CH. 25 'That took longer than expected' OR 'Will you get in my way or will you stand with me?'

"Rin, come with me, please. You need to see this." He held out his hand and as much as Rinami wanted to resist, the plea in his eyes made her feel like she had no choice. She placed her hand in his and was teleported with him to ground zero for one of the Shibuya attacks. Once they arrived, she wordlessly allowed Gojo to pull her along with him through the desolate remains of the charred city.

It should have been more difficult to see in the dead of night, but the moon was full and bright, and any obstructions- man-made or natural- that could have blocked the moonlight had been razed to the ground in the destruction. It left the area and its gruesome scene eerily well-lit by the night sky.

"This is what he does Rin…. Without regard for anything or anyone around him." Grasping her around the waist and pressing her tightly against him, Gojo pulled her up into the air with him so that she she could witness the devastation in full, from the optimal vantage point. She immediately wished he hadn't. What she saw was enough to make her physically sick. It wasn't just the destruction of the buildings and the city, but the broken remains of the lives of the people who once inhabited them. So much promise ruined… Making it so much worse, were the actual remains. Bits and pieces and lumps of human remains, some of them still smoldering, the stench of burning flesh wafting in the air, filling her nose and staining her senses. She turned her face into Gojo's shoulder and tried to suppress her urge to retch.

It wasn't lost on her- her part in all of this. Sure, she hadn't caused the damage, but wasn't she just as responsible as a result of her inaction? If Sukuna had been stopped long ago, might the owner of that twisted and melted bicycle still be alive and happy, perhaps somewhere off riding it later today? Or the family who once occupied the small home that used to stand where the smoking pile of cinders and ash now lay- would they have just hours ago been serving dinner and talking over their day?

She couldn't deny that the fault in this lay squarely on her, almost as much as if she had thrown the flames and attacks that had levied the destruction, herself. She'd seen enough. Her face still buried in his shoulder, her voice was muffled but clear enough. "Take me down Satoru. I don't want to see anymore."

Gojo set her back down on the ground and said nothing while she stood and took a moment to come to terms with what she had seen and the impact of it all.

"Rin, come back with me to the school. We could really use your help right now."

Rinami looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with both sorrow and incredulity.

"Are you kidding? There's no way I could do that. They would never accept me. I could never accept me. I can't ever show my face there again, it's just not possible." She cast her eyes to the ground. It was something she'd come to terms with a while ago.

Gojo reached out and touched her shoulder. "That's not true. You'd be surprised. I mean, you weren't responsible for the attacks. I know that. I'd know your cursed energy anywhere and it's been nowhere around any of these attacks. Did you help him plan them or something?"

Her eyes looked up and met his, squinting in confusion. "What? No! You know I would never-"

"Okay then. If you didn't launch the attacks and you didn't assist in planning them, then you weren't involved. There's no fault of yours in this"

Her mouth dropped slightly. "You can't be serious? No one would go for that. Of course there is. I was WITH him. Not only did I know where he was and not do anything at all to stop him, I actually stayed there with him, I basically helped keep him hidden! I'm the very definition of an accomplice. I don't know how our definitions can vary so drastically, but you know this just as well as I do - There is no going back for me."

Gojo gave her a wry grin. "You forget who you're talking to. Even if the elders didn't agree, who is there that can go against me? If I stand with you, in support of your return, no one can come for you without going against me and there's no one who has either the balls or the ability for that."

Rinami closed her eyes and rubbed her hand against her head. "Satoru, you've got to quit that. It's so incredibly dangerous and you don't even see it…"

"What? I'll have you know I'm a highly respected Jujitsu sorcerer-"

"You're what? Be serious. Besides, acknowledged is NOT the same as respected. And if you keep pushing the envelope and trying to use your abilities to force your positions on them, you're at serious risk of having them turn on you." She put a hand on his collar and tugged it. "You've got to be careful. I'm serious. And you absolutely can't make things worse for yourself by backing me. That's a sure-fire way to jump start your own downfall, trust me."

Rinami stepped back and dropped her hand. "Besides you forget the very worst part." She chewed on her bottom lip and eyed him thoughtfully for a moment, before blinking and turning away. "It's that despite it all, I'm still stuck with these feelings for him." She looked around at the destruction surrounding her as she spoke quietly to herself "If only I could burn those just as easily as all of this. Wouldn't that be something? What I wouldn't give to swap the two…."

Speaking directly to Gojo she said. "I need time. I appreciate what you've shown me. I think I needed to see it- I've mostly been avoiding the realities for awhile now. I also want to help, I just don't know if I can, or at least if I can in the way that you'd need me to."

She took a deep quivering breath and met his eyes. "I know he has to be stopped. Believe me, I've already come to terms with that, and I get it, I really do."

Gojo looked at her steadily. "I hate to tell you Rin, but you're out of time. I asked you before if you'd be okay with it if I killed him. I'm not asking this time – I'm telling you. He is going to die. I'm going to kill him. However, I am asking directly this time – where do you stand? Are you going to hold it against me? Will you get in my way, or will you stand with me? I actually need to know."

She turned from him, scared to meet his eyes. She'd told herself before that if it came to this point – to having to choose between the two of them- she already knew the choice that she'd make - did that still hold true? She was standing here in the midst of this aftermath, looking around and feeling the way she did, so would she hold steadfast in that decision?

She closed her eyes and tried to shut out everything else, even the sickness and repulsion that she felt standing in this living graveyard. Love had always been this complicated, hadn't it? She'd followed it this far and she'd trusted her heart to this point. She was already damned no matter what, so why change course now? She'd continue to follow what her heart told her and where it led her. It was too late to decide she was someone different now, and her heart told her that this situation definitely didn't change the decision she'd come to or the way she felt. Her prior choice still held steady in her mind and heart. With firm resolve she turned to Gojo.

"I love him. I can't condone what he's done here, so I won't interfere with anything you have to do, but I can't abandon him either. If you're asking me to help kill him – I won't. Ever. I'm sorry, it's just not possible.

Gojo's expression fell, and his head dropped. "I'm sorry to hear that Rin, I really am."

Before she knew what had happened, he had appeared behind her and grabbed her arms.

"Rinami Senju, by order of the Jujutsu council, you are hereby taken into custody for crimes against the jujutsu society and humanity. These crimes include treason against the council for your support and assistance of Ryomen Sukuna in his attacks on Shibuya and the murders of nearly 1000 non-sorcerers. By order of the council, the penalty for your crimes has been determined as execution."

Rinami attempted to twist around and face Gojo, but he held her firmly. "I thought you just said-"

His voice was monotone and she couldn't read anything in it, or from his feelings. She could only feel that he had some anxiety and unhappiness. "That was if I could get you to come back with me and agree to switch sides. If you did, I could get them to drop these ridiculous charges. If you won't, then there's not much that I can do. If I don't bring you in, someone else will- or at least will attempt to and I'd rather not have that. If it has to be done then I'll do it myself."

She nodded. Fine then. She always felt like there would be a punishment to pay for the choice that she'd made, and truth be told she believed that there should be one. If this was it, that was fine. She'd go without a fuss. Hopefully the execution would be swift and more or less painless.

"I understand." She allowed Gojo to bind her arms and made no attempt to fight or struggle.

As he finished, he grabbed her arm, and then looked up, seemingly in a daze.

"That took longer than I expected."

Confused, Rinami looked at him. She hadn't put up a fight, so she didn't know what he could possibly mean?

"Hmm. I see. So she's bait then? Gotta say, I'm kind of surprised you'd sink that low Satoru Gojo. You must really be desperate. Even so, I'll have you take your hands off of her."

Rinami's body froze solid. That voice- the threat within it… Stiffly, she turned her head towards the direction and her heart stopped as her eye found him. Sukuna.

As the realization set in, so did her fury. She spun around to face Gojo, and this time he gave her no resistance.

"Wait- you used me? To get him here?"

He at least had the decency to look mildly ashamed.

"I had to, I'm sorry Rin. It was the surest bet instead of sitting around and waiting for the next time that disaster struck. " He looked her in the eyes. "I honestly didn't want to, but this felt like the best way to prevent more deaths. I really hope you'll be able to forgive me one day."

She frowned. Did he just use her own words back on her? Shaking her head, she tried to take in the gravity of the situation. This was intended to be the final showdown. The plan here wasn't to take him into custody- Gojo had lured Sukuna here by using her, with the full intent to kill him. It would be a dangerous battle. She glanced around nervously. She understood why he had chosen here and now as well. The area was already destroyed they couldn't hurt it much more and there were no people left to get caught in the crossfire or become collateral damage.

"Don't. Satoru, please don't. I don't want this." She knew as soon as the words came out that they would fall on deaf ears. He had no intention of stopping now, not even for her. He had gone this far because he intended to end it all here no matter what.

She looked over at Sukuna. His face was angry, but her guess was that it had more to do with Gojo's hands still on her arms than it did with being summoned here in this way for this purpose. Whatever plans he'd been laying were surely almost complete and she was certain that getting rid of Gojo had been part of them all along.

It might be earlier than he had expected but this fight probably just helped Sukuna's plans along as well.

"Keep to the side and stay out of this Rin, okay?" Gojo's word's were soft, but his expression was hard and he didn't take his eyes off of Sukuna as he spoke. Gently he took a hand and moved Rinami off to the side.

Panicking, her eyes darted between the two of them. "Wait! Untie, me please!"

He looked briefly over at her- "I would, but I'm not sure that's a great idea. Just keep out of the way until this is over." He gave her a sympathetic look. "I don't mean to hurt you, but you know as well as I do, that this can't continue. I have to end it."

She looked away. She didn't want to have to reconcile between her feelings and the truth. Slowly she backed away and watched the fight between the two of them unfold.

**8**

"Watched" might have been a bit of a misnomer. Rinami could barely see anything. They moved so fast that she couldn't even pretend to keep up. Things fell and crashed and blew up. She could see those. But the people causing them? No, not so much. The battle was a blur, but their movements were so quick that she didn't even see the blur, just the resulting damage.

She stayed off to the side trying to follow along, and working her way steadily out of the bindings holding her arms. Working her cursed energy into releasing herself as fire and debris rained down around her. She wasn't worried about that, dodging or using her energy to deflect it was simple enough, but she found herself infinitely frustrated that she couldn't follow the fight. Especially not enough to know what was going on. Was one of them hurt? How was it going? Was it coming to a close?

She was doing her very best to keep out of it and not use her own technique, but she badly wanted to interfere and force them to slow down or better yet, stop altogether. She could if she wanted. Neither of them had done anything to prohibit her from using her technique. But still, even if she didn't want to go along with it, this fight seemed inevitable and if it was going to happen, this was the safest environment. There was no chance of any innocent casualties. She would hold back and not interject herself into it. It just wasn't her fight….yet.

She'd stayed out so far, but she wasn't kidding herself that it would stay that way. There was no outcome of this that ended where she sat idly by and watched either of them be killed. She just didn't see it happening. If Gojo wanted that he should have left her out of his plan. She let out a shuddering sigh. The traitor Rinami Senju… Treason. She wasn't sure how much of what Gojo said was truth or made up for Sukuna's sake, but the facts were all true. Except that there was a limit to everything, and right now she was being forced to draw a line in the sand to where and how far she would go and for who.

This realization dawned on her just as she'd finally shaken her arms loose of the bindings. She also realized that this battle was nowhere near close to ending, if anything it was just ramping up. If this was how they wanted it and they intended to force her hand, she didn't have to sit here and play along. Closing her eyes, she made a decision for herself. Taking one long look at the scene before her. Rinami took a huge breath and turned and ran.

NEXT: CH. 26 'Time's up' OR 'Tell me I've got that wrong?'

.