Into Infinity | Satoru Gojo x Female Reader

Chapter 17

Kiyomo Koretoki.

The name is everywhere.

You have to hold back a laugh at the irony of the situation. A name is what you wanted, and here it is: on the walls, the floors, the ceiling; written in Kanji, English, and a few other languages you don't understand. If you thought the outside was eerie, this is a whole other mess. The only light comes from a few candles spread around the room, but it is enough to see that whoever lives here has some sort of explosive obsession. Sheets of paper hang on the walls and all over the floor, scrawled with that name over and over again. Scattered amongst the papers is an odd assortment of items: more windchimes, feathers, dead roses, and other items of worship. It all seems like one big fire hazard.

At the head of it all is a large altar, where a hand-drawn photo of a handsome man with wings sits.

A young woman kneels in front of the altar. She is so still, if it weren't for the energy flowing off her, you might've thought she was dead.

You pause when you see her. Her heart is unlike any you have seen before. Rather than being confined to the space around her chest, it flows to every part of her body, free and fully realized. It is bright and golden, just like the light you saw surrounding little cursey that day of the cursed womb, and looking at it all you can think is that this is the perfect, functioning system. It is complete in a way that other hearts weren't.

The lady who led you here ushers you in and then quickly rushes back out of the hut.

You look at Megumi with concern as the door slams behind you.

"This is not what you were expecting, is it?" he says in a low voice.

"No.. not really," you say.

You step toward the woman on the floor.

As you get closer, you hear her mumbling things under her breath.

"Uhm... hi," you say. "We were wondering if you'd be able to answer some questions for us... about the Koretoki clan." You decide to drop the act. "I may possibly be related to them."

The woman sits up sharply but doesn't acknowledge you. She throws her head back and howls, "Kiyomo Koretoki will rise again!"

You cringe.

Megumi is getting increasingly uncomfortable beside you.

"Yeah, uhm, about that..." you say. "This Kiyomo, can you tell me about him?"

She goes on, ignoring your question. "Our great savior, how will we ever repay you for this life you've given us? I, yes, we owe you everything. Please shine your grace upon us once more. Oh, Koretoki-sama please return to us. We will be here to show you the way to your rightful throne. Whatever it is you need, we will provide. Your rise is destined, oh great one of the skies!"

The more she talks, the more you feel a deep chill growing in your bones.

Megumi looks just about done with this place.

You try to get through to her one more time. "This Kiyomo—ehem—Koretoki-sama, he seems nice. Can you tell me more about him?"

The woman whirls on you. Her face is much younger than you expected, and her eyes—bright and lively—lock onto the necklace.

"You!" she shrieks. "Where did you get that!?"

"Uh—" you start, but before you can explain, she launches at you.

You fall backward.

Megumi steps behind to catch you just in time.

You land in his arms, as the woman pounces on top of you

"You—you thief!" she cries. "That belongs to Kiyomo!! What have you done with him!!?!" She swipes at the necklace.

For a small woman, she is quite strong, you struggle to push her off.

"Hey! Get off her!" Megumi snaps at the woman, pulling you back.

You can feel him preparing himself to diffuse this situation, but you don't want to involve him in this any more than he already is.

You get an idea.

"Megumi! The backpack!" you say. "Quick, hand me the bird!"

"Huh?" he says. And then, "Oh right." He reaches into your bag and pulls out the little wooden bird that you took from the treasure room.

When he hands it to you, you shove it out to the woman in front of you. "Here!" you say. "It's from Kiyomo! You can have it!"

The woman's attention turns immediately from you and to the bird in your hands. She snatches it without hesitation, releasing you from her clawing grasp.

"Oh Koretoki-sama," she says, "You have come to me at last." She kneels and looks at the bird lovingly.

You step away from her, your heart pounding a million miles an hour.

Megumi steadies you. "You okay?" he asks.

You nod. "We should probably get out of here.. like now," you say.

"You think?"

You both back out of the room slowly, but you have no need to worry, the woman has completely forgotten about your existence.

Once outside you close the door behind you and breathe a huge sigh of relief.

The lady who led you here is nowhere in sight.

Megumi glances at your open backpack. "You sure that was the right choice?" he says.

You rub your neck. "I'm not sure..." It was a bit like giving Crack to an addict but... "She probably needs it more than I do. Plus, I've got what I wanted." A name. The name. Kiyomo Koretoki.

Megumi frowns back at the hut. "So...what the heck was that?"

"Do you remember the day of the cursed womb? When you found me with that curse?" you say.

He nods. "Yeah."

"I... I did something to it. To make it that way. I think the same thing was done to her. Or maybe not her, but someone in her family. Someone a long time ago. But if that's the case that means..." This Kiyomo, was that powerful.

Megumi digests this. "A curse that spans generations, it's not too uncommon."

A curse. Is that what this is? Every child born worshiping the same man, it sure seems like a curse, but is it? Or is it something else?

"You should be careful," Megumi says. "You can't trust anyone too easily in the jujutsu community. Not even family. Being related doesn't mean as much as you'd think it would."

You nod and look back at the door. "That poor woman..." you say. Her heart looked so pure and free, but does it even belong to her anymore?

Megumi knocks you on the head. "Come on," he says, "We should go back to the school. Not all battles are ours to fight."

"Ouf. Okay, you're right." Everything he's saying is true, but the thought of the woman doesn't leave your mind. You can't help but feeling like maybe, maybe you can help her. Somehow.

You carry the sense of responsibility all the way back to the school.

That night, for the first time in weeks, you fall asleep with someone's name other than Gojo's on your mind.