Work Text:
A husband waits outside
A crying child pushes a child into the night
She was told he would come this time
Without leaving so much as a feather behind
To enact, at last, the perfect plan
One more sweet boy to be butchered by man
—----------------
Pain was all Choso could feel. His entire body was aching as he laid down on the ground. Weirdly enough, he could feel grass beneath him instead of the concrete and rubble paving the streets of Shinjuku. Something soft caressed his face and his whole body shivered. Slowly opening his eyes, the Death Painting Womb realized that the sky really shouldn’t have been this blue for the month of december. Sitting in the grass- since when was there so much greenery in the middle of the destroyed city ? Why couldn’t he see the crumbling buildings or city ? Why couldn’t he sense Yuji’s presence ??
“Hello Choso”
A calm voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned around and saw a tall woman standing behind him. She was beautiful, he thought. She wore a red kimono with a black belt. Her dark hair was put in a tight bun and her brown eyes were fixed on the curse. Instantly, an intense feeling of familiarity invaded him as his blood recognized who she was. His mother.
His eyes slowly filled with tears as panic and memories returned and he started violently tugging his hair, heavily breathing. Everything came back to him. Gojo. Sukuna. Yuji jumping in the fight with the lawyer. Choso watching them from afar, ready to jump in if his brother was in too much danger. Sukuna’s piercing arrow aimed straight at his brother’s heart. Yuji’s scream as he took the hit and pushed him out of the way. The fire burning his body and melting the world around him.
He started screaming and hyperventilating and sobbing-
“You’re going to hurt yourself, grabbing your hair like that” The soothing voice made him quiet down. His mother was now sitting near him.
“Sorry” His throat hurt and he felt dehydrated. “I’m supposed to be strong for my brothers”
“There is strength in vulnerability” She gently took his hands in hers before bringing it down. She seemed unsure of what to do next. “I’m here if you want”
Choso didn’t know what it was like to have a mother but he knew deep in his blood what he needed. Without thinking, he hugged her with all his strength. She seemed startled by the gesture and he backed down immediately. She smiled and brought him closer, one of her hands playing with his unbraided hair while the other drew circles on his back.
“Be careful with your strength, you are much stronger than me” She chuckled, trying her best to help her son. This was their first real meeting after all, the only interaction they ever had was her hatred for Noritoshi Kamo, passed via her blood and only growing stronger with each new brother. Choso carefully embraced her, the back of her kimono stretching under the pressure of his hands while his bloody tears stained the bright red of her clothes with a darker shade. She didn’t seem to mind.
The Death Painting Womb could feel his blood warm up, creating a halo of warmth around him. He felt safe here. He tried to focus on his breathing like his brother taught him - his brother, his baby brother was fighting Sukuna without him. Anxiety overcame him as he started to sob uncontrollably, barely breathing through the words.
“I’m sorry, I-I’m so sorry, I failed you brother, I left you alone against that wretched man, that curse who took from you those you love, I should have done better Yuji, I’m s-so sorry, I’m not worthy of being your brother”
“You’re not dead yet, you know ?” She looked at him with strange eyes.
“It doesn’t matter, I failed Mother, I failed to protect them all” He screamed, anguish written all over his face with tears and blood. She flinched but quickly regained her composure.
“Choso” Her voice was shaking but her tone grew steady as she spoke. “You are not dead, your body is healing itself while your mind is here. You are leaving this place”
The dark-haired man was still making some small noises but he calmed down slowly. His mother was right, his presence here was most likely due to his blood connection to his mother. After a while, he noticed how stiff she was and how he was the only one embracing the other. Sensing her uneasiness, he moved gently before sitting in front of her, looking at her with curious eyes. She avoided his gaze and focused at the bloodstains on her clothes. He stared at her without noticing, admiring her for the first time. She had a sharp nose and thin lips. Her skin was warmer than his, a delicate shade of brown that betrayed the hours she had spent in the gardens during her life. That he remembered. She was always happier there.
“You’re staring” She was still looking down.
“Sorry, I just… I’ve never seen your face before” As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t look away from her, mesmerized.
“Can’t you see my memories ? He said you probably could” She was mean now, her voice harboring a harsher tone.
“...” The half-curse looked away. “It hurts” She raised her head, confused. “Your memories, they, they hurt, they feel… wrong, like I shouldn’t watch them”
“How much did you see ?” She was scared this time.
“Enough to understand that you hate us. Don’t worry, I took care of my brother so you would never have to” He felt bad for forcing her to embrace her executioner.
She sighed and looked at him and Choso couldn’t help but be amazed by how beautiful she was. “I wanted to hate you, believe me, I think I did for a long time. Each pregnancy was worse than the previous and you just kept on coming. Every night I would have those visions where all of you were so happy together… I just wanted my suffering to end and you were so happy… Every time a curse was taken out of my womb before term to be placed in a jar somewhere, I felt nothing. When he came to violate me in my chambers every night, I stopped fighting. There was no use for it. Before you, he forced five girls into me. He was furious but he said that you can’t have the results you want on the first try. He killed all of them. And then you came. The first son. I saw it in his eyes as he held you. My pain would never stop until death took me away from his greedy hands. For years you were the one I hated the most, the one who sealed my fate” She was so angry and there was so much more hatred in her voice than in her memories… Choso forced himself to look at her. He had to. How could he ever be mad at her for hating him when he was the reason of her torture ? Nothing he ever went through could compare to the raw violence of her suffering. Tears of rage started falling on her round cheeks.
She stopped talking, trying to regain her composure. The dark-haired Death Painting respectfully looked away from her, his hands tearing apart the fabric of his pants with how hard he gripped it. He snapped back to reality when a shaking hand reached out and cupped his cheek, forcing him to look back at his mother.
She was still crying but with a sad smile on her face this time. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize the only one to blame is that piece of shit. You never ask for any of this, neither did your siblings” They were both crying now. “I don’t… I don’t know how to be a mother, I’m sorry”
“It’s okay, I only know how to be an older brother, not a son” His mother stared at the huge childish smile on his face, his brown eyes tightly closed but still full of tears.
“You’re doing an incredible job protecting and loving your brothers” She whispered, bringing him a bit closer. Hesitation was written all over her movements, was she doing the right thing ? Could she really claim to be his mother after hating him for so long ? It had taken her so long to forgive herself for hating innocents, she felt unworthy of such a caring child.
Choso looked at her with wide eyes and sadness overcame him. “C-can I have a hug ? It’s okay if you don’t want to” Yuji’s words during a cold night in Shibuya came to him naturally.
His mother weakly nodded before pulling her son closer to her. The embrace was messy and uncomfortable but Choso closed his eyes, letting the steady pulse of his blood and the warmth of his mother dull the voices in his head reminding him of Eso, Kechizu and the rest of his brothers.
The woman felt a strong feeling creeping behind her fears - love ? It felt… good - as she gently kissed his hair. She had always known she would have a family - for it was her duty to give an heir to her husband - but Noritoshi had taken so much from her… Maybe after her eldest son was gone, she would try and search for his siblings so they could all wait for him to join them and be a family here.
Her pain had defined the way she lived and died, she was done letting the real abuser win. Those boys - she doubted her daughters had been in her womb long enough to develop a soul - were neither curses nor men, doomed to be rejected by both sides unless a kind soul would take pity on them. She should try to find Yuki and thank her for teaching Choso how to be human. In more ways than one. Did it mean she was family ? Probably, and she hated Kenjaku as well so that made her acceptable as a ‘daughter-in-law’.
“How long do you think I will stay here ?”
“I do not know, time works differently? Do you want to see how your brother is doing ?” She asked, already knowing the answer she was about to receive.
“Is it possible ?!” The anxiety in Choso’s voice made it fragile but the hopefulness was much stronger.
“Of course !” She chuckled, standing up. She felt more confident as she saw the strong fighter behind her following her around like a puppy, two fingers anxiously gripping her kimono as if he was afraid she would suddenly vanish.
They arrived at the edge of a hill and the dark-haired man noticed a luxurious garden surrounding a pound. There were a lot of flowers and herbs, carefully disposed in a traditional pattern, with a huge bonsai on one side. They made their way through the garden, the mix of all the smells tickling Choso’s nose. He never smelled anything like this before.
“Is this your garden ?” He curiously asked, while sitting at the edge of the pound with his mother.
“Yes. It’s not really useful since I cannot fall ill or be hungry but I love taking care of it” She smiled. The garden was the only place she liked in her old life and she used to spend her days there, mindlessly watching the bugs.
“You are so talented” Her son whispered, mesmerized by the colors.
She blushed slightly before turning towards the water. “Show me Yuji Itadori ” Choso’s head snapped as he turned his head towards her, fast as lightning.
“What is this place ?” He let out, confused. Yuji and Sukuna were fighting in a weird square-like space, surrounded by red strings. Spotlights were aimed at them and multiple screens above their heads recorded the entire thing. A loud music could be heard somewhere in the background.
“Wait, is that…” She started to realize, looking at Choso.
“A domain ??” He screamed, pride and happiness radiating from him. “Is this what he told me he was working on ?!! BROOOOOTHER YOU CAN DO IT”
His excitement was written all over his face, stars in his eyes and fists held up high. She chuckled, watching the cold-blooded fighter turn into a fanboy. How could such a pure creature be born surrounded by anger and hatred ? It was truly a miracle.
The fight continued under their gaze and Choso grew more and more anxious. Yuji was doing fine in his battle against the King of Curses but what if he needed him ? What if Kenjaku somehow awaited him outside of his barrier ? Would he react fast enough ?
“Do not worry, it seems like you’ll go back there soon”
Choso gave his mother a puzzled look but she pointed at his legs and he realized that he was starting to fade. Slowly but surely, his soul was returning to his body. He turned around to face her. Both their smiles had sadness within it.
“Don’t come back too soon, okay ? I’ll take care of your brothers in the meantime” She cupped his cheek, reading the single tear that left his eye with her fingertips.
“I’ll do my best” He respectfully nodded. He had inherited her dignity, that he was certain of now. He was glad hatred wasn’t their only connection.
“Take care of yourself”
“I will do my best” He reassured her again. He had caused her enough trouble as it was and was determined to fulfill his promise.
Her smile was the last thing he saw. He couldn’t wait to tell Yuji about it.
—-----------------------------
“Don’t touch my brother, you filthy piece of shit !”
“Choso ?!!” His brother’s joy as he saw him standing up was the most beautiful thing he saw on the battlefield.
“Here I thought Sukuna had gotten rid of you” Kenjaku sighed, preparing himself for the upcoming fight.
—-----------------------------
“I met my mother, you know. After Sukuna almost killed me” Choso mindlessly let out, admiring the night sky.
“I thought you were dead” Yuji whispered, words almost inaudible. His grip on his big brother's arm tightened.
“I nearly did” The half-human hugged his baby brother closer. “Our blood connection allowed for us to meet”
“How was she ?”
“... beautiful. With a lot of dignity and kindness” He said, thinking about his first impression of her.
“Sounds like she would have been a great mother” The teen smiled, playing with the grass beneath him.
“I’m sure she’ll be” Choso thoughtfully added, avoiding to lay his eyes on the empty graves below.
“You would be a great son too” Was he jealous that she seemed to be a good person ? He didn’t know. He was glad she didn’t hate Choso like he feared she might.
“I wish I could introduce you to her, I’m sure she would love you” Learning that Kenjaku was his mother had really messed up his baby brother. Hopefully, his mother would accept him as her own.
“Thanks big brother” Yuji laid his head on the other’s chest, fully leaning into the side hug before closing his eyes. He was tired.
“Sleep well, baby brother, I’ll make sure no one disturbs us” Choso felt himself melt in the embrace and he closed his eyes. His sleep was light and his instincts sharp, they could rest here, near their family and friends. He knew someone was watching over them anyway.