𝗟𝗢𝗧𝗨𝗦 蓮 ! ━ 𝙎. 𝙂𝙊𝙅𝙊

ii.

°•. instincts were an ever-present part of people's lives, like guardian angels looming over their shoulders.

they spoke in soft yet harsh whispers, forewarning them about possible danger. their voices were piercingly cold, transfixing into humans' warm flesh. they did everything in their might to keep people safe and out of danger for years to no end.

the tragic deaths of the ancestors made people fear what was hiding in the cold embrace of the dark. heights made their hearts skip a beat. the loudness of noises pierced their ears and triggered a painful sensation in their brain neurons.

the warnings were silent yet deafening.

their death made the full of apprehension younger generations frightened of danger. as thousands of years passed, it became a natural desire or tendency, not something they learned.

a few hundred years ago, people of the country of the rising sun developed another natural fear.

the yamada clan.

the mere presence of the clan members was enough to send shivers down anyone's spine. most people kept out of the yamada clan's way. people were anxiously monitoring their every move. some even thought they weren't humans - that they were some sort of animals, beasts even.

some had the guts to call them karma, the volitional doers.

the yamada asaemons had become legends, stories warning misbehaving children to make them listen to their parents.

from the first time people had heard of them, it was sensible for them to stray out of their way. they did kill people in cold blood and did not suffer any consequences after all.

but gojō satoru wasn't exactly sane.

something about the executioners intrigued him.

or, well, only one of them.

the young yamada who beheaded his first victim right in front of his eyes - yamada masuyo.

the indifferent expression, as if he held no care for anything. the way his dark eyes pierced whatever they locked them on. his collected stance, full of confidence and no hesitation with the swift motion of his sword.

that's why satoru decided to go after the boy.

most of the members of the gojō clan went back to their homes. they didn't want to stay in the gruesome scene. but the asaemons stayed and respectfully prayed for the executed woman and wrapped her corpse in a white funeral shroud.

he stood a few feet behind them, silently observing their flawless work.

in a blink of an eye, they were done. the unnamed man took the woman's corpse. he was strong. no muscle wavered under the heavy weight of the body.

humiya went first, then the man, and the last was masuyo.

before they could go, satoru called out, "oi."

the three samurai turned to look at the young boy.

the head of the yamada clan glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

"what is it, gōjo satoru?"

his eyes wandered to the boy his age and pointed at him. "i want to talk with him."

masuyo stared back at him with the same blank expression he had worn a few minutes prior. he didn't even twitch.

the woman seemed to think it through. what felt like forever later, she nodded and told the boy they would be waiting at the main gates.

the dark-haired boy didn't even nod as a sign he heard what she said or if he understood. all he did was move his eyes from satoru to her.

the young gojō waited for the two adults to go farther away.

once the two white-clothed figures disappeared from the line of sight, satoru paid all his attention to masuyo.

the boy's unnerving stare was already focused on him.

"what do you want?"

satoru wasn't taken aback by the boy's inexpressive tone. instead, he took a step closer. and then another. soon, they were only a meter apart.

"how did you do that?"

masuyo put one hand over tsuka, the hilt of his katana.

"what do you mean?"

"your cursed energy," satoru answered. "its source is supposed to be negative emotions. and yours is... calm."

"oh." masuyo tilted his head, and for the first time, satoru's six eyes caught on a change in his emotions. "that."

the young gojō took one more step towards him. he wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

"why exactly should i tell you that?"

satoru narrowed his eyes with a scowl. "you-" he sighed before his emotions could take the upper hand. "i'm curious. your cursed energy is like no other. i want to know why."

masuyo stood in silence for a few seconds. he could practically see the boy's thoughts swirling in his mind.

"to be honest with you... i don't know." satoru felt irritation growing inside him. he hated when things didn't go the way he wanted them to. "it comes naturally to me. i... rarely feel negative emotions, so i guess my cursed energy... just adapted. that's my guess, anyway."

satoru hummed. "i see..." he observed the dark-haired boy in silence.

both boys stood in silence, sizing each other up.

they didn't know that both deliberated how the other boy could exist. everything pointed out that their existence was unimaginable.

because how such a young boy could be the strongest sorcerer?

how could someone accumulate no negative emotions and still use cursed energy?

both were curious about each other.

to satoru, masuyo was the greatest enigma of his lifetime.

to masuyo, satoru was an anomaly in the world - someone who deviated from standards and expectations.

they were analogous like the bearing inserts of the cracked connecting rod; so similar and yet so, so different.