Satosugu x Reader "The Most Twisted Curse of All"
summary: the three of you were undoubtedly entertwined from the moment you met. your bond was holy. until everything fell apart. what is love when it can't save any of you?
content warnings: sad, major character death, angst, spoilers/deviations from hidden inventory/cursed child/Shibuya arc
note: hi lovelies, here's a new series I'm starting, it's going to be a long one. lmk your thoughts!
please don’t repost, edit, translate, use, or copy my works on any platforms (if you’d really like to please reach out – reblogs are welcome)
When Suguru died you had the overwhelming feeling life was over. It might as well have been, you were undoubtedly sentenced to death and Satoru would never forgive you. You doubted he’d track you down, but it was a matter of time. When you found Suguru’s body, left respectfully no doubt by Satoru, your entire being seized up and your breaths drew so shallow it would’ve been better to not breathe at all. You weren’t there. You didn’t make it over when he died. Too late, like you always were. Did he ask for you? Did he think about you? You scolded yourself for thinking such selfish thoughts. Was he scared? Was he in pain? Was he sad you weren’t there? You should’ve been there, you thought as you lost your center of gravity. Falling to your knees brought you eye-level to him. Terror choked you at the sight, and your eyes blurred. The Suguru in front of you, your Suguru, was a corpse. Nausea. You wanted to vomit. He was so pale. Rigid. Dea—you couldn’t allow yourself to continue. No, no, no, no, no. You sobbed, or made the motion of sobbing---no tears came. You remained like this for a while, unable to get any closer but equally unable to tear yourself away, until something jolted you to consciousness. As much as Suguru lifelessness terrified you out of your mind, Nanako and Mimiko would find you any second. You’d much sooner die than let them see what became of him. You gathered Suguru in your arms, though the coldness revolted you and your revulsion brought you to even heavier tears, and ran off without direction. It must have been hours before Miguel found you trembling. You weren’t sure how you got back to the base. You just remembered tremors so violent they were the only thing sounding in your ears. When the shock wore off, all you could do was wail and moan in fetal position, clutching your face, digging into your skin. A voice in the back of your mind told you to check on Nanako and Mimiko, but you were barely conscious, and definitely not in control of yourself.
You couldn’t dispose of the body. No doubt Satoru felt the same. You oversaw the funeral, despite Manami, his secretary, offering to handle it. Even given the tension between the two of you, you knew she was trying to do a good thing. Still, it bothered you she’d even suggest it. You would take care of this yourself. You had to.
When you entered the funeral home, you were determined to stay composed. But at the first sight of the clerk, wearing such a consoling smile, you rethought your decision and almost called Manami after all. Suguru wouldn’t have wanted pity. Hell, you didn’t want it either. Why were you on the verge of breaking down just because a stranger seems sad for you? As you talked over plans for the venue, you couldn’t help but see the irony. For such an eccentric, maybe insane man as Suguru, hosting such a homely funeral felt wrong. It was what he would’ve wanted, you thought, had he been able to let the hatred go.
When Suguru was buried, you went down with him. You couldn’t remember the eulogy you gave. You’d written it all out, but your eyes couldn’t quite focus themselves on the podium and you weren’t quite sure if you were reading off your script or sharing an anecdote or cursing out the crowd. At one point you stopped speaking and stared out at them in terror. They looked just as terrified.
You’d noticed Satoru at the funeral. He was too far away, clearly trying not to join in, which made him all the more conspicuous. You knew he wasn’t here to apprehend you. No one else from Jujutsu High came, so clearly this wasn’t an incursion, though Satoru could probably take all of you on himself. Except to defend Nanako and Mimiko, you sure weren’t going to put up a fight if that was the case. But sure enough, he stayed amongst the trees, half-hidden, and left as you were giving your speech. He looked awful, but you were one to talk.
You were as good as a husk now. There had been no time. There was so much you were supposed to do, so much you were supposed to fix. And now your life was ruined and his was gone.
The only two things that kept you drudging through life were Nanako and Mimiko. They needed a mother. Suguru needed you to be their mother. So, you steeled your resolve, kept up a brave face, and guarded over your two daughters. With Suguru gone, you’d expected the group resolve to falter and splinter. You thought that might be for the best, for you all to run, take on lives you should’ve had, leave it behind, if such sins could ever be left. You’d just hoped family wouldn’t break. But they were still so determined to carry out his plan, most of all Nanako and Mimiko. The dismay and betrayal in their eyes when they caught your recission made you wither. You couldn’t leave your new family, especially not your girls, but you couldn’t go along with the plan. Suguru was lost. You couldn’t bring him back. You couldn’t save him. You never could.
When you arrived at Jujutsu High, Satoru was the one that caught your eye. Stunning eyes, effortless hair, a smooth but slightly nasally voice, and an overwhelmingly powerful presence, paired with a smirk that made your stomach twist itself into knots. He glowed.
“This is Y/N. She will be joining you all from now on,” Yaga introduced.
You scanned the room, nervously eyeing Shoko, Suguru, and Satoru last. You caught his gaze behind his sunglasses and his curious smile made your breath skip.
Suguru waved warmly. “Geto Suguru,” he said as he stepped forward, offering you his hand. Shoko nodded at you, giving you a slight grin. She struck you as uninterested, but you got the sense it wasn’t personal. Satoru cocks his head with a shit-eating grin. “Heya,” he followed Suguru, offering a hand. “Ooh, you’ve got a nice technique. You’re strong,” he smirked down at you. It irritated you slightly, as much as it made you blush. So casual. So flippant. So quintessentially seventeen. Completely not your type. And how did he know your technique?
Sensing your confusion, Satoru added, a bit too smugly, “My eyes. I can see cursed energy.”
“Hm,” you allowed. “Is that your schtick? That you see well?”
Suguru laughed. Shoko snorted. Satoru smiled too, completely unbothered, though maybe a bit more entertained. “A little more to it than that, but you’ll find out soon enough.”
With that, Yaga left you with the three to get situated. Shoko offered to walk you to the dorms and the two boys tagged along.
“So, what’s your technique, Y/N?” Suguru asked, so politely you thought about withholding an answer just to tease him.
“It’s a little hard to explain, but basically I manifest love into cursed energy.”
Satoru smiled knowingly and Suguru cocked his head, confused. Shoko glanced over, but you knew she didn’t really care. Her indifference wasn’t malicious. You liked her.
“It might be a little easier if I just show you,” you smiled.
Leaving your bags in your room, the four of you headed to the training grounds.
When you reach the field, Shoko sits down on the bench. You look back at her, questioning. “Shoko doesn’t really spar with us, she’s more a support type,” Satoru answered.
“I can heal other people with reverse curse technique,” Shoko corrected.
“What???” You exclaim, momentarily forgetting yourself. “You can use reverse curse technique?? On other people?? How do you do it? Can you teach me?”
“Don’t bother with her,” Satoru rolled his eyes playfully. “She can’t explain it to save her life.”
“Maybe you’re just too dumb to get it,” you shrugged back.
“Hah,” Satoru snorted.
Shoko smiled at you. “I’ll show you after this. Beat them up so we have more to fix, okay?”
You’d expected to have to fight your chosen family at some point. The truth was besides Nanako and Mimiko none of them ever considered you as such, and you couldn’t exactly blame them. Maybe if you stopped them sooner things wouldn’t have turned out this way. “I can’t let you all do this,” you say, channeling your cursed energy. A week after the funeral, the group was stumbling over next steps. With the heart of the group gone they’d all lost direction. Talks of continuing Suguru’s plan were in motion, though a few thought otherwise. This was your one chance to stop them. Manami scoffed, and Miguel looked unsurprised, though a bit regretful.
Negi was the one that charged forward. The power difference was too great. One strike from you could immobilize him, yet you couldn’t bring yourself to use your technique. You fought him with basic cursed energy manipulation, dodging his attacks so easily it made you want to cry. You’d hurt him if this went on for any longer. Nanako and Mimiko stepped in between the two of you. “Stop it! There’s no point in fighting here. We can’t turn on each other.”
A clap sounded. You turned, positioning yourself in front of the rest of the group. You could sense the immense level of cursed energy, and immediately took a fighting stance. Yet when you looked up at the intruder, your heart stopped. Suguru. It was Suguru. Alive. In front of you. For a second you were overwhelmed, with grief, sorrow, relief, love.“That’s right, Nanako and Mimiko, no infighting,” he smiled. Yet to you it felt more like a leer. It wasn’t him. Nanako and Mimiko, however, didn’t register the imposter. Tears welling immediately, they ran over to him. “Geto-sama!” They began.
“No! Get bac-,” you shouted, but it was too late, they were in his arms.
“Who the fuck are you?” You shouted, readying your technique.
“Wow…impressive,” the man in front of you sneered, façade falling immediately. “True love after all, huh?”
Nanako and Mimiko looked up at him, confused. Somehow no one had recognized the stitches across his forehead until now. Snickering, he undid them. You wanted to vomit.
“No…” you muttered to yourself.
“Why don’t you join me?” the curse in front of you offered. “What I’m doing isn’t too far from what Suguru wanted, you know.”
“Go fuck yourself,” you said, lunging forward.
“Ouch, that stings,” Satoru recoiled. “Your technique reaches the soul?”
“What, your eyes didn’t catch that?” You teased.
That must have wounded him, because he sulked. “I just didn’t expect soul-binding to work like that.”
“I don’t know if I would call it that,” you pondered, “It’s more like a binding vow,”
Satoru rolled his eyes, closing the distance. He was holding back, clearly. From what he explained of his technique, one wrong move would blast you ten miles away. You supposed you should thank him for taking precautions, but landing attacks (albeit light ones) while he stuck to martial arts and basic cursed energy manipulation wounded your pride. You wanted to see him in action.
“Everyone feels some variant of love,” you explained. “It’s the base emotion. Even hate stems from love,” you stated as you channeled another blow of your technique towards him. This one he managed to block with his infinity, you didn’t imbue the attack with your soul-bind (as Satoru put it). “I just feel what my opponents feel and reshape them through their emotions,” You dodged as Satoru closed the distance once more. “Reshape their soul, that is.”
“Their soul?” Suguru questioned, resting on the bench next to Shoko after your sparring.
“Most cursed techniques function on a physical level,” you explained as you spun around Satoru. “But love comes from the soul. A direct link,” you said. “On the most basic level, I can influence emotions, as long as I have access to the love they feel,”
“On a more complicated level, if I can touch their soul, I can change it. I can even kill them on a level beyond the physical,” you smiled.
“Do curses feel love?” Suguru continued. His questioning was distracting you, giving Satoru the upper hand. You dodged again.
“The more conscious a being is, the stronger the love they feel. In some ways, my technique works best on people,” you answered, a dark look in your eyes. “But yes, curses feel all sorts of things. It’s nasty to experience through the binding vow, you know. But some of them are actually kind of pure.”
“You must be pretty fucked in the head to kill them while feeling what they feel,” Satoru leered.
You turned to him, taken aback. “Hah?”
And in your indignation, Satoru swept out your feet, landing on top of you.
“I win!”
His eyes, bright and triumphant, inches above you, made you forget how to breathe. You almost forgot the sting of losing. Almost. Imbuing your fist with the binding vow, you punched him in the face.
It wasn’t Suguru. It wasn’t. But it was his curses. His body. His face. Staring at you murderously.
“You can probably kill this body, huh?” Suguru’s face spoke to you. “Love made you weak, I see,” the curse sneered.
You fumed, preparing to channel your technique. But when you made contact, you froze. The soul you felt was the curse’s, but when you reshaped it, Suguru’s body was the one that changed. It resulted in a strange interaction of body and soul, which the curse immediately took advantage of. In other words, you were feeling Suguru’s love.
Suguru. There wasn’t a person in the world you treasured more. He was everything. And he was here, in front of you, to be lost forever.
You forced yourself to strike him, tears welling, but feeling Suguru’s anguish as you attacked brought you to your knees.
For whatever reason, the curse didn’t kill you in your distraction, casting you away with one of Suguru’s cursed spirits. You unleashed one last half-hearted attempt to fight back.
You were weaker than Satoru. You couldn’t kill Suguru, when it wasn't even him anymore. You couldn’t protect anyone. You couldn’t fix anything in the end. Love did make you weak, you thought as your consciousness faded out.
