Cursed || Gojo Satoru x Reader

VIII. Hidden

POV: GOJO SATORU

There are very few days where I question my own ability. These days are a rarity, as uncommon as finding an oasis in the midst of scorching desert sands. But rare as they may be, they manage to offer relief in what many believe is hell. Still, I would rather know the harsh truth of my own power than be swayed by the crystalline waters and freeing shade of the oasis.

But today is one of those days. A day where I find my mind swallowed by clear waters that don't manage to wash away the last sediments of dust. Being with her is like that, when I feel balanced, yet still lost. After all, an oasis may be a safe haven, but it does not offer an escape. It is nothing but a fleeting comfort made of deception and illusion.

While my mind wanders through palm leaves and desert trees, my feet trudge along the muddy soil and occasional pine branch of the nearby trees. The air smells of sweet sap and rain, the scent of old water seeping into the grass around me.

In the distance, there is the faint sound of impact. The soft, yet persisting punching into tree bark coming from none other than (y/n) herself. While I would never admit it aloud, within the past week I'd spent with her, I'd unpurposefully learned her training schedule and committed it to memory. On this particular day, Masamichi had requested that I began training with (y/n) so that we may effectively secure the cursed fingers more efficiently. However, his voice had been rather strained, which it led me to believe that certain people had an influence on his harsh tone.

But when I think of her, I think of him. It is uncannily similar. They, are uncannily similar. They are made of the same stuff, the same light that fills their bones and darkness that covers their eyes. Their words, their souls, their minds were created the same, down to the intricate detailing of their consciousness.

"Those who can should protect the weak, and be wary of the strong." My mouth murmurs the same words she had spoken to me that day. Thoughts twisting, I drift through the stream of memories that flow into focus.

    "Society should protect the weak, and keep the strong in check."

    I still remember the way his lips formed the words, the deepness of his voice when it hitched and snagged on the last syllable. I know why it did, but not at the time. My thoughts had not lingered on the fact that his gaze left mine when he mentioned the 'strong.' For who else could have been the strong if it were not for me?

    They are similar in that way. I see it then. Their hope for humankind blazes like a torch in the night. It leaves smoke trails that smolder through the air and leaves tendrils of bitter grey in the sky. Remnants of their flames are the only evidence of the hatred they bear. The scathing rage that burns against the higher ups in the jujutsu sorcery society.

    But flames only light up the night. They are not necessary for one's survival. Maybe it's selfishness, or maybe I simply lack any ounce of humanity in my being, but I could care less about the higher up's actions. So long as their motives do not conflict against mine, my path has no regard towards theirs, and so be it.

    They tell me my arrogance will kill me. I don't necessarily believe it's arrogance, rather it's self-assurance. I do not waver under society's impression of me, a persona that has been carved into my name. It isn't my name that has been tainted and left for slaughter. That position has been designated to the (l/n) clan.

    She is no longer a figure in the distance, now only fifty paces away from me. Her fists are torn apart, skin peeling back from her knuckles to reveal fresh blood and pink flesh. Still, she continues to thrust her hands to the tree, punch after punch. Arms strained and sweat dripping from her forehead.

    It had been Shoko who told me where she was the first time. She'd noticed (y/n) slip away from the rooms, and into the backdrop of the school. While the others trained in the open fields of Jujutsu Tech, Sukuna's vessel preferred isolation and brutal strategies of training.

    Around the edges of the forest that borders the campus is a protective barrier cast by Master Tengen that shields the school from the rest of Tokyo. While it did not always prevent the unwanted to wander into Jujutsu Tech, it served the purpose of amplification, so that the border may enhance the barrier techniques of school managers.

    The faint glow of cursed energy shines on her figure. Her jaw is tight, eyes are steady and locked onto the wooden bark of the tree. There I stand, my arms feeling heavier by my side as though every second she continued to train, her worth rises above mine. It is a suffocating, humiliating feeling. I know my many years of worth can't be erased within the span of a second, but it doesn't stop my emotions from rising high like the trees towering above me.

My feet are locked to the ground like roots that spread deep into the earth. I'm frozen, unable to move in a state of fear, or shock, or whichever emotion I am unable to recognize. It's a useless thought, but it is then I realized what it was like to be a tree; to live silently and frozen, struggling to stop the flow of time so that you can see the sights beyond the dim horizons. A lifelong endeavor, and a hopeless one at that.

So it was then that I lost all hope of lifting my eyes and gazing towards what once was my future. The present is a gruel place, a hopeless test of endurance against strife. It is the hellish path through the bitter flames of a desert. But when the sand clears and the oasis is made known, I must continue to suffer, because only then will the truth be revealed.

When I look at her once more, I realize I have forgotten the reason as to why I'd come out. But the time I spent in the forest regained a sense of clarity in my mind. I take a breath and slip into the shadows of the pine trees, hidden.

Because only when things are hidden, will truth be revealed.

Author's note: Thank you for your support in reading this chapter! If you liked it, please remember to vote and comment. I also want to mention that the next few chapters will be kind of slow, just to build internal conflicts and parallels to make the story better! Feel free to leave any constructive criticism or requests for story ideas. See you next time :))
~H