Chapter Text
Yuuji entered Sukuna's innate domain with nary a sound, opening his eyes to the sight of depressing blood-water and bone mountain. The water splashed against his feet with every step he took, prompting a grimace of mild disgust.
Tch, how gross. Now, where does his majesty happen to be?
It didn't take him long to locate the man, for the blood water had receded from around him as he laid on the ground, grievously injured. Yuuji walked towards him with feather light footsteps, trying not to spook him into injuring himself further, before Yuuji could heal him.
Sukuna's broken form laid at his feet, the man's limbs sprawled disgracefully in a pool of his own blood, pristine white kimono completely soaked through with red.
Bright red blood on a canvas of snow...
Yuuji shook himself out of his thoughts and tried not to focus on the horrified guilt squirming inside his stomach at the pathetic sight. Sukuna had always been larger than life to him, so to see him reduced to this, knowing that he had been the one to bring this man to this point made him feel... Distressed. Extremely so.
That, and a sickening sort of pride that he was quick to discard– how would his Sukuna feel if he could see him now? Would the man have finally acknowledged him now that he was stronger than him? But then again, he knew damn well that had Sukuna lived to the same old age as him, he would've likely been just as strong, if not stronger than Yuuji.
And the reason he didn't live longer, the reason he couldn't...
Of course, it was Yuuji himself.
Sukuna then chose to remind him exactly why he was so dangerous, why one could never do something so brazen as to zone out in the king's presence and come out of it unscathed, because–
A dismantle powered with pure, murderous rage whizzed past him as he dodged just in the nick of time, taking off his arm entirely. His blood mixed with Sukuna's as the man, trembling, lifted himself up to his feet and tried to injure him again–
Only for Yuuji to appear right behind him and jab two fingers into the side of his neck, rendering him too weak to retaliate as he fell right into Yuuji's waiting arms, snarling like a wounded animal all the while.
"You..." Sukuna growled furiously, and Yuuji tried not to smile and infuriate Sukuna even more. That tone of voice, coming from this man, brought back nostalgic memories, even if they were tinged with blood and death.
"Who, me?" Yuuji blinked innocently, unable to resist winding him up. His arm had slowly healed itself back up.
The rage was wiped clean off of Sukuna's face, leaving an eerily blank slate that unnerved him more than he cared to admit. Of course, he knew, personally, that Sukuna was not a spitting ball of pure fury at all times like history made him out to be.
But that only made it all the more discomfiting when the man refused to be wired up and instead was plotting your downfall in several, extremely agonizing ways, as evidenced by the exact look on his face that Yuuji was– unfortunately– more than familiar with.
Because it made him more embarassed than he'd cared to admit that he'd ended up adapting quite a few of the man's mannerisms himself.
...Detached indifference concealing ulterior motives included. Ah, he was fucked, wasn't he?
"Maybe you can start by explaining who you are." Sukuna said casually, but the burning curiosity in his eyes belied his interest. It was funny how it was phrased like a suggestion, but Yuuji knew what was waiting for him if he didn't immediately follow through.
So then, it was good for him that such veiled threats didn't phase him anymore, because what would he even do? Kill Yuuji?
Yuuji hummed, shifting to a more comfortable hold as he lifted Sukuna into his arms, uncaring of the other's look of brief pain as his injuries were aggravated.
"Maybe if you promise not to escalate to violence when I heal you."
Sukuna's expression turned into a mix of surprise and disdain, likely because Yuuji offered to heal him, but he resigned himself to keeping his mouth shut because he clearly knew he was overpowered here.
A fact that seemed to have rendered the King momentarily docile, because it was truly, exceedingly rare that someone managed to injure the Strongest sorcerer in history not once, but twice.
Yuuji carried the man towards a plane of area devoid of bones, laying him down and healing him thoroughly with just a touch.
Sukuna immediately withdrew from his person, nose scrunching up in disgust as he glared his nose down at Yuuji.
"Hm, glad to see you're as ungrateful as ever." Yuuji said dryly, resisting the urge to pout. He was 83 years old and he would not pout in front of his significantly younger uncle.
Come to think of it, Yuuji had never asked him how old he'd been when he'd had that damn Kenjaku turn him into a cursed object. Surely not too old, certainly not above 40 at most, and then he'd lived only for half a year in his second incarnation... Maybe if Yuuji got into his good graces and asked nicely enough–
"You were the one who injured me, boy. Don't forget that you owe me an explanation. I won't ask a second time, so choose your words wisely."
...Yes, that would not be happening, would it? He was as cranky as ever. Yuuji violently pushed down the sharp spike of fondness that swelled his heart. Maybe he was looking at Sukuna through rose coloured lenses, but how could he not when he was just as much of a sinner as Sukuna was? He had enough blood on his hands to turn the ocean red.
(Especially towards the end of the past timeline, all those people he'd had to kill, nothing to show for it afterwards other than a crumbling society and forced exile and lifelong grief that clung to him like a second skin, all because of that damn brain–)
A resounding crack and a choked off groan broke him out of his reverie. He looked down to see the twisted, bloody mess he'd made out of Sukuna's arm, and then, just as quickly, before conscious thought of what he'd just done had even registered– reverse cursed technique flowed through his veins to heal him just as quickly as he'd done the first time.
What the hell was wrong with him?
He was off his game, wasn't he? Sinking into the memories of a past long gone was never going to help him, not if he wanted to make sure the world didn't go to hell this time around.
He needed to set his priorities straight.
He turned to look at Sukuna, a guilt-ridden apology at the tip of his tongue, when he met ruby red eyes filled with cruel mirth and a wary sort of interest that had his hackles immediately rising.
"Well?" Sukuna drawled, and Yuuji truly was envious of his ability to look so dignified even after being put through the wringer, "Do you plan to open that maw of yours or do you wish to keep mutilating me? We haven't all the time in the world, you fool."
Yuuji's eyes darkened with intent.
"Oh, I beg to differ." Yuuji said lowly. "We've got all the time in the world now, so don't you worry, Sukuna."
The icy wariness came back with a vengeance, but Sukuna stayed silent, waiting to see where Yuuji went with this.
"Who I am is not particularly important," Yuuji started, "nor do I have a name, but you may call me Yuuji."
Sukuna gave him a cold glare. "You are not my vessel, are you?"
Yuuji smiled slowly. "What makes you say that?"
"You expect me to believe that my vessel is stronger than myself?"
"It's not like you are at full power, are you? A finger's worth of power is hardly the measure of your complete strength." Yuuji said, a mild smile playing on his lips at the way Sukuna seemed to be caught off guard once again.
Oh, had he expected Yuuji to gloat, or perhaps flaunt his superiority over Sukuna now that he had the man in a vulnerable position? Well, he'd quickly learn that Yuuji didn't operate like that.
"No," Sukuna agreed, visage turning stony once again, "but I would find it uncanny that my vessel seems to have the exact same cursed technique as myself, and has enough mastery over said technique to be able to intimately work out the mechanics of how to dodge what is supposed to be a targeted, invisible slash rather than a tangible object that can be dodged if so wished."
Shivers wracked up Yuuji's spine, and even he with his decades of stolid, stubborn composure couldn't stop himself from falling silent at the thorough, accurately deduced analysis from a mere half an hour worth of interaction.
Sukuna took one look at his wide eyed expression and smiled darkly.
"Why, I seem to have struck true." Sukuna drawled with affected boredom, if not for the wicked gleam of triumph in his eyes.
Unfortunately for him, Yuuji had no qualms about letting Sukuna know anything at all. He would not actively spill his guts, but he also wouldn't stop him from reaching his own conclusions.
After all, he never intended to let Sukuna escape long enough to tell anyone.
Certainly not before his duty was fulfilled, once and for all.
He'd drag Sukuna back to him kicking and screaming if he had to.
"How did you know?" Yuuji asked, curious despite himself, not letting a hint of his true intentions play on his face.
Sukuna gave him a look that he was intimately familiar with– one that suggested he thought Yuuji was an idiot. Once again, Yuuji pushed the wisps of longing deep down his chest.
"Are you truly asking me how I am familiar with my own cursed technique, brat?"
Brat...
Yuuji suppressed a goofy smile, the first he'd felt tugging at his lips in ages.
"Sorry, my bad." Yuuji said offhandedly, but instead of the expected, derisive scoff, Sukuna gave him a cautious, tense glare.
"You still haven't answered me, you know." Sukuna's voice was dead serious for how casual his words were.
"That I haven't." Yuuji shrugged. "What of it?"
Once again, instead of getting furious with him for denying him so audaciously, Sukuna rested his chin on his fist and leaned forward interestedly.
"I desire information, and you, understandably, happen to be wary of the threat of bodily harm from my side should I ever regain my full strength."
...Wow, what an arrogant assumption to make.
But that was the case when you were unparalleled in your strength for so long that the idea of someone truly posing a danger to your existence was unfathomable. And Yuuji hadn't exactly revealed all his cards– all Sukuna knew was that he was reasonably strong but would stop being a threat once Sukuna reached past a certain threshold of power after continued consumption of his scattered fingers.
In other words, Sukuna thought he had seen Yuuji at roughly around his full strength, rather than a minimal fraction of power that Yuuji conveniently let the man see, sealing away the rest of it tightly enough that it was utterly undetectable.
"...Smart one, aren't you?" Yuuji muttered, as if Sukuna had caught him off guard, when instead, Yuuji was voluntarily attempting to let Sukuna think he had leverage to use over Yuuji.
Yes, that was totally it. Seeing as this assumption of Sukuna's worked in his favour, he'd let the man think that what Yuuji had indeed displayed was merely a 2 fingers worth of strength, combined with the ability to affect souls, which Sukuna likely assumed was Yuuji's own innate technique.
Not a bad assumption by any means, but the truth was so unimaginable that he doubted Sukuna would stumble upon time travel as an alternative anytime soon.
And even if he did, what would really come out of it? It wasn't like Yuuji would let him escape long enough to tell anyone.
But it was better if he kept his cards close to himself for as long as possible. He couldn't let himself fall into stagnancy, he couldn't let his guard down and think everything was handled simply because it would be laughably easy to achieve everything he wanted to now.
–Kill Sukuna now, eliminate the massive threat that would kill half the people Yuuji loved and a thousand more...
Except, Yuuji could not let himself do that. He had to let Sukuna live. For more reasons than one.
–Let the events play out as they had in the first timeline, then take the chance to just kill Kenjaku at Shibuya and...
It would solve absolutely nothing.
Kenjaku was the major threat here. It would be extraordinarily foolish to assume that the man had not set up back-up plan after plan in case of his death throughout the centuries he'd been alive.
That was how he'd lived so long, after all– not his cursed technique or his thousand years of experience, but his sheer brilliance that Yuuji was loathe to admit he'd have trouble with, if he didn't have the knowledge of the future in his mind.
And that was not even considering the absolute clusterfuck of contingency plans that Yuuji knew he had, uncovered decades after Kenjaku's death. There was a reason he'd had to rewind the whole world back in time.
Truly, they had all been exceptionally arrogant in assuming that they had killed Kenjaku just like that, back at Shinjuku. They'd crushed him like a cockroach and forgotten that he was a filthy insect who would crawl his way back to life with nothing but spite.
No... this time around, Yuuji would make sure not to leave any opening for his dear parent to exploit.