𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑 。𝘫𝘶𝘫𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘶 𝘬𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘯

𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞

Later that night, Kaiya was back in her dorm, sitting at her vanity as usual. She didn't feel like lying down. She glanced out of the corner of her eye, seeing Noritoshi asleep on her bed. She couldn't sleep once again.

Kaiya picked up her phone and leaned back in her chair. She suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She tried to turn, but the person who snuck inside her room covered her mouth and put their other hand on her shoulder to push her back down in her chair.

"Shh..."

Kaiya widened her eyes in disbelief. Her eyes went wide with fear as she looked up to meet their eyes in the mirror.

Sukuna Ryoumen was standing behind her with his red eyes slightly glowing in the dark of her room. "Don't be too loud. You'll wake your friend," Sukuna leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Understand?"

Kaiya nodded. Sukuna slowly moved his hand down on top of her other shoulder. "You got my message?" Sukuna asked, "And remember what I told you about lying." She nodded her head with hesitation.

"What do you want?" Kaiya asked softly.

"To talk," Sukuna answered. "Curse to curse. We didn't get the chance last time we met."

"How are you here?"

"The brat fell asleep. The rest isn't important." There was something so smug about his answer that made Kaiya's blood boil. She stayed silent though, she didn't have a death wish after all.

Kaiya gulped nervously, "Please–"

"--Begging's not gonna do you any good, Kaiya." She felt his grip on her tighten for a brief moment, a quick squeeze to remind her of the situation she was in. Kaiya went quiet, maintaining eye contact with him through the mirror. She was worried that he knew her name. She assumed he must've learned it through Itadori. She wondered how many things he must know through the poor kid.

"What do you want?" She repeated.

In a quick motion, Sukuna turned her chair around and put his hands on the arms of the chair, leaning over her, "I want to make a deal with you."

She leaned further back into her seat, "A deal? I'd rather die."

"Ah, don't get ahead of yourself. If you join me again, I'll remove the Shinimi and Reaper curse from you and your bloodline," Sukuna said. Kaiya gasped softly, widening her eyes in disbelief. "With those restrictions gone, you'd be unstoppable. Can you even imagine using your cursed energy without any negative drawbacks?"

"All you have to do... Is join me again," He continued, "I can help you unlock your potential. I know you know you have the power to become an incredible curse. You haven't even unlocked the true power of Corruption. I've seen Corruption decimate civilizations in an instant. So... What do you say?"

She turned her head away, looking at Noritoshi who had his back turned to them. Think about him. He wouldn't want you to do this. Kaiya bit her bottom lip in concentration, trying to shake the feeling of Sukuna silently waiting for her answer. God, his presence is overwhelming.

"I... I don't know..."

"Then think about it, okay?" Sukuna reached up and moved her hair behind her shoulder to observe the faint bruises on her throat left behind by him. He didn't comment on them.

He pulled back from Kaiya, "The offer is out now, Shinimi Kaiya. And you can take it whenever you want to. Whether it's tomorrow or five years from now." He made his way to the door, "Maybe the next time we meet, we won't be enemies."

"I wouldn't count on it," Kaiya replied.

"Oh, I do. Don't forget, your kind was loyal to me first."

And before she knew it, he was gone. She stood up from her seat and looked around, he was really gone.

"Kaiya?"

She turned around at the sound of her name, finding Noritoshi was awake now and looking at her with a confused look on his face. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked. She nodded, "Yeah... I'm fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Don't worry about it. Are you sure you're okay? You seem shaken."

"Oh, it's nothing."

Noritoshi sat up and offered his hand out to her, "It's never nothing with you. Come here." Kaiya walked over to him and put her hand in his. She climbed into the bed beside him and nuzzled up against his side.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," She replied, "Nori, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"If you could bring your mom back... But it would cost your humanity... Would you do it?"

"No." His answer was almost immediate, with no sense of hesitating in his words either. She glanced up at him, "Why?"

"Because she told me to become a strong sorcerer, to help people, and then I could find her," Noritoshi replied, putting one hand behind her head and the other around her waist. Kaiya nearly melted in his arms, he made her feel safe like no one ever has.

"If I lost my humanity along the way, it wouldn't make her happy. I hope that answers your question."

Kaiya nodded, "It does."

"Why are you asking?" He asked.

"Just thinking... If I had that choice, I don't think I'd know what to do," Kaiya replied with a soft tone. She was unsure of herself. Sukuna offering to take away the only things that have restricted her was tempting indeed.

"That's understandable," Noritoshi replied, calm as ever, "Your parents passed away. My mother is still out there. You're being asked to bring the dead back to life, I'm not."

Kaiya went quiet, thinking about his answer. Noritoshi turned his head to look at the clock, "It's rather late. I should probably get some sleep before I head back to Kyoto."

"Yeah... Yeah, I can move–"

Noritoshi's arm around her tightened slightly, "It's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am."

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a/n: me n who