𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑶𝑾⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈 - 𝐌𝐄 & 𝐌𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒

BY THE TIME THE TRAIN ARRIVED AT THE STATION, night had already fallen. It was dark out, a somewhat cold breeze wheezing past the pair as the bullet train raced towards its next stop. Kinzoku Mikazuki let out a sigh of relief, slinging her jacket over her shoulder as she breathed in the cool summer air. There was still a long walk until they reached the hotel, but the sorceress was more than happy to take the time to appreciate the scenery.

Everything was quiet, the soft glow of the moon blanketing everything in a white hue while the Kinzoku walked briskly. Her left leg was sore, but it wasn't bad enough to alter her step. Behind her, Satoru lagged, his eyes cast downwards to his phone while he hauled his heavy backpack. He'd overpacked for what was supposed to be a simple weekend trip, but the man didn't seem to care about the extra weight or the heaviness that lined his steps.

Mikazuki stretched her arms, twirling around while she breathed in deeply through her nose. She'd been spending so much time in Tokyo and Hokkaido; she'd forgotten what true nature was like. This was probably the closest she was ever going to get to her home in Argentina. The natural reserve enveloped pretty much everything in the quiet city, but even here, things were very quiet. There were only a couple of cars lining the street, the yellow light from the lamps forming beautiful halos while large trees surrounded the path.

The sorceress paused, a soft smile on her lips before she turned to gauge Satoru's reaction. He'd been quiet throughout most of the trip, head down and focus completely set on his phone. Mikazuki wanted to chastise him for it, but it wasn't really her place. After briefly discussing the mission, the sorcerer had gone back to his affairs, completely ignoring her existence. It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did.

"This place is so peaceful." The cold air around Mikazuki felt reinvigorating, like she was somehow being welcomed into this place. "I feel like I could just..." She twirled around one more time, allowing herself to get lost in the moment like she so rarely did. "...disappear."

Satoru's space slowed, his ocean eyes finally leaving the screen of his phone as he set his sights on the woman in front of him. He tilted his head, silently wondering how he'd fallen behind when Mikazuki still walked with a limp. Still, he shook his head, ridding the thought from his mind before speaking.

"Try not to get too lost in it, will you? We're here to do our job, that is all."

He was calm, and although his sunglasses covered his eyes, the sorceress was still able to glimpse the way his stare hardened. Mikazuki crossed her arms over her chest, abandoning her suitcase as she crossed the space between them and stood directly in front of Satoru. Seven steps. Four steps. Three steps.

She held her breath, containing the power inside of her and plugging the hole in her mind to keep it from spilling outwards and into him. They weren't even touching, yet she could feel the embers of The Omen burning in the air between them, cackling like electricity.

"Why do always have to be such an asshole?" She asked, brows furrowed before she jabbed her finger into his chest.

The touch burned Gojo, skin singing under her finger while the tender spark of The Omen began to turn into wildling flames. Mikazuki cursed, hand balling into a fist while the anger simmered inside of her. She was aflame, a light with all the fury that was graciously contained within those golden eyes of hers. Satoru could see it clearly in her stare, just like he could see his own reflection, a face he almost did not recognise after everything that had happened.

"I've done nothing but be kind to you. I've accepted all of your shitty apologies and even forgiven you for what you've done." Mikazuki droned on, anger slowly dissipating from her words while only truth remained. "Any other sane person would have walked away, but I didn't." She held her head high, chin jutting out towards him. "What is so insufferable about me that you can't be decent enough to have a conversation with me?"

That's it. She finally said it. After weeks and weeks of bottling it all up, the dam had broken, and everything spilled out. Things had been different since that night at the club, when he'd stood over her, pinning her arms above her head. Satoru had looked into her eyes, and he'd seen something there. Whatever he witnessed, it changed him. Him and the way he looked at her.

He was wary, uneasy. Like a scared rabbit waiting to bolt the moment things turned awry. It was unlike him, and although Mikazuki tried to ignore the way it made her feel every time he ignored her, she couldn't do it anymore. It was ruining her, from the inside out. Had she not been so desperate, she might have thought of herself as pathetic. Why was it so important to her? Why did she need him to look at her like he'd done before?

"Have I done something wrong, said something awful without realizing?" She pressed, now fully invading his space. "Is it the mission? Is it because of my brother?"

Mikazuki flinched at the desperation in her tone. She was truly falling of the deep end now; she could feel it unravelling inside of her. Part of her hatred this dependence, the way her mood shifted so quickly whenever his did the same.

She was a special-grade sorceress, the strongest female shaman alive, and yet, she was still a slave to his moods, just like she had been ten years ago; a love-sick student, a girl who didn't know better than to love someone without a heart. And here she was, begging for answers she knew she had no right to. It was both pathetic and incredibly ironic. After all, she was the one without a heart, now.