Shukumei 宿命 ⋮ Sukuna Ryomen

Omake (呪い): A Twisted Curse (Pt. 3)

There's a line of light that shines on the horizon at daybreak. The night continues to pass as dawn approaches. It's close to mid-summer. You stand somewhere in the garden where lavender now blooms. It's still quite dark.

Sukuna comes to stand next to you. He wonders why you're always frequenting the gardens. Especially at this hour when the rest are still tucked away in sleep.

"My lord." You greet him with a bow before you turn to the horizon once more. You're surprised he's awake.

"You seem to come here quite often." He's subliminally poking for answers.

Your hands are together in front of you. Your face wears a soft smile, "Do you believe in Hanakotoba?"

Hanakotoba, the language of flowers. A common knowledge that flowers have meanings behind them. And the garden was full of beautiful flowers.

Sukuna never did appreciate this art but he didn't care for a lot of things, "Are they not just flowers?"

You ignore his ignorance and you squat down to the lavender that surrounds the two of you. Your hands play along the delicate purple. And you teach him about this language.

"Sakura. Life, death, and renewal. A symbol of the fleeting nature of life."

Sukuna's gaze is fixed at the horizon. The sky begins to bleed a deep orange. He continues to listen to you.

"Tsubaki (camellia). The red one, symbolizes a noble death."

You run your hands gently across the purple flowers.

"Byakuren (white lotus). Spiritual awakening. A symbol of purity, mysticism, reincarnation."

Your fingers continue to admire the lavender.

"Saboten (cactus flower), intense passion."

Your hands stop.

"And..." you pluck one of these flowers before you stand again, "...lavender."

Sukuna watches you take his hand. You place the lavender onto his palm, "Faithfulness, loyalty. A symbol of fidelity."

He looks down at this symbol presented to him and then he looks back up at you. There's something brewing in his chest. It gnaws at him.

"Did you come to watch the sunrise with me, my lord?" You ask and your eyes go to the horizon once more. The tips of the sun begin to greet this side of the earth and its people.

He doesn't care for the rising star. If anything his eyes only care for you. He looks down at the flower resting in his hand, "Could a servant love their master?"

"A servant must always love their master." You say.

"On their own accord?" His gaze trickles back up to you who still looks somewhere far away.

You remain quiet. Because the truth is, in most cases, a servant never loves their lords. Not genuinely at least and definitely not by choice. And if they did, it was either fabricated or cultivated.

"I can neither confirm or deny." Is all you respond with.

"Do you love me?" Sukuna comes behind you. You feel the softness of his fingers slip the robe off a shoulder, just enough to expose some skin. He presses a kiss against the crook of your neck. He's more direct with this one, "Y/n?"