𝑴𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 (𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒖 𝑮𝒐𝒋𝒐 𝒙 𝑶𝑪)

3.3 The Price of Strength

In the dimly lit, cold interrogation room, Satoru Gojo stood tall, arms crossed, his face more serious than ever. Across from him, Yaga, the principal of the Jujutsu school, stared at the report in front of him with disgust. The atmosphere was thick, heavy with tension. A mission had gone terribly wrong, and instead of exorcising curses, Sen had left behind a massacre.

"She killed civilians, Satoru." Yaga's voice cracked through the air like a whip, cold and sharp. "Two men and a child. She cursed them, crushed them with her own power. What excuse do you have for that? That it was an accident? How many lives will be lost before you stop turning a blind eye to what she's becoming?"

Gojo closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. He wanted to stay calm, but the weight of his anger was rising. He knew Sen had slipped up, but the idea of betraying her, of abandoning her now... was unthinkable. He locked eyes with Yaga, his expression icy with arrogance.

"You think I'm just going to stand here and let you call her a monster?" His voice was low, almost a growl. "Sen's powers are something no one fully understands. Not even you, Yaga. She's learning, she's in control—"

"In control?" Yaga cut him off abruptly, his voice rising with unexpected force. "She's lost control, Satoru! She condemned three innocents to death! Two men torn apart and a child who..." He stopped, his jaw clenched. "This is unacceptable. Her power has become dangerous, and you're too blinded by... by whatever you feel for her to see what's really happening."

Satoru froze. The implication didn't go unnoticed. He knew what he felt for Sen—this magnetic pull, this strange and intense connection. But hearing it spelled out as a weakness made his blood boil. His fists clenched tightly, nails digging into his palms.

"You think you know what I feel?" Gojo spat, his voice growing sharper, almost dangerous. "Don't lecture me, Yaga. You have no idea what it's like to carry the burden of watching over someone with this much power. If you were in her shoes, what would you do? Condemn her to death?"

"I'm saying she needs to be stopped before this gets worse. She needs to undergo deeper evaluations. We can't keep turning a blind eye anymore." Yaga stood up from his chair, his face lined with worry and fatigue. "We can't trust you to be objective with her. So we'll watch her ourselves."

Gojo exploded, unable to contain his rage any longer. He slammed the door shut with a sharp crack, the sound echoing down the hallway. "Fuck you, Yaga! You really think that's the solution?! Test her if you want, but don't expect me to let you break her for this."

He stormed out of the room, his furious footsteps echoing in the corridor, his face twisted with rage. Every fiber of his being vibrated with anger and frustration. And outside, where the quiet halls tried to mask the inner storm, Akari Nitta stood trembling, pressed against the wall, hands clenched tight against her stomach. The moment she saw Satoru, her gaze dropped immediately. Fear radiated off her in waves.

Gojo stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing beneath his blindfold. Something was wrong. Akari wasn't there by accident. She knew something. Her silence screamed louder than words.

"Nitta..." Gojo's voice cut through the silence, low but laced with menace. He approached her with heavy steps, towering over her. "What are you hiding from me? What's scaring you so much?"

Akari's lips tightened, hesitant, her throat constricting with anxiety. The weight of the truth pressed down on her, but Gojo's relentless stare was impossible to escape. His eyes, even behind the blindfold, seemed to see right through her.

"It's..." She hesitated, struggling to find the words, her gaze darting away. "Sen... she's..."

"Speak!" Gojo snapped, his aura suffocating, pressing down on her so intensely that she could barely breathe. She knew she couldn't lie, couldn't run anymore.