Summary:
Saruhiko and Sukuna ... The little child's feelings!
"Hello Gojou Sukuna.."
"Welcome to the secret base of the Green Clan JUNGLE"
The first time Gojou Sukuna saw the Green King.
"You've become part of the highest rank, the J-RANK. You're joining JUNGLE'S leading clansmen. Congratulations." Hisui Nagare welcomed him.
"It's not like I'm excited about this or anything. I just wanted to see the bustard's face who snickers at us from behind the screen of the game, that's all. I really didn't expect it to be a creepy guy like you though." Gojou Sukuna said to him.
"Are you angry Gojou Sukuna? What is your anger directed at?" Nagare asked .
"I..I hate it! Controlling people! Manipulating them! People who are satisfied by doing that!" Sukuna.
"I never thought something like wanting to control other people. You are misunderstanding." Nagare.
"But you're doing that right now, aren't you! You use JUNGLE'S game to manipulate others!" Sukuna angrily said.
"That is just a means to an end. I believe that every human should be 'free'" Nagare added. "I'll change the world, and make one where things are like that."
"What are you..?"
"Do you have a dream, Gojo Sukuna?"
"... I don't have thing like that."
"If you say don't have a dream, then please watch mine together with us. I'll make it into the stage for an interesting game. So let's play together."
After moments of astonishment, Sukuna answered him "Okay then, I get it. However, if it's a shitty game, I'll stop right away."
"Of course. Sukuna."Nagare.
Those scenes were in his mind.
"Say Nagare. You really aren't much like a King, are you?" Sukuna asked.
"What would 'being a king be?'"Nagare said.
"Hm. usually they seem to have more greatness, you know?" Sukuna.
"It's weird that only a king should be special. What I aim for is a game where every human can use those power and fulfill their own responsibilities, their own desires. A game where all participate not only kings, or clansmen or strains. There is no need for a king to be great."
"That's weird." Sukuna.
"Is that so?" Nagare.
"Pfft! But it's not bad" Sukuna.
Sukuna found that game really enjoyable, the game that Nagare aspires to it. This will make the world exciting! That boring world!
"Nagare, I'm gambling everything I got and joining your game. This society is a shitty game created by adults. Let's destroy it. Because you'll change this world to be something interesting. I'm looking forward to it."
Sukuna opened his eyes slowly, he was wounded and lying on the ground, the person who saw next to him was Yukari.
"Yukari..?" Sukuna asked.
At first, and for some moments, Sukuna did not remember what happened with him, those were some of his old memories, dreams and ambitions, he was fighting ... and then...
Yukari was treated Sukuna wounds, the wounds he received during his fight against Yata Misaki and Fushimi Saruhiko.
"Seems like you're still alive. We're escaping. This place is also going to collapse soon." Yukari said as he looked at him.
"Escaping.. What about Nagare?" Sukuna asked.
"Nagare Chan Lost." Yukari answered.
Sakuna eyes widened after this answer, did not believe what he heard. He got up from his place and ran several steps before falling ground.
Yukari walked towards him and said "Where are you trying to go?"
"There is no way Nagre lost! Iwa San is with him after all." Sukuna continued as he tried to stand up with a trembling voice. "You stopped the Silver King, right? I took a little blunder but I'll defeat Saruhiko and that guy from HOMRA! I can still fight!"
"The slate was destroyed by the Silver King." Yukari replied calmly.
"Liar!" Sukuna said.
"That's why Nagare Chan, whose life was connected to the power of change is.." Yukari.
"Liar!" Sukuna shouted.
"Liar! You're lying! Nagare.. There's no way he'd lose!" Sukuna continued his cry and tears in his eyes.
"Sukuna Chan!" Yukari yelled. "We lost!" He looked at him seriously.
Yukari walked towards him and carried him in his arms. It was a moment when Sukuna opened his eyes when he noticed the big wound on Yukari's shoulder. Sukuna said in a low voice "... I can walk on my own."
They walked through the wreckage of the place, where the earth was shaking, how it all got this?! They were together before hours..
Hours ago, the Green King, Hisui Nagare, was with them in front of the Dresden Slate.
It was the moment when Hisui Nagare release the power of the slate, in order to give every person superpower.
The time of the revolution.. The Slates awaken to change the world..
In that moment, a pillar of light was glowing from the Slates.
Hisui Nagare the Green King and Kotosaka on his shoulder, the Gray King Tenkei Iwafune, Mishakuji Yukari, Gojou Sukuna and Fushimi Saruhiko.
They stood in front of the Dresden Slate while pillar of light was emitted from it, the light was emitted for twenty minutes, Nagare began to realize his dream of changing the world! A new world will be created where kings fight kings.
However, it was this light that led everyone to the place, they had to fight to protect it from the silver king and the rest.
This time, it's the opposite from a month ago.. It's their turn to protect not to attack. In this why Nagare ordered all passageways to be closed except the Yomiti Gate. At the same time, he cleared all civilians from Yomiti Gate area, and assembled U-Rank players at the secret base. Nagare assumed that they will even infiltrate the secret base. He knows that the possibility of their enemies making it where he and the slates are reside is not zero.
Nagare connected to the Slates now, he have no time limit, and it's limitless. Nagare asked Iwafune to welcome the Blue King, he expecting that to happen too. Nagare thought that 'Everything is possible is probable.'
But everything is over now.
The Blue King had appeared above the secret base, followed by the main gate to the base opening, and then the blimp crash-landed in the same area.
The main gate opened because Fushimi Saruhiko had betrayed them. If so, then Gojou Sukuna went to deal with him, no doubt. The Gray King, Iwafune Teppei, was the only one defending the gaping gate from the Blue King. And Yukari took it upon himself to welcome the last guests of this place that were sure to reach this deepest level.
BUT… They totally lost against them!
Iwafune Teppei lost against the Blue King.
Mishakuji Yukari lost against Yatogami Kurou.
Gojou Sukuna lost against Fushimi Saruhiko and Yata Misaki.
Hisui Nagare lost against Isana Yashiro.
Between the rubble, Sukuna was silent walking, crying as a small child, he wanted to achieve Nagare dream!
Sukuna said, crying "WHY!?"
Yukari sighed, the loss was harsh on them, but harsher for Sukuna, the boy who was looking forward to Nagare dream.
Then Sakuna asked again, "Why! If Nagare knows that Saruhiko will betray us, why did not he let me kill him from the start! Why..."
"Sukuna Chan..." Yukari.
"He had to let me kill him before he opened the gate! When no one is able to get here, our house will not turn into destruction!" Sukuna cried.
As a child, he had feelings of jealousy and hatred for the person named Fushimi Saruhiko.. They knew this, but he was a child who did not understand the meaning of accepting Saruhiko among them. They gave him a chance. Nagare was the king who set the rules of the game! For this, the king has to abide by the rules of his game! From the beginning, his dream that the king should not be special… Otherwise he should not ask the players to abide by his rules, the king will not get the confidence of anyone!
As for Sukuna, he did not understand these things... If they knew he was not really in their side... They only need to kill him ... even without any evidence ... They do not need him! They were enough without him...
That is why he did not want to be among them! That person who came and destroyed Nagare's dream.
"Nagare dream ... disappeared!" Sukuna.
A month and a week ago..
Since the Green Clan JUNGLE had taken the Dresden Slate, the occurrence of the Strains in the whole country increased rapidly.
That was the proof that the seal on the slate, which was a device for Humanity's progression was loosening.
Amongst all that, after one month, before one week from now.. A NEW J- RANKER was added to JUNGLE. Fushimi Saruhiko, a former Clansman of SCEPTER 4.
He aligned himself from SCEPTER 4 and Rushed up JUNGLE'S RANK- System, with exceptional speed become high ranking Clansman... But... What Fushimi joining causes is..
"I was curious to know what happens once you raise the score to its limit. If i'd be able to see a new scenery... That's all.." Fushimi Saruhiko said.
That's what he said, when he was asked why he came here.
"Saruhiko, you went up five ranks in barely a month. You have beaten Sukuna's previous record. Most impressive. A new record." Nagare said, he was impressed with Saruhiko achievement.
Sukuna hated how his record was broken, and how another person appeared at the same rank, feeling as if he had lost to him ...
"Congratulations, Saruhiko. Now that you have become a J ranker, I shall give you power personally through the installation. Although, considering that you are already a 2 color user, you might not find the occasion anything special." Nagare said after the welcoming party.
Then Nagar's body glowed green, entwined in whips of electricity that burst with a crackling sound. The radiance elongated in what almost looked like cords, or maybe vines that a green plant sprouted, that spread wide within a moment and attached themselves to Fushimi's body. The long thin tendrils of green light clung to Fushimi's arms, temples, chest, linking him up to Hisui Nagare. The moment a weak electric shock, followed by characteristic numbness, ran across his body, the light disappeared.
Producing a knife he had hidden in his sleeve, he focused his thoughts on the third color now dwelling in his body. Green light engulfed the knife, and an electric current coiled around it. The new power, welling up from deep within his body, was nothing like its borrowed counterpart lent through a PDA.
"A third color, huh…" Fushimi muttered without much emotion behind the words.
"A blessing," Hisui responded dispassionately.
Gojou Sukuna, who was watching the scene from a spot next to the Green King, gave a little tongue click.
He was upset as he stared at Saruhiko, who was busy with his PDA all the time. Saruhiko now became among them, as if he were one of them ... This room, which was Sukuna new home, was getting uncomfortable... The air became heavy on him as he looked and found Saruhiko in front of him.
"With the activation of the Slate, JUNGLE'S influence is also become stronger. I think we should start making SCEPTER 4 powerless. Yukari, it's a mission, influence the prime minister and force Munakata Reisi to step down from his position as the Captain of the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau, Civil Registry Department Annex 4." Nagare said to them.
"Got it.." Yukari.
"Saruhiko will be Yukari's support" Nagare continue.
"Wha..!" Sukuna interrupted. "I.. I will go!" .
"No. We really can't bring a kid with us when we get in touch with the prime minister." Yukari said.
"Moreover, Saruhiko Kun was Scepter 4's Number three. If the current situation is what made him come to our side, it'll be an extra push to the upper people." Iwafune said.
"Understood." Saruhiko quietly answered.
"Well then, Saruhiko Chan, should we make a plane?" Yukari said while pointing to Saruhiko to sit beside him.
Sakuna face became red as if he were raging from anger.
"Why such a person! I can do it! We don't need him!" Sukuna was chanting inside him ... They treated him as if it was a small child that was easy to please, but he really hates that! He hate Fushimi Saruhiko!
Repeatedly, he would get upset and fight with him all the time.
"Huh!?" Sukuna said, while carried his pillow, dressed in sleepwear, the evening had already come, and it's the first day. "Saruhiko will sleep here?"
"He just came and doesn't have his own room yet, so of course." Iwafune said.
"Tsk! The secret base is damn huge just sleep wherever you like!" Sukuna said.
"If it's somewhere without the heater it'll be cold, right?! It's January right now." Iwafune.
Saruhiko, who was sitting next to Iwafune, got up and walked toward the exit door, he says "I'll sleep somewhere else. With this kid, I won't be able to sleep anyway, and I like it better when it's cold."
What he said, made Sakuna feel insulted.
"Hah.. Driving out the newbie is pretty lame, Sukuna. And anyway, you're the one who's been here for almost two years and hasn't made his own room yet.." Iwafune said, mocked the childish act of Sukuna..
Once again, Sukuna face turned red, he turned angrily and grabbed the exit door and said "Fine! Then I'll sleep somewhere else!" He slammed the door strongly as he left.
Iwafune turned to Saruhiko and said "He's acting antisocial. But please don't think badly of him.."
Saruhiko was doing his best to deal with them, but for a moment he could not hide the annoyance on his face. They could not hear what he was thinking. "How much longer do I have to stay here!"
Elsewhere, where Yukari room, Sukuna opened the door firmly saying "Yukari! I'm sleeping here tonight!"
"Oh?" Yukari.
"As if I could sleep in the same room as that guy!" Sukuna said.
"Oh My. You already had a fight with Saruhiko Chan?" Yukari asked.
"I mean, is it really okay? He might be a spy." Sukuna.
"Maybe." Yukari.
"Then..!" Sukuna.
"The ones who cleared the stage go to the top. Nagare Chan's decision." Yukari.
Feeling frustrated and some failures, he is not able to do anything with him although he may be a spy.
"I'll sleep over there! If we don't watch out, he might do something to Nagare!" Sukuna.
"Geeze, it's not pretty to be so all over the place. Even if he tried to kill Nagare Chan in his sleep. Saruhiko Chan would be the one to die, right?" Yukari. "You're so not composed." Yukari added.
"The hell do you mean by composed." Sukuna.
"Setting aside whether he's a spy or not, Saruhiko Chan's strong when it comes to computers and machines and has a practical skill forged in Scepter 4. You just can't keep cool if somebody like that ranks up and becomes a J-RANKER faster than you, right?" Yukari said with a smile.
"Huh?! What are you say-..." Sukuna was saying, but he did not complete his sentences because he was frustrated.
"Oh My." Yukari
"Composure." Sukuna.
"Hm?" Yukari.
"You have it composure. Because you're special. You're Nagare's clansman just like me but unlike me, you were wanted by Nagare and come here without the games." Sukuna said in a timid voice.
Yukari smiled as if Sukuna words was great for him, he looked to him and said "You say something cute once in a while?"
"Wh! What the hell!" Sukuna.
"But ... What if Saruhiko Chan was like me?" Yukari.
"What do you mean?" Sukuna.
"I mean Nagare Chan he also wanted without the game?" Yukari.
"What the hell are you saying?! I do not want to hear anything about him!" Sukuna.
"Hmmfff" Sukuna put a cover over his head as if he wanted to sleep.
"You are really a small child." Yukari smiled.
The next morning, Sukuna was standing next to Dresden Slate. As if he was not able to sleep that night when Saruhiko came to the place.
"Morning. Just as I thought I couldn't find you. What are you doing here?" Yukari said.
"Nothing. I was just checking on the slate's condition. This is Nature's dream. Right?" Sukuna.
"Yes. Releasing the Slate to its true form and creating a new world. The promise Nagare Chan once made of showing me a beautiful world will finally be fulfilled." Yukari.
On the day Yukari became a Clansmen in the Green Clan, Nagare gave him a promise.
"I promise you, Yukari. That one day, I will show you a new world in which everybody can let the hidden flowers bloom." That is what Nagare said to Yukari on that day, now that promise is about to be fulfilled.
"Hey! We're eating soon, you two!" Iwafune called.
"Okay!" Sukuna answered.
When he turned in the room, Saruhiko was sitting and playing in his PDA, Sukuna looked at him with an annoying face. This made Yukari smile and whisper in his ear "You really don't like Saruhiko Chan?"
"I do not!" Sukuna replied angrily. "Also, if he really a spy, then Nagare whose dream has finally come so far.."
"It is possible that he is a spy."
"Nagare!" Sukuna.
"However, Saruhiko accumulated enough Jungle points to become a J-Ranker and come here." Nagare.
"But what if he gets in your way?" Sukuna asked.
"The game Master has to adhere to the rules." Nagare added.
"But that guy cheated!" Sukuna.
"If the gameplay is possible within the system, it is approved. It is yet another entertainment. If you collect enough points you'll become a J-Ranker. If you conduct in a way that betrays that rule, you will be removed. That is another obvious rule." Nagare.
"In the Game I create, everybody can participate freely. Even if he happens to be the enemy." Nagare said with a smile.
This is something that Sukuna did not understand, every time he complained about the suspicious existence of Saruhiko, they would say similar words, those rules that have been set up that everyone must even abide by. There was no difference between them. He could not do anything about that annoying feeling inside him.
"If Saruhiko should betray us, I'll give his removal mission to you. Okay Sukuna?" Nagare said after that.
"Of course! He Hee. I'll definitely protect you, Nagare!" Sukuna said with a big smile.
Finally satisfied! He will get rid of Saruhiko and protect Nagare, Sukuna went to the room while he is very happy about that.
On another day.
"Heeey, Saruhiko Kun, give me a hand here," Iwafune called from the kitchen.
Pocketing the PDA he was playing with, Saruhiko got up reluctantly. Iwafune, in a ridiculous apron with a picture of the Jungle mascot parrot character "Junpy", seemingly modeled after Kotosaka, printed on the front, smiled at Saruhiko while kneading chicken meat packed in a plastic bag.
"Can you cut up those veggies?"
Unfortunately, the other two were not there, so Saruhiko has to help him and do what he was asked.
For a while, it was quiet, with only the sounds of cooking breaking the silence occasionally. If Saruhiko was to space out enough, he could almost believe that this wasn't the dead middle of the enemy territory but a peaceful household.
Saruhiko asked quietly, "…What do you intent to do with these vegetables?"
"C'mon, with Chinese cabbage, crown daisies and onions? It can only be hotpot! …Oh, and can you handle those with a little more care? You really are no good at domestic chores, huh, Saruhiko Kun."
"I wouldn't say that. I just don't feel like I have any obligation to handle the vegetables I won't be eating myself with any sort of care."
"Oh, what is it? Hating veggies is bad for your health, you know? Our Sukuna loathes bell peppers, and it makes it so troublesome for me. And now we have even more picky eater kids, huh."
Being lumped together with the youngest of the top Green clansmen in such a natural progression instantly rubbed Saruhiko the wrong way, but just then, the door opened, letting in Sukuna and Yukari.
"Oh, what a nice smell."
"Tonight's dinner is fried chicken?"
Turning the pieces of chicken meat that had become light brown, with long cooking chopsticks in the quietly sizzling oil, Iwafune smiled at his returning companions.
"Yup, fried chicken and hotpot. We'll throw some codfish into hotpot, so it will be codfish hotpot that we can eat with ponzu and grated daikon with chili. Saruhiko Kun is handling prep of the veggies as we speak."
Saruhiko glaring at the onions on the chopping board, and Sukuna glaring at Saruhiko clicked their tongues at the same time. At the resulting sound of the uncannily coincident double tongue click Saruhiko's expression turned even sourer.
"I imagine even a veggie-hater like you, Saruhiko Kun, and a bell pepper hater like you, Sukuna, would love some fried chicken, right? So show some gratitude to good ol' Iwa-san for providing you dinner even spoiled kids would be crazy about."
"Don't lump me together with him! Besides, I only hate bell peppers and have no problem eating the other veggies in hotpot!"
"That's not a feat great enough to be boasting about with such pride though," Yukari remarked with an eye-roll, watching Sukuna.
"Sukuna, put the gas burner on the tea table, will you?"
"Mnn."
"But first, wash your hands."
"I know!"
"Where is Nagare-chan?"
"With the Slate. So can you go tell him to come eat, too, Yukari-chan?"
Half-listening to what sounded almost like an ordinary family exchange if you didn't know any better, Saruhiko grimaced in silence.
"How dare live a normal human life when you people are trying to destroy the goddamn world."
Feeling a surge of anger demanding to be vented, with a hard whack Saruhiko cleaved the onion on the chopping board clean in two.
Saruhiko had the gist of the secret base's layout mostly figured out. He kept walking through the underground space.
The place of Saruhiko's destination was lit with green light. It was coming from the Dresden Slate. The light was soft, cool and clear and held quiet pressure that sent shivers down Saruhiko's spine when he gazed at it. The Slate was enveloped in that radiance in its entirety, and every now and then the specks of concentrated light separated from it, floating up capriciously, much like bubbles.
The underground space, dimly illuminated by the Slate's radiance, bore even more resemblance to a shrine. Even to Saruhiko, who considered religion nothing more than the weak's excuse to stop thinking for themselves, the sight looked sacred.
In front of the Slate, there was a wheelchair, and in it, Nagare sat. The Green King was seated leaning against the backrest of his wheelchair, and his eyes were closed. Was he napping?
Feeling the need to muffle the sound of his footsteps for some reason, Saruhiko slowly approached him, carefully observing him all the while.
According to Isana Yashiro, Hisui Nagare was dead. The life he had lost 14 years ago was being substituted by his superpower.
And at the moment, Nagare, sitting in his wheelchair without a stir, with a white face that was always pale to begin with and eyes shut tightly, really looked like a corpse. He was probably breathing, but the sound of it was too quiet, adding to the impression of a lifeless doll.
Saruhiko had to remind himself that the one in front of him right now was neither a doll nor an ordinary corpse but the strongest King, linked to the Slate. The light radiating from the Slate being green was probably the side-effect of the link established between it and Nagare. The Slate had been forced to slumber until now, and this was the man who tried to shake it awake.
Without thinking, Saruhiko fingered the knives hidden in his sleeves. He wasn't going to use them right now, no, the action was simply a pure instinct that made him want to physically confirm that he still had his weapons on him.
"What are you doing?"
The annoyed voice that asked that question so out of the blue was high - a boy's voice before breaking - but the owner tried to lower it as much as he could.
Saruhiko lifted his head, and Gojou Sukuna came in sight. The boy was drawing closer, watching Saruhiko with naked wariness plainly showing in his eyes. He came to a stop between Saruhiko and Nagare, as if wedging himself in between them to protect Nagare's back.
"Nothing."
And that was true, Saruhiko really wasn't doing anything. Just looking around was the worst of it, really.
Sukuna, though, glared at Saruhiko with very hostile eyes. Part of it was probably due to his childish peeve about Saruhiko making the highest rank, the J rank, faster than him, but the other part of that hostility stemmed from the boy's suspicions about Saruhiko being a Blues' spy.
It went without saying that there was no way that Mishakuji Yukari, Iwafune Tenkei and even Hisui Nagare himself didn't have those same suspicions. The only difference was that Sukuna didn't bother to hide his.
Saruhiko wasn't sure if Yukari and Iwafune just feigned ignorance, letting him swim for the time being, or if they simply underestimated him and thought that him being a spy for the Blues wouldn't make any difference on the grand scale anyway. On his part, Saruhiko knew perfectly well that he wasn't trusted. In any case, Nagare chose to prioritize the rules of the game instead of caution and showed Saruhiko in this far, so what was left for Saruhiko now was only to do his job.
And something as hopelessly reckless as trying to take the head of the sleeping Hisui Nagare wasn't in that job's description.
Sukuna, however, as he griped the handle of his scythe tightly and took the position as if fully intending to protect Nagare's wheelchair with his body, kept glaring daggers at Saruhiko.
'Does he think I'm gonna do something to Hisui Nagare? What an idiot. If it was possible at all, I'd have done it long ago and been done with this troublesome shit already.'
"You've been moving around the secret base a lot today, no?"
"Yeah. I'm new here, after all. Call it learning for the sake of what's to come."
"For the sake of what's to come, huh."
The short exchange between Saruhiko and Sukuna was loaded with implications and thorns on both sides.
"Did you learn anything worthwhile?" a flat, almost monotone voice that didn't belong to Saruhiko or Sukuna asked suddenly.
Sukuna whirled around to look behind him. "Nagare! If you're gonna sleep, do it in the room!"
"I was not sleeping, just thinking with my eyes closed." Giving Sukuna a childish excuse like that, Nagare shifted his gaze to Saruhiko.
That direct gaze, betraying no emotions whatsoever, made Saruhiko flinch inwardly, but outwardly, keeping up his composed facade, he replied casually, "Yes, I did. I mostly figured out the layout of the secret base. I believe it will save me a good amount of time come the next mission."
"I see."
Saruhiko never had any idea what Nagare was thinking. He tried to grasp the thoughts behind that always flat expression but never could.
"What do you think of the Slate?"
"What, huh… Nothing much." Saruhiko couldn't provide much of an answer to Nagare's abrupt and vague inquiry.
Only his right eye visible, Nagare gazed at Saruhiko from beneath his white hair that almost seemed to glow. Back when Nagare was a presence lurking on the other side of the internet and Saruhiko didn't know what he looked like, he tended to imagine the Green King as having a villainous air about him, but after he had met him in person, "childish" had become the descriptor also coming to mind.
Saruhiko looked away, pushing up at the bridge of his glasses. "…When I first stepped to "this side", I felt that the Slate might be the power that could change the world, but now I don't have any particularly strong feelings towards it. If anything, it seems to me from time to time that all of you kings are being manipulated by the Slate one way or another."
With each next word coming out of Saruhiko's mouth, the sharp glint in Sukuna's eyes was becoming more pronounced.
Assuming that Nagare would see through him if he tried to flatter him, Saruhiko gave his honest answer.
Nagare's expression didn't change, still making it impossible to grasp what he was thinking.
"The Slate's power lies in the wide variety of possibilities," Nagare said. "Making use of those possibilities is up to each person. If someone looks like they are being manipulated by the Slate, it likely means that they do not make proper use of their possibilities. Being controlled by one's dream is a rather common occurrence. Whether they can reach the endresult they desire after being manipulated and controlled by it or not is also up to each person."
Not moving his head an inch, Nagare was seizing up the Slate and Saruhiko in turns with his gaze only.
"Countless possibilities exist at any given time. Life itself is but a series of choices. Depending on the option chosen, the endresult that can be reached also varies greatly. —Saruhiko, I am looking forward to your choice."
Nagare's dispassionate voice sent a shiver down Saruhiko's spine, and all of the hair on Saruhiko's body stood on end.
Saruhiko couldn't tell how much of what was to come Nagare could foresee to have the base for making such statements, but at that moment Saruhiko felt like the fact that, depending on his "choice", not only the future within the reach would change greatly, but his future itself may very well disappear, tangibly brushed against the nape of his neck.
There were a lot of times when both Saruhiko and Sukuna were in quarreling. In fact, what really bothered Saruhiko was how he had to deal with that child, so he made him feel uncomfortable.
After getting into a trifle argument with Sukuna (that is to say, Saruhiko stooped to the level of the brat, and to him the fact was annoying as hell) and getting punched by Yukari along with him, Saruhiko watched Sukuna ask Yukari, "Yukarii, let's fight for a bit. Since, the newcomer won't play with me." Sukuna made a show of looking in Saruhiko's direction as he said that.
Yukari gave him a wry smile and with a shrug of his shoulders accepted the challenge. "I don't mind. But we won't bet any points, got it? I would feel bad extorting points from a child through a bet."
"What?!"
Saruhiko turned his back to the Slate, leaning against one of the concrete pillars that lined the space at regular intervals, and focused on the fight between Yukari and Sukuna.
Yukari's long-bladed sword sliced through the air. The peculiarly colored light the sword emanated was perhaps due to Yukari blending his colors as a more-than-one color user to produce this mix, or maybe it was simply a special ability he possessed from the start. At the very least, it was a peculiarity that Saruhiko, a several color user himself, didn't have.
Yukari's glimmering blade glided through the space, drawing fancy arcs in the air. Without concentrating, it was hard to follow them even with the eyes.
But Sukuna matched Yukari's attacks blow for blow despite their speed. Yukari moved with fluidity of a dancer; Sukuna's movements, on the other hand, looked more like those of a small animal jumping about.
Sukuna's big eyes chased the tip of Yukari's sword, and his body reacted accordingly, shifting and whirling. With Sukuna being a lightweight, his fighting style, with aerial battle as its forte, was more acrobatics than anything else.
Jumping up high, Sukuna brought down his scythe on the tall Yukari from above. The scythe's blade, enveloped in green light, clashed with Yukari's sword, Ayamachi, and got repelled. His attack repulsed, Sukuna spun the handle of the scythe around its midpoint and, after righting his posture in mid-air, kicked the nearby pillar, launching himself at Yukari yet again. Yukari dodged the assault with ease and with a light step of a dancer, swung his Ayamachi at Sukuna's back. Sukuna's head didn't even turn to look back as he avoided the blade by rolling across the floor; then, as he was getting back up to his feet, he launched another attack, pointing the sharp tip of the scythe's sickle upward and making a scoop-up motion with it. Not perturbed in the slightest, Yukari calmly blocked Sukuna's blow with his sword. The heavy and gritty sound of metal on metal resounded in the sprawling underground space.
Saruhiko felt his eyeballs go dry from how unblinkingly he followed the development of the battle between the two, so he blinked his eyes a few times.
Yukari kept moving like dancing, and Sukuna kept doing his acrobatics.
'What is this, a circus?' Fushimi commented snidely in his head. But, in contrast to that mocking remark, droplets of unpleasant cold sweat traveled down his spine.
That game Yukari and Sukuna played was extremely dangerous, but their moves were sure. To them, it might have been only a warm-up routine rather than a real fight, perhaps.
"That boy is strong, you know? He lacks refined beauty for now, but in raw power he's equal or even stronger than me. If he challenges you to a fight again, I advice you to decline."
Saruhiko pondered those words that Yukari said to him earlier.
'I would be lucky if the circumstances would allow me to decline,' Saruhiko thought with a scowl settling over his features.
It took all of Fushimi's focus just to be able to follow the development of that seemingly mock battle with his eyes, the fact giving him a distinctive sense of unease. And that, perhaps, was one of the goals Yukari hoped to achieve when he had accepted Sukuna's challenge: that is, showing off the power gap to keep Saruhiko in check.
If Saruhiko ever dared betray them, these would turn his enemies. Should he choose to stick with the Greens for real though, these would be his allies. So which of the options would be the smart choice—
Yukari's movements gave his opponent no openings to exploit, and it looked like he still had some leeway left to step up his game should the need be. If Saruhiko was honest, he couldn't imagine himself win against Yukari no matter how he tried.
The same could be said about going up against Sukuna whose movements right now as he fought Yukari were sharper and faster than when he fought Saruhiko and Yata.
There were 3 colors dwelling inside Saruhiko now. Even if it wasn't a dramatic leveling up, he was definitely stronger now than before. And yet, despite the fact, he still couldn't hope to win against Sukuna.
Little was known about what determined how strong or how weak a clansman' powers would be, but it looked like Saruhiko's power couldn't hold a candle to Sukuna's, much to Saruhiko's dismay.
If, due to circumstances, he had to fight Sukuna anyway, should he bet on the chance of Sukuna underestimating him as his only hope then…? Although Sukuna's fighting strength was definitely top-notch, his immaturity made him prone to weird slips and whims. What he said to Saruhiko earlier when he tried to pick a fight with him, "I will give you plenty of handicap", was a statement of someone strong and aware that he had a leeway to spare. If he kept that attitude and underestimated Saruhiko further, he might become careless enough to show a chink in his armor… no, even if he did, beating him still looked impossible to accomplish for Saruhiko alone. Alone—
The thought made Saruhiko click his tongue.
'I should stop thinking about stupid things. Hoping that I won't be alone when the time comes is pointless. Better rack my brains over how I can pull through this on my own.'
While Saruhiko was being annoyed with himself for the track his thoughts took, the playfight between Sukuna Yukari had reached a conclusion.
Upon blocking a slash from Yukari's sword with the handle of his scythe, Sukuna was thrown off balance mid-air, resulting for him in a shaky landing and finding the tip of Yukari's sword right at his throat.
"Looks like it's over."
"…Tch." Sukuna admitted his defeat by lowering his scythe but puffed his cheeks in frustration.
Yukari chuckled quietly and, spinning his beloved sword nimbly, put it back into the sheath on his back. He then turned on his heels and started walking in Saruhiko's direction.
"Did you enjoy spectating our little game?" Yukari asked, throwing a sidelong glance at Saruhiko as he passed him by. Saruhiko didn't answer right away, and Yukari passed him by without stopping, not waiting for a reply.
Awkward silence stretched on between the still squatting Sukuna and the only other person still left on the scene, Saruhiko.
"Tch," Sukuna gave another small tongue click and stood up. Putting the handle of his scythe, with its sickle created by his powers now undone, on his shoulder, Sukuna sported a frown, his attitude losing some of its usual bite, probably because he felt embarrassed about having been seen lose.
Saruhiko didn't handle kids very well in general, and this one in particular. The brat made Saruhiko feel restless because, just like with an animal, you never had any idea what to expect next with him.
"I was in my practice mode, got it?! It won't go like that in a real fight!" Sukuna made nonsensical excuses, pointing at Saruhikowith the scythe's handle.
Saruhiko answered nothing, only letting out a big sigh. 'Does this brat even understand that when he loses in that "real fight", it will be all over?'
Sukuna was still a 13 year old kid. Saruhiko had no idea just how much of the current situation, of his own position and of the meaning behind what he was participating in Sukuna actually comprehended. A heavy feeling settled in the pit of Saruhiko's stomach as he thought about Hisui Nagare's reasons for involving a small brat like that in his shit.
Except it seemed that to Hisui Nagare, there was no difference between kids, flaming gays, birds and kings, all of that being but negligible details to him.
"Sukuna."
"Ah?"
"I wanna know your opinion. What do you think of the Slate that that king of yours plundered and is now trying to activate?"
Sukuna blinked at him and paused for a couple of seconds, thinking. "It's a tool necessary for Nagare to turn the world into an awesome game setting."
Saruhiko grimaced and turned his head to gaze at the Slate behind him. The radiance coming from it as it tried to divest of the last of the restricting seals was really bright now. So bright that the last restrain could fall off any minute now.
"Reality ain't no game, you know."
"No, it's a game," Sukuna's answer to Saruhiko's muttered preachy remark was immediate, as if to cut him off.
Saruhiko, wanting to click his tongue badly, shifted his gaze back to the boy. He was expecting Sukuna to be grinning all cheekily at him or something of the sort, but the boy looked deadly serious. The 13 year old brat stared into the darkness of the underground cavern with oddly sober eyes.
"A game where nothing can be undone. No matter how shitty that game is, you're forced to play it anyway, and your LPs get constantly reduced whether you want it or not. If I have to play it anyway, then I want to at least choose the scenario of the game I'll be participating in."
"…Do you realize how risky the game you're playing is?"
Sukuna snorted at that. "I bet all my remaining LPs and joined Nagare in his game."
'Damn game nut of a brat,' Saruhiko cursed inwardly, gritting his teeth.
What was the worst though was that this brat had made such a choice not because his game-fried brain mixed up reality and virtuality. Which meant, the answer to the question Saruhiko asked himself earlier, about whether the brat understood that losing in a "real fight" spelt game over in reality, was a solid yes. Saruhiko couldn't tell the degree of how "real" reality actually felt to Sukuna, but it was clear that he understood what was at stake.
The brat was intent on having fun participating in Hisui Nagare's "Let's remake this world according to my wishes" game despite properly differentiating between reality and virtuality.
Hisui said that life was a series of choices. And Sukuna had chosen Hisui Nagare. His choice was conscious, made with the awareness of the pain and suffering, the hated and resentment borne out of them, and all the other raw and vivid emotions to be found there, and now that he had chosen, he treated reality as a game and tried to play it as one.
For Saruhiko, it meant that come the time to fight this brat, he would need to be fully prepared to kill or be killed.
With Saruhiko, it was doubtful to begin with if he could even embrace the leniency of going easy on the opponent because they were only a kid and the luxury of the weakness to question himself if he could actually kill or not, and under these circumstances giving in to these notions would only endanger his life further.
Saruhiko's chest got weighted heavily with this realization, adding to the bitterness already dwelling there.
"You will go that far for Hisui Nagare?" Saruhiko blurted out, forgetting his own circumstances for a moment. "Despite the high probability that all of this, you guys included, is just a game to him and you are his game pieces to be used in it?"
"So what?" Saruhiko's words were designed to shake him, yet Sukuna looked displeased but not shaken in the least.
Saruhiko provoked him further, "You do realize that game pieces could be discarded at any moment?"
"If I'm discarded, then such is Nagare's will and wish," Sukuna replied in a firm voice. "If Nagare decided that's what he wanted, I'm fine with it. Nagare does what he wants, and I do what I want."
Saruhiko couldn't help a little chuckle that had escaped him then. It was barely audible, just letting out some air out of his lungs, in understanding - and in resignation.
Now that he thought about it, Iwafune had mentioned it, too, didn't he. That this place was free, and that he could act however he liked.
And he had understood now what kind of place this was. A clan where one was responsible only for oneself, making it terribly irresponsible as a group.
There was no need to get along with anyone, even with the people who were technically your comrades. You were only responsible for yourself, and no one else. This, in and of itself, might not have been such a bad thing, actually… but.
But life was a series of choices, and Saruhiko had already made his.
It appeared that Sukuna didn't notice Saruhiko's light chuckle. In a mean-spirited and childish gesture, though appropriate for his age, he stuck out his tongue at Saruhiko.
"But I won't screw up so bad for Nagare to want to abandon me, and I will play this game with Nagare till the end."
"Is that so," Saruhiko tossed disinterestedly.
At that, Sukuna's usual antagonistic attitude towards Saruhiko made a comeback, and he whispered under his breath, as if to himself, "I won't let you get in the way."
Life was a series of choices. Yes, that was right.
But why had he made that kind of choice? And despite having an option that would have guaranteed his life, too. Despite having the easy and safe way out, he had chosen to refuse that so called "new world" these people were trying to create.
Saruhiko gazed into the parrot's eyes, shining in the dark.
Just as he was about to betray Jungle and open the Yomito game to usher Munakata in, the parrot showed up to talk to him.
"Come to our side for real, Saruhiko. Right now, I am extending my sincere invitation to you. Not Homura, nor Scepter 4, but Jungle, with our respect for free will, is the most suitable clan for a person of your disposition."
Hisui Nagare was watching him through the borrowed eyes of the parrot and was giving him his last alternatives through the mouth of the bird, yet Saruhiko didn't waver as he gave his reply.
"I refuse."
Saruhiko had already made his choice about what path to follow a long time ago. And at the very least, the world that would agree with Fushimi was not one by Hisui Nagare's side.
"That is a pity," Hisui said.
With these parting words, the parrot, freed from Hisui's will, returned to being just a normal bird and took off, cackling noisily.
The door of the control room opened, and Gojou Sukuna stepped inside.
Sukuna was smirking boldly. "Now that you're no longer our comrade, I can kill you, right!"
Getting ready to swing his green-glowing scythe, Sukuna kicked the floor.
Countless possibilities existed at any given time. But well, it was the time to explore those of them, however few, where Saruhiko could survive a fight against this brat.
While calmly turning this thought in his head, Saruhiko, not about to give up even in the face of the odds as he embraced his budding will to live, took out the knives hidden in his sleeves.
The fighting began. Saruhiko had taken his decision from the beginning, this was the result of his choice, fighting against Sukuna was something expected, as well as Saruhiko expected, Sukuna was very strong, shortly after the fighting, Saruhiko was in a really difficult situation.
"Lame.. You're supposed to challenge the final dungeon after earn enough experience points. It's too bad I'm not letting you return to your last save point." Sukuna puts his Scythe on his shoulder with a smile while Saarikko can hardly stand.
"Shut up, game brain brat.. Turning off the power button won't save you from anything.. Not when it comes to reality. There are times when you still have to fight.. Even if you know you can't win!" Saruhiko said, then threw his knives at Sukuna.
Sukuna managed to repel the knives by his Scythe and hit it in Saruhiko direction, so that one of the knive hit his leg. Saruhiko became in a more dangerous state, he no longer able to move, and was in a desperate position already.
At that moment, there was a voice calling out "Saruhiko" in the place. Yata Misaki, who came to Saruhiko to rescue him, appeared at the last minute to save him, although he managed to carry Saruhiko and escape for some time. But Sukuna was able to catch up with them and stand in front of them again.
Yata Misaki was standing in front of Saruhiko to protect him, for Sukuna who wanted to kill Saruhiko, he had to get rid of Misaki first! He did not mind having an extra player in the game.
"You.. Don't you have any friends to play games with?" Yata Misaki asked.
"I've always played solo. It's a hundred times better than having to deal with a weak players who slow me down. I'm strong enough on my own, anyway. The only one who's fun to play with is Nagare. That's why anyone who gets in Nagare's way.. will be crushed!" Sukuna answered.
He was about to attack Misaki, but one of Saruhiko knives blocked his way.
"So JUNGLE was your refuge, eh.. You remind me of how we used to be.. Even so.. It's time for you to go home, kid.." Misaki said.
As for Sukuna, he did not understand what Misaki meant, and did not care to understand it, all he wanted was to feel pleasure. This was Nagare's game. This makes his life interesting.
"I'm still stronger than the two of you put together!" Sukuna said when he was to attack.
At one point, he was hit by a Misaki weapon, and because of his lack of attention he was hit by Saruhiko knives. This made him fall to the ground for a moments, Misaki approached him while smiling to Saruhiko who was hardly stand.
"It's like old times.. Fighting side by side with you." Misaki said to Saruhiko.
"It's not the same, as back then." Saruhiko answered.
"Yeah, it's not the same." Misaki added. "Misaki Yata, Red Clansman, and..." He looked at Saruhiko as though he were waiting for him to finish his words. "Say it!"
"Saruhiko Fushimi, Blue Clansman.." Saruhiko said as he held his glasses.
"- .. Will take you on!" Saruhiko and Misaki said at the same time.
Sukuna, who was on the ground for a while, was feeling overheated, they were acting as they are great in front of him, as a child, perhaps such movements take his interest, to look great during his fight against the opponent, he was reluctant to admit this, for him both Saruhiko and that guy from Homra are not great!
And not only that. There was something else he did not understand, these two, supposedly they didn't get along well, and there was a time when Sukuna saw their quarrel, and again in the academy, when he fighting with them, their relationship never looked good. Neither one of them cared about the other. But now there is something different. This guy came all the way to save Saruhiko, and Saruhiko also protected him when Sukuna wanted to attack Misaki, and then they talked as if they were friends in the past. Did Saruhiko betray them without fear of death because he was confident that someone will help him? Certainly not. He never understood ... For him, Saruhiko is not a strong person, he might have expected him not to betray them for fear of being killed. But Saruhiko never hesitated and opened the gate. A short time ago he was about to die before the appearance of this person ... Why did Saruhiko do all this? Why did this person come to save him?!
He didn't understand. This thing stirred up many meanings that he did not understand. But he did not care about that.
For him, all he has to do is kill Saruhiko and get rid of everyone who stands in Nagare way.
"Think you has-beens are so cool!?" He said while standing directing his weapon to attack.
"I'm on a job here. And I can't waste time playing games with a kid!" Saruhiko said while throwing a number of knives towards Sukuna.
Sukuna is attacked on two sides, while focusing on one of them, the other side starts the attack, making him in a difficult situation in attack.
The weapon that was with Yata Misaki was hit from afar, making the attacks of Misaki infect him, at one point Misaki hit him in the stomach, and lowered his head waiting for Saruhiko to complete the attack.
Saruhiko was not able to move, the Knife fell from his hand as if he would fall at any moment.
At that moment, Yata Misaki called "Saruhiko"
"Get away, half dead!" Sukuna said.
Sukuna did not understand, why a weak person like him, in critical condition, still fighting so far!
This made him feel angrier because he did not need to play with someone who could barely stand up, he wanted to attack him but ... Saruhiko throw the knife that hit Sukuna hand.
In a moment of amazement and pain, he could not know what had happened, he saw himself fall in that hole he had made in the place, he was falling down, and they were looking at him from the top ... "Nagare dream" ... Sukuna said before he closes his eyes ..
He was completely lost in front of them ... Saruhiko had betrayed them, and Sukuna could not kill him, and Nagare's dream had been destroyed .. And their house became devastation!
Back to the present, Sukuna was crying! Nagare has died!
Notes:
I put some parts of the side stories, manga and anime. I am putting the parts that I want to rely on in the events.
You can say what you want.