𝑫𝒀𝑵𝑨𝑺𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑺 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗 - 𝐎𝐅 𝐙𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑𝐒

TO NO ONE'S SURPRISE, THE BALLROOM WAS JUST AS CROWDED AS THE SURROUNDING GARDENS. Gojo Satoru winced, putting down his empty glass and bracing himself for impact. Sene chuckled darkly, interlocking her arm with her grandsons' one more time before she began to lead him towards the back of the room. Satoru remained calm, a fake smile plastered on his face as he nodded towards the guests while they slowly made their way across the ballroom. Even in this thick crowd, he was able to settle his gaze by the dining table, his ocean eyes lingering over the Zenin family.

Sene squeezed his arm, a similarly fake smile playing on her lips as she greeted the crowd with her famous Gojo charm, which seemed to be one of the woman's specialist. Satoru took a deep breath, slightly leaning towards the matriarch. He could feel her ghostly breath against his skin, her pale lips moving slowly as she whispered into his ear.

"I know you despise these sorts of events, but good things will happen tonight" Sene reassured with a caring tone before letting go of her grandson and stomping towards the other side of the ballroom.

Satoru followed the woman quietly, only stopping momentarily to glance at the chandelier and the vaulted ceiling which was lined with pure gold and glowing rhinestones that intercepted in the middle. The man shook his head, crossing the ballroom with a couple of strides before he reached the dining area. The table was long and thin, the wood polished and sanded to make it soft to the touch while the plates had been placed lining the cracks that ran along the planch.

Dinner wasn't planned for another hour, meaning Satoru would have no other choice but to engage in conversation. Satoshi was gone – where to? The Gojo heir had no idea, but he was beginning to think his brother might have had the right idea considering what awaited him. Although relations between the Zenin and the Kinzoku had always been strained, Satoru knew for a fact Mikazuki had been friends with the brothers far long before he came into the picture. By the time he met Mikazuki for the first time at the tender age of fourteen years old, the girl had already established a long-lasting friendship with half of the Zenin clan.

Satoru wasn't surprised by this – much like the Kinzoku, the Zenin has a penchant for violence and a thirst for blood, which made them the perfect partner. If he wasn't marrying Eshima, the sorcerer was sure Asahi would have pushed Mikazuki right into Naoya's arms. They'd make a great couple, which somehow only made matters worse. Zenin Naobito, the head of the clan and father to all of the Zenin children currently attending the party, was standing by the large fireplace, his usual matted silver hair slicked back while he wore a dark navy suit with the clan symbol attached to the front of his tie.

Behind him and engaged in a heated conversation stood the rest of the Zenin boys, all of whom were between the ages of twenty-seven and nineteen, with the youngest one of them all being poor little freckled Zenin Minato. However, this wasn't what initially caught Satoru's attention. Instead, his gaze quickly flickered over the boys, settling on the young woman sitting in one of the red plush chairs, her dark eyes and blonde curls framing her puffy face.

Eshima seemed calm, even with a gaggle of brothers standing behind her and under the overwhelming weight of her father's watchful gaze. Even at seventeen years old, she had the body of a grown woman, the beautiful fabric of the ochre gown she was wearing highlighting her curves perfectly while the translucent mesh exposed the fair skin of her cleavage.

She was dazzling and, for a moment, Satoru forgot all about how much he resented the match. Gojo was no fool, he knew that his role as the clan heir would be to continue the bloodline and marry properly to ensure the powers of their line would be passed down. If it wasn't Eshima, then it would be someone else. There wasn't a single scenario in which he had a choice, but in that moment as his eyes clashed with hers, Satoru realized that his fate could have been so much worse.

"Glad to see you made it" Naobito greeted Sene as soon as she walked into the space, their hands meeting in an awkward handshake before the woman stepped back "We were wondering whether you'd be arriving late, as it seems to be a custom of yours"

There was no humour in his words, and if it weren't for Sene's calm demeanour, Satoru would have considered punching the man in the face. Instead, he watched as his grandmother forced a smile, willing to ignore the comment and look past Naobito's clear disdain of her.

"I appreciate your patience" she said with an oddly sweet tone before grabbing Satoru's hand and pushing him towards Eshima "Why don't we go for a walk? I hear the Kinzoku have prepared a spectacle in the grand hall" she turned towards the couple, an evil glint in her eyes "Why don't you take the opportunity to get to know each other in the meantime? I'm sure you have plenty of things to discuss"

This woman. Satoru rolled his eyes but nodded sternly, watching as Sene pulled Naobito by his sleeve and walked away. The rest of the brothers did the same, Naoya lingering for a moment as his eyes sharpened. Satoru didn't need to read minds to know what that look meant, so he simply nodded and watched him disappear into the crowd.

If you hurt my sister I will kill you. Naoya hadn't said, and yet Satoru was able to hear it loud and clear. The man swallowed past the lump on his throat, slowly turning to face Eshima. The girl stood up from the chair, smoothing the skirt of her dress before bowing her head.

"Gojo-senpai" she greeted, her voice small as the pearls of her earrings shook with the movement of her head.