𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑫𝑶𝑴 𝑶𝑭 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑪𝑬 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈 - 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐌

TIME SEEMED TO MOVE FASTER AFTER THAT – whether it was the constant race against the flesh-eating rats or simply because they now had a clear goal, it didn't matter. The pair moved quickly through the tunnels, with Mikazuki cutting through the swarm while Satoru used the wooden piece to knock them out of the way. The deeper they moved inside of the shaft, the more Cursed Rats seemed to appear. Soon, it became nearly impossible to avoid them, opting to simply run instead.

Mikazuki Cursed once again, catching her breath before her eyes caught a strange shape in the distance. Satoru seemed to realize only a second later, a sigh of relief leaving his lips as the blockade appeared in the distance. It was nothing but a large pile of trash – rocks, debris, pieces of driftwood and a bunch of other stuff, but it was large enough to keep the rats away from it.

Gojo smiled excitedly as he turned to Mikazuki, waiting for the sorceress to hand him her nodachi. They didn't know what would await them on the other side, but anything was better than the current situation, which is why after hesitating momentarily, Mikazuki handed over her katana. Satoru smiled, slinging the weapon over his shoulder as he climbed through the pile of trash.

When he finally made it to the top, the sorcerer looked down, eyes fixated on Mikazuki's figure as she used her gold to fight off the remainder of the rats. The swarm would reach her in less than two minutes, which meant she needed to hurry or else she'd be completely defenceless once her gold ran out. Satoru kept watch, eyes following each blow until Mikazuki was trapped between the pile and the sea of Cursed Rats, their glowing red eyes resembling that of a frenzied demon.

The sorceress grunted, looking up with despair written all over her golden orbs. The gold was no longer working, and soon the rats would work their way across the barrier she'd just finished. This was her chance to get away.

"Okay, you can help me up now." The sorceress asked breathlessly, eyes cast towards the swarm as they ate their way through pure solid gold.

Oh fuck.

Gojo remained silent, eyes narrowed while he looked down at the sorceress, his expression unreadable as his face was covered in shadows. The silence between the two stretched, the only noise remaining in the darkness being the loud gnawing of the rats as they crumbled the golden barrier into nothing but dust.

Gojo Satoru hesitated.

For a moment, it was like Mikazuki's air had been punched out of her lungs, her face falling just as the question left her lips.

"Satoru?" She asked tentatively, a dense fear settling at the pit of her stomach.

The golden barrier collapsed, and the Cursed Rats began pouring from all direction, sinking their teeth into Mikazuki's exposed ankles. The sorceress screamed out in pain, golden blood oozing out from the wounds as the pain radiated through her body like a storm. Mikazuki looked up, a mixture of desperation and utter bewilderment settling on her face as her eyes settled on Satoru.

She had no weapon, no gold – and about three hundred rats to fight. They both knew the result of that particular equation.

Death.

And Gojo Satoru was willing to risk it.

"Satoru, we don't have time for this." Mikazuki tried again as the rats continued to climb up over her legs and eating through her jacket, their tiny paws feeling like knives on her skin.

The sorceress tried to fight back, but the swarm was now too large to be fought off. Satoru's gaze remained rooted on the heiress, a blank expression on his face even with the deep seeded guilt currently inhabiting his heart. But no matter how guilty he felt – it was nothing compared with the pain he experienced upon finding Keisuke's body.

Keisuke. This was all about him – always had been, since the first time Gojo asked the question back at Mikazuki's ball.

It was always the same question, and yet every answer given by the sorceress felt like a lie.

"First, tell me the truth." He asked calmly, his voice cold as ice. "Did you have anything to do with Keisuke's death?"

Mikazuki let out a disbelieving laugh, unable to properly process what was happening. The rats kept on scratching at her skin and tearing at the flesh with their teeth. Golden blood was splayed all over her clothes, she was pinned down against the pile of trash by the swarms, both arms immobilized even as she tried to kick them off of her.

"I already told you– " Mikazuki tried to speak up, but she was quickly interrupted by Gojo.

"You've told me nothing but lies!" He accused, his tone seething with anger. "Léa believes you're behind his murder, but I'm not sure." He shook his head, a blanket of doubt falling over him before he cleared his thoughts. "I need to know the truth."

Mikazuki looked up at him, eyes wide with unshed tears.

"Satoru, please..." She begged. "They're going to kill me." She pleaded, tears running down her cheeks while the rats continued to nibble at the exposed flesh.

Satoru shook his head, expression hardening as he clutched the nodachi tighter.

"All you have to do is tell me the truth." He said, almost like he thought he was being reasonable.

Like it made sense. Like he wasn't torturing her for truth's sake. Like she would forgive this.

"Did you have anything to do with Keisuke's death?" He asked pointedly again, the sound of it reverberating against Mikazuki's bones like a Curse.

Mikazuki looked down at the rats, tears falling from her eyes as they continued to swarm her, the pain not even registering anymore.

"Please–"

"Tell me!" He commanded, a shadow crossing over his face.

Mikazuki closed her eyes, body shaking with pain and, surprisingly, fear. The sorceress had never been frightened by a man – not before, not now – but in that single moment, an indescribable primal fear settled at the pit of her stomach. This was the man she used to love, the man who had promised so many things.

Had all those things been lies all along?

Satoru hesitated once again, seeing the unadulterated fear in Mikazuki's face being almost enough to make him cave in. Almost, but not quite. The sorcerer took another deep breath, steeling his resolve as he settled his gaze on the heiress one more time. There was nothing behind his blue eyes, no hint of remorse, regret or any human emotion.

It was just Satoru – a version of him she never wanted to see.

Because, at the end of the day, Gojo Satoru believed he was doing the right thing. For truth's sake, for Keisuke's sake. Little did he know, if the other Kinzoku twin could have seen him, he would have shaken some sense into him.

But Kinzoku Keisuke was dead, and so, Mikazuki had no one to look out for her.

"Did you have anything to do with Keisuke's death?" He repeated, enunciating every single syllable.

Mikazuki broke.

"No!" She finally screamed. "No! I didn't kill him!"