Roxanne barely has time to react.
Sukuna is upon her in a blink, and she moves like silk caught in a breeze. It's a move Gojo taught her, and it works…most of the time. What Roxanne fails to realize is that Sukuna has seen this move before, and he has already devised a counter.
Roxanne feels a grip like iron shackles around her elbow. Sukuna swings her around as she attempts to flank him, bringing his sharp nails up to puncture her rib cage. His eyes go wide when he finds resistance, and then a high concentration of cursed energy as she moves close enough to compromise his movement. He squeezes her elbow painfully, watches her eyes squeeze shut briefly as she bites her lip against the pain, and wonders why it excites him.
And he feels his cursed energy begin to turn. It's like poison in his bloodstream, spindly and viperous, and he releases her, pushing her away when he realizes what is happening to him. He stares at her hard, watches in fascination as she fixes her dislocated shoulder with a grunt, and he watches the flow of the reverse cursed technique seal her wound.
How curious. He thinks, lifting his hand to rend her to pieces. He pauses when he realizes she's no longer standing there.
This time, he feels her, and then she's inside his guard again. Sukuna understands now: she has to be touching him for her technique to work. As her hand strikes, he flows with her momentum, and is surprised when she pivots, keeping on the balls of her feet to grapple him from behind. Again he feels the spindly viper in his blood, and again he breaks away.
"I'm not a horse to be broken and ridden, you insolent harlot." Sukuna snarls at her, not so much because she's keeping up with his speed, but because she doesn't even look the least bit winded. He can feel her cursed energy coursing through her, immeasurable, but kept in rigid control. He can see where it builds in her belly, can see it and feel it flowing. She channels her energy nearly as efficiently as…
"No," she agrees, "you aren't a horse. You're something more magnificent, though." She grins at his expression, and then she moves.
Sukuna cannot remember the last time he has danced like this. He moves as if he is at once as vast as a mountain but as sharp and precise as a dagger. She moves as if the world is breathing in sync with her body. Every strike, a counter, every opportunity, a surprise. He is surprised–and he's delighted . Several times he lets her get close, close enough that he can see the light sheen of sweat on her dark skin. He sees a bead of it roll down her neck, and briefly entertains the thought of his tongue following that same path.
For every blow he lands, she manages to take her pound of flesh, but Roxanne knows it's only a matter of time before he stops toying with her like a cat with a captive bird, and tries to devour her once and for all. Yet, she gets the distinct feeling he's enjoying this. To her, it is a matter of life and death, but to him, this is simply an amuse-bouche. As long as he is focused on her, she is fine with the risk.
She's good.
Giving you a run for your money. Yuji taunts from within the cage of his own body. Unlike Sukuna, he does not have an innate domain, and so like Sukuna is forced to do, Yuji paces his mind like a caged predator.
Quiet, brat. I'm going to kill this bitch.
Having a bit of trouble there, big guy?
Sukuna silences Yuji, although it does little good, the boy is strong willed enough that he has no choice but to hear him. Still, he has precious little time left in control, and the woman is relentless. Luckily, so is he, and he's done playing with her, especially after that cheap shot she took earlier.
Her next strikes he catches in both his hands. He wishes he had all four of his arms, it would make immobilizing her simpler. He knows it's a risk, as she has some strange ability that interferes with the flow of his own cursed energy, but he wonders if it's channeled through her hands.
He takes undue pleasure in her grunt of pain as he squeezes her hands. He wants to break every bone, but he leaves off just before the delicate bones give way to his strength. He feels her trying to use that technique again, and squeezes, listening to the pleasant sound of the bones beginning to crack.
"Time's up." He says, his voice a cruel taunt.
Roxanne's gaze is hard, but she's grimacing against the pain. Still, she has one trump card left to her. She brings her leg up in a swift kick, and Sukuna lets go of her hands as she leaps away, cradling her injured hands struggling to heal them. She manages to get one healed and puts her trembling hands together.
"DOMAIN EXPANSION…"
Her voice rings with power, and Sukuna recovers in time to see it.
"ATLAS SINGULARITY."
Darkness rushes in, eating away everything, and Sukuna is enveloped in it. He smirks, knowing what he's feeling, and then is shocked when he attempts to attack, and finds himself unable to move. Not only that, but he feels as if he weighs as much as a star. He struggles to look up, and sees a goddess in her domain.
Roxanne stands poised atop a floating disc of shimmering darkness, an image of serenity, unaffected by the crushing weight of what is an extension of her own soul. Behind her, the only illumination in the crushing darkness, is an effigy of her face seemingly carved from a shimmering black stone, haloed with the darkness of the domain to give an illusory image of her hair, with a forefinger placed over its lips in a gesture of silence. It dwarfs Roxanne, yet does nothing to diminish her presence, especially here where her cursed energy is strongest. It reminds him of his own innate domain, a place of power and the utter alignment of Self. For the first time since encountering Megumi, Sukuna tastes a power that interests him. He knows that being unable to move will make it easier for her to touch him, but she seems to be making no moves to do so. And the mechanism of his mind begins to solve this new equation. A solution may not be reached in this encounter, nor in the inevitable future when their paths cross again, but his interest has been piqued like droplets of blood in shark-infested waters. He wonders if she can see the look on his face, the promise in the naked fury in his eyes.
"I could exorcize you, right now," Roxanne says, and her voice rises in a whispering susurrus around him, as if they are not alone within this sphere of her soul. Sukuna can taste the darkness in it, and he understands what it is to want. She is magnificent too.
"I'd be well within my rights to do so," she continues, "but you honored me with a minute of your time, and so I will ask that you release the boy…until we meet again."
"When we meet again, little sorceress," Sukuna says through gritted teeth, and he delights in her slight surprise as he manages to take a step forward despite the astronomical pressure of her domain, "I may not be so merciful."
Roxanne looks down at him, a goddess unburdened by fear in this place where she can crush him at a whim. Sukuna grins, relishing their next encounter already: in her soul…or his .
"Time's up." Is her only response, and Sukuna is pulled back into himself, his last clear vision of the little sorceress–the goddess–looking at him with all the thoughtful curiosity of a celestial being. He hopes they meet again, hopes he can make good on his promise so he can taste her darkness and power again.
And figure out how to dismantle it and her .
Roxanne dismisses her domain with a breath, smiling at Yuji's dismay at having lost another uniform top to Sukuna's libertine antics.
"Does he have to rip it every single time?" Yuji complains as Gojo approaches Roxanne, and she rolls her eyes at his applause.
"Well done," he says, "not at all like we planned but you held your own. Yuji! Welcome back…where's your shirt?"
Roxanne leaves Gojo to speak with Yuji, listening with half an ear and Gojo does a dramatic retelling of the one minute spar with Sukuna. Nanami, who has suffered no more than dusty shoes, is relieved to see her no worse for wear for all appearances.
"That was a huge risk you took," he says, but doesn't have the heart to be more than a bit stern with her. Roxanne smiles at him knowingly.
"I know, but I had to get you out of harm's way, and at the end of the day, we accomplished the initial goal. And we didn't even have to pact the motherfucker, he must have done it himself." She rotates her arm, and Nanami spots the bruising around her shoulder where Sukuna popped it from its socket. It's different when it's you.
"I'm starving," Roxanne says, stretching with a yawn, before turning to call out to Gojo. "Are we done here?" Gojo waves a hand, indicating he got what he needed, and Roxanne turns to Nanami expectantly.
"Shall we?" She asks. Nanami nods, but not before insisting she see Shoko for treatment. One minute with Sukuna has rendered her more tired than she lets on, and she does not miss Yuji's curious but concerned glance as she and Nanami leave. Gojo being himself simply waves cheerfully.
Later, at her apartment, Nanami takes over. He runs her a bath, and she sinks into the tub gratefully.
"Mmm," her groan is well-earned. "Epsom salt?"
"And eucalyptus," he says, helping her lean back onto the neck pillow before placing a warm washcloth over her eyes. It's his own personal remedy to deal with the strain, one she has happily adopted since they first began dating. With her eyes covered, she breathes deep, her lush mouth curving into a smile as Nanami brushes an unhurried thumb along her cheek.
"Are you staying the night, Nanamin?" She asks tiredly. Nanami smiles.
"Do you want me to stay?" He asks.
"Always," she replies, her smile becoming a grin. He presses his fingertips to her lips, and she kisses them with a tenderness that makes him momentarily forget that she was just as savage in her bout as Sukuna today. But that is behind them for now, and he has to get to the business of mentoring Yuji in the next few days. He retreats from the bathroom, leaving Roxanne to her bath before heading to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Cooking is something Nanami has always enjoyed doing. He recalls a time before, a simpler time, standing at his mother's side, learning recipes that would comfort him in the future. No sorcery in his family, not truly, but he remembers always seeing the ominous shadows and spirits as a child. Still, when at home with his mother and grandmother, the kitchen was always a place of comfort and safety.
As Nanami chops onions and carrots, his mind turns over crystalline moments in his memory, thinking about the first time he met Roxanne.
"A foreigner?" Nanami asks incredulously. "Aren't all jujutsu sorcerers localized to Japan?"
"Yeah, usually," Haibara says enthusiastically, "but I don't think cursed energy itself is something exclusive to us. Think about it: if cursed spirits are born from the negative emotions of humans, why would that restrict it to just humans in our country?"
Nanami looks slightly annoyed. "But if that were true, and since jujutsu sorcerers are so rare, wouldn't the world be overrun by now?" He thinks about the lackluster numbers of their own ranks. Are most of Japan's sorcerers just curse users looking to make a quick buck? Are the Elders so desperate they're recruiting foreign-born sorcerers, now?
The answer of course lies in secrecy.
"Hey, Nanami!" Haibara calls him out of his pensive thoughts, pointing behind him. "There she is!"
Nanami turns, and sees her for the first time.
She's nothing like he expects her to be. Usually, on the rare occasion he sees Americans they are almost always white. But she's not, and more than that, her cursed energy feels like pressure even from where he's standing.
Haibara lets out a low whistle. "Well now we know why they scouted her."
She's heading their way, and the first thing Nanami notices is her hair. Two puffs of black coils on either side of her head, and two braids along the sides of her face, adorned with gold clasps and cowrie shells. She's wearing a uniform, although it's clearly been altered and customized. He forgets that they can do that, thinking precious little of the style. Still, this little foreigner is all about aesthetics as well as an immense amount of cursed energy. She's not smiling, and seems to be taking their measure and fascination in with a critical eye.
She bows, formal and perfunctory.
"Abaza Roxanne," she says by way of introduction, using the Japanese greeting of surname first. "I guess I'm your new classmate."
Of the two of them, Haibara's English is better, and he bows in greeting, grinning with that guileless boyish glee.
"Haibara Yu!" He says excitedly and immediately begins firing off questions, asking her about how she came into her powers, and what it's like being a sorcerer in the West. Roxanne looks visibly nonplussed, and so Nanami steps in, bowing as well.
"Nanami Kento," he says crisply, "it is a pleasure to meet you, Abaza-sama."
Roxanne's gaze settles on him, and he rises to his full height, meeting her eyes without fear or apprehension. He studies her face. Her skin reminds him of autumn for some reason, and her eyes like secret forest pools, dark and luminous and serene. He realizes how much it pleases him that her face is a portrait of beautiful symmetry. From her well-kempt brows, to the heart-shaped Cupid's bow of her full lips.
Something stirs in his belly when she smiles.
"A pleasure to meet you, Nanami-sama."
Nanami feels her before he sees her, knowing the scent of his cooking has drawn her out. She is soft-looking after her soak, wrapped in a silk bathrobe and a pair of house slippers. Her expression is thoughtful, but when their gazes meet she smiles, as if she cannot help herself.
"Dinner's almost ready," Nanami says by way of greeting, and Roxanne comes to him, slipping her arms around him easily. Nanami holds her close, not questioning her need for this tender moment of intimacy. She looks up at him, her smile softer than he's ever seen it, and he leans in to kiss her. It deepens between them, and for a moment he forgets the stove, content to exist in this moment with her.
"Sukuna is a fucking problem," Roxanne says after they pull away. Nanami's expression makes her laugh, caught somewhere between annoyance and exasperation.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she says between giggles, "I didn't mean to ruin the moment it's just been on my mind all day. He was holding back in that fight, I could tell. He was testing me as surely as I was testing him."
Nanami considers it. He could only follow so much of the fight as it went on. They'd been moving at high speeds, but Roxanne is a close quarters lover, and her specialty is getting so close it restricts what can be done. He also notices that Sukuna showed remarkable restraint, keeping the bout between the two of them rather than seeking collateral damage.
"You might have tipped your hand a little early, using domain expansion like that." He says at last. "He'll be ready for it next time."
Roxanne sighs. "I know, but Kento, I had to," she looks up at him and he raises his brows in a silent inquiry. "He was holding back, but every single inch of ground I had, he made me work for it. His power is…incredible."
"You almost sound fascinated," Nanami says, and even though his expression never changes, Roxanne has known him long enough to hear the teasing underpinnings. She grins.
"A little," she admits, but when he says nothing she sighs. "Alright, a lot. But think of it, Kento! The King of Curses here in our time. If we can wrangle his ass think of all the knowledge he holds. I have so many questions!"
Nanami shakes his head. "He's a deranged psychopath and he is a curse, Roxanne."
Roxanne leans against the counter. "He was a person once, Kento. A sorcerer just like you or I. Likely a curse user too. I'm just saying, this is a learning experience as much as a mission."
This is one of the reasons he loves her; one of the reasons she captivated him all those years ago when she strolled into Jujutsu High with her Afro puffs and those ridiculous platform boots, her uniform illegally altered by her own hands to suit her aesthetic. She's not only one of the most powerful sorcerers he's ever met, but she's endlessly curious about jujutsu. She has a hunger for knowledge and life that had him finding her in the library more than any other place.
It's no wonder she's ascended to the heights that she has. He cannot be more proud, which is why he opens his mouth on an inquiry that he hopes she will agree to.
"Since you are so curious, why don't you accompany me and Itadori in a few days? Gojo asked me to assess him in the field to get my view on him. And though I am confident it would be nice for you to see what he can do as well, not just Sukuna. According to his classmate, Megumi, Itadori took on a cursed spirit even before consuming Sukuna's Finger."
That gives Roxanne pause.
"What? Gojo said his cursed energy was low and slow to build even after he consumed two fingers. What do you mean 'took on', exactly?"
Nanami attends to the pot, now bubbling. He tastes it. The curry is perfect, and he knows Roxanne loves spicy food, so he has made sure to add extra chili peppers for her enjoyment. He wonders briefly if her consumption of so much spicy food contributes to her energy levels.
"I'm sure Megumi was merely summarizing, but Itadori could not only see the cursed spirit, but was able to harm it. It's how he was able to save his two non-sorcerer friends in the first place. He only consumed Sukuna's Finger to keep the cursed spirit from eating it and betted on it increasing his cursed energy. He was right, despite the huge gamble."
Roxanne feels her chest grow tight, her breath catching in her throat. She thumbs the archives of her memory, taps the deep wells of her accumulated knowledge. Something about this is not adding up, but she cannot understand why she feels this way. It is rare for cursed spirits to incarnate in human hosts. Most consumption of cursed objects–especially special grade objects–is poison to humans, even sorcerers. It is even rarer for a human to incarnate the spirit within the object. Rare, but not impossible.
And with a curse like Ryōmen Sukuna, the chances of a human being born with the power to not only incarnate him, but contain him, is damn near impossible.
"Roxanne?" Nanami's voice draws her from the puzzle turning over in her mind as she looks up at him. Whatever expression she wears, she does not know, but Nanami's face, for all its harsh and sharp beauty, is soft with concern.
"What's wrong?" He asks, turning off the stove to let the curry simmer. The rice cooker sings, just in time. Roxanne shakes her head.
"It's nothing, just a…just thinking of the possibilities and implications is all." She hopes her voice doesn't tremble with the anxiety skittering around the walls of her skull. Nanami's back is to her again as he checks the rice, but he takes off the apron, draping it over the hook next to the stove. He comes to her, bringing his hands up to her shoulders.
"I know what that look means, beautiful," he says, holding her gaze. "You've got one of your 'hunches', don't you?"
Roxanne smiles at him, unable to hide her thoughts. She forgot how many of their late night conversations took place in the school's library as a result of him having to come find her. Their first kiss, too.
"Not yet," she accedes, and Nanami squeezes her shoulders gently. "I'll come with you and Itadori, then. This isn't something we should be rushing, and I've observations of my own I wish to make." She rises up on her toes, places a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth, watches as it curls up into one of his subtle smiles.
It is enough to reassure him, but he knows her mind is working. She and Gojo are so similar, and he wonders if it's something that comes with being a special grade sorcerer. It is not a position he has ever aspired to, though Gojo has prodded on more than one occasion, after laughing for five minutes during that fateful call a year ago.
"Let's eat, I'm starving," Roxanne says, and she grins, and he fixes their plates. Like always, they sit at the island table, facing one another like two clovers in a bar. Roxanne fetches two beers from the fridge, using the bottle opener on her keys. Nanami takes one gratefully.
Afterwards, Nanami takes Roxanne to bed. Two beers in makes his blood rise, and she is entirely too good looking for him to restrain himself for long. He keeps stringent pacts with himself during work hours, and unleashes his power when he goes into overtime. But after hours? He's hers, and she's his.
"Kento…" Roxanne whispers his name like a delicious secret, her breath a warm ghost along his neck and shoulder. He slides his hands beneath her robe, tracing the curves that sculpt and shape her until her cups the lush weight of her breasts in his palms. Roxanne lets out a small sound as his thumbs brush over her nipples, and he relishes the dusky buds hardening under his touch.
They make their way in the dark, and Roxanne smirks into their kisses as she tugs at his tie. Nanami knows what she wants, and he's happy to oblige her, and he does so love the way his tie looks on her anyway.
He pulls away, and Roxanne unties her robe, shrugging it from her shoulders. The flickering glow of a galaxy-themed lamp throws constellations along her body. Nanami feels his cock strain against the zipper seam of his pants. He takes in the sight.
"Like what you see?" She asks. Nanami says nothing but the look on his face is naked worship of her.
Roxanne is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. His eyes drink her in, from her face, to the lovely curve of her throat, her strong shoulders, those full, lush breasts tipped with dark, dusky nipples. Beneath her breast is an intricate tattoo of a raven in flight, seven ruby red eyes embedded in its wings. The galaxy's fingerprints illuminate the sleek muscles of her waist in glittering worship, as if she herself is liquid barely held to form. Another tattoo slithers across her skin, forming a scaled link around her waist: a venomous cobra, fangs and tongue bared.
Both tattoos give off a high concentration of cursed energy.
His gaze slides lower, to the flare of her hips, and the soft patch of black curls between her thighs. His tongue passes over his lips, noting the other tattoos, like the dragon curling menacingly around her left thigh, and the sunflower in bloom on her right hip. He remembers discovering each one for the first time, and remembers when she came back with the dragon.
Nanami's hand lifts to loosen his tie and he watches Roxanne's ribcage expand in a shuddering, anticipatory breath.
It is simple physics after that.
Her hands are deft, and the buttons of his shirt yield open to her touch, but he can't keep his hands or mouth off of her. He kisses her, tracing her lush lower lip with his tongue, letting out a low laugh when she nips his lower lip in turn, her hands sliding like loving brands down his torso, the sound of a belt buckle coming loose as she traces the outline of his cock with those gold nails.
Nanami feels his scalp tingle as he begins to sweat. Whatever Roxanne does with her hands, or her mouth, always makes him sweat. She is not a passive participant in pleasure, and he sees the challenge in her eyes.
He guides her back to the bed, and she falls with consummate grace, her braids spread about like a starry halo. The constellations shift along the curves of her body, illuminating all the places he wants to touch and taste: and he does.
He starts with her mouth, bracing himself above her. He whispers how beautiful she is, how he can't wait to bury himself inside her. She moans for him, hips writhing eagerly, but Nanami wants to savor this tonight. They have only this night and the day before the jujutsu world comes calling for them again.
He leaves a hot trail of gentle kisses along her throat. He takes her nipples in his mouth, teasing until she's whimpering, his tongue laving the hardened buds until she shivers, biting her lip. Roxanne is aching, and he slides one hand up her thigh, fingertips giving a teasing caress of her cunt.
"Fuck, baby," Nanami whispers, his voice rough with desire, "you're melting . Is this all for me?"
She moans her assent, hips writhing, chasing his touch. Her eyelids flutter as Nanami slides his middle finger over her clit, and she's as slippery as a late summer peach. He slips a finger inside and smirks as she arches and moans. He establishes an easy rhythm, adding a second finger at her urging.
"Getting close?" His voice in her ear makes her shiver. "Can't speak?"
" Fuck …!" Is her only response. Nanami chuckles, crooks his fingers just so. Roxanne doesn't think, even as she comes with a broken cry. Nanami takes pleasure in her cunt squeezing his fingers. She has incredible muscle control, even in the midst of an orgasm. He can't wait to feel her do that around his cock.
He withdraws his fingers, kneeling between her thighs so that she sees him when he sucks them into his mouth, tasting her. Roxanne sits up on her elbows.
"Come here."
He does not question her, crawling up her body to kiss her eagerly, to share the taste of her between them. She lifts her legs, urges him forward with her thighs until the tip of his cock brushes against her cunt, making them both shiver in surprise. She laughs into their shared kiss and Nanami's hips surge forward, sliding into her easily, drinking down her moan of relief and pleasure. For a moment, he holds himself in stillness. Roxanne looks up at him, dark eyes blurred with joy.
"Kento…?" Her lips, shaped for loving and kissing, give his name meaning. "What is it?"
Nanami looks down at her, then groans in surprise as he feels the velvet walls of her cunt bear down on him, holding his cock in a slick, wet grip. He sees Roxanne grin knowingly, those dark eyes glittering. Whatever was on his mind is cast aside and he meets her mischief with some of his own. He moves his hips, watches that grin becoming an expression of mounting pleasure. Every stroke draws a sound from her he never gets tired of hearing. Soon, it's all he wants: to hear her.
His pace builds, and soon it's not enough, and she unlocks her heels from behind him, freeing him to rise onto his knees, dragging her into his lap. Roxanne moves with him, wrapping her arms and legs around him as she seats herself firmly on his cock. He holds her tightly, thinking of never letting her go. He does not admit it to anyone but himself, but he hates that she gets contracted for work beyond Japan. The months she spends abroad feel so empty. He has work, and his mind compartmentalizes, but Roxanne is a vibrant piece of his life he does not want to let go of.
Jujutsu sorcerers are not long-lived, and he'll hold onto this brightness for as long as he can.
And when he comes inside of her, when she screams because of him, digging her nails into his back and shoulders, Nanami believes in this brightness because so much of their world is dark.
An hour later, they lay reclining and languorous, sweat-slick and pleasantly exhausted. Roxanne stitches herself to Nanami's side easily, and his arm comes around her.
"Kento," she murmurs, her voice slurred with recent ecstasy, drowsy and blissful.
"Hm?" He responds, his fingers idly caressing her shoulder. He's lost in the constellations moving across her ceiling.
"If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?"
Nanami blinks, but then he thinks of her question, making a thoughtful sound. He thinks about his life up until now. He has spent a majority of his time as a fulltime sorcerer and as a salaryman. He recalls the bleak years where money was the only thing on his mind. He realizes now he has never even considered a vacation. He simply has too much work to do.
"Well baby if you gotta think that hard about it, I think that means you're overdue!" Roxanne laughs, sitting up to look at him. He makes a face.
"I've never really thought about it," he admits, unable to stay annoyed with her too long when she smirks like that. "I've just always had too much damn work to do. If it wasn't fighting for my life against curses, it was constantly thinking about how to make more money. I've never…hm."
Roxanne tilts her head. "Babe, you gotta get out and touch some grass. Or a beach. Something! No wonder you look so over it half the time."
"I am not over it."
"Every time Gojo calls, your eye twitches."
With that, Nanami cannot argue, but he tries anyway. "When Gojo calls you your mouth turns into a crescent moon."
"Yeah, but in my defense, I too am a clown. Gojo's funny." She laughs. Nanami gives her his best annoyed face, but she swats at him because she knows he doesn't mean it.
"Promise me you'll take a vacation this year?" Roxanne's voice is now filled with concern, and Nanami sighs, meeting her soft gaze. He smiles, reaching up to caress her cheek.
"Alright," he relents, "I'll take one. But only after the Q4 shutdown in November."
Roxanne rolls her eyes. "Aiight, businessman," she says and he gives her a smug look. "Pick somewhere to go. Remember: beach or grass."
Nanami laughs, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead. It's not an entirely tall order.
For her, he can do anything.
