sympathy of the honoured | s. gojo × reader

ii. an apology for souls taken

Eyes like infinite blue, so very deep and exquisite, graze over the features of the woman before him. Twin to his own, black lenses shield her gaze from his - or is it the other way around? Features lit up by a simple smile, she stands there, before him (he already saw her, hadn't he?), silhouette so frail she might just break, a shadow amongst many, with dark leather as her only armour.

A curse.

People around part as they come across them, shooting them a furiously passive glare before forgetting all of this strange duo lost amidst a sea of passer-by, attention turned on the screen lighting up their tired features. Really, why must they both stand there? Why can't they resume staring at each other elsewhere?

(Hush now dear. There are things beyond your comprehension. And they might be the greatest mystery of it all.)

A curse, she is nothing but a curse really, but she does nothing. No bodies fall at her feet, covered in their very own sins, basking in it, raising supplicant hands towards the skies, towards her as if she could help- please not yet, please, there is something I must do-

So why, why is she there, for all to see?

"Satoru Gojo." A whisper, almost lost in the midst of the crowded streets of Tokyo, almost lost, carried to him in a sea of savours and scents all too familiar, sweet air caressing his cheek as a lover would.

He takes one long stride towards her, she does too. Two almost-strangers standing at a crossroads, in a world only they could understand. Now, which way would it be?

Would he demand answers to the questions burning on the tip of his tongue, begging to be answered?

Or would he watch her fall at his feet, that smile never fading and maybe, maybe even hear a grateful sigh?

The Honoured one, undisputed strongest amongst all, is not one to hesitate. China white hair flutter in the cool breeze of a pleasant evening, and at his side, an old friend simply smiles. Silence wraps its thick veils of mother-grey pearl around their shoulders - careful there, her shoulders are so slender they might just fracture in a billion pieces like porcelain would.

Shorter frame, surprisingly warm at his side, as she looks up at him. Tears brim at the corners of her eyes, crystal glistening in the soft silver rays of a benevolent moon.

"I'm so, so very sorry. I've taken so much from you, so many lives-"

Since when, he wonders, tightening his grip over her waist, long, deft fingers wiping away tears that should have been shed such a very long time ago, since when does Death herself apologises?

Names embedded in his mind, ice-cold in his memory, never forgotten by neither of them, and he sees them, all, laying in a pool of their own wasted life- she was there too, grieving, mourning for him. Mourning the loss of one more reason for him to remain just a little while longer.

(She did not let him go, or rather, he did not get away from her only to see his life crumble down. How cruel must they all be to inflict this on them?)

Throughout the Heavens and Earth, he alone stands as the Honoured One. It would only be fair if the one who wielded a scythe still sharp in spite of the millennia would submit to his will.

Satoru Gojo is a lot of things, but he is not cruel. Or rather, not with people he doesn't have any reason to be cruel with. (Yet, she said it herself, hadn't she? She had taken so much-)

"It's not your fault."

She did not ask to be born now, did she? A curse so powerful all could see, shaped by the primary fear of what comes after this world, no, of how we would live this world.

[Colour] eyes raise to meet his, surprise swirling in their abyssal depths, and for a split second, he understands them all, all those who had stared into his eyes and backed away. Except he doesn't back away.

Warmth again, long, slender digit tilting up her chin, bringing her closer to him, and they share the same breath. Infinity waltzes in his eyes, and he says, ever so gently - a wonder truly how he does not scream - lips curled up in a soft smile:

"When the time comes, I'll kill you."

(And what would she become, if she too was to pass away?)