𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑫𝑶𝑴 𝑶𝑭 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑪𝑬 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐗 - 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐑

THE REST OF THE WEEK PASSED BY RATHER QUICKLY, hours blurring into days blurring into an entire week soon added to an even longer month of nothing remarkable happening. It had been nearly two months since Mikazuki's return to Tokyo and less than a couple of weeks since her brother's funeral. Spring was coming to an end, leaves turning yellow and brown before falling to the ground with the summer heat.

Although the sorceress was grateful for the change in pace, she still wished it was under different circumstances. Still, Mikazuki fidgeted with the black sleeves of her dress, smoothing down the fabric before stepping out of the Toyota.

Her heels clicked against the ground, but right before she could exit the car, Asahi's bony hand clasped around her wrist, the sizzling of gold meeting gold echoing in the car while Hide retouched her make-up in the mirror, wholly unbothered by the scene.

"Remember to play nice." Asahi barked, his tone leaving little to no room for refusal as his fingers tightened around his daughter's wrist. "This is a funeral, and you now speak for our entire family. Behave accordingly."

Mikazuki snarled but nodded anyway, finally snatching her arm away from her father and stepping into the driveaway. The house was small and surrounded by other similar ones, the bland home a stark contrast against the usual residences of sorcerers. The Yamada family was modest, their son being the first – and now last – to exhibit any ability when it came to Cursed Energy.

Mikazuki paused in front of the doorway, hesitating for a moment as her eyes fell on the closed casket set on the table, right in the middle of the living room while people – mainly sorcerers, although a couple of Windows and Doors lurked around as well – paid their respects.

Another dead sorcerer. Another funeral. Another farewell.

Hide and Asahi didn't wait for their daughter to join them, quickly bypassing the sorceress and entering the home with no decorum at all. Mikazuki continued to stare, rooted to the spot as she remembered her own brother's farewell party. It seemed like a lifetime ago, yet only about a month had passed since then. A month, and Mikazuki wasn't any closer to figuring out what the hell had happened to him. The sorceress sighed, shaking her head and ridding herself of these thoughts as she finally stepped into the property.

Mikazuki shuffled her way into the house, nodding her head at the mourning couple at the entrance before sauntering to the living room. The crowd was thin; although the sorcerer who had perished was well-known and of special-grade, his family was made out of mere mortals, meaning very few people born in the bustling world of Jujutsu decided to spare their time to pay their respects.

The sorceress balled her hands into fists, bypassing the crowd and slithering into the room until she was standing over the coffin. It was made of smooth black wood and it was tightly closed, the latch attached to an elaborate padlock.

For a moment, the sorceress wished he could see him, see what the Cursed Spirit had done to him that was so awful he didn't even get to be displayed, but the thought was quickly shut down as she felt another presence come by and stand beside her.

Mikazuki remained silent, unwilling to greet Gojo Satoru despite the fact he was standing right by her side, his hands buried deep within his pockets while his blue eyes were hidden behind a pair of old-fashioned Ray-Bans. Satoru looked down, taking in the coffin before his gaze settled on Mikazuki's hands. They were lingering above the wood, as if cradling the face of the sorcerer on the other side.

Mikazuki fidgeted with the sleeves of her dress, the dark mourning gown Hide had chosen for her sticking to her skin like a second layer of flesh while her dull grey hair and been pulled back in a nearly perfect bun, her golden eyes standing out against the pale tint of her skin. She didn't look like herself, not that most people in attendance could tell. These days, it was nearly impossible to tell what she was supposed to look like in the first place.

"He was a brave guy." Satoru offered after a while, unsure on what else he could say at the moment.

Truth to be told, Gojo had never been particularly fond of him. Yamada Saito had been a third-year when he first entered Jujutsu Tech, and even then, the two rarely talked to one another unless it was related to an assignment. But Mikazuki was different, she liked to hang out with the older guys, liked to pretend she was one of them.

The two were never friends, but they weren't strangers either.

Mikazuki straightened her back, wiping away a set of non-existent tears before stepping away from the coffin. The room was empty now, with most guests having trickled to the garden to watch as Saito's parents lit his lantern and welcomed him into the next life. Satoru shuffled awkwardly, setting his sights on the group outside and watching as the lantern flew into the sky. As guests – as sorcerers – they should have been there, paying their respects and bidding him farewell one last time.

Instead, they were here.

The Kinzoku took a deep breath, finally turning to stare directly into Satoru's eyes, the molten gold of her own clashing against his everblues, the tint of the glasses not strong enough to minimise the intensity of it.

"This isn't a coincidence anymore." Mikazuki said softly, yet with a certain sharpness to her voice.

It wasn't a question, not when Keisuke had been killed a month ago, not when someone else has been killed back in March as well. The crumbs had been there all along, but it was only now that the sorceress was finally putting them into place, the narrative becoming so clear, ignoring it was no longer an option. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but three? There is a pattern. Satoru sighed, relaxing his shoulders as his eyes landed on the casket once again.

"No, unfortunately it's not."

Mikazuki took another steadying breath before smoothing down the edges of her dress, a new reinvigorated rage appearing in her gaze as she looked down. She wasn't going to let them get away with this. Whoever was out there killing sorcerers better start running, because Kinzoku Mikazuki was coming for them, and whatever little mercy she still had left in her was gone the moment they decided to kill Keisuke.

"So... I guess this is it, then?" She asked, pulling at her hair to tighten the ponytail, the gold inside of her veins swirling uncontrollably.

"What is?" Satoru asked, both amused and slightly concerned.

"War." Mikazuki repeated coldly "This is war, and I'm going to end it."