CELESTIAL FLOWERS ( s. gojo )

arc v ━ chapter iv. levity

a r c v.

❝ all the things you have,

all the things you cannot have. ❞

━━ chapter iv. levity

KAZUKO WATCHES. The stores are lined with mannequins wearing fashionable clothes. The sun reflects off of the towering skyscrapers. Shibuya is as bustling as ever. She should be practicing, but she figures that she needs a break. Pushing herself to her limits is good and all, but it'd be terrible if she fainted from overwork. Taking care of herself was still an integral part of training after all.

She passes various clothing shops and marvels at the assorted clothing styles. The decorations are splendid, wallpapers and other fixtures that match the theme of the shop. Crystal chandeliers, simple light bulbs bunched together, lamps hung on walls, and even a setup of paper lanterns that gave off an illusion of soaring into the sky, the faux flames inside it creating shadows of moons and stars in the ceiling.

"So you wear this when you go to the beach," she murmurs as she scans a white summer dress that inches up the mannequin's knees. It's partnered with strappy sandals and a straw hat embellished with hibiscus flowers. The shop is tropical-themed, wallpapers of coconut trees and a seashell chandelier being one of the few decorations that caught her eye. There are also mini parasols with lovely patterns and beach volleyballs inside a woven basket.

"That dress would look lovely on you, miss."

Kazuko turns to see the origin of the voice and meets one of the salesladies. "Would you like to try it?"

"No, thank you," was her immediate response as she shirks away from the woman. She thinks of the skirt that won't cover parts of her thighs and the flamingo pink lines crisscrossing her body like the corals they put on display. And how there would be no scrutable reason as to why she'd find herself at the beach. "I won't have an occasion to use it for. I was just looking around."

The saleslady smiles. "I see. If you would like to try on and purchase any of clothings, please don't hesitate to call."

"Thank you..." Kazuko murmurs as the woman zooms away. She takes one last look at the dress and exits the premises.

The next cluster of shops she passes by are restaurants and fast food shops. The scent of takoyaki, yakisoba, and other delicacies made her stomach curl.

"Maybe I should go eat lunch," she whispers to herself and scans the streets for a restaurant with few occupants. Before her eyes can spot a perfect food spot though, a familiar figure dashes toward her.

"Kazu!"

Her forehead scrunches and she immediately averts her gaze into the opposite direction of the voice. Pretends that she's not acquainted with this weird, tall guy who's attracted the attention of different pedestrians. Before she can enter one of the restaurants in hopes of evading him, Gojo appears in front of her with a grin on his face.

"Were you trying to avoid me?" he asks, his figure looming over her. Kazuko curses his height and whatever genetics that led to him being absurdly tall. "How mean. I went all my way to greet you and this is how you repay me?"

"I don't have any intentions of ruining this wonderful day, so I decided to avoid any source of unpleasantness," Kazuko answers, coaxing her face to remain in a blanket of calm. "It seems that venture was a failure."

Gojo clutches his chest. Kazuko thinks he's being overdramatic as usual and does all she can to refrain from rolling her eyes. "You're so mean," he says. "You hurt my delicate feelings."

"I see," Kazuko says, her voice in monotone again. "The idea of being able to hurt the Gojo Satoru is enthralling."

"Huh..." he leers at her with that lecherous grin that signals he's up to no good. "Are you a sadist, Kazu?"

"Please never talk to me again."

Gojo laughs. "All that aside, I need you to do something for me. I was really lucky I saw you here. Talk about fate!"

She tilts her head to the side. "A favor?"

"You see." He fishes for something from his pocket. A crumpled flier of sorts and shoves it in front of her with glee. The colors are robust red and blue, with scattered decorations of shrimps and seashells. "I needed a partner for this."

"CCC... what's that?"

There's excitement on his face. "Why, it's a cooking competition!"

It doesn't take her a few seconds to process it. The next words arrive swiftly. Straight and direct to the point. "I refuse."

A chuckle escapes his lips. She can see a lot of people staring at them, at Gojo to be precise. Most of the time, attracting attention is easy enough for him. Whether it be his height, his attractive face or the sound of his voice. Kazuko will never tell him that though. His ego is the size of the universe as it is.

"How cute," Gojo says with a smile. It's one of those malevolent expressions of his. The ones that remind her of how feral the creature named Gojo Satoru was. The honored one who did as he pleased, who trampled the gardens of earth and picked whatever flower he wanted unminding of the repercussions it would hold. "You think you have a choice."

Kazuko ends up going. The location for the cooking competition turned out to be a small restaurant with a pink salmon springing out of the water as its logo.

A crowd of onlookers was already gathered outside, faces peering over the transparent glass walls of the establishment. Kazuko gulps. So many people...

"Gojo-san," Kazuko calls as they head to the entrance. People are staring. She pins her gaze on Gojo's back to avoid eye contact with any of them. "I'm not a very accomplished cook. I'll just put that out there so you can temper your expectations."

"Yeah, yeah," he says. "I tasted your cooking before."

"We're not bound to win with my skills," Kazuko tells him. She doesn't elaborate on his statement any further. A tinge of gratitude is directed at him for not mentioning the circumstances surrounding that particular event.

"It's okay," he says as they head to one of the cooking stations. One of the staff hands them aprons. Kazuko mutters her thanks, while Gojo wraps the plain white apron around him. "I can practically do anything, you know? Cooking's a breeze."

"Gojo-san," Kazuko calls again as she struggles with her apron strings. The gloves are making it a difficult task as some of the unraveled strings are getting tangled with the zipper on her gloves. "Don't we need to register our names?"

"I already wrote your name earlier," he says and moves behind her. "Before I saw you on the streets."

"So it really wasn't fate, huh?" Kazuko says wryly.

Gojo chuckles and holds the apron strings behind her. Kazuko lets go and lets him tie it for her. She's grateful for the lack of skin contact. He's quick to do it as well and when he's done, he doesn't make any stupid comments. There's something in her chest, but she figures it's just nervousness from having a human being in such close proximity.

Other contestants filter in and Kazuko's eyes narrow. She must be imagining it, right?

"Why did you join this contest anyway?" she mutters to herself. She's glad for the lack of a knife. Only baking ingredients and tools are present. The only sharp thing is the pair of scissors that she deduces is probably for opening the bags of flour and cocoa.

"The price," he hums as he inspects the tools one by one. Hands her the flier and points at the bottom. It's too crumpled to be readable, but she straightens some of the creases and reads the prizes. "I wanted the second place prize."

"Of course it's a sweets recipe..."

"It's been handed from twelve generations past," he says. "I could probably replicate the dish if I tried hard enough, but having the recipe is easier. It's also the right way to do things."

"The first prize is a round trip to Hawaii," she says. She ignores the final sentence in his answer. Kazuko has never taken him for someone who was deadset on doing various activities the right way. Gojo did as he pleased after all. If her being in this cooking competition was not an indication of that trait, she doesn't know what is.

"What about it?"

Kazuko shakes her head and reads the details. There's so much text in the bottom part. "Nothing."

"By the way, Gojo-san," she says and hands him the flier back. "Is it just me or are the competitors mostly couples?"

Gojo grins at her and holds the flier up. "Well, of course, all the contestants are couples." He points at the CCC printed in big bold letters on top of the flier. "It's the Couples' Cooking Competition afterall."

Kazuko gapes. Gojo chuckles and fishes his phone from his pocket and takes a picture. The flash sends her out of her stupor, violent breaks of light that irritate her vision.

"Gojo-san!"

"Now, are our contestants ready?" Kazuko turns to the source of the sound. A tall woman with a chef's hat, holding a microphone. Many people continue to observe from beyond the walls. She's bouncing with so much glee as she surveys the contestants. Hand raised in the air. "CCC will begin in 3... 2...1... go!"

Gojo shoves a whisk into her hand. "You mix the dry ingredients, and I'll handle the wet ingredients."

"Wait," she calls as Gojo hands her a mixing bowl and packs of flour, sugar, and cocoa. "I don't even know what we're making!"

"Everyone's making chocolate cake, Kazu," he says. He's concentrating on the carton of eggs, cracking the shells, and placing the contents in his own glass bowl. "Didn't you read the flier? It's a contest to see who makes the best chocolate cake."

"That flier was barely readable!" she complains, but Gojo shrugs it off so she begins her tasks reluctantly, of course, only after spewing curses that would have made a child cry.

"That's good, Kazu," Gojo tells her. He's all smiles and excitement. She notices that most of the people watching them are girls. Typical. She can see the appeal, but knowing Gojo's trashy personality just sours the whole experience. Passion laces his voice. He really wants the recipe, huh? He resembled one of those fiery protagonists from the manga Kiyoshi and Hayami gush over every morning before first period.

He pumps his fist into the air.

"We're going to win this!"

━━ to be continued.