Binding Vows are simple things, there is no doubt of that.
It is exchange. Gain for loss. Trade made on an even scale.
That part, Sukuna finds, is usually as far as the idiots of the Realm seem to get in their understanding, somehow.
Even Narauko didn't really get it at first. Not fully. Not until Sukuna had to explain it to the annoying idiot.
And he did, have to explain it that is. Sukuna despises that he was made to make a choice, but that is what happened.
Because it was Narauko.
The one person he can not kill with ease, and the one person he will not fight with effort. Such an annoying contradiction, if amusing in its novelty.
For now, anyway. So for now, he cannot act with impunity when Narauko is involved.
Not that the idiot usually tries to direct him or anything. Even with the Vows, he never demanded anything. He never would.
Sukuna wouldn't have taught him if he was commanded to. No one commands him, not even himself.
So no, Narauko did not force him into anything.
He was just so fucking annoying, that Sukuna taught him a little just so that he would shut up.
"Sukuna-kun~! I'm gonna see if I can increase my Shikigami limit with a Binding Vow, isn't that cool!?"
"Sukuna-sama~! Come help me figure out double Subtraction, it's really hard you know?"
"Sukunaaaa~ I don't get ittttt~. Why aren't my Vows workingggg~?"
"Suku-chan I made pancakes~!"
"Sukusukusukusukusukuuuuu~! I don't get ittttt~! Even when I sacrifice basically everything it still doesn't workkkkk~!"
Fucking idiot. The pancakes tasted like shit anyway.
Well, that much wasn't a surprise. Everything tastes like shit to him. Only one flavour stands out in his memory, a stew he was fed back in the Shrine of his birth. It was the first time he tasted meat, and yet he still has no idea what it was that he ate.
The freak came not long after, and Sukuna killed everyone in his home then. He doesn't regret it, of course, but he would he would kill whoever he had to kill to know good taste once more.
Regardless, Binding Vows aren't complicated. He doesn't understand how everyone fails to see the obvious.
To gain, there must be loss. The scale is always fair.
Yet somehow, idiots like Narauko will know that and make careless Vows that they know they will break, just to see if it is possible to gain an eleventh Shadow. Or he will try to sacrifice something pointless like the ability to take a life or to use Reverse Cursed Technique on himself.
It's all so stupid.
Narauko's problem is that he hears equivalent exchange and he starts doing math.
It baffles Sukuna, the stupidity of it.
What facet of Jujutsu could have possibly managed to convince the idiot that math has any place here?
Jujutsu is an inherently personal art, everyone knows that. So why the fuck, would Binding Vows be universal? What kind of logic is that?
A fishmonger trades his catch with a brothel in exchange for fucking the women. This is a trade, an exchange he is willing to make, because he will catch more fish the next day and every that follows.
It is not a sacrifice.
The fishmonger does not value his catch. Why would he? He has caught many fish before, will catch many in the future. He has never felt concerned over going hungry, because he has always provided enough food for himself to eat.
The whore is not the same. She has been sold into a brothel by her family. She has been starved to remain delicate. The whore is hungry. She would give anything to eat. She would give everything for the fish that that monger so carelessly throws away.
And so she does. She give her body, her dignity, everything that she is. She gives it all just so that she may eat.
But none of this is sacrifice. Not really. The whore does not value her body and the monger does not value his food. They trade what they do not care to keep in exchange for what they cannot live without.
Human nature in microcosm.
Now, what if this were to be inversed?
What if the monger were asked to give up his body and his freedom? If the whore were asked to give up her food?
They would refuse, of course. They would fight and they would rebel, because they need it. They cannot lose that which they value above all else.
That, is the nature of sacrifice.
The whore cannot trade her body for power, because she does not value it.
The scale is always fair. Equivalent exchange. Loss for gain.
The fishmonger cannot gain anything of value for his fish because he would not be losing anything of value.
In its most simple essence, a sacrifice can not be a sacrifice if one is willing to make it.
That's it. It is as simple as that.
The monger would gain nothing by giving up any number of fish.
The whore, however? To give up her food? That would be a sacrifice. That, would be a loss worthy enough for a gain.
It's all personal. Binding Vows.
If one is willing to give something up, then the return won't mean anything.
An easy example, and the one that Sukuna used to get Narauko to properly understand, is thus.
'In exchange for a boost to physical strength, I will never again smile or laugh.'
To Sukuna, the gain he would receive from such a Vow would be minimal. It would exist to be sure, he would hate to make such a Vow, but it wouldn't matter greatly.
But for Narauko?
It was obvious that the idiot understood right away. Sukuna saw it in the way his face cringed and recoiled the very moment he even considered imposing that Vow upon himself.
Narauko could not live without the ability to smile or laugh. It is as intrinsic to his nature as cruelty is to Sukuna.
Narauko would never be willing to make a Vow like that. That, is exactly why the Vow would work.
This is why Narauko's idiotic experiments didn't work. Because nothing can be gained if nothing is lost.
If you're willing to make the Vow, then you have already failed.
That simple fact is part of why Sukuna's Vows are so impactful; because he despises every Vow he makes.
It disgusts him, truly. Like an itch across the skin, covering him in faeces and hate.
No one commands Sukuna. Nothing.
Not even himself.
It is antithesis to his being for his will to be dictated by anything but his own whim.
So he can make a temporary Vow to give up his Dismantle in order to enhance his Cleave. Because he hates it. His entire being rebels at the thought of his own abilities being stolen from him, even only temporarily.
He just does it anyway, or maybe he does it because he hates to.
Even if it is only temporary, even if it comes with an equal gain, Sukuna does not care about any of that. Jujutsu isn't a rational thing.
Perhaps this is what separates him and Narauko the most.
Narauko is so unwilling to sacrifice what he values. The same Vows that give Sukuna so much power would be worthless for Narauko, because his values differ so greatly.
Because Narauko would not hesitate even a second to sacrifice every facet of himself.
All of his values are entirely external. He only really values himself to the extent that he is his own vector through which to observe the world and the people within it.
They really are opposites in every way.
Another explosion in the distance pulls Sukuna's mind from his thoughts and back to the cause of them.
The capital is in flames.
It was a surprise to be sure. The city had just come into view when a great gout of flame shot into the sky.
It is this sight that left him so lost in thought, for a multitude of reasons.
'Narauko would already be there.'
That was the original thought that halted him in contemplation.
Because when Sukuna saw the fire, his first thought was not to rush ahead and ensure no one burned.
His first thought instead, was of how many he could get away with killing by blaming their deaths on the fire.
There are only two reasons that Sukuna is here in the first place anyway. Well, one, if he were to boil them down to the core.
Idle curiosity.
Curious the cause of that fool woman's apparent prophecy. Curious of the Kitsune Narauko spoke of. Mostly of the strength this Tamamo supposedly possesses.
That was the crux of this contemplation, really. Tamamo. That is what had him pause here on approach.
Because he saw the fire and he thought of someone else.
Layers of context surrounded the thought, but he doesn't care for excuses or explanations. The facts are all that matters, and the fact that he cannot ignore is that he saw the fire and he thought of Narauko's lover. About whether or not the flames had devoured her.
Since when was such a thing possible? Plausible, even?
That is the thought that stunned him into observation.
And now, after having had time to think about it, Sukuna finds his lips curling into a smile that is as full of Hate as it is of respect.
"It is your fault," he mutters to the air in a tone of realisation, still smiling, still hating. "I can see it clearly now."
Sukuna has Cursed Narauko as a fool plenty of times, for plenty of reasons. The idiot's lacking understanding of Binding Vows just one of many. Yet only now, he is realising that Narauko had not been accepting all of those Curses in silence as he thought.
He had believed that this was Narauko's answer. To not Curse others but to accept Curse onto oneself instead. That is how he always described the difference between Hate and Love.
Sukuna starts to laugh.
He's impressed.
"You have been Cursing me too, this whole time." He laughs some more, a steady rumble that grows raucous the more that he thinks about it. "You... sneaky fuck! Hahaha! You've been Cursing me just as much, haven't you!?! Hahahahahaha!!"
It is a Curse of a different sort. Obviously it is. It's all so obvious in hindsight.
They are opposites, after all.
So it is only natural that their Curses would be opposite.
Sukuna had simply never stopped to think of Curse as being capable of differing so much from his own interpretation of it. He didn't stop to think that there could be more to Narauko's Curse than simply accepting Sukuna's own Hate.
Stupid, again, in hindsight.
Of course Narauko would never Curse him as he has Cursed Narauko, that idiot couldn't Hate if he tried.
Narauko's only Curse is Love.
"What a fucking joke, you bastard." Sukuna shakes his head in bemusement as he starts again towards the city. Whatever Curse is attacking, it feels stronger than anything he has ever seen short that cowardly old man.
It is a good opportunity, he thinks. This Curse of Narauko's.
Sukuna knows what he wants to do with it.
He cannot feel Narauko's presence in the city, but he assumes that the Kitsune is in there somewhere. Since he can feel two Sacred Beasts ahead, he can assume that she is in danger.
He hopes that she is. It would be perfect for him. A golden opportunity.
Sukuna feels his grin starting to stretch as a devious plan comes together in his mind.
"You want to Curse me, bastard?" He whispers the question in growing anticipation. "Good. All the more fuel you will become."
Love and Hate are two sides of the same coin, after all.
So if Narauko wants to Curse him, then Sukuna will simply take that Curse and he will burn it to fuel his own Hate to greater heights.
Briefly, that fool woman's words flash through his mind.
Regardless of gains, losses or plans, burn them all.
Sukuna feels something within himself... shift. A muscle he never noticed, untensing in his back. Loosening his shoulders only the smallest amount.
That's right, he finds himself thinking, Hating that woman for speaking words he agrees with.
His steps speed up as he grows closer to the conflagration, smiling when an idiot's face flashes through his mind as he finishes the thought.
You keep trying to make me forget, but I am Sukuna, The Strongest Curse User.
///
Narauko
///
This world is so beautiful.
I'm reminded of this fact as I swim through the sky, literally swimming as clouds of kami turn themselves into guiding streams to carry me forward as I laugh like a fool.
It was a surprise, when I took flight on Nue's back. It is hardly the first time I have been so high, but it was the first time that the sky sang to me so clearly. Or perhaps it is simply the first time I have listened.
It's as if better accepting myself has made it easier to accept the world. Maybe I shouldn't even be separating those two thoughts as distinct.
Kami exist in all things. From a forest's whole to each individual tree and every blade of grass. Every cloud in the sky is its own self, however small and simple their expressions may be.
They are carefree beings, I have come to find. The clouds in the sky.
It makes sense, I think. A cloud does not live for long, their lives are brief. Blown into being only long enough to swim with the wind until their essence wilts away.
It leaves them cheerful, these fluffy white things.
Another laugh leaves me as I corkscrew through another cloud as if it were water in truth.
I have no idea how this makes any sense, scientifically. But then, I guess I should really stop bothering to think scientifically at all.
These clouds simply saw a sight they had never seen before. Their nature leaves them with the vaguest memories of the world, of the lives they have lived in the seas and in the skies, falling to rise again.
But as they are now, I can feel their curiosity. Their excitement to interact with something new.
They know their lives will be brief, yet they only celebrate the time they have instead of bemoaning it.
I don't think I will ever be able to walk under a cloudy sky the same gain, now that I know how alive even these transient fluffballs are.
It is, in a way, tragic to feel their joy, so innocent and pure; knowing that it will disappear by the end of the day as the kami blows apart and forms anew.
Life itself in microcosm.
But for now, I will simply smile and laugh and dance among the sky, their very excitement alone buoyant enough to keep me afloat.
It's beautiful.
Almost beautiful enough to make me forget my mission here, that I am seeking to kill a man.
A happy sigh leaves me, oh what a wonderful dichotomy that is.
Such wonderous peace and child-like joy sits just out of reach, above us in the sky; joyous even as it watches over craven Souls warring with malice and greed.
If I were better with words, I'm sure I could have made a wonderful poem there.
My ponderous thinking is brought to an end when the clouds that surround me alert me to my arrival. I had informed them—as vaguely as instruction can be given to such a being—of my destination, and they have carried me here with the glee of one who is simply happy to exist in any form.
"Our time together comes to an end," I whisper into the clouds that fluff even when I know they should dampen. "Your company has been wonderful."
The response is not verbal, obviously. For with what mouth would a cloud speak?
Instead, the response is in feeling. In a cheerful departure, happy waves and tittering gratitude for this brief moment, a fleeting fraction of my life that will be the near entirety of their own.
And so I fall, released from their buoyant embrace and back into the arms of Ame-no-Minakanushi-no-kami, better known to me as gravity.
It is an interesting thing about this world, that even gravity exists with a will—if a will that only slumbers.
As I fall with my back to the ground, I watch as the clouds above swirl and disperse, their existences too frail to continue any longer now that the purpose they anchored themselves to has passed.
In those final swirls and eddies of life, I feel the nameless kami wave goodbye, and tears leave me freely as I indicate my own parting gratitude.
Spinning around, I briefly luxuriate in the the feel of wind buffeting against my face before turning my mind and focusing on the fort below.
It is a simple thing, clearly not actually designed much for defence.
It is a Jujutsu fort after all, and what will a wooden palisade do to a Curse? What is sturdy for a man may as well be rice paper for a Curse.
However, this particular fort is in even worse condition. The front wall has been shredded down to nothing, the earth is uneven with cracks and debris, and men roam about cleaning the grounds. They've clearly been at it for a while, as some areas, those of main thoroughfare, have been cleared.
It is just the rest that is still filled with blood and mud.
They haven't even bothered to clear up all the bodies. A small pile of them sits to one side, but many are just left strewn about without a care.
Somehow, I find the disrespect of that more upsetting than the loss itself.
Regardless, it is clear that this is where my quarry lies.
I have high hopes, this is apparently one of two Special Grades left from Michizane's generation. He's even managed to be titled with Divine, not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination.
Then I can see about finding who killed Nagiko's father, after.
I really hope he doesn't disappoint.
///
Tamamo-no-Mae
///
It all happened so fast.
One moment, Tamamo is observing the Humans mill about, talking quietly in their own small circles over recent matters, and the next everything is fire and flames.
It came quick, she was just learning that Fujiwara no Sumitomo is likely acting out solely due to an envious hatred of Michinaga, a typical motivation among Humans, when she felt it happen. The Barrier that surrounded the entire capital went first, shattering like so much glass.
The separation between those with eyes and those without was clear in an instant from who reacted. After all, the shattering of that Barrier was loud. Impossible to miss, as if the sky itself had changed shades.
Everyone with an ounce of spiritual sense turned as one to face the breach, and not even a second later came the next, as the Barrier that surrounded the Imperial Palace followed.
This one held stronger than the last, but still shattered too quickly for any manner of defence to be mounted.
Then it came hurtling through, a Curse wreathed in heat.
The Emperor had already left alongside a number of nobles, but many remained and all of them screamed. Only the Sorcerers kept their calm, naturally.
Tamamo has been trying to gain a better view of Humans, but the distinction made it difficult for her to forget why non-Sorcerer Humans get called monkeys. They are so senseless that it baffles.
The Curse didn't wait to greet or gloat, it simply blurred into place before the most obvious target, Tachibana no Nagayasu, still standing out in the field.
And then there was fire. Tachibana ignited as if kindling.
The Curse took a moment, then, to stop and observe, allowing it to be observed in turn.
It is wearing clothes, that was the first thing she noticed just for how odd it is. The second was the volcano on its head and the contemptable sneer on its face.
Perhaps that sneer would have been validated any other day—the Curse's power was clear as day to her, encroaching upon that barrier she only recently passed—but not today.
The Curse can't be blamed for that, in truth. How could it have possibly been able to predict Narauko?
The man himself may have already been gone—poor timing on his part—but his influence remained.
The Cuse couldn't have known that the Tachibana had just experienced an awakening.
Tamamo only spent a brief moment watching the display that unfolded. The Tachibana led the counter attack, but dozens of Sorcerers joined him, though few could actually keep up to the far improved Special Grade. The weaker Sorcerers focused on evacuating the nobility, Tamamo included.
No, Tamamo found her attention drifting elsewhere even as that battle raged against her senses.
Her eyes were only for the two Principle Clansmen watching the battle unfold.
This is a chance, she found herself thinking. She's never even heard of a Curse as powerful as this one, if it were a Yōkai she wouldn't be surprised to see it evolve. It is strong enough to be an appropriate threat.
Tamamo just needs to wait for the opportune moment.
However, it is as she is thinking this that she notices a change in her quarry. That man, that Abe no Yasuchika.
She watches him approach the two and she layers an illusion over herself so that no one can see her observing them. She watches as he gets closer to them and says something, and then her fears are confirmed when he turns to face her 'back' and gestures, causing the other two to both look her way as well.
Not good, she thinks to herself, rapidly changing plans. She will have to retreat for now, act normal, human. She can leave and circle back later.
And if that is not enough?
Well...
She will just have to try her best.
///
Inari
///
Inari lets out a soft whistle.
She is sitting opposite Amaterasu, the table between them covered by her mirror to show a scene from the Human Realm of a capital in flames.
"They're really going at it," she comments without much of a care. "Even with those two there, a Curse like that might burn the entire city down before it falls."
Amaterasu doesn't reply, simply watching the events unfold with cool disregard.
No, Inari chastises herself. It would be unfair to call it disregard.
Inari fills the silence again.
"Are you sure this is okay?" Inari isn't. Well, she just hasn't thought about it too much. Amaterasu is the leader, not her. It's not her place to make the choices, she just doesn't want her friend to have any more regrets. "If this isn't enough to kick it off, then there will still be a civil war within the decade if we do nothing. Is that something you can accept, with the potential of That God's mess spreading?"
At that, Amaterasu finally looks up. Inari hates the look in her eyes.
"It does not matter," Amaterasu answers. "The only one that matters in that city is the Kitsune. If His trouble becomes ours, then what we need more than anything else is more self-actualised Ultimates. That is all that would matter. We have enough strength to handle anything below that level without concern."
Inari nods her head in acceptance. She understands the rationale.
They have plenty of Ultimate-class fighters of course, and countless below. But there is a world of difference between a being born Ultimate and one that earned the elevation.
Still, Inari knows that her friend isn't exactly happy to see this chaos unfold in the Human Realm right now. It's just a case of bad timing.
Though, it could also be considered good timing.
After all, there are few things that realise potential better than war. So this could even be considered a benefit, if even a single extra Ultimate-class being were to be born from it all.
That thought naturally brings her mind to a certain pair of anomalies.
She isn't sure if she actually believes that they can do it or not. It would certainly be a sight, a once in a lifetime viewing, even for her.
But again, whether she will interfere or not is still up to Fate.
It's like Amaterasu says, the only one that matters down there right now is the Kitsune. To a lesser extent, the Inheritors as well.
The chaos soon to engulf their Human Realm could be considered a crucible.
Even if the entire Realm burns, a single additional self-actualised Ultimate would make such a thing worthwhile in these times of uncertainty.
They are lucky, in a sense. Their Realm is in a Golden Age, after all. There are a number of candidates for Ultimate-class that are entering their growth stages.
From the recently advanced Kitsune to those young but talented Yuki-onna and Kappa, not to mention the two anomalies of much discourse. Though again, she isn't certain if she can believe either of them will be able to manage such a thing.
But that is what makes them anomalies, is it not? That she would have the doubt at all.
Perhaps that should be reason enough to believe it is possible, but that does not make it a simple thing to do.
There have been Humans who have become greater and reached Ultimate-class before, it is just that not a single one has been self-actualised. They have instead, near to a one, been the result of a higher Deity such as herself granting their ascension. Hachiman comes to mind as a mortal ascended to Divinity in recent times, just a mere few centuries ago.
She doesn't count Tenjin. His circumstance could hardly be considered normal. Even ignoring other factors, that brat was already half-Divine with those Eyes of his.
Regardless, Inari does not speak any of her many thoughts.
Amaterasu has already chosen the course that they will take, and so Inari can only obey. She's nice like that.
Still...
Her attention returns to the Human Realm, though not through the mirror. She looks instead to find Narauko preparing to fight yet another disappointment.
She isn't expecting anything exciting to happen there, but with the years that are to come, she does not doubt that he will find himself facing some true danger soon enough.
She just hopes he manages to live through it all.
Inari would hate to see Amaterasu disappointed, after all.
///
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
I haven't advertised my patreon in ages, but the next 4 chapters are perhaps the greatest chapters I've ever written, and each is basically double length, totalling at about 30k words.
A large part of me just wants to post all 4 next upload, but I'm moving out of my mum's house finally at the ripe age of 22, and so patreon, as my sole source of income, is about to be literally paying for my rent and food.
So, I've decided to be only a little bit generous and will post the latter 2 chapters (that's 72 and 73) together while the former 2 will retain the regular sluggishness.
But if you wanna read it all at once right away while also paying my rent, then feel free to head over to Kevin the Bored on patreon! :3
Or just wait a bit ;P