CH. 5 'I'm good and not so good' OR 'Did you honestly think I'd go along with that?'
Rinami woke the next morning, convinced that she'd slept through the most horrible nightmare. She sat up in the bed and put her head to her hands trying to get her thoughts together. Her nightmare theory was immediately debunked as she heard the shower in the bathroom turn off. A moment after, the door opened and out of the steamy room stepped Ryomen Sukuna, nothing but a towel slung loosely around his waist.
As soon as she saw him, Rinami dropped her head between her knees and covered it with her hands. Not a dream. Not even close. She could feel the weight shift on the bed and even smell him as he closed in on her. She wasn't certain why she'd even tried to pass that lie off to herself. The soreness between her legs was enough to wake her memories of last night. She felt a light tingle as just the thought of it came to mind. It was a wonder that she had gotten any sleep at all.
"Good Morning"
Reluctantly Rinami raised her head to find Sukuna sitting on the bed near her feet, peering closely at her. The mischievous twinkle was still in his eyes, but his expression was relatively serious. "Morning" she mumbled back, barely making eye contact.
"How do you feel?" He asked, sliding closer and reaching out to embrace her.
Rinami looked up at him. It was strange to her. How used to this new face she'd already gotten. When she looked in his eyes she still saw Aizen and for some reason that seemed to be enough to keep that connection. When he talked now, it kind of felt like she got her favorite parts of Aizen- the pieces that she loved so much.
It was a swap of his personality. The serious piece was still there she supposed, except that now it was the part that barely came out. And now when it came out, it was both serious and dangerous. The serious part now scared her as well. It was the one thing that was definitely different. She'd never been frightened of Aizen, but when he was serious at least, she was terrified of Sukuna.
Wonder what kind of foundation that makes for a relationship? When you're worried your significant other will snap their fingers and slice your head off at any given moment. She thought briefly to herself. Sukuna's eyes were still on hers. She realized that he was still waiting for an answer. His eyes were concerned and this was the confusing part of it all, because this emotion mirrored the same emotion and feeling that she always got from Aizen. It really did feel exactly the same.
Sighing, Rinami relaxed into his embrace. "I guess it depends what you mean exactly? I'm good… and not so good."
She could feel him nodding against her. His hand found her chin and pulled her face up to his, kissing her lightly as he held her firmly against him. She closed her eyes and let herself be comforted in his arms. Is there any hope of me breaking free from this? She asked herself the question, but as his hand grazed her back and her heart beat double-time, she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.
Pulling away from him, Rinami excused herself to shower up. Stepping into the bathroom, she stopped to stare at herself in the mirror. The reflection wasn't good. She looked tired and worn. She had slept fairly well, attributed to the good sex, but the weight of everything was still heavy on her and it was already taking a physical toll. Not only that, but she didn't really know the woman staring back at her. She certainly wasn't the same one who had been there yesterday. This one had crossed a line and stepped into territory that she never would have even considered this time yesterday morning. How could she have fallen so far so quickly?
She ran a shaky hand through her tangled, limp hair. Love. Ugh. Such a shitty emotion. It had never failed to surprise her with the levels of hardship it could send her through. She let her forehead fall against the bathroom mirror. This was a new level of low for her though. Was she really doing this? Choosing him over everything and everyone that she knew? The tears silently fell to the counter, her shoulders shaking as she grappled with the severity of it all. Finally, she crumpled to the bathroom floor rolling into a ball and crying softly to herself as she tried to desperately sort her thoughts out.
Suddenly she heard the water in the tub start flowing. Startled she sat up and spun around to see Sukuna rising from the edge of the tub and coming towards her.
"Hey," He said softly, taking her by the shoulders."Let's get you a bath, huh?"
Rinami, said nothing and just allowed him to pull her up and lead her over to the tub. Once the tub was filled, he helped her in and sitting on the floor next to the tub, he proceeded to take a washcloth and gently wash her body down. For a while she continued to say nothing, but the tears continued to quietly run down her face. After a while they stopped and she watched him as he silently tended to her, washing every inch of her body, shampooing her hair, and then finally taking his hands and gently wiping her face last. His handsome face was solemn and serious, but every touch was tender.
Slowly she reached out and slid her fingers through his hair, caressing it between them. Rinami struggled inwardly to reconcile the Sukuna that both sorcerers and cursed spirits alike, feared, with the one before her. She would never have guessed that this could have existed within him. It made her heart ache for him even more while also addling her brain with even more confusion about the person who she was really getting into bed with.
Once the washing was done, Sukuna left his hand upon her cheek and keeping his eyes locked on hers he leaned forward and pecked her on the lips. He said nothing else , just scooped her wet body from the tub and then carried her dripping from the tub to the bed. It wasn't until he sat on the bed, drying her gently with a towel that he finally spoke, his eyes focused on his job and intentionally not making contact with hers.
"So what will you do today? About the school?"
Rinami remained silent. The question had been on her mind since she had been in the tub. It was still early, but she was supposed to be at the school for the events in a couple of hours. Calling out after she'd travelled so far to come would raise some major red flags. Especially since she'd never taken a sick day in school or at work. But still… There was just no way she could go today and face them. No way she could pretend like everything was fine.
"I'm not going. I know that much"
Sukuna met her eyes. "I assumed as much. What's your plan?"
Rinami swallowed. This was the hard part. If she called in sick they would come. There was no excuse she could come up with that anyone who knew her would buy. She already knew that. Honestly, they'd been wasting precious time this morning with the bath. She'd known as she was looking at her reflection in the mirror what would likely have to be done.
"I can't face them. I won't lie to them, and I can't possibly look them in the eye and act like nothing's happened. There's no way. But if I don't show up – for any reason - they will know something's wrong." She licked her lips and looked gravely at him.
"We've got to run"
Sukuna let out a short laugh. "Run?" He leaned forward on his elbows getting in close to her face. "Did you honestly think I'd go along with that? Running?"
Rinami stared at him glumly. "Yeah, I did. Considering that the last thing on this earth that I want to do is disappear on my family and friends." She furrowed her brow and looked away. "Second only to turning my back on you, I guess." She blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall again. How long would this continue until she could finally come to terms with her own decision?
Sukuna's smile faded and he looked straight-faced at her. "I'll get our things. Let's get ready to go, before they come looking."
They didn't go far.
In reality, all of Sukuna's plans hinged on being near Gojo and Jujitsu High. He couldn't leave the area. He explained it to Rinami by saying that leaving the city would be too dangerous and with all of the sorcerer talents amassed here it would actually be safer to not try to leave. It was a half-truth. A way to explain away the need to stay in Tokyo without fully divulging his true purpose. However, even as he said the words to her, he was certain that they both knew the frail reasoning of his story was fraught with bullshit.
Still Rinami didn't call him on it and she said very little as Sukuna moved them into a penthouse apartment just barely across town. Though as they stepped into the apartment she was greeted to a shuddering premonition about how he had managed to so quickly acquire the new place, and the outcome and whereabouts of its previous tenants.
"Yakuza crime boss, don't lose any sleep over it" Sukuna said, as if reading her mind, as she stalled in the threshhold. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in, before shutting the door behind them. Not bothering to look at her as he did so. "It's already been cleaned up so no need to worry"
Rinami nodded. Of course. He probably already had this prepared on the side. She was quickly learning how to just go along with it all. It's why she hadn't bothered to call him out on the 'safety' reason he'd given for them continuing to stay in Tokyo, even though it obviously didn't even begin to cover the true story. After all, she figured the reality was that it actually could be safer if they remained right under everyone's nose for now, as the first place they would look for her would likely be Kyoto.
If they were careful, staying here might actually buy them some time, even if that wasn't the real reason that Sukuna wanted them here. Even still, she planned to stay quiet and not push the issue, but that didn't mean she wouldn't keep her eyes and ears open to what was happening around her. He could pretend to keep his secrets, and that was okay with her – for now.
