Chapter Text
An ache, was the first thing he felt. Aching everywhere, deep down to his bones. Everything hurt, including organs and bits of his body he didn’t know existed . Letting out a shuddery, sobbing exhale, the strawberry blonde cracked his eyes open. Thankfully, someone had thought to put a piece of cloth over his eyes as he slept, because the faint light that filtered through it was enough to send him groaning, turning his head with closed eyes.
“Shh, easy Yuuji. You’ve been unconscious for like, two days now.” Choso’s voice floated through the air, and he felt a cool hand press against his forehead. He heard his brother’s soft tsk, before the rag was taken off his forehead and replaced.
Sighing into it, Yuuji let his arms and legs melt into the futon he laid under. Everything still hurt, but Choso was here.. He’d handle it.
Feeling the thralls of sleep grip his ankles again, the boy let himself be pulled under. He needed to sleep more..
Soft whispering is what first dragged him from his sleep. His ears, always awake sooner then his body, tried to tune into the conversation. However, the pounding in his skull easily drowned out the already quiet whispers. Yuuji could only tell it was his brother speaking to someone else. Perhaps a villager, come to check in on them…
Letting out a shaky exhale, the boy sniffed slightly on the inhale. Huh, incense… Since when could they afford incense..
Creaking his eyes open, the strawberry blonde frowned slightly at the lack of cold compress over his head. Although he wasn’t burning up, the chill felt nice… Slowly sitting up, he let out a soft hiss at the motion, feeling his entire body twinge.
“Yuuji! Be careful!” Choso’s voice softly cried, his brother by his side immediately. His warm hands were on his back, helping ease his brother into a sitting position and holding him there. “Here, drink some water. You’ve been asleep for nearly four days, I was getting worried!”
Shakily sipping the water offered to him, Yuuji felt the cold water slide easily down his throat. He didn’t realize how parched he’d been… Slowly looking to his brother, the strawberry blonde frowned at the mention of how long he’d been asleep. Coughing slightly, his gaze trailed from his brother’s worried face, to his surroundings. Furrowing his eyebrows, despite his foggy memory, Yuuji knew immediately this wasn’t their home.
“Wh..ere..?” He crooned, immediately regretting it as he delved into a coughing fit, his throat burning. Choso rubbed his back, worrying over him as he offered him water again.
“Don’t talk! Drink more!” The elder chided, holding his brother so he didn’t collapse. “We’re… Well.” Glancing to the side, Yuuji followed after his breathing had mellowed out and he was only wheezing. Eyes widening, the boy vaguely recognized the person in the doorway. He was certain he’d seen him with Ryoumen- er, Sukuna before.
“I’m glad to see you’re more awake this time, Yuuji-kun. I’ll be sure to let Sukuna-sama know. Choso-san, please think on what we discussed.” Bowing, the white and pink haired person bowed, glancing at them before turning and sliding the shoji door shut. Yuuji was sure they were still there, listening in on them.
“...are we?” Yuuji croaked, looking to his brother. Choso nodded grimly, letting his baby brother sip on some more water before speaking softly,
“When you passed out. They, and some of Sukuna’s men, were looking for him. They were gonna just give us a ride home, but …” He let out a long suffering sigh, causing Yuuji to gently elbow him to continue, “When we got home, it was just. Crushed. Ruined. A mudslide happened while I was looking for you. We had nowhere to go, so Uraume offered to house us until Sukuna woke up. And well, I guess that bastard felt bad for you once he woke up so he’s been letting us stay here.”
Yuuji scowled at his lap, watching his hands tremble. Was Sukuna doing this to repay him? Did he feel bad that Yuuji got sick because of him? Surely not. That bandit didn’t seem to care about anyone but himself.
“What… were they talking about?” He whispered, looking back to Choso. His brother pursed his lips into a fine line, glancing away. Frowning as he understood that look, he narrowed his eyes, “Choso. We promised to tell each other everything .”
“Okay. Okay! I know, I just…” He sighed heavily, leaning back onto his hands as he set the cup of water down, “I got into another argument with Sukuna. Or, I guess, one of his men. Beat the shit out of them, and the guys who tried to jump me after. Sukuna saw this, and offered me a spot in his ranks. They seem pretty insistent, but I don’t want to.” The reason why went unspoken between them, and Yuuji glowered down at his hands again.
“I hate living like this.” Yuuji whispered, “I hate being scared and always on the run.” Choso watched him nervously, unsure of where his brother was going with this. They both knew the way they’d been living sucked- a lot, but there was nothing they could do about it, “I know he’s a bastard, but..”
Yuuji looked up at his brother, biting his lip. Choso searched his face, frowning.
“It might be a good deal. You’re strong, and it’ll keep you safe.”
“What about you?” His brother whispered, reaching out to take Yuuji’s hands. Cracking a soft grin, the boy shrugged,
“I dunno. Maybe Sukuna can use a servant. I’m a good cook, you know!” Giving a half hearted, nauseous grin, Yuuji flexed a bicep. He knew he was pretty strong. But god knows how long he’d be sick this time. He probably got a couple good scrapes from his fall that will undoubtedly get infected and give him another fever. The strawberry blonde always got sick far too easy.
“Yuuji..” Choso frowned, grabbing his brother’s hand. Faintly, Yuuji could hear the sound of receding footsteps, but he chose to ignore it. Smiling at his big brother, he spoke again, voice still rough,
“Can I get something to eat, if it’s not too late? Not eating for four days sure creates an appetite.” Yuuji squinted a little. He did feel hungry, but he really didn’t want to discuss his self worth with Choso again. His brother stared at him for a few minutes, before standing with a long suffering sigh,
“Stay there. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” His brother gave him a hard stare before moving towards the door. He paused, hand on the shoji door, glancing back at his brother, “I love you Yuu. Try to get some rest while I go find something for you to eat.” Grinning at his brother, he watched as the older man walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. After the door shut, Yuuji’s grin slid off his face.
Looking to the other side of the room, Yuuji could tell it was pretty late in the evening. It seemed like the sun was just about to set, if the light filtering through the shoji panels were anything to go by.
Quietly picking at his fingers, the strawberry blonde lazily looked around the room. Everything in the room seemed expensive, but in a quiet, subtle way. Not in the flashy, showy off way he was used to seeing. Biting his lip, he glanced up at the ceiling. Would his brother join Sukuna? If so, would he be allowed to stay? Would Sukuna let him stay, even if he promised to work?
Letting out a shuddery sigh, he looked back down at his fingers. They were worn and torn, littered with small scars. He had thick calluses all over his palms, and the tips of his fingers. Proof of a hard life. But it didn’t feel like it.
Frowning, Yuuji shuffled his hands under the futon. He didn’t want to look at them anymore. Choso always tried to tell him he loved him and he was worth everything in the world, but sometimes.. It didn’t feel like it. Tipping his head when he heard faint footsteps, the strawberry blonde frowned slightly. Was Choso back so quickly? I mean, he didn’t know how big where they were staying was, but…
Startling when the shoji door was suddenly thrown open, Yuuji cast his gaze to the entrance of the room. His breath caught in his throat when he realized just who had decided to enter his room.
Ryoumen Sukuna stood there, all frowns and scowls. His icy eyes drifted from the opposite wall to Yuuji, scowl deepening when he saw him. Stepping into the room, he moved towards Yuuji without words. Tensing, the boy scooted back a little as he approached. He scooted back about two steps for every step the man took. This clearly irritated the bandit, as he stopped with a huff.
“Will you stop ?!” Growling, the taller man stepped on the blanket Yuuji sat under. Making a noise of protest, Yuuji’s weak hand reached to grab his ankle and push him off. However, all that really ended up happening was the boy collapsing forward. He had no strength left in him.
“What do you want?” Yuuji bleated, slumping until his face was hidden in the blanket. Feeling Ryoumen’s ankle shift in his grip, he was fairly sure the man had crouched. Feeling a hand in his hair, the boy startled, shooting up quickly. He looked at the bandit, eyes wide.
“What? I’m told the idiotic brat I’ve been hiding away finally woke up and you expect me to not come and see how close to death you’re still at?” Ryoumen sneered, with no heat. He dragged his fingers through Yuuji’s hair again, lightly scratching at his scalp with his nails. Feeling a shiver race up his spine at the feeling, the boy had to bite his lip hard to keep from moaning. He did, however, lean into the man’s hand. It felt nice.. He was warm.
“‘M surprised you didn’t die..” He slurred, closing his eyes. Yuuji wasn’t too sure why he was acting like this, and he decided to chalk it up to being sick, and nothing more and nothing less. Ryoumen had been in a worse spot then Yuuji had, before he passed out.
“I heal fast brat. You should’ve told me you get sick easy.” Ryoumen chided, dragging his fingers up and down the boy’s scalp. Yuuji shivered again, inhaling deeply. He shifted slightly, sitting up a little more. The bandit began to remove his hand, causing the strawberry blonde to let out a slight whimper. Chuckling, Ryoumen put his hand back, petting the boy, “Missed me?”
“...you’re warm..” Yuuji croaked, peeling his eyes open. His gaze landed on Ryoumen’s bandaged side, frowning a little. “..It got infected, didn’t it?”
“Actually, no.” Glancing up at the man, Yuuji quirked an eyebrow. Moving into a sitting position, the bandit cringed a little in pain, before leaning on one hand, keeping the other on Yuuji’s head. “I just got a fever from the cold. Being hurt just didn’t help.”
Humming in acknowledgement, the boy looked up at the man’s face. Ryoumen was staring at him, face blank. Or, maybe Yuuji just couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Feeling the hand slide down to his forehead, the boy closed his eyes, exhaling softly.
“You fever went down pretty far.” Ryoumen murmured, hand feeling Yuuji’s cheeks. Feeling his hand slide to the back of the boy’s neck, the boy made a noise when the man tugged on it. Shuffling closer a little, he inhaled sharply when his waist was within reaching distance of Ryoumen’s other hand, the man easily pulling him closer and onto his lap. Settling against his chest, Yuuji huffed through his nose, a little discontent.
“Do you have to?” He whispered. Despite his complaints, he leaned heavily into the bandit. His fever must be actually really high if he was acting like this.. Ryoumen snorted softly, grabbing the blanket he’d pulled Yuuji from, settling it over the boy in his lap.
“Mhm..” The man hummed, bringing a hand back up to Yuuji’s head, a hand settling on his thigh. Relaxing into the bandit, Yuuji crooked his neck, leaning his head heavily into Ryoumen’s hand. “You’re cold.” The man stated dumbly, carding his fingers through the sweat sticky hair of the boy in his lap.
“It’s cold..” Yuuji whispered. It was true. He could still hear the gentle pitter patter of the rain outside, and despite the human heater behind him, the strawberry blonde could feel the crisp chill in the air. He was covered in goosebumps, head to toe. Wait, actually.. “My clothes. Where’d they go?”
“Well..” Ryoumen paused in petting the boy, swallowing a little, “We couldn’t exactly find any clothes that fit you and, uh.. Uraume had to fashion some of my hakama into something that fit you.” Oh. That’s why the pants were so thin. They belonged to this human campfire.
“So you decided to leave me without any sort of shirt.” Yuuji grumped, slowly opening his eyes. He felt Ryoumen’s hand leave his own lap, and he jerked when the hand came to rest on his scar, in the middle of his chest,
“And get to not tease you? Never.” He could basically hear the man’s grin, and the boy flushed darkly, shuddering. His fingers lightly traced the still healing scar, pressing his nose into the back of his neck. Yuuji bit his lip, twitching and shivering, but refusing to make any noise. He knew that was what the bastard was after. He just came here to tease him and be an asshole. Nothing more.
Feeling the man’s hand slide up from his chest, to his neck, the strawberry blonde felt a jolt of terror. Before he could fully panic, the hand settled on the tip of his chin. Ryoumen forced the boy to look up, forcing his chin up.
Eyes widening a little, Yuuji’s eyes flicked towards the man’s. The bandit’s gaze was intense, icey eyes peering into the boy’s soul. Swallowing, he felt sweat beginning to bead on his brow, fingers twitching in his lap. Curling it into a fist, his gaze slid away after many beats, trying to jerk his chin free. Making a noise when Ryoumen tightened his grip, he flinched a little at his strength. Ow!
“Don’t look away.” The bandit murmured, voice deep and rough. Feeling a shudder race up his nerves, the boy cautiously looked back at the man, feeling their eyes connect. “Good boy..” The rose haired man grinned, hand still settled on his chin.
Blushing a bright red, Yuuji tensed in the man’s lap. Why did that make his heart race?
Grinning, Ryoumen moved his hand, sliding it beneath the futon blanket. Blushing harder as his warm hand slid against his skin, he exhaled shakily. Despite all this, his eyes stayed on Ryoumen’s, focused on him. The man was smirking, but he couldn’t feel any malicious intent.
“I have an offer for you..” The bandit murmured, fingers settling against his exposed thigh, threatening to slip under the hakama. Attempting to hum in response, the boy cringed as the only noise that left his throat was a high pitched whimper. Why couldn’t he chase the man off? Why was he just… sitting here? Smirking even wider, Ryoumen whispered softly, leaning into the boy, “Join me.”
“...what?” Yuuji whispered back, blinking. Why did he want him to join him? His gaze searched the man’s face, narrowing his eyes a little. “Why? Why do you want me and my brother to join you?”
“There haven’t been a lot of people who’ve been able to sneak up on me, let alone hit me after.” Ryoumen sighed deeply, leaning back. Shifting, he slid off the man’s lap to sit on his knees, facing him. Seemingly not liking the idea of the boy not being beside him, Ryoumen grabbed his waist, pulling him back onto his lap, so the young strawberry blonde was straddling him.
“Okay, but that doesn’t answer my question!” Yuuji protested, grabbing at the man’s wrist. His face burned with shame and embarrassment, looking at the bandit again. Scoffing softly, Ryoumen pulled him closer, up to his chest. Bristling, his hands shot to the bandit’s shoulders, to keep himself from collapsing entirely onto him. “Stop that!” He whined, glaring up at the man.
“I want you and your brother to join me because you’re strong .” Ryoumen snickered, hands settling, one on his hip, the other on the small of his back. Rubbing a thumb against his spine, the man scanned the strawberry blonde’s face, before continuing, “Besides. You don’t exactly have anywhere to go right now, with your home currently buried like, six feet under the mountain.”
Scowling at him, Yuuji narrowed his eyes. Being strong was one thing. But he seemed to have an interest in him that went beyond his strength..
“Way to rub it in.” He muttered, pulling his hands back. He grabbed the man’s wrists, peeling them off him. Quickly scooting out of his reach, he glared at him, “I don’t know.” Glancing at the door, he quietly willed his brother to show up. His heart wasn’t meeting up with his mind and right now he needed something, someone, who was thinking right. “I don’t know if I want to work with you, or have my brother work with you.”
“And what would be so bad about working with me, huh?” Ryoumen snorted, rolling his eyes. He leaned back on a hand, watching the strawberry blonde. He narrowed his eyes, irritation swimming in them. Was he mad that Yuuji was rejecting him?
“You’re a bandit.” The strawberry blonde boy muttered, glancing away from him. That much was obvious. He didn’t want to work with a criminal, nor become one. That was.. Shaking his head a little, mostly to himself, the boy huffed, “Both me and my brother don’t really feel keen on becoming criminals.”
“Criminals, huh..” Ryoumen hummed, eyes watching the boy. He felt like a rabbit before a wolf, about to be eaten at any moment. “Working for me doesn’t automatically make you a criminal.” Looking back towards him, Yuuji frowned a little. He seemed almost, dejected? Why though? They had no history together, besides Yuuji saving him on the mountain..
“What’s that mean?”
“For starters, I do have servants back at my estate.” Ryoumen scowled at him, as if that were obvious. The bandit having an estate was shocking enough. The fact that there were people working there, most likely willingly, was even more shocking. The boy watched as he ran a hand through his hair, exhaling deeply through his nose. “Not all of my people are criminals you know. Most of them actually work honest lives.”
“And that’s why you’re known as the King of Curses?” Yuuji couldn’t help but tease him. He knew why. Exactly why. Continuing before the bandit could cut him off, he sighed heavily, speaking softly, “Let me talk to my brother about it. I can’t promise, however, our response will be what you like it to.”
“That’s more than enough.” The rose haired man whispered, tone akin to fondness. Reaching out to pet the boy, he rose, gathering his robes. Threading his fingers through the strawberry blonde hair beneath his pads, he offered Yuuji a smile before speaking a touch louder, “Rest. You and your brother have free reign of the hotel we’re in for now. I leave in three days. I hope to hear your response, be it any, before then.”
Before Yuuji could respond, the bandit was already walking away. Face burning, partially with rage, partially with something else. Pressing the heel of his palms to his eyes, the boy let out a shuddery breath. Gods, what was he going to do now?