A Father's Love

Kenji Fushiguro stared out the reinforced window of his GDA-assigned quarters, watching as the merged world continued its uneasy adjustment to its new reality.

The view from the fifteenth floor offered a panorama of what had once been two separate cities, now fused into a sprawling metropolis with architectural styles that clashed and complemented each other in equal measure.

Two weeks had passed since the dimensional merger, since Megumi had disappeared. Two weeks of helplessness, of waiting, of prayers offered to gods he'd never particularly believed in before.

"Mr. Fushiguro?"

Kenji turned to find Agent Col standing in the doorway, a tray of food balanced in one hand.

The GDA agent had been one of his primary handlers since he'd been moved to the facility for "protective custody" - the same agent who had been present that day when Megumi revealed his secret identity as Sukuna.

"I brought dinner," she said, setting the tray on the small table by the window. "And Director Stedman asked me to provide an update on the search efforts."

Kenji's heart quickened. "Have they found something? Any sign of him?"

The hope in his voice was painful to hear, even to his own ears. Agent Col's expression softened with sympathy.

"Nothing concrete yet, sir. But they've made contact with someone who might be able to help breach the dimensional barrier. A specialist in... unconventional travel methods."

"A demon," Kenji said flatly. "I overheard the guards talking. Mark told me as well. They're planning to make deals with demons to find my nephew."

Agent Col didn't deny it. "Director Stedman is exploring all available options. The situation is... complicated."

Kenji turned back to the window, his shoulders slumping under the weight of his worry. "When I agreed to protective custody, I thought it would be temporary. A few days at most."

"The merger changed everything," Agent Col reminded him gently. "The GDA is stretched thin managing the integration of two worlds. And with the Viltrumite threat looming..."

"I know," Kenji sighed. "I understand the priorities. But Megumi is out there somewhere, in another dimension, with that... that emperor who's obsessed with him."

He ran a hand through his graying hair, the strain of the past weeks evident in the new lines etched into his face. "I should be doing something. Anything. Instead, I'm stuck here, useless."

"You're not useless, Mr. Fushiguro," Agent Col assured him. "You're providing valuable insight into Megumi's personality, his habits, his thinking patterns. That information could be crucial when we locate him."

Kenji gave a bitter laugh. "I answer the same questions every day, and for what? My nephew is still gone. And I'm still here, in this gilded cage."

Agent Col hesitated, then said, "Sir, I know this is difficult. But Megumi would want you safe. He made that clear to Director Stedman before... before everything happened."

Kenji's expression softened at the mention of his nephew's concern for him. It was so typical of Megumi - always thinking of others, always protecting those he cared about, even while facing unimaginable dangers himself.

"He's always been that way, you know," Kenji said quietly, more to himself than to Agent Col. "Even as a child, after his parents died. He never cried in front of me, never complained. Just... adapted. Became what he needed to be to survive."

He moved to the small shelf where he kept the few personal items the GDA had allowed him to bring - a family photo, a worn paperback novel, a small jade figurine that had belonged to Megumi's mother.

"I was all he had left," Kenji continued, picking up the photo. "And I had no idea how to raise a child. I was a field medic in the army, used to patching up wounds and moving on. Not healing the kind of wounds he carried."

Agent Col remained silent, allowing him this moment of reflection.

"But we figured it out together. Day by day." Kenji traced his finger over Megumi's image in the photo - a rare captured smile from his usually serious nephew.

"He's the strongest person I've ever known. Not because of his powers - I didn't even know about those until recently. But because of his heart. His determination."

He set the photo down carefully. "He'll survive this. Whatever dimension he's in, whatever that emperor wants from him, Megumi will find a way through it. I have to believe that."

Agent Col nodded. "From everything I've heard about him, I believe it too." She gestured to the tray. "You should eat while it's warm. I'll check back in a few hours."

After she left, Kenji picked at the food without much appetite. The GDA cafeteria meals were adequate but uninspiring - institutional food designed for nutrition rather than enjoyment.

He found himself missing the simple meals he used to share with Megumi in their apartment, the quiet conversations over coffee in the mornings before they each headed out for the day.

Normal moments that he'd taken for granted. Now precious memories he clung to.

A soft beeping from the corridor drew his attention. The security system cycling through its hourly check, most likely.

The GDA had installed extensive monitoring throughout this section of the facility, particularly around his quarters. For his protection, they claimed.

But as the days stretched into weeks with no progress on finding Megumi, Kenji had begun to wonder if he was being protected - or contained. A loose end to be managed while the real work happened elsewhere.

The beeping stopped abruptly, followed by an unusual silence. Normally, the low hum of the ventilation system provided constant white noise, but even that had ceased.

Kenji set down his fork, his military instincts triggering a warning in his mind. Something was wrong.

He moved quietly to the door, pressing his ear against it. Nothing. No footsteps, no voices from the guards who were usually stationed outside.

The lights flickered once, twice, then stabilized. But the momentary darkness had been enough to send a chill down his spine.

Kenji backed away from the door, looking around for anything he could use as a weapon. The GDA had been careful to remove or secure anything potentially dangerous, leaving him with few options.

The best he could manage was a metal tray that might serve as a makeshift shield.

A strange green glow began to seep under his door, illuminating the room with an eerie, pulsating light. The air seemed to thicken, becoming harder to breathe as the glow intensified.

Then the door simply... vanished. Not blown open, not unlocked - just gone, as if it had never existed.

In its place stood two men who appeared almost identical, save for one critical difference: one had a portion of his skull missing, exposing a pulsating brain that glowed with the same green energy now filling the room.

"Mr. Fushiguro," the one with the exposed brain said, his voice unnervingly calm. "We apologize for the intrusion, but your presence is required elsewhere."

Kenji raised the tray defensively. "Who are you? Where are the guards?"

"The guards are experiencing a temporary distortion in their perception of reality," the man replied. "They currently believe they're still watching an empty corridor."

The second man stepped forward, his movements jerky and unpredictable. His eyes held a feverish intensity that made Kenji's blood run cold.

"Uncle of the devil," he hissed, his voice cracking with emotion. "Caretaker of the monster. Do you know what you've nurtured in your home? Do you know what abomination you've raised?"

Kenji's grip tightened on the tray. "I don't know who you are or what you're talking about. But if you're referring to my nephew, you can go to hell."

The man aughed - a high, broken sound that seemed to echo from multiple directions at once. "Oh, we've been there, haven't we, brother? We've seen hells across dimensions. And your precious nephew created many of them."

"Brother," the intact one said sharply. "Focus. We have a schedule to maintain."

Kenji's military training kicked in. Two assailants, unknown capabilities, confined space. Direct confrontation unlikely to succeed. Need to create distance, reach the emergency alarm by the bed.

He feinted left, then lunged right, attempting to circle around the intruders toward the alarm panel.

But before he'd taken two steps, the air in front of him rippled, folding in on itself to create a barrier he couldn't see but definitely felt as he slammed into it.

"Dimensional manipulation," Mad Levy giggled, tapping his exposed brain. "Useful, isn't it? The very fabric of reality bends to my will now."

Kenji backed away, his mind racing. "What do you want from me?"

"From you?" The intact one tilted his head. "Nothing directly. You're merely a means to an end."

"Bait," Mad Levy clarified, his grin widening to unnatural proportions. "Bait for the devil. The King of Curses. The fallen son of Heaven."

"Megumi," Kenji whispered, understanding dawning. "This is about Megumi."

"Sukuna," Mad Levy corrected, spittle flying from his lips. "His name is Sukuna. A demon who has devoured worlds, slaughtered innocents, bathed in the blood of children. Your 'nephew' is merely his latest mask, his newest deception."

Kenji straightened, his fear giving way to anger. "My nephew is a hero. He's saved countless lives. Whatever you think you know about him, you're wrong."

"Am I?" Mad Levy stepped closer.

"I've seen him across a thousand dimensions, watched him destroy civilizations for sport, consume human flesh for pleasure.

I've witnessed atrocities you cannot imagine, all committed by the being you call family."

Kenji refused to back away, meeting the madman's gaze steadily. "Then you've seen the wrong person. My Megumi isn't capable of those things."

"Your Megumi," Mad Levy mocked. "As if the soul changes with the body it inhabits. The essence remains the same across all dimensions, all incarnations. The devil may wear different faces, but his nature never changes."

Scarred Levy stepped forward, placing a restraining hand on his counterpart's arm. "We're wasting time. The dimensional window won't remain stable indefinitely."

Mad Levy nodded reluctantly, then fixed Kenji with a penetrating stare. "You're coming with us, Uncle of the devil. And you'll help us draw him out, make him vulnerable. Then we'll end his reign of terror once and for all."

Kenji assessed his options rapidly. The door was gone. The alarm was unreachable. The guards were somehow incapacitated.

His only hope was to stall, to keep them talking until someone - anyone - realized something was wrong.

"And if I refuse?" he asked, playing for time.

Mad Levy's smile returned, more terrible than before. "You misunderstand. This isn't a request."

The green energy surrounding them intensified, coalescing into a swirling vortex that engulfed all three men. Kenji felt a sickening sensation of falling without moving, of being stretched and compressed simultaneously.

His last thought before consciousness fled was of Megumi - and a desperate hope that whatever these madmen planned, his nephew would be too far away, too safely ensconced in another dimension, to be drawn into their trap.

---------------------------

When Kenji regained awareness, he found himself in what appeared to be a laboratory of some kind.

Sleek, advanced equipment lined the walls, much of it unlike anything he'd seen before. The air smelled of ozone and something else - something metallic and vaguely organic that made his stomach turn.

He was secured to a chair, his wrists and ankles bound with restraints that seemed to phase in and out of solidity when he looked at them directly.

"Dimensional shackles," Mad Levy explained, noticing his gaze. "They exist partially in this reality, partially in another. Impossible to break unless you can manipulate the fabric of reality itself."

Kenji tested them anyway, his military training demanding he assess all possible escape routes. The restraints held firm, becoming more solid the harder he pulled against them.

"Where am I?" he demanded, looking around the laboratory. "What is this place?"

"A nexus point," Scarred Levy answered, adjusting some equipment nearby. "A location where dimensional barriers are naturally thinner. It allows us to conduct our work with minimal energy expenditure."

"Your work," Kenji repeated. "And what exactly is that?"

Mad Levy circled him like a predator, his exposed brain pulsing with excitement. "Justice," he declared. "Retribution. Prevention. We're going to stop Sukuna before he can consume this world as he has so many others."

"By kidnapping an innocent man?" Kenji challenged. "That's your idea of justice?"

"Innocent?" Mad Levy stopped his pacing, leaning in until his face was inches from Kenji's. "You harbored the devil himself. Nurtured him. Loved him. Do you know what that makes you? Complicit. An accessory to every atrocity he will commit."

His voice dropped to a whisper. "You should have killed him the moment his parents died. Strangled him in his sleep. Saved countless worlds from his hunger."

With shocking speed, Mad Levy's hands shot out, wrapping around Kenji's throat and squeezing with manic strength. "Like this," he hissed, his eyes wild. "One simple act of mercy for the universe. One child's life to save billions."

Kenji couldn't breathe, couldn't speak as the madman's fingers dug into his windpipe. Black spots danced at the edges of his vision as oxygen deprivation set in.

Suddenly, the pressure released. Scarred Levy had pulled his counterpart away, restraining him with surprising strength.

"Enough!" Scarred Levy snapped. "He's no use to us dead. Control yourself."

Mad Levy struggled briefly, then went limp in his counterpart's grip. "Of course," he muttered. "Of course. The plan. We must follow the plan."

Kenji coughed violently, drawing precious air back into his lungs. When he could speak again, his voice was raspy but determined. "You're insane. Both of you. My nephew isn't this... this devil you're describing."

"Your nephew," Mad Levy spat, having regained some composure. "Let me educate you about your precious Megumi, shall I? About who - what - he really is."

What followed was a tirade of such horrific detail that Kenji found himself wishing for the strangling to resume.

Mad Levy described atrocities across multiple dimensions, all allegedly committed by Sukuna - cannibalism, torture, mass murder, the destruction of entire civilizations for mere amusement.

"He is the Fallen Son of Heaven," Mad Levy ranted, pacing frantically. "Cast out for his rebellion, his refusal to guide humanity as intended. Instead, he chose to subjugate them, to feed on them, to break them for his pleasure."

He whirled on Kenji, eyes burning with hatred. "He has consumed the flesh of children while their parents watched.

He has violated women in ways that left them begging for death. He has burned cities to ash simply to watch the flames dance. This is the creature you call nephew. This is the monster you love."

Throughout the diatribe, Kenji remained silent, his expression growing more resolved rather than more frightened. When Mad Levy finally paused for breath, Kenji spoke with quiet certainty.

"I understand now. You're talking about other versions of Megumi. Other incarnations, from other dimensions."

"They are all the same soul!" Mad Levy screamed, spittle flying. "Different bodies, different times, different dimensions - it doesn't matter! The essence remains unchanged!"

Kenji nodded slowly. "Maybe you're right."

This unexpected agreement seemed to throw Mad Levy off balance. "What?"

"Maybe it is the same soul," Kenji continued. "Maybe my Megumi does carry within him the capacity for all those horrors you described. Maybe in other lives, other dimensions, he has committed unspeakable acts."

He looked directly into Mad Levy's fevered eyes. "But my Megumi - the one I raised, the one I love - he chose differently. He chose to protect rather than destroy.

To save rather than consume. And that choice matters more than any inherent nature you claim he possesses."

Mad Levy's face contorted with rage. "You fool! You sentimental, blind fool! He has deceived you, as he has deceived so many others before. His apparent heroism is merely a mask, a strategy to position himself for greater destruction later!"

"No," Kenji said simply. "I know my nephew. Not just his actions, but his heart. Even if what you say about his soul is true - even if he is this 'Sukuna' reborn or reincarnated - he has chosen a different path in this life. And I am proud of him for that choice."

He straightened in his chair, as much as the restraints would allow. "So do your worst. Kill me if that's your plan. But know this: I will never turn against my nephew.

I will never give you what you want. I will die loving him exactly as I have always loved him - completely, without reservation, and with absolute faith in the goodness of his heart."

Mad Levy stared at him in disbelief, then threw back his head and roared with laughter - a sound so unhinged it chilled even the scarred one.

"Kill you?" he gasped between fits of manic laughter. "Oh no, no, no. That would be far too simple, too merciful."

His laughter abruptly ceased, replaced by a cold, calculating smile that chilled Kenji to his core. "We have much more elaborate plans for you, Uncle of the devil. Plans that will draw Sukuna out, make him vulnerable in ways he has never been before."

Kenji's military instincts screamed danger, but he kept his expression neutral. "Whatever you're planning, it won't work. Megumi is in another dimension. He can't reach me, and I can't reach him."

"Dimensions," Mad Levy said dismissively. "Barriers. Walls. These are merely constructs, obstacles to be overcome with sufficient knowledge and power." He tapped his exposed, glowing brain. "And we have both in abundance."

Realizing what these madmen might be capable of, what they might intend to use him for, Kenji made a desperate decision.

With a sudden jerk of his head, he bit down hard on his own tongue, trying to sever it - to end his life before he could be used as bait or leverage against his nephew.

The taste of blood filled his mouth, but before he could complete the act, Scarred Levy was there, forcing his jaws apart, inserting some kind of device that prevented him from closing his mouth fully.

"Former military," Scarred Levy observed clinically. "Trained to resist interrogation, including suicide protocols. Impressive, but ultimately futile."

He turned to a communication panel on the wall. "Send in the specialists. Our subject is prepared."

Mad Levy leaned in close, his breath hot against Kenji's ear. "You think death would save you? Would save him? No, no, no. What we have planned transcends such simple concepts as life and death."

The laboratory door slid open, admitting three figures in white coats. Their features were obscured by strange masks that seemed to shift and change when viewed directly, but their clinical efficiency was unmistakable as they began preparing equipment around Kenji's chair.

"What we're about to do has never been attempted," Scarred Levy explained, his tone almost apologetic. "The process will be... uncomfortable. But necessary."

One of the specialists approached with a device that resembled a crown of thorns, each point tipped with a needle that glowed with the same green energy that permeated the laboratory.

As the crown was lowered toward his head, Kenji made one last, desperate attempt to reason with his captors. "Please," he gasped around the device in his mouth. "My nephew is innocent. Whatever this Sukuna did in other worlds, my Megumi doesn't deserve this."

Mad Levy's face softened into an expression almost like pity. "No one is innocent," he said quietly. "Least of all the Fallen Son of Heaven."

The crown touched Kenji's forehead, and the needles pierced his skin. Pain unlike anything he had ever experienced coursed through his body, setting every nerve ending afire simultaneously.

His scream was muffled by the device in his mouth, but in his mind, it echoed with perfect clarity - a single name, a plea, a warning:

Megumi!

As consciousness began to slip away beneath the onslaught of agony, Kenji's last coherent thought was a desperate hope that somehow, across the dimensional void, his nephew would sense the danger and stay far, far away.

But in his heart, he knew better. If Megumi could hear his pain, could sense his peril, nothing in any universe would stop him from coming. Because that was who his nephew was - not a devil, not a monster, but a protector. A hero.

His hero.

His son.

Kenji's roars of agony echoed through the laboratory, bouncing off the sterile walls and merging with the humming of the equipment and unknown to Kenji, a hint of dark magic.

The sound seemed to transcend normal acoustics, vibrating at frequencies that distorted the very air.

Mad Levy watched with fevered satisfaction, his exposed brain pulsing in rhythm with Kenji's screams. "Yes," he whispered. "Call to it. Let it hear you across the void."

The specialists continued their work with mechanical precision, adjusting dials and monitoring readings as the dimensional beacon grew stronger.

And somewhere, across the barriers between worlds, something stirred in response.

----------------------------

(Author note: So... Uh, yeah, I, okay, I know you all probably hate me right now, but...

Character development...?

So yeah, do tell me how you found the chapter and I hope to see you all later,

Bye!)