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sukuna ryōmen had always found pleasure in getting what he wanted, whenever he wanted, and wherever he wanted it.

that was the beauty of power and being the king of all yōkai.

he liked taking control of the situation and sadistically hurting others to achieve his goals, no matter the consequences.

so why was he here with a priestess, entering a murky cave that smelled of corpses as the girl tried to find the monster that resided deep within?

"it's for the villagers", she said.

ah yes, the sukuna ryōmen was entering some damn smelly cave in search for a demon because the nosy priestess had decided to help the villagers with their missing children.

the demon king never understood why kiyo just couldn't have left or threatened the villagers for a place to stay.

'how tiring'.

everything had bored the yōkai as kiyo didn't seem to panic in the slightest. it made sukuna wonder if all human ladies were like this: calm and collected when entering a dark, unknown territory.

no, definitely not. sukuna's met — well, fucked — plenty of women who squeal at the sight of a cockroach, so it was definitely not a universal thing.

he wondered whether kiyo ever displayed any other expression other than her neutral face or small smile that she'd show whenever something as insignificant as a fresh river was seen.

"you can stay here if you want", kiyo spoke, to which sukuna had raised a brow.

'and miss the show? hell no'.

"I'm coming along", sukuna stated, unamused.

kiyo gave sukuna a small smile and nod. "then let's go".

sukuna only yawned as he scratched the back of his head, observing once more as the bones of humans started piling higher and higher against the moist walls of the cave, reminding him of his domain expansion.

kiyo suddenly stopped, to which it had prompted the male to just find a seat nearby and sit on one of the many skulls as the show was about to begin.

"h-help...p-please...", a child-like voice whimpered out, to which kiyo could make out a small shadow running towards her.

a limping boy with terror etched onto his face along with tears streaming down his rosy red cheeks had fell onto the ground as sukuna snorted at how pathetic the child was.

kiyo hurried over as she kneeled beside the wounded child, to which she had felt for a pulse by picking up his thin wrist and pressing down on his veins.

"please...m-miss...help..."

"don't worry little one", kiyo whispered, carrying the boy and setting him to the side, near sukuna.

kiyo sighed as she closed her eyes, breathing in as she suddenly felt a wave of sorrow fill her stomach. it was like the yōkai was crying.

a woman with long black hair wearing a simple white kimono had stepped out of the shadows. her steps were slow; they were wobbly and hesitant.

the little boy shivered in fear as he curled up into an even smaller ball, holding his breath as the women suddenly laughed.

"there you are, my child...come...come back to mother...", the yōkai cooed, to which the boy had started sobbing once more as he defiantly shook his head.

"p-p-please...m-miss..."

"who are you?", the dark-haired woman snarled, suddenly turning her attention towards kiyo, who was readying her bow and arrow.

"gojō kiyo", the girl confidently answered, to which just as the girl had shot her purification arrow, the demoness had grown out of her human form and transformed into a gigantic snake, with its upper half of its body still somewhat human-like.

it slithered towards kiyo as she prepared another two arrows, aiming straight at its heart, though the yōkai's tail had managed to swipe it away, with little harm done.

"YOU...HOW DARE YOU TRY AND STEAL MY CHILDREN FROM ME!", the woman raged, to which kiyo had jumped back as the woman's tail had repeatedly tried to smack her.

"they weren't yours to begin with", kiyo calmly stated, seeing as a bead was embedding into the woman's forehead.

"SHUT UP!! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY LOVE FOR CHILDREN?!"

kiyo huffed as she was getting tired from running, as she's never really had to when guarding the cursed shrine.

sukuna stifled a laugh at how worn out the girl looked, even though she hasn't even accomplished much.

"need some help there, miko? you can always take this bracelet off and beg on your knees for me to save you", sukuna teased, to which kiyo had simply ignored the male.

"and who are you?", the snake woman hissed.

"sukuna, your king. tch, how uncultured", the pink-haired male scoffed.

the snake woman laughed. "s-sukuna?! I heard you've been detained by a human girl, and it seems that the rumors are true~"

the male frowned at that. "watch your tone with me, I will end you in less than a second", sukuna lowly threatened.

"a demon king that's fallen from his throne does not frighten m—"

it was then that the snake woman's body had swiftly split into multiple sections horizontally.

kiyo quickly gouged the jade bead out from the woman's forehead before her body could piece together once more.

the little boy felt his throat go dry as sukuna stood in all his glory with blood splattered across his white kimono and face.

kiyo hastily purified the bead and added it to her collection as she bypassed sukuna and neared the little boy.

"is there anyone else that's left here?", kiyo asked, to which the boy had shook his head.

"don't worry, you're safe now. and I'll take you back to the village", kiyo reassured as she picked the boy up along with her other necessities slung across her shoulder.

sukuna widely grinned as he licked his fingers, cringing at the bitter taste of blood.

"here", kiyo said, handing sukuna a handkerchief to wipe his face with.

"don't need it", sukuna rudely declined.

"you're not going into the village with your face all bloodied", kiyo persisted.

"I said I don't—"

meanwhile the little boy had hid his face in the girl's shoulder, kiyo had voluntarily wiped a good amount of blood off sukuna's face as it stained the white fabric.

"what do you think you're doing?", sukuna scowled, about to grab the girl's wrist before he remembered that he couldn't and had frowned even more at that.

"helping you. anyways, let's go now", kiyo said as she held on to the bloody handkerchief to throw away for when she finds a wasteland.

"tch".

as the three had exited the cave, the villagers gasped in disbelief as the two had made it out alive with a child.

"KOJI!!"

"MAMA!"

kiyo had quickly let the boy down as he stumbled into his mother's warm embrace, with her weeping nonstop.

"thank you miss!! thank you so much", the woman cried as she kneeled on the graveled ground along with the rest of the villagers and bowed.

"please, I didn't do much; he saved you all if anything", kiyo smiled, looking over at sukuna.

"thank you so much young man!", the villagers praised.

"if you're really thankful, then build a shrine and worshi—"

"please, it was really nothing. we only ask to reside here for a day or two before we continue on with our journey", kiyo interrupted, to which sukuna had clicked his tongue in irritation.

"ah of course! if you don't mind, my house is a bit shabby...but there's still room", the woman with the child — named koji — offered.

"it'll be much appreciated", kiyo warmly smiled.

sukuna rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms, trudging behind the priestess as kiyo had promptly whispered a mellow, "thank you".

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a/n: hey lovelies!! I hope you're enjoying this story so far, and if you are, please don't forget to vote + comment — it's much appreciated!

hope to see you next chapter <3