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It started innocently when all the students were gathered in the common room, watching the film together. Finding something everyone was keen on seeing was a pain, though, and Nobara was still pouting that her choice was discarded.
The moment the movie ended, they all started discussing the plot, with Inumaki-senpai adding his typical responses. Itadori frowned, and she could see it clearly since he was sitting on a couch between her and Maki-san.
“It must be tough not being able to express yourself with limited speech, Inumaki-senpai.” Itadori, with his big ass heart for others, noticed.
“Bonito flakes.” The Senpai in question answered, reaching to pat Itadori's head. “Tuna tuna.” He added with a smile.
Itadori shook his head.
“I know, Senpai.” The boy replied, still frowning. “But I can't imagine living like that all the time!”
“Right. I bet you wouldn't be able to shut up even for a few hours knowing how much you blabber, Itadori.” Nobara snorted, and everyone looked at her, alarmed. “What?” She barked.
Something in Itadori's eyes sparkled.
“I will prove to you I can!” He replied heatedly. “I bet I can manage not to say a word for the entire day, Kugisaki!”
Shit. She just had to go and use the word “bet”. Nobara sighed, but an idea popped into her mind, and she smirked.
“If I win, you are my bag boy for the next shopping trip.” She decided.
“And if I win, you are watching the entire Human Earthworm series with me.” He said it with his own matching smirk, and Nobara winced but nodded in agreement.
“Mustard leaf.” Inumaki-senpai commented, and Itadori snapped at him with a big smile.
“Don't worry, Senpai! I can do it!” He assured.
Maki-san snorted.
“Beside Yuuta and Panda, you are the only one who gets what Toge is saying, Itadori.” She admitted.
“Really?” Itadori blinked several times, surprised.
Panda grunted in the affirmative.
“I wonder what kind of person Okkotsu-senpai is.” Itadori mumbled, and Nobara nodded. Even Megumi looked up from his phone, intrigued.
“Yuuta would love you, Itadori.” Maki-san said it with a fond smile. “I don't know about Rika-chan, though. She would probably try to kill you if Yuuta were present on a Hug Day.” She snorted, and her classmates nodded solemnly.
“Rika-chan? The curse girl?” Nobara made sure.
“Yeah. She is very… protective of Yuuta.” Panda admitted.
Maki-san snorted again.
“Possessive is a better word.” She smirked. “Thank gods Sukuna is not like that with Itadori.” Maki-san elbowed the boy, and he glared at her.
“Stop it, Senpai.” Itadori groaned and got up. “Thank you for the evening, everyone, but I have to make a call to Nanamin, so...” He pointed at the door, waved, and probably went to his room.
Perfect.
“Wait! I have a proposition!” The others started to get up too, so Nobara quickly gathered their attention. They all paused and looked at her. “How about making another bet?” She grinned.
“Oh~? You are making a bet? I'm all ears!” Came from the door, and Gojou-sensei went inside, grinning back.
“What do you have in mind?” Maki-san asked, curious.
“Since Itadori’s bet makes him mute for one day, should we bet who would be able to make a sound out of him?” Nobara proposed.
“I'm out.” Panda said and left.
“Bonito flakes.” Inumaki-senpai made a cross sign with his arms. Another no, then.
Nobara looked at Fushiguro, raising her brows expectantly. He scowled.
“What are we betting on?” The boy asked dryly.
“Oh! How about some exclusive time with Itadori?” Maki-san offered with a sly smile.
“Without him knowing?” Fushiguro raised his brow, unimpressed.
“Yuuji wouldn't mind, especially when it comes to bets!” Gojou-sensei stated, and Maki-san chuckled.
“You know something about it, Gojou.” She teased, and Nobara blinked.
“What are you talking about?” Fushiguro squinted his eyes suspiciously.
“It's nothing, Megumi.” Maki-san replied, boring her eyes into the teacher. “I guess the prize is settled and all participants are ready.” She smirked, still looking at the man.
“I'm definitely in! I will take Yuuji on a special date~!” Gojou-sensei chirped, grinning.
“Well, I guess it could be fun in its own way.” Fushiguro shrugged.
“And I will do whatever I want with Itadori. That's exciting.” Nobara smirked, thinking about all the work she could put the boy to.
That’s how this innocent evening ended with two ongoing bets.
๑﹏๑﹏๑
Watching silent Itadori a day later was pretty unnerving. Since everyone got used to the boy being his loud self, the difference was huge. But Maki's plan was simple. She was sneaking up on the boy on every possible occasion to scare him and make a surprise noise out of him. But he was so good at holding it!
At the first time, Maki wrapped his arms around Itadori's waist from behind, and he actually flinched, huffing a small, alarmed breath, then turned and recognized her, clear relief on his face. He hugged her immediately, and she snorted.
“Didn't work, huh? But I'm not giving up. You will shriek in fear, Itadori. Feel warned.” Maki smirked and received a confused blink in response.
But to her surprise, with every other attempt at scaring the boy, he started to sense her beforehand, and it always ended with Maki being the more spooked one by the unexpected hug from him. Itadori got so good at it that on her sixth try, he just spotted Maki a meter away, and she stopped dead in her tracks, caught red-handed.
“Okay, I’m giving up. How are you doing that?” She asked incredulously, coming to the boy.
He shrugged with a smile. Right. She couldn't get any answers now. Maki sighed and accepted her defeat.
“But I have to admit, you sure are nice, Itadori. I would throw someone at least half of the time if approached like that.” She snorted, imitating a judo throw in the air.
He looked at her with fondness and caressed her cheek gently. Like he wanted to say, “I wouldn't ever hurt you.” Maki gaped, comprehending her emotions at that display, and groaned after a few moments.
“Itadori, you have no idea you are doing it, do you?” She accused him, fighting with a blush.
He made a confused face, tilting his head. Of course.
“Finally someone who understands.” Sukuna’s resigned voice came from the mouth that appeared on Itadori's right hand. The boy glared at it with a frown. “And he is like that with anyone.” Sukuna added with a tired sigh. Itadori covered the back of his right hand with a left one, and the mouth appeared there this time. “The best part is that he is stupidly unaware of it.” A snort this time.
Maki nodded solemnly.
“I swear I'm more into girls, but then such an innocent boy appears with his cheerful attitude, all green flags, and I just can't.” She complained.
Sukuna grunted in acknowledgement. Itadori’s head went right and back between his hand and Maki, perplexed. She ruffled his hair affectionately.
“It’s okay, Itadori. You will grow up one day.” Maki assured him, and the boy made an even more confused face.
The additional mouth disappeared, and she was finally able to understand Sukuna's involvement in Itadori's recent life. He had it tough, too.
๑﹏๑﹏๑
Itadori loves Megumi's Divine Dogs, so he decided to use them. The boy always cooed and praised his shikigamis with a happy expression, so it could work. Megumi didn't care about winning the bet that much, but the challenge itself was interesting. Also, getting used to Itadori communicating only with his expressions and hands was amusing.
So after spotting Itadori outside, Megumi approached, releasing the dogs, and they immediately went to tackle the pink-haired boy, licking him all over. Itadori looked like he really wanted to squeal in delight but couldn't, so he sent Megumi a stink eye.
“Sorry, Itadori.” He apologized half-heartedly.
A pink-haired boy shook his head and smiled, scratching the dogs with a content expression. They settled on top of the boy, cuddling. Megumi was observing the scene, smiling softly at it. Itadori caught him looking and raised his eyebrows in silent question.
“You just look so happy.” Megumi murmured, sitting on the grass next to Itadori, who was lying there with his dogs.
The pink-haired boy beamed and spread his arms in invitation.
“Do you want me to join you?” Megumi asked hesitantly, and Itadori nodded, tugging on his uniform. “Oi!”
Megumi landed on Itadori's chest, almost squishing one of his dogs in the process. He raised his head to look at the pink-haired boy accusingly, but Itadori was laughing silently, and Megumi’s breath hitched. So cute. He smiled instead, then huffed a small breath and let himself be cuddled in a pile of human limbs and fur, full of warmth and safety.
Maybe he lost the bet, but he gained this small memory to cherish.
๑﹏๑﹏๑
When Itadori came into the kitchen, Nobara smirked. She planned her action based on the experience from their past, when Gojou-sensei ate all the cake that Itadori was waiting to enjoy by himself and the boy complained about it very, very loudly for, like, days.
So right after spotting him, she opened the fridge, took out his favorite yogurt dessert, and locked her eyes with Itadori. He paused, unblinking. Nobara opened it, scooped up a spoon, and took a bite.
For a second, she thought the boy wouldn't react at all, just staring at her. Then his eyes filled with tears, and it was Nobara’s time to freeze. Shit. They weren't even sad puppy eyes she got so used to. Those were the eyes of the kicked puppy who just lost his home.
Oh, no.
She just made the school's sunshine cry.
“Shit, Itadori. I didn't think you would react like this.” She admitted hurriedly, leaving the dessert and coming to hug the boy. “I'm sorry, okay? I was just joking.” Nobara wrapped her arms around Itadori's neck and pulled him forward. “I'm hugging you, see? You wanted to be hugged some time ago, so it's okay, right?” She blabbered, panicking.
But he didn't respond. Why did he not respond? Oh, right. The bet. Nobara pulled to see Itadori's face and quickly wiped away his tears with her sleeves.
“Are we okay?” She asked and huffed a sign of relief, when Itadori smiled hesitantly and nodded. “I swear, I thought you would start screaming or complaining. I didn't want to make you cry.” Nobara scoffed at herself. The boy patted her arm like he was trying to comfort her. She snorted. “It's you who need comfort, not me.” Nobara flicked him on the forehead, and he pouted. “Okay, I will hug you once again, but this is the last time in your life, so better remember it properly.” She warned him, and he made a laughing face.
Nobara pulled him again with a sigh. She could use the hug too. She lost the bet, after all.
๑﹏๑﹏๑
Satoru found Yuuji lounging on a couch in a common room, watching a culinary show on tv.
“Yuuji~!” He called, and the boy looked up at him with a happy smile. “Are you still in the game?” Satoru asked, sitting next to him. Yuuji nodded and beamed. “Good job, then.” The man praised him, taking out his blindfold.
Satoru leaned towards Yuuji to kiss him on the cheek, but he frowned instead and took the boy's chin into his right hand gently, inspecting his skin around the eyes.
“Yuu-chan, were you crying?” Satoru asked carefully, touching the tear stains lightly and watching the boy's puffy skin around the eyes worriedly. “What happened?” He whispered.
Satoru had never seen Yuuji cry. And the thought that his Yuu-chan was hurting stirred something unpleasant in the man's chest.
The boy's eyes widened, and he looked away, embarrassed.
“Huh? Did someone do something mean to you?” Satoru prodded, trying to catch Yuuji's eyes. “Yuu-chan~!” He whined, frustrated. “I need to know who I should punch, hm?”
Yuuji finally snapped back to him, alarmed, and quickly shook his head.
“Not punching anyone?” Satoru made sure, and the boy nodded. “But someone was mean to you, though.” He guessed, and Yuuji made a small huff of breath and a nod. Then he smiled and gave a thumbs up. “But everything is okay, hm. Are you sure, Yuu-chan?” The man asked, still worried, so Yuuji took his hands and squeezed them.
Satoru squeezed back and smiled, relieved. If something serious happened, he would do everything for his Yuu-chan to make it better. Even if he had to kill someone in the process.
The man kissed Yuuji's corner of one eye, then the other, gaining a smile. He would probably giggle if he could.
“But you know, Yuuji, that you can always come to me if you have a problem.” Satoru reminded him, and the boy nodded solemnly.
The man chuckled fondly. Now. How far could Satoru tease Yuuji so he would make a sound? This question was tricky. He had a lot of ideas here, but their relationship wasn't at the point when the man could do something that he had in mind. Satoru wanted to cherish Yuuji, after all. And he was serious about making the boy his.
Hm, how about…?
Satoru went back to kissing Yuuji's eye, then started slowly getting lower, on his cheek, then on his jaw and neck, glancing at the boy to assess his reactions. Yuuji was silent as expected but didn't seem tense or wanting to escape, so Satoru smiled and sucked on the boy's neck to leave a hickey. When he finished, the man blew a hot breath for good measure, which made Yuuji shiver. Then he pulled away and saw the boy's face completely red with wide eyes looking straight at him, so he chuckled and placed a chaste kiss on Yuuji's lips.
“Oooh~? I'm disappointed you didn't even make a sound, Yuuji.” Satoru murmured with a teasing smile, but the boy didn't seem to notice his words, bringing his hand to his neck and touching it carefully with his fingertips, astonished. “What's wrong, Yuu-chan? Do you not like being marked by me?” The man asked, tilting his head, and Yuuji blinked several times, then looked away, visibly flustered.
So, so cute.
Satoru needed to get away, or he would cross the line here. The urges to tease this boy, to mark him as his, to kiss until they couldn't breathe anymore, and to devour him completely were getting bigger with every single interaction they had. And it was dangerous.
So the man kissed Yuuji on the forehead with a fond smile, giving up on teasing the boy more and winning the bet.
“If you want me to give you more hickeys, you know where to find me.” Satoru grinned, getting up.
Yuuji slapped him on the thigh, and the man chuckled, waving.
Maybe this mute thing wasn't that bad at all.
๑﹏๑﹏๑
After witnessing at least four people trying to make Brat talk, Sukuna realized they had to make another bet, or else it didn't make any sense. So, for his own sake, he brought the boy to his domain, making it seem like his vessel just fell asleep on the couch. Perfect.
Brat appeared at the feet of his throne and looked up at him, surprised, so Sukuna snorted.
“Did you not notice they were all trying to break your silence?” He asked dryly. The boy frowned, then raised his eyebrow questioningly. Sukuna sighed. “Yes, I am telling the truth.” He grumbled, rolling his eyes. “I don't care about you winning the bet or not; just stay here, because they are all annoying.” Sukuna ordered.
Brat tilted his head, and Sukuna looked away, irritated. He didn't like it when the boy did that thing. He didn't like anything that happened today in the first place. Sukuna thought he could finally be blessed with some silence, but no, all those people just had to butt into his vessel's life. He sighed again. At least the talk with the Zenin girl was nice.
Sukuna glanced at Brat and found him pouting. He clicked his tongue, displeased.
“Why are you sulking now?” He demanded the answer, annoyed again. His vessel kicked Sukuna's throne, and his eye twitched at the display. “If you are bored, then go back to your body. I am not restraining you.” Sukuna scoffed. Brat shifted to a fighting stance. “I am not fighting you either.” He deadpanned, unimpressed. His vessel pouted again and then sagged to the ground with exaggeration, so Sukuna snorted. “You are ridiculous.” He commented and earned a dismissive wave of the hand in response. He snorted again. Brat was laying there unmoving for a moment, then he shifted from the stomach to his back and brought hands under his head, crossing his legs and making a relaxed pose. Sukuna raised his eyebrows at this. “Are you having fun?” He asked, and the boy sent him a flat stare. His face lit up a moment later, and he sat cross-legged, patting the space next to him. “You want me to sit next to you.” Sukuna guessed, and his vessel nodded, smiling.
Sukuna regarded him for a moment, then sighed. It wasn't like he had anything else to do anyway. He came to the boy in a matter of seconds, and Brat's eyes widened in awe. Sukuna snorted again. Impressed by his speed, ridiculous.
“So? What do you want?”
Brat held out his left hand expectantly, and Sukuna had to look him in the eyes and search there for an ulterior motive, because...
“Is this revenge for the last time?” Sukuna asked suspiciously.
His vessel made a funny face and shook his head, then tilted it, so Sukuna scowled. He waited a bit longer, then sighed and gave him his right hand, a little intrigued. Brat smiled happily and took his hand gently, then shifted it so Sukuna’s palm was facing. The boy started drawing traces on it. Sukuna blinked several times, then realization hit him. Brat was writing hiragana on his hand. Sukuna raised his eyebrows, but let him do it and focused on adding up the syllables, watching the finger trace on his hand, and leaving a funny tingling sensation afterwards.
“A-ri-ga-to”
Sukuna looked up at Brat’s face incredulously, and he didn't expect an honest smile there, so he frowned, taken aback.
“Why are you thanking me, stupid?”
His vessel grinned and shrugged, then snapped his attention to their hands, hesitantly touching Sukuna's black markings. He observed the boy intently, but Brat was just so mesmerized by the hand that he didn't realize or didn't care.
Just what was wrong with his vessel, Sukuna wondered, not for the first time. Zero preservation instincts, zero self-awareness, zero thought processes in this empty brain of his. Full of openings and trust. He was just touching Sukuna's hand like it was nothing, for curse’s sake!
Then Sukuna's eyes snapped to Brat’s neck, and he glared at the hickey visible there. The audacity to mark his vessel. The boy was already marked under his eyes properly. Yep. Sukuna was angry. He leaned without thinking, and in a quick, smooth move, he bit Brat’s neck right on the hickey.
Then two things happened at the same time.
Sukuna realized what he had done, completely flabbergasted at his own actions.
And the boy moaned.
Everything froze for a second, Sukuna's teeth still in his vessel's neck, and Brat himself just grasping on Sukuna's hand like a lifeline.
It was a small sound that was clearly meant to be held back but, for some reason, got out of the mouth.
No, there was no way. Sukuna had to be wrong somehow, so he pulled away to look at the boy, and he stilled again at the sight.
Because if he wasn't sure at first, seeing his vessel's blushing face, his right hand covering the mouth, trembling, and the tears gathering slowly in his eyes, Sukuna couldn't deny it anymore.
Something inside him ignited—something wild, primal, even. He wanted to bite him more and mark him. He wanted to slip his tongue inside his mouth and lick it. He wanted to hear this sound again, closer, louder. He wanted to make Brat moan his name in a high-pitched voice, begging underneath him.
Fuck.
Sukuna gulped, trying to compose himself. Since when could his vessel make him feel like that? The boy was attracting those people around him subconsciously, and it was infuriating, but Sukuna was safe. He was out of it. So why…
No. It didn't matter. What mattered was the boy in front of him and the fact that Sukuna just made him moan, so he smirked.
Brat’s eyes widened, and he tried to pull away his hand, but Sukuna held it steadily and started rubbing small circles there.
“Oh? Did you like it?” He purred, maintaining eye contact and slowly leaning to the other side of the neck. His vessel shook his head. “Really?” Sukuna drawled, still smirking. “Should I bite there too and check?” He asked and brought his left hand to slide a finger on Brat’s neck, who trembled under the touch, then...
“N— No!” The boy uttered, closing his eyes and lowering his right hand from the mouth to take Sukuna's left one. “You got it wrong! I wasn't—it wasn't—” He choked, and Sukuna stifled a laugh. Brat opened his eyes and looked at Sukuna with sudden determination. “I didn't like it! My neck was just sensitive, that’s it!”
But Sukuna couldn't hold it anymore. He laughed loudly, letting go of his vessel's hands to clutch on to his stomach. The boy was staring at him, gaping.
“This is the first time I have seen you laugh like that.” He mumbled, so Sukuna stopped, surprised, and stared back intently. Brat gasped softly, realizing he had said it out loud. The boy averted his eyes. “Cause you always just cackle like a madman, snort ironically, or make those small chuckles if you find something amusing, but laughing...”
“Brat.”
Sukuna had to fight the urge to lean again and kiss this loud mouth with his own, but he smirked instead, because...
“I won.” He stated.
The boy blinked. And again. And then he opened his mouth, and with every passing second, he made a more disbelieving face.
“You did all of that just so I would make a sound?!” His vessel accused him, offended.
And Sukuna should have said it right there. No. I did it because I wanted to. And I want to do even more. But for some reason, he couldn't. No, lying was pathetic. He knew exactly why he couldn't.
Because Brat has his lover already. The lover who would go to hell and back if he found out about what Sukuna did just a moment ago to chase and make him pay.
There was no place for Sukuna in the picture.
And that was pissing him off even more. So he scoffed, irritated.
“I really hate you.” Brat said, pouting.
Sukuna looked away bitterly.
“I hate you even more.” He said dryly, and the boy left.
Sukuna wiped his face with his hand and let out a bark of laughter.
He never hated Brat at all.
๑﹏๑﹏๑
Itadori fell asleep on the couch in the common room, and Nobara found him there, rolling her eyes fondly at the display. She took the blanket and intended to cover the boy when his eyes snapped open and he sat, alarmed, his face weirdly flushed and his eyes wild.
“Itadori?” Nobara called hesitantly, and he made a small jump in surprise.
“Kugisaki.” His voice was hoarse. He chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn't realize you were there.” Then he spotted the blanket in her hands and smiled. “Awww, thank you for caring.” He said it sweetly, so she threw it at him, scowling.
“Who cares?” She scoffed. Then something clicked. “Wait. Did you lose your bet?” Nobara’s curiosity flared up immediately, and she sat next to the boy, looking at him expectantly.
“Um, yeah. I did.” Itadori admitted, making a weird face.
She blinked, perplexed.
“Who did that?” Nobara prodded, suddenly suspicious.
“Did what?” He mumbled, touching his neck in a nervous manner and averting her eyes. What was with that reaction?
“That would be me. What did I win?” A mouth appeared on Itadori’s cheek, and Nobara gaped.
The boy gasped and slapped a hand on his face, covering it, but the mouth appeared there instead, grinning.
“Sukuna!” Itadori sounded annoyed.
Nobara was still trying to process that Sukuna was the one who made Itadori talk. She didn't want to know how. Her mind was going overboard with the possibilities already. And they weren't pleasant at all. But…
“How…?” She uttered, flabbergasted.
Sukuna's grin widened.
“Which part? How did I figure out about another bet, or how did I make Brat talk?” He asked and cackled.
“Oi. Shut up for a bit, because I'm still mad at you.” Itadori grumbled, and Nobara's eyebrows raised in surprise because the boy rarely expressed such emotion. Then his eyes snapped at her, and she froze under his annoyed stare. “Did you all really make another bet?” He asked. Nobara nodded. “It makes sense now. What was the prize then?”
She looked away.
“Exclusive time with you.” She murmured.
Sukuna cackled in delight.
“Heard that, Brat?” He grinned. “Should we continue then?” Sukuna murmured, and Nobara frowned.
“If you dared to hurt Itadori...” She started threateningly, but he just snorted.
“You wouldn't be able to do anything with that, woman. Know your place.” He snarled, and Nobara stood, irked.
“Oi. I told you to shut up, didn't I?” Itadori grumbled, and they paused.
Sukuna clicked his tongue, amused.
“Don’t sulk, Brat. I did what I did, and I won't apologize. Guess I could even call it an exclusive time.” He snickered and disappeared.
Itadori sagged into the couch and sighed deeply, hiding his face in his hands. Nobara sat back down and touched his arm hesitantly.
“Itadori. Are you okay? Was he mean to you? Did he hurt you?” She asked worriedly.
The boy huffed a small laugh.
“No. He was unexpectedly gentle.” She heard a whisper and made a confused face. Just what happened?! Then Itadori peered from his fingers at her, and she gulped, shifting uncomfortably under his eyes. “You owe me yogurt.” He said accusingly.
She nodded heatedly.
“Yeah. Sorry about it, again.” Nobara said awkwardly, reminded of her small panic at seeing Itadori's tears. “Sorry about the other bet too.” She mumbled.
“No. It's okay.” Itadori touched the blanket and sent her a small smile. “I lost anyway, so let's go shopping on the weekend.” He decided and sighed tiredly again. “I need a nap.”
Nobara blinked.
“Haven't you just woken up from one?” She pointed.
For the life of her, she couldn't understand why he gave her the flattest, most unimpressed expression she had ever seen.