Sundari doesn't understand her dreams, now.

At first, she understood them for what they were: memories of her life before she was sealed, before her power and memories were locked away. Thinking of the stretch of time she spent without her powers nor the memory on how to use them, while wearing the cursed branding of her father's lineage on her face gives her chills. What if the wrong person had recognized the markings? Curse users or sorcerers would have killed her easily without a thought and she would have died without ever knowing why.

And yet it had been Gojo Satoru who found her when those first, shocking moments of unsealing saw her stumbling out of an underground warehouse rave brimming with a strength and power she had no clue how to control. And instead of killing her when he recognized her markings, Satoru had sought to protect her. He'd given her sanctuary in the safest place in the city, and he'd helped her through her assimilation back into herself. Eventually, her dreams took the shape of her subconscious reality, and so she lays here, now, after one such dream.

She is seeing Satoru through her own eyes, but he's refusing to look at her, instead his gaze is fixed elsewhere. A shadow falls over them both, chilling her blood.

She wakes up.

Sundari writes this off as a side-effect of her stress of losing Satoru so soon after realizing that she loves him. He's trapped in one of the most awful cursed objects ever created, and worse yet, she could have saved him, but at the cost of every human within the station. And she had promised that she would never turn into her father. She would not sacrifice so much innocent life, even if it was to save him, the man she loves. The man whose power has kept the wolves snarling at the gates all this time.

And now the void of his absence has thrown the world off-kilter. It's thrown her world off-kilter.

When she gets her hands on that fucking curse user with the stitches she's going turn whatever is hiding in that skull into mincemeat. And then she is going to kiss Satoru and make him promise to never go off alone again. He'd promised to protect her, and he can't very well do that trapped in an evil box, can he?

Right.

Sundari sighs, rubbing her face. It's been a few days since what has been dubbed the Shibuya Incident, but Sundari has taken to calling it the Shibuya Shitshow because that's what it was from start to finish. She's not even sure she can count the exorcisms as a win since her father decided to barbecue the entire ward instead. God, she wants to kill him, but he's currently trapped inside a teenage boy and Sundari would rather not kill him. He's a sweet kid. Her dad's a dick.

Nadja has taken up leadership since receiving news from Shoko that Jujutsu Headquarters has declared them anathema. Well, not her, but Yuji's execution suspension has been revoked, and an executioner has been dispatched to carry out the order. Nadja chuckled at that, which Yuji didn't find amusing, but Sundari assured him that he was well protected. Nadja nor Sundari would let anyone harm him, and they were both sure Sukuna wouldn't take to being killed so soon after tasting freedom either.

All in all, they don't expect much to come from that end.

It's all the other bullshit that makes Sundari balk.

"Nadja Hikmat and Sundari Hikmat are declared enemies of jujutsu society for collusion and conspiring with Suguru Geto, Satoru Gojo, and unleashing the special grade curse Ryōmen Sukuna in Shibuya."

"Wait," Sundari says. Shoko is on speakerphone. "How the fuck did we take the blame for Sukuna getting out? Somebody force-fed Yuji too many Fingers at once while he was on the verge of death and my asshole father decided to take his body for a joyride. How is that anybody's fault but the fuckers who stole the Fingers that fed him in the first place?"

To that, Shoko had no answer.

"Look," she said. "All I know is that you guys need to watch each other's backs. Things are getting tense, and we still don't have a tally on how many we lost in Shibuya. Get somewhere safe and lay low."

"Until when?" Nadja demanded. "Every day we delay our enemies move their pieces on the board. We must find them. What are your higher ups doing about that?"

Shoko sighed. "Fuck if I know, Hikmat. Gojo getting sealed has got them spooked, though. I know they never saw eye to eye, but they always understood that Gojo was the first line of defense and in a lot of cases, the only line of defense. We simply don't have the manpower to deal with the level of curses manifesting. And they're only getting stronger now that…that thing wearing Geto's face unleashed curses all over Tokyo."

Yuji sighs. "Yeah, we haven't gone a single night without exorcizing curses. Even Sundari is getting tired."

Sundari frowns. "Says who? Is my dad pouring bullshit in your ear again?"

Yuji rubs his head. "You really don't want to know what your dad says about you, trust me."

Sundari snorts. "Please, whatever he's saying I guarantee I've heard worse."

"Shut it," Nadja snaps at them both. She returns to the phone. "Shoko, can you keep me posted if anything changes? We haven't been able to get ahold of anyone else, and there's no one else we can really trust."

No one else Gojo really trusted.

"Have you tried Yuki? I know you guys got separated but she may have a lead on getting you guys to a safehouse."

Nadja sighs. "Yeah, I'll try her. The signal's been shit. Thanks for your help, Shoko."

The call ends and for a moment, Nadja looks at the assembled faces in their small band: Yuji, Megumi, Choso, and Sundari. She sighs.

"I'm going to try and reach out to Yuki," she said. "You all get ready; we may need to be on the move soon. We're too expose here on the ground."

To that, no one argued. Sundari crossed her arms, distinctly aware of how she smelled like sweat and barbecue. Her father's stupid furnace had the entire district smelling like a campfire. The space where the ward had once been still steaming from the heat days later. Sundari wears a bandanna around her face and a hoodie to hide her tattoos.

Nadja does not question it, and she is glad for it because she does not feel like unpacking why her tattoos, which she thought were so cool before her awakening, suddenly make her feel the stinging heat of shame burning her blood whenever she catches a glimpse of them. Especially around Yuji. She finds herself pulling her sleeves down to hide the thick black bands of cursed ink on her wrists or letting her jet black curls fall around her face to better hide the branding on her brow. But there is no hiding her four eyes, and keeping the lower set closed is more strenuous.

And so Sundari exists in a strange place where she is both her father's daughter and her mother's beloved treasure. And Yuji, young as he is, is already wise beyond his years. He understands Sundari's conflict better than most. They speak about it one evening, after the thrum of adrenaline finally quiets and they share a meager meal of instant noodles and warm sodas pilfered from the abandoned vending machines.

"You don't have to hide them, you know," Yuji says to her. When Sundari's lower eyes shunt their gaze to him she sees him almost flinch. Doubtless her father's face has assaulted his memories in the wake of all he did in Shibuya. Great.

"I know," she says quietly. "It's just…I am hyper-aware of what people think when they see them. Even if one's an ignorant pig farmer, these tattoos just scream bad news."

Yuji chuckles. "Yeah, can't argue that. I mean, don't tell anyone but I thought the tattoos were kind of cool."

Sundari's brows go up. "Right?! I guess during his era they were really meant to be bad news, but they really are neat looking. I just wish there wasn't the stigma of his reputation attached to them."

Yuji slurps his drink thoughtfully, blinking his big brown eyes and Sundari can't fathom how one so young can bear the burden of playing zookeeper to her heinous father. She wants to ask him how he does it, but from the vacant look in his eyes most of the time she's sure it's equal parts sheer fucking will and equal parts simply not having enough of a clue.

She hopes they aren't underestimating the threat, then sighs. Once they rescue Gojo things will become clearer. At the very least they'll be able to restore some semblance of order.

"Does he give you a lot of grief?" Sundari asks. "I mean, aside from the obvious."

"He did at first," Yuji says, "and it was annoying, believe me. He doesn't need sleep, so he spent a lot of time making sure I got very little. But I kind of learned to tune him out. He's been awfully quiet since everything that happened in Shibuya."

Sundari frowns. Somehow Sukuna being quiet after adding to the disaster that was Shibuya is unsettling. It's unsettling because she can surmise that he's quiet because he's thinking and if he's thinking then he's plotting. She almost wants to ask the boy to switch just so she can have a word with her father, but he made his intentions clear in Shibuya when he threatened to show her severed head to her mother. And she'll not dare put Yuji in a position to lose control of his body again. Not when Sukuna is as powerful as she is in her current state. Perhaps more so. What he'd done in Shibuya had been an example of just how wide the gap of power there was between them should he come to full strength.

And it feels like everyone is waiting for her to turn into him.


She asks her mother about it later.

"I'm the wrong person to ask about your potential with sorcery, Sundari," Nadja said quietly from her perch on the ledge of an abandoned car park where they are afforded a protected view of the street. Sundari watches as her mother examines one of her knives idly, testing its sharpness, and taking a whetstone to the edge until it is sharpened to her liking. Sundari remembers this sound from her long-buried youth. The heat of the rainy season, the sound of a whetstone sliding along the length of a blade, and her dozing in another woman's lap. Hands gently stroking her hair and scalp.

"You're the only person I can ask," Sundari says. "Dad's certainly not going to want to have a sit down given our last meeting."

Nadja pauses in her sharpening to fix Sundari with a look. Sundari shrugs. It's true. Both know it.

"Well, all I can say is that when it comes to power you inherited all of his," Nadja says. "I don't have access to magic like that, so I had your training handled by a friend."

"You mean your lover," Sundari says. Nadja looks up sharply, and Sundari sees an old hurt there, as if the word hurts to admit, but friend doesn't encompass what Vanhi meant to her. For a moment, Sundari regrets her thoughtless words. She forgets that her mother is ancient in most ways, but still a tad naive when it comes to love. Sundari wagers because that for a woman like her, she so seldom has an opportunity to indulge it.

"My wife," Nadja admits. "Vanhi and I were married. And we raised you together, alongside her clucking band of courtesans."

"Assassins…!" Sundari says, remembering. "They were also assassins…?" She sounds unsure. Nadja smiles.

"The Vishkanya, yes," she says, but there's something sad about her smile and Sundari cannot fathom why. Perhaps because they've both outlived the women they once called family, however eclectic and raunchy.

"So, when did I become the Godslayer?" Sundari asks quietly. For a moment she feels like a little girl with the way her mother regards her, and for a moment, her immortal mother looks a little older, as if time has finally remembered to caress her if only within the shadows of her eye.

Nadja sighs. "When you exorcized that cursed spirit living in the mountain. The people thought you were a divine executioner." She looks a little amused to say it. Sundari chews her lower lip, looks down at her hands.

"Was he a sorcerer or a demon?" She asks. Nadja does not need her to elaborate.

"Sometimes he was a bit of both," Nadja says, then smiles when Sundari gives her a look that is halfway to disgust. She shrugs.

"You asked," she says and Sundari sighs. She can't argue with her mother on that front. Instead, Nadja sits up a little straighter.

"Look," she sighs and Sundari met her gaze, feeling at once immature and too old for this. "If you're afraid you'll turn out like your father, I have news for you: you already have!" At Sundari's wide eyes Nadja laughs.

"You're his actual daughter, Sundari. Of course you will have some of his traits. Four eyes, four arms, cursed tattoos, and enough cursed energy to destroy a continent if you were so inclined. You are your father's daughter. But, you're also your own person. Being a descendant doesn't mean we must burden ourselves with the worst aspects of our forebears. Your father is a monster because he chooses to be one, and whatever stars aligned to put us in one another's path was worth every moment."

"Because it brought you me, right?" Sundari asks acerbically. Nadja chuckles.

"Well, not entirely, but that's a large part of it," Nadja shrugs. "Your father was also a very prodigious lover."

"I'm going to end this conversation right now." Sundari begins walking away, her mother's simmering laughter trailing after her. Of course she'd say something like that, but Sundari knows there will never be much more than that when it comes to her mother. She keeps enough secrets that Sundari is sure that the right name dropped in the right ear from Nadja's lips can probably destroy at least three major nations.

All Sundari wants to know is why she exists and what it all means, and Nadja has been reticent on committing to an answer. Her mother's restriction binds all sorcerers into a pact, preventing them from speaking of their association with her. Because the blood relation, Sundari can seek answers from Sukuna, but she knows her father is less likely to tell her anything as he is likely to rip her throat out instead.

She shudders. Maybe she doesn't need an answer. She has to be content with not knowing, but the holes in her memory are gnawing at her. She struggles in the evenings to maintain the construction of her dreams, seeking to force those missing memories to the surface. But her efforts avail her nothing.

That is until one night when she slips into her father's innate domain.

She manifests first in the water—or is it blood? Oh gods is it blood?—and surfaces, rising to her feet. She knows she is either dreaming or walking in a domain because her extra arms are out, as well as the mouth on her belly. She wears the traditional garments of her former station as one of the lesser divine spirits, and she looks up to see her father arrayed on a throne of skulls as if they are the cushioning support of pillows and feather-stuffed blankets. His expression is somewhere between arrogant dismissal and boredom. Sundari frowns.

"What the hell is this?" She demands bluntly. "Why'd you bring me here?"

Sukuna says nothing, merely observes Sundari, taking her in as if he is trying to make sure she is real. He's wearing Yuji's face, albeit he looks much older. Something about his eyes, the hard set of his jaw. Sundari sees herself reflected back in his face.

"To talk, whelp," Sukuna says at last, his voice a deep and primordial thing, like something from the bottom of an ancient well. It carries the unyielding weight of authority, the tone of one who is accustomed to being obeyed and doing as he pleases. It makes Sundari curl her lip.

"Last time we 'talked' you tried to kill me," she spits contemptuously. Sukuna awards her a thin and slippery smile, as if she has paid him a compliment.

"And I will try again when next we meet, whelp," he says as if it has been decreed long before either of them knew of the other. "I will not suffer to have that viper and her spawn at my back. Doubtless she is pouring all manner of poison in your ear."

Sundari crosses her lower set of arms. "Here to contest the accusations and allegations?"

Sukuna chuckles. "Far from it. Anything she's told you about me is true and has no doubt been watered down. What fascinates me is how she thought she could keep you a secret for as long as she did."

Sundari shrugs. "She may not be a sorcerer, but she knows a lot of things about sorcery. That's why she's going to kill you."

Sukuna's composure slips momentarily, the bridge of his nose wrinkling like a tiger's muzzle, bearing his fangs. Sundari tenses in response, but the moment passes, and Sukuna is composed once more.

"She should probably give up on that, she was never very good at it," he taunts and smirks when Sundari's lip curls in disgust. Sukuna leans forward and before Sundari can blink he's suddenly before her.

"Tell me, whelp," Sukuna says, prowling around her like a wolf. "Do you think your mother will suffer you to live when she cuts me down? You carry my curse."

That gives Sundari pause.

"I'm still unclear on what your curse actually is," she admits. "The tattoos are part of it. You must have done something truly heinous for them to mark you spiritually that anyone born from your seed has to inherit it."

Sukuna does not deign to confirm or deny her guess, but there's some distance in his eyes, as if he is thinking or seeing a time outside of the present. The past most likely, there's so much of it behind him. Sundari takes a deep breath and sighs.

"Look, if you're trying to convince me to turn on my mother because she's going to kill you it's not going to work."

Sukuna smirks. "Is it because of the Six Eyes?"

Sundari feels a chill grip her spine, and she works to steady her breathing, works to keep her expression neutral, wrinkling her brow to project slight confusion.

"What does my not wanting to side with my psychopathic murderer of a father have to do with him?" She asks, genuinely curious. The truth is it has everything to do with Satoru. He's the reason she hasn't killed anyone by accident, or sided with the wrong people, or been hunted like a monster by people who want to mount her head like a trophy. Or cut her open and study her.

Satoru had been very detailed in the depravities that she would be subjected to if he couldn't protect her.

"You have feelings for him," Sukuna says with absolute certainty, "and you want to impress him. A pathetic notion, no doubt inherited from your foolish mother."

"You have no idea how genetics work, do you?"

"What?"

"Nothing," Sundari says, hiding a smile but the mouth on her belly is grinning. "Just…anyway. I'm not going to hear whatever stupid manipulative shit you're going to say. You literally said you were going to kill me next time we meet. I'll choose mom, thanks."

Sukuna snorts. "And when I am free, I will kill the Six Eyes in front of you. Perhaps I'll eat his eyes. Do you think that will grant me some more power?" He laughs at his own sick humor.

Sundari rolls her eyes. "You're ridiculous. And if you're not going to say anything helpful or useful, I'll see myself out."

She doesn't wait for him to try and stop or answer her, pulling out of the domain to retreat into herself. It is only when she knows she is truly alone that she breathes and shudders and shivers in her own skin. The cloying evil of his cursed energy feels like a stain she can never wash clean, and she wonders if her own energy burns just as toxic. Is this what people feel when she enters a room?

Sundari wakes up, fitful and sudden, biting her lip on a startled gasp.

"Sundari?" It's Choso. She looks to see him squatting beside her, concern on his face.

"Oh hey, Choso," she says, blinking all four of her eyes to reorient her vision. She'll never get over the perspective. "What's up? Are we in danger?"

Choso hesitates. "No, but you were twitching in your sleep, and your cursed energy was flaring up. Are you alright?"

Sundari bites her lip. "Yeah," she says softly. "Just having some restless dreams is all. Thanks for checking on me."

Choso hesitates again, as if there is more he wants to say but cannot seem to find the appropriate words. Sundari is patient, waiting for him to speak. Choso's eyes, which are bruised all around, seem sad.

"I understand a little of your struggle," Choso says at last. "I too have complicated and difficult parentage."

Sundari smiles, understanding. "Yeah, seems like we've both got a bone to pick with Noritoshi Kamo, or whatever the hell he's calling himself these days. I'm sorry we both have sick fucks for fathers, Choso."

Choso looks surprised. Sundari is taking this remarkably well.

"Despite our parentage, I think we are much more defined by the company we choose to keep. The family we make for ourselves." He says. Sundari nods.

"True," she agrees. "You and Yuji seem to be getting on now that you're not trying to kill each other." There's a teasing lilt in her voice but Choso still looks ashamed, color blooming in his cheeks.

"I deeply regret my actions in Shibuya," he says. "Had I known then what I know now, perhaps certain tragedies may have been prevented." Sundari's brow furrows in concern and she crosses her legs in front of her, resting her elbows on her knees and her expression pensive.

"That may be so," she says, and there's a gravitas in her voice she's startled to hear, as if she has done this before. "But we can't change our pasts, and our futures haven't been written yet. All we can worry about is the present. What are we doing right now to manifest the future we want to make happen?"

Choso smiles, a determined glint in his eyes. "Right now? We find Kamo Noritoshi, and we end him. Then we free Gojo Satoru and begin the work of putting Sukuna down for good."

Sundari laughs. "Sounds real easy when you list it out like that. Come on, dawn's approaching and I'm starving."


It doesn't take but a few hours before they are set upon by sorcerers.

Sundari is frowning at this sorcerer with the bad dye job, and she wants to eat him. She really needs to ask her father if wanting to devour other people is his curse because it's the only thing she thinks of when she dislikes an opponent.

Fuck.

"Naoya Zenin," Nadja says, stepping forward to block access to Yuji. "I take it you're here to try your hand at the bounty?"

The Bad Dye Job, now named, sneers at her with open hatred and disdain.

"No cursed energy and you dare speak before you're spoken to," Naoya sneers. "You must be Nadja. There's quite the price on your head. Though I can't imagine why. You're worthless. You're not even a—"

It's only a blink but one of Nadja's blades is suddenly at his throat and the woman is behind him, as intimate as a lover. The blade she holds to his throat is razor thin and twice as sharp. Sundari sees a trickle of blood trail down his throat from the contact. A twitch and Nadja can open his carotid and kill him. Sundari wonders if her mother's weapons can kill sorcerers without the risk of them becoming vengeful spirits.

Nadja is murmuring something in Naoya's ear, and from his expression and the way the blood drains from his face, Sundari knows it can't be anything good. She's sure that after this frightening demoralization that her mother will then kill the sorcerer but then another cursed energy presence spills into the atmosphere. Sundari's hair nearly stands on end as her eyes go wide. Choso and Yuji are paralyzed with surprise, and Nadja frowns. She can't detect cursed energy, but she has the heightened senses that Toji had, and she can see and smell a new presence.

"Well, well," she murmurs, almost amused. Naoya is still paralyzed in her grip, because what her allies do not see is her other hand, fingers dug into his back, seeking the nerve endings beneath the muscle and bone. If she desires, she can dig deeper and crush his spine in her grip. She settles for holding him in stillness for now, even as a new sorcerer arrives on the scene. She recognizes him immediately.

"Yuta?" She calls. The boy looks so much older, now, and Nadja realizes it's been almost a year since she last saw him. Almost a year since Satoru showed up to ask her to come to Japan. And now she is here, about to tear out a sorcerer's spine if he so much as breathes wrong.

Yuta's expression is grim, but that doesn't surprise her. It's why he's here that worries her.

"If you let me go," Naoya says through the pain of gritted teeth but Nadja's fingers don't budge. Ironically this is a trick she learned from Toji, whose large hands were lethal in so many ways. Naoya huffs out a strained breath. "I'll pay you triple your usual fee."

"You scared, Zenin?" Nadja's simmering and sultry voice purrs in a heartless taunt. "You gonna piss and shit yourself when I tear out part of your nervous system?"

That sends a chill down his compromised spine. Even with his technique he can't hope to move faster than she can crush his spine. She's so much like Toji it frightens him and enrages him. So many useless women, given gifts they didn't deserve.

Within Yuji, a dark and sinister presence stirs, and four eyes regard Nadja with interest. For a brief second, the cursed markings flicker on Yuji's face, before vanishing.

"Hikmat-sensei," Yuta says, his voice full of conviction. "I'll kindly ask that you release my companion. I am here on official business and would rather not lose anymore colleagues."

Nadja clucks her tongue but doesn't move to let Naoya go. "So formal, Yuta. We have shared meals and a cookfire together, and I honed your combat prowess to the edge you threaten me with even now. If you want Yuji, you'll have to contend with the challenges before you." She nods her head toward Sundari and Choso, who stand at the ready. Yuta's gaze narrows when he settles on Sundari, who stares back at him with the intent to hurt him, her four garnet eyes hard and cold.

"So be it," Yuta says, almost sadly.

All hell breaks loose in that moment. Yuta moves like a deadly work of art, just as Nadja taught him. There is not a step wasted, even as his sword derails from its sheath, finding resistance as Sundari blocks it by catching the blade. The resultant pressure craters the asphalt beneath Sundari's feet.

"Yuji, run!" She cries, lower eyes flicking toward him. Choso pushes his brother out of harm's way, already powering up his technique, viscous crimson swirling into a sphere between his hands. The blood markings on his face which look like ink most of the time, become wet as his protective fury powers his technique.

It is futile, however. Nadja is immobilized keeping Naoya trapped, and Sundari is facing off against an opponent that rivals her in cursed energy and strength. Not only that, but Yuji's path to escape is also cut off by the cursed apparition that accompanies Yuta. It's clawed hands grasp Yuji and despite his immense strength and lightning reflexes, he is restrained.

Yuta breaks his stalemate with Sundari by risking a hit, sliding inside her guard to swing at her, forcing her to fight with her other hand. She does not have her extra arms, and she is so focused on trying to slow down Yuta that she cannot summon them. One hand blocks his sword attack again, and she uses her technique to wither the cursed energy oozing from it, weakening its blows.

But Yuta cannot and will not be deterred from his mission. He moves, and Nadja registers the movement with dawning horror. She won't kill Zenin if she doesn't have to, but Yuta may leave her no choice and it has never been her desire to ever have to face a former student this way.

She settles for immobilizing Naoya instead, injuring his spine just enough to drop him and make him useless to his allies. If he can heal himself, it'll burn out his cursed energy, but Nadja intends to finish this fight long before it can get to that point. She moves to intercept Yuta, reaching over her shoulder to draw her sword.

Yuta leaps, eyes sharp and determined, grasping her wrist and forcing her to sheathe the sword, before swinging behind her, binding her arm behind her back. Nadja grunts but Yuta's cursed energy bolsters his strength to match her, and he kicks hard. Nadja tumbles, keeping her gaze focused as she lets her body land as it will before reorienting herself. As she rejoins the fray, she is met with the sight of Yuta plunging his sword into Yuji's chest.

Blood trickles from Yuji's mouth, eyes wide in shock.

"Itadori! No!" Megumi cries, and there is an anguish in his voice that makes Nadja's heart ache.

Yuta guides Yuji down, as gentle as a lover, before withdrawing his blade. His face is somber, and his eyes are weary with the weight of what he's just done. Nadja stops shorts, glancing from Yuta to Yuji's lifeless body.

"Yuta," she whispers. "What the fuck have you done?"