𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑳𝑴 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑯𝑨𝑫𝑶𝑾𝑺 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐋𝐈𝐕 - 𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐋

THE SPEAR CAME FROM NOWHERE, and by the time Satoru and Mikazuki turned towards the crack of her innate domain, the golden liquid was already splitting while the corpse of the Curse melted into the ocean of sunset colours. The Golden Hour disappeared, dissipating into nothingness as the Kinzoku deflated with it. Although this wasn't the first time she tried laying out Keisuke's domain, it was the first successful attempt, yet it seemed to come at a great cost.

Gojo cursed internally as the remains of the Cursed Spirit disappeared into the ground. Even with the undeniable prowess of his Six Eyes, he hadn't been able to catch whoever threw the weapon. There was no sign of life anywhere near – at least not the kind that could cause this kind of damage. The sorcerer turned to survey his companion, wincing as his ocean eyes noticed the fine trail of blood coming from her nose and spilling over her upper lip.

It was gold – the same colour of her domain and the some colour of the sun, yet Satoru wasn't fooled. He knew the Kinzoku bled gold, he had seen it many times before, but something about that small trail of golden liquid trailing over the sorceress' lip felt different. Mikazuki shouldn't have injured herself for this, he could have easily taken care of the Curse himself. Then again, if he had done that, they wouldn't have any of the information they just gained – even if they could have gotten even more had the spirit not been slaughtered before it could spill any more truths.

This couldn't be a coincidence, of this Satoru was certain and, although Mikazuki hadn't said a word yet, he knew she was thinking the exact same thing. For fuck's sake, the Curse itself had said it. Gojo wasn't the kind of man to take a Curses' words over that of any human, but that creature had been telling the truth – he didn't need his Six Eyes to see that. Satoru turned, the rumbling of an engine catching his attention as a series of civilian trucks and buses entered the neighbourhood.

The Magistrate had probably been watching them the whole time, and now that the threats had been neutralized, there was no reason for the locals to evacuate. All was well again, but Satoru wasn't convinced – neither was Mikazuki, for that matter. The sorceress rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath, sharp pain shooting through her ribs which each intake. She had overexerted herself, but it was worth it. Mikazuki leaned back against the brick wall, her sunset gaze following as the buses passed through the yellow tape and the families trickled out to regain their homes.

None of the mortals seemed to notice either of them, too preoccupied discussing the very curious and very strange gas leak that had pushed them out of their homes in the first place. If only they knew. Mikazuki held her side, mind replaying the events over and over as she tried to pinpoint the origin of the attack, but there was no way to know what happened in the outside world while inside of a domain, not even Satoru was capable of such a thing. The sorceress wiped the blood away from her face, turning to share a look with the Gojo boy.

"What the fuck was that?" Satoru asked finally, trying to keep his tone calm despite the clear disbelief written all over his face.

Mikazuki shook her head, supressing a surprised gasp at the wording. Gojo never cursed – it wasn't his thing and he found it vulgar, yet no other words seemed to be able to capture his emotions at the moment. How could they, when things had gone so terribly wrong and nothing made sense anymore? It was as if the world had been flipped upside down in a single second, the pillars of reality shattering in front of his eyes.

"I have no idea. That spear came out of fucking nowhere, pierced right through the walls of my domain" there was anger in her tone, not that Satoru could blame her.

For people like them, their domains were supposed to be impenetrable. Unbreakable. And yet, someone had easily slipped through.

"That Curse was about to spill all of its secrets, for fuck's sake. I was this fucking close to the truth" the sorceress turned around, kicking the hard brick wall as she let out a scream.

They were so fucking close it was unnerving. One more second and she could have figured it all out. Instead, here they were, standing out in the rain in a neighbourhood in the middle of nowhere, not one step closer to the truth. Satoru approached the woman with slow steps, caution written in his eyes as he surveyed her.

Mikazuki held her breath; she couldn't stop thinking about it, like a nagging fly that wouldn't leave her alone. Two Curses in one day, both of which had spilled more secrets than they intended, both of which had been willing to lay it all down for her... why? Why would they do that?

And then there was Keisuke. Whatever truths that Curse was about to spill, her brother had been involved. Were they to blame for his death? Did they know Twisted and what he'd done? There were so many questions still zooming about in her mind, so many unanswered mysteries. And every time she got closer to the truth, it was denied to her – be it by fate or by design.

"I know" Satoru stated calmly "Clearly, something big is going on. Whoever threw that spear wants to keep its secrets locked. We need to keep searching"

He was frustrated too, but nothing comparable to whatever emotions were bubbling in Mikazuki's gaze. The sorceress whipped around, her grey locks bouncing off her back as she looked at Gojo, her sunset gaze filled with anger and frustration.

"For what? Every single time we get closer to the truth, something happens" Mikazuki balled her hands into fists, the gold in her blood still restless even when her body could barely hold itself together "I'm tired of running in circles like a fucking headless chicken" she announced before her shoulders sagged, an entirely new expression appearing on her face.

Satoru watched her, recognizing that familiar look in her eyes. He could almost sense it, the fight leaving her body and a tired haze coming down to replace it like a heavy blanket. It was so easy to pretend Mikazuki wasn't human, so easy to think of her as this invincible sorceress who was always on. But the Kinzoku was tired, and for the first time in a long while, Satoru could see it too.

"I'm so tired, Satoru. I don't think I can keep doing this"

He could see it now, but somehow the words didn't register.

"Doing what?" he asked, prompting her with an inquisitive look.

Mikazuki huffed out a laugh and signalled to the space around them, to the pretty red brick houses and the docks on the other side of the complex.

"This; playing the perfect soldier, being at The Magistrate's beck and call. Running around asking questions about things I'm not sure I want to know, participating in this little dance you and I have" she explained and, with each word, he could almost see a part of her soul leaving her body "I don't have the patience for any of it. Not anymore" Mikazuki paused, looking at the sorcerer right in the eyes, her sunset gaze meeting his everblues "I don't want to do this, Satoru"

Gojo didn't need his Six Eyes to know she was telling the truth, he could feel in his bones. But no matter how little fight she had left in her, Satoru wasn't ready to give up. Not yet, when they had gotten so close to the truth. Not yet, when Keisuke's killer hadn't been punished.

"You're not alone in this" he spoke slowly "We can figure this out together"