Chapter Text
Boredom. He knew it like he knew the pathways of his own city - where a hundred corpses lay beneath his feet, a red river draining through the dusty roads and into the wilderness.
The bodies squelched beneath, producing a grotesque sound that ruined the atmosphere. He'd killed them. He had killed them all - the Sun, the Moon and the Star squad, a pathetic group of sorcerers the Fujiwara clan had grouped to assassinate him. What a funny thought that was. To be assassinated.
The Five Empty Generals had run for their life; perhaps they had reached the main city by now and informed the Fujiwara of their pitiful attempt. Even this thought wasn't as particularly amusing as it would've been five or so years ago. Weeks turned into months, and Sukuna didn't bother to keep count, but he soon received an invitation to the Harvest Festival in the main capital.
So the Fujiwara had decided to accept their defeat. Still, he had hoped they would send more sorcerers to subdue him. The lack of a good fight made his muscles creak in annoyance, and the Hiten buzzed in his hand as if hungry for a good battle.
He didn't kill the messenger, who trembled in fear. It was of no use.
Nobles would arrive in silk-laden carriages, the idea of walking being too poor for them. Sukuna didn't particularly care for fabrics or carriages himself, but there was a twinge in his gut, a faint inkling. So he draped a black Haori over his shoulders and sat through the ceremonies. He didn't know what he had expected. The festivities were long and winded, and the nobles extremely annoying. He contemplated beheading someone on his way back just for the sheer audacity of being born that way. At the end, his need for violence didn't have to be quenched by some poor stuttering noble - but a woman instead.
Tall and willowy, and quite stupid. It disgusted him how she draped herself over him, announcing that he must be quite lonely. Sukuna was thankful that he'd had the foresight to wear that fabric. It would be quite a horror if she had touched him instead of the haori.
Nonetheless, the disrespect was too much - so he slashed her across her chest, making quite an example of the girl. No one seemed to mind for her health, though; they were too busy being terrified. Sukuna indulged himself with a bland sake when a man stepped over the girl's body.
A man with stitches across his head in a clear horizontal line. Kenjaku. "Greetings, King of curses. I commend you on your recent victory against the Fujiwara."
"It was expected" His tone turned sharp. The recent stagnation in his life was catching up to him. Could he live this way? Till he succumbed to death? Kenjaku's lip turned up. Nothing passed his notice, did it?
Sukuna sighed. He was doing a lot more of that these days. "You haven't tried to involve me in another experiment. What happened, lost your spark?" He asked, his tone careful, gesturing for Stitches to sit down.
If he wasn't careful, Kenjaku would be sure to drag him into another revolting experiment. Kenjaku tilted his silver cup, eyes sparkling anew "Have you ever heard of a technique involving souls?"
Sukuna frowned. That was new.
Kenjaku continued, uncaring of the people who surrounded them; their ears could listen, but their mouths would never open. Sukuna was sure of it. "I have acquired a new specimen. It took quite a lot of time to cage him." He rubbed the back of his neck, where Sukuna spied a deep scar.
A part of him burst into joyous exultation. A hit to Kenjaku was always a cause for celebration. Kenjaku rolled his eyes as if reading Sukuna's mind "Next time I shall try to befriend him instead."
Again, Sukuna frowned "Next time?" Kenjaku's grin now resembled a cat's, predatory and creepy "I was able to discern many theories from this curse. He is quite well versed in the concept of souls and soul transfer. According to him, no soul goes to waste; it reincarnates again and again in different physical forms. Even curses."
Sukuna looked into the sky, where he spotted a cloud resembling a bunny. If only Kenjaku could learn to get to the point. He had hoped that Kenjaku would eventually learn to speak in a direct manner if Sukuna kept his quips to a minimum, but he hadn't read the room. The nerve.
"The point is, we can create a sorcerer more powerful than the rumoured Six Eyes and Ten Shadows combined." Sukuna closed his eyes, assuming an expression of an expressionless bodhivistta. He knew how these conversations usually ended. In a second, Kenjaku would say something so heinous that even Sukuna wouldn't involve himself -
"How about you and I have a kid?"
Sukuna coughed violently, all four eyes snapping open; He spat the sake out in shock. Even those who had been listening to the conversation, knowing they would be slashed if they reacted, gasped.
"WHAT - "
"Hear me out-!!"
"Absolutely not!" Sukuna turned to him in a rage;
Uraume rushed in from the other room, their expression one of shock and glee.
"If you would just- "
"I'm NOT fucking you, even if you assume a form that would be considered more or less desirable." Sukuna made a face; even the thought was terrifying. In fact, Sukuna would rather have that girl- what's her name, Yorza something- than Kenjaku.
"You sicken me"
"I was not suggesting that," Kenjaku tried to assume an innocent expression "Though that idea isn't off the table, -"
"Kenjaku I swear -"
"I have discovered a different means of" Kenjaku made a gesture with his hands that vaguely suggested pregnancy. ew.
Sukuna stared into the clouds where the face of the bunny stared back at him. He contemplated the very existence of the wretched woman who had birthed him that had led to this very agonising moment. Finally, he decided that perhaps it was he who was in the wrong. Boredom was nice and lovely. Why, oh why had he been wishing for anything but that? It seems his wish had backfired on him. He would never wish for anything ever again.
"Speak. You have a moment, though, if I deem this experiment unworthy. I will leave immediately, and we shall never meet again." Kenjaku readied himself and spread his arms dramatically as if giving a grand speech. A servant produced a tube, which Kenjaku accepted and proudly presented to Sukuna.
"The exact conditions of a mother's womb", He grinned "Now, we take a piece of flesh from two very capable people" His eyes suggested that the said people would be himself and Sukuna. What a headache.
"And we put that lump of flesh here - by the time it grows, we force that curse to put a soul in it, and there you have it!" "It isn't guaranteed that the resulting sorcerer would be strong", Sukuna remarked; most of the time, techniques did not manifest from parent to child. Somewhere along the line, the technique would show itself, but direct inheritance was rare.
"Oh, but it would be; we aren't having a child by traditional means, remember." Kenjaku tapped his chin, lost in thought for a moment. Sukuna celebrated the moment of silence internally. "I wonder if the child would inherit my technique or Blood Manipulation; the body I currently inhabit seems to be an expert in that"
"I haven't accepted, you know", Sukuna remarked. Though privately, even he felt curious. There was a bit of disgust at the thought of having a child with Kenjaku, even if it was by non-traditional means. But he wondered. "Haven't you?" Kenjaku answered back, languishing in his success. Sometimes, Sukuna wondered whether Kenjaku could really read minds.
The curse was a pathetic, snivelling little thing. Wide eyes and stringy blue hair, Sukuna wondered whether this truly was the curse that had managed to scar Kenjaku so deeply. He was cowering in his little cage, faint tremors shaking his hand. Sukuna stared at him as Kenjaku went down to his little basement. He did not wish to surround himself with more of Kenjaku's experiments; It was bad enough that he was participating in one, so he stayed with the curse. Sukuna blamed boredom in part and his nature in another for taking part in this.
It didn't take Kenjaku long to come up; there was a bundle in his hands, sakura pink hair peeked from underneath. Sukuna hadn't cared much for this experiment, but he had to admit, it was ... quite a surprise. The baby looked quite like him. There was the signature pink hair, of course, but also four eyes, all of which remained closed, lifeless. There was a simple tug in his chest; he didn't notice it then, but the Hiten had stopped humming with bloodlust.
Kenjaku laid the child on the floor before the curse. "Do not try anything, or I shall kill you in the worst of ways" Kenjaku told the curse "Now do what I had asked and I'll let you have a painless death." The curse turned its hate-filled eyes to the child. Sukuna had the sudden impulse to drag the curse and crush him underneath his feet, if he tried anything - when they were so close to creating the perfect sorcerer. Slowly, the curse dragged his hands over the baby as if remembering it's form.
At that moment, Sukuna knew if the curse ever reincarnated, he would go for this child first. But that moment dispelled; the curse closed his eyes and promptly died when the baby opened its own.
"Ah! So he has inherited something from his dear mother!" Kenjaku exclaimed happily, immediately taking the baby in his arms. The child had amber eyes, not like the form Kenjaku was inhabiting but perhaps like the original form he had once had.
"You're calling yourself the mother?" Sukuna made a face. The workings of Kenjaku's mind always astonished him.
Kenjaku hummed as an answer "Unless you'd rather be -"
"Absolutely not"
"Thought so" Kenjaku remarked smartly "I'm immensely pleased. This means the child can inherit my technique!" He did a little dance that was immensely weird. Even the child stared at Kenjaku with downturned lips. Ha!
"How do you plan to raise said child?" Sukuna said. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, however, the child turned its gaze from Kenjaku to him. Any further smart quips that he had been dying to say died in his throat.
"I have servants aplenty." Kenjaku prodded the child's nose, sniffing as the child bit him. Sukuna stared at the bleeding finger that Kenjaku now had with varying levels of amusement.
"I will take the child instead" Kenjaku almost snapped his neck with how fast he turned to Sukuna.
"Did you just take that decision because he bit me?"
"It was very amusing, yes." Sukuna held out his hand "Now, hand him over"
"You plan to turn him against me!" Kenjaku gasped dramatically, probably his mind-reading trick that had told him otherwise.
"You can visit every now and then to check on him." Sukuna rolled his eyes.
"And I will, so don't you keep a mother from her child." The said child proceeded to bite his mother's finger off again. He soon grew tired when 'mother' did not give an appropriate response and turned his amber eyes to Sukuna. Tiny palms curled up in his direction as if asking to be held.
Sukuna barely held back his surprise as Kenjaku dumped the child into his arms; he then waited patiently to see if the child would bite Sukuna too. He did not. Kenjaku huffed. "Whatever." He spun on his heels and flapped his robe back. Childish. Then he turned back as if making a sudden decision "I've decided to name him." Sukuna simply raised an eyebrow in response.
"Yuuji," Kenjaku grinned "An ironic name for a child with the two of us as his parents." Yuuji continued to stare at Sukuna with the expression he had frequently seen on himself. As if the small newborn were contemplating the very existence of his wretched mother.
Me too child; Sukuna shook his head at him. Me too.