𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑶𝑾⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐋 - 𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐁𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓'𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍

TEN YEARS AGO, Friday, December 7th 2007 –

"HEY, DOVE."

Mikazuki's breath got caught in her throat as she shoved her purse deep into the back of the bench, cleverly concealing the pregnancy test before she wiped her tears. The changing rooms were completely empty; most of the students had already left for the day and those still pullulating around the school were either on their way to training or trying to gape at the amazing Gojo Satoru.

The Kinzoku thinned her lips, hoping the tears could be excused by her still damp hair while her muddy uniform was already bagged in a plastic clear bag next to her shoes and what was left of her belongings. The sorceress had been a complete mess when she came down from the rooftop. She could feel people's stares and whispers as she threaded through the corridors until she finally reached the women's changing room and let herself collapse against the closed doors.

Shoko was kind enough not to ask any questions nor make any assumptions even when the entire incident was written all over her face. She was broken; completely and utterly torn. Her uniform had been ruined by the rain, her pretty jacket and lacey skirt drenched while the fabric absorbed the water. Her hair was also a mess, her black head of hair hiding her face like a never-ending curtain of darkness. She seemed petite, smaller than she was, in that moment.

But Shoko didn't need any explanations, simply dragging her friend and hauling her ass up in the shower, turning on the hot water as steam rose in the air. The Mikazuki in front of her was damaged, nearly unrecognizable.

Shoko still helped her strip under the warm stream of water and once the scalding hot liquid had washed away all of the pain and embarrassment it could, the sorceress sat down by her friend, helping her dry herself and slip into a clean set of clothes. Somehow, these silences between the two were a lot easier than the questioning look on her brother's face as he leaned against the frame of the door, his big inquisitive golden orbs looking down at her with a frown.

"You okay? You look kind of rough." The older Kinzoku asked, completely oblivious to the hours of tears concealed under a thick layer of makeup as Mikazuki smiled and wiped her face on her sleeve.

The sorceress' smile was broken, but if her twin noticed, he didn't bring any attention to it. Instead, he crossed his legs, crossing his arms over his chest while he continued to eye her warily. Mikazuki ignored the insistence in his gaze, putting away the curtesy towel before smoothing down the fabric of her brand new skirt, the logo of the school stitched at the front along with the golden line that ran across the hem, the sigil of The Magistrate visible even in the barely lit room.

"I'm fine. Just getting dressed." Mikazuki lied expertly, surprising herself with how easily the words left her mouth.

Her lips thinned even more, upper lip wobbling lightly as fear settled on her insides, skin slowly turning clammy. Kei frowned but didn't elaborate, too caught up in his own world as he regarded the changing room with hungry eyes.

The guys had their own space on the other side of campus and although technically it was forbidden to mingle, Kei was a rule-breaker at heart. Anything for a nip slip, he'd said once to his sister's horror. He was always like that, but always here – never at the Kinzoku estate, where their father watched over him like a hawk. And here she was now, with a positive pregnancy test and a secret the size of Tokyo.

Mikazuki's breath stilled and, for a moment, she wondered what her punishment would be like if Asahi ever found out. Would he force her to abort the child, or would he turn it into some kind of weapon, like he had so eagerly done with his others offsprings? The thought made a shiver run up her spine and it was only then that she realized Kei had been speaking for a while.

" –the car is at the entrance and dad wants to see me early, so if you want a ride, now's the time." Keisuke finished, his voice smooth and calm, completely unaware of the torment that was currently swimming in his sister's mind.

"Right." Mikazuki answered in a clipped tone.

Her golden eyes flickered towards her jacket, under which hid the bundle with the pregnancy test. She could see the pink strip from here, the bitchy smiley face of Clearblue gazing back like some cruel joke. The sorceress took a deep breath, steadying herself before lightly shaking her head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I actually have things to do." It wasn't a lie, which is probably why her tone didn't waver as she stood. "I got a mission assigned at the last minute; something about an abandoned factory in Kansai."

Kei's heart stuttered, an odd silence stretching between the two before he slowly dragged a hand through his black curls, pulling his hair back and releasing a long breath.

"Woah, so soon?" He eyed her, his golden eyes trailing all the way up from her head to her feet. "That's a long way away, are you sure you don't want a ride?"

Mikazuki blinked slowly, catching a slight influx in his words, a tiny waver which made her pause as she slung her nodachi on her bag, the belt tightly wrapped over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is just Léa trying to get on dad's nerves." She shrugged, flipping her hair back as she discreetly shoved the pregnancy test into her pocket, knuckles turning white from her vicious grip. "I'll be in and out in a minute, teleporting there might just give me a couple extra points."

For a moment, Kinzoku Mikazuki cleared her mind. She put all of her thoughts into a box; the pregnancy, the impulsive sex, the confession... she put all of it in a steel box, flipping the lid and pushing it to the back of her mind. Today's mission was important: her first solo special-grade, meaning she couldn't afford to make any mistakes; not when her family's entire reputation held on her performance. After today, everything would be different. Then; she'd get the time to think about this huge mess. Until then, though...

"Thanks for worrying, but I'm going to be fine." The sorceress repeated in a chirpy tone before tapping the sheath of her blade. "See you at dinner tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah."