CH. 17 ' Keep your words to yourself' OR 'Tell me what you have to say?'

She looked up at him, mixed emotions were in her eyes. Sadness, anger, love? He decided to not put too much effort into trying to figure it out and instead just brace himself for whatever was coming. He didn't have to wait.

"How long have you been visiting and goading Satoru?" She asked

Ah, we're back to first names already- he's no longer Gojo now, huh? Sukuna thought to himself. To her, he gazed steadily into her eyes and asked "How did you find out?"

Rinami huffed and rolled her eyes "What happened to 'don't answer a question with a question'?"

When Sukuna didn't respond, she continued "You're the one that's helped me get better with harnessing my powers."

She looked him directly in his eyes "I used 'vision and hearing' and saw through your eyes and heard through your ears"

At this Sukuna actually did react. She did that? From so far away, and without him even noticing? When had she gotten that good? His feelings were fluctuating between being extremely proud of her, angry at the violation, and concern about how she would respond to what she had heard.

Again, deciding not to put the effort into figuring out any single emotion, he just stood and awaited her next words.

Rinami looked at him. "No words? I find that surprising". She looked away. "You had so many for Satoru…" 'Satoru' again Sukuna thought, a bitter taste rising in his mouth.

Out loud he said "What would you like me to say, Ami? Seems like you found it okay for you to step in and listen in for yourself. So why don't you tell me what you have to say?"

Ami's head snapped back to him and Sukuna could see her eyes were filled with tears. Oh no, not this again he thought. He wasn't well suited to deal with this type of emotion. It did something strange to him to see her like this and he didn't like the feeling.

He started to reach for her, his first intuition to deal with this was to push her down and just take her right there, quickly suppressing the sound of her crying with his mouth, and changing them to something more desirable. However, as he looked at her face and recounted her listening in on his earlier conversation with Gojo, he decided that course of action just might be a misstep on his part. Instead, he tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned back against the wall, eyeing her dispassionately as she stood still, mixed emotions flickering over her ashen face.

Finally, she raised her head to him, the look in her eyes entirely unreadable to Sukuna.

"Fine. Keep your words to yourself. I don't think I have any left for you anyways, but I'm not going to stay here stuck looking at you either."

Rinami turned and began walking towards the coat closet. "I'm out of here." Without looking back, she grabbed her jacket and threw it on. Stopping only briefly to pull on her knee boots, she stomped out the front door, slamming it behind her with as much force as she could muster. Sukuna made no move to stop her.

*8*8*8*

After leaving the penthouse, Rinami walked briskly through the streets of Tokyo. Shit. I left in such a hurry, I didn't bring my phone or purse or anything. I don't even have ID or money… Frustrated, she pulled her jacket tightly around her and pushed her skirt down as she walked. The wind stung her face and blew the tears from her eyes. She wasn't sure how long she walked, but the further she went the more her anger began to dissipate.

As she passed various landmarks in the city, she found that her mind couldn't help but be transported back to her time spent with Gojo. She had tried so hard, for so long, to not think about it and to put him out of her mind. But now it seemed that overhearing that conversation had stirred those thoughts of him back up again.

Before she realized it she found herself standing at a small overlook at the Tokyo Bay. This spot… This place where she stood flooded her with memories. Suddenly the years after she left Jujutsu high came rushing back. Her 2nd year had been harrowing, and her 3rd year so morose. The atmosphere at the school completely changed from what it had been previously. After Geto had left, Gojo had stopped helping to train her- he'd been called for more important things and she doubted he'd have had the interest in continuing anyways- so she was back on her own. The next year, she and Nanami had been the only 3rd years and she'd had to struggle to even hold on to him as she felt him distancing and drifting away from her. Without Haibara, and following on the heels of the horrid events of the prior year, getting through that final year had felt like a punishment to her.

Once they'd finally graduated, disillusioned with the school, Rinami had turned down a position there and instead accepted an offer to join the Elite Force- a covert, stealth division within the Jujutsu Society that worked behind the scenes and was responsible for tracking down hard to find high level curses and cursed items. In the force, they would locate them then either exorcise or secure them for return to the school. Unless they were special grade curses, in which case they would call in Gojo or one of the few other available special grade sorcerers to exorcise (In her experience it was nearly almost always Gojo).

She'd been offered the position because she'd had a knack for stealth missions and by the time she'd graduated from school, her control of cursed energy had reached an exceptional level. Being in the Elite Force also meant more independent missions, so there was less of a worry about any accidental mishaps with her technique and teamates.

As she thought about it, now that she knew more about how her powers actually worked she wondered if that had somehow contributed to her success on the force. She had always been phenomenal at blending in and hiding her presence. Going unnoticed and sneaking around was a piece of cake for her. Unless she was dealing with Gojo. He and Geto had been the only ones to ever locate her when she was intentionally trying to hide, and even Geto could only do it some of the time. Gojo, however, caught her every single time they practiced. It had been annoying. And apparently still hasn't changed. She thought to herself, recalling the convenience store catastrophe with a light shudder.

She closed her eyes against the breeze as the memories continued to pour through her. She'd liked the Elite Force. It was something that she was actually good at and it kept her busy and almost always traveling. This meant she didn't have to spend too much time alone in her apartment, with nothing but the ghosts of the past and bad school memories to keep her company. She'd hated being stuck there alone. Busy work meant she didn't have to think about those things. Although look at me now. Nearly 10 years later and aren't I pretty much back in the same situation I hated so much, and ran from back then? Alone in an empty apartment with nothing by my thoughts to keep me company.

She'd stayed with the force for 3 years after she'd graduated. She probably would have stayed longer except… Her hands trembled on the railing as she thought about it. Except… She'd made the decision to leave and finally accept a position at Jujutsu High. As much as she'd loved her work on the force, even now she couldn't really say she regretted that decision.

She looked again at the area around her. Had she subconsciously walked here on purpose? It was this exact spot here by the water… Sighing, Rinami lifted her head towards the clouds, the wind flinging her hair wildly around her, the tears blowing across her upturned face as she recalled that day nearly 7 years ago….