───

     TŌJI ENDED UP SLEEPING EARLY, as his pride could not handle being beat so many times in a simple game of cards.

     so meanwhile the dark-haired male was asleep, and the rest were still out spying on rumi and hohaku, himari had invited sukuna out into the courtyard that was provided by the luxurious inn.

     "I can't believe tōji lost all forty-seven games!!", himari laughed, leisurely walking around, as sukuna just cracked a smirk.

"you'd think that a human would be better at this considering how long he's played", sukuna mocked, to which himari had just responded with a chuckle — followed by a soft sigh.

"something the matter?"

"say, do you think I'll find the last stone? and if I do, do you really think that we'll be successful in taking down the shogunate?", himari asked, taking a seat on a wooden swing that was built for those that wished to enjoy the scenery of the courtyard.

     sukuna stared down at the sagging woman, to which he had kneeled before her, so that the moon's luminosity could direct himari's gaze towards his serious expression.

     the man's hands gripped onto both sides of the swing, as he then displayed a lopsided grin.

"you have the demon king doing your bidding, and you're worried that you won't succeed?", the pink-haired man scoffed.

     himari let out a petite chuckle.

     "mah~ you're only doing this for my soul, so who knows?"

     sukuna's frown was evident, as himari hastily pinched the man's cheeks, causing him to slap her hands away.

     "heyyy!! that hurt!", himari pouted, huffing, as she childishly crossed her arms.

     "well deserved", sukuna grinned, causing himari to let out an offended gasp.

     the demon king then sighed, as he noticed that the woman refused to even turn or look towards him.

     "oi!"

sukuna's brows furrowed as himari made no attempt to answer him.

"hey, you're not still pouting are you?"

himari suddenly snapped her head towards sukuna, causing the man to knit his brows in confusion even more.

"what?"

"why don't you ever call me by my name?", himari asked, to which sukuna had scoffed, watching the woman tiredly swing herself back and forth.

     "want me to call you by your name? then kneel down and beg for—"

     sukuna was hastily pulled down onto the swing, as himari had charmingly kneeled on one knee, holding the demon king's hand, with the back of it pressed against the woman's cheek.

     himari's grin widened, as she slyly pressed her lips against the back of sukuna's hand, to which his knuckles could feel a light tingle from the sudden affection that had caused him to slightly flinch.

"my oh-so-great demon king, would you do me the honors and call me by my first name?", himari giggled, very much enjoying sukuna's baffled expression.

sukuna merely clicked his tongue, as he too could play her game.

slipping his hand out of himari's grasp, the demon tilted his body forwards just a bit, as he loosely tangled a strand of himari's fiery red locks around his first two fingers.

     the man then cupped himari's cheek, quietly satisfying her wish.

     "himari".

     the way he had gently yet sternly said her name made the woman widely smile, as she only nuzzled more towards the warmth that was provided by the demon.

     "yes, my king?"

sukuna didn't know whether he favored that or disliked it, as he then listened to himari speak once again.

"by the way, you wanna tell me about what happened with what the river spirit said?", himari asked.

"hah? where did that suddenly come from? and what about it?", the demon asked, mumbling the last part.

"I just thought...that you might feel better...if you told me about what happened with the betrayal thing", himari mumbled, now sitting on the grass, as she laid her head on sukuna's lap.

     sukuna hesitated for a moment. never has he ever confided in a human since centuries ago, and he promised himself that he would never, because after all, humans weren't trustable.

     the demon king then glanced down at the auburn-haired woman, who just gave a small smile and a wave.

     "don't you already know? since you're from that other world or whatever? and why do you even care?"

     "huh? but I don't. the manga hasn't gotten to your backstory yet, so I've always been curious. they said you were once a sorce—I-I mean a powerful person that was good or something like that", himari shortly explained.

sukuna only hummed, as he suddenly sighed, shutting his eyes and running his hand through his frenzied locks.

"but obviously you don't have to if you don't want to. I was just wondering", himari laughed, standing up.

     though just as she was about to leave, sukuna had halted her by gripping tightly onto her wrist.

"I'm actually puzzled by how you'll react, so come; sit down and listen".

itadori, gojō, and getō were currently hiding behind some bushes, peeking through the leaves, as rumi and hohaku stumbled upon some shady looking men.

     "hey pretty lady! why don't you ditch him and come have some fun with us?", the leaded grinned, to which hohaku had protectively stood in front of rumi, only to get punched in the face.

itadori immediately left his hiding spot, as even though he wasn't fond of the blonde boy, he didn't like seeing others get hurt for no valid reason.

getō and gojō just stayed in place, as this was a good chance for itadori to show off. though if the boy were to fail to play the hero, they'd swoop in and come to their rescue.

meanwhile itadori was fighting with the dodgy men that were nearly twice his size in width and height, gojō and getō simply stayed quiet — that is, until one of them had ruined it.

"you like her, don't you?"

gojō's fingers discreetly twitched, though that didn't escape getō's sharp eyes. in fact, it had only confirmed his suspicions.

"and if I do?"

"since when?"

"not as long as you, but my feelings are just as sincere", the white-haired daimyo answered.

     getō's jaw clenched, as he then relaxed his expression.

     "satoru, consider this a warning: I can watch you have all the wealth, sit on the highest position that a man could possible obtain, and play with endless women.

     but not her, not himari".

     gojō's head then tilted forwards a bit, his challenging crystal blue eyes studying getō's hazel-brown ones.

     "I'm serious this time too, suguru".