𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑶𝑾⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐈 - 𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒

BY THE TIME KINZOKU MIKAZUKI MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO MITA, her father and his henchmen were long gone. Instead, the sorceress was greeted by the eery silence that resided at the entrance of her sister's house, the door hanging from its hinges while the mosquito screen had been ripped at the side. The house sat on the outskirts of Minato in a small residential area. It was the closest to a Cul-de-Sac Tokyo had to provide and it was a relatively safe neighbourhood, which is exactly why she'd bought the property for Niko.

Mikazuki covered her mouth with the back of her hand, bile rising in her throat as she stepped through the broken door and penetrated into the dim lit hallway. Her father's men had ransacked the place, the frames hanging on the wall were smashed against the floor, the happy images of Niko's family sullied by shoe marks and broken glass.

The wallpaper had been ripped, long gashes covering the north wall all the way to the kitchen. There, it was more of the same; pots and pans everywhere, flour covering every surface with a mixture of golden blood that pooled over the sink. Niko had fought back, but her efforts hadn't been enough to stop Asahi nor his dutiful servants.

The house was quiet. So quiet it sent a shiver of pure unadulterated fear down Mikazuki's spine, a cold sensation settling at the pit of her stomach as she made her way to the living room. The tripod was still there, positioned in front of the sofa while the flat-screen tv laid shattered at the back. Niko grunted, lifting herself off the floor as she tried to breathe through gritted teeth.

"Took you long enough." She grumbled, elbows sinking on the plush material of the couch as she propped herself up.

Mikazuki didn't wait for permission, quickly stepping through the mess and the shattered remains of the glass table before she crouched in front of her sister. The sorceress held her breath, gently pushing Niko's blonde hair away as she ascertained the damage. Niko huffed in pain, pushing her sister's hand away as she slowly rested her side against the frame of the couch.

"Don't!" She snapped through gritted teeth, the beginning of a bruise forming on the left side of her face as her eye became swollen. "I don't need your help. Just... Give me some painkillers and I'll walk it off."

Mikazuki gasped, her hand suddenly moving to Niko's thigh in an attempt to reason. However, as soon as her slender fingers grazed her skin, the older Kinzoku let out a strangled cry. Mikazuki quickly retracted her hand, golden eyes following the bruise on her leg and landing on the dislodged bone of her knee.

"Fuck." The sorceress cursed, quickly adjusting herself so she could get a better angle of the injury. "You need to go to the hospital." Mikazuki bit her lower lip, gaze sliding towards her sister's battered face. "He almost killed you."

Niko slowly shook her head, strands of perfect blonde scattered across her face and obscuring the view. She was bloody and beaten, her skin covered in splatters of golden blood while her leg was one giant purple bruise. Mikazuki held her sister's gaze, reaching out to softly pad her fingers through the mark. The skin was hot to the touch and despite her limited medical knowledge, it was obvious the bone had been displaced.

Fuck, it would take years for an injury like this to heal, especially now that Niko was a mortal. Before, she could have taken it and walked away without a single cut. Now, she was leaning against the couch for support, her limbs splayed around her in a detached manner. She was like broken ragdoll. Niko let out a shaky breath, the pain nearly unbearable as she did her best to stay conscious.

"No, no hospital." She begged, her hand jutting out to meet Mikazuki's as she tugged on it, lacing their fingers together. "My husband will know, and I can't explain any of this to him."

Mikazuki bowed her head, expression falling slightly at the mention of James. He was a good man, an American national who was away on business a lot, meaning most of the time it was just Niko and the kids at home. Her sister didn't really mind, she was a good mother and enjoyed spending time with the kids. While she worked, Ren and Toshinori were at school and on her way out of the grocery shop, she picked them up at the station. It wasn't a perfect family, but it was certainly more than whatever Mikazuki would have been able to offer them.