𝑫𝒀𝑵𝑨𝑺𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑺 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈 - 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃

MIKAZUKI CHUCKLED AND LOOKED AT HIM LIKE HE WAS MAD. His eyes sparkled, the pure blue of his ocean gaze nearly enough to knock the breath out of her lungs. 

"What? To be without time?" she echoed, an incredulous tone mixing with her words.

Satoru nodded, and there was this expression on his face that told her he was being completely serious, like he was about to pull out some incredible technique that would bend time and space for her. Like he was a God, and she a devoted zealot.

"If such a thing was possible; to stop time... would you do it? Would you take the chance?" Satoru asked again, head tilted to the side as he waited for an answer.

Mikazuki rolled her eyes, yet there was this small flicker of doubt that briefly flashed across her face, almost as if she were considering his words, no matter the impossible nature of what he was hinting at. Jujutsu magic and sorcery afforded a certain level of control over things that were considered to be unmovable before, but even that sort of energy had its limits, and time was a hard no.

"Time is fluid, like the rapids of a raging river. It cannot be stopped or contained, pretending to do otherwise is to pretend to be a god" Mikazuki spoke truthfully before pausing, now looking at him through her thick lashes, a question lingering a the tip of her tongue "Are you a god, Gojo Satoru?"

Satoru chuckled and shook his head before looking back at her right in the eyes.

"No, of course not!" he laughed openly before his expression softened.

There was that flicker again, that small sliver of doubt that made Mikazuki question everything she knew about the man. The sorceress stayed silent, unwilling to say anything lest her thoughts spill from her mouth. Satoru smiled, he could see the surprise on her gaze – she hadn't even attempted to hide it, too preoccupied to keep whatever secrets she kept from being spilled all over the floor.

Gojo wasn't selfless, and with the power he held – both the raw power that flowed through his veins and the power conceded to him through the name of his clan – the sorcerer had never been against referring to himself as a God. He was The Strongest; a lonely god, a wrathful god. So why was he denying himself that pleasure now?

"... and even if I was, I don't think I'd make a good one" Satoru added after a while, pushing his hands into his pockets as he looked at the village below.

He paused, taking a deep breath before turning to look at her.

"What about you?" he quirked his brow up, expectantly "Are you a god, Kinzoku Mikazuki?"

Her expression softened, but the sorceress didn't laugh. Before, she would have dissolved into a fit of giggles at what she would assume to be a stupid and baseless question, but now, she knew better. Mikazuki hesitated, thinking of the horrible things that had happened throughout her life, throughout her brother's life. So much pain, so much strife and chaos. For what purpose? If there was a God, then they were cruel and not worth her time nor her devotion.

There is no place for gods in a world filled with so many tragedies.

"We both know there's no such thing" she shrugged "There is only Man and Monster, everything else is just background noise"

Satoru watched her again.

"And which one are you?" he asked "Are you a Man or a Monster?"

Mikazuki turned, a playful smile on her face as she stepped closer to Satoru. She was trying to hide her doubt, her concerns, but Gojo was able to read her like an open book, to gaze into her soul and reveal her true heart.

"I don't know, you're the who has been watching me this whole time" Mikazuki commented with a swift grin as she positioned herself directly in front of him, an expectant expression on her face "When you look at me, what do you see? Do you see a Man? Or do you see a Monster?"

Am I worthy of love and devotion? Or am I beyond salvation? Was the real question that slipped past her defences, all out in the open for him to see. Satoru cleared his throat, looking directly at the sorceress with the power of his Six Eyes. He could see the flame in her eyes, that flicker of power that united them like a thin thread of fate, that incredible spark that could wipe out an entire nation. Satoru saw so much in her, things he didn't even know he could see, things he would have turned away from a decade ago. He saw so many things he could relate to, but also so much he couldn't possibly understand.

Gojo looked straight into the depths of her soul and Mikazuki wasn't hiding a single thing, opening herself up to him completely, and yet, he wasn't sure what he was seeing. It was like looking directly into the sun, you look at it too long and your mind goes blank. At the same time, the sorcerer was assaulted by a flashback of the past, he saw young Mikazuki standing right there, a smile on her face as they watched the stars fall from the sky, and something about the vision shattered his heart.

Because he should have fought for her, he should have challenged The Magistrate, he should have testified. Instead, he let them take her away.

"I see you" he said slowly "I see all of you, Kinzoku Mikazuki. Your flaws. Your mistakes. Your wants. Your desires. Your imperfections. Your regrets. Your loves. Your heartbreaks..." he released a breath, like it had been punched out of his lungs at how amazed he was by her "and it's all fucking beautiful"

Mikazuki laughed, partly because she didn't know what else to do and partly because her younger self would have killed to hear Gojo Satoru talk about her like this. Unfortunately for her, this Mikazuki knew better, and Satoru's words fell on deaf ears, because all she could hear when his lips moved, were all the things he never said, all the promises he never kept. The Kinzoku quickly looked away, shoving a lock of hair behind her ear as she tried to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm damaged, Satoru" she spoke softly "Nothing about me is beautiful. I am not beautifully broken, I was ripped to shreds from the inside out" Mikazuki looked up at him with sorrow in her gaze "Do you understand?"

Satoru nodded but didn't seem put off by her words. Mikazuki held his gaze, and although his expression didn't change, she truly began wondering if he would ever understand. How could he, when he wasn't the one who was cast away and exiled from his own community? He couldn't possibly even begin to understand her sorrow nor her hatred. The sorcerer pressed his lips into a thin line, leaning back to gaze at the sky. The sun had already set and the night sky was dark, a million stars glowing in the eternal blackness of it all.

Just like that night.

"Is that why you wish time could stand still?" he asked, and part of him broke when he saw her flinch at his words "So you can take a breath while no one is watching? So you can put yourself together, even if it's only for a second?"

Mikazuki shook her head and started to walk away.

"I knew you wouldn't understand, I shouldn't have–" she tried to say, but before she could move any further, Satoru grabbed her wrist.

The power of the Omen appeared, first as a small spark which then ignited into a ball of energy surrounding their hands, blinding light coming from where their skin touched. He let go, searing pain spreading through their bodies, but when his hand moved away from her wrist, Mikazuki looked down, feeling the weight of a bracelet that hadn't been there seconds ago.

"Wha–" she looked up at Satoru and back to the bracelet "What is this?"

Satoru smiled, and for the first time in a while, there was nothing scheming behind it. There were no secrets, no doubts and no hesitation, just a plain smile filled with love and care.

"It's your wish" hesaid, motioning to the small bubble on top of the bracelet "That day, when weclimbed the hill and watched the stars fall, it was the happiest moment of mylife" Mikazuki looked down, seeing the small stars preserved inside the resin"One single second, you and I, suspended in eternity for the rest of time" hesmiled "Happy birthday, Mikazuki"