"I-I'm sorry but who again?" Nearly choking at his own spit, Kenshin cleared his throat.
"Sukuna?" Yasaka tilted her head in confusion. Why did Kenshin act as if he was surprised that she knows who she's talking about?
"Ryomen Sukuna, right?" Kenshin asked for confirmation.
Yasaka nodded her head and curiously followed with a question, "His full name, yes. You've heard of him?"
"Heard of him? Yeah, something like that. But I never truly knew his full story." Sensing his intention, Yasaka's lips turned into a smile.
She leaned closer to him, "I can tell you more about him but I heard that nothing is for free."
Woman, is saving you from a bunch of Yokai Assassins and taking you into my home not enough for you? Kenshin deadpanned at her, amused by her attempt to get something out of him.
But would Kenshin back down? No, he did the same and leaned forward, his breath brushing against her face, "Well. My dear Yasaka, that depends on what you meant by that."
"….I want to meet my mother." Yasaka's expression suddenly turned solemn as she looked down.
Girl! I thought you were gonna ask for something naughty! Kenshin internally screamed as he held himself back from yelling out loud.
"That's it? You should've said so. No need to ask for it as a payment." Kenshin waved his hand at her.
"But just a question. Why do you want to go back? From what I remember, your mother tried to kill you, right?" As Kenshin always refrained from asking too many questions about her family and past.
"It's not like that. My mother, Inari, simply wanted me to go back to her and proceed with her plan to marry me off to this noble Yokai, in exchange for access to Tokyo's leylines." Yasaka tucked her hair behind her ear as she explained.
However, Kenshin was unfamiliar with the term she mentioned.
"What's Leylines?"
Yasaka fell into contemplation for a second, as if trying to come up with an easy explanation, "They're like a bunch of interconnected invisible Ki energy lines under the ground of the entire Kyoto. They're nearly limitless and anyone who has them would gain tremendous power and access to an almost infinite amount of Ki energy."
"Mother already has access to Kyoto's Leylines but that doesn't seem to be enough for her and she wanted the Tokyo Leylines that is currently possessed by a Peacock Yokai Noble named Fideus."
"In exchange for the Tokyo Leylines, he wanted to marry me and become part of the Nine-tailed fox royalty and…sniff! And Mom actually agreed to it! Serving me to him on a silver platter as if I'm not her daughter." Yasaka clenched the white apron she's wearing, gritting her teeth as she tried to hold her tears from dripping on her cheeks.
That's when Kenshin stretched his hand forward and touched the back of her hand, softly and filled with warmth.
"It's okay, Yasaka. I'm here for you. You can let it out." Those words were the final nail in the coffin and Yasaka finally burst into tears, leaning towards Kenshin's shoulders as she used them to hide her face.
"Shhh….It's okay now. Everything will be okay." Without any intention except to comfort her, Kenshin warmly caresses the back of her head, letting her silk-like golden hairs pass through the gaps of his fingers.
"Don't worry, Yasaka. We'll talk to her okay? I'll join you and we'll talk to her together. I can understand how power sometimes could change a person but I also understand that change isn't permanent. We'll make her snap back to her usual self together."
As Kenshin continued to coo Yasaka, her head felt heavier and her body came to a relaxation.
He was able to tell that Yasaka had fallen asleep on his shoulders, the burden of her complicated family made her exhausted. But thanks to Kenshin, that burden seemed to lighten, sharing it with Kenshin.
Sliding his hand behind her knees and the other on her back, Kenshin princess-carried her to his room, laying her gently on the soft mattress before taking off the white apron and white cloth on her head by placing it inside his inventory.
With the apron gone, what was left was a loose shirt that belonged to him. Albeit it is loose, it shaped her certain curves thanks to her body lying on the bed.
Seeing her state, Kenshin sighed. Is he really that trusting that a woman would let herself be defenseless in front of him?
Doesn't matter, I'm not that kind of person, though a small part of him couldn't help but compare her body to Maki.
Both are just as hot but in terms of curves, Yasaka takes the win, murmured Kenshin before leaving the room.
As soon as he left, a soft smile crawled to Yasaka's face before fading away.
————
After tucking Yasaka in his bed, Kenshin decided to spend the rest of his time looking for ways to earn money.
Even though he had mountains of gold and jewelry that could buy tens of countries the size of China, Kenshin knew he would just destroy the world's economy if ever he tried to use it in large batches.
As much as possible, he'd rather take a normal job and earn money that is already circulating in society.
"Repair services seem good. A simple repair magic and clean magic would fetch me a good rep and haul many customers." Kenshin rubbed his chin.
"Or maybe a close combat teacher. I have it maxed out in the arsenal, no one in this world could compare to me when it comes to it.
"Should I start writing novels or drawing manga? But everything I know is either existing but under a different name or is part of this world just like Jujutsu Kaisen."
"A singer perhaps? But I don't have a skill for that. Wait, speaking of skills, I never tried having a new one. Huh, a food for thought."
Hours passed and Kenshin immersed himself in coming up with ways to earn money. He ended up with the decision to kickstart a small business where he's always been good at.
Making weapons.
Well, technically it's illegal but with the right connections, he could get himself started.
And by connections, he meant the Yakuza Boss whom he terrorized a few weeks back.
That man has underground connections no doubt and with his entire life in Kenshin's hands, the yakuza boss would find no reason to refuse.
He's mostly going to sell hot weapons but with invisible runes, making him better than the others and with the Yakuza serving as his middleman or channel, no one would disrupt his business.
Well, even if they do, he could simply solve it himself.
A few days ago, his mother told him how finding a job is hard and such, so today, he'll prove her wrong.
————
It took a few hours before Yasaka finally woke up. And when she did, her face turned beet red as she can vividly remember crying and letting her emotions out on Kenshin's shoulder.
"D-Did I just do that?! So embarrassing!" Yasaka smashed herself on the bed before flailing her legs up and down.
Creak!
Her tantrum came to an abrupt halt when the door opened suddenly.
"You're finally awake," Kenshin said as he entered the room with a glass of milk.
He heard animals like milk. And since Yasaka is a Nine-tailed fox, he thought she would be the same.
"Milk. Really?" Yasaka had an amused smile on her face, however, she still took the glass of milk and drank.
"Thanks." Still, Yasaka felt gratitude for it. It just shows that Kenshin has some concern for her.
"How do you feel?" Kenshin asked, sitting on the edge of the bed by her side.
"…I feel fine?" Yasaka wasn't sure by her answer. She wanted to say she felt embarrassed by what she did but knowing Kenshin, he won't take it as an answer.
"About earlier, if you still want to go back to them, don't hesitate to tell me, okay? We'll go back there pronto." Kenshin assured her after holding her hand and letting her feel his warmth.
"…Thanks, Kenshin. You know, you're the best thing that ever happened to me." Yasaka's gaze went soft and slowly, she leaned forward, planting a kiss on Kenshin's lips.
Smooch!
The kiss didn't last long but the lingering sweetness did.
"Now, about that payment. I don't know much anything but I'll tell you everything from the history books and lullabies my mother always sang every night." Once they seperated, Yasaka smiled and grabbed Kenshin's shirt and pulled him to her side.
"Where do I start. Right, okay. It was during the Heian Era when my mother was still the Nine-tailed Fox royalty's little princess. She told me that she herself encountered Ryomen Sukuna himself and watched him kill Yokais in mere ease, a real nightmare in the form of a human, though I doubt he's fully human at that point."
"Anyways, Sukuna rampaged throughout Japan and he's not picky with his targets or in his case, his supplements for strength. Be it Angels, devils, Yokais, humans and he even tried to target the faction gods themselves which became a huge mistake on his part. For a single moment, everyone ignored the ongoing war between Heaven, Underworld, and Fallen Angels. Instead, they shifted their focus on Ryomen Sukuna…."
"Sukuna is strong for sure but he's still no match for the true powerhouses back then. It was Gabriel herself who led the Angels to strike down the evil spirit in a human skin. He didn't last long. A single slash of Gabriel's holy sword and Sukuna's torso was cut in half."
As soon as she finished her last sentence, Kenshin almost drowned in his own spit.
Ryomen Sukuna, is that the reason why you also cut Satoru in half? Because you were the first to get such a treatment? If Kenshin didn't hear it from Yasaka herself, he wouldn't have believed such a thing!
"….With the help of the church and the Jujutsu Sorcerers back then, they sealed Sukuna in his very own fingers before scattering it all throughout Japan, with a few even kept in the Underworld and Heaven."
Yup, this isn't Sukuna's real backstory but because of several variables, his backstory adjusted and became different from the canon. Few of his fingers kept in Heaven and Underworld? Yeah, good luck collecting all of your fingers, Sukuna.
For once, just a single second, Kenshin felt pity for the strongest Sorcerer in history.
I mean, with what he did, he probably deserved it. Still, I wonder if there's anything else that changed? With how wild this world is, I wouldn't even be surprised if God himself is already dead.
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[Guys! We're lacking in power stones! This is an emergency!]
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[Next Chapter: Ch. 49 - Tying up loose ends!]