Chapter 8

Yuuji went to bed that night rather happily.

His date went perfectly and now, he was able to reflect upon it. It made him feel all warm and fuzzy in a sense, he hasn't had this sensation in a while. "Maybe it can work out…" he said to himself.

However, the night was a little draining on him, he yawned aloud before deciding to go to sleep.

The dream that came though, was weird.

He was confronted by the curse he ate, the volcano one named Jojo. The two stared each other down oddly before the curse glared at him. "You brat! You consumed me!"

He was taken aback. "Shit, I didn't just become YOUR vessel did I?" Yuuji asked offhandedly.

Jojo sneered at him. "What is happening to me? What is going on? This doesn't feel like death!" he protested.

They stood where there was nothing but white all around them, there were no ceilings, doors or floors. They just stood there, existing in this space. It felt much like Gojo sensei's unlimited void domain. "I don't understand it myself… But if I am talking to you, it means you are still alive in me or something…"

"Consume…" a voice echoed.

"You hear that?" Yuuji asked.

"I hear nothing boy!" it snapped back, but then, smiled. "If I am still alive, that must mean I can still cause great harm to you… can't I?"

Jojo fingers poised themselves for an attack, but then the voice came over Yuuji once more. "Consume the fire, consume the fire…"

"Weird, that doesn't sound like Ryujin…"

Jojo froze. "R… Ryujin…" he said in a trembled voice. "Why… why do you speak such a name?"

"Oh, didn't you know? Ryujin was put into me the day I ate the last of Sukuna's fingers and was going to be killed. But he took out Sukuna and then took his place in me. I hold on to a dragon now," he said in a rather upbeat tone. "But now, something is echoing in my head, telling me to eat you again."

Jojo's look didn't change, in fact, he was looking rather horrified to his statement. "Eat me… again?" he whispered. "Why… who would tell you such a thing?!"

His shoulders shrugged. "Dunno to be honest with you. I have never heard this voice before either…"

His stomach suddenly growled.

Yuuji turned to Jojo oddly, and began to lick his lips. "You know, for a curse, you didn't taste all that bad to me… I'm also not a picky eater to say the least," he said and smiled.

Jojo began stumbling back. "Stay away! I am warning you boy, stay away!" He raised two fingers towards him, as if he tried to summon the lava he is able to control. But nothing materialized. "What… my power… where is my power?" he whispered.

The more Itadori stared at him, the more he began to see something within Jojo. There was a pulsing red orb embedded in his chest, and the more Yuuji stared at it, the louder the voice came to his head. "Consume the fire, consume the fire…"

He began to stalk Jojo, licking his lips once more at the sight of him.

Jojo stumbled back, but begged for his life as he prostrated himself on the ground. "Please, don't! Not again! I beg of you, new King of curses, King Itadori! Please… don't consume me!"

But his mind was made up.

Yuuji wrenched him to his feet, and stared into the eye of the curse. "I only ate you the last time, in hopes that you suffered as much as you made my sensei suffer. But now, I get to do it again, since I wasn't quite satisfied with how quickly it all ended…"

Yet as Yuuji held him in place, Jojo panicked as his body began to break down on its own. "What… what are you doing to me? What… what is happening… STOP!"

His own body crushed into itself, until it was nothing more than a pulsing red orb in his hand. "Consume the fire… consume the fire…" he voice whispered once more.

Itadori opened his mouth and did just that.

The orb was large but he managed to swallow it rather easily. He felt it hit his stomach instantly, then, his belly moaned to it. "Phew, that was hotter than last time…" he muttered offhandedly.

Then the groan followed.

His stomach churned as Yuuji suddenly went to his knees, the heat he felt spread throughout his limbs! "AH! It didn't do this the last time…"

Yet as he peered down at himself, he found the tips of his fingers were turning black…

#

He sat up and out of bed.

Yuuji broke out into a cold sweat from the dream, but fell back onto his pillow reflecting upon it. "I really need to be careful with what I eat from now on…" he muttered to himself.

He wanted to go back to sleep, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

What was the dream trying to tell him?

He checked his hands just to be certain but found they were still normal… although he has to trim his finger nails tomorrow once more or they become talons. He sighed aloud once more to it all. "I know I shouldn't ignore this… I know…" he muttered.

With a sigh, he decided to go for a walk.

Yuuji just stepped outside when he found it had turned rather cold quickly. Yet he didn't appear to be bothered by it. A light frost covered the ground, he walked easily barefooted through the school yet still wondered what the dream was about.

"Couldn't sleep?"

He jumped as Suiryu suddenly appeared before him, hanging upside down in the tree!

It confused him greatly.

"Uh… Suiryu… Why are you in a tree?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes it's fun to sit in a tree for no damn reason. Also it's a lot easier to scare people," he said with a twisted grin. But the smile vanished when he stared at him. "You're troubled again, what's up this time?"

Yuuji paused. "A dream I just had, but… I don't think it was a dream now that I think about it." He explained it as best as he could to Suiryu, when he mentioned about eating the curse Jojo again, but it was different this time. "There came a voice saying consume the fire, but it wasn't mine, Ryujin's or anyone I have ever heard before. Yet, they told me to eat him again… I did. I wasn't going to have the bastard wonder around in there…"

"Not unless it's your digestive tract…" Suiryu said offhandedly as he came out of the tree. "What else?" he asked curiously. "What did the voice say?"

"Nothing more, just… consume the fire. Jojo's body got crushed into a small ball and it was a lot easier to eat, but still… why did it happen?" A pause came over Yuuji. "Suiryu, a lot of stuff I have encountered that I thought was a dream, never was a dream to begin with. I know this was something more than what I am being told, I just… I don't know what to make of it."

Suiryu fell silent as he began to think.

His eyes closed as he appears to space out when he goes deep into consideration. Yuuji knows better than to disrupt him as he this occurs, but normally he comes to some sort of conclusion in a few minutes. "Are we asking the right questions?" he said aloud.

"Right questions?"

"This so call dream you had, but you believe it wasn't. Which makes me believe that this indeed happened within yourself. At the same time, you are trying to understand the significant of it, the meaning behind it all. What is it trying to tell you? What are you getting from this? What does your body tell you?" he asked.

He never thought of it that way, he paused and tried to make sense of it. "It's warm…" he whispered as his lower left hand caressed his stomach. "I feel it in my core, and it's warming up. I mean. I'm outside barefooted in sleeping pants but I am not cold… see…" he breathed into the air and saw the mist come off his breath. "I should be freezing my ass off, but I am not the least bit bothered by the chill."

"Me either, we're wearing the same pants!" Suiryu said and laughed. But as his smile slinked away, he fell into deep thought again. "So you are saying there's a warmth in your core you haven't had before, not since this dream, correct?"

He nodded. "It feels… like when I first ate Jojo," he explained. "That heat that came to my stomach, but it was far more intense than what I am enduring now."

"Is it now?" Suiryu then began to look at him oddly, curious, he placed his hand on Yuuji's stomach as he tried to sense what was going on within him. He paused for a moment, his eyes closed but soon opened again. "I should be able to sense curse energy coming from your gut since you ate him… I got none of it,"

"Wait, that's not curse energy?" he demanded. He then placed his hand over his stomach, with great care he called back his own energy until he double-checked himself, his curse marks were gone, he focused on the divine power. When he used it on himself, he paused oddly. "It's not divine either…" he whispered.

He was careful to switch back to his former self before looking to Suiryu with confusion and worry. "What is it then? I mean, Jojo was a special grade curse!" he protested. "What's happening now…" he whispered in worry. He turned away trying to think things over, when he felt a gentle hand come on his shoulder. Peering up again, Suiryu smiled to him.

"Whatever comes, you and I will be ready for it. Okay?" he said gently.

Yuuji paused but then smiled for a moment. "I am not use to having someone support me like this…" he said offhandedly.

"I'm not use to supporting someone, so we're even on this aren't we?" he said with a smirk. "Besides, it's something new to learn, and I like to learn… we will make this an opportunity, won't we?"

"Huh?"

Suiryu turned to him. "Considering I got nothing up here on the matter and you know I got that dipshit's memories, this is something not even HE has encountered before… which is rare considering how old he was and how powerful he became. He would want to know everything inside and out. This… this does have me curious thought. I mean what kind of vitality did you get from a curse spirit, that wasn't curse energy?" he asked.

"I wish I knew, I really did…" Yuuji muttered.

"Either way, I got your back on this. Whatever comes, you and I will face it together," Suiryu decreed.

He nodded in agreement. "Thanks again Suiryu… I really am glad you're here." Yuuji said meekly.

"So am I, this world is a lot more livelier than that soul realm. I also think people are starting to warm up to me a little more… not by a lot mind you, but… a little… and that goes a long way for me."

"Well, we better get back to bed."

"You go ahead, me, I'm going to hang out here… I've been trying to catch Satoru off guard for a while… it's like a little game we're playing right now who can get the jump on the other. Even if it's a little jolt of fear." Suiryu climbed back into the tree, he took comfort on a branch and began to relax. "Just keep me posted if something changes in you or if it doesn't feel right, got it!"

"I promise,"

Yuuji said his goodnight as he went back to bed. He felt a little better talking things out with Suiryu, sometimes he still can't believe that he exists and is helping him out greatly. At the same time, he is grateful to have him at his side as a brother.