You woke up feeling warm and cozy. You felt as though someone was looking at you. Releasing a soft yawn, your eyes fluttered open. Sukuna was leaning back with an arm thrown behind his head, and his other arm cradled you, nails dancing up and down your back.
He was looking out the sunny window, but you were certain he turned his gaze right as you woke up.
“Morning, alpha.” You smiled at him as he pretended he wasn’t just staring at you.
He grunted, “You sleep alright.”
“I did, did you?” You questioned, eyeing the collar around his neck; he looked so good with it on. It was a shame he hated it.
He shrugged as an answer.
You could only assume he was still feeling grumpy.
You tried to lighten his mood, "I like my collar... Is that my gift you had got for me?"
"No, I got this as my pick when we went to the shop."
You let out a little snort. "So then what was the other gift you had got me?"
Your alpha wrinkled his nose, "Nothing."
"Come on~ Tell me!" You poked out your bottom lip and swiftly blinked your eyes.
"It was stupid, the sword was a better gift."
"But I want to know the other one, come on tell me tell me tell me-"
He slapped a hand over your mouth, "It was a shell I found on the beach." He looked at you with annoyance and a hint of embarrassment.
"A shell." You repeated as he moved his hand away from you.
"Don't act like you would have liked it, it was just a stupid shell."
"But you picked it up for a reason." You pushed. "Was it pretty?"
"It was purple."
Now you smiled, "Aw, that's so sweet, it would have matched my eyes...where is it? I want it!"
"At the bottom of the ocean."
"Did you throw it?"
"I did."
"Sukuna, I would love anything you'd give me. That was very thoughtful, and though I like my sword, I would have loved the shell as well. It would have been a lovely souvenir to remind me of Kobeq..."
"I thought that you would take it sentimentally." He mused.
“See? Go with your gut next time! Oh!” You sat up abruptly.
“What?” He questioned with haste, wondering what got you on alert.
“Do you hear that?” Your mouth fell open in silent awe as you looked around.
He looked confused, scratching his head, “Gojo singing?”
“Huh? I can’t hear that, but no… I don’t hear the phantom cries… or the shadow creatures…without the medicine's help.” You breathed a sigh of relief.
Sukuna had a moment of realization as he moved to caress your cheek, “Good...I didn’t want to ask. Figured if I brought it up, it would make you think of it.”
“I… don’t blame you, I..." you shook your head, "I'm sorry, I had a moment of weakness. I'm not proud of who I was during that time...and I didn't mean anything I said, I was just..." You trailed off, moving your hands swiftly, not knowing what to say about your darkest moment.
“No, we failed you as alphas. We should have never let you drop so far, it won't happen again.”
You felt a sting to your chest, knowing that if you were to drop, it wouldn't be up to them. It was a personal thing. They can't control you. But for him to hold such responsibility made you feel even worse.
So you smack his chest in a playful but serious manner, “We aren’t doing this tug of war again, alpha. I never felt a slip like that, but it’s a slope I won’t fall for again. I promise. It just felt so easy to do so at the time. It felt good actually... as crazy as that sounds. But this is much better… being here with my alphas is a lot better…”
Sukuna had gone silent, his fingers still gracing you.
You waited for him to speak; you could see something brewing in his mind.
“And this..." He began, "...The recording... that make you feel like slipping?”
“No… as a matter of fact, it doesn’t..." You pondered on the thought, but Sukuna took it in a negative way. He sat up, grabbing your arms.
"I don’t want you to get like that ever again. Ever. We aren't doing that shit again. Punish me not you. That's what this is for." He gestured to his collar.
Your eyes widened slightly, you knew he was wearing the collar as a punishment but to actually use it is another thing. "Sukuna I do not need to punish you, no one was at fault."
"Didn't you ask me before how to deal with a bad alpha? This is it; I'm giving it to you. Take your anger out on me, or whatever the fuck is bothering you, I can take it."
You offered him a sort of sad kind of smile, leaning in to kiss him, "Sukuna, you are an amazing alpha who takes care of me; that's why I am feeling better today. Without you guys, I would still be tripping balls or worse. Trust me, I'm fine. The recording..." You sat back to check in on if you were actually fine with all of this. Honesty is best practice. "Ok...the recording was hard to listen to and to know that this is my body, but Kenjaku just fixed me with different parts to match the best he could- ugh that makes me extremely queasy. Like I’m glad I’m not stitched up like Frankenstein, but still. Oh- and knowing that I came here and got attacked by something I wasn’t prepared for and ended up with a disease that no one could cure… thinking about it is so messed up, but I don't hold the trauma from it. All that pain and suffering I had gone through...my original...or whichever persona had put to rest, so I don't feel it… to that I am grateful…she didn’t want me to feel as she did… and It’s unreal, but I refuse to let myself down. I’m going to change our fate.” You spoke with such pride and determination. You may not have been the initial version that came here, but you wanted to make her proud of you. It was the greatest self-love you could muster up. "I won't let my sacrifice go to waste."
Your alpha took in your expression, “How did you look? What was your original appearance?”
“Hm…” you look down at yourself, “…Like a few things are off…like this… and this...and I'm missing this... but of course my eyes. Purple is not a natural color in my world, but I assume Kenjaku used whatever he could find…”
“Does it bother you?”
“A bit… but I just have to look at it as if I got plastic surgery or something… I don’t want to overthink it. I’d like to just figure out how to be the hero I was brought here to be.”
"Then we need to figure out who the fuck this Shikamaru guy is." His eyes narrowed.
"I swear! I didn't know Raven knew a Shikamaru!"
He rolled his eyes as he got out of bed, "Sure, if I find another shitter coming to claim his love for you, I'm cutting him into pieces."
"Sukunaa~" You whined, trying to grab him as he walked around the bed, but he slipped from your hands. "We need them for the plot!"
"Fuck the plot." And with that, he was in the bathroom, turning the water on.
You flopped on the bed with a light giggle.
You felt-
"Get in the shower!"
"Okay~!"
-happy.
~
"Maybe this guy Raven knows visited me here at the omega home. If he did, Nanami would be able to see it within the files." You spoke as you left Sukuna's room.
"We would need to get everything then, from the time you got here, not just the days leading up to our arrival."
You nodded, "You are right, I was thinking... I would have known if someone healed me during that time I was present. I must have been healed the same night Mei Mei erased my memories. We can look at that day in particular."
You barely made it down the hall before you saw Getou coming your way.
"Good morning darling~ I was just coming to get you for breakfast. Sukuna may I say that colar-"
"Don't."
"Morning alpha." You greet your alpha with a warm kiss.
"My my?" Getou chuckled, "Someone is energetic today."
"I am, and ready to- " You stopped, looking at the book within your alpha's sleeve. "-Is that Midnight's book?"
"Ah, yes, I was trying to see if there was anything in here to help us with Mahoraga."
You felt a pit in your stomach- you were enthusiastic today, but you weren't that enthusiastic!
"I thought we all decided against this?" Sukuana stated, crossing his arms.
You could see annoyance touch Getou's face, "Yes, but if I can find any weakness or any information on the Shikigami, then I would like to try." His eyes moved to you, and you tried to muster up an encouraging expression. But he needed confirmation. "If I could figure out a way to beat him, would you trust me?"
You sucked in a breath, looking at Sukuna then Getou, "Uh- I mean, it's not that I don't trust you, Suguru...I'm more scared of me fucking up. Like I just don't want us to die trying to fight this demon. He looked scary. Like end boss scary."
"Which is even more of a reason to fight him. This is a shikigami like no other. What if winning this fight is part of changing your fate?"
"And what if this is the thing that ends her life?" Sukuna countered.
Your other alpha glared at Sukuna- and it was like you could see what he was about to say. The stirring in his gaze as the corner of his lip perked up ever so evily.
"Really?" He loaded his metaphorical shotgun. "And you-"
"Ok!" You shouted before Getou could decimate Sukuna with the obvious irony. "Look in Midnight's diary, let me know what you find, and we can go from there."
"Thank you, I knew you would see reasoning." He smiled at your blessing. "Let us go before Toji attempts to spank you again."
"Wh-what-ah..." You released a sigh as your face heated up, while your other two alphas released little chuckles. "D-Did you find anything last night?" You tried to smoothly change the subject.
"We will discuss it together."
Entering the dining room, your alphas were there along with Choso, Yuji, and Megumi. Yuji was playing his music for everyone while they ate, but once he saw you enter, he perked up.
"Hey- Hey!" Yuji shouted, pointing at Sukuna, who immediately started growling, knowing what he was about to say. "We are subby buddies!" He grinned excitedly.
"What?" Gojo leaned over the back of his chair, looking at you upside down. "What the fuck is that?" He questioned, flipping over to get a better look.
"What does it look like." Your alpha grumbled.
"Oh Tengen...Are you wearing a sub collar too?" Megumi questioned with a raised brow.
"PFFT hahaha! "Gojo busted out laughing, pointing with a hand to his stomach.
"Gojo, stop picking on Sukuna; you know he's very shy about this." Nanami commented, making the situation worse.
Your silly alpha laughed harder and out of his chair.
"You got something you want to say, asshole?" Sukuna yanked your alpha by the shirt as he still cackled, not even phased about the threatening glare he was being pinned with.
"I think it was a good choice Sukuna." Toji stated, knowing it was either this or him leaving.
"Yes, there's nothing wrong with a sub collar, it doesn't make him any less than an alpha." Getou noted.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sukuna pushed Gojo away to now sneer at Getou.
"I'm on your side!"
"Okay, stop!" You waved at them to calm down. “It’s really not that big of a deal!”
"That's just it!" Gojo chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes, "I would wear that shit with pride, but I KNOW he is hating it right now! That's what makes it hilarious!"
"Why are you wearing it then?" Megumi snorted.
"Are you afraid of hurting your omega too?" Yuji questioned with understanding.
Sukuna crossed his arms, looking away, "It's just... an extra precaution."
"One that I appreciate." You expressed, "So let us not dwell on this foolishness; we've got business to handle!"
"Yes, ma'am." Getou gestured to Megumi and Yuji, "Could the two of you excuse us?"
Itadori stood with furrowed brows, "I want to know what's going on. I know you all aren't telling me everything." He stated, putting his hand upon his chest.
You opened your mouth, catching Choso's gaze. You knew he didn't tell Yuji, but it was like he was saying you could trust his brother with your delicate info.
Nanami, however, spoke for you, "Itadori, I apologize that we cannot include you in these conversations, but the subject of the matter is very sensitive. What we speak about could put our omega and others at risk. Please understand that this isn't anything toward you."
The hurt that crossed Yuji's face made you sorry for him. "You don't trust me?"
"No." Sukuna stated plainly.
"That is not it." You countered swiftly.
"I trust Megumi." Gojo stated, pointing at the boy. “Do you trust your son?"
"Ah?" Toji was caught off guard. "Y-Yeah I guess."
"I do not want to be a part of this." Megumi mumbled.
Nanami continued, "It's not that we don't trust you guys; it's that we do not have all the information ourselves."
"Then let me help!" Yuji urged. "I can help..."
Maybe Yuji was right; maybe you didn't trust him. The book you read in the witch's home said he was an evil spawn, while Mahoraga claims him to be a spawn of a hero. What makes matters worse is you barely saw him in the game, and now all of a sudden he had become such a key player in your life. Was he another villain or a hero? How could you trust him? He didn't have a blood oath with you as Choso did; he didn't understand anything that was going on.
"Ok." Getou spoke up.
"Ok?" Sukuna sneered, "Who gives you the right to make that decision?"
"Let me finish." Getou gestured to Yuji, "If you want to help, then we need you to figure out what you can about your family."
"My family?" The beta repeated.
You nodded your head, "Yes! More importantly, your mother and father. Any information you could get could help."
Yuji was restored with strength, balling his hands into fists, "You got it!"
"We aren't telling him shit." Sukuna whispered as the betas left. "I don't trust him."
"Why do you not trust my brother?"
"For the last time he is not your brother!"
"Let us figure that out another time." You waved for everyone to sit. "What did you guys find?"
"Perhaps another clue." Nanami stated, shifting in his seat. He pulled your recorder and held it in the air with two fingers. "Choso had explained this was Mechamaru's device... if we speak to him, we could ask him more about you.”
"Or he is working with the others and will tell on us." Toji countered.
"We don't know-"
"He's not." You stated with clarity. "He is working with them but...he's not a villain like Kenjaku and Mahito...sorry Choso." You stated with a slight frown.
Choso shook his head, "No, it is fine... There was another thought...that I have thought of when I was listening to the recorder."
"And you are just now telling us?" Toji questioned with a raised brow.
"Well...it would incriminate my father even more, but I decided I would rather lay out everything and let the facts speak for themselves... If my father is the villain you all claim him to be, then there is nothing I can do..." He spoke with a solemn tone.
"You told him everything?" You questioned your alphas.
"We did." Getou nodded, "Including his father's role and his absence."
"That...was probably the hardest part... I fear I had failed you in another life...and that is not a mistake I wish to make again. I do not know who my real father is, but it doesn't matter. If he is a threat to you, then I wish to stop him."
"So you believe us?" You questioned with a warm smile.
"You trust me with such information, I must show that I am worthy of your pack."
"Well put, now tell us what you have found." Nanami motioned.
"Right... when Raven had washed up on our shores, she was unrecognizable, yet my father pieced her back together as best as he could, but how would he have known what you looked like?"
"She's not, she looked different than how she looks now." Sukuna countered.
"But I looked close to this." You nodded. "I could be my twin, so for him to be this accurate is weird..."
"Great, so you just brought us more questions?" Gojo huffed, flopping in his chair.
"No, it's a good question...Kenjaku must have seen me before I was attacked."
"But you were attacked as soon as you got teleported here."
"Exactly what I was getting at..." Choso stated.
You blinked in surprise, "You think your father attacked me?"
The beta shrugged, "I don't want to believe it, but it would make sense. No one else knew you but us. Your birth certificate was created in Kushoto, and that's not something you could create again. Once it’s made, that’s it; it will always reveal the truth.”
"Then let us map out the timeline." Nanami began. "You were sucked into our world through a portal created from your computer. Brought here-"
"Appearing on a stone platform surrounded by large statues." Getou interjected.
"We tried to look for any place that would match your description." Toji opened up a book to show Mt. Jifu.
"There's Mt. Jifu's statues..."
You looked at the image to see large statues, but- "They aren't surrounding a stone platform." You pointed.
"Right... and then the elder dragon statues down south, but they do not form a circle around any stone platform...any other statues we've found did not completely fit either. Do you two know of a place that we didn't think about?"
"Nope."
"No."
Everyone didn't know where you had appeared.
"Ok... so I got shot out at an unknown location. Then I was attacked."
"Yes, by some creature-"
"Which is not necessarily your father...but you say he must have seen Y/n before she was unrecognizable..."
"Maybe... he was there to witness it." You state, looking at Choso with a little hope in your tone. "In my vision, when I almost died, I saw the creature while I was drowning, and it was huge." You stated as everyone nodded.
"So my father could have pulled you out of the water..."
"Yeah-"
"Still doesn't excuse the fact he tried to kill everyone in the game though." Gojo said.
"True... he may be a monster but a different kind... Alright...What’s next?”
"Now the years in between seem to be dark, but from what Choso had explained, you were for the most part bedridden for the majority of your time in Kushoto... then you were sent to the omega's home when you were well enough to walk."
“How long was that?” You looked at the others, seeing them with cautious expressions.
It was Choso who decided to tell you the wary news, “Twenty years ago.”
You blanked at the time, “I’ve been here for twenty fucking years?”
Choso nodded.
Twenty years- all this time that has gone past- what of your world? You shook your head, trying to shake that feeling off. Before your mind started tumbling. It was like you had been in a coma, waking up as if it were the first day of your life here, but in reality you had been here much, much longer.
You blew out a huff of air, "Ok ok ok... so twenty years go by, I go to the omega home and have my memories erased and healed, quite possibly the same night, and bam I'm here."
"That is all we know as of now." Nanami concluded. "What do you think we should do now?"
"Well..." you rub your chin in thought. "We go home." You finally say.
"Go home?" Gojo repeated.
"Yep. We go home. And we take some time to relax."
That seemed to catch everyone off guard.
"Are you sure?"
"Are you just saying that?" Toji questioned with fear in his eyes, wondering if you were only doing this because you felt like a failure.
"Yes, if we keep going at the rate we have been going, we will burn ourselves out. Mahito had told me that he was not going to launch an attack on anyone. He is also allowing Dove to write to me, which only means they are taking a step back. They might be afraid. I'm not saying we let our guard down, but I think we need a moment of breath. It feels like the calm within the middle of a storm, and we have to take advantage of it. Our second ceremony is next month...Mechamaru, Mahito, and Dove should be there. We will plan for action then. Comments, questions, or concerns?"
"Nope."
"No ma'am."
"None."
"I think this will be good. We can do some reading."
"And train while we are at it."
"Good." You nodded with a slight smile. You then turned to Choso, "Can you get the records of everyone who has visited here in the omega home from the time I arrived?"
"Understood."
"Meeting adjourned." You clapped. Just as everyone got up, you put a hand out to your alphas, a quiet command for them to hang back. After Choso left, you turned to them. "There's one other thing I need to say." You whispered.
"What?" Nanami questioned, looking toward the door. "Is there something wrong with the beta?"
"No... I don't know at least... Before everything had gone to shit, G.Ma had shown me this book that spoke about the creature called the ‘Thing’ or ‘It’, a creature that could jump into people's bodies. Choso believes the witches are trying to resurrect it, but... in this book it said the children of the Thing had star symbols just like him and your brother..."
"Is that why you wanted information on Yuji's parents?" Getou questioned.
"Yes, I think one of your parents could have been possessed by this creature... I just don't know if this creature was evil or good..."
Gojo frowned, "Possessing another's body does not sound very heroic."
"I know. When I read the entry of the creature, it felt like I was reading a horror story. But Mahoraga believes them to be children of star heroes... So I don't know what side to believe. The Shikigami or this old entry."
Getou clicked his tongue, "I believe perspective plays a big role in this, one may see something as demonic and terrifying while not understanding the full truth... and of course vice versa."
"True..." Nanami agreed. You knew he didn't want to see Yuji in a negative light.
"Did you notice anything different?" You look at Sukuna, "About your parents?"
Sukuna shook his head, "I kept my distance when I was old enough to walk."
"Ok...so then we will have to rely on Yuji and see what he could come up with. But since Choso's father is still around... what if the creature is within him?"
"How could we know?"
"The potion, or something that can reveal someone's true form... they will have stitches on their forehead." You pointed.
"Should we even trust them to be around then?" Toji questioned.
"Yuji is no threat." Nanami was quick to defend the boy.
"Look... I am a star hero, that would just mean my pups would be star children... so they must be children of someone who is or was like me... maybe they had an ability that allowed them to jump into people's bodies. Why they would do that, I don't know the motive... but this could be a completely different star hero who had gone rogue. There have to be multiple ones, and they could have had offspring... but I just wanted you guys to keep that in mind while we search for more info. And don't tell them about this... I don't want Yuji or Choso to freak out."
"We will keep this amongst ourselves."
Your alphas agreed with little nods.
"Okay, good." You smiled. "I can't wait to go home."
"Same, I miss Kasukabe." Gojo sighed.
"I'm sure the harem misses our darling."
As your pack spoke about going home, you noticed that Toji and Nanami were a bit quieter.
This is another reason you felt it was good to go home so you could check up on your alphas and spend time with them. You have no idea what they have been going through, but you know it has been a bumpy ass ride all the way.
And you were the captain.
Having your one-on-ones with them was important. Sometimes they don't say things in a group setting.
You had your conversation with Sukuna; now you needed to look toward the others. Getou is occupied with the Shikigami, Gojo is fine now that you are fine.
Your main concerns right now were Nanami and Toji.
Your blonde has been the rock that your pack has needed. Always the unmovable object. Even though he didn't show he needed help, you felt he may require your attention the most. He was quieter about his inner hardships. Allowing the others to take the stage, no matter what he goes through. He would never make a peep even though you told him to do so.
You needed to go to him.
"Na-"
"Sweetheart, may I request your aid?"
Oh- you looked surprised by him asking you first!
"For what?" Gojo questioned, pulling you by your waist.
You want to know for what too!
"I didn't realize I needed to relay what I do with my omega to you." Nanami stated while taking you away from Gojo with the utmost respect.
Your blonde clearly was at his limit of needing you. And you were proud of him for standing up for it. Internally cheering him on.
"I'm the one with the deal!"
"Satoru, don't be a greedy brat." Nanami hissed.
"That's like telling water to not be wet." Sukuna snorted.
"Let's talk about your sub collar Sukuna."
"Fuck you!"
Gojo and Sukuna looked like they were getting ready to jump at each other; staring each other down hard. All they were missing was the wild west whistle sound along with the tumbleweed.
"We don't need to do this." Toji stood between the two.
Nanami would for sure say something to calm them down.
...AND HE'S WALKING AWAY WITH YOU IN TOW!
"Na-Nanami?" you questioned in shock.
"I have other concerns than to deal with spoiled brats."
"Huh- uh-Getou?" You panicked.
"Busy." Getou waved Midnight's book.
"Toji! DON'T LET THEM KILL EACH OTHER!" You screamed just as the door closed.
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Chef Note: Nanami said that's not his problem right now lmao XD
Patreon please don’t mess up my chapter 😭