Yūji woke up within his area of consciousness, seeing those floating mirrors with small designs again is strange, he blinked since although he was inside his chamber, the burning in his eyes is continuous and annoying, groans left his mouth as he sat down, seeing that there he was like Itadori Yūji.
" damn it , this pain never ends , it does not " he murmured to himself, tearful eyes beneath which he could see the irritation of the same, some somewhat reddish eyes and again with that light brown color as he had before
" it hurts a lot , why does this happen? " he asked himself again very strangely, when he looked upward, those floating boxes that always had multiple blue eyes watching everything, now had their eyes closed, he narrowed his gaze in desperation, Yūji did not understand why.
" as always , you are an imbecile to the soul " hearing that voice after days made him jump in his own position, his eyes opened to turn behind him, the division of the subconscious within the soul, Sukuna's soul? He saw it there, a long time without seeing it, but it felt different, although he did not know exactly what.
Cross-legged in the sea of blood, in a meditation position, it was strange to see him there, without that haughty pose as if everyone were beneath his feet.
Even though he spoke to him, he did not answer, he wanted to ignore him, still seeing him made his hatred boil, the veins in his hands became more prominent than before.
Sukuna, with his four eyes closed, continued speaking, quite relaxed since what he would say would not be counterproductive to him, a sigh resembling more of a nasal laugh burst from him, not caring much about Yūji's collapse over his problems " Satoru Gojo , even though I have killed him , he keeps causing problems... "
Yūji stared at him, Sukuna turned his back as he spoke " the soul of the honorable , only gave you a fragment of it without its consciousness, its inherited cursed power, and four of its most powerful techniques, blue, red, purple, and limitless, your weak body cannot withstand the purple, and you do not possess its other techniques, for being a fragment, using it for eight consecutive years is finally giving you a warning , Yūji " Sukuna was trying to channel the chakra, he was feeling that the mobility of this energy is more fluid since he understood in the brief period of the fight against that snake, ignoring the burns and damage it causes him, which is why he seemed more passive than he normally is, since he has been trying to understand the chakra more deeply on his own without anything calling his attention " yes , you inherited his six eyes, his cursed energy, his three techniques, but in the end... the fragment of the soul is not yours, and when it is not, it rejects you " he opened his eyes to finally stand up, stretching his four arms to look at him
" in short , if you continue abusing the six eyes , this inherited fragment will not do you good, the only thing it will cause is problems to your soul's consciousness " he smiled as if explaining something quite casually
Yūji looked at him, with a swollen vein on his forehead from clenching his teeth, his eyes still bloodshot fixed on Sukuna.
He wants to kill him, to see him so happy and relaxed within the chamber of his soul, as if nothing mattered, as if what he did days ago did not matter.
Not caring about snatching away his companion, about snatching away his own dreams, ignoring a bit what he had said.
Another problem, he is fed up with problems, he found himself with a ninja who can really combine cursed energy with chakra, he has blocked both energies, making him unable to use them, he is fed up with all these problems.
Why did he have to be reborn in this chaotic world?
What purpose does he have in this place full of death and despair?
He stopped asking himself that long ago, he wanted to set himself a goal, one from which he has strayed too far
He closed his eyes shaking his head... it is not time to fall into another crisis, he has felt that his spirit is weakened by so many problems he has suffered for so long.
" I do not care what I do , since after all it is better for me , haven't you noticed something? Your soul's consciousness has become smaller, my consciousness is almost dominant... when the time comes, your chamber will disappear, leaving me in charge " Sukuna spoke calmly, smiling in a mischievous way as if what he said were something normal and everyday.
Yūji looked around with cold eyes... he is right, Sukuna's same consciousness has already grown bigger, and his is smaller, he closed his eyes trying to think coldly.
But Sukuna would not let him " I have deliberately looked a little, I am surprised that you have befriended a curse, surely your beloved sensei and all your former comrades would be disappointed in you... befriending a curse, she will never return, but if you are happy in ignorance... " and seeing how Yūji responded to his provocation made him let out a mischievous laugh.
" shut up! this is no longer our world! I know , I will find a way to bring her back to life once more, I know that she will return by my side with her consciousness intact, I know what I did! I condemned her as a curse! But if I let her soul go, I do not know how to bring her back, I, I will find a way to help her, and all because of your damned fault! " when the boy shouted he ran straight toward Sukuna, his arms mutated again as he had fought previously with Mui, his face fixed on his courage, Sukuna dodged those blows with elegance, not caring.
He is acting clouded by rage " umm , I am surprised that you found someone who can use cursed energy and chakra, I thought we would be the only ones able to have this energy, the two of us, this world is full of unknowns... but that man is ignorant, he does not know how to draw out the true potential of cursed energy by combining it with his chakra " Sukuna dodged while listening to those shouts that Yūji made while trying to hit him.
The boy shed a few small tears " everything I have done since I arrived here has not worked, because of your damned fault I have to stay away from them, and so that you do not harm my loved ones, all of this is because of your fault... if only you did not exist " his voice could barely be understood as it gave way to his laments.
" nothing will work, as you yourself have said... I am you, and you are me, now I can consider myself your consciousness that desires hate and death, to be the strongest " he smiled mischievously looking at Yūji, clenching his fist hard, one could hear how with nothing more than his pure strength he broke all his fingers, Yūji defeated, it is the first time he rejoices in seeing him in such a state, although Yūji and he now have the same strength, the pink-haired boy no longer felt strong, and being more in his domain it is easier to control him, he looked more deeply into his eyes.
The first time he could not see that brightness that he had been wishing to extinguish.
He bent his knees to stand in front of him " tell me, are you still the hero? Because to me, you are no longer Itadori Yūji, you have no identity, I do not know who you are... "
Yūji listened, not caring that his fingers were broken, those darkened eyes full of a worrisome emptiness, as if Sukuna's words hit him hard.
" I am no longer... Itadori Yūji "
" then why do you still have that look that is too big for you, if you are not him? "
Yūji turned his gaze upward, only to see how Sukuna continued amused by witnessing him defeated, but when he said that, he looked at him more closely.
When has Sukuna changed so much?... his appearance is so tall, his tattoos he no longer recognizes, his whole body is covered with them, that hair is so long that it almost reaches his feet, his mask has fused with his skin looking like a horn.
All of him... is no longer Sukuna as he is known.
But him?
He continues using the same appearance as always, his breathing became a bit agitated while he listened to that scum.
Sukuna, marveling at witnessing him, after so much time in that form " you know... at first, I always thought that you had an unbreakable soul " the man stood up after releasing Yūji, he put his four hands into a new yukata that had been created, his face now serious " I always thought that when you defeated me, you would remain true to your ideology of helping others and fighting for them "
Sukuna walked through his chamber of blood, turning his back on that defeated boy, although the man turned slightly to look at him " but now... I have nothing but pity for you, you changed what made you strong, and now that you try to regain it, you cannot... you are just a joke " he let out a small laugh at what he said " I always thought that everything you faced you would have the same determination as the boy with whom I fought to the death, a boy that you would not believe... I was going to recognize you, but now, it is a disgrace to look at you, it seems that in the end you did not manage to defeat me following your ideals... what a pity " the man walked away, distancing himself from Yūji.
The boy trembled, his arms touching the blood to support himself, having no strength to lift his head, seeing his reflection in that part, he could not recognize himself.
" since I have known you, I have hated you, Yūji, I have always hated the fact that with your willpower and ideals, you managed to fight me, for that simple fact I could never see you as just any prey, I was disgusted when you looked down on me, and I had to see you from below... you were the only person I took as a rival, because I was disgusted that you treated me as an equal, my anger was personal throughout the battle with you, that is why I wanted to see you suffer and fall, because... in the end you could have become a king like me... it is so sad, that in the end it did not happen... " Sukuna had already walked away from Yūji, as if his words were boring to say.
" I no longer see you as a rival, I see you as prey, because you no longer have that conviction that attracts me... and like prey, I will hunt you slowly, at any moment, you will disappear, in the end it may be that I was the one who had the chance to live and not you "
Yūji lifted his gaze, no longer finding Sukuna, remaining in solitude in that lake of blood, he clenched his knuckles even harder while tears continued to fall, he lightly pounded the bloodied ground until his attacks already seemed desperate.
Because everything that that damned curse said is true, he lost his conviction and all his willpower, in the end, in that world he can no longer protect anyone, having to go with the flow, whether to kill, or to let live.
He sobbed lightly as he let himself fall, spread out in that blood " damn it... " he murmured in a broken voice.
In the end he closed his eyes in that place, not realizing that his area of consciousness was becoming a little smaller.
In the end, who was he really?
[...]
When Yūji opened his eyes, still feeling the slight itch, he now looked at his place where he was, a small narrow room, it looks like concrete with only a small door in front of him.
A groan of discomfort left his mouth as he adjusted himself, it seems that he slept uncomfortably.
" they did not kill me? Well... ugh, this , it hurts " he whispered to himself but when he touched his chest, he felt small hands again, when he looked at his hands he noticed that he had returned to his usual appearance, he blinked slightly while frowning.
" I could not maintain the transformation jutsu... it is a problem... " his voice is a bit hoarse as he blinked now, discomfort in his eyes.
" now I will have to refrain from using the six eyes... had I known about the fragment problem, at least Gojo sensei would have passed it on directly to me " he sighed defeated, understanding why he never felt comfortable inside using the six eyes, now it is a time bomb that could be counterproductive instead of helping him.
" well, we must not lament that, I will always find a place that can help me, I just have to escape with Suiren and... Suiren? " barely regaining consciousness, he had brought his hands to his neck, but he did not feel his curse, he wanted to get up but stumbled over his own feet for being chained " Suiren! Where are you? Did you hide in the shadows? Get out, I am awake now! " the boy spoke trying to search, his nervous breathing burst out, it is impossible that someone can take her! Unless... " maybe it is because of Mui, damn it... if he has managed to seal my cursed energy and chakra, it is not impossible that he manages to take Suiren, I will have to get out of here " he tried to calm his senses.
Now he wanted to analyze his surroundings, this place is very narrow, but he saw that his feet are chained, his hands are the only free ones.
He sighed defeated, his body is that of someone trained, he is strong, but he is not able to break those chains, he does not know what they are made of, in the end he slowly fell back against the wall, his face lost in nothing.
His ideals...
Remembering the talk that Sukuna gave him, he said that he would ignore it, despite his abusive hatred towards him, he could not ignore it, because in the end he is right.
His conviction, the reason for his fighting, his ideals, and his willpower, everything was taken away because he would protect what he loved, to help the weak and protect those in need.
But now... he has had this for so long in view, since he became Genin, and discovered the cruelty of people, he did not feel that he needed to protect everyone, it was his first fall from reality.
In the end, because of all his own suffering, he lost his sense of life.
Ideals? No one has an ideal in this world full of blood and death. And very few that he recognizes as strong can have one, some want peace, but others desire power, in a world full of conflicts, he really doubted ideals.
He half-closed his eyes looking at the gray concrete ceiling " I do not think I can ever be Itadori again, I have said it so many times, but I crawl back trying to be like him... that damned demon does not care to tell me this, he is only mocking my actions " he murmured barely audible to himself, he closed his eyes wanting to calm his migraine, now that he could not use RCT, he silently thanked Suiren for healing that terrible wound caused by the master of the prison.
" I will have to wait for them to get me out of this shit if I want to do something, I am tied up at this moment " Yūji remained in that position.
His ideal...
He does not believe he has an ideal.
Because he has not even known himself.
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[ Patience , there will be almost 50 chapters, there is still so much left for this fic to reach its climax ]