the night air in the heian era was thick with incense and something far olderâfear, maybe, or reverence. no one ever quite knew which when it came to ryĆmen sukuna.
inside the estate, though, it was quiet.
not the eerie, suffocating quiet people whispered about in villages. this was softer. warmer.
sukuna sat cross-legged near the open veranda, four arms at ease for once, watching as his youngest stumbled across the wooden floor. the child was smallâtoo small to carry the weight of what ran in her bloodâbut stubborn enough to try anyway.
âagain,â sukuna said, voice low, almost amused.
the toddler huffed, pushing herself upright with a wobble. behind her, another childâolder, sharper-eyedâleaned against a pillar, unimpressed.
âshes going to fall,â the older one muttered.
âshes going to learn,â sukuna replied.
that was how he taught everything.
a soft rustle of fabric interrupted the moment. you stepped into the room, sleeves brushing the floor, gaze flicking between your children and your husband.
âthey should be asleep,â you said.
âthey were,â sukuna answered without looking at you.
the toddler promptly proved your point by tripping and landing face-first.
sukuna didnât move immediately. he watchedâwaitedâuntil his daughter pushed up on her own, lip trembling but not crying. only then did one of his hands reach forward, steadying her.
you crossed your arms. âyouâre impossible.â
even after all this time, that gaze still carried the same weight it did the day you met himâancient, dangerous, inhuman. but there was something else now, too. something quieter.
something that belonged only to this place.
a faint smirk tugged at one of his mouths.
you stepped closer, gently lifting the youngest into your arms. she clung to you immediately, burying her face in your shoulder.
âbecause someone has to make sure you donât raise monsters.â
sukuna let out a low chuckle.
he ignored it, rising to his full height. the room seemed to shift with the motion, shadows stretching instinctively toward him.
but when his oldest son reached out with a tiny hand, he caught it without hesitation.
four arms, built for destruction, holding something small and fragile like it actually mattered.
âthen they will be unstoppable,â sukuna said.
the toddler giggled, the older child rolled his eyes, and somewhere in the distance, the night carried on as it always had.
but inside the estate, for once, sukuna wasnât a curse feared by the world.