Chapter 6: The Fall
Gojou whistles and the sparrows hovering above the treetops accompany him. Kasumi sighs, watches an orange-winged butterfly flap its wings a few meters away from her to land on a flower growing at the foot of an oak tree. The clear sky lets the sun's rays bathe them, but a clement breeze whips Kasumi's hair and leaves her blushing, looking at the inhospitable landscape in front of her.
There is nothing but collapsed buildings, vegetation that has found propitious spaces among the rubble to splash the destruction with flashes of life in green oils, taking advantage of the canvas laid out.
Everything is so calm, Gojou's whistling and the breeze blowing softly on her ear, that manages to make her believe for an ephemeral instant that all is well between the two of them. She even manages to forget the shivers that took over her skin while inside the temple of the Zen'in family.
It must be because of the way her heart beats, so stubbornly that she wonders if she has learned anything in all these years. Her stomach churns, reliving the nerves of her adolescence; a knot in the pit of her stomach that used to leave her hungry, with no room for anything but the thrill of being with him. Coming to the unequivocal conclusion that this is one more of his powers; Gojou has the innate ability to constantly leave her breathless.
"Naoya touched you?" Gojou asks suddenly.
Kasumi turns to look at him, still lying on the ground with both hands behind his head. At first she finds his question strange, then she finds it strange that he asks it while smiling, and finally she wonders if he had been thinking about it the whole time he was silent.
"He just touched my face," she replies, frowning, annoyed at the memory.
"Promise me you'll call me if he shows up again."
"I don't think he'll find me, I'll start work soon. What I'm worried about is Kano and the kids, but I guess if he called you... he'll call you again if he gets in trouble."
"You have a mission?" he asks, sitting up again, his gesture full of curiosity, "What is it about?"
"I'm not going to tell you."
"Huh? Why not?"
"As much as I appreciate you coming to help me today, I'd rather do my homework alone... I'm afraid if I tell you, you'll find an excuse to come and interrupt me. Don't take this the wrong way, it's nothing personal, it's just that I've had a hard time getting a reputation to end up being the woman to be rescued."
"What's wrong with being rescued?"
"Nothing really..."
"Then I don't understand what the problem is."
"You wouldn't understand either, you're an army in one man."
"Until recently I needed to be pulled out of a box..." he answers, lifting the corners of his mouth. "I'm cocky, but not cocky enough not to know when I need help."
"It's strange to hear you take so much responsibility."
"I've done a lot of thinking, especially since I had nothing else to do."
"It must have been very boring."
Gojou nods, but omits to say that the boredom was starting to drive him crazy. Conveniently he hears the faint roar of an engine and turns toward the road. A dark vehicle approaches and he stands up to extend his palm towards Kasumi. Had she not been wearing a skirt, she would try to overlook this gesture and not bring her skin in contact with his again, but she has no choice but to take him by the hand to stand up.
He smiles for her as she stands and still holds her hand for a few seconds, unnecessarily. Kasumi lets go of him and averts her gaze to pick up her heels from the ground, hiding her face slyly then following him to the road where Ijichi has parked the car.
The driver soon gets out and circles the vehicle with a face full of enthusiasm, his eyes shining with a certain longing, that of someone who is about to burst into tears. Satoru returns the gesture and walks over to him.
Ijichi never neglects his manners or his position, he never forgets that he is standing in front of the leader of the Gojou Clan, not even in their reunion, not even considering that they attended high school together.
He tenderly makes an effort to swallow his tears and bows to him while babbling how happy he is to see him when Gojou disarms his pose to wrap him in an embrace that brings a smile to his face and puts him to shame.
Kasumi watches them laughing and takes this moment to put on her heels, unable to help the way a warmth suddenly bursts out of her chest from just seeing him so happy.
"Ijichi, you're getting old," Gojou tells him as he squeezes him, holding him by the shoulder. "Just look at those gray hairs."
He laughs and combs his hair with the palm of his hand, lowering his chin in embarrassment.
"I think you're the one who doesn't age," he answers stunnedly and then looks up, as if he had remembered that Gojou wasn't alone. "Oh, Mrs. Miwa," he greets her and bows. "Long time no see, h-how have you been?"
"I've been better," Kasumi answers, forces a smile and laughs lightly, "I'm afraid the reasons that brought me to Tokyo are not the best."
"Please get in the car. I'll take you to school right away," says Ijichi, making an effort not to get too many ideas.
As soon as they both get into the car in the back seat, Ijichi can't help but shift his eyes from one to the other. The last he heard about Satoru, he had been captured in Shibuya, but shortly before that he had a disturbing conversation with Yaga about the nature of his relationship with Miwa Kasumi.
It's been years, but it's still strange that the two of them behave so naturally. He himself doesn't know what to make of the situation and spends a long time in silence, sweating in the driver's seat, not knowing exactly what to say to them.
"If you're going to drive us in silence the whole way at least turn on some music," Gojou says, leaning between the seats to turn on the radio.
"Sorry, I'm still a little surprised to see you again. Both of you, actually... Miss Miwa, you mentioned that the circumstances of your trip to Tokyo were not the best, what did you mean by that?"
"Well..." she utters, suddenly embarrassed. "There's... a misunderstanding between Naoya Zen'in and me."
"Oh, what is it? If I may ask..."
"Naoya thinks Kasumi will give him a son," Satoru completes, trying to find a radio signal.
"Oh..." Ijichi lets go, completely dismayed. "How... unfortunate," the silence fades in the car as Satoru goes from radio station to radio station. "And you, Satoru... I guess you're going to rejoin the Jujutsu school."
"Haven't decided yet."
"You should. I'm sure Fushiguro needs you," Kasumi replies and he interrupts his search for a radio station to turn to look her in the eye.
"What about what I need?"
Kasumi's lips tighten into a thin line and a wave of intense heat rushes over her face. Possibly she feels this embarrassed because Gojou has no contemplation when it comes to invading her personal space and because Ijichi is watching everything through the rearview mirror.
"Don't be selfish," she replies with her voice hanging by a thread and turns to look out the window.
"Miwa-san is right. There is still a lot of work to do and... there are very few shamans left. Recruiting them has become more difficult than before... Now nobody wants to be part of this institution and the curses don't stop reproducing. The fear that people still have because of what happened... in Shibuya... has caused a concentration of cursed energy that has never been seen before."
"I guess I have no right to ask for a day off."
Both Miwa and Ijichi feel a knot on their stomachs. The idea of Satoru needing a break is not far-fetched, in fact, any normal human would need it. Perhaps no one considers it because it's about him and he has always broken human standards. Now all that is expected of him is extraordinary and Satoru is beginning to tire of the weight he carries on his shoulders.
Fortunately, after that awkward talk, Ijichi decides to ask Miwa about her family and this brings a smile to her face, one that Satoru doesn't miss for a second. After tuning in to a radio he plops down on the back seat and listens intently as she describes the most mundane aspects of her life and tells Ijichi about the nature of her job.
She has so many things to say about the children that she says almost nothing about herself, in fact, Satoru realizes that Kasumi rarely talks about herself and this makes her the antithesis of who her own mother is, or who he is. He knows for certain that, if he were to ask her, Kasumi would reply that her greatest pride are those children. Instead, Yumiko's answer is a mystery to him.
This thought brings to mind that arrangement that his clan wants to drag him into and that this somehow involves Kasumi, although she doesn't know it yet. He folds his arms and thinks that telling her absolutely nothing would be the best option, but even he doesn't trust his own judgment and decides to ask for advice.
He smiles bitterly to himself thinking of Nanami, who would have been his best option, only to remember that he is no longer on this plane. Maybe Megumi can give him some useful advice.
When the car stops, he remembers that he left his suitcase at the entrance of the temple, before escaping. He has only his cell phone and a wallet with all the money Yumiko could give him, a few credit cards and his credentials.
"Ijichi, I need to ask you a favor," he says, stopping him as he climbs the stone stairs with Kasumi. She turns to look at them. "Go ahead Kasumi," he asks with a smile and she continues walking. Satoru shows his cell phone to Ijichi and Ijichi takes it in his hands and runs his fingers over the cracks. "I need you to carry this cell phone with you and buy me a new one. Buy it in cash, I can't use my credit cards anymore," he says and hands him a bunch of bills.
Ijichi twists his face and tries to hold the bills in both hands, hugs the cell phone and cash and looks worriedly at Gojou after hearing his ominous instructions.
"What's this about?"
"I think the clan monitors everything I do through my cell phone, and if I use my credit cards they'll know where I am. I need to lay low for a while until I have an answer for them. That's why I need you to keep this cell phone... if I throw it away, they'll eventually figure out that I got rid of it. In fact, come to think of it," he says and pulls out his credit cards from his wallet. "Use them, you'll keep them off the scent."
"B-but what happens when they find out?"
"Don't worry, Ijichi, nothing's going to happen to you," he replies, squeezing his shoulder tightly. "Now put all that stuff in your pockets before Kasumi sees it."
"About Miwa-san..." Ijichi stammers. "I have to admit that I'm surprised to see you two together..."
Gojou smiles as Ijichi stuffs the bundles of money into his pockets and puts the damaged cell phone in the inside pocket of his jacket.
"Is it too weird?"
"It's a bit awkward... considering that... you promised Yaga not to return to Kyoto."
Satoru's smile fades and he looks away toward the stairs. At the top walks Kasumi and she seems to notice all the eyes Satoru has on her, as she turns and looks at him over her shoulder.
"It's been so long that I had forgotten that promise," he replies, following Miwa's footsteps.
"That's... understandable and, well, uhm... Miwa-san is a grown woman now... I guess there's... nothing wrong if... Anyway, I don't want to meddle in your business."
"Who else knows about this?"
"To be honest... it's a rumor that's been growing over time. I-I haven't said anything!... And I'm sure Shoko hasn't either. There's only talk of a student who... well, you know."
"I see," he replies, losing sight of her.
As they finish climbing the stairs, Kasumi is waiting for them. She hasn't dared to enter the school alone and Satoru wonders if she'll be embarrassed to come along with him. If she has also heard about these rumors that Ijichi mentioned to him and he fears the reaction of the rest of the school's former students.
He analyzes her expression as he walks, pretending not to be looking at her. She takes a breath and lifts her chin, throws her shoulders back and walks briskly as Satoru and Ijichi walk past her. And, much to the confidence behind each step, Gojou watches out of the corner of his eye as her eyebrows gently contract in the middle.
It brings her nostalgia to see the infrastructure of the sister school, similar to Kyoto's, though much smaller than she remembers it. The last time she was here Maki Zen'in stole her sword and Inumaki Toge left her lying on the floor, drooling. When she woke up she could barely tolerate the humiliation and the idea that Gojou Satoru had seen everything. At that moment when he felt so far away he didn't seem human. Now that she knows him so much better, she couldn't feel so overwhelmed by his ideas of her. In fact, everything that took away her sleep at the time now feels minuscule.
"Come with me," says Ijichi, quickening his pace to guide them. "Megumi is gathered with Maki-san training the boys."
Deep in the forest, behind the temples, a familiar sound begins to be heard; the gasps and whimpers she heard as a student. Kasumi observes the boys attacking Maki in a group, but none are able to land a single blow on her and she subtly moves, dodging each blow. Megumi throws a cursed weapon into the air and a young man catches it in mid-air and lunges at Maki, his jaw clenched and brow furrowed until she knocks him down from behind unnoticed.
Since Mai's death, Kasumi has trouble seeing her twin's face. Although she has changed a lot, she has the same look as her former classmate. The same color, obscured by her expression devoid of feeling.
"She's impressive," she says, feeling again that she will never be able to catch up with these sorcerers.
"Indeed, this training is too heavy for the boys. None of them have been able to even touch Maki since they arrived," Ijichi comments with a slight smile curving his lips.
"Maybe they're not motivated enough," Gojou says and takes two steps forward. "Hey everyone!" -he shouts, echoing his voice with both hands and the training stops. Everyone turns to look at him, even Megumi and Maki. "Whoever touches Maki wins a trip abroad! To any country you want! I'm paying!"
Suddenly, the boys and girls look at each other, at first puzzled, but they soon throw themselves at Maki with more impetus. At this point, Gojou remembers that he does not have the clan's funds at his disposal and regrets his proposal, but doesn't back down. In any case, it seems that no one will be able to touch a hair on his former student's head.
"Miwa-san," greets Megumi, surprised by her presence, approaching them and Kasumi gives her a slight bow, then turns to Gojou. "You're back, how did it go with the clan?"
"Fine, fine. Hey, Kasumi needs to spend the night here, are there any free rooms?"
"Oh, yeah, sure, of course. Everything okay, Miwa-san?"
"Y-yes," she answers uncertainly. "I just had a little trouble with... the Zen'in clan," she utters softly, afraid that Maki might hear her.
"Do you need me to intervene? Do you have problems with Naoya?"
"For now, I'd just like to eat something and rest. Tomorrow I can tell you all about it and... I'd really appreciate your help."
"Sure, come with me. Tsumiki will show you to your room."
"I'll see you later, Kasumi," Gojou tells her before he leaves with Megumi.
Retracing her steps, she imagines the thoughts he might be having for having come to the campus together with Gojou Satoru, however, she doesn't dare to say it out loud. Megumi, for his part doesn't intend to bring up the subject either, but given Gojou's confession earlier in the morning, he can't help but get an idea of what might be going on.
"Tsumiki is preparing dinner for everyone. We don't have as many staff as we used to and funds are scarce, so we're trying to do the best with what we have," he says, walking in front of her.
"You're doing a great job. I know how hard it is to take care of the administration and especially what it's like to have a tight budget," she replies with a soft laugh.
"How are the children?"
"Fine, they have some problems at school, but they're great kids."
"And Hideki?"
"He's not talking yet, but his cursed energy keeps growing. I've taught him to keep it inside his body and... he's learning really fast."
"Please keep me updated, is that okay?" Kasumi nods enthusiastically and together they chase the scent that begins to permeate the air.
She doesn't need six eyes to know exactly where the kitchen is, the aroma of roasting meat stirs her insides and she hears her own abdomen roar and quickly blurts out an apology. Fushiguro just curves his lips into a smile and slides open the kitchen door. Tsumiki immediately turns around, wearing a white apron and a white cap holding back her hair.
"The food is ready," she says, smiling. "But the boys will have to take a bath before they come. We can't have a bunch of smelly teenagers in the dining room again... Oh, you've got company. I'm sorry, how are you? I'm Tsumiki Fushiguro."
Miwa bows quickly.
"Nice to meet you, Miwa Kasumi."
"Miwa-san will spend the night here, she needs a room, could you help her?"
"Sure, there is one in the east wing that is unoccupied," she says, starting to untie her apron. "Don't worry, little brother, I'll take care of it."
"Thank you, Tsumiki," he says before saying goodbye to Miwa to return to his students.
Still marveling at the large steaming pans of exquisite aromas, Kasumi looks around the kitchen from side to side. It's still difficult for her to figure out the measurements needed to cook for her bunch of adopted children and her two siblings, so she finds Tsumiki's ability to cook for a dozen teenagers impressive.
"Shall I show you to your room?" she says kindly and Kasumi nods.
Kasumi's room is slightly neglected and Tsumiki is quick to apologize for it. She has brought with her some clean sheets and some towels in case Miwa wants to take a shower. It is quite far away from the rest, a bit hidden behind the corridors of the library, although it is still a replica of the rest of the rooms at Tokyo Metropolitan College.
"Thank you very much for your kindness, I hope I won't cause you too much inconvenience."
"Not at all, did you come with Gojou-sensei?"
"Actually... yes..."
"I guessed as much," she answers and Kasumi suddenly blushes. "Megumi looked calmer, he's been waiting for him to come back since this morning."
"Oh, yes... I hope he manages to convince him to stay here longer."
"Are you good friends?"
"Ah..." Kasumi hesitates, as she has been trying to avoid putting a label on their relationship since the moment she saw him again. "Y-yes, you could say so..."
"You don't sound very convinced" she says surprised, "oh, sorry, maybe I'm being too nosy."
"No, no, not at all. It's just that... well, we haven't seen each other for a long time and... the last time we saw each other we weren't on the best of terms."
"Well, I can understand that. I imagine that's how Megumi felt about me before I was cursed," she says and smiles softly. "But even though our relationship wasn't the best, I never doubted for a second that deep down he was still thinking about me. Even in my sleep my heart was with him."
"It's different... you are brother and sister..."
"Maybe you're right, but friends are the family we choose," she answers and opens her eyes, as if she had realized something that Kasumi missed, "don't you have luggage?"
"N-no, the trip to Tokyo was a spur-of-the-moment thing."
"I'll lend you a pair of pajamas so you can sleep."
Kasumi smiles, thanks her for her gesture and when Tsumiki leaves the room she begins to remake her bed with clean sheets. Her words beginning to intrude inside her mind. She doesn't quite know how she feels about it, having been sure for so many years that her feelings for Gojou have been buried deep inside her, thrown there to be forgotten. But after so many days by his side she has come to the conclusion that she still holds an immense affection for him that not even his betrayal could erase. So she curses herself for being too damn good people.
Fortunately the dinner is quieter than she expected. After calling Kano again to reassure him and discuss the situation without delving too deeply into the Noaya Zen'in topic, Kasumi enjoys Tsumiki's home cooking along with Gojou, Ijichi, Megumi, Maki and Shoko, who drinks sake as if it were drinking water.
Eventually she takes her leave to take a shower, says goodnight and thanks for the welcome to everyone and the rest remain on the table, watching her out of the corner of their eyes as she leaves the dining room.
Gojou is too distracted to notice the accusatory way Maki is watching him from across the table. Ijichi laughs and shares a single glass of sake with Shoko and Megumi tries to stay out of the way of what is about to be stirred up on the table.
"If anyone manages to touch Maki, I'll leave it to you, Ijichi," Gojou tells him, pointing his chopsticks at him, and he nods.
"Gojou-sensei..." says Megumi, still unable to shake the habit. "What happened in the Gojou clan?"
He sighs, unwilling to share that conversation, but quickly comes to the conclusion that he doesn't know exactly what he should do.
"They've got me cornered with an arranged marriage," he says as if talking about the weather.
Ijichi chokes on his only glass of sake.
"With whom?" asks Megumi.
"I don't know, there's a list... quite long."
"Miwa-san... is she aware of it?"
"Hey, asshole," interrupts Maki. "You better not be up to something with that girl because I swear I'm going to castrate you. You're too old for that."
"If anyone could castrate me, I'm sure it would be you, Maki," he replies, smiling. "And no, Kasumi doesn't know yet... It's not that I plan to hide it from her, I just haven't gotten the chance to tell her. How should I do it? It's not something that comes up in casual conversation."
"Satoru..." says Ijichi shyly, "Is it that you and Miwa-san...?"
"Yes," Gojou replies, "well, no. But almost."
"What the hell does that mean?" says Maki.
"Not again..." says Shoko and goes back to drinking.
"Miwa-san seems like a very nice person," Tsumiki comments, "would you rather marry her?"
"Miwa is nice," replies Maki, "it's him I' m worried about."
"It's complicated!" Gojou replies and scratches the back of his head.
"So the rumors were true," says Maki wrinkling her lips, "you're nastier than I imagined."
"I know, I know, but I'm trying not to be so nasty. And it's pretty hard."
After dinner, Gojou remains dissatisfied by the opinions of the rest. Shoko kept her comments to herself and continued drinking, which he wishes Maki had been able to do. Dazed, he leaves the dining room for his room and decides to detour to a place that, when he lived there, he had little reason to visit.
Dead men don't give advice. He knows this, yet he seems to be waiting for this grave to tell him something. He imagines a cynical phrase, very much his style. He expects him to tell him how inappropriate he is, how bad his feelings are, and to find some specific order of words that would make him feel miserable for still pursuing this girl. He supposes he would remind him how much she has already suffered, how much she would suffer in a clan and that the wisest thing he could do is to leave her alone.
Kento Nanami
He is saddened to learn that her remains do not lie here, for there are no Nanami remains. This is nothing more than a monument erected in her honor to pay tribute to him.
Satoru is not sure what this is about that blocks his throat and forces him to lift his blindfold to wipe away his tears. Perhaps it is that this is the physical manifestation of something he already knows but had not stopped to accept. Nanami is dead and the idea finally cements itself in his mind and he discovers that it really hurts.
Sitting alone in front of his friend's grave, he wipes away his tears with both hands and when he thinks his body has finally tired of crying, he smiles bitterly.
"I know you were tired of all this, so... rest in peace, Nanamin. Anyway, I don't think you wanted to give me advice, considering the situation."
He stands and looks at the name engraved next to this grave. The freshly turned earth, no vegetation growing around it. The stone completely clean, Megumi hurried to lift it.
Itadori Yuuji
Satoru walks in front of the row of tombs towering over one of the college gardens and reads the names one by one. He pauses for a few seconds over a few: Misamichi Yaga, Toge Inumaki, Kugisaki Nobara. He lays his fingers on the stone monuments and whispers an apology with a lump in his throat.
She has come to say goodbye, despite having promised to spend the night there. The truth is that she could feel a strange hint among the looks that everyone at the table gave her and she really misses the children and her siblings. So, despite Tsumiki and Megumi's cordiality, she left her room to look for Ijichi and ask him for one last favor. He is waiting for her in the car outside the school and there is only one thing left for her to do before she leaves. However, a strange force stops her when she sees him walking among the graves of his students. Perhaps because this is the first time she has seen Gojou Satoru cry and it pains her to see him suffer in this way.
Kasumi lowers her gaze, hidden in the thick of the night, unable to take another step closer to him to tell him that she is leaving, that she should not spend another second by his side simply because it's wrong. But she doesn't succeed, it is impossible for her to take another step and she ends up sighing as she wonders why it is so hard for her to leave him.
Perhaps it's because of Tsumiki's words, which make her believe that her heart has softened. A heart that Kasumi believes she has protected too well.
She picks up her cell phone and sends a message to Ijichi, apologizes and informs him that she will spend the night in Tokyo and return home in the morning. Maybe this way Satoru will feel calmer and be able to get a few more hours of sleep during the night, although that seems like a lot to ask.
"Are you spying on me?" He asks her and Miwa's gaze is fixed on the dark bandage he has put back on.
She denies, has incense on her right hand and lets him see it.
"I came to see Nanami-sama."
Kasumi walks slowly to the grave, lights the incense she leaves on the headstone and sits down to say a prayer while Satoru watches her from the corner of his eye.
Again, he wishes he could ask Nanami if he should take this girl as his wife and impair some aspects of her life, and improve others. Certainly, Kasumi could adopt as many children as she pleases without worrying about money again. Although completely losing her autonomy doesn't sound the most appealing, even considering that the Zen'in clan would totally forget about her... or make her their most important target.
He had never thought so seriously about the idea of marriage and at this moment an event comes to his mind that forces him to think about it more carefully.
That name engraved on the screen of his cell phone always brings a smile to his face, even on the occasions when he calls to inform him about some gloomy scenario, which is the reason for most of his calls. However, this never tarnishes the joy he gets from knowing he's on the other end of the line.
"Nanami!" he says in an exaggerated tone and hears him clearing his throat on the other end.
"Satoru," he greets him the same way he always does, permanently exhausted. "Whatever you're doing now, save it for another time," he says and Satoru looks sideways at the movie he has paused, it's not one of his best Friday nights so it doesn't hurt to postpone this meaningless action movie to see Nanami and solve whatever was going on. "I'll send you the address where we'll meet, I'll wait for you there in twenty minutes," he finishes and hangs up.
So much mystery has made his curiosity grow. Nanami is not usually so cryptic, which means only one thing, the situation is too complicated to talk about over the phone and time must be crucial.
As promised, the address arrives in just a couple of minutes. Satoru puts on his uniform jacket and hurries out to meet him. Intrigued by what might be waiting for him, he abuses his ability to move through the air. Fortunately for him, the sky is too cloudy to attract the attention of some civilian and end up back on some internet portal, being referred to as an unidentified flying object or celestial being. Either way, it's hard not to expose himself too much when using his powers is always the easiest card to play.
Eventually he ends up landing his feet on the terrace of a hotel and walks down the emergency stairs using his two legs, just like every other non-shaman in the world. But before crossing the street, he looks up and sees a sign in red neon lights, 'Shibuya Bar The Legless Arm'.
At first glance there is nothing unusual, there is no cursed scent bathing the walls, nor does he feel any shiver typical of the cases he usually encounters. Through the windows he gets to see a few people inside, a man serving drinks and a very well-groomed Nanami Kento outside, waiting for him with his arms crossed like a statue carved in marble.
Satoru walks across the street smiling, still thinking about the mental comparison he just made with Nanami; those cheekbones could only have been carved by the gods themselves.
"Three minutes late," he reproaches him before greeting him and Satoru doesn't get to say a single word by the time the door of the bar opens and out comes Shoko.
She, wearing a flattering burgundy blouse and a dark skirt, pulls out a box of cigarettes from her purse and lights one in front of the pair.
"What's the status report?"
"Why do you ask like that, Nanami? It's not a special grade curse, it's just a man who just got divorced. But I'm glad you've arrived; I already needed a relief... And, as for him, you'd better see for yourselves."
"Oh, so this is about Yaga," Satoru comments when the mystery is revealed. "No offense, I mean... it's a shame, but... what does this have to do with me?"
"Nothing, but Nanami and I thought maybe you could distract him. He's been here since six o'clock this evening and hasn't stopped drinking."
"I understand," Satoru replies and then sighs, gathering his energy to enter the bar as Shoko begins her break.
"On very rare occasions," Nanami begins, as he is about to push open the bar door, "your idiocies can be of some use."
Kento is not the most prone to give compliments, and the few he does give are usually tainted with irony. Either way, Satoru is mildly pleased to be asked for a quality that most people usually resent. It is a rare occasion when he's called upon, not for his monstrous powers, but for himself.
Seated in front of the bar, with more than six glasses of short drink, is Yaga. Hunched over, glasses on the table and tired eyes focused on the countless bottles of different liquors meticulously arranged to attract attention.
Nanami sits to Yaga's right, Satoru sits to his left and he doesn't move his face to either direction. Yet he knows they are there.
Satoru looks at the empty glasses just before the bartender decided to pick them up and wonders how many he has already had. Judging by the color it is Irish whiskey, and although he himself is not the most avid drinker of the bunch, shit, he doesn't even drink, he knows that the minimum volume of alcohol is quite high. But no one could assume that from looking at his superior's face; Yaga doesn't flinch in the slightest, if it weren't for the very faint blush on his cheeks, he'd be the same as ever.
"Shoko called you?" he asks, still without turning to them and sips a drink.
"She's worried," Nanami answers. "Don't you think it's time to leave? You'll waste all your salary in one night."
"Don't worry, Yaga, it's on me," replies Satoru and Nanami turns to him as if he were about to kill him.
Suddenly Yaga smirks and lets out a very light laugh, hidden in a sigh.
"How pathetic. How did it end up like this? I don't even have friends who can come and have a drink with me and instead I have my own students... What the fuck am I doing with my life?"
"What's wrong with it?" Satoru asks. "Not for nothing, but I'm good company. Nanami may be a bit structured, but he's a great guy. Besides, we're not teenagers anymore, we're colleagues."
"As hard as it is for me to say, Satoru is right."
"I'll be damned, the day has come to agree with Gojou Satoru," says Yaga and goes back to drinking. "It's a special day..."
"Is the process already finished?" asks Nanami and Yaga nods.
"It's official now," he answers in a soft and bitter tone. "I'm a divorcee."
"It's not that bad, it's not like you can't remarry."
"No way, asshole. I'm never getting married again..." he replies and drinks again, but this time he remains silent as the music from the bar fills the silence that spreads around them. "I should be relieved that it's finally over, but..." The words come out of his mouth like verbiage, about to say something he would normally keep to himself. But Yaga doesn't question it, probably because of the high degree of alcohol in his blood, which is leading him to loosen his tongue more than usual. "The truth is that this feels like a huge failure..."
"It's understandable, a marriage is like any kind of contract. Not getting what you intended when you signed it can feel like a failure."
"I had hoped that... I would make it, you know? How many shamans with successful marriages do you know?"
"I don't know if my parents' could be classified as successful," Satoru says, as if wondering at the same time.
"Shit, no, that's not a marriage, that's an arrangement. What your parents have is not what I'm talking about."
"Then I don't know any," Satoru answers.
"Neither do I, and I've been in this business for a long time. There has to be a reason, right?"
"Statistically, yes. It's something I've thought about too," says Nanami, ordering a scotch for himself.
"You have thought about it?" Satoru questions, slightly incredulous.
"Yes, haven't you?"
"You must have, I mean... as Clan Head... it's your duty."
"I'd rather not think about such things at the moment, eventually I'll see how I manage, but for now..." he replies, shrugging his shoulders.
Yaga and Nanami look at each other, almost simultaneously. Then Nanami gets his drink and drinks from it while watching Yaga out of the corner of his eye.
"I've thought about it a couple of times, just considering my options. It's something one can naturally think about, any normal person does at some point. Both those who want to get married and those who don't. The point is, I came to the conclusion that I couldn't marry a person outside of the sorcery world. It would be too dangerous and even incomprehensible. The only option would be another shaman, and the three of us know that the options are exponentially reduced. You, Yaga, married a sorceress, didn't you?"
"That's right. I thought the same as you... Everything is easier with a person who knows your profession as well as you do. But that doesn't mean it's not complicated."
"The odds of becoming a widower are amplified," Nanami completes.
"And the work... It's exhausting, constant and... eventually I realized it was impossible. One moment you imagine yourself growing old with a person by your side and the next you realize you'll die an early death. We're not going to grow old... Well, maybe this little jerk is," he says, referring to Satoru. "The advantages of his technique make a mockery of the rest of us," he says, trying to smile.
"Advantages or not, I don't think I'll ever get married."
"What about the clan?" Yaga asks.
"What about it?"
"Don't be so conceited, Satoru. Remember that many before you had that technique and were still forced to keep their end of the bargain."
"What bargain?"
"That of being a Gojou. You're one of those poor bastards who are born with an imposed contract, but eventually you'll realize that and maybe I won't be here to remind you."
Finally, after so many years, Satoru comes to understand slightly what Yaga wanted to tell him that day. He suddenly understands Nanami's words and all the weight that a marriage really brings with it, especially a marriage to him.
While he had considered it as nothing more than an arrangement between families up to this point, now it means so much more and he's not sure if he can put his selfishness aside and completely disappear from Kasumi's life to marry another woman, because... somehow... it feels like he's betraying her again.
Kasumi finishes her prayer and lifts her chin to the starry sky and he does the same. Satoru wonders how long it's been since he's seen the stars, really see them, appreciate the beauty that lies in every corner of the world. Appreciate the icy breeze that roses his cheeks and the peace it gives him to be beside her again.
His heart pounds under his chest and he recognizes for the first time that this is her cause, that this warm feeling that spreads throughout his chest and fills his stomach with something strange is Kasumi's doing.
He remains still as she stands up, very carefully, as she has that tight skirt she seems to detest. Then he watches her as she walks over to him and sits down next to him, not as close as she did before, when they were something that at the same time was nothing.
"How do you feel?" She asks him, her eyes glued to the name engraved on the tombstone in front of them.
"I'd like to find a technique to take me back in time to fix everything that happened that day, so that none of this would happen, do you think there is?"
"There are ways to alter time, artifacts like the realm prison, but I haven't heard of the kind of curses you describe."
"Is bringing them back to life too cruel?"
"I think there is... a natural order of things that... even if it pains us or we fail to understand it, it has a purpose. Or at least that's what I try to think," Kasumi replies and turns to Gojou with a slight smile.
"Have you never wished to change the past?"
"Only at times... When I think about it I think that even the worst times have... eventually... had their good side. Sorcery is something I've questioned a lot, what I would have done if I hadn't been recruited... The truth is I think I would be dead today. I would not have had the tools to protect my brothers. Every bitter pill I've had in this profession has ended up saving my life, one way or another."
"The years have made you wise, Kasumi," replies Gojo, sitting next to her, looking longingly at her faint smile. "By the way... I forgot to mention it before, but... I couldn't get the clan to investigate Hideki's precedents. Things got a little complicated... I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, I know you tried," she replies and naturally touches his arm as if trying to comfort him.
Maybe it's the nighttime chirping of the crickets, the loneliness in the air that makes her feel like there's no one but the two of them for miles around. Or perhaps it is simply Gojou's presence that intoxicates her again as it did the first time, when she was a teenager dazzled by the wonder she thought he was. Instinctively Kasumi's ultra-navy eyes drift again down the bridge of his nose to the peach from which Satoru's lips are painted and she stops there without realizing it. She swallows, one hand clenched on her skirt and remains still as he moves a few inches closer to her.
A shiver runs through him when she touches him. Satoru keeps his eyes on her every subtle gesture, always waiting to find an opening to make his next move. So far none had seemed as tempting to him as this one, when he sees her eyes dart to his lips and senses inwardly that, for an instant, they are back to what they were.
He rests a hand on the old, neglected wooden bench and leans down carefully. Kasumi is no longer a frightened animal, but rather a fortress. But perhaps this is his chance to knock kindly on the door and be invited in.
Kasumi gently parts her lips, approaching him slowly and deliberately. Her heart reminds her that she is still the same even though circumstances have changed so drastically and begins its irremediable drumming. And if she had the ability to hear inside the nearest body, she would know that her heart beats to Satoru's rhythm.
An inch away from him, she feels a drop fall on her hand and this distraction causes her to lift her chin skyward. The interruption is enough to make her come to her senses and question what she was about to do. She turns to Gojou again and laughs, nervously tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Wow... it looks like it's going to rain... We should... uhmm..." she says, trying unsuccessfully to connect the words and stands up, adjusting her skirt. "We should go inside."
She can't look directly at him, even though his eyes are covered in black. She tucks her hair behind her ear once more and walks briskly away. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him get up and hastens her pace as much as her narrow skirt allows. Wishing she could turn off all the heat that begins to reach her ears.
In the middle of the way she takes off her heels and practically runs to her room, suffocated by the same feeling that visits her once again, the effect of Gojou Satoru. She pushes the door of her room and enters, but when she is about to close it she feels a force on the other side that does not allow her to do so. Satoru is there, breathing heavily with his lips half-open and she loses her strength, letting him in so that he ends up closing the door behind his back.
"W-what are you doing?"
"You were going to kiss me," he says in an almost accusing tone, "We were going to kiss... weren't we? I didn't imagine it, you were about to..."
"No... you're wrong... I didn't..." she answers, denying slightly.
Gojou walks, copying Miwa's retreating steps in a way that seems to envelop her until he ends up cornering her against a wall. He rests both hands against the wall, caging her between his arms.
"Don't keep lying to me... lying to yourself. I was there too," he whispers, moving dangerously close to her until the tip of his nose rests on hers. He feels the air rushing from her half-open lips soak into the skin of his chin.
All the reason that had entered her vanishes from her with every inch Gojou shortens. Kasumi makes a slight movement that in the tremendous closeness of their faces feels immense. Her small nose brushes against Satoru's, caressing him with her own skin and she feels unable to hold that lie. Her heart beats furiously and having him so close she feels again the innate scent of his skin, the scent of him. As delicate and intoxicating as she remembered.
"You don't have to say it..." he whispers, leaning his face down to lightly touch her lips to his, "just do it...".
Bewitched by his presence and the words he whispers, Kasumi joins her lips to his. She lets herself be kissed softly and tenderly until Satoru's hands cradle her face, sensing the need pulsing inside him. She closes her eyes and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him close enough so that not an inch is left to separate them. Turning her face with his, back and forth, cornered against the wall.
Satoru's large hands move down to her waist, their kisses becoming more passionate with each passing second and the feeling is mutual. He holds her against his body, squeezing her, paying special attention not to overdo it, aware that his superhuman strength could hurt her.
Kasumi's fragile hands caress his chin and back and at some point he feels her unbutton his uniform with the same desperation as he slides the zipper of her skirt down her back, sinking his long fingers into the fabric of her black pantyhose.
Embraced, unsatisfied with each other's lips, they wander towards the clean-sheeted bed that awaits them. They separate for a few seconds during which they unbutton each other's shirt, after Gojou's jacket fell to the floor along with Kasumi's dark skirt.
Before she knows it she's lying on the cool fabric of the bed, with Satoru impatiently kissing every stretch of her neck, tasting every space with his tongue until he reaches her earlobe and tugs it gently, as he feels Kasumi's nails digging into the bare skin of his back. Her white legs wrap around him and she sighs out her heated breaths, moaning softly after each increasingly obscene kiss that begins to reach the valley between her breasts.
Satoru is surprised that Kasumi is the one who hurries to take off her bra and expose her breasts for him, but he doesn't delay savoring one, then the other, paying special attention to her pink, swollen nipples. Then he gets up, kneeling on the bed and looks down at Kasumi's black stockings, feeling his erection growing second by second under his clothes. He grabs the edges and pulls as Kasumi lifts her ass off the bed. He throws the light fabric to the floor and sees Miwa's eager hands rising towards him and he throws himself back into her embrace, being caught by the legs of the girl who seems to be as anxious as he is about what is about to happen.
He kisses her, as impudently as he can, joining his tongue to hers, swallowing her moans as he pushes himself against her sex and settles back to let her feel how much he wants her. How much he's been dying all these years to find her again.
He subtly slides his right hand to the zipper of his pants and unbuttons it, trying to get rid of it without neglecting Kasumi's hungry lips.
The truth is that they had never kissed each other with such desperation, such hunger and desire repressed, for so long. Satoru is certain that this will be the best night of his life.
Once he manages to kick off his pants, he pulls off his stockings with his feet and urgently pulls out his erection watching mesmerized the way Kasumi lets go of his broad back to slide her underwear down her legs. Satoru gets back on his knees and grabs the fabric to help her remove it and ends up standing up to remove his own underwear.
He would like to stand there, to have a little more strength inside his body to be able to observe that image in more detail, dimly lit by the moonlight. But he can't do it, he completely lacks the will and slips back between her legs, pressing his naked, warm body against hers.
Kasumi presses her hips against his, sighing against his ear as he eagerly bites the skin of her neck, taking his erection in one hand to direct it to Kasumi's lower lips, assuming she's ready to receive him now. But he stops as if awakened and removes his blindfold with a single jerk.
"Condoms?" he asks in a whisper, fearing he has none.
"No, I'm on the pill," she replies and moves closer to kiss him passionately again.
Tonight couldn't get any better, Satoru thinks beginning to smile mischievously as he feels Kasumi's throbbing flesh with the tip of his erect cock, so hard and rigid that he fears he will cum too soon.
Satoru leaves her lips and hides his face on Kasumi's neck, sighs heavily as he feels the wetness of her sex and bites her again to stifle the moans that are about to come out of his throat.
"Do it..." she pleads against his ear and he pushes the tip, again and again.
"You're tight," he grins, thrusting quickly as Kasumi spreads her legs wider and wider for him.
He clutches the sheets tightly as he feels the flesh of Kasumi's sex receiving him gently, hearing the moans coming from her throat in rhythm with his thrusts. Kasumi's hands lost in his back, digging her nails in hard, moving her hips beneath him until finally her legs knotting into him clench tightly as Gojou enters fully inside her and Kasumi struggles not to moan.
Satoru holds on to both hands above her, not ceasing to thrust for a single instant, intent on getting a good look at the face of the woman he''s fucking. And as he does so he realizes that this is not a teenager discovering her sexuality, this is not the Kasumi he left in this world. This woman looks him straight in the eyes as she moans his name and sways beneath him accompanying his every move, and he discovers that he loves this Kasumi.
He bends down, kneeling and decides to take her legs by the inside of her knees and rams her harder as she seems to like it, everything about her face tells him she likes it, so flushed, lips half open, letting out of her mouth the most delicious sounds he had ever heard her make, almost shameless.
He almost cums when Kasumi brings a hand to her sex and stimulates her clitoris as he penetrates her, but he averts his gaze to the ceiling and continues as he hears the steady clapping between their wet bodies, gripping Kasumi's legs tightly until he hears her whisper the word God, and it turns him on to think she is referring to him.
Satoru bends over her again and cups her face with one hand, pressing her pink lips swollen from kissing, runs his thumb over her lower lip and gapes when she opens her mouth as if in invitation, surprised and excited to see her licking him like a lollipop. He stops his ramming and hides his face again, thrusting hard, though at a slower pace, hearing Miwa's gasps as he fucks her.
Suddenly, Kasumi begins to push him off and for a moment he fears that this is it, that she has woken up from the trance that brought her to even share the bed with him, but contrary to what he is thinking, she invites him to turn over on the mattress and straddles him.
Satoru marks his digits on Kasumi's pale thighs and closes his eyes, lifting his chin as she wiggles on his cock, masturbating him with the wet folds of her sex.
Kasumi feels Gojou's hard abs under her hands and holds onto his torso, moving her hips in circular motions until she feels she can no longer stand the desire to have him inside her again. She lifts herself slightly off Satoru's hips and takes him without a second thought, a moment he doesn't want to miss a single second of and looks up to watch the woman Kasumi has turned into. However, he closes his eyes again when she sits on him and again shakes her hips until they feel completely joined.
She asserts herself on his chest and rides him, making her breasts heave in such a way that they become Satoru's best temptation, but he feels unable to interrupt her work and simply contemplates and listens to Kasumi's delicious moans as she fills herself with him.
He brings his hands up to her ass and squeezes it against himself in rhythm with her, making her moans increase, filling himself with her juices, perfectly feeling the texture of Kasumi's skin against his for the first time.
Suddenly Satoru uses one hand to pull her to his chest and feels her sweat damp tits sticking against his neck. He grabs her ass with both hands and firms his feet on the mattress to thrust as hard as Kasumi's frail body will allow, stretching his tongue out to taste her tits, completely absorbed in the back and forth and tight feel of her pussy.
Shaken by Satoru's urgent thrusts, Kasumi clings to his face and he lifts his chin to kiss her again, trying to do both at the same time without losing concentration and ending up cumming prematurely.
"I love you..." he lets out without thinking, but ends up wondering if Kasumi heard him, because she hasn't answered anything.
He pushes her gently against the bed and watches Kasumi's tremendously embarrassed face as he gets up on his knees to take her by one leg and turn her over on the bed.
She keeps surprising him, as she has quickly gotten on all fours and bent at a shameless angle, waiting for him to grab her by the hips and fuck her again to exhaustion, looking at him over her shoulder, clinging tightly to the sheets.
Satoru firms up on one leg, planting one foot next to her and one knee behind her ass, grabs her ass cheeks and plays with his cock over Miwa's clit with the intention of watching her squirm on the bed, biting his lips after hearing the first moans until he begins to feel like he will die if he doesn't sink it inside her as fast as possible.
Miwa's hot, wet, throbbing sex welcomes him once again and he holds her tightly by the ass cheeks as he thrusts and gasps unable to control the burning sensation. It doesn't help him that Kasumi is pushing her ass hard against him, squeezing tighter and tighter inside her for him.
This is the first time in his life he feels so much desire to cum inside someone, beyond knowing that Kasumi is on the pill, he can't wait to fill her with himself. And almost on par with this desire is the desire to make her cum with him, simultaneously.
He grabs her waist and thrusts hard a few times until he ends up gasping, the sweat from his forehead pouring down her back to mingle with hers. With the last of his strength he flips her over and soon thrusts in, but not before trapping both her wrists in the palm of his hand to restrain her.
He swallows one of her nipples and tugs it with his teeth as he fucks her hard and presses the other with his free hand and then slides his digits gently down to her navel, filling her with shivers. He then deliberately travels south of her curvaceous figure and looks up so as not to miss a second of her congested face. It is when he touches the tip of her swollen clit that he watches Kasumi's eyebrows quiver and he smiles cynically to himself, feeling Kasumi's nubs beginning to struggle against her prison. He soaks his fingers in the wetness that slides all over Miwa's sex and draws small circles on her skin until he feels her legs tremble beneath him, fucking her faster and harder, jerking her under his body.
Kasumi struggles insistently as the movement of his fingers accelerates and suddenly, she opens her blue eyes and he senses it, Kasumi is about to cum and it seems too cruel to him to have her trapped in this instant. He releases her and holds on to her ass to thrust harder and Miwa's slender arms wrap around his back and digs her nails into him again as she moans breathlessly into his ear, her legs trembling. Satoru's muscles fully contracted, clenched, tendons visible under the white skin.
A hoarse moan escapes Satoru's mouth, Kasumi enjoys her orgasm, trapped beneath him, her hot wet skin beginning to lose its strength as she falls onto the bed with the stronger shaman on top of her and suddenly opens her eyes as Satoru moves in to kiss her softly and sweetly on the lips, so devotedly that it stuns her and she ends up kissing him as she strokes his soft white hair.
Notes: Sorry for the delay, this chapter took a lot of work to translate and I hope you can forgive the possible mistakes it has. I hope you liked it and thank you very much to those who take a few extra seconds to leave a comment, you really make me very happy, thank you very much!
