Jujutsu Kaisen X OC (The Red String of Fate)

【 CHAPTER 19 】Extra Curricular Activities

━━ 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 ━━

The scent of incense and damp earth lingered in the air as I stood before a gathering of trembling women, my body weakened. 

The moon hung heavy in the sky, casting a pale glow upon the courtyard where dozens of frightened concubines and attendants knelt, awaiting judgment. 

"I do not care!" My fingers curled around the silken layers of my ruined kosode, steadying myself. "It is I who was poisoned! I will not allow them to suffer!"

A stillness settled over the space, but it was not peace—it was the silence before a storm. And when Sukuna stepped forward, the air turned suffocating.

Oh my god. I will die today!

"You were not breathing, my wife," he said, his voice far too calm. His words slithered over my skin, seeping into my very bones, cold and inescapable.

A shudder ran through me. 

Had he always been this terrifying?

"You lay lifeless for an entire month!" His voice cracked, and I flinched along with the women behind me. Their sobs were barely contained, their fear hanging thick.

I turned, desperate for distraction. "Kiyoko," I murmured to the black-haired girl clinging to me, her grip unsteady on my shoulder. "Truly, what do you all see in him?"

Kiyoko hesitated, then, voice barely above a whisper, said, "He is... quite skilled in bed."

"I— I see," I stammered, my composure cracking. 

Sukuna did not care for our exchange. His rage was singular, violent, all-consuming. "They fed you poison! No-cure poison! There is no remedy, do you understand?"

He moved toward me, each step shook the ground, literally. The women behind me cowered, their eyes darting like startled sparrows.

"Sukuna..." My voice trembled as his presence loomed over me, swallowing me whole.

"Do you have any idea how I suffered?" he seethed, standing so close I could feel the warmth of his breath. "And yet you plead for their lives?"

His fingers brushed my cheek, deceptively tender. My pulse pounded beneath his touch.

"You swore you would never harm me," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

He exhaled sharply, amused despite himself. "And have I?"

I swallowed. "I do not wish for others to suffer because of me. It will bring misfortune."

"Misfortune?" He laughed darkly. "They are already cursed the moment they thought to harm you."

"My Lord..." I grasped at the fabric of his crimson robes, the exhaustion weighing me down. "If you must take something... take my hair. You said once that you liked it." 

I hesitated, then forced the words past my lips, soft as falling petals. "I will give it to you. But spare them." Silence stretched between us, long and unbroken.

Inari (Internally): Seriously?! Dude, come on, say something!

Then, Sukuna chuckled, his lips brushing against my cheek. "This will be the first and last time."

His fingers slid through my hair, sharp nails scraping lightly against my scalp, before he finally relented, turning from the frightened women. 

They did not dare breathe until he was gone.

I remained standing only because my legs refused to give out until he could no longer see me.

Even mercy, when it came from Sukuna, felt like the edge of a blade.