Chapter Text
It’s a pretty normal day for Yuuji Itadori, going to class then lunch, then on missions exorcising curses. Then hanging out with his friends when they have the time and maybe watching some movies afterward. He got discounts if going with 2 or more friends!
Life is great, if you don’t look at the impending execution hanging over his head. Pshhh, he’s going to live his life to the fullest. Speaking of, there’s the usual grumpy King of Curses inside his head as a reluctant roommate inside his head.
(He’s just saying that, but still stands that Sukuna gives off a feeling like someone who’s always planning something one step ahead.)
No one wanted him to believe that Sukuna could be anything but helpful or have an interest in his well being, moreso as his vessel. The thought is kind of depressing, but really, what else could Yuuji be expecting? That Sukuna would just say it straight to him what he thinks of Yuuji as a… friend. Maybe?
“I’m so tired.”
He falls backward, letting the soft mattress break his face as he stares at the ceiling.
“Hey, Sukuna?”
There’s no reply at first, so he tries again after waiting for a couple more seconds.
“Sukuuuuna.”
“What is it, brat.”
A familiar feeling of skin stretching under his eye tells the teen right away that the curse is giving Yuuji all of his attention. He wasn’t sure what to say now that he got Sukuna’s attention, but there’s one thing that keeps nagging in the back of his mind.
“Why do you keep thinking one thing, but acting in the total opposite?”
There’s a pause from the curse inside his head. If Yuuji squint really hard, he could maybe hear Sukuna’s muted panicked thought, but it came and went so fast that maybe he imagined the whole thing.
Remember the role-
“That’s only for me to know, brat. Just sleep.”
The eye closed itself and the pink-haired teen is left to wonder to himself once more.
Yeah, maybe he’s thinking too hard on this. This is Sukuna afterall, tiptoeing around his questions like it’s an olympic medal to win.
Yuuji tries to fall asleep, but keeps tossing and turning on the bed, replaying all past interactions he had with Sukuna. It doesn’t make any sense to him. To other sorcerers and also including Gojo-sensei, they’re all wary of the King of Curses, which is understandable since everything Sukuna does screams evil.
Antagonizing Gojo-sensei when they first met. Somehow wrangled all of them into a binding vow, which is kinda weird that they get all the better benefits while Sukuna is getting all the restrictions. Seriously, who is he trying to fool?
“Do not agree to anything before being certain you know what you agree to, brat!”
Yuji blinked, surprised at how almost panicked the curse sounded.
And he was panicking now that he really thought about it. Yuuji sighed before pulling his blanket up to his torso. If only Sukuna says what he truly means without all the… whatever it is around him, then maybe all the others might understand that Sukuna really means no harm.
...
To a certain degree, that is.
The next day, he was woken up by the sound of knocking on his door. Yuuji sleepily rubs the back of his hand on his face before jumping off and answering the door and was surprised to see that it’s Fushiguro.
“Fushiguro? Good morning.”
“I was going to go get breakfast… want to… join us?” He said to Yuuji while the other looked back at the clock in his room, 9 AM? Huh, did he oversleep?
“Yeah, yeah that would be good. Hold on, let me dress up.”
After that, the two got to the kitchen dorm to meet up with Kugisaki. She’s already making something to eat when she finally sees them coming in.
She huffed, “You usually are up very early Itadori. Now you owe making breakfast tomorrow.”
“I always make breakfast for you guys-” Yuuji pauses, looking at Kugisaki like she had grown a second head, “Wait, you make them yourself?”
“Duh, it’s just toasted bread. But it’s food at least.”
“She worked really hard on it,” Fushiguro sat down with the plate in his hands then dodged a hit aimed for his head by her.
“Ehhh?! You left me to fend for myself, Fushiguro!”
He nibbles on the toast like it’s no one’s business.
Yuuji smiles as he joins his friend, getting the half-burnt toast alongside boiled eggs for the morning meal. Sukuna is unusually quiet in his head. Probably with the question he asked the other last night. Maybe he should visit the inner domain again when he has the time.
He does it again, but he wasn’t expecting to see TWO Sukunas in the same place. Yuuji stares as one of the Sukuna was standing outside a giant animal jaw bone as a make-shift cage, eyes as impassive, but there’s the curious tilt of his head as he looks at the Sukuna inside, trying to forge a… key?
Yuuji leans his whole body to the side to look over Sukuna to see that there’s no keyhole to put the bone key in anywhere.
When the other Sukuna finally figured out that the key does indeed- not work- he just throws it at the nearest person, which is the Sukuna outside as he gracefully dodges with a raised eyebrow.
The Sukuna inside the cage looks a little stressed, kimono sleeves and fabric raised haphazardly, “I thought that would work, honestly.”
“It would, if I specifically made it escapable.”
Slowly, the teen shuffles over to the two, carefully. There’s no telling which Sukuna is the one he’s familiar with. The distinction started to make itself clear when one of them is standing proud and undeterred by outside influences. Then he turns to look at the other Sukuna in distress, and pacing around in a circle.
One is the Sukuna he knows like the back of his hand, the one that keeps everything so close to his chest and shows nothing. The other one that shows emotion more openly, must’ve been what made his Sukuna trapped him. As an impostor.
“Huh, there’s… two of you…”
His Sukuna turns slowly to look at him, then recognition crosses his face, “How did you get here?”
“Well, you’re living inside my body.”
“That doesn’t really explain-”
Yuuji runs up to the curse inside the cage and really really looks at him. He’s just like a duplicate of Sukuna! But… uh, is this like one of the episodes in the anime or cartoon where it’s like a split in personality but they act like two different people?
“Are you Sukuna?”
The Sukuna inside stops his pacing and turns to look at the teen. Oh, it’s really easy to see how the other’s eyes lit up as he curiously walks up to the bar of the cage. Then as quickly as the curiosity came, he deadpans.
“If I’m Ryoumen Sukuna then you’re Itadori Yuuji.”
Oh wow, he got that snark on him too. Definitely not the normal Sukuna.
Yuuji muses for a few seconds then lets out a tiny gasp. No way, maybe he can finally understand Sukuna's innermost thoughts about him just by asking him outright.
The other Sukuna continues to stare at his Yuuji and the Sukuna in the cage, but he doesn’t move.
“What do you think of me?”
Sukuna thought for a bit, “A pipsqueak. An annoying one, but surprisingly not that bad to talk to.”
Yuuji grins, heck yes.
Maybe this won’t be such a bad thing.