The warm, golden light of the morning sun filters gently through the ancient, bloom-heavy branches of the cherry blossoms, casting dappled shadows across the stone path as you walk alongside Sukuna through the emperor’s sprawling palace gardens. His overwhelming presence —both thrilling and suffocating— wraps around you like a silken cage. The very air seems to bow in deference to his existence: birds abruptly cease their songs the moment he passes, and even the once-playful wind falters, suppressed by the crushing weight of his presence.

You've learned to live with the strange dichotomy of your existence here. On one hand, there is the intoxicating privilege of being his favorite concubine—draped in the finest silks, fed by Uraume's masterful hand, and granted access to spaces. On the other hand, there is the suffocating proximity that never, ever lets you truly alone, his four crimson eyes always watching from somewhere nearby.

And the painful reminder that this paradise of palaces and power is forever closed to the one thing you truly love — cats.

Cats, you have discovered, cannot stand him. Not one. Not ever. The moment Sukuna draws near —his four-armed silhouette darkening the horizon— they hiss, arch their backs, flatten their ears, and flee as though escaping from a raging inferno.

Even when the King of Curses remains completely still, posing no obvious threat, his mere existence, that suffocating wave of cursed energy, is enough to send even the bravest felines into a frantic, wide-eyed frenzy.

Today's walk feels different somehow. Perhaps it's the weight of another sleepless night beside him, or maybe it is something strange and subtle shifting in the air itself—an electric charge you cannot quite name. You furrow your brow, trying to place it, when suddenly—

You see it. A flash of bright color among the gnarled, twisting branches above. A small, scruffy calico cat, her patchy fur a messy mosaic of orange, black, and white, catching the morning light like scattered embers. For just a moment, your heart lifts…

And then—

BANG!

A cat leaps from the branches and lands directly on Sukuna's head!

"Get off me, you devil with a tail!" Sukuna snarls, recovering from his initial shock. This feisty, yet stupid calico cat seems to have no instinct for self-preservation. She playfully covers Sukuna's eyes with her furry paws, purring contentedly, completely oblivious to his protest.