Archive of Our Own

Many things could be easily explained.

For example, the chill down his spine was not the work of some otherworldly specter, but Sukuna’s own fault for dressing light in the middle of autumn. The ominous rustling of leaves overhead was due to naught but the wind. The tingling in his bones which set his hands jittering, almost slipping around the long wooden handle of the hatchet he carried over his shoulder…

Well. The thrill of the hunt was not one so quickly forgotten, and Sukuna sorely hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed this time. 

His was a profession older than civilization itself, when man first struck light to wood and took heed of the surrounding darkness. Taught by an old master nearly forgotten, Sukuna could confidently say he was the best. Of course, there were fewer and fewer hunters to compete with these days.

It was a bounty on a vampire that had him traveling through the chill weather, and a hefty one at that. ‘Cept, the tattered flyer nailed haphazardly to his city’s job board didn’t explicitly say vampire . That, above all things, convinced Sukuna that this one might actually be real.

Most “vampires” Sukuna had been hired to dispatch in recent years were actually night burglars, pasty men with nothing but buggy eyes and a switchblade. That, or mere spawn, pitiful creatures that stood no chance against his blade and died silently.

Boring.

No, no, this bounty was different . A god of the wood, bloodthirsty and strange. Pale flesh and eyes that could reportedly paralyze with a mere look. People went into the brush to hunt the beast, nobody came out. 

It sounded so promising there was an extra spring to Sukuna’s step as he spotted the distant lights of the village that was his destination, the sun just beginning to dip in the sky. Still, it wouldn’t do to hunt the beast tonight… If it was a vampire, for true, he would need all of his strength and wit.

Ages had passed since Sukuna’s last worthy opponent.

It did not take long to reach the humble innkeep, and Sukuna did not waste time wondering after the eyes that followed him as he hauled himself through the creaky wooden doorway. It was clear the place had not seen a new face in some time, and definitely not a face quite like his besides. Sukuna cut a striking figure with his large frame, his axe, and a network of tattoos. He would be more surprised if they didn’t stare.

His belly rumbled from energy expended on his long trek, and the weathered wood of the bar was a balm to Sukuna’s fingertips as he straddled a stool across from a haggard fellow who he’d pinned as the keeper of the inn. Since it wouldn’t do to expect service without pay, he tossed a few silver from the lining of his coat onto the bartop. 

“Two helpings o’ whatever you’ve got.”

The innkeeper did not even blink. He was pale and sallow, with hair as lifeless as straw. But the man did have ears, and that was all that really mattered. “Right away, ser.”

It did not take the innkeeper long to return with two steaming bowls, filled to the brim with a hearty, meaty stew that made Sukuna’s mouth pool with saliva as soon as the smell of it hit his nose. The offerings were soon joined by two large baguettes, a spreading knife stuck through the center of the loaves like a skewer.

Not exactly the fixings of a struggling town under siege by a vampire. For the first time, Sukuna began to doubt if this hunt would prove fruitful after all. Even as he cupped his chilled hands around one of the bowls, he felt a pang of discomfort at the thought.

“What’s your name?”

The innkeeper’s gaze was flat as it fell upon Sukuna. He seemed almost disgruntled to be addressed. “Nanami Kento.”

“I see.”

Bringing the bowl to his lips, Sukuna took a long draught from the stew. Setting the steaming bowl down, he languidly licked his lips before probing further. “I’m here in regards to a certain bounty on a vicious creature nearby. Mayhaps you’ve heard of it?”

That brought some life to the innkeeper’s living corpse. Nanami’s spine instantly straightened, and to Sukuna’s keen eye, there was an almost imperceptible widening of the whites of his eyes.

“You must be mistaken, ser. There are no creatures here for you to hunt.”

“S’ that so?”

He watched Nanami’s posture grow more and more stiff as he drew the knife from the baguettes, slicing off pieces of bread to dip into the stew.

“Yes. We are a simple village, ser, with little to offer to strangers such as yourself. A swift departure may be in your best interest, come morning light.”

Sukuna raised a single brow. An innkeeper who did not wish for guests to stay at his inn? Oh, this was a good sign, indeed.

It was the nature of vampires to seek out human comforts and settlements. This was not only for a source of food, but it was commonly believed that vampires remembered their past social lives as humans and wished to replicate it, either via a charm or outright domination. Sukuna had personally witnessed more of the latter variety, and from Nanami’s manner, he had a pretty good idea of how this town’s creature swayed.

He felt a grin form across his face, despite himself. “You’re sure about that? Nothin’ about a so-called ‘god of the wood’ terrorizing the area?”

“Positive,” Nanami said, clenching and unclenching his jaw in what Sukuna recognized as a nervous habit. He was growing increasingly agitated, and by Sukuna’s estimate, he would soon crack. “I highly doubt ser would find–”

However, he never found out what the innkeeper’s next words were. Nanami’s eyes darted up and over Sukuna’s shoulder, voice dying as the man abruptly turned an even pastier shade.

A sing-song voice trilled over Sukuna’s shoulder, and the hunter had to fight the urge to whip around. “Oh, the god of the wood is absolutely real.”

The voice was that of a man’s, and it bore a faint tinge of amusement that was difficult to decipher. But most unsettling of all was the very fact that Sukuna hadn’t sensed the presence behind him. No footfalls, nothing.

Before he could decide how to react, there was the sound of the sliding legs of a barstool, and a small huff as the newcomer invited himself into the seat next to Sukuna. Only then did the hunter allow himself to turn his head, and–

Blue. 

Blue, blue, blue .

‘Newcomer’ was a young man, a thin and spindly thing with a shock of white hair that belied his youth. He also happened to have the deepest blue eyes, the most captivating eyes Sukuna had ever seen. 

“Gojo Satoru,” the man said, holding out a pristine hand. It seemed only natural for Sukuna to take it. Spidery blue veins were prominent underneath the skin. “If you seek to best the creature that plagues this village, you might consider me a helping hand.” 

“Not often I find someone like yourself, then.” Sukuna said, eyes narrow.

The man, Satoru, merely laughed. “Highly suspicious, I know. But you see, I have little else to live for.”

That got Sukuna’s attention. Satoru was someone acquainted with loss, then, so much so he would be willing to risk life and limb to hunt a bloodthirsty monster.

Not so uncommon, with a vampire nearby.

“Even so. I usually work alone.”

“You don’t need a guide?” Satoru blinked, eyes glistening in the faint light as if to scream innocence. “I did not say I could assist you should you battle the creature. It is stronger, faster than you can imagine.”

“Mm.”

“No, no. I would stand no chance.” Something in the younger man’s voice was captivating, almost like a lullaby. Sukuna soon found himself leaning ever closer. “But the woods are deep, the paths overgrown.”

Perhaps it would serve Sukuna’s purposes, to partner with someone who knew the lay of the land. And Satoru’s imploring gaze was not unpleasant…

“I believe ser was just leaving,” Nanami’s shaky voice interjected, nearly startling Sukuna with the sound. 

Satoru’s eyes did not shift their focus from Sukuna’s face, however. He went on as if Nanami had not spoken. “Should you decide you have need of me, hunter, meet me near the edge of the wood tomorrow night when the moon hangs high in the sky. I know the creature’s lair, and can lead you there easily so that it does not detect us.”

The man rose from his seat gracefully, blue gaze pinning Sukuna in place. His heart pounded for reasons he could not name, and looking away was just as impossible. 

Satoru’s voice was low, intimate. Almost a whisper. “I hope we meet again.”

Sukuna watched him leave, a pale thing floating through the dimly lit inn like a ghost before disappearing out the door. An odd feeling curled in his chest, as if he did not want to look away or turn his back to the strange specter. At the close of this odd interaction, he heard Nanami behind him release a stuttering breath.

Ah . 

Like a cloud of smoke clearing with the wind, some measure of clarity returned. Satoru’s pale appearance, Nanami’s fearful reaction. The hypnotizing gaze, and cloying voice that spoke words as if it could forge them into truth.

He turned back to the innkeep, who stood frozen with a glistening brow. Then he spoke, voice pitched low. “Your god of the wood prowls the inn instead of the forest. Auspicious.”

Nanami blinked once, twice. Then finally… “I told you, ser. There is no ‘god of the wood’ here.”

Sukuna nodded, almost to himself. It was enough to be the confirmation he needed. “Well, god or no god, I am going to slay it. Now, show a man to his rooms?”

XXXX

The night passed uneventfully, except for Nanami trying multiple times to convince him to leave come morning. Yet, when Sukuna cracked his eyes open to the sun’s bright rays, heading back to the city was the last thing on his mind.

He was excited , for the first time in a good while. 

His thoughts spiraled over and over to Gojo Satoru. His skin pallid as a corpse’s shroud, blazing blue eyes. The vampire was either confident or stupid to confront a hunter so directly. 

A vampire was still a vampire, however. 

The hypnosis would be a problem. Perhaps the vampire had assumed Sukuna would discover his ruse once the spell was broken, perhaps not. It was likely in the hunter’s best interest to play along.

Luckily, Sukuna had an extensive repertoire. 

A silver chain stitched into the inner covering of his hat, to protect his thoughts (he cursed himself for not wearing it before). An iron shiv tucked away in his boot. A pistol and blade-sharp wire if things went very, very wrong. Oil. Matches.

Sukuna made his pack and set out into the woods at midday, bidding Nanami a curt farewell. Satoru wasn’t lying–the paths were overgrown. However, this served Sukuna’s purposes all the more as he found he could step lightly and leave few tracks.

Nearly an hour’s walk into the woods, he came upon a rushing stream. The kind of place where it would be reasonable to stop and take a rest, and the perfect place to trap an unsuspecting vampire who would have difficulty entering the flowing water.

He spent most of the day setting trip wire, until his hands grew weary and his breath short with exertion. Then, he set about his failsafe: drenching a ring around the area in oil, which he covered with branches and leaves. If more conventional means couldn’t dispatch the vampire, fire would.

Sukuna trekked back to the village just as the sun started to dip in the sky. Bathing quickly, he washed the grime and the scent of the day’s work from his skin. Freshly washed, he passed the tawdry bustle of the inn and Nanami’s harrowing gaze into the coolness of the night. 

The moon had nearly reached its zenith, basking the entire town in its glow. The silvery treetops of the forest loomed large as Sukuna neared the treeline, already able to spot Satoru’s white head of hair from a distance amidst the dark. 

Not a stealthy vampire, this one. Satoru’s blue gaze seemed to gleam with genuine glee as he spotted the hunter, calling out as soon as Sukuna reached hearing distance.

“You came after all! I was so worried you might miss our little date.”

Even with the protection of the silver crowning his head, something shook all the way down Sukuna’s spine as he heard the vampire speak. It was a nice voice, all things considered.

“I don’t normally date strangers,” Sukuna said. “But I’ll bite this time.”

Satoru laughed, low in his throat. “Oh, then I’m a lucky man indeed. As much as I’d enjoy a delay, the night is not so long that we can afford one. Shall we start?”

Sukuna nodded, following the vampire into the deep, dark wood.

XXXX

As when he’d trekked through during the day, the path twisted and turned, coiling around and back upon itself like a snake. Trees loomed out of the inky shadow, contorting into strange shapes that were difficult to recognize. Satoru, by contrast, seemed almost giddy; he skipped ahead as if traversing a well-paved road.

They were nearing the river. Soon .

“Say, Satoru,” Sukuna drawled, growing more confident the closer they came to his traps. “You never told me why you wished to hunt the god of the wood.”

“It’s a boring tale, really.”

“I find that hard to believe. People typically have interesting reasons to hunt such monsters, much less a god.”

“A monster, you say?” Satoru mused, face turned away. “Or a god. Tell me your thoughts, hunter: is a god powerful because it is a god, or is it a god because it has great power?”

The rush of the river ahead was audible, now. The moment felt strangely poignant, as if all the world hinged on Sukuna’s answer.

There was only one that he could give, the universal law that had haunted Sukuna since his very birth. “Power can make anyone a god. Are the weak not left to the mercy of the strong?”

A beat, during which Satoru did not speak. The ground grew damp, squelching beneath their boots. Water rushed through the riverbed, toward its inevitable end.

Finally, Satoru’s voice reached his ears. “Do you crave power, Ryomen Sukuna?”

He was quite certain he’d never given Satoru his name.

Play along. Play along.  

Noticing his sudden silence, Satoru stopped dead, turning to face him. He was ethereal, a ghost-white shroud of living death, all blue, blue eyes and honeyed voice. “Is power all you crave?” 

“No.”

There was a razor-sharp snare, laid neatly beneath a dusting of dirt just one step away. Sukuna’s heartbeat pounded with the knowledge of it.

Blue eyes took his measure.

“You’re a very interesting man, hunter.”

“I thought it was Ryomen Sukuna, now.”

Sometimes the best offense was a veneer of weakness. Sukuna stumbled forward, eyes never leaving Satoru’s face as if he were in thrall.

“Sukuna.” Satoru’s voice was a whisper in the wind, but he looked hungry . “Come closer.”

So Sukuna did, even though every instinct screamed to turn from the vampire’s jaws. This was the most thrilling part of the hunt, after all, and the smile that Satoru met him with was saccharine as they stood face to face. Sukuna’s arms raised almost on their own accord, dancing fingertips across the vampire’s shoulders.

They were not yet enemies, acting out sweet nothings for a better angle to strike. But Sukuna, objectively weaker, had to strike first.

His grip firmed on Satoru’s shoulders, but still the other remained soft against him. Such confidence, even now.

“You’ve cleared my skies. God of the wood.”

Sukuna had the privilege of seeing Satoru’s eyes widen before he pushed. The vampire listed backward, and the single step he allowed was one too many. The wire caught.

The ‘god of the wood’ yowled as his leg was bound tight, pulling him sideways and off his feet to hang upside down from one of the trees that lined the small clearing in an instant. He thrashed, veins pumping with stolen blood as he tried to loosen the bindings. 

Sukuna would not give the creature further chances. With all the quickness he could muster, he fished the iron shiv from his boot, shooting across the space to plunge it into the vampire’s chest…

A flash of white struck hard across his temple, sending Sukuna crashing into the nearby brush. Thorns stung all across his arms as darkness filled the hunter’s view.

Precious seconds passed as Sukuna blinked. Blurred shapes slowly returned, and then–

He was looking at his hat, lying on the ground. Silver gleamed oddly in the moonlight, directing his gaze upward to a blue as deep as the starry sky.

Words that he did not comprehend echoed inside a foggy mind.

So interesting, Ryomen Sukuna.

Come closer, come closer.

Sukuna–

He had to get the matches. He had to light the clearing aflame…

But for what?

What would be the point? Why ruin everything now?

He had to get the matches. He–

The power of a god. He could have it, if he only bared his throat to blue eyes. If he only hunted eternity instead of monsters.

He had to … he…