Chapter 5
Seven o'clock.
Suiryu stood outside in wait along with the brothers. They appeared just as nervous as he was. Ryujin, the great dragon that possesses Yuuji will be arriving shortly. "Did I make enough? I hope I made enough…" muttered Eso as he appeared concerned.
"You filled the table and the counters," Junpei stated. "I am sure it will be enough, if not, we will make more. Suiryu did splurge on that updated kitchen, pantry, holding oven and walk in fridge for you."
"And how, no regrets" Suiryu decreed.
Then he froze.
The power was approaching them, and then, he appeared. His hair bleach white yet shined like sliver in the moonlight. Not far from his side was Kitsune who was visible to the brothers for the first time. "Whose the lady?" whispered Sho.
"Kitsune, this is brother's guardian, don't piss her off" he warned. "That's my job"
Ryujin stood before them. He peered into the face of the curse wombs before smiling and nodding with approval. "Has life been satisfactory to you?" he asked of them.
They were taken aback by the deep voice. "Yes, it has… thank you" Junpei managed to say and lower his head. His brothers followed. "You brought us back, we cannot thank you enough…"
He returned the bow. "You helped this fledgling through a difficult time, it's appreciated. Now… I understand there is food?" he asked as he licked his lips. "I have been looking forward to this all day,"
They invited Ryujin in, just as he walked past Suiryu, Kitsune took out a wallet and placed it into his hands. "Wait… you took my wallet!?" he demanded.
"Young master didn't have enough funds to pay for Ryujin's outing… so thank you…" she said and gave a devious grin.
"Something tells me my bank account got assaulted…"
#
They froze and watched with amazement.
Junpei couldn't believe what he was seeing, at the same time, it wasn't much of a shock. Ryujin was going to town to say the least, devouring everything he could get his hands on. Oddly enough, keeping pace was Suiryu. All four of his eyes were widened as he ate. "This… is… AMAZING!" Suiryu shouted. "These Kimchi burgers… I could die eating these and regret nothing!"
"Oh… thank you," Eso said nervously.
"These are some of the finest offerings I have ever indulged upon." Ryujin said with great admiration. "Mmm, Eso is it? You have my sincerest gratitude for the meal,"
Eso appeared to be on the brink of tears. "It's such a compliment…"
"You earned it brother!" Junpei called. "You have never made a bad dish. Look you even made falafels! We're proud meat eaters but these are great!"
"I agree," said Sho. "Everything is delicious."
Thankfully, Eso made just enough to ensure everyone was satisfied. Ryujin appeared most content at the table. "I am now jealous of the fledgling… to indulge in such meals…"
"Well, perhaps you and Yuuji could switch more often?" Suiryu said offhandedly. "Just ask to borrow my bank card from now on…"
Ryujin smirked, but then, he became serious. "I have a favor to ask of the table, and I will be requesting one as well from fledgling's friends." He announced. They were all ears. "There is a body thief of the divine strolling the streets as we speak. They are in search of Itadori, and I can already tell their mission is to obtain him. There's a binding vow in place. This thief is going to attempt to bring Itadori to Hong Kong for the Divine users to obtain me."
Choso sneered at the information. "It's just like Noritoshi Kamo…" he said in a disgusted tone. "The same curse user that used our mother… and made us…"
"Very similar," Ryujin said gently. "And I am deeply sorry for how it affected you, your family and mother…"
He nodded in gratitude to Ryujin's words. "What is to be done with this body thief?" he asked.
"Easy, kill them, right? Done" Suiryu said.
"Not yet," Ryujin insisted.
This made the table pause. "What do you mean?" Junpei asked.
"This body thief needs to pay the price, I want to torment them for a bit… nothing serious since I want him to possess Itadori"
No one moved at the table, not even Kitsune.
"Master?!" she asked.
"Hear me out." Ryujin insisted. "The body thief's power grows each time he takes a new host to live in. Not much different from me before I obtained Itadori. But the difference is this. He evicts the souls of those who he takes from, they are pushed into his old body and are killed before they could even attempt to fight back. So, I say is this. I am going to seal off Itadori's divine energy. In that, they will only have curse energy, but I will be taking nearly all of that away as well. I will keep Itadori with me, but at the same time, I don't want this body thief to think he's won… after all, he has to get to Hong Kong… how can he if certain… events keep happening?"
There came an evil grin over Suiryu. "Mentally break him… I like it!" he said.
Ryujin nodded. "In the mean time, I want to probe his essence. For in order to switch bodies the way he does, he must obtain at least part of this victim's soul to remain in it. That is also because for the past 200 years, he's been prying on the divine users. So, will you assist me?"
Suiryu smirked. "Like you have to ask. I would LOVE to torment this asshole… but he's going to be in Yuuji's body right? So we can't do anything too extreme…"
"Please, I am certain young master wouldn't mind. We will inform him ahead of time won't we?" Kitsune asked.
Ryujin shook his head. "Then the thief will know it's a trap. Sadly we cannot inform Itadori of what we plan on doing. I will explain everything to him though. And I will ensure he is kept safe. After all, the thief is merely going to think his power has grown strong enough that he doesn't have to take the soul fragment… in reality he won't be able to obtain Itadori doing so… it would kill the thief."
"Damn, that would have been a good show to watch though…" Suiryu muttered.
"That would be the grand finally." Ryujin snickered. "But at the moment, not a word to Yuuji. I promise to protect him, no harm will come to the fledging, but this thief… I want him to be tormented, mentally and a little physically to say the least. He won't have proper understanding of this body either."
Suiryu appeared to be on board, but the rest of the brothers hesitated. Junpei did too. "Yuuji doesn't like it when someone takes over his body and forces him to do things he doesn't want to do… it's no better than allowing Sukuna to have free reign isn't it?" Junpei asked.
"Proper measures will be in place. I will not permit this thief to do any harm to anyone around him. As well, he won't be able to do much when he is going to be constantly monitored." Ryujin explained.
"I'll be the most annoying little brother… then again perhaps I should seek some advice on that… just a moment…"
THUD!
The table jumped as Suiryu went face first into the table, he didn't move!
"Uh… should we be worried?" asked Sanso.
"He went into a meditative state. He won't be long." Ryujin said. "Remarkable how he can go into one so quickly…"
"I have half a mind to draw on him as he sleeps…" snickered Kitsune.
"That reminds me… Miss Kitsune… you're looking after our brother aren't you?" asked Sho.
She merely nodded her head. "Yes, I am."
Suddenly the brothers stood up from their seats, and lowered their heads to her! Junpei did too. "THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF BROTHER!" they shouted proudly.
She was taken aback by the gesture but graciously bowed back.
"I have to know though… why did you bring us back? We know Suiryu suggested the idea… yet you, Ryujin went through with it. Why?" Choso asked.
Ryujin was silent for a moment, until he looked to the table. "I know what it's like to be separated from your family." He said gently. "The choice for both of us wasn't exactly a choice now was it? Your mother was used for an experiment… my mother lived in constant fear that my siblings and I would be killed. Being a dragon is quite cut throat where I came from. But mother protected us as best she could. Sadly though, my father died before I even got a chance to know him."
"What about your mother?" asked Sho.
"I can't see her again in this form…" he explained. "I would have to transcend this world and return to the realm where she lives, but I don't have the strength for the journey. She's just out of reach for me to communicate with as well. At the same time, if I return. I will be killed."
The table fell silent. "Killed?" Junpei whispered.
Ryujin nodded.
"Despite how he appears, dragons in the spiritual realm are bastards." Said Kitsune. "Nearly all males kill their own children, especially those who they know will exceed them in power and strength. Ryujin would have been very powerful, he would have exceeded his father who was one of the most dominant dragons of the realm, if allowed to grow and become a full fledge adult. But, it wasn't the case."
"Dragons kill their own young?" whispered Eso.
"The powerful male offspring are killed yes, even if they weren't their own, they will kill other male offspring if they deem them a threat. Ryujin was one of them, but before they could do so. He escaped to the mortal realm. He's been here ever since."
"Ryujin…" whispered Choso. "You do know how it feels…"
"I have seen you through this fledgling's memories. Some of you have fought him, and were killed at his hand. But he saw your humanity and so did I. I felt your love and concern for your brothers, and knew that moment, you were no mere curses… you were humans dealt a terrible hand. It's a shame I couldn't have made you human, but at the same time. You are able to help Itadori when he needs it. Also… I do enjoy this kin ship he has with you. I know he may not call you brothers full heartedly just yet, but at the same time. He feels connected to all of you. It's rather nice."
Eso was teary eyed once more. In fact most of the brothers were! Junpei then felt a tear trickle down his own eye!
"We cannot thank you enough Ryujin for this," said Junpei. "I… may not really be part of his family, but I am grateful to have it."
Suddenly, Junpei felt the whole room stare at him. "You ARE part of his family!" Sho protested. "Don't you dare say otherwise!"
"How did such a thought get in your head?" demanded Choso. "Little brother, if you were not one of us, you wouldn't be sitting at the table"
Junpei paused but then smiled.
Then Suiryu snapped back up. "Okay back." He announced. The table jumped as he did that! "What?"
"How… you were out cold and now…" said Eso.
"Oh, I can go into a meditative state easily," he laughed. "But I got some nice information to use." His smile turned twisted as an evil look came on his face. "This asshole won't know what hit him."