Work Text:
Night, whereas the norms would be more aware of possible dangers, it’s a wonderful time for sins to take place under the protection of the dark, blending their entities, erasing their traces and of course, masking the presence of observers. She eyes the sight beyond window frames, half-heartedly pitying the withering plum blossoms.
“I know you are there.”
She stands beside the window frame, luxuriating in the moonlit splendor with her masterpiece nesting in her arms.
“Speak your conditions.”
The other steps outside the shadow they have been lurking in, curtly cuts to the chase but she only smiles. They have all the time in the world, or at least, 15 years or so. “I’ll be gone for a while, so take care of him,” hearing the other snorts, she continues nonchalantly. “Don’t you want to see your master in full, Uraume?”
It’s mockery, they both know it but in the Jujutsu world, power is what matters and she is omnipotent even under mortal flesh. So, the addressee simply remains silent, letting the woman gloat however she wants.
It’s fine if it’s for the King of Curses – Ryoumen Sukuna. For their master, Uraume will do anything, everything it takes, they think determinedly as they cradle the child, barely preventing regrets from taking over their mind after one year of babysitting. Children are primarily detestable, they cry, eat, sleep and cry again, repetitively, incessantly. It’s a miracle, really, how humans can hold infants a minute straight without the urge of killing them right there and then, or throwing them in the dumpster, or spraying antiseptic on them. Uraume doesn’t hold count of how many times they want to do all of the above and more, their brain is probably going to combust if they do.
As if detecting the ominous aura, the baby slightly stirs, tiny hands clinging to the older’s clothes. Uraume lightly hushes the child and mentally notes to disinfect the plagued areas. Usually, they will watch Itadori Yuuji from afar, but it seems like they have overestimated Itadori Wasuke’s capabilities. He can’t just leave the child to sleep alone in a cot, what if curses attack this hairless vulnerable thing? And it’s so pathetic that it can only rely on the others’ protection, it’s sickening.
Seeing that Itadori Yuuji is finally deep in his slumber, Uraume carefully places him on the sheet and pillows they have arranged, draping him with a soft blanket as neatly as possible, checking the child once again and flees the scene.
Uraume can imagine the woman guffaws loudly right now. It’s for their master, Uraume reminds, it’s only for their master revival.
Itadori Yuuji is a peculiar child, Uraume has gathered. Having natural two-coloured hair is one thing, destined to be the King of Curses’ vessel is another, but having inhuman strength is certainly problematic.
Although they don’t need to worry about bullies, the child’s unusual ability has different risks, making him lower his guard and encouraging him to pull stunts like climbing trees, jumping over fences or saving random animals from walking into traffic while Uraume saves him. The child is utterly stupid that he takes his (their master) body for granted and it’s Uraume who has to use Reverse Cursed Technique whenever those puny limbs get injured, not some unhelpful stickers. Scolding him is even more useless and infuriating because he mindlessly replies with that silly grin of his.
“You are always there for me.
The child is literally trying to give his senile guardian a stroke if he was to know, let alone damaging the King of Curses’ future body. And, Uraume can’t believe they forgive such sacrilege.
Impossible, they reason, they are simply self-controlling from strangling their master’s vessel. There is no way Uraume becomes softer for a human child.
The point is, however strange Itadori Yuuji is, having no actual friends while being at the age when innocence frees one from shyness and pretentious affairs is truly absurd. Uraume knows the child by no means is broody - hell, his smile is so damn bright that it haunts them in their dreams - yet, it is undeniable that he is a lonely child. Sure, he can socialize but that’s just it, nothing more, nothing less. He doesn’t go to local parks or playgrounds very often, stubbornly stays at home with his grandfather or simply watches imagery projectors or those kinds of modern technology when his only family member goes to work.
At first, Uraume found it strange but after having done research, they see how alarming this tendency proves to be. Is Itadori Yuuji developing some kind of disorder? Oh no, Uraume is not having their master reincarnated into an autistic host.
On a daily basis, Uraume drops by the Itadori household twice, in the morning to set up plum blossoms in the garden because children are simpletons who are easily lured by vividness, and at night so the child can sleep safe and out of other curses’ grasp. On weekends, they fetch stray cats and let the child pet them for as long as he pleases, then return the poor creatures to their initial place or discreetly gift them some comics and cookbooks for temporary entertainment. It’s all petty ploys, but effective, the kid would jump with ecstasy while chirping thanks to his imaginary guardian angel. And maybe, just maybe, seeing genuine glee blooms on those pretty lips, an inexplicable part of them tells Uraume watching over Itadori Yuuji isn’t so bad.
As Itadori Yuuji steps into primary school, issues keep mushrooming like weeds, unstoppably and continuously. While the child is noticeably more open with his peers, random mannerless brats keep searching for him to marvel at his strength like an exhibition, some even go as far as challenge him into a fight. The fact that Itadori Yuuji doesn’t say anything pisses Uraume even more than it should.
Despite all those pests, the most unacceptably dire things are the local opportunists. Even though the child only has to walk a short trip from school to home by himself, the routine is crystal clear that it invites unwanted leer from some scums nearby. Obviously, the ideal prey for perverts just has to be a defenseless kid with no guardian. Uraume doesn’t know whether those pitiful bastards or one oblivious Itadori Yuuji are more vexing.
Nonetheless, positively speaking, Uraume can vent their bloodlust after all these years of keeping it at bay. After all, the disappearance of a few lowlifes wouldn’t do much harm, right?
At some point, Uraume has anticipated the period when everything about children is hormonal and chaotic, also known as adolescence, but they didn't think Itadori Yuuji’s would be like this. He doesn’t opt for grating music and edgy fashion with lousy eyeliner like most teenagers do, doesn’t aimlessly cry whilst making emo poems and he doesn’t cause that much of a scene. Even if he does, those are mostly initiated by insignificant weaklings that Urume deliberately lets them live to see how failures embitter them before the child's unrivaled strength. To put it bluntly, his supposed to be most troublesome phase is rather peaceful.
Good riddance then, Uraume has celebrated. However, maybe, just a tiny, miniscule bit of possibility, looking after Itadori Yuuji isn’t entirely a burden as Uraume likes to assume it is.
The child is obnoxiously dependable, quite quick on the uptake when it comes to house chores, amiable to the point that the elderly in the local shops and neighbourhood whole-heartedly insist on giving discount or gifts to him, and of course, his friends always rely on him when they can’t keep their shits together that sometimes Uraume wonders if those people are exploiting their master’s future vessel.
In other words, he can live well on his own.
Uraume doesn’t understand, they should feel relieved, free from the shackles of responsibilities but they don’t. Instead, they feel inexplicably inadequate, itchy to do something, anything, but what? Keeping tabs on the Itadori household? Watching out for suspicious individuals around their abode? Or more specifically, fetching small entertainments, checking food toxicity, guarding beside his bed, preparing daily necessities, all for Itadori Yuuji?
Obviously, a 15 years old kid doesn’t need constant supervision, but those activities are as if programmed in, engraved on and adopted by Uraume to the point that ignoring one certain pink-haired boy is unbearable. No, they deny, they are absolutely devoted to their master and nobody else. This… habit is nothing more than a mere confusion and that is it.
Soon enough, wrong is what they are proved to be.
Uraume should have realized it sooner, Itadori Yuuji is now at that age when he would swallow the first King of Curses’ finger and officially be his vessel. Why do they feel anxious? Haven't they been waiting for that very moment for a thousand years? They are supposed to be happy for their master's arrival, but watching fate slowly but surely tangle Itadori Yuuji’s life to the Jujutsu world makes it hard to keep their reluctance and uncertainty at the back of their mind. Probably, unease is the answer because the child’s compatibility to their master is yet to be revealed.
As much as Uraume tries to convince themself, they somehow always end up being angry at how their thoughts can betray them.
The fact that Itadori Yuuji can fit in Tokyo Jujutsu High in a blink of an eye does something to them. It is convenient, undoubtedly, but seeing there are many people protective of him, specifically the spiky-haired kid and the Six Eyes bearer, isn’t what Uraume has expected nor wanted. Moreover, not only they can’t check on Itadori Yuuji as frequently as before, they just notice it, the sweet pitch of the child’s voice at night and his tired, puffy eyes the morning after. Uraume can only say their master takes a liking to the pink-haired boy, but rather than displeased at how Ryoumen Sukuna can be fond of a human that fast, they are indignant that Itadori Yuuji belongs to someone. It’s like planting a seed, watering it everyday just for others to taste its fruit eventually.
However, they don’t have complaints. Even if they often find themself looking for flowers with pink-colored ones being their main objectives, skimming through cookbooks with no intention of buying them and staring at stray cats or dogs at any chance of encounter, their master is Uraume’s undeniable priority, always has and forever will be.
With that resolve, Uraume distances themself from Tokyo Jujutsu High, letting instinct be their guide. They keep walking, wandering, through nostalgia of the floral season when they never once dare to forget, through familiarity of roads and signs back from days of looking after, through memories of the childhood they imagine doesn’t end.
It has been a long trip. Long enough for Uraume to see themself in the past.
There they stand, before the rusty gate of Itadori’s household where the garden is filled with leaves and choked by weeds, furniture covered by spider webs and dust. They quietly travel inside as if the owner, lifeless and cold like the accommodation itself. After minutes, the garden is what they choose to be their final destination. Although no one is home, the greenery where Itadori Yuuji used to happily plant, albeit a bit less green, a bit more transparency, is generally the same since they last came. Except, that one tree in the outermost part of the garden.
Uraume realizes, for the first time, the tree doesn’t have any plum blossoms.