Chapter Text
Yuji sighed a bit as he held onto a lantern; his eyes felt so heavy as if at any moment they would shut. It was the middle of the night, and his grandfather had waken him up after hearing some rustling in the barn. Ever since Itadori's parents had died, he had been living with his sickly grandfather for a few years now. They didn't speak about his parents often, but even though he was happy with his grandfather, he still wished they were around. The eight-year-old rubbed his eyes as he walked outside. ' go check on the chickens, Yuji, scare whatever predator is trying to eat the chickens away, or it will be your fault that we don't have eggs.' That's what his grandfather had told him, at least.
As he walked closer to the barn, he stopped; he heard the sound of distressed chickens in the coop. So there was a beast. He gulped a bit, and he took a deep breath before letting out a loud yell and barging into the barn " get out!" He yelled, hoping to protect the remaining chickens from being killed. That's when he stopped; there before him was a fox. It didn't seem phased by Yuji's presence as it stared him down, feathers everywhere. " ah!" He tried again to grab the nearest chicken he could and held it under his arm like a ball.
" children these days," he heard; he could have sworn it came from the fox.
" did you just- Mr. fox, did you just speak?" He asks, almost amazed. A rational person will probably be a little bit freaked out by this whole situation. But the pink-haired boy was still young, and his mind the world is full of wonder. The young boy often believed anything he was told. If he was told about demons that looked in the woods, he would stay away from the woods at night, or if he was told that a ram can grow three ahead and eat you, if you were bad, he would believe that as well.
"I am not a near fox you-" The fox said, almost angered. " leave me to my meal human, or I'll eat you," he says as he turned to pounce on another chicken, but the fox was stopped when He felt something get thrown at him. He looked back to see the child holding a carrot.
"You can't eat the chickens, grandpa would be mad at me, and they are for laying eggs are not for eating; they're not big enough anyway! We're only supposed to eat a bird on holidays, wouldn't you much rather have a turkey than a chicken. They just want to lay eggs! How do you never know if you kill one of them then if they let a golden egg you'll never be able to have one!" He says
The fox seemed to show, and he suddenly shifted into the shape of a boy; he looked exactly like Yuji as well, only with marks along his skin and a fancy Kimono, nothing like the cotton pajamas Yuji was wearing. " you're getting on my nerves kid if you don't leave me be then I will eat you and then replace you in your home" he says as he grabbed the young boy by the neck, his sharp nails digging into the boy's neck. Yuji let out a small cry of pain, and he looked at the other. " do you know who I am?" He asks. Yuji shakes his head. " My name is Sukuna, king of curses, remember that!" He says.
" o-oh! I heard a story about you!" He says suddenly, and the demon seems to falter. "I heard that you were a powerful demon, but then you were cursed! Your body was hidden away, right? And now you can only take on the form of certain people!" He says, " and if the story is right...I will be the only human form you will be able to take for the next...thousand years..." the boy said.
Sukuna threw the boy into the pile of hay, and he cursed, " what the hell! You tricked me! I'll kill you!" He says, and Yuji only shakes his head.
"you can't… If you kill me, then well, you won't be able to shift into a human at all. I can only die a natural death. And if I were to die, then wouldn't you technically be stuck in some sort of limbo for the next thousands of years?" He asks " and lose power bla bla bla?" The young boy asked. Sukuna seemed even more pissed. " by taking on my form...you have made a contract with me." He smiled.
" Fucking brat-" he says, and Yuji looks at him.
" Don't cuss Sukuna," he says as he stands up " come on, how about I take you inside, and I can tell grandpa I found you in the woods!" He says. " my grandpa has poor vision; you know he was a priest once! I don't know if you can get into his room because of all the talismans, but you can come to my room," he says.
What had Sukuna gotten himself into?