Chapter three: Oyasumi Yuuji

Nightmares are easier to weave, but he could do it when the victim was awake, too. It was just less painful to be asleep when it happened.

It was another day when Satoru decided to throw him one particularly nasty curse, of course that the man was present and hovering behind him just in case. Yuuji had felt it on his bones that this was the best test subject that Satoru could have found. After all the time spent waiting for this, he decided to put a show for the white haired man.

The curse stood proud and mighty as a bear made of slime could be at one moment and at the other it was laying splattered in the ground, eyes wide as it felt itself bleeding, as it felt itself as a human. The curse was remembering all the sorrow it had caused and as if it was karma he was feeling what it had done inflected on it. It felt suffocating. The not-boy could feel it all too, as could Satoru.

The poor man was close enough to be trapped under it and the pink haired boy could feel the fear emanating from him. Regret immediately filled him, but it was the right way. (It has to be the right way)

Yuuji felt the fear of the curse and relished in it. Yuuji felt Satoru fear and crumpled down in regret. Yuuji didn't allow himself to be afraid or remember his biggest fear. (Inside, deep inside the not-boy's mind lies the ultimate curse. The kill-switch that has never been turned until after everything was said and done and it was left were people with no name that held significance for him.) So everything was just fine, Satoru just looked ready to take Yuuji and flee from there or on the verge of a panic attack…nothing was fine, was it?

The pink haired brat got impatient. (Guilty, you fool, the word is guilty). He sped up the process and shielded the sorcerer of the worst, he filled the brain of the curse with, well, an overload of cursed knowledge, the kind your mind lingers on but barely touches the tip of it out of self preservation. And it would normally just feed the curse power if it wasn't that for some fucking reason it gave him a human concience. The horror of the things it had done is painted like a grotesque mask of old plays, it filled Yuuji with the feelings as if it was him the one that had committed the sins of the curse, yet, it wasn't nearly enough for him. A human conscience for a curse seemed enough to drive it mad, but Yuuki knew that it could recover so he went for the kill and weaved a vision from hell.

Or, well, the hell based on what the curse feared the most. Which wasn't worth mentioning when he had Satoru near. Satoru was a self proclaimed god that relished on being the strongest and untouchable, because when he had been within reach of a human, he had been hurt deep into his soul; it was the kind of damage that left you lost and questioning your every step in life. If you loved enough, if you had shown it enough, if you had been unbearable, annoying, clingy, loud and the list goes on and on trying to find a reason why, a explanation on how you were the problem because you cannot always be the victim. And maybe, you were always between the "it's too much" and the "not enough".

It was exhausting. Yuuji could relate, relates.

He has to understand his victim, to touch their deep rooted fears and insecurities. He had already briefly touched Satoru's mind so it was easy to weave images after images of failures that could happen.

The curse began to rot quickly until there was nothing more than dust to the wind. Briefly, it wonders what would have made a not-life more bearable, a mind or the lack of it?

While Satoru is left with wide open eyes looking at what seems to be the end of his life in the form of a boy. Satoru doesn't dare himself to think of the boy as evil, even if a voice claims he is. A boy is just a boy and a monster is just a monster and he rather liked keeping things separate. (It's easier to see things black and white. Even if it means to deny reality.)

Yuuji walks to where Satoru is and kneels, throws his arms around his body and offers a steady hug as he pulls back his technique.

"That…that was interesting" The sorcerer said after calming down.

"Sure was"

"And dangerous. Was it…instinctual? What happened to the curse?"

"It became human, in a way. And it killed it. I just knew what I had to do"

"Never do that again in front of anybody but me"

They stayed there, Satoru finally relaxing his tense muscles and melting into the embrace, denying and planning in equal measures. Finally realizing just how important this boy will be in his life, for better or for worse. If that happened before he had grown somewhat attached to the boy he would have killed him or tried to get him under his control by machinations. The strongest sorcerer is a bad man, who did bad things to achieve what he thought was good, had he been younger and more naive he would revolt at the sight of himself. He can't bring himself to care, he has been inhuman since the day he was born to everyone in the jujutsu world so no one would bat an eye if he did something like manipulate a young boy into the greater good. He was, after all, doing that already with young Megumi.

He knows, he knows, he knows how this will end. Why bother changing it? There's no way a single person can change shit!

Says Yuuji, someone who has never known other than to try saving lost causes. Hero complex Kugisaki called it, caring too much called it Fushiguro. Only his grandpa understood. He would get this hazy faraway look in his eyes and would hug Yuuji in a bear hug, saying that he got far too much from his dad. It was that like his father, he once was a lost cause that got the help in the right moment. He wants to help others because he remembers what it felt when no one gave a damn about him.

So when Satoru steadies to stand up he says shakenly in his best impression of a terrified kid: "Is there…a way to control that? A place? I'm alone on this?"

Hey, he knew that was not exactly subtle but he just needed to be told this. Needed the invitation.

"Of course there is a way, there is a highschool that is just what you need. In your case it is not as much as controlling it as knowing how to use it to defend yourself when you really have to, which you will not as long as you are with me. There's a whole community out there too, maybe you can meet Megumi-chan soon, I'll arrange a playdate" There was a smile with teeth in his mouth as he planned the future of the boy. "Now, I'll teach some tricks now that you can channel your energy. Tomorrow, same place, same time"