Shukumei 宿命 ⋮ Sukuna Ryomen

Chapter 10

There's a nice warmth to the air as the sun beams down. The sky is clear and the clouds inch across the earth.

Your heart beats slowly. Your breaths are steady. And your muscles relax against the hard ground. You rouse from your deep slumber as you enter stage 1 of the sleep cycle. There's a sharp prickly sensation of the grass that presses against your skin. The birds that fly by cast fleeting shadows across your sprawled form. It makes you wince anytime the dark left and your face welcomes the brightness of the afternoon again; when the sun is at its highest peak.

You make a noise as you continue to stir. It almost felt too nice to wake. Your eyes finally open to a droop and your gaze goes to the ether. There's a cool breeze that comes by. It makes the loose strands of hair dance across your face. Birds circle in the sky above you. They squawk and shield the rays of the sun periodically. It's the most beautiful day. But wait—You sit up abruptly. You remember everything. Your frantic, gaping eyes search the green terrain.

"Itadori?!" You look the other way, "Yuta?!"

There's no one around.

Only grass. Lots of it. And a cluster of sakura trees off at a distance. This place felt a bit familiar.

You look at the area between the skirt of your uniform and socks, the skin of your legs are a bit wounded. You bring your beaten hands up to study them. There may have been more than one ache and on more than one limb. You put your hands back down to your sides and you wonder where you are and how you got here. You exhale a heavy sigh as you get to your feet. Then you dust yourself to rid of the dirt and debris that collected from the grueling fight. As much as you'd love to bask here all day, you couldn't. It didn't matter where you were or how you even got here. The only thing that mattered now is searching for your friends and trying to find a way back to jujutsu tech. But where do you start?

This area is vast. There didn't seem to be much around aside from a few trees scattered across this plain. It all looked the same no matter which way you faced. It's quiet and peaceful, but there's an uneasy feeling brewing in your chest that you can't seem to shake.

The heel of your hand finds your temple. You groan at the sudden onset of a headache. Sounds of faint whispering could be heard. As the seconds become a minute these voices become louder and louder. Until these indistinguishable voices were the only thing you could hear. You press your palms against your ears as if doing this would rid of the noise. But it doesn't do so much as decrease it. It's as if these voices stemmed from somewhere in the mind that even your own conscience could not reach. You squeeze your eyes shut. It's loud. Too loud. To the point it was deafening. But in an instant, it disappears just as quickly as it came on, along with your headache.

The sounds of the birds chirping above you, the soft rippling of the wind, it all resumes. Your arms drop to your sides and you draw a deep breath of relief. But relief doesn't last and you're struck with a familiar looming presence. You've felt this before. The crippling panic. It's an anxiety that gnaws at your chest. A kind of fear that crawls over the body and prickles at your skin. Your eyes darken with worry as you turn your head slightly back to this person who had just appeared. Or had he been here all along?

Itadori Yuji. He stands before you. But it wasn't really him. You could tell by the energy this person radiated, the markings that decorated parts of his face and his incredible physique. Did he bring you here?

And just like that your fear evaporates. It gets replaced by a searing rage. One that was born from a burning resentment. It's a stab of anger that gives you back your lost confidence and a fuming emotion that will boost your motivation to destroy him. Your fingers curl to a fist at the idea.