TO LOVE A MONSTER ❪ jujutsu kaisen ❫

xxiii: executions ❪ how it would always end ❫

TOKYO JUJUTSU HIGH, ISOLATION ROOM, DECEMBER 2016.

Kaori wakes up to a familiar sensation of being weighed down. Shackles surround her wrists and ankles in tight grips as she blinks at the ceiling, taking in the seals haphazardly stuck over the walls, floors and as far as she can see. Her cursed energy has seeped away, drained callously by the seals the Higher Ups love slapping everywhere and she sighs as she comes to the realization that she is in the containment rooms usually used for those who are going to be executed. The door opens and Gojo stomps in, face twisted with rage that grows darker when he sees the silver adorning her body like pieces of jewellery. "Gojo Sensei," she tries to greet, voice coming out as a croak and Gojo's expression of wrath softens.

"Kaori-kun," he kneels down, pulling at the shackles but Kaori draws her hands away from his grasp.

"How long do I have?" she asks instead, making the man bite his bottom lip.

"Four to five days," he admits in a low, defeated voice. "The 22nd is in four days and those assholes have decided to sentence you to execution after it,"

"The Night Parade of 2000 Demons," she echoes the man's words from earlier and Gojo flinches. "Alright," he looks even more stricken at her acceptance of the words and Kaori tries to steer herself in another direction to avoid voicing the panic she feels at the thought of the blade slicing through her neck. Or would they ask Gojo himself to do it? He is, after all, the Strongest and the strong have to defeat the weak. Maybe he'll flood her with his cursed energy until she bursts like the Curses they exorcize, her organs splattering against the walls and her blood slicking against Gojo's dress shoes. Or maybe they'll use the old fashioned way of suffocating, her pulse beating weakly against Gojo's hands until it falls flat. Gojo stares at her like he's afraid of every one of those situations, something ancient in those eyes of his that make him look older than twenty six. Is it the thought of Kaori's impending death, or was it the reunion with a man he once called his best friend, a man who was his partner in holding up the title of 'The Strongest'? It's probably a mix of both because Gojo Satoru, despite being all powerful, is terrifyingly mortal in the way he feels and loves. "Sensei," she thinks about her friends, Maki and her smirk, Inumaki and his huffs of laughter, Panda and the way he would hug her with all of his strength and sweet Yuuta who has a golden heart that is unsuited for their world of Jujutsu. "Do my friends know that I'm here?" her use of the word 'friends' in a situation where her life is hanging precariously makes Gojo's lips tug into a frown, hopelessly sad at the fact that the First Years would be overjoyed to hear her refer to them as such despite how much Maki would pretend to be unaffected.

"No. Yaga told them that you've been sent away on a mission,"

"Don't tell them," she orders but her voice comes out more as a plea.

"You can't expect me to lie to them, Kaori," his eyes are heavy with disapproval but Kaori shakes her head stubbornly.

"You have to. Who knows how they will react and the Night Parade is more important-"

"More important than you?"

"Yes, because while my death won't kill them, those Curses certainly will. They can not afford to be distracted,"

"You don't know that. Maybe your death will kill them just as much as those Curses can," his eyes are all knowing and Kaori thinks back to the heaviness of the atmosphere around Geto and Gojo, thinking that if the betrayal of a friend can wound even a God like him the death of somebody like her might destroy the mortals that her friends are.

"Maybe but they've survived my betrayal and they'll survive this," her shackles click together as she shuffles forward and looks at Gojo with desperate eyes. "Please Gojo Sensei. I don't want to hurt them again," the man softens as he looks at Kaori. Her white hair is curling wildly around her pale face but her vibrant eyes are more full of life than he's ever seen, resurrected by the thoughts of protecting her friends from pain. Kaori has always seen herself as a robot, scatchingly reffering to herself as a 'machine' during one of her deprecating moments, but he thinks that the girl is more humane than she thinks.