Edited by absolem 3
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
"Welcome back, Master!"
Lilly idly took a bite out of her parfait as she watched her staff bustle around. The café she had created for Ame to work at was doing very well. She had an assortment of maids and butlers, with the cafe being divided between three floors. The first floor was strictly family-friendly, and had both maids and butlers. The second floor was for maids, and the third floor for butlers.
She installed an elevator for her staff to use early on, she did not want anyone to tire from trudging up and down the stairs while carrying food.
She had actually snagged a lot of young adults to work at her café alongside Ame. She enticed them with incredibly high wages and short work shifts (four hours max). They were paid well enough that two shifts was more than if they worked for a week straight with minimum wage.
That kind of money for relatively brief work was something college kids dreamed about. Especially in Tokyo.
Happy workers meant happy atmosphere which enticed customers. A maid/butler cafe wasn't the norm, after all, so to welcome anyone outside that niche required a certain level of enthusiasm and comfort.
Lilly watched Ame work. The Cursed Spirit alternated between a maid and a butler outfit every day. They didn't need to work every day, but they seemed to enjoy the afternoon shift. They liked interacting with humans, and Lilly could plainly see Ame was learning a lot from their coworkers.
"Would you like anything else, Miss Suzuran?" asked a cute young woman in a frilly maid costume.
"No thank you," said Lilly. "The parfait was extra delicious today."
She beamed. "Glad to hear it!"
The front door bell chimed as a family of four came in; a tired father with triplet daughters. They were warmly welcomed by both a butler and a maid which made the daughters squeal in delight.
Lilly smiled. It seemed like only yesterday Yūta was their size…
Her phone vibrated on the table. She unlocked it to see who texted her.
Mei Mei: They're going to try to kill him, you know.
Lilly: *try* being the optimal word.
Mei Mei: it might be better for him if they think they succeeded.
Lilly: But then they'll stop.
Lilly: And if they stop he won't be placed in dangerous situations where he'll be forced to cooperate with Sukuna and they won't be buddies. :(
Mei Mei: I
Mei Mei: I don't know what to say to that.
Lilly: A good response to anything I say is to call me cute. :)
Mei Mei: You're cute.
Lilly: I know.
Lilly sighed as she stared at Mei Mei's message.
It had only been a few days since Yūji swallowed Sukuna's finger. If Mei Mei was already warning her, then…
Lilly wasn't integrated into Jujutsu Society. She was aware of it, and they were (sort of) aware of her. They knew her as Yūta's mother and Yūji's guardian, although her connection to the France massacre and her power was kept under wraps.
Mei Mei's silence was bought (literally), and Satoru thought it would be best if she kept that part hidden. He said if she revealed her strength, they might try to target her.
She didn't want to put her children nor Satoru in an awkward position. She didn't think Yūta could forgive anyone who targeted her. Yūji could be more accepting if Lilly insisted she was okay, however it would still sour his view on the Jujutsu Society. Satoru… it would depend on exactly what they did. He knew she was strong, so it's unlikely he would be bothered about minor threats.
But if they targeted her children to get to her…
Lilly didn't know what she would do. She could not sit still, yet outright genocide would make her oldest companion cross with her.
For the moment it was best to stay silent.
Lilly didn't want to go to war with his society, so she obliged.
She gnawed on her bottom lip.
Would it be better?
Yūji wasn't weak, however, he wasn't on the same level as Yūta and Satoru. If The Society kept targeting him, would he be able to consistently protect himself? Especially now with the addition of Sukuna?
Sukuna.
Sukuna was a whole other thing to consider. Lilly was optimistic about their potential friendship, however she had to acknowledge it could be impossible. Many lifetimes ago, Lilly served as a vessel for an atrocity that even she could not redeem. No matter how many times she repeated that world, she found no way to persuade the ancient evil from wanting destruction.
If a being was incapable of love, Lilly found it impossible to sway.
She glanced over at Ame, who smiled kindly at the customers.
She knew Cursed Spirits could love. Kurai, Ame, and Tora were prime examples. Each of them were plucked at a low level and groomed into the family.
Sukuna was an adult Special Grade in a class of his own. Was his growth then stagnant? Or could he evolve further? If there was room for improvement, then there was a chance for change. If Cursed Spirits cemented at a certain level, however, then she had set Yūji on an impossible task.
Not for the first time, Lilly wished she knew that world. She wished she had seen its Story play out so she could better guide her children to the Happy Ending.
What's done is done for now. I should focus on the immediate future.
She had to think about what would be best for Yūji.
He hadn't mentioned any issues with dealing with Sukuna, but to be fair he hadn't engaged in the Cursed Spirit much.
How much of Sukuna's power could he control? How effectively could he suppress the King of Curses? If he lost too much of his own power, would Sukuna start to take over?
These were questions that would need to be answered sooner rather than later, and if he had to find them while some old fuddy duddies kept attacking him–
Lilly rubbed her face and sighed.
She sent a text to Satoru.
Lilly: Hey bunny
Satoru: Hey sugarlips
Lilly: Would it be better for Yūji to play dead?
Satoru: maybe
Satoru: whatcha thinkin
Lilly: your shady old men want him dead, no?
Satoru: why are they *my* sus old men?
Lilly: 'cause if they were *mine* I would have disciplined them to be nicer :)
Satoru: You can discipline me ;p
Lilly: ;)
Satoru: 3
Lilly: .
Lilly: before we get sidetracked
Satoru: :(
Satoru: but I love our tangents
Satoru: it always ends in a fun time for me
Lilly: if Yūji were to play dead, would that cause long term issues? He seems serious about becoming a jujutsu sorcerer and if he has a KIA on his resume I don't want that to negatively impact him.
Satoru: hmmmmmmm
Satoru: HMMMMM
Satoru: It should be fine.
Satoru: In fact, I have a friend who can continue his training while he's "dead"
Lilly: A friend? Not me?
Satoru: and miss out on the chance of finally having you all to myself?
Lilly: lol
Satoru: besides
Satoru: you need to stop babying them
LIlly: I do not baby!
Satoru: o yes you do
Satoru: my little kikufuku
Satoru: you are a mother hen of mother hens
Lilly: D:
Satoru: it's cute
Satoru: but ultimately detrimental to their growth
Satoru: gotta let them fall sometimes
Lilly: in a controlled environment, yes
Satoru: no
Satoru: you can't control everything
Lilly: *can* yes, *will* probably not
Satoru: :I
Satoru: what did we talk about world domination
Lilly: :( not to
Satoru: and
Lilly: x.x
Satoru: AND
Lilly: if I brought it up again I'd be grounded
Satoru: exactly
Satoru: you're grounded
Lilly: x.x
Satoru: over my knees ;d
Lilly: LOL
Lilly: omw :D
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
Yūji Itadori
Yūji sneezed a fireball.
"WHAT THE–?!" Nobara yelped. Megumi wordlessly handed Yūji a handkerchief.
"Damn it," Yūji sniffled, wiping at his nose. The handkerchief became covered in soot. "Can you be allergic to a Curse?"
"You ate a thousand year old Special Grade Cursed Object. Be happy you're only sneezing fireballs," Megumi said flatly.
Nobara warily side-eyed Yūji. "Why are you sneezing fireballs?"
"I ate a dragon heart when I was younger," said Yūji.
"Uh-huh."
"He's not kidding," Megumi said.
"Where did you get a dragon heart?"
"My aunt," explained Yūji. "Anyway–"
"–Don't you think you should explain that more?" Nobara cut in.
"ANYWAY," Yūji said loudly, ignoring Nobara's question. Mostly because he was amused by her reaction. It made him want to snicker. "It gave me some neat little quirks."
"He's a quirky boy," Megumi deadpanned, which caused Yūji to lose his composure and laugh.
"Beware the potato who breathes fire," Yūji cackled.
Nobara smirked. "Can you sprout wings?"
"I wish," said Yūji. "I can walk in the air but–" Yūji stepped into the air. He spread out his energy to use it to create a platform. Spiritual energy was not bound by the laws of gravity, so where it was held was where it would stay.
It was not true flying like Yūta and Lilly could do. Yūji had to actually run or walk while using his energy as stepping stones. Lilly told him once he had a better mastery over his energy he could one day use it to envelop his body and manipulate it to carry him around.
He wasn't there yet.
Ijichi coughed.
The three students straightened up.
On that rainy day, they were given a mission without Satoru. It was a rare coincidence, and one that apparently could not be helped. They were escorted by an Auxiliary Manager, Ichiji, to a prison on the outskirts of Tokyo.
"Our window verified the Curse Womb three hours ago. Once 90% were successfully evacuated, they made the call to seal off the center. Citizens within a 500 M radius have been evacuated as well," Ijichi explained.
The window Ijichi referred to was a member of the Jujutsu Society who could see Curses. They weren't a sorcerer, however.
Ijichi cleared his throat. "Detainee Block 2. At present, five detainees remain with the Curse Womb. If this curse womb is the type to do metamorphosis, we predict it will become a Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
"'Kay," said Yūji.
He wasn't overly concerned. Although not the strongest in his family, he was pretty damn good. Especially if he had Megumi supporting him.
He wasn't familiar with Nobara to rely on her in a live combat situation. She seemed decent, so if she could keep herself alive during the encounter that'd be great.
"A reminder–do not fight under any circumstances. If you encounter a Special Grade, please run," Ichiji stressed. "This is a mission to verify the survivors and rescue them if possible."
"Okay," the three said, and into the detention center they went.
Megumi summoned one of his shinigami; a small white wolf. Yūji was an excellent sensor, however, he was arguably too good. If in the presence of a powerful Curse–like Kurai–or in an environment steeped in Cursed Energy–like a domain–he had a hard time differentiating. If the Cursed Womb manifested as Cursed Spirit, it would likely be too strong for Yūji to pick out anything else besides it.
It was better to be prepared.
And indeed, it was a good call by Megumi.
Unfortunately, when they entered the facility they found that it had exploded into a partial domain. Yūji cringed at the influx of raw Cursed Energy. It was all he could feel; a prickling sensation on his skin that wouldn't go away. His expression reflexively soured, a nauseous stone settled in his stomach.
Megumi's own expression revealed his concerns, and Nobara–
"What happened to the door?!" she exploded, her brown eyes widened in disbelief.
"We're in a partial domain," said Yūji, he absently clutched at his queasy stomach. His skin was flushed with discomfort. "Don't worry, Megumi's shinigami can lead us back out. Right?"
"Yeah," confirmed Megumi. He rested a hand on Yūji's shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I will. Give me a moment to adjust, okay?" Yūji asked weakly.
"What's wrong?" Nobara asked.
"Yūji's a sensor," Megumi explained. "He gets overwhelmed in domains."
"Isn't that an issue?" Nobara raised an eyebrow.
"Working on it," Yūji muttered. Being a sensor was nifty most of the time. He was the fastest at tracking down Cursed Spirits on missions, and could even feel when someone was about to use Cursed Energy so he was never taken by surprise in sparring matches. He liked the ability, and Lilly told him that once he got the hang of it, he'd even be able to read people's emotions through their energy.
He'd never be caught off guard. No better defense against ambushes than a sensor. Plus it made learning new techniques so much easier since he could literally feel the energy moving accordingly.
However, since swallowing Sukuna's finger he became hyper-aware of even the smallest changes in Cursed Energy. He was constantly focused on the malicious energy inside of him that didn't belong to him. It was exhausting.
Things that normally wouldn't bother him, suddenly did.
To liken it to anything… imagine living in a world of silence for most of your life. Suddenly, over the course of a few years you start to hear whispers of music. Then all of a sudden a high-pitched grating sound constantly blares into your ear drums, and the whispers of music suddenly turn into glass being shattered.
It was a lot to take in. He tried to remain unbothered–he didn't want to worry anyone–but unexpectedly entering a domain was the equivalent to someone now adding a jack hammer into the chaotic symphony.
"Oh no," he groaned as he turned away and threw up lava. It burned through the floor.
Megumi rubbed his back and after a moment so did Nobara.
It took a couple more minutes of adjusting until Yūji was able to get a hold of his nausea. It was still present, still uncomfortable, but he powered through it.
Nobara offered him a handkerchief. He accepted it with a thank you. Unfortunately it was a regular handkerchief and not one enchanted by Lilly. He set it up on fire when it touched his lava-coated lips. Her face morphed into disdain. "You're buying me a new one."
"... Sorry, yeah," Yūji agreed. He wiped his hands clean of the ashes (RIP handkerchief) against his pants. "Let's get this over with."
The three started to slowly move further into the morphed prison.
Each step took a considerable amount of willpower on Yūji's part. All he could feel was Cursed Energy that belonged to one creature.
The Womb? Yūji wondered. He had never encountered a womb before. He had no idea it could put out such a strong aura. If he didn't know any better, he'd say it was already a full-blown Cursed Spirit.
But no, surely not. He had–as a sensor–felt Kurai's pressure before when not hiding in Yūta's shadow. The avian's aura was so overpowering, Yūji passed out the first time. Kurai, Tora, and Ame were Special Grades. To compare their presence to the womb would be like comparing a puddle to a lake.
Then there was Sukuna.
That monster was in a league of his own. Even a single finger was enough to rival Tora and Ame, if not eclipse them. It was hard to imagine what his power would be like once fully revived.
Satoru told Yūji he could handle Sukuna, and while Yūji trusted him, he found it hard to believe.
Then again, Yūji had never sensed Satoru's un-repressed energy nor Lilly's. When Lilly realized he was a sensor, she explicitly forbade Satoru from unleashing his full presence in Yūji's vicinity for the time being. All Yūij felt from them were glimmers. Satoru was abstract, like a view of the Milky Way. Lilly was warm like embers in a dying fire.
In that half-formed domain, the only thing Yūji could feel was a semblance of something. Dreary, unsettling, and off. Goosebumps covered his skin, and he could feel the flicking flames of fire in his gut.
They entered a large room and at the far end were corpses, each of them mangled and half-eaten.
It reminded Yūji of when Lilly took him hunting for the first time. She warned him if she trained him, he'd have to get adjusted to gore. She made him kill a lot of animals, and she watched him gut and skin each one of them.
Then they made a lot of pretty dang delicious food with it. The blood stains were a pain to get out, but all in all it was a good camping trip. He didn't understand why Yūta was so worried about it.
Three steps into the new room, and there was a shift in the air.
All Yūji had been feeling was the presence of the Cursed Womb. The air was thick with its Cursed Energy, and to feel something stir in it was akin to hearing sludge move. His upper lip pulled back into a silent snarl and he whipped around and spat out a massive fireball.
Megumi jumped back and behind Yūji, while Nobara whirled around to see what he had aimed for.
Yūji couldn't see it, but he felt something move. He reacted on pure instinct and shoved Megumi and Nobara out of the way before he jumped. Less than a second in the spot Yūji once was, there was a small crater in the floor and a creature resided within.
Yūji shuddered from disgust at the concentrated pressure of the Cursed Spirit. Its upper body was humanoid, a pale ghostly white with a deformed mouth and squirming eyes. Its underbody was that of a black cocoon, and immediately Yūji could conclude that it was the Cursed Womb.
Not anymore.
It was a full blown Special Grade Cursed Spirit now.
Yūji had always thought he could handle such a threat.
But in the face of it, Yūji wasn't so sure. He was nauseous, and his senses were overloaded with the Cursed Energy surrounding them. He didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to acknowledge his lack of ability, yet he was too well trained not to.
He was not able to handle that threat. Not in his current state.
"Run," he told Megumi as he sucked in air then bellowed out more flames.
Megumi was conflicted. "Will you be–?"
"I'll be fine, go!" Yūji lied.
Megumi trusted him, and so he grabbed Nobara's hand and took off running.
As soon as the two of them were out of the room, Yūji enveloped himself in flames. His fire immunity would keep him safe, and any time the Cursed Spirit touched him, it would catch a fire.
"Oi, Sukuna," said Yūji as he dodged a blast of pure Cursed Energy. "If I die, you die, too, right? If you don't want that, then help me out."
"I refuse," chided Sukuna, forming a mouth on the side of Yūji's face. "Even if the parts of me inside you die, there are eighteen other fragments of my soul. Still, irritatingly enough, I don't have control of this body. If you want to switch, go ahead and switch. But once you do, I'll kill your friends before the Cursed Spirit can."
"I will never let you do that."
"I bet," Sukuna mocked. "But if you're too focused on me, your friends are gonna die."
Yūji could, at least, still sense Megumi's energy. He was familiar enough that he could track Megumi's Cursed Energy no matter the situation.
Once he's gone, I'll switch. I can force Sukuna to go back to sleep just like last time.
That was his best bet. In the meantime, he'd dodge the Cursed Spirit and bide for time.
Thankfully, it didn't take long. Megumi–and he assumed Nobara–were out of his field within minutes.
As soon as he felt that, he forced the switch.
Yūji had briefly–briefly–switched with Sukuna before.
When he did that switch, however, he was not already fatigued and exhausted.
So when Yūji Itadori made the switch, it was surprisingly easy.
Not because Sukuna was suddenly gracious about it.
No, no.
Because Yūji straight up passed out into his subconscious.
Oops.
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
Sukuna
"What a thoroughly annoying brat," Sukuna remarked as soon as he was placed in control of Yūji's body. He absently wiped the ash away from his mouth.
At least he didn't have to feel the second hand nausea anymore. If he was going to be forced to deal with that snot-nosed little shit's body for the foreseeable future, he better get a handle on his sensor capabilities. Sukuna could not discount how useful they would be once matured, but for the moment the abilities were nothing but an aggravation.
"He's obviously screwing with me," Sukuna continued, unminding of the Cursed Spirit that stood wobbly in front of him. Sukuna stepped around it, ignoring it. "Hold on a moment, I'm thinking. What can I do to make that brat regret this?"
If I went after that black haired shithead the brat would just switch back right beforehand. So the thing that would cause him the most trouble would be if I forced them to fight this baby spirit.
"Oi, let's go kill some kids," Sukuna told the CUrsed Spirit. He turned away. "Follow me."
The stupid Cursed Spirit then tried to attack Sukuna by launching a blast of raw Cursed Energy. Sukuna absently blocked it with his hand and asked it, "You don't like walks? Well, Cursed Spirits are usually supposed to stay where they're born. Fine fine. In that case–"
Sukuna used his Cursed Energy to quickly step in front of the Cursed Spirit and grabb it by its face. He shoved it into the ground.
"–you die here."
The "Special Grade" Cursed Spirit trembled in the indention in the concrete. Sukuna bent over to look down at it. He mocked it, "What's wrong? You're not finished already, are you?"
The Cursed Spirit struggled to stand back up.
Sukuna sneered. "That's it. Come on. Try harder." Sukuna stepped on its face hard enough to destroy the entire floor. As they fell through the air, the Cursed Spirit grabbed onto Sukuna's ankle.
Sukuna thought it only fair to rip off its arm, laughing at how surprised it looked.
So pathetic!
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
After Sukuna was done playing around with the Cursed Spirit, he exorcized it and collected one of his fingers from inside it.
"All done," Sukuna said.
A few seconds went by and nothing happened.
"This sucks. If you're gonna switch, just do it already!"
Another moment.
"What's the matter, brat?"
When nothing still happened, Sukuna focused inward. He probed at Yūji's energy and found it oddly still.
Quiet.
He's… unconscious?
Sukuna couldn't force a switch in Yūji's sleep because once the brat was unconscious there was an invisible wall between their souls. Nothing could be done. Yūji could not switch asleep any more than Sukuna.
A grin stretched over Sukuna's face as he realized the situation.
He destroyed the domain and stepped out into the world. To his surprise–to his delight–someone was waiting for him. Sukuna quickly stepped behind the boy–Megumi, if he remembered right.
"Sorry, but he's not coming back," he said. The brat nearly jumped from fright. It made Sukuna want to laugh. "Don't be so frightened. I'm in a great mood. Let's chat."
Sukuna walked out in front of Megumi, his hands in his pockets. He was picturesque of nonchalance, a masquerade that hid his malicious eagerness.
"This is what he gets for trying to use me without any kind of pact. He's asleep so he can't switch back. Still though, it's only a matter of time," said Sukuna. He casually ripped off Yūji's shirt. "So I thought about what I can do right now."
Sukuna chuckled to himself right before he ripped out Yūji's heart with his bare hand.
He presented the heart as it beat, a gleeful smile on his face. "I'm taking this brat hostage."
There was a surge of ethereal pink butterflies.
Sukuna cocked his head back, curious at the new presence.
A young woman with pink hair tied off to the side and wearing an apron stepped in front of them. She smiled.
"Ara, ara," she cooed. "Can't you children play nice?"
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
Bonus (why Yūji moved out pt2)
Satoru: my love
Lilly: yes
Satoru: you know how some of your clients at the tea shop are sometimes pretty famous?
Lilly: yes
Satoru: do you know Jennifer Lawrence?
Lilly: she was a guest once, so yes
Satoru: :) can you introduce me?
Lilly: probably, I'll ask the door to summon her tomorrow.
Satoru: thanks boo3
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
Yūji Itadori: im sorry
Yūta Suzuran: ?
Yūji Itadori: i love jennifer lawrence
Yūta Suzuran: I know?
Yūji Itadori: forgive me
Yūta Suzuran: okay?
Yūji Itadori: i got her autograph
Yūta Suzuran: Congrats! (:
Yūji Itadori: but it came at a terrible price
Yūta Suzuran: um
Yūji Itadori: the power of horny too strong
Yūta Suzuran: ?
Yūji Itadori: too strong
Yūta Suzuran: UM?
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
Answer: In day to day life re misc things - very easy. Good food goes a long way.
Question: Top three JJK characters and what pet names would you give them?
Reviews are love!