𝑫𝒀𝑵𝑨𝑺𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑺 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐋𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈 - 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍

THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS PASSED QUICKLY, the excitement of Mikazuki's birthday dying off by the end of the week. The rumours about her kept on growing and spreading, a large shadow of dissent slowly growing over the Kinzoku name while Asahi worked hard to put the fires out. The sorceress didn't particularly care, she was far too busy working at the Kinzoku School for the Gifted and getting ready for the start of the term at Jujutsu Tech. On top of that, she still had assignments to get through and missions to complete which rendered her schedule completely full.

Despite the rumours growing in the background, Mikazuki had still managed to amass a significant number of marriage proposals. As the heir to a prominent clan and bearer of a powerful bloodline, most of her sins could be omitted for the sake of power grabbing.

Although the sorceress wasn't particularly fond of her situation, this was how the Jujutsu Society had been operating for the past millennia, meaning there wasn't much for her to do about it. Instead, Mikazuki played nice, answering letters with elaborate proposals and reading carefully through each possible match.

Marriage was inevitable and although the final say laid in her father's hand, the Kinzoku heiress was still allowed a certain level of freedom when it came to choosing her future husband. The idea did not please her in the slightest, and the more time that passed, the more Mikazuki began to feel like an expandable pawn in Asahi's cruel chess game.

Unfortunately for him, though, he'd misjudged his daughter's place on the board. Kinzoku Mikazuki was no pawn, she was the Queen, and sooner rather than later, the sorceress would rise from the ashes of her past, burning down her father's empire and everything else left in her wake. Things were going well – too well, in fact, which is probably why Mikazuki should have seen it coming. Peace never lasted long around her, especially when her family was involved.

Mikazuki craned her neck, the sun shining on her face as she adjusted the sunglasses over her sensitive golden eyes. It was early in the morning and the heat was nearly unbearable, the hot summer air enveloping everything in a warm moist blanket of uncomfortable dampness. The sorceress sighed, rolling up her sleeves before she turned towards her partner.

Satoru stood a couple of steps back, hands buried deep in his pockets as he casually strode down the concrete steps. The place was completely deserted, the smell of decay and ichor coating the space as the dark blood of the curses evaporated into the air. The two first-grades had been easy to deal with; one calculated slash with her katana and they were gone in less than a second. The special-grade had been tougher, but it was still no match for the duo. Hollow Purple had taken care of that, a large hole denting the wall where the Curse had once stood, the remnants of its diseased body spread over the concrete like a brutalist masterpiece.

Only one Curse was left, and Mikazuki had already taken the time to track it to this area. The woman sighed, taking one last glance at the sun before climbing up the steps and into the roof. The museum was closed for repairs and the construction crew had been cleaned out by The Magistrate so they could work privately. Neither sorcerer was particularly excited about the mission, but work was work and Léa had been clear about what she expected from them. Mikazuki frowned, the reminder of the woman immediately souring her mood before she leaned against the wall and let out another tired sigh which slipped quietly from her lips.

"Gods, why is it so hot?" She asked, rubbing at the base of her neck in an attempt to feel the cool heels of her palm. "I can barely think with this weather."

Satoru shrugged, slowly walking up beside her until he propped himself against the wall as well. He was wearing the school uniform minus the jacket, a white cotton t-shirt with his usual pants, the logo of The Magistrate stitched at the hem. It made her blood boil, but Mikazuki didn't have time to argue over clothes, not when she could feel they were closing in on the last Curse.

"We're in the middle of July and this damned building is made of fucking concrete, we might as well be standing inside of an oven." Gojo commented casually, his expression calm as he surveyed the area with his blindfolded gaze. "Whatever, it's not that big of a deal. One more Curse and we're good to go." His expression softened, lips curving upwards.

Mikazuki turned to stare at the man, mouth falling open as she watched him leaning against the side. There was something about the way he stood against the wall, his shirt ridden up, so part of his flank was exposed. She could see every detail from here, her golden eyes trailing across his naked skin and taking in every defined muscle, the beads of sweat that ran down his side nearly enough to suck out the air of her lungs.

Satoru smiled, almost as if he knew exactly what he was doing, his cheeky expression taking over his features while the sorceress vehemently shook her head, ridding herself of those thoughts as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. No, she was not going there. It's the heat. Mikazuki tried to convince herself, her own inner voice weakened by the tantalising view. It's just the heat making me think stupid things.

The Gojo's smile widened, and he suddenly leaned in closer, elbow resting against the concrete wall while he tugged on his blindfold, exposing his endless ocean eyes as he looked down on Mikazuki. He was taller than her, here, propped over the steps. Just enough that his head towered over her, her body hiding under his shadow.

"D'you feel something?" He asked, tongue darting out to wet his lips.

Do you feel something? Yeah, I feel something. I feel all of the somethings. Mikazuki thought, her own brain short-circuiting as her eyes fell on Satoru's lips. They were pink and plump, the glossy shine to them oddly inviting despite the fact she could feel their barriers buzzing in the background. The sorcerer's Infinity was up, the void between them opening like a black hole and sucking the air out of the room while the wall of her Eternity glowed bright gold, literal sparks flying from the molten material.

"The Curse. Do you feel something about the curse?" He clarified, eyes swimming with mirth as a satisfied smile played on his lips.

The sorceress swallowed, golden gaze still trailing over his lips. She could feel the pull of his energy, a well of power tugging on her own magic, an irresistible magnetism that urged her to move forward.

Mikazuki looked down for one brief moment. Satoru was standing two steps up, yet they were still close enough that if she moved her leg just a bit, she could fit her thigh between his.

The Kinzoku heiress paused, her heart hammering against her chest so loudly she wondered if he could hear it. And maybe he could, because, while she continued to hesitate, Satoru skipped the step, now standing directly in front of her, the intensity of his ocean eyes boring into her soul. Mikazuki swallowed again, throat bobbing as she could feel the heat from his skin, the ache in her bones growing with each second, that pull thrumming inside her once again.

She could touch him. They'd done it before – no more than a second, which somehow never felt like enough time even when it was still long enough to stretch for an eternity between the two. One step, one measly step and she could be pressed flush against him, every hard ridge of his body pinned against her, their lips smashed against one anoth–

One second, that's all it would take.

One second was all they could get, and yet, it was still worth risking the universe for it. And maybe she would have, if not for the loud buzzing that came from the phone in her pocket, the vibrations strong enough to bring the both of them out of this fallacy they'd built for themselves.

Mikazuki looked down, fishing the phone out of her pocket while her heart heaved as Satoru stepped back from her, almost as if he'd been burned. One step. Two steps. Five steps. The moment was over, but the sorceress didn't have time to mull over it, her brows knitting together as the name Niko flashed on the screen of her phone. Niko never called – she wouldn't, unless something was wrong.

Something was wrong.