𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑫𝑶𝑴 𝑶𝑭 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑪𝑬 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐋𝐕 - 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐔𝐒

KINZOKU MIKAZUKI DIDN'T MAKE IT HOME UNTIL FOUR IN THE MORNING. Between the little chat she had with Léa Dubois and the mandatory visit to Shoko's office, it took the sorceress at least another two hours to make the journey all the way back to Hokkaido. Once there, things had been relatively easier. The Kinzoku Estate was nearly deserted at this hour, yet Akari had been waiting by the door, a small smile on her face as she welcomed her mistress home.

Mikazuki didn't return the gesture, stepping past the redhead and into the confined of the Kogane Manor. Usually, the sorceress would make small talk with her servant, but not tonight. Whatever little energy the Kinzoku had left was gone the moment she threatened Léa back in London. Now, all she wanted to do was lay on her bed and sleep for at least another two days.

The sorceress limped across the room, bypassing the bedroom and the kitchen and leaning against the bathroom door. While getting a good night of sleep was certainly high up on her list of priorities, Mikazuki was still covered in human waste and many other bodily fluids as well as dried golden blood, her clothes torn apart by the rats. Akari had been kind enough not to ask any questions and simply getting to work. It didn't take long for the bathtub to be filled to the brim with large bubbles floating on top.

Mikazuki stood in front of the mirror, twisting her body in an attempt to remove the tattered remains of her jacket, but a hot spark of pain ran down her arm the moment she tried to do so. Akari watched the sorceress silently, and after the third failed attempt to remove her clothes, the redhead finally stepped in.

"Let me take care of this." Akari pleaded as she eyed her mistress with something akin to pity in her eyes. "Please."

Mikazuki chewed the inside of her cheek. She hated to the pitied, yet in that particular instance, the woman didn't have the heart to refuse, not when every single move she made sent painful needles prickling all over her body. The Mother of All Rats had certainly done some damage – her ribs would take weeks, if not months, to fully heal.

Akari walked around the sorceress, slowly sliding the jacket off her shoulders before tossing it into the garbage can. The thing was unsalvageable, the leather completely torn at the seams while the foul smell of the sewers remained glued to the fabric. Once the jacket was off, Akari moved to the side, deciding to cut through Mikazuki's jeans instead of removing them properly.

The pieces of cloth fell apart as soon as the scissors cut through the seams, leaving the sorceress standing in her underwear. Mikazuki risked a glance towards the mirror, catching her reflection for a second before she forced herself to look away. She was a mess – her grey hair was matted and covered in specks of golden blood, her face swollen with cuts and bruises all over her skin. The sorceress could see a large bruise forming on her left side, her ribs hurt with every single movement as well.

The Kinzoku closed her eyes and took a deep breath in a poor attempt to erase the image from her brain. Instead, as soon as her eyelids became shut, she was assaulted by a flash of hungry rats and nibling Curselings. The sorceress sighed, quickly opening her eyes and tearing what was left of her shirt off along with her bra. The underwear came after, and soon Mikazuki found herself completely naked in front of the full-sized mirror.

Akari winced at the sigh, her red-hot eyes averting the sight almost immediately. Mikazuki held back another sigh – she knew what she looked like, and it wasn't a particularly endearing sight, at least not now. The sorceress' hand darted to her left leg, to the warped skin around her scar, which had now been joined by at least a dozen rat-sized bites.

The redhead quickly busied herself with another task, leaping to the bathtub in the middle of the room and checking the temperature for what probably was the third time in less than ten minutes. Mikazuki decided not to call her out, turning to the side so she could see the damage on her back. Unlike the rest of her body, which had served as a snack for the Curselings, her back was remarkably unharmed.

Fucking rats. Mikazuki Cursed mentally, once again setting her golden gaze on her legs, which had taken the brunt of the damage. At least now she had an excuse to avoid wearing short or skirts, not that the scar on her left leg wasn't good enough of a pretence already. Mikazuki looked at her reflection once again, noting the numerous scars strewn across her body.

I should be stronger than this. She thought bitterly, the decade she spent in the woods written all over her body like an indelible mark. The Kinzoku had spent all of that time training, preparing for the revenge she began planning the moment the Magistrate turned her into a mass murderer. And yet, it seemed ten years was not enough to prepare herself for the horrors that awaited her if she chose to follow this path.

Not that she had much of a choice – not when so many lives were at stake. Niko. Keisuke. The Twins. Her twins. No, Mikazuki made this choice so long ago she could barely remember what her life was like without it. The ultimate goal – once she was close to failing, at least if the rats had gotten their way. If Satoru had gotten his way.

Mikazuki knew better than to trust him, a mistake she would ensure would never repeat itself. She was done with him anyway.

The sorceress paused, gaze falling to the necklace she wore around her neck. The chain was thin, and yet it was turdy enough to survive her trek through the sewers. Mikazuki hadn't thought about the artifact since her arrival, but she could still feel the power contained within. The necklace was plain, a golden chain – a common ornament for those born under the Kinzoku name – with a small vial at the end.

It was what laid inside the vial that was extraordinary. Magic as old as time, borrowed from a Curse whose name Mikazuki would take to the grave.

She was done playing games – be it with the Magistrate, with Gojo Satoru or with her own father. Games are for the weak. Mikazuki thought calmly, that fierce undertone returning to her golden gaze. And even if they're not, I hold the divine move that can end them all.

"We should heal this while it's still fresh." Akari's voice echoed in the silence.

Mikazuki nodded, quickly dropping the chain while the redhead sat on a short stool and pulled out a cream. The ointment wasn't a cure-all, but it was far better than simply leaving the wounds untreated. A bite from a Curselings, while not mortal, could still fester into a nasty disease, and the Kinzoku heiress didn't have any time to lose. Akari treated every single cut carefully, applying enough cream that Mikazuki's skin was as smooth as that of a babe.

Once she was done, the servant bowed, stepping out of the room and leaving Mikazuki completely alone. The sorceress took a deep breath, tiptoeing towards the bathtub and submerging herself under the water. The water was warm – so warm, in fact, a thick curtain of steam lifted into the air. Mikazuki hummed happily, the feeling of the warm water spreading through her body nearly as healing as the ointment currently plastered all over her skin.

It smelled nice, too. Lavender, one of her favourite smells along with that of peonies. And hydrangeas, though that particular smell brough back way more memories than she was capable of handling. They were, after all, Keisuke's flowers.

Oh, Gods. She missed him so much, like a part of her soul had been ripped away from her body.

Mikazuki relaxed, resting her head against the back of the iron tub, her grey locks floating in the water around her. It was peaceful, with the moonlight filtering through the window, a string of starts greeting her from the endless night. For a moment, the sorceress imagined Keisuke among them – a star in the endless garland of constellations. Did he miss her as much as she did him?