Yuji's reaction was far better than Sukuna had feared, and he exhaled in relief.
Still, he couldn't resist one last check.
"You really don't find… find this place…"—
inside his soulscape—
"…scary?"
Sensing the caution in Sukuna's voice, Yuji's heart clenched; the boy grew agitated, words tumbling faster—
"Sukuna, it's not scary at all—honest!"
He tilted his head, looked straight into Sukuna's eyes, and spoke with every ounce of sincerity he owned.
You—
"really aren't scary in the least!"
—are actually kind of adorable.
He left the last bit unsaid, afraid that his Sukuna might explode in embarrassment.
"Really?"
Sukuna's ear tips flushed red.
He awkwardly averted his gaze.
"Not scary, good…"
The gory space slid back into view; the brief softness in his mood quivered, and he quickly looked away… yet I still find my own soulscape kind of terrifying… He curled his fingers tight.
After a moment, he sneaked another lightning-fast peek at Yuji, then looked away again.
Yuji's gaze was warm; those light-brown eyes, reflecting Sukuna's image, sparkled with joy, making everything feel a little less frightening… Well then… he thought… since you don't find me scary… I suppose I won't find myself scary either… The thought came out awkward, yet his heart settled.
Thinking of his Tiger made every muscle relax without his noticing.
Deep inside, it felt as though the tip of a tail curled through empty air and hooked onto something.
The corners of his mouth lifted in secret… See? Absolutely adorable.
Yuji caught every tiny motion; his own lips curved in a happy grin.
Afraid he'd laugh out loud at his cute, awkward Sukuna, he quickly dropped his gaze to the ground.
"Huh? Sukuna."
He suddenly asked, staring downward.
"I climbed up from that red… blood-water, right? Looks like it doesn't stick—my shoes aren't even wet."
Hmm?
Sukuna snapped back and glanced over.
Sure enough, Yuji's shoes were spotless.
Logically, wading through the blood pool should have soaked shoes and cuffs… So this water doesn't cling?
Ever since waking here, he'd avoided stepping down, terrified of staining his clothes.
It doesn't?—
Eyes lighting up, he stood and declared,
"I'm going to test it."
He hopped lightly to the pool's edge, balanced on a bone, hesitated, then rolled up his sleeve and brushed the surface with a fingertip.
Drawing his hand back, the pale-crimson water slid off, leaving his skin perfectly dry.
It really doesn't wet anything!
Sukuna brightened.
He tried again; even his sleeve remained untouched.
Perfect!
His eyes sparkled.
Now he could finally leave the bone pile and explore.
Heaven knew how bored he'd been up there.
"Su-Su-Su~~kuna~~~~!!—"
Yuji's voice cracked behind him.
He spun around to find Yuji beaming, pointing at his back like he'd discovered a new continent—
"Your kimono has a bow—an actual cute bow-tie at the back!!!"
At first, Yuji thought it was the one they'd bought, but a second look told him otherwise.
With Sukuna facing away, he'd spotted an adorable little bow tied at the obi!
B… bow???
What the—?!
Sukuna's eyes bulged.
He jerked the back of his robe open and stared in horror at the cheerful bow.
Why on earth was there a cutesy ribbon on his sash?!
He yanked it, but it refused to budge.
The bow stayed defiantly symmetrical, as though guarding cosmic order itself.
And… that wasn't all—!
He realized with mounting dread that what he wore was—
—a woman's kimono!
What the hell!!
Sukuna was struck speechless—
Women's… women's kimono??!
What kind of bizarre fashion sense did I have a thousand years ago?!!—
It took ten full breaths before he reassembled his composure.
He rapidly reviewed the facts:
—no other clothes here.
—if he ditched this he'd be naked.
—something beats nothing.
—only Yuji would see, and nobody else could enter.
Fine… decision made, just like that!
Defeated, Sukuna trudged back to the bone heap.
He glanced at Yuji and delivered an icy, regal threat.
"Absolute. Not. A. Word."
"Okaaay~~~!"
Yuji grinned ear to ear, utterly unfazed.
His laughter made Sukuna's heart clench… Once Yuji had laughed enough, he reined in his expression to keep his Sukuna from exploding.
He studied the cute bow on the feminine kimono and voiced the question nagging at him.
"Sukuna, where'd you get this? Was it yours from a thousand years ago?"
Sukuna stayed silent.
How could he answer without making his past self sound like a lunatic?
"Probably…"
He twitched, grasping for damage control.
"…though I suspect my brain wasn't working when I picked it."
Honestly, he had no cross-dressing kink.
Nor did he like ribbons—well, not on himself.
With a face this handsome, slapping on a bow just felt wrong.
"It's fine, really."
Yuji consoled him.
Actually, the bow matched his Sukuna rather well.
Big cute plus small cute—double cute.
"Only I'll ever see it, and I swear I won't tell."
Such an adorable Nao Naozi—mine alone to admire~
Sukuna: …Indeed, that's the only option left.
He sighed; he trusted Yuji's word.
Besides… if Yuji ever slipped—he'd simply borrow the kid's body, dress it in women's clothes!
Then snap a hundred photos and release them! Drown out the topic of me in a kimono!
Fight fire with fire!!
I'll have Yuji topping Tokyo Jujutsu High's gossip charts in minutes!!
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