Threads of Infinity The Second Finger (25)
The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting a soft orange hue across the training area. Gojo and Yuji stood across from each other, the air thick with tension. In Gojo's hand was a small, unassuming box, but inside it lay something dangerous—the second of Sukuna's fingers.
Yuji's eyes flickered from the box to Gojo, a mix of resolve and uncertainty lingering in his gaze. He'd already consumed the first finger, but this one felt different, heavier. He could sense the power pulsating from it, dark and potent, and he knew that once he consumed it, he would step even deeper into Sukuna's influence.
Gojo held the box carefully, eyes scanning Yuji's face. "You sure about this? Once you eat this, it'll be a lot harder to control."
Yuji hesitated for a moment, his heart racing, but he quickly pushed aside his doubts. "I'll be fine. I can handle it," he said, but there was a slight wavering in his voice. He wasn't entirely sure, but he didn't want to back down now.
Gojo slowly opened the box, revealing the second finger. It looked the same as the first—an eerie, cursed relic that radiated an unsettling energy. He extended his hand to Yuji, the finger resting in his palm.
"Here it is," Gojo said lightly. "Your choice. Just don't lose yourself to it."
Yuji stood still for a moment, his fingers trembling slightly as he reached for the finger. His heart pounded in his chest, and an uneasy feeling gnawed at him as he grasped the cursed relic. The instant his skin touched it, a pulse of energy surged through him, sending a jolt of unease down his spine. The power was suffocating, all-encompassing.
For a moment, Yuji felt as though he might collapse under the weight of it. The world seemed to tilt. He looked up at Gojo, and then down at the finger in his hand.
"I... I don't know about this," Yuji muttered, his confusion seeping through his words. His grip on the finger faltered slightly, as though his body was rejecting it.
Gojo observed him quietly, his expression calm. "Yuji..."
Without warning, Yuji's hand jerked. The cursed energy surged within him, and his palm split open, forming a grotesque mouth that snapped eagerly at the air. Yuji stumbled back, eyes wide in horror.
"Wha—what's happening?" Yuji gasped, his voice laced with panic as the mouth on his hand opened wider, as though it had a mind of its own. It was like a nightmare—a sickening, grotesque hunger that couldn't be controlled.
Before Yuji could react, the hand lunged forward, the second finger slipping into the cursed mouth as easily as if it had been waiting for it. Yuji's eyes were wide with confusion and dread, unable to process what was happening. His body felt foreign, like it was no longer his own.
The cursed energy flooded his senses, overwhelming him. For a moment, Yuji lost all sense of where he was, the world spinning around him.
"Yuji!" Gojo called, his voice cutting through the chaos. He could feel the pulse of Sukuna's presence now, a wave of power radiating from the boy.
Yuji's chest tightened. His mind swam with the darkness of Sukuna's influence. "W-what the hell is going on?" Yuji asked out loud, his hand still twitching and pulsating, a deep growl rumbling from within him as Sukuna's presence began to take root.
Inside Yuji's mind, Sukuna's voice boomed. So you're feeding me again, brat? What a foolish decision. But I can't say I'm not entertained.
Yuji's whole body trembled as Sukuna's power began to seep through every fiber of his being. His breath came in ragged gasps, confusion clouding his thoughts. He couldn't understand what was happening, couldn't make sense of the fact that the hand he had always controlled was now behaving as though it were someone else's.
Why can't I stop it? Yuji thought, desperate. This... this isn't me!
His vision blurred, and he staggered, trying to regain control, but Sukuna's influence only seemed to grow stronger with each passing second. The cursed energy felt like a flood, pushing against the walls of his mind.
"Yuji, stay with me!" Gojo's voice cut through the haze, more urgent now. "You can fight it. Just breathe, focus on yourself."
Yuji squeezed his eyes shut, trying to push Sukuna's influence back. I... I don't want to be your vessel, he thought desperately. I can't—
But Sukuna's laughter filled his mind, mocking him. You really think you can stop me, human? You are nothing but a vessel, and I will consume you, piece by piece.
Yuji's hand twitched again, and the cursed mouth opened wider, the hunger inside it never ceasing. Yuji staggered forward, his mind battling against the overpowering pull of Sukuna's will. His body felt like it wasn't his own, like it was being torn apart from the inside.
"I don't get it," Yuji gasped, his voice barely a whisper. "Why is this happening? Why can't I control it?"
Gojo stood still, his expression unreadable, though his eyes betrayed a hint of concern. He knew that Yuji's struggle wasn't just physical—it was mental, a fight for the very soul of the boy.
For a brief, terrifying moment, it seemed like Yuji might lose the fight. But then, something inside him snapped. The confusion, the fear, it all cleared away, replaced by a single, determined thought.
I won't let him win.
Yuji clenched his fist, his body still shaking. The cursed mouth on his hand snapped shut, and the overwhelming influence of Sukuna began to recede, albeit slowly. Yuji staggered back, his eyes wide with shock and exhaustion.
"I... I don't know what just happened," Yuji muttered, his voice hoarse and confused. His hand still felt foreign, tingling with cursed energy, but the mouth had closed for now. He looked up at Gojo, trying to make sense of the whirlwind of sensations and confusion he had just experienced.
Gojo gave him a small smile, though there was a serious edge to it. "You're stronger than you think, Yuji. You fought him off, even if just for a moment. Keep doing that, and eventually, you won't have to fight so hard."
Yuji stared down at his hand, still trembling. "I... I don't understand it. It doesn't feel like I'm in control at all."
Gojo's smile widened slightly, but there was a sharpness in his tone. "That's the reality of it, Yuji. You've got Sukuna's power inside you. But don't forget—it's still your body. You're the one who decides how this plays out. Don't let him control you."
Yuji nodded slowly, though his confusion lingered. He had only just begun to understand the weight of what he was carrying. But one thing was certain: He wouldn't give up.
The cool evening air wrapped around the street, the silence broken only by the distant hum of the city and the occasional rustling of leaves. Tsukasa stood, partially concealed behind a steel pole, his form blending into the shadows with eerie precision. His icy blue eyes glowed faintly in the dim light, cold and calculating as they fixed on the scene unfolding in front of him.
He had been watching quietly for some time now, observing the boy—Yuji Itadori—and his internal battle. Tsukasa's sharp gaze never wavered, dissecting every minute detail, every flicker of cursed energy and every tremor in Yuji's hands. He wasn't here to intervene, not yet. He was here to learn, to study.
Yuji's struggle with Sukuna, the way his hand twisted and trembled, the way the cursed mouth manifested and devoured the second finger—it was fascinating. Tsukasa's lips curled ever so slightly, though there was no warmth in the gesture. It wasn't amusement that danced behind his gaze, but something far more clinical: intrigue.
So this is the vessel Sukuna has chosen, Tsukasa thought, his mind already calculating the implications. He had sensed the power shift when Yuji consumed the second finger—the flare of cursed energy, Sukuna's dark presence briefly overtaking the boy's body. But what intrigued Tsukasa wasn't just the power struggle. It was the mental fortitude that Yuji displayed. He fought back, even if just for a moment, and in doing so, he revealed a resilience that Tsukasa couldn't ignore.
The boy's emotions were so raw, so easily readable. It was almost... charming, in a way. Tsukasa's gaze narrowed as Yuji finally regained some semblance of control, though the battle was far from over. There would be more struggles, more moments where Yuji would feel himself slip, but what Tsukasa saw was potential—an unpredictable force, one that could either break or rise above.
"Interesting," Tsukasa muttered under his breath, his voice barely a whisper in the wind. He wasn't speaking to anyone in particular, but the words lingered in the air like a challenge to himself. He wasn't going to allow Yuji to slip under Sukuna's control easily. No, Tsukasa was too calculating for that. He could see how the pieces might fall together, how the boy could be manipulated or even used, and perhaps—just perhaps—he could influence things from the shadows, pull the strings just enough to test his theory.
His fingers brushed lightly against the pole as he considered the next move. There was no rush, no need to act immediately. Tsukasa's approach was one of observation, of waiting for the perfect moment, and then acting swiftly, decisively, with precision.
Yuji didn't know it yet, but his journey—his struggle—was just one of many pieces on the chessboard that Tsukasa had been carefully assembling. And Tsukasa, with his calculating mind and endless ambition, would ensure that nothing—nothing at all—happened by accident.
He remained in the shadows for a moment longer, his cold gaze fixed on Yuji as Gojo offered him some words of encouragement.
Let's see how long you can last before you crumble, Yuji Itadori, Tsukasa thought with a quiet smile, his eyes gleaming with an eerie satisfaction. The game is just beginning.