Becoming Sukuna

"Ooka..."

Hayama looked at the buzz-cut boy with a complicated expression. Ooka was curled up on the floor, clutching his back and groaning in pain.

Before Hayama could speak, Tobe erupted in anger.

"So it was you, Ooka!" He grabbed Ooka by the collar and yanked him up. "Why did you do this? We actually considered you a friend!"

"Cough, cough!" Ooka instinctively coughed as the collar tightened around his throat.

"...Friends?" He let out a derisive laugh, then forcefully pushed Tobe's hands away. "You have the nerve to say that?"

"What did you say!?"

Tobe glared at him, his brow twitching. Ooka met his gaze without fear, his voice dripping with scorn. "What friends? From the beginning, we were all just Hayama's 'friends,' right?"

"After hanging around Hayama for so long, don't tell me you actually started thinking you were as popular as him?"

"A noisy, loudmouth guy like you! A dull, slow-witted guy like him! A short and stupid guy like me... Without Hayama, no one would want anything to do with us, would they!?" Ooka pointed at Tobe, then Yamato, and finally himself.

Tobe and Yamato were stunned by his sudden outburst, unable to utter a word.

"Without Hayama, there's no connection between us at all!" he shouted hysterically. "So what's wrong with me wanting to remove you to stay in Hayama's group!?"

Witnessing Ooka's impotent rage, Hachiman, standing to the side, muttered under his breath, "In the end, your relationship is just that kind of superficial thing, huh?"

The Service Club room was small, and despite Hachiman's attempt to lower his voice, Ooka still caught his words.

He whipped around to glare at Hachiman, his furious gaze locking onto those lifeless, dead-fish eyes. "What would a nobody like you, whose name no one even remembers, know!? I did this because I didn't want to become a forgettable, ignored existence like you!"

Hachiman averted his gaze, falling silent, but his heart was filled with disdain for Ooka.

So what if you're ignored? So what if no one cares?

He had lived his whole life that way, and wasn't he doing just fine?

Those who blindly clung to groups, like scavengers feeding off the atmosphere, were the weak ones who didn't have the strength to walk the path of solitude, in his view.

However, he didn't bother arguing. In fact, people like Ooka, who desperately sought a sense of belonging, were probably the majority, just not as extreme as him.

Wasn't Yui Yuigahama the same?

Having seemingly vented all the pent-up emotions in his chest, Ooka fell silent, only his chest heaving slightly as he caught his breath.

"Finished?" Yukinoshita Yukino, who had remained quiet, crossed her arms and watched the scene with a cold gaze. "If you're done, please leave the Service Club."

"What a pointless farce. Just watching it has caused considerable damage to my eyes," she said with a chilling tone.

The dying embers of anger in Ooka's heart were reignited as if doused with oil.

"What did you say!?" He took a step towards Yukino, but remembering how easily she had thrown him earlier, he subtly retracted his leg. "What would a popular person like you understand..."

"Yes, you're right. I don't understand." Yukino tilted her head slightly, an air of arrogance radiating from her. "I don't understand the way people like you think. I don't understand how the gap between people can be so vast that some can't even grasp a simple concept. I don't even understand how you can be considered human like me."

"You lower the bar for humanity."

Harsh, hurtful words tumbled from her lips, one after another, making one wonder how such icy remarks could come from such a seemingly gentle girl.

"You damn woman...!"

Not giving Ooka a chance to retort, Yukino continued her relentless attack.

"You cling to Hayama Hayato because you want to be popular? You slander others because you might not be able to be in the same group as him for the career exploration event? And you even try to paint your pathetic and hateful actions as some sort of righteous cause?"

"Don't make me laugh."

"The reason you need to suck up to Hayama, the reason you need to rely on a group to survive in school, boils down to one simple fact."

"You're too weak."

"You're not good enough, yet instead of trying to improve yourself, you resort to dirty tricks. Do you still have any excuses for your actions?"

Yukino looked at him, her eyes filled with pity. "What? Cat got your tongue? If you want to refute me, go ahead."

"I'll make you fully understand your own ugliness."

"Yukino, stop it..." Hayama Hayato, unable to bear it any longer, interjected.

Yukino shot him a cold glance. "Want to understand your own ugliness too?"

"No, thank you..." Hayama silently closed his mouth.

Ooka was utterly defeated. Although he was furious, he didn't know how to retort. He could only clench his fists, then, unable to bear the humiliation any longer, he stormed out of the Service Club.

Hayama reached out towards the door, as if to stop him, but ultimately let his hand fall.

Instead of letting Ooka stay and continue to be subjected to Yukino's verbal lashing, it was better to let him cool down. He, too, needed some time to process everything.

He would talk to Ooka tomorrow.

Even though Ooka had done this, Hayama still considered him a friend. If he could make him change his ways and reconcile with Tobe and Yamato, that would be ideal.

Even if they couldn't reconcile, Hayama would ask Tobe and Yamato to keep this incident a secret. He didn't want Ooka to be ostracized and possibly even forced to transfer schools.

"Honestly, I can't even be angry at Ooka anymore," Tobe mumbled. "I just feel sorry for him."

At the same time, he realized something: don't mess with Yukinoshita Yukino.

On a small set of stairs leading from a particular building towards the school courtyard, a pink-haired girl with a single bun sat, gazing dreamily at the sky segmented by the surrounding structures.

This was Hachiman Hikigaya's usual lunch spot.

Yui Yuigahama had discovered it by chance, and now she sat on the same step, a can of Max Coffee in her arms.

She swung her legs. Unlike Yukinoshita Yukino, who always wore knee-high socks, Yui's legs were bare, revealing smooth, fair skin. Her calves had just the right amount of flesh, forming a pleasing curve that was full but not plump. Above them were her shapely thighs, accentuating her youthful energy when paired with her plaid skirt.

Hikki is so kind.

He must have noticed her awkwardness, caught between the Service Club and her classmates, and created an excuse to send her away.

Thinking about it brought a smile to Yui's face.

I'll head back later.

She placed the coffee can on her lap and took out her phone.

After killing some time, when she figured Yukino's investigation was almost over, Yui got up to return to the Service Club.

At the corner of the hallway, she heard a rush of footsteps. Yui slowed down, intending to let the seemingly hurried person pass.

But along with the footsteps came a string of angry curses.

"Damn it! That damn woman..."

Ooka rushed past. Yui was taken aback and called out instinctively, "Ooka? Where are you going?"

The buzz-cut boy abruptly turned his head and glared at her. "Yuigahama? Ah, you're with that woman too, aren't you!? Stay away from me!"

He then stormed off angrily.

Yui was startled by his loud voice. After he disappeared from sight, she finally reacted, frowning and muttering, "What's with him? So strange."

The encounter with Ooka was just a minor episode. Yui soon returned to the Service Club room.

Hayama Hayato and the others had already left. Only Yukinoshita Yukino, quietly reading, and Hachiman Hikigaya, lost in thought, remained in the room.

"Here, Hikki, your drink!" Yui waved the Max Coffee in front of Hachiman's vacant eyes, pulling him back from his daydreams.

"Oh, thanks."

He took the coffee and reached for his wallet, but Yui stopped him with a shake of her head.

"No need, it's just a drink. It's normal for friends to treat each other!" Yui said with a smile. "I got one for Yukino too! Here!"

She had bought strawberry milk for Yukino, the same drink she had seen her with last time.

"Thank you. How much was it?" Yukino asked.

"You weren't listening to me at all!?"

Yui was surprised, about to repeat her declaration of friendship, when she saw Yukino's lips curve into a slight smile. "Just kidding."

"Yukino!" Yui whined, playfully shaking Yukino's arm, then asked curiously, "So, what's the result of the investigation? Did you find the culprit?"

"Yes, it was Ooka."

"Ehhh!?"

Yui's face was full of disbelief, but thinking about it, it wasn't entirely impossible. After all, she had just encountered Ooka on her way back.

"No wonder his attitude was so bad. So he was exposed by Yukino," she said in realization.

He wasn't just exposed, he was practically roasted alive, Hachiman thought, sipping his sweet coffee. She even slammed him against the door. That must count as torture to some extent, right?

"You met him on your way back?" Yukino asked. "He didn't do anything to you, did he? He didn't seem very calm at the time."

"No, he just yelled at me a little. It startled me," Yui said, patting her chest. The slight jiggle of her bosom was like needles pricking Yukino's eyes.

She subtly averted her gaze. "Is that so? I'm glad you're alright."

...

Meanwhile.

Ooka skipped soccer club activities and left school with his bag.

This was probably the earliest he had left school since joining the soccer club with Hayama.

"Damn it, if it weren't for that nosy woman, I wouldn't be in this situation..."

Ooka walked home, kicking a pebble as if he were taking out his frustration on Yukinoshita Yukino.

"I really want to teach her a lesson!" Passing by a telephone pole, he kicked it hard.

People driven by their emotions were irrational. Even a passing dog was not spared from his kick. It yelped and ran away.

"That's too much. That puppy was so cute. Why did you kick it?"

If he could, Ooka really wanted to teach Yukino a lesson. But the thought of being thrown around like trash by her, a grown man easily tossed aside, filled him with shame. He wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

His back still ached.

"...No, I'm not the abnormal one. It's that monstrously strong woman!" Ooka grumbled indignantly.

"Do you yearn for power?"

"Ugh... My head feels dizzy. Did I hit it earlier?" Ooka mumbled, touching the back of his head.

"Oh? You've been cursed."

On the back of his neck, hidden by his collar, several tiny eyes opened, their black pupils moving erratically.

"Aha! I've decided. I'll use you as an experiment!" A hand rested on Ooka's shoulder. "This will be interesting."

Ooka stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening as he saw a strange man suddenly appear beside him.

Calling him strange was almost a compliment. "Creepy" might be more fitting.

He had sleek blue hair and heterochromatic eyes, one a dull grey, the other a gentle blue. Judging from his face alone, he was a handsome man, if you ignored the crisscrossing stitches across his skin.

"So, what's your name?" the strange man asked.

"I-I'm Ooka..." Ooka stammered.

"I'm Mahito. Nice to meet you, Ooka," the man said with a smile.