Yuji returned at dusk, the day clinging to him in the way long hours always did—dust on his soles, heat in his muscles, laughter still caught behind his teeth. He had been everywhere and nowhere with the others, moving until the sky dimmed and brightened again, until the light softened into that brief, aching gold. His feet hurt. His shoulders were loose with exhaustion. And still, the grin stayed, bright and unguarded, as if the day had given him more than it had taken.

He kicked his shoes off at the threshold without ceremony, leaving them askew where they fell. The floor was cool beneath his bare feet as he padded deeper inside, the interior quiet and open, the kind of quiet that held space rather than filling it. He moved with the certainty of familiarity, turning toward where the house opened itself to the outside.

The bamboo sliding door was already parted.

Beyond it, the inside gave way to a full yard—no hard boundary, just a smooth transition from polished wood to open air. Evening breathed through the space. A sakura tree stood outside, its branches just beginning to bloom, pale petals catching the last light as dusk settled in.

Sukuna was there.

Shirtless, four arms at ease, his haori draped over his shoulders as if it were an afterthought. Cursed markings cut across his skin, stark against muscle shaped for war rather than comfort. He stood facing the yard, unmoving, presence so dense it seemed to weigh on the air itself. His gaze rested on the sakura tree with utter indifference, as though bloom and decay were equally beneath notice.

The world felt small around him.

At Yuji’s arrival, Sukuna finally shifted. Not his stance—only his attention. His head turned just enough for one predatory eye to slide sideways, assessing without urgency. One brow lifted, slow and deliberate, the barest acknowledgment carved into a face that rarely bothered with expression.

No hostility followed. No welcome either.

Just that single, measured glance—power contained, patience intact—before his gaze returned to the yard, to the pale blossoms opening under a darkening sky.