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You wouldn’t look at him.
Sukuna would’ve relished that idea in any other circumstance. Finally understood your place, did you? Knowing how you were always going to be beneath him, and that the only special thing about you was because of him, too?
But that wasn’t the case.
This was Sukuna’s innate domain - his mind - and as such, he could tell everything going on inside it. Including how you were feeling, clearer than ever since you shared a body.
Surely, you should know by now that he could tell what you were feeling. Didn’t you ever wonder how he knew which moments were best to insult you? If you were even a little bit smarter you might have realized that you could tell what he was feeling, too, but that’s a problem for another day. He’s rather thankful you’re just as stupid as humans come, if not stupider.
Maybe he could use that stupidity to excuse you for your feelings towards him today, but that was far too merciful. And Sukuna wasn’t exactly a merciful king.
There was no fear. Not a shred of it. No hatred, either, weirdly enough. It was something that confused him to no end since meeting you. No matter what he did, what he said, you couldn’t seem to hate him. It was one of the few things about you that bothered Sukuna, besides how you didn’t die after ingesting his finger or how you could suppress his soul.
But hatred and fear would’ve been preferable to right now. What the hell was this feeling?
Resignation? Yes, he wanted you to resign to him, but there was something else.
…
…Annoyance…?
Annoyance?
Excuse him? You were annoyed at him? Aha? Haha? Was this a joke? Were you smart enough to prank him into believing you were annoyed with him? No, that was giving you too much credit. So that could only mean these were your genuine feelings.
You were annoyed at him. You didn’t hate him nor were you afraid of him, no, instead you had the fucking balls to feel annoyed at him.
Since when did you feel that way? Why did you feel that way??
Sukuna thought back to the things he’d done to inconvenience you since merging.
He’d talk disrespectfully to your higher ups or your seniors whenever they were in ear shot. Maybe they’d be so annoyed at him they’d execute you prematurely just to get it over with - those sorcerers seemed like the petty bunch so he wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Maybe he hoped, they’d push you away so much you’d finally let him kill them all. But somehow, you had learned to tell when you were forming a mouth on your cheek.
“Did you just hit me?” Sukuna pressed a hand to his lips, almost like he expected there to be blood. It stung for a split second.
“If you stop doing that, then I wouldn’t have to hit you,” you frown, trying to ignore the funny looks some people were giving you.
“Like I’d fucking listen to you.”
“I can always cover my body with bandages. Can you bite your way through those?”
“...You fucking wouldn’t…”
He’d vocalize your insecurities and faults in a battle. But that just made you stronger, wanting to show him that you weren’t as weak as he made you out to be.
“Shouldn’t you be thanking me, brat?” Sukuna snarls. He says that, but he was pissed you were using him as encouragement. “Because of me, you’re actually able to throw a decent punch.”
You pass by a window and to Sukuna’s surprise, you smile at the reflection of his face on your cheek.
“Thanks for helping me get better, Sukuna.”
You walk away without another word and he was left boiling in indignation.
And then he remembered something from a week or so ago.
“Wake up! Takara! Come on, wake up!” you shook the barely conscious body of a small girl in your arms. “Please stay awake for me!”
She was bleeding horribly from a cut on her side. Actually, now that Sukuna focused, a chunk of her side was bit off. He couldn’t see clearly with how much you were crying. Brat was probably gonna die soon. If she didn’t, maybe she’d suffer a bit more and curse you. That would be something. He wondered if he’d inherit the curse after he took your body?
“Sukuna!” you manage a strangled cry.
“Hmm?” he already knew what was coming.
“Please! I’ll do anything you want,” you held the girl close as you ran down the school corridors, a curse spirit beast tamer and its hell hounds hot on your trail. It wasn’t hard to track you down with all the blood you left in your wake. “Just heal her!”
Sukuna’s mouth forms at your cheek, grinning. “I refuse.”
“...What?” you stopped, both from disbelief and the fact you had reached a dead end.
“You can’t possibly be that stupid, right? Me? Heal a human? HA!” Sukuna barks out a laugh, ringing in your ears. “That’s pathetic! You cling to me as a last resort and expect me to do what you say? How miserable of you! So weak you can’t even help a single brat!”
Sukuna laughs and the other curse spirit joins in, a horrible chorus of mockery. You don’t make a sound. Sukuna slowly stops when you softly lay down the girl in a corner, turning back to the curse spirit with a stiff face and a murderous look in your eyes.
“Right. Sorry for asking.”
Not too long after, the blindfolded bastard came to save the day. Miraculously, the girl was going to live.
You don’t call Sukuna out on the way back, nor for the rest of the week.
If anything, he should be annoyed at you. It wasn’t his damn fault that you were stuck together, so he shouldn’t have any obligation to help you. He was a curse - and he didn’t feel obligated to do anything but satisfy his never ending desires. He wasn’t obligated. How many times did he have to dig that into that stupid brain of yours? He pleased himself, and no one else.
“Oi, brat,” he stared down at you from atop his throne of skulls, trying to keep his temper in check. Killing you right now wouldn’t mean anything. From how your form seemed to flicker in and out of existence, you must have slept so deeply you accidentally found yourself back here. A dumbass who couldn’t even control their soul. Sukuna had to be the bigger person or he’d be stooping down to your level. “Not only are you barging in uninvited after I told you not to come back, but you don’t even bother to greet your king? Did your parents never teach you to show respect to your superiors? Ah, right, you never met them. Completely forgot. I suppose that explains it.”
You spare him a fleeting glance, your eyes mostly void of emotion, before your eyes fall back down to the foot of the mountain of skulls. Sukuna felt the blood rush to his face, gripping the armrests of his throne to keep him from leaping up and throttling you.
Calm yourself, Sukuna breathed deeply. The little shit is probably still half-asleep.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to come here. Also, you said not to look at you without permission.” your voice was soft, almost a whisper. Was that the voice of your soul? It was so small, so weak - so blatantly human. He couldn’t remember if it sounded like this the first time. The mirth he’d annoyingly grown accustomed to hearing wasn’t present. It almost felt like talking to a different person.
And considering his current situation required he be familiar with his vessel, it made him uneasy to see this side of you. He hated it. He hated that you found ways to make him uneasy without meaning to. He’d call it a talent if he didn’t hate it so much.
Sukuna watches as you crouch down to pick up one of the skulls. Last time you were here, you’d thrown one at him. He thought you were angry at him for killing you, which would have been a shitty issue to be angry at him for. But you were a lot angrier that he was a step away from killing the Fushiguro brat, and that reason ended up being shittier. Another thing to add to the mysteries of your pea brain: you cared more for the people around you than your own circumstances.
“I was going to die anyway. If anything, didn’t you just spare the sorcerers the trouble of killing us off?”
But you don’t throw the skull at him. You sigh, before setting it carefully among the other ones and stand.
“I realized something. From last week.”
“Oh?” Sukuna smirks. Guess you couldn’t stand the silence, either. Either? Whatever. He was right that it was about what he said that time. “I wasn’t aware you were smart enough for something like that. Go on, then. I’ll hear you out just this once, brat. You better make it worth my while or I’ll make you regret it when you wake up.”
“There’s no point in bargaining with you,” you continue as if you never heard him cut you off. It was like you were just affirming something to yourself, had you not referred to him. Sukuna heard the armrest crack under his hold, but his vision remained on your small form below him, still not meeting his gaze. “You’re just a curse. So I’m not going to bother you again. Sorry for wasting your time.”
There’s a pause, and Sukuna actually waited for you to say something else, but instead you turn around and walk away. Sukuna stands up from his throne before he realizes what he’s doing. His mouth opens to call you back and force you to beg for forgiveness, but he doesn’t get a word out.
You already wouldn’t look at him, now you could turn your back on him? Who the fuck taught you to do that? Definitely not those Jujutsu Sorcerers, who always looked like they’d shit themselves at his very name being dropped. Only you had the nerve to look at him straight on, besides the fool who called himself “The Strongest Sorcerer”. So this was all you? Bullshit. He wasn’t letting you get away with that.
Sukuna watches you walk off, knowing you wouldn’t be able to leave on your own. When you reach a distance away from him, you sit behind one of the rib bones that extended from above. Your back is still turned away from him.
What the fuck.
First of all, you were the one who came crashing in, disrespecting him in his own domain. Had you done this back in his prime, he would’ve had you burned alive, maybe made your body last for weeks. Yes, he said not to look at him without permission, but not even acknowledging his presence? Fuck no.
Second, if you were already here, the least you could do was provide entertainment. It was boring, okay? He was trapped inside the body of some brat who couldn’t understand his importance, his view limited to what you were looking at. And most of the time, the only thing you did was fuck around with the shitty sorcerers you called friends. If not that, you were off killing curses, always coming back half alive when those you fought couldn’t even compare to him. It was fucking boring watching all this go around him, without control over the body unless you let him take over.
You were the only company he was getting anytime soon. But now you looked hellbent on forgetting he existed. The fucking nerve of you. He thought you were such a goody-two-shoes you’d take everyone into consideration, so what the fuck kinda treatment was this? To him of all people?
Sukuna steps down from his throne in quick strides, his blood boiling with adrenaline. And then he stops, a cruel smirk finding its way to his lips.
“How should I teach you not to disrespect me ever again, hmm?” He mused softly to himself. His smirk widens to a sickening grin as he leisurely strolled over to you. “Although, disrespecting me again doesn’t sound too bad. It would be an excuse to punish you again. Now that sounds like good entertainment, don’t you think, (Y/N)?”
You don’t answer, nor do you make a move that said you heard him. When he finally reaches you, he found you with your knees pulled up to your chest and your face buried in your arms.
Funny, he frowned. How’d the brat know to fall asleep to go back to the real world?
Your form flickers, more transparent than when you had first appeared before him. You were already going back.
“You’re not going anywhere, brat,” Sukuna pulls his leg back. “Not after this shit.”
Your form solidifies again as you find yourself crashing into the bloody pool of Sukuna’s domain once more. He throws his head back in laughter, howling as he watches you groan and spit out blood you’d swallowed. You clutched your side as you staggered to sit up. Sukuna waits for an angry retort or a glare, but you don’t do either.
Instead, your eyes land on his feet first, and you immediately turn away with-
Was that…? He fucking saw that right, right? Of course he did, he had four fucking eyes to see your bullshit. You didn’t actually think that would slip by him, right?
You turned away with a roll of your eyes. And to top it off, you let out an exasperated sigh.
“Yes? Can I help you?” it’s the same soft voice, but it contrasted how bratty you were being that Sukuna could laugh if he wasn’t fuming.
“I wasn’t finished with you,” Sukuna was surprised he hadn’t done more than kick you. Was it the shock that you could act like this? Truly, he didn’t expect your attitude could shift so drastically. Whatever it was, it was actually rendering him incapable of attacking using more than measly retorts.
“I thought you didn’t want me around,” a voice as emotionless as your face, and Sukuna found it more sickening than anything. “And I said I wasn’t going to bother you anymore.”
It annoyed him that you’d laugh and smile without a care in the world. It annoyed him that he didn’t understand what made you smile like that. What was so funny about being so weak and powerless? It almost felt like you were mocking him, teasing him that you saw something he didn’t. You’ve already reduced him to a mere shadow and now? Now you tell him you weren’t going to give him the time of day, without a smile or a laugh. It somehow humiliated him more than ever before.
So fucking annoying.
“I changed my mind,” he raises an arm and brings it down to your face. Although you had refused to look at him, you saw his reflection move, and you roll away easily. You dodge him with skills he had pushed you to have. He ground his teeth, his own glaring face staring back at him from where you just were. “You and I are going to have a fucking talk.”
He felt unhinged. The anger raging in his chest boiling over and not knowing where to spill. Taking it out on you would be the obvious and easiest answer, but Sukuna’s head was clearest when he was overcome with rage.
What’s the outcome you’d hate the most?
Taking his anger out on you wouldn’t solve the problem at hand. He’d beat you up to the point you’d be forced back to the real world and he’d be alone again in his soul. You’d go about your life, and maybe he’d pop out more often just to insult you, and you’d probably ignore him. He could always wait for you to ask him again to help you and he’d make you beg until he was more than content, but what if you didn’t? And how long would he have to wait until you’d be pushed into a corner?
Annoying. So annoying.
You were annoyed with him.
Fucking hell, Sukuna breathes in.
He turns back to you, trying to read you. Fuck whatever you were feeling, you already made it very well known that you were pretty tired of him. But what else?
Your eyes were trained to the floor. You sigh again, and this time Sukuna can tell it wasn’t aimed at him - it didn’t really make him feel any better, though. He notices the way you slouch. He notices the bags under your eyes as you rub at them.
“Sorry for wasting your time.”
Fucking fantastic. Not only were you weak as shit compared to everyone else, you were also soft as shit. Did that little talk really get you down so easily? He thought you’d thank him for being so frank with you. Sure, he did laugh at you. But who wouldn’t? Even that other curse spirit did. But at least he was honest, right? He didn’t exactly tell you to handle it yourself, but he got the message across alright, didn’t he? You were fucking alive weren’t you? So was the other brat you were trying to save, right? So what was the big deal?
“What did you mean by you “weren’t going to bother me anymore”? You really are a dumbass, huh? I’m surprised you’re self-aware you’re a nuisance, but,” he wasn’t being completely honest. You were an annoying brat, but at least you were tolerable. If you really were bothersome, reincarnating would’ve been the least of his concerns. He would’ve just killed both you and him the moment he had the chance to spare himself. Waiting another thousand years for another vessel meant nothing if you weren’t aware of time anyway. “What the hell do you plan on doing? Did you somehow forget we share your body, brat? Because I sure as hell didn’t. Not bothering me isn’t exactly a choice for you.”
“I know we’re still sharing my body. But I’m not going to ask for anything from you again,” you’re looking at him, but Sukuna was hardly satisfied. By the way you looked at him with that blank stare, he felt like he was the idiot in this conversation. He knew there was no use repeating the obvious, but he needed you to think you were still the idiot he knew you were. “I’ll just pretend you’re not there. I’ll just collect your fingers and I’ll-”
“And they’ll kill you.” Sukuna cut off softly, smiling almost serenely, despite hating every word that left your lips. “Are you really okay with that? You’re going to ignore me, the one being that understands you in your entirety, and help the people who want you dead?”
“Actually, they want you dead. They’re killing you,” you smile at him, a reflection of his own, and Sukuna felt like you threw his shit back at him. His smile drops first. “I just got saddled along for the ride.”
You look away again, the smile gone. You rub at your eyes, but you don’t exactly look sleepy.
Tired. You looked tired.
Sukuna would’ve been glad at that revelation. Maybe he could use this moment to get you to finally give him full control of your body. But he couldn’t.
Sukuna felt tired, too. Worn out, more than anything really. Was it the conversation? The constant rising anger that was left unspent? Or was it because you were so tired it was seeping into his own soul the longer you stayed in his domain?
“Doesn’t mean you’re not gonna die, too. You know why you died the first time don’t you? That white haired bastard’s quite the loud mouth, his voice reaching us all the way over here,” Sukuna smirks down at you. He’ll milk your suffering as much as he could as repentance. Just for now. Maybe he really was feeling merciful. Or tired.
“Because you ripped my heart out?” you look at him incredulously and Sukuna felt a sort of accomplishment. You looked at him twice now, and you were replying to everything he was saying. So much for ignoring him, huh?
“You and your little friends got dragged into fighting a special grade, didn’t you? Why was it again?” he grins when he sees your eye twitch at the memory. “Because those petty little Jujutsu Sorcerers wanted you dead. Although that curse was no match for me, I wonder what would have happened if it didn’t wait for you to call me out? Three little brats, all dead. Ooohh now that would’ve thrown those sorcerers for a loop. But we both know who’s to blame, right?”
“You?” you blink at him owlishly.
“Me? Oh, but aren’t you “saddled along for the ride”?” Sukuna steps closer. Throw a punch at him, why don’t you? He’s already hit you once. Just a little bit more and he’d finally get a reaction that would satisfy him. “I’m not friends with those brats. I’m not a jujutsu sorcerer. You’re the one who’s dragging them down with us. If you didn’t get close to them, maybe you never had to die, don’t you think?”
There’s a pause as he waits for the words to sink in. He’s right next to you now, practically breathing down your neck. Hell, maybe he would let you hit him if just to spike his excitement again.
But when you turn to him, there’s the blank expression again.
“That’s why I’m going to ignore you,” you smile, but it doesn’t reach your eyes. “The faster we get this over with, the better.”
You rub again at your eyes, even when the edges are already red, and then you look away. Sukuna doesn’t have to guess what you’re doing - you were looking for a spot to sleep.
Back to square one.
Sukuna moves without thinking. Maybe the tired feeling really was getting to him. He grabs your hood and proceeds to drag you through the lake of blood.
“Sukuna, what are you-!” You’re struggling to get a chance to stand, but Sukuna doesn’t wait for you to get your bearings together. He stops at the foot of the hill of horned skulls, a pause that surprises you a second too long, before he hauls you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Your next yell of complaint doesn’t make it out when Sukuna roughly throws you down. You sit up, mouth going from a scream to an “o”, and Sukuna looks down at you as you take in what he’d done. For some reason, you were sitting on his throne, and contrary to what you thought prior, some of the skulls seemed to have been melted together to form a space to sit down on rather comfortably. A splinter from the arm rest you were closest to felt all too real.
But was it just you, or did the space seem bigger than how it usually looked?
“Well?” Sukuna sits down beside you, legs crossed and his chin propped up on his hand, finding a way still to look down at you even when you were practically eye level.
Your mouth remains open in shock, as you turn to the view atop the skulls and back to him. He hears you make a sound, almost akin to a whine, but no words come out as you look at him incredulously. Sukuna smiles at you innocently, a grin threatening to break through.
I dare you to fall asleep on my throne, brat, Sukuna’s smile widens ever so slightly as you try to edge away from him in the space of the throne, your face frozen into a polite smile. I’ll push you off the moment your eyes close. Go on, then.
“Why… am I here…?” your voice had raised an octave or so. Sukuna’s eyes remained trained on you, gleaming with mirth.
“Hmm? Yes, I wonder why?” your face twists into barely stifled annoyance as Sukuna throws your question back. You were still annoyed, but the change in expression made Sukuna know that he was successfully getting under your skin.
Sukuna watches as you open your mouth, ready to rip into him, and then you stop. It’s almost like something comes over you, because in the next second, all traces of anger are gone.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
You sigh heavily and turn away from him, eyes drifting to the expanse of blackness that stretched in the horizon.
He doesn’t push you off. Not yet. He stares at you as you keep looking into the distance, waiting for you to fall asleep. But you don’t close your eyes, nor do you bury your face into your arms. Instead, you looked to be deep in thought.
Sukuna snaps his fingers, the sound echoing throughout the domain, but you don’t move a muscle. You do, however, crack a small smile. Which meant shit for Sukuna, since he didn’t know what was so funny.
“Did you just start daydreaming in front of me, brat?” Sukuna waits for an answer, but he should’ve known you wouldn’t hear him. Still stuck in whatever fantasy you were in.
This wasn’t even about last week anymore. You were practically annoying him for shits and giggles.
What the hell was so funny you couldn’t even hear him, anyway?
He closes his eyes and reaches a hand to the back of your head, careful not to stir you from your thoughts completely before he was able to see what you were seeing.
A park. Or was it a forest? Whatever it was, it was the kind of place that did not welcome his kind. It was peaceful. There’s a cloth laid out on the grass, sweets and other delicacies strewn about. Three other people were with you. There’s the Fushiguro brat, the brown haired woman, and-
Sukuna’s eyes blow open and he smacks you at the back of the head. The force and the initial shock almost send you tumbling forward, but you catch hold of the armrest before you go completely down.
You tentatively touch the back of your head, checking for blood, and when you don’t see anything, your head slowly turns to Sukuna. Not a laugh escapes his lips, his outstretched hand left dangling in midair as he stared at you with wide eyes.
“What the fuck was that for?!” you look like you’re ready to tackle him, but he’s quiet. Your voice echoes, but he doesn’t reply.
And then he was suddenly so close, his red eyes swallowing your whole field of vision. Whatever you want to say next dies in your throat as Sukuna stares you down, holding you in place with his eyes alone.
That scene bothered him in more ways than one. It was a dream where you could be with friends somewhere peaceful. Away from the agony and hate of the world of curses. And he hated it. Because he knew you would never have that. And he knew you knew it, too. You would never come to see that peace, because your existence alone brought chaos into their lives. And yet you dream of the impossible, still. The two of you would never come to see that. A world like that didn’t welcome the likes of you two.
And it annoyed him that you even imagined a scene like that without him. Yes, he wasn’t exactly fond of whatever peace you fantasized about, but did he really matter that little to you? He would’ve thought that you had grown closer in the months you’ve been stuck together. Yes, he did try to make your life a living hell more so often than not, but he would have at least thought you’d be thankful for the life you had now because of him. You didn’t even have friends before he came to your life.
But most of all-
“I’m making a new rule,” his voice is barely a whisper, but he was so close it was impossible to miss. You brace yourself for what he was going to ask next. “While you’re with me, you don’t think of another man.”
The silence was deafening and longer it went still, the heavier it felt.
You blink. Once. Twice. “…What…?”
Sukuna couldn’t fucking believe it. The amount of shit he’d done for you on this night alone would have made him look like he was trying to gain the favor of his god, not a lowly human. He’d been considerate, he had let you off each time you disrespected him, hell, he even let you sit on his fucking throne. He expected you to be thanking him on your hands and knees.
He was right fucking beside you, the King of Curses, and you had the fucking nerve to think of that fool, Gojo Satoru?
Bitch, what the fuck?
Sure, he saw those other brats, too. But Fushiguro was hardly anything to talk about besides one tiny little thing Sukuna was waiting to see. The brown haired woman wasn’t even worth mentioning.
But the blindfold bastard? Nah.
That’s as far as he was letting you go.
“What are you-”
“I’ve tried to reason with you, brat, but I think we need to set some new ground rules when you’re spending time with me,” you try to back away ever so slightly to give yourself room to breathe, but Sukuna pulls you impossibly closer by your chin, refusing to let you look away. “You do not ignore me in my own domain, (Y/N), and you do not think of another man, or anyone else, while in my presence. I think I’ve let you become too comfortable. Do you really think you have the time to think about others when you aren’t safe yourself?”
There’s a pause as you swallowed his words, and then your eyes widen in realization and you push him away.
“For the love of-” you snarled at him, and Sukuna felt whatever anger he had earlier dissipate almost immediately when he saw your eyes blazing. “Fuck, Sukuna, ever heard of respecting privacy? We already share a body! I thought you’d at least have the decency to stay away from my thoughts.”
“Oh? Who said I was looking at your thoughts?” Sukuna grinned, eyes gleaming. Patience really did reward those who waited. You were blushing. Maybe it was because you realized he had access to your thoughts, but whatever it was, he could use it to his advantage. “I just threw a guess, but by the way you’re reacting, were you thinking of something naughty, (Y/N)? I wasn’t aware you were such a pervert.”
“Shut up- I- You’re-!” your face flushes, the red hue emphasized by the lighting of Sukuna’s domain, and it made him grin impossibly wider. “I wasn’t even-!”
“You know, you could have just told me beforehand. Maybe I could have helped,” he leans closer, gloating at your steadily growing embarrassment. You try to hold him back at arm’s length by his shoulders, but it’s hardly doing anything to keep him away. “Who were you thinking about? Give me their name. If you’re not too picky, though, I can just pop out every now and then and tell everyone that-”
“NO!” you slam your palms over his mouth, but it hardly does anything to stifle Sukuna’s howling laughter and the teasing look in his eyes. You can hardly be thankful he wasn’t angry anymore. “Don’t you fucking dare, Sukuna, or I’ll-”
“Or you’ll what?” Sukuna pried off your hands, holding on to your wrists. He sneers at your attempts to fight him. “Come on, brat, what would you do?”
“I’ll-” and then you stop. You stop resisting him, and you stare at him blankly. Sukuna’s prepared to throw you off the throne. But then you smile at him, almost like you had an epiphany. “For the fucker who keeps calling me a brat, you’re being pretty fucking bratty, Sukuna.”
A standstill. You smile at him softly as he stares at you, his face void of any readable expression. He lets go of your wrists, his arms dropping to his sides. The smile slowly drops from your face the longer you watch Sukuna stare blankly at you.
“So I stooped down to your level, huh, brat?” his voice is small.
“Pretty much, yeah,” you stare back.
“Ah.”
A pause.
“Well, then!” he slaps the back of your head again. You would’ve noticed how he had hit you less harder than before if you weren’t angry that he still hit you. “I’ll show you being bratty, you little shit.”
The problem was far from fixed, but Sukuna knew how to celebrate small victories. You were finally looking at him, still annoyed and still not hating him, but you were looking only at him. And it was a victory in itself, if only to satiate his boredom.
As you continued to throw carefully constructed retort after retort to whatever he said, he found himself grinning wolfishly. He’d reached a point he ate up whatever attention you gave him, favoring ones where you were riled up to the point you’d fight back without thinking.
It had been far too long since someone had dared speak to him like that - with no fear and simply the informality that stemmed from familiarity. Did he miss the feeling? Maybe, although he couldn’t comfortably say he could remember feeling something similar in his past life. If there was one thing he was certain of: had it been anyone else, it wouldn’t have been the same.
Anyone else would’ve been killed, slaughtered without a second thought, but somehow here you were, still beside him, in one piece.
Maybe he’d try to find a way to keep you around when he was fully incarnated. You’ve rubbed off on him far too much to throw away now. He’d keep his annoyingly tolerable brat around, if only to keep himself preoccupied when the days got too boring.
Because he was a curse, living only to satisfy his own selfish desires.
And somehow, you’ve wormed your way into being one of his needs.
So you better not deprive him of your attention.
❀BONUS❀
You don’t think too much about waking up to memories of Sukuna smirking and laughing so non-threateningly as you yelled insults at each other. Nor a memory of falling asleep on his throne after you’d screamed your throat raw.
After all, that was just a dream, right? And you weren’t about to try and ask him if that really did happen. That was just begging for you to get bullied.
You can also barely remember something about a promise to never ignore him again, and something about guys, too, which only cemented your belief it was just a dream.
So you keep the memories to yourself.