𝑫𝒀𝑵𝑨𝑺𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑺 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐕 - 𝐀 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐌 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒

THE PARTY WAS IN FULL SWING BY THE TIME THE TWINS MADE IT TO THE ENTRANCE. The double doors to the great hall were still sealed shut, yet Keisuke could still hear the voices trickling in through the cracks in the gilded wood. The Kinzoku boy exhaled softly, quietly sneaking his hand into his sisters to give it one last big squeeze before they were both torn away from one another.

Mikazuki's hand felt small and cold in his, but Kei didn't have time to linger in the sensation as the girl was dragged away, a pair of strong hands guiding her towards the shadows. Keisuke wanted to follow, he didn't want to leave Mikazuki to her own devices, especially so soon after the tragedy, but the young boy didn't have time to react, his father's figure obscuring his view.

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd show." Asahi said in his calmest tone as he eyed his heir. "We'll discuss your tardiness later, though."

And by discuss, he meant punish, because that was the only thing a man like himself could get from a man like Asahi. There was nothing gentle about him, nothing fragile. Everything about Kinzoku Asahi was carefully calculated, he was a fortress of a man, not a single weakness in sight. Before, Keisuke had strived to be just like him. Now, though? He knew better.

Asahi might have been an impenetrable fortress, but just like his enemies would never be able to breach through its walls, neither would his children. Mikazuki was still in denial, pretending the man who raised her was something he was not – pretending he was a father, a title that should have never been bestowed upon him. Keisuke was not naive enough to mistake Asahi's actions for those of a doting father. He knew the truth, after all.

"I hope you behave yourself tonight, son." Asahi mentioned, the threat in his statement poorly veiled and poignant enough to make Keisuke's heart shuddering under his cold gaze. "We wouldn't want a repeat of the Cheshire mission, would we?" He grinned, his smile all gums and teeth.

The Cheshire mission. How long would he continue to hold that over their heads? Still, Keisuke didn't feel like starting a war, not when he knew his sister would be the one caught in the crossfire. Instead, he put on a pliable smile and hoped Asahi wouldn't notice the rot spreading through his soul nor the hatred festering in his heart. The man seemed satisfied by the display, his cold bony hands coming to rest on Keisuke's shoulders.

The hold was light, but the younger Kinzoku could still feel his father's nails digging into his skin, the gilded power he held acting like pins and needles that ripped through his skin like shredded cheese. Even now, after everything he'd learned and the countless techniques he'd mastered, he was still at Asahi's mercy.

"Let's hope tonight goes as planned. It'll make things easier for all of us."

Keisuke didn't call him out on the lie. Asahi was the kind of man who liked to plan things extensively, but somehow this wasn't enough to fool the almost eighteen-year-old to believe a single word that came out of his mouth. The King of Sorcerers was a practiced liar, and his Golden Prince had long been able to discern his tales from the truth.

Keisuke closed his eyes, somewhat aware of the conversation happening behind his back where Hide had dragged his sister. Unlike his father, who had no tact and lacked basic decency, his mother was more adept at communication. She was still harsh and untamed, but with a gentler hand than that of her chosen husband. He could see Hide clutching Mikazuki's arm, appraising her looks and adjusting his sister's bodice.

It wasn't a motherly gesture, but it was the closest either of them would ever get from the woman. And, for Mikazuki, it was enough. Keisuke was a whole other story, a world in his own right. To him, none of this was enough. Either love me fully or not at all. That was the kind of commitment he expected from his parents. It was also the commitment he expected of himself.

Mikazuki had made her choice long ago, and Kei didn't have any doubt about her feelings. His parents were different; they loved each other. Maybe they loved each other too much, and that was they failed to love any of them instead.

"For all of us?" Keisuke couldn't help but ask as he craned his neck to look up at his father, his tone as frosty as the cold setting on his golden eyes. "Or just you?"

He should have seen the slap come a mile away, yet Keisuke was still taken aback the moment the back of his father's hand collided with his cheek. The boy reeled back, both from the surprise and the pain suddenly spreading through his reddened face. Asahi appeared calm, his expression unchanged, but Keisuke wasn't fooled, not when he could see the gold unravelling inside of his father's golden eyes, the power he held barely contained through his anger.

"Asahi!" Hide called, a clear warning in her tone.

For a single second, Keisuke thought the woman would come to his aid. Instead, the woman crossed the space in a couple of strides, cradling her husband's face in her hands before she hot him a carefully controlled stare, her emerald-green eyes colliding with his golden ones in a display that should have been beautiful but only managed to make his skin crawl.

"Remember what we said. Not tonight." Hide whispered in his ear, her lips grazing the sensitive skin before she moved back. "Everyone's eyes will be on the twins tonight, they need to be intact."

Right. Because the problem was the date, and not the fact that Asahi had backhanded his son on the face in front of half a dozen servants, not that they weren't already used to it. The King of Sorcerers had a short temper, always restoring to violence, as if the instinct buried deep within his soul boiled over to the surface the moment anyone tried to crawl under his skin.

Keisuke pulled his lips into a tight line, carefully keeping his Cursed Energy in control as he tried to reign in the tendrils of Everlasting. In an attempt to take his mind off from the humiliation and the anger, he looked away, his stare briefly meeting Mikazuki's. She looked at him with pity, yet there was also a lot of pain in those pools of everlasting gold.

Keisuke didn't want her pity; he didn't want any of the feelings currently blossoming from his sweet sister. He didn't have time to dwell on it, though, as he soon found himself being herded by his mother along with his twin, the two of them thrust at either side of Asahi.

"It's time. We're already behind schedule." Asahi announced as he sneaked his arms over both of the twins in what was supposed to be a hug but felt a whole lot like a prison.

His hold around them tightened, the feeling of his arms around their bodies heavy enough to make them feel like they were suffocating under his embrace. Mikazuki wiggled in an attempt to set herself free but, as soon as she did, Asahi pinned her down with one simple stare. The girl nodded; her face white as a sheet as she let herself drown under his power. Kei didn't attempt to fight, already far too familiar with the feeling of his father's suffocating nature.

"Now, let's celebrate my creations."

Creations. Not children, not heirs. His creation – because, for as long as either of them lived, they would always be known as something of his, his property.