Chapter 10

The next morning

Megumi was eating oddly. After all, he was locked in a staring contest with his father. "You okay, you look like you are staring down death."

He turned and saw Suiryu peer over at Toji. "Huh, he's acting weird today."

"You got that too?" Fushiguro paused as he looked only to find his father had vanished suddenly. "He was like this, this morning. I woke up and found him waiting outside of the residence for me. He wanted to talk about making me stronger and yet, when he did, his face… it looked like he blacked out in a sense, he stared at me like that once before… back in Shibuya." Megumi paused. "He's been gone for three days, when I asked him about it, he shrugged his shoulders to it all…"

"He does come and go as he pleases, but what you said before when he blacked out or something… like he was possessed?" Suiryu questioned. "Because I am not getting any of that, if anything… it's familiar to me but not his natural aura."

"You sense he's different too?"

"Big time, I haven't quite come across this sensation before…" Suiryu took a seat, Fushiguro sighed as he continued eating his breakfast. "But the way he is looking at you, it's out of concern." He explained.

"How can you tell?"

Suiryu shrugged his shoulders. "I know the look of worry on the face of someone. This is one to me, then again, your old man doesn't have a lot to worry about right?"

He forced a laugh. "Needless to say, if anything, all he has to do and not piss off your mother."

"No shit, I make sure I don't even do that!" Suiryu snickered. "But, I would watch out for him, hell, talk to him if he is that worried about you. Or vice versa."

Fushiguro nodded. "So… what are you going to be up to?"

"Trying to curb my swearing habits on my end, also helping Yuuji and Kiyoshi… we took Kiyoshi hunting at Ether, the dragon feeding grounds. He took down a Behemoth without issue. I went to check on them and Yuuji was still sitting on Kiyoshi like an egg… luckily he kept that in his house and Kiyoshi was in his bed… yet it's not helping matters…"

"Just when Itadori couldn't get any stranger…"

Suiryu nodded to him. "You know, at first I thought it was hormone overload because of everything going on. But the more I look at it now, I think Yuuji is trying to make up for lost time. He was never there for Kiyoshi when he was little, and since he's become a dragon. His instincts see it as an opportunity, problem is, Kiyoshi isn't a baby. He's a very strong dragon himself, if anything, the two might have to have a little bout just to establish that…"

Megumi paused. "You want Kiyoshi to fight Yuuji?!"

"It maybe the only way we can stop this from happening, Yuuji sees his son as a weak little dragon. If he fights him and sees how powerful he is, then he will back off."

"Will he?"

"Who knows, just a guess at this point," Suiryu suddenly peered off to the left, He saw Toji lingering again, but his eyes were focus on Megumi. "I don't know what is with that look he has. It's temptation at the same time, he is trying to hold himself back on something… You two spar? Does he go easy on you?"

"Needless to say, I can't keep up with him unless I do shadow possession."

"Huh…" Suiryu peered over again, but Toji was gone once more. "You're old man is weird."

"No need to tell me that…" Megumi muttered.

"ELDER BROTHER!"

He cringed as he heard that.

"You don't like being called elder brother?" he asked curiously.

Megumi didn't answer, instead he turned to see his siblings approach. "Dad's back, that's great isn't it!?"

"It's not like he told us where he was going or anything…" Megumi muttered as he went back to his breakfast. "Why are you guys here?"

The five exchanged looks. His sisters cleared their throats and said. "We think you need to check on dad" they said at the same time.

"He went missing, but we won't tell us where he went." Said Tama 1

"Indeed, he said he would tell you since you're the elder brother, but still…" Tama 2 explained.

"I don't care where he goes, he hasn't bothered being that much of a father to me. So… it doesn't matter."

His siblings were taken aback.

"Brother… what's wrong?" T1 asked.

"Exneh on the old man eh…" Suiryu tried to say discreetly.

"But…" the brothers protested.

"I don't care, just… leave me alone for a while if you don't mind…" Megumi stood up and left. His brothers and sisters are trying to bond with him, however, he doesn't see the point of it. He's nothing like them. He's not a dragon, nor will he ever be. His father made his choice too, he's fine raising a new family and yet Megumi still feels neglected out of it all.

He left the communal dining hall. The moment he stepped outside, he took one step before catching him from the corner of his eye.

His father lingered.

"What the hell is with you?!" Megumi demanded.

His father was silent, in fact, he began looking him over, inspecting him very closely… in a creepy way. "What the hell!" he shoved him off… at least tried to. He didn't realize how sturdy his old man was.

He didn't even flinch.

"Why… are you like this?" came out of him.

"What?" Megumi demanded.

Toji growled. "Weak… small…"

"What the hell are you even saying?!" Megumi demanded. "You never called me weak or small for that matter. What is your issue with me? Am I not the son you wanted? I get it! I don't care what you think of me either, but just… stop doing this, it's creeping me out!"

He stormed pass his father, however, Megumi was suddenly grabbed from behind. The world blurred in an instant until, he came to a sudden stop and was on the ground!

"BLEH!" He threw up from the sudden motion sickness, yet he turned as his father became to look more and more crazed.

In fact, his eyes turned black!

He fell silent.

Toji paused as he shook his head to it all. His eyes remained black, but they bore into Megumi. "I'm trying to figure out, my head is all over the place, but mainly… I've been focused on you" he said and pointed right at him. "You're on my mind constantly, and it's screaming at me to make you stronger since… you aren't."

"What…" Megumi muttered, as he sounded offended by the comment. "Dad, I'm the strongest ten shadow sorcerer there has been to come into his family since the first head! Sukuna even saw my potential and used it!" he protested, although he felt disgusted to use HIS name to make a point. "What makes you think I'm not strong enough anymore?"

His father began to get a little fidgety, his eyes began to stare right at Fushiguro and then he started growling lowly. "Not, strong enough" he said in a low, sinister tone. "You are my son and my son is not strong enough!"

"What is with you? Look, just calm down for a while, I'm heading back…" he turned to leave, but jumped as his father stood before him suddenly.

He… hasn't been able to move that fast before, this was beyond the speed he possessed before. "Dad…"

"Make… you… stronger…" he said as his stomach began to lurch. Megumi peered down and noticed something… squirming under his father's skin in his belly.

"Dad…" he stepped back, but began to call upon his shikigami. One of the divine wolves was about to appear when his father suddenly turned and glared at it.

"GO BACK!" he ordered.

Megumi froze as the wolf suddenly melded back into his shadow! "What the hell…" he whispered.

That crazed look came over Toji again. "Stronger… I… can make you… stronger…" he said as his voice even sounded different! His eyes became pitch black, but then glowed an ominous, serpent like green iris…

Megumi had to get out of there, fast! He turned and tried to run, but no matter where he turned, his father cut him off! He couldn't call his Shikigami; they refused to come out in his presence! "They never do that unless…" he froze as he saw his father clenching his stomach oddly, that squirming in his get only intensified.

"Dad… What happened to you?" he whispered.

He tore the shirt off his body as the squirming in his stomach began to intensify. The curse he kept that held his weapons had erupted out of his stomach and yet, his father wasn't in any pain. The worm also changed, it looked more like a serpent than it's original form. "Dad…" Megumi was getting nervous. He stumbled back yet tripped! Still, he tried to crawl away as the worm began to focus on him. "Dad… what are you doing!"

He said nothing, but reached into his pocket and took out an odd orb from it. Somehow he was able to toss it right into Megumi's mouth, and got him right at the back of the throat! He swallowed the odd orb, just as the curse that lingered from his father's stomach took aim.

The worm lunged and wrapped its jaws around Fushiguro, he tried to resisted but slowly, the worm began to swallow him whole…