The Woman Who Tamed a King [Ryomen Sukuna X Reader]

08 ♡ He Who Lies

Waking up came easier when it's all you did lately. You were quick to snap alert, on guard from the soft hold on your shoulder until you met pitch-black glasses. That's all it took for you to settle down and shoot the eyes behind them a relieved smile.

Gojo chuckled quietly,"Didn't mean to scare you but there's only so long you can make me go without your attention."

Through the night's darkness, you barely made out Yuuji's sleeping form on the floor, sprawled out with a blanket four feet away from him. He probably hadn't had the heart to move you from his own bed. You focused back on Gojo's fixed gaze.

"Oh. You missed me?"

"Only a lot. You can make it up to me by filling me in. Let's go to my room."

You nodded eagerly. There was so much to tell, so much that grew from a single visit to the Heian era: your power, your mentality, your drive. A single man lit a life-changing fire under you and you'd already promised yourself to thank him for it.

As you shuffled off the bed, Gojo took the lead to walk you to the door until he noticed your tippy-toes in Yuuji's direction. You marched right up to his face and kneeled carefully, maintaining a respectful distance but calling out in a whisper,"Sukuna?"

No response. It's not like he wasn't there--he had to have heard you. Gojo certainly did. The spot between his eyebrows creased in a mix of distaste and puzzlement at the giddiness you directed towards the King of Curses.

"I just came back from what happened with the guard. Do you remember him? The one that died from old age after I used Cursed Timeline on him? You were right! My technique's way more than what I thought and I could've stayed trapped in my own ignorance if it weren't for you, so thank you. Really. You've given me a freedom I've never had."

Having a one-sided conversation with a cheek didn't offset you the way it should have. As long as he got your message then it didn't matter that he didn't care. You didn't need him to, though from atop his shrine, Sukuna noted the pride that you beamed so blatantly with. 

He was proud too. Even if small, your progress had you thrilled and he wouldn't stand against that. Praise didn't come easy to him and he grunted as the newly forming mouth on Yuuji's face felt sour from what he'd utter, but he did his best.

"...Well done."

Your breath hitched at the unexpected response. The mouth left as quickly as it came. Sukuna watched your face contort from surprise to realization, then to glee so unrestrained that made it hard for him to focus on the contempt of having given a compliment.

He hated it. He hated that you smiled so hard from his validation, and he hated that he still succumbed to it each time. Nothing changed in a millennium.

Maybe it was the darkness or the small bit of vulnerability but you'd forgotten Gojo's presence until you felt him kneeling behind you. His hand obscured your sight with no warning and you yelped as you warped away. Sukuna tch'd.

Nothing changed in a millennium.

Still disoriented by the time Gojo let go, you barely caught onto the fact you were in Gojo's room now. He couldn't fathom,"You killed someone?"

You rushed to clarify from underneath his pointed stare,"Self-defense! It was self-defense. I got attacked and my cursed technique saved me thanks to Sukuna."

"'Thanks to Sukuna...?'. (Name)."

Gojo forced his physical composure back to normal but his nerves were all over the place. He hadn't lied about missing you but really, his worry gnawed at his rationality the whole time you were gone, convincing him that the longer you spent away, the more of a chance you'd get hurt somehow. This wasn't helping him calm down.