𝑫𝒀𝑵𝑨𝑺𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑺 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐕 - 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐀𝐆𝐄

JULY SEVENTH WAS NOT A QUIET NIGHT. Kinzoku Mikazuki stood in the middle of the room atop a small platform, her naked form reflected in the large mirror that sat against the wall while the modiste kneeled by her side, pressing the cold material of the yellow measuring tape against her exposed skin. Meanwhile, Kinzoku Hide sat atop the freshly made bed, her deep green eyes surveying her daughter carefully before her calculating gaze snapped back to the redheaded servant tending to her daughter's hair. Rekka Akari ignored the weight of the woman's stare, opting to focus in her task instead as her hand combed through the thick grey curls of her mistress.

The sorceress pressed her lips into a thin line, swallowing down her nervousness before her gaze flickered back to the mirror. It had been a while since Mikazuki last had the chance to take a good look at her body, her encounters with Yashiro often too brief to give it much thought. The Kinzoku straightened her back, the skin of her abdomen stretching slightly with each move. The sorceress had been careful to hide her scar, not that her mother would have noticed such a small fracture when she was far more concerned with her daughter's attitude.

Despite the preparations necessary for the party, Hide had been quiet throughout most of the day, opting to silently sit through every step while Mikazuki was tended to by the staff. It was probably better this way; Hide's silence was a gift and Mikazuki wasn't about to waste it.

Nina – the modiste, a very small chubby girl with puffed cheeks and brown curly hair who had been the family's stylist for nearly a decade – held the tape against Mikazuki's side, measuring the distance between her hip and her knee before turning back towards the assortment of fabrics carefully laid on the bed beside her mother. Hide's gaze hovered over the pieces of cloth, all of which were arranged in a strange pattern, the black and gold melting with softer midnight tones and a couple of red velvety gowns Nina had brought back from London.

"We want something simple yet fierce" Hide commanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

The Kinzoku Mother was wearing a beautiful gown herself, a mix between the traditional Japanese style and a western women's suit. The piece suited her well, the black fabric contrasting against her pale skin while the golden lines lining the lapels of the shirt followed the ornamental Kinzoku style. Even now, in her late fifties and with three different sets of twins, Hide was still incredibly beautiful.

She had a sharp jaw, her piercing green eyes and small lips a testament of her Edamura blood. It was easy to understand why Asahi had agreed to the match so easily, Hide was stunning and fierce, and although she and Mikazuki shared the same blood, there was nothing of the woman in her daughter aside from her stubbornness and strong will.

"A dress that will highlight her new role as heiress as well as her..." Hide paused, lips pursing as if trying to find the appropriate word "availability" she finally settled on.

Mikazuki scoffed, the word stinging nearly as much as when her own mother had called her a whore. Despite her plans, the sorceress didn't hold any delusions regarding her status. She was here to be the Kinzoku heiress, and as such, she would eventually have to marry. This fact was unavoidable, and although Mikazuki was still trying to find a way out of her clan's schemes, she still had to heed his orders to complete her objective.

Nina nodded eagerly, walking towards the stack of fabrics and pushing through the racks of premade dresses she'd also dragged all the way from her atelier in London. She was an eccentric little woman, but a family friend – if the Kinzoku had any friends, that is. Nina pulled on a roll of beautiful midnight velvet, tacking the pins away from the cloth and putting them between her lips as she continued to sort through the tulle and brushed cotton canvases. Mikazuki rolled her eyes, straightening her back as Akari slowly pulled her hair up, pinning her curls into a neat updo.

"There's no need to be so dramatic" the sorceress remarked in a quiet tone "It's a birthday party, not a debutante ball" she grit through her teeth.

Her mother scoffed, her face the picture of serenity despite the clear displeasure written across her features. Hide had always been easy to read – unlike Asahi, who was a skilled liar and quick to hide his emotions, she was an open book. Her eyes were as telling as a confession, and the greenery hiding in her gaze always gave her away. Keisuke had been the same, although his eyes were the same golden colour as the setting sun.

"You're our only viable heir" Hide began, the entitlement dripping from her tone along with a sense of vitriol and acrid hatred.

Mikazuki balled her hands into fists, and although she remained calm and collected despite her mother's agitating statement, she could feel Akari tensing behind her. Viable. Hide said the word slowly, enunciating every syllable like she was talking about the family's prized calf and not her second-born daughter. Then again, to Hide, all of her children were a simple social transaction – a burden to rid herself of when the time came. Sending her sons off to The Magistrate to be killed by Cursed Spirits. Marrying off her daughters to some wealthy foreign shaman so she would never have to lay eyes on them again.

"It's imperative you make a good impression to attract a quality match, this is as much a celebration as it's an opportunity to show you off" Hide droned on and, when Mikazuki didn't add anything or retort to any of her words, she resumed her practiced speech "You should be grateful that this new generation of sorcerers seems to be willing to overlook your past" her gaze turned cold, as did her words which had been carefully chosen to feel like a stabbing knife "you haven't been the most respectable lady lately"

It took a second for Mikazuki to realize her mother was not talking about her skills as a sorceress but of her sexual past. The sorceress took a deep steadying breath, yet the gold rushing in her veins didn't still into calmness, opting to bleed out of the cracks in her arms instead. Mikazuki's expression turned cold, the golden glow in her eyes turning as restless as the gold in her veins. The temperature in the room dropped and Nina and Akari shared a worried glance, the glittering gold already levitating in the air like a series of threatening constellations of heavenly stardust.

"I didn't come here so I could listen to you sprouting vitriol, mother" she called before turning to stare at Hide fully.

Even while only wearing a nude set of underwear and completely exposed to the world, there was something menacing in her gaze, like the storm within the sorceress was getting ready to be set lose. One move – one wrong move, and she would let the gold in her bloodline wreak the havoc her irate heart had been craving for since she first laid eyes on the woman.

"If you want to comment on my indiscretions then please do so, but don't pretend you haven't had your own share of bloodshed"

In the past forty years of marriage with the King of Sorcerers, Kinzoku Hide had never been unfaithful. Mikazuki liked to think that it was because of fear – the paralyzing dread that came with knowing she would be the next victim of Asahi's rampage. Unfortunately for her, Mikazuki knew better. Hide lacked many basic human qualities, but one she could not fault her for was loyalty.

Hide loved Asahi – she loved him so much, in fact, that she had killed for him. With him.