Chapter 2

"And that is good for today!"

Suiryu sighed aloud, and he had been working since the early morning. It's now mid-afternoon, and D'angelo finally had enough. "Great work, darling… sorry about this odd smell, we can't seem to find where the hell it's coming from!" he said.

"Yeah, no worries, nothing serious," he said offhandedly. 'Shit, even after four showers and all the body wash in the bathroom, still it lingers…' he thought.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you. You and your brother HAVE to do another horror photo session. People are eating it up! My God, you two looked so creepy!" he said and laughed. "I got Bloodbore beating down my door for you two!"

Bloodbore, he heard about them through Junpei and his horror movies, those guys are on the top of the industry to say the least when it comes to scary shit like that.

"Yuuji isn't fussed on the camera or being in the picture…" Suiryu said offhandedly. "But I'll work him over!" he vowed. 'Like hell, I am going that solo again in a loincloth…'

"Well, thanks again for today… oh, that reminds me, how have your cheques been? Are they adequate for you?"

He never really checks his account, so for argument's sake, he did. As he peered at his balance, he paused. "Huh… I don't remember it having that many zeros…" he muttered.

D'angelo smiled proudly. "That's because of your pay raise, as well, all the companies that are buying up your image, I may have to pay you one percent of the sales for what I use, but for big names… it's ten, darling!"

He nodded to it. "Thank you for that,"

As he turned to leave, D'angelo shouted. "When are we going to do one with you and your girlfriend!?"

Suddenly, he couldn't remember how to breathe.

His heart skipped a beat.

He felt his face flush for an odd reason but quickly settled himself. "The moment she has the time, Nobara is just as busy as I am…"

"Ooo Nobara, huh? That's your honey's name… I'll remember that!" he vowed.

As Suiryu left the agency, he couldn't help but wonder what the hell that sensation was. "What happened to my body?" he muttered. Peering down at his hands, he placed his right hand over his heart. It was beating relatively fast at the mention of her. "I should ask brother about this; I don't know if this is a good thing or not…" he said to himself.

"SURPRISE!"

Yuuji suddenly came out of nowhere and pulled Suiryu into a hug!

He quickly shoved Yuuji off. "Ooo, man, you do stink still!" he snickered.

"Shut up!" Suiryu snapped back but paused. "Something happened to me in the agency, and they asked me when they would be doing a photo session of Nobara and me… I forgot how to breathe for a moment…"

Yuuji only smiled. "I think you are in love."

"But it was different from the last time that happened! I mean when Nobara kissed me…" he paused as his heart went off. "Damn it, and there it goes again!"

His brother's grin only grew as Suiryu found it somewhat perplexing and frustrating at the same time. "What the hell is happening to me!" he demanded.

Yuuji giggled. "It's emotions," he whispered into his ear.

Suiryu froze as he stared at him oddly. "I… I have those?" he whispered.

"More or less, remember, you said so yourself. You haven't been human; this is all a learning process for you. Right now, it's how you feel about Nobara, isn't it?" he asked gently.

His head nodded. "But, she doesn't feel the same way about me…" he muttered.

"Well, not yet; as I said before, you need to win over a lady slowly. It takes time, and you have not been pushing yourself on her, which is a good thing!"

"Tch, it all seems to be too much trouble…"

Yuuji, however, kept up with the smile. "Why not try asking her out again?" he suggested. "I mean, you two had fun at the fashion party, you could just go as friends?"

Suiryu paused. "I don't even think I am registered as a friend to her either,"

"Perhaps I should see about that…"

"Don't get too involved!" Suiryu warned. "I want to do this myself too, and you can't keep interfering when I am still learning!"

He was taken aback by his outburst, yet Yuuji nodded in understanding.

"Besides, you are the one to talk; how can you offer advice on a female?"

They paused.

Suiryu stared at Yuuji and he to him. Peering out of the corner of his eye, Yuuji's hand reached up and felt a mouth on the left side of his face!

Instantly, he covered it up. "Ryujin?" he whispered in shock. "Since when…"

"Wait, before he speaks, let's get the hell out of a public place!" Suiryu warned.

They were quick to get back to school; from there, Yuuji revealed his hand

but the mouth was gone!

"Why did you do that?!"

It then appeared on his right hand. "This brings back unpleasant memories…" Yuuji said. "Ryujin, since when…"

"Just learned to do this recently, so Sukuna did this to you as well, huh? I must admit, it's nice to see the outside world every so often…"

He rolled his eyes to it all. "All you need to do is ask if you want to go out. I don't mind letting you! You're not out to kill people."

Suiryu sighed aloud. "Ryujin, why are you trying to offer us advice on women?" he asked.

The mouth moved to the right side of Yuuji's face; there, the eye became that of a dragon. The smile formed as Ryujin said. "Despite my appearance as well as being a dragon, I have observed humans and their courtships for a while; it's rather perplexing since every human is different, yet at the same time, there is also a pattern, the females like pleasant surprises!" he explained. "Yuuji, the young female you have been with, Yuko, is it?" he nodded. "How would you like to impress her? But there is a catch…"

"Huh? Wait, I'm not having girl issues!" he protested.

"I will get to Suiryu in a moment, but you… I am rather fascinated with and this female you have been around; she's rather nice."

"Oh God, we are getting dating advice from a dragon…" muttered Suiryu.

"You are, and do either one of you have a better idea to attract a mate?"

Both of them paused to each other.

"Fuck…." Muttered Suiryu.

"Damn, wait… MATE!" Yuuji protested. "Whoa, hold it, that can't happen for me!"

Ryujin peered up. "Why not?"

Yuuji sighed. "Well… I'm a curse now, aren't I? If I were to have a relationship…" suddenly his voice trailed off, and he went silent. "It would only cause trouble… and heartbreak…"

Silence befell them.

"Only if you allow it so," Ryujin said. "Despite what you have become, Yuuji Itadori, you are not part of either three worlds as a whole. You are still human, you are a curse, and you are divine… Nothing has existed up until this point of such a being. It will be interesting to see what you make of yourself."

Suiryu cleared his throat. "Well then, if you are throwing around advice, I'll bite. What do you have in notion for me?"

Ryujin smiled. "Do you know where Nobara goes every Tuesday night?"

It caught both of them off guard. "Can't say that I do, she just says she is going out, she always comes back miserable and the next day…"Suiryu stated.

Yuuji shuttered as his face turned white as he appeared to blank out. "You avoid her at all costs that day…" Yuuji said in a very startled tone.

"Well, a little friend of mine told me where she goes, and she happens to be upset because she can't get in." the dragon's eye came upon Suiryu. "I do believe this is all the information you need. Trail her that night, don't let her see you, but make your move the moment you understand where she is and why she cannot enter."

Suiryu paused once more as he turned to Yuuji. "How the hell does a dragon, trapped for a thousand years, have better girl advice than the two of us put together?" he demanded.

"I wish I knew… I really did…"

"Now Yuuji, you and I have to talk. Suiryu… you may want to try a sage body scrub to get that stench out; I can smell you from here."

"Fuck you!" he snapped back, but then smelt himself and shuttered at the stench. "Damn curses…"