Continuing on our protagonist sleep, he was having a dream, a nice dream, he found himself in a plain field, full of flowers, on that field, he found his sister Fumiko, his father Kenichi, his mother Naoko, his sensei Gojo and his friends, Yuji, Nobara, Maki and the others... They where all so happy, everyone was smiling, it was a peaceful sight.
However, something was up on that dream, he felt dread looming around, the darkness that came from his shadows became to expand, as if he was inside his inner domain, the face of his friends and family became blurry, their body started to melt in darkness, everyone was disappearing... Except Gojo, his sensei was still there, looking at him, with that stupid looking glasses on his face, smiling... But, he too, started to deform, but his form was different, more ... Cursed, eyes started to "pop" on his body, his proportions became distorted,his face was unrecognizable and he spoke
Gojo?: Su. Ba. Ruuuuu~
When he stretched his hand to try and hold Subaru's face, his whole body was cut to smithereens. And as the shadows fade and a floor bathed in blood and skulls take place, a deep sinister voice can be heard from behind him
Sukuna: What an persistent one is he, even after all that, he still seems to linger in this world... All because of you
Subaru: Shut up...
Sukuna: You truly are a selfish one, aren't you? You don't even want Satoru Gojo to rest
Subaru: Shut Up...
Sukuna: you're projecting yourself in our image as if that was the way to become "The Strongest", brat, you'll only get yourself killed. To become the strongest, you need to abandon all else, the selfishness needs to be overwhelming. But you don't have that, yet. You're still just like that time... weak
Subaru: SHUT UP!
As Subaru shouts inside his dreamscape, the inner domain of them both collapse between themselves, Sukuna gives a wide grin, his body and domain being consumed by the shadows
Sukuna: Now that is what im talking about "Selfishness"
As he finishes talking, everything is consumed... The end.... Or not
???: Sub-... Wake up-...
A voice loomed over him, it was a nice voice, but seemed scared, he slowly opened his eyes, only being able to see Emilia's Face... She had a pretty face, her gem-like purple eyes and he silver hair where so nice to the eye...
Emilia, while being scared by something around her, couldn't stop looking at those eyes of his, his deep greenish eyes where like a looking at a forest from the skies, but, she couldn't lose her focus
Emilia: Subaru! Wake up, fast!
Subaru: hmm? What's up?
He yawned and stretched his arms, he looked at Emilia, she seemed distressed, but why? He didn't understand correctly, but was interested
Emilia: Y-your body! The shadows! Everything!
Subaru didn't quite understand what she spoke of, but after a quick look around, he understood, his shadows are everywhere, as if he had expanded his domain, but faster than the blinking of an eye, all those shadows faded to nothingness. As for his body... He didn't quite get it, well, till he looked at his hand. Black Nails... Black sharp nails, as if was claws... Two black stripes on both of his wrists, Sukuna's Tattoos became to spread and become more visible, that was bad, but nothing he couldn't explain, for sure
Subaru: Well, those are called Tattoos, they are ink embedded on the skin to make patterns. The shadow was just an effect that happens when i sleep
Emilia: Oh, i see! This is... Interesting! But...
She stopped and started to think in something, she wanted to say something, but when she was about to, it... Disappeared.. strange, but well, if isn't there anymore it's probably fine
Emilia: Well, it's almost night right now, we should... Go to out rooms, Ram will probably be by your to help you with reading and writing!
Subaru: Oh, sure thing! Sleep well, Emília.
Subaru waved at her and as she blinked, he wants there anymore, she was... Confused at least, how did he do that? The answer, sheer speed, he fast so fast that he moved from the backyard to the bathroom in a blink of an eye. In said bathroom, he looked in the mirror, there where a few faint show of black marks on it... It feels like Sukuna took over for a moment... No... He would've killed everyone, what happened exactly? He watered his face, wiping it a few moments later and calmly walked towards his room, opening the door and finding Ram Lying down onto his bed, reading a book
Ram: you took your time with Lady Emilia, Barusu
Subaru: i just slept a bit
Ram: right Right. Here, this is a children's book, I'll help you with the reading part
As she spoke, they both studied for about an hour, Ram was strangely "friendly" with Subaru, but he didn't thought too deep on it.
After they studied, Ram yawned and stretched her arms
Ram: Barusu, i will go for now, tomorrow we will continue
Subaru: sure thing, sleep well, Ram
Ram: ... One thing, remember, tomorrow you'll accompany my sister in her visit on the village... Control yourself, if you touch my sister you'll pay.
Subaru: ... Sure thing, no worries, Ram!
Ram walked off the room.
Subaru was ... Stressed, not because of Ram, but because of Rem and how will she react to him, to be around him... He didn't know... But he know he shouldn't care... It was mix of feelings that he didn't know how to manage, so, he resorts to sleep, hoping that he didn't end in another nightmare.
While everyone was asleep, someone walked at the corridors, opening Subaru's door and sneaking inside his room, looking at him while he slept, the person reached her hands towards his throat, but as black marks formed on his face, a mouth opened on his cheek and spoke
Sukuna: Not the wisest of choices, Girl.
The person stop's, the look on her face was that of a terrified cat against the wall with an starving wolf looking at him
Sukuna: The brat won't know about it, but i suggest you don't try to harm this body.
The person quickly ran away from the room, forgetting to close the door as Sukuna calmly laughed
Sukuna: This will be interesting...
A few hours had passed, Subaru was calmly asleep, it seems that he didn't had any nightmares this night, he was in such a deep sleep that he didn't woke up while someone pocked his cheek, just after he received an pinch he got up
Subaru: uhh? Wha? What? im awake, im awake
As Subaru sat on his bed and looked around, he found Rem that was looking at him with a neutral expression
Rem: Good Morning, Mister Subaru, i believe you are to accompany me today in my chores on the village
Subaru: ah, yes yes, just let me change up
Rem: Very well, i will stand outside the room so you can't jump on me
Subaru: ... Okay...?
As she turned around, her face changed from a calm one to an very disgusted one, as she quickly leave the room, Subaru changed his clothes to some more casual, calmly walked off the room, seeing Rem awaiting for him
Rem: Let's go, we have groceries to do
He just nods, constantly looking at his hands and shoulders, his nails are black, the tattoo marks are becoming more apparent in his body.... He feels different, as if he was not himself somehow... It was scary, he was afraid of him coming back and... Make a Shibuya in this world.
As the two of them walked down the village, Rem went to buy the groceries while Subaru was being pestered by the children to him show his dogs, in which, he complied, sighing and forming a shadow puppet with his hands and the twin dogs, Black and White appear for the children, barking and licking the kids, while their happy laughter happens, one of the dogs sniff something up from one of the children, a "new" one, with purple hair and also holding a little dog, that which his wolves where cautious about, their capability to sniff cursed spirits and energy became useful, since they knew something was up, but before Subaru could react, Rem spoke up
Rem: It seems the children really do like you and your mut- your wolves
Subaru: ... Yeah, the children think they're dogs... and it seems they like dogs
Subaru then approaches the purple haired girl, crouching down and giving a little smile to her, asking
Subaru: your doggy is pretty cute, can i pat him?
Girl: hmm.. i don't know... M-Mister Subaru is scary... what you think, Petra?
Petra: Ah, Mister Subaru really does like dogs and is a very good mister, Meili!
Meili: hmmm, alright then...
Subaru went to pat the little dog on her arms, getting bitten by it in the process, alarming his wolves, making them stop licking and playing with the children to look at Meili, and before they did something, he dismissed them, making them become shadows again
Meili: ah, i am sorry mister Subaru! She never acted like that before!
Subaru: oh, it's ok, it's ok. Those things can happen! Now now, don't be upset, okay? I'm not mad
Meili: Okay.. is your hand ok?
Subaru: yes yes, it is, no worries!
Meili: okay! I'm happy!
Rem: Subaru, i have finished with the groceries while you where playing with the children, grab a bag and let's go to the manor
Subaru: Sure thing, Rem
As he said that, the young man walked towards the blue haired oni, grabbing one of the bags and walking besides her while she spoke
Rem: the children seems to like you
Subaru: i don't know, it's probably because of my wolves or my powers. I've never been good with children personally, but i always could calm them down, somehow
Rem: Children can easily discern the hierarchy between individuals, you act and look mature, so they respect that
Subaru: I see... You're nice to speak with, Rem
Rem: Is that so? I believe that talking with my sister is better, she is much better than i am
Subaru: Why you think that?
Rem: I'm just an copy of her, my sister is better at everything
Subaru: false, your cooking is better, your laundry is better, your cleaning is better. You're just... projecting... projecting yourself on her... you should just.. laugh... laugh like a demon
Rem: Laugh like a demon?
Subaru: Yes, makes me remember and old saying, a saying that goes something like "I Prefere talking about my dream with demons than with gods, for demons shall laugh about the future with me"
Rem: ... laugh about the future?
Subaru: As in, a God would judge you from above, and a Demon would laugh with you about the future, no judgment, just amusement... so, don't feel inferior to her, you are not her copy, nor an extra Ram, you're Rem, you don't need to be your sister... you just need to be yourself
Rem stopped for a moment, looking at Subaru, that gave two more steps and then looked in her direction, with a little smile on his face, he saw Rem with thin red lines in her cheeks, but when he went to say something, his field of viewing became wider for a moment, as if... he had more eyes looking at other directions, he saw a big crystal that was destroyed, he quickly turned in that direction and asked.
Subaru: Rem... what are those crystals for?
Rem: Oh, Lady Emilia made them to fend off the Mabeasts, so they can't attack the village.
Subaru: If one of them where to be destroyed, they could wreck havoc, correct?
Rem: yes, it is-
Before she had finished her phrase, Subaru quickly picked her up on one of his arms, and without a single shadow puppet, Nue emerged from his shadows and they flied towards the manor at high speeds, reaching there in seconds
Rem, while a little flustered and with her hair held up, was going to ask Subaru why did he do that, but before that, Nue disappeared and he placed her on the ground
Subaru: One of the crystals is broken, we need to talk to Emilia and Puck
Seconds later, they both walked inside, as Subaru rushed to Emilia, that was accompanied with Puck, and Subaru rapidly looked at them and said
Subaru: Emilia! One of the crystals that fend off the Mabeast has broken, i believe they went to attack the village, i suspect one of the children are the responsible for it.
Emilia: wah- wait, Subar-
Subaru: We need to look at them, we don't have much time to wait!
Puck noticed something on Subaru's hand while he was talking
Puck: Subaru... your hand
Subaru: what?
Subaru looked at his hand, seeing a strange form of energy on it, as if it was connected to something else, draining a little of his energy
Puck: a curse... its-
Subaru: Draining my energy
He has output reverse curse energy onto his hand, trying to find out what would happen.
The RCT worked in a strange but interesting way, at first, the cursed was reversed and he started absorbing energy of the one who put the curse on him, he thought it was the girl, but never remembered she touching him... oh, it was the dog. Increasing his output, he totally dismissed the curse, with Puck looking astonished by his feat
Puck: w-what? you... dismissed the curse just by flexing?!
Subaru: ... something like that... now, we have to go and save the village
Emilia: wait, Suba-
Subaru: Ram, please take care of the manor! Let's go, Rem!
Subaru, Emilia, Rem and Puck dash towards the village, with Subaru having a slight advantage in pure speed, he makes an symbol with his hands, a bird, however, nothing appears, as if something went wrong but he did not care for the moment. As they reached the village, they found some of the adult villagers talking about what has happened, it seems some Mabeasts attacked the children and pulled them towards the forest.
Subaru: Dammit, Emilia, please, repair the crystals while Rem and i go find the children, we'll bring them back for puck to heal.
Emilia: Alright!
As Emilia goes for repairing the crystals, Subaru and Rem enter the forest, but Subaru stops as he hears the sound of chains behind him, looking at Rem, he sees her with a giant iron ball with spikes and a chain
Subaru: uhh... what is that fo-
Rem: it's for protection
Subaru: how did you ge-
Rem: It's for protection
Subaru just accepted, as he calmly crouches and grabs something from inside his shadows, a white gladius, calmly walking towards the forest
Rem: where did you get that?
Subaru: It's for protection
He smirks, they run inside the forest, finding some of the children, they had bite marks on their arms or legs, Rem and Subaru quickly healed them, as Rem cured their wounds, Subaru used his reverse cursed technique so he could unmake the curses on their bodies.
Subaru: Alright... we have to get them to a safe place.... Infinite Well's Abyss
Subaru internally fused his Bunnies and his Toad to form a new shikigami, around twenty frog-like shikigamis with little rabbit ears and white skin. Each frog "swallowed" a child, letting their head head out of their mouths
Subaru: Lead them to safety!
The Frogs jumped quickly towards the village, Subaru and Rem quickly walked towards one last child, Meili, who was... sat on the ground with her back against a tree, they did the same trick, Rem healed her and Subaru went for wiping her curse, whoever, he did not sense that same curse, he did not reveal that at the moment, but would make sure to remember her cursed energy signature.
Subaru: Strange...
Rem: what?
Subaru: ... we're surround ...
as he spoke, around twenty of mabeast started growling at them, with the main one being a little puppy, the same that he was bitten by, but he soon transformed into a gigantic mabeast, bigger than the others
Rem: Dammit!
Rem said as she started to grow out her horn, starting to go berserk so she could handle them, but before she starts rampaging, Subaru said
Subaru: Nue!
from the skies, giant thunderbolts rained upon the mabeast, each thunder strong enough to carbonize them, turning the menacing monsters into cooked dog, and emerging from the skies, bigger than any normal house she ever saw before, Rem took a glance at Nue
Subaru: Hmm, that was easy... now, yo-
He turned his head around to see Meili, but she wasn't there anymore... somehow she managed to slip away while he focused on the Mabeast
Subaru: Darn it... well, Re-
As he turned to her, he saw the giant iron ball being launched at his direction, quickly defending himself with his sword, swatting the iron ball away
Subaru: ah, went berserk...
Subaru sighed, he looked at an enraged Rem and calmly walked towards her, as she jumped at him in an pounce, but the sorcerer extended one arm and flicked in the direction of her horn, knocking her out while in the air and holding her.
Subaru: Well... that was something...
???: You're still too soft, Brat
Subaru: ... Shut it...
[This chapter is ending here, as i can't write more than this and i already delayed this for far too long of a time. I'll try to make the next chapter quicker, but my job is tiring me the freak out, so, it's hard for me. Thanks for reading, safe travels!]