Chapter 32

Days ago…

Yua knew the moment Choso wasn't to be seen and Yuuji vanished, that they were in the land of divine for his check up. She just finished explaining things to Fushiguro when she paused on a notion. "Yua?" Megumi asked.

"Just a second, something doesn't feel right…" she could feel it in a sense, yet then again, she was always good at reading energy. What concerned her was that the fact this odd flux she sense was coming from someone who shouldn't have a problem controlling their own energy in such a way.

She went to Suiryu's residence.

At first she didn't know if she should approach him, after all, he does have some of Sukuna's tendencies, at the same time, he isn't the bastard. Yet, this is concerning, she approached the door and was about to knock. Yet the door wrenched open! Her arm was grabbed as she was pulled inside.

Yua was caught off guard for a moment, until she saw the look of panic on Suiryu's face! "Suiryu…"

"What… what's happening to me?" he whispered in a worried tone. "I… I can feel something off within my body, I want to rip off my skin and tear it to shreds! I want to just… erupt with power, but know I will kill everyone here. I… I can't control this urge inside of me… Wanting to break free in a sense… at the same time, it's goddamn painful!"

His voice spiked when he uttered how much pain he was in. Yua could see it on his face too. "Suiryu, lie down, let me see if I can help."

"Help? How could you help me!" he demanded. "Yua, this is beyond you!"

"You are becoming a dragon, I know a thing or two about them. I know more than you, I suggest you consider your words more carefully around me, understood?" she snapped back in a stern tone.

The look on his face was one she would never forget. He was utterly stunned to what she said. "You… you really aren't afraid of me, are you?"

She bore a rather proud smirk. "You never scared me," she said defiantly to him. "Now, go to your room and lie on your bed, let's see if we can figure this out."

He was stunned, but did what was asked of him. Suiryu laid in bed as Yua began to peer over him. Her hands became aglow with curse energy, but then, the power altered in her palms. Suiryu nearly sat up in shock of it. "Lie down Suiryu,"

"But, this jujutsu…" he said with utter fascination.

"Later, on the bed, now." She ordered a little more firmly. He complied. Slowly, he eased himself back down as her hands hovered over his body, she watched the interaction of curse energy between them and was making observation notes in her head. 'The energy is being absorbed at the same time, parts of it are being repelled too. Which means, the fusion is happening…'

"Yua?"

"It's to be expected… but the thing is, you're fighting it."

Once more he froze. "How did you…"

"Family technique, when one carries Ryujin, this was how we made sure there was stability between the host and the dragon. The energy I emitted is able to be absorbed by both dragon and sorcerer. Your body was drawing in my power easily, yet, the energy that I was using to connect to the dragon, was being repelled, which means, you are resisting this change."

He was silent. Suiryu laid there and stared up at the ceiling, falling deep into thought. "I don't deserve it," he whispered.

Yua found a chair near by and pulled it up to the side of the bed. "Why?" she asked.

"What?"

"Why don't you deserve it?" she asked again and looked to him curiously. However, Suiryu was confused as hell at this point. "Did you think I forgot about the soul realm?" she asked of him.

Suddenly, he sat up in shock. "You can recall…"

"Oddly enough yes," she replied rather bluntly. "But Suiryu, let me explain this to you, despite how I previously felt when you first appeared. That feeling vanished within the day. Yuuji showed me that you were nothing like him, in fact. After a while. I swore, you were Yuuji at a young age, even his grandfather said such a thing!"

"Gramps said that?" he whispered.

"More so, you came to me when Yuuji left. Trusting me to look after you, Sukuna wouldn't have done that, he would have ordered us around, ensuring all his needs were met. But you… you wanted to learn, be helpful and understand this strange world that you have been brought into. I did my best considering we were in a soul realm, and yet, you took everything I said to heart. It's odd. It… really stuck with me."

"You were kind enough to offer me training, as well… you didn't jump to a conclusion when you saw me like this the first time… not with a dragon soul mind you."

She snickered at the notion. "You don't believe you deserve this power. Choso came to speak to me about this before too, stating that I tend to talk to you a little better than he could… HOW he knew that, God only knows…"

He chuckled at that. "Choso freaks me out too…" he confessed. "But, Yua… the dragon's soul is a power that not anyone should have let alone possess. Why in hell do I have it?!"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Only Ryujin can answer that, right? But, he must have seen something in you worth saving, and something else that would allow you to have such a treasure. As I said, Choso explained everything to me, and on many aspects, he's right." She said. "If something happens to us, Yuuji will be left alone once more. Becoming a dragon is not something to be taken lightly, let alone think it's nothing to serious. Everything you possess will be amplified. Imagine him being alone in this world with NO ONE to turn to. The dragon tending to him is powerful, but it sounds as if their presence in this world is something dangerous too. They don't stay around do they?"

He shook his head. "But all the energy around Japan becomes distorted."

"So being here already disrupts the balance…" she muttered. "So this is all within their plan by the sounds of it. Yuuji needs someone to count on and turn to. You have become a strange voice of reason, at the same time instigator of many things Suiryu. But… From what I have seen through Itadori, I have never seen you turn you power on those you promised to protect."

He turned away. "That's a lie,"

"Being possessed by Sukuna does not count, you know it. You have lectured Yuuji enough times on that, don't make me do the same to you!" she warned.

He smirked once more and sighed. "I don't want to be a dragon though," he said. "It's… hard."

Yua paused. "Hard? Emotionally hard?"

His face stiffened in shock, he turned to her, stunned once more. "Somehow Suiryu, I can read you really well… almost too well to be honest with you. Still don't know how I can, but anyways. Yeah, as it's physically hard on Yuuji, it's emotionally hard on you. I noticed that,"

He slowly sat up, and yet the look on his face remained unchanged. He was seriously stunned to her deduction. "How can you even know that?" he whispered. "I don't even know that what I was feeling…"

"I've been watching you trying to cheer Yuuji up ever since he returned to his… semi normal state." She explained. "As much as Yuuji tries to cheer everyone else up, despite his emotional state. You do the exact same thing, I could tell by the look in your eyes that it was a lot harder for you to try and get Yuuji out of his funk. You looked worried, wondering if this was the right thing to do? Were you doing it right? And so on, you didn't know since you have never had to do such a thing before, you had no memory to fall upon, and it scared you to try to attempt such a thing. You did a damn good job in case you are wondering."

Once more, the look didn't alter. "Yua…"

"Now, about here and now… I would be the first to tell you that you don't deserve a dragon's power. You know that right? But after everything I have seen, after the hard word Ryujin has done to bring you back. I think you have shown your worth. As well, what clenched it for me was the fact when Sukuna possessed you, you showed Yuuji the soul shattering technique. That should have killed you and Sukuna together, but, it only did the bastard in." She paused for a moment, as if something had come to mind suddenly. "Hmm, maybe…" she said in a pondering tone.

"Yua?"

"Sorry, just thinking of something here. Anyways. Look. Suiryu, you are doing a great service too… are you aware as to what happens if a dragon's soul has no where to go?"

He froze to her words.

"Nowhere to go?"

"Indeed, a dragon's soul has to go somewhere. Most of the time, into nature, to feed the world and allow everything to grow and recover from the wounds it has been given. But it can't be done anymore, humans have done too much damage, a single soul wouldn't make a difference. If it goes into the air, the power is scattered throughout the world. Legions will fight for a taste of the dragon's power. Thousands, millions will die because of it. Lastly, if it isn't disburse… it will become a plague upon the world. Not many knew this, but the black death that came over the world before… was the remains of a dragon. Some of its soul stayed in the corpse, and when it was found and released… the world paid for it."

He fell into silence, Suiryu looked to Yua oddly. "Is that true?"

She nodded to him. "It is, right now, the safest place for it to be, is to have it absorbed by a vessel. You." She said. "You are being trusted with this power, not only to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, but ensure that the dragon does not cause destruction should its soul be released. Also, look at it this way. Would Yuuji have been lonely, being the only dragon on earth?"

He sighed in defeat, a forced smirk came over Suiryu as he said. "How the hell do you even do that?" he muttered with fascination. "Shit I came from the bastard, and yet why did you make me feel like shit one moment, and then, made me feel like the most important person in the world?"

She shrugged her shoulders playfully. "It's a gift."