Work Text:
Sometimes Itadori looked in the mirror to see if anything else changed since Sukuna moved in. If it wasn’t for the extra pair of bags under his eyes—that now doubled as Sukuna’s binoculars to the outside world from time to time—everything seemed the same. Pink truffle of hair and brown eyes. His slender eyebrows, that gave away the fact his natural hair color was brown. The same amount of chub on his face that indicated his youth. This was him.
And he always tried to smile.
He leaned closer over the sink counter, till he felt the granite countertop digging into his gut. Gurgle. The water was still running to rinse out the last of the toothpaste. Gurgle. Gurgle. The drain sound was barely heard over the hip-hop music playing from his phone.
But he heard it. That was the thing—the sad sound of dirty water being sucked away into oblivion. He’d imagine that the sound was just their plea for another splash, for another chance to come together, for another impact against skin.
“Do you feel bad for everything?” Sukuna asked.
He also had the misfortune of hearing Sukuna. Who obviously didn’t notice this was his time. His personal chill time before bed that he always did way before Sukuna moved in.
“Even after brushing your teeth and washing your face. Oh...I get it. ” Sukuna’s mouth twisted into a smug grin. “You feel bad for the people you killed?”
Itadori blinked at his reflection. Something felt off about it now. Yes, this was him. But Sukuna—that intellectual asshole—had done something. He wasn’t sure what. There was the obvious mouth on his left cheek and a single eyeball above it. But there was more...always something more when Sukuna appeared.
“Something wrong, brat?” Sukuna asked.
Itadori tried to ignore how the red eye was gazing at him. Red taunted deadly threats. He knew rage, hatred, sadness, despair—those were human emotions. Because curses...well… Sadness could flow in and burn anybody’s soul.
“The look on your face, pathetic. I suppose it is hard to accept.” Sukuna said. “Especially when you couldn’t see curses before...you probably think this isn’t normal.” His tongue slowly slipped out his mouth. “That you’re not human. You’re something else.”
Itadori slapped a hand over his cheek. He could still feel the mouth moving, a wet tongue slipping between his fingers, he could still see Sukuna’s brilliant red eye teasing him.
“You wouldn’t be wrong. Humans can lose their ability to feel sorrow, when they have nothing else to lose.” Sukuna said.
“Would you leave?” Itadori pulled and pinched on his own cheek. He was nothing like Sukuna. He didn’t kill people… Well he didn’t kill just for the hell of it.
“What? I’m trying to mentor you.”
“You’re being mean on purpose and trying to take advantage of my naivety!”
“So you are still pissed off about Junpei d—“
“You’re a bitch.” Itadori slapped the side of his cheek. That was it, Sukuna’s true feelings.
Two could play that: Don’t give a fuck game.
Sukuna didn’t respond, his makeshift face slowly sank back into regular skin. All evidence of their little interaction fading away with his silence.
Itadori turned from the mirror. He closed the bathroom door. Exiting one; entering another. He grabbed his Nintendo Switch off the nightstand and belly flopped on the bed.
Good. The screen didn’t time out.
He turned off the lights and lowered the brightness of his screen. The glow from his game illuminated his face as his eyes focused on making sure his character didn’t run into a tree.
Running into trees would take away his time. Time to focus on him. Be on his own little island. Build his own little island: Animal Crossing New Horizons.
His desert island relocator looked like him. No Sukuna. He had a similar haircut, pink, shaved low on the sides. His eyes were brown. He wore a yellow hoodie and jeans. A pre-Sukuna look. A pre-curse look. A carefree life look.
His island was open for online play. Occasionally words would appear: Looks like someone's visiting your island! The Switch would turn black, and then shift to the airport, where different avatars disembarked. Recently, the number of visitors had dropped since he changed schools. In fact the last person he played with was…
“I know this game. It’s the one you played with Junpei.” Sukuna appeared on his hand.
“I always play this game.” Itadori mashed a few buttons. His avatar pulled out his axe. He was going to finish building a little memorial for his friend. “We just happened to both enjoy this one.”
“He was crazy over those red-hyacinth flowers and the orange-lily plants. It be nice if you put them around the sta—“
“Why are you talking about Junpei like you care? Why are you talking to me at all?”
“Show some respect. You owe me, brat. It was because of your rogue actions that bastard touched my soul again.” Sukuna’s mouth movement caused Itadori’s thumb to slip. His axe dropped, making his character have to shake the tree with his bare hands. A rustling sound was heard followed by a low piano note.
Bzzzz…
His character made a shocked expression.
Bzzz…
Oh shit.
“Why do I hear boss music?” Sukuna’s eye focused on the screen.
Itadori mashed the button to make his character sprint. If he took out his net quick enough maybe he could catch them!
“What the fuck are those?”
"They're wasps!" Itadori’s thumb slipped again and he pulled back out his axe.
“Damn, why aren’t the other characters helping you fight? They’re just standing around. I’d kick their lazy asses into the ocean and watch the sharks tear them to bloody bits.”
“Sukuna, I’m starting to think you don’t know shit about this game.” Itadori hissed.
A flood of: Lol. Lolololol. Lmaooooo. Run!!!! Blew up in the chat.
“Even when you run past others the wasps don’t change their target? What type of weak villain shit is that! Kill all who disrespect you.”
“There are no villains! The only thing closest is a raccoon, who I'm hundreds of thousands of bells in debt to!” Itadori shirked. His character was overtaken by the angry swamp, thrown into a storm of stinging. Bouncing. Arms failing. Feet kicking off the ground until he turned around in a dazed state.
“You must have really pissed those fuckers off.” Sukuna said. “They just disappeared after whooping your ass. That’s the most toxic thing I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s the most toxic thing? Mahito disrespecting Junpei and destroying...killing him wasn’t as toxic as getting stung by virtual wasps.”
“Yeah. I don’t know! I...hehe!” Sukuna laughed, it sounded borderline maniacal. “Which is funnier.”
Itadori tightly gripped his game console. He tried to ignore the sound. His brain didn’t seem to listen, recalling the time when Sukuna and Mahito both laughed at him. His thumb started to waver, making the joystick slip to the side.
He was asking nicely, prepared to get on his knees. Only to be rejected.
His character started spinning in circles.
He had offered stuff. Offered himself. Only to be made a fool.
His character was a hot mess, one eye unusable, another half lidded. A thought bubble appeared above: Medicine.
All his thoughts came screeching to a halt. He didn’t make any medicine.
In the upper corner of the screen a character had their back turned as they ran away. “Tough luck.” Was written in a speech bubble above the head.
Itadori used the medicine; his character spun around good as new. “Wait! I just want to thank you!” He sent his character running after his mysterious gift giver.
The mysterious character didn’t stop, running at full speed through the grass, over bridges.
Itadori didn’t understand why the person wouldn’t slow down and read his message. He chased the guy down, hiding his character behind a bunch of trees to try and catch a glimpse.
Black hair. Dark blue eyes. Jeans and a t-shirt. Sneakers. He was shaking trees, eating apples, and picking up branches.
“Thanks!” Itadori stepped into view and waved.
The mysterious savior paused, then words appeared above them, “You seemed like you were having a hard time.”
Their name was written above the text bubble. It was so familiar but there was no way it could actually be…
“Plus everyone was laughing at you. Not cool. This is your island. You should kick ‘em.”
Itadori shakily typed. “You were upset they laughed at me?”
“No one deserves to be clowned like that for just trying to be themselves.” Those words—he could almost hear them, as if the person was standing right beside him. “I had a friend who was really goofy like you. If I thought anyone was making fun of him wrongfully, I’d probably get really pissed. He was a pushover who did nice things for people who didn’t really care about him...just like you.”
Itadori felt his heart hit his throat. He knew for sure now, the gamer tag wasn’t lying: Fushiguro. That was his friend!
“You also share his name.” Fushiguro’s character did the resignation expression. “Same energy.”
“It’s me, you du—“ Itadori quickly backspaced his words. This was him. Then it wasn’t him. Not right now. He got happy for a few seconds, relieved, overjoyed, then like a rollercoaster plummeting down a hill it dropped back to zero. “I guess. Had a rough day and playing to destress.”
“Real life be like that sometimes.” Fushiguro said.
“Yeah.” Itadori started to hit his axe against a tree. He picked up a few pieces of soft wood, then stopped. Fushiguro was still standing there. Was he typing something? He made his character sit down.
Fushiguro took a seat beside him.
So...was he not typing?
“What happened to all the action, kid?” Sukuna asked.
Damn it. Itadori had forgotten that Sukuna was still watching him play.
“Talking to strangers online? You know how dangerous that is?” There was no bite to Sukuna's words, only a soft chiding like one would give a pet.
But Itadori did NOT need Sukuna to tell him about danger.
“Move your hand so I can see who you’re talking to. Somebody named…” Sukuna’s eye narrowed.
“Stop acting like you care!” Itadori purposely moved his hand to block more of the screen.
A new message appeared, “Just showed your character to my friend. She really liked it and said it was cute.” Fushiguro did the delight expression, clapping eagerly. “Oops. She hit that.”
She? Itadori figured that was Nobara. He could almost picture their shocked and amused faces.
“She took a screenshot. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Nah.” Itadori hit the joy expression. His character smiled brightly and swayed back and forth in a carefree manner. “Take another. I miss the attention.” He missed the sounds of their voices. He missed their smiles.
“She took a bunch.”
“Ya gonna send them to her phone, then delete?”
“Might keep a few for myself.” Fushiguro put away his net. “Just because, I don’t think I have a picture of that gleeful idiot.”
Itadori felt his insides flutter, like butterflies had appeared. Nervousness? Excitement? Fushiguro wanted to take pictures of him! Save memories of him. He wanted him. He wanted to enjoy him. JUST HIM.
“We didn’t spend much time together. But when we did, it always made my pulse react.” Fushiguro seemed to bring a hand over his chest as the broken heart expression appeared.
“Aw, you miss him.” Itadori felt a smile slip on his face. Fushiguro’s words made him feel good on the inside. That fear of not being himself—a soul of who he was—it’s who he is. The person...the friend, Fushiguro and Norbara remembered. Not a killer.
“My hand slipped.” Fushiguro snapped.
Itadori snorted. That was totally something Fushiguro would claim to act like it was no big deal.
“Maybe it’s because he got on my nerves. XD” Fushiguro made the aggravation expression. His face was red and a little puff of steam rose from his head. “Making me work extra hard to cover for him. Only for him to throw it all away like a baby having a tantrum.” He did the aggravation expression again. “This is how he’d look to me. A total baby.”
Itadori couldn’t stop his laughter. He hated laughing. The sound of it, the thought of it, ever since Junpei died. But he couldn’t keep snorting. Snorting to death was a terrible way to die, (maybe not as bad as having your heart ripped out by a curse, but pretty damn close). Fushiguro was so… He heard himself laughing. He was laughing like a hyena, all alone in a dark room.
“What’s funny? I can’t see. I wanna know what’s funny.” Sukuna demanded.
“LMAO DON’T TRY HIM LIKE THAT.” Itadori was laughing so hard, his face started to hurt. He hoped the message he typed made sense. He hoped that Fushiguro could hear him through the message. He hoped a picture would form of him smiling like an idiot.
“Don’t worry. If he was here, he’d be laughing.” Fushiguro took a step forward to stand beside him.
“You know me so well.”
One second. Two seconds. Itadori’s laughter slowly died out. The calming game music mixed in with the sound of hip-hop still playing on his phone. A hot mess of sound with lyrics that didn’t very much match the mood.
Fushiguro wasn’t responding.
FUCK!!!!! Itadori didn’t have any regrets until he sent it. He could call it a blunder, a simple mistype.
He managed to make his character do the mistaken expression. His little round dough like hand knocked against his skull as a star fell on his head.
Fushiguro still didn’t respond or move.
Itadori still didn’t correct himself. Something was stupidly warm and jumpy in his chest and the air in the room had gotten really thick all of a sudden. He felt funny, like Fushiguro was right in front of him with a puzzled look— a soft eyes, brows knitted together, with his jaw slacked in disbelief.
But Fushiguro was far away.
Itadori didn’t know why, but that made him feel so empty. He wanted Fushiguro near. He wanted to see him. He wanted to hear him. He wanted to feel his hands grab him and pull him to safety. His character was still rocking nonchalantly with a happy expression. He didn’t just commit a homicide. He was okay. ACT OKAY.
“Do you want to see my house?” Itadori spun his character around and took off running.
“Okay.” Fushiguro’s character started to follow him. “Are ya gonna kick out those kids?”
“Nah. They can have their fun.”
“Pushover.”
“LOL.”
Itadori led Fushiguro to his house. He showed off a few rooms, mainly just the ones that took a very long time, especially the kitchen.
“Its fancy because I like to cook.” He turned on the stove, a blue flame forming over the pot he placed on the range.
“Yo, I don’t think that is supposed to be on the stove, it looks like a Crockpot.” Fushiguro pointed. “In real life you’d blow us all up.”
“Well I have a rice cooker here, too.” Itadori turned off the stove. He walked over to the slow cooker and opened the lid. A puff of steam rose as it revealed white fluffy rice. “See?”
“The game did that.”
“Fine. Next time we meet, I’ll have to cook for you.”
“Bet. I like bento lunches.”
Itadori reread the message twice. He tossed and turned on the bed, rolling up in the covers—the mattress was firm and real. This was real. He checked his Switch again—the message was still there. He felt his face grow hot. He could picture it, making Fushiguro's lunch. What would Fushiguro's reaction be? How would he reward him? With a hug, maybe? He wiggled his toes in sync with his racing heart beat, watching the sheets bunch up in little mountain ranges.
“Or rice balls with chicken.” Fushiguro said. “I could always use a snack before training.”
Itadori scrambled to grab his phone off the nightstand. His finger quickly exited off SoundCloud and hit notepad. Chicken. Rice. Sesame seeds. He could also buy an awesome bento box to put it in. One awesome enough that would deserve a hug!
“Who are you making a list for?” Sukuna must have caught a glimpse of the words.
“Fushiguro.”
“You cook for him now? What are you, his wife?”
That question knocked the wind out of Itadori. “N-no!” His thumbs wouldn’t type anymore.
“You’re blushing, brat.”
“Uggghhh! I am not!”
“Don’t worry. Your secret desire to be Fushiguro’s wife is safe with me.”
“Sukuna, you’re really trying me tonight.” Itadori let go of his phone and aggressively grabbed his wrist. “I will cover both my hands in duct tape if that’s what it takes to silence you.”
“If I would have known you were meeting with Fushiguro for an online date, I wouldn’t have bothered you. But you didn’t tell me.” Sukuna said.
“It’s not a date! Can’t friends make each other food? People do it all the time.” Itadori released his hold. “I’ll also make lunch for Nobara.” His eyes flickered back to the screen.
“Hello? Are you okay?” Fushiguro ran over to him. “You haven’t moved for a while.”
“I was busy.” Itadori didn’t notice how sweaty his thumbs had become until he tried to type. He turned his character around only to bump into Fushiguro. Somehow between trying to find the right expression and a nervous button mash—his character sniffed and blushed.
“Uhh…”
That was a total weirdo move! Itadori almost threw his Switch halfway across the room.
“You’re not trying to play the game and make my lunch are you?” Fushiguro took a few steps back with an intense expression.
Itadori breathed a sigh of relief. With such a nonchalant attitude like that, Fushiguro definitely gave good hugs. He moved his character out the kitchen.
“More to see?” Fushiguro appeared at the entryway.
Itadori walked down the path to his front door. His screen went black then started to open up in a growing circle. Outside his map appeared, following that he made his way to the coast. His footsteps softened against the sand, leaving prints that were followed by two more, trailing a bit behind him.
“Where are we going?”
Itadori really didn’t know. Anywhere. Everywhere. Long as he could keep spending time with Fushiguro He’d be happy. He wouldn’t have to worry, because Fushiguro saw him for who he really was.
“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to get bored.” Fushiguro started to slow down.
“Didn’t you want to see more? I’m about to show you something cool.” Itadori checked that the sky was still clear, then kept running at full speed. He crossed a bridge till he got to a fully flat background. “Tilt your screen to the sky.”
A half moon hung in the sky. Stars twinkled, their reflection in the ocean shifting as the water crashed against the rocks. A soothing sound—tranquility.
“We’re waiting on a shooting star, aren’t we? I thought it was going to be something cool.” Fushiguro stood so close to Itadori—in the game it looked like their hands were touching.
They were holding hands, gazing up at the stars together.
“A shooting star is an aesthetic pleasure!” Itadori could almost hear Fushiguro’s voice. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine this was real. He was really on the beach with Fushiguro. He could feel the sand between his toes. Feel the ocean spray against his skin. Smell the sea breeze. Taste the salt on his lips.
There was Fushiguro beside him. “That’s something only you would think.” Fushiguro had that look on his face, where he really wanted to smile but couldn’t bring himself to be sappy. He had his arms crossed, but as the wind blew through his hair, he fluttered his long lashes and pierced his lips. “But I guess I can call this cool. I am getting to see shooting stars with you.”
“Long as you enjoy it.” Itadori stepped a little closer. He'd try for a hug if he could... He wanted to feel slender arms lock him in a warm embrace. A safety hug. Everything will turn out alright hug. “If I knew you were coming…”
“It’s alright because if you’re playing this, it means you’re alive.” Fushiguro turned to face him, his usually hard expression seemed to soften like butter in a microwave. “It makes me happy to know that we’re under the same sky.”
“Fugi—” A bright streak of light crossed the sky. Itadori felt his eyes widen slightly, the light danced over Fushiguro, illuminating his face. “You missed it!”
“Nothing important compared to what's in front of me.” Fushiguro's eyes locked with Itadori's. "Promise, you'll come back to Nobara and I safely. And...you're with Gojo Sensei, right?"
"Yeah!" Itadori watched his ideal fantasy shatter: only in game... where Sukuna didn’t exist and he wasn't a murder. Reality was cruel. But if certain circumstances were reflected… “We're going to go on a picnic and I’m going to make food for everyone. It’s not an option. I’m going to kidnap you and make you eat food out of a pretty basket.”
“Please, don’t.” Fushiguro shook his head.
“It will be fun. Just like this. This is fun, right?” Itadori wanted to have fun with his friends. He wanted to have a good time with everyone, burn the happy feeling into his skull, so that he’d be stronger next time. He wouldn’t allow another friend to die. “A big picnic. All my friends should be there, even in soul!”
“In soul?”
“Ya know for the ones who can’t make it in person? Their soul will be with us. A memory of their existence.”
“That’s not how it works.”
“I know the shape of my soul and I’m going to imagine Junpei’s soul looked exactly like how he did!” Itadori knew what it was now—a slight shift of having two souls occupy one body. He didn’t worry about losing himself, because any time his mind drifted towards the edge of losing everything he stood for, his friends would remind him who he was. “His soul will be with us. He’ll laugh and enjoy it, just like when we played Animal Crossing and watched movies together.”
“Who was Junpei?” Fushiguro asked.
“A friend. I have a bunch to tell you and Nobara. I miss you both so much.” Itadori pulled out a shovel. “I’ll add you to my best friend list so next time you can help me build Junpei’s memorial.”
“Whoa! Slow down. Next time?” Fushiguro spun around, walking away. “And you made him a memorial?”
“Yes. I’m going to put flowers around it.” Itadori chased after him. “Will you help me?”
“Sure...whatever ya say, baby.” Fushiguro walked on the dock. “I left you some gifts. I’m saving and going to bed. Take care of yourself.” He entered the airport.
“Thanks!” Itadori waved goodbye.
The words appeared at the bottom of his screen that someone was leaving his island. He watched the plane depart then ran back to his house. In the backyard there were many bags of bells. He ran up to them, a thought bubble appeared above: 99,000 bells.
Itadori did a count. Twelve. There were twelve bags of 99,000 bells. His Switch started to tremble in his hands. No way he could accept something like this!
“Aren't you in debt to the raccoon? If you pay it off you can get a two story house." Sukuna said. "Better pick them up before the other players steal them.”
Did Sukuna just say something useful about the game? Wait...had Sukuna been watching the whole time?
Itadori picked up the bells. “Just until I play with Fushiguro again.” He might or might not have started walking to the Nook Stop to deposit some money away. “Sukuna! I thought you left earlier.”
“You said it wasn’t a date, so I stayed. But clearly you were wrong." Sukuna chided, his eye rolled and his lips curved. "Fushiguro just gave you money. Maybe he wants to move into your second floor? Live with you virtually, until you can see each other again."
"Wh-what? You think? FOR REAL!" Itadori figured that would be like playing House with Fushiguro. He hadn't played that since elementary school. Plus...he never played the wife role before! Did that require more than cooking?
"No. I just wanted to see your face get red for him, again. Cherry boy." Sukuna teased. “Stop by that clothing store, I saw a maid costume on display. Make him crave for more than just your cooking.”
“That’s it, I’m getting the tape!” Itadori saved his game.