As soon as the four of us entered the workshop, gasps filled the area. "Welcome! To my Workshop, the heart of our home! Take care not to fall into the Demon's Eye." I hastily noted, waving at the lack of railings as we made it to the central workstation. These days, it was equipped with everything any type of craftsman could need, heightened by clever sealwork and Jujutsu.
A smithy, an embroidery, a workbench and so on.
"I can certainly see why you would spend as much time as you do in here, master." Uraume notes.
I nod. "And it's where I've finally perfected my immortality." That drew shocked looks.
"I-Immortality?" Yorozu was first to ask as I spun the workbench's chair around and sat down. I gave the stars around us a morose look before turning my thoughts to the countless hours of research and testing on Curses and animals alike.
Sighing, I responded with scientific eagerness. "Yes. My research on the Soul has produced the ultimate fruit, the panacea."
"Panacea?" Uraume asked, listening intently.
"A cure to all illnesses, a tale from my past." I hadn't yet told everybody about my past life and, day by day, it was becoming less and less important to do so. That lonely boy had nothing to offer me anymore. While they listened, all but Uraume, attentive servant she is, couldn't keep their eyes off of the Eye below us, or off of the illusionary projection of space.
For somebody born in this age, it made sense. Such a sight would be out of this world. The reactions I was gaining from them were precious to say the least. Nobody asked why I invented a cure for aging, it was pretty obvious. Who didn't want to live forever? "Sadly, the process takes… about a thousand years to finish." People gasped and honestly? I was shocked at the pure coincidence.
I went on to explain. "I can do this for others, as long as they give me access to their souls and I am nearby once the process is started." I imagine Sukuna, in the original, did this as well, but had to infuse his being into Fingers and then cut them off, due to lacking the finesse granted to me by the Six Eyes.
"And I'm thinking of raising our children first but after? If we can entrust this clan, our home, to our descendants, then what's the harm in becoming immortal?" I chuckled as Yorozu gave an excited nod and Uraume seemed to blush, relishing the idea of our shared eternity. "The basic theory is that you put your body into a stasis, best achieved through a conceptual application of Uraume's freezing technique, which will actually be the hardest part, and then… killing yourself."
"W-What?" Yorozu was quick to be perplexed.
I waved her off. "This step is important, as it briefly separates your soul from your body. After which, if the sealwork in the coffins I've made is right, then you'll basically 'Curse' your own body with your soul. Problem is, your soul needs to resettle into your body and then it needs to heal the damage done to said soul during the entire process. I can tell you, the rabbits I'd tested this on did not look happy. And that takes about a few thousand years, including fueling it with your own body's generated Cursed Energy, though with me helping you along it should only take one thousand."
They were still for a quiet few moments, but Uraume was quick to bow once more. "I will follow you into any era, and time and any realm you wish, Master."
"I think I might die if I leave you." Was Yorozu's comment.
Doji just shrugged. "I'll be within your soul as always." Read: I have no say in the matter.
"But how would this make us immortal in the end?" Uraume was quick to ask. "Shouldn't we just have reentered our bodies?"
I nod and shake my hand in a 'so-so' manner. "Eh. I'm still a bit iffy on that, but the rabbits I'd tested this on stopped aging on a cellular level. I think it's because of the RCT used in the coffin and the fact that it's really easy to manipulate your own body without a soul there to be delicate around. The coffins, preprogrammed with the procedures, would basically renovate our bodies which would not only make us stop aging, but it'd also have the benefit of making us a whole lot physically stronger." Which would be even more exponential for me.
The soul is fucked up, okay? This shit barely makes sense, I've been trial and error'ing my way through this for close to a year now.
"But, we're here because I wanted to introduce you to someone. A person I think at least one of you can have fun with today while I… talk to the clan heads that attacked us." I've been meaning to show them that I'm not permitting this shit ever since the attack started.
And so, the illusion was lifted and Angel was revealed. She's been getting really horny over the past few days and I just have no clue what to do. She's already given me all the info I could ever need under the pretense of appeasing my 'vile intentions' and 'saving herself'. So, naked as the day she was born and upside down, I float her in the middle of our circle.
Blushing heavily, I take out the ballgag. "P-Please…"
Uruame was the first to speak up. "What… happened to her?"
I hold up my hands in innocence. "I have no idea! She just kinda… did this."
A throaty moan escaped the Angel as her mindbroken eyes found my own. "I-I give… y-you have me… use me to sate… your desires!"
Yorozu was looking at the scene as if it was the greatest birthday gift ever. "For me? Oh, don't worry, Sukuna! I'll have her nice and submissive in no time! She's practically already halfway there! We just need to work out the kinks…"
I snort and mutter- "She rivals you in kinkyness, no doubt about that." I stood up with a groan that reminded me oddly of my dad. "Now then, I've got to go to work- I mean visit the traitor clans for an impromptu meeting."
"I love you!" Yorozu, bubbly now more than ever, called after me.
"I love you too. If you're all done, you can just walk out. But it's a one-way trip until I'm back." With that, I was off, leaving the psycho wife to deal with the masochist prisoner.
In truth, I've made myself two Cursed Tools as well- they actually took the longest to make. In lieu of figuring out the Divine Flame's reversal (why is it fucking impossible to do so, btw???) I've decided to focus on two things to strengthen myself. Improving Shrine, as in refining my cutting attacks further, which has led me to cutting into non-physical Cursed Techniques and even Domains by now, and making myself some top-tier Cursed Tools.
One of which were the gauntlets on my lower two hands. They were made with an overlapping, spiky metal exterior with gold accents. The fingers were clawed and the knuckles had their own spikes to increase the hurting done to the enemy. But their main ability was what I'd used Angel's technique for- an arguably better version of the Inverted Spear of Heaven.
When touching any Jujutsu, it would be annulled. Problem is, as it is derived from a Cursed Technique, it needs to be fueled by my own Cursed Energy to do so. And the cost increases with whatever I'm trying to annul. I've tried to cancel Doji's Domain once and that took an actual fifth of my Cursed Energy, even with the Six Eyes.
Spoiler: The GlovesOf course, I'd also done something revolutionary once more and managed to put two Cursed Techniques into one Cursed Tool. This simply needed the base Tool to be made of good quality material, the Six Eyes for the finicky bits and for the techniques to play nice in the first place. And Angel's technique, surprisingly, was pretty universal and many Cursed Techniques, when tested, liked it.
But to keep it simple, I simply asked Yorozu for her help and imbued them with Creation. Gauntlets of Destruction and Creation- Sozo to Hakai. Very simple name, but it fit, for their abilities were simple in turn. The Creation part didn't give me access to the Creation technique in its entirety, no Cursed Tool could truly hold the versatility of an entire Technique, more so limited to a specific 'if, then' application of it and even then, the effect can't be too grandiose. Especially if it's a secondary Cursed Technique.
For Creation, it's that I can turn my Cursed Energy, as input, into basic geometric shapes. They took the form of a translucent blue, the same as my Cursed Energy. They're not too powerful, but I had the option of giving these things another ability and took it.
Now, my second weapon was where things got interesting, since I used Stitch and Sew in its very creation. I wanted something with long range that could make use of my insane momentum and acrobatics as well as being able to give me mid-range versatility. And then inspiration struck me.
Normally, Scythes are so incredibly unviable in combat that you'd be laughed out of any smithy for daring somebody to make you one for battle. But for supernatural beings like Sorcerers, who can enchant their blades and do moves that could make use of the hooking a scythe is theoretically adept at, then things change. And one particular scythe came to mind, one I could shift into a simple blade if needed.
The Burial Blade.
Spoiler: The Burial Blade
With giving it the ability to shift between two states and generally empowering it using Shrine, I didn't have room for another Cursed Technique, otherwise the infused Cursed Energy and Jujutsu would overload and explode. Trust me, I'd tested this. This isn't the Burial Blade MK.I after all. So, with Imugi willing, I gave it his technique.
Extremely specialized, it did one simple thing. It made the wielder faster depending on how much blood the weapon has spilled- enemy blood, of course. I'm glad I have Stitch and Sew, so I can attach the handle onto my back when I transform the thing otherwise I'd need to ditch my whole 'no shirt' aesthetic and make myself a harness.
As it stands now, I've got a plethora of Cursed Tools to choose from at any given moment. My favorites, right now, are of course the one's I've made myself, which is why I've had Kakashi spar with me over the past few days to work out the kinks in my scythe-and-sword combat styles. I'd be glad to report that I'm not utterly dogshit with weapons now, but I'm still nowhere near as proficient as I'd like to be.
But I've got a while to go and a whetstone to use today.
The Zen'in estate gleamed in front of me, nowhere with the splendor of my own compound, but with something rivaling the Emperor's. Only one building rose above the others, the rest just fancy in a regular 'rich people' kind of way, for this era at least.
With my Burial Blade- I kept the name, its fucking awesome, sue me- folded on my back, held there by seemingly nothing, I strode inside. The guards had passed out as soon as I approached with my full fury beared to the world through my unleashed Cursed Energy. Also, when you see a figure with spiky gauntlets, four eyes, ominous tattoos, standing a third higher than you and four arms prowling towards you, you fall unconscious and pray it thinks you dead.
Of course, I just didn't give a fuck about them and strode past. My fury was still roiling beneath, even as I distracted myself with my new shiny toys while striding towards the main building. They dared attack my home where my women and my unborn child reside.
I'm not killing the man, no, but I will take the only thing he has still. Dignity. The respect of his clan members. And then he'll live, if only so his future descendants can birth the people I want to meet. And then they can all die. For now, I simply eviscerate the paper door in front of me and the arch around it for good measure as well.
"You old fucks attacked my home?" I walk inside as if I owned the place, which I basically do. Thankfully, it seems I've interrupted a meeting between all the clan heads and even a few of their own guards, so I won't have to go around and do this all day.
The Gojo fucker, Angel's brother, the Zen'in grandpa and the Fujiwara are all there. The table they'd been speaking on was littered with alcohol and papers, whatever this meeting had been about, it wasn't conducive to their continued serenity. "L-Lord S-" Fujiwara began.
All of them bowed, except the Gojo. He only took a knee. So, I cut off all of his hair. No injury, just humiliation. It was smooth, as if done by a razor. The strands fell to his feet and he looked down, askance and astonished. "Shut the fuck up. What made you all think attacking me was a good idea? Are you all fuckin' lobotomites? Who dropped you on your heads as a kid?"
Honestly, I've been trying to find a logical reason for their fuckass attack for ages now. Blad now, the Gojo was the first to reply, much to the grimacing pain of the others. "WHY ELSE BUT TO KILL YOU!? YOU ARE A DEMON, AN AFFRONT TO ALL THAT WE HAVE BUILT! YOUR MURDER WILL PAVE OUR PATH TO REGAIN THE GREATNESS PROMISED TO US BY OUR FORFATHERS!"
Just then, I realized. "Ah, I know why you all did it now. You're actually just stupid." Blinded by their previous power, by tradition, by their vices. Unable to think rationally. "Well, come on. I'm giving you all the chance right now. You can all fight me, here and now, and if you win, well, you can go ahead and kill me." I scoffed at the idea. "If you lose, you'll all be making Binding Vows to never ever do that shit again." The actual Vow will look a lot more like the one I forced upon Kenjaku just without the 'don't ever mess with my Clan' bit, since I'm sure at that point these chucklefucks would rather die than render their clan basically neutered until they find another clan head.
So, I'm taking a single generation of peace. If my successors want to deal with these guys another way, then sure, but I've made it abundantly clear to not fully exterminate other clans in the manifesto with the pretense of them being more useful as Vassals or to leave them alive because we can't take care of all of Japan's Curses alone. Of course, it was mostly because I wanted to see Megumi, Maki and Mai be born.
Hopefully, fate is more real than I already know it to be and that my murder of their previous Clan head hasn't already fucked that.
Each one of them stood up, Angel's brother literally frothing at the mouth to get at me, a spear of light in his hands. Ah, so he has her technique as well? "First of all-" I cut off all of their legs at the thigh, all of them dropping to the ground with a thud. The speed at which my cuts travel has become almost instant, literal milliseconds, and once they touch something, that thing will be cut, god will it so.
Each of their techniques fizzle out- light giving way to darkness, a very inefficient use of Limitless returning to normal space and a couple more simply gone. "-that was a test. You weren't actually supposed to attack me. Are you all fucking stupid?" I ask, once more.
The Zen'in head was about to say something but I cut him off. The crowd, both regular clansmen that are peeking in through the destroyed doorway and the guards, look on with fascination, horror and fear. I stomp my feet onto Gojo's head and draw my scythe in its sword form. "Clearly, a verbal reminder isn't enough. Clearly, killing the strongest men, women and groups alive isn't enough. But maybe this will teach you."
The sharp tip of the blade stabs into his spine and, gleeful at the knowledge that he hasn't unlocked RCT and that any superficial scar I now make will last even when he unlocks it, I draw a gigantic X onto his back. I lean down, the floorboards shattering as I put more weight onto his head. He was barely conscious now. I whisper; "I hope this pain resounds out throughout your entire bloodline, filth."
I didn't necessarily like being this mean, but I was fucking furious right now and that trumped any other personality quirk I could've possibly mustered up right now.
"All of you, up. We're doing the Vow now." It was hilarious to see them try and proudly prostrate themselves on the stumps of their legs, even as they screamed and whimpered in pain. Eventually, I had to cauterize their wounds to keep them from stammering through the Vow.
Birth was fucking disgusting.
Like, I had no clue how Ichiji's wife, trained as a doctor which was pretty rare in this age for a woman, wasn't throwing up right now. I've barely held myself back. But, after having my hand almost crushed through some god-forsaken strength Yorozu suddenly gained over me while pushing out an entire baby, it was finally over.
On the evening of the third of November, my first son was born. "What're you naming him?" I asked Yorozu.
"You decide." She left me the choice, utterly enamoured by our kid, holding the crying infant in her arms. I was under no illusions, even as she called him 'the most beautiful thing in the world' that he was an ugly ass baby. All babies were. But I loved him nonetheless. He was my son, my everything. Even just now, even without really having interacted with him, just by being of my blood, I would slay the world for him.
"Ishikuna. Ryokmen Ishikuna." A shortening of the Japanese translation of 'powerful will'. For even in those narrowed, small eyes I saw that spark. That spark that I found within myself as well.
"I love it. I love you. I love him." Uraume was clapping happily and Doji, for the first time in a long ass time, wasn't drinking anything.
At this very moment, I knew that it was all worth it.
"No." Sitting on the floor next to him, I slid Ishi backwards, away from the sealwork he'd wanted to watch me paint ever since he caught me bringing them upstairs. Even nonverbally, even when just crawling around, his own red eyes, framed in the beginnings of Yorozu's hair, had been all but begging to watch.
The infant found the process of painting fascinating, apparently. "You can't eat the ink." In a deadpan, I slid him backwards again. He just giggled and started crawling towards the pot of ink once more.
I looked towards Yorozu for help but it had quickly become apparent that she was the doting mom who gave her kid all he could ever want. It was on me to set boundaries, limits and to instill some humility. God, what the fuck am I even doing?
This kid's been alive for barely a year and he's already feeling entitled to everything. "He's your son, so I think he's following your example, Sukuna."
"I said that out loud?" I asked as Yorozu approached from behind and draped herself over my back.
"And you wouldn't be painting seals of all things on the floor if you didn't want him to watch." She commented, absolutely enamoured with the sight. As was I. I loved Ishi. He was my son, and even just his curiosity for painting was something I felt I wanted to let him nurture, even if it was probably just a fascination with the smell or the colors that his baby brain was developing.
"I don't think he's quite appreciating the art of seals." I chuckled with light humor as I picked him up for the thousandth time and placed him on my lap this time, where he stayed. Adorable.
The world seems to have quieted down after his birth. Or, at least, after I finally put the clans back into their places. No Special Grade Curses the Eltie Four can't deal with have appeared, Tokyo is prospering at a good but not alarming rate, the clans have shut the fuck up, settled into their diminished roles and are doing the only thing I'm asking of them- killing Curses.
All in all, things are looking up.
The council is having its first session today. A lot of things have happened over the past year. Uruame is pregnant, Ishi learned to walk, I finished all of the coffins and we finally have enough members to have our first real Council session.
We were in my throne room with a circular table in the middle. I'd abandoned the throne itself, not wanting to be seen as intrinsically above the rest of the council and the rest of the attendees sat all around the table. Ijichi, his wife and a civilian businessman by the name of Horuma who's apparently a close friend of Ichiji make up the civilian council.
Guroro represented his bloodline, I my own, Uraume her offshoot of mine and Yorozu had Ishi in her lap. Then there was Kakashi, who I was unsure about adding as the general Sorcerer's representative since he's also a member of the Elite Four but the votes were clear. Kakashi was fucking popular, apparently. "Now, you all know this is just an introductory session to establish the council." I began.
"But we do have one thing to discuss." People tensed up and I chuckled. "Wait, it's not that serious. I'm just asking if the clan is holding up under my rules and if there's any general problems."
The civilian half sighed in relief. Horuma spoke up. "Tokyo has kept making their contributions and the Kamo's trade with us is fruitful as ever. Financially, you could not be richer, my Lord."
"Glad to hear. What about the Sorcerers?" I asked Kakashi.
He shrugged. "Everybody loves you. You train with them, make 'em stronger than they could have ever hoped to become as lone Curse Users. And with how well you pay for missions and how well protected this compound is… honestly, you could ask all of us to donate you their fingers and we'd just ask 'how many?'"
I forestall him with a motion. "Okay, no need to be that extreme. But that's good to know." I give Ishi a glance as he lets out some spittle, completely shattering any professional atmosphere we all might've had with a wet gurgle. "I think he wants his bedtime. Sorry guys, we can continue this tomorrow, okay?" I asked.
Kakashi nodded and got up but Guroro and the civilians chuckled at the scene.
"Dada?" I grin, giving Yorozu a smug look as Ishi speaks his first words, sitting on a raised chair at the dinner table.
Uarume nods, as if she'd just seen me secure a marital victory. "I had no doubt you will come out the victor, Master." She's getting on, into her eight month now. I was already anticipating the next kid, worried out of my mind.
"Ugh! Please, Ishi, just-" Yorozu was crouching to be eye level with her son, desperate for his attention.
"Mama!" His next words were much more enthusiastic and I narrowed my eyes. He seemed more excited about 'mama' than 'dada'. Traitor.
"Yes!" Gleeful that her son chose his mom's overflowing warmth over the 'meanie dad' who doesn't let him eat fucking ink, Yorozu prances around the room, holding him in her arms.
I lean backwards and give Uraume a long, deep kiss. Yorozu sees this and, ignoring Ume, whose now blushing profusely, she gives me a jealous glare. She sets down little Ishi and jumps me over the table, ensnaring my lips for her own desires. I pull us apart a moment later, glancing at the wide-eyed Ishi. "Kid's watching."
"Dont care."
"What a good mother you are." I roll my eyes.
"Hana, after your mother." I blink away the tears as I hear Uraume name our daughter.
"We- you don't-"
"I want to." I sigh and hold my daughter gently, watching her wide, red eyes looking at the world in such wonder. They meet mine and she grins… then starts crying. As any baby does upon being born, she screeches her indignation out into the void, Ichiji's wife quickly taking her away for the usual check ups.
"I love you. So much, y'know?" I lean into her, crouching next to her bed. She leans back, her head nesting onto my shoulder. With RCT, only mental fatigue remained and, unlike Yorozu who didn't use it for some odd reason, Uraume was smart enough to do so as to not pass out.
Twisting her head, she kisses me briefly, then settles back into watching the nurse. "I know. I love you too." Still, even after all these years, I'm not used to hearing that. Hopeless romantic at heart, I am.
"You're five and six years old now." I look down at my little wife-clones. Ishi, Yorozu's hair and my eyes with a sharp face that only had Yozu's cheekbones, looked up at me eagerly, having asked me ceaselessly to finally teach him about the 'cool magic' I keep throwing around.
Hana, my dear little Hana, oh-so cuddly and eager to acquiesce to my desires. Uraume's been teaching her the 'art of servitude' when I was off doing official Clan head stuff. Much to my chagrin, seeing as I was trying to make my daughter into a fierce, independent woman. Instead, I've created a fierce, independent to-be servant of, and this is in Uraume's words, 'the main branch'.
I can already see the disaster the inter-clan relations of the wider Ryomen clan will be. Thankfully, the manifest has accounted for this and the structure of the Council ensures that each bloodline won't just splinter off into their own clan if they don't like it here. "And so, I'm finally ready to teach you about Jujutsu."
"YES!" Ishi, excited, runs around in small circles.
"Brother." Hana needs only one word to calm her brother, having long since ensured that he learned of the fury of a woman scorned.
Wow, even at their age, they're already instilling fear into each other. Just like dad! "Where was I? Ah, Jujutsu."
And so, I would spend an entire year perfecting the basics of Jujutsu in my kids, not even daring them to think about anything fancy like Cursed Techniques or Barriers. No, they learned Enhancement, Veils and Sealwork and nothing else. No matter how much Ishi wanted to throw around Dismantle like his old man.
…I'm not old. Doji lies.
Ishi turned out to be proficient in brawling, as much as I could gleam from his infantile combat tendencies, and Hana, as with her mom, seemed more geared towards support. And then came the day Ishi's Cursed Technique manifested.
"So it is inherited." I gasped, seeing a single, incredibly weak Dismantle fire into my chest as Ishi, in frustration at my dodges, swung at me wildly.
He looked agasp, his tiny eyes glazing over briefly. In real time, my Six Eyes saw information be downloaded into his head- all of Shrine, but slightly different. Whatever his Domain was, whatever his Divine Flames were, both would be entirely different from me. Only the baseline Dismantle and Cleave are the same.
"D-Dad! I-I did it! I got it!"
I high-five him eagerly. "Hell yeah, son! I woulda been fine with any technique, but getting mine… well, I've never been more proud!" I wipe a fake tear from my eye and ignore the snort of derision coming from the peanut gallery (Yorozu).
Not long after, Hana manifested hers. It wasn't ice manipulation, no, it was steam manipulation. She produced and controlled steam at, preferably, long distances.
All in all, I had a lot of testing and training to do! My kids… just seeing them wonder at their techniques, just seeing that fire in their eyes to perfect it, just like me… it did something to my heart, man.
And so, time passed.
The other clans settled into a global routine. I was feared and respected but it was understood that as soon as I was off the board, Clan Ryomen would be tested. And death or reclamation of what I have built are the only results. As my kids progressed to teenagers, they grew more jaded. I had expected it, seeing death, Curses and the most vile of humanity for a living did that.
I had been glad that I was able to stand by their side on their first mission, consoling them when seeing a corpse and cheering them on when fighting a Curse. Of course, I couldn't be helicoptering them all the time, so after I made damn sure they had Anti-Domain Techniques down at least, I sent them on Grade One missions.
The first time I saw Ishi come home with an arm missing, I'd gone on a rampage on any Curse near our home that went down in local legend once more. RCT was quickly learnt by both my kids, no time wasted. My kids took after me with their prodigious talent towards Jujutsu, just not quite at my level, even without the Six Eyes.
Speaking of which, neither Ishi nor Hana had awakened then, nor had they shown any signs of being born with them active. So I assumed it was either rare or simply impossible to awake.
The very last development was what I did with Angel.
Simply put, I made her the first human test subject for the Immortality Coffins. After Yorozu mindbroke her further, Angel was willing to do just about anything for me, including letting me access her soul. So now, she slumbered in a coffin, waiting for the rest of us to join her. For the past decade or so, she seemed totally fine, the initial oddities when the process was initiated being the only worrying part.
I loved my children, even if I was overly protective. I've scared away the daughters and women of one too many fellow clan members one too many times, Hana would say. She's getting into her rebellious phase… which wasn't really rebellious, since the furthest extent of her disobeying me was daring to find her own hobby- fucking finally!
Hana's as reserved as her mom, only truly flowering into something akin to my bloodlust in battle. Otherwise, it seems like she only really cleans, trains and cooks for a living. It unnerved me, but now she's taken up gardening and I'm much more appeased.
Ishi is… actually rebellious. He's taken to forming a gang(?) with some of the other sons, most notably Kakashi's and Ijichi's. The trio has become a nuisance for the clan, but an amusing one, so we mostly let it slide.
But the day was fast approaching. Ishi has a girlfriend, Suki, and Hana's been eyeing Kakashi's boy with eyes I don't quite find myself liking. I would let it develop, however, our profession has made my kids grow up far too fast. If I could, I would rid this world of Curses altogether.
Maybe… maybe that's a goal for the far future.
These days, I haven't trained. I haven't invented anything grand nor have I squashed any clans. I've become entirely too domestic. My inner demon was ravaging for a fight, but its desires were quenched and killed when I felt that distinct pride of helping my children in any way I could manage.
"I know. I'm sorry, but I told you this ages ago. Remember?" Ishi, now Clan Head of the Ryomen Clan and the Strongest Sorcerer behind me, was crying into my chest like a baby. "God, barely nineteen and the great Inheritor of Ryomen's Legend cries like a baby!" The title always made him blush, so I used it as often as I could.
"I know! It's just… can't you stay? I know your body ages slower, you could outlive my grandkids." He separates from me again and, wearing a white robe with black accents, he prostrates himself again.
I shook my head. "This is something I want to do. Something all three of us want to do." I gesture at my wives, wed decades ago now in a ceremony I'll never forget (and a threesome I'll never forget), who sat beside me on the throne for the very last time. Uraume hadn't stopped crying, even as she apologized every second for it.
Hana was beside her mother, consoling her not physically, but mentally, just by sitting next to her mom. By being there. "You know what type of person I am, Ishikuna. This era has nothing left to offer me, nothing except you two. But you've got your own family on the way-" He blushes and I chuckle. I've actually caught him having sex with Suki twice now. Awkward as hell, but that expression was worth it. "-and you've been handling the clan affairs for a year now."
"But… the Zen'in, the Gojo, even the Fujiwara, they've been gearing up. Giving me the clan head title this early raised some flags. They know you're leaving soon. Not how, but they know." He looks dejected.
"If it consoles you, I think you could take on even the strongest Clan Heads of their entire clan's history and come out squeaky clean." I chuckle as he blushes in embarrassment again. He was such a shameless boy in his youth, but now he was entirely too reserved. Much more like his sister, though Ishi actually talks. Hana is Uraume but times ten.
"Also, you can come visit us."
"W-What?"
"The Coffin. If I'm right, we'll be conscious every couple of decades for a brief time when a major soul reshifting occurs. If you can time it right or check up often, we'll hear you." That seemed to only prickle at his tears even more so.
But I knew I could leave the clan in his hands. The people love my very bloodline, shrines in Tokyo and in the clan itself are dedicated to me, the fringe non-bloodline Clan Members pray to me. It's not something I like, I've tried to dissuade them before, but they haven't gotten zealous about it, so I've just thought of it as excessive gratitude.
So Ishikuna has all the support he could ever need, all the Cursed Tools he could ever need except my own and, with the Kamo finally bringing an offshoot of their Bloodline into our fold, he'll have an assured stronger future to forge for us.
"So, this isn't goodbye. Not until you visit us for the very last time. But for me?" I cry and pull my son close, leaning backwards and taking my now surprised daughter along with him into my four-armed hug. "God, I'll fucking miss you two. Please, just stay safe. I don't care what happens to anything else, just stay safe and happy."
The goodbye was teary and hard but eventually, I stood alone in my workshop with Uraume, Yorozu and Shouten-Doji. This Workshop would only be accessible to my direct bloodline from now on and, with the gilded coffins with only a glass slit at eye-level for us to glance through should we enter said 'lucid states', where we were more akin to a state of sleep paralysis than the pseudo death we were actually experiencing now standing in front of us, I took a deep breath.
"It's tested. Angel's lived in this thing for decades and there hasn't even been a hint of decay. Not of the seals, nor of her." The coffin itself was barely visibly under the sealing paper applied all over it.
"I love you all. See you in a thousand years." I go in first, after kissing them all, and enter the pod. Immediately, I feel a visceral pull at my soul and I let it- the world goes dark.
The next Chapter and maybe the one after, depending on how long I'll make it, will be various PoV's or retellings of history and how it's changed due to Sukuna's actions, mostly told through the eyes of the various heads of the Ryomen clan.
With the next chapter being an interlude, we're finally done with Arc 2 and the first Saga: The Heian Era. A lot of stuff went glossed over or unmentioned as I kinda skipped to the end, but I just didn't have anything elaborate or interesting in me for this era anymore. Some things will come up in the next chapter, and I'm eagerly waiting for some of your theories on what's going to change between our verse's modern era and canon's!
Also, we've reached 2K watchers and a 100K views! This is… ridiculous. While I write for myself first, for the interactions with you all second and the betterment of my literary skills third, reaching this numerical milestone is… really special. It validates me in a way nothing else can. It plainly says, 'X many people decided to give you a shot!' and that two whole thousand of you liked it enough to stick around!
I couldn't be more thankful and I hope I can continue to be worthy of your time!
As always;
Thanks to my Patrons; You guys keep me going!