a/n pov:
The castle was always quiet, but this was the first time it felt empty to him in the most irritated way. His presence filled the halls as he descended the stairs, stone echoing beneath his steps. Normally human made noise. Nervous noise. Careless noise. Fear always leaked out of them.
"Suta " he said loud.
There was no answer.
His eyes got really angry and scary.
"SUTA " he yelled this time.
His voice was so loud it filled the hallway.
Still nothing.
He started to feel a chill of anger.
He walked down the staircase thinking about what he would do, to Suta when he found her. He thought about taking her to the forest and hurting her badly. Maybe he would hurt her legs first so Suta could not run away again. Maybe after that he would take Suta home still alive.
"tch" he clicked his tongue. "Already ran away? does she really think she can ran away from ME?
He hold back his laugh as he think she finally started loving her life.
"It would be fun to catch you rabbit".
But deep down it's annoyed him more than it should have. not because he expected any loyalty, but because escape implied intent, thoughts, defiance. And she hadn't struck him as capable of any of those.
He moved forward , eyes scanning the vast hall.
Then his eye fall on the small shape beneath the stairs.
curled in on itself. Still. Breathing.
He stopped. "....You've got be kidding me."
He took hold of the back of her kimono. Pulled her out from under the stairs with one arm. He was really strong because he did this with one arm. The kimono was still in his hand when he pulled the suta out from, under the stairs."wake up brat".
"Your master is awake " Sukuna said in a tone. "Why are you sleeping?"
Suta opened her eyes. Looked at him.
He did not like what he saw. "And you are sleeping under the stairs " he said. "What is wrong with you?"
She looked at the stairs before she answered him.
"The rooms looked nice and clean " she said.
Sukuna did not like her answer. He made a face.
"The beds were soft too " she said. She was telling the truth.
"I did not want to make a mess in the rooms " she said. "So I slept under the stairs instead."
It was quiet, for a moment.
Sukuna did not say anything away. This was the time he had not answered her right away since she came to his place.
Sukuna thought that human are strange. They take things that do not belong to them. They like to be comfortable. They do not care if they make a mess. They can ruin things with their dirt and mess.
It wasn't a smile.
That was interesting.
He stood up straight. Turned away from her a flicker of amusement in his eyes.
She had chosen the space on her own.
It wasn't fear that made her do it. It wasn't humility. It was instinct.
Maybe it was conditioning.
He breathed softly. Started to think of a plan.
Fine. If I can't break her by being direct... I'll make her rot from the inside out. That will completely destroy her
He turned back, to her his face cold and not caring.
"If you are my slave " he said, "you will enjoy the luxury I give you."
She looked up at him.
"But there are limits " he added sharply.
She nodded away. "Yes."
"Get up and make your self useful and cook for me, hm?" he said.
She bowed her head a bit. She walked past him without stopping. Her feet did not make any sound on the stone floor.
The Kitchen
The kitchen was silent, save for the sound of dripping water.
Suta carefully washed her hands in front of the sink, remembering how villagers always did before preparing their meals. She took her time cleaning her hands more than usual, since she was afraid of touching the wrong items.
This kitchen always fascinated her.
It was spotless.
Raw ingredients were untouched, just the same place where she left them the previous day. Rice. Vegetables. Meat.
A lot of meat.
Suta fixed her gaze on them.
Sukuna appeared healthy. He seemed to be stronger than any human being Suta has ever seen. Powerful creatures perhaps needed to consume more food.
She cautiously picked up meat.
Cooking was one of the tasks Suta could master easily.
Usually, during festivals, the villagers used to compel her to cook due to her efficient performance and inability to sneak any piece of food while preparing the meal.
So she prepared everything to the best of her abilities.
Rice came first, followed by vegetables.
Soups and meat after meat after meat!
Her hands were swift despite her tiredness.
Somehow, she had forgotten that she was preparing food for a monster.
It seemed like just another job to do.
A task.
After she was done, she brought the prepared food into the dining room.
The table in there was extremely huge, bigger than what a single person needed.
Sukuna was sitting idly on a chair with one of his arms leaning against the chair while the other was holding his head up. He looked towards the food she had laid on the table.
Then, towards her. "All these were prepared by you?"
Suta nodded.
But he did not say anything complimentary to her Or thank her.
Instead, he picked up the food and started eating.
Suta waited patiently near the table with her hands folded.
She watched him eat all of it up.
The meat was gone. The rice too. Even the soup.
He was a man who ate well and often; as if he would never know what hunger is like.
As Suta watched, an odd sensation settled into her heart.
It wasn't frustration.
It wasn't sorrow.
Only realization.
When finally Sukuna was done, all the plates were empty.
Nothing left.
He got up quietly and left the table.
It fell silent once more.
Suta moved towards the table slowly and stared at the now bare plates.
Nothing left over.She paused for a moment.
Finally, she lifted the first plate and licked the sauce that remained on it.
Salty.
Warm.
Good.
Nice.
She did the same for the other plates, then took them all back to the kitchen.
After that, she scrubbed them clean until they were spotless looked like new again.
To be continue....