They say that the secret to a successful relationship is trusting your partner and clear communication. It's not that Satoru doesn't trust Kagome, and he thinks that their communication has been pretty direct. And yet, she completely ran past him and didn't even stop to see if he was able to follow her.
It's fine–really, everything is a-okay. He's not worried or anything. And it's not as if there's anyone around to call him out on his lie.
He pokes and prods at the veil. Whoever did this clearly knew that they needed to move fast. The appearance is sloppy, but he has to give them props for creating one that was made to keep him out. He would do the same if he was plotting against someone nearly as strong as he. Gojo leans back, rocks on the balls of his soles. There's a weak point somewhere and the longer he takes to find it, the longer his students and Gome-chan are in danger.
Drip.
Drip.
He snaps into action and rushes towards the sound. With everyone pretty much behind the veil, it must be a student or Gome-chan coming through. He might have some choice words if either Utahime or Gakuganji come out before any of the students. His hands work to untie the blindfold as his six eyes dare not blink at the sight. "G-gome-chan?" he calls out, the words scratch the back of his throat.
"Don't touch me!" She jerks back, her hand pressed against her abdomen. The blood seeps through the blouse and stains her hand. Gojo takes a step forward, one foot after the other, with his arms outstretched.
She's not thinking straight with all the blood loss. That has to be the only reason why she would ever reject him.
"We need to get you to Shoko." He tries again, but Kagome skirts around him–keeping him at a distance. He grips his hair and tugs. The slight pain is nothing compared to the way his chest constricts. He lets his hair go and digs his nails into his palms. Kagome's skin is so pale, and there are bags under her eyes. She sinks down to her knees, panting as though each breath takes all of her strength to muster. And he wants–needs–to get her to Shoko, because he can't lose another person, and in his mind, he knows he needs to calm down. He really needs to stay level-headed, no matter how much he wants to lash out and release some of the pent-up pain. Love is the most twisted curse of all, and the last thing they need is for him to manifest one.
"It's all your fault," she whispers, her eyes not quite looking at him. Her eyes hazed over, her mouth is slightly parted, and she just looks as though she's just staring at death and not seeing him anymore. "I was safe back at home. No curses, no more demons." She places another hand on top of her bloody one. "You did this to me."
Drip.
Drip.
Each droplet of blood that falls is like a blow to the face. He squats down and grips the sides of her face. His shoulders sag in relief that she isn't jerking back or screaming at him. He can take every emotional jab, he can weather through the accusations so long as she lives. She isn't lying, though. None of this would have happened if he hadn't been so selfish and actually helped her find a way back home. His arms shake. Kagome is so cold under his fingertips and they need to move.
"Just leave me."
"You know, I'm not going to do that." He lifts her, the metallic smell hits him more sharply. "Shoko will have you all fixed in no time."
"I just wanted to get back to InuYasha." She sags against him and suddenly it feels as though Gojo is carrying a boulder.
"Who are you?" Gojo tightens his grip, doesn't flinch when she gives him a pained expression. Even though this thing is wearing her face, the words that spew out of its mouth are not Kagome. Blood loss or not, she wouldn't throw what he's assuming to be an ex in his face. Not with how dedicated he's been, and not with how much affection she's showered him with.
"You're scaring me," she replies. Her eyes mist over, but nothing falls from them. Nor does the wound in her abdomen seem to give her any more trouble.
"So be it." There's no telling how much time he has wasted, agonizing over how to convince her to get medical help. His Kagome is still behind the veil–fighting, and he's here wasting time on some thing that thinks fucking with him was the best course of action.
"Wait, I can help you! I can help you keep her here."
Gojo closes his eyes as he sets the fake down. "You're really going to keep up the charade?"
"She's going to go back to him. You know if the opportunity arises, then she'd go back to where she belongs. I can help you prevent that." The fake holds its arms out as though pleading will help its cause. The once steady drip of blood is gone, and Gojo is slightly annoyed at how easily he was deceived.
He sighs, spikes a hand through his hair as laughter bubbles past his throat and he's full-on laughing at how wonderful it's going to be to end this thing. The fake takes a step back, as Gojo stops laughing and lowers his hand from his hair. He holds out a finger in front of him. "Cursed Technique Reversal: Red." It's over in a second as the red blast encompasses the fake Kagome and leaves nothing but a wooden figure behind. He picks it up, but it crumbles away in his hand, blowing away with the breeze.
A puppet? With all these shapeshifters around–maybe they need to come up with a safe word or code. He rolls his shoulders and takes flight. He's not gonna find the weak spot on foot. Nah, whoever did this wanted to make things difficult and prevent anyone from inside the veil from dispersing it. The gray veil shows none of its secrets except for how vast it is. Taking up the entire forest, this had to be an inside job. A pink light shines like a beacon in the thick haze. His heart leaps as he flexes his hands. That's his girl.
The first thing he notices is that there are a couple of scratches on her legs, but otherwise, she appears to be relatively unharmed. Todo and Yuji are with her, and there are carcasses of some giant insects–slightly disgusting, but whatever, littered across the ground. There's that freaky tree curse again. Kagome waves up at him and then gives him a thumbs up.
She really can hold her own. And Yuji's energy is much higher than before. So, his priority should be elsewhere. He teleports to where Gakuganji is–the old man seems to be struggling against his opponent. "You," he says, pointing at the bald man with raccoon eyes. The man runs at him with a butcher knife.
"Don't kill him!" Gakuganji screams out, as Gojo lets out a burst of raw cursed energy. The blast shreds the butcher's limbs as the man whines pathetically.
"Well, go on, treat him. You don't want him to die, right?" He turns his back to Gakuganji. There's another emergence of energy where Kagome and Yuji are. It's different, but that matters little to him. He'll take it and that cursed plant out–and show off just a smidge. "Hollow Purple." The purple void blast rips through the forest. Lightening and dust from the destruction follow its path. He puts his blindfold back on and gives Gakuganji a wide smile and a thumbs up.
He teleports to Kagome's side, memorizing the slack-jawed expression on her face at the destruction. "Yo!" he says, pulling her to his side.
"T-that was you?" she asks.
"Ah! Gojo-sensei, that was so cool!"
Gojo waves a hand in the air. "Eh, that was nothin." He leans down, breathing in the smell of Kagome and whispering in her ear, "As soon as we get home, I'm bending you over my knee." Her breath hitches as her face flushes pink.
Oh. He flicks his gaze at her lips and then back up to her eyes. There's a smudge of dirt on her cheek and a thin layer of sweat from battle.
"They always do this," Yuji complains loudly to Todo. "You just get used to it."
Gojo holds back his remark and ushers them back to the school. He briefly wonders if he and Gome-chan could take a detour somewhere.
A/N: Ahhhh, sorry! Things were a little hectic last week. I actually started transitioning into my new position today, so the next update will be on the 28th. I hope you guys have a wonderful week and thank you for all of your support :)