Chapter 30
He saw it all from where he stood.
Sukuna of course was repairing Yua's house after she 'ordered' him to. But, there was something drastically wrong with what is going on around him.
He saw Choso get taken to the nursery, but he no longer sensed his curse energy, then, the three mouthed brat followed a few hours later, same thing.
Granted, despite not having curse energy himself, he still can sense it oddly enough. But those two didn't possess it. "Is that her plan… but if that's the case, something bothers me about this…"
He finished the repairs on the house, at the same time, Sukuna couldn't help but laugh at the notion that Six eyes has been nursing a black eye, and bruised ribs after his failed attempt to throw Toji a baby shower… his first mistake was doing so. His second mistake is doing so AFTER Megumi hatched.
Still, it was worth lingering around, waiting for this all to unfold before his eyes, he was at the right place at the right time to see Six Eyes get blown away!
Back to the matter at hand, with what he has seen, what he has witnessed… this is not a proper way of doing something like this!
"What are you thinking Tiamat…" Sukuna muttered to himself.
"Did you just use my name in vein?"
He peered behind him, she was lingering there with her arms crossed. "You knew I was here, and yet dared to speak my name in such a tone?"
He sighed and lowered his head. "I meant no disrespect, however, I have questions…"
"In due time," she decreed. "For now, you missed a spot on Yua's house…"
"That's my question," Sukuna said bluntly. "If I had been in your position, I would have gone about this differently. Granted, your daughters are going to alter their mates as you have done yours, and yet…"
"Ryomen, be silent,"
He froze. Her tone was stern, meaning, she doesn't want to hear what he has to say! However, he obliged and kept quite. "I will be asking you this at one point or another. After all, I am owed a favor from you once again."
Lady Tiamat peered at him oddly, almost judging his attitude and whether or not she will allow him to speak such a tone before her.
"Watch your words around me Ryomen Sukuna, for you have no idea what I am going through myself."
"Fair point," he muttered.
"I saw you were trying to have Yua and Satoru have more children… how unusual. Despite the fact you have a wife who bares the Tooru name…"
"Don't… speak of that now." He pleaded. "For the time being at least."
She smirked at him. "Oh, I don't think I will have to, with what is going to be happening…" she said offhandedly.
Sukuna… shuttered. "I don't like your tone, that was beyond ominous…" he stated. "Lady Tiamat… what are you hoping to achieve here?"
She smiled to him. "Like you, a new start." She said gently. "You of all here can understand the meanings of a new starting point in one's life. I have seen enough to know the dragons of the heavenly realm are doomed. I also know that the dragons need to return to earth, but, they need to be different, they need to be stronger… they need to be nurturing."
"Yet, you are choosing sorcerers?"
"They are not human," she said. "Another rule of mine, I cannot manipulate humans, since after all, my uncle already did such a thing. I am just using what he did against him."
Sukuna… paused oddly.
He peered at Lady Tiamat with a perplexed look. "Sorcerers came to be because of dragon interference?!" he demanded.
"Indeed they did. My uncle had brought curse energy to this world, and taught humans how to use it. When they did, they no longer became humans. I was bounded by a rule that I, myself, cannot manipulate humans to MY advantage. That rule, didn't extend to my uncle. So he found a way of bringing curse energy into the hands of humans. He is responsible for allowing curses to take form and become living beings, but he did nothing more to help humans. Instead, he used the sorcerers as pawns, for they are no longer considered human."
'What does that have to do with us though?' Sukuna thought. 'What isn't she telling me?'
"I will be back more often to check on Megumi. He is going to have a hard time with his dragon form the most for he has yet to understand and accept it. At the same time, the mental and emotional wounds he has endured have to heal."
"I'll be sure to avoid him at all costs…"
"Indeed, and work on a way you will repay him… by the way, you can't use a favor for that. You need to do that on your own."
"Tsk, so much for an easy way out of that…"
"Besides, as I said, things are going to get very interesting around here… buckle up."
He turned to confront her about that. But, she vanished. "Tsk, like we need more dragons around here…" Sukuna muttered.
#
The next morning…
The place was abuzz. The curse womb brothers were inspecting Choso and Junpei after their sudden transformation. The three mouthed brat still had his two mouths on the sides of his torso, but there was something off about this.
Sukuna hung back and yet, he observed them from afar. "Why does this bother me?" he asked himself.
"Are you not going to congratulate them?"
He peered at Chusi who was admiring everything from afar. Sukuna sighed aloud but said nothing about it. After all, his instincts are telling him this isn't right for some reason. "Why does this bother me?"
"Why what bothers you?"
Chusi sat across from him as he kept looking over at the curse wombs. "The fact that they are turned," he said bluntly. "I wanted to question Lady Tiamat about this yesterday, however, the tone spoken back to me clearly stated for me to shut the hell up" he said bluntly. "I didn't think she would take offence to my question… at the same time, I never spoke it but she was aware as to what I wanted to say…"
Chusi nodded. "Lady Tiamat knows things far sooner in advance than we do, perhaps what you want to know cannot be answered now."
"I assume that's the case, still, it bothers me." He said to her.
She offered a warm smile to him, yet, before she could speak the doors opened to the communal dining hall.
Megumi just walked in, but said nothing, not even a hello to those who called out to greet him. He slunk into the kitchen, grabbed food and left without a word. "That boy is having issues," Sukuna stated.
"I could see that from here, his soul is all over the place right now."
"Ah, that's right, I should have just asked you about that. Is there a reason for it?"
She smiled and nodded. "It's the very reason why he doesn't have the scar of the three great families on his soul. Any other Zen'in would have been thrilled with this, their shikigami sacrificing themselves to make their master stronger… Megumi is different. He doesn't see his shikigami as tools, to him, they are important comrades and he respects them deeply. Very much like Tanso's familiars. Speaking of which… he's missing from that picture there…"
Sukuna peered over and realized that Tanso was indeed missing now. So the curse wombs are going to be turned. "At least Toshi will have a new start…"
Yet, he saw the look on Chusi's face. She appeared saddened by his comment. "What?"
"He… can't," she said gently. "For your blood courses through him. Lady Tiamat had a rule in place, after you had destroyed most of my clan; she made certain that you would never become a dragon. After all, if someone could figure out a way past her rule, it would be you. Since that is in place, Toshi carries your blood, he too is cursed and unable to join his brothers."
He paused to consider the notion, did he sabotage that brat's life even more? Despite the fact he was TRYING to help him?
"I can't seem to do anything right,"
"But there still might be hope… if you can find a dragon's soul as powerful or more so than Lady Tiamat's…"
"Yeah, right…" Sukuna muttered. "Either way, it appears we are going to be busy around here, aren't we?"
She nodded. "I am going to be teaching Satoru a lesson," Chusi decreed.
The moment she uttered those words, Sukuna felt his stomach drop. Chusi can take 'teaching someone a lesson' a little too far… it would be the same extend of Sukuna saying 'it's just a spar session' only for it to be a battle to the death. However, she has had a bee in her bonnet as they say about teaching Satoru a lesson. But, Six Eyes is elusive, even to his own wife.
"What are you planning on doing to him?" Sukuna asked with a coy grin.
She smiled back to him. "You'll have to wait and see like everyone else, since… after all… I need you to help me with it!"
That smile on her face… it was as sinister as his own back in his days of madness…
