[1st POV]
Ryomen Sukuna, The King of Curse.
The new International Criminal.
I released an exaggerated sigh after I read the news article title on the tablet. I was in a private jet, thousands of feet above the sky but it no longer felt safe like it used to. I was sure the Americans were tracking this plane, they just hadn't acted yet.
Even after a century and the emergence of quirks, the USA was still a superpower. This is exactly why I was declared an international criminal, even though I only caused problems in their country.
I was really living up to Sukuna's title as the walking calamity, wasn't I?
It was never my intention to make things worse for myself and my reputation but I couldn't seem to do anything right. Especially when it came to the media, politics and the like, I was as clueless as any 17-year-old.
Sukuna's memories were mostly of the Heian era and, that too, of Jujutsu and the history of that world which were not relevant. Plus he never gave a fuck about what others thought of him. I had no memories that could help me in my situation, and there was nothing I could learn from him.
I wonder what they thought of me now. I wonder what she thought of me now.
For a fleeting moment in my short life, it was so perfect.
I lounged on the seat of the jet and looked out at the window, gazing at the passing clouds as memories too passed in my mind.
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"You stupid doe," I said, my eyes narrowing at the chocolate girl on the hospital bed, "Why would you do that?"
It was the aftermath of our first villain attack as UA students. A bunch of villains ambushed our bus while we were on our way to USJ to test its first facilities - most of it was still under construction.
There were no casualties as the students along with teachers dealt with the villains swiftly. I personally dealt with most of the heavy hitters so there wasn't anyone who was severely injured other than the rabbit girl on the bed.
"Tch," Rumi merely clicked her tongue and looked away with a pout. Mind you her pout was not cute at all, it looked more like a snarl.
"Don't 'tch' me. You disobeyed me, and you were the one who said people must always listen to someone stronger than them," I said.
Long story short, she meddled in my fight against the stronger villains and got herself seriously injured. She was one of the few people who knew my true strength so I found it hard to wrap my head around how she came to save me.
"Not my fault, you were crying like a bitch," she snapped back at me.
"I was not. I was acting like I was losing the fight to let their guard down. It's a simple strategy,"
"You were bleeding, you lost your arms!"
"So that I could take advantage of their surprise when I healed them back. His defensive quirk gets stronger the more danger he thinks he is in," I said.
"...." she stayed silent but it was not out of defeat but out of pure stubbornness.
"I am just disappointed you didn't believe in me and put yourself in unnecessary danger. You are one of the few people I shared my secrets with, you know I can heal broken arms, you saw the villains and knew they were clearly weaker than me. Why didn't you trust me, why didn't you trust my words when I said I could take them?" I said.
"I don't know!!" she screamed.
I was taken aback when her red eyes bore on me. I was used to their dangerous shine and intensity, but what caught me off guard was the pool of tears in them.
She was not crying, but close. And that was enough to baffle me because I never thought she could cry. She was always so strong and stubborn.
"I don't know okay!! I can't think of anything when I see you like that. When I saw them hurting you, it made my heart feel like it was sick. My body moved even before I could think of anything!" she said, her loud voice echoing in the white room.
"So stop scolding me already," it came out soft this time as if her voice was tired from the outburst.
I just stood there, regret bubbling in my heart. I had taken what happened in a completely different way. I thought she was questioning my own abilities, I thought she was going against me and my teaching so far.
Rumi was a battle junkie who often dove into battles without a care for her health. I have been teaching her to not do such things and to always prioritize her health first. But now I knew she didn't jump into my battle because she wanted to fight, she was just worried.
Worried for me.
I blushed at the thought and reached out to touch her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" she said, trying to bite my hand since hers was broken. I pulled back briefly but ultimately pushed on.
Her teeth chomped down on my hand, she looked ferocious doing so but there was no pain. She did not bite down hard enough to even draw blood. She just glared at me with my hand between her teeth.
"You have one mouth, I have four hands," I said and using my other hand I cupped her cheek.
"I'm sorry," I apologized sincerely, "I was not aware of how you were feeling,"
Her eyes were soon to get soft and she let go of my hand as if to show that she accepted my apology. She nudged slightly against my hand with her lips, as if trying to soothe the pain from her bite.
We stayed in the comfortable silence that followed, my heart beating faster than usual. I spoke only when it was about to get awkward.
"Maybe we should come up with a keyword, you know, something I would say if I really need help," I said, getting her attention. Her fallen ears perked up.
"So that you will know if I truly need help or if I am just acting to confuse the enemies," I explained.
"That's a good idea," she said.
"You think so? Then pick one for me, you are the one who has to come to help me after all," I said with a grin. It was not like I would ever need help from her. But if it made her feel better then that was enough reason to do so.
Because soon enough, I would be virtually invincible.
"I am not good with this type of thing," she said and started listing off weird names and words that should act as a show for my genuine need for help. At one point she suggested 'Pyon!'. I'd rather die than imitate the sound of hopping rabbits.
"This is hard! You always win all your fights so just say not this time or something," she said at last.
I chuckled, "That's not even a word, but sure. If I ever need help against someone, I'll say, not this time Mirko,"
She grinned, "Then I'll have to come running and help you win!,"
"You'll have to be a lot stronger than now if you ever want to fight alongside me," I said and instead of rebutting, she just gave an a look as hot as fire.
"Just watch me, I'll get there,"
It was the world's greatest wonder how she didn't have a lion's characteristic but a rabbit's for a quirk. It would've matched her character so much more.
But at the same time, I loved that about her. I love her contrasting nature. She was a rabbit but she always acts more like a predator. A hot-headed girl but she seemed to have the biggest heart.
Even in appearance, snow-white fur on ebony skin, robust muscles on a feminine frame. It was like two different Gods created her, a combination of two opposing ideas yet she still came out perfect.
Perhaps there was something in my gaze as I thought that, Rumi looked down and dark red dusted her chocolate skin.
Indeed, this was the beginning of our love story.
..
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"Lord Sukuna, we are here," the voice of my pilot echoed through the jet, bringing me out of memory lane.
I looked down at the window to see the icy landscapes. My journey around the world was not over just yet, even if I had become an international criminal.
...
And so I continued, from country to country, I wandered around the world of MHA. It was an escapism at first, a method for me to run away from my problems as I hoped the distance would swallow up my troubles.
But by the latter half of my journey, I didn't even know what I was doing. There was no escaping my own mind, I realized that truth. But I kept going and continued chasing the horizon.
Perhaps all this time I had been looking for something. A place of interest, a new beginning, or maybe even love. But the longer I searched, the clearer it became to me - I already had all those. They were all there, back at home.
Cities blurred into forests, forests into deserts, deserts into oceans, and then back to the city I was. It had a different climate, different land, and different scents, but still, everything was the same. Every city in the world was similar enough to remind me of home.
I never stayed in one place for long, hoping that if I was in constant motion the weight on my shoulder would slip off - it didn't.
I made lasting impressions on some people, they became enemies while I saved more people. I found odd satisfaction in dealing with big issues around the world, if the problem could be solved by overwhelming power, I did so.
And after a total of two months of travelling around the world, my journey came to an abrupt end as I've had enough.
I could run from stagnant land, unmoving borders. But I couldn't run from myself.
....
I picked up the phone kept inside the private aircraft. I gazed at it thoughtfully for minutes, wondering who I should call first. My first instinct was to call someone who was smart or smarter than me.
I could call Hatori, Principal Nezu, or any other people I knew who had exceptional intelligence. But in the end, I typed in the number of the person I trusted the most in the world.
And also the only remaining person whom I loved with all my heart.
The phone rang as I pressed it against my ear. It rang once, twice, and then continued until it ended with no one picking up the phone.
I chuckled at that, imagining her saying something like if they called only once and gave up, they weren't determined enough to talk to her. It was the dumbest excuse to not pick up a call but it sounded like something she would do.
So I tread again and this time, I got through.
{..hello..?}
Her voice sounded weak and weary. From what I've gotten from the news, Japan was already returning back to normal. The people's fear stopped after it was found out that I left the country to wander around the world.
Was she exhausted from her class at UA? I could envision everyone going plus ultra with their training after the recent events.
"It's me," I said.
She did not need further clarification to know who had called her. Her ears were special and they remembered the voice of everyone she ever talked to. She could tell who I was by the mere vibration of my voice.
{....}
She stayed silent but otherwise, she did not end the call, that's good. I could hear the abrupt end of her movement and breath even through the phone.
Although we were lovers in the past, I found myself finding nothing to say. No, I had so much to say that they clogged up in my throat. Words competed so fiercely that none came out in the end.
So I just started with the truth.
"I miss you,"
Followed by what I wanted to say the most.
"I know things are complicated beyond words. I know you must think I am an evil piece of shit like everyone else in the world. And I know you must hate me with everything you have right now," I said.
"But you all have been lied to,"
{....} The line remains silent but I can hear the sound of sniffs suppressed by an iron will.
I couldn't even imagine what she was feeling. It must've broken her beyond what could be understood.
"I tried to escape at first, run away until things automatically became better but I know now that that was a bitch move," I said, a sad grin tugging my face.
"I want to fix things, I want to reveal the truth to everyone. But I can't do this alone," I said.
This time I would be fighting against something without a physical body. One I could not just overpower and win.
"Not this time Mirko,"
And that line broke all the restaurant as she cried out. But she still did not say anything. I understood that it was hard to believe me, it would be like standing against the whole world.
"I'll show you," I said and that was the last line I could say before the call ended abruptly. It did not even ring when I called again, the phone lady said she was unreachable.
Let's hope that people found out about my call and cut it off, rather than her not believing me and declining to throw away my truth once more.
I've spoken with words, now let's speak with action.
..
..
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I updated two chapters.