FLASHBACK: Ryomen Sukuna 3 months ago

He watched her smile grow brighter as she saw him and began coming his way. Her eyes sparkled and the gold in them flashed, mesmerizing him. He couldn't tear his eyes or his mind away from her. Sukuna had been playing the role of Aizen Yagami for over 8 months now. The early months of his act had been horrible. The task of pretending to care and be interested in the sorcerer girl that Satoru Gojo had dumped, had been mind numbingly boring for him. Pinning on a kind smile and asking polite questions when he actually didn't give two shits about her answers, had been downright painful.

He'd continued hacking it though- Pressing her harder, and working to present himself as the kind of guy that typical human women found appealing, and openly pined for. That had turned out to be a waste of time though, and it had basically all but backfired in his face when she'd abruptly tried to call things off early on into their dating relationship. He had to laugh to himself as he remembered it.

He'd been faking attention as she'd prattled on about something or other. Through it he'd made sure to still remain somewhat focused on making sure his eyes didn't glaze over as she talked, and catching when she asked him questions. This way he could give her the pre-rehearsed textbook answer and then turn gracefully turn it back to her so that she could once more take the floor and he could once again tune out.

Apparently though she was on to his game. Or she had already been on to it and had finally just grown tired of playing along with it. Whichever one it was, it seemed that she'd been randomly throwing in some nonsensical questions and statements in the middle of her chatter. Just inserting them casually here and there as she was speaking to him, until finally she stopped and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to respond or reply, or even to at least acknowledge the absurdity that she'd been spewing for the last few minutes.

Of course he hadn't caught it. He'd paid little to no attention to anything coming out of her mouth, only enough to allow him to nod politely or laugh politely, or tell her how fascinating he found whatever she'd just said. He had been able to tell by the expression on her face that none of the above would suffice this time though. She was smiling kindly at him, but he was a master of body language and lies, and he could read through her easily. Behind her smiling eyes was fire. Instead of feeling concern about it, he actually found this immensely interesting. She'd seemed so dull to him on paper - just an insignificant bore of a pawn, idly playing her part until it was her time to die- but the smoldering hiding within her told him that he was missing an entirely different part of her than what he thought he saw on the surface. He immediately wanted to know more, but had realized that he had better rectify his current situation first and fast.

With an embarrassed laugh he'd apologized profusely and openly admitted to not paying attention. He'd blamed it on having so much on his mind and he'd instantly lamented himself for being so rude and inconsiderate. She hadn't bought it- Not one bit. It was clear from the expression on her face. The kind smile had dropped and she had sat back in her chair, an exasperated look in her eyes. She'd more or less told him that unless he'd had 'so much on his mind' 24/7 every single time he was around her, then that sounded like a load of bullshit to her and she didn't think it was going to work out for them. She was done.

To say he'd been surprised would have been an understatement. He'd been certain that he'd already won her over and the next steps were as good as done. It had never crossed his mind that she hadn't actually been falling for his act. This realization was accompanied by two other very important ones: 1) that if his plan was going to succeed and he was going to be able to use her to get to Gojo, he would have to put much more effort and work into this than what he'd expected and what he'd been doing, and 2) that he was actually beginning to look forward to putting in the extra effort and finding out the true depths what lay under the seemingly still waters of the woman that he was dealing with.

It had been a struggle but he'd managed to turn it around. It had involved a shift in strategy that required high levels of authenticity. Basically it meant actually listening when she talked and actually asking questions of importance and truly engaging in conversation with her. As he did, he'd found out more and more about her that had made him seriously want to continue learning, and he'd realized that he didn't actually hate having to deal with her quite as much as he'd initially thought.

As long as he was genuine in his interactions she'd finally stopped being overly cautious about him and his intentions, and he'd finally gotten close enough to her to forge a serious and exclusive relationship. It had been difficult to describe, but similar to the feel of victory after a long and hard fought battle, he'd felt a strong sense of accomplishment once he'd conquered that goal. But he hadn't been content with it. He'd wanted to continue moving forward and getting closer to her and learning more. He found that gaining commitment from her wasn't enough. He wanted to steal her heart too. In fact, he wanted everything- all of her. He didn't have a direct reason for this. It wasn't needed. All he needed was for her to have fallen for him and she basically already had. But still, he'd wanted more and so he'd continued to continue pursuing a deeper connection with her.

To his dismay, somehow, he himself had gone too deep and he'd ended up here. Stuck at a point where just the sight of her elicited a sensory response within him. A primal urge to continue deepening that bond, on all levels. He'd had to admit to himself that somewhere along the way one of his goals had turned to making her need him. Again, it wasn't necessary, but still he wanted it. Wanted her to burn with a similar desire for him. An urge to constantly want to be closer and crave more of him. It consumed him to an extent, and his shift had moved from collecting her as a pawn to manipulating her emotions to a state of very real, and completely undeniable need for him. She'd just turned out to be so much more than he'd expected, and in a rare turn of events, Sukuna himself had found himself completely caught off guard when it came to her.

Now, in this present moment, the broad smile that he pasted on his face belonged to the puppet that he was wearing, but the words and the feeling that accompanied them were completely his. He would never admit it out loud or to anyone else, but he currently felt helpless to stop it. He felt a strange pang deep in his chest and he was compelled to reach out to her and show her this face. The same as he felt compelled when he suddenly pulled her to him, and gathering her tightly in his arms, his eyes captivated by hers, his mouth opened and the words just seemed to fall out.

"You know Ami, I've been thinking a lot about you and me, and our future. What that future together might look like. I've come to realize that my vision for the future is a lifetime spent with you. I know it's soon, but I'm clear on how I feel and what I want. And that's you with me for all time. I swear to protect, cherish, and adore you forever. I'll make sure you're taken care of and I'll give you any and everything that's within my power to provide. I'll give you the world if you'd want it. I just want to keep you by my side. Always." He paused, surprised himself at the unplanned monologue. Well, fuck it. It's done now. Might as well get that mask on and finish up the puppet act.

Sukuna took one of her hands in his and with the other he gently held held her chin, positioning her to focus directly into his eyes as he spoke. This whole spiel wouldn't be worth anything if he didn't give her the words she needed to hear. The ones that were most important to her.

"I love you, Rinami Senju... Marry Me."

The look on her face was almost difficult for him to gauge. Many other women might have been outwardly pleased or have made a spectacle of the situation, especially as he pulled out the ring box and showed her the significant 3 carat canary yellow diamond ring that he'd purchased (He'd had it specially made for her solely on a whim-Finding the color to be reminiscent of her eyes when she was excited and they sparkled with an intensity that he could never hope to replicate), Rinami though, was unlike other women and so Sukuna wasn't surprised, but rather once again mildly intrigued as she lightly smiled at the luminous ring, giving it a cursory yet appreciative look, but then turned her full attention to him.

Her eyes rapidly scanned him, dissecting his facial emotions and demeanor. Her own face wore a seemingly perplexed expression, but he could hear her heart, it was beating unsteadily. She was anxious and excited. But also cautious. He couldn't fault her. They'd only been together for a matter of months. Most would say it was too soon and that moving this fast was dangerous. Imagine if she only knew the real truth. Still, it was one of the things that fascinated him about her. Her instincts were unnaturally sharp- fortunately for him, she rarely trusted them.

Besides, these past few months had been more than enough time for him to make his mind up and to know without a doubt what his next moves were. Rinami may still be naïve in some areas, but she was self-assured and certain in many others. She knew what she wanted and she was relentless about getting it. At this point in their relationship, she would already know with very little doubt, if this was what she wanted with him or not.

He could say that he was compelled to make this current admission, but the decision obviously wasn't spontaneous. Giving her this gift was something he'd decided on a while ago. The original plan be damned, he wanted to keep her. The ring and it's accompanying meaning was something tangible that he could give her that would express his intent to her in a form that humans related to. It was the simplest way to tell her what he wanted. His words to her however, hadn't been planned. He hadn't determined when and how he would present the ring. He carried it on him because he believed in always being prepared and if an opportunity struck he needed to be ready.

Really though, he'd wanted to do something grand and befitting this character that he'd created in Aizen. Yet today, his own urges had slipped past his planning, and once he'd seen her look at him like that, he'd reacted unwittingly and just moved on wild instinct. He wanted to be angry with himself for breaking out of his created role, but he wasn't. The words had been delivered in Aizen's form and style, and she had no reason to suspect anything different. Also, it had all felt relatively natural and it wasn't like him to fight his own instinct anyways.

Rinami searched his face and then turned warm amber eyes, now glimmering softly, up to his. "Aizen?" She paused, her eyes again roaming his face and attempting to read his thoughts by what she found written there. "We've never even talked about this… I-"

"I know. But does it really matter?" He cut her off. He'd learned quickly that in dealing with Rinami the best course of action was to not give her too much time to think. She was smart but she didn't perform so well under pressure. He continued to press on. "We don't need to talk about it if it's what we both want. I've told you how I feel and what I want. How about you? If you feel the same, then it's simple. You just say yes. If not, that's okay. I'm not going anywhere either way. I can wait. That is unless you tell me that something has changed and you no longer want me here at all." He paused for dramatic effect, channeling as much 'Aizen'-like energy as he could.

"All I ask is that you just tell me. Tell me what it is you want?" He reached out and grabbed one of her hands in both of his. "If the words are too much, a simple yes or no will do. If that's too hard, I can live with a nod of the head, or even a kiss on the lips to solidify it. OR…." He paused again, showing her the soft smile that he knew she really liked. "You can just let me put this ring on your hand if you feel the same, or stop me if you don't".

Having already known what he was going to do either way, Sukuna reached into his pocket where he'd re-stored the ring box. Pulling it out once again, he swiftly opened the case and pulled out the ring. Not taking his eyes from hers. He lifted her hand and began to slide the ring on to her finger.

*8*8*8*

"Seriously?" Uraume stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and disdain in her pale eyes. "That was unnecessary. The exchange event is barely a month away. You've already got her where you want her. What is the purpose in this?" She scowled as she turned toward the door that Rinami had recently exited from. "I don't understand any of it. Unless the ring is intended to be just another stab in the gut for Satoru Goju, then this is pointless. She'll die with or without it, so why waste the extra effort?"

Sukuna leaned against the wall directly opposite her. "It serves a point. Or at least it does to her." He raised his eyes to stare pointedly at Uraume. "And she won't die"

The bewilderment that crossed Uraume's face would have almost been comical, if it hadn't been under-toned with dark shades of venom and wrath. "What do you mean 'she won't die'?"

Sukuna kept Uraume's gaze locked on his. "I mean what I said. I'm not going to kill her. Neither will you. Neither will any thing or anyone as long as I roam this earth." He watched as the information sank in and understanding dawned on Uraume, then he continued. "The ring isn't pointless, because it has importance for humans, meaning it holds significance to her." He stood up straight. "Ultimately I meant the words I said. I do plan on keeping her by my side. When everything is all said and done, she'll remain next to me.

Uraume scoffed "You must be kidding? What has she done to you? Have you really changed so much for that- that- that thing!? You've really given her that type of power over you?" Her mouth hanging open, Uraume shook her head in disagreement. "She's blinded you, and if you can't see it, then I can do it for you. I'll kill her myself. She's an eyesore that's now become a threat to our plans and directly to you. Remove her from your sight and you can regain your senses and your focus on your goa-"

"Enough of that shit."

Sukuna appeared directly in front of Uraume, his hands on the wall above her and his frame hunching over her from above. Leering down he peered dangerously close into her face.

"I've let you have your say, and now I've heard enough. Pretty sure you heard me say she wasn't to be touched. That wasn't a joke or a request." He paused and let his eyes continue to hold hers for an extended period while he leaned over her. When he felt certain that the message was received and clear, he pushed back from the wall and stood up straight.

"I don't particularly give a fuck what you want to call it, but Rinami remains unharmed and with me through it all. That is the only deviation from the original, everything else will still move forward as planned."

Uraume looked conflicted. It was obvious she still had more to say but was hesitant to cross the line. Annoyed, Sukuna narrowed his eyes at her. "What is it?"

"Why? Just tell me that! I don't understand. Why?"

Sukuna put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I couldn't say for sure. Not with words." He looked upwards and ground his teeth. "I just know that something changed and now I find that her life is important to mine. There's a connection there that I don't understand, but I know that losing it is unacceptable. I don't need more reason than that. You can just call it acting out of instinct. Hell, maybe you can even say I'm just spoiled. I want what I want, and right now -it's her."

He grinned at her, it was cruel and entirely unreadable at the same time, yet it gave Uraume the slightest bit of comfort.

"And if I can ask master, what makes you think that she'll go along with this? Even you can't keep up this charade forever. She's a devoted sorcerer. How can you really expect that she would stay with you once she knows who you truly are? How do you know that she won't immediately turn tail and run as far from you as she can?"

At her words and the mental image, Sukuna once again felt that uncomfortable itching sensation deep within his chest. Struggling to ignore it, he turned his back to Uraume.

"I don't. That's the truth. I know what she's said and that her feelings towards this shell of me are true. I believe she truly loves him but that it goes deeper beyond the surface of what she thinks it does. Either way- When it all comes down to it, the final decision really will be hers to make, but killing her stays off the table regardless."

Uraume looked skeptical as she gave a low snort and turned doubtful eyes on him. "You've never been one to ask, let alone to take no for an answer. Or at least not to let someone who has said it, live to walk away. But you think now will actually be an exception?"

"Let's make this the last time that I say this…" He exhaled and turned back to Uraume, "In the end, deciding how true her feelings really are will be her call. But she's going to be given the chance to make that decision, and I will accept whatever choice she ends up making."

With that Sukuna stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned his back on Uraume. He fully intended to stick to his word on this, but that didn't mean that the idea of losing her hadn't already crossed his mind. He'd just have to navigate that situation if it ever actually came to pass. For now, his focus remained on his future plans, and despite Uraume's claims, none of this would derail anything that he'd already set in motion.