c2 (1/2)

After Story #2 by Raikaku Rei

The arm Sukuna seriously injured in the last decisive battle had healed, and he was finally able to take off the sling it was suspended with. Moving it still gave him some discomfort, but that was going to disappear soon, too.

Yukari turned his head to glance at Sukuna, who was walking behind and to the side of him. The look in Sukuna’s eyes was distant as he walked without paying the action much mind. The kid had a lot of things to ponder about, Yukari supposed.

On Yukari’s shoulder, Kotosaka was perched, croaking quietly. Since that last battle - since they had lost Hisui and Iwafune - Kotosaka, too, was quieter and more docile than usual.

“Sukuna-chan, let’s go have a cup of tea,” Yukari offered as they were pa.s.sing a cafe that had an open air terrace.

At that, Sukuna’s eyes, that were gazing somewhere past his companions, focused on Yukari’s face. Blinking a few times, the child finally answered, “Okay.”

They were shown to the seats on the terrace, but almost immediately after, Sukuna excused himself to go to the bathroom. Yukari decided not to wait for him and made an order.

“Look, look, isn’t he cute?” Yukari heard a female voice whisper.

When he turned in the direction of the voice, he found two young girls snuggling together and watching Kotosaka from the table next to the one Yukari occupied. His and the girls’ eyes met, so Yukari smiled at them, and the two blushed, embarra.s.sed.

“Um… he is a parrot, right? It’s amazing how he is obediently sitting on your shoulder like that. Does he never, you know, fly away from you on his own?”

“He does. He goes flying to where he wants and when he wants, but then comes back,” Yukari answered.

That made the girls squeal.

“No way! He always comes back, huh?”

“Can he do some tricks? Or talk?”

“Parrot-kun, h.e.l.lo~”

“h.e.l.lo,” Kotosaka replied, repeating the word one of the girls said to him, like a true parrot, perhaps trying to be considerate of the girls.

The two girls squeaked at that in real joy.

Suddenly, Yukari sensed another presence. Turning around, he saw Sukuna who just came back from the bathroom standing directly behind him and watching their conversation with the girls. On his face, it plainly showed that he considered it very stupid.

“I took it upon myself to order something appropriate for you, too, while you were away, Sukuna-chan,” Yukari informed him.

“…Yeah, okay,” Sukuna returned with a sour look and sat down on his chair cross-legged.

About the same time, the girls, who had already finished their meal, stood up, leaving their seats.

“I wonder what’s the relations.h.i.+p between those two?”

“Maybe they’re brothers? No way they’re a father and a son, right?”

“Nah, no way.” Yukari heard them chat in lowered voices as they went to pay for their order.

What was the relations.h.i.+p between him and Sukuna, huh. ‘That’s a difficult question,’ Yukari had to admit inside.

In the past, the two of them were comrades, that much was certain. And they probably still were, even now. But what connected Yukari and Sukuna was Jungle and Hisui Nagare. Now that they had lost both, yet still stuck to each other, it became difficult to define their relations.h.i.+p in one word.

Yukari had had experience of living with other people before. He had shared the same living s.p.a.ce of the secret base with the other Jungle top members, and before that, he had lived under the same roof with another disciple of Miwa Ichigen, Yatougami Kuroh. Except that wherever he lived, he could never break away from the guest status. So compared to that, this time he felt a little out of his element.

Resting his chin on his hands, Yukari gazed down at Sukuna. Sukuna, with a pout on his lips, was glaring at Yukari with a pout - no, at Kotosaka, perched on Yukari’s shoulder.

“Tricks, huh. So stupid,” Sukuna grumbled under his breath. It appeared that he didn’t like those girls’ words from earlier. “And you’re no better. What’s up with that ”h.e.l.lo”? Pretending to be just an ordinary parrot.“

”They were cute girls, so maybe Kotosaka-chan wanted to respond in kind to them.”

“Well, he’s a G.o.dd.a.m.n parrot, so he should quit flirting with girls,” Sukuna pouted.

So it looked like despite always calling Kotosaka stupid bird himself, it p.i.s.sed Sukuna off when others underestimated the parrot.

Kotosaka flapped his wings, taking off Yukari’s shoulder and landing on the table. Not showing much of a reaction to Sukuna’s words, he spread his wings and began preening his feathers.

“…He’s being a little listless, ain’t he.”

Yukari refrained from voicing 'you, too,’ and just agreed instead, “Indeed.”

Throwing himself to the surface of the gla.s.s table, Sukuna peered at Kotosaka from beneath. “Kotosaka was by Nagare’s side till the very end, wasn’t he. I wonder if he talked to Iwa-san in his last moments, too.” Rather than talking to Yukari or Kotosaka, it sounded like Sukuna was musing to himself.

Kotosaki didn’t react, continuing to preen his feathers.