SUBMIT

16

        A wheel slipped through the gaps of her masks, and they parted enough for her to see who stood in front of her.

Sukuna stood there, mostly unharmed if it wasn't for the evidence of dust and dirt coating his clothes. He held the wheel that used to be stuck to the back of the shikigami in his hold, holding it out to her with a neutral expression on his face. He raised it and grunted, "Here, your souvenir. It's not gonna stay for long, so the most I can do is let you touch it."

Menreiki stretched out her hand, her fingers curling around the wheel and raising it out of Sukuna's grasp. It was heavy in her hold, but smooth to the touch and there wasn't a splotch of blood, almost as if it had never been attached to anything. She rested it against the building wall that she and the others had been leaning against, watching as it disappeared into a thick glob of black and dispersing into the shadows of the building.

The man with light blond hair stared at Sukuna with wide eyes filled with disbelief.

Sukuna didn't even look at him as he muttered lowly, "What're you looking at? Begone."

As the boy started to walk away slowly, it soon turned into a light jog as he escaped the presence of the two curses. Sukuna turned his head before jerking it in the direction of the boy, "He's yours?"

"Not at all," Menreiki responded lightly, which caused Sukuna to let out a breath of agitation as his lips curled up in disgust. As Sukuna started to make his way to where Menreiki was, the latter watched as the boy who thought he escaped was vertically sliced in half. Sukuna paused in his steps as they heard the boy take his last breath behind them, "Not much longer."

Menreiki looked at him to notice his hands shaking, quivering as if he had lost too much strength from the fight against the shikigami. She started to part away from the unconscious boy beside her, making her way close to Sukuna, "I will be going now."

He didn't respond to her, and she took that as a sign to leave. However, his trembling hand steadied against her skin when he caught her wrist, causing her to cease her movements. She glanced at Sukuna, finding his gaze to still be burning with that fire that he had for many years. He tugged her forward, and she stayed where she was for a second before deciding to move close. He puffed out a breath of air on her face, which caused her to lightly tap his face in response.

"Wait for me. Got it, you insufferable woman?" She stayed quiet, which caused him to tighten his grip on her. "Menreiki."

"I do not wait for anyone. Just come get me," Menreiki said as she took her hand back, floating back to create distance between them. "If you can, that is."

She could hear Sukuna tsk as she started making her way out of the area, drifting to return back to Geto's side. There wasn't much to do, and she was much too tired to deal with more misfortune that fate wanted to drop at her feet. She also decided that she needed some time to realign her thoughts after her time with Sukuna. Her mind was practically empty after she left him, and continued to be as her body went into autopilot until she heard a murmur echo in the hallway, "Malaysia . . . Yeah, Malaysia . . . Kuantan would be nice."

Menreiki slowly followed the sound of the voice, until another one joined it soon enough, one that she was familiar with. There was amusement tinting it, a little bit higher in pitch but serious nonetheless, "Wanna chat? We go way back, after all."

She was met with the sight of Mahito pressing his hand against the naked and charred abdomen of someone familiar. The light shine of messy blond hair and the weapon by their side, however, was enough for Menreiki to know of who stood before her. She wasn't sure who had managed to harm him so badly he looked like he was on the brink of death, but if she had to assume from the wounds he bore on his skin, he had encountered Jogo not too long ago. The same heat that used to exude from the volcanic curse could be felt still radiating from his skin even from where she stood at a distance. Menreiki held a sense of pity amongst seeing him teetering on his feet, and even more so as ragged breaths left him.