the sun and the sky | gojo satoru

windy skies and light touches

She doubted he remembered his words now.

"—and this society, the society we live in—it creates us, then breaks us apart, and then it puts us back together again—but never in the same way as when we were born."

Kaito wasn't the same after his father died. Toko wasn't the same after she lost her husband. What happened today would leave a mark in Imai's mind forever. Even Shimizu was starting to change.

And Gojo definitely wasn't the child he used to be.

And Hina . .

She looked at her hands.

Has she changed as well?

"And that doesn't," She inhaled. "That doesn't make it right for people to do such things, and it doesn't give them an excuse—but what I'm trying to say is that I just wish that . ."

She trailed off.

That what?

Was she trying to be fair? And she was trying to, not naturally? Was it too personal to her, so personal that she couldn't see why anyone could do those things? Of course, she knew that there would be factors and reasons—but did that make them innocent?

Did that make it okay for them to harm others?

Glimpses of the past flashed in her mind—she remembered that candle-lit room, she remembered the screams of the other young girls just like her, she remembered how sharp those fingernails were, how sharply they pierced her skin, drawing blood and bruises and she remembered the pain so vividly, a pain that ate her from the inside out and crushed her small body—

So, don't you try to play all innocent, you putrid, insolent brat—!

She was clutching her face now, her breaths heavy as she breathed in and out, and in and out.

Hina was too selfish to forgive her.

And she was a terrible person for that.

"Can't we . ." She swallowed, sighing shakily. "Can't we be better?"

Is it possible for us to be better, so that those who come after us will also be better?

"Are you crying?" Gojo inquired, and Hina almost laughed.

She shook her head. "No, no. I'm just thinking about a lot."

"Then," He began. "That cursed technique of yours seems kinda interesting. Care to share?"

Ah.

He was changing the subject.

But why this particular subject?

"What do you mean?" She questioned, wanting to play aloof on this matter for just a little while longer.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, well," She laughed dryly, looking at her hands again. "It's not anything strong, or—or powerful."

"I know." Gojo says, tapping his bandages with his index finger. "It's just kinda weird. So I'd like to hear it from you."

"Is this that favor you were talking about?"

"Wha? No. I'm saving that for something else. But I'd really like it if you did tell me."

She lifted a brow.

"Pleeease." He begged. "It's not like you did much to try and hide it, anyway."

Ah, she really didn't. It has been sitting somewhere at the back of Hina's mind—amongst many other things—but she always wondered why she never put in much effort to hide her abilities from him. Perhaps it was because she assumed he would find out anyway—after all, he did have quite special eyes. But there was something else, something she wasn't sure on how to word yet.