Chapter Text
It's been a year since he died. Rain poured heavily in the graveyard, the cold water bouncing off the stones, as the women stood in the midst of the storm. She forgot her umbrella; actually, she didn’t care to bring one. She felt the goosebumps form in her skin as her body began to shrivel from the cold. She hears footsteps behind her as a shadow looms over; the rain suddenly stops.
“It’s been a year already, hasn’t it, Doctor?"
The doctor doesn't turn around to the gruff, exhausted voice behind her. She gives them a nod of acknowledgement as she continues to stare at the grave…
The figure behind her chuckles as he moves towards the side of the doctor holding his umbrella over her.
“It’s strange; he hasn’t left my mind since the day he died.” The figure reminisces.
"You mean since the day you killed him?" The doctor snaps at him. Her focus remained on the gravestone. The figure's four eyes shift towards her as he sees the emotion building up;deciding best to remain quiet. The silence was palpable after. The sounds of the rain crashing into the umbrella building the tension more.
“I apologize; I shall leave you to mourn, Doctor.” The figure shifts his body around to make his exit as he turns his head to give one last look to the grave when she calls him out.
“Ryoumen Sukuna, why are you here?” The doctor finally turns to look at him, her eyes shining in the moonlight as rain pours down her. She was shaking; whether from anger or from the cold, she can’t tell. Sukuna is startled, then goes back to his stoic expression e as he rubs his face in thought, his bottom 2 arms resting on his hips.
The doctor looks at him, waiting for an answer, as he finally stops rubbing his chin. Sukuna turns his head towards her and stares into her eyes. His dark red eyes stared into her fragile soul.
“To satiate a curiosity, Shoko Ieri”
One year ago, Satoru Gojo died. One year ago, Ryoumen Sukuna was given another chance of life. Yuuji has finally placed him into his domain; the world is watching in silence, not knowing what's happening inside. It's quiet; the remaining sorcerers remain still, prepared for battle as the viewers make prayers, final wills, or jump off their seats through the screen. It shatters; the domain suddenly comes apart as an intense dust cloud is formed in the battlefield. They can only see the obscured shadows inside it. The 7’2 curse looms over the 5’8 boy; the boy stands firm, staring at the shadow. The curse nods at the boy, then turns around and walks away. Everyone stared in disbelief when the King of Curses threw in the towel,walking off the ring. The dust settles; what's left is Yuuji Itadori holding Megumi Fushiguro. The King of Curses has been missing since then.
Back at the cemetery, Shoko stares at the king.She has questions, and she hopes he will give her the answer she wants.
“What curiosity could you have left here?” Shoko says, tilting her head in confusion.
“I wandered through Japan for the past year and have found nothing that fulfills me."
"Aw, boo-hoo, the cannibal, roaming astray like a lost puppy."
“Heh, guess I was… I came across a thought that wouldn’t leave me 6 months into my journey, and now I’m here to satiate it.”
“Gonna kill yourself in honor of the sins you’ve done or something?”
“Hah, you wish I cared that much about my sins. I don't regret anything I have done. I lived as a curse and lived the way I chose."
Shoko turns her head away upon hearing the statement. To live as free as he did, she envied it. All she knows is regret; living as a sorceress, she only knew regret. Seeing how her friends died, she knew she will die with regret.
Sukuna, hearing no response, continues his ramble.
“You caught my eye. You have a gift that a special few have, so I simply wish to observe and understand your powers.”
Shoko's eyes widened at what he spoke; there’s no way he actually has interest in me, she thinks to herself, staring confused at Sukuna.
“To understand why you became somebody who lived on the sidelines. So filled with regret like no living being I’ve met." He spoke in such a condescending and asinine way, that all Shoko could do was give a light chuckle.
“So, what, you want to stalk me or something?"
Sukuna shrugs his shoulders, a light smirk forms.
“You can call it that if you’d like."
Shoko turns her head to the grave;sighing and gave one last smile to her old friend. She turns back and stares into the monster that killed him, walking towards him as she slaps his chest lightly with her arm, and keeps moving forward.
“Do whatever you want, like I’d care."
Sukuna fully smiles at that response.
“Are you giving me permission?” He asks with a slight, gleeful tone as he begins to follow her,
“I guess you can satiate your weird interest in me while I get to research the biggest anatomical anomaly in history. Sounds like a fair trade.” She says monotonically as she makes her way to the exit.
"Sounds fair to me.” Sukuna states as he continues to follow behind her.
He continues to follow her for a moment, then suddenly disappears from behind her. She continued to walk, not caring whether he was going to stay or not. She makes her way to her car, searches her messy purse, grabbing a small key, and uses it to unlock her old Toyota Corolla. She smiles at the memory of Gojo and Geto making fun of her for getting such a shitty car. The joke is on them; this beat-up Corolla outlived both Gojo and Geto. She chuckles as she opens her car door and steps inside. She reclines the chair back, staring into her car ceiling. Memories of the past are flowing in as nostalgia hits her; the memories slowly morph into the nightmare of her friends' deaths and the death of the man she cared for the most, the nightmare shaping itself into his killer. Now her thoughts linger on her conversation with the King of Curses himself, with Ryoumen Sukuna, and his confessed interest in Shoko. She really is a magnet for monsters, isn't she? Shoko sighs, adjusting her seat back as she starts the car.
“Man… I need a cigarette.”