Chapter Text
The thing about gods and demons was that, at the end of the day, they really weren't all that different.
Two sides of the same coin, really.
And humans?
Well.
What did humans ever know?
Sukuna yawned, shifting to prop his head up on two of his hands. Scratched his chest with another hand as he watched his loyal little followers shuffle in and out of the room, the light shifting from early morning gray to afternoon gold to the dull orange of dusk.
What would they think, he wondered, if they knew what they were actually praying to?
If they looked at him, humans would see a statue. A rather well-carved one, Sukuna had thought when he had first seen it. It caught his features well, the ripple of his muscles and the curve of his jaw, his tattoos etched into the stone.
Pity it couldn’t catch his personality. How would the humans feel if they saw him as he was now, sprawled indolently in the very heart of their shrine.
It was almost tempting to reveal himself, to make the image of the statue fade from the humans’ sight and replace it with his actual form.
But, no.
He could hold himself back. Visits from the divine were supposed to be rationed at the best of times and if the humans saw his distorted features, the sharpened teeth that filled his mouths, the glowing eyes, they would realize all too soon that it was nothing holy that they worshiped here.
Eventually, he would reveal himself. He did that occasionally, once every few generations, when the humans needed reminding.
Or when one caught his attention.
All but one of the monks slowly shuffled out as dusk crept across the room, bowing respectfully as they left.
Sukuna stared at the one who was left, licking his lips slowly. The human was still kneeling, bowed so low their forehead nearly touched the tatami mats, murmuring quiet prayers.
This one. This one was the reason he came here, to this small temple tucked away in the forest, far from any civilization. The handful of monks was nothing compared to his worshippers in his other temples, but this one, this single human, was more devout than all of the others combined.
Their prayers were different from any of the others. Never pleading, never asking Sukuna for his grace or wealth or a happy child or the dozens of other things his followers asked for. He had the power to offer them those things, of course, but he rarely did – those who were desperate were far more likely to pray, after all.
No, all this human ever murmured were their praises of Sukuna, their devotion to him, their contentment to just be permitted to bask in the light of his temples.
Sukuna groaned as the words washed over him. Palmed himself through the loose fabric of the pants he wore in this form. Contemplated touching himself properly.
He did, sometimes, in this temple and in the others. Usually when there was a group of followers gathered there for him, basking in the knowledge that the humans would probably be appalled if they knew what was happening directly before them. Even as their instincts drove them to take and claim, they were far too appalled by any mention of sex.
Sukuna found it hilarious.
The prayers suddenly cut off, leaving a cold gap where they had been. Sukuna frowned, twisting his head to look at his loyal little follower. Had something happened to them?
No, they were still sitting there. Upright now, sitting in perfect seiza posture, their hands resting elegantly on their knees. The only thing out of place was their expression.
Sukuna had expected their head to be tilted up, looking imploringly at the face of his statue – or perhaps its feet, if they were feeling shy – but it wasn’t. They were looking straight ahead, almost…
Almost as if they were looking directly at his face.
Impossible, of course. His eyelids fluttered in a ripple across his face as he blinked.
“Do you behave so indecently in all of your temples, my lord?” They continued staring in the direction of Sukuna’s face – no, at his face, they had to be able to see him, how the fuck could they see him? – as they spoke.
Their voice was soft, barely louder than the murmur they had been chanting their prayers in, but that didn’t matter. That voice.
Sukuna knew he would have been able to hear it from a hundred leagues away.
“You can see me, little monk?” he asked, voice rumbling low and deep. He rolled further onto his side to get a better look at the human, not pulling his hand away from his crotch. He watched them as he palmed his cocks again, the faint flinch that ran through their form.
The human wrinkled their nose, as if they wanted to comment on Sukuna’s behavior again, but then nodded, one quick jerk of their head. “Did you think your stares would go unnoticed?”
They paused and then, even more quietly than their original words, said, “I was not sure you would come back.”
Was not sure I would come back? Sukuna tilted his head. What did the human mean by that?
He thought back to his last visit. Come to think of it, it had been far colder in the temple than it was now and the nights had been longer, the days flashing by in almost a blink of an eye.
Time was difficult like that.
“Have you been counting the days since I was last here, little monk?” he asked, offering the human a sharp-toothed grin.
“Two-hundred and thirty-seven.”
Well.
That wasn’t the answer Sukuna had anticipated.
No wonder the monk sounded concerned. That time was little more than a blink in Sukuna’s lifespan, but for a human… He tried to remember back to those days, all those centuries ago, when he had been convinced he would also have such a short lifespan. Days had felt like they had dragged on for an eternity back then, hadn’t they?
He pushed himself upright, sitting cross-legged on his altar, and propped his chin on all four hands. “Have you been able to see me this entire time?”
The monk shook their head, that same concise twitch. “Only for the last three years.”
The last three years…
Sukuna grinned at the monk with both of his mouths, licking across his stomach. “Then that was certainly not the most indecent thing you have seen, little monk. Why speak up now?”
“There were others there.” The human’s fingers twitched, curling slightly against the fabric of their robes.
“That is the only reason?”
Their fingers twitched again. For a moment, Sukuna was convinced they were going to look away, but they didn’t. “I wanted to know if I had displeased you, my lord,” they said, staring intently at his face, as if daring him to be cruel.
It was tempting. It was always so fun to torment humans – what purpose did they serve, if not to bleed and beg so pitifully?
But this little monk had been oh so loyal to him. To think they had seen Sukuna for all these years and had still prayed just as faithfully as the first time their voice had become clear to Sukuna.
They deserved a reward.
Sukuna shook his head. “No, little monk, you have not displeased me. How could I be upset at my favorite little worshiper?”
He lowered one hand, beckoning the monk forward. “Come here and stand before me.”
It was pleasing to see the faint flush of pink spreading across the monk’s face as they stood to their feet, moving so elegantly that the fabric of their robes barely rustled.
All humans were small in Sukuna’s eyes, but this one felt even smaller than most. With Sukuna seated as he was on the slight pedestal of his altar, the human barely even came up past his chest. He half expected to tilt their head up to continue looking at his face, but instead, they tilted their eyes down demurely.
If only all humans were so well-behaved. His life would certainly be much easier if he didn’t have to wrangle insolent mortals into their proper place.
Sukuna leaned forward, touching one hand under the human’s chin, urging them to tilt their head up to look at him. “What is your name, little monk?”
The human blinked slowly, clearly debating whether to answer honestly. Names held power, after all.
“Uraume,” they said, finally.
Sukuna smiled as the name settled over him, feeling that immediate rightness that always came with learning the truth of a human. “Thank you for not forcing me to kill you, Uraume.”
Humans always thought they were so clever when they tried to lie. As if they had anything that could compare to the power of a god.
He cupped the human’s jaw in his hand, marveling at how their entire face seemed to fit in his palm. It was even more surprising that the human didn’t move at all; not pulling away, but also not leaning into the touch like he had expected they would.
“What sex are you?” he asked, brushing a strand of the human’s silky white hair behind their ear.
“I am an omega.”
Sukuna huffed out a breath. “Yes, little monk, I could smell that easily enough.” Like ice crystals in the air, a crisp winter breeze that made the breath freeze in Sukuna’s lungs. So very sharp for an omega, but buried beneath it was that unmistakable sweetness. “That was not what I meant.”
They bristled. “That does not matter.”
“Mhmm.” Sukuna hummed. “I suppose not, with you being an omega. A cunt is a cunt, no matter what it is paired with.”
He was rewarded by another flush spreading across their face, although he was surprised to see the glare that was paired with it.
“That was not what I meant,” they snapped at him. Trying to use my words against me, little monk? “It does not matter because you will not be finding out.”
Oh?
Sukuna blinked at the human again.
Leaned in close until they were nearly nose to nose, until he could feel the human’s breaths against his own lips. “No? Do you think you could stop me, little monk?”
He settled one of his hands on their waist, both to prove a point, to show the little monk just how much smaller they were than him, and because he simply wanted to. Gods took what they wanted, after all.
The human, to their credit, didn’t flinch back. They stood there, that scent of ice flaring sharp around them, and glared right back at Sukuna.
“You could take what you wanted,” they agreed. “I would not fight. I know there would be no purpose to that.”
They smiled then, an expression just as icy as their scent. “Would you enjoy that, my lord? Would you enjoy making your favorite worshiper hate you? Would you enjoy knowing that you would never hear a prayer from me again?”
“Such a vicious little creature,” Sukuna purred in an attempt to hide his shock. The human had more backbone to them than he had expected. “It is bold to deny a god. Foolish, too, most would say.”
The human kept smiling and then, ever so slightly, tilted their head against his palm. “Then, maybe, this god will need to change my mind. I enjoy fine fabrics and high quality cooking ingredients.”
“Little human,” Sukuna said, licking a stripe up the side of Uraume’s jaw until his lips were pressed to their ear. “Are you asking me to court you?”