wanderer - Sukuna x reader

8.

new light  新しい光

That day started off as usual: Sukuna dressed himself and took kamutoke out with him, just in case he were to encounter a village worth his time, while y/n vaulted over the grand front gate and headed towards the training ground, withdrawing the tachi from its saya and laying the cover down gently. She always believed in treating such finely crafted things with care. the day had started the same as any other however higher powers had other plans. 

Sukuna walked quietly alongside the river that ran around the base of the mountain, contemplating. It sickened him to see what a thoughtful loser he was acting like lately but with each passing day that great cavern inside of him grew and grew and began to consume his mind- not just at night, but in the day too. Recently he'd found that in the midst of the havoc he would wreak upon the powerless humans, he'd lose himself to contemplation and begin zoning out. Sukuna was sick and tired of how dull and colourless life had become for him and that feeling frustrated him greatly. He kicked a rock into the river and continued walking, the violent splash ringing out through the silent forest. He was the most powerful sorcerer; he had riches higher than the mountain on which he lived, he could claim any land he liked, he could defeat any sorcerer or curse in his path and he could bed any maiden he pleased. He could do anything he wanted- he was leading the ultimate life of self-indulgence and pleasure. So when did the joy get sucked out of doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wished to? Deep down Sukuna new that more land, more riches, more blood and more women would never alleviate him of the great weight upon his chest. His mind felt weighed down and he knew it was not from bearing the weight of his crown. 

Deciding to step out of his typical routine, for the first time since she had arrived Sukuna visited y/n. 

She'd worked up a real sweat under the glaring sun. It had been at least two hours of hard training and y/n felt utterly alive. She danced around the training field, swinging the tachi and imagining it were gliding through soldiers and village folk. She took extra pleasure in imagining that those elder sorcerers who supressed her soul were on the receiving end of the more brutal attacks she was determined to perfect. Vermillion eyes in her peripheral just so happened to distract her mid-air, causing her to miss her footing and land with a thud, sword piercing the ground dangerously close to her body. 

'that was a catastrophic landing.' Sukuna's monotonous stating of the obvious irked the pouting woman in front of him. Standing up furiously and fumbling to pick up her tachi and hold it menacingly , y/n served him a chilling golden glare. 

'well actually i would've landed perfectly had you not..' Y/n trailed off, too proud to admit that seeing him for the first time in over half a year had rendered her frozen. Sukuna took an uncharacteristic delight in her flustered and mildly embarrassed expression.

'had i not what, brat?' Y/n growled at him through gritted teeth, knuckles turning a ghostly white as she gripped her tachi like she was trying to strangle it. 

'had you not stood in my way!' Sukuna chuckled, making it apparent he wasn't buying it. Despite the air of confidence and cockiness he was radiating, Sukuna's mind was racing to simply process the almost playful moment he felt they were having. What was that feeling? That urge to stay right there in that moment, and not to kill her then storm away?

His tongue caught up with his mind and he retorted 'Or perhaps you simply haven't lifted a page of those books'. This strange teasing and the unusually friendly look on Sukuna's face was just as foreign to y/n as it was to the man himself. Though her face wouldn't show it, her heart quickened at the sight of his surprisingly pleasant smile. Hold on a second- 'Actually i'll have you know i read every single p- wait.' Sukuna's smile dropped.