𝑫𝒀𝑵𝑨𝑺𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑺 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈 - 𝐒𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐎 𝐓𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄?

EVERLASTING. UNDERSTANDING DAWNED ON MIKAZUKI AND, for a second, she stopped struggling. It was true she had been asking questions. How could she not after what those Curses had implied during their last mission? The sorceress might have hated her family, but even she had to admit the power of the Kinzoku was a force of nature unlike any other. The mere idea that it could have been bought – or even worse, stolen – made her sick to her stomach. Had this entire bloodline been built on a block of lies? If the Curses were right, then yes.

"You must stop this. There is no sense in searching for the answers you seek." Himari finished before finally letting go of the sorceress' hand.

Somehow, her words felt final – like a threat, a warning. A Kinzoku absolute, something Mikazuki was more than familiar with by now, she'd heard her father issue about a dozen of these in her life. They all had something in common, though. Mikazuki pushed her grandmother away, abandoning the bench and looking down on the woman instead. She was taller now, stronger.

"Is that a threat?" She asked and, when Himari didn't answer, Mikazuki scoffed loudly. "You can't seriously expect me to look away now when I'm so close to the truth." She snarled, eyes wide as she looked down at her grandmother. "There are rumours about our family. Curses have been talking, taunting me."

Himari sighed and rolled her eyes, her expression bored.

"Curses lie, Mikazuki." She said simply, hoping the statement would be enough to compel her to drop the matter altogether.

Of course, because this was Kinzoku Mikazuki, the effect was the exact opposite. Instead of moving on to greener pastures – and safer topics – Mikazuki's gaze hardened, that terrifying sharpness returning to her golden irises as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"So do you."

Mikazuki exhaled sharply, the fury in her gaze visible even in the dim lighting of the room.

She knew what the Curses had said, what they'd implied – that the power in her blood had been stolen, bought off by her ancestors and not a blessing like the elders had always implied. Mikazuki wasn't naïve enough to trust the Curses, but she knew there had to be some truth in their words. She had so many questions, so many doubts, and yet, all she was ever met with were more lies.

Himari's face turned red, angry lines drawn across her skin as the golden blood in her veins bubbled. In her eyes, Mikazuki was just another entitled brat. The truth would break her – and if it didn't, then maybe she was far less human than any of them. Himari rose from the bench, stepping towards her granddaughter in a haze of fury. The tips of her greying hair became golden, floating in the air with the same Cursed Energy as the blood currently running through her body.

Himari grabbed Mikazuki's arm, digging her nails into her skin as she yanked her closer.

"Every lie that I've told you is another burden for me to carry, do you truly believe yourself to be strong enough to bear the weight of the truth?"

Mikazuki snarled, brushing the woman away with such force Himari stumbled backwards, the back of her knees hitting the hard stone of the bench.

"I am the future head of the clan and the strongest sorceress alive." Mikazuki spoke through gritted teeth. "Whatever truths you've been hiding from me, I command you to speak them now or you will suffer the consequences."

Himari looked up at her before looking down at her arm, a bruise quickly forming where Mikazuki had pushed her away before. As a Kinzoku, her strength was beyond that of any human. Meanwhile, Himari was faced with the gift of old age and withering health, which made her vulnerable. Weak. The woman hissed in pain, clutching her arm close to her chest as something resembling fear flickered in her otherwise hollow eyes.

Kinzoku Mikazuki was the one standing in front of her and yet, all she could see was the terrible depravity that she first witnessed in her son; Asahi. Like father, like daughter. Like father, like monster.

"If that's what you desire, then so be it." Himari finally gave up, but her expression remained hard as stone.

Whatever trust they had before, whatever bond they used to share had now been irrevocably shattered to pieces. All the nights Mikazuki spent training in secret under her grandmother's watch so she could catch up with her twin were now gone. She was a stranger, a dangerous criminal whose life had been tainted by pain and hatred. Himari held her head high, chin up.

"But don't come crawling back to me when you realize it's too much to bear."

Mikazuki rolled her eyes, an impatient expression appearing on her face.

"The truth. Now."

Himari scoffed.

"Fine, you want the truth?" she asked with a low growl behind her words "This is the truth."

Himari reached inside one of the pockets of her dark robe, pulling out a knife. Before Mikazuki could even register what was happening, the woman picked up the blade and sliced it across the skin of her arm, right over where Mikazuki's handprint had begun to appear. Golden blood gushed out of the wound, spilling over the pale skin of her arm and staining the fabric of her kimono with dark splotches of liquid gold.

"This – our blood, is not a blessing nor a curse."

Himari smiled, plunging her thumb into the wound and smearing more blood across her pale wrinkled skin. Mikazuki kept her expression calm and collected, but her heart flared as she watched her grandmother mutilate herself. She could almost feel the pain spreading through her own arm like pins and needles.

"Our blood was forcefully taken and forcefully given, that is the legacy you bear in your blood." Himari spat with ire. "Not a gift and not a nightmare, but someone's sins that have been carried down countless generations." She stepped into Mikazuki's space, taking the girl's chin in her hand and smearing the golden blood across her face with a forceful jolt. "This is the price we pay for the sins of our fathers, Mikazuki."

Himari stepped away, taking a few ragged breaths before a satisfied smile appeared on her face when she looked up to witness her masterpiece. Mikazuki took a deep breath, the acrid smell of gold hitting her nostrils as soon as she did. She could feel the blood on her face and seeping into her skin as well as the bold smell of gold in the air. The sorceress darted out her tongue to lick the blood on her lips, taking a moment to fight back the bile rising in her throat.

But her weakness was something she wouldn't grace Himari with. Instead, she cracked her neck and rubbed the blood away with the sleeve of her dress, which was now ruined. As was Miyazaki's necklace.

"Now that you're done with your fucking tantrum and theatrics." Mikazuki began, her tone chilling to the bone. "Let's stop with this over-the-top theatrical performance and tell me the fucking truth, Himari."