Ghost of the Living

Chapter 8: The Full Moon

The morning of the full moon is peaceful, you almost forget what day it is. Sukuna seems to have slept the previous night, making him much more agreeable when you deliver his morning tea. Which is probably a good thing for you.

"Your morning tea, your highness?" You say quietly as you enter his quarters. He's still laying in his bed, slightly propped up by pillows. You can tell he's not asleep though, based on the feeling of his red-hot gaze tracking you.

"Over here, brat." Sukuna raises an arm to gesture to his bedside table, before lifting himself up with a sigh, propping one knee up to rest an arm on. His voice is deeper than normal, a roughness to it that's only explained by recently waking up.

"Of course. Sleep well?" You arrange the platter on the small table, glancing at him occasionally.

"Mm," he hums noncomittedly, letting you pour his first cup. You move to the side to open the curtains looking over the gardens just how he normally does, then begin tidying up the rest of the room.

You can still feel his eyes on you even as he's looking out the window at the sunset, the lower set watching you while you clean. You try not to meet his gaze, but eyes like his demand attention from any allowed to look upon them.

There's a different look to his eyes, sharp like the hunter he is, but softer than normal. Slightly glowing in the dim lighting, the golden rays of sunrise glinting off them. There's an unreadable expression in them, beneath the crimson depths, but you can't discern it before you decide to look away. That was probably already pushing your luck.

You turn to the scroll shelf, rearranging them back into alphabetical order. Over the past few days you've been able to make progress in your free time, but every time you do they seem to get unorganized by the next day.

Wonder who could've done that.

You chuckle under your breath, but keep your thoughts to yourself. At least, until he decides to speak up.

"Something funny?" Sukuna asks, his throat still gravelly, but not as much as before. It's quieter than normal, too. You'd think it even contained an almost softer lilt, too, if you didn't know any better.

"Of course not. Just noticed something," you explain.

"And that is?"

"Well, I've been alphabetizing your scrolls, as you've allowed me to do to occupy my time. And yet every morning I return, my work seems to be undone." You let a grin grace your lips, moving to collect his clothes that require cleaning. Sukuna only hums, seemingly not interested. At this point, however, you know better. "Know anything about that?"

"What makes you think I would?" Sukuna grumbles, shifting his sitting position to watch you better. Well, he disguises it as the sun getting in his eyes. But you know better, he has a habit of watching you. You chuckle again, looking back to him.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you liked having me around, Sukuna."

Half a moment passes before you freeze, realizing your mistake. You barely give yourself time to process his slightly widened eyes and surprised expression before you're mumbling your apologies and rushing out of the room with his clothes.

Speed walking your way to the cleaning chambers, you ignore the way the other maids, servants, and curse users stare at you. Starting to stumble in your haste, a dizzying nausea overtakes you. You barely make it to the cleaning chambers before collapsing, tripping over your own feet. Burning bile rises in your throat while spots dance across your vision, you squeeze your eyes shut and cover your mouth while you take deep breaths to stave it off.