CELESTIAL FLOWERS ( s. gojo )

arc i ━ chapter i. harmony

a r c  i.
❝ and you love the chains, even when they cast you to the ground. ❞
━━ chapter i. harmony

NAKANO ERISU IS LIKE THE SUN. So many people are likened to that star, but they hold nothing in comparison to Erisu who smiles and lights up the whole solar system. From her hair reminiscent of threads of flame, to her eyes which are the color of melted gold, Erisu is brilliant.

A mere sixteen year old lady who walks with elegance and grace. From the way she bows to the smile she has painted on her face, she is a sunflower among weeds. Chosen, gorgeous and glowing.

Everyone who knows Erisu loves her, and those who have the misfortune of not knowing her will come to do so in proper time. Kindness, cheerfulness, and gracefulness. Erisu has those traits in spades, sparing sweet smiles to mere mortals.

This set of facts will forever honor Kazuko. That she, despite her relatively weak disposition and lack of astounding familial bloodlines to harness cursed energy, is the closest attendant of the sun-blessed girl.

"I'm honored to finally meet you, Gojo-san," Erisu says with a sweet smile before she bows her head in greeting. "On behalf of my family, I welcome you to our humble abode."

"You're so polite," Gojo responds. "You must be Erisu?"

Kazuko moves forward and gestures to her lady. She's dressed in dull grey garbs, a stark contrast to Erisu's bright garments embellished with threaded gold. "This is Nakano Erisu-sama," she introduces. "The one who will avail your services."

"And you're so stiff," he tells Kazuko. "Can't Erisu introduce herself?"

"She has no need to when I'm here."

"Aside from bait, you're announcer too, huh twerp?" He scratches the top of his head, tousling locks of bluish white. "The Nakanos must be lacking in manpower."

"Please don't refer to me as twerp," Kazuko says. "And as Erisu-sama's attendant, I have many duties and announcing her presence is simply one of them."

"So you don't deny being bait, huh?" Kazuko is about to interrupt, but he turns to Erisu and a vicious smile overtakes his lips. Feral, Kazuko thinks. There's something about Gojo Satoru that despite the delicateness in his pale blue eyes, silver hair and name (Kazuko wonders if he uses the kanji for enlightenment; don't those six eyes of his know everything?), there's something feral lurking inside of him. Like a beast that's ready to tear you into shreds. "Are you okay with that? This twerp's going to die because of you."

Kazuko notices the tiny fracture in Erisu's cool composure. A bite in her lower lip and the wavering pupils in her eyes. "Azu—"

"Isn't it your job to make sure that no deaths occur, Gojo-san?" Kazuko asks, in defense of Erisu who looks shaken. It's alright, she seems to say. I'm here. "Isn't that why you're here?"

I can handle him, her eyes laced with conviction seems to say. I'll protect you, Eri. Eri and Azu. Erisu and Kazuko. Together since they were mere children. Together since they could barely walk and utter words. Delightful children who listened to their elders and seldom made trouble. Erisu who helped those in need and smiled and smiled to ward away the loneliness and the gnawing coldness of reality. Kazuko who followed Erisu's lead and took the role of the shield who guards her from looming threats.

"No," Gojo says, tilts his chin up as if to look down at both of their pathetic figures. Hints of bluish white eyelasues peek from his tinted glasses. "My job is to kill all of those worms and protect Nakano Erisu. If the twerp needs to die to guarantee the success of that, then..."

He relaxes his shoulder and puts his palm up. Then that's how it is. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he turns to the door and leaves.

"This Gojo Satoru," Kazuko begins, diverting the topic of the conversation from the dreary things Gojo was saying. "I don't trust him with your life at all, Eri..."

Her mind travels back to those cultists, the one who wished to harm Erisu. The mere thought of people wanting Erisu hurt was preposterous. Who would wish harm on the glorious sun that was kind enough to light the earth and warm your aching bones? Who would cut the glorious sun that brought about cheer and excitement for every passing day?

But there was. A cult of worshippers who believed the Nakano heir was the descendant of Amaterasu, whose blood they believe could give them unending power, deliver to them all the riches and glory the world could offer. They'd carve all her veins and siphon the last drop of her blood to sustain their foolish fantasies.

"He is the strongest," Erisu said. "I understand that you're worried, Azu. That anxiousness is normal, but it has to be Gojo Satoru. There's no one higher than him in terms of strength. You've heard of his impressive feats."

"Still, it's jarring to connect those feats to that person. He's barely a year older than you and me." Kazuko furrowed her brows, reminiscing the irritating encounter she had with the subject of their conversation. "Not to mention his rudeness and that conceit emanating from him."

"Maybe you've mistaken his confidence for conceit," Erisu supplied. "You tend to have a one track mind of persons you dislike. I don't blame you though; I'm not particularly fond of his attitude."

Kazuko sighs. Erisu has always been capable of reading her like an open book. "I suppose." She clenches her fist. "But that doesn't mean I'll let my guard down. Your life will still be in danger as long as those cultists run free."

Erisu nods. She gazes at the open window, the bright blue sky void of clouds. Trees swaying to the autumn breeze that manages to blow past the curtains. "I know..." she says and stares at he right palm where a small scar from a knife cut remained. One of the cultists had snuck into the Nakano compound, pretended to deliver tea to her bedroom and slashed her palm in a swift motion. "The thought that they're swarming about makes my skin shiver. The elders have ordered our men to hunt them down, but that's only made them more alert and dangerous."

"I can never agree with this plan," Kazuko admits and meets her lady's eyes. Her fists are shaking. "I detest that they're using you as bait to lure all those worms out. It's too risky."

"Don't put it that way, Azu," Erisu says and reaches for Kazuko's shaking hands. Her hands are warm and they manage to steady Kazuko's shaking ones. Always. Like an older sister who promised to protect her from all harm. Even when their duties dictated the reverse, Erisu would always look out for Kazuko. "They're going to have you masquerade as me so you're in even more danger. It's outright revolting that they have to risk your life."

"It's fine," Kazuko says. Bait. She remembers Gojo Satoru saying, then she noted the modicum amount of surprise that registered over his face when he was unable to draw a reaction from her face. Bait. It was true. There was no denying that. Bait. Maybe it was demeaning, but Kazuko would lay down her life for Erisu without hesitation. To be used as bait in order to shield the other girl, Kazuko will not falter. She was bait and she would die in that role if it would protect Erisu from danger. "If that Gojo Satoru's any good, he'll get all this mess over and done with."

Erisu smiles. "I hope as much," she says. "But Azu, I want you to be careful. Don't get hurt, okay?"

An inevitable consequence, Kazuko thinks. But to pacify the other girl, she musters a steady smile. I will protect you, this life is made for the sole purpose of that. What did Gojo Satoru call it? A horrible set of chains. Maybe he even thought it was a burden she had to carry in pain. Kazuko clenches her fist. It did not matter what he thought, what others thought and even what she herself viewed regarding the matter.

She would fulfill her duty.

That's all there is to it.

━━ to be continued.
|| i'm so nervous ;.; i didn't prewrite this at all and i just have a vague outline of things. and every time i try to write for this story, it ends up being some chapter that's supposed to be chapter 20 or something.
|| i don't even know if gojo's in character. heck, if my own ocs are in character. help.
|| the more i think about it, maybe i should have just made self-indulgent gojo oneshots and not this whole novel that's supposed to have a plot or something. rip.
|| please tell me what you guys think so maybe i can steer this sinking ship to the right direction.