Archive of Our Own

The way Suguru looked at her was…strange.

Scratching an itch, an unintended tell of her nervous tic, Kagome averted her gaze from the curse eater. She murmured, "Run away with you?"

She hadn't seen him in several months, having left on his self-discovery journey—so why was he here?

The cold foggy morning carried an odd sense of foreboding that promised neither good nor bad, but simply inevitability. Standing under a great big tree that reminded her of her home, its rustling leaves shivering under the gentle rain, she flickered back to Geto Suguru. The way the mist encased his person added a sense of distance Kagome yet again recognized.

But this time, there were no longer any burdens on his shoulders where he carried the blame for the death of a little girl. No, he stood firm with that steadfast conviction Kagome dreaded to understand. As the freezing water dampened the end of her hair, she rubbed her arms, if only to find any excuse not to allow herself to get suckered in by his alluring words.

A sense of fear she hadn't felt in a long time, gnawed on her consciousness, but even that hadn't done any good to convince her of any danger the boy may present. She sensed no desire to harm, only the want for her to hear the pleas from his tongue.

"Yes." The way his amethyst eyes bored into her own made Kagome uncomfortable. His visage was almost dangerous, yet earnestly sincere, imploring her to reconsider his offer. His smile had a serene curl when he reached out his hand even further, repeating his offer, "Yes. Your family? I'll make sure they're safe—after all, they're the only reason you're staying in this wretched place, no?"

Seeing Kagome's hesitation, Suguru's hand lowered slightly and returned a softer gaze. His voice took on a gentler tone, "You've been suffering alone for a while, haven't you? When was the last time you'd seen your family, in person?"

"I…" Kagome bit down her lip and quietly admitted, "Over…t-two years ago—"

"Satoru had to fight to get you to see them for that Christmas, didn't he? He told me about it, complaining that you wouldn't ask him again since." Suguru's smile grew tighter, continuing his plea, "Why is that, I wonder…"

She barely suppressed a flinch, but Kagome finally rose her chin and met his eyes—still so gentle they were. Instead of shying away from his reply, she nodded and murmured, "Y, yes, they placed far more pressure on both of us as a trade-off, working us to the bones—and when I left to see my family, the atmosphere…"

"Was no good at all, wasn't it?" Suguru filled in the blank, his smile thinning at her nodding with a deep frown and gritted teeth. "They tried so hard to isolate you from the people who loved and adored the most—simply because your prowess rivaled the beloved golden son they feared. Yet, they've done so much more, haven't they?"

Kagome refused to answer or to deny, merely wrinkling the sleeves of her thin jacket barely suitable for the weather.

Suguru tutted softly, "That Satoru—he praised you so much it made me jealous sometimes, but it didn't take until recently that I finally understood why." A husky laugh that warmed the depth of Kagome's belly disconcertingly, before he continued without further pause, "You know, he'd have done anything for you without a single complaint. If you just ask,"

She squeaked upon his slow descent, closing into the priestess—until he got so close Kagome could faintly scent the morning tea on his lips. Tracing his thumb over her jawline, Suguru chuckled at her furrowed expression, "he'd serve you the world on the silver platter."

"N, no, he wouldn't—" She tried, but Suguru would hear none of it.

Disrupting her attempt, he tangled his fingers through her thickened hair and crooned above her ebony crown, "But he would. Not once had he complained about you—always the 'old farts' giving you some hard times."

"He wouldn't," Kagome nearly snapped, scowling at the way Suguru roped an arm around her shoulder and pressed half his weight on her with a loud click of his tongue upon her protest. She shoved him off her person and barked out her irate, "It wouldn't be for me—It's you, you fucking moron!"

Shambling backward with a slow blink, Suguru recuperated quickly with a sharp snort. Mussing his own hair with a hand, he narrowed his gaze upon the tiny woman and laughed in disbelief, "You're calling me oblivious?"

"What!?" She spat out, wringing her sleeves in irritation at Suguru's seeming inability to be direct with his intentions. Taking a step backward, fully ready to escape this conversation, Kagome jerked down her jacket to neat it from her wrinkling and retorted, "He always had his eyes on you—"

Suguru hadn't a second to register what she said when Kagome pushed on with a snap of her teeth, "and anyway, why the hell would I want to burden him with favors!? He owed me nothing—not when it was me who owed him for going so far to make sure my family's safe! All I wanted," her voice cracked then, most of her frustrations with the curse eater ebbed, and Kagome sighed, "was to live somewhat of a normal life with my family."

Before Suguru could open his mouth, Kagome switched back to her previous mood and hissed, "Now if that's all, let me go now and I'll forget everything about this conversation—I'm going to be late to the briefing, and as nice as it was to see you again after so long, I have no interest in keeping Yaga-san waiting—"

Kagome barely turned on her heels when she found herself trapped in Suguru's embrace—too tightly and secure to allow her an easy escape. The sound of sizzling crackled into the air, the fog tinted brilliantly with her light, and she caught slight winces in his expression as her purification lashed out. "Bastard—!"

"What," Suguru pushed through the searing pain of his burning skin with a bite down on his tongue and seized her body closer to his, refusing her to struggle further. Finding strength to force the words out of his mouth, he hastily rasped, "would you do if I told you I do have your family?"

She stilled instantly, the sudden quietness between the two was hallowing. Her holy power settled some, though the stench of burning skin perfumed the air in nauseating intensity. Kagome bit her colored nails into Suguru's arms and barked out, her wild hair flying in disarray, "That's not a funny joke—!"

"Humor me." Suguru's voice edged with that bone-chilling sincerity that she never faced before. "Would you listen to me then?"

Kagome refused to answer, but her energy was no longer striking the curse eater. Faintly she could hear his skin sizzling still and what bit she could see on his bare hands was blackened with some well-deserved burns. Pursing her lips, Kagome willed back the shakiness she felt within her being and responded, "Maybe."

"I'll take it. Now, I'm going to ask you a question," Suguru persisted, refusing to loosen his grasp on the priestess even an inch. Shifting her in his injured arms, he gritted his teeth at the pain searing through his system.

He could feel how tensed Kagome was, ready to jump at the very second opportunity to flee—like a little rabbit she was. Ignoring the wounds she created, Suguru nestled his face into her hair and sighed at her soft floral scent. It was subtle, yet quite as girly as she was.

"Get to the point," Kagome interjected, her purification rising to a peak in warning once more.

"It's relevant, I promise," Suguru assured without a sliver of pretense, his smirk hidden in her thick hair. With the sting of her purification dulling, he stayed close and warm to her petite frame, gently inquiring, "You spoke of a normal life. What does that mean to you, Higurashi Kagome?"

Kagome hesitated, digesting his strange question. Very few asked about her hopes and dreams during her time at Jujutsu Tech. One of them had been Satoru Gojo himself, but she'd tiptoed around the topic, having given up her dreams the first time she fell through the well—and Kagome was wiser than to invest her truths to the boy who could destroy anything on a whim.

Her family was all she had left. Everyone else had become a stranger to her in the world Kagome barely remembered being born into. She couldn't recall it being so overrun with monsters—or the remnants of them, gorging themselves on unsuspecting humans' bitter negativity. Even when her power had been unsealed, Kagome couldn't recount encountering grotesque anomalies in so many corners of Japan.

It had been an abrupt change for her one day, overwhelmed by the curses' malevolent influence the same year Kagome completed junior high. Falling so far behind, she had to repeat a year, drowning herself in her studies was all she could do to distract herself from the relentless headaches caused by their parasitic pressures. Due to her unique experiences and educational setbacks, Kagome no longer found any connection with her peers.

None of them would understand.

Her family had been her only normal, her sole comfort in this strange new world she did not remember growing up in.

"I…" Kagome began, unsure how to answer once again.

Suguru still held her firmly, patient and awaiting her response. It seemed like the content of her answer never mattered—only that she would speak honestly. He remained steadfast, shielding her from most of the needle-like drops as the downpour intensified. His hair draped down, framing his angular face messily.

His clothes, simply a white dress shirt and a pair of black slacks, became completely soaked from the rain. Yet, Kagome stayed mostly dry underneath his lean body, but she felt colder, shivering, as the seconds ticked by.

The ambiance between the two shifted.

Kagome reined back a shudder at the heavy warm sigh on her head and pursed her lips at the thunderous sounds of her heartbeats ringing between her ears. Suguru's even breathing and the pattering of the rain were distant in her mind, yet she couldn't bring herself to break away, to escape those noises.

"I…would like to be home with my family, to hear their voices again and just laugh with them. I want to be able to date too, to have mundane days without having to chase down the monster of the day. I'd like to have a family of my own someday, even if it's just through adoption, and maybe get married. Just…" Kagome broke with a weak laugh, her voice tinged with hollow mirthlessness, as she gazed at the curtain of rain and the shadows of the trees ahead. She sighed, resigned, "nothing too extraordinary, I don't think. Not too much to ask."

Suguru trailed a thumb down her clenched hands, almost as if he was reassuring her, "Not at all. We all have our simple desires—and you've been deprived of them for too long. You're tired, Kagome. You must be,"

Kagome stiffened at the hardened edge in the curse eater's following words.

"After all, you're being exploited for the council's greed in exchange for your family's safety." She licked her lips, tasting the cold air, at the way Suguru was raking his long fingers down her water-dense hair so tenderly, yet with restrained ferocity. Wrapping a couple of curls around his calloused fingers, he tutted and crooned softly above her head, "Don't you think it's time for some changes?"

She wanted to laugh at him.

She felt an itch to throw her hands at him, to slap some sense into Suguru. He sounded so absurd—yet she desperately wanted to believe him, to get suckered into his pretty words of change and safety. The society she experienced had no qualms about sending off the novices on suicide missions and they were rarely shy about exploiting even their best sorcerers.

Kagome lost count of how many students and sorcerers she befriended had died within her two (nearly three) years in this profession (that was pushed on her against her will). After the funerals had reached double digits, she stopped visiting the wakes and merely honored the dead in her silent prayers. She'd grieved enough.

The higher-ups of the Jujutsu Sorcerers Association were playing with countless people's lives—and rewarded them with no other prospects but lies and death.

They were not willing to change their old ways, proclaiming the importance of defending humanity yet keen on lining the pockets of manipulative bureaucrats with bloodied green for their personal gains. She hated it. So damn much.

But she was helpless. As long as they kept her family as hostages, using them as leverage to force her hand, she was bound to their will.

"Even if I do agree that the association should be overthrown and reformed from the top-down, my hands are tied." Kagome briskly answered instead, barely masking the resentments she felt building up after enduring constant disappointments and exploitation from leaders who valued her less than the ground she walked on. Swallowing a quivering sigh, she balled her hands and gritted out, "they have my family."

Even Satoru* hadn't realized the true extent of how much they were using her up. They kept all three of their best busy on missions across the country, extending their assignments as long as they could, to prevent face-to-face correspondences with the only people she could possibly rely on in the entire association.

By the time Kagome found some free time to hang out with the other sorcerers, she'd been too mentally exhausted to even consider taking any action. Her power may be near-infinite, but she still has her human limits—and they were not willing to let her rest for long either.

They wanted her to break, so they could find justifiable reasons to execute her.

"Hmm," Suguru loosened his arms just enough to be less suffocating, and drawled into her ear, his words soft yet never sounding so stark to hear, "that may not be entirely true."

Kagome pivoted, her hand flying to sock him in the face to be done with this ridiculousness, but he caught her fist in his palm. With an amused chuckle, Suguru firmly clamped down on it, resisting her struggling attempts to free her trapped limb. Playfully trailing an infuriating kiss on her knuckle, he murmured, "They're waiting for you."

She froze immediately at his declaration and breathed slowly, her eyes wide. Shuddering, Kagome mumbled, "You…weren't joking? B, but how? Last I saw them…"

Even if Kagome was capable of rescuing them by herself, her grandfather was in such a frail state that being dogged by the sorcerers hardly sounded like a good idea to her. If she could secure an isolated place, surrounded by experienced people and with a doctor on active duty, then she would've—

She stared at him in wonder.

It couldn't be possible he already found a safe place to hide from the opposition. He hadn't been gone that long, having left for his trip several months ago. But, she wondered if she should be surprised.

Suguru Geto was the most charismatic one of them all. If he put his mind to it, he could accomplish anything regardless of time limits and boundaries. If Satoru was the brawn, he was the brain—even though Kagome didn't fully agree with how true it was, not when the Gojo was so stupidly clever and the curse eater was very powerful in his own right, with infinite curses for him to absorb. But Suguru was dangerously calculating when given enough time and when his mental state remained stable.

Though, everything fractured for him after the death of the poor Riko Amanai.

What exactly was he intending to do with her family?

Still keeping his grip on her tiny hand, the curse eater shrugged. "I've made arrangements to visit them—to learn who they are, that they are as kind as you said they were. Lovely family, I'm already quite fond of them," Suguru drew up a warm smile, his eyes shining from the radiating fog swirling erratically around his person. "And your brother is quite a resourceful kid—only 13 years old and he already observed the weak points in the barriers when he realized my intentions without a single question. I'm actually quite looking forward to having him in my institution—he has potentials."

"I…" Kagome couldn't find her voice, dizzy with shock. The tension in her arm lessened and she nearly fell into Suguru's chest.

"Your grandfather didn't enjoy the ride on my mantra ray though, but your mother had quite a kick out of it." His grin grew at her incredulity and the way hope reignited her eyes made him feel breathless—this was what Satoru always tried to describe what he missed the most about her. The brilliant shine in her gaze, full of colors and unyielding with willpower so many tried to extinguish.

As Kagome's tiny slip of pink tongue darted out to wet her lips, Suguru caved to the urge to close in, the wet curls of his hair draping her shoulders. He stopped himself short from stealing those lips and cleared his throat to regain his composure. Caressing his thumb across the back of her hand, feeling the freezing droplets of water trickling down her battle-hardened skin, he breathed softly, "They're safe, Kagome. I promise. They're in good hands of my people—well, I'm still working on the terminology."

Flabbergasted, Kagome managed to sputter out several words, "Institution? Y-your people…?"

All she could hear was the rising volume of her thudding heartbeat. It drummed like a war beat, drowning out the clamorous sound of freezing rain. Somehow, with her throat so thick and dry, Kagome spat out the words, "W, what are you trying to do?"

The numbing tension spread throughout her cold body again, but the hope in her aching chest fluttered still. Fixing Suguru an uneasy glance, Kagome clenched her hands on his chest and silently demanded for his answers. He wouldn't lie to her, could he?

But his eyes brightened at her curiosity and he beamed.

He smiled just like Satoru always had, but Suguru had those adorable dimples on his cheeks and his eyes glittered like the brightest star in the sky. Kagome couldn't ever recall seeing him smile in that manner before, and she was mesmerized. She jolted out of her awestruck trance when his other hand crept up to her cheek, warming her from the wet cold, and his deep voice made her quiver.

"I'm going to start a new, better future for everyone. No oppression, no ignorance, no elitism—a future of equality, where both the cursed and non-sorcerers can live together without fear and judgment. No one will be neglected, be exploited," Kagome stiffened at that term, because that had been her truth for so long.

Suguru's smile softened at her flinch and continued, "or be cast aside because they are different. The innocents won't be subjected to the prejudiced, uneducated society. All will be cared for and safe. It is the least I can do for Riko-chan and all of those who had died in vain to sate the self-interested ambitions of the higher-ups…"

It sounded a bit too good to be true coming from Suguru.

"Last time I saw you, you were…so full of hatred, Suguru," Kagome mumbled, though she hadn't inched away from his touches this time. His lingering warmth was oddly comforting, and she hadn't felt the freezing weather at all. Unable to stop herself from leaning into his hands, she quietly asked, "What changed your mind?"

He had been spiraling the last time she saw him, with hatred boiling under the surface permeating her senses so loudly it hurt. It took Kagome's recklessness for him to listen to her suggestions to travel, broaden his horizons, and meet new people from different places, upbringings, and cultures. It was something both he and Satoru desperately needed, Kagome had learned long ago—but it never felt appropriate to bring it up with their workload, until then.

Suguru eyed her, his chuckle rumbling with mirth, as he reminded her, "You called me a 'privileged little brat'."

A sharp wince escaped her lips.

She might have snapped, insulted him, and called him such things to get him to heed her words. Guilt drenched her expression as Kagome mumbled her confirmation, "Y-yes, I do vividly remember calling you that."

"You were not wrong."

Kagome blinked.

Truth be told, she never expected him to listen. He wasn't as puppy-like as Satoru, less interested in hanging on her every word. But the next day, Suguru packed up his things and disappeared, leaving behind a note declaring that he was taking a much-needed vacation.

She remembered how hurt Satoru was.

Satoru was desperate for her affection and the old men above had a much harder time separating him from her side than usual. It was a welcome respite from being worked to the bone, though, with Satoru barking back when Kagome had little energy to demand a break. But Suguru's absence had been especially hollowing, leaving the Gojo a little more somber.

Yesterday happened to be the day the elders finally managed to separate Satoru and restart their process of isolating Kagome yet again. Absently, she wondered if Suguru had timed their separation somehow.

"I've forced myself to visit the less fortunate areas," Suguru gently started, once again shielding Kagome's tiny stature with his body, "and learned firsthand about the suffering, the oppression under the so-called reign of the rich. I realized the supposed government and laws were all designed to prey on the weak and the poor—and I saw the parallels in our existences."

His nose wrinkled at his musings, but a certain quietness was embedded in his shimmering aura. Suguru sighed, "I understood that education, or lack thereof, would lead to ignorance—and ignorance would lead to fear of the unknown. The oppressors would exploit and feed off those fears for mere profit—but of course, I still had my own blinders, thinking that we did not need to exist among them when they were so…"

Guiltily, Suguru mumbled the following, "weak-minded to recognize the oppression."

"Suguru, one's mindset rarely changes overnight," Kagome encouraged absentmindedly. Though she said that to comfort the curse eater, her mind was muddled with uncertainties and mixed feelings she couldn't sort through yet. But, for her family's sake, she opted to take his words at face value—and it helped that she sensed no deceit in his heart, only his ambitions.

"I can't say I disagree with that," he acknowledged, craning his chin upward to the sky and seeing lights flashing through the thick sea of grey clouds. The downpour was becoming dangerous, prompting Suguru to summon his trusty spirit without a second thought. Gesturing a hand over his shoulder, the looming mantra ray emerged from the depths of his subconscious and shadowed its master and Kagome.

The tree above shuddered, its branches swaying even more by the sudden presence of the cursed spirit and shaking off the excess water droplets.

The heavy rain immediately receded as Suguru's finned spirit floated above their heads, furling its large body to divert the rain from touching a single strand of their hair. A relieved exhale slipped out of Kagome's bluing lips, though she expelled it unwillingly. It was so bitterly cold that Kagome barely realized that her entire body was soaked and shivering.

She should've fled while she had the chance—but her family…

Suguru grimaced at Kagome's drenched state, an apologetic glint in his eyes. Absently sweeping his hand through Kagome's hair, to sort aside her curling fringe, he tilted his head. He knew to hurry his words, and calmly continued, "Needless to say, I never realized just how much potential there is among non-sorcerers, overlooked and ignored, and how many talented individuals refuse to align themselves with the Jujutsu Association."

Her brows shot up, but before Kagome could part her lips to speak the question on her mind, Suguru grinned. "So far, all of them are aligning with me—and we're building our own institutions, with the ideology that welcomes everyone without discrimination and educates others. Of course," he prompted a squeak when he pressed a kiss into her thick hair, wringing a hand to twist some water out of it, "as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day."

"...how many times had you met with my family?" Kagome mumbled, wondering about Suguru's initial hatred of humanity. It was hard to forget the way his eyes burned with resentment, of being unappreciated and exploited by the unaware and afraid.

"Twice." Suguru admitted, "First time, I met them over a month ago as per your suggestion. They all were very gracious hosts, letting me stay at their place for a few days," he grew whimsical, recalling the fond memories he gained over his stay with Kagome's relatives. "I was not expecting how kind and knowledgeable they were about our world—and all they wanted from me was to tell them about you and how you were doing."

Kagome hadn't bothered asking about the second visit.

"The fact that you'd managed to con the bastards into letting you see my family," she mumbled, the envy in her voice so pronounced that Suguru burst into laughter. When he quieted, Kagome burned him with a glare before she staggered in defeat.

As the storm raged on, several seconds seemingly stretched into eternity. With a slump, Kagome finally broke the silence in a murmur, "…how are they?"

That cheeky grin irked Kagome so much that she wanted to punch it off his face. Before she could even consider raising a fist, the man plastered her to his chest, pulling her against the thin, see-through fabric of his shirt.

"You should see that for yourself," the curse eater smoothly spoke over her muffled squeak of indignation. Suguru's amusement abated and he lowered his shoulders as he slowly admitted, "If humans can be as kind as they are, then perhaps there is still hope for humanity."

Practically ripping her face off his chest with a gasp, Kagome smacked a hand on his shoulder, the impact resounding. Feeling Suguru jolting underneath her icy hands, she huffed, "Okay, I'm glad to hear—" she tossed her arms around them in a vague gesture toward their surroundings, the rising water now reaching their ankles. Kagome arched a brow and crossed her arms to conserve what little body heat she had left, "but why call me here, in the middle of this nasty storm? Or why go so far to rescue my family?"

Suguru returned her gaze with that very same conviction that had shaken her to the core minutes before. "Because I want you." He declared.

At that, Kagome felt her face burning, the heat chasing away some of the cold. But surely Suguru hadn't meant it that way?

"I need you to be part of the new world, Kagome—" he continued, separating from her shivering body and taking several steps back to increase the distance, and left her in a state of confusion, "to help me lay down the foundation and build for a brighter, unified future where all of us can thrive together."

Kagome no longer felt cold, but her breaths quickened, forming small hurried clouds that dissipated into the pummeling torrent.

Suguru extended his hand to her again, smiling as the thunder raged on. "Won't you join me?"

She was quiet, processing his words over and over in her mind. Her heart swelled with so much hope, that it hurt with its intensity. Before Suguru could interpret her silence as rejection, Kagome took a step closer and firmly met his gaze.

"I'll see my family whenever I want?" she nearly pleaded, her fingers trembling but not from the weather.

The curse eater nodded, his hand still awaiting hers, "Yes."

A tremor of rage edged his voice at the injustices done to the poor woman, yet it bolstered Kagome's courage to continue.

"I don't have to work every single day, on every assignment?" Kagome clasped her hands in a prayer, begging for respite from endless monster hunts.

"Only if you want to—and we'll be monitoring all active sorcerers on missions so no one will be overextended and over-exhausted ever again." Suguru's voice dripped with so much disapproval for the elders that she had to suppress a laugh at his obvious disdain.

Kagome reached a hand toward Suguru's outstretched one but hesitated once more. "And—?"

Suguru tutted, shaking his head at her numerous inquiries. "You'll never need to worry about bills. Housing and food will be taken care of for everyone under our organization, the pay will be generous, the benefits are many—and best of all," his smile dimmed slightly, but he pushed through, "once everything is established, you can choose to leave, retire, or simply change to a job position of your choice."

Fuck.

How was she supposed to say no to this job offer?

"We'll iron out the details once you're settled in." Suguru patiently assured, sweetening her up to his proposal, and stroked his fingers on hers. It was not a subtle gesture for Kagome to accept.

"...What's about Satoru?" Kagome furrowed her brows, curling her fingers at the thought of that lunatic man.

To abandon him felt wrong.

"I wouldn't worry about him," the curse eater flickered his gaze over Kagome's head into the foggy horizon of trees. "some things, he would need to see for himself."

She remained oblivious to the increasing anxiety in his body, his feet shifting nonstop in the muddy water. He had so little time left—

"Fine." Suguru jumped, surprised when Kagome tightened her hands onto his, her skin clammy and cold against his palm. Though her smile was half-forced, determination resonated with her squeeze. With a deep inhale, she declared, "I'll run away with you."

Her power surged through his skin—but Suguru had no time to fear it. It was a comforting sensation akin to being warmed by the morning sunshine on a clear day. The black wounds he received from her attack abated, and his skin returned to its pale, healthy shade.

No more discomfort lingered and Suguru swallowed thickly to wet his dry throat. Yet again she'd impressed him.

Kagome lowered her gaze from his curious stare, her lips pursing with remorse.

His grin widened at her answer and he whisked her into his embrace, accepting her apology, "Then I'll take you away, where no one will ever hurt you again."

Upon its master's call, the mantra ray unfurled its fins and shuddered out a plume of its cursed energy from its gills. It flapped, blasting a gust of air and rain outward, and lowered itself to the drenched earth before the two.

Suguru never released Kagome's hand, gently leading her to his awaiting summon, and warmed upon having her in his grasp. "Then let us go now."

She stepped on the creature, teetering on its leathery flesh, before finding herself held in the secure grip of Suguru. Kagome expected to be pelted with rain, but the spiritual pressure kept the worst of the elements from touching her—or the giant ray of spirit—and diverted the weather to the side. Once steady on her feet, hands firmly on the man's arms, the mantra ray thudded its fins against the drenched ground, scattering the water, and sailed upward in a sprint. The wind was tumultuous, battering against her senses, before quickly abating as the flying spirit scattered the clouds with a gust and dove through the storm.

For a moment, she thought she heard a voice;

but it was quickly lost under the thunder's roars.

A sense of guilt washed over her heart, that she was running away with someone else—but deep down, she knew everything would be alright.

The storm continued, lacing the skies with blinding ribbons of lightning.

"Sensei, your family—!" A voice bellowed throughout the empty clearing. Water flung from where Satoru skidded to a stop, flicking his wrist as the tide splashed high. A loud snap and his Six-Eyed Technique expanded, scouring every inch of the forest and

finding nothing.

Only a hint of familiar energy rippled from where Kagome

and Suguru last stood. There was a faint streak there, like a thin red line, that caught his attention, forcing him to concentrate to see it. He followed it.

Satoru's luminous eyes trailed upward to the grey clouds, a confused frown etching onto his youthful face, ignoring the roaring downpour that drowned out the howling wind. Tightening his fists, he tensed his form and exhaled every last bit of oxygen he held within. Thinning his lips, he muttered and slicked back his hair in frustration, "Fuck. Nothing's left to do but to follow."

He wasn't going to let either one of them go. Satoru nearly made that mistake once with Suguru—and he was not keen to repeat it with Kagome.

A crack of lightning flashed a brilliant light. When it eased, Satoru was gone.

—end