「e n e m y」gojo s. x reader [book 5]

⊳five

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chapter five: refuge

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"A lot of this isn't going to make sense to you," Y/n began, sighing softly. "And I'm sorry about that. In fact, I'm sorry for everything you're about to hear."

Sora shifted in her seat. She looked to the other people in the room but noticed all of them had hung their heads low, turning their gazes away from each other. Sora swallowed hard.

"What I'm about to tell you is going to shock you. It might hurt, and you might end up hating me after it. But it needs to be said. I've done my best to keep this hidden from you, but I can't do it any longer. It's interfering with our lives now, and I was hoping it wouldn't," The older woman rubbed the back of her neck.

"When I was fifteen, no older than you, my father arranged for me to be married to someone named Rokuro. I was arranged to marry him because of his technique. It allowed him to manipulate dead bodies and even people who were still alive. He could...reanimate corpses of curses and humans and control them of his own free will. This technique is now considered forbidden and too dangerous, but my father thought it was the best thing in the world.

"So," Y/n sighed. "I married him. He was 18 when I was 15. And when I turned sixteen..."

She trailed off. She turned her gaze away from her daughter, finding refuge in the potted plant on her husband's desk.

"...I had my first child. His name was Isamu, and he was born without a technique. He didn't inherit either Rokuro's or my technique, and it pissed Rokuro off. The moment Isamu was able to walk, Rokuro thought he would be able to fight. Then, I was weak. I'd had a seal placed on my cursed energy and technique, and I couldn't fight. I was too afraid. It lead Rokuro to become someone who would take advantage of that. He would...beat me down, and then take my son...and I was too weak to fight back. There were times when no matter what he did, I wouldn't let him touch Isamu, and then there were other times when I couldn't move my own body.

"Because of that, Isamu paid for what I couldn't do. He paid, and he paid for things that weren't his fault. When Rokuro deemed that Isamu wouldn't take to his technique, he decided to see if mine would surface. However, in order for it to work...I had to activate my own. I'd sworn never to use it again, and it was sealed. Rokuro knew if he wanted it, he was going to have to take it by force. And that's exactly what he did.

"Isamu was four when...when Rokuro killed him. I was hurt, angry, grieved—I felt like my own heart had been taken out. So I killed Rokuro. I just...I didn't know that he had planned to save Isamu immediately after. It was only to get me to activate my curse, but I hadn't known that. I'd killed him before Isamu could be saved."

Sora's eyes were wide. She watched as her father moved from against the wall, coming to be beside the woman. Y/n cradled her head in her hands.

"The technique was supposed to end there," Y/n said, her voice a little more croaky than before. "He was the only one who knew it. But now...it's the technique that's being misused."

Sora swallowed hard. She hadn't realized how tight of a grip she held on her pants until she looked down, noticing how taut the fabric was, and how white her knuckles had become. She slowly released the grip, straightening her slender fingers, adorned with the rings she'd gotten as gifts, and then looked up.

"Is he alive? Rokuro?"

"No," Satoru said, surprising her with his voice. "He's dead, and for good. There's no way he's the one coming back to life."

"Then..." Sora's eyes widened. "A-Are you guys saying—"

"There's no actual proof," Gen said. "All of this is based on pure speculation."

"But if this is the truth," Yuuji said. "There could be a lot of problems that follow after. And it could be possible that you could be in danger."

"Y-You think...he would hurt me?" Sora asked, her voice wavering.

"We have no idea what he would even be like," Gen said. "He could possibly be the one doing all these murders, or he could be trying to stop them like we are. There's no way we will know until we catch him."

"W-When you leave, on the same day every year," Sora looked to her mother. "It was to visit him, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," She said, rubbing her neck. "It's why I never let you come with me."

"W-What about Kota?" She said. "Does he know?"

"Kota's still too young to understand all of this," Satoru muttered.

"B-But he has a right too...we...we could have a brother that's still alive!"

"Isamu is dead!" Y/n snapped, forcing her eyes shut. Her sharp tone startled Sora, making her gasp softly.

Satoru reached out to her, pulling her into his arms. She didn't hug him back, she more or less just stood there while he embraced her. Y/n flicked her wavering gaze to Sora.

"I know he's dead," She said, her voice just as shaky as the rest of her body. "He died in my arms. What that bastard did to him...there was no way he could have survived. I did my best to save my son, and it wasn't enough. I watched him be lowered into the ground, dammit. I know he's dead."

When silence overtook the room, Y/n pulled away from Satoru and walked to the door. She took a jacket from the chair as she went, opening the door, and then pulled it shut behind her. Sora rose to chase after her but stopped when her father shook his head at her.

"But—"

"Let her go," Satoru said. "I've learned the best way to comfort Y/n is to let her be alone. She doesn't like to be emotional, so she turns it into anger. Let your mother grieve, Sora."

The girl slowly sank back into the chair. She laid her palms in her lap, looking down at how they trembled. She exhaled shakily.

"W-What are the chances?" Sora whispered. "The chances of I-Isamu still belong alive?"

"Slim," Satoru said, taking his hand from his side to place it on her head. "Slim. But not impossible. There are ways we still don't know about, even after so long. But, if he is still alive...I don't think he knows who he is."

"W-What do you mean?" Sora asked, looking up at him.

Satoru brushed his thumb under Sora's eye. She scrunched her eyebrows a bit, looking back to the light blue eyes that looked down at her solemnly.

"If Isamu was truly still alive...why hasn't he come home yet?"

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