"Happy" Birthday: The Masks we Wear

"People wear masks to hide their true selves. The truth often being too painful to reveal"

(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)

A flickering candlelight cast shadows on the decorated round dining table.

Across from me was sitting Anne, her lustrous black hair falling down her shoulders. Her smile was genuine and bright.

Evon's gaze darted uncertainly between me, Anne, and the untouched plate of food in front of him.

My parent were seated beside me, my mother teasing my father about a mishap in the past.

Laughter filled the air, a contrast to the usual peaceful silence in the mansion.

Maids darted around the room, filling up glasses and cleaning up plates. Though, their usual indifferent expressions were replaced with little smiles.

"So, Sukuna," my mother said, her voice cheerful as she looked at me. "How does it feel to be another year older?"

I chuckled. "Same as yesterday, I suppose." I leaned forward, a mischievous glint in my eyes. "The cake makes the celebration worthwhile."

Anne's cheeks flushed a rosy pink. My parents, noticing this, glanced at each other and smirked.

"Speaking of the cake," Anne said, "are you going to tell us the wish before blowing out the candles?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that a requirement now?"

My mother interjected. "It's considered good luck, take it as a tradition."

I glanced at the cake, then back at the expectant faces of everyone.

The truth is, I don't have any grand desires. Power? I have enough of it already. Fame? It doesn't appeal me. Same goes for women.

My life was...really satisfactory.

But something inside me felt empty. I didn't have a purpose.

I was pursuing strength for the sake becoming stronger.

I was making allies for the sake of having more support.

I didn't have a concrete goal in mind, a destination to work towards.

I sighed, the expectant faces of these people almost made me feel guilt for what I was going to say.

"Let's save the wish for a more..." I said, my voice low. "appropriate occasion."

A disappointed groan escaped Anne, she leaned back into her chair.

She would be delusional if she thought I'd say something like "I wish for you Anne!" Not in a million years.

Evon let out a relieved breath, did he expect the same thing?

My parents, however, felt that something was wrong. They looked at each other and glanced at me worriedly.

The party continued, filled with stories from my childhood, shared by Anne and Evon with varying degrees of accuracy.

Old photos were shown, amused comments and nostalgic sighs escaping our lips.

For the first time in a long time, I felt a connection, a sense of belonging I hadn't realized I craved.

I realized that ever since I woke up in this world, I had not connected with too many people, I felt as if I was an...imposter.

.

The party had just ended, me, Evon, and Anne were sitting in the garden, talking about our past.

"I'd say it was the time we tried to catch that stray cat," Anne said, answering a question Evon asked, her tone cheerful and eyes glinting with mischief.

Evon rolled his eyes, remembering the harsh event. "Don't speak of that thing, the scratches really hurt, I had to get like 20 injections."

Anne's expression softened as she looked at me. "It's been a while since we've all been together like this."

I nodded. "Yeah, it has."

The evening continued, laughter occasionally echoed in the silent mansion.

As the night drew closer, Evon and Anne prepared to leave.

"See you soon!" Anne's voice was tinged with sadness, her smile wavering. Evon looked away, his expression unreadable.

I waved to then with a smile, a genuine one. I could write this down as the best day I have had.

.

.

.

(POV: _____ Ryomen [Sukuna's Father])

"They haven't changed at all, have they?" My voice echoed in the empty room as I listened to the laughter of the three best friends.

"Not at all," my wife said, a smile blooming on her face as she took a sip from her cup of tea.

We continued talking about other things, until after a few minutes, Sukuna came in.

Evon and Anne had left, it was getting quite dark after all.

We both smiled as he sat down onto the sofa in front of us, looking slightly exhausted from catching up to his childhood.

We are still worried about his statement, though.

The moment we asked what his wish was, his expression turned sad. Even though it was really subtle, we both could make it out, after all, investigation is what we do.

The children seemed to have missed this.

He dodged the question and was completely normal afterwards. I found him even harder to read than most criminals I've faced.

"So, Sukuna... " I started, my voice half-serious and half-playful.

I glanced to my wife, her brown hair slithering down her shoulders and shining in the sunlight coming on through the windows. Looking as beautiful as ever.

Her arms were crossed in front of her chest as she gazed into our son's eyes.

My lips moved, the deep voice echoing in the room, "Is there something you want as the 'wish' of your birthday?"

We waited patiently for his answer, observing his change in expression.

But, his face showed not even a minor change, as if he could perfectly control his emotions.

"Let's keep it on hold, shall we? I'll tell you both when I have something in mind." He said, his lips curling up into a smile.

"Sure, ask for anything you want, anytime," my wife responded, slightly disappointed with our findings, which were zero, but also proud of her son's ability to be so unreadable.

Suddenly, my phone rang. Picking it up, I saw the caller ID, it was one of my agents, spies, as you may prefer to call them.

Problem is, he only calls me if there is a huge emergency somewhere.

"I have to take this one," I said, my voice troubled as I put the phone up to my ear.

My wife had a worried expression while Sukuna had an intrigued one, they both seemed to have noticed my change in behavior.

But, the information that I was just told shocked me to the core.

My eyes widened more with every word the agent said.

"For real? I'll go there right away." I responded, slight panic in my voice as I cut the call.

"What happened, dad?" Sukuna asked, his gaze had switched from intrigued to worried.

"Anny Leonheart is your friend, right?" I asked.

I didn't want to give him bad news on his birthday, but he won't give up until I tell him.

He nodded. Seeing that, I continued.

"I just got news, the Rulers of England, that is, the parents of Anny Leonheart, along with most of the members of the Royal Family... "

I paused, hoping that this news would not affect him too much.

.

". . . were assassinated."

He froze, his eyes closing.

I felt as if he was about to cry, so did my wife, who went towards him, about to put a hand on his shoulder to console him.

After all, the family of one of his friends had been killed, it being the Royal family of England.

Anny Leonheart would be devastated hearing this news, and Sukuna is probably feeling sad for her.

"Is that so?" My heartbeat froze hearing the cold voice which came out from Sukuna's lips.

My wife also seemed to have been taken by surprise. The hand reaching towards his shoulder was now frozen in place.

"This means political unrest, a power struggle, possibly even a civil war."

A shiver went down my spine as he smirked.

None of us both was expecting such a heartless and sadistic response from our child.

"Didn't you have to go, dad?" He said, his tone going back to emotionless.

"Right." I said, still slightly flustered from his response.

I quickly walked out, calling my driver, I entered the back seat of the car, telling him to drive to the Hunter Union Headquarters.

I looked out the window at the trees being left behind, the car was being driven extremely fast.

A malicious grin formed on my face as I thought of the events earlier.

I muttered a sentence only I could hear, my voice extremely deep and dark...

.

"He takes after both of us, doesn't he?"

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Nobody did a review :<

I'm turning this fic into harem, incest, ntr, faceslapping–

IM KIDDING, DONT CLICK OFF

Anyhow, 1400 words yay

Now, what is the secret of Sukuna's parents?

cya next time.

Oh, almost forgot...GIMME POWER STONES