Ghost || Jujutsu Kaisen

『 5: She is my secret. 』

Domed by an abyssal canvas, the heavens marveled at the two unusual friends. Only the moon and the stars of the cosmos bearing witness to the intertwining fate that not many will ever come to experience, let alone know. Tapestries woven from different threads conjoining with one another, entwining the destiny of a boy who spoke words that only ever held the ingrained intentions of destruction, with the fate of someone who was nothing more than a fleeting phantom, only to be seen by a few fortunate or star-crossed beings.

Moonlight flowed from the fissures created by the clouds, passing through [Name]'s ghostly appearance. Her figure leaving no trace of darkness upon the delicate sleeping face of Inumaki, yet every bit of her refracted the light mirrored by the heavenly body, scattering all around her like falling snow.

[Name] looked at the Exorcist—who had unconsciously fallen asleep in the middle of the field—with a certain kind of warmth and fondness none could mistake for anything else. She was grateful, exceedingly so, grateful to whatever being it was that permitted her to meet him... even if it was through different circumstances. The ghost reached out a waning finger to touch his face—now unmarred by the anxious, pensive expression that the Sorcerer normally wore during daytime—only to have it pass through his cheek, sending shivers down his spine.

The Spirit retracted her hand, clutching it tightly against her chest... suddenly being plagued by the fearful thought that she had accidentally caused him pain. [Name] stared at the hand that once held the Sorcerer, observing it with such ferocity one would think she was trying to burn a hole through her limb. Of course, it would pass through... you idiot. She thought, feeling an unfamiliar sensation course through the back of her eyes.

You're dead.

[Name] felt her lips tremble with regret. Continuously asking herself questions she'd never get answers to. She did nothing wrong, committed no offenses against the law, not once did she raise her hand against others... but here she was, a spirit hanging by a thread, waiting for something... someone to put her out of her misery once and for all. They say that the dead don't feel like they've passed, that they don't know that they've long since departed from their loved ones... but why is it that now, here, at this very moment, [Name] felt that same cold feeling, the same longingness for a life she could no longer go back to? Why is it now, that the rift between life and death became more apparent than ever? [Name] knew the place which she stood upon; she knew very well of the far side of the abyss, staring longingly at the distance where she sees a faint outline of his silhouette... the distance she knows—perhaps a little too well—that she wouldn't be able to cross no matter how hard she tried.

They say that the dead don't feel... so why is it that her heart longs for something she knows she can never have?

The spirit of winter had long since departed, even the endless rivers of frozen stillness that many thought would stand for eternity had thawed with the flow of time, not even the lifeless scenery it caused within its ravaging wake had remained. Perhaps all that evoked the memory of the seasonal tyrant was the lone breeze that sent shivers down the spines of many, arousing goosebumps the moment it kissed their exposed skin.

[Name] remained by Inumaki's side, not minding the shudder the nightly zephyrs had induced. The Ghost observed the sleeping Exorcist, taking note of the way his nose and ears were painted with certain hues of red from the cold.

"Sleep tight, Mr. Shake Sushi." She whispered, holding her lower limbs close to her chest, resting her head on her knees, not taking her eyes off the boy for even a second. "You should really think about where you doze off..." [Name] mumbled.

And as the light of the moon began outshining the glimmer of the stars, it was then that [Name] could see the full difference between them.

Unlike her, the rays of the midnight sun didn't pass through the sleeping boy.