Beneath the Sweetness

"Not all masks are worn for disguise; some are worn to protect what's hidden within."

(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)

It was a beautiful morning, sunlight was filtering through the glass windows in the café, but it wasn't too hot.

I was sitting at a table, the chair in front of me empty as I waited for a certain person.

A bell rang as the door opened, a small figure of a girl coming in.

"Sukuna!" She exclaimed, a huge smile on her face as she fell to the chair, pulling it towards the table.

My own lips curled up into a smile at her antics as I leaned towards her. "Hey, Nect."

She grinned, her teeth shining in the sunlight as she almost jumped in excitement. "Buy me cake!"

I sighed, it was really tiring dealing with her, but I would be wrong if I said I didn't find it fun.

I pushed the menu to her, which slid across the table. She immediately opened it and scanned through all the items with wide eyes.

If it was any other person, I would think that their eyes were widened looking at the prices, but her...it's probably because of how many items the–

"There's so much!" She exclaimed, her mouth slightly opening as she flipped trough the pages.

Well, I was right. It doesn't bother me though, I just want us to enjoy our day for now.

I need to go to Elara's orphanage, check on Eva, and I have a meeting with Aiden coming up. I also need to be wary of–

"Chocolate cake!"

A voice assaulted my ears, breaking me from my thoughts.

I sighed, realizing that I had zoned out, thinking of work again...I was here to enjoy, and to leave all my worries behind.

"Alright," I said, calling the waiter to me.

The waiter came towards me, cautiously, taking slow and deliberate steps.

"I-Is there anything I can get for you?" He asked, trying to hide the trembling in his voice.

I glanced at him, which made him flinch. "Two pieces of chocolate cake, number 34 on the menu," I ordered, not looking at him.

He quickly wrote the order down and walked away, almost glad that he had escaped.

I heard a giggle beside me. Turning my head to Nect I raised an eyebrow.

"You really scare them," she said, her giggles not stopping.

I sigh, it was probably because of the news of the town massacre leaking and me being one of the main suspects.

"So..about the town...you, like...psh'd it?" She said, making an explosion with her hands.

My eyes slightly widened. I thought that she was so normal and casual because she didn't know about the massacre.

But, seeing her so...unbothered, was quite uncanny, even for me.

It was as if she was simply asking what the time was.

I couldn't help but look at her closely once again, her expressions showed no signs of care for the people.

Such a thing was quite uncommon, especially for people at this age, who viewed the world black and white.

I couldn't help but rethink who Nect really was, she seemed like this harmless, dumb child, but this was not something a 'child' would do.

I calmed myself down, reciprocating her attitude.

"No," I said, slightly smirking. "I did more of a grrrr," I said, making cutting gestures with my hands, like I do with Dismantle.

"Well how did you grrrr a whole town then?" she asked, leaning towards me as she chopped the table multiple times, imitating my slashing.

I smirked, leaning towards her and getting close to her ear.

She was interested, waiting eagerly for my answer.

"Secret~" I whispered, leaning back into my chair as I enjoyed her devastated reaction.

She almost jumped onto me, having a tantrum. "No fair! TELL ME!"

"Sit down or no cake."

She immediately calmed down, her love for cake was a great method of subduing her.

But, I felt that it was something much deeper than just 'love for cake'.

As I looked at her, pouting and crossing her arms, I thought of all the time I had spent with her.

It was undeniable that her personality was really fun, but I couldn't help but think that it's...not real.

It's hard to put into words, but I feel like there is something dark inside her...something she hides from everyone.

She glanced at me for a second, before going back to pouting and looking away, her arms still crossed.

She doesn't seem to be willing to share it with me, but I won't force her, it's best if she does it on her own, when she feels comfortable.

As the cake arrived, the waiter seemed to be quite scared, but tried his best to not show it.

His forehead was moist with perspiration as he placed down the plates.

Nect immediately started devouring the cake.

I looked at the waiter, making him flinch again. "Thank you."

He nodded shakily, quickly making his escape once again.

"This cake is so good! Right, Suku?" Nect asked between bites.

I raised an eyebrow. "Suku?"

I looked at me for a brief second. "That's what I'll call you from now," she said, giving me a thumbs up.

I sighed. "No, and at least choose a good nickname."

She looked at me, smirking. "Really? Well give me one then." She continued chomping on the cake.

"..."

"..."

"Suku it is," I said, giving up on finding a better nickname.

She nodded knowingly.

As she finished her cake, she wiped her mouth with the tablecloth, making me sigh tiredly once more.

But, I couldn't help but smile at her antics again.

I pushed my plate to her, on which lay my untouched piece of cake. "Have this too."

Her eyes practically sparkled with excitement. "You're the best!" She almost screamed, continuing her relentless chomping.

Minutes went by, turning into hours as we chatted, her stomach seemingly endless as she devoured item after item.

It had been a long time, the sun was high up in the sky, it was close to afternoon, or maybe afternoon itself.

I don't know...I had lost track of time.

"Thanks for the cake," she said, smiling as she leaned on the table, completely full. "I had fun, Suku."

I was not used to that nickname, but it still made me smile. "I'm glad."

We got up, the workers in the café let out silent sighs of relief.

As we made our way outside in the sunny, slightly hot atmosphere, we looked at each other, smiling.

"It was nice," she said, her voice softer now.

I looked at her, noticing the change in her demeanor.

It looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't, finally bidding me farewell.

"Take care, Nect," I said, holding back my curiosity.

She smiled widely, bouncing as she walked away. "I will!" She screamed from across the road, turning some heads towards herself.

The smile from my face didn't waver as I kept looking at her until she disappeared, sighing once more at her seemingly unending energy.

I put my hand on my face. This day was really fun, but now...off to 'work'.

I called a number, putting the phone to my ear, waiting for the person to pick up as I walked in the opposite direction to where Nect went.

I had gifted her a mansion, one quite close to Eva's, my family seemed to get along well with her too.

A beep resounded from the phone as the receiver picked up the call. "Sir," a voice came from the other side.

"Winston," I said as I kept walking. "Pick me up from road 7, near the café."

There was a pause before he replied. "Yes, sir."

"Also, bring me a wig, colored something other than black," I said, cutting the call, walking as I waited for him to arrive.

.

He arrived quite quickly, in just a few minutes. He got out of the car and opened the back door for me.

The car was black, shining, reflecting the surroundings as if it were a mirror.

This turned many heads, some looking in awe at the display of luxury, while some recognized me and hurried away.

I slowly got in as he closed the door, getting into the driving seat and starting the car.

I looked at him through the view mirror.

His face was wrinkled, but his eyes were sharp, his movements practiced over years.

He was a trusted person of our family, a driver, a secretary, anything you wanted him to be.

He started driving as I took out my phone, opening a certain location on the map.

I passed the phone to him. He looked at it for a few seconds before passing it back to me.

"Graystone Orphanage, road 17, am I right?" He asked, his gaze fixed on the road.

"Yes, I have some business there," I said, glancing at him through the mirror.

He silently nodded, driving the car at a moderate and steady pace, his expression unchanging.

I put my hand to the side of the seat, picking something up and placing it in my pocket.

Winston noticed this, but didn't say anything.

As our journey continued, I put on the wig he brought me.

Coincidentally, it had pink-colored hair.

We arrived at the place, which was a decently well-maintained building, quite large, but stuck between houses in the area.

This was a decently well-developed area, and there was even a good school, where all the children of the orphanage studied.

Keyword 'was'.

As Winston stopped the car in front of the orphanage, we got some surprised looks from workers.

I silently walked in, looking around the place, which was quite clean, it seemed like the workers were diligent in their work.

Ignoring the stares, I walked up the stairs.

In front of me was a door to the office of the owner. Having done some research, I knew that this person was not the best person to talk to.

I pushed the door, walking in.

The owner, a fat, middle-aged woman with hair that went to her shoulders looked up.

She was looking at her phone, and didn't like the interruption. "What?" She asked, her irritation apparent.

I went and sat on a chair next to her desk, looking at her.

"Make me adoption papers for Elara Bloom, and keep the date blank," I said, not bothering with being polite.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "And why would I do that?"

I took out a stack of money from my right pocket, placing it on the table with a thump.

The lady smirked, pulling the stack towards her as she opened a drawer, taking out the adoption papers. "You know how to talk."

She went through all the papers, trying to find Elara.

She seemed to be having a little difficulty with the task, her actions made it clear that she was quite drunk.

She finally found the paper for Elara, her eyes narrowing as a smirk formed on her face.

"I didn't know people nowadays were into little girls," she said, as if both teasing and mocking me.

My eyes narrowed at her sentence, a little anger bubbling up inside me.

Her smirk didn't waver as she filled up some information on another paper.

"You know, we have much better looking girls here," she said, subtly glancing at me.

I didn't respond, my anger rising at a rapid pace.

As she was doing her tasks, I put my hand into my left pocket, taking out something.

Without her noticing, my hand went under the desk.

It was under the desk for a few seconds, before I pulled it back, the item gone from my hand.

She pushed the paper towards me. "Fill up all that."

I looked at the papers, it required the guardian's name, and some form of ID.

I nodded, getting up, wanting to get out as quickly as possible.

"You sure you want just her?" The lady asked, her smirk only widening.

I exhaled, calming myself down. "No, thank you, and don't upload the adoption yet."

She nodded, still smirking as I walked out, shutting the door behind me.

I walked out of the orphanage under many stares, mostly from the remaining kids and the workers.

As Winston saw me, he got out of his seat and opened the car's door for me.

He seemed to notice my slight anger, and looked curios about it.

I slowly got into the car, as he gently shut the door with a clank. He himself got into the driving seat and started the car.

"Take me to the mansion," I said, tiredness evident in my voice.

He nodded, his stoic expression unchanging as he started to drive at a steady pace.

I pulled out the wig from my head, throwing it to my side as I sighed.

My eyes were locked at the retreating figure of the orphanage, looking at it through the rearview mirror, my eyes glinting with a maliciously dark light.

I took out my phone and fiddled with it for a few seconds.

Leaning back into my seat, I tapped the screen one final time, with no sign of hesitation.

A loud explosion rang out, breaking windows and lighting the place on fire.

The surrounding buildings seemed to shake my the shockwaves of the explosion, but only the owner's office was destroyed.

Winston glanced at the rear-view mirror, his eyes slightly widening, looking at the burning figure of the orphanage's owner's office at a distance.

He sighed, turning his gaze back to the road, not asking any questions. It seemed that he was used to this, due to my parents.

A small smile formed at the corner of my lips looking at the burning place, I felt a dark satisfaction deep in my heart.

The rest of the journey went silently, only the sounds of the engine breaking the silence.

As we travelled through the roads, I couldn't help but be excited for the upcoming days, my confrontation with Aiden, which would definitely change a lot of things.

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How do you find the pacing of the story?...Is it too fast, too slow, or fine?

2400 words :>

gimme POWER STONES :333