Yujji poked Mio in the cheek. Soft! She slowly opened her eyes. Focusing on the environment, she was hit with the sudden realization that she was in the temple last night. Curiously, she looked around. A familiar setting, familiar room but not hers. Y/N's apartment. "How did I get here?"
"That's what I was going to ask," said Satoru. He was holding his chin as if he were in some deep thoughts and was looking at Mio or maybe not, that blindfold caused a lot of confusion.
Yujji sat on the bed right next to her, innocently looking at her pale face and trying to imagine all the possibilities of how she got there. Did she sleepwalk? Was flying around casually at night her hobby?
Mio could still feel the taste of that strange drug she inhaled the previous night. Her nostrils still burned. Clearly, that was all real. All those monsters were there. She was surrounded, worst, she was about to go to heaven or maybe hell, who knows? The moment she turned to Yujji, Sukuna's face flashed before her eyes. Yujji's hair and Sukuna's hair were the same, only difference was that Sukuna kept them up and this pretty boy let them fall on his forehead. "I saw him, he was right there. Right before me."
Gojo handed her a glass of water. "Come to your senses," he said.
She took the glass and emptied it in not more than three gulps. Wiping her lips with the back of her palm, she got out of the bed. The window was open and she, cautiously, with small steps, moved towards it. It was around eight in the morning. Sunlight reaching the land through thick, wet trees after so much rain was rare and mesmerizing to look at. She stared deep into the jungle, not sure what she was looking for but definitely wished to see someone.
"Now, now." Satoru stood behind her. "Let's stop whatever you are doing and thinking. You have to answer a very important question, in detail."
Mio turned around and read his face, for some unknown reason, he was always smiling. "I want to tell you a lot but not here. Let's go to my house."
Satoru parked his Lexus in Mio's parking lot. All three of them got out of the car in unison as if they were acting in a movie. Scenes of last night occupied Mio's thoughts and Yujji poked her in the arm. "Open it," he said, nodding at the door.
"My bad." Mio entered the code and they entered the house. "Wait in the library. I'll see you both in ten minutes." She went to her bedroom.
Yujji had never been to her house before and every decoration, every furniture, the paint, the lights, everything his eyes landed on was praiseworthy. They sat in the library. Satoru started inspecting the mess she had made on the board which was as white as milk last time he visited.
After twenty minutes or so, Mio joined them. She grabbed a chair from the corner and sat on one of the empty sides of the table. "Before you shoot your question, I want to tell you what I found out."
"Did you find Y/N?" Yujji asked., desperate to hear about the adventure and where Mio had hidden his very dear Y/N.
"No, I did not." She began with how she was trying to find a lead in the case the previous day and how her mind suddenly stopped at the temple. She chose night to carry out her search because she was convinced that the villagers would be sleeping but she was unaware about how hideous curses look and she could not kill them even with bullets. What a waste it was to give empty threats to those creatures. She now understood that they didn't even understand the language she spoke. Her explanation was brief about the failed combat. Of course, defeat was not hard to accept but telling others the story about it was embarrassing. When she mentioned she saw Sukuna and perhaps, he took her to Y/N's apartment, the rug beneath Satoru's feet was pulled.
"Where were you last night?" Satoru asked Yujji.
"I was sleeping in my room." Yujji could sense Satoru's glare even through that black, unwashed and full of germs blindfold.
Mio carried on. "I asked him about Y/N. Said that she is safe. Now, I am cent percent sure that Y/N is there in the temple but I can't go in there. It is like a factory of monsters. They never stop coming." She took a sip from her water bottle. "What was your question?"
Satoru's question was only about her whereabouts the previous night and it was answered. "Well, would you like to be my date this year?"
"Hell, no."
"No problem. Let's get to the serious stuff. First things first, you might have seen someone else in the temple because if Yujji was in his dorm then Sukuna cannot be anywhere else."
"Why so?"
"Sukuna lives in Yujji's body. That's why sorcerers call this boy 'Sukuna's vessel.' Now my question is why did you go to the temple all alone?"
"Well, you know, I went there to clear my doubt."
"What doubt?"
"Come on, were you even listening? I told you everything. I doubted that Y/N was there and I still think she is there only."
"So you want to go there again?"
"I am not sure. I can't fight them goddamn monsters."
Satoru took the band off his eyes and sat back. The case got more complicated than it was earlier, although the detective's conviction had some weight. Mio claimed to have seen Sukuna in the temple while Yujji was sleeping in his den, which was bothersome. What were they going to do? Was there any way Sukuna could roam around without Yujji's body? Not in his opinion. Vessel was there for a reason. "You claim to have seen Sukuna. What did he look like?"
"Black symmetrical tattoos on face. Four eyes. Black nails. White kimono. Evil smirk." Smirk was not of much importance but its mere mention made her explanation convincing.
The description was correct and on point. That was definitely the king of curses but how in the world was it possible? Satoru decided to take his time and sleep on it before moving further. Y/N was safe, that was a relief.
Yujji knew what he had to do. Satoru and Mio decided to go to the temple the next day with proper planning and correct weapons but not Yujji, he was going to investigate the same night. As the night approached, he fidgeted in his room until everyone slept. Megumi was the last one to fall asleep, constant depression kept him up usually. He had a strong feeling that things were going to go south, although he was zealous to find Y/N. She had got her memories back, Yujji was almost sure.
Finding directions to the temple was not a difficult task, only, he got scared by some prop roots of a banyan tree and jumped like a squirrel with a squeak. Struggling through shrubs, undergrowth and mud caused by heavy rains, he, at last, reached the temple. No sooner he entered the temple than he exorcized the first curse, which was probably a Grade three or lower.
Increasing his pace, he went far inside the temple and encountered the two faced, four eyed, four armed and four legged demonic statue which was more than double his height. On the right, the passageway was dark, he shivered with just a look. While on the left, he could see some light coming. He made the quick decision and ran to the left. For a minute, he stood and praised the beauty of the glistening doorway. He snapped back to reality when he heard a growl and entered the doorway.
Yujji nearly stumbled when he saw Y/N and Sukuna practicing combat. Y/N, just like Sukuna, was wearing a white kimono.
Y/N's knives fell when she noticed Yujji standing there and looking at her. Apparently, they both had the same expression. Mouths hang open. Too numb to speak. How did Yujji get there? Sukuna was right. Detective found the place, others will too. "How?" Y/N asked in a whisper.
Yujji let out a giggle and then laughed out louder. After laughing for around a minute, he said, "Thanks to Mio."
"Yujji, you shouldn't have come here," Y/N said, picking up her knife.
"Why? I didn't know I could scare a serial killer."
"This place is not safe for you."
"Yeah, I know, a serial killer and the king of curses are together. Definitely unsafe." With his eyes glistening with anger, he stepped closer to Y/N. "Gonna kill me, dear Y/N? Do it. I am not scared."
"I don't have any such intention," said Y/N smiling.
"It's funny how this smile of yours doesn't melt my heart anymore. I have never hated anyone so much."
Sukuna pulled Y/N away from him. "She doesn't need to hear your bullshit. You better go back, brat."
"I want to talk with her." Yujji's voice was stern.
"You ungrateful fuck." Sukuna held his throat. "You have no idea what she did for you." Within seconds, Yujji went flying and landed on one of the massive skulls.
"Stop!" Y/N yelled. "He is a kid."
"I'm not a kid!" Yujji took being called a kid as an insult. With a growl of agony, he stood up. "I am not a kid, Y/N L/N. I am just a fool who got used by a woman. Never again. I hate the whole woman breed just because of you."
"One more word and I will make you eat all the bones and shit scattered here." Sukuna meant it.
"Overprotective boyfriend," Yujji tittered.
"Enough!" Y/N yelled. "I know you hate me but the reason is not solid enough to hate all other women. They did nothing wrong to you."
"When did you even do wrong to him, girl?" Sukuna held her arm and with a jerk made her face himself. "You saved this idiot's life. He has no right to hate you."
"Pfft." Yujji clapped. "A serial killer saved my life. What a joke. I can make memes, a lot of them." Something held his feet and he stumbled, landing on his knees. Prop roots coming out of the hard ground were crawling up his body and gripping him. One of the roots covered his mouth, stopping him from speaking.
"Look, who just turned into a joke." Sukuna guffawed. "Now, I will speak and you will listen."
Yujji stopped struggling after some failed attempts to break free. He accepted that he was not strong enough and Sukuna ruled the place.
Sukuna took his time as he sauntered up to his throne with slow steps. Y/N watched everything silently as if she were a judge who was going to score the performers. He took his place on his prestigious, only to him, throne. Yujji was as still as water now and kept his focus on Sukuna.
"How should I start?" Sukuna spoke as he rested his head on his palm. "You have proved that you are idiotic and ungrateful. So... that day Y/N said that she played with you, she emotionally blackmailed you, she took advantage of your feelings, blah blah, so that... she could keep me close whenever she hunted." He narrowed his eyes at the kid and continued, " What a dullard! You believed that. She doesn't need you to have me around. Never did. At least today you could have guessed when that pretty detective of yours told you that she saw me. Either you are too dumb to understand or you don't believe her." He stood up and teleported right before Yujji, trying to make the explanation as dramatic as possible. He crouched to face the boy. "Must be wondering how I can see her in your absence."
Just like an obedient school going boy, Yujji nodded with curiosity written all over his face.
"Details are not that important, you know," Y/N said. "Let's skip that part. Not necessary."
Ignoring her concern, Sukuna explained, "When you lay down your ass to sleep, you give me freedom to use your unconscious body and I take the best advantage of it to roam freely. I leave this temple and go wherever the fuck I want to." The narration was full of pride as if he had practiced it for days and it came out perfectly. With a snap of fingers, he freed Yujji of those roots. "Go home, brat. That crazy ass teacher may be waiting for you."
After getting out of such a strong hold, Yujji took long deep breaths and stayed on the floor. "You say she saved my life," he said, wiping the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "What was the threat to me?"
Sukuna rolled his eyes, he had never seen such a blockhead, who missed the most obvious details. Shaking his head, he teleported back to his throne.
"Well," Y/N began. "You see, you are nothing more than Sukuna's vessel to them. Your life is of little importance. I can bet, the day they would found out that you were involved in my deeds, that old fart would have not hesitated to take your life. Past tense now."
Pointing at Sukuna, Yujji asked, "Is everything he just told me true?"
"Yeah," Y/N shrugged.
"I-I.." Yujji had never felt that amount of embarrassment before. Not even when his best friend pulled his pants in front of the history teacher in high school. Months and months of sheer hatred for Y/N, only to find out that he owed his whole life to her. The pain of knowing that he meant nothing to anyone without Sukuna was tolerable but being useless to the point where they would casually take his life made his heart heavier. "I don't want to live." Words escaped his lips without his permission.
"I didn't lie to them to hear you saying this. I know how it feels to be unwanted but not wanting to live does no good."
"What do you even know!" Yujji yelled. "You murder people and still no one hates you! Even you wouldn't want me if it was not for this demon. Would you?"
***
A/N:
You are Y/N. Do you love Yujji because Sukuna lives inside him or do you love him for who he is?