Chapter Text
Consciousness returned to Yuuji like a lightning strike. One moment darkness, the next – full alertness, his cursed energy already flowing through his muscles. The unfamiliar forest around him didn't matter. What mattered was the overwhelming presence approaching.
Sukuna.
Without hesitation, Yuuji launched himself up, body moving on pure instinct and hatred. His fist, charged with cursed energy, shot forward with all the power and technique he'd developed fighting this very monster.
"Die!" The word tore from his throat as he aimed for Sukuna's face – his cursed face, four-armed and marked, but still recognized as the same being who destroyed so much.
But Sukuna moved with impossible grace, like autumn leaves in the wind catching Yuuji's fist in one of his four hands. Instead of crushing it or retaliating with violence like Yuuji expected, he merely held it, eyes widening with... curiosity?
"Now what do we have here?" Sukuna's voice carried none of its usual malice, replaced instead by an almost pleased interest. His other three arms remained relaxed at his sides, making no move to counter-attack.
"It appears to be one with cursed energy very much similar to your own, my lord," Uraume observed from behind him, her voice carrying its usual calm deference. Even in this bizarre moment, she maintained her role as the perfect servant, stating what was already obvious to her master.
Sukuna's grip remained firm but painless as his eyes studied Yuuji's face with growing fascination. "Similar? No, Uraume. This is my blood. My essence. His soul is fashioned from a piece of mine. I can see it."
"Let go of me!" Yuuji snarled, as he launched another attack with his free hand. Sukuna caught this one just as easily, now holding both of Yuuji's fists in two of his four hands.
"Such fury, though your words lack refinement," Sukuna mused, sounding more amused than anything else. "You have quite the great amount of strength. You fight well, child – as expected of my blood."
"Stop saying that!" Yuuji roared, ancient japenese now flowing naturally, an instinctual act, based on his need to be understood. The words known to him, through the bleeding of knowledge and memory when he and Sukuna were one.
Yuuji tried to wrench himself free, but Sukuna's grip was unbreakable. "I'm not your-"
"Not my what? My son?" Sukuna's laugh was different – warmer, lacking its usual cruelty. "The evidence is in your very being. Your cursed energy sings with my power. Tell me, boy, who is your mother?"
Yuuji's response was another attempted attack, trying to break free and kick at Sukuna's midsection. One of Sukuna's free hands easily blocked it.
"My lord," Uraume interjected smoothly, "his clothing is strange, and he seems disoriented. Perhaps he's injured?"
"Perhaps," Sukuna agreed, studying Yuuji's face with increasing interest. "Though that doesn't explain such hatred. Tell me, child – what has filled you with such rage against your own father?"
"You're not my father!" Yuuji spat, still struggling. "You're a monster! A curse! You-"
"A curse?" Sukuna's eyebrows rose, his grip never wavering. "The King of Curses, they call me. Though you speak it with such personal hatred." His eyes gleamed with dark interest. "Tell me, child, what stories have you heard of me? What tales made you think you could challenge me and live?"
Yuuji froze at that, something finally clicking in his battle-ready mind. The forest around them was ancient, untamed. Sukuna's appearance was different – still four-armed and marked, still radiating malevolent power, but somehow more... present. More flesh and blood than the demon he knew. His cursed energy felt raw, primal, not the feel of age that he had gotten so familiar with when comparing it to Gojo-sensei's.
"Where..." Yuuji's voice faltered. "When..."
"Your confusion amuses me," Sukuna said, a cruel smile playing at his lips. "But your power... that interests me more. You bear my essence, child. Whatever brought you here, whatever filled you with such hatred – it matters little. You are mine."
The words sent a chill down Yuuji's spine.
"Come," Sukuna said, releasing one of Yuuji's hands but maintaining a firm grip on the other. "We have much to discuss, my unexpected son. Uraume, prepare suitable quarters. It seems my household has grown."
As Sukuna led him away through the ancient forest, Yuuji's mind spun with horrible realization. The Heian era. Somehow, he had ended up in the Heian era, face to face with a human Sukuna who genuinely believed Yuuji to be his son.
And unknowing to him, the worst part, he wasn't exactly wrong.