This estate is suffocating.

Too many people watching his every move, tripping over themselves to serve him, and far too many undeserving eyes vying for his attention.

He needs to get out of here and take a breather.

Satoru grits his teeth as he leans back in the chair. The woman, whose name he cannot be bothered to remember, bows so low to the ground, she may as well be a foot rest. Her white hair pools on the ground in front of her like a curtain.

"No," he says after a beat, resting his chin on the back of his hand. This chair feels new. Someone must have fetched him another one after he complained about the quality of the last one.

The woman trembles. "But master, you have to—"

"You do not tell me what I have to do." Satoru clucks his tongue. This is boring. Pointless. What gives her the right to command him? He rises from his seat. "I'm going out. Prepare my clothes." Is it so much trouble for him to be alone?

Apparently so.

"But master! You mustn't go outside these walls." She meets his eyes and immediately drops her head back to the ground. "Forgive me for raising my voice."

He stares down at her. She's been around him since he was a baby. Does she deserve his mercy? Her trembling and apologies are bothersome. Her words bring him no joy. Her fear is beneath him.

It's pathetic.

"Prepare my clothes." He steps over her and heads to the bath. Her worries are unfounded. He is a god amongst mortals. The bounty on his head is meaningless. No one can touch him. No one is on his level. There is no one greater than him. No one that can hold his attention.

It's all so suffocating.

The streets of Tokyo are as busy as ever. Satoru stuffs his hands into the pocket of his blue hoodie. At least the city is not nearly as suffocating as the estate. His guards and attendants know better than to follow him, not unless they want a repeat of last time. He allows his feet to carry him to the stall selling dango.

Looks appealing. He's never had it before, but he's seen others around the estate enjoying it.

"Can't believe you're out here alone, kid." A man says to his side. Satoru barely blinks an eye at him and instead fishes out the yen to cover the cost of his dango. "Oi! I'm talking to ya!" The man bends at the waist and attempts to crowd his space.

It's common knowledge that he has the six eyes and limitless. Why do these weaklings keep testing him?

Satoru scoffs. "You can wait until I'm done." He takes a bite of the dango and hums. No wonder there was never any left when he would catch wind of it. These are good. He'll have to instruct his maid to ensure there is plenty left for him next time. Satoru walks towards an alley, away from prying eyes. These curse users may not care about making a scene, but as future clan leader, he cannot be so reckless.

Well, he could, but that's not the type of leader he wants to be.

If his guards were here, they would be shaking with fear at the thought of him getting hurt. They would be babbling on about how they would do their best to protect him even though they know, and he knows, that no one can hurt him.

"Come on now," he says with a sigh. "I haven't got all day."

The man with his curved black mustache and bald head turns as red as blood. "Heh, cocky bastard," the man says. "Just wait until I cut that head off ya shoulders real clean. I'll be set for life." The man pulls out a blade, readying for an attack, when his eyes roll back and he falls face down. The blade clatters to the ground next to him.

What the hell?

An unassuming rock falls to the ground next to the man.

"Are you okay?" A girl with the brownest eyes asks him. Her brown skirt goes a little past her knees and the plain boring shoes aren't doing her any favors either. Must be a school uniform. Yeah, the backpack isn't helping her out either.

The girl grimaces as she steps around the fallen curse user and grabs his hand. Her warmth seeps into his palm.

Satoru jerks back.

How is she touching him? Why can't he see her cursed energy? And how the heck did she knock that curse user out with a rock?

"I'm sorry!" she waves her hands in front of her. "But we have to get out of here before he wakes up." She grabs his hand again and pulls him with her. Her pace is so slow. How far does she think they can run when she is barely moving faster than a snail?

"You're too slow," he says, pulling his hand back. Why is everyone so weak? Everyone says his birth was a blessing, but this existence feels like a curse. Everyone around him is mundane. Pathetic. And this girl is the worst offender.

How dare she touch him.

How dare she drag him along as if he needs saving.

"If you're so worried about the man, I can go back and finish him off."

"Finish him off?" her voice rises. "You can't kill people, that's awful." She plants her hands on her hips and glowers at him.

He blinks. Why isn't she backing down? Cowering by his feet for her insolence. Does she not know who she is dealing with?

"How did you knock him out? You're weak."

Her face goes bright red. He can see the steam rising from her head as her balled fists shake at her sides. "What is wrong with you? I just saved your life, and this is the thanks I get? You're such a brat!"

"Brat?" He scoffs. "So, it was luck then."

The girl groans and throws her hands up. "Ugh! kids these days. Fine. If you don't want me to save you, I won't." She sticks her tongue out, looking very much like a kid herself.

Satoru rolls his eyes. A spark of curse energy to his left catches his attention. He withholds the sigh. When will these curse users ever learn?

"You damn brats!" The man yells, running towards them.

"Told you you run too slow," Satoru says, rolling his shoulders back. He should have taken care of this man earlier and left the girl behind.

"Watch out!" she yells, jumping in front of him. She puts her hands up and a flash of pink blossoms between his eyes.

It's warm.

Warm, like the hugs he used to receive from his mother before she was kicked out of the clan.

His lungs expand and it is as though the air quality is magically better. Purer. When the light fades, the first thing he sees is the cursed user on his knees, staring at his hands in anguish. The sword lies on the ground.

Useless.

It isn't even a cursed weapon anymore.

Satoru frowns and moves around the girl. He can't believe what his six eyes are telling him. Where did that man's cursed energy go? It's as though it just vanished.

"We need to go now and find a police officer." The girl tugs on his hoodie and Satoru looks at her with new eyes.

"Who are you?" What are you?

"Higurashi Kagome, but we don't have time for that. We need to go now." She tugs on his hoodie again and this time, he takes her hand.

"Gojo Satoru. Remember it."

She glances back at him, probably to make sure the curse user isn't following them, and he's dumbfounded at how her plain, brown eyes can convey so many emotions.

"The shrine isn't too far from here," she says with a huff. Her short legs can only run so fast. If he were nicer, he'd offer to run them to this shrine, but Satoru is not nice, and she could be leading him into a trap. "Don't worry, mama will know what to do."

Is her mother strange like her?

He keeps his thoughts under wraps until they make it to the shrine. An older woman with short hair takes one look at them and sweeps Kagome into her arms. The woman tries to do the same to him, but unlike her daughter, she can't get around his infinity.

Good to know his infinity is still working properly.

"It's out of season, but why don't I fix you both a cup of hot chocolate? And then you can tell me what's going on."

"With marshmallows and extra whipped cream for Satoru," Kagome says, pulling away from her mother and flashing him a small smile.

His heart thumps like a rabbit warning an enemy to stay back.

Higurashi Kagome could be trouble. If his guards were here, they would have searched every inch of this shrine. If his attendant were here, she'd kneel over dead at Kagome's blatant disregard for honorifics.

Yeah, Kagome could be trouble, but even if she is, it's fine.

Every god needs a shrine maiden of their own.

A/N: You don't see this...you see me working on the next chapter of A Thousand Days With You. Side note, it's national writing month, so I think I'm gonna write a fantasy novel. Makes no sense I don't have my own OP, white-haired, MC. Stay safe and warm. Get lots of rest and listen to your body when it tells you to sit down and chill out lol.