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封印
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this was the first time that sukuna had woken up on a futon after being unsealed.
the demon king groaned as he sat up yawning, palming his face and running his fingers through his hair as he remembered that he was still at the gojō residence.
skimming the decently sized room, the yōkai unsheathed the blanket as he tumbled towards the exit and into the hallway.
sukuna wobbled over towards the kitchen and dining room, only to find that the priestess wasn't present.
scratching his head, sukuna then heard soft murmuring outside, where the courtyard was. making sure that his footsteps weren't too heavy, sukuna witnessed fushiguro handing the girl another three beads that they had apparently came across when on their missions.
"thank you megumi", kiyo smiled, glancing every so often at the two fox children as they were picking flowers from the garden.
"it's no problem. oh, and sensei wanted me to ask if you will be present at the tournament against heiankyo in two days", fushiguro asked, to which kiyo had just nodded.
"I will, and I look forward to seeing how you and the others fight", kiyo smiled, to which fushiguro had just awkwardly cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head.
the miko just lightly chuckled as she ruffled fushiguro's hair, making him advert kiyo's sisterly gaze as he even lowered his head a bit so that kiyo wouldn't have too much trouble reaching it.
"I...should go now. sensei and the others are probably waiting", fushiguro stated.
"well don't let me hold you back then. oh, and before I forget, would you be free tomorrow to help me with dinner? satoru said he missed my dishes that I used to make for him", kiyo smiled.
"wouldn't kugisaki be better at it than me?", fushiguro asked.
"probably, but I just thought it'd be nice to spend time with my otōto", kiyo hummed, to which fushiguro's heart had fluttered at the title.
"I-I'll be here tomorrow...onēsan...", the black-haired male embarrassingly muttered.
kiyo clapped her hands together in delight.
"then I will be expecting you around four at noon, megumi. tell the others I said hi", kiyo waved as the shaman in training had promptly left, slightly waving back as kiyo had turned towards the two children.
sukuna huffed as he stepped out from the shadows, clicking his tongue as he wondered why the girl didn't just ask him for help, not that he would've said yes anyways, but he still wanted her to ask him.
"m-miss kiyo!!", nozomi shouted, running towards the priestess with an arm full of flowers as she suddenly tripped over air, with hakaku following suit.
kiyo stifled a laugh as she went over to the two kitsunes, to which nozomi had started tearing up and pouting as hakaku just brushed it off like it was nothing.
sukuna leaned against the shoji as kiyo had picked the little girl up, placing her on her lap as she gently blew on nozomi's scraped palms and kneecaps.
"you're going to be okay", kiyo reassured, quickly knitting the stems of the flowers that were picked and making them into a petite flower crown for nozomi to wear.
"mm..thank you", the little fox demon squeaked out, to which kiyo had ushered for hakaku to take his sister inside to wash her injuries first and bring out some bandages.
the two ran off, avoiding sukuna to the best of their abilities as they kept their heads low when bypassing the male.
sukuna only crossed his arms as he made his way over to kiyo, who was making another flower crown, as it wouldn't be fair if only nozomi had one and hakaku didn't.
"good afternoon", kiyo greeted, not even sparing the demon a glance as his shadow loomed over the priestess.
sukuna didn't even reply as he just observed kiyo's nimble fingers at work, to which the girl had spoken up once more.
"are you going to sit with me or will you just stand there?", kiyo teased, to which sukuna had only scoffed as he had taken a seat beside the girl.
"would you like one too?", kiyo asked, to which sukuna had refused to answer as he just watched the priestess start on another one.
the demon king glanced over at kiyo, feeling a wave of confusion wash over him. the male had been feeling this small seed grow within him that truly annoyed him to no ends. it was like a constant reminder that he had a heart, and that was a sign of weakness.
sukuna hated the fact that he actually somewhat enjoyed the miko's presence, and when she would smile at him, it made him want to rip it off her face.
he'd concluded that he was feeling all this because of kiyo, yet he couldn't kill her, at least he wasn't capable with the bracelet on.
and even if he was, he found himself unable to. she was too much of a pretty little thing to kill. it started off as a game, and it was fun an all until it got a bit too real for his liking.
he needed to get away for a bit. sukuna needed to leave and clear his head. he needed to kill again and feel the power of holding someone's life and heart in his hands with blood smeared across his bare upper body as he proudly laughed like a maniac in all his glory.
sukuna needed bloodshed.
"I'm leaving", sukuna suddenly said, immediately standing up as he awaited for the woman to stop him, yet she never did.
"when will you be back?", she asked.
"none of your business", sukuna rudely snarled, promptly leaving as kiyo made no attempt to follow.
the girl had informed satoru of her concerns with how weird sukuna's been acting, and satoru only replied with a, "it's okay, I'll watch over him".
hence why the other gojō was now skipping from tree top to tree top as he followed the demon king around, to which sukuna didn't even notice as he was too engrossed in his own thoughts.
"here are the bandages", hakaku said, bringing a basket of medical supplies that he had gotten with nagi's help as nozomi sat in front of kiyo on the grass.
"thank you", kiyo smiled as she started thinly wrapping the little girl's knees and palms.
"by the way...I thought...s-sukuna was here", hakaku mumbled, still terrified of the male even though he hasn't done anything to harm him or his sister yet.
kiyo just lightly chuckled.
"it's okay. he left for a bit", kiyo assured, to which hakaku had raised a brow.
"really? are you sure that's okay? he could go on a killing spree and—"
"he won't. my brother's watching over him, and he's the strongest", kiyo chuckled, as that's what the gojō had always said.
the priestess then placed a flower crown on top of hakaku's head as he awkwardly accepted it, clearing his throat as he watched his sister slowly stand up.
"even stronger than mister sukuna?", nozomi asked, sitting on kiyo's lap as she leaned her head against the miko's chest.
kiyo gently combed through the girl's short brown hair that was in a similar hairstyle as hakaku's, to which the boy had just sat beside the priestess, leaning against her side.
"of course", kiyo smiled, though whether that was true or not, she had doubted it many times.
satoru was strong, but no one in this era has yet to see sukuna at his full powers yet, and that was worrisome.
"and what about you, miss kiyo? are you stronger than mister sukuna and mister satoru?", nozomi asked, picking up the flower crown that kiyo had made for sukuna, supposedly.
kiyo only let out a soft chuckle as she dipped her head so that nozomi could place the crown on her head.
"I'm not, but that's okay, because certain people and demons have certain strengths", kiyo smiled.
"then what's my strength?", nozomi asked, looking up at kiyo with her round doe-like eyes.
"being utterly adorable", kiyo laughed as she placed a quick kiss on top of the little half-demon's forehead, making her giggle as she snuggled closer to kiyo.
though nozomi has never met her and hakaku's parents, that didn't matter, because kiyo was there to take care of them, just like a nurturing mother would.