well, he was determined to be one. That was why he had his aunt buy him all the important books and scrolls he would need to reach his goals. He always had a thirst for knowledge, always wanted to learn, so he absorbed every sacred word as if his young mind was a sponge.

A year had passed since he had learned the truth of himself and he had gained an abundance of knowledge since then. He was what people would call a rarity; sorcerers usually manifested their Cursed Technique between the ages of four to six, however, he was born with these black claws and demonic red eyes.

He was seven years old already and aside from being able to manipulate his 'Cursed Energy' as the scrolls called it, he had yet to gain a Cursed Technique, but he knew he would get it soon. He had to!

Sukuna gathered all his scrolls and books in a small bag before hoisting it all on his back. Just as he reached the door, a shadow fell over him. He turned around, his unimpressed gaze meeting with Hideshi who had yet to leave after a whole year had passed.

"You're going out again to do that weird Jujutsu stuff, aren't you?" He said knowingly, squinting at him.

"Is it not obvious?" Sukuna replied, his tone clipped. He did not enjoy having this man act as if he was in charge of him. His aunt was his guardian, not him.

Hideshi scowled. "You don't scare me anymore, child, so watch how you speak to me. I only came here to remind you to come back home before it gets too late. I won't go out to look for you if that happens."

Sukuna didn't reply. His eyes drifted over to the hallway where Sumiko's face peeked out. She was gnawing on her lip guiltily as she watched them speak to each other.

"I'll be out late, Aunt Sumi," he told her, purposely ignoring the ex-slave.

"Sukuna," she called out before he could turn away. "Can't... can't you just train here?"

"That won't be wise," he replied stoically. "I broke a tree yesterday. I might damage the house and I know that our supply of money is dwindling." He added before sending a pointed look to Hideshi, a silent message telling him to stop wasting all their money.

And then without another word, he walked out the door and went straight to the forest standing behind their house. During his trek through the woods, numerous lessons about the fundamentals of jujutsu ran through his brain, his mind reciting the facts over and over again until it reached perfection. He couldn't wait to apply them all, to use jujutsu again and watch the cursed energy roll off his body in waves.

He reached the edge of the forest, a large clearing of grassy fields, rocky patches, and a massive river on the other side. Eagerly, he set all of his things down, his small hands rummaging through his scrolls and books to review.

He must have stayed there for hours, studying and training, because the moon was out. He knew he should stop, that it was already very late and that his aunt would worry about him, but he wanted to stay here and be at peace with his books. The house no longer felt free thanks to Hideshi's unwanted presence. Seriously, what was his aunt thinking, allowing a man to live with her for so long? The villagers were already gossiping about her, and it didn't help that she was taking care of a 'demon child'.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

The book in his hands dropped to the ground as a loud scream pierced the air. He whipped his head back to the forest, where he could hear the screaming grow louder and louder.

His body tensed up, expecting a curse to pop up and disturb him. Instead, a little girl dashed through the bushes, her blue hair was a bird's nest and her pale face dusted with red as she screamed her lungs out.

"SOMEBODY HEEEELP MEEE—WAH!" She shrieked, only to suddenly fall to the ground face-first.

Oh, he realized. It's just an idiot.

His body relaxed, but he stared at the girl weirdly.

She peeled her face off the ground and muttered a soft, "Ow..."

Bzzzzzz.

She gasped loudly, whirling around only to let yet another horrible scream as a flyhead flew after her. She swatted blindly at the air, tears streaming down her puffy face as she tried to scoot away.

Sukuna sighed in annoyance before walking forward and simply jabbing at the curse with the pointed tip of his claw. It was exorcised in an instant.

The girl gaped at him. "WOW! That was amazing! How did you do that?!"

"I literally just poked it," he deadpanned.

"Oh."

"That was a flyhead by the way," he informed her. "Practically the weakest cursed spirit in existence."

Her face heated up in embarrassment. "W-well I'm not a sorcerer like my father and brothers! Of course I wouldn't be able to exorcise it!"

Oh? So she must have been one of those people who could see curses but couldn't fight them, he realized, before something clicked in his head. He analyzed the girl, the gears in his brain whirring as he noted down her appearance.

Blue hair and blue eyes, plus her night robes looked very luxurious. She had a startling resemblance to the Uchiumi men he would see walking around the village from time to time. Could it be that...?

"Who are you?" He asked, eyes narrowed.

"Uchiumi no Shisui," she answered. "Who are you?"

"Shisui?" The little boy said dryly. "Death water? Your name is 'death water'?"

"My father says it's a good name!" She harrumphed. "And you didn't answer my question! What's your name?"

"Ryomen no Sukuna."

"That's an ugly name."

"Not as ugly as your face," he shot back, gesturing to all the dirt gathered on her skin from her not-so-graceful fall to the ground.

She gasped in outrage before furiously trying to scrub the dirt away with her sleeve, though it only managed to make her night robes filthy.

"You're mean!" She cried out, pouting.

"And you're a fool," he quipped. "What sort of moron roams the woods in the middle of the night and gets scared off by something as weak as a flyhead?"

"I'm telling my father on you!" She stomped her little foot. "And then he'll fu—fla—flog you!" She stumbled over the word.

It was clear to him she had no idea what flogging even meant. However, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes in suspicion. Ironically, that was the same punishment Hideshi had received before he and his aunt found him...

"Oh gods," he groaned under his breath. "Don't tell me you're the Fish Girl."

"Huh?"

"Do you by any chance enjoy jumping into koi ponds?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yes! I love playing with the fishies! Oh hey, there's a river here too! I wanna see the fishies!"

As if her brain lacked any semblance of common sense, she began to rush over to the river, probably wanting to jump in. Sukuna's eyes widened and he hastily ran to her to yank her away from the edge.

"Are you an idiot?!" He gawked at her. "You can't just jump into rivers!"

"Says who?" She blinked.

"Says anyone with common sense!" He snapped. "It's dangerous, you fool! Are you asking to drown?"

"But I know how to swim!" She protested, pouting angrily. "My father and brothers taught me!"

"It's still dangerous," he stressed. "Rivers are—forget it. Just go home already. You shouldn't even be out this late! You're a child."

"So are you," she pointed out. "And I don't wanna go back yet! I just managed to sneak out!"

Sukuna's mind stilled.

"Sneak out?" He repeated faintly. "You... you snuck out?"

Hideshi's words from a year ago echoed in his head: "You don't understand how monstrous that family is! And the head, Suiten, he's pure evil, but he's protective over his children, the youngest especially. He tortured me just for making her cry for something that was her fault."

The Uchiumi Clan would surely panic if they realized one of their own was missing, the youngest child of their Lord more importantly. If they realized that she was with him then...

"You need to go back!" He hissed, voice lowered in fear that someone would overhear. "Go back home, you fool! Are you trying to get me killed?!"

She gave him a confused look. "No? What do you mean?"

"You—arrrghhh!" He groaned in aggravation. "Listen to me, you have to return home immediately."

"But I just—"

"—Just snuck out, yes I know," he replied hurriedly, his brain struggling to think of a better way to convince her. "But you don't understand, being out at night is dangerous. Especially for you. So you must return home."

"But you're out here," she pointed out. "Why is it dangerous for me and not you?"

He had half a mind to knock her out and drag her back home himself had it not been for the fact that he had no idea where the Uchiumi Estate was.

"Because I'm a sorcerer, you see," he said, lifting up his hand to show off his black claws.

"Oooooh!" She awed, grabbing his hand to inspect them closer. "Are they real?!"

He yanked his hand away, offended. "Of course they are! Who would wear fake nails?! Now will you listen to me already?"

"Hmmm..." She hummed, a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. "So... you're saying it's too dangerous for me to be out here at nighttime."

"Yes."

"So... I should sneak out during the daytime, then?"

"Also yes."

"Okay," she agreed, her grin widening. "I'll go back home and only sneak out during the day time, but you have to promise to let me play with you tomorrow morning."

Sukuna, who was at the brink of desperation because he really wasn't looking forward to getting flogged for something as dumb as this, nodded his head hastily. "Yes, yes, fine, now hurry back already!"

Her grin grew sharp and he had no idea that he had pretty much sealed his fate. "Alright then," she finally agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!"

She began to turn away, but then Sukuna realized something. "Ah! Wait, let me walk you back—and wipe that look off your face, I'm only doing this because I don't want to get in trouble if anything happens to you!" He quickly added, cheeks as red as his eyes.

They walked back to her home. Shisui must have run quite a distance while being chased by the flyhead because it took a while for them to reach their destination. For a brief moment, Sukuna suspected that she had actually forgotten the way back, but silenced himself when they reached a towering gate with buildings behind it.

This is the back of the Uchiumi Estate... he thought to himself.

"I saw a slave escape through this hole over here," Shisui whispered to him, motioning over to a sizable hole underneath the gate. "I was so excited when I saw it, that I just had to take the chance and sneak out!"

"Good for you," he droned. He just wanted her out of his hair already. This was the most stress he had ever experienced in all of his seven years of living.

"I'll go in now! Goodbye, Sukuna! I'll see you tomorrow!" She waved at him, grinning happily before crawling through the hole.

Once she was gone, Sukuna finally allowed himself to relax.

━━━━━━･❪ 💧 ❫ ･━━━━━━

The next morning, Sukuna woke up bright and early and headed back to the river clearing for more training since his session had been interrupted the night before.

He highly doubted that he would ever see Shisui again. In fact, he was certain that she had either been caught sneaking back in or someone spotted the hole under the gate and sealed it back up. Either way, he was just happy that she would be gone.

And she won't ever annoy me again, he thought with a pleased hum.

Smiling in satisfaction, he sat down on a patch of grass and unfurled a scroll to read through. His red eyes scanned the words, absorbing every piece of information while he nodded and muttered to himself

But then...

"Hi!" A cheery voice practically bombarded his ear.

"AAAHHHHHH!" He screeched, spinning around with a hand to his chest only to stare in horror when he saw Shisui's beaming grin aimed at him.

"I came back in the morning just like I promised!" She chirped. "Now you have to do what you promised and play with me!"

Oh gods, he thought in utter despair. She's never going to leave me alone.

— author's note —

Yes, I based off Sukuna's birth from the Twilight series where Bella nearly died carrying her demon baby, Ratshit. God I hope Gege never reveals what Sukuna's childhood is because i don't wanna make any changes to these chapters 😭

Before I get to the memes, here's some cute Christmas-themed AI art sent to me by misafies (on tumblr):