Chapter 3

Night fell.

Suiryu however couldn't get to sleep.

His mind kept replaying everything over and over again. The stupid mistake of accepting that drink, not realizing it was tainted… allowing Sukuna to possess him, and then… forcing everyone to this location and the cost of others. He is starting to understand how Yuuji felt. He knows now why he felt the way he did. If certain things didn't occur, then no one would have suffered for it. "Damn it…" he muttered to himself. Since sleep was no longer an option, he went out for a walk.

It's all he could do, it was all he could think of too.

Ever since their arrival here, Suiryu's mind has been focused on trying to get stronger in this human form he has obtained.

He's only become weaker.

No matter the effort he puts in, each and ever day he could feel his strength less and less…

"Can't sleep?"

He jumped as Gojo came behind him suddenly. "Damn it, you know I can't sense you, don't do that!" he scolded.

Gojo merely smiled to him as he looked over the place. "It's not bad, I mean, we got everything we need to lie low for a while right?" he said offhandedly.

Suiryu nodded, but still it weighed on him. "We didn't get everyone, as well, those who are left behind are going to try and find us here… how do we help them?" he asked.

"At the moment, I don't think we need to worry about it. But I do have an idea." He said aloud.

Curious, Suiryu peered at Gojo as he suddenly help up a rather large bottle of Sake and two cups. "We got all night…" he said in teasing tone. "No Sukuna floating bits in it either, it's pure!"

"You don't like to drink," Suiryu protested. "Also, technically speaking, I'm under age."

"You mean to tell me, you are not the least bit curious to what you are missing out on when you're drunk? Suiryu, with what we just went through. I think we ALL need a drink." Gojo said in an insisting tone. "So… let's drink!"

He was confused by it all. "Are you doing this to make me feel better?"

"Partly, I would have done the same for Itadori if he was down on himself and wanted to get hammered. So…" he said and teased the bottle before him.

He sighed aloud. "I know where we can go…"

#

They ventured up to the hill that looked over the place, it's where Suiryu brought Yuuji the first time he introduced him to the domain. It was a nice scenic spot, and some of the houses had their lights on. Suiryu took a seat, Gojo sat next to him as the first drink was poured. "To new beginnings?" he asked.

"What the fuck, why not." They toasted each other and downed the first shot.

Suiryu's face scrunched. "Oh God, that's strong… shit did being that powerful dull the effect THAT much?!" he demanded.

"When it's cheap sake, its like water, this stuff… this is high grade sake. I made sure to splurge on it" Gojo said as he poured Suiryu another drink.

He didn't quite feel it as of yet, but the more they drank, the more he started to feel the buzz. His body relaxed as his mind began to swim a little. "Mmm, this… this is nice…" Suiryu said as his speech began to slur.

Gojo nodded as they peered out over the land once more. "Hey… ehy… drunk talk…" Gojo said as his cheeks went all red, he was already hammered after one. It took five to get Suiryu to slur his speech. "So… let's talk about shit…" Gojo said as he lazily turned himself to his side and tried to look rather relaxed. "Why the hell Nobara?"

Suiryu snickered as he took another drink. "Why not?" he asked back. "I got to admit, she's been a hard one to get even close to!... hehe… hard one…" he snickered.

"PPppffff!" came out of Gojo.

"Shut up!" Suiryu snapped back, but then paused. "The thing is, I've seen people through Yuuji. Even though she was harsh on him… like an annoying older sister… when it came to me… she wasn't… I wonder why though… I mean, I have a body like Yuuji… we look a lot alike… but I am the hotter looking out of the both of us…"

"No shit! Yuuji is like a puppy, you just want to hold and take care of him… you… you're like a cat… or… something…" said Gojo. "You have gotten a lot more like Itadori, in fact, when he became a baby. I saw a lot more of Itadori come out of you than before!" Gojo explained. "But still, you have had your pick of them… I mean, you had Takada-chan hit on you! YOU turned her down! Not to mention models… how many times have you been hit on?"

Suiryu teetered a little as he thought about it. "Uh… dunno… maybe… 30… 40 times or something?" he said offhandedly. "I mean… I am hot… well… again this is Yuuji's body not mine… so Yuuji's hot… I just benefited from it…"

Gojo snickered. "Haha, you called Yuuji hot!" he laughed but then settled himself. "Makes me wondered too… I mean I'm hot too, but at the same time… I dunno…"

"You never hit on a woman?" Suiryu asked.

Gojo fell silent as his blindfold suddenly came off, his eyes were glazed over from the sake. But at the same time, he appeared rather serious. "I thought about… about what you said a while ago…" he said offhandedly, he burped aloud before settling himself. "I mean… You said so yourself, women look at you like a challenge, something… something to conquer until they fill that void in themselves… even if it's temporary…" he said as he began to sway a little as he laid on the ground. "Even so, I just… I don't think I could find a woman who could keep up with me… let alone one that gets me… I mean… would you want someone like me?" he asked offhandedly.

Suiryu snorted a laugh. "Fuck no!" he protested. "You're too needy…"

"I am not!" he protested.

"Yeah, you are." Suiryu replied and snickered. "You always want attention, why else do you hang out with a bunch of teenagers?"

Gojo went silent. "Because they get it… and I don't want them to go through what I did." He said.

Suiryu peered over at him curiously. "What you went through? Oh right, since you had the six eyes ability… Mr. Strongest sorcerer in the world!"

"Being strong means I had to grow up fast, but I didn't want to" he muttered. "Why the hell do I have to be robbed of a childhood? Why the fuck do I have to do all the grown up shit even now!? I NEVER got to have the fun I wanted, and when I try to do so now… I have to 'aCt mY AgE'" he said in a sarcastic tone.

"You think I do?" Suiryu questioned. "I don't even know how old I should act anymore. I had all that shit in my head from that bastard, so I had to be mature about it… also, I know I still have some of his dumbass tendencies. He still rattles up in my head from time to time, sometimes, that does get the better of me… when he possessed me… I began to see that, despite coming from him. We're not alike."

"I could have told you that, Itadori" Gojo said.

Suiryu paused. "You are one of the only people who ever calls me Itadori… Why?"

Gojo shrugged. "Because you are?" he said to him in an obvious tone. "Look, I could really care less about where you came from. If you were truly like Sukuna, I would have killed you in an instant. If you were a threat to those I care about, my students… to Yuuji… I would have erased you without hesitation."

"Yeah, but you didn't… still don't get why… I know you said it was because of Yua's necklace right?"

Gojo nodded. "Yeah, she would never have let the bastard have something so precious to her and her family in his hands. As well, you made Yuuji happy. We would try and cheer him up as best we can, but how can we when we don't know what hell he has been through, what he continues to go through… or if he would ever be okay… Being a sorcerer sucks ass, you know it, I know it and yet. Here we are" he said as he began to drink from the bottle. "We're running out of booze…"

Suiryu snickered. "You let me live… because of Yuuji? You wanted him to have someone to relate to?"

Gojo paused. "Ever since… ever since he got sealed away when the councilors separated us… I never wanted that to happen again. The elders don't take me seriously anymore. Despite the fact I am the strongest… no… wait… am I? I got a weird sensation… like you shouted something at me… I can't be called the strongest, unless I can resolve a problem without losing anyone… or something… did you say it?"

Suiryu was starting to wobble a little. "I don't remember saying anything like that to you… huh… that or you are maturing… if that is even possible for you."

"So anyway. When you can along, the elders knew not to mess with you. You became like a wall for them to overcome when it came to Itadori, you were his guard where I couldn't protect him…"

Gojo suddenly got teary eyed.

"What's with you?" Suiryu demanded.

"I miss Yua!" he confessed. "God, why the hell did she have to go!?" He began to sob oddly enough. Suiryu paused as he felt tears come down his own eyes as well.

"She… she's an amazing woman. I mean, she gave me the confidence to be like this, you know, she was really good at the pep talk…"

"You spoke with her?"

"Well, when I was being raised by Yuuji in a sense. Before I got my body… I stayed in him… he has like a soul domain or something since he had Sukuna possess him… Weird to have that… I had kept to looking like him as a kid, since I feared if I was just like him. I wouldn't be… just like him. Deep down, I knew I was going to be a carbon copy of Sukuna… but I didn't want to accept it. Fuck, I rather have stayed as a kid Itadori than to be that old bastard!" he protested and shattered his cup. "How is that fair? SuRe, I came from HiS so called 'soul' but at the same time… that rotting old hag!"

"Yeah! You had Itadori's body! You should have sounded like Itadori from the start!"

"I KNOW RIGHT!?" Suiryu said. "FINALLY someone gets it!"

They lay on the ground, staring up into the night sky. "So… this is being human huh?" Suiryu asked.

"Meh," said Gojo. "It's overrated…"

"So you mean to tell me, if you were in my shoes, you would be fine with having no power, considering what you could do before?"

"I never said THAT" Gojo protested. "I can do some wicked shit! Like hell I would give that away. You know I don't need an umbrella in the rain because of limitless. Also I ALWAYS win when there's a water balloon fight…"

"Come on Satoru…" Suiryu protested. "If you were human, you would have had a normal life right?"

He shook his head. "In my family… it's similar to the Zenin clan, you are either useful or not. If I wasn't, I wouldn't even be allowed to use the family name," he muttered. "It's bad enough they are pushing to have me married off or something, even though I piss everyone in my family off… NO ONE came to assist me after I got sealed. It goes to show how far they would got to help me huh?"

Suiryu snorted and laugh a little, but then paused. "Yuuji… must have done something… I remember now… Sukuna possessed me… and yet… Yuuji used everything he had gained to try and save me… I can't really matter that much to him… can I?"

"You would have to ask him," Gojo said. He sighed aloud. "I still wonder… what if I went through with it… if I had said something sooner…"

"You are really hung up on that woman, aren't you?" Suiryu smirked.

"She's sort of like Nobara, which is why they clashed the moment they met. She didn't put up with any sort of shit, she called it as she saw it. Although when she first met everyone, she put on an act that pissed everyone off… yet, when they realized she was there to really help Itadori… and then, what she sacrificed to save him…"

"Yeah," Suiryu said with a sigh. He grabbed the bottle of Sake, he drank the rest and then sighed. "Booze go bye-bye…" he muttered.

"Then, let's get more booze!" Gojo called.

"YEAH!" cheered Suiryu, but then paused. "Where?"

Gojo paused. "Huh… didn't think of that, come on, let's go out! Let's get booze!"