Chapter Text
APRIL 2003
ITADORI RESIDENCE
The sight of red was sickening.
There was blood everywhere.
On the walls, the floor, the furniture, everywhere.
Wasuke Itadori crawled desperately to the nursery, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
“Yuji…” He cried out weakly, the blood loss catching up to him rapidly. He glanced around the house, seeing his son’s body propped up against the wall, he couldn’t help but look away. That thing’s body was a few feet away, whether she was still breathing or not meant nothing to him, getting to Yuji was his top priority.
By the time he had reached the nursery, the crib was empty. Yuji Itadori had already been abducted, and Wasuke could not stay conscious any longer.
-
SEPTEMBER 2007
TOKYO METROPOLITAN CURSE TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Suguru Geto was slowly withering away, and no one could figure out why.
“...to. Geto!” A voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
He lifted his head to see Shoko staring down at him, a cigarette hanging from her mouth.
“Sorry? What was that?” He asked with a wry smile. Shoko gave him a look but brushed it off.
“Yaga is calling you, for a mission I guess.” She pointed at the school then shoved her hands in her pockets.
“Oh, I see, thanks for letting me know.” Suguru replied, standing from the step he was sitting on and brushing off the dust from his pants.
He quietly made his way to Yaga’s office and braced himself for what was coming next.
“Suguru, take a seat.” Yaga said with a serious look and Suguru couldn’t explain why he felt so uneasy.
“There’s been reports of a cult, one that worships Ryomen Sukuna, they were spotted in a remote village near the mountains. They call themselves Children of the Disgraced.”
Suguru’s eyes widened upon hearing his teacher’s words. A cult? One that worships the King of Curses nonetheless. Before he could get a word in, Yaga continued.
“That’s not all, there’s an abundance of cursed energy there, and there are rumours that they are holding onto a potential vessel.” He said somberly.
Suguru could not help himself and stood up. “What? How is that even possible!? And why aren’t you sending Satoru in for something like this?”
Yaga shook his head. “Satoru is off on another mission, we originally wanted to send you in with him but he isn’t back yet, no one can handle this mission other than you two.”
“Yaga-sensei-”
“You leave tomorrow morning, make sure to get some rest.”
Suguru made his way to the door, he felt immensely conflicted, a mission revolving around Sukuna? Alarm bells were going off in his head, there’s no way this would go smoothly.
“And Suguru?”
He turned around and looked at his teacher.
“Yes, sensei?”
“Please be careful, if Satoru is back by the time you’re gone, I’ll send him there immediately, I wouldn’t have sent you alone if I had the choice.”
Suguru nodded with a serious look, and left Yaga’s office.
“A vessel, huh?” He felt conflicted, his last mission regarding a vessel ended poorly, he could only hope this one would go any better.
REMOTE VILLAGE
Suguru made his trek to the village, noting how empty it seemed.
Eventually he stumbled upon a few locals and decided to question them, thankfully they knew what he was talking about and had some information for him.
He walked around and found a few low grade curses lingering near the forest “So this is where they’re hiding…” He muttered to himself before exorcising them.
Almost immediately after he stepped foot into the forest he felt an overwhelmingly strong feeling of dread. The sheer malevolence he felt made him freeze in place.
‘This must be Sukuna’s cursed energy… how revolting.’ He thought to himself, shuddering slightly.
How could these non-sorcerers, these monkeys worship something like this? He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
Suguru summoned a few lower grade curses and spread them around the forest as a way to locate the shrine.
“Found you.”
-
MARCH 2006
THE CHILDREN OF THE DISGRACED
There it was, that pull.
He could feel it in his veins, this was the moment he’d been waiting for, he let himself come up to the surface.
Sukuna’s eyes snapped open, it seemed he’d finally found a suitable vessel that he could take over.
He wrenched his hands from his constraints and twisted his wrists, trying to relieve the tension.
..?
This couldn’t be, this had to be someone’s poor excuse for a joke.
Sukuna found himself utterly powerless, and trapped.
In the body of a child.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
Sukuna yelled, staring at his small hands. He then looked at the people kneeling in front of him.
He was in a room with an awfully red interior, it appeared to be a shrine, one built specifically for him. He observed the ones in front of him, they were all wearing red kimonos with some kind of white veil over their faces. His vessel seemed to have one covering his face as well.
Those kneeling in front of him flinched and quickly looked up at him in awe.
“Lord Sukuna!” “Is it really you?” “Master Sukuna… finally.”
Sukuna’s brows furrowed in irritation.
“One at a time. Now, someone tell me, why am I in a child’s body and why can’t I move freely?”
Then, someone came to the front and stared down at him.
“Lord Sukuna, we have found you the perfect vessel, but it seems that he is too young at the moment.”
He looked this man up and down, he seemed to be their leader. His white kimono made him stand out, most importantly, he wasn’t wearing a veil like the others, his calm expression on display for everyone to see.
“You, who are you?” Sukuna asked, voice filled with disdain.
The man in front of him bowed and introduced himself.
“I am Masato Kageyama, I am at your service.”
Masato kept his head down, his long black hair covering his face, Sukuna eyed him with little interest before turning his head to the door, there was a large talisman with his markings plastered on the door. Sukuna smirked, a perfect test subject. He raised his hand and swiped.
"Dismantle."
He frowned at the result, the talisman barely tore. He clicked his tongue in distaste. “Ridiculous. What is wrong with this vessel? He is far too weak.”
Masato’s eyes seemed to glean with interest at this, he was not expecting this after all and it was fascinating to him.
“Lord Sukuna, if I may, the vessel is only three years old, it is a miracle that the body can even use your cursed technique to begin with.”
Sukuna’s eyes flashed dangerously as he turned to look at Masato. “You said he was the perfect vessel. Are you saying ‘my perfect vessel’ can’t even use my techniques?” His voice was steady, but filled with rage. Masato did not flinch and instead looked him straight in the eyes.
“He will be able to, in due time, but he is the only thing that can handle you, Master Sukuna. He will be your perfect vessel, worry not.” Masato said with a casual smile, Sukuna did not enjoy that look in his eyes, so calculating and empty.. He scoffed and turned away, waving a hand. “Enough, I want to be alone.” Before he could finish his sentence, he heard them scurry away like ants. How pathetic.
But Sukuna’s amusement wasn’t long lasting, he felt a familiar pull, but this time it was from within, and instead of rising to the top, he was being dragged back down.
“Damn brat-!”
Yuji opened his eyes and looked around in confusion, why were his hands untied? The last thing he remembered was his mouth being pried open, and being forced to eat something gross by the people with the white veils.
Yuji scrunched his nose remembering the disgusting taste of soap and rot. His throat burned at the sensation and then he lost consciousness. He sat on the ground and held his knees to his chest, the discomfort he was feeling wasn’t going away and it upset him greatly.
He flinched violently upon feeling the skin on his cheek open up. “Hey brat, how did you do that?”
“Do what?” Yuji was confused, why was his cheek talking to him? And what was his cheek asking him?
“Idiot, I’m not your cheek, how did you take back control?” Sukuna was also confused, and frustrated, this meant he couldn’t act as he pleased. Not that he could before anyway, damned toddler body.
“Oh, I dunno, didn’t like it, felt icky.” Yuji replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Sukuna groaned. Great, this was amazing for him, his vessel didn’t even need to try to contain him.
The young boy fiddled with his kimono sleeve, not knowing what to say next, so he blurted out whatever he could think of.
“I’m Yuji! You’re Su-nu-ka, right? I’m your ve…vessel?” He exclaimed with a bright smile, not knowing what that meant for him.
“Foolish brat, not Su-nu-ka, it’s Sukuna.” He couldn’t help but roll his eyes in his head, and his singular eye physically.
“Su-ka-nu?”
“Sukuna.”
“Su… Su…ku?”
Sukuna’s eye twitched, was this the punishment for coming back? His vessel was the biggest idiot of the century, or perhaps children were just naturally foolish.
-
SUKUNA’S INNATE DOMAIN
Sukuna felt like throwing a tantrum, it seemed appropriate considering his vessel was a literal child after all. This had to be some sort of sick joke, who would dare to put the King of Curses in the body of a toddler!?
He sat atop his throne of skulls, thankfully he maintained his original form here or he would have wreaked havoc. He was far too weak, he needed to collect more of his fingers to restore his glory. That would be difficult to do considering they were keeping his vessel locked up, how laughable. They claim to worship and revere him but they’re limiting him greatly, if he had the chance, he would rip them all apart into pieces and gorge on their flesh. Their screams would be nothing short of delightful.
Sukuna watched boredly as the idiots with the veils came to bind his vessel once again, their leader didn’t seem to interact with the brat too much and would send his cronies in to do his dirty work for him. He couldn’t take control too easily either, it seemed the brat was subconsciously aware of his own soul.
Soon enough, night fell, and Yuji fell asleep.
Instead of dreaming, he woke up surrounded by blood and bones. He looked around and saw Sukuna staring down at him.
“Woah.”
Sukuna lazily raised a brow at that reaction.
“Su-ku-na! You have more arms!” Yuji exclaimed, but instead of being afraid or repulsed, he seemed excited. Sukuna couldn’t help but feel shocked, usually those who gazed upon him reacted with terror and fear and tried their best to run away from him. Not like it worked for them anyway.
Either his vessel was brave or a complete fool.
Yuji continued to look around in awe and then stared back at Sukuna.
“Are you an idiot or do you just not fear anything? You won’t even ask where you are right now?” Sukuna questioned the boy bluntly which led to him pouting.
“Not an idiot…” He grumbled under his breath. “Where is this? Did you br-brought me here?” Yuji asked, confident in his choice of words.
The cursed king snorted. “You are clearly an idiot, we are in my innate domain. Here, I am in control, and you are powerless.”
“Why?”
“Because it belongs to me.”
“Why?”
“It is my domain, now cease your questions. Listen to me, brat. I brought you here to train you, you’re far too weak for my liking. If you stay this weak, I won’t be able to use my technique.”
“The slicey thing?”
Sukuna was growing exasperated, were children always this difficult? He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
“It is not a slicey thing, it is my cursed technique, you’d be better off learning it too.”
“What’s a cursed tech-neek?”
“...Enough with your questions before I slice you into pieces and eat you.”
-
JUNE 2006
Ever since that first night, Sukuna regularly began training Yuji over the next few months, pushing him to his limits and punishing him when he did poorly.
“Kuna, please, I’m tired!”
“Again. You have to get it right.”
“I can’t! I can’t do it!”
Sukuna walked over to Yuji and glared down at him.
“You can, and you will. Otherwise I will personally ensure that you suffer for the rest of your miserable existence, do I make myself clear? I will not be trapped in a useless body that can’t even do the most basic of techniques, now do it again.”
“You’re mean…” Yuji sniffled, trying to not let the tears fall.
“Mean? Hah! I’m the King of Curses, mean is a pitiful word to describe what I am.”
Yuji mustered up all his courage and glared at him with all his might.
“You- you’re horrible! A big meanie!”
Sukuna couldn’t help but let out a mocking laugh. “Use that anger, use it and prove your worth!”
The toddler couldn’t handle it anymore and made swiping motions randomly.
Sukuna paused, wiping his cheek.
Blood.
“This is the best you can do? Pathetic. Get out of my sight.”
Sukuna flicked his wrist and Yuji was gone. He didn’t care that his vessel was a three year old, he needed his freedom and he needed it as soon as possible, his vessel had to be better and stronger for him to do as he pleased.
-
THE CHILDREN OF THE DISGRACED
Yuji startled awake, blinking his tears away. He was so mad at Sukuna! He was never nice to him and always hurt him when he didn’t want to see him anymore. He sat up and flinched when he saw Masato, who was sitting beside his bed, and then quickly smiled.
“Masato-san! You’re here!”
“Hello, little one. Was Sukuna-sama being mean to you again?” Masato brushed Yuji’s hair back gently. He nodded and pouted at the older man. “Yeah! I did the slice like he wanted but he only said mean things to me.”
Masato’s hand paused for a minute. “Oh? You were able to use his technique? How was it? Are you able to show me?”
Yuji looked up at him, tilting his head. “I… can try!” Masato was always nice to him, unlike that big meanie Sukuna, so he could try for him.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, sounding out the word ‘dismantle’ under his breath to get it right.
He opened his eyes, and with all the determination he could muster, he swiped at a piece of paper that was lying about.
"Dismantle."
Though his voice came out a little weak, and the pronunciation was a bit iffy, it seemed to do the job. Masato’s eyes shined with satisfaction as he watched the paper fall apart. How interesting, a toddler being able to use a cursed technique? He smiled at the boy and patted his head warmly. “Very good, Yuji, you used Lord Sukuna’s technique, many sorcerers only acquire the ability to use their cursed techniques at the age of five, or six. You are only three years old, that is a wonderful accomplishment.” Yuji beamed at the praise, he was happy to finally prove himself useful. Then he tilted his head, and lifted up three fingers. “I’m this many?”
Masato chuckled lightly. “Yes, Yuji. And the others are usually..?” He trailed off, letting the boy figure it out on his own. He lifted five of his fingers and then a sixth and beamed. The man nodded and smiled. “Very good, you’re learning well for your age. You are a smart boy, aren’t you? I’ll teach you more things soon.” Yuji couldn’t help but nod enthusiastically, at least there was someone who thought he was smart!
SEPTEMBER 2006
Yuji continued to be trained by Sukuna and taught by Masato, he was now able to use Sukuna’s techniques with better precision than before, albeit still weak. Naturally, since he was only three years old, this was far more than anyone was expecting, anyone besides the King of Curses himself, of course.
“Why are you still weak?” Sukuna asked one night, staring at him with disdain from the top of his throne. Yuji sighed, feeling exasperated. It seemed everyone could understand his circumstances except for him. He held up three fingers from where he was standing and shouted. “I’m only this many! Masato-san said I was good, that I’m accom-pishing great things!” At his stumble, Sukuna rolled his eyes. “Do you even know what that word means you snot-nosed brat? Don’t listen to him, you’re not good enough for my liking. You keep practicing until I say so.”
Yuji grumbled and resisted the strong urge to stick his tongue out at Sukuna before seeing a skull being launched towards his face. He yelped and ducked. “Kuna! I can’t cut that one, stop throwing those at me!”
Sukuna clicked his tongue in disapproval. “You should be able to. You have better control over the technique but your strength is still lacking. This won’t do.” He stared down at his vessel, pondering his next move. It wasn’t like he could start fighting the brat, he wouldn’t even last a second, and beating up a three year old didn’t seem all that fun at the moment. Torture..? No, that wouldn’t get him anywhere, as much as he would enjoy tormenting the idiot, he didn’t have much time to waste. If only he had access to another one of his fingers, then he would be forced to adapt to his power…
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
“I’m not greeting- no, never mind that, ask those imbeciles about my fingers when you have the opportunity to.” Sukuna said, in a tone that surprisingly wasn’t gruff or angry, he seemed to be thinking about something instead.
“Fingers..? Ah, the yucky one that tastes like soap! I can ask! Why?”
Yuji did not have the time to wait for a response because the next thing he saw was a bovine skull headed straight for him.