wedding vows; toji fushiguro

one. do you take thee?

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do you take thee?

-

At times, she couldn't tell the difference between blood and rain. She was stuck staring out the window at the torrent falling from the sky and all she could see was the dark red color of blood, as if the clouds themselves were bleeding. It made her afraid to go outside, afraid that she would be stained, afraid of what could happen in the rain. But she had to venture out into the pouring rain and ignore the sickly feeling it brought with it, all for the sake of people she didn't even care for.

"It's about time you showed up, (Y/N)," the head of the Zenin clan said. He looked at her with distain, but she was used to that.

"I apologize for my tardiness," (Y/N) said quietly with a bow of her head.

Without so much as glancing at the man she was to be married to, she sat neatly beside him and held her hands together in her lap, suffocating under the feeling of the rain that had soaked into her kimono. Wet tendrils of her hair stuck to the back of her neck, but she was forced to ignore them, telling herself to instead think of her current predicament as an unlikely encounter with a broken faucet. It didn't work, because no matter how many times she breathed in and out, the water droplets on her skin still appeared as blood.

"This is the woman you'll be marrying," the Zenin man went on to say, talking to her unfortunate future partner, "She is a blight in her clan, so she is well suited to you, Toji."

A scoff came from the man beside her. "Like I care. I'm only signing these papers so I can get out of this place sooner."

At least he was upfront about his intentions, and with an attitude like that, (Y/N) didn't have to worry about caring for him. Good, she preferred to be alone. 

"Though, you should be warned, she is cursed beyond measure. Everyone around her has always - "

"I'm certain Toji-san doesn't need to know that," (Y/N) cut in with a fake smile, "What happened to my mother and father is none of his concern, let alone yours. Rest assured, it will never effect him."

At her blatant disrespect for the Zenin head, Toji snorted, unable to contain his amusement. It wasn't as though she hadn't done this before, as the clans were all too scared of her to ever try anything. All she earned herself was a deathly glare sent in her direction, but she ignore that like she did everything else. 

The Zenin head cleared his throat, "Anyways, you each need to sign on the dotted line."

He gestured at the document in front of them, along with a single ink pen. Toji took it first, signing his name with a messy signature before pushing the contract over to (Y/N), who signed it as carefully and as neatly as possible. She was forced to watch as one of the water droplets lingering on her fall from the edge of a stray hair and blot part of the ink on the paper, appearing red rather than black to her.

Without saying anything, she returned the contract to the head of the Zenin family. The bearded man didn't even bother reading it, he simply set it aside and said, "The two of you, (Y/N) (L/N) and Toji Zenin, are now married. Do what you want."

Immediately, Toji stood from his seated position and stretched. He gave a wave as he turned, saying, "See you never, old man."

(Y/N) followed more slowly, standing and bowing in one final act of politeness, before exiting the room behind her new husband. Much to her displeasure, it was still raining and she didn't have an umbrella, so she chose to wait out the rain under the building's awnings. She expected Toji to walk off and leave her behind, but to her surprise, he remained by her side, crossing his arms over his chest.

For the first time, she looked at him, taking in his features and noting he resembled certain members of the Zenin family. His dark gray kimono was darker around his shoulders, signaling he hadn't bothered using an umbrella either and that was most likely why he didn't venture any further. Though, what stood out the most to her was the scar on the right side of his lips, one she knew had to do with his family's cruel treatment towards those lacking cursed energy, but never commented on. She wasn't going to say anything about it now either.

"Since we're married now and all that, what do you plan on doing?" Toji asked casually. He didn't seem to hate the idea of the two of them being married, but she couldn't tell he wasn't thrilled either.

"I suppose I'll find a place to live and then find work." (Y/N) answered, believing he would want no place in her plans, "And what about you?"

"I guess I'll follow you around for a bit. I didn't think I'd get this far, so I don't have any plans of my own right now." Toji said before yawning. 

Again, he managed to surprise her, but she didn't let that show. 

(Y/N) didn't mind the idea of him going with her, which was strange because she was certain she enjoyed being alone. She saw it as he was in the same boat as her and since she was never one to turn away an outstretched hand, welcoming him into her life for a brief time would be fine. There was no room to get attached, she would live her life and he would live his, and they would both be perfectly fine and alive by the end of it.

When the rain caught her attention again, she noticed that it no longer appeared to be of blood, but simple water falling from the sky. The clouds were no longer bleeding and she hoped with all her heart that they would stay that way.