Chapter 17
Haunting…
That what has been going on… his mind, his dreams and thoughts are being haunted each and every time he goes to rest. Sukuna has never had such a thing happen to him before, he could sleep fine after slaughtering countless humans in a blink of an eye, but now. Each time he falls asleep, he hears… voices.
Not strange and unfamiliar ones, but those he has heard before.
They were nothing more than mumurs at first, that was but a few days ago. Yet, ever since he has been bounded to the Tooru, the voices grew louder.
"Ryomen… Ryomen… can you hear me Ryomen?"
One voice in particular was trying to reach out to him, he kept ignoring it and yet, the voice continued to speak. "If you can hear me Ryomen, please answer back… I'll keep trying to reach you until you do. I may not be strong enough yet for you to hear me… you may also not be ready to hear my voice either. But I will keep trying…"
Each and every night from that moment on, he heard this voice, and even so, the voice only continued to speak and address him. They also spoke of events… things that have happened in the past according to them, but none of it made sense to him. Not a single lick of it.
Yet, when he does hear this siren's voice… his heart flutters. It beats faster in excitement? He thinks it is but at the same time, he hasn't had this sensation in years!
Still, the voice continues to haunt him each night, making sleep all the more difficult to obtain. "I wouldn't have to sleep if I had my POWER!" he growled at himself. The tiredness was getting to him, that or this is the TRUE punishment Tooru has set out for him!
Perhaps he should confront her on the matter…
#
Things only got strange for Yua.
Somehow, a song had come into her head. She has never heard it before and yet, she has found herself humming it all day. She was walking with Satoru when the tune just came out of her. And yet, even then, she didn't remember what was spoken.
Gojo on the other hand appeared almost moved. "Where… what kind of song is that?"
"Huh?"
"The song you were singing, what kind of song was that?"
She paused oddly, unable to recall it herself. "It just… came out of me… I can't explain it." She said. They continued on their walk, when she began to sing. "Even though I am gone, I'll always be here. Clam your mind. Calm your fears. Our paths now, will bring us apart. But I will always live on in your heart. May I return, and our paths meet in a new land, I will find you…"
"And become your friend again…"
She froze.
Satoru froze.
They turned and saw a bewildered Sukuna… finish the song. "Wait, you know this song?!" Yua demanded of him.
Yet, there was this look of utter terror on his face. "I… don't!" he protested. "I never heard of it before!"
"Then how do you know the end of it?" Yua asked once more. "Sukuna, this just came into my head only a moment ago… I was going to sing that last part, how did you know it was the final part of the song?"
He didn't say anything. He appeared startled by his own actions, so much so he turned and walked away.
"Satoru… does this mean he knows my family?" she whispered. "If he knew this song well…"
"Please don't take this the wrong way," Satoru began to explain. "Yua, he confessed to eating most of your ancestors for the sake of power right? Memories can… influence those around them, even those that were stolen and taken by force. Perhaps it's the memories of your family coming through and he is unable to repress them?"
But this didn't feel like it.
She began to wonder if perhaps her ancestors are toying with Sukuna from beyond the grave for what he has done. But, she didn't know if she could be sure of it, at least not yet.
"Boy, are you full of surprises. That's twice now you got the drop on him!"
She froze. "So you knew…"
"Despite your curse energy not being out in full, it still lingered on the blanket. You get to do that to me later." He said with a playful grin.
She rolled her eyes to that, Satoru doesn't like it when she show attention to the others. Even Suiryu and Yuuji! She doesn't understand why it bothers him so much, those two only see her as a mother figure, nothing more.
Either way, she let the notion pass for the moment, still… that song resonated with her. It was familiar, but she couldn't quite explain it. "Death song…" she whispered.
"Huh?"
"Just thinking out loud… hey… Satoru. Did you know dragons have a death song? They sing it, just before they pass away. I wonder though… if what I am singing is a death song…"
"If that's the case, no more!" he protested to her. "Like hell I am going to lose you for singing that. Let Sukuna sing it and see what happens." He said and pouted. "Promise me?"
She nodded, but still, it felt strange to even consider it would be one, if so, did her family always have one? Was it because of Ryujin? She didn't know at this point.
Things were just getting more and more confusing…
"Hey Yua!"
She paused as Suiryu came towards her. Gojo sighed. "What do you want?!" he demanded. "I want to spend time with MY WIFE"
Suiryu however, ignored the hint as he turned back to her. "Yua, what you did before… can you do it again… please?" he asked gently enough.
She smirked to him. "I'll do you one better. I'll teach Nobara how to do it," she said.
His eyes lit up. "Really?!"
"Are you serious getting excited to be swaddled?" Satoru asked of him.
"Fuck you!" Suiryu snapped back, but regained his composure. "I would appreciate that Yua, thank you… unlike SOME people. I didn't get the privilege of being a child for very long, let alone knowing what it's like to have someone take care of you…"
"He has a point," she said innocently enough.
"Tch, to think I have to share her with you… Huh… Suiryu, you still have some of Sukuna's memories right?"
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Is there a song in your head, one you never heard of before?"
Suiryu looked rather confused. "Huh? You're asking me if there's a song stuck in my head from that bastard? Satoru… I sing… I always have a song stuck in my head…"
Gojo then began to sing a little of the song Yua was, Suiryu didn't react to it at all. "That one, heard of it before?"
He shook his head. "What the hell kind of song is that? It's like someone is dying or something… wait…" he paused and stared at Satoru oddly. "A death song?"
"So you know what that is?" Yua asked.
"Hell yeah, I remember a little bit of it… Yuuji and I had to sing one before this massive… dragon. I… can't fully recall why but we sang a song before him. I think it was to mourn our human lives or something. He said a song is needed to celebrate the soul and let it move on… or something… Dragons have one."
"But how do you know that was a death song?" Satoru asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know for sure if it is, but it feels like it… I can sense that in my own soul… recognizing it." He paused and glared at Satoru. "How do you know this?"
"Yua was humming it earlier, then, she started to sing it… but this is the crazy part. Sukuna finished the song!" he laughed.
There was this look on Suiryu, one Yua had never seen before. As if he was devastated by the fact that Sukuna knew this! "Is this true?" he asked of Yua.
She could only nod her head to him. "Yes, it's true." She said.
Suiryu's look changed. He became rather serious. "Don't speak of it again, don't sing that song again… I need to get to the bottom of this…"
"Suiryu…" Yua began to ask.
"He shouldn't know a death song!" he protested to her. "That… is special, the fact that this is something in your family. HELL, Ryujin never sung that, he didn't sing at all before he died!"
"That's because he didn't leave this world completely. Remember Suiryu. You absorbed his soul. He's not completely dead in a sense… just… connected to another." Yua explained.
"It doesn't matter," he paused for a moment to think it over. "I want answers to this… excuse me."
He stormed off shortly after.
"Damn, you are defiantly going to have to swaddle him later." Gojo said offhandedly.
"No shit," Yua muttered.
