The night was already far advanced when he opened his eyes, staring motionless at the bedroom ceiling, perfectly awake... With great care, he began to clench and unclench his fists, stretching his limbs one by one against the mattress, checking that the other' s consciousness was drowsy... Clearly it was, and he didn't feel the usual relentless grip that usually held him prisoner...

A broad smile stretched across his lips as he let out a sneer into the darkness. Once again, Sukuna had managed to take control of Yuji's body while he slept...

He had been repeating the experiment several times recently, with varying degrees of success. When he was asleep, the boy, whose mind was clearly not yet trained to resist without interruption, would let his guard down. This left a window of opportunity for the King of Plagues, who was quick to spot it and has been trying to exploit it ever since.

At first, he had been too violent in his takeover, leaping up onto the bed, far too confident and delighted to be able to move freely... Immediately, this brutal movement had not failed to awaken his host's conscience, instantly sending him back to square one, i.e. muzzled inside his vital space... The demon had therefore had to learn to be discreet, something that was far from easy or natural for him, and to learn the difficult art of slipping at a snail's pace into the body he shared with the high-school student once the latter was in the arms of Morpheus...

After a few unsuccessful attempts, he had managed to take dominion of their shared envelope without extracting the boy's mind from its nocturnal repose, thus leaving him the sole master of his movements... Alas, in a rather limited way.

Indeed, it would take nothing to rekindle Itadori's attention, cutting short the recreational time of the millennial curse. On one occasion, when he'd got up to stretch his legs, Sukuna had accidentally stepped on something he'd left on the floor, one of those things the future exorcist would stick in his ears to listen to music, startling him. The pain he had felt had been anecdotal, but it had obviously been enough on the brat's scale to serve as an unconscious alarm signal and cause him to emerge, immediately kicking him to the curb...

What a pain...

Still lying in his receptacle's bed, his four bloodshot eyes wide open, Ryomen scanned the now customary space of his room. He stared into the half-light at the poster beside him, pinned up with care by the mosquito, depicting a blonde-haired, indecently dressed foreign hussy. The demon king pouted doubtfully...

A virgin... he thought, then wondered what kind of world he'd stumbled into, where pictures of prostitutes on walls were commonplace. Really, he didn't understand this 'modern' world...

With a smooth movement, he sat down in the middle of the sheets, letting them fall over his legs and letting out a deep sigh. It was all such a bore...

He had a good mind to wander through the deserted corridors of the dormitory, but he ran the risk of bumping into one or other of the other kids living here, who would be sure to identify him on the spot because of his distinctive tattoos. And he had no doubt that a single shout from them would be enough to bring Yuji back to him, who would then be much more on his guard... No, he had to play it smart for now and not arouse the kid's suspicions. He had to continue to quietly and innocently take possession of his body during the night, so that the kid would gradually get used to the sensation and gradually offer him more freedom. The demon knew that he'd certainly never be able to fight or kill as he wished in this way, but if at least it got him out of his lair for a while, he'd put up with it until he was completely free...

He sniffed disdainfully, deeply exasperated by the idea of having to hide. He was the king of plagues, the master of poisons, but had to deal with so many horrifying constraints in this envelope! He couldn't wait to be fully master of it... Then he could have a field day in this strange world and reshape it to his liking.

Armed with these convictions, Sukuna let his double gaze run around him, looking for a distraction from his weariness. Suddenly, he found what he was looking for a few steps away, resting on the boy's messy desk. He rose nimbly to his feet and reached for Yuji's phone, left there helpless, grasping it in his hands. As he returned to his cross-legged position on the mattress, the master of poisons began to tap the screen with his thumbs, causing it to light up. By dint of watching the schoolboy, he had managed to assimilate the workings of the device. At least...just about.

Sukuna placed his thumb on the small circle at the base of the screen, bringing up the welcome image covered with various symbols with improbable names. He stared at the colored rectangle, not quite sure what he wanted to do... Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, all barbaric stuff he didn't understand... Still, this cursed device must have had some distractions to offer him, given that Yuji was capable of spending hours and hours on it, sprawled out on his bed...

After a handful of seconds of reflection, scanning the screen one way and then the other to scroll through the icons, the scourge froze as a Machiavellian smile played across his lips. He was going to take revenge for the teenager's impertinence. Beneath his ruby eyes he could see a small circle under which was written "Clock"... This was undoubtedly the square that corresponded to the damned alarms blaring in his eardrums every morning, putting his nerves to the test... It was perfect!

He tapped on the shortcut with a jerk, bringing up the multiple times at which the alarms would irrevocably sound...

How did the kid manage to activate them every night? It seemed to Sukuna that he pressed the little bars facing them, turning them from gray to green... He then imitated this gesture on the first one, noting with pleasure that the activation signal changed back to grey. Bingo! He then meticulously deactivated them all, delighted with his mischievous, playful forfeit. At least he wouldn't be woken up by those horrible shrieking noises tomorrow, and that would put Yujii in a bad way. Well done, it would give him a point before dawn.

He had to admit, he'd taken a liking to this ridiculous little game between the kid and himself, this story of points scored by one or the other according to the dirt they did to each other. He liked it (largely because he won almost every day) and it killed the boredom a little. As for his receptacle, it was working like hell to find ways of reaching him, and watching him do it was quite distracting, he had to admit.

Proud of his misdeed, the millennial demon resumed his exploration of the cell phone, tapping randomly on the screen. He scrolled through uninteresting photos, turned on a few applications before shutting them down in a hurry when he heard music blaring, not wanting to wake up the sleeping kid. Really, all this technology was a pain...

Finally, he opened the digital conversations page. He swept his eyes over the few chat bubbles when his gaze suddenly fell on one in particular.

The name "Kali" flashed before his eyes, along with a small icon supposedly representing her. A slight pout stretched Sukuna's lips as he stared reproachfully at Kyu's head, the horrifying flying scourge that accompanied the young woman and stared back at him from the luminous digital screen. This bug was getting on his nerves, but he couldn't understand why. There was something... suspicious about him... strangely arrogant for a flying rat of his level... But no matter, he was just a pest...

Without further ado, banishing this thought from his mind, the millennial king tapped the icon with one finger, opening the hybrid's conversation with Yuji. There was nothing here he hadn't already seen, since he was living through his host's eyes. Mundane exchanges, bits of humor, sometimes even at his own expense (really, those two were impertinent...), animated images that he understood were called gifs, and photos. The young woman seemed to be getting on well with her host, as she sent him a lot of snapshots, always eliciting enthusiastic reactions from him. The scourge sighed. The kid was so predictable...

However...

You had to admit she was interesting, the shrimp. Its very nature as an original hybrid was intriguing. Her story too... Who could have made an inking circle without bothering to do it completely? The fact that she was alive may have been a bit of a miracle, but it was certainly absurd. Why use only half a demonic orb, anyway? And why do it on a scale model like her? Apart from the occult energy she currently possessed through her crossbreeding, it didn't seem to Sukuna that she possessed any strength of her own. It was... intriguing... And her shadow flames... In his time, he had only known one scourge associated with such a spell, and he doubted very much whether it would have willingly offered even a drop of blood to bind itself to any human...

Suddenly, a vibration shook the phone in his hands, making him jump slightly. The bloody-eyed demon stood still for a few seconds, watching for his host to wake up and immediately regain control of his body, but sensing nothing alarming. Yuji was a heavy sleeper tonight... He then turned his attention back to the device he'd dropped in the middle of the sheets, retrieving it, discovering with astonishment a new message on the conversation he'd been browsing so far. A green circle surrounded the young woman's avatar, a sign of her online presence.

* Still up at this hour Yujii? And then you'll wonder why you're having such a hard day! * she wrote, ending her sentence with a smiley wink.

The King of Plagues observed the message for a few moments, a mischievous smile gradually spreading across his face. Apart from with the kid, he didn't get much chance to converse. This was an opportunity to be seized. Awkwardly, frowning slightly without realizing it, the demon pressed a finger on the phone's keypad, trying to imitate the much-watched gestures that the kid tirelessly repeated when his nose was glued to his device. With exasperating slowness, the millennial demon managed to understand how the immaterial keyboard worked, trying to write a reply to the young half-demon.

* Are you writing or have you fallen asleep on your screen? Don't drool on it, you'll drown it! * Kali resumed on her side, causing her interlocutor to grumble under his breath, cursing this damned technology. Paper, ink and brushes were so much easier than this!

*sukufhna* he finally sent, both pleased with his prowess and a little doubtful. He wasn't very good at it yet, obviously...

*? Sukuna? Is that it? What's he done now? * she replied in quick succession, piquing the interested party a little.

He raised his eyes to the sky, a pout on his lips. As if he spent his time trying to turn the teenager's life into hell, frankly! He was merely distracting himself at his expense, that was a huge nuance. He'd spent a thousand years locked up, that was perfectly normal, wasn't it?

Me Sukuna. * he managed, with a terrible effort of concentration, to send out in a sigh. People were always so quick to judge him!

You? Sukuna? sent the European woman before continuing *... Yuji, have you been drinking? *

Yuji is sleeping " he finally wrote, certain that this time she would understand who she was really dealing with... He was curious to see how she would react...

"Allait, shrimp, don't disappoint me..." he murmured into the darkness, lying back on the mattress of the teenager whose body and phone he was stealing.

After his message there was a long silence stretching for a few minutes, making the impatient demon sniffle a little. She wasn't going to run away from the conversation, was she? That would have been terribly disappointing... Ryomen put the phone down on his chest, a little disappointed. Was he wrong about her? Maybe she wasn't so interesting after all, just like all the others, weak and trembling in front of him, deserving just to be used as a doormat...

Suddenly, a new vibration roused him from his evil, frustrated thoughts, bursting the sulky mood bubble that was beginning to invade him. He quickly retrieved the mobile, reactivating the conversation. She had finally answered...

*You took over his body while he was sleeping, didn't you?

Is he all right?

Where are you? Still at the academy?

What are you doing now? Do you just walk around?

Do you do this every night?

But then... Do you know how to use a telephone? *

She kept on leaving messages, earning a slight smile from the King of Plagues, who couldn't reply as quickly as she could. He could type a few words, but from there to hold an entire conversation via the numeric keypad... He was going to spend hours.

No", he simply replied to Kali's paving stone, making her reply in quick succession, obviously perplexed or worried. Through the screen, he would have been unable to judge.

*No...

No to what?

No to all my questions?

Just one? Some of them?

Sukuna-san, you can't just drop an enigmatic 'no' to lots of different questions, it's confusing! *

The last remark drew another amused smile from the interested party, who was enjoying the unexpected effect of his monosyllabic reply. Enigmatic, eh? He liked that.

he resumed, feeling that he couldn't use the stratagem forever. *cough*

Clear, sharp, precise. He couldn't have given a better answer.

Ah ! " Kali let out digitally, before falling silent for a few seconds.

*Wait, let's make this simpler...* she finally wrote to him. *I'm going to call you. When it rings, or vibrates, slide the green circle to the top of the screen, it will start the conversation. You'll have to put the phone up to your ear to hear me and answer. How's that, Sukuna-san? *

A phone call? That was even more unexpected... Sukuna thought quickly about the risks involved. Would Yuji wake up immediately on hearing the hybrid's voice, snatching away what little control he currently had? Or would it pass like a dream for him, not arousing his distrust? It was a gamble worth taking... And the King of Plagues didn't necessarily want to be left alone, lying in the darkness of the teenager's room with nothing to do. The shrimp's vocal company would distract him a little...

Yes", he simply added to the conversation, watching for the phone call with a sharp eye. He had to keep the mobile from making too much noise, and to do that he was going to have to... slide the green circle, as the European had indicated, as quickly as possible.

A brief moment passed before the device began to vibrate under his fingers, giving him the signal that Kali's call had arrived. The luminous screen also changed, displaying a larger image of the albino bat. Beneath it, the demon immediately spotted the famous emerald circle, on which he pressed his index finger a little too eagerly, sliding it upwards. After all, technology wasn't all that complicated...

A slight smile flitted across his lips as the thousand-year-old master of poisons pressed the digital box against his ear, starting the conversation in his powerful, deep baritone voice. Basically, with his own voice, he could regain control of the situation...

"Hi, shrimp... Shouldn't a kid like you be asleep by now?"

A brief silence answered him at first, in which however he seemed to perceive the slight sound of a swallow a little... impressed?... A slight warmth ran through his veins as he savored his effect with intensity, all too happy to be able to play this kind of game again...

"Good evening, Sukuna-san," Kali finally replied, a little hesitantly, her deep, melodious voice with its distant accents coming to rest in the hollow of his ear. "It... it makes me feel a little strange to hear you like this... It's a little... unsettling."

"I often have that effect, shrimp..." laughed the King of Plagues, coming to stare nonchalantly at the purple nails of his free hand, terribly sure of himself. Confusing... yes, he certainly did to a certain extent... But... To frighten, terrify or horrify were certainly more appropriate terms for the feelings he usually aroused in living beings crossing his path... However, he was in a good mood, he wouldn't take her back for so little...

"And you?" resumed the young woman, drawing him out of the contemplation of his cuticles. "Doesn't technology confuse you too much? All this ubiquitous computing, everywhere and all the time... it must be quite a change from a thousand years ago..."

A slight pout appeared on Sukuna's tattooed face. He wasn't confused by it, no. It just relieved him completely. All these telephones, computers, picture and music boxes, wheeled machines and other modern creations were mere humans' way of competing with the power of occult energy, which had been relegated to the background since his defeat at the hands of the exorcists. Once he'd regained control of this body and restored the air of the occult, he'd trash the whole thing with great pleasure...

"As if you'd made it all up... " he blurted, a little grudgingly. "Being able to talk to people who aren't physically there, there were already spells that did that in my day you know... But I've never needed it."

"Oh... So... Can we consider this... your first time?" she whispered in a falsely innocuous voice, making her interlocutor twitch.

He let out a light laugh after a pause, a little taken aback by the remark.

"Impertinent!" he hissed in an amused tone. "You're definitely of this strange world, women don't know their place anymore."

"If it's cooking you're talking about..." she continued, growing more confident, delighting him in spite of himself. "Prasad always told me to watch out for anyone in there because that's where all the knives were!"

He let out another laugh, enjoying himself more than he had in centuries. And he wasn't even killing people!

"I don't know who this Prasad is, but he's pretty wise!" declared Sukuna, running his free hand through his slightly tousled hair before placing his arm behind his head in a casual posture. "But you know, shrimp, there are plenty of other places where a female belongs..."

"You're telling me..." the hybrid retorted, without flinching, bringing a carnacious smile to the poison master's lips, heating up his blood just a little. She was playing a dangerous game, the kid...

"You're very lucky to be safe behind your phone, shrimp..." Ryomen murmured in an even deeper voice, caressing and predatory at the same time. "If not, I'll show you a few, just to calm your effrontery."

"That's the magic of technology, Sukuna-san..." she defended herself in the hollow of his ear in a caressing tone. "By making things immaterial, it partially absolves us of responsibility for our actions..."

"Count on me not to forget any of your impertinences, shrimp." He was terribly enjoying the turn their discussion was taking, playful. "I have an excellent memory when I want it, and a boundless imagination when it comes to finding punishments...And I'm sure you're...full of hidden talents..."

There was a brief silence on the other side of the phone before the hybrid spoke again in a suave voice that electrified her even more.

"Indeed...Sukuna-san..."

She then continued in a completely playful tone, in complete contrast to her previous teasing attitude. "I know how to throw a bottle of water so that it lands straight on a table! If that's not a talent!"

The King of Scourges was left... completely... speechless, sitting upright on the mattress.

He opened his mouth once before closing it again, not knowing what to say. If Kali's sentence had been a blow, he'd have taken it right in the stomach without even seeing it coming...

"So..." he resumed in a slightly uncertain tone, as if taken aback by the incongruity of the latest information he'd just received. "No... No, that's not a hidden talent at all, shrimp. It's useless... I was talking about things... I was expecting everything, but not this actually."

"But it's not that easy to do, I swear!" she simpered in a falsely innocent voice, making him twitch.

Was she... teasing him? She certainly couldn't be serious, that was for sure... A broad smile played across the scourge's lips again, as he let out a light laugh, suddenly far more amused than he cared to admit.

"Impertinent... Are you making fun of me right now?" he took offense falsely, resting his free hand on his chin, in a light mood.

"I wouldn't dare, Sukuna-san..." she whispered, mutinously, in the hollow of his ear, widening her smile even more.

She was playing with him... Did she even realize how dangerous the being she was conversing with was? Or did she know for a fact and knowingly prefer not to worry about it?

"Impertinent and unconscious... That's a pretty risky mix for a shrimp barely able to defend herself, don't you think?" he teasingly lectured his young interlocutor.

"Unpredictable too maybe a bit, don't you think?" she purred, becoming playful again.

She was a little hard to follow, she had to admit. Probably because of her young age, her foreign upbringing in this world of incongruous mores... But she was undeniably... refreshing...

Suddenly, a ringing sound was heard in his ear, drawing Sukuna out of his reflections. It was obviously coming from Kali's side, who seemed to be on the other side of the phone.

"Ah, damn! Sukuna-san, I must leave you, I absolutely must take this call. It may concern a lead for my half of a relic on the occult black market!" she dropped hurriedly, obviously pressed for time. "It was... nice... talking to you..." she added in a suddenly much softer, hesitant voice, caressing his eardrum. "I hope we can do this again soon... Good night to you, be well! "

Before he had time to answer anything, a faint beep sounded against his ear, informing him that the telephone conversation was over. The demon stared for a handful of seconds at the luminous screen he'd moved away from his face, a little bewildered.

Do that again, he mentally repeated to himself, placing the now useless phone against the mattress, plunging the room back into total darkness, as a bright gleam crossed his blood-colored eyes, making them seem to glow in the late night.

Yes... it sounded like an excellent idea...

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A word from the author :

M: Hello everyone...

Sukuna: BUT IT'S NOT TRUE!

He was vainly trying to throw a bottle straight back into his corner, getting annoyed all by himself: What the hell? It can't be!

Kali came along, taking the bottle from him with a big smile before throwing it with a sure hand, making it fall back upright on the first try.

Behind her, Yuji, Gojo and Megumi applauded, holding up signs with a big 10 on them.

Kali, leaning towards Sukuna who had crossed his arms, sulking: So that's a talent, Su-ku-na-san!

Sukuna, turning sharply to her, not wanting to admit defeat: Ah yes, shrimp? And how many ricochets do you think you can make with a buffalo skull? I dare you!

Kali, holding her gaze, arms crossed under her chest: Chiche.

Yuji, always up for a silly challenge: And how many hot dogs can you fit in your mouth at once? I beat you hands down!

Sukuna and Kali, at the same time, a little doubtful: Yes, but no...

Kali: It's enough to choke you to death... And hello to the epitaph on the tombstone... "here lies the fool choked by one too many sausages"... not great...

Sukuna: And I'm sure it's bathed in your horror of ketchup... I wouldn't even want human flesh with that infamy...

Yuji: All because you know you're going to get beaten to a pulp! You bunch of wimps!

Gojo: I'll play!

Megumi: Of course...

M: Well, I'm off to get them some betaine citrate, if I've got that right? Or basins...? Or both... BREF! Thank you all for following and supporting our story! It's so heartwarming! This was the first direct exchange between Sukuna and Kali, and I hope you enjoyed it! I laughed a lot when I read about it (mean Sukuna, the alarm clock trick is really treacherous!).

See you soon for the rest!