The Awakening {Gojo & Sukuna x Reader.}

☾︎6☽︎

She lay on the cold wooden floor, her body aching as if she had been crushed and pieced back together. Paper lanterns flickered dimly around the small, rectangular room, their golden glow casting long shadows against walls covered in talismans. Seals of protection. Restraint. Warnings.

Her wrists burned.

A sharp pain shot through her arms as she shifted, the thick ropes biting into her skin. Her hands were bound behind her, stretched toward opposite corners of the floor.

What the hell...?

"W-where am I?" Her voice cracked, dry as sandpaper. The sound barely left her lips, weak and foreign to her own ears.

Then, like a cruel joke, the last thing she remembered played in her head like a broken reel. The fire beneath her skin. The golden light swallowing her whole. The unbearable pain that felt like she was being ripped apart.

And then—

"Go-jo..." she mumbled, her vision blurring again. Sleep pulled at her, but just as her body went limp—

"Dreaming about me? I get that a lot."

That smug, familiar lilt cut through the silence.

Her eyes fluttered open slightly, her hazy mind scrambling to register where his voice was coming from. Had he been here the whole time?

Had she been out for hours? Days?

"Wa-ter," she rasped.

Silence. Then footsteps.

He crouched in front of her, pressing a cup to her lips. "Drink," he said simply.

The moment the water hit her tongue, she shivered. It wasn't cold, but it might as well have been the first sip of life after drowning. She swallowed greedily, fingers instinctively grabbing his for support as she gulped down every last drop.

He didn't move.

Didn't pull away.

Didn't say a word.

She only noticed the weight of his attention when she finally leaned back, taking a slow breath. Even without seeing his eyes, she felt it—his focus on her. Watching. Assessing.

It made her stomach twist.

"What... happened?" she murmured, glancing at her restrained wrists before taking in the unfamiliar room.

Gojo leaned back on his heels. "You unbelievably survived." His voice was light, casual—like he was commenting on the weather. "For now, at least."

Her expression darkened.

"You're controlling your cursed energy—for now—but you're not exactly stable."

She scoffed. "So what, am I gonna be tied up forever? Until when? Since when am I even like this?"

Gojo exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. And this is why I shouldn't have given her water.

"Always with the questions," he muttered, then sighed dramatically. "It's been five days since you started your little 'struggle,' but congrats! You finally woke up."

Her breath hitched. Five days?

"And before anything else," he continued, tilting his head slightly, "did you see anyone while you were out?"

She blinked. "People?"

"Yeah, y'know—mysterious old spirits, godly figures, anyone giving you cryptic life advice?"

She frowned. "No... I just saw my grandma. She told me it wasn't my time yet."

Gojo hummed, his fingers tapping against his knee.