I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 101: Territorial Instincts

When training was over, Itadori went back to his room. He was so tired that he thought about just going straight to bed, but he knew that he needed to take a shower. Groaning, Itadori pulled himself up and headed over to his dresser to pick out a change of clothes. He then grabbed his shower caddy and left for the joint bathroom. He selected the stall closest to the door and put his caddy on the shelf inside it. His clothes were placed on the bench just outside it before he stripped himself of his clothes. The water was turned to the perfect temperature and Itadori moaned in approval as the water began to caress his body. He allowed himself to bask in it for longer than normal before he finally began to wash himself. Once his body was covered in soap, Itadori stepped back under the water. He watched the grime disappear down the drain for a few seconds before he closed his eyes, letting out a relaxed sigh. Again, he stayed under the water for longer than usual. For the second time, he stepped out, grabbing his hair care products. He mixed his shampoo and conditioner together before lathering up his hair. His fingers moved through his hair, rubbing at his scalp. It wasn't as satisfying as he wanted it to be. Knowing that he'd been in here for such a long time, Itadori increased the water pressure to finish quicker. Once all of the soap was gone, he turned off the shower. He waited a minute before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his lower half. He grabbed a second one and began to dry his hair. Itadori reached for his underwear when the door to the bathroom opened.

"Oh, Itadori," a voice said.

"Panda-senpai," Itadori called. "Inumaki-senpai. What are you two doing here?"

"Our bathroom is out of order," Panda said. "So we've come here instead."

"Ah, I see," Itadori said. He grabbed his underwear and quickly put it on before dropping both towels to the floor. He quickly got dressed. "Enjoy your shower, senpais!" He grabbed the dirty laundry before leaving.

"Mustard leaf," Inumaki said.

"I agree," Panda said. "Something is off."

"Tuna mayo?" Inumaki asked.

"No," Panda said. "My instincts are telling me to let him be. We shouldn't interfere."

"Salmon," Inumaki said.

Itadori dropped the clothes in his hamper before laying down on his bed. His exhaustion finally won and he closed his eyes. He sighed as he felt water move over his body. "Really?"

"Brat," Sukuna called.

Itadori groaned as he sat up. He glared at the curse. "What do you want?"

Sukuna's eyes narrowed. His fingers twitched, but he wasn't ready to kill Itadori just yet. Instead, he stood up and teleported so that he was standing over the boy. He smirked down at him. "You're as pathetic as usual."

"Tch, to tell me that can't be the only reason you brought me here." He crosses his arms. He really wasn't in the mood for whatever the curse wanted. All he wanted to do was sleep.

"I want a rematch," Sukuna said. "And I don't want anyone to intervene this time."

"Seriously? Couldn't this have waited 'til morning?"

"No."

Itadori rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not dealing with your frustration at the fact you lost your fight against Kurama."

"I'm not frustrated and I didn't lose." He glared. "There was an interruption."

Itadori stared at Sukuna. He didn't want to argue with him. Sukuna was even more stubborn than him. So he sighed. "Fine. In the morning, I'll ask Kurama to have a rematch with you. Just let me sleep."

Tsk, fine," Sukuna said. He raised a hand and Itadori let himself be sent out of the domain. He kept his eyes closed as sleep finally came to him. Sukuna on the other hand sat back down on his throne. 'Saying that I lost… the brat really needs to learn his place.' Then he remembered what six-eyes said. 'Bastard must think I'm weak if I can't handle the red-head with all of my power. I'll show him that he's wrong and that I only need half of that.' Naruto popped in his head. His anger grew. 'How dare that blond brat growl at my brat. I'll have to show him his place too.' A picture of Naruto and Kurama dead at Sukuna's feet filled his mind. It was enough to placate him. His anger shifted to anticipation. The fight was sure to be a good one.

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Itadori was surprised to see Naruto in the kitchen. He was making something that smelt really good. He chose to voice that. Naruto turned to him. "It's just a tamagoyaki with peppers, onions, and some cheese. I'm sorry for using the kitchen without asking."

"Oh no, it's all good," Itadori said. "I'm glad to see that you are doing better."

"Yeah, that was my first time getting sick," Naruto said. "It wasn't fun. I doubt it will ever happen again."

"Kurama mentioned that yesterday," Itadori said. "Does he usually stop you from getting sick?"

Naruto nodded. "He's able to regulate my body temperature so I don't even get cold." He chuckled. "The Teme even once said it was like I was a walking heater." His smile dropped at the thought of Sasuke.

"You must really care about him."

Naruto blushed. "Yeah, he's my best friend."

"Have you fucked yet?" Sukuna suddenly asked, a mouth and eye popping up on Itadori's cheek."

"Sukuna!" Itadori yelled, slapping a hand over them. "Sorry about that."

"I-it's ok," Naruto said.

Itadori yelped as he pulled his hand away from his cheek. Sukuna had licked his hand! "Brat, don't do that again or I'll bite you."

"Then don't say stuff like that!" Itadori said.

"So peculiar," Naruto said. "And kind of cool. If you eat something like that, do you both taste it, or just you?" Itadori and Sukuna blinked at the strange question. Itadori was a bit curious about that. He didn't remember tasting the finger Sukuna swallowed through his hand. Wanting to know the answer, he grabbed a leftover piece of a red pepper and brought it up to Sukuna's mouth. The curse rolled his eye before accepting it. Itadori waited a little bit as the other swallowed. He then turned back to Naruto who was plating the tamagoyaki.

"Looks like it's just him," Itadori said.

"Interesting," Naruto said. "Kurama said he can always taste everything I eat. But ever since he got his own body, we haven't shared our senses."

"How did you separate?" Sukuna asked, suddenly interested in Naruto again.

"A jutsu an older me taught me," Naruto said as if that answered the question. But seeing the confusion on Itadori's face, Naruto continued. "At one point, we ended up in a different version of our world and met different versions of ourselves. The older me had created a jutsu to separate himself from his Kurama. And he taught me it."

"Teach us it," Sukuna ordered.

"No," Itadori said. "There is no way I'm letting you out."

Knowing that Itadori and Sukuna were going to be arguing for a bit, Naruto excused himself. He Went to his room with Sasuke and found Kurama there. He had been keeping a watch on Sasuke while Naruto made breakfast. Kurama thanked Naruto, taking his plate. Naruto sat down next to Sasuke, his own plate in a hand. They ate in silence until the door was suddenly forced open.

"I heard there were some interesting people here!" a man yelled. Two sets of red eyes glared at him.

"Todo!" a girl called from behind the man. "You're being too loud!" Naruto and Kurama looked at each other before nodding. Faster than the two intruders could see, Naruto put down his half-eaten food before charging at the male intruder. His fist collided with the man's stomach and sent him flying back through a wall. The female intruder was slightly to his right so she didn't get hit. Her eyes were wide as she turned to see a growling Naruto. She took a step back, fear evident on her face.

"What's going on?" Itadori asked. When he felt the sudden change in energy, he came running. He saw an angry Naruto and he was reminded about what happened to Mahito. He walked towards the group, hands raised to show that he'd come in peace. When he got to the girl's side, Itadori glanced out of the hole and gasped. Todo had gotten to his feet and was coughing up blood, a hand pressed against his stomach. "What happened?"

"We only came to check on the rumor," the girl said. She was still shaking. "The rumor said that two special grades had appeared and were staying here."

"Miwa?" another voice called. She was standing with Maki.

"Mai!" Miwa ran toward the twins and hugged Mai. She cried, clinging to her. Mai looked towards Itadori, silently asking for an explanation. He opened his mouth to answer only to be interrupted by the sound of a hand crushing wood.

"That was invigorating," Todo said as he stepped through the hole. He was still bleeding.

"Todo," Itadori moved towards the older boy, helping him to keep standing. "We need to get you to Shoko-san."

"That might not be so easy," Sukuna said from a mouth on Itadori's cheek. Itadori turned his head to see Naruto still glaring at Todo. He was a bit surprised that Naruto hadn't moved despite everyone gathered here. His eyes went to Kurama who looked oddly satisfied. Was he proud of what Naruto did to Todo?

Seeing the look on Itadori's face caused Kurama to sigh. He stepped forward and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Enough Kit." The blond seemed to calm down instantly. Kurama then walked over to Todo who was putting most of his weight on Itadori. He stretched out a hand and everyone watched as the chakra surrounding the hand began to heal Todo.

"Reverse cursed technique?" Miwa asked in surprise. She only knew of a handful of people that could do it.

"Is that what you call it here?" Kurama asked. "Interesting." He pulled his hand back, showing the now healed skin of Todo. "I can't help with the blood loss though."

"How strong is your healing ability?" Sukuna asked. Everyone turned towards Itadori. For most of them, it was the first time they'd seen Sukuna speak through Itadori this way. It was a bit creepy.

"Not sure what your standards are," Kurama said.

"If I was to rip out your heart and crush it, would you be able to keep living?" Sukuna asked.

"I don't know about my own, but I can't heal the dead," Kurama said, remembering how he wasn't able to save Sasuke. The only person he'd ever kept safe was Naruto. The boy had almost died several times. One time included a kunai to the heart during an assassination attempt. He had easily healed the wound with his chakra, but he had no idea what would happen if the wound had been bigger. He vaguely remembered the time Kabuto nearly stopped Naruto's heart and how it was Tsunade that helped save the Kit. He blamed his inability to heal the Kit at the time on his lack of awareness and inattentiveness. Had he noticed what Kabuto was doing to the chakra network around his heart, he would have been able to heal him. Being an Uzumaki gave Tsunade the necessary time to save him. Anyone else would have died. He grit his teeth. There was no way he'd ever let the Kit die.

Sukuna let out a chuckle, not saying anything else before retreating back to his domain. Itadori shivered. He really hoped that Sukuna wasn't planning something. Having your heart ripped out wasn't fun and he didn't wish that pain on anyone else. Everyone could see the stress radiating off of Itadori. Surprisingly, it was Naruto that came forward and hugged Itadori. "It's alright. You'll be ok." A warmth Itadori never felt before filled his entire body. Sukuna felt it reach his domain and he shivered. Suddenly, tears filled Itadori's eyes and he hugged Naruto back, letting out his grief. Everyone was surprised, but no one intervened, not even Sukuna. The King silently watched as Itadori fell asleep, a strange feeling coming over him. He sensed the man just before he popped up out of nowhere. He growled only to hear a similar sound from outside. He made an eye appear on Itadori's cheek and watched as Naruto growled at Gojo who had his hands up. Sukuna raised an eyebrow at that.

"Ok, ok," Gojo said, taking another step back. "I just wanted to make sure he was ok since I felt the change in his cursed energy. It seems I missed something important." He glanced over towards Todo who was now leaning against the wall. He whistled at the hole he saw before looking over at Kurama. He'd have to see if he could get mini-Naru to fix that.

"He's fine!" Naruto yelled, eyes flickering between blue and red. He held Itadori tighter against him. Kurama watched the action and finally put together what was happening. He laughed, gaining everyone's attention.

"Sorry, it's just that he's being territorial," Kurama said. "He must see Itadori as kin because of their similarities." He walked towards Naruto, but the blond didn't growl at him. He crouched down. "It's ok Kit. No one is going to hurt you or him." He motioned to the people around them. "They are his friends and are a part of his pack."

Understanding seemed to cross Naruto's face and his eyes became a solid blue. His grip on Itadori lessened. "S-sorry."

"It's ok," Kurama repeated. "Your instincts are off because of all the stress you've been under. Give Itadori to his packmates and get some rest." Naruto nodded and allowed Gojo to take Itadori from him. He then allowed Kurama to escort him back to bed. Once he was sure that Naruto was asleep, Kurama went out to find only Gojo standing near the hole. Knowing what the man wanted, Kurama summoned mini-Naru to fix the wall. Once that was done, they agreed to talk about what happened, but somewhere away from Naruto so he wouldn't awaken if they got loud. They found themselves at the training ground.

"I have to admit that you two keep surprising me," Gojo said. "Both of you are strong. And if I had to guess, that raven haired kid is too. I have to wonder how you even got to where you are."

"As I'm sure you caught on, our bodies change to fit the world we are in if there are rules to it," Kurama said. "In the last world we were in, the Uchiha brat was nearly killed, or rather, he died. Our healing abilities didn't work. However, an item we received from a previous world brought him back, putting him into the state he's currently in. He will awaken; it is just a matter of time."

"So I'm guessing the reason you turned into a curse is because that's how our world works?" Gojo asked. "And Naruto would be categorized as a curse user or rather a cursed human since he hasn't done anything bad."

"I won't lie and say that the Kit has never killed anyone, but he only ever did so to protect or save someone."

"And yet you have."

"Not my proudest moments, but yes."

"But it's different now, isn't it?"

"I'll only ever kill if it's for the Kit. He has a bad habit of throwing himself into dangerous situations. He lacks self preservation, though I may also be at fault for that since I've always healed him. And I'll keep healing him."

"That sounds familiar."

"Itadori too?"

Gojo nodded. "Yuji-kun too."

"Does he have a 'Sasuke?'"

"If you are asking if Yuji-kun loves someone, I can't say. He has friends and he has me."

"That Fushiguro kid reminds me of the Uchiha Brat, but his relationship with Itadori seems different. He's more of a 'Sai?' No, maybe a 'Shikamaru?' I don't know. I just don't see them being more than friends."

"I doubt Yuji is thinking about being in a romantic relationship. And I'm partially to blame for that, though I'd put most of the blame on Sukuna." Kurama raised an eyebrow at that, noticing how Gojo dropped the '-kun' as the topic became more serious. "Jujutsu society hasn't been kind to Yuji. Once he finds and consumes all twenty of Sukuna's fingers, he is to be executed. I've done what I could to put off his execution as much as I can. It helps that there are still five out there that we haven't found yet."

"I see. But he's thought about it though." This time Gojo looked at Kurama in confusion. "They were talking about sex right outside our door yesterday, before our little sparring match. It seems Sukuna wanted to help Itadori lose his virginity at a brothel." He tilted his head to the side. "From what I understand, a brothel is a place where one pays a woman to sleep with them. I don't really get it. Why is sex so necessary outside of procreation?"

Gojo's jaw dropped. He read between the lines of what Kurama said and he found it hard to believe that the being before him was a virgin. Then he remembered that Kurama was never a human. He was a being made purely of cursed energy, or what they called Chakra. There was probably no need or desire for him to have sex. "Can you even procreate?"

"I can. It seems that my chakra allows me to create a womb in which I'm able to conceive children. The mini Clone of Hokage Naruto may be able to explain more of how it works since the original already had children."

If Gojo didn't call himself the Strongest, he would have fainted from how this information caused his head to spin. The clearly male curse in front of him could conceive? And so could Naruto? He suddenly pictured a pregnant Itadori and he really regretted letting that image pop in his head especially since his body had Sukuna's tattoos all over him. So he decided to change the subject back. "So you overheard them talking about sex?" And that didn't really help keep away the disturbing thought. In fact, it made Gojo wonder if he had to hold a sex-ed class.

"Well that and cannibalism. It was disturbing. Even I've never thought about eating people."

'Ok, Yup, I'm really gonna have to talk to Yuji about that one. Don't want Sukuna to taint his mind like that.'

"Itadori turned the brothel idea down. Said he wanted his first time to be with someone he cared about."

'Good. That means Sukuna's attempt to ruin Yuji's chastity failed.'

"And then Sukuna asked Itadori who he thought about. I interrupted them at that point since I was annoyed at how loud they were. Still, Sukuna seemed upset at Itadori about it. He was a bit defensive when I brought up what I heard."

Gojo did not like hearing that. He didn't mind if Itadori had someone he cared for more than friends, but the thought of Sukuna being angry at that prospect… It was just as disturbing as being reminded that Sukuna was a cannibal. Gojo prayed to all that was holy that he was wrong and that Sukuna was angry for a different reason. He mentally grumbled. He really would have to sit Yuji down for a bit of sex-ed.

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Unbeknownst to Gojo, Sukuna was wondering why his reaction to the sorcerer was so similar to Naruto's. Was he also being territorial? Itadori was his vessel, so it made sense that he was possessive of the brat. But something about that didn't quite seem right. He sighed. He really needed to get a hold of himself. If he really wanted to free himself of Itadori's body before the brat's execution, he needed to come up with a plan.