Show me (Ryomen Sukuna x Reader)

Berries ~ Ch20

(Y/n)'s Point Of View

After my talk with Lord Sukuna, a few curse users came to find him in hopes that they could go over some important plans. When he'd left, I went back to the south wing and went back to work. Like Uruame promised, there were dozens of new scrolls for me to translate. So I spent the rest of my morning doing that, taking just one small break to find something to eat which was a singular loaf of bread that I'd found in the staff pantry.

Usually along my corridor, it was quiet. Not much people needed to use this hallway unless they were trying to get to the scroll room- which nobody other than me or Lord Sukuna every really needed to do. But it was around midday when I heard a pair of footsteps come down the halls, too heavy to be Uraume's and too light to belong to Lord Sukuna. I couldn't help but look up from my scroll with caution, my body tensing as I watched someone unfamiliar approach me.

"Excuse me, miss?" A young man around my age called out, hesitantly walking up to me. I gulped as I looked him up and down, realising he was wearing the same black kimono as me- another member of staff working for the lord.
"Hello? Can I help you?" I replied cautiously, my head tilting to the side.
"Actually..." He chuckled timidly, his fingers fiddling nervously by his sides.
"My um- my name is Yuto and um..." He began nervously, "My brother has fallen ill today so I'm running short on hands to help with today's harvest...I know this isn't your usual job, but do you think you could help us pick some berries?"

I paused at the request, thinking it over. I looked down at my half-finished scroll, realising that I was already way ahead of my work than I should be. I could take a few hours out of my day, I could afford it.
"Yes, I suppose I could." I smiled at him, making him sigh in relief and clasp his hands together with gratitude. I giggled as I closed my inking jar shut and stood to my feet. I made sure to push all my supplies directly against the wall, just incase anyone needed to come through this hallway.

I then motioned for Yuto to lead the way, following behind him calmly. He took me outside through the back entrance towards the garden of crops on the right side of the temple, specifically towards the section of berries. My lips parted with awe as my eyes flickered around, seeing things as expensive as strawberries and blue berries here too. There were other berries as well, ones that I couldn't name just by sight alone. But seeing it all before me felt like a dream.

"Is this your first time in the gardens?" Yuto asked me with a small giggle, realising my awe and amazement.
"Yes... I'm fairly new among the staff here." I admitted shyly, my eyes still locked on all the berry bushes.
"I could tell. Anyone else would have looked at this garden with boredom." He laughed, picking up a few baskets from the floor. Within the bushes, I could see a few more workers in the distance, picking berries. But there wasn't as much people as there should be.

"How could they? This is magnificent!" I objected, walking closer to a specific bush. "Which of these berries will I be picking? They all look so delicious that I'm afraid I might get ahead of myself and pick a few that aren't in season yet." Yuto laughed at my words as he came closer to the bush that I was looking at, reaching out to pick a single berry.
"The berries you'll be looking for look like this one. The colour should be a deep red- that's how you'll know it's ready." He explained, showing me the berry.

"Take this one with you so that you'll have a model example to compare them to." He suggested as he placed the berry in my basket. I nodded in fascination, looking down at her singular berry in my basket. I've never done this before so I hoped that I wouldn't be too awful.
"Thank you." I told him with a smile.
"No, thank you! Not many staff who do inside work would agree to outside work. We have a bit of a rivalry, you see." He laughs sheepishly, making me chuckle.

Yuto then adjusted his basket over his arm and walked into the maze of bushes. But before he took any more than two steps, he turned to look at me again in sudden realisation.
"Oh! I almost forgot! Please do be careful of the thorns!" He exclaimed, making me nod eagerly. The boy then disappeared into the bushes with the rest of the workers, leaving me alone with my basket. I sighed contently before also entering the bushes, my eyes focused on searching for only the exact berry in my basket.

I spent only ten minutes picking berries before I got poked by my first thorn. It was painful and extremely hard to pull out of my finger. When I had, it was gushing blood and I had to tie my kimono string around that finger until the blood stopped and I could continue. But from there, it all went downhill. I was struck by thorn after thorn after thorn. It hurt more and more each time, and every time I was struck, it hear someone else around me groan loudly with pain.

They all felt the pain of my mistakes, motivating me to do better. I grimaced every time I plucked a new berry, weary of the thorns. Because although I could not actually see the thorns before plucking, they were definitely there because the moment I pulled the berry, somehow at least two thorns has struck into my fingers. As the hour went past, more and more cries of pain echoed around me within the bushes, making me feel incredibly guilty.

One by one, each of the workers were plucked off like the very berries I put into my basket, sitting under the trees while moaning in pain. The more people that left, the more I felt like I had to make up for their absence and compensate with the amount of berries that I picked. My basket was almost full, and that normally would be a joyous occasion to me if it were not accompanied by so much regret and guilt.

Another half an hour went by, and I was sure that I was the only one still able to stand and continue picking berries. From where I stood, I could see almost every worker whining in pain on the floor, their hands bloody and hurt.
"H-hey, how's it going?" A voice suddenly asked from behind me, making me turn to face Yuto. He too has gashes and blood running down the entirety of his hands, though he hid it well behind his basket. He looked exhausted and I knew I was to blame.

The boy then looked down at my hands before I had time to answer, pursing his lips to give me an exhausted smile before wincing and showcasing his own which were clearly so much worse.
"It doesn't seem to be anybody's good day today." Yuto chuckled breathlessly, motioning to every other worker who sat under the trees, cradling their hands. Because of this, I knew that none of them knew who I was. If they knew I was a (L/n) and it was me that done this to them, they'd be beating me into the dirt right now.

I should have said no. I should have rejected their plead for help the moment I got hurt the first time. But I was so stubborn, so determined to help them that I only continued to hurt them. It was then that Yuto gasped with fear, stumbling back, his eyes shaking as he dropped his basket on the ground. I looked at him with confusion, reaching forward baffledly.

"M-My Lord!" Yuto exclaimed as he dropped to the ground with fright, using his hands to scuttle back. This made me turn around quickly, coming face to face with Lord Sukuna himself- and no, he definitely did not look pleased, his firey red eyes glaring down at me.
"There you are, you little brat." He hissed, reaching to grab me by the neck of my kimono and lift me up into the air, the way a cat would do to her kitten.

I helped loudly as I rose into the air, my basket dropping as my arms flailed around. Sukuna did not seem bothering by my movement as he hauled me out of the gardens and back towards the temple, my mid-air struggle not seeming to affect his hold on me at all.
"Look, damned brat. I'm all for torture and pain but I've been in need of Uraume to complete a very important task for me and I cannot concentrate when the damned woman cannot stop screaming!" Sukuna growled angrily, his grip on my collar tightening as he hauled me back into the temple.

I lowered my head in shame at his words, no longer struggling.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled shamefully before the man dropped me onto the ground. Now, we were inside the temple, within a random corridor within the south wing. He sighed as he stared down at me, his anger fading for reasons unknown to me. The man then began walking away, but not before saying,

"Stick to your duties and your duties alone. Don't go trying to be a hero and helping others. Now you know the concequences."

(A.N ~ I've got a 10 minute presentation in 7 hours and I've lost my voice die to a chest infection. This is going to be fun?)

Chapter 21 Quote Teaser :

"Luckily for you, the killings took place before I summoned you. See how kind I am?"