I am lost. (Gojo Satoru x Arifureta)

Chapter 1 | Maverick

"I would like to propose a binding vow."

"Huh?"

Both Hajime and Yue were speechless. They were currently in the final floor of the latter half of the infamous Great Orcus Labyrinth—dubbed by Hajime as the "Abyss." Satoru Gojo sat across them in the table where all three of them ate. Hajime was initially surprised that this man—Satoru Gojo—did not tie them up or cuff them whatsoever.

When presented with the question, Satoru simply replied matter-of-factly, "I told you, didn't I? There's no branch in time where you escaped from me." That boundless confidence and superficial arrogance irked Hajime for sure, but he needed to think twice before offending Satoru. Not only is his life at stake, but also Yue's life is at a knife's edge.

It's been a few days since the pair met the enigma that is Satoru Gojo. Even after carrying them and allowing both of them to rest and recover in the Maverick's lair beyond the Hydra's room, Satoru Gojo did not show any sign of wariness or cautiousness when around them. He was absolutely confident that nothing they do will work against him.

Even after all that, we owe him our lives. There's no doubt that he's done us more good than harm until now, Hajime thought with logic, that's why even after his initial suspicions and wariness, as well as the desire to kill Satoru Gojo, he more or less became accustomed to his presence and is trying to get into some give-or-take business relationship. Well, Satoru even went through the trouble of patching up and treating Hajime's near-dead body.

The same was true for Yue. Her concept of trust is only defined as "Hajime," so whatever Hajime wanted or desired, Yue will follow his wishes. She fully placed herself under his absolute belonging. Her life is Hajime's and so is her free will.

"What does that mean?" Hajime asked as he ate another piece of the Hydra's flesh. Both him and Yue were continuously getting stronger day by day and yet Satoru Gojo showed no signs of concern nor wariness once again. I'm sure he can see that my stats are rising... is it arrogance or just nonchalance? Hajime gave up trying to understand what goes on the head of this blue-eyed beauty.

Satoru Gojo was tall, charismatic, and exceptionally attractive—too attractive for any man, in fact. It'd make sense if someone mistook him for a female, too, mainly due to his facial features and flawless complexion. But what shattered Hajime's pride was that Satoru Gojo was in fact younger than him. Beauty and power—it's like Satoru Gojo had it all. And judging from his clothes bearing familiar brands back on Earth, he had no problems with money either.

Hajime was already aware of Satoru's circumstances of being randomly whisked away into the world of Tortus, but he still doubted if this man really was from the same Earth as him, or just a parallel one. Japan existed there, and so was the planet called Earth. But he had absolutely no knowledge of the jujutsu society that Satoru once spoke of. It's apparently a secret world of jujutsu that has been hidden from the public since ancient times, but Hajime still doubted its existence despite having a living proof in front of him—Satoru.

"Let's see..." Satoru began as he elegantly wiped off his mouth with a tissue. He's so pretty, and Hajime agrees with that. It seems his thoughts were apparent since Yue shot him a questioning glare, but Hajime steeled himself. "It is a tenet of Jujutsu. Don't worry, I've already validated that it's capable of being forged between vessels of both cursed-energy and mana, so it'll be fine." He said as he put aside his plate and smiled at both Hajime and Yue.

"Binding vows... they're pacts that create conditions or agreements between parties. They're essentially contracts that bound one's self or others with cursed energy... and in our case, both cursed energy and mana bound us. Both parties must agree to a particular set of conditions that benefit both parties, and the penalty of breaking the contract is... let's just say, very unpleasant. You wouldn't want to find out."