VIOLENT DELIGHTS,
CH. III   —   Bonds Made Over Loss

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THE STENCH OF DEATH lingering inside of this funeral home had become increasingly more suffocating the longer Ayame had to wait there. The raw emotion of loss dripped from every corner of this place, and it made Ayame feel like she might lose her breath if she had to stay there for much longer. She knows she mostly felt this way because no one in her life has ever died peacefully enough for the loss to fester before taking its hold, but she imagines her ability to resonate with negative emotions didn't make it any easier. Yūji's feelings in particular had overwhelmed her mind rather intensely since she met him the night before; his aura had turned from sunlight yellow to a sort of burnt orange.

   The death of his grandfather, the death of the only guardian he had ever known, resonated with her more personally than she would have liked.

When Satoru asked her to come with him this morning to pick up Yūji, she again hesitated but ultimately gave in, mostly because she wanted to postpone her meeting with Masamichi-sensei until a little later today. She had also been the one to tell Yūji they were coming in the first place, so she felt it was only right for her face to be the first one he sees after such a long and exhausting night. She could only imagine what was going through Yūji's head from the moment she texted him last night to ask him if he was okay.

"Satō-san?"

The girl in question blinks at the sudden call of her name. She tilts her head up to find Yūji in front of her, hands dug deep inside the pockets of his black joggers. She didn't think she was so lost inside of her head that she could miss his energy taking over the room. "Oh — Hi, Itadori-san," she greets him kindly. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you come this way."

The boy smiles at Ayame, her serenity allowing his mind to calm even if just for the moment. "It's okay," he replies. "How are you doing? You know, after everything that happened?"

Ayame returns the smile. How thoughtful of him. "I've been through much worse, unfortunately, but thank you," she answers as she stands from the uncomfortable chair she had been sitting in. She steps to the side so that she's standing in front of Yūji now, his stature still a bit taller than her own. "How are you feeling after last night? For a civilian, you handled everything pretty well."

"Oh, I'm alright ..." Yūji drags the end of his sentence, right hand lifting out of his pocket to scratch the back of his neck. Ayame notices a scar mark on his hand almost identical to the ones below his eyes. "I don't know — I'm still trying to work things out in my head," he eventually continues. His hand lingers on the back of his neck with a loose grip. "I went to see my friends this morning, the ones from that night, and I felt ... pretty awful? I don't know, this all happened because I got that stupid finger from that shed and I just — I really should have just left it alone. It's all my fault they got hurt."

Ayame nods in the direction of the door silently to ask if Yūji's ready to get out of this depressing place. He obliges by leading the way. "You shouldn't blame yourself," she advises as she walks closely behind him. "The placement of that finger was dangerous to begin with, and the seal on it had grown weak over time. Whether you took it out or not, cursed spirits were going to start coming for that thing sooner or later and people still probably would have gotten hurt." Once they walk through the automatic doors of the funeral home, Ayame places her hand on Yūji's shoulder and squeezes it tenderly. "It's not your fault your friends got caught in the crossfire, Itadori-san, so please don't blame yourself for it. The guilt will eat at you until too much of you starts to disappear."

And then, as swiftly as it was placed there, Ayame's hand is gone and back by her side. Yūji's entire body feels cold at the loss of touch. "I'm sorry about your grandfather," she changes the subject. "He's the one who you grew up with, right?"

"Yeah." Yūji's reply is soft, different from his usual energetic tone. Ayame knows that feeling all too well. "I never really knew my parents, so my granddad was all I had growing up. He was more like a father to me than anything else."

"The loss is still fresh, so it's going to hurt for a while," Ayame says distantly, and even Yūji can sense the subtle change in her aura. He steals a quick glance at her from the side, Sukuna becoming increasingly antsy at just the image of her in Yūji's brain. The young boy has been wondering since last night if he should say something to someone about how erratic Sukuna becomes when Ayame is around, or even if she's thought about in passing, and if it's something they should be concerned about. He hasn't quite figured out which one he wants to tell first; at this point, they all still make him a little nervous.

"It's not really going to stop hurting, but as long as you keep going," the cursed girl continues with a soft sigh, "the pain eventually just ... goes away."

Yūji waits a few moments before asking, "Has it gone away for you yet?"

She smiles sadly. "My ghosts haven't been that kind to me."

Yūji quietly nods and leaves it at that. He figures silence is a better response than anything he can think of to say, and it's likely the only thing either of them wants to hear after their vulnerable exchanges. They both side-eye each other though, grief-stricken caramel-colored eyes meeting rage-filled honey-colored ones to create a golden pool of loss. Yūji decides it's his turn to offer a feeling of comfort, gently wrapping his pinky finger around Ayame's at their sides to give back some of the warmth she gave him just moments before. Ayame smiles at the action, and he even feels her squeeze her pinky around his for a second, but she does not react other than that; yet still, it's enough to make Yūji's cheekbones warm with red.

   Once they reach Satoru, Ayame gently pulls away from him and makes her way to sit down next to her guardian, taking the spot on his left side to leave room for her companion on the other.

"You're back," the eldest of the three greets his juniors, sitting back up from his hunched over position. He bobs his head in the direction of the empty space next to him, a subtle encouragement for Yūji to take a seat. The boy follows through without much hesitation. "I'm sorry we're bothering you at a time like this. It sucks to lose a guardian when you're just a kid."

Yūji just hums quietly in response. His mind was still on Ayame's unspoken pain. And now Sukuna was adding to his headache.

"So ... Have you made a decision yet?"

Ah, there it is. The question Yūji has been dreading since Ayame called that morning to let him know she and Satoru were coming back to see him. He was mildly confused to hear her voice at eight o'clock in the morning, especially when she never responded to his text last night, but he was happy her voice had been the first to grace him today. Reality set in pretty quickly after that, though — the reason why the pretty girl and the powerful sensei were coming to see him, and what they were expecting from him once they got to him. Yūji's never had to make a decision this tough in his life, but the answer has become clearer over the course of the morning.

"Are there a lot of curses?" he finally questions.

Satoru leans his head thoughtfully onto his hand, elbow pressed onto his lap. "Well, this situation in particular is pretty unusual ..." he responds honestly, "... but if you're talking about in terms of potential damage, then yes. To be frank, you're lucky if you die a normal death after running into a curse. In most circumstances, if they find your body, even if it's all torn apart, that still might be considered better than the alternative. And if we start investigating the remains of Sukuna, you'd probably witness some pretty gruesome scenes — more gruesome than most will encounter in their jujutsu careers. I can't guarantee that you won't become a victim one day no more than I can guarantee the lives of the kids I already have." Satoru moves his arm so that it's wrapped around Ayam's shoulder, pulling her in closer to his figure as to emphasize his point.

"But, they chose this hell, so I'm going through it with 'em. Now you gotta make that choice for yourself. We'll back your play, whatever it may be."

Yūji stares blankly ahead at the sidewalk, arms leaning against his thighs as his hands dangle loosely between his legs. "If Sukuna is completely eliminated ... will there be fewer people killed by curses?"

Satoru turns his head slightly in Yūji's direction, eyebrows raised in curiosity. When he realizes why the question is being asked, a subtle smile appears on his lips. "Of course."

With his hand outstretched in Satoru's direction, Yūji asks, "Do you still have that finger?"

Satoru wordlessly pulls the finger out of his pocket, dropping it into Yūji's hand as if it were a piece of food. Ayame instantly begins to hone her cursed energy into her dagger, preparing for another assault by the King of Curses the moment Yūji gets that finger down his throat. Satoru merely leans back in his spot, though Ayame can sense the massive surge of cursed energy that has coursed through him in a short amount of time.

He did promise to kill Sukuna on the spot if he posed a threat to Ayame. She called him dramatic but knew him to be very sincere.

"Now that I look at it again ..." Yūji speaks up as he examines the finger more closely, "... this is pretty disgusting. How did I get this down ...?" And then, without thinking too hard about it, he throws the finger in his mouth and swallows it whole once more.

Sukuna's burst of cursed energy is so sudden and so targeted at Ayame that she hops out of her seat next to Satoru in a frenzy. The dagger that was previously sheathed at her thigh is held up in front of her instantly, ready to slice her enemy's throat at a moment's notice. Her cursed energy rises uncharacteristically high, all focused in her blade or stored in her golden snake armlet to manifest Zetsu, all seemingly against her own will. Satoru's eyebrows even lift below his blindfold at Ayame's heightened fear, mildly shocked to see her so ready to pounce when she had been trying so hard to keep it altogether lately.

After a few moments of Ayame staring Yūji down like a predator to its prey, and Satoru on standby ready to either defend Yūji or kill him himself, the boy in question begins to cough. Sukuna's energy vanishes with each hacking noise, and Ayame finds herself feeling less unhinged now that his spirit is gone. She quickly places her weapon back in its holder, a bit embarrassed by her overreaction to the situation at hand. She can't even place what set her off (and that's been happening so often to her), but she doesn't want Yūji's impression of her to change because she lost a bit of control there.

Much to Ayame's surprise though, Yūji's pitiful coughs turn into a genuine laughter. He grabs at the collar of his hoodie with his middle finger, pulling at it a little. "Gross!" the poor boy exclaims, tongue out in utter and complete disgust. He stands up from his spot so that he's right beside Ayame, shaking his head in an effort to make the taste go away. "So gross it makes me laugh. I can't believe I just did that again!"

Ayame can't believe what she's hearing. A smile breaks across her tanned features the longer she stares at Yūji, and before she knows it, she's even chuckling herself. What pure joy he can bring out in such a shitty situation.

The pink-haired boy eyes Ayame, his smile a bit softer at the thought of being the one to make her laugh, before switching his gaze to Satoru, "So is everything okay?"

Satoru's notorious giggle rings like a sweet bell in Ayame's ears. "Oh, I think we're just fine," the sensei says with a wave of his hand. "So I take it you're prepared for what's to come?"

Yūji thinks for a bit. "Not at all," he answers honestly. "I'm still really wondering why the heck I have to be executed ... but I can't just do nothing about the curse." He turns away from both Satoru and Ayame, hand resting against the back of his neck once more as he recalls his grandfather's last words to him. His lips smack at the thought. What an irritating last request. Yūji lets a quiet sigh slip through his lips. "I'm gonna eat the rest of Sukuna. That's all," he declares. "I already know how I'm gonna go out."

Satoru and Ayame share a familiar glance, and then the former claps his hands together. "Perfect!" he agrees. "You're really growing on me, kid. Looks like hell's shaping up to be more fun than we thought." Satoru lifts from his spot on the concrete ledge with a puff through his lips, standing tall to his true height. "Go home and get your stuff together by the end of the day," he instructs Yūji. "I'll be by in a few hours to pick you up, but Ayame's gotta go back home, so you'll have to say bye for now."

The pout forms on Ayame's lips faster than she can control it at the thought of having no choice but to report back to Masamichi about her mission and about last night.

"If you bring anything you don't want to get taken from you, make sure to also bring something to hide it in when you're not home. 'Yame is notorious for stealing."

Ayame gasps quietly at the accusation. "Gojō-san!"

Yūji's smile grows at Ayame's embarrassment, though he is still confused by the information being conveyed to him. "Where are we going?"

"Tokyo," she answers, quickly in order to get the subject off of herself. Satoru turns to walk in the opposite direction of his students, quiet whistles blowing through his lips as he thinks about how to pass the next three or so hours whilst Yūji's busy packing his things. Ayame tears her eyes away from him to focus them back on her new classmate. "Since you've agreed to the conditions of containing Sukuna, you're going to enroll in the school Megumi and I go to now."

"Oh, Fushiguro-san!" Yūji responds cheerfully, placing his hands back into the pockets of his joggers. "How is he? He was so beat up last night! But you patched us both up pretty good."

Ayame chuckles. "Megumi is okay," she answers. "We have a sorcerer able to heal us using a specific technique. As long as he takes it easy, he'll be fine in the next couple of days." She then briefly flickers her eyes back over to Satoru, who waves her over so the two of them can speak alone for a few moments before she has to go. Ayame gently grabs Yūji's forearm. "I'll see you later today, okay? Pack as much as you want — your dorm should feel like your home."

Yūji nods his head, the joy of living so close to his new companions now overshadowing his otherwise shaky fate and fresh loss. Things couldn't be too bad if these three were going to be his everyday companions. "I'm looking forward to it!"

Ayame squeezes his arm gently, then turns to make her way over to her guardian. What a sweet boy. She keeps thinking that over and over, despite the menacing energy still faintly oozing from his figure from the demon inside of him. He'll be good for us. Masamichi-sensei will accept him. Megumi will take a while to be nice, but she already knows he holds Yūji's life dearly.

When she's halfway away from Yūji, he calls, "Oh, and Satō-san!"

She stops walking and turns her head to look at him. "Yes?"

"You can borrow my stuff anytime if you want. I really don't mind."

A blush spreads clear across Ayame's cheeks at Yūij's consideration. She gives him a sheepish smile, fully turns to face him and bows small, and then finishes her walk over to Satoru. When she reaches the older man, he's typing on his phone, no doubt letting Masamichi know that she's going to be back soon. For however little respect Satoru held for those above him, Masamichi had always been the one exception. Ayame thinks it's half because he was once his teacher, and half because the man knew so much about their trauma.

Satoru slides his phone back into his pocket with ease, bringing his attention to Ayame's smaller figure. He regards her lightly, "You okay?"

She gives him a mild look of confusion. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"When the kid ate Sukuna's finger, you kinda freaked," Satoru responds casually, not wanting to press the issue too much but wanting an explanation all the same. She looks mildly horrified by the reminder, which causes him to add, "I just want to make sure I'm not sending you home with any new problems, Mey."

Ayame shifts in her spot, twirling the ring around her middle finger with her thumb feebly; a simple gold band with a few words engraved on the inside. It was a family heirloom, or so that's what her brother told her before he left her for forever. Whatever it was, sometimes it felt like the only thing keeping her sane.

"I'm still uncomfortable around Sukuna's energy," she eventually admits, "but I just have to get used to being around it after spending my entire life being told to stay away. Please don't say anything to Masamichi-sensei about it, I have enough to explain when I get back as it is."

"I trust you, kid," Satoru reassures her instinctively. "But still, I'll see if the old man will wait until after I'm back with Yūji to do your report. You and Megumi should spend some time together before Yūji moves in and we get the other student tomorrow." He then flicks Ayame on her forehead and she gasps quietly at the sudden action, her hand instinctively shooting up to rub the pain away. Satoru gives her a look before she can complain. "I can tell you haven't slept since your solo, Ayame — so if Masamichi gives you until we get back, you need to get some sleep. I'll take responsibility for taking you out last night, but you weren't even trying to sleep before I got there. Cut us both some slack, will ya?"

Ayame huffs. She wishes it were that easy. She wishes she could just lay down in her bed and peacefully drift off into a dream of something nice and normal, and not wake up in a panicked sweat knowing all of her family is gone. She wishes every time she closed her eyes she didn't see the face of the very man whose death turned her world upside down, that the real Getō Suguru was here to comfort other nightmares instead of becoming one himself.

Still, she doesn't like to worry Satoru more than he needs to be. If Megumi's willing to take a short nap with her once she gets back, she'll try her best not to be a nuisance and get some sleep herself. "Okay," she says airily, like she always does when giving in to a request from her guardian; tired yet understanding, annoyed yet loving all the same. "I promise to try."

Satoru places his hand on Ayame's shoulder and squeezes it gently. "That's all I ask, Mey."

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YAGA MASAMICHI OFTEN wonders in his freetime whether his decision to keep Ayame in Jujutsu Society was a good one at all. He often wonders if he should have separated Ayame from Yūto and Suguru, placed her in the nearest orphanage, and never looked back. Should he have let her get lost in the foster care system, because certainly that was a much better place than living under the scrutiny of those who hate her very existence? Maybe she could have lived a normal life with a nice family, erasing her traumatic childhood away. She'd be in some regular school right now, likely thriving in every social circle with only a few close friends she shares small things with.

Yūto and Suguru never would have let that happen, though — Masamichi knows that for a fact. She was too valuable, both as an asset and as a member of their found family the three of them created when she was young. Suguru and Yūto had been friends since as long as either could remember, and Suguru treated Ayame like she was his own from the moment she was introduced to him a mere few days after her mother died giving birth to her.

There was no chance in hell either of them were going to let her grow up anywhere but in their arms.

Masamichi worries now, however, of what will become of Ayame now that she has lost them both. Will she, much like her former guardians and his former students, spiral into a hellish rage aimed directly at the place that made her? Will her twisted anger be a worse terror than both Yūto and Suguru combined, massacring every person that ever slighted her in this jujutsu world, no matter the cost?

He grunts in disagreement with himself, shaking his head at the intrusive thoughts that make their way in from time to time. Ayame isn't Yūto, nor is she Suguru, and they all have to stop treating her as if she is. This kind of isolation and speculation is what caused Suguru to go off the deep end in the beginning, what caused Yūto to follow blindly behind him, and Masamichi will be damned if he lets another student fall victim to rage within his lifetime.

The older man fixes his positioning so that he's finally looking at Ayame, who has been sitting patiently on her longboard since she arrived. Besides the quiet noise of her wheels sliding back and forth on his floor, she hasn't made a sound unless spoken to, fingers twiddling with one of her many kunai. He gave her some slack, at Satoru's request, and allowed Ayame to rest with Megumi for the day until Satoru returned with their new student. But as soon as Masamichi was done with Yūji, Ayame was to report in; and she had done so, happily, knowing Megumi had someone else to keep him company.

Masamichi clears his throat. "You feelin' better today, Ayame?"

   Ayame blinks twice at the sudden sound of her principal's voice in her ears. She focuses her attention on him in an instant, placing her kunai back in its holder around her thigh. "Much better, Masamichi-sensei — thank you," she replies calmly. "How did your meeting with Itadori-san go?"

   Masamichi lets a low hum roll through his chest, fingers fiddling with his beard thoughtfully. "He's convinced me enough," he says half-heartedly. "The kid doesn't know what he's getting into, that much is clear. But he's got the heart, and somehow Satoru has convinced him this is the better option."

   Ayame cracks a smile. "Better than immediate execution, I imagine."

   "Don't let Satoru's blind arrogance cloud your judgment about Ryōmen Sukuna, Ayame," Masamichi states plainly to his junior. The reminder of his authority speaks volumes through his tone, and Ayame fixes her relaxed posture instinctively because of it. "You know better than that. Sukuna is considered the King of Curses for a reason. A menace upon the jujutsu world has been unleashed again, and the fate of him now lies in that kid's hands." He reaches a hand up to his forehead to massage it ever so slightly. "I think you'll be the group of kids that kills me."

   Ayame places the smile back on her lips, her golden eyes twinkling in amusement at Masamichi's words. She appreciates that she and her sensei share this relationship together — that he feels comfortable enough to speak the truth to her, and not just half-truths to placate her. He's honest with her because he knows how much she's lost, and how much she's barely hanging on. In his mind, it is the best way he can protect her.

   "I don't forget the curse who haunts my ancestral line, Masamichi-sensei," Ayame reminds her principal in return. "But I don't doubt Itadori-san, either. Something about him is very sincere ... a sincerity you don't really see too often with people around here." Her eyes drift off to stare into the void air as she thinks about her new friend. That genuine smile of his has cemented itself at the forefront of her mind. "I think he'll be able to do it."

   Masamichi thinks little on Ayame's words. "He'll need your guidance along the way with that."

   Ayame returns her gaze to his. She studies his facial expression, the expectancy in his body language, and understands what he means. "He'll need me to suppress his demon when he can't," she eventually repeats more plainly. The young Satō sighs and comes to a halt on her longboard in discontent. "You think too much of me, Masamichi-san. We have Gojō-san to help with Sukuna's development. I don't think it's good for me to interact with his energy too often."

   "Satoru tells me Sukuna could have killed you last night. That the only thing that stopped him was Itadori taking back control, after you had already cut him with your dagger." Masamichi pauses for a moment before continuing, "You interacted with him and didn't lose control. Satoru will be around the provide help when it's needed. You and I both know what the Elders think doesn't mean anything to you in regards to your power. What are you actually afraid of?"

   Ayame briefly closes her eyes at the revelation. So he was there the whole time. God, she wished Satoru would just shut his mouth sometimes. "I'm ... merely suggesting that Itadori-san was probably already fighting his way back to the surface, and me distracting Sukuna just allowed him to get the grip he needed," she explains lightly. Masamichi can sense the influence that has now dripped into her tone though, the minor color change of her lips from a soft pink, to a very slight purple. "I did nothing but tempt the King of Curses into almost killing or even enslaving me. Itadori-san probably saved me and Megumi without even realizing it. He's got the control to suppress Sukuna without me using my venom to influence their relationship."

   Masamichi feels his fist beginning to clench in his lap — an involuntary reaction that happens only when Ayame's cursed words try to cloud his judgment. He meets her eyes once more, and she stares back at him just as innocently as she has the entire time she's been here. She should know better. "If you try to gaslight yourself and everyone else around you into thinking you're not capable enough, Ayame," Masamichi finally speaks up, a very hard glare behind his tinted glasses, "you are only doing more harm than good. Your voice has grown stronger, but you know how little it affects me with how long I've known you."

   Ayame feels her face fall in embarrassment. She had not realized how much influence she pushed into her words. "Gomen, Masamichi-sensei," she apologizes truthfully. "I just don't believe I'm at the level of control you think I am."

   "You're still learning," Masamichi argues, hand waving in a dismissive manner at Ayame's words. "And Satoru is convinced you'll one day surpass him in strength. That kid is too full of himself to pass out that compliment lightly, so it must hold some truth." Masamichi fixes himself so that he's staring his student straight on, no longer twiddling with his beard or contemplating working on his next doll. "You have a very powerful technique that was once used to enslave entire villages to build the Satō Clan's control, Ayame. If Satoru is right about your skills, if you are to reach that kind of level with your technique, you have to accept that the power is in your hands and learn how to control it, regardless of your opponent."

   Ayame knows it's not her place to argue. She'll take this out on Satoru later. "I understand. I only hope I can live up to your expectations."

   "You will." A beat. Then, "The report to the Elders has to include that Zetsu was present on the scene during last night's incident," Masamichi switches the meeting back to its original intent, "but I won't mention you using him on your solo mission. It's my fault — I should have verified the information before telling Satoru to assign it to you." He shakes his head, fist tightening again, this time from his own emotional discontent. "There wasn't supposed to be a First Grade there, let alone two. I'm sorry about that, kid."

   "I'm okay," Ayame reassures him softly, this time her words much more kind in their influential approach. Masamichi allows the calm to wash over him without protest. "At the end of the day, I handled them. It's just ... the taste ..." Her face morphs into a mix of disgust and horror, all focused in her eyes that shut almost instinctively at the thought of what she had to do to keep herself alive two nights ago. "I don't know how he did it for so long."

   "I know. That's why I told you not to do it unless you absolutely had to." He doesn't want her to say any more about it. "I'm not mentioning that in my report either." Ayame merely nods, but Masamichi can see the relief in her eyes. "Shōko said she might have something to help you sleep for the next couple of days. You won't dream or anything if she does it right ... It should help with seeing him too."

   Ayame shifts. She didn't want to talk about that. "I'm fine, really," she insists. "Gojō makes it out to be worse than it is, Masamichi-san. The nightmares don't come as often as they used to and I've just had a rough time sleeping because of the mission. If it's okay with you, I'd like to just go back to my dorm now."

   Masamichi lets another low hum roll through his chest thoughtfully. Satoru did tend to be more dramatic when it came to anything concerning Ayame, but the older man also could see the small purple bags beneath Ayame's eyes from her lack of sleep, and he could sense the fragility of her cursed energy in its current state. Sukuna being added to the equation did little to favor Ayame's odds of controlling her inherited darkness, but still, Masamichi found letting Ayame heal herself through her own means (which, from what he could tell, only consisted of ignoring the 'bad things' until they went away or were scared away by worse things) was easier than forcing her to see Shōko when she didn't want to; especially since she had already been to see her twice in the past day and a half, and even Shōko told him to lay off of Ayame before they made them both go crazy.

   "I want you to see her tomorrow," he finally declares. Then, he waves his hand in the direction of his door. "Go ahead back to Megumi and the new kid. Make sure he's settling in alright."

   Ayame feels the invisible weight lift from her shoulders. She stands from her spot on the ground, picking up her longboard so that it's set on its back wheels by her side. She then bows slightly to her senior. "Thank you, sensei," she replies gently. "I'll see Ieiri-san first thing tomorrow morning."

   "Good."

🖇️ a note from juno,
Soo so happy I finally cranked this out for y'all — it has been forever since I last updated this story and I am ashamed. 😔😔 On the other hand, I wanted to make sure I wasn't overloading the chapter with too much info or too many interactions. I thought about adding another part to it but decided against it (so it'll be the beginning of the next chapter) for that very reason.

Anyways,, Yūji's (&Sukuna's) relationship with Ayame is going to become more important as the story progresses so I wanted to introduce that to you all early on! While Ayame and Yūji both feel protective over Megumi, Yūji feels similarly if not even more protective over Ayame and it is largely in part due to Sukuna's almost uncontrollable desire for her power that Yūji can feel all the time; and because of Ayame's venom although by now it should have filtered out of his system. Ayame doesn't realize this of course and neither does Yūji really, but it connects them on a soul-like level. Do what that information what you will. 🫶🏽

I've started the next chapter but am still very busy / stressed so I don't know when it will be out; but hopefully it's within the next couple of months :)) Please LMK what you thought of this chapter and don't forget to vote / comment!!

– Juno 🖤