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Six lines under his eyes; six miracles he's witnessed in his life and stored deep within his memories.
Five, he has forgotten; they lie dormant, awaiting to be conjured again the moment his life is in danger.
One, he remembers vividly.
It's this miracle, after all, that scooped him from the rubble and took him to safety while the others fought at Shibuya.
It's also this miracle's hand brushing through his long blond hair that he felt right after waking up.
She'd carefully tugged off the circular elastic to lessen the pressure on his scalp and now her fingers worked languidly along the loose silky strands. It was calming; it fought off the sting on his face and stomach from his fight with the sorcerer in the white suit.
Haruta knew he'd have to learn that man's name at some point, but not now...
Now he wanted to lay wherever he was in bliss and feel the gentle stroking on his hair.
"You're awake." Spoke her calm voice right after he'd closed his eyes again. She sounded pleased.
"Yeah." He hummed in response. "I used up the miracle from when you first kissed me."
Her hand reached through his hair gently until her fingertips touched his scalp and she began to massage there in slow circles. His response was a long, satisfied sigh.
She never understood why this counted as a miracle; why she counted as a miracle, but it was good regardless.
"I'm glad it kept you safe, Haru."
His eyes opened again, now bright with genuine excitement and he smiled despite the missing front teeth. He reached a hand up in a wordless request to touch her and she complied by leaning down so his thin arm could reach her. "You did too, (Y/n). I'd be dead if I'd stayed there any longer." Haruta cupped her cheek and gave a brief caress there with his thumb. A way of saying 'thank you'.
He wasn't the gentle type; (Y/n) found this one out easily when they first met, but with her he expressed some strange interest that eventually evolved into this.
He lowered his hand again, but she took it in hers and raised it back up. What he felt next was the softness of her lips on his knuckles before his hand was released again. Such a sweet gesture it was...his chest tightened a little. It hadn't occured to him that someone like her could perceive affection and even display it the way most people do, yet she did.
It didn't tarnish his image of her either; if anything, he felt special knowing that she is the way only around him.
"I told you it wasn't safe to go there, but you have a habit of disregarding my warnings." Now her other currently unoccupied hand returned to his head to massage his scalp.
A laugh escaped the worn-out curse user. She wasn't wrong, actually. His sadistic intent sometimes overshadowed his fear of death and it resulted in regrettable situations more often than not...though it was one of those situations that caused him to form an alliance with the Curses, during which he was given opportunities to express his sadism and during which he also met (Y/n), one of the miracles he's stored.
Who knew what else life had to offer him out there? He'd find out one way or another, as long as he kept on living.
"By the way..." He hummed, now shifting to sit up slowly. "Where are we?" He groaned the question as he now observed the calm sea that was just a few feet from him and the warm golden sand that surrounded him. His back hurt from having been crushed against concrete walls multiple times though and (Y/n) used her torso as support for him to lean back on since she was sitting behind him.
He couldn't see from this position, but her expression turned into one of mild surprise at his question. Her arms then left his head and snaked around his thin waist. "The Curses haven't brought you here before?"
He shook his head, meanwhile relishing the feeling of her torso- her chest, mainly- being pressed against his back.
"It's a safe haven of sorts...Geto and the Curses come here to relax and formulate plans."
Haruta pouted a little, brows furrowing as he stared at the calm blue sea. "Of course they'd exclude me..." He complained in a somewhat childish manner.
"You're a newer ally to our cause...it takes time. Some of us are centuries old." (Y/n)'s grip tightened a little around him as a way of offering comfort, but carefully so, in order to avoid hurting his already beaten body.
"I know that...probably Hanami and Jugo are pretty old, but Mahito is young...Yeesh, I'm like, 25 while he's probably just a few years old."
The way he talked like a teenager sometimes... (Y/n) used to find it annoying at first, but it gradually became a rather adorable feature.
She slipped one hand through his loose one-piece uniform to caress his bruised skinny torso. There were large purple marks allover his skin where Nanami had punched him. This was indeed a blow that could kill and he was quite literally just lucky to be alive. (Y/n) recalled with a small smile of fondness their first kiss and how another pink line had formed under his eye when they pulled back. That smile stretched just a little on the corners of her lips when he sighed blissfully at her touch.
"Mahito is a curse." She began in a gentle voice. "I suppose we're rather...biased when it comes to species. Humans are difficult to trust, but they're already giving you missions, which means that you're starting to be integrated into the team."
(Y/n) avoided telling him that they viewed him as a lesser asset. He was weaker than the rest of the team, disposable in their eyes and pushed aside for being human. Geto only agreed to keep him somewhat protected because (Y/n) had grown this strange liking to him.
In all his years of knowing her, Geto had not expected the fearsome misanthropic curse user, (Y/n) (L/n) to grow fond of someone like Haruta Shigemo, an immature human coward. Yet here she was, comforting him after a serious fight and slowly healing his wounds with her cursed technique.
Haruta fought through the bliss in an attempt to remain focused on the conversation. He rarely ever listened to anyone but himself; (Y/n) was an exception.
"....I guess. I dunno, I'm not much of a one-on-one fighter. I prefer sneak attacks and swift executions, y'know? Maybe they're not into that with their flashy techniques and all that..." He sounded somewhat upset and (Y/n) could easily tell by the slight mumble in his tone.
Her head leaned down on the softer part where his shoulder met his neck. She rested her chin there and tilted her head against his, now focusing on the view of the surrounding sea, far ahead where the edge met the sky.
"You're not a risk-taker, I know." She wasn't going to outright call him a coward. "It's good to ensure safety, but I think you need to train so that you don't rely so much on your technique and perhaps to work on ways to enhance it in the process."
His head seemed to lean into hers and his eyes closed briefly to relish the feeling.
Her healing technique brought this blissful sleepiness to those she healed, just as its opposite form brought excruciating pain.
“So much work...” Haruta sighed. “Can’t be helped, can it? Can you help me train at least?” An element of hope appeared in his voice. He’d rather train with her than on his own or with someone else.
(Y/n) in action was a force to be reckoned with even without her cursed technique. It was no surprise that Geto kept her close. Plus, she wouldn’t be as brutal to him as others would...would she?
Now he turned around to see her, as best as he could given the strain on his back, and judging from her expression, she appeared to be thinking. Hopefully considering it.
“I’ve never trained anyone before, which means I don’t really have a method, but I could implement my own training.” She pondered and her eyes met his hopeful violet ones. “Fair warning, love, it isn’t easy.”
Some of the excitement in his expression disappeared and she fought the urge to chuckle.
"...You won't go too hard on me right?"
She knew she'd have to if it meant achieving something with this training, but in this moment she shook her head negatively just to reassure him. There was no point worrying him after a near death experience. "Not too hard. Just hard enough."
It was partly the truth; she wouldn't break him...but she would push and bend him to an extent.
It seemed to relieve him at least temporarily. "I...guess I can take that."
She may have a soft spot on him, but he knows that training won't be kisses and cuddles. Still, he chooses to ignore this for now.
As the silence settled between them and the only sound was the rhythm of the water gently splashing into the sand, (Y/n)'s right hand reached up his mouth. Her lids drooped closed and she looked to be focused. "Cursed Technique: Repair." She muttered and the moment her palm touched his face, he felt the pain of the injuries lessening slowly. The torn muscles, the injured jaw, even the missing and unsteady teeth seemed to regrow and tighten again. He could feel them by pressing his tongue against each row of teeth in his mouth.
This had been the easy part. Now she had to work carefully down the vital organs in his abdomen and on his spine. Her hand lowered and reached inside his loose one-piece clothing and gently touched his bruised torso again to finish what she'd started earlier.
The process was slower this time but in a few moments, he began to feel its effects. He could clench the muscles in his abs without feeling much pain. It took some time, during which he was silently observing her with a smile, until she was finally done and he could move the muscles there effortlessly. No doubt, the large bruises must have healed too.
Given that he was facing her now, she scooted even closer to reach her hand around his thin frame and touch the middle of his spine. His smile widened a little and he brought both his arms around her.
"Your technique is pretty impressive, you know?" He finally chose to break the silence, which didn't surprise her.
"I know; but thank you." She responded, teasing but also agreeing. Haruta gave a brief laugh at her retort.
It was nowhere near the level of the Gojo clan's techniques and it most likely wouldn’t last against Curse King Sukuna, but it was among the strongest he has witnessed.
Her hand then settled on a different part of his spine for a few moments before shifting again. She would occasionally ask him to sit straighter, or test if he could move around without pain. The Repair technique was more challenging than Ruin; healing Jugo had taken whole days after his fight with Satoru Gojo, after all, both to make sure that everything would be done correctly, but mostly because of how exhausting it was for her to heal such serious damage.
When she was finally done, Haruta moved back from her with ease and stretched his back and arms in relief. "Man, that was awesome...though I kinda wanna sleep now." He said and his words were stifled by a yawn mid-sentence. She too was tired from using her power continuously like this and she nodded in agreement as a contagious yawn came upon her as well.
"Do you think it's safe to take you to your place?" She eventually asked in response to his statement, considering it tricky for him to return to a public place after everything that happened at Shibuya.
"I dunno...maybe? I mean, won't people be more focused on catching the bigger threats? It's kinda the advantage of being in the sidelines, y'know?" Haruta shrugged.
It seemed to make sense actually and (Y/n) considered for a moment if she was actually overthinking because of her worry for him. "Yeah, I think you have a point. They'll have much bigger problems on their hands, especially if everything goes as Geto has predicted." She responded after a momentary consideration of the likelihood of her options.
She didn't think, in her many years of being alive thanks to her technique, that she'd find herself worrying this much for another being, but at this point, she'd have to properly address this;
She might have quite deep feelings for Haruta Shigemo, beyond simple amusement and a slight concern for his general well-being.
"See? I'm right for sure." The pride was very evident in his voice and expression, which earned a slight smirk from (Y/n). Though, the confidence slightly faltered for a moment.
"...But, like...if anything goes wrong, I'll come by your place, okay?"
Her smirk eased into a smile of fondness and she nodded.
Maybe this was what really attracted her in him; the fact that he was so genuine in his emotions, positive and negative alike. He expressed desire, joy, pain, sadness...even sadism and fear in a way that humans rarely do. They're just as fearful and sadistic, but they cling to superficial bravery and hide behind hollow morals and pretentious facades to avoid their true vile selves.
Haruta showcased his vulnerability and his confidence alike, and he didn't lie about the part of him that delightened in the suffering of others.
In the most twisted and insane way, (Y/n) admired him for thinking and acting like a curse despite being human.
"Of course, Haru. Anything you need, just give me a call."