𝑫𝒀𝑵𝑨𝑺𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑺 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐋𝐈𝐗 - 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊, 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊

THE PHONE CONTINUED TO BUZZ IN MIKAZUKI'S HAND, the incessant vibrating noise cutting the air like a sharp blade slicing through butter. The sorceress remained silent, her gaze sweeping over the screen as the words Kinzoku Niko flashed across the display. It wasn't a normal call, the way the sound echoed through the museum, the videocall symbol glowing under her hovering thumb.

For a moment, she didn't do anything, her body hard as stone and locked in the same position while the clouds passed ahead. Satoru cleared his throat, the sound snapping Mikazuki back to reality as she titled her hair up and caught him putting his blindfold back in place.

Without the piercing stare of his ocean eyes, she could think again, yet none of it was enough to pull her out of this frozen state. It wasn't until he spoke that the sorceress finally regained her bearings.

"Are you going to answer that?" The Gojo heir asked calmly, his cheeks flushing red, either from the heat or from the restless energy currently surging through his body.

They'd been one second away from a disaster, one step away from tearing reality to shreds for the sake of a single touch. Satoru's mind was still muddled, the vision of Mikazuki standing under him vivid enough to make his cock harden in his pants. But while he was still drowning in her scent and the closeness of their bodies, the sorceress was somewhere else altogether. Kinzoku Mikazuki was walking the line, that fine line between paralyzing terror and endless serenity, and it was that dangerous fine line that kept her from moving, speaking or thinking at all.

All she could do was stare down at her phone, Niko's name glowing on the bright screen like some cruel joke from fate. Something was wrong. She could tell from the moment she got the call. The two sisters had set up a system, a way to communicate that would go unnoticed by their father, a secure line that was specifically designed to keep her kids safe.

Niko's kids, because Mikazuki had long forsaken her motherhood for the sake of their safety. But even then, fear pooled on her belly. It was the sort of fear you cannot run from, the kind that slips through the cracks, slowly poisoning everything that it comes in contact with. It was daunting, that feeling settling deep into her bones and making her stomach churn with a hundred possibilities that ran through her head.

Something's wrong. Her mind supplied once again; the insistence of the voice finally strong enough to pull her out of her stupor. Mikazuki swallowed past the lump in her throat, thumb swiping across the screen as the image came to life.

"I need to take this." Mikazuki mumbled before she stepped out of Satoru's way and into one of the alleys around the concrete maze of the museum.

The image slowly came into focus and the sorceress turned the phone sideways to get a better look. The Kinzoku recognised the room; it was her sister's living room, but the furniture had been shuffled around. Instead of the sofa facing the tv like it should, it had been flipped so the black screen was at the back, the sofa seats in full view.

Mikazuki's heart lurched, her golden gaze finally making out the grainy quality. Niko was sitting on the sofa, her arms bound behind her back while her mouth had been gagged with a dirty cloth. Behind her and holding her down by the shoulders were two men – she recognized the one on the left; it was Kaede, the man who escorted her back to Tokyo. On the other side and with a far less enthusiastic expression was Tajima, the family Window.

Fuck. Mikazuki never made the mistake of trusting either of them, yet seeing them guarding her sister still felt like a punch to the gut. It felt like a new betrayal, another one to add to the list and, just like Himari, the sorceress would make sure they suffered the consequences. Unfortunately, there was nothing for her to do now. She was completely powerless, tied to the phone and watching through a small screen as all of her worst fears came to life.