Show me (Ryomen Sukuna x Reader)

Checkmate ~ Ch35

3rd Point Of View

(Y/n) twirled around in her new kimono with a bright smile on her face, looking into the small mirror that Uraume had allowed her to use. The kimono that Uraume had tailored was one of an expensive fabric, nothing like the black ones she'd been wearing until now. The shade of red resembled somewhere between wine and crimson, looking nothing but outstanding.

The gold details were magnificent, including threading across the edges of the piece as well as a large detailed piece of a phoenix in fire (a foreign folktale, she soon found out from Uraume). The kimono was specially made by a tailor that was the wife of a supporter of the Lord in a nearby village, so compared to usual wait time, it only took two days. (Y/n) wondered how expensive it would have been. From the material to the gold thread, it was probably worth more than her life.

"This kimono...is just so beautiful." (Y/n) whispered to herself as she spun around once again in the mirror, trying to get a better look of the work of art that was stitched onto the back.
"I just don't understand...why would the Lord give me this?" The girl asked Uruame.
"He needs you to be seen." Uruame replied simply as she helped the girl tie the golden belt around her waist.

"But I had thought that as a member of his staff, my entire job was to be invisible to his eyes..." (Y/n) muttered with confusion, having remembered one of the rules that Uraume had told her upon her first day of arrival. She was very specifically supposed to wear black in order to blend with the floors. But now...she wasn't supposed to blend in with the floors?

"I do not think that the Lord thinks of you as mere staff anymore." Uraume told the girl simply before bowing as she intended to depart, leaving the room, leaving her drowning in her own pool of thoughts. She wondered what the lady meant by her words. If the Lord didn't think of her as mere staff anymore, then what did he see her as?

Uraume left (Y/n) alone in the East Wing after that, having left the mirror behind so that she could continue looking at her new kimono. That craziest thing for her was that by tomorrow, she'd be delivered another two pairs- so that she'd have something to wear as she washed and cleaned the other. (Y/n) smiled as she continued twirling, spending another ten minutes doing this over and over again before she could finally bring herself to leave her reflection alone.

As it was too late in the day to continue her translations, (Y/n) instead decided that she wanted to go outside and do some painting. But before she could allow herself to collect her inking supplies into her arms, she changed out of her new kimono back into her black one. (Y/n) didn't want to ruin such a beautiful piece with ink. When she was changed back into the black fabric, the girl collected all her supplies into her arms and headed outside.

Sitting on the front steps, (Y/n) unpacked her utensils and began working on a new piece. This piece was inspired by the folktale that the Lord had allowed her to read. She was drawing a man with a single tear running down his cheek, one side seeming emotional and the other side stoic and emotionless. It reminded her of the days that she wore her cuffs- how saddening it was to want to express her emotions but instead could only feel it clawing at the inside of her skin, begging to be released.

"That's quite impressive." A voice mused from behind the girl, making her flinch for just a mere moment until her mind recognised the husky low voice.
"T-Thank you, my Lord." (Y/n) stammered out, looking over at Sukuna who had squatted behind her to look over the girl's shoulder without her having noticed.
"Based off the fable I gave you, I presume?" Sukuna guessed, his eyes locked on the parchment.

"Indeed, my Lord." (Y/n) nodded, suprised that he guessed it so quickly. "Have you read the piece yourself, my Lord?" She then asked him curiously.
"A few years ago. Now, I do not read fables often. I do not have the time." Sukuna admitted as he rose to his feet as waked around the girl before sitting down on the steps beside her with a sigh.
"If I were you, I'd never leave that room." (Y/n) giggled innocently, making Sukuna scoff.