Chapter 6: Back to basics


Blushing, lips parted and eyes pointed in another direction, Kasumi stands outside Ren's apartment in downtown Kyoto. She didn't expect that after knocking on the door, she'd be greeted shirtless, and she's never been the best at disguising what cute guys cause her, especially the ones with that curve in their hips that leads south of their figure.

"I hope you're not busy..." she says, extremely uncomfortable and making a gigantic effort to hold his gaze and sketch a smile. However, he doesn't bother to return the gesture. He looks her up and down and then into her eyes, in a manner completely devoid of feeling. Then he rolls his eyes and turns away from the door frame.

"Come on in, don't just stand there," he says and walks over to the couch to grab a red T-shirt, which he soon puts on. "Next time don't come unannounced."

It's hard for her to take a couple of steps inside Ren's apartment, especially after hearing the welcome he has for her. Kasumi closes the door behind her, unable to get the blush that paints her cheeks off her face.

"I thought you wouldn't answer... You didn't answer my last messages."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he says and sits down on the couch.

It's been years since Kasumi was last here, and at that time Ren had nothing but a couple of pieces of furniture. Now he has a flat screen TV of at least 50 inches, all the furniture seems to have been carefully selected, mostly black and contemporary looking.

"You seem to be doing well," she tells him, looking at the pieces of abstract art hanging on the walls.

"What are you here for, Kasumi? Not to admire my taste in modern art, I guess."

"No," she laughs, "of course not. It's just that... now that I'm seeing you again, I doubt you'll be attracted to the proposal I have for you."

"A proposal?" Ren questions and suddenly looks intrigued.

"I was offered a big job, it pays very well," she starts, taking out from the inside pocket of her jacket the contract she hasn't signed yet.

"And why did they offer you something so dangerous?" Ren asks, raising an eyebrow, taking the contract to read it superficially.

"Ah! because I'm a responsible shaman!"

"Tokyo?! Are you out of your mind, Kasumi? You know perfectly well that a shaman of your category could never clean up downtown Tokyo. Not even the Jujutsu schools have been able to do it... That's why no one has taken the job... that explains the sum they're offering you... You do this and you can rest for at least two years. Now it makes sense why you came looking for your old partner," he says, smiling. "You'll have to excuse me; I'm not interested in working with you again."

"But we were a good team..."

"I know, and look where that got us. Now we're two strangers," he replies and takes a box of cigarettes from the table, takes one out and lights it in front of Kasumi.

"We can split the pay, with a year off is enough for me to organize my things. The children need my attention and..."

"Maybe you should ask your other ex for help."

Kasumi's lips tighten into a straight line and Ren watches with displeasure as the blush spreads all over her skin.

"Gojou Satoru has other matters to attend to now, and besides, he's already done enough."

"So you understand perfectly well the aversion that working side by side with your ex can generate?"

"I didn't think you could have such an aversion to me... After all, at one point you said we could be friends eventually."

"I was trying to be bigger person, but I'm not, Kasumi. I still despise you; I may never be able to be your friend. And the truth is, it's not even your fault, I'm spiteful, I admit it... And... if that's all you've come to tell me you can leave now."

She takes back her contract and looks at him one last time before turning around and leaving.

"The mission starts in two weeks. If you change your mind... I'll be waiting for you on Hachiouji's line 20.


...


It is disappointing for her to finally come to the conclusion that Ren and she are no longer friends. That the damage he has done to him is simply irreparable and there is not much she can do to salvage whatever is left of that relationship. And this thought brings to mind her offer of friendship to Gojou. Kasumi is not sure, if like Ren, she simply cannot forget the damage that is constantly present in the back of her mind. In the background always lies the memory of his deception, his lies and concealment. This time, Kasumi sees Gojou for what he really is and not as the idealized version of his eighteen-year-old self.

She parks her car in front of the house feeling a strange knot on her stomach. As she enters, she hears noise in the kitchen and announces herself, as she always does.

"I'm home!" she says aloud and walks cautiously to her room, pushes the door and finds Satoru's makeshift bed empty. He has really left and a contradictory feeling confuses her. Having asked him so many times to return to Tokyo, she should be pleased to see him go, as promised. She supposes that this uneasiness is because she is still worried about him and that incident with his cursed technique.

She doesn't stop to think about it too much, trying to be satisfied and imagining that Megumi will manage to convince him to stay at the Tokyo school.

Arriving in the kitchen she finds Kano, loosening the knot of his tie. His hair messy, drinking from a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

"Tough day?"

"You could say so..." he answers with slight indifference, still seeming to be frustrated by what happened during the morning, but before martyring his sister he fixes his eyes on the window facing the street and frowns. "It's those guys again."

Kasumi turns to see the car parked behind hers, black with tinted windows. Two men get out of the car and one stands by the driver's door while another walks toward the entrance.

Right off the bat, she thinks it's a government team, probably from the Anomaly Division. But there's no official insignia on the doors to identify it.

"Again?" She asks, turning to Kano. "They had already come?"

"I forgot to mention it... with all that stuff about your guest, I completely forgot. They came by last week asking for you, but they didn't tell me what they wanted."

The doorbell rings and almost simultaneously there are three knocks on the door. The knocks echo loudly on the door and this unsettles her enough to go through her room in search of her katanas before opening the door. She looks silently over the small peek over the door and sees an enlarged image of the face of the man waiting for her on the other side. He has aged and scarred skin, dark glasses and slicked back hair. He stretches the knot of his tie, just as Kano did a moment ago, under his perfectly shaved square jaw, leaving a small trace of hair under his lower lip.

Kasumi leaves the katana next to the door, unsheathed, in a position that will give her the advantage should this end in the worst way. By simply extending her fingers she would have it on her palm and could defend herself in a matter of seconds.

Kano watches on the verge of questioning her what the hell she is doing, but remains silent and waits uneasily as his sister opens the door.

The door opens, just ten centimeters. Kasumi rests her big, suspicious blue eyes on that guy and sees her under the black glasses.

"Miwa Kasumi?" he asks and she nods.

"How can I help you?"

He doesn't answer, but Kasumi slyly extends the fingers of her right hand and the katana vibrates against the wall. He slips a hand into his jacket pocket and when Miwa is about to call for her sword, he pulls out a white envelope and holds it out to her.

Kasumi's pale fingers relax and she looks at the envelope in confusion, then takes it and looks back at the uniformed man waiting for some explanation.

"An invitation."

A little calmer, she opens the door a little wider and takes out the invitation from inside the envelope.

"The Zen'in clan?" She asks even more confused and hears Kano approaching her from behind, stretches his neck and reads the invitation.

"With a dress code?"

"It's a formal invitation, my master has certain preferences."

"I'm sorry," Kasumi replies, putting the invitation back in the envelope to return it, "I can't accept this invitation."

After what happened with Mai, Kasumi finds it incredible that the Zen'in clan would have the audacity to extend her an invitation to their temple. And, although it is inevitable to wonder why, there is no other answer in her mind than to avoid them as much as possible.

"You see, girl... The invitation is a mere formality..." he replies, without receiving the envelope, standing firmly on his two legs. "I'll give you a few minutes to change and put on something appropriate."

"Didn't you hear her? She said she's not going," Kano lets go, interposing himself between her and the one who has become a statue by the door, but Kasumi stops him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"The children will be here in a few minutes," she whispers in his ear. "It's okay," she says to the guard outside her house. "It's a formal meeting, isn't it?"

"Put on a skirt," he replies with a smile and before Kano pounces on him, Kasumi closes the door in front of his nose.

"Are you crazy? Don't you realize how dangerous this is?" he rebukes her, but she doesn't look as shocked as he does.

"I know, that's why I think it's best to go with them before the children arrive. If Grandma Chou peeks out the window she will most likely show up here snooping around and I don't want her to end up involved too. The only solution is for me to go to their stupid meeting to find out what the hell they want...maybe it's just a job."

"In a skirt? What kind of job would require that...? No, don't answer that question. There's no way in hell I'm letting you get in that car."

"Relax, I'll bring my katanas with me."

"You should call Kamo-san, he's a clan leader, right? Surely he can do something about it. Even that idiot Gojou Satoru could intervene."

"We don't have much time to make calls, do we?"

"They killed your friend, Kasumi."

"You don't have to remind me," she replies, turning to her room to quickly look for something that fits the supposed dress code of her invitation.

"You're insane," Kano says, pacing back and forth in his sister's room. "You're crazy, you can't go. I won't let you. You can't leave."

"Calm down, Kano," says his sister, mentally arguing between two skirts she rarely wears.

"Do you have any idea what kind of pervert you're meeting?"

"I think I have an idea... Now get out of my room, I'm going to change."

"No, I forbid you."

Kasumi does not seem inclined to negotiate with Kano and looks at him decisively while unbuttoning the first button of her shirt. This gesture is enough for him to desist and he leaves, slamming the door to her room.

As she dresses in a tight black skirt with a slight slit over her right thigh, she looks at the time on the clock on her nightstand and counts the minutes it will take for the children to get home from school. She's lucky if she has fifteen minutes left.

By the time she finally comes out, wearing a skirt, five-centimeter heels and a white blouse, Kano can't even look at her.

"I'll be back soon," she promises him before heading for the door.

Kano watches her from the window and they share one last look before getting into the black car.


...


After a two-hour flight and another hour's drive, Kasumi finally stops in front of the Zen'in family temple that was the scene of the death of one of her friends several years ago.

No one could believe the massacre that occurred here, at the hands of Maki Zen'in. Kasumi watches with contempt how they have managed to raise every wall she knocked down and begins to mentally count the number of guards wandering around. It's amazing what can be accomplished with enough money.

She is hardly comforted by the thought that, if they wanted her dead, she would be dead by now. The Zen'in clan has no reason to mess with her. Her only relationship with the clans is her friendship with Kamo-san, for whom she does some work from time to time. But the whole ominous air that surrounds her gives her the creeps.

Silently she is escorted to a room deep inside the temple, among gardens and artificial lakes that make this temple seem like any other. No one would suspect that here nestle some of the most despicable beings in all of Japan.

The same fellow who went for her slides open the door to a room and she takes a peek inside. In there, among torches hanging on the walls, sits the leader of the Zen'in clan. Kasumi has never seen him before but assumes that the huge scar across the middle of his face has come courtesy of Maki Zen'in, in retribution for the murder of her sister.

'It's the least you deserve,' Kasumi thinks and walks to stand in the center of the room.

He drinks sake, sitting on the floor as if he hasn't noticed that she has just arrived. Kasumi has to clear her throat to get his attention and he looks up to see her face. He smirks and stands up.

"Miwa Kasumi," the one who escorted her there announces her.

"Good, good, you can leave now," he tells him and closes the door while he walks around her, inspecting her figure without much modesty. Suddenly he takes her face and directs her chin towards his face, Kasumi opens her eyes in horror not knowing exactly how she should act at this moment and the degree of danger it would put her in to try to unsheathe one of the katanas hanging on her back. "Pretty," he finally says to her and she frowns, completely confused by this simple word. "Yes, I think I like you. I'd heard you were pretty, but I didn't know you had good legs. You should hike up your skirt a little more so I can see them better."

Kasumi takes a step back and the clan leader lets her face go with a cynical smile curving his lips.

"What's the reason for this invitation?"

"Take it easy, Miwa. Have a seat, I have a proposition for you. Sure... if you can sit in that tight skirt," he comments, letting out a light laugh that chills her skin.

Maybe it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to call Kamo-san, or even Gojou Satoru, Kasumi thinks as she sees her host taking a seat across from her again.

"I'm Naoya Zen'in, but you probably already knew that. Come on, sit down. Do you want sake?" he asks and before she can refuse, Naoya gestures to one of the maids who is sitting with both hands on her lap and her face pointing to the floor. "Pour sake for my guest."

Guest sounds like an exaggeration, to Kasumi this tastes more like a kidnapping and she tries not to look too shocked as she takes a seat across from Naoya and receives a small glass of sake without protest.

"What's your drink of choice, Miwa?"

"I... don't usually drink."

"How boring... Well, you being attractive is enough for me. You don't have to be interesting."

"What's this all about?" she asks, starting to get anxious.

Naoya sighs and makes a grimace of boredom that reminds him of Gojou. But the air surrounding this gesture is completely different from Satoru's, which is more jovial and harmless. Naoya makes her hair stand on end.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Huh? You should be pleased by this invitation. I imagine your meetings with Kamo are most boring. Go on, drink," he asks, but his tone sounds more like an order and Kasumi finds no choice but to sip a pinch of sake.

"I'm just... intrigued to know the reason for this meeting. I'm not someone important, I don't know what reason you have for inviting me here."

"Well, if you insist so much we'll get to the point. As you know there are not many shamans in Japan, you could say that we are an endangered species. And what do you do with endangered species?"

She knows the answer, but she doesn't dare to say it out loud and her expression manages to get a laugh out of Naoya.

"I don't understand what the point is," she says, trying to look nonchalant.

"I have three children, and they haven't yet reached the age where their cursed techniques manifest themselves," he begins, his tone a bit more serious. "I suppose you're well aware that this family has a history of... celestial restrictions. And since I'm currently rebuilding this clan and I'm the last living member of the family... Well, the last one worth a damn... I have to take matters into my own hands and make sure this family grows as soon as possible."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"I want you to have one of my children."

"Are you... proposing to me?"

"Proposing?" he asks, incredulously, about to burst out laughing. "Girl, I'm already married and I really have no desire to have a second wife. Besides, if I did, she wouldn't be a complete stranger. I mean, you're fine, you've got a great ass and nice tits, I don't need more to..."

"No, you''re not serious."

"Of course I am, do you think I'd be wasting my time like this if I wasn't serious? I don't care if my heir is from my wife or from a mistress. You just have to have the child and give it to me. You will stay here as long as it takes to ensure the child is born healthy and then you can return with your little siblings and your adopted children to your little house in Kyoto, with enough money to ensure their education and whatever else you need. You are a little short of money, aren't you? Supporting so many children on an exorcist's salary can't be easy."

Naoya smiles, Kasumi's blood freezes as she listens to him.


...


After pacing around the room, ruffling his hair with his fingers and letting out a heavy sigh, Satoru looks back at his mother. The truth is that he had never stopped to think about what life was like for her within the clan. Perhaps because she was never very expressive, much less with him. Perhaps he believed that the money and security of the clan would be enough for her, but that is clearly not the case.

"Are you being mistreated?" Satoru asks suddenly, though he's not sure if he cares at all about the answer, "or are you just bored?"

"I would never allow myself to be treated like the women of the Zen'in clan, but I am the wife of the current clan leader and more importantly... I am Gojou Satoru's mother. Although I must say, I did not expect being your mother to be my greatest achievement," Yumiko seems to realize her own sincerity and gives her son a smile, "Did I offend you?"

"Not at all."

"Well, we're running out of time, Satoru. What are you going to do? Since if you're going to marry that girl, I advise you to do it quickly, there are arrangements to be made."

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters we have to bring her to the temple. Ensuring her safety will be a priority, I assure you that not only the members of this clan will be interested in her once word gets out that you have chosen a wife, once and for all. You have no idea how much trouble I went through when I was pregnant...I thought it would all end once you were born and I would regain some independence, but you were simply too demanding, so needy. All the time crying for me to hold you, you refused to accept a bottle for months so I was your only source of nourishment. Moving from place to place with an entourage of Gojous behind me. Your birth was quite an event, sleepless nights and nights... Fortunately I didn't need to have more children with your father, with you it was more than enough."

"Oh, well... I'm sorry for being a baby, I suppose."

"The point is that there are many people interested in you being the last Gojou with the Six Eyes, and to end the family line... the easiest target would be the mother of your children."

"Children..." Satoru pronounces and feels a shiver run through him.

"I know, it's a terrifying idea. But it's not so bad, at least for you it won't be, as long as you do your job there won't be much to do that you haven't already done. Training children is your vocation, after all."

"I can't give you an answer now, I have to tell Kasumi that she's not safe..." he comments, crossing his arms. "It's going to be an awkward conversation."

"Maybe you should take another look at the list," Yumiko says, standing up to hold it out to him again, and Satoru takes it in his hands, not really looking at any of the names. "I'll do my best to give you more days to decide, I'll tell your father that you need some time to think it through, after all they're expecting a spring wedding."

"That gives me..." he says, counting on the fingers of his right hand. "Seven months ahead, I don't understand why they're in such a hurry."

"Because weddings take a long time to plan. But how would you know, right?"

A familiar melody plays in Satoru's pocket and he looks intrigued in its direction, though at first unaware of what it is. When he finally remembers that his cell phone still works, he picks it up and finds a new number on the screen.

"Don't you dare, this is important," his mother says and Satoru ignores her to answer the phone.

"Hello?" He pronounces and hears a breath on the other side, someone clears his throat and pronounces with a hint of doubt in the tone of his voice.

"Gojou?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Kano..." he begins slowly and Satoru turns to listen to him carefully. "We have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"Some strange guys took Kasumi a few hours ago. I tried to find Kamo-san's number but I can't find it anywhere. I thought maybe you could help me..."

Satoru turns for a moment to his mother, supposing she has something to do with all this, her or maybe the rest of the clan.

"Do you have any idea who and where they took her?"

"The Zen'in clan... They practically forced her to go with them... I lost communication with her thirty minutes ago, when she arrived in Tokyo. You're there, right?"

"I'll take care of it, don't worry. I'll call you when it's sorted out."

"Okay... I'll be waiting. And... thank you."

"Don't mention it."

He hangs up the phone and puts it back in his pocket. He swallows the saliva that begins to pile up inside his mouth and opens his six eyes trying to amplify their range in search of Kasumi's impression of cursed energy, but he is too far away to find it.

"Yumiko," he says, catching her attention, "what is our relationship with the Zen'in clan?"

"Uff... I don't know if what's left can be called a relationship. After the massacre the clans proposed erasing the Zen'in from the Big Three. That didn't sit too well with Naoya..."

"Naoya is the leader? Shit."

"Why? What was that call?"

"Naoya has Kasumi."

"Oh... well that really complicates things."

"Do you have any idea what it's about?"

"If the rumors I heard are true... I don't have very good news for you, son. Naoya is trying to raise his clan by all means. He has more concubines than your father and they are all presumed to be pregnant. But he has a preference for shamans and yours is first grade."

"I think I'll have to pay a visit to the Zen'in clan."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Let's just hope it's not another massacre."

"I warn you one thing, Satoru. If you put too much emphasis on that girl, Naoya might end up even more interested. Besides... I remind you, if someone plans to attack you they'll use your weak spot."

"I don't have any."

"That's what you think."


...


Not being able to find the right words to reject him, not knowing either if it is among her options, Kasumi remains with her mouth half-open watching Naoya drink again from his sake.

"I... don't..." she stutters.

"There is another option, if you are too soft to leave the child here. You can come and work for the clan. You and your children, what are there, six? I have enough money and if it turns out that the child doesn't inherit any of my techniques you can leave. You would be of no use to me, unless you want to try to give me another child, we can try as many times as necessary. No problem for me."

Suddenly Kasumi smirks, she feels a laugh about to come out of her throat and holds it back, but this doesn't seem to amuse the Zen'in clan leader.

"What's so funny?"

"What's so funny? Well, for starters that you think me capable of sleeping with you for a little money. I'd rather starve to death than have you within six inches of me."

"You think you're a big deal?"

"Not at all, in fact, I'm the most ordinary woman you could have chosen. Surely there are many shamans who would consider this opportunity, but I'm not one of them."

"I don't think you're getting it... rejecting me is not among your options."

"Zen'in-san... If by any chance I had a son of yours, I would never give him to you. I would die before..."

Suddenly the door of the room opens so shockingly that Miwa and Naoya turn to see the one who has just been invited to their meeting. Naoya opens his eyes, bewildered by the presence of Gojou Satoru himself inside his temple.

"Naoya-kun!" He greets him in an energetic tone, walking to the center of the room almost completely ignoring Kasumi's presence. Behind him walks a guard, holding out his hands, completely confused.

"I'm... I'm sorry, leader! He simply walked in."

Despite her surprise, Kasumi can't help but feel relieved to just see him standing there, next to her. She was absolutely sure that she would have to unsheathe her katanas at any moment and start a battle that she would most likely lose.

"Satoru-kun? Alive?"

"Huh? Didn't you get the news? Wow, that' s disappointing... I was hoping everyone would know by now. Miwa?" he asks, pretending only to see her at the moment. "What are you doing here?"

"We were discussing the terms of a contract," Naoya replies. "Escort her to the airport. We will resume our conversation another time. I have a more important guest now," he says with a smile.

"Miwa, Megumi wanted to talk to you. How lucky to have found you here," he says to Kasumi, so calm that no one could imagine his true intentions. "Would you mind if I took her to the Jujutsu College?"

"Not at all... You can wait in the hallway, Miwa."

"Y-yes..." Kasumi answers, still surprised. She gets up and adjusts her skirt and walks out into the corridor, but not before giving Satoru one last look.

When the door closes, Gojou glances at the almost completely full glass of sake that Kasumi left before leaving.

"Oh, right, you don't drink. Fruit juice? You," he says, toward one of his maidservants. "Bring a fruit juice for Satoru-kun."

"Don't bother, I won't be here for long. I guess you'll understand that I'm on a tight schedule these days, considering I was sealed a couple of days ago."

"It's good that you take it with so much humor, for something so humiliating."

"And you really know about humiliation, don't you, Naoya? Seeing yourself in the mirror every day must remind you of yours."

Naoya's gesture twists, his empty eyes are fixed on Satoru's imperturbable face and he squeals, but after a moment he ends up smiling.

"Have you come to mock me?" he asks, refilling his sake cup. "In all these years your father hasn't had the courtesy to visit me despite the ups and downs of my clan. I suppose he expected me to die, but I didn't indulge him."

"Don't worry, meetings with Gosuke are usually a pain in the ass. I had one recently," he comments, scratching an ear, "and I can only tell you that I'm glad I'm not there now. I just came to tell you something..."

"How intriguing... what is it?"

"Don't ever mess with the students of Jujutsu College again. None of them, not the ones in Tokyo, not the ones in Kyoto."

"Well, does that include Kamo-kun?" he asks, laughing again. "What about Megumi-kun? He's a Zen'in."

"If you ask him, he's still Fushiguro and still part of the College, as for Kamo... I can't get involved if it's a clan matter," he answers, raising both hands in the air. "It's none of my business."

"Do you think you're going to intimidate me, Gojou Satoru? Should I remind you that there's more than one way to keep you out of it? Funny, you'd think so many years trapped in a box like an animal would serve as a lesson to you."

"What can I say, I'm a stubborn fellow. That's all, Naoya, enjoy your evening and... my condolences for the rest of the Zen'in," he says, beginning to withdraw.

"That reminds me, I still have a score to settle with that stupid bitch Maki. Do me a favor and send her my regards."


...


Breathing the air outside the temple of the Zen'in clan feels like freedom itself. As she walks, slightly embarrassed by the skirt she is wearing, Gojou wanders by her side with the same calm and confident air with which he entered that room where she was standing next to Noaya Zen'in. She observes him slyly out of the corner of her eye and a smile escapes her, a strange sensation invades her again and she debates the reason why she feels this way.

"Thank you," she says, there's no way to be more sincere. "What you did in there... I'm really grateful to you for getting me out of there. But... how did you know?"

"Kano called me, he was very worried... Huh, that reminds me..." he says and takes his cell phone out of his pocket to dial the last number that communicated with him. After only two rings, Kano answers his cell phone with an over-eager greeting. "You can rest assured, Kasumi is with me."

"That doesn't give me much peace of mind... But I guess you're better than the Zen'in clan."

"Thank you, Kano. That's what you're supposed to say."

"Uhm... Well, thank you Gojou. Kasumi is well?"

"She is, although it's too late to send her to Kyoto, she will spend the night in Tokyo, at the Jujutsu College, don't wait for her." Gojou hangs up before hearing the protests of Kasumi's younger brother and turning to her, she looks at him with uncertainty.

"Will I spend the night here?" she questions, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm sure Megumi will be happy to see you."

"Right, Fushiguro wanted to talk to me."

"Oh, that... that was just an excuse to get you out of there..." he says, as he remembers his mother's words. "I had to..."

"Oh...", Kasumi lets go, walking slowly beside Gojou. "Your ability to lie is amazing, I had forgotten."

"Hey, don't be unfair. I was trying to help you. There are things about clans that... are too complicated to explain right now."

"I know...I'm sorry. But you didn't ask me if I wanted to stay in Tokyo tonight either... The children need me."

"I'm sure Kano can manage for one night. Besides, it's starting to get dark and the road to Kyoto is quite a long one."

"The road to the school is too."

"I can carry you."

"Don't even think about it," she replies with a frown, evading his smile.

"Let me try something... I don't know if it will work, but I hope so..."

Satoru takes his cell phone out of his pocket again and searches through his old contacts. He presses the green button to make a call and waits while the cell phone rings a couple of times. After a few seconds the ringing stops and he waits for a softly questioning voice.

"Go-Gojou?"

"Ijichi!" he greets effusively and hears a distant laugh from the other side. "It's good to hear your voice."

"It's very good to hear yours too..." he answers and Gojou gets to perceive the smile on his lips.

"Do you still work for the school?"

"As a matter of fact... yes. Fushiguro-kun told me you were in Tokyo, can I help you with something?"

"Miwa-chan and I need transportation," he answers without hesitation, stopping in his tracks.

Kasumi watches the interaction closely without being able to fully comprehend Satoru's nonchalant way of addressing a person he hasn't heard from in five years. She is surprised that he is able to ask for a favor just like that, without dying of embarrassment.

"Mi-Miwa-chan?" He questions and then seems to regain his composure. "Send me your location and I'll come get you right away."

Satoru hangs up the phone and sends the coordinates of their location, he is sure that he will scream his head off when he realizes that they are so close to the temple of the Zen'in clan, and he's amused by the idea.

He turns to look at Kasumi when he finishes, she has probably heard everything and that's why she has decided to rest under a tree. She sits down on the ground and takes off her heels to let herself fall against the thick trunk of an oak tree. He doesn't take long to imitate her and sits down next to her.

"Nice skirt," he comments, looking at the sunset that begins in front of them, filling the sky with orange and pink watercolors.

"Thank you," she replies, stretching the edges of the fabric over her legs. "Courtesy of Noaya Zen'in."

"For real?" he questions. "I should have killed him," he thinks without saying it out loud. "Kasumi, what did Naoya want?" he asks even though he is almost sure of her answer.

Kasumi's face becomes embarrassed almost immediately and she evades his questioning gaze.

"He said that... he wanted me to give him a heir."

"What is it with clans and heirs?" he says, chuckling.

"Will they still insist on it?"

"It's likely, Naoya is a persistent guy, but I'll work it out. Don't worry," his words miss their target, Kasumi's face seems to wither from just remembering Naoya's threats, but her eyes widen as she feels Satoru's fingers take her chin to face his face. "Trust me."

Her heart, still naive, beats hard under her chest and Kasumi feels the air almost completely vanish from her. For a moment, she feels she has learned nothing and turns her face away quickly, leaving Satoru's long fingers suspended in the air.

"Don't do those things," she murmurs, still blushing.

"I don't think I can stop doing it."

"Satoru..." she says, and the mere utterance of his name brings a smile to Gojou's face. "I still haven't forgotten what you are capable of. I will always be grateful to you for saving my life that time, and now... I owe you one too. But that doesn't mean that..."

"Do you hold a grudge against me?"

Suddenly, Ren's words come back to her mind and she wonders if she is acting the same way. If really all the things she tries to appear, hospitable and understanding, are nothing more than a facade to hide all the resentment she still has towards him. Kasumi sees the face of the man who many years ago broke her heart, and although she is sure that, as she told him earlier, she doesn't hate him, she still doesn't know exactly how she feels about him.

"It's been too long to hold grudges," she tells him, not very convinced.

"At the time..." he begins, barely uncomfortable with what he's about to say, "I... I didn't feel capable of feeling anything at all. The only time I had ever felt something for someone, something so strong, that person turned his back on me and... I had to end his life."

Kasumi listens carefully to his words, sees his profile bathed in the colors of the sunset and watches the smile that is sadly drawn on his lips. This is probably the first time Gojou speaks openly about Suguru Getou, and the first time he feels like he's baring himself to Kasumi.

"No, before him there was also someone I cared about. A person I thought I would be able to protect and she died. I carried her in my arms to the morgue... That was the first time I began to realize how empty I felt inside. And when you came along, I have to confess I didn't have the best intentions... I'm sorry, I didn't realize it until it was too late and I had gone too far."

"I too... had gone too far," she confesses, hugging her knees. "I knew it was wrong from the beginning and I kept going, lying to everyone and running away to see you."

"I don't regret it, you know." He confesses, surprisingly. "Even if it was wrong, it must have been the best mistake of my life."

"I don't regret it either," she replies, smiling a slight, apologetic smile. "If it hadn't been for that, I don't think I would have survived Shibuya, or afterwards."

"You would have, Kasumi," he says, turning to her to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "And I'm so sorry I hurt you while I was discovering how I really felt about you."

The strange and familiar warmth that only Gojou Satoru knows how to provoke in her begins to invade her every pore. Her foolish heart pounds and her stomach twists, dazzled by the soft tone of his voice and the sincere words that come out of his mouth unabashedly.

She doesn't reproach him for the slow, deliberate way he arranges her hair, doesn't complain as she feels the fleeting touch of his skin, though a shiver ran through her very core.

Kasumi looks at the blindfold and remembers the beautiful eyes that lie hidden beneath it, then wanders her pupils down the bridge of his nose to his glossy peach lips and pauses to turn again at the sunset, a strange sensation crackling inside her throat.

Her cheeks burn, she would never have expected to hear him talk like that and have a real conversation, realizing that they had never really had a moment like this when she was deeply in love with him.

"How much longer will it take to pick us up?"

"Did I make you uncomfortable?" he asks, shrinking back to face the face that avoids him.

"N-No, you haven't done anything wrong."

"Oh," he says, stretching out on the floor with his arms behind his head, "I don't think it'll be more than twenty minutes. Shall we play a game while we wait?"

"I don't feel like playing right now."


Note: Thank you to Mia, Amatsumi (I don't know if it's a character study in Gojou, but I will inevitably analyze it a lot and I hope you like it.) and thanks Mint Esthete for your comments!

I originally planned for a lot more to happen in this chapter, but I realized that it would end up being too long and I don't want the chapters to become tedious. Someone had asked in the previous chapter something I forgot to answer, about what days I plan to upload the chapters, but I'm sorry to say that I don't have a schedule. Many years ago I decided to stop setting dates for myself because I found that when I wrote in a hurry I didn't feel satisfied with what I published. I prefer to write at my own pace, in my spare moments when I feel inspired and luckily for you and me, this ship has me in love. I guess I'll post at least once a week, and as for the length of this fic, I suspect it will be longer than Disenchantment because I have a lot of ideas in mind for what's to come. And if I don't organize myself well I'm going to end up muddling the whole plot. We have Shibuya Sequel for a while. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, in the next one we'll have an awkward meeting between the Tokyo school kids, Gojou and Miwa. See you soon!