Chapter Text
Yuji didn’t mean to get separated from his grandfather. It was just, those guys were so cool! He’d gotten juuust a little caught up by street performers, and the next thing he knew, Grandpa was gone!
Obviously, as the strongest of the household, Yuji had to go look for him.
That was what led Yuji here, to the entrance of a large dark tunnel surrounded by a forest on one side and abandoned sidewalks on the other. The insides were really dark. Like way darker than when Yuji played hide and seek. Normally he’d be thrilled at discovering another cool campsite—but there was a weird, creepy feeling about the entrance of the tunnel.
For just a moment, Yuji thought about turning back.
And then he remembered his grandfather’s words about how a real man ought to be brave. A ton of colourful signs were in front of the tunnel entrance, and his teacher had once said that colourful signs were really helpful to find lost people. Therefore, Grandpa might have gone into the tunnel! Unlike Yuji, Grandpa didn’t like dark places, and he got hurt easily, too. What if Grandpa was scared? Or Grandpa fell? Yuji couldn’t leave him in the tunnel alone.
So, despite his misgivings, Yuji took a deep, bracing breath, and stepped inside.
The hair on his arms immediately stood on end. Normally, Yuji would have taken a moment to marvel at how cool this was. As it was, Yuji’s breath caught, body going ram-rod still with some unknown instinct. Suddenly he could not seem to draw in any air.
“What’s this?” A scratchy, hissing voice teased at the edges of his hearing. “A meal has delivered itself to me?”
Yuji whirled in the faint direction of the voice, somehow forcing his body to move despite its abject refusal to do so. He whirled, and saw—
Nothing.
There was no one there.
Yuji let out a whimper. This wasn’t fun. The tunnel wasn’t fun. He wanted to get out—
A hissing, cackling laugh. Then pain.
Pain exploded throughout the six year old’s body. Agony coursed across Yuji’s back, which was now somehow cratered in a wall. His chest and stomach burned. When Yuji looked down, viscous red liquid was soaking his shirt, spreading in a spidery pattern.
His vision flickered. Above him, something spread. A large, gaping maw. Rows upon rows of teeth.
The jaws snapped shut.
And Yuji—wavered.
What happened next felt more dream than reality. The beast’s jaws closed, only to burst into ribbons of flesh and blood. Laughter. Loud. Frankly a little insane.
“Hmm. This vessel’s barely enough to contain me,” Yuji murmured. His hand rose, fingers clenching and unclenching to form a fist. “Kenjaku… what have you planned?”
In front of his eyes, the beast reformed. It roared in anger.
Yuji felt the grin on his face. “Ho? You dare raise your head in my presence?”
His body rocked forward, arm whipping out in a death sentence. The beast screeched as the upper half of its head was split in half. Its lower body staggered, flesh bubbling at its side. Two large tentacles burst out from the bubbling section, lashing out at Yuji.
Yuji twisted his body sideways, dodging one of the tendrils by a hair's breadth. He reached out, gently placing a palm against the twisted flesh. Despite the looks, the makeshift arms were cool to the touch.
The beast ruptured like a balloon.
Blood rained to the floor, and with it, the tremendously uneasy sensation from earlier fully dissolved.
“Hah? Dead already?” Yuji shook his head. “How disappointing, the curses of this era.”
Yuji stepped forward, towards the tunnel’s entrance. Now that the immediate threat had been exorcised, it was time to—
It was time to find Grandpa!
“What the—”
Eww! Yuji never really minded a couple of cuts and bruises. He barely felt them. They were always worth it for the fun he had. However, he hated the sensation of blood on his clothes. It was gross smelling and really sticky. And now he was covered in it!
Yuji made a face as his sneakers squelched on the blood puddle formed by the monster. As fast as he could, he ran from the tunnel.
Thankfully, finding his grandpa didn’t take long after that. He’d only walked a couple of minutes down the streets when somebody shrieked upon seeing him and called the cops. Ah! Why hadn’t he thought of that. Of course the police could find Grandpa. As he waited with the people who swarmed in to help, he was also given a lot of yummy treats to eat. It was really nice of them and he made sure to thank everyone, especially since he was extremely hungry from that hard battle. He chatted with everyone for a long time before his grandfather was finally found by the police and was returned to him.
For whatever reason, they had to go to the police station after that. The nice lady policewoman asked where all the blood came from, and since Grandpa said it was bad to lie, Yuji told her all about what happened in the tunnel. She frowned sadly and patted his head. He got more treats. He heard her whispering something about ‘trauma’ and ‘escape’ to the other police members, and a few other policemen left in their full gear, which made them look super cool!
Overall, it was a very exciting day. Grandpa wasn’t happy with him and yelled a lot, but even that didn’t dim Yuji’s enthusiasm. After all, he found out that he had superpowers! He’d always wished he could be like Naruto or Luffy, and now he was! Not that Rock Lee and Sanji weren’t cool—but special powers were always better than no powers, right?
Yuji went to sleep that night thrumming with excitement.
He woke up in a lake of blood and a dark sky caged by gigantic ribs. Before him, a pile of animal skulls stretched to the sky. Atop the pile sat a boy with four arms, and beautiful decorative tattoos etched on his features.
“Woah,” Yuji breathed out. The words escaped him before he could think more of it. “You look so cool!”
For a second, the disdain on the boy’s face faltered, some unknown emotion passing through the other’s eyes. The moment passed. The disdain was back, etched as surely as the tattoos. Pushing forward from his lazy sprawl, the boy leaped down from the skull pile. His feet touched the shallow depths of blood, but the liquid itself seemed to avoid him, failing to stain his kimono.
He took a step forward, and just like that, he was suddenly in Yuji’s space, eyes narrowed as he searched the other’s face. And… woah! Now that he was closer, Yuji could see that he had four of them, eyes that is, kinda like a spider but way prettier. They were crimson too, which was like the colour of all the cool heroes and villains in anime.
In that instant, Yuji instinctively understood who this was.
“What is that disgusting look on your face?” The boy sneered. “To think that my fool of a vessel… is but a mere child. Pathetic.”
“And you’re the one who saved me!” Yuji blurted. He shuffled back a step, and bowed at a 90 degree angle, just like his grandpa had taught him. “Thank you!”
When he looked back up, the sneer was gone. In its place was eerie blankness.
“Hmm. Well you know who you owe your gratitude to, at least.”
“How did you do that?” Yuji asked in excitement. He started swinging his arms to replicate what had happened in the tunnel. “You went like whoosh and swoosh and pissh! And it was so cool! The monster couldn’t react at all! It was like grrr and thwoop but then you did your final move and it was like gack!”
Eyebrows twitched.
“Never mind all that,” the boy said, voice clipped. “Just tell me—How did you force me back?”
Yuji blinked. “Force you back?”
“The body. I had control. But then you, with a mere stupid thought, somehow usurped my control. It shouldn’t be possible for a six year old child to cage me.”
“The body?” Yuji tilted his head. “Oh! You mean my body?”
“Mine, now.” All four eyes narrowed. “You offered your body to me, so it should be mine.”
“Woah.” Yuji’s eyes widened like saucers. Someone else might have been confused by the other boy’s words, but Yuji had watched a looot of anime, so he knew exactly what this was! “Does that mean we share a body now?”
“No!” The other boy snapped. “It’s my body now. It’s just that for some reason, you are still around.”
“Were you sealed inside me?”
“Yes, somehow. Anyway, the seal was undone, if only partially. I’m here now.”
“And you want control of my body?”
“Yes, fine, let’s go with that. In my graciousness, I’ll even reward you for your offering. Name something you would like to be done—the death of your enemies, protection for your family, the eradication of curses, whatever. I’ll complete it for you.”
“Woah!” Yuji’s eyes gleamed. “We’re just like Naruto and Kurama!”
“…what?”
“Naruto will be Hokage!” Yuji exclaimed. “And Kurama is the tailed beast that was sealed inside him, you see. Everyone thought Kurama was evil, but it turns out he was just really misunderstood and missed his Papa a lot.”
Yuji missed Papa too. He didn’t have any memories outside a few snatches of pink hair and a warm touch, but that was enough for him to decide that his Papa was awesome. Grandpa said his Papa went far far away, and Yuji wondered when he would be back.
“Anyway,” Yuji finished, “they share Naruto’s body together.”
The other boy’s brows furrowed. He briefly closed his eyes, and Yuji felt a strange sensation flow through him, like he’d just rewatched all the episodes of Naruto in one sitting. When red eyes opened again, they were gleaming with anger. “I’m not nearly that pathetic. But I suppose the situation isn’t that dissimilar.”
“Well, I can’t give you my body,” Yuji said thoughtfully. “I need it. But if you’re stuck here, maybe we could share?”
“Share?” An eerie, dangerous air surrounded the boy, not too disparate from the feeling Yuji got when he first arrived at the tunnel from earlier that day. “You dare treat me like a pet.”
“No.” Yuji shook his head. He smiled bright. “I’m treating you like a friend, duh!”
A beat passed. Two.
The other’s face was entirely blank. Then, it contorted into a twisted smile. “You believe you can redeem me with love? What do you suppose happened to the others who have tried?”
“I don’t know,” Yuji said honestly. He didn’t know what the word ‘redeem’ meant either, but somehow, he understood what the other boy was trying to say. “Anyway I don’t think you need ‘redeem’-ing or anything. I don’t know you very well. Grandpa always says not to judge a person fast, so I think I’d need to know you better first. But since you saved me, I think you’re a good person!”
“A ‘good’ person.” The other snorted, and then let out a laugh. “Good and evil are just labels for the weak. Understand—back then, I didn’t save you. I was just having some fun after a thousand years in darkness. And as for your petty judgment…”
The boy raised an arm and flicked Yuji’s forehead. Pain erupted. Yuji fell backwards. The last thing he saw was red eyes gleaming against the backdrop of the blackened sky.
“Let’s see how long you can hold on to that opinion, brat.”
OoOoOoOoO
When Yuji woke up from his meeting with the mysterious boy, he thought about telling Grandpa. Surely if he was the secret prophesied hero, his family would know?
“Grandpa,” Yuji said seriously at the breakfast table. “Do you think there could be something sealed inside of me?”
Itadori Wasuke’s eyebrow twitched with anger. “What anime have you become obsessed with now? This is why I tell you to stop melting your brains with those stupid cartoons!”
“No, really! Do you think Mama and Papa might have—”
“Don’t talk about that woman!” Grandpa smacked the table. Yuji jumped a bit in his seat. Grandpa sighed and shook his head. “Never mind. Just—they’re both gone, Yuji. There’s no point in dwelling on the past.”
The back of Yuji’s hand rippled.
“Heh.” The mysterious boy’s voice emerged from… a mouth that’d suddenly sprouted from his hand?! “That one’s as insensitive to curses as they come.”
“Eek!”
“I’m sorry for that reaction,” Grandpa said with a tiny, displeased frown. “You should never get violent when you disagree with people.”
“No, Grandpa!” Yuji raised the offending appendage in question, eyes wide. He pointed at it with his other hand. “Do you see this?”
“I already told you he can’t see cursed energy,” the mouth snapped.
At the same time that Grandpa said, hesitantly—
“Your hand, Yuji? Why? Did you get a splinter?”
Yuji’s actual mouth formed a small ‘o’.
“So you’re like a secret friend!” He said brightly.
Itadori Wasuke was thrown again. “What?”
“There’s no problem,” Yuji told Grandpa. “It’s just the seal had an effect on my hand.”
“Kami, you’re so stupid,” the hand-mouth muttered.
Yuji poked it hard. It wasn’t nice to call someone stupid! Unfortunately, all he got out of that was a hard poke to his own hand, since the mouth chose that moment to disappear again. Ouch!
Grandpa sighed. “I really should get you to stop watching those cartoons.”
Surprisingly, the rest of breakfast went okay. Since Grandpa didn’t believe him, Yuji thought it was likely that he was one of those protagonists who was supposed to save the world without their family knowing. Like Ichigo from Bleach, or the psychics from Mob Psycho!
Actually, now that he thought about it, that thing at the tunnel totally looked like a Hollow or an Evil Spirit. He was totally part of the secret society of exorcists now, wasn’t he?
It was after breakfast that things took a downturn. Since school wasn’t that far from their house, and everyone went to the same school anyway, Yuji could usually go himself. Today, however, Grandpa walked with him. This in itself was not so bad. Yuji enjoyed Grandpa’s company. Today though, all Grandpa could talk about was how dangerous it was to follow strangers, and why Yuji should just stay put if they ever got separated, blah blah blah.
It was easy to zone out. But then Grandpa would notice. And then he’d get lectured more. It was a vicious cycle.
For the first time in a long time, Yuji was actually glad to make it to the school gates. He waved goodbye to Grandpa and hurried in, though not before Grandpa stuffed an umbrella into his bag, warning him that it’d rain later.
Classes were boring like usual, and—
And he got a great idea during math period. Yuji launched an arm into the air and asked to go to the bathroom, and maybe he was a bit too enthusiastic about it, because some people were staring, but he didn’t care. When he was alone on the toilet, he poked repeatedly at his hand.
“Hey,” Yuji whispered. “Hey! You want my body, right?”
As expected, the mouth rippled into existence. “What is it, brat?”
“How ‘bout this?” Yuji beamed. “You can have my body during school hours. You can learn all about how things have changed in the past one thousand years. Also, also! You can eat the yummy lunches, and go on the playground, and maybe you can make friends, too!”
There was a moment of silence.
“You,” the mouth said flatly, “are offering me your body because… you don’t want to do schoolwork?”
Yuji pouted. “Well, I don’t, but that’s not the main reason! I already said we could share my body, right? I think I’d be bored too, if I was stuck all day in that dark place full of blood and bones, so I want to make sure you get some time to do fun stuff, too. But I need to spend time with Grandpa, so you can’t have my body all the time. So how about you get the seven hours in school, and I get the seven hours outside of it?”
“Hoh?” A trace of dark amusement entered the other’s voice. “Just don’t regret it, brat.”
Yuji felt something shift, and before he knew it, he was looking through his eyes but somehow not in control of them. Woah. Weird.
The pink haired boy’s body rose. He pushed open the door to his stall, walked out the bathroom, down the halls, and… he did not return to class. Instead, he took a side door out of the building and into the streets of Kitakami.
“Hey wait!” Yuji shouted. His voice made no outward noise, but somehow, he knew that the other could hear him. “You can’t just leave school grounds. You’re not allowed to do that!”
“Says who?” The boy asked in Yuji’s body. “Besides, even if the rules would apply to you, they don’t apply to me.”
Yuji thought about this for a moment. That made sense. Grandpa said he wasn’t supposed to go places himself because he was too young, but the spirit was at least a thousand years old, which was like super super ancient.
“Oh.” Yuji’s tone instantly changed to one of curiosity. “What’re you gonna do then? There’s lots of fun stuff to try! It’s close to summer, so you can catch grasshoppers in the rice fields. Though, Grandpa said it’d rain today, so we’d have to hurry if we want to play with them. The Koiwai ice cream is also reaally good. We could go buy some if you want.”
“No, not any of that.” The boy’s eyes scanned the horizon. “Where can we go for a good fight?”
“…eh?”
The boy stretched out Yuji’s body. “This vessel is surprisingly sturdy. It’s still young, but it has potential. Right now, some adult humans would be the perfect matchup for it. Ugh, I can’t believe I’ve reached enough of a low to look forward to a battle with maggots.”
“Um, no.” Yuji’s earlier enthusiasm dimmed. “Fighting is bad.”
“Says who?” The boy barked out a laugh. He began walking towards the more run-down streets. It was mid-morning and most of the areas were empty, though maybe that also had to do with the rapidly forming clouds in the sky. “This pathetic watered-down version of society?”
“Huh? Anyway, Grandpa says it’s bad!”
“Hmm.” The boy somehow easily navigated the back alley streets. They were getting further and further away from Yuji’s school. “Ah, I see. He said this to you after you punched out that kid, right? You did the right thing. That kid was annoying.”
“Punches hurt.” Yuji protested. “I wouldn’t want to get punched, so I shouldn’t punch others, either.”
“That’s easily solvable. If you don’t want to get punched, just get strong enough that no one can land a hit on you.”
“What? No. That’s not the point. The point is that we should treat others the way we want to be treated.”
“Hmm.” He turned a corner, and suddenly he was in a part of town that Grandpa said to avoid at all costs. “How naive.”
Graffiti lined the walls and the streets. Many shops and homes were boarded closed, and the ones that were open felt somehow sad. There was a woman taking down her laundry from the second story, her movements brisk and impatient. Two men smoked near a vending machine, despite smoking being prohibited in public. The passenger in Yuji’s body continued walking, turning down this street and that, until he finally stopped at the junction of a seedy alleyway. The whole atmosphere was made worse by the darkened sky above.
“What?” The mysterious boy let out a sigh. “Even this place is boring? I can’t believe the area with the highest negative emotions is here. This town truly has nothing.”
Squatting further down the alleyway were three highschool boys. They were all smoking something with blissed out expressions on their faces. At the six year old’s words, one of them turned. His face crinkled, as if he wasn’t sure what he was seeing, and then he stood. His blond hair seemed rather washed out against the darkened clouds.
“Hey kid,” the teenager said, walking over and placing a hand on Yuji’s shoulder. “You lost?”
The six year old’s face smoothed. He glanced at the hand. “You dare touch me?”
“Huh, what’s with that?” The teenager’s lips twitched with a smile. He turned his head back towards his friends. “Hey, get a load of this kid. He’s—”
The teenager never got a chance to complete his sentence. Blood sprayed from the blond’s neck. His head tilted, and plopped to the ground.
Yuji—blanked out in shock.
The spirit in Yuji’s shape kicked the body away, making a ‘tsk’ as he brushed imaginary dust from his shoulder.
A few paces away, the teenager’s friends were in a stupor, but that didn’t last long. One of the other teens roared, leaping to his feet and barreling towards the boy. The other teen fumbled for something in his pocket, and pulled out a pear-shaped knife. He lurched forward to stand, his hands shaking as he aimed the dagger at the six year old.
Neither stance mattered. The spirit wearing the child flicked his wrist. The charging teen’s face came apart, with his legs running two more steps before it fell to the ground. Behind him, the other teen’s body split vertically, right at the point of his knife.
Yuji screamed.
“Ugh. Lower the racket,” the other muttered.
Yuji yanked back control. By that time, he had stopped screaming, but he found that he still couldn’t draw breath. His body shook.
“Wh—wh—what. What did you do?!”
The spirit snickered in Yuji’s mind. “Heeh, isn’t it obvious?”
“How could you—how could you—” Yuji staggered forward. He dropped to his knees in front of the first teen. His hand reached out, to feel for a pulse like his teacher taught him—but of course there wasn’t anything, because the teenager no longer had a head.
A drop of something wet hit Yuji’s face. Then another. And another. Soon, the air was dribbling with light summer rain, pounding uselessly against the pavement.
“Ugh. No need to make such a big deal about it.” There was the distinct impression that the spirit was wrinkling his nose. “They were going to die sooner or later. They annoyed me, so it just happened to be sooner. If anything, they should be happy to die by my hand, instead of what other ignoble end was coming to them.”
Yuji clutched his own head. Still attached to his body. “That’s not—this is wrong.”
“According to whom?” The other asked. “The ones in power? You think they don’t off the people who oppose them, who are inconvenient to them?”
“It’s just wrong!” Yuji snapped. There was never a moment more that he wished he wasn’t so stupid. If he were smart, like the teacher or his grandpa, he could explain why it wasn’t right to take a life. But he wasn’t smart. He couldn’t come up with the words. He could only repeat his previous statement, stupidly, like the idiot that he was.
But worse, overwhelming the outrage was the fear. As Yuji stared at the body in front of him, with the blood spreading ever closer to his knees, he wondered how he would explain it all.
“We’re criminals,” Yuji whispered. “We’re going to jail.”
He would never see Grandpa again. He wouldn’t be able to play with the horses, or catch crayfish, or go to the movies. All the memories of prison he’d seen from the movies and the news flashed through his mind. He’d have to fight people for scraps of food and be stuck in a tiny little room all day. He’d grow old and miserable in jail with nothing to look forward to except drugs. He didn’t want to go!
“You won’t have to leave your grandfather’s side,” the spirit whispered, a temptation’s call. “You can avoid imprisonment. Just give me control for a minute.”
Anxiety spiked. “If you think I’ll let you kill more people—”
“There’s no one else around,” the spirit said. “You can take back control at any time, can’t you? Just let me out for a moment, and I’ll get rid of all the evidence that any of this happened. Then you can forget it all. Ah, but do hurry up your decision. There’s very little I can do if law enforcement gets here first… that is, unless you’re willing to kill all the witnesses.”
Yuji froze. He. He didn’t want anymore deaths. But he didn’t want to leave Grandpa, either. And he could just take back control again, couldn’t he, if the spirit broke his word?
He hesitated. Then, with a faltering heart, he slid back into the dark spaces of his mind.
The other let out a chuckle. Yuji’s legs rose to a crouch. A small hand was laid across the teen’s ankle, and… and the body dissolved to blood. One moment, the teen was there. The next, he was entirely gone, from his frame to his face.
Yuji felt like he would throw up.
Yuji’s body also moved forward, strolling leisurely to the other corpses. His sneakers squelched with every step. Four more touches, and the two other teens had disappeared, too. Blood ran down the pavements, mixing with the deluge from the sky.
The spirit retreated, and soon it was just Yuji standing there, drowned by the rain. Blood washed to the sides, swirling down the sewage. The only thing that remained of the teens were their school uniforms, the stubs of cigarette butts, and one lone knife.
“Just scrub the uniforms and throw them in the trash,” the spirit said. “Then we’re done. These deaths will be virtually untraceable to you. Or maybe law enforcement will think these three ditched their identifying clothing and ran away. It doesn’t really matter. What do you think?”
Numbly, Yuji followed the other’s instructions. He didn’t know what else to do. Yuji thought it was horrible. Awful. Those people’s families would never know what happened to them. He was also relieved. He would never be caught. And maybe… maybe it would be a good thing, if the teenagers’ families never found out the terrible way those three died. They could pretend that the boys ran away to find better lives, and pretend that they were happy elsewhere.
When all of it was done, Yuji could only trudge home, wondering how in the world he was going to explain all of this to Grandpa. No. He couldn’t tell Grandpa. Grandpa would hate him if it was found out.
A low chuckle reverberated in Yuji’s skull. “Do you see now? You’re complacent. I may have murdered those three, but by helping with the cover-up, you’re essentially agreeing to it. Their lives aren’t as important as your own, right?”
“No,” Yuji murmured. “No, that’s not—”
The other’s cackles rang, drowning out every argument, every remnant of peace. “Still think you can redeem me, brat?”
OoOoOoOoO
When Yuji arrived home, his grandpa had a meltdown of epic proportions. He questioned why Yuji had left the school, where Yuji had been, and yelled so hard that he had to sit down.
Left without any energy, Yuji could only answer all his grandpa’s questions with unsatisfactory ‘un’s. It was only when Grandpa was done that the words slipped out.
“Papa and Mama are dead, aren’t they?”
Grandpa startled. He stared at Yuji, wide-eyed. The old man’s lips parted. They closed again. His eyes searched his grandchild’s face.
Then Grandpa sagged in his chair, his voice weary. “How did you find out?”
“A friend showed me, kind of,” Yuji said with a sinking heart. After what happened to the three teens, he’d began thinking of his own missing parents, and wondering if that was just wishful thinking, too. Even so, he’d hoped that he’d been wrong. Grandpa’s response left no ambiguity though. So it was true. The only one he had left in this world was Grandpa. Hesitantly, Yuji opened his mouth again. “Grandpa, I’ve done a really bad thing.”
Yuji stood with his opened mouth. No sound came out. A second ago, he’d been determined to tell Grandpa everything, just to prove the spirit wrong. Now that it was upon him, he realized he couldn’t. He couldn’t stand to see Grandpa turn away in disgust, not when Grandpa was the only person who cared about him. Yuji wasn’t sure he could handle being hated by everyone in the world.
Grandpa spoke first. His voice was gentle. “Is this tied to why you skipped school today?”
Meekly, Yuji nodded.
Grandpa hesitated. “This one time… I suppose you don’t have to tell me, if you can’t. Just know that I’m always here for you, and if you ever feel comfortable with sharing, I’ll listen without judgment.”
Yuji highly doubted that. He’d seen his grandfather’s passionate rants about whatever was on the news, or whatever new folly his neighbours enacted. He knew his grandfather constantly talked about using power responsibly, and being kind, and he hated murderers. But Yuji couldn’t say anything about that without giving away what he was hiding.
“Okay,” Yuji said softly. He ambled forward, throwing his arms around Grandpa’s legs, squeezing the other in a hug. He made sure not to squeeze too hard, knowing that his body had more strength than the normal kid. He knew he didn’t deserve the assurance, but he needed it like he needed air.
Coward, he thought.
Grandpa let out a sigh. His fingers fell in Yuji’s hair, placidly brushing through it. “Is this anything else you want to share, Yuji?”
Yuji relaxed to his grandfather’s touch. He pushed his cheek against the other’s knee. The knee was thin and wobbly. Grandpa needed to eat more. To be honest, Yuji didn’t want to talk more. He just wanted to remain in this illusion of calm, just like this. But there was one thing Yuji absolutely needed Grandpa’s advice on. He could find no peace without an answer.
“I made a friend recently.” This much, Yuji could confess.
“You made a friend?” Grandpa’s response was one of joyful surprise. The child received a proud pat on the head. “That’s wonderful, Yuji.”
“It’s not,” Yuji muttered, burrowing deeper against his Grandpa’s legs. “He did a really bad thing, and he’d probably do it again if he could. I don’t know… if I should continue to be his friend.”
Grandpa hummed. “Is this related to the bad thing you did?”
Yuji stiffed. He didn’t speak.
“Did he hurt you?” Grandpa asked. “Remember that saying mean things hurt people, too.”
Yuji shook his head. No, it wasn’t like that. He was never hurt by what the spirit did or said, not like when the other kids called him ‘orphan’ or ‘freak’. The only things that the spirit said which hurt was the truth.
“Do you know why he did what he did? How did his parents react?”
“He did it because he thought it was fun, I guess,” Yuji murmured. “He didn’t even think it was wrong. His parents didn’t do anything about it because he doesn’t have parents, either.”
“I see,” Grandpa said thoughtfully. “And you? Do you regret what you did? Will you do it again?”
“I regret it.” Yuji’s voice cracked. “I’m not going to let it happen again.”
He wasn’t going to let that stupid spirit trick him a second time. He was never letting it out. Ever.
“Well then.” Grandpa hummed. “I guess it just depends on whether whatever your friend did is unforgivable or not.”
“Huh?”
“If you’re not going to let it happen again, then this is just an event of the past, right? It sounds like your friend didn’t have a lot of people to each him right from wrong. If you give up on him, he might never get the chance. Friends who go through trials together are the stronger for it. But this isn’t your burden either, Yuji. You shouldn’t put yourself in a situation where you’re miserable just for someone else’s sake. So I ask you again: is what your friend did something you think is unforgivable?”
Yuji thought for a moment. His response was quiet. “It might be.”
“Then you’ll have to make a decision.” Grandpa’s hand on his head was unbearably gentle. “If you truly think whatever your friend did is unforgivable, then end the friendship there and don’t talk to them again. It’ll only hurt you more if you do. But if you think that your friendship is more important than whatever they did… then maybe, just maybe, you can find a way forward.”
“Oh,” Yuji said softly. “Oh.”
The spirit was right after all. He was so, so, selfish.
OoOoOoOoO
Kneeling respectfully on the tatami, the six year old dutifully recited the entirety of the Analects. His voice did not falter, and he made not a single mistake in content or grammar. From beyond the curtain, his tutor stood, listening with a faint tap-tap of his fan. Finally, the last word was said, and the child allowed his hoarse voice to receive its desired rest.
“That was excellent. There are few children your age who could memorize a text like that so quickly.” His tutor gave words of praise, but the way it was said did not sound like praise. Frustration and disdain lined his words, as if he was hoping for the child to fail. The child waited for the next remark with apathetic resignation. The tutor did not disappoint. “If only you weren’t born with that body, then you could be the heir His Lordship could be proud of.”
The child stared down at his hands—all four of them, folded neatly on his lap. He did not know what was wrong with his body. His four arms could grab with greater efficiency. He could read a book while simultaneously scratching his back or sketching out the outlines for an art piece.
He knew, however, what he was expected to say. “Yes. I shall continue to pray for deliverance from my plight.”
“Good, good.” It was now that pleasure entered his tutor’s voice. His tutor shuffled forward—just one step—never too close. He kneeled and slid a book through the curtain separating him and the four-armed monster. “This will be our next set of texts. Memorize the first ten entries by tomorrow. We will discuss their meanings in the morning.”
The child waited until his tutor backed up before getting up to retrieve the book. It was a collection of poetry. The child flipped open the book and scanned the first page. His lips quirked. Of course. It was another commendation on humility and moral integrity.
His tutor did not linger. Soon, the child was left alone again, and he would be alone until evening, when the maids came in with dinner. He no longer minded the solitude. It was now what he was used to.
He turned the book over in his hand. It would be better to memorize it when there was daylight, he knew. But his throat throbbed in pain. He had no desire to continue talking. Beneath his kimono, his second mouth itched and strained against the fabric. He yearned to take it off. But what if Father visited while he was not dressed? What if Mother did?
The child hesitated, and decided to leave it for the evening, as he always did. At night he could take off his robes and no one would be the wiser. At night he could allow his second mouth to breathe and heal from the day’s chafing.
He instead settled on practicing his calligraphy at the desk. He had no memory of his father coming to see him, but his father would sometimes send him letters. If he became good enough at writing, perhaps he could convince Father to allow him more rights. He had only been allowed outside the once for archery lessons. It had been more beautiful than he could have imagined. He had no idea colours could be so bright, nor that the wind and sun could feel so lovely on his skin. The courtyard had been completely cleared of people, of course, but that just made it more exquisite. However, after he’d mastered the basics, he’d never been let out again.
It turned out to be fortunate that the six year old hadn’t shucked off his clothing, because halfway through his calligraphy practice, his door slammed open.
The child set down his brush, rising to meet whomever it was at the door. Behind the curtain, he could make out the silhouette of complex hairpins and layered clothing. Mother…?
The woman moved forward, and for the first time that day, the curtains were ripped open. The six year old bowed deeply in greeting. His mother’s eyes scanned his room, coming upon his letter practice. She snarled, raising a foot to his writing desk, sending the papers scattering. “That whore of a concubine just gave birth, and you’re still trying to write to that man? Do you understand anything, you stupid curse?”
The child arose from his bow, but kept his eyes lowered, because he knew she would not want to look upon them. He clasped his extra set of arms behind his back.
“Thankfully, that slut gave birth to a daughter.” Mother snorted. She sounded like she wanted to hit him, but that would require touching him. “But isn’t it ridiculous I have to worry about these things when I am the principle wife? I should be feared and living in luxury, but instead I’m stuck in a sealed-off courtyard with you, all the while my reputation is dragged through the mud.”
The child swallowed. His voice was hoarse as he spoke. “Sorry, Mother…”
“What did I do to offend the gods?” Mother’s voice, too, was helpless. Hope flickered. Red eyes rose of their own accord, searching for some semblance of pity, some hint of vulnerability. What met him was a flinty gaze full of hatred. “What did I do, for them to afflict me with a curse like this?”
Hope dimmed. Cracked. Spluttered out.
Perhaps it was that day, that Sukuna lost his heart.
OoOoOoOoO
Yuji found himself in the lake of red again. This time, instead of thinking it was cool, the blood made him physically ill.
Seated far above, the white-robed boy’s eyes drifted open. Their crimson colour burned. “What is it, brat?”
Yuji swallowed. “When you first showed up, it was like Kami gave me a present, maybe because Kami was sorry for taking my parents away. You saved me just like that, and you were so cool, and you agreed to be my friend. You were like my secret treasure. But then you ki—killed those people, and I realized that you weren’t perfect.”
“And?” The other was sprawled atop his bones, his cheek resting on a knuckle with an air of indolence. “Get to the point.”
“But friends aren’t perfect.” Yuji took a step forward. His eyes blazed with determination. “I won’t give up on you. That’s a promise.”