Nadja has been imprisoned before, and always her captives learn the hard truth about trying to keep something that metal nor stone can hold. It is why Sukuna, in his cruelty and his cunning, has devised a way to hold his divine lover hostage for the time being. The threat of killing Sundari and all her allies hangs over Nadja's head, and she regrets their debate about the Sword of Damocles, for Sukuna has taken the lesson of that story and now uses it to hold her in check. If she makes an attempt on his life and fails, he will kill their daughter, but nor can she sit idle.
And Sukuna doesn't let her, anyway.
It begins as it always does: he forces her to join him for a meal, they sit in tense silence while they eat. He'll make a snide remark about her lack of conversation, attempt to get under her skin, and when none of these things work, he smiles and says, "Perhaps more time spent together will make you more kindly disposed toward me, Daughter of Heaven."
Daughter of Heaven. She used to smile wryly at the irony of him calling her that. Now that he knows the truth, it chills her blood every time he says it.
"To think, Heaven itself fears my power enough to send one of its bastard daughters to kill me," he sounds so amused. Nadja has no doubt he would spit in the face of the gods if given half the chance. In so many ways, he already has. It's why she's here, now.
"So," Sukuna says, finishing his meal. "Let me guess: you must have done something horrible and blasphemous that they stuffed your divine soul into a body that will never be able to generate or use magic or jujutsu. Is that why Heavenly Pacts exist, Nadja? Are they truly a punishment born from your original sin?"
Nadja grinds her teeth, but her gaze burns brightly, her fury welling like brutal magma in her veins. Sukuna grins with a shark's eagerness, scenting blood in the water.
"Do you know the story of Prometheus, Sukuna?" Nadja speaks, her first words in days. Sukuna tilts his head, smirking. He nods. Of course he knows it. During the height of his power, Nadja spent hours in his library. He is well-read, and a scholar on many fronts despite his brutal reputation as a sorcerer. It is—was—one of the things she loved about him.
"What? Did you bring humanity magic or fire or something?" He asks, chuckling drily. Nadja snorts.
"No," she says. "I taught humanity the value of its own agency, and for that I was punished. To atone, I was put into this body, and told only when I pierce the heart of the heartless will I be freed. That is the nature of my Pact. Others may vary, perhaps paying for the sin of an ancestor, or balancing the incomprehensible scales of the universe in some way. But for me: my sin was teaching humanity to say no to the gods."
Sukuna's brow raises in surprise, four eyes wide. Whatever he was expecting Nadja's grievous sin to be, it was not this.
"A rebellion?" He asks. "Sedition against the divine? Oh, you were so very bold, little asura. Even I would not deign to cross the gods."
Nadja's lip curls in disdain. "Yes, I was. And now I can only regain my divine status once I kill you."
Sukuna laughs. "You have had plenty of opportunity and yet here I am, alive."
Nadja stands up and starts laughing derisively—bitterly.
"Yes, partially incarnated in a child's body! The very definition of being alive!"
Sukuna growls in annoyance, and Nadja watches the veins in his arms and hands become more pronounced. His cursed energy permeates everything on the Zenin Estate, scattering curses in the opposite direction out of fear. Nadja stares at him, daring him to unleash his wrath. She has more than enough for both of them, and she shifts her weight to the balls of her feet, subtle but enough that Sukuna's pupils shrink as his gaze sharpens.
It is the second time they clash, but it is different. Something desperate lingers in both of them, as if they are both loathe to be consigned to these roles. Sukuna doesn't pull his punches, and even though the heart that beats in his chest isn't his, it beats all the same, and he feels a specter of something sharp and gutting with each blow he lands.
Nadja cuts apart his cursed energy attacks, her right eye burning in her skull, and it is then that Sukuna realizes that the energy emanating from that false eye feels familiar. It is divine in nature, but not only that, he realizes how Nadja is able to block and counter his cursed energy attacks.
All at once, Sukuna shifts his tactics, and from the look of momentary confusion on Nadja's face, he knows she doesn't know what to expect. He already has a blueprint for the battle he is now orchestrating as they tear apart the dining room. He knows how to end this quickly.
Nadja is bracing for another round of Cleave and Dismantle, but Sukuna opts to simply match her in martial arts alone. All he needs is a single opening, and finding one in Nadja's impeccable guard is like trying to pass invisible thread through an ever-shifting needle.
All he needs is one slip.
He begins to bait her, leading her on a merry chase throughout the estate. They tear apart several rooms, and he lets out a cry of surprise when she opts to rely on her brute strength, flinging him impossibly over her shoulder and sending him crashing into the courtyard.
Uraume tries to intervene, but Sukuna holds up a forestalling hand.
Nadja steps out into the courtyard, seemingly unarmed, but Sukuna knows better.
He begins to bait her again, but she's smart, dancing just out of reach. If he wants to reach her, he needs to incapacitate her…or immobilize her. He bluffs her, and she frowns, but he can see the frustration beginning to show in her movements.
She's wondering what he's up to.
Sukuna finds his opening: a hesitation so brief that had he only two eyes, he would have missed it. But he threads the shifting needle of her impeccable guard, and a hand fastens around her throat.
"Gotcha." He snarls, bringing her close. Her eyes are wide, and with incredible speed and precision, Sukuna's opposing hand snatches out the false eyes, marveling in Nadja'ss first, true screams of agony. Tendons, veins, and gristle tear out of the ruined socket, and Sukuna eats the divine tool with a laugh.
He drops Nadja and she crumples at his feet, trembling hands feeling at her ruined socket. Sukuna looks down at her, his lips stained with her blood, his eyes cold and unfeeling.
"Get up," he orders. Nadja scrambles to her feet. Sukuna watches as she readies herself. "I didn't wait all these millennia just to kill you so quickly. But I wonder…can you regenerate that piece of the Divine General you were using to see my technique? I bet you can't."
Nadja's face goes ashen. Good. She's finally realized that he's figuring out her tricks. Without that piece of Mahoraga to read cursed energy attacks, she won't be able to see his slashes coming.
Sukuna makes a quick gesture with his fingers, and Nadja draws her blades too late as a single slash opens her cheek to the bone. Blood spills down her face, staining her sleek jawline crimson. Yet she remains undaunted. Sukuna knows she will heal come sunrise, and that takes some of the fun out of beating her up for him.
But only some.
Sukuna's lower hands come together to form a mudra; his upper hands spread in a mocking gesture of welcome. Nadja realizes what he's about to do, and she moves.
Sukuna's upper hands move quickly, his second mouth snaps at her even as she nimbly weaves through his planted feet, slashing at the backs of his knees. Since she can no longer see cursed energy, she resorts to conventional methods of fighting him, and he curses her divine weapons for being able to cut through his domain amplification. He is forced to engage her, using his cursed technique to counter her blades.
It's different, because he knows he can kill her. At least for now.
It's different because even now…even now, Nadja doesn't want to drive her blade into his black heart.
What she wants to do is so much worse.
But Sukuna has had centuries to ponder and strategize. He pins her down, and suddenly the mood shifts. Thunder rumbles overhead, the muted sunlight painting Nadja's beautiful skin in shades of soft blue and gold. Sukuna looks down at her and remembers a time when they were exactly like this for far more agreeable reasons.
"Do it," Nadja says to him. "Have your vengeance, Ryōmen."
Sukuna says nothing, and Nadja no longer struggles against him. For a moment there is only their panting and the rumble of thunder.
The rain begins to pour when he leans down and she comes up, their lips meeting. It's all there in the space between their hungry mouths: the love, the hatred, the unwanted longing finally swept away as they both come to the realization that neither one of them can close this chapter with one another. His hands are already roving her body, eager to remove her armor, seeking the hot, pliant skin beneath. She is a mess of straps and sheathes, even as they are pelted with cold water. It washes away the blood of their wounds, and Sukuna heals them both.
Without another word, he scoops her into his arms, rising to his feet. Nadja does not protest, nor is there an angry retort or attempt to harm him. He carries her inside the estate, passing the destruction their private war left in its wake. Furniture shattered to kindling, slash marks in the walls like a violent stigmata, shuriken and throwing knives embedded in the floor and walls. An abandoned razor in a pool of Sukuna's own blood.
None of that matters when Sukuna finds a bed to have her on, his mind set on defeating her in other ways.
Nadja doesn't see it that way.
And from the look of eagerness in his eyes, nor does he.
November 23, 2018, Jujutsu Tech, Tokyo Campus
Sundari opens her eyes and feels as if she's got the world's worst case of cottonmouth. She lets out a weak croak, her voice split like a reed, tiny and helpless. She tries to manifest the mouth on her belly, but summoning the cursed energy necessary to sustain her true form is difficult. She feels weakened, diminished, and as if she has slept beneath the earth for ages.
"Oh good, you're finally awake!" A voice pipes up from her bedside. Sundari shoots up in alarm, all four of her eyes darting around frantically, trying to assess her surroundings. She finds the source of the voice and sees Yuji grinning at her. It's strange to look at him, now, without her father's influence shadowing his features. He looks healthier. There's a scar across his face which she remembers from his battle with Mahito. Sundari pities him, but from his smile it looks like she needs to save that pity for herself.
"What…" Her voice croaks the word, her throat a scraped wound. "What day is it?"
Yuji makes a face that tells Sundari he's genuinely thinking on an answer for her question and she remembers that as quick as he is in battle, he lacks that quick thinking everywhere else. Sundari's lower eyes search for a digital clock anywhere.
"It's Friday!" Yuji says and Sundari is surprised there's no steam coming out of his ears from the effort of having to think. Then again, she can't blame him.
"How long was I out?" She asks, and her voice whispers in her dry throat. She searches, finds a small pitcher of water on the bedside table, along with a cup. She pours, drinks, and thanks the gods as her throat feels less like a wound and more like there might be some hope in this shit world.
"About three days," another voice answers and this time, Sundari nearly jumps out of her skin. Standing over Yuji, clad in all white to match his snowy hair, is Satoru. Sundari feels her mouth go dry for entirely different reasons. Satoru is here, and his eyes are unmasked, blazing like blue suns in his handsome face. His smile is wide, knowing, but most of all…he can still smile.
"Oh," Sundari says by way of response. "I see."
Yuji glances between his sensei and his friend. There's the barest tinge of pink in Satoru's cheeks, and Sundari's face feels so hot she's tempted to dump the pitcher of water over her head just to stop.
"How are you feeling?" Yuji asks, breaking the spell momentarily as Sundari's vision tears from Satoru to look at Yuji.
"Like hammered shit, but I'll live…were any of you hurt?" She looks worried, and she watches through her lower eyes as Satoru's smile softens. She catches a rare glimpse of weariness.
Yuji shakes his head. "No, we got out of range like you told us. But…those other sorcerers—"
"Let's discuss the nature of Sundari's divine feat another time," Satoru interrupts, seeing the mounting worry on Sundari's face. Yuji blinks, but he pipes down.
"I wouldn't call it a divine feat, exactly," Sundari mumbles. "More like banging on a door I'm not supposed to know exists and asking the occupants to meet me outside."
Satoru laughs loudly. Sundari smiles with grim humor. It was a divine feat, and the sad thing is Sundari still doesn't understand how it works, or if she can even do it again. Something tells her that coin, once spent, will never again return to her hand.
Guess I get one miracle per lifetime. She thinks, her gaze meeting Satoru's again.
She thinks it's worth it. She lets herself have a pleased smile, one echoed by Satoru.
"Hey, Yuji," Satoru says, "can you give us a minute? Sundari and I have a lot of catching up to do and I'm sure she's got questions."
Yuji doesn't question it but shoots a questioning look at Sundari who waves. She'll be fine. He gets up from his seat, and she doesn't ask how long he's been standing watch at her bedside, and instead watches him leave. She thanks the gods her father isn't tormenting the boy anymore. But now they've got to rescue—
"Fushiguro," Sundari says, and her voice hardens. "My father took over his body. Satoru—"
"I know," Satoru says. "The kids filled me in on the situation when I got here. We can get him back, but that's not the only problem with Sukuna."
Sundari frowns. "Then what—"
"Shh," Satoru puts a finger to his lips, smirking. Sundari's frown deepens, garnet eyes glittering impatiently.
"Satoru, now's not the time for games," she says. "My dad's loose with no binding vow to trap him. And who knows what he's doing to my mother."
She's sure that Sukuna has figured out what she did to free Satoru. The repercussions haven't hit them directly yet, and Sundari hopes they can kill Sukuna before the dominoes reach them.
"Your mother's an asura," Satoru says and Sundari gasps. He grins. "I knew, but I could never say it because of the binding vow that her soul drew us all into. But when you freed me, you changed that. How?"
Sundari hesitates, trying to remember what happened. She remembers immense power, the cursed energy of half a dozen sorcerers seeking her head. She remembers casting her domain, gathering their cursed energy and killing them all in the process, their brains rupturing in their skulls.
Then, the endless light filling her as the cursed energy was purified, and something like a domain was born from it.
"I…" She continues to tell Satoru everything. "I think I inverted my domain and…some kind of light filled me up, poured out of me, and I just remember making my request. Wasn't sure if I was screaming or if it was all in my head. But whatever it was I was yelling at looked at me and answered. I had to offer up something powerful enough to tip the scales of Genshin's binding vow."
Satoru is gazing at Sundari with open wonderment.
"So, you offered your mother's Pact on the altar…but what did you promise them?"
Sundari smiled sadly. "I promised them that I would take Sukuna's curse from this world."
Satoru sucks in a breath.
Sundari holds his gaze.
"Sundari," he says quietly. "That means…"
"I know what it means," Sundari says. "But all traces of him must go so that he never has a way to come back. And if there's a way to do it and spare Megumi or Yuji a gruesome fate, I will do that."
Satoru can't believe what he's hearing. Sundari has just made a binding vow with the gods themselves to free him. But he knows how this works. The gods to do not give something without taking away something in turn. Nadja's Pact no longer bound their tongues, and Sundari is now charged with the task of ending her father's life.
And her own.
Satoru has never thought much about the divine until this moment, where he learns how to hate how bitterly unfair this life is to them. If there is a mercy for them, one where Satoru does not lose yet another love of his life to the callous disregard of the jujutsu world. He has promised to protect her, even though he knows she hates the idea. He has promised her a future where she can exist as herself. He wants her to be free.
He wants her to be free with him.
Satoru decides in that moment, that he will fight the gods themselves to keep Sundari here with him.
"Let's not think about that, now," Satoru says with a smile. "We've got time until I face your dad, and there's a lot of preparation we've got to do. How soon can you be ready to get back in?"
Sundari is quiet a moment, and then she laughs, her voice pitches just below the vented air.
"Give me another day," she says. "Freeing you took a lot out of me, but I don't regret it for an instant."
I love you. Those are the words he hears.
Satoru leans in, brushing his lips against her temple.
"A day, then," he agrees. "Rest up, goddess. We've got a world that needs you in it."
I love you.