───

     SUKUNA WASN'T SURE WHAT TO DO. the man physically froze up, as his eyes widened in utter incertitude and apprehension.

     his blood ran cold, as he felt his throat dry at the rare sight of a weeping himari.

     the auburn-haired woman couldn't help but witness a blurred image of sukuna sitting on the swing right in front of her.

     heavy tears rained down her cheeks and chin, as she wept out incoherent sentences.

     "h-how could they? h-how could...they do that to you? t-they had no right...to treat you like that", himari hiccuped, shakily gripping onto sukuna's sleeves, as the demon hesitantly cupped the woman's cheeks.

     a pitiful chuckle had escaped his lips, causing himari to glance up.

     "why're you crying in my stead, woman? I'm the one that got abandoned, not you", sukuna softly said, to which himari had just shook her head.

     indeed, ryōmen-sukuna only became the monster he is today due to a series of events.

after being abandoned by his parents as a newborn, the orphanage was what became his first home.

though he wouldn't even call it that, considering the harsh and uncanny treatment that him and the other kids had received.

beatings were a usual, and with sukuna's many attempts to escape, it was no surprise that he received extra punishments.

as the boy grew older, he finally freed himself from the derogatory orphanage, traveling alone, as he would encounter many eye-opening truths about this unforgiving world.

     "no one...and I mean no one deserves such treatment...especially after what they did to you and your friend", himari genuinely replied.

     it was by the young age of twenty-six that sukuna had met uraume, his first friend that had shown him true kindness.

     the two joined an exorcising academy, to which it was no surprise that sukuna had quickly became top of the class — earning many patronizing rumors about him and his substandard past.

     though because of sukuna's outstanding performance, he was isolated from the rest.

     hence when they were sent on a group mission to fight a special grade demon, many had escaped like cowards, leaving only sukuna and uraume.

     at the time, sukuna could only protect himself. although he was skilled, the demon was beyond his own capabilities.

     uraume was sacrificed right in front of his eyes, as he was next — within a moment's time, his body was smashed against the ground, being stepped on by one of the demon's many limbs.

     and no matter how much sukuna had tried to fight back and set down his pride so that someone would come save uraume, no one came.

though perhaps it was the spark of utter resentment, for sukuna was given another chance at life, as a demon of course.

     with a sudden rush of adrenaline coursing through him, an enlightenment was bestowed upon him to murder everyone and everything in his path.

     from that day onwards, sukuna promised himself that he'd live for no one's pleasure but his own, and that he will be the one to instill fear in others, forever, until there is no more blood to shed.

     sukuna merely grinned.

     "it was a long time ago. I don't even car—"

     "but I do!!", himari interrupted.

"I do...", she quietly repeated, standing up, as she embraced the demon king, shielding his entire head like she could protect him from the cruel world.

"and I promise...I promise that you'll never have to be alone again", himari mumbled, to which sukuna could only let out a throaty sigh.

the demon king's arms slowly snaked up himari's waist, pulling her closer, as he didn't dare shed a tear.

instead, he only cracked an ever so small smile — nearly unnoticeable, if it weren't for the man's lips pressed against the thin fabric of himari's nighttime kimono.

himari gently caressed the back of sukuna's head, as she unconsciously kissed the top of his head, causing the man to shrivel up and transform into his bunny form.

     himari softly gasped, as she cradled an embarrassed bunny, who's ears had flopped over.

     a light chuckling was heard, as himari carefully lifted bunny sukuna up, pressing her nose against sukuna's.

     "I mean what I said", himari softly hummed, walking back into their room, as itadori had swiftly returned with the rest.

"hohaku! are you okay??", rumi worried.

himari paused, as she didn't think that they'd come back with the boy.

"uhhh...so what's going on here?", himari asked, still holding bunny sukuna, as rumi was applying medicine to hohaku's face.

     getō and gojō simply glanced at each other, meanwhile itadori was huffing and pouting at the other two teenagers' closeness.

     "we got attacked on the way here, but thankfully itadori-kun was nearby to help", rumi explained.

"indeed. it happens quite often actually...", hohaku sorrowfully admitted.

     "huh? why's that?", himari asked, now intrigued.

     "w-well...since we don't really have a justice system, some people just do whatever they want, but there's a specific group that loiters around and kidnaps girls of all ages", hohaku informed.

"and nobody does anything about it?!", himari asked, causing tōji to slightly open one eye.

"to be honest, no one really knows who they are or where they take them...so I suppose that you could say most of us have given up on trying to find them...", hohaku guiltily explained.

     himari had an absolutely disgusted expression.

     "so they could be assaulted or even dead and no one knows?! is there any clue on where or when the group of people take action?", himari inquired.

     "u-ummm....I-I think there might be someone who could help...?"

once hohaku had finally left after discussing the plan for tomorrow, himari had slid into her futon with bunny sukuna, laying right beside her head.

     it wasn't until when everyone had fallen asleep that himari's eyes had snapped open like a bat's, getting out of bed for her nightly ritual.

though before she could shed off the blanket entirely, she felt a warm paw step on the back of her hand.

"oh sorry. did I wake you?", himari questioned.

sukuna only wrinkled his nose, as he hopped onto the woman's lap, making her smile.

"I suppose I wouldn't mind some company", she whispered, picking sukuna up, as she grabbed her holy sword and yumi.

even though she didn't have arrows, the woman thought that it'd be beneficial to at least practice pulling the string back, as it proved to be quite difficult the first time she tried it.

"did you know that back in my old world there's no powers or such? and instead of arrows and swords, we used these weapons called guns?"

     sukuna hummed, as he transformed back to his original demon form.

     "really?"

    "yep! we invent many other things in the future...it's quite helpful", himari stated, pulling the string back again and again.

     sukuna just observed.

     "do you...miss those that you were close with?", he asked.

himari momentarily stopped, as she flashed a small smile.

"if you're talking about my parents, they died two years ago. and as for friends...I only had a few close ones...but it's okay", himari assured.

sukuna sighed, standing up, as his four arms wrapped around the auburn-haired female.

     one hand supported the back of the woman's head, as it forced himari's face to stick against the man's white kimono.

     "don't lie. it's okay...to feel lonely sometimes...but remember, that you're never alone".