Bound In Love's Curse [Gojo Satoru x Female Readers]

136 ~ Hundred And Thirty-Six

Disclaimer: This chapter contains spoilers about a specific character from the manga—read at your own risk!

***

[A] crisp whistle sliced through the room, signaling that Gojo, having momentarily removed his blindfold, was visibly impressed.

He was reading the faint, subtle curse signatures from a distance—something only he could discern. Before anyone else had a chance to understand, he had already grasped the brilliance of the situation.

"What's your deal? Can't you just sit still and watch?" Utahime's voice, sharp and edged with irritation, cut through the chatter from her seat in the second row.

"You wouldn't get it since you don't have the Six Eyes," came his nonchalant reply, a taunting note in his tone. "But if I were to break it down, I'd say Y/N's managed to outsmart Kirara's curse technique."

Utahime and Shoko exchanged glances, momentarily puzzled, while Nanami flinched, his head snapping toward Gojo with a hint of curiosity. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Principal Yaga, lounging in his solitary seat at the back, raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Go on, then. Explain."

Gojo grinned, clearly enjoying the attention. "Y/N has imprinted her curse energy signature onto one of Kirara's stars before absorbing it. Essentially, she—"

"Managed to bypass Kirara's technique?" Yaga interjected, leaning forward with keen interest.

"No," Gojo corrected with a smirk. "She didn't just bypass it; she completely overrode it while maintaining simultaneous control of both inflow and outflow of her curse energy at 2%. That's why the others haven't caught on to her yet."

Yaga's eyes narrowed in thought. "But for her to achieve that, she'd need the Six Eyes to read curse techniques, flows, and signatures, wouldn't she?"

The strongest shook his head in denial. "Not quite. I wasn't certain before, but now I'm sure. Y/N's innate gift is empathy. It gives her significant advantages, like absorbing memories and negative emotions through cursed energy."

"Then what about the issue of compatibility? A sorcerer's curse energy might not mesh with hers."

"That's the interesting part," Gojo chuckled. "Her flow is incredibly versatile and adapts easily to different types of curse energy. Plus, her abilities grant her extra sensory perception. If I were to compare it to the Six Eyes, I can see and read curse techniques directly. But Y/N? She senses them and maps their patterns purely through her intuition."

***

Your grip tightened around the flagpole, heart pounding, but this wasn't over.

Kirara wasn't the type to back down, and you could see the fury brewing in her eyes. You took a step back, just in time for her to lunge—cursed energy flaring in her hands, desperation fueling her speed. You dodged her first strike by a hair, rolling to the side as she swiped at your legs, barely missing.

She was fast—too fast. But not fast enough. Her technique was broken, and she knew it. With a sharp turn, you brought your elbow into her ribs. A solid hit. She gasped, staggered, clutching her side, but she didn't go down.

"Stay down," you warned, your voice colder than you intended. But of course, she wouldn't listen. Not her. Not someone like Kirara. She wasn't about to take orders from you, not while she still had fight left in her.

Her eyes burned with defiance as she charged at you again, reckless, probably hoping to mark you and trap you in another web of her cursed sequence. One good hit and she'd have you stuck in her maze again.

But this time, you weren't playing.

You sidestepped, moving faster than she could react. Your leg swept out, the flagpole in your grip slamming into the back of her knees. She buckled, crashing down to the ground. Before she could even try to recover, you pressed your hand to the base of her neck, channeling a pulse of cursed energy straight through her body.

Her hands gripped your arms, as if trying to push you away, but then her entire body stiffened. Her muscles seized up, and she crumpled, limp and unconscious at your feet.

"Now stay down," you muttered, stepping over her without a second glance.

The adrenaline was still pumping through your veins as you sprinted toward the base camp, flag clenched tightly in your hand. Victory was so close you could almost taste it. You tracked Toge's signal—faint, but there—his cursed energy signature like a beacon guiding you back.

As you approached the clearing near your base, a sudden blur whipped past your vision—so fast, you barely had time to react. You skidded to a stop.

What the hell was that?

Before you could react or make sense of what had just happened, a voice pierced the air from your left.

"I think I sense Kirara's cursed energy from here."

Your stomach dropped. Kirara's cursed energy?

Oh no. She'd marked you. Right before she passed out. You hadn't bothered to remove it, thinking it was pointless with her out cold. But now, it all started to click.

Kirara was clever—too clever. She must've sensed something off about your cursed energy, the way it barely registered because you were keeping it at a low enough level to avoid detection. She knew she couldn't win, but she didn't need to.

She'd marked you on purpose, giving her teammate a perfect trail to follow. Kinji Hakari was here because of you.

Dumb. Such a dumb mistake.

Your breath hitched as Kinji entered your peripheral vision.  His shirt was off, cursed energy swirling around him like a violent storm. The sheer weight of his presence was crushing. The air felt thick, oppressive—every breath a struggle. His cursed energy wasn't just intense. It was suffocating.

Your gaze snapped to the ground, tracking the thing he'd thrown earlier, and a faint semblance of dread knotted in your gut.

Toge.

Bloodied and crumpled, he lay motionless, mouth dripping with blood. His body looked like it had been tossed aside, carelessly, like a rag doll. Your heart raced, pounding in your ears.

Without thinking, you rushed to his side, helping him lean against a nearby tree.

"Toge-kun? Can you hear me? Anything broken?" you whispered, checking him over, but the slight shake of his head told you he wasn't going to answer properly. He looked terrible, far from okay, but it wasn't just him.

Maki? Where was Maki?

Your heart skipped a beat as you stretched your senses, searching for her. Even though she didn't have much cursed energy, there was always a faint trace. But right now—nothing. You couldn't feel her at all.

Then Kinji stepped forward, finally revealing what he'd been carrying over his shoulder. Your blood ran cold.

It was Maki. Unconscious, limp.

Without a word, Kinji dropped Maki onto the ground a few feet away. Her body hit the earth with a dull thud, lying still and unmoving.

"Man, I really didn't want to rough up my juniors like this," Kinji stated with a casual shrug, cracking his neck as if he hadn't just taken down two of your teammates. "But Gojo-sensei asked me not to hold back." He rolled his shoulders, preparing for whatever came next.

Kinji Hakari stood tall, his muscular build and tan skin accentuating his imposing presence. His small magenta eyes, framed by thin, slitted eyebrows, and a thin mustache of stubble added to his menacing look. His hair, once black, was now styled into a puffy, tapered blonde afro, and he wore baggy dark blue pants with black combat boots.

A sinking feeling settled in your gut. He had taken out both Maki and Toge in under five minutes. Less than five fucking minutes! How he bypassed Toge's cursed speech was beyond you.

There was no time to dwell on it though. Kinji's cursed energy swirled around him, fierce and wild. Every instinct screamed at you to run, but you couldn't. Not with Toge and Maki down and the flag still in your hand.

A subtle, dark resolve coursed through you, sharpening your focus. You squared your shoulders, tightened your grip on the flagpole, and met Kinji's gaze with a cold, unyielding stare.

"Looks like it's my turn," you asserted, your voice unwavering, lips curving into a faint, grim smirk.