Chapter 16

That night at the domain.

Sukuna was lying awake.

Chusi had already fallen asleep. Yua had come to sleep with Satoru and Suguru as Sanso and Hecate were nestled in their beds.

Why isn't he sleeping?

Well, various reasons. He is anticipating his wife waking up and wanting something to eat. Second, he knows he will have to act fast to do so. But the reality of it all, is that she is talking in her sleep… and oddly enough, she speaks of things that she hadn't experience… but he has.

Words that were spoken were gentle on his ears and yet… they were familiar to him.

He's also rather surprised to the fact that the knockoff hasn't brought it up yet but… he had fallen in love in his madness.

Twice… he thinks… that he isn't so sure about.

The memory has been so distant from him, but when she talks in her sleep, he remembers and has suddenly recalled the women. He remembers what they spoke to him and even now, he still feels a little emotional about it. 'Didn't I want to destroy everything since they took everything from me at the time?' he thought to himself. 'Also, who was really behind their deaths…'

The more the thinks, the more he wants to find Kenjaku and torment him until he dies… at least seven times, Sukuna is rather certain that he could stop himself and heal the bastard before he dies from wounds inflected upon him. And yet, why does this bother him?

'Was I truly capable of stopping myself? Or did I just fall into depravity for the sake of it since it was easier?' he wondered. It has caused many sleepless nights for him, he couldn't help but wonder what the truth was.

He would get a little sleep. Chusi slept through the night, but by morning, she was starving for a meal. He and Yua wasted no time getting everyone fed. Hecate helped run the meals over to those who needed to eat. Sanso was being rather fickled today.

"Sorry, he only wants sea food…" Hecate said in a defeated tone.

Luckily Chusi was more than hungry to eat his share, and as luck would have it, Rook would drop by and carry the best parts of the ophiotaurus tail meat. Sanso was more than happy to eat that raw!

"Strange dragon…" Sukuna muttered.

Everyone was fed, Yua excused herself from the nursery and Suguru and Six Eyes went with her. They could still move about on their own and didn't look all that pregnant… which he still found hilarious in his mind.

Sukuna took a seat back in the bed next to Chusi. When they settled, Hecate spoke up. "What are you saying in your sleep?" she asked of Chusi.

She paused to the question. "What?"

"You talk in your sleep. I noticed your husband hanging off your every word when you do."

Chusi peered to him. "Ryomen?"

"You… are saying things that were spoken to me… long after you had died… in my madness… I am starting to remember things… I… I fell in love at least once, perhaps twice but I am not too certain of it, but… I did…" he explained.

Chusi paused but smiled. "I thought you would remember!"

This took the room aback. "What do you mean?" Hecate asked. "Better still… Nobara wasn't your first reincarnation was she?"

Sukuna froze as he peered to Chusi. Who flushed red.

"No, and I am certain the other times I was brought back… I interacted with Ryomen… I don't know all of what happened in my past lives, but I know I encountered Ryomen again."

"How come you didn't tell me until now?" he asked gently of her. "Had I… at the same time… I am disappointed in myself…"

Hecate smirked. "I think you need to speak to my mother about that. I am certain she had an agreement in place with Chusi. Perhaps to prove that you were someone worth helping."

"Why though? Why go through the trouble?" he asked of her.

"Because, I knew you were still in there somewhere. I didn't give up on you, and it seems in your madness… you never gave up on that version of me…" she said and smiled rather contently to that!

"Which raises the question, who did her in that time?" asked Hecate.

"I think we all know the answer to that, he may not know of the soul, but he knows what makes me tick, doesn't he?" Sukuna said with dismay in his voice. "This whole time… nothing but a pawn…" he muttered.

"He won't get you again! He won't USE you again!" Chusi protested. "You have family now!"

He forced a smile and nodded. "That I do," he said to her. "And I am forever grateful."

He was about to kiss her, when Chusi's stomach rumbled once more!

"You just ate?" he muttered in confusion. "You are having more than one aren't you?"

She didn't know but he wasn't going to argue on the notion. It was time to get his wife fed!

#

"Oh? You wanted to speak with me?"

By the afternoon, after lunch. Hecate got her mother. Lady Tiamat was gracious enough to see them, but was curious. "Something on your mind, Ryomen?" she asked.

He peered to her. "Did you make an arrangement with Chusi in the afterlife?" he asked bluntly. "She is muttering in her sleep, but, she speaks of things that I was told in my madness… there was a woman I fell in love with… perhaps two, I don't really know at this point… and yet…" he looked to Lady Tiamat who froze.

"You… shouldn't have been able to remember that… let alone Chusi… and to answer you. Yes. I made an agreement. Since I was going to end you myself. For you see, you were close to becoming a dragon."

The room paused to this, even Sanso woke from his cat nap when he heard of this.

"I was?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, and I wouldn't let that happen in your mindset. I was going to take action when Chusi pleaded with me not to, claiming there was still something worth redeeming about you. So, we placed a wager." She explained. Chusi bet she could show Lady Tiamat that he still had something worth saving within him. If she could prove it, she would spare him.

Thus, the reincarnation.

Sukuna froze to this as he peered down at her. "No wonder you refuse the notion of a small family…" he muttered.

"She proved to me that you did still have something in you worth saving, it's a shame it took over a thousand years for you to return to that mindset." Lady Tiamat explained.

"So… what was the condition if Chusi won, which she did…"

Lady Tiamat smiled and yet sighed. "I regret this rule, for no one with your blood will become a dragon. It was the only way to stop you at the time, as well… I didn't see this coming the least bit." She said and motioned to the whole room.

"I thought that you would be trapped in servitude to Yua and my sons. But Yua changed all of that, for she had some sort of respect for you. She never abused the power she had over you, did she Ryomen?"

He nodded to this, the only time she had done so was when he was truly out of line and Yua was upset with his actions. "I wonder though… had the Tooru family been killed and I had been left to survive… I would have fallen down the same path of madness, wouldn't I?" he asked.

Lady Tiamat paused oddly, she appeared to have blanked out before coming to her senses once more. "You would have been worst." She decreed. "In fact, there is a timeline where that had happened, you were trying so hard to protect the family who saved you, but as they got picked off one by one… you snapped. You lost all sense of yourself the moment they killed Chusi, she was the last living Tooru at the time…" she said and trailed off.

"That bad?" asked Hecate.

Lady Tiamat looked grim. "Let's say, he reduced Japan's population by half. He destroyed the council, the three great families and anyone who got in his way. He was able to do this all without Kenjaku's interference. In fact, he didn't even dare show himself. Yet when it was all said and done. Sukuna self mummified his body. His fingers broke off and were scattered by the sorcerers who survived. Yet this time around, they scattered them beyond Japan. And they went all over the world. Currently in that timeline, Kenjaku has been traveling to find the fingers to bring back Sukuna for amusement. The thing is he has searched over a thousand years and had only found five."

"Damn, they did a better job than here…" Sukuna muttered.

"Besides that, I found it rather curious that you would have still lashed out against the world if they had taken the Tooru family away from you, and yet you were so much worst in that timeline. I do fear what will happen if Kenjaku succeeds in bringing you back in that reality, but that's also not for me to deal with." She said with a smile.

Sukuna was oddly silent about it. "I completely forgot the small vow I made to myself after I had died at the hands of the brat… I would have entertained the notion of not… being evil as it were."

"The time line rest itself, but are you also not doing that now?" asked Chusi. "You never would have bothered to help anyone in the domain, you would have casted Rook aside after you got board of him…" she said offhandedly.

"It took me forever to get to that point…"

"But you are getting there, Ryomen." Lady Tiamat stated. "I cannot ignore the progress you have made either. So much has altered in our favor because of your actions, intentional or not. After you have been forced into submission, everything has gone our way now." Her smile grew. "I never saw the potential that you had that could help influence and allow others to grow as they do. Even in your madness, that pushed everyone to get stronger. But now, it's the drive to have you acknowledge them. Like Rook" she explained.

"Rook has been a project no less, and yet, I cannot refuse someone who is that determined, it reminds me too much of myself…" Sukuna said. "Rook also never made excuses for himself, if he failed, he understood why he did so and would improve himself. He always did, I noticed."

"We still don't know what's going on with Rook, his body demonized didn't it?" Hecate asked.

"Not really, something did happen, but how and why he took on Ryomen's look is the question, unless he pushed himself to do so. Sometimes when a human works so hard on a goal, the universe asks of them what they want, why go this length? For what reason?" she said offhandedly. "And sometimes, the body just knows it needs to evolve in order to grow. Even Shin right now is going through a drastic change."

"Is that because…" Chusi began to ask.

Lady Tiamat nodded. "It appears those who have swapped with Ryomen body wise, ended up awakening something in themselves…. That didn't happen with Satoru,"

"Thank the gods" came out of the room, even a gently sigh came from Sanso!

"But Shin…" Sukuna began to ask.

"He has eight eyes now. His body has taken the ones that you have and given him. But he came move the four on his back more freely. He admits the new ones by his original eyes he has yet to figure out, but the moment he does… well… let's say the Gojos are going to be tripping over themselves to get on his good side, for he will be at least twice as strong as Satoru"

"Good on him," came out of Hecate.

"That, I am curious to see with my own eyes… if it's one thing about being forced into servitude, the perks of it have outweighed the punishment," Sukuna decreed. However, he was far too interested to see where Shin will take his ability next, the boy needs training, at the same time, he has yet to see Mochi's progress on her technique as well…

But first thing first, Chusi and his growing family!