¤ (Y/n)'s Point Of View ¤
Today was another one of those days in which I did not want to leave the warmth of my bed under any circumstance. It was not because I was so comfortable but more like because I did not have the energy nor will to move a single muscle. I've been in and out of consciousness and honestly had no idea what day it was today. I haven't had any water nor food and since that day and yet still did not feel hungry.
I currently laid comfortably on Sukuna's chest who after hours and days of laying beside me, slowly began to get wrestless. He laid in bed with me so he could comfort me in my time of need but it was obvious he had never laid in a bed for this amount of time. But he tried for me, ignorning the burning sensation in his mind that told him to get up and be productive.
But now after all time time, it was definitely becoming too much for him. I was a sight for sore eyes and it was obvious Sukuna couldn't bare see me in this state any longer. So the man slowly climbed out of the bed, taking most of the warmth with him as he left. I frowned as he left the bed, half-heartedly looking at him with eyes that pleaded for him to come back. The man visibly hesitated for a moment but then shook his head, snapping himself out of it with a small chuckle.
"We can not stay here forever, Princess." He mused, coming closer to me and pulling me up slightly so that I was sitting up in his bed with my back leaning against the wall. I whined at the new position he forced me into and attempted to slither back down in the bed only for him to keep me in place with a single hand.
"Come on, Princess. At least sit up while I give you your gift." He asked me as he rumaged through the basket beside his bed, the same basket I carried from the market the day I died. His words caught my attention and Sukuna chuckled as he felt me stop struggling under his touch after hearing the word 'gift'. I was now listening.
"I think now would be a good time to finally give you this. It might even lift your mood a little." He told me before throwing a small item into my lap. I flinched slightly as he threw it at me but then realised that it was only on my lap. I looked down curiously, finally noticing the shining pendant in my possession.
"A kintsugi heart." I commented with a small wistful smile, the fact he got this for me before I was given his heart but now it hold more meaning now that I do possess his heart. Maybe deep down, he knew the outcome all along since the beginning.
"Do you know the meaning behind Kintsugi art?" He asked me before sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me gently explore the necklace with my fingers. I nodded lighty at his question.
"Kintsugi is the art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold - built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger- a more beautiful piece of art." I told him, making him hum in agreement. I read about kintsugi art years ago and it always struck a chord in my, twisting emotions in my gut.
"That's exactly what I am...A broken poetry piece." I chuckled sadly, looking down at the necklace with a grim expression. It was ironic, considering that my whole life I was exactly that- flaws and imperfections. Sukuna took the necklace from my hands and began slowly clipping it around my neck, brushing my hair out of the way as he done so.
"You're wrong. That's what you were." He said with a confident gaze, telling me with just a single look that I was worth more than I thought I was. I was a broken pottery piece when I met Sukuna, and he was the perfect gold...and once he gave me his heart, he turned me into a piece of art. This made me smile softly at him as I finally started to feel happier. Even though Sukuna was not the best with words, he sure did know how to tell me things with his actions.
Sukuna grinned at my smiling face then began clapping loudly in light of his victory.
"There she is!" He called out, happy to see me smiling again. I giggled at his words and leaned forward to kiss his cheek with pure affection.
"Thank you. I needed that." I told him. He smirked then pulled me closer to kiss my lips which I happily returned. Then he pulled me with him as he stood out of the bed.
"Now shall we do something that I've wanted to do since the day you received my heart?" He asked me with a playful raised brow. Looking up at him with a confused gaze, I wondered what it was he was reffering to. I was still emotionally exhausted but maybe getting up and being productive would more than just good for me.
"What will we be doing?" I asked him as he covered my eyes and he warped us. After uncovering my eyes, I realised that he had taken us to the middle of his temple.
"I'm finally teaching you how to use your cursed energy." He said excitedly, licking his lips as he imagined me becoming just as powerful as he was. I was also actually quite excited to start learning how to harness the cursed energy that I gained from Sukuna. I hadn't been born with my own cursed power so the feeling of power flowing through me was very new to me.
"Will you be teaching me how to warp to anywhere that I wish to?" I asked hopefully, making him chuckle at how naive I was to the concept of cursed energy. But I couldn't help it, warping was something that I've always been jealous of- something so cool that to me was unique only to Sukuna.
"Not yet." He chuckled, making me pout in disappointment.
"I'm going to teach you how to sense me." Sukuna said, unwrapping his arm from around me and walking back a few steps from me. I tilted my head in confusion after processing his words, spinning around to look back at him. What did he mean whwn he said to 'sense' him? How on earth does one 'sense'?
"You're going to teach me...how to sense you?" I repeated quitely with confused furrowed brows.
"By giving you my heart, I created a conection between us - One tied by cursed energy. By tapping into that cursed energy you can follow it's trail to me. Think of it as a rope, one in which you can follow to find me." He explained making me nod along curiously.
"Before I can teach you how to master cursed energy, I have to teach you how to access it. And this is the perfect task to do so." Sukuna said as he pulled a blindfold from mid air, warping it into his hands. See- that! I wanted to do that! What use would sensing him do when he was always beside me? Sukuna quickly wrapped it around my eyes then once again stepped back.
"When I use our cursed bond to find you, your presence feels warm and welcoming. I follow that feeling to find you. Feel my presence- find it. Think about what it feels like, then try to follow it." Sukuna orderes as he stepped further and further away from me, his voice getting quieter as he stepped back. I was assuming that he now began hiding from me, in a place when he could watch me search for him.
So I sighed deeply, mentally preparing myself to start what he had instructed me to do. He told me to first feel his presence which wasn't too hard to do. I just had to make sure I was concentrating enough so that feeling didn't slip away. My eyes were clenched as I tried to keep ahold of his presence.
The next thing he told me to do was think about how it feels like. So I stood there with furrowed brows are I tried to compare this feeling to comprehendable words. It felt like...darkness. It was a sinister feeling that somehow was so tempting...as if it was calling me towards it, telling me to come closer. So, I did.
Taking my first step forward, I could almost invision Sukuna smirk proudly. His presence became stronger with every step I took forward. I let my arms hesitantly rise infront of me, just in case I were to bump straight into a pillar or the marble stone table. After I took more and more steps, his presence grew stronger which made me feel more confident in walking ahead.
I took a left and began walking again, following this trail that I had carved into my mind. Like a moth to a candle, I followed along this trail in hope that at the end of it I would see Sukuna's proud face. And soon enough I was right infront of what I hoped to be Sukuna. I stopped taking any more steps and just began to reach out towards the darkness that I had invisioned in my mind and almost instantly came into contact with a hard chest.
Smiling, I used my other hand to pull off my blindfold and now came face to face with my pleased lover who just as I had imagined wore a smirk on his face. He was leaning against the furthest pillar possible which was on the other side of the giant hall in the temple. Looking back with surprised eyes to where I was once standing, I realised how far I had actually walked to find him.
"You have done well, Princess. You're a quick learner." Sukuna said with a pleased face, clapping at my first attempt to harness cursed energy. I smiled excitedly at him, feeling proud of myself also. That was easier than I imagined. I wondered if actual jujutsu was just as easy because now? Now I craved more.
"What now? Will you teach me mor-" I was cut off by Sukuna placing a single finger over my lips to stop me from speaking. Looking back up at him in confusion, I now realised that Sukuna's face had morphed from his proud smile to now a serious face. His eyes were concentrated on the door of the temple, most likely focusing on what or who he could sense behind it.
"Damn it." He hissed angrily as he let go of me and began marching towards the doors. He seemed frustrated and a part of him even seemed to feel dread- or fear? I wasn't too sure- I was never the best at reading emotions. I twirled to face him, getting ready to catch up to him to walk by his side but he held his hand up, signaling for me to stop.
"Stay here. Do not come out." The pinkette ordered, looking at me with eyes that told me he was no longer playing around. This was serious. Gulping, I nodded at his words and watched him as he opened the temple doors to face the wilderness that surrounded the temple.
"Come out, cowards." Sukuna called out, chuckling evily as many men had suddenly stepped out from behind trees and bushes. I stood behind a pillar, watching as men of all different sizes came out to face the 4 handed human. With frantic eyes, I began counting the men that stood on guard before Sukuna- there were over a dozen of them.
We were greatly out numbered which left me unimaginably frightened. However, Sukuna seemed to have finally be given the battle he had been craving for so long. He has craved for a massacre this size for a very long time, and now he could have it.
This would be the first time I would see Sukuna go to battle. Sukuna had a cheshire grin on his face- one that spread ear to ear as he said,
"You sorcerers have come looking for the face of death, I see? Well, I'm glad you stopped by."
"Ryoumen Sukuna, the 4 armed demon. Today you will be punished for the crimes you have committed." A sorcerer broadcasted, getting in a stance that showed he was preparing to fight. The other followed his lead, also getting into suitable battle stances. My lips parted in worry, my heart accelerating as dear creeped into my bones.
"You've laid low for over a year and made it increasingly hard for us to track you down but harrasing the Emperor and Empress straight after coming out of hiding? That was an unwise descision." Another sorcerer stated, also getting in a fighting stance. What did he mean by that? Did Sukuna 'lay low' after meeting me? Of course, there was the fact he hadn't killed locally by my request- and that was to protect him. But surely he killed elsewhere in my absense?
"Yes, it was an unwise descion. I should have killed them all where they sat and bathed in their blood." Sukuna cackled evilly, a malicious grin on his face as he mocked them, making me grimace at his words. But I knew he didn't mean it, he would never kill my familly without my permission. And if he did, I'd never forgive him.
Sukuna was sudden with his forst attack, not giving any warnings at all. He charged forward with an excited yell, swinging a first of fire at the closest sorcerer to him. The sorcerer put up a barrier which pushed Sukuna back with a large amount of force. But Sukuna expected that, flipping in mid air so that he he could push off the walls of the temple and charge at another sorcerer who came running at him with a cursed sword.
One swing of that sword made hundereds of trees fall at it's power, knocking me back slighty too at the force of the attack. I shivered in fright after feeling it's energy fly past me. These men were strong. And there were 16 of them, how will Sukuna defeat them all. It didn't seem possible.
I slid down against the pillar and trembled in fear, clutching my head with my hands. What do I do? I was not strong enough to fight with him but I didn't want to leave him to fight alone. Even though he seemed to be having fun out there, finally fighting at full power against a group of people he could kill...I could see in his eyes that he was struggling. I wasn't sure how long he could keep this up without becoming tired. He was still human after all.
He had once told me the story of the time he had been challenged to battle 11 of the strongest trainee sorcerers. He said it was the most thrilling battle of his life and at the end of it he come out with two arms and a leg missing which took him 3 days to regain with his reverse cursed technique. If he suffered that much from 11 of the best sorcerers, how would he deal with 16?
I peaked around the corner of the pillar and tried to take a better look at Sukuna who had his back towards me but unfortunately I had done this at the wrong moment as I had instantly locked eyes with a sorcerer who was facing my direction. He gasped with wide eyes, instantly capturing Sukuna's attention because he knew what the man just saw.
"The cursed princess! She's here! Inside the temple!" The man announce to his fellow sorcerers making Sukuna grit his teeth in frustration. For that one moment that Sukuna was distracted 4 of the sorcerers that surrounded Sukuna chanted something before slamming their hands on the floor around him. Simultaneously, a blue glowing cube built itself around Sukuna. They've trapped him.
"Sukuna!" I yelled, running towards him in worry which only made him angry as I disobeyed his command to stay inside the temple. It was stupid of me to run out like that, I would only get in his way after all. But I was panicked and I hadn't realised my mistake until it was too late.
"No! Stay inside the temple!" He growled at me. However for once I didn't listen to him, I just continued to run towards him with tears in my eyes.
"Damn it! Listen to me!" He yelled, not liking how I was ignoring him.
"Ah, I see now. Why you can not attempt to kill us all with your domain expansion...With a group this size, she would be killed too." A sorcerer smirked, warping behind me and wrapping a hand around my waist to keep me in place and a hand over my mouth to stop my screaming.
But I thrashed as hard as I could in his grip even though he was obviously too strong for me to handle. If only I was strong enough to handle Sukuna's power without needing to be taught how to use it. But no, I wasn't. I was still so weak. The man who had captured me, binded my hands behind my back with a rope and pushed me towards Sukuna who was trying his best to force his way out of the blue cube that that had trapped him.
I was then kicked down on to my knees, kneeling before Sukuna who for once in his life did not know what to do. I felt guilty. If it wasn't for my rash descision of leaving the confinements of the temple, Sukuna would have never been distracted enough to be trapped and he would have been able to warp away before they chanted even a word. He could have used his domansion thing to kill them all.
"I'm sorry." I guilty cried to him, making him shake his head at me in a way that reassuringly told me that it was not my fault. But we both knew it was.
"Once I kill her, I can kill you. After all, she does posses your heart. And once your heart perishes, you will never be able to walk on this earth again. That was your plan wasn't it? To reincarnate?" A sorcerer chuckled holding his cursed sword to my neck.
My breath hitched as I looked at Sukuna with wide eyes. This was it. The time I was actually going to die...for good this time. Not only me, but Sukuna was going to die too. And it was all my fault. My new life started to well yet ended so badly. And it had only been a few days. Though, I did notice that Sukuna did not look as scared as I did, in fact it looked as if it was he who was getting ready to meet his end first.
"You know, Princess. The day I realised my feelings for you...I knew sacrifices would have to be made if I wanted to keep you safe. I was foolish to think my heart would be the only sacrifice...Now, I realise I must give up my humanity also." Sukuna said to me calmy making me furrow my brows in confusion. What did he mean by that? His humanity?
Sukuna then closed his eyes and focused, making all the sorcerers be on guard as he chanted. I was confused and had no close what it was he was doing and it was clear that neither did the sorcerers. Then once he was done, a glow wrapped around me briefly befire fading. He then looked up to me and smiled. It wasn't a smirk nor a sinister half-smile. It was a real smile. He looked at me with a look that told me, you don't have to worry anymore. So, I trusted him.
The sorcerer who held a sword to my neck had finally had enough of waiting for something to happen and just swung his sword, aiming to stab me right through the heart. I closed my eyes when I noticed his movements behind me, preparing myself for the pain that was soon to come. I was used to pain, so it wouldn't hurt too bad.
However, before his sword could make contact with me, it was like it the piece of metal hit something that blocked the blow. Within the same second, ash fell and blew past me with the wind making Sukuna roar with laughter. I was shocked as I opened my eyes and turned around to see nothing but the dust of the man who was only seconds ago going to kill me. I gasped at the sight and so did the men beside me.
"He's casted a reversed cursed technique on her! It deflects anything intended to touch her and quadruples it's power in the form of raw energy and blasts it back at the user." The eldest sorcerer explained through gritted teeth.
"She is practically invinsible now." The man continued, punching a tree in anger as he wondered what to do now. Sukuna now sat cross legged in the blue cube facing me, with a smirk that told me he was proud of his quick thinking.
"Then we shall put a barrier around her and deal with Sukuna first." Another sorcerer suggested, making everyone nod in agreement at the suitable idea. They then began chanting around me and soon enough there was also now a blue glowing cube around me, identical to the one Sukuna was trapped in.
"I am just too unbelievably smart for you sorcerers. By using all the cursed energy I had left and protecting (Y/n) and my heart together, I have insured my incarnation...because only I can undo the technique. Therfore even if it takes a century or even two, I will return as a cursed spirit. And both of my prized possessions will be alive and well, waiting for my return." Sukuna cackled, reffering to me and his heart as his prized possesions.
Only now I fully understood Sukuna's plan. He knew he was going to die today. But he also knew that his heart was invinsible to natural causes of death and the only way it would die was by someone destroying it. He told me this all the day I revived. But by protecting me with this technique, I couldn't die...No matter what they tried.
"I see. Your plan was a smart one indeed. And unfortunately there is nothing we can do...That will be another generation's problem. But at least now we have the satisfaction of burning you to death." A man hissed, standing in position with all 14 other of his companions who were injured in all sorts of ways.
"Moyasu! (Burn!)" The men yelled, all of them contributing to the technique as fire charged like the flames of hell to Sukuna. I cried, struggling against my bindings as I locked eyes with Sukuna who was just chuckling in amusement.
"I'll see you soon, Princess. And once we have reunited, I'll have to remind you about a word called 'obedience'." He said with a smirk.
However for me it was no time to be chuckling or smirking. I could only scream out as the fire came into contact with the man I have grown to love more than even myself or my family.
"No!" I cried, banging on the blue walls that contained me with only my shoulder in hope it would let me get to my lover in time. But of course, the walls did not falter and soon enough the fire began to settle down to show nothing but the ashes and fingers of Ryoumen Sukuna.
I fell to my knees once again, screaming out in pain and sadness while the men around me cheered. Why? Why couldn't they just have let us live in peace? We weren't harming anybody. We were just too humans who were slightly over infatuated with one another. And even though I knew Sukuna would get incarnated one day, it scared me to know that I would have to spend every second utterly alone untill then.
"What do we do with her now? We cannot touch her without dying and surely we cannot let her go." One of the sorcerers said, standing beside my box.
"Of course not. That would be preposterous!" Another commented.
"Then what shall we do?" He asked aloud, making all of them think hard on the matter.
"We shall have to make a sacrifice." The old man said, walking towards me with determined eyes. I only looked up at him once he was right infront of me, staring at him with bloodshot eyes as whimpers still came out of my mouth.
"Sir?" A young man called out, wondering what his superior was planning to do.
"I shall use a cursed technique on her her that traps her within time. She will fall unconcious and appear chained to multiple iron poles. You must use these iron poles to move and contain her to somewhere isolated. This technique insures she will be unable to conjure Ryoumen's power and will be unable to incarnate him on her own thus prolonging his return." The old man explained, after his explanation I realised that I wouldn't be alone until Sukuna returned. I would just be waiting for him to free me. Suddenly this fate of ours didn't seem so harsh and the old man's idea didn't seem too bad at all.
And before the other sorcerers had a chance to complain, the old man started chanting and one by one metal poles began materialising on either side of me. Slowly, metal chains began forming, getting closer to me with every second that passed. The moment the chains touched the force that surrounded my skin they hooked themselves around it. Then a huge wave of energy was directed at the old man and flung him into the air. He landed in a place too far for my eyes to make out.
Once the chains had made their way around me completely, they began pulling me into the air and forced me to hang there. I looked around me at the faces that stared up at me in shock then to my side where the Sukuna's temple stood. This may be the last time I see this place.
After a few more moments, my eyes began feeling heavy and threatened to drop. I'm not scared. No, because I know Sukuna will one day save me from this. Maybe then we can live our lives happily together in a era where a hierarchy of title didn't force people to fight one another wrecklessly.
Maybe that was just wishful thinking.
And within a few more seconds my eyes closed and my consciousness slipped away, darkness consuming the whole of my being.
Little did I know that I wouldn't see the light of day for over a millennium.
(A.N ~ Now that was quite a long chapter! The next chapter will finally include yuji and the rest of the gang! What did you think of the chapter! Don't forget to vote!)