Amid the blazing ruins engulfed in roaring flames and countless corpses lying in tragic states, surreal and fragmented memories flashed through his mind.
In an endless sea of blood, a black-haired young man sat on a colossal throne forged from giant bones, his eyes dazed.
"Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses from a thousand years ago, an infamous villain... Being reborn as such a figure, I really don't know whether to call it a stroke of luck or misfortune."
After briefly digesting Ryomen Sukuna's memories and understanding the current situation, Alan propped his cheek on one hand and sighed with mixed emotions.
If it's luck, he seemed to have replaced Sukuna without any explanation, ridding humanity of a great calamity. But if it's misfortune, he was now likely to be a universally despised supervillain.
"Well, Sukuna seems pretty powerful. I shouldn't have much to worry about," Alan muttered, shifting into a more comfortable position on the bone throne with a nonchalant expression.
His usual laid-back nature meant even dying and being reincarnated didn't shock him too much. Part of it was due to Sukuna's memories influencing him, but it was more about his own personality.
"Since I'm already here, might as well make the best of it, right?"
And so, Alan, a man from an Eastern country who met his end by an oncoming truck, was reincarnated into "jujutsu kaisen" world! He didn't spare a second to mourn the replaced Sukuna.
As a reincarnator, it's customary to have a golden finger (cheat ability), so naturally, he said:
"System, I know you're here."
"Error! Unable to verify host identity!"
"What?"
Where's my system? What kind of System are you ?
After a brief moment of surprise, Alan quickly dismissed it. After all, even without the system, it didn't matter—he was already an overpowered existence.
"This place should be my innate domain. Let's take a look outside."
With that thought, Alan willed his consciousness, his figure disappearing from the domain and reappearing in the outside world.
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Opening his eyes.
The light was dim, and drawn curtains blocked the moonlight. However, Sukuna could clearly see everything around him.
It seemed to be a girl's bedroom. He realized he was lying on a bed with several panda plushies of various sizes placed at the headboard.
He tried to sit up...
"Huh? Why can't I move?" Sukuna wondered, trying to scratch his head, only to find that his arms wouldn't obey him.
Strangely enough, although he couldn't control the body, his mouth could move freely.
Unable to do much else, Sukuna entertained himself by maneuvering the lips for a while before retreating back into the innate domain to continue spacing out.
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When the first light of dawn crept over the horizon and the sun's rays hit the tall buildings, Yukinoshita Yukino woke up, following her clock. Dressed in a white camisole nightgown, she walked to the bathroom to freshen up.
The mirror reflected the image of a very cute young girl. Her silky black hair reached down to her waist, with a few strands sticking up as bedhead. Her navy-blue eyes seemed to hold the vastness of the ocean.
Then, in the mirror, she saw...
Her perfect, delicate face now had two slits beneath her eyes.
"What a cute little girl... Kinda makes me hungry—wait, no, no, I'm not like Original Sukuna."
The slits opened, revealing two additional eyes, and soon, a mouth appeared on her cheek.
"So this is why I couldn't move. Turns out it's not even my own body."
"Eh?!"
With a clatter, Yukino dropped her toothbrush onto the sink, the sound crisp in the silent room.
"Looks like I've been sealed... But to be able to seal someone as powerful as Sukuna without issue—little girl, who the heck are you?"
The mouth spoke to her, spouting words she couldn't comprehend, incessantly chattering in a way that was irritating. But that wasn't the point.
"Um, why aren't you saying anything?" Sukuna, controlling the mouth, stared at her through the mirror.
Trembling, Yukino reached up to touch the strange mouth on her cheek.
Her fingertips felt the slimy, cold texture of skin. The mouth moved to her other cheek: "Don't touch me. Let's talk like civilized people."
"Ahhhh!!!"
At last, Yukino broke down and let out a scream of terror. Thankfully, the soundproofing of her high-end apartment prevented any complaints from neighbors.
Sharing her senses, Sukuna narrowed his eyes, silently observing her through the mirror.
For a moment, the atmosphere was awkward.
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Moments later.
"W-What are you?" Yukino finally asked in a trembling voice, forcing herself to calm down. Her hands gripped the edge of the sink tightly.
"Hm? Aren't you the one who sealed me in your body?" Sukuna asked, puzzled. His voice came from the mouth on her cheek, the sight of which was unnerving.
"I don't understand what you're saying."
Sukuna could feel the confusion and genuine fear on the girl's face. She wasn't lying.
But if that were the case, there were even more questions.
"You don't know? Could it have been someone else?" Sukuna thought for a moment before giving up. "Whatever. Knowing who did it won't change anything."
"C-Can you explain properly?" Seeing that the mouth wasn't about to do anything harmful, Yukino mustered the last bit of her courage and spoke. "It's really disturbing to suddenly appear on someone's face."
"Alright. My name is Sukuna. You can also call me Ryomen Sukuna. I'm over a thousand years old, live who-knows-where, unmarried, and my job is being a curse user. I spend my days killing, arson, and wreaking havoc. Don't smoke, drink socially, eat when hungry, sleep when tired, eat young, pretty women before bed, and destroy villages as a warm-up."
With each sentence, Yukino's face grew paler, her body trembling more.
"In any case, I didn't have much choice in the past. But now, I want to be a good person." His tone was sincere, but his host didn't seem convinced.
"W-Why are you on me?" Yukino asked, her voice shaking.
"No idea. I woke up and found myself sealed inside you," Sukuna said helplessly, blinking. "Don't worry. At least for now, I can't do anything to you."
With Sukuna's words as a starting point, Yukinoshita Yukino's previously blank mind began to unconsciously reflect.
Was what he said true?
If it were true, could the words of a "demon that has existed for over a thousand years" really be trusted?
And how did he end up inside her? If he was indeed sealed within her body, who would seal such a dangerous entity in the body of an ordinary high school girl?
Countless questions sprouted like bamboo shoots after a rainstorm, but Yukinoshita Yukino was destined not to find any answers.
"Can I really trust you?" Yukinoshita Yukino asked, pressing her pale lips together.
"Do you have any other choice?" Sukuna replied nonchalantly.
"..." The girl was speechless, unable to find any words for a long while.
"Just do what you need to do. Pretend you have a split personality and there's someone in your head to chat with."
"That's easy for you to say." Yukinoshita Yukino sighed helplessly as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, where her face now had an extra pair of eyes and a mouth. "Can you leave my face? Like this, I can't go out in public."
"No can do. This spot has the best view."
In fact, Sukuna could share her senses without such a dramatic approach. But he refused, as staying in his innate domain was simply too boring, and teasing a cute girl was a good way to pass the time.
This guy is definitely doing this on purpose!
Picking up on the playfulness in Sukuna's voice, Yukinoshita Yukino bit her lower lip and began to feel a deep sense of despair about her future.
The mere thought of having a thousand-year-old demon inside her body when she was using the bathroom or taking a shower made her want to die.
Wait, if this guy is sealed inside me, maybe if I commit suicide, I can take him down with me...
"Don't even think about it. Even if you tear out your heart, I can just make you a new one." Noticing her thoughts, Sukuna chuckled softly. "You can try, but only if you're not afraid of the pain."
"..."
"Alright, stop thinking nonsense. Go wash up and get something to eat. I'm hungry."
"Parasites need to eat, too?" Yukinoshita Yukino mocked coldly, resigning herself to the situation.
"I meant you, idiot."
As if on cue, the girl's stomach let out a loud growl in protest.
Feeling a strong sense of defeat, Yukinoshita Yukino, with a darkened expression, brushed her teeth and washed her face before heading to the open kitchen to prepare breakfast.
"You can cook?" Sukuna's voice chimed in again, causing the frying pan in Yukino's hand to tremble. The egg inside nearly slid out.
"Can you stop talking to me so suddenly?"
"Nope. I'm so bored. My innate domain is either full of blood or bones. I've grown tired of it."
"You're truly a thousand-year-old scumbag." Yukinoshita Yukino didn't understand what the "innate domain" Sukuna mentioned was, but it didn't stop her from sarcastically mocking him.
"Beast might be a better term." Sukuna was indifferent to her insults. She was insulting Sukuna, after all, not him.
"..."
"By the way, what's your name, little girl?" he asked again. "I've answered all your questions honestly."
Yukinoshita Yukino remained silent, focusing on making breakfast.
"Not going to tell me? If you don't, I'll lick you."
To make his words more convincing, Sukuna opened his mouth and extended his tongue.
Realizing that there was a tongue on her face moving wildly, Yukinoshita Yukino hurriedly said, "Yukinoshita Yukino! Happy now? Stop it!"
"See? That wasn't so hard." Sukuna chuckled.
"I understand your intentions now: you want to provoke me into killing you, so you can take down the infamous King of Curses from a thousand years ago with you. Is that right?"
"Unfortunately, for some reason, I can't harm you directly or forcibly take over your body. I can only chat with you like this."
Besides, as a modern youth who had transmigrated, Sukuna wasn't interested in casual killing.
Sukuna thought to himself.
However, perhaps due to the merging of Sukuna's memories, he noticed subtle changes in his own personality. The deeper the integration with Sukuna's memories and curse energy became, the more significant the changes might be. He could end up becoming a second Sukuna under the influence.
But just a little, he assured himself.
With her little plan exposed, Yukinoshita Yukino pursed her lips and placed the finished breakfast on the table.
By the time breakfast was ready, it was almost time for school. Usually, she would already be in the classroom, reading a book by now.
Sigh, I'll just take a day off today.
This morning, she'd sighed more than she had in an entire week.
"Ms. Hiratsuka, it's me. I'd like to take the day off today. I'm very sorry... No, it's just a cold. Don't worry, thank you."
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After taking a leave of absence from school, Yukinoshita Yukino began to enjoy her breakfast.
Sukuna watched her eat. Though he could taste flavors, he didn't have a mouth to use, which felt strange. He said, "Give me some too."
"Don't be ridiculous. You don't even have a human form."
"But I have a mouth."
"You want me to shove food into my own face?"
"My hand works too."
In the next second, Yukinoshita Yukino saw a mouth open on the back of her hand. Although it was her own hand, the mouth seemed to connect to a deep esophagus, making it look both eerie and repulsive.
"No way, that feels disgusting." She frowned and refused decisively.
"Then I'll bite your chopsticks," Sukuna's voice came again from the palm of Yukinoshita Yukino's right hand.
"…"
The so-called King of Curses? More like King of Rascals.
The girl made a face of disgust, hesitated, and then picked up a piece of fried mackerel with her chopsticks, placing it on the palm of her left hand. However, the expected sensation of skin touching fish never came. Instead, the piece of mackerel was promptly eaten by Sukuna.
"You can really eat it, huh."
Yukinoshita Yukino stared blankly for a moment. Then, realizing something, she quickly got up and threw the chopsticks touched by Sukuna's mouth into the sink, grabbing a new pair.
"It tastes pretty good," Sukuna praised.
"Of course it does. Who do you think made this meal? It's a bit insulting to give it to you, though."
"Well, it's going into your stomach either way. The only difference is which mouth it goes through."
The food Sukuna ate ends up in my stomach?
Sitting back at the table with her new chopsticks, Yukinoshita Yukino stared at her half-eaten breakfast. Her appetite vanished instantly, and she even felt like throwing up.
Sometimes, knowing the truth doesn't bring happiness. If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have been sarcastic to this guy. Now she couldn't shake the thought that the mackerel, tainted with someone else's saliva, ultimately ended up in her stomach. She didn't feel like eating anything for the rest of the day.
"Ring ring ring!"
At that moment, her phone suddenly rang. Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at the caller's name. Her already darkened expression became even gloomier.
After a sigh, she answered the call: "Hello, sister… Yes, it's just a little cold. No! You don't need to come over. I'm fine on my own! Really, I'm fine. That's it, I'm hanging up."
After ending the call, the emotionally drained Yukinoshita Yukino didn't even bother cleaning the table. Instead, she grabbed a book from the bookshelf in the living room, sat on the sofa, and started reading: "I'm begging you, don't bother me while I'm reading."
"Alright."
However, even though Sukuna fell silent, Yukinoshita Yukino, whose mind was in turmoil, couldn't focus on her book. It wasn't long before that annoying voice rang out again, but this time with a peculiar tone.
"Hey, little girl, something's coming."