Summary: It was not like I had never seen someone as beautiful as him. But I did not why I could not take my eyes off him. A breeze flew, catching his hair and covering his eyes. He leaned away, trying to shake his head to get the strand of his hair to stop bothering him.
But the wind was strong, and I raised my own hand to pull his hair back. Somehow, it felt, that it was the first time he truly saw me.
"Oh, I think you are beautiful. I even think one smile from you can kill me. And no, not that smirk- you honestly look like a smug snake, I meant a genuine smile."
Gojo Satoru cocked his head to the side, a lopsided smirk on his face.
"A snake, huh? Does this mean I can wrap around-"
"Oh, for the love of god."
-x-
The only reason Sanvi found herself interested in the prospect of moving to Japan with her sister and brother-in-law was because of anime and to explore the beautiful country. But kismet is a fickle thing, and soon she finds herself crossing paths with monsters called curses, men and women calling themselves shamans, and one arrogant bully of a boy who stands above the rest.
It was the spring of 2006 when she first met the man whose appearance changed the entire trajectory of her life.
Dusting off the Sakura petals that had covered her pleated red skirt, Sanvi took a bite out of the rainbow-colored cotton candy. It was the beautiful season of spring in Tokyo, and as she observed the dancing cherry blossoms it became painfully clear just how far she was from home. Her cousin's house had a patio overlooking their gardens, with a beautiful cherry blossom tree right smack-dab in the middle.
Back home in their gardens, instead of the pink cherry blossoms, there were plants with the most beautiful white Mogra flowers. Just thinking about it makes her remember the elegant smell of the flowers as well as all those pleasant memories associated with it.
A silly grin made it to her face as she remembered how every morning she would collect the Mogra flowers for her mother as she made her way to the temple in her neighborhood. How during any festival she would collect them and bring them to her grandmother, who would make gajras for her, which she would braid into her long hair. The beautiful scent, the morning sun, and time spent with her mother and her grandmother, just thinking about the flowers is enough to trigger those memories.
Japan is a beautiful place, no doubt about it. And she definitely cherishes her experience here, since the experience of Tokyo can never compare to anywhere else in the world. Yet somehow, she found herself missing her actual home, her own country. It's funny, how she always dreamt of living somewhere else, and now when this wish has come true, she finds herself severely homesick.
A gentle breeze made its way through the gardens, delivering even more sakura flowers on her skirt. The night was beautiful, with a full moon on display with stars twinkling around it. Her cousin was out for dinner with her boyfriend, and Sanvi took this brilliant opportunity to do nothing.
But the opportunity went down the drain as suddenly a feeling of dread filled her stomach. A horrendous groan resonated through the gardens, and she froze in her place.
It was another one of them.
She could see those things since she could remember.
They have always been there, latching onto people, probably sucking souls out of them (if they are demons, that is). They were everywhere!
Schools, hospitals, parks, and a neighbor's swimming pool even (she is not kidding about that). Her elder brother assured her that she wasn't crazy and that he saw them too. He wasn't uncomfortable around the topic like her parents were, who humored the two of them constantly until it didn't affect their studies.
Her eyes scanned the surroundings, and she found her eyes drawn to a spot tucked deep away in the corner of the garden. The shadows rippled, and her heart stuttered as a thing made its way out of it.
And boy, was this one ugly.
And smelly.
She covered her nose in disgust as she watched the slimy thing look at her and made another high-pitched noise, a chittering sort of noise that resembled those of huge insects.
It had a body of a huge lizard, being fat and covered in some sort of disgusting grey slime. A huge tongue made its way out of its jaws that resembled that of an insect's, and it's only one eye was focused on her.
The creature's appearance was enough for that familiar scorching sensation to return in her veins, and she closed her hands in a tight fist before that weird energy thing could make its way out of her.
The last time it happened, she had almost burned her favorite Mogra plants down to ashes. Thankfully, her brother had saved the tree from his own energy, which took the form of a shield of sorts.
And she was sure her cousin wouldn't appreciate it if the same fate befell her sakura tree. Plus she still had her cotton candy in her hand, and she still hasn't tasted all the different colors yet (humor as a front for false bravado, how typical)!
She wasn't panicking, she thought as she adjusted her glasses.
To maintain outward appearance. If the thing saw her scared, it would embolden it.
But inside she was screaming. She could feel herself hyperventilating as the creature clicked its jaws and made another jittering noise as it came towards her.
It was going to eat her, wasn't it?
Most of the things she saw every day stayed away from her, or she them, for that matter. But those didn't overwhelm her with their presence like this thing was doing.
And this one's presence was just so negative. Everything bad you can imagine- sadness, frustration, despair, anxiousness, everything was suddenly suffocating her.
"Oh my god, you are so ugly," she muttered, her voice trembling as she took a few steps back slowly. Her own frustration made its way onto her face, as it was becoming harder and harder to control the fire that threatened to rise from her very own skin.
"Oya Oya?"
A rich voice (of course she would notice that first) reached her ears, and she squinted beyond the sakura tree to look at the huge man...no, boy, who had perched himself on the concrete boundary around the house.
The first thing she noticed was that he was tall, like more than 6' 0" tall.
He was crouched lazily, his head resting on his palm, face settled into a somewhat smug expression that seemed as if it had been there since the beginning of time.
Pitch-black sunglasses were perched on his nose, and Sanvi felt the red flags dancing around him. After all, who wears such dark sunglasses at night and prance around peeping into other people's property (and she repeats again, AT NIGHT)!?
"Excuse me?" she asked, feeling flabbergasted that some random dude popped up on the boundary and was probably going to see her get eaten.
His lips curled into an 'o' formation, his eyes landing on the cotton candy she still had clenched between her fingers. He used a finger to pull his glasses down a little bit. Sanvi couldn't help but shuffle nervously as his electric blue eyes locked onto her own plain brown ones.
A gentle breeze flew by, and she watched transfixed as Sakura petals ended up on his fluffy moon-white hair.
Her mind raced at the current situation. This slimy monster in her backyard, a strange, beautiful boy was perched on the boundary (looking extremely suspicious while doing so), and the flaming energy in her veins just won't calm down.
"Ehhhh, it's a pain watching you think so hard. Try not to, will you? My head hurts just looking at you." The white-haired one had the audacity to complain, shaking his head.
"Your voice is a pain to listen to, but you won't find me complaining, you creep." Sanvi scowled, trying hard to form a proper sentence in Japanese that would express her feelings.
She still was relatively new to the language after all, so it was pretty hard to talk fluently to a native speaker. While trying to string a comprehensible sentence (in her mind obviously), her nerves were set on fire as this boy had the audacity to tsk at her.
"Who the fuck even are you? And what the fuck are you doing there!?" She said in a biting voice, continuing to back up from both him and the demon.
She had no idea what the hell was going on, or what her next move should be in this situation. Should she run away from the demon first, or deal with this nosy (possibly a dangerous serial killer) boy?
"Oh, just your friendly neighborhood shaman! And I can stand wherever I want! But of course, if you'd rather have me inside, then I think I can manage that." He said with a shit-eating grin (the bitch knows exactly what he is saying).
Sanvi rolled her eyes, letting out another yelp as the creature chittered and swung on his feet.
"Motherfu-well, if those eyes of yours can't see, then let me tell you I am in the fucking middle of something."
To be honest, she didn't want him to go. When there is a monster in front of you, the presence of someone else is much better than being alone, even if it is selfish. But she knew he had to leave. Because even if he somehow survives the curse, he would definitely not survive the fire that was threatening to burst out from her.
The white-haired boy tilted his head, before sticking his tongue out at her like a little child.
"Phlegh, my eyes can see everything. And if I were you, I would stand still. Moving quickly will only make the curse come at you faster."
"The what? Can-you can see it!?"
Before her question could be answered, she found herself stumbling on a loose stone. The creature suddenly came at her at top speed, and the only thing she knew next was that she was screaming as she tried to make her way into the house.
And that's when things went down.
Her heart almost gave up on her when in the blink of an eye the boy sneaked up on her.
A scream almost got caught in her throat, and she turned and flew straight back into the house.
At least she tried to.
She had almost crossed the threshold of the house when she slipped on the floor. Screaming, she thrashed around as the boy wrapped an arm around her waist. He heaved her up, clicking his tongue when he felt her struggle.
The next thing she knew she was whirled around, and another hand came under her knees before she was pulled up into his arms. Her hands came up to his chest, trying to push herself away from him.
"Don't bother, brat. You are way too weak to get away from me."
His face was lit up with mischief, and she tried to open her mouth to say something but only ended up screaming. She closed her eyes and started blindly slapping her hands in his direction.
A yelp escaped him as one connected with his face.
"Hey!"
She continued attacking him but winced when her hand connected with something solid. Her eyes opened on reflex. She watched as the glasses on his eyes flew off and landed on the ground.
He grunted.
"That is enough outta you brat."
It was so quick, the way he adjusted her to hold her to him with one hand only, his other hand coming up and snatching both of her wrists in a tight, punishing grip.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw her wrists bounded together by him. His other hand, which was holding her waist was still there, but he continued to hold her to his chest by gripping her thighs tightly.
She almost raised an eyebrow. The creep has long arms.
The boy raised his hand towards the monster, and without even taking his eyes off from her, flicked his hand.
Sanvi gasped. The curse that was running towards them stumbled. Purple fluid spread around and she realized its legs (that looked like a centipede's) were sliced off.
Confusion was piling up in her brain, and as her Internet Explorer brain worked hard to take a grasp of the situation, her control slipped. Spectacularly. In almost a tenth of a second.
Flames erupted from the skin of her arms, spreading all around her, consuming whatever came their way. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling dread and confusion settling in. Her breath stuttered, trying to regain whatever control she could. The only way to save that boy would be to calm down, and watching him burn will just push her into hysteria.
In a panic, she looked up to meet his eyes and her breath almost hitched in her throat.
Her eyes met bright and shimmering, blue ones, and she noted how the light of the flames around her was reflected from his eyes, and how they made his snow-white hair shine.
It was absolutely breathtaking.
She took a deep, stuttering breath as the flames appeared blue in his eyes. She tilted her own head gently as she continued to stare into his eyes, forgetting the demon in the backyard and the fire she had spread.
A bellowing shout from the demon made her realize it was much nearer to her than before, and her eyes opened in panic, trying to look at the boy holding her. He was looking at her like Christmas had come early, and she looked at him with her mouth wide open.
Because everywhere around her, flames burned bright. But they could not even come near the boy with the snowy hair.
In the periphery of her vision, all she could see was the bright red flames, which were licking at the demon's skin, and the thing did seem to be in pain.
In the moment's confusion, she failed to notice that there was not even a peep from the strange boy.
"Ohoohoo~! Now, what is this? Can't wait to tell Suguru! He has no idea what he is missing!"
And suddenly she found herself in the air, in the arms of the strange boy, her face resting against his black school jacket. The wind whistled around them, and her hands found themselves wounding around him. The flames that once covered her skin were nowhere to be seen. Though her stomach dropped as she saw the situation on the ground.
The entire backyard was on fire, along with the cherry tree.
"You know, attacking your knight in shining armor is rude. Not half bad though. Say, nobody is inside that house right?"
As she muttered a 'no', it occurred somewhere in her mind that she was supposed to be offended, scared, terrified- just anything.
But her mind was still reeling from the fact that this creepy dude in the sunglasses was literally levitating in the air, with her in his arms, and that she had set her cousin's backyard on fire. Never mind the fact that somehow, her fire could not harm him.
The demon below howled, and his pointy hands were speeding toward them, covered with that dirty slime.
A scoff made its way out of his lips, and she felt his breath tickle her hair.
"For goodness' sake."
The sight below her made her stomach curl, as the demon was instantaneously crushed to smithereens by what seemed like an invisible force. It was a disgusting sight, with what seemed like purple blood spreading across the patio and the sakura tree.
Though slowly she noticed it disappearing, as it had never even been there in the first place. She winced, their faces lit with flames dancing below them.
"Whoops?" the boy spoke in a silly manner as if someone's home wasn't just destroying itself in front of them.
"Mmmphhh! Oh my god, look at your face!" He said as if he was trying to stop himself from laughing.
She couldn't help the way her mouth fell open. Seeing her incredulous expression, whatever reservations he had about laughing at her face evaporated, and peals of laughter escaped him.
Sanvi took a deep breath, as she took her gaze away from this batshit crazy man and focused on the flames below them.
She was attacked by a demon, then accidentally sent the backyard on fire (and the cherry blossom tree too, she noted with disdain), and this boy was laughing.
"Are you a psychopath, socially inept, or just purely insane? Or all three of them for that matter? My house is on fucking fire, you sicko." she said, eyes wide and words trembling. She struggled but managed to free her wrists from his hand.
Looking down below, she almost felt sick and quickly gripped his jacket hard.
"Ahhh, I'd say crazy perhaps? Definitely not socially inept. As for my charm, that you'll see for yourself. You should be grateful though, since you aren't burning down there with the house."
As if anything can burn her.
A shaky breath left her, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw that the boy was looking at her.
"Now, let's go down, shall we?" He hummed, eyes focusing on somewhere ahead of her. Before she could follow his gaze in that direction, she felt the wind messing her hair and burning her eyes. The air was almost knocked out of her as she felt a sudden pressure on her lungs and her entire body.
Lungs heaving, she opened her eyes and looked around her wildly. They were on the ground, two lanes away from her cousin's house. From there she could see a black shield of sorts above their house. Her eyes narrowed in confusion and her hand reached up to adjust her glasses.
Confused, she turned towards the boy to wrangle the answers out of him.
But again, she was caught up in his eyes.
Oh god, his eyes.
His gaze was inquisitive, and he hummed as he leaned down into her face to look at her. She pulled herself back on reflex, though there was no place left to turn. Instead, she found herself pressed against his shoulder.
This has to be another sort of torture. The silvery light of the full moon made his snowy hair shine a pearly white, his blue eyes positively glittering. The silver of the moonlight made his eyes a shining mix of blue and silver.
Even if she tried, she could not physically take her eyes away from his. So blue, so shiny and so, so beautiful.
He frowned childishly, before just pulling his arms and, in turn, her, closer. She leaned her neck away, feeling the embers rising from her skin as he seemed to investigate her.
It was not like she had never seen someone as beautiful as him. But she did not why she could not take her eyes off him.
A breeze flew, catching his hair and covering his eyes. He leaned away, trying to shake his head to get the strand of his hair to stop bothering him.
But the wind was strong, and mesmerized, she raised her own hand to pull his hair back.
Something in his eyes, in the way he looked at her, changed. Somehow, it felt, that it was the first time he truly saw her.
Her eyes fell on the Sakura petals still caught up in his messy hair and decided to end this staring contest with another distraction. Raising a hand slightly, she reached for the petal. Her eyes didn't miss how his eyes darted towards her hand, his grip tightening on her.
It felt like a warning in itself, as his guarded eyes looked at her closely as if watching for any signs of malice.
He was hella intimidating, after all, he did just crush a demon without even touching it, and oh, let's not forget, he can apparently fucking fly like he's Howl the Magician. With a trembling hand, she gently pulled the Sakura petals from his hair, being careful not to tangle it, just in case he dropped her.
"Just a cherry blossom." She says quietly, finally breaking eye contact. He is way too creepy and intimidating and beautiful.
Years from now on, she would think that the moment was a pretty romantic one. Or at least as romantic as it could be, given the circumstances.
Perhaps one day she'll tell her children or grandchildren how she was saved from a demon by a tall, beautiful man.
But the said man ruined it with his next words.
"Yeah, yeah, now let's get you down, shall we? You are way too heavy."
Sanvi scowled, all previous gentleness forgotten.
Gojo Satoru gave an impish grin, his daily quota of being a menace fulfilled.