pink

i think kaori would be mainly tied to yuuji. like, leeching off of him. for this au, i would like to think that yuuji was born with cursed energy, but kaori as a curse tied to him keeps stealing it.

i think kaori would have a love/hate relationship with yuuji. he's her son, but not really. she wasn't really the one who held him, or gave birth to him, or nursed him, that was all kenjaku using her body. he's her son, but she had no involvement in making him. i think she hates that he exists. its important to note that since kaori's a curse, there isn't any logic to her anymore.

i can imagine her clinging to yuuji the same way that rika clings to yuuta (though with yuuta, there's a cursed technique at play, while kaori is just like that due to feeding off of kenjaku's cursed energy and then her son's) kaori HAS a technique, so i think it's entirely possibly for her as a curse to manipulate curse energy. i like the idea that when yuuji dies in the detention center case, instead of sukuna bringing him back, it's kaori. kaori as a curse forcing her son back to life out of both hate and love. yuuji is her son. he must live. he was born to a dead woman. he IS a curse.

like hear me out on the idea of kaori, a corpse who gave birth to a living child, being inside yuuji's soul feeding off of him.

"You know, I'm t-tired of living like this," he whispers into your ear as his hands trace down your chest, "but you chose not to kill me. Multiple times, too." Even his breath is cold, you realize.

"While I'm doing this, someone else was k-killed in their own home."

There's a breathy shift as his fingers slip under your sweater. It's not long before he fumbles his way underneath your undershirt as well. "We've both thought about why that is," he pants, face cold cheek pressing into yours as gooseflesh erupts across your body and cold, crusted fingers dig into your soft chest muscle and belly fat, "doesn't that make you complicit with this?"

You're no longer cold.

He hums. His father continues on. "Your safety is more important than anything to your mother and I. We have a duty to protect you, son." 

And     something   in   him—     "You called her a whore."

Akira's mortified the moment he says it. His father's face turns stormy, placing a hand on Akira's shoulder. It's too heavy and his grip is too tight to be comforting.

god, this scene was DEVASTATING to write. i'm not trying to write akira's parents as bad people, but a lot of their actions are coming from the point of view of akira. to defend his father here for a second, i think he's having an understandable reaction considering the time frame and exactly what happened.

i wouldn't be comfortable if my sister in law was a public figure who was surrounded by controversy, and i certainly wouldn't want any of that to be traced to my child who i leave at home alone.

is he a good father? god, no. but i understand where his anger is coming from.

His aunt laughs. "Oh, Akira, everything you do for yourself will hurt someone else. I was cruel. I was childish."

"I'll be alright, kid. Don't let your father catch you talking to me, okay? I love you." 

this line was in my head from the beginning. i really wanted to give akira a reason to not want to kill the criminals like kamoshida or shido. i think by framing his aunt as one of the people the phantom theives would've DEFINITELY targeted is really interesting.

another interesting idea from this line is the selfishness. mayumi admits she was selfish and cruel. that doesn't mean she feels bad for it.

the idea of "every action you do for yourself will hurt someone else" WILL be following akira around btws.

Dojima hums. "I wouldn't mind that," she offers like a peace treaty, "because if he's mean to others but nice to me, then he can scare off any mean kids at school for me." 

Before he can worry about Dojima being bullied, though, she changes the topic.