Chapter 1: These violent delights have violent ends
Chapter Text
The smoke in the air threatens to choke him.
Megumi suffers on nevertheless. He chokes on the smoke, sword in hand, and glares at the beast before him. The body of a slain alpha lays at his feet, though Megumi didn’t emerge from it unscathed.
Ryomen Sukuna is a scourge upon the land. Megumi doesn’t even care that he’s probably slaughtered the entire Zenin clan. But Megumi will not lose his own life.
He had never thought much of the dispute between the Zenin clan and Ryomen’s own. But here he is, facing the consequences of that, with hardly a weapon to defend himself.
“Pretty omega,” Sukuna cooes, wiping the blood from his mouth. “Put down that sword before you hurt yourself.”
Megumi’s grip tightens on the handle of his sword.
Under the scent of ash and burning fire, he can smell the heady scent of Sukuna, the alpha that has done this. It makes his omega cringe on the inside, whimpering and whining for safety.
Megumi can’t have that though. Not yet.
He won’t fall. He won’t. He’d rather die than fall and find out whatever Sukuna has planned for the people he’s taking hostage. Taken omegas did not have good lives as slaves.
“Behave and I’ll let you live.”
For now, Megumi doesn’t need to hear it for those two words to be tacked on to the end of Sukuna’s sentence.
Blood drips from his brow into his eye. But he can’t even allow himself the chance to reach up and wipe it away. He can’t give himself a moment, because Sukuna is ruthless and will kill him before he can do anything.
“I’ll kill you,” Megumi breathes. “I’ll kill you.”
The ash and remains of his home is around him. What was left of his blood family is dead. There is nothing left for him but this fight.
Sukuna doesn’t even look like the type of man who cares. Megumi knows the story just like everyone else. He knows what brutality can be found with this man, the kind who takes no prisoners and eats their hearts on the battlefield.
Smoke burns in his lungs, hot and heavy. His vision threatens to swim, but Megumi doesn’t allow it. He keeps his eyes on Sukuna.
It feels like he blinks, and the man is in front of him. People have talked before that Sukuna has powers, but it couldn’t be real, could it? Megumi had never thought so. He refuses to think so.
But then sharp fingers are on his chin, dragging his vision up and the sword is kicked out of his hands. Sukuna reaches and wipes the blood from his forehead, licking away the blood, tasting it like it’s the finest of wines. Just how many hands does the man have? Megumi blinks and there are four, he blinks again and there are only two.
Megumi doesn’t even remember his sword being taken from him. But he can’t give up now.
“Don’t touch me,” he snarls, fist flying up. Sukuna catches it easily, not at all swayed, but Megumi doesn’t stop.
Stopping means death. Stopping means fire and brimstone and everything that he can’t give up. Stopping means he can’t find Tsumiki and make sure she’s okay.
He can’t stop.
He hooks his foot around Sukuna’s ankle, but it might as well be trying to uproot a tree. The alpha is solid muscle and black tattoos, not at all affected by Megumi’s weak attempts to get free. He doesn’t even seem to notice them, despite Megumi’s struggles.
The next thing he knows, he’s flat on his back, staring up at the stars with the smoke rising above him. Sukuna grins down at him, feral and angry, but Megumi can’t do much more than grimace and wish he could have done more.
“The Zenin’s have been keeping a fierce little omega from me,” Sukuna cooes, that sickening sweet tone back. Megumi glares at him, but doesn’t move.
Sukuna’s hand wraps around his throat. Not enough to hurt, but enough to remind him that tightening his hand would be enough to end his fragile life. Even with the years of training, knowing that this might happen one day, he’s completely unprepared now.
There are other voices, they might even have an audience, but Megumi can’t do much other than look up at the cruel man above him, waiting for the life to be choked out of him.
“Kill me,” Megumi breathes, the words strained against Sukuna’s hand. “Get it over with.”
He can taste blood on his tongue and his body feels heavy. Even if he got up right now, he wouldn’t be able to fight his way out of this.
But it feels like hypocrisy to ask Sukuna for the mercy of a swift death.
“I think I’ll keep you.”
Sukuna grabs him by the throat, and while he does squeeze the life out of him, it’s only for a moment, as he’s hauled to his feet and his hands bound behind his back. From there Sukuna drags him, despite his cursing and screaming death threats, to a black horse that nearly blends in with the darkness of the night.
“Let’s go!” Sukuna shouts, hauling himself up and dragging Megumi in front of him a moment later.
His thrashing does him no good other than to get an amused look and a hard arm around his waist to make sure he doesn’t fall off.
“Leave no one alive.”
“No!” Megumi threashes harder, doing everything in his power to be free, and doesn’t stop until Sukuna finally has enough, and holds a small dagger against his throat.
He glares up at the warlord. Sukuna looks at him like one might look at a puppy, or a child, almost endeared by the fight Megumi refuses to give up.
“Quit fighting, I’d hate for my newest bride to be injured before returning home.”
“I’m not your bride,” he spits, venom on his tongue and hate in his veins. “Let me go.”
Anyone but him. Anyone but him for an alpha. Megumi would rather face death rather than have the man holding him still for a mate.
Sukuna’s laugh is deep, and rich, Megumi would hate it even more without the blade pressed against his throat.
“I suppose you’re right, we’ll have to hold a wedding ceremony when we return.”
Already, his home, where Tsumiki is, is fading into the background of the night, still seen if he tilts his head back to look, but getting further and further away the more they travel. Megumi brings his bound hands up, trying to pick at where he can reach to free himself, but he hardly makes any progress on it.
The morning sun is rising by the time Megumi looks and he doesn’t see his home behind him anymore. And despite his best efforts, his exhaustion overwhelms him, making him lean more and more against Sukuna until he’s struggling to stay awake. The awful scent of the alpha makes his nose crinkle even as his inner omega finds a bit of comfort in the embrace.
He has no allies here. And though death holds him, it is safer than trying to escape right now. If he got up and tried to run, he’s certain that they would kill him before his feet hit the sand.
“I hate you,” he mutters, finally feeling the blade being taken away from his throat. Sukuna shifts him a little, until his head rests against a broad shoulder and he’s tucked a little more securely against Sukuna’s chest.
A deep, rumbling chuckle is all he hears before his body finally forces him into unconsciousness.
Opening his eyes feels like death.
Maybe death finally found him. His lungs still feel heavy from the smoke. Someone roughly drags a wet rag over his forehead, rough against the small cuts that still smart.
“You're awake,” a bland voice says.
Megumi’s eyes slowly peek open despite his best efforts to fall back into the comforts of sleep. It’s like trying to rise through layers of sand, heavy on top of himself. But he suffers through it anyway, not given much of a choice.
His hands are still bound in front of him, wrists rubbed raw from trying to get free. A person kneels in front of him, their hair white with a red splotch across the back. They have pink eyes as well, not something that Megumi’s ever seen before.
“So you’re the newest concubine,” they say, almost as though it’s meant to be a compliment. “I suppose cleaning you will be easier if you’re awake.”
Megumi sputters as the rag is dragged across his face once more. He hisses when it’s too rough against the scratches, one of them rather deep against his hairline from where an alpha had swung their sword a bit too close.
The words take a moment to truly sink in. Megumi’s heard that other warlords have concubines full of omegas, but he’s never planned to be a part of one himself. His older cousins used to tell him that it wouldn’t be much of a choice, but Megumi had always ignored that.
It wouldn’t be him, he foolishly thought. The Zenin had no interest in bartering him away when there were other omegas to deal with. They didn’t want a half breed of their clan blood with nothing to offer other than being an omega.
And even that is a thin line when one doesn’t want to listen like Megumi does. Why should he? He should be allowed to do everything that alphas do.
“I am not a concubine,” Megumi snaps, pulling back. There’s nowhere to go other than being pressed against the wall of what must be a bathroom, from the bucket of water next to the person indicates.
Megumi draws his knees up to his chest, briefly looking down at himself to see his clothes are mostly intact. They’re a bit torn, stained with his own blood and others, but they’re still on him and that’s the most important part.
Sukuna seems like the kind of alpha who would not care if he passed out to take advantage of him.
“Don’t be difficult,” the person, a beta from the smell of it, chides. “I don’t want to be here any more than you do.”
Megumi doubts that. Not because of the displeased look on their face, but rather the fact that they’re here, still carrying out their duties to Sukuna.
He doesn’t move though. And when he doesn’t, the person sighs, expression growing cold. Megumi had thought they looked impassive before, but now they simply look irritated with him.
“The stubborn ones never last,” they mutter, standing and throwing the rag onto the floor.
For a moment, Megumi feels victorious, maybe he’ll even be left alone, given a chance to escape and get away from this place, but then the person grabs the bucket and upends it over him, soaking him from head to toe.
Megumi sputters, wounds stinging from the hot water and growing even more agitated. The person grabs his bound wrists, holding them for a moment before yanking them up to a hook in the ceiling Megumi hadn’t noticed before.
“Wait,” he protests, yanking furiously. He must truly be exhausted to be caught so unaware so quickly. The person yanks on the chain, and his arms go rigid above his head, leaving him cold and shaking standing on the balls of his feet.
“Stop it, you-”
“Uraume,” they say blandly. “That is my name. And don’t complain, I gave you a chance to behave.”
Megumi scoffs, shaking his head. Behave? At this point he might as well consider himself a prisoner.
The person, apparently Uraume, makes quick work of stripping him of his clothes. The ones that can’t be removed easily are cut off of him, leaving him naked and freezing in the room.
It’s almost worse than bathing at the Zenin clan. Almost.
They make quick work of washing him down. Uraume hums and judges him, but it’s business nevertheless. The only moment that they pause is when the rag drags over the mark on his hip, marking him as one of the Zenin omegas. Megumi still remembers when he received the mark during his presentation.
It was bloody and painful, just as everything was with the Zenins. But they liked to mark their omegas to make sure they couldn’t run away. Not that Megumi had any place to go to.
“Sukuna will have to take care of that,” they mutter once they realize no amount of scrubbing is going to make it disappear.
“He better not touch me,” Megumi growls. Uraume rolls their eyes, but they don’t say anything more about the mark. It’s not like it’s going to be removed easily, Megumi didn’t know how they planned to get it off.
It’s quick work after that. Uraume doesn’t waste any time, and though Megumi hates every moment of it, Uraume doesn’t wander nor does he waste any time. They ignore Megumi for the most part, only working a little bit faster when they see his teeth chattering and his body shaking from the cold.
His arms are numb when they’re finally released, making him nearly drop to the floor in relief. There’s a moment when he stands there, swaying, convinced that he’s about to fall, when Uraume grabs his elbow and gives him something to hold onto. A warm, soft towel is quickly wrapped around him to dry him, and Megumi is grateful for the small things suddenly.
Uraume leaves his hands bound as sweet smelling oils are rubbed onto his skin, and his hair is dried and attempted to be styled. Megumi doesn’t think much of it, and Uraume gives up sooner rather than later.
No one’s ever been able to tame his hair. Megumi snorts as it spikes back up, as disobedient as ever. Uraume orders him to stay, and quickly leaves the room.
He takes the chance to look around. There’s not much in the small room, though it’s clearly meant for the servants rather than for Sukuna himself. It’s bare of most anything beside a small wooden stool he’s currently sitting on, and the bucket once filled with warm water.
Bride, Megumi almost scoffs. Some wedding ceremony this is.
He didn’t even know if this counted as a wedding ceremony. He had heard through the rumors of the Zenin who liked to gossip, that Sukuna had taken many omegas, using them until they were dried up and tossing them aside the moment he found something new.
He supposed he would meet them soon, however briefly. Megumi didn’t have any intentions of sticking around to make friends.
“I’m not a concubine,” he murmurs, more to himself than to Uraume when the other comes back.
The fabric they hold in their hands is red, and soft looking. Megumi shivers on his stool, crouching a little closer against himself, trying to conserve body heat.
Uraume doesn’t give him the option of replying. They gesture for him to stand, and when he does, they untie his hands and begin dressing him.
“It’s easier if you behave,” Uraume warns, making sure the traditional omega garb fits him.
It’s meant for a women, as male omegas are rare, but it’s simply a tight fitting tunic and a pair of pants. Megumi isn’t given any shoes, though he doesn’t expect any.
This time, once he’s dressed, his hands are bound behind his back instead of in front of him. And just as suddenly, Uraume looks tired, more exhausted than Megumi feels.
“Try to live,” they say. “It will be easier if you do. Try not to anger him, he seems to like you. I’ve never seen him carry a concubine before.”
Megumi starts at that, though he doesn’t get much time to react before Uraume’s pressing a cup against his lips, gentle but coaxing, like a mother trying to get their child to take medicine. Megumi hadn’t even seen them bring it in.
When he doesn’t open his mouth, Uraume sighs, pressing a little harder. “It’s for the pain. I will not poison you while you are here.”
Hesitantly, Megumi opens his mouth, parched throat thankful for any kind of liquid. It’s sweet like honey, and goes down easily enough. Megumi finds himself relaxing a moment later, a pleasant warmth skating through him.
Uraume takes him from the small bathroom, leading him through a couple halls until they’re entering a large room. It must have been powerful medicine that Uraume gave him, because Megumi doesn’t even feel like himself as he’s led to a large bed lined with fur that reeks of incense and sage.
“Where are the others?” Megumi asks, laying down when Uraume prompts him. His nose crinkles at the scent. “The other concubines?”
“There are none,” Uraume answers, throwing a fur blanket over him. Megumi wishes he could grab it and hold it closer, instincts inside of him lamenting that there is no nest to burrow in.
There’s a bit more motion, but Megumi doesn’t pay it any mind. He’s floating, so far away from everything else, that none of it matters. All that matters is that he’s warm, and comfortable, and he can’t really remember the last time that he felt like this.
“Where are they?” he asks, managing the words out from the cotton in his mouth.
“They’re dead. Now go to sleep, the medicine will make it easier.”
Without much else to do, and finding the suggestion to be one of the best he’s ever heard, he rubs his face against the fur to spread his scent around a bit more, and falls asleep with ease.
He wakes on blankets and furs softer than anything he’s ever touched before.
The Zenins had nice things. Megumi wasn’t often allowed to indulge in those nice things. He never really complained about it either. He had wanted to live a simple life.
That didn’t really seem to be an option anymore.
His hands were bound behind him instead of in front of him, his ankles as well. Megumi feigned sleep, keeping his eyes shut as he tried to figure out what’s going on.
Uraume had brought him here, after cleaning him off and making sure he was presentable. But before even that, images of fire and the flashes of Sukuna come to the forefront of his mind, making Megumi’s lungs itch with the need to cough.
Or maybe it’s simply because of the overwhelming scent that wraps around him, in everything. It clings to the blanket, it clings to his skin. Megumi can’t breathe.
Sukuna had called him his bride. An omega for the alpha, and Megumi had never hated his birth more.
“I know you’re awake, you can stop pretending.”
Megumi’s eyes snap open, body stiffening. Sukuna sits next to him on the bed, legs crossed together and that annoying smirk still present on his face. Megumi brings his knees up, scooting as far away as he can.
It’s a nice room, much nicer than anything Megumi had in the Zenin clan. He had only been given a thin straw mat to sleep on and not much else. Most of what he had went to Tsumiki to keep her well.
Sukuna’s room is everything that Megumi expects from the savage warlord. The bed is lined with thick furs, meant to keep warmth. There’s a large fireplace ten feet from them, a few glowing coals still sitting at the bottom. Megumi scoots back further on the bed, glaring at the alpha.
“There’s my pretty little omega,” Sukuna cooes, that same annoying tone from last night. “You slept for a while.”
Megumi’s jaw clenches but he doesn’t reply. Of course he slept for a while, he was exhausted, not to mention whatever Uraume gave him. At least Sukuna hadn’t changed his clothes, Megumi’s still wearing the ones Uraume dressed him in.
Sukuna reaches out for him, large hands coaxing, one wrapping around Megumi’s ankle when he attempts to kick out and break free. Sukuna chuckles at him, like he’s putting on a show for the barbarian instead of trying to get away.
“Don’t touch me,” Megumi snarls, though it’s weak. His voice is rough from the smoke and lack of water, and his body is tired.
He’s so, so tired when he gives himself a moment, maybe an after effect of the drug. Sukuna easily pulls Megumi into his lap, not even bothered by his struggling. Internally he recoils, omega instincts telling him to remain still for the powerful alpha holding him.
“Do you really want to make this harder than it needs to be?” Sukuna asks, tilting his head. A strong hand grips the back of his neck.
Megumi flinches at the touch, baring his teeth at Sukuna. The last place he wanted to be was there sitting in Sukuna’s lap, at the mercy of the alpha, but he couldn’t get free. It’s like trying to fight against stone, beating it in hopes of drawing blood.
“Still.”
The alpha command freezes Megumi in place, keeping him from moving. The Zenin had been liberal with keeping omegas in place with commands, but hearing it from Sukuna is on a whole different level. Normally Megumi can still argue, fight against the commands, but now he can just sit, powerless in Sukuna’s lap.
“I could have killed you,” Sukuna murmurs in his ear, hand tightening against Megumi’s neck. Sharp fingers scrap over his scent glands. “Don’t make me regret my decision.”
“You should have killed me if you wanted to,” Megumi breathes out.
It takes everything in him not to give into instinct and bare his throat in submission. Sukuna smells of sage and incense, filling Megumi’s nose until it’s overwhelming in its own right. He can’t even smell himself, only Sukuna.
“Who said I wanted to do that?”
All at once, Sukuna seems to grow tired of the position. He throws Megumi back onto the bed, where he lies painfully on his hands, but he refuses to let a sound escape him. Sukuna quickly looms over him, making sure there are no chances of rolling off the bed and escaping.
For a brief moment before he can help it, Megumi tilts his head back and bares his throat, instincts unwilling to do anything that might make the alpha even more upset. But then he gets a hold of himself, bringing his chin down and glaring up at the alpha.
“Such a defiant little thing I’ve picked up,” Sukuna says, amused. “The Zenins would have loved you if you were born an alpha.”
A broad hand presses against his chest, keeping him pinned in place, still lying painfully on his hands. Megumi bares his teeth, and Sukuna has the audacity to laugh right in his face.
He’s right, of course, the Zenin would have loved him as an alpha. Instead of being ignored most of his life, he would have been praised and on the same pedestal that Sukuna has placed himself upon.
But instead the most he could hope for from his clan being an omega, was being ignored and hopefully not sold off to some alpha.
“Get off me,” he growls.
His bound ankles give him some relief, only in that it makes it difficult for Sukuna to slide between his legs. So at least he has some modesty, however little it is with the alpha practically on top of him, attempting to crush Megumi with his weight.
“You look pretty like this, I bet you would look even prettier split open on my-”
Megumi raises his head up, smacking it against Sukuna’s own when the alpha bares his fangs just a bit too close to his neck. It makes his head reel and the small cut on his hairline start bleeding again, but the dizziness is worth it to get those fangs away from him.
Megumi is not going to get marked today. He doesn’t care what Sukuna thinks, or if his servant Uraume says. He won’t be some concubine for a warlord.
Blood drips for Sukuna’s nose, damaged but not broken. Megumi does his best to get his bearings while Sukuna wipes the blood from his face. Already there’s too much blood between them, from the way Sukuna’s nose dripped and the new blood dripping into his hair.
As well, it looks like the bath hadn’t been worth it.
“Little minx,” Sukuna laughs, feral and fangs bared, leaning down a bit closer. “And I was going to take it easy on you. Better hope it sticks, little one.”
Sticks, what sticks?
All of Megumi’s instincts scream as Sukuna pushes a hand against his chest, nearly knocking the breath out of him, the other hand fisting in his hair and yanking his head to the side to expose his throat and scent glands.
“Wa-wait,” he begs, eyes locked onto Sukuna’s dripping fangs. “Please, please don’t.”
If he gets marked now, it’s all going to be over. There won’t be any hope of escape or getting away, he’s going to be bound to Sukuna for the rest of his life.
Sukuna’s grin is sadistic, hurtful. Megumi can’t help but listen to his instincts in hopes of making sure the alpha doesn’t hurt him. He tilts his head into the hand to stop the pull of his hair, baring his throat further.
“Please what?”
Megumi knows what he wants to hear, even if the word burns like acid on his tongue. Sukuna grins at him, waiting, taunting, everything that Megumi hates.
But he can’t, he can’t be marked right now. He needs to get back to find Tsumiki, to make sure she’s okay.
“Please, alpha,” he manages, nearly choking on the words.
Sukuna licks his lips. The hand loosens in his hair, a bit more gentle, and for a moment Megumi allows himself to relax, allows himself to breathe because finally, things are finally starting to go his way.
“Good omega, you learn quickly.”
Megumi gets a glimpse of fangs, shiny and white, before they sink into his throat, bringing nothing but burning and pain. He howls against Sukuna, back arching and fingers clawing at the fur beneath him, unable to move. Sukuna’s got too tight of a hold on him.
Marking isn’t meant to be done like this, it’s called a mating bite for a reason. The distraction of sex is meant to lessen the pain, make it easier for omegas to accept and keep the mark. But without that, all Megumi can do is focus on the pain and the venom surging through his blood.
It’s a show of power, Megumi dimly realizes. To help keep him in his place. A small whine leaves his throat as Sukuna pulls out his fangs, tears clinging to his lashes as his body vibrates with pain and adrenaline.
“That made you quiet, didn’t it?” Sukuna murmurs against his hair, hauling him up to undo the bindings around his wrists. “Bratty little thing. We’ll have to work on that.”
Weakly, Megumi tries to push against the alpha, to get away, but he can’t do much other than let himself be pulled against a broad chest, shaking and weak. His neck feels like it’s on fire, which slowly seeps through the rest of his veins and the rest of his body.
“Quit your crying.” Sukuna laughs, reaching up to wrap Megumi’s arms around his shoulders.
He should be clawing, fighting to try to get away, but he can’t. His body and mind are at war with each other, instincts demanding that he stay close to his alpha, to soak up as much attention and comfort as he can, while his mind screams at him to get up and run away while he still can.
He had always heard that being marked would leave him reeling, a mess of emotions for a bit, but he never expected this.
A hot, wet tongue lavishes at the wound, not caring for the whimpers and whines from the omega. Sukuna runs sharp nails over his back in what Megumi thinks is a strange attempt to be soothing.
Blood stains the fur beneath them. It’s all Megumi can see, can be bothered to look at. It’s his blood.
“I hope that didn’t take all the fight out of you,” Sukuna says against his collarbone, sharp teeth nipping at the skin and drawing another pained whine from Megumi. “Don’t disappoint me, little omega.”
It’ll be Sukuna’s blood that stains the fur next.
Chapter 2: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet
Summary:
What's in a name?
Notes:
Hey! It's been a little while for this fic, hasn't it? I didn't mean to take a break for so long from updating on AO3, but real life really got in the way for a while!
Anyway, you can all thank ioowy on twitter for this update for reminding me with their thirst tweets about warlord Sukuna!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The pain from his neck wakes him from slumber. The coldness of the bed doesn't help either. A soft whine threatens to bubble in his throat, distressed at being left alone and so vulnerable without his alpha after having just been marked.
Megumi tampers it down before it can escape him. His body forces himself away, so he lifts his head, taking the chance to look around.
Sukuna’s gone, leaving him alone on the furs. The fire has long since died, not even glowing embers to offer a bit of warmth. Winter is soon to come upon them, already signaling itself by the chill that seeps in the night and stays until morning.
Megumi reaches a hand up, touching the tender wound on his neck. It doesn’t really feel like a mark, but rather a bloody, gaping wound left there to heal. It’s barely been cleaned from the feel of it, and dried blood stains Megumi’s tunic and his skin.
He’s never going to be clean around Sukuna it seems.
Megumi finally takes the moment to realize his hands are unbound. The flesh of his wrists are bruised, with open sores and rubbed raw, but free. He can’t remember when it happened, but vaguely he does remember wrapping his arms around Sukuna’s shoulders.
He must have been freed when Sukuna marked him. Megumi almost laughs at the thought. Instead he rubs his wrists, wincing at the pain. There’s not a part of him that doesn’t ache in some way.
But Megumi can’t sit still. He doesn’t want to know what Sukuna has planned for when he comes back.
It probably wouldn’t be anything he liked.
Megumi strips himself of his shirt, searching around the room until he finds a clean shirt, free of blood. The scent of his alpha, incense and sage, wafts up to him, making Megumi inhale deeply before he scolds himself.
As much as he hates it though, his instincts won’t be ignored. Megumi slips the shirt over his head, feeling it drape over him. It’s more comforting than he wants it to be.
His inner omega almost whines at the fact his alpha isn’t here. Is he not good enough? Why go through all of the trouble of marking him just to leave him alone?
Megumi shakes those thoughts away, inhaling Sukuna’s scent once more. It’s not the same, but it’s all he has for now.
His stomach cramps with hunger, almost making Megumi double over for a moment. He’s not even sure how much time has passed since he was taken. More than a day, at the very least, maybe even two.
He’s gone longer without while at the Zenin clan, but that doesn’t make it any less pleasant.
Cautiously, he leaves the room. He hasn’t heard much about the Ryomen kingdom, but he’s even more surprised when he leaves and Sukuna’s right there, standing across from him.
Megumi reels back, nearly closing the door once more. But he can’t let himself be cowed simply because he’s facing Sukuna. He’ll have to face the alpha eventually.
“You’re awake!”
Megumi starts at the voice. It’s not Sukuna’s own. But the faces are the same? Megumi doesn’t know what he’s looking at.
Upon closer inspection, it’s not Sukuna. He looks like him though, with sharp features and marks underneath his eyes. Their hair color is even the same, but this person doesn’t have any of the tattoos that Sukuna has.
“I’m Yuuji!” he chirps, and maybe he’s a beta? Megumi can’t imagine that any alpha could be this bright and sunny.
Megumi hesitates, before standing up a little straighter. “Megumi.”
The other boy grins widely at that, as though Megumi’s name had been a huge mystery to solve. But Megumi just crosses his arms, not at all convinced.
He looks too much like Sukuna for Megumi to trust him. He can’t trust anyone here. Not if he wants to get away.
“You slept for a really long time, Sukuna didn’t think you were going to wake up!” Yuuji complains. Without a care, he reaches out and grabs Megumi’s arm, hauling him down a short hallway and outside.
Definitely an alpha. Just not like Sukuna.
Or maybe like him. Not as abrasive though. More like a… a puppy than any of the alphas Megumi’s met before.
“You must be hungry! Come on, I think they’re still making food.”
Megumi almost cringes, though he holds himself steady. His instincts nearly scream at him, demanding that he find his alpha and get away from the overwhelming sights and smells of a new environment.
Omegas already didn’t do well with being uprooted, especially when that change was forced and unwelcome. They did even worse when their alpha wasn’t around.
Megumi covered his hand with his nose, but didn’t utter a word. He didn’t need an alpha to help him out.
Outside of what could be called the main building that Megumi had just been in, almost looked like a small town. People were out and about, going through their daily lives without a concern for Megumi and what he had been through. Yuuji greeted some of the people with a wave and a smile, never once letting go of Megumi’s arm.
“Sorry,” Yuuji says with a grin, lopsided and easy. “But he’ll kill me if you run away while I’m supposed to be watching you.”
Megumi just blinks. “What do you do here?”
He wishes that he could have at least kept the clothes that he arrived in. But they’re gone, stipped away and more than likely destroyed. Megumi tucks his face a bit further down, letting himself smell incense and sage again.
He might hate Sukuna, but he can allow himself this one indulgence. It’s the only thing he has to soothe the itch his alpha being gone leaves him with.
“Oh! Sukuna’s my brother, I’m in charge of the other alphas when we go out hunting,” Yuuji answers easily.
They make it through most of the homes to the outskirts of Sukuna’s realm, which is surrounded by a thick wall. The Zenin’s used to tell stories about it, how it was large and impossible to climb, protecting Sukuna’s domain from harm.
Megumi never thought he would have to worry about getting outside of it.
“Here we are!” Yuuji cheers, all joy and beaming smiles.
It’s a shame, Megumi thinks suddenly. Yuuji would have been the type of alpha that might have gotten his attention, but now his body recoils at the scent of him, filled with too much citrus to be enjoyable.
The servants quarters are not what Megumi expects. They are bustling with life, people scurrying back and forth, some holding piles of laundry, some of them covered in dirt. Megumi presses a hand over his mouth as they walk further inside, overwhelmed with the scents present.
“Uraume!” Yuuji sings. “Can you get Megumi some food?”
Megumi starts at the familiar name, barely catching sight of the short beta who stands at the stove. They don’t even glance over their shoulder, instead stirring a large pot of what looks like porridge.
Megumi’s stomach rumbles at the sight. Yuuji laughs at him, finally letting go of his arm. Megumi rubs it gently. Maybe he can finally stop getting dragged everywhere like cattle.
“Who is Megumi?” Uraume asks, still stirring.
Yuuji pauses, glancing at him, but Megumi only shrugs. It’s not like he was ever asked, and Sukuna didn’t seem like the kind of alpha who bothered to learn an omegas name before fucking them.
“It’s fine,” Megumi says quickly, lying through his teeth. “I’m not hungry. I’d rather find a place to wash up.”
He isn’t lying about that though. His neck is still raw, and could be washed so it doesn’t get infected. Plus he wouldn’t mind washing off Sukuna’s scent from himself, not really liking the fact that he can’t smell himself anymore.
“But you haven’t eaten at all,” Yuuji protests. “Sukuna said you needed to eat.”
“I think Sukuna wanted you to bring food to him, Yuuji, not drag him out,” Uraume says slowly. “You both should head back before he notices.”
“Uraume,” Yuuji whines. “Don’t be mean! Sukuna said he didn’t like how he could feel Megumi’s ribs, he needs to eat!”
Megumi starts, hand automatically reaching to press against his own side. Could Sukuna feel his ribs? Sure, Megumi didn’t eat a lot, and the Zenin’s gave him little, but he wasn’t underweight by any means.
The beta seems to debate it for a moment, still stirring the pot, before they relented, pointing the wooden spoon at a small stool. “Fine. Sit there and I’ll bring you something.”
“I’ll wait outside,” Megumi retorts, waving a hand. “This is-”
He doesn’t bother elaborating further. There are too many people with too much noise and too many different scents. Before Yuuji can grab at him again, he heads for the door, leaving the alpha with no choice other than to catch up or stay with Uraume.
“Are you okay?” Yuuji worriedly asks, following after him. “You look a bit pale.”
Megumi levels him with a flat look. Of course he’s not okay, but there’s not much to do other than sit tight and bare it right now.
“Dumb question, I know.” Yuuji awkwardly rubs the back of his head, as though realizing just what he had asked.
They fall into a bit of silence. He finally has a moment to look around, but there’s not much to look at other than the people wandering around and the clouds drifting through the sky.
“Where is Sukuna?” he finally asks.
Yuuji perks up, much like a dog given attention. It’s kind of cute, or at least Megumi would think it was cute if he wasn’t worrying about other things.
“Oh, he had something to take care of.”
A soft snort leaves Megumi’s lips. Of course he wouldn’t get a real answer out of Yuuji. It was probably too much to ask for.
But at least Yuuji has the decency to give him that lopsided smile, awkwardly reaching up to rub the back of his head.
“I don’t think he wanted to leave you alone, but you didn’t wake up for a while, so I think he got bored,” Yuuji eventually says, contradicting himself in the same breath. “He’s not that bad once you get to know him.”
Megumi’s hand reaches up to his bare neck, where the wound of his mark is still unwrapped. The skin is heated underneath his fingers, and even the lightest touch nearly makes him hiss with pain. Sukuna would be able to soothe it if he was around, but Megumi’s not about to go looking for him.
“Not that bad?”
Yuuji winces, drawing a little more into himself. “He’s… he’s a little bad.”
It’s so silly, the way he says it as though simply admitting Sukuna is one of the most feared alphas in all the land is the hardest thing in the world. Megumi shakes his head, arms wrapping around his waist.
“He should have killed me.”
“He likes you!” Yuuji chirps. “He said he’s never had an omega fight him before.”
“He has a funny way of showing that he likes someone.”
What are they, children? Megumi almost sighs, but holds himself back at the last moment. As nice as Yuuji is, he’s clearly related to Sukuna and Megumi’s not sure if that’s going to come back to haunt him.
“Most of the omegas he’s tried to take just wail around and cry for the first couple days,” Yuuji continues, not at all seeming upset by Megumi’s words. “You’re the first one to get up and do something.”
That didn’t really feel like a compliment. Megumi could understand why they would want to lay around for a while, especially if they were marked like him. It’s a hard thing for an omega to adjust to, being marked, especially if it’s unwilling or forced.
And Megumi doesn’t have any reason to believe that the past omegas were willing.
Before he can comment on it, Uraume appears next to them, handing Megumi a bowl of porridge that hardly looks appealing. Megumi hardly has the option to turn his nose up to it though.
“You should get him back before Sukuna notices he’s missing,” Uraume warns, hands on their hips.
“Yeah, yeah, I will!” Yuuji dismisses, waving a hand. “Sukuna won’t even notice he left. He never pays attention to what I do.”
“The last time you said that, you had to muck out the stables for a week because you were slacking off on your training.”
Yuuji gasps, horrified at being called out, while Megumi snorts into his porridge, not even bothering to cover his laughter. At least some people were relaxed here, though they might all fear Sukuna, they were still people.
He tunes out of the small argument, instead stirring his porridge and looking out at the people and lives going on around him. It would be so easy to slip away, if he wasn’t marked. No one is watching him, no one even seems to pay him a second glance. Most don’t even know who he is.
But his instincts won’t allow him to get too far. The alpha who marked him is somewhere within these walls, and without him, Megumi won’t be able to thrive. Though omegas tended to feel the effects earlier, Megumi simply wasn’t sure if he would last on his own right now. Not when his body seemed to be in so much chaos with itself.
As much as he pushed it down, trying to ignore it, there was a part of him that demanded that he go and find Sukuna, his alpha. The omega inside of him whined, desperate for comfort and reassurance from the alpha who had marked him and abandoned him so easily.
But Megumi just pushed that down, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge it. If he ignored it for long enough, he could forget and his body would adjust to a distant alpha.
It would hurt, but it would be better than being dependent on an alpha who didn’t care for him.
“Oi, Megumi, aren’t you hungry?” Yuuji suddenly asks, leaning over to look at what Megumi is doing.
Megumi shoves a bit of the porridge into his mouth, cringing at the coldness of it. His own fault for ignoring it, but that didn’t make it any less unpleasant. Yuuji laughs at the sight of him, making Megumi glower for a moment.
Uraume just sighs. “Sukuna will want to have dinner with you, this is simply meant to tide you over until then. If you don’t like it, then don’t eat.”
He really can’t have a moment. Fueled by stubborn energy and spite, Megumi hands the bowl back to Uraume, hardly even touched. It wasn’t harming anyone but himself to go without it, but Megumi really doesn’t want to play these games.
The Zenins did it enough, withholding food at the first chance they got. Megumi had gone without it for longer, and he would do so again easily.
“Megumi! Megumi, hey where are you going?”
Yuuji jogs up beside him, but Megumi doesn’t answer him. He’s tired and he more so wants to be alone rather than sticking around Uraume who clearly hates him or Yuuji who doesn’t seem to have a thought in his head.
“You really need to have something to eat,” Yuuji says quietly. “Where are you even going? Is there something you want to see?”
There are many places that he wants to see. He wants to return back home, to see the ashen remains of his city, to sift through what is left and see who might have lived. He would like to see what remains.
But even though Yuuji is nice, he is a part of the enemy here and probably wouldn’t do that for him.
“Uraume said there were stables,” Megumi says, tilting his head. “I want to see the horses.”
The Zenin didn’t have many of them, and Megumi had always been fond of the great beasts. Though horseback riding wasn’t an activity meant for most omegas, Megumi had always wanted to learn.
Yuuji gives him a bright smile, one that almost makes Megumi feel bad for walking off without saying anything. It’s the kind of smile that could rival the sun, blinding and too happy.
“You should have said so! Do you know how to ride?”
Once more, Yuuji takes his arm, though this time it’s a little less forceful and a bit more gentle. Yuuji seems like the kind of alpha who wouldn’t have a mean bone in his body.
They walk for a little bit in silence together, until finally they arrive in a more open area. A few horses are out and about, wandering around on green grass surrounded by a small fence. Most of them are darker in color, though there are a few mares with a lighter color.
Yuuji leads him up to the fence, leaning against it. “Did you have a horse?”
Megumi shakes his head, letting his hands grip the rough wood of the railing. The most he had ever been allowed around them was to feed them, and even then, he didn’t get much of that.
“Come on, we can get a closer look in the stable.”
Yuuji leads him inside, where a few of the horses stand in their stalls. Megumi looks at a few of them, though his attention is mostly taken up by a large black one near the back.
It looks familiar, a large stallion from the looks of it. Yuuji grabs the attention of one of the servants there, talking to them to see if they could possibly take one of the horses out, giving Megumi a chance to slip over to the large horse.
It looks at him warily, but Megumi doesn’t do much, just standing there and watching it. The horse is even further away from the others, the stalls next to it empty.
“That one is pretty,” Megumi comments. Yuuji glances that way, snorting softly.
“That’s Sukuna’s horse. He’s a mean guy that doesn’t let anyone but Sukuna near him.”
Oh. Well at least that answers why the horse looks familiar. Megumi nods slightly, not paying Yuuji any mind as he goes to find someone who works in the stable. Horses aren’t mean, just like with dogs, there aren’t any bad animals, only owners.
Megumi glances back at Yuuji, but the alpha is still talking to someone and not paying him any mind.
“You’re a big thing,” Megumi mutters to the horse. “Pretty though.”
The horse snorts in agreement, head raising a little higher, like he knows Megumi is complimenting him.
A little further away are a small basket of apples, which Megumi takes one from. The horse makes a noise at the sight, huffing softly as Megumi approaches with the prize.
“You’re not so bad.” Megumi holds the apple out flat, letting the horse sniff it for a moment before eating it.
While the horse devours his prize, Megumi slowly reaches out, fingers just barely brushing over the long nose. The horse snorts at him, but doesn’t move away until the apple is gone, leaving Megumi feeling a bit prideful and satisfied that he got so far. Megumi leaves his hand out, letting the horse move back on his own for more gentle pets.
“He normally doesn’t like strangers,” a deep voice comments, making Megumi jump. “He must sense the same as me, that you’re special. For an omega, that is.”
Megumi simply couldn’t have a moment of peace today.
Sukuna’s hand grasps the back of his neck, making a small shudder go down Megumi’s spine. Though he barely manages to bite back the retort, he does manage to shift out of Sukuna’s grip and take a step back, regretfully away from the horse.
“What are you doing here?” Megumi asks, crossing his arms. “I was told you're busy.”
Sukuna looks the same as Megumi remembers, though it’s slightly different now that he’s not covered in blood and destruction. His cocky grin is still in place, though it’s a bit tight, stiff in place.
“I should be asking you that, omega,” Sukuna returns. He reaches out, tightly grabbing the neck of Megumi’s tunic to pull it away from his neck. “I don’t recall giving you permission to wander around.”
Megumi hissed as his wound is exposed, already starting to think of it as less of a mark and more of a wound that simply needs to heal over. Sukuna roughly drags his thumb over some of the puncture wounds, making another spark of pain race through Megumi’s skin.
“You didn’t even bother cleaning it? What a messy omega I’ve gotten my hands on.”
Megumi bares his teeth, pulling back. “I think that’s supposed to be your job, isn’t it alpha?”
Megumi might not have been interested in having an alpha, but even he still knows what proper courting is meant to be like. At this point, he’s nothing other than a war prize for an alpha who knows nothing about him.
Not even his name.
Sukuna’s hand tightens over his mark, drawing a pained hiss from Megumi. His inner omega whines with distress, desperate to pacify his alpha before him so he’s no longer upset.
Megumi refuses. He tilts his head, hiding his throat from the alpha and leveling him with a venomous glare.
“And here I thought marking you would get rid of that attitude you seem to have,” Sukuna muses, pushing down until Megumi can feel fresh blood ooze from the mark. “I thought the Zenin’s had better control over their omegas.”
Maybe it’s the combination of exhaustion, the stress of everything, but the pain and the scent of fresh blood was enough to make Megumi’s head swim for a brief moment. He barely manages to hold steady though, Sukuna’s hand on his shoulder acting as a strange sort of anchor for him to hold onto.
“Stop,” he manages, a soft whine entering his voice that Megumi feels downright shameful for.
But he’s tired. And he hasn’t eaten, and Sukuna, the person he should be looking at for protection , is anything but kind.
Sukuna’s hand drops away from his shoulder, as though he’s made of fire and Megumi’s shoulders slump at the same time he brings a shaking hand up to cover the fresh blood.
“Sukuna! When did you get here?” Yuuji asks suddenly, coming up from behind Megumi.
Ah, so that must be why Sukuna let go. Sukuna didn’t fully let him go, Megumi realizes, a hand travels to his waist, keeping a firm grip on him.
“I just arrived, brat. I thought I told you to keep watch over him.”
“I am?” Yuuji tilts his head. “He wanted to see the horses!”
Sukuna looks at him, arching a brow, but Megumi doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t trust his voice not to come out with the same pitiful whine.
Being an omega never made a difference to him before. He didn’t really care, he could deal with heats on his own, and alphas normally ran away from him the moment he proved he’s willing to fight back.
It feels different with Sukuna. And he has a feeling no matter how much he fights, he’s not going to win. At least not all of the time.
More than likely just when Sukuna allows him to.
“That’s not watching over him, brat. You’re supposed to make sure he stays where I left him. You can’t even do that right.”
“You told me to get him something to eat but he wasn’t hungry!”
Sukuna turns to look at him, as though Megumi’s going to claim that Yuuji’s lying to him, but Megumi just shrugs, hand still pressed over his shoulder.
There’s no point in explaining his thoughts. Sukuna doesn’t seem like the kind of man who cares one way or another about what he has to say.
“Take him back to my room, brat. He shouldn’t be leaving there until his mark heals. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
The hand moves up once more, until it grabs the back of Megumi’s throat and forces him to look back up at the alpha, who regards him with a cold and calculating look.
“Where am even to go?” Megumi asks instead, as genuine as he can be. Only a little spite seeps into his voice, not as much as normal. “You burned my home down.”
Sukuna’s grip tightens on his neck, black nails briefly digging into his skin as the alpha leans down.
“And you would do well to remember it,” Sukuna murmurs, a white glint of fangs flashing at him. “I won’t have you leaving any time soon.”
With his threat made, Sukuna finally lets him go, not paying any mind to the way Megumi sways for a moment before catching his balance. His inner omega whines at the loss, lamenting the only contact that he’s had with his alpha since he was marked.
“Fine, fine,” Yuuji complains. “Don’t be so mean.”
Before Megumi can think too much, or argue that he doesn’t really want to walk back to Sukuna’s room, Yuuji takes his arm once more, leading him away from the stables and back towards the main building.
The room is a small breath of familiarity that Megumi finds himself relaxing in once they arrive back. Maybe it’s just because it has Sukuna’s scent, but Megumi doesn’t really think about it too much. Yuuji says something to him, Megumi thinks it might be about when Sukuna will be back, but Megumi doesn’t really process it before he’s left alone in the room he woke up in just a few short hours ago.
Megumi sighs, rubbing his face and moving to the bed. He strips off the fur that he had bled on, throwing it to the side and picking up a few others that are soft. They’re bathed in Sukuna’s scent, like everything else, but his own scent clings to it, making it bearable.
Unlike what most alphas seemed to think, omegas didn’t need nests day to day. They were for comfort, and security, or when pups were on the way. Megumi had never made one before in his life.
He takes the furs close to the fireplace, making them into a small, but comfortable nest for himself. It would fit him if he curled up in it, there wouldn’t be room for anything else in there. Megumi places himself in the middle, nuzzling his face into the softest fur and closing his eyes.
It smells like Sukuna. It smells like him. And it helps him just enough to descend into an uneasy sleep, his body desperate for rest.
There’s a hand running softly through his hair. Megumi hums, leaning into the touch with a questioning noise but keeps his eyes closed.
It must be Tsumiki. And he has missed her so much, it feels like ages since he was able to feel her touch. Not since she got sick.
Blearily, he blinks open his eyes slowly, not exactly sure when he fell asleep. It must have been hours ago, with the way his limbs are heavy from sleep and his eyes don’t want to open. The hand in his hair stops, removing itself and Megumi lets out a small whine from the loss.
And then his neck aches, and reality comes crashing back.
Tsumiki’s sick, or possibly dead. His home is gone and so is most, if not all, of the Zenin clan are dead. And Megumi—
His eyes snap open, meeting the smirking face of his alpha grinning down at him. The alpha kneels next to his nest, not touching it, but close enough to make Megumi cautious.
“Shouldn’t the nest be on the bed, omega?” Sukuna teases. “How else are we going to share?”
Megumi bares his teeth, scooting back until he’s as far away as his nest will allow him. “I am not sharing a bed with you.”
Sukuna laughs, sitting back on his haunches. It’s all a game to him, Megumi realizes. A horrible game that he doesn’t really get any part in besides whatever amusing piece Sukuna wants him to be.
Megumi scrubs a hand over his face to get the sleep out of his eyes. His body still feels like it’s thrown out of rhythm, though the part of him rejoicing that Sukuna is back grows smaller by the moment the longer Megumi ignores it.
Sukuna stands suddenly, gesturing to a tray placed beside Megumi’s nest. It’s filled with a small selection of fruit, grilled fish and rice, things that make Megumi’s stomach rumble at the sight.
“The brat told me you didn’t eat earlier. I ate while you were sleeping.”
Megumi honestly doesn’t need much more coaxing. He picks up the bowl of rice, self preservation taking over as he takes the first bite. Being spiteful is fine, but he’s not going to get anywhere by starving himself.
Well, he might be able to irritate Sukuna a bit more, and that seems like fun.
As he eats, Sukuna moves around the room, throwing more wood onto the fire and changing into something to sleep in. It’s grown late, from the color of the sky outside, Megumi must have slept for much longer than he meant to.
Sukuna’s done by the time Megumi polishes off his last bite, holding a goblet of what Megumi assumes to be wine as he sits on the edge of the bed. Megumi stares at him, unblinking, wondering what the rest of the night will bring.
He doesn’t really want to find out.
“The Zenins were always a thorn in my side, you know,” Sukuna starts out. “I always wanted an omega from them, but they always refused. They kept saying they didn’t have any to spare.”
Megumi scoffs at that, pulling the fur over his legs. “They were lying to you.”
“Of course they were,” Sukuna agrees. “If they had just given me you from the beginning, I think I would have spared them. Zenin omegas always have the prettiest green eyes.”
Megumi resists every urge to cover his own eyes. He never gave much thought to the color before, Tsumiki used to tell him that they were pretty, but he always figured that she said that as his sister.
“Omega,” Sukuna calls, taunting. Megumi’s eyes snap back to his alpha. “Come here. Let me take a look at your mark.”
Without thinking about it, he brings a hand up to his neck, covering the wound from sight. Sukuna would no doubt be able to make it feel better, as it would take much longer to heal without, but Megumi simply shrugs.
He has no intention of letting Sukuna get everything he wants.
“What’s my name?”
Sukuna pauses, goblet halfway to his lips. He’s quite a sight for an alpha, nothing but muscle and lounging on his bed like a king. Megumi hates how attractive he is.
But Sukuna doesn’t answer, so Megumi scoffs, turning over and showing his back to Sukuna, pulling the fur over his shoulder.
“Are you planning to spend the night on the floor?” Sukuna asks, amused.
Megumi almost doesn’t reply. But when he does, it’s with a bite, and gains him Sukuna’s amused laugh once more.
“It’s better than sleeping next to you.”
Chapter 3: O loving hate
Summary:
It doesn’t ease up. If anything, Sukuna's hand grows tighter on Megumi, tight enough to bruise. “You’re strange.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Notes:
I did a poll on twitter and you all wanted more of this fic! Who can really blame you though, warlord Sukuna is just 🤤🤤
Beta read by the lovely Jabby!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It’s still too early to be awake when he hears Sukuna rise from bed.
The sun is just barely peeking over the horizon when Megumi hears him stir. His own body hadn’t wanted to allow him much sleep, inner omega crying out for comfort from the alpha who was so close but so far away. But Megumi had refused to give in and Sukuna hadn’t tried anything, so no sleep seemed to be his answer.
He’s lightly dozing when Sukuna rises, eventually peeking his eyes open to look at what his alpha is doing. Megumi found himself curled up on his side, facing the still glowing embers of the fire. Megumi hadn’t wanted to move when he was sleeping just to keep it going when the furs kept him warm enough.
Sukuna nudges the edge of his nest, getting a flinch and dissatisfied hiss from his omega. Megumi slowly peeks his eyes out, glaring sleepily at the alpha who grins cheekily down at him.
“Get up.”
Megumi turns back to the fire, dragging the fur over his head. “I don’t want to.”
Not when he’s warm, and comfortable, and could finally get some time away from Sukuna to relax and maybe work on his nest. The first night sleeping in a nest always let him know where the errors were and how to fix it, and his nest could definitely use some work.
Of course, he doesn’t get much choice. Strong hands grab his shoulders, then hook under his knees to pull him right out of the nest regardless of his comfort. Megumi lets out a small yelp, squirming for a moment and gaining a laugh from Sukuna for his efforts.
He barely gets a moment before Sukuna throws him over his shoulder, making Megumi wince as his stomach lands directly into the hard shoulder of his alpha. A strong arm hooks under his knees, keeping him in place, while a broad hand pats his backside.
“Put me down!”
Sukuna’s laugh comes as an answer. “Consider it a kindness, omega, I could be worse. The next time I tell you to do something, you obey.”
Megumi slams his fist against Sukuna’s back in revenge. It’s like hitting a solid wall of rock, Sukuna is nothing but hard muscle beneath him.
Like the alpha he is, Sukuna carries Megumi over his shoulder out of the room and around other people, not seeming to care at all for Megumi’s protests and complaints of being put down. It doesn’t even seem like the alpha notices him.
At least not until they arrive at their destination. Megumi is set awkwardly on his feet, his stomach hurting from Sukuna’s shoulder digging into it, but not given much room to move on his own before Sukuna leads him a little further away.
They’re further away from the main building, just far enough that Megumi can see it but not far away enough for the walk to be an inconvenience. Megumi’s face burns as he realizes just how many people must have seen him being carried around like the war prize he is.
Someone opens a large door, and if it wasn’t for Sukuna’s firm hand on his shoulder, Megumi would have turned away and walked out.
It’s a bathing room, not too much unlike the one Uraume brought him to when he first arrived. Unlike that one though, this one is clearly just meant for Sukuna, Megumi can tell simply from how it’s decorated.
Steaming water is already waiting for Sukuna, baths with soft smelling soaps and tiled floors. Sukuna pushes him forward into the room, and like a death sentence, the door slams shut behind them.
“Why so stiff, sweetheart?” Sukuna asks with a laugh. “Relax. You need to bathe.”
Megumi rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. He did need another bath, as much as he hates to admit it, though he most certainly didn’t want that to be shared with Sukuna.
Sukuna moves past him, turning and stripping himself of his clothes. Megumi looks away pointedly, glancing between the wall and his feet.
What makes it all worse is that Sukuna’s isn’t unattractive. He’s everything that an alpha should be, and under normal circumstances, it would have his inner omega swooning. He’s muscled, able to protect Megumi and any pups they might have, and he’s strong.
He doesn’t look back until he hears a splash as Sukuna descends into the water. The alpha’s back is to him, and when Megumi glances at it, he sees that it’s just as tattooed as his face.
Is the rest of him tattooed as well?
Megumi shakes those thoughts away, willing for himself to forget about why he’s here. But of course, Sukuna doesn’t give him much of that luxury, turning back to him with an amused smirk.
“I’ll give you a choice, sweetheart,” Sukuna starts. “Option one. You can come over here and join me yourself and wash me.”
Megumi grits his teeth. That’s out of the question. He’s not letting Sukuna see him naked.
“What’s the other choice?” Megumi grits out.
Sukuna laughs, shaking his head. “I come over there and we can make sure that’s a mating mark on your neck.”
It takes all his self control not to flinch at that, though internally he does curse Sukuna out for making it seem like he has any kind of choice. In what world does any of this seem like a choice? Either come in close contact with his alpha or be raped?
There’s nothing stopping Sukuna from taking what he wants the moment Megumi gets in the water.
Still, when Sukuna moves like he’s going to get up, Megumi finds himself awkwardly stripping off his tunic, trying to ignore the blood red eyes on him making it into a show.
“There’s no hurry, omega,” Sukuna taunts, when Megumi’s tunic falls to the floor and he’s only left in a pair of pants that are too big for him. “Give me a show, will you?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
There’s no way that Sukuna won’t be seeing everything this morning, whether or not Megumi likes it. So bracing himself for that, as quickly as he can he strips himself of his pants and hurries into the water, sitting as far away from Sukuna as he can.
The alpha only watches him in amusement, reaching up to wet his hair and push it away from his forehead. The water is nice, steaming and hot to the point where it makes Megumi’s pale skin turn pink, but Megumi can’t enjoy it.
Not when Sukuna won’t stop staring at him, looking much too amused by Megumi hunching over in the water, attempting to keep as much modesty as he can.
“Am I going to have to come over there?” the alpha asks, arching a brow when Megumi doesn’t move.
“No.”
“Then do your job, omega, and come wash me.”
Maybe he really died the other night, Megumi wonders, as Sukuna points one black nail at an arrangement of soaps that Megumi hadn’t noticed before. Maybe he really and truly died, but simply didn’t notice because whatever god was out there saw what his own personal hell would be like and simply gave it to him.
Awkwardly, Megumi picks up the first one that his hands make contact with, and slides across the water, closer to Sukuna.
And of course, the first place his wandering eyes look is down.
Megumi’s face burns as he looks away while Sukuna’s amused chuckle meets his ear. Apparently, he’s nothing but amusing for the alpha, though Megumi’s more relieved that Sukuna seems intent on only being washed.
There’s no way that what the alpha is packing is going to fit. Not even in Sukuna’s wildest dreams. Megumi would break first.
“You can look if you want to,” Sukuna teases. “It’s yours, if you behave.”
Megumi glares at him, resisting every urge to get out of the water and storm off. Instead he turns to look down at Sukuna’s chest, soaping up his hands.
He does his best to make quick work of the task that he’s given, never letting his touch linger for long. It pleases his inner omega too much to finally have contact between them after being without it for so long. He washes Sukuna’s shoulders and chest, and the alpha obediently turns around so Megumi can wash his back when Megumi quietly asks him to.
It’s not nearly as bad as Megumi thought it would be. He even starts to relax, soothed by Sukuna’s incense and sage scent and the warm water, when Sukuna grabs him.
A quiet gasp leaves his lips as he’s dragged onto a large lap, though his flailing is the only thing that prevents him from straddling Sukuna. He ends up sideways, his hip pressing against Sukuna’s stomach, a shameful blush spreading over his cheeks while Sukuna looks at him with the cockiest of smirks.
“What are you doing?” Megumi manages behind clenched teeth.
Sukuna’s hand envelops his waist, and though it feels apparent before, it really becomes obvious to Megumi then. A small part of him wants to curl up against Sukuna’s chest and demand the attention that Sukuna had denied him after the marking.
But he ignores that, because giving up now would be giving up more than he ever wanted to give away.
“Admiring my omega.”
A sharp nail drags along his side, over his ribs. Sukuna’s mouth is much too close to the mark on his neck, still red and irritated. Megumi cringes away, one hand reaching up to cover the wound so Sukuna wouldn’t make it worse.
“Why are you hiding it when you know I can make it feel better?”
Megumi turns away. Fear threatens to make his throat stick in place, making his voice unusable. The thought of having Sukuna so close to his neck to clean it, to dress it and make it better, nearly sent him panicking.
Megumi had never felt pain like that before, and he had no desire to feel anything like it again.
“You marked me and made your point. I don’t need you to make it worse.”
He reaches down into the water and cups it just enough to pour on Sukuna’s head and get the alpha to focus somewhere else. Preferably not anywhere near his neck or down.
“Now hold still while I wash your hair and we can be done with this.”
And surprisingly enough, Sukuna does that. Besides a soft hand petting his waist like one might pet a dog, Sukuna does nothing more than sit there as Megumi washes and rinses his hair. Though the dark, blood-red eyes never leave him.
Megumi finally feels like he can relax once the task is done. Or at least he would, if Sukuna’s hand didn’t tighten on him, refusing to let him free.
“Most omegas I’ve had before fall over themselves to please me once I mark them,” Sukuna muses.
Megumi grimaces. He hates that he understands that. He hates that if Sukuna had been there when he woke up, he might be like that, too influenced by his inner omega to put up a fight, wanting to do everything to make Sukuna happy.
“Is that so?” Megumi says blandly, attempting to pry the hand keeping him in place.
It doesn’t ease up. If anything, the hand grows tighter on him, tight enough to bruise. “You’re strange.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Sukuna’s fangs flash for a moment, dripping with danger. Megumi brings his hand up once more, covering the mark. The hot water would be good for it, though not as much as his alpha taking care of it would.
“Let me clean your mark.”
“I’d rather die.”
He can’t tell if Sukuna’s amused or annoyed by the remark, but it seems to be a combination of both. The alpha holds him tighter for a moment, until Megumi squirms with pain from the bruising grip.
Something nudges against his thigh, thick and heavy. Disgusted, Megumi tries to move back, but Sukuna doesn’t allow him to.
“Are you shy, omega? I thought the Zenins sold your kind out like whores,” Sukuna taunts. “It’s yours if you want it.”
“I don’t,” Megumi snaps. “Now let me go, you’re clean.”
But of course, Sukuna doesn’t. It’s not even a tight grip, but it’s enough that Megumi knows he won’t be getting anywhere unless Sukuna lets him go.
“I should break you of this shyness early, it’ll be easier,” Sukuna complains, as though lamenting his choices. “But virgins are always so cute.”
Lifting him up like it’s nothing, Sukuna pushes him into the water, until his back meets the wall of the bathtub and there’s nothing he can see but his horrible alpha looming over him. Unable to help himself, Megumi flinches back, chin ducking to cover his neck while he tries to make himself smaller.
The displeased scent on his alpha cowers him into submission faster than Megumi ever could have guessed.
“Hold still, omega.”
Sukuna yanks his head to the side, leaving only a shaking hand covering the wound on his neck. Megumi gasps slightly as even that’s pulled away, leaving him bared and exposed in the worst way he could think.
Sukuna leans closer, and Megumi’s limbs lock up, refusing to move as his alpha gets closer and closer to his neck. His heart pulses in his chest, like a bird’s wings flapping against the bars of its cage.
He’s going to bite again and it’s going to hurt, it’s going to hurt so much-
A hot tongue laves at the wound, sending a shuddering pulse down Megumi’s spine. He’s not even sure if he’s breathing, his entire body forced to be still as his alpha cleans the mark.
It’s what Sukuna should have done the moment that he woke up after being marked, if he had been there. But the gesture comes too little, too late, with Megumi stiff as a board underneath the alpha, simply wishing for it to be over.
Though as much as he hates it, it does help a little. His instincts rejoice at the gesture from his alpha, knowing this will help his mark settle and become less painful. But the rest of him hates it, not wanting to get any closer to Sukuna than he has to.
Sukuna makes it last longer than he needs to. Or at least it feels that way to Megumi, like it will never end and he’ll be trapped forever in his moment, with his alpha pressing him uncomfortably against the edge of the bath, one strong hand still holding his own away while Megumi lightly pushed on his shoulder in hopes it would make it end sooner.
“There,” Sukuna says once he’s finished. “Doesn’t that feel better, omega?”
Megumi hates to admit that it does. Sukuna lets go of his wrist, grabbing his chin to bring their gazes together.
“I asked you a question.”
A small scoff leaves Megumi’s lips. “Why do you even care? The only reason it hurts in the first place is because of you.”
An amused laugh leaves Sukuna’s lips as he leans back, not at all upset by Megumi’s snappy retort. And that just infuriates Megumi further.
Nothing he does seems to upset Sukuna, the alpha really and truly doesn’t care about him.
But then Sukuna leans back, finally allowing Megumi space in the small area. Even as he does that, his scent of incense and sage clings to Megumi, pretty thorough from the inadvertent scenting Sukuna had done.
“Don’t be a brat,” Sukuna complains. “Wash yourself, unless you want me to come over there and do it for you.”
Magumi doesn’t have to be told twice. He makes quick work of the hot water while he still has it, washing himself as quickly as he can get away with while still being thorough. The last thing he does is wash his hair, shaking out the black locks a moment later when they cling to his forehead.
Sukuna never takes his eyes off him all the while.
When he’s done, Megumi curls his legs to his chest, not wanting to rise and put himself on display like that when Sukuna can’t seem to stop watching him. But the alpha doesn’t even seem to care, pointing one black nail at the clothing left for them.
It takes Megumi longer than he wants to admit to realize what Sukuna wants from him, and when he does he scoffs, stubbornly staying in place.
Sukuna no longer looks amused, but rather annoyed. Anxiety curls in Megumi’s stomach, but he doesn’t move.
“None of my past omegas gave me nearly as much trouble as you.”
Good, Megumi thinks. Maybe this will be a lesson for you then.
They both end up leaving the water at the same time, when it starts to turn cold and nearly makes Megumi’s lips turn blue. It’s only then that Sukuna sighs and rises out of the tub, and Megumi follows him.
The clothes offered to him are not ones that he wants to wear. He’s seen clothes for the concubines of the Zenin’s before, thin things that show off too much skin, and that’s exactly what’s laid out for him. Megumi’s still too cold from the bath, and these will do nothing to protect him from the cold for the upcoming winter.
But he knows as an omega he’s not even supposed to be thinking of these things. Some omegas never go outside again after presenting. At least they didn’t with the Zenin family.
Sukuna watches him in amusement, eagerly trying to drink up his reaction, so Megumi doesn’t offer any. He takes the pants that are offered, simply because they look like they might fit, and then snatches Sukuna’s shirt before the alpha can take it.
“What are you doing, omega?” Sukuna asks, amusement and annoyance mixing on his face.
Megumi pulls the tunic over his head, missing his own scent. Sukuna’s own is so heavy that it feels like it drowns Megumi out, leaving nothing of himself there.
Megumi feigns innocence. “Is it so wrong to want my alphas scent?”
He says the title like a curse, and maybe he could have gotten away with it if he didn’t. But of course, Sukuna sees right through his lies, and grabs his jaw so he’s forced to look up at him.
“You need to remember your place, omega.”
Megumi bats the hand away, and Sukuna seems so surprised by the action that he lets Megumi do that, hand falling away.
“A mating bond doesn’t mean anything if there’s not a bond to settle it, alpha,” Megumi snaps. “I know my place here well enough, and you seem to need me more than I need you.”
Before Sukuna can reply, Megumi pushes past him, out of the bath and back to the main building. The alpha calls after him, but it’s not a command so Megumi ignores it, not wanting to give Sukuna any more of his time than he’s already forced to.
Megumi might be stuck here with Sukuna, but Sukuna seems to forget that it goes both ways. Not only is Megumi stuck here with Sukuna, but Sukuna’s stuck here with him.
And he won’t let the alpha forget it.
Notes:
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Chapter 4: Quench the fire of your pernicious rage
Summary:
Well something has to be wrong with the omega. He's never acted like any of Sukuna's previous ones.
Sukuna just has to figure out what it is.
Or Shoko finally makes an appearance.
Notes:
I start a new job on Monday! So I'll probably be taking a short break from writing for a bit until I get my feet under me.
I didn't want to leave everyone hanging for too long with this though, so here's an update!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
He learns Sukuna’s habits quicker than he wants to.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to pay attention, he simply has to when there’s nothing else to pay attention to. Sukuna tends to wake him up before dawn with a murmur that he would be back later, and the strange expectation that Megumi would be there waiting for him when he returns.
Megumi does everything in his power to make sure he doesn’t follow that expectation.
It’s not hard, either. Sukuna hardly pays him any attention, and yet somehow Megumi’s life seems to be centered around the alpha nevertheless.
When no work is given to him, and Megumi realizes very quickly that he’s truly expected to simply wait around for Sukuna to give him attention or the time of day, Megumi looks for work. He finds it more often than not in the kitchen with Uraume, who tries to teach him how to cook despite Megumi’s rather disastrous attempts at it.
Sometimes he spends time with Yuuji while the other trains. Yuuji always gives him a bright smile and seems happy to see him, but more often than not if Megumi’s free and not burdened with kitchen duties (if he has to listen to Uraume tell him about Sukuna’s favorite meal again, he will snap) he spends his time in the stable with Sukuna’s horse.
The great beast of a thing is actually happy to see him more often than not, trying to root around Megumi to see if he’s brought treats, which he has a penchant for bringing because it’s the only way to make the horse behave while he gets brushed.
According to some of the betas that also work in the stables, Sukuna caught and tamed the stallion himself, who had been wild before.
Megumi imagines that he must miss being free. He brings more treats the next day.
Megumi settles into life easier than he wanted to. He rises after Sukuna does, watching the alpha through half lidded eyes from his nest. Sukuna hasn’t tried to approach his small area, though occasionally he would throw a newly scented blanket on Megumi if he seemed to think Megumi didn’t reek of him enough.
He’s grateful for the space. Sukuna hasn’t even tried to touch him since they had their awful bath together. Even if his mark aches and begs for more attention from his alpha to settle, Megumi doesn’t do anything other than settle himself for a life with a distant alpha.
It takes a week for Sukuna to get annoyed with him. It’s not as long as Megumi thought it would be, but that doesn’t stop him from letting out a pathetic yelp when Sukuna comes right to his nest and picks him up out of like he weighs nothing.
“What’re you doing?” Megumi demands, struggling in the grasp. Sukuna anchors an arm under his knees, the other behind his back.
At least it’s not over his shoulder again, but really couldn’t the alpha let him walk anywhere?
“You’re going to the doctor.”
Megumi’s brow arches. “I’m not sick.”
“You’re going.” Sukuna’s tone books no room for argument.
Though alphas are supposed to know things are wrong with their omegas, aren’t they? Megumi had heard of that, when pairings had a good bond between them.
But he pushes that away before he can think about it more. What bond did they have?
“Put me down, I can walk.”
Sukuna eyes him warily, like one would with a pet doing something they know that they shouldn’t, but still puts Megumi down when Megumi squirms in his hold. Megumi straightens out his clothes, sighing through his nose.
He’ll just get this over with. The sooner he shows Sukuna that he’s fine, the sooner he can get something from Uraume to eat and then head to the stables. Maybe he can even convince the servants who work there that he can go out for a ride.
They go together, which is strange enough. Sukuna’s hardly given him a glance since Megumi refuted him in the bath, that even walking together is strange enough for him. Megumi constantly finds himself glancing at Sukuna out of the corner of his eye, though he doesn’t speak.
The doctor lives in a smaller area not far from Sukuna’s main building. It smells like Sukuna, or at least what Megumi remembers of their first meeting. It’s the strong scent of incense wafting through the air to cover up the smell of blood.
He crinkles his nose, glancing up at the alpha, but Sukuna doesn’t notice his discomfort, nor does he seem to care. When Megumi doesn’t enter the room, Sukuna gives him a cold look, nodding at the door, and Megumi feels his choice stripped from him.
Sukuna probably would have dragged him here kicking and screaming if Megumi hadn’t gone along.
The room is smaller than he expects, but it’s not cramped. The doctor sits with her legs crossed, one slender one over the other, heavy bags under her eyes. A slender pipe is in her hand, adding to the smoke drifting into the air from the incense burning.
She looks like a seer who lives in the mountains, ready to give him his fortune for the low cost of his life.
It’s enough to make Megumi’s eyes water. The doctor glances over at them, cursing under her breath when she spots them. Sukuna pushes on him a bit, until they’re inside and Megumi can’t smell anything but what reminds him of Sukuna.
“I told you to tell me when you’re coming,” the doctor exhaustedly says. “The smells are overwhelming for omegas. I didn’t have a chance to clear it out.”
The window opens just as Megumi is ushered to sit at a chair he wants nothing to do with. The doctor waves her hand out the window, bringing in a bit of fresh air.
“Sorry about that,” she apologizes gruffly to him. “I’m Shoko Ieri.”
Megumi nods, coughing a little to clear his throat. It’s not enough to make him feel better, but before he can say anything, Sukuna gestures to him up and down, staring at Shoko.
“Something’s wrong with him.”
When Shoko looks back at him, Megumi shrugs. He still doesn’t even know why he’s here, much less what Sukuna’s going on about him feeling unwell.
“Right. Let’s take a look over you and see what’s going on.”
Her hands are like ice as she moves his head, tilting it to the side to take a look at his mark. Megumi allows her, baring his neck obediently.
He hates that after the bath together, when Sukuna finally took care of it, it actually helped his mark to settle. His body didn’t outright reject it, allowing the wounds to close and start to settle into his skin. Megumi shudders as her fingers trace over the edges of it.
“This seems to be settling nicely. Have you been experiencing any fever, any pain lately?”
“He hasn’t been coming near—”
Megumi levels a glare at his alpha, snapping, “I’m right here. I don’t need you to answer for me.”
Shoko’s fingers pause where they check his chest, fingers feeling for his heart. Sukuna narrows his eyes at him, but before he can give a snappy retort, Megumi turns away, looking back at the doctor.
“I’ve been feeling fine. I don’t know why he insisted I come here.”
Unbidden, a small laugh rises from Shoko’s lips, even as Megumi’s arms cross over his chest. They both glance at Sukuna, but the alpha doesn’t seem privy to offer up any explanation.
Shoko seems to be a professional. She checks him as one would expect any doctor to, with only a clinical gaze of someone looking at their patient. Megumi doesn’t think too much of it, letting her do her job so that he could leave sooner. Though it is weird to have someone examine him so thoroughly like this, he hasn’t been looked at since he first presented and the Zenin’s brought a doctor for him.
“When was your last heat?” Shoko asks, snapping him from thoughts of the Zenin clan.
Though it does bring his thoughts right back to them. Megumi still remembers his first heat, unexpected from his presenting. It had felt like his skin was boiling, and no relief could be found no matter how many clumsy and inexperienced fingers he used.
It had been three days of hell. The Zenin had given him a small potion after that, just once a month, that prevented his heat from coming. They didn’t enjoy dealing with heats if they didn’t have to.
So he shrugs, giving a non-committal hum while doing his best to look anywhere other than Sukuna. Shoko eyes him for a moment before she moves on, poking at his lower stomach instead.
He knows what she’s checking for, even if Sukuna probably doesn’t. But there isn’t any pup to be found, and male omegas like himself have a difficult time conceiving outside of heat.
Satisfied that there’s nothing there that Megumi is trying to hide, Shoko finally pulls back, not even glancing at Sukuna.
“You seem to be in good health. A little underweight, but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed. Your mark could use a little more attention from Sukuna to truly make sure it settles, but that’s not necessary,” Shoko declares once the examination is finally, finally over with.
Megumi stands, brushing off his clothes though there’s no real need for it. No matter what he does, he’s going to smell like incense for the rest of the day.
“No, there’s something wrong with him,” Sukuna insists. “He’s behaving strangely, he has been since I marked him.”
Megumi levels his alpha with an unimpressed stare. It doesn’t really do much for Sukuna, though the alpha seems to have a knack for ignoring him.
“Behavior is different from being sick, Sukuna,” Shoko points out. “What are you talking about?”
Sukuna throws him a look, as though Megumi should know immediately what he’s talking about, but Megumi really doesn’t. He doesn’t think that he’s done anything strange, but apparently he’s been weird, at least to his alpha.
But he hasn’t done anything weird for himself.
Megumi knows himself, and what does Sukuna know? He knows omegas who have been cowed into submission, too tired to fight.
Sukuna’s probably never had to deal with a stubborn omega before.
It all clicks and he rolls his eyes, turning to Shoko. “He’s mad that I haven’t been falling over myself to please him.”
“You’re my omega, you should want to be near me at all times. Why are you still sleeping on the floor?”
“I told you that it’s better than sleeping next to you,” Megumi snaps. “Why would I even want to be near you?”
“I’m your alpha.”
“You’re a horrible one. You don’t deserve the title of my alpha.”
That actually seems to surprise Sukuna for a moment, the alpha pausing, so Megumi barrels on, glaring fiercely at him.
“Find someone else to warm your bed, because it won’t be me. Just because you marked me doesn’t mean that I see you as my alpha. I’ve spent more time with Yuuji than I’ve spent with you in the last week. You weren’t even there after you marked me.”
Sukuna glares at him, and even though it makes Megumi cower a bit, he forces himself to stand a little straighter, refusing to back down. He still has one last thing to say.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have an alpha.”
Sukuna lunges forward, hand extended like he’s going to wrap it around Megumi’s throat, but at the last moment Shoko stands between them, stopping Sukuna in his tracks.
It startles Megumi in that moment to think that he wouldn’t have cared. He isn’t even surprised that his alpha would resort to violence with him, Sukuna already has.
“That’s enough from you two,” Shoko says sharply. “I’m not here to be a mediator. Sukuna, it seems you’ve finally met your match for an omega. I suggest you do some research about creating a bond with your omega.”
Megumi scoffs. That ship sailed the moment he woke up alone.
“I marked him, isn’t that enough? All the other omegas weren’t like this.”
Megumi rolls his eyes, a small part of him bristling at the mention of the previous omegas Sukuna had. “Forced bonding will do that. You missed your chance to do that with me, so you can deal with the consequences.”
Picking up her pipe once more, Shoko takes a long puff of it before she turns back to them. Megumi feels a bit bad that she’s been dragged into the middle of an argument between them, but it would have to come out eventually.
“I’m leaving,” Megumi declares, before Sukuna can continue to accuse him of simply being himself. “Go find one of those omegas if you’re so unhappy with me.”
Nodding his head to Shoko, Megumi leaves them to their own devices as he heads back out to the stables. At least the horses will be happy to see him, since Sukuna apparently isn’t.
But that’s fine. It doesn’t bother Megumi at all.
It doesn’t.
Sukuna growls as his omega walks out, not even glancing back. Shoko gives him a look, but besides raising her pipe to her lips once more, she says nothing.
It’s smart. She might be a doctor and needed, but Sukuna is not above killing her right now.
“Things seem to be going well for you,” Shoko eventually dryly comments.
For her credit, she doesn’t flinch under the weight of his stare. Even his omega, for being as hot headed when he wants to be, is smart enough to flinch when Sukuna raises his hand.
“Being mad at me won’t make him come back.”
Shoko taps her pipe, emptying it of ash. Sukuna groans, running a hand through his hair as he leans against the wall.
This all could have gone better. But of course the omega had to be stubborn.
“What’s his name? You didn’t introduce him.”
Sukuna hates what he has to say next. Mainly because it proves the omega right.
“I don’t know.”
Shoko’s sharp eyes settle on him, narrowing. It’s like dealing with the brat Yuuji at times, who currently won’t come around him because Sukuna keeps insisting that he gets told the omega’s name.
“How do you not know?” Shoko asks, voice condescending. “Are you going to tell me you took him and marked him like that without even knowing his name?”
Another growl leaves Sukuna’s lips, but Shoko doesn’t seem bothered or threatened. She tilts her head back with a laugh, puffing on her pipe once she gets it out of her system.
“You need to figure out how to be around omegas. If you don’t have a bond with this one, it’s going to be harder to make him submit like the others have.”
“Why do you both keep bringing that up? I never had a bond with an omega before.”
Or had he? Sukuna couldn’t remember off the top of head, if he’s thinking back. He always felt more connected to past omegas than he does with his current one, but he simply thought that it’s because he hasn’t had much time to spare for the new one.
“When you mark an omega, you bond with them. The first twelve hours after marking is the most important, you need to be there and attentive to your omega to settle the bond. Omegas who don’t have their alphas there will think they’ve been abandoned and reject the bond so they can survive. Were you attentive while he was recovering from his mark?”
Sukuna was as attentive as he had been with the other ones. Though he hadn’t stayed around as long. There was work to be done, Sukuna hadn’t thought that it would make too much of a difference if he had been there or not.
Apparently, that was not correct.
“Of course you weren’t.” Shoko rolls her eyes. “I can tell just from the look on your face. You should look at proper courting for omegas. Being distant from him right now will make things worse. At least try to learn his name.”
“I shouldn’t have to court my omega—”
“He’s not really yours if you don’t have a bond. His body will recognize another alpha if they mark him right now.”
Sukuna hadn’t thought about that. Though no one is stupid enough to try to challenge him right now, that wouldn’t stop his omega from leaving, would it? At least not right now. Sukuna crosses his arms, gritting his teeth.
“I’ll wait until his heat comes,” Sukuna says, as though it’s the answer to all his problems.
Shoko’s eyes grow cold at that, staring through him. She doesn’t speak.
There are few people who can make Sukuna feel uneasy with only a stare. She is one of them.
“That’s not a good idea. It’s possible that he might not recognize you as his alpha. And unless you re-mark him during heat, he still won’t think of you as his alpha.” Shoko blows a puff of smoke in his direction.
At the look on Sukuna’s face, she shakes her head, turning away. “Don’t get any bright ideas, remarking is hard for an omega. If he doesn't want to bond with you, then he won’t, and remarking won’t change that even during his heat.”
“Then what are you telling me to do?”
Shoko looks at him like he’s the stupidest alpha she’s ever encountered, and maybe he is. But is her only option really—
“Try to win him over before his heat starts. At least get to know him so that he’s not running away from you at every chance that he gets.”
“I should have you executed.”
It’s an empty threat, but it leaves his lips nevertheless as he leaves the building more frustrated than when he entered with the omega.
He ignores the nagging voice in his head that tells him that his omega is upset, and that it still hasn’t been fixed.
The nest on the floor of Sukuna’s room smells of jasmine and incense, and drips with distress even when the omega isn’t present.
And Sukuna simply can’t have that.
Notes:
Feel free to leave anon comments on my retrospring!
Chapter 5
Notes:
Apparently I have five chapters of this that I never posted. So uh, enjoy I guess if you're still reading?
Chapter Text
Swords clang together as Yuuji trains with the other members of Sukuna’s army. Megumi tries not to think about how most of them were probably there during the siege of the Zenin clan, that many of them probably had something to do with that.
He can’t think of that because if he does, he’ll wonder if Tsumiki is okay, if she’s still alive.
Instead, he’s left wondering once more about what a strange life he’s come to live here. And he wonders this as Sukuna once more comes around to bother him.
It’s not like the alpha doesn’t have anything better to do. Megumi knows he does. Sukuna simply seems intent on harassing him at every chance since he went to see the doctor.
Sukuna stands next to him, arms crossed over his chest. Megumi keeps his eyes on Yuuji, ignoring his alpha as much as possible.
“Here,” Sukuna suddenly says, pulling something out to hand it to him.
Megumi starts. It’s a piece of cloth, wrapped up tightly. Megumi’s not really sure what it is, and his curiosity gets the better of him rather than his desire to be stubborn and ignore Sukuna.
He takes it tentatively, letting the fabric fall open in his hands. It’s a cover, a more traditional one, meant to block out the cold for the winter. Already there’s a persistent chill in the air that won’t leave during the day, even when the sun shines brightly. It’s only going to get worse.
“Thank you,” Megumi says after a moment, settling the fabric in his lap.
He really tries hard not to think about how strange all of this is. He almost wishes Sukuna would go back to outright ignoring him; that was easier to deal with.
Seemingly satisfied that he did enough, Sukuna looks him up and down, eyes hesitating over the fabric in Megumi’s lap.
He looks like he wants to say more.
“You came!”
Yuuji suddenly bounds forth, almost skipping as he approaches them. He’s hot and sweaty from training, but the bright smile on his face makes it seem like he’d been having fun, instead of training.
Megumi huffs. “You asked me to.”
It’s not like he wants to spend his day surrounded by hot and sweaty alphas who only stay away from him because they fear Sukuna. Megumi would much rather spend his day in the stables helping out there.
But Yuuji seemed so eager, and he’s one of the few people who make an effort to get to know him. Megumi can’t say no.
“Sukuna, are you gonna join us?” Yuuji asks, looking at the other alpha. “I thought Uraume said you had things to do.”
Sukuna stiffens, looking at Megumi for a moment. But when all he gets is an impassive stare and nothing more, he waves them both off.
“No, brat, Uraume will be mad if I miss another meeting. Take a shower before you do anything. I don’t want you stinking up the place.”
Yuuji lifts his arm, trying to see if he stunk—which he did, but Megumi wasn’t going to tell him that—and Sukuna finally seemed to have enough of them. With only another glance at Megumi, and a look down at the cover in his lap, the alpha left them and disappeared.
“That was strange,” Yuuji comments.
Megumi really, really couldn’t agree more. His fingers pick at the edges of the cover. The fabric is soft in his hands, and expensive. Megumi can tell that immediately. It would do a good job of keeping him warm, better than anything the Zenin’s would have given him.
“Did he give you that? It’s nice.” Yuuji’s brows furrow, an expression quite adorable in its confusion.
Megumi nods, holding it a little tighter. It’s hard not to, not when it’s soft and warm and a gift from his alpha on top of that. But even that thought makes him want to push it away suddenly. Is he so desperate for attention from Sukuna that he can’t let go of a gift from him?
Yuuji stretches his arms over his head. “Sukuna isn't really a gift giving type of alpha. Uraume probably told him to get something for you.”
That makes sense. Megumi nods in agreement, fingers slowly loosening on the fabric. It makes sense, it’s probably what happened, but Yuuji’s sentence makes Megumi’s heart hurt a little bit.
He shouldn’t be surprised. Of course the alpha who’s barely paid any attention to him isn’t going to care enough about him to give him a gift.
“Did you enjoy watching me train? We can go if you want and-”
“Can I try?” Megumi asks instead, interrupting Yuuji.
The alpha tilts his head. “You want to try?”
Megumi shrugs. He’s got energy to burn, and Yuuji could work on his form a little more. Plus, he feels more at ease, now that Sukuna’s not attempting to hover over him and watch what he’s doing.
He’s sure the alpha wouldn’t want him doing anything like this. He’d probably rant and rave about how Megumi shouldn’t be doing anything that encourages him gaining a bit of independence.
He stands, folding the fabric carefully and leaving it on the bench where he had just been sitting. Yuuji bounces with excitement, an overeager puppy ready to play. Megumi can’t match his enthusiasm, so he does the next best thing and grabs the first sword he sees.
It’s a bit too heavy for him, not as balanced as his own sword is. It’s meant for a larger alpha, while Megumi needs something a bit slimmer and lightweight. But he’s worked with worse weapons. It’s a practice sword, after all, it’s not like he’s going to ride into battle with it.
Some of the other alphas training snicker at him, though they all stay away. Yuuji’s the only one who comes close.
“Someone get Sukuna and tell him his omega’s going to get hurt,” one of them laughs. Megumi scowls, which grows even worse when he sees one of the alphas actually head out the door to presumably get Sukuna.
Megumi really can’t have anything fun. He can’t even distract himself. At least not without Sukuna breathing down his neck in some way.
The mark on his neck itches, as though it’s privy to his thoughts. Megumi ignores it.
The tip of the sword drags in the dirt for a moment before he brings it into position. It’s a practice sword, meant for just these kinds of spars, so Megumi doesn’t worry too much about damaging it.
Yuuji gets a few claps on the back, words of encouragement as though fighting Megumi is something he’s meant to be proud of. As though Yuuji will really come out victorious in this.
Omegas are different but they are not weak. Megumi can hold his own in a fight as well as any alpha.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Yuuji asks, reaching back to rub his neck. He looks so shy about it.
It almost makes Megumi sick.
He nods sharply. Other alphas around them give hoots and hollers, as though Megumi’s agreed to go to bed with Yuuji.
Well, at least it would be better than going to bed with Sukuna.
Yuuji seems to take him seriously though, assessing him quickly before raising his sword as well.
Yuuji is a formidable foe. If they met on the battlefield, he would be one that Megumi would worry about causing more damage than other alphas.
But despite the brute strength, Yuuji’s moves are repetitive. Megumi doesn’t even have to think about it before he brings the blade up, blocking Yuuji’s first blow with ease, though the force of it makes his arms shake for a moment.
It’s not dodging or blocking that he has to worry about with Yuuji, it’s the brute strength. If he’s not careful, Yuuji would knock the sword out of his hands with ease, or maybe even break it.
Megumi doesn’t block the next swing of Yuuji’s sword. He evades, a sharp turn that takes him beside Yuuji for a moment, and he lands a swift but soft blow onto Yuuji’s side, knocking the alpha slightly off balance. The small crowd of alphas that have gathered make noises at the display, laughing amongst themselves.
“Whoa!” Yuuji says, righting himself and spinning around righting himself. “You’re pretty good!”
A small smile pulls at the edges of Megumi’s lips as he raises his sword once more. He doesn’t return the sentiment.
Yuuji attacks once more, lunging forward with enough force to feel his thunderous footsteps on the ground. Megumi parries once more, arms shaking from the force but still holding his own.
The Zenin’s never would have let him spar like this. It was meant for alphas, not omegas who didn’t know their place.
If they could see him now, they would hate him.
Yuuji focuses too much on the brunt of his attacks. Megumi blocks and parries, observing as much as he can. It doesn’t take him long to figure out where Yuuji’s weak points are, and how to win.
So one time when Yuuji does lunge forward, Megumi doesn’t move. He braces his feet, making himself as steady as a cliff that faces the sea. And just when Yuuji is about to barrel straight into him, Megumi swerves to the left, using Yuuji’s own weight against him.
The bulky alpha falls face first into the dirt, sputtering and confused. Megumi waits a moment before he approaches the alpha, sinking his sword into the ground beside Yuuji’s head.
“You have too many blind spots,” Megumi comments dryly. “You should focus more on strategy rather than strength for a while.”
Yuuji still stares at him, wide eyed and unexpected, as Megumi lowers a hand down to help the alpha up. The crowd around them jeers, most of them whistling and making lewd comments.
It never really takes much for Megumi to remember why he doesn’t care for alphas too much.
The alpha takes his hand at the same time the others around them go silent. Megumi hauls Yuuji to his feet, not a very easy task considering the alpha is all solid muscle and taller than him, glancing up at the cause.
Of course, it’s the last person he wants to see. He can’t tell if Sukuna is pleased or irritated with him, his expression is a mask of indifference as he looks over Yuuji, and then the sword still planted in the ground.
“What’s going on here?” Sukuna drawls, annoyed.
Ah, so displeased it is. Of course everything Megumi does would be irritating to his alpha. It’s not even a surprise.
“The omega wanted to train with Yuuji,” one of the alphas, a smaller one that’s almost the same height as Megumi, says from beside Sukuna.
Megumi shoots them a displeased look, though the alpha merely huffs up in pride, as though telling on Megumi is an accomplishment instead of something to be scorned. Sukuna turns to the sword still embedded in the ground.
“And you thought this matter would be worthy of my attention?” Sukuna asks, stepping forward.
Megumi is the only one who doesn’t flinch.
Sukuna takes the sword from the ground, testing its weight in much of the same way that Megumi did. Yuuji awkwardly rubs the back of his head when he sees the harsh investigation, probably thinking that he’s in trouble.
Megumi’s already tired of it. He’s tired of Sukuna already.
“I asked to try.” Megumi crosses his arms. “You never said that I couldn’t.”
The alpha hums, noncommittal. “I never said you could either.”
Of course. Megumi’s lips curl unpleasantly down, arms over his chest as he stands there. Sukuna no longer looks at the sword but at him, up and down before looking at Yuuji.
“You should be doing better, being brought down by an omega using an improper sword is a shame. You should be leading these alphas.”
The insult, though not directed at Megumi, settles into his skin unpleasantly. Just another reminder of how unsatisfactory he is to his alpha. Sukuna should have done them both a favor and left Megumi with the Zenin’s.
“It’s not my fault that he’s good!” Yuuji complains, groaning. Though he steps away from Sukuna, looking a bit sheepish.
“I doubt—”
Megumi holds his hand out for the sword. Though there had been murmurs before from the alphas, they all fell silent at the action, even Sukuna.
If Sukuna doesn’t want to believe him, then Megumi will just have to prove it. He isn’t going to be held back just because Sukuna thinks he’s weaker.
Sukuna swings the sword, an easy movement for his stature and a sword that’s designed for it. But then he looks over his shoulder at the small crowd, uttering, “someone bring him a proper sword.”
The alphas scramble to complete the order, but it’s Yuuji who ends up bringing a sword better suited for him and an apologetic smile, as though this isn’t exactly what Megumi’s asked for. It’s lighter in his hand, and sharper.
The kind of sword that could kill a man easily.
But as entertaining as the thought is, Megumi doesn’t think he has it in him to kill his alpha right now. The mark is too settled, and the way the other alphas stare at him, it’s like they’ve never been around an omega before.
Maybe they haven’t. But Megumi’s sure that the only thing that stops them from becoming animals is Sukuna’s mark and scent on him. And he has no desire to fight for his life, at least not at the moment.
Megumi doesn’t fear the alphas surrounding them, and they know it. He has no desire to find out what they would do to make him fear them.
Sukuna walks with the confidence of an alpha who has never been beaten before.The king with an ego that’s over inflated and begging to be popped by someone. He stands casually before Megumi, waiting for the omega to make the first move.
Megumi already knows he won’t win. But that doesn’t mean he won’t try.
The first move he makes is slow, a simple swipe of his sword to see how Sukuna blocks. His alpha looks almost disinterested in him, taking half a step to the side.
It’s not a bother. Megumi rights himself and tries again. And tries again. Sukuna blocks him each time, with simple movements that make all of Megumi’s efforts feel like a waste.
But they’re not. Sukuna gets more comfortable with each move that he blocks, confident that he’s simply entertaining Megumi until he tires out. At the rate they’re fighting, it’s not exactly incorrect to assume so. Megumi doesn’t have as much stamina as Sukuna, and all too quickly he feels himself getting slower.
He pushes himself harder, to keep the same speed, until finally he changes things.
Megumi moves forward, raising his sword as he always has for every strike before. Sukuna’s own sword rises to meet to block him, when Megumi drops instead, using his leg to attempt to swipe at Sukuna’s own and bring the alpha down.
It’s like hitting a tree. Sukuna stumbles, but doesn’t fall. Megumi tries to take it in stride, but before he can recapture his balance, Sukuna gains the upper hand, pushing him into the dirt with his sword pointed at Megumi’s chest.
The alphas all snicker around them, making Megumi flush with shame. It’s been a while since he’s had any kind of practice, and never any formal training. The Zenin’s wouldn’t allow for that.
“You did good,” Sukuna paises, taking the sword away. “Better than many of the soldiers I’ve seen training here.”
There are a few indignant noises, as though being on the same level or below Megumi is meant to be a disgrace to them. But praise from his alpha has never happened before, at least not since that first night, and it flows over Megumi with a warmth that he hates.
Megumi picks himself up from the dirt, ignoring the feeling. He doesn’t need any praise from Sukuna.
Before he can move away though, Sukuna’s large hand grasps his chin, pulling his gaze up to the alpha. It feels like pressing his face against a hot iron, the way his skin sparks at the simple contact. They hadn’t shared any skin to skin contact since the horrible bath Sukuna wouldn’t let him out of, but this felt different.
He couldn’t remember the last time that anyone touched him with a soft touch; it must have been years. The heat of Sukuna’s touch travels down his jaw, into his chest, and a part of him wants to lean into it until he’s pressed against Sukuna’s chest and safe, and warm—
Megumi jerks back at the thought, heart racing. He never wanted to be so close to an alpha before, much less Sukuna. Though, the alpha doesn’t look surprised by the sudden motion, hand falling as though he never reached out to Megumi.
His heat, that’s the only reason Megumi can think of why this might be happening. His heat. He doesn’t have what the Zenin’s gave him, and his heat must be coming close.
“Brat,” Sukuna says, turning away from Megumi. “Start training him.”
“What?” Yuuji asks, tilting his head.
Even Megumi looks at his alpha. His thoughts snap out of his head a moment later, for a moment forgetting about his upcoming heat.
He’s got a couple days at least. At least a day. Megumi’s not sure. He needs to get things together, maybe even get everything together to make the heat suppressant.
Sukuna doesn’t bother replying to Yuuji. He looks at Megumi, evaluating like he always seems to be doing.
Megumi turns away. He doesn’t want to risk it—doesn’t want to think about what he did before, of leaning against Sukuna and being close—
Okay, it’s worse than he thought.
And then the alpha leaves, tossing his sword off to the side where Megumi can’t see it, leaving him standing there completely alone. Yuuji bounces with excitement, already ready to get started, but Megumi can’t even acknowledge him.
This is so much worse than he imagined.
By the time he finally gets back to his nest, an ache threatens to settle into his joints and make it hard to move. Megumi curses himself, ignoring Sukuna as he heads right to his nest.
It’s not right. It’s too small, definitely not big enough for an alpha to join him. But his alpha doesn’t want him, not really. So Megumi does the best that he can, spreading it out a little more to accommodate himself with more room, a little closer to the fire. He even places the cover that Sukuna gave him in it, spreading it out to lay on.
“Here,” Sukuna suddenly says, standing beside him.
Megumi turns his head. It’s a tunic, Sukuna’s tunic based on the smell of it. Megumi reaches out, fingers tentatively taking the fabric.
Sukuna kneels beside him, observing, but not touching Megumi’s nest. Megumi doesn’t give him the chance, crawling into the nest and guarding it closely.
“You did well today, sweetheart,” Sukuna suddenly compliments.
Megumi arches a brow at the pet name. At least it’s not ‘omega’ but it doesn’t feel right, either. “Thanks.”
Sukuna tilts his head, contemplating him, and part of Megumi hates that his inner omega purrs at the attention, desperate for anything from the alpha that said he didn’t hate Megumi.
It’s all fake, first and foremost. Megumi knows that. But it’s hope that often refuses to die, that remains inside of someone and gives them a better promise of tomorrow.
And despite everything, there is still a small part of Megumi that hopes for a better tomorrow, or at least a calmer one, with an alpha who cares about him.
But Sukuna is not that alpha, and he never will be. Megumi forces himself to turn away, showing the alpha his back.
If he asked, would Sukuna indulge him? Would broad hands hold him carefully and softly? Or would Sukuna look down at him cruelly, with blood dripping from his lips and the promise of pain as well?
Megumi doesn’t want to find out. The reward is not worth the risk of giving Sukuna more than a minute of his time. What was the best that could happen? Sukuna could indulge him, hold him tightly, and sooth Megumi’s omega in a way it had been crying for the moment that he was marked.
Or Sukuna could use another thing against him, and Megumi would once more have to face reality that Sukuna was not a kind alpha, and that thinking anything else was wishful thinking.
“Tell me your name, omega.”
And there it is. Sukuna doesn’t really care about him, it’s only another power move that he doesn’t know what Megumi’s name is.
He hopes that it eats at Sukuna. He hopes that Sukuna lies awake at night, so close to his omega but so far away, knowing that he had messed up in more than one way. And that Megumi wouldn’t indulge him.
The dancing flames of the fire return Megumi’s stare. They scream at him, of anger and righteousness, that he doesn’t owe Sukuna anything. That the alpha only wants him as a victory.
When he finally learns Megumi’s name, will the small bit of interest he’s managed to gain from his alpha disappear?
His silence is his answer. He takes too long, and he knows he does because Sukuna rises, going to his own bed without a word.
Somehow, even with the fire roaring with heat hot enough to make Megumi’s skin sweat, he still feels cold.
Chapter 6
Notes:
I remember having big plans for this story.
Chapter Text
The cover Sukuna got him is warm against the cold. Especially the early morning chill that threatens to seep into his bones and stay there for the rest of the day.
Megumi dons it with only a little bit of spite, an improvement for him to say the least. He can’t really complain too much about something meant to keep him warm. The Zenin’s had bitter colds that took lives when they weren’t careful, and no doubt winters here would be the same.
Sukuna’s clan lives a bit further south though, and he wonders if it’ll be the same. Would the ground harden over with ice, would his breath float in front of him? It feels like it will, but Megumi’s not sure.
He doesn’t want another freezing winter again, where the food is scarce and sickness runs rampant.
The way back to Shoko’s office is just far enough that it gives him time to think about the Zenin’s and ponder what he’s lost. As sad as it is, he really hasn’t lost much besides his sister. There were no possessions that he cared for or things he wanted.
He does wonder about the fates of his cousins and what they went through. Maki and Mai were fighters, not unlike himself. If they got out alive, they were probably safe somewhere, living safely away from the family.
He hopes, more than anything though, that Tsumiki is alive and well. He hopes that she is safe, wherever she is.
She’s probably safer than with him right now. Sukuna doesn’t need another inch to use as leverage against him.
Though, he’s not sad to see the rest of his family gone. Maybe this winter will be more pleasant without them because at least with Sukuna, he hasn’t had to worry about where his next meal is going to come from or what another alpha might do.
No, he only has to worry about his alpha.
Megumi holds the cover a little tighter around his shoulders as he knocks on Shoko’s door. There is no answer, though not unexpected from the early morning hour.
He knocks again. Could Shoko even hear him? He’s taking a risk in coming here, of knocking on the door, all in the hopes that something might come of this rather than nothing.
Almost a minute passes before muffled cursing comes from the other side of the door. Megumi waits patiently, hearing something knock over before the door opens in front of him.
Shoko reeks of wine and smoke from her pipe, and somehow she looks even more exhausted than Megumi feels. The bags under her eyes have darkened, looking like deep black bruises on her face.
“What do you want?”
Megumi starts, fumbling for a moment over his words. There are too many people around, most of them starting their day bright and early.
Shoko takes the hint easily. With a sigh, she stands aside just enough to let Megumi slip inside, rubbing her forehead while she does.
The smell of wine is even more potent inside her room than out. Megumi ducks his chin a little, hiding his nose in the collar of his cover. It’s just enough to help muffle the scent without being too obvious.
“What’s going on?” Shoko asks, voice a bit softer this time.
Megumi doesn’t even know where to begin. But he’s always been blunt, and there’s not really a way to sugar coat this.
“I need suppressants for my heat,” Megumi says quickly. “At the very least something to prevent pregnancy.”
Saying it aloud makes it feel so much more real. There’s no sugar coating what Sukuna is going to do to him when the heat starts, if the alpha feels inclined he can even remark Megumi, and do it the proper way that will leave Megumi on his knees and completely dependent.
“You know I can’t do that,” Shoko sharply says.
Megumi knows. But he waits.
Because sometimes not being able to do something doesn’t mean that it still isn’t done.
Shoko sighs, a heavy thing, and finds her pipe, discarded from last night. Megumi’s fingers flex at his sides, but he keeps them lax.
“Please,” Megumi says after a moment. “I can’t—I can’t have a pup right now. I need more time, I need to be safe.”
“Sukuna would keep any pup of his safe.”
Megumi deflates a little, which forces another sigh from Shoko. Of course, he thinks to himself, he’s foolish to think he has allies here. Everyone would throw him to the wolves in a heartbeat to save themselves from Sukuna.
He needs to leave, sooner rather than later, get as far away from Sukuna as he can before things get worse. He won’t be dependent on an alpha who doesn’t care for him.
Megumi can make it on his own.
“If Sukuna finds out what you’re asking for, he’ll have your head,” Shoko mutters. “And mine. If he thinks that I gave you anything, that’ll be the end.”
This time, he doesn’t duck his head to avoid the smell of time and smoke, but instead does so in shame. It’s asking for a lot—to ask for someone to put their lives at risk just to give him a temporary relief.
But he has to try anyway.
“Sorry for bothering you—”
“Have you ever seen a star flower?”
Megumi blinks at the sudden question, brain not following the change in topic. Star flower? Not many flowers grew with the Zenin clan, at least not enough for Megumi to care about them. He had more important things to worry about.
Shoko continues, not at all thrown off by Megumi’s silence. “It’s a flower that grows near here. It looks rather different, with five points that seem to drip blood. I’ve heard it makes a nice tea if you boil it correctly.”
Tea, they’re talking about tea now? Megumi finds himself nodding though, because there’s not much else to do when people start suddenly talking about flowers and tea.
“You should try it,” Shoko says firmly. “Before winter comes, you’ll have to wait until spring. It’s too good to wait.”
Everything snaps together at once for Megumi, and he nods, understanding. Of course, tea, he’s always loved tea, why not give this a try? It couldn’t hurt to try.
“I’ll try to find some,” he says sincerely. “Thank you for the recommendation.”
Shoko waves a hand, in a clear dismissal, and Megumi heads to the door, already planning on how exactly he’ll get outside of Sukuna’s walls to search for this flower.
“Oh, and another thing,” Shoko says just as he leaves. “If Sukuna asks, I’ll be telling him that you came here. I won’t be losing my life by lying to him.”
Megumi gives a small, brisk nod before he leaves. It stings a little, a reminder that he can’t simply let himself put his guard down. It’s a lot to simply put his faith in blind strangers who don’t want to lose their own life.
He truly is alone here. Even more so than at the Zenin clan. At least there he had his cousins, some people who were by his side. The rest of them had been awful but he hadn’t been alone.
Tsumiki races through his thoughts as he leaves. Of course, there’s nothing more than what he imagines, he lost one of the only real people who cared about him.
Sukuna took that from him. He won’t forget it.
Megumi holds his cover a little bit tighter. In the end, there’s nothing really stopping him from leaving, is there? Sukuna won’t even notice if he’s gone. The alpha seems to hardly notice anything about him.
He turns suddenly, making his way to the stables.
He needs to do this, before more people wake up and try to stop him from doing so. Because he knows that deep down, if Sukuna got any word of this, he would do everything to stop Megumi.
It’s not like he’s planning to leave indefinitely. He would come back, his inner omega demanding that he not go too far from his alpha despite the lack of bond between them.
Sukuna’s horse is happy to see him. Megumi hushes the great beast gently, though it stamps his hooves in excitement when Megumi goes to his saddle.
“Sukuna doesn’t take you out enough, does he?” Megumi mutters. “We’ll get you some exercise, come on.”
At least it’ll get him some variety as well. Megumi’s not really sure what Sukuna does all day that takes him away, but Megumi pretty much only goes to either the kitchens, the stable, or training with Yuuji now.
Strangely enough, he had more freedom with the Zenin than he does with Sukuna. And that’s really not going to sit well with him.
Once Sukuna’s horse is saddled, Megumi grabs a few apples to put them in a pack, one for himself later and more for the horse, and sits himself up.
“Let’s go,” Megumi murmurs, and spurs the horse forward.
Sukuna can suffer, thinking that he’s missing. Megumi doesn’t care. Maybe it’ll finally teach the alpha that Megumi doesn’t need him.
“Your omega left.”
Sukuna pinches the bridge of his nose. Just the words are enough to make a small headache spark behind his eyes.
And Yuuji’s amused look really isn’t helping that matter. Of course Yuuji would find this all endlessly amusing.
“You know his name, why don’t you say it?” Sukuna growls.
Yuuji shrugs helplessly. “He asked me not to tell you.”
Of course he did. Apparently no one wanted to tell him what his omegas name was, so Sukuna just had to deal with that.
This really just isn’t working out for him. Instead of having a cute and needy omega always waiting for him, Sukuna finds himself barely seeing the damn omega.
He should have known the omega would be a fighter; hell, the omega tried to kill him despite being battle worn and tired and bloody. Even marking him was barely enough to keep him in place.
“Why do you look so amused, brat?” Sukuna questions, leveling Yuuji with a glare. “Go and find him.”
“He’s your omega, shouldn’t you want to find him?”
“I’m busy.”
As busy as one could get finding release in someone else. But the omega in his lap was pretty, with long black hair Sukuna runs his fingers through.
Yuuji has the decency to look ashamed, or at least away. Sukuna does not. Though they’re not much to look at, currently lying naked on the bed next to him. Sukuna’s heard he’s insatiable at times, but this one couldn’t even last two rounds.
All-around a disappointing afternoon. And Yuuji’s words weren’t making it any better.
“Busy,” Yuuji snorts. “He thinks you hate him, you know.”
Sukuna shrugs. He really doesn’t see anything wrong with that at the moment. The omega clearly hates him, not wanting to give a moment of his time, not even responding to the gift Sukuna got him.
They would both be trapped in a place together by hate, and that was fine with Sukuna right now.
Sukuna runs his hand through the omega’s hair next to him. The touch is soft, and gentle, until it’s suddenly not. He practically picks the omega up by the hair and throws them to the floor.
“Get out,” he orders coldly.
The omega scrambles to their feet, disoriented by what’s happening. All it takes is one more cold look from Sukuna for them to grab their clothes and rush from the room.
He needed a bath to get the smell of them off. Their scent wasn’t right, a bit too earthy, like the soil freshly plowed outside. Most omegas tended to smell badly once he was around his own. He couldn’t find anyone who had the scent of jasmine like his omega did.
Yuuji looks at him like he’s the scum of the earth, lips pursed distastefully. Sukuna arches a brow, waiting to hear what he has to say.
Though he already knows. It’s not the first time they’ve had a conversation like this.
The lecture doesn’t come, though. Yuuji just looks more than disappointed with him, as though Sukuna’s crossed some line that shouldn’t be crossed.
“Don’t look at me like that, brat,” Sukuna scoffs. “I’ve had harems before this and I’ll have them again.”
Yuuji’s disappointed look doesn’t fade. It seems to get even worse. It’s irritating.
Without a word, Yuuji turns on his heel, heading towards the door. His teeth are locked together in place, a growl on his lips. But he doesn’t snarl.
He remembers well the last time that he snarled at Sukuna.
“Your omega is out by the western lake, someone saw him there. If you want him back, you should get him before he travels further.”
Sukuna perks up at that. The western lake was further than Sukuna thought he could get, and to travel so far without notice was almost unheard of.
Throwing the fur off himself, Sukuna finally stands in all his naked glory. He truly is a sight to behold; his omega is so lucky without even realizing it.
“Ready my horse, brat, I’ll go collect him.”
Yuuji nods, but actually manages to look a bit sheepish as he raises his hand to the back of his head. Sukuna almost doesn’t wait for him, dressing himself with haste.
“About that,” Yuuji starts, “it seems your omega has stolen your horse.”
Well, this day certainly couldn’t get any worse.
The crisp air signaling the start of winter is even more prominent by the lake Megumi finds. He’s used to the cold winters of the Zenin clan, where snow falls as though it hopes to suffocate them with the weight, but he still wraps the cover Sukuna gave him a little closer around him.
He’s found the star flower. He’s found several, actually, enough to last him a while, hopefully long enough for spring to come again and at that point, Megumi’s sure he’ll have plenty of other problems to deal with.
But he’s not ready to go back just yet. He steers Sukuna’s horse towards the lake, stopping along the edges of it.
The mountains in the distance make a wonderful sight. From all of the stories, Megumi almost expected the land outside of Sukuna’s home to be wrought with fire and brimstone, ravaged and plague-ridden.
But instead, it’s pleasant, nice even. If he felt more at home here, like he did at the Zenin’s at the time, he would have enjoyed the ride.
“Not such a bad day, is it?” he asks the horse, reaching into the satchel and pulling out an apple for the great beast.
Oh, he hopes Sukuna hates him when he realizes he’s gone. And he hopes it brings even more ire when he realizes that Megumi’s taken his horse as well.
Megumi dismounts slowly, feeling his feet underneath him on the rocky shore of the lake. The water laps at the stones with ease, a gentle back and forth that Megumi watches. The horse goes to graze, not at all opposed to finally having Megumi off his back after so long.
He’s waiting, as much as Megumi hates to admit it to himself. He’s waiting because it’s easier than to keep moving and running.
The few hours of freedom are more than he thought he would get.
It doesn’t take him long. Megumi manages to learn how to skip a stone over the water four times before he hears the stomp of hooves against the ground, and feels someone behind him who he’d much rather not see.
“You’ve caused me a lot of trouble, omega,” an annoyed voice calls out.
Megumi idly glances back over his shoulder at Sukuna, before he throws another stone over the water. He’s calf-deep in cold water, precariously balanced on stones that would easily have him falling if he moved the wrong way.
“Is that so?” he returns, not at all caring. “It took a few hours for you to notice I was gone, didn’t it?”
It’s the only way the day makes sense. It was more than likely Yuuji who told Sukuna that he was gone, and for his own safety at that.
He throws another stone over the lake.
“You’ve had your fun and proven your point,” Sukuna calls, dismounting. “Did you have fun with Invictus?”
Ah, so that was the horse's name. Though he clearly hears his name, Invictus has no intentions of turning, barely flicking his ears in acknowledgement.
“He makes for good company, unlike someone I know.”
The barb is enough to make Sukuna smile, though even Megumi can sense that his patience is wearing thin. Before he can move, the water ripples and sloshes as Sukuna walks up behind him.
“Come back or I will carry you back,” Sukuna warns, reaching down to place a broad hand on his back. “You seem insistent on testing me, omega.”
Megumi snorts gently, though he doesn’t shrug off the touch. His balance is precarious enough already, moving too much would ruin it, and Sukuna doesn’t seem like the kind of alpha to catch him if he started to fall.
He looks down. Sukuna’s footing isn’t much better on the stones.
“Sukuna,” Megumi starts, looking up at the alpha.
“Yes?” the alpha asks impatiently, leaning down a bit.
If this works he’s going to be in so much trouble but he doesn’t even care. Megumi reaches up, softly like an omega should, just to the front of Sukuna’s clothing. The movement does just what he wants, prompting Sukuna to lean down, as though Megumi’s going to kiss him.
Megumi wants to gag at the idea. Instead, he flattens his palm against Sukuna’s chest, and pushes with as much strength as he can muster.
Sukuna stays in his feet for a moment, maybe two, and then with a terrific splash he lands on his butt in the slightly chilly water. He sputters, not as soaked as he could have been if the water had been deeper, but is still going to be uncomfortable and upset for the ride back.
Megumi barely manages to laugh before Sukuna grabs his wrist, pulling him down into the water in his lap. It’s just enough to make him squeak in protest, a noise which he fully plans on denying later.
“You minx,” Sukuna complains, his chest against Megumi’s own.
Megumi’s hand rests over his heart, able to feel the steady thump thump thump of it against his skin.
“What did you expect?” Megumi asks, pulling back. If he’s smiling, then it simply doesn’t mean anything.
“Am I going to have to carry you back myself?”
Megumi scoffs, picking himself up and splashing Sukuna once more.
Sukuna takes Invictus, leaving Megumi with the other horse he’s brought. Just before he mounts, Sukuna grabs his arm, grip almost tight enough to be painful.
“Do not leave my kingdom without me again, omega,” he orders. “It’s dangerous out here.”
Megumi tears his arm away, the skin hot where Sukuna touched it. Without a word, he mounts his horse, and sets back off in the direction of Sukuna’s kingdom.
Sukuna leads him, as an alpha should. And Megumi watches him for most of the journey back, reminding himself that his alpha smells of sage and incense.
He does not smell of earth and soil.
Chapter Text
Sukuna’s trying to kill him.
That’s really the only explanation for all of this. Sukuna is secretly plotting to kill him and really, that’s been known from the start.
But to go this far, Megumi can say that he’s a bit disappointed in his alpha.
So he sort of tried to run away. Big deal. He didn’t even run away, he stayed in one place while Sukuna found him again! He really shouldn’t be punished.
But no, apparently since he’s so badly behaved, Sukuna can’t leave him alone anymore. So now, at the crack of dawn for the last three days, Sukuna has woken him up only to drag him around doing whatever Sukuna does all day.
The answer, surprisingly, is a lot more than Megumi thought. There are meetings with other people he commands, making plans for future conquering, many things that Megumi would have loved to be a part of with the Zenin’s but never got a chance to.
It’s not exactly different here with Sukuna. He’s still a pretty object to be toted around and shown, but never asked his opinion.
Currently, he sits between Sukuna and Yuuji, watching quietly as Sukuna drones on, explaining how he plans to conquer Gojo. Megumi’s only been up that far north once, and he has no intentions of making a repeat trip if he has to.
He was small when he went for the first time, to a land covered in ice and snow no matter the season. The Gojo clan heir was young, only a few years older than himself, with a cruel smile and jokes that only hurt and never inspired laughter.
But he had always made sure Megumi had something to eat while they were staying, and when time came to talk of alliances, Megumi had always wondered why they never went further.
“Let us take a break for a meal,” Sukuna announces suddenly, snapping Megumi from his memories of bright white hair and blue eyes.
Now that at least has Megumi perking up a bit, turning to Yuuji. The other alpha has somehow managed to get himself to be called Megumi’s friend, though he had thought he abandoned the idea of those long ago.
“Brat,” Sukuna says sharply, before Megumi can speak. “Go fetch me something to eat.”
With a roll of his eyes and a somewhat forced nod, Yuuji stands, bones cracking audibly from even Megumi’s position. Megumi stands as well, though that’s all he gets to do before Sukuna grabs his wrist.
“Where are you disappearing off to now?”
Megumi almost rolls his eyes, just as Yuuji. But Sukuna’s been in a testy mood ever since Megumi knocked him into the water, and he really doesn’t want to push his luck.
“I’m going to help Yuuji,” Megumi replies shortly. “There’s nowhere else for me to go, if you’re so worried. They won’t let me back in the stables.”
He had tried that, of course, not even to try to run away again, but to simply say hello to the horses he had been bonding with. But of course, the other servants had said he wasn’t welcome anymore and he had been turned away at the door.
Would anyone else give Invictus his apples?
“You’ll be staying here,” Sukuna snaps, pulling on his arm just hard enough for Megumi to almost lose his balance.
Reluctantly, he takes his place beside Sukuna once more.
Yuuji gives him a small, somewhat saddened smile. Megumi hates the feeling of pity he gets from it, but it’s better than Yuuji saying anything and potentially causing a fight.
He’s simply going to go crazy, being forced to be around Sukuna this much. The alpha is annoying with what he does and never takes breaks, always on the move or trying to annoy him. It took almost a full day for Megumi to realize the punishment is partly to make sure he doesn’t have the energy to leave again.
“What do you think?” Sukuna asks after a moment, glancing at Megumi from the corner of his eye.
“I think you’re being annoying on purpose to me because Invictus likes me more.”
A frustrated huff leaves Sukuna’s lips, with Megumi barely hiding a smirk behind his hand, a laugh barely on his lips.
“As much as you enjoy being a brat, I meant what you think about this.”
He waves a hand before him at the war table, where pieces with too much detail describe the invasion set forth. Megumi had been paying attention, with little else to think about or listen to, but he scoffed audibly at the question.
“I think it’s horribly stupid, and that you won’t realize what a mistake it is until it’s too late.”
The few people who are left at the table, a fat short man named Jogo and a couple other advisors, stop their idle chatter at Megumi’s statement. Sukuna stares at him incredulously, as though Megumi’s grown two heads.
“And why do you think that, omega?”
Megumi hums for a moment, pretending to think about it, while truly weighing his pros and cons of speaking his mind.
He knows what the punishments would be with the Zenin, but here? Here he’s not so sure. Sukuna hasn’t struck him yet, but that could always change sooner than Megumi wishes.
“When are you planning to enact this? Winter is approaching sooner rather than later,” Megumi comments.
His alpha doesn’t look away from him when he answers, shortly, “the sooner the better.”
Well, Megumi doesn’t think things can get any worse but Sukuna could probably prove him wrong.
He opens his mouth nevertheless.
“Then you are a fool on a fruitless endeavor.”
The entire room goes quiet, and though Megumi can feel them being watched, he keeps his eyes on Sukuna. The alpha looks irritated with him, but he doesn’t strike Megumi.
He’ll consider that a win.
“You can not invade a land made of ice and snow in the middle of winter. The Gojo clan will be more prepared and better able to deal with that than you will ever be. You will be sending your warriors out to their deaths.”
He doesn’t care if Sukuna is victorious or not, but the thought of innocent people dying because he didn’t speak up when he had the chance grates on him, makes him fidget in place uncomfortably.
Sukuna shrugs, countering, “We will bring extra supplies then, it’s nothing that my warriors won’t be able to handle.”
“The land is covered in snow even in the middle of summer. If you insist on doing this, it is better to wait until summer when you will have the best chance,” Megumi sends back. “Do not sacrifice lives for the sake of your pride and determination to have a land you don’t truly want.”
A show of power can only get them so far. Megumi crosses his arms over his chest, turning away from Sukuna. The alpha’s hand lands on his shoulder.
Megumi flinches at the touch, gaining him a strange look from Sukuna that he can’t identify, but before he has time to think about it, Yuuji returns. The bit of tension that gathered in the room disperses with ease with his smile, and Megumi is grateful for the food and distraction.
Yuuji sets down a couple bowls of rice, another one that looks like soup that Megumi inhales greedily. Sukuna often skipped breakfast, and while Megumi had never been the biggest of fans, he was tired of waiting multiple hours for food when his body was trying to tell him to settle down close with his alpha and prepare for the cold season.
Before he can take his share, Sukuna slides all of it closer to himself, as greedy as he always has been.
“Come here, omega,” Sukuna coaxes before Megumi can ask what he thinks he’s doing.
And then he pats his thigh.
Megumi really does wish that Sukuna decided to kill him instead.
“Absolutely not,” Megumi scoffs.
He’s put up with a lot in the past couple of days. He’s been dragged around, annoyed, but he is not about to sit in Sukuna’s lap just to get his meal.
Even if he needs the nutrients, his body trying to settle down for the winter with his alpha, he won’t compromise. He crosses his arms over his chest, bitterly thinking to himself that his alpha should know better than to do this.
But alas, Megumi’s never been that lucky.
Sukuna laughs at him amused. “Skipping a meal then?”
Megumi grits his teeth, reaching out for his share once more, but Sukuna just moves it further away. “Are you planning to starve me now?”
He’s gone longer without food with the Zenin’s, but here he had gotten used to the steady meals. It would take a bit of adjustment, but he would get used to it sooner rather than later.
“The food is right here, if you want to be good.”
Oh, Sukuna’s lucky that Megumi isn’t upending the bowl in his lap. Bitter words threaten to leave his lips, but Megumi swallows them down.
Why don’t you ask the other omega you’ve been seeing?
“Here,” Yuuji says, suddenly speaking up, “you can have some of mine.”
“No he can’t. His food is right here.”
Megumi groans, burying his face in his hands. He did not want to be stuck between the two of them in an argument, even if Sukuna deserved the disrespect.
“Haven’t you tortured me enough lately?” Megumi asks, turning to Sukuna. “Do you get amusement out of all of this?”
“Torture? It’s not a lot for an alpha to ask for their omega to be close, is it?”
There’s no talking sense into Sukuna. Megumi knows that, but he still tries it, debating with the alpha in annoyance until the time to eat has passed, and his share is taken away by a servant without being touched.
He only grows silent when Sukuna gives him a sharp look and his option is taken from him. So with a sigh, he settles back into his seat, and does his best to stay awake during the very boring meeting.
It’s more enjoyable to have his omega following him around everywhere than Sukuna originally thought it would be.
With a spitfire attitude and a sharp tongue, the omega offered insight that most of his generals would hesitate to inform him of. Plus, being able to reach out and get the soothing scent of jasmine whenever he wanted kept many of his warriors and generals from dying untimely deaths.
They would probably die later, but they lived a moment longer than Sukuna would ever allow before.
Maybe this omega was making him soft.
He shakes his head, focusing back on the talks of war preparations. The more he thought about it, the more the omega seemed right, it would be a mistake to invade in the dead of winter when the elements and the people wouldn’t be on his side.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t bring the battle to himself.
It was growing late for that plan though, too many things to plan with not enough hours in the day. Sukuna stretches his legs out in front of him as Jogo explains the supplies that he might need, and glances at the omega from the corner of his eye.
The omega had been drifting off, probably more than tired from the long day, but it seems that sleep finally rested its claws inside of him.
But instead of resting against Sukuna, like he should. He slept with his head leaning on Yuuji’s shoulder. Yuuji sat perfectly still, probably more than aware that there would be consequences for both waking his omega from sleep and yet also for allowing this.
“Enough,” Sukuna says sharply, cutting off Jogo. “You are talking in endless circles, I won’t hear anything more unless you have something useful to say.”
The other alpha’s mouth closes with an audible click, bowing his head slightly. Sukuna continues.
“This is more complicated than we need it to be. Extend an invitation to Gojo and the rest of the clan leaders and invite them here. We will offer an extension of peace at the price of a small bit of land and resources.”
“Gojo will never accept that.”
Sukuna smirks. “Exactly. He has too many riches hidden in his lands to think about giving some of them up to us. But at that point, he’ll be here and vulnerable.”
Gojo’s kingdom was rich in gemstones and gold, hidden deep within the land and offering Gojo more value than he could ever hope to spend. It was even said that his own kingdom was paved in gold, since they had too much to ever hope to spend.
Surely, Gojo wouldn’t mind giving up a small part of it.
“You want to start a war.”
“Has that ever been a question? You can either stand behind me or I will make sure you are on the wrong side of history.”
Though there wouldn’t be much of them left if they chose to flee. No one left his kingdom and lived to tell the tale.
“This meeting is adjourned.”
Before Sukuna can say anything more, he looks over, just in time to see Yuuji brushing his fingers over his omegas face, coaxing him from his light sleep. The omega didn’t even flinch, blinking wearily and shaking away the attempt at sleep and blushing once he realized just who he had been laying on.
“Omega,” Sukuna snapped, before Yuuji could say anything. “Leave. I don’t want to see you for the rest of the day.”
The omega blinked at him, a bit taken back by the tone, but didn’t say anything as he rose, leaving the room and more than likely heading to the stables to see if he could sneak in there. Yuuji brushed off his lap of imaginary dust before standing, not looking at Sukuna.
That was different.
He and the brat had never truly gotten along. They were too different, opposites in almost every way. And while he had always been nice to the omegas Sukuna picked up, he had never given them much attention.
Sukuna didn’t like it.
His omega wouldn’t even share the same bed as him, but felt comfortable enough to sleep on Yuuji’s shoulder? Outrageous.
“If you keep glaring at me I might drop dead,” Yuuji throws over his shoulder. “Then who would you call on to kill Gojo?”
A bitter taste fills Sukuna’s mouth. “I will be taking his head myself.”
Yuuji scoffs, a light sound that Sukuna barely hears, but still exists. The tension in the room is palpable, almost able to taste it. The others leave the room as quickly as they can without bringing attention to themselves.
“Come out and say what you want, brat,” Sukuna entices.
“You don’t deserve him, you know,” Yuuji throws over his shoulder, rising to the bait. “And he’s stronger than you think.”
Only someone who could walk through fire and blood and somehow come out alive on the other side would gain Sukuna’s interest. But that wasn’t the part of Yuuji’s statement that surprised him. No, the surprise comes from the first part.
“And would you?” Sukuna taunts. “Your hands are not cleaner of blood than mine, brat. What makes you think he would even want you.”
There’s no response. Yuuji’s hands tighten, balling into fists at his side, and Sukuna laughs. He laughs because it’s outrageous to even think that anyone would want Yuuji when Sukuna is right there.
He brushes past Yuuji, off to find his omega once more.
He does not hear the single whisper behind him.
“I know his name.”
Chapter Text
The commotion in Sukuna’s kingdom nearly makes Megumi’s head spin. People chat amongst themselves, an air of excitement and activity about them that Megumi’s never seen before.
It’s strange to have visitors this close to winter, when snow threatens to fall and stick to the ground. People never visited the Zenin in great numbers like this, most of the time avoiding coming in groups. Though that might have more to do with the Zenin only inviting a select few they deemed worthy.
Uraume stands beside him, already eyeing some of the wares that have been brought. It will be a good chance for trade and craft before weather makes travel impossible. Megumi isn’t too interested in it, but he makes no complaints to Uraume looking at all of the spices.
He would rather have spent his time with Yuuji, welcoming the visitors, but that would mean spending time with Sukuna, and Megumi’s had enough of that for a while. The alpha is more than determined to annoy him, even cutting down his time with Yuuji lately.
Megumi really won’t have anything to entertain himself with soon if the alpha keeps this up.
“Uraume?” Megumi asks cautiously.
He still doesn’t know what to make of Sukuna’s favorite chef. The other doesn’t talk much, short sentences and strictly business, but they have never been outright cruel.
Pink eyes lock onto Megumi, head tilting in acknowledgement. Megumi clears his throat.
“Do you think tonight we can have something with ginger? There seems to be a bit for sale here.”
It’s a silly request, but Megumi simply can’t help himself. He’s throwing a stone out into a pond, waiting to see the ripples and how they’re received by his companion before speaking more.
Uraume nods their head. “If that is what you wish.”
Megumi’s shoulders relax with a tension he didn’t wish to carry any longer. Sometimes, it still surprised him that he carried some power being Sukuna’s omega, though it wasn’t much.
More than he had with the Zenin clan, that’s for sure.
“I didn’t think so many would come at Sukuna’s summon,” Megumi comments while Uraume picks through the ginger the vendor is selling, looking for the best.
“They are wise not to ignore it. Sukuna could take it as a declaration of war.”
Uraume hands over a bronze coin for the ginger, the vendor accepting it greedily. Megumi takes the ginger from Uraume’s hands, carrying it for them, since it’s his purchase despite not handing over the coin.
“Would he really start a war simply because someone ignored him?”
Uraume looks at him blankly, and Megumi flushes, realizing how silly the question is about his alpha. Of course he would do such a thing, he’s done worse for less.
Though it does make all the times that he ignored Sukuna a bit more entertaining. The alpha has tried so hard to get a reaction from him at times, and Megumi has yet to give it to him.
“You know the answer as well as anyone here,” Uraume eventually says, watching Megumi nod. “Is there anything else that you want?”
Megumi sinks a little further into his cover, suddenly thankful to Sukuna for gifting it to him. It protected him well against the cold, keeping him secure and warm while also being large enough for him to sink into it.
“No, I don’t think so,” Megumi answers eventually. “I’m surprised at how much there is here.”
Even with the cold temperatures making their breath fog out in front of them like smoke, the vendors look happy to try to sell their wares, enticing people to booths with trinkets and food. Megumi aches for a cup of warm tea to wrap his hands around to chase away the chill, or at least a pair of gloves, but does nothing more than eye a booth selling such things.
It’s not his money to spend, regardless. He doubts Sukuna will let him out when it gets even colder, and when the snow falls heavily.
“It’s not often that traders come here. Our lord normally keeps outsiders out, so many have come to trade and make money. People save for the moments that traders can come and show things that many have never seen before here,” Uraume explains, not unkindly.
Megumi still feels a little ashamed that he hadn’t realized it himself. Of course it makes sense once he thinks about it, but he simply never had before.
It would be overwhelming here, without Uraume. Their presence is steady and comforting, even if they don’t talk often. But with a friend, it isn’t so bad, and Megumi is able to look at the booths at things he wouldn’t be able to see before.
“I never would have seen many of these things before,” Megumi marvels quietly. “The Zenin clan never had visitors like this.”
Uraume nods. “I have heard that they have been very closed off before—”
Megumi’s lips purse, and Uraume cuts themself off before they continue and make things worse. Megumi doesn’t need the reminder about what happened. He lives with it every day.
“Megumi!”
His head snaps to the side at the sound of his name, almost getting barreled into by Yuuji in his eagerness to greet him. If anyone in his life has ever been like an excitable puppy, it’s Yuuji, always greeting him as though there’s no one else he’d rather see.
“Hello Yuuji,” he greets, not protesting when the alpha takes a hold of his arm. “Shouldn’t you be greeting the visitors with Sukuna?”
His alpha hadn’t ordered him to be near, so Megumi took the rare opportunity to be without the alpha harassing him for attention. He’s not sure if it’s because Sukuna was tiring him, or simply because he didn’t want Megumi to say something distasteful in front of the other lords.
More than likely the latter rather than the former.
“Sukuna wanted me to come and collect you.”
Of course. Megumi rolls his eyes, waving goodbye to Uraume and getting a parting nod in return. Yuuji keeps a strong hand on his shoulder, leading him in a way that should be comforting.
Or at least, it would be if Yuuji was the alpha that marked him. Instead it felt almost suffocating, his body straining for a moment with the desire to find Sukuna.
Megumi squishes that down, looking longingly at some of the vendors as they pass. His hands have a chill to them as he hides them underneath his cover, lamenting the loss to explore the makeshift market more.
“Oh, I got these for you!” Yuuji says suddenly, noticing his discomfort. “The winters get really cold here.”
From his pocket, Yuuji produces a set of warm leather gloves, the kind meant to last many winters instead of a single season. They’re nicer than anything Megumi was looking at, and he shies away from the expensive product.
“I can’t take these—”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it! I don’t want you to get cold.”
Despite a small voice in his head that says this is a bad idea, Megumi allows Yuuji to take his hand and slide the first glove on. It warms him immediately, chasing away the chill that’s been following Megumi since this morning.
The soft scent of citrus wafts up from him, aside from the smell of leather. It’s Yuuji’s scent, not one that he minds, but belatedly he realizes it’s not the scent that he’s missing today.
Cheeks coloring, Megumi yanks his hands away from Yuuji, the leather creaking as he clenches his hands. Yuuji’s face flashes with hurt, but it’s gone so quickly that Megumi almost thinks he imagines it.
“Sorry,” Megumi apologizes quickly. “I think the cold is getting to me.”
The lie tastes sour on his tongue, but he doesn’t want to upset Yuuji and possibly lose one his only allies here. Though he knows that Yuuji is sweeter than that, and won’t leave him simply for something as being ungrateful for a gift, Megumi can’t help but worry.
“Don’t worry!” Yuuji says, as chipper as ever. “It’s no big deal. We should get you inside if the cold is bothering you.”
He’s used to harsh winters from the Zenin, but he doesn’t say that. Instead he only nods, allowing Yuuji to lead him inside once more.
It’s not much difference from being outside in the makeshift market, except for the roof under their heads. People scramble about to get everything ready, strangers that Megumi’s never seen making sure that their lords have respectable quarters for the night and entertainment if they wish.
Megumi’s seen a couple of them before, normally hidden away to spy when the Zenin allowed a few visitors. He doesn’t recognize a lot of them now though, and sticks close to Yuuji because of it.
But the alpha isn’t leading him to the main room, instead back towards the quarters he shares with Sukuna. Megumi shoots him an inquisitive glance.
“Sukuna says he wants you to change before you see him,” Yuuji says with a sigh, more than likely not looking forward to whatever outfit Megumi’s going to be forced into.
Megumi isn’t looking forward to that either. But there doesn’t seem to be much of a choice in his life anymore.
Yuuji lets him into the room with an upset look that Megumi can’t fully place. Megumi tries not to think about it too much, especially not as he looks at what Sukuna’s left out for him to wear, laid out on the bed that Megumi still refuses to share with Sukuna.
The sheer material barely leaves anything to the imagination. There’s no protection from the cold against whatever this was, and it takes Megumi several minutes of moving the sheer material around before he manages to get himself covered in a way that feels comfortable.
In the end, his stomach and chest is bare, as well as his thighs and calves. The only thing that’s really covered is his ass and his crotch, and very quickly Megumi realizes this is not going to work.
It’s not exactly his… style.
There’s no way he’s going out like this.
So he doesn’t. If he’s going to change he’s going to change into something he’s at least comfortable with.
He steals one of Sukuna’s tunics, letting the alpha make his claim clear in another way. If he won’t dress for the part, he’ll at least smell like Sukuna’s omega.
“Megumi? Are you okay?”
No, he’s really not, but he doesn’t want to worry Yuuji any more than he already has.
“I’m fine,” he says as he leaves the room, nothing about him changed besides an absent cover and a new tunic instead. “Where’s Sukuna?”
Yuuji doesn’t say anything about his change of clothes, which Megumi’s grateful for. He’s going to have to field enough questions from Sukuna already about what he thinks he’s doing.
Really, it’s amazing that the alphas' patience hasn’t worn out completely. But at least it makes pushing boundaries a bit more interesting than before.
Yuuji leads him to the meeting room, where just a few short weeks before, Megumi had sat in on a meeting where Sukuna considered going to war with half of the people there. Instead, now they’re here with the idea of becoming allies, one of the greatest lies that Sukuna’s probably ever told.
Though if these lords believe that, they almost deserve to be conquered.
Megumi doesn’t have much patience for any of them. It’s the first time he’s seeing most of them fully and not in half hidden glances as he snuck around the Zenin compound. Most of them have the same energy that Sukuna has, as though decadence and debauchery is something they’re entitled to.
Some of them even have omegas they’ve brought with them, dressed in clothes like the ones Sukuna left out for him, sheer and leaving nothing to the imagination. The omegas fall over themselves to pleasure their alphas, waiting on them hand and foot, some of them being treated as nothing more than furniture.
Megumi looks away from that before the anger can fully take hold of him. Sukuna probably won’t protect him from the fire of a fight if Megumi’s the one to spark it.
Though he still has to look around for his alpha, only this time he pretends he doesn’t see that he’s the only omega walking around without an alpha, that he’s the only omega not dressed in next to nothing.
He spots his alpha on the other side of the room, a perfect image of ease as he lounges, a goblet of wine in his hand and a plate of fruit beside him. He doesn’t look much unlike the first night that he attempted to coax Megumi to his side, radiating power.
The only difference is that this time there is someone beside him, someone that Megumi never thought he’d see again.
The pair take a moment to notice him, though Sukuna spots him first, tilting his head in omega and eyeing his outfit with a critical eye. But Megumi doesn’t look at him, eyes only for the person sitting beside him.
“Satoru?”
Vivid blue eyes snap to him, a bright smile overcoming Gojo Satoru’s face. Sukuna looks between the two of them, distaste making his lips purse.
It grows even worse when Satoru rises, embracing Megumi tightly.
They can’t help it. They haven’t seen each other in years, after all.
“Megumi! I thought you might be alive, you never quit so easily, do you?” Satoru laughs, ruffling Megumi’s head like he’s a child.
Megumi stiffens, almost groaning when he realizes Satoru’s mistake. Sukuna’s finally gotten his hands on something of Megumi’s that he’s been reluctant to let go of.
“You’re as annoying as ever,” Megumi complains, pushing Satoru away.
Back when he was a child, the Zenin had allowed visitors more often than they had in their final days. Satoru had often come as a child, and would play with Megumi outside until Satoru had presented as an alpha and it became clear that he would take over the Gojo clan.
Satoru leans back with a laugh, sitting beside Sukuna once more. “So this is the prize you were talking of winning, Sukuna?”
Megumi glances at his alpha. Sukuna meets his gaze evenly, spreading his legs slightly and patting his thigh.
Megumi rolls his eyes in return. That’s another thing that Sukuna hasn’t let go of, his insistence that Megumi’s best place to sit is in his lap.
“He didn’t win anything,” Megumi snaps before Sukuna can actually answer. He does go to sit beside Sukuna, but that’s simply it, beside him and not in his lap.
The alpha looks less than pleased. Satoru takes his place on the other side of Sukuna once more, laughing behind his hand when Sukuna’s arm snakes around Megumi’s waist and drags the omega into his lap.
“Megumi,” Sukuna says for the first time, and it’s almost sinful in the way he says it. As though Megumi’s name is something obscene that he’s saying in bed rather than in the company of others.
“What?” Megumi snaps in return. “Is it not enough for you to humiliate me in front of others? Must you treat me like property at every turn?”
Satoru suddenly laughs, throwing his head back with the loud noise. A couple other people look at them because of it, but Satoru doesn’t pay them any mind. He never did care for the attention he would gain.
“Megumi’s never been a quiet one, Sukuna,” Satoru teases. “I’ll leave you two to your lovers’ spat. Come and talk to me later Sukuna.”
Before Megumi can protest, Satoru stands and leaves them alone—well, as alone as they can be in a room filled with people in what seems to have fallen into a party rather than the war conference it was meant to be.
Sukuna’s hand tightens on his waist, and he places the goblet aside so that he can hold Megumi with both hands, more than aware that without both hands, Megumi would squirm until he’s freed.
The alpha does know him, in a way. At least he knows how stubborn he can be.
“I don’t believe those are the clothes I left out for you, Megumi,” Sukuna purrs in his ear.
Megumi resists every urge to elbow Sukuna in the stomach. And then he realizes he doesn’t have to do that and elbows his alpha in his stomach. It’s sort of like hitting stone, with how tense Sukuna is to brace himself for the blow.
“Now, now,” Sukuna says, grabbing his elbow to prevent another blow. “I’m being quite generous with you. Behave.”
“I don’t think this counts as generous.”
Sukuna arches a brow. “No?”
Megumi grits his teeth. “No.”
Though his alpha doesn’t seem annoyed with his stubbornness today, or even irritated by it. Maybe finally learning Megumi’s name after months is enough to pacify the normal irritation he would feel at Megumi’s spiteful attitude.
“Look around you, sweetheart, and tell me that you want me to treat you like the other alphas treat their omegas here. I have been very generous with you, letting you dress how you want and sleep in your nest on the floor.”
Sukuna’s hand travels up his thigh, too high to be appropriate, but Megumi doesn’t push him away. This is the kind of touch he’s used to.
“Do you want me to be cruel, Megumi? Do you want me to take away the few privileges that you have earned back?”
Bitterness rises so harshly in Megumi’s throat that he almost chokes on it. Sukuna seems to realize it, shifting a bit so he could hold Megumi a bit closer, the embrace meant to be comforting.
“I asked you a question, Megumi.”
“No,” Megumi bites out. “I don’t want you to be cruel.”
Sukuna presses a kiss against his temple. And despite himself, with the taste of bitterness in his mouth, Megumi still leans into the touch.
Only because it will make Sukuna happy. Nothing more. To prevent everything from getting worse.
Sukuna’s hand squeezes his thigh, and Megumi inhales the scent of incense, the only scent his alpha should have on him.
Megumi takes Sukuna’s goblet and drinks the rest of it before the alpha has a chance to. Though Sukuna only looks amused at the theft, probably realizing that it’s easier to keep a tipsy omega in his lap than a sober one.
“Then if that’s what you want,” Sukuna agrees, “I won’t be cruel. As long as you behave.”
Megumi stiffly nods. It’s the least he could do.
“Now, let the feast begin.”
Notes:
This was the last I ever wrote for this story.
Unfortunately, I have no plans to further this story. I am focusing more on my writing career and publishing my own works.
However, if you wish to pick it up, and write more, please feel free to. Leave a comment here and I will happily read anything you write.
My apologies for leaving this unfinished. As I said, I huge plans for this story, I was truly enjoying it. However, this will never be something I pick up again.
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Last Edited Sat 11 Dec 2021 10:45PM UTC
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