『

and no wonder, for even satan disguises himself as an angel of light

』

"what's that face for?"

getō sat outside with akina, across from her as he gently held her bandaged hands in his. she looked up at him as he wiped the blood dripping from her fingers.

"that's just how i look" akina glared at him.

getō paused his movements, scrutinising her, making her want to reach over and cover his eyes.

"don't lie to me," getō frowned, "it makes me think you don't trust me"

akina felt her guilt creep up her throat, making it harder for her to speak as she took in getō's expression.

"i do trust you" akina told him.

"then why do you look like you're going to throw a tantrum or something" he eyed her up and down.

"it's just-" akina sighed quietly, "why'd you say i was your friend?"

akina finally asked the question that was burning her mind. thinking back to earlier that day as the pair had gone to buy breakfast, akina and getō had decided to order coffee.

akina waited as geto went to collect their drinks, the girl serving him giving him a sweet smile as she messily wrote her number onto his cup.

he picked up both cups, handing akina's drink to her as she stood beside him. the girl behind the counter watched in surprise, immediately apologising to getō, who hadn't left yet.

with the marker still in her hand, she reached out to grab his drink and scribble out what she'd written.

"i'm sorry! i didn't know you were in a relationship"

"don't worry," geto smiled slyly, pulling his cup back before she could get a hold of it, "she's just a friend of mine"

getō stared at akina strangely, seemingly confused at the question.

"we are friends aren't we?" he asked her.

akina narrowed her eyes at him, her jealousy overwhelming her senses.

"do you kiss all your friends?"

a ghost of a smile crossed getō's lips, so faint that akina hadn't even realised. as he placed the final bandaid on her, he brought her hand up to place a soft kiss to her injury.

"only the ones i really like"

akina felt herself unable to tear her eyes away from his sly grin, completely entranced with the way he managed to capture her attention and make her forget the rest of the world.

his light laughter at her silence brought her out of her daydreams, she pulled her hand back slowly, standing up to go back inside, feeling the ache in heart more prominently than the burn from the cuts blemishing her skin.

"if you really like me, why are we just friends?"

getō stood up as well, lightly pushing her hair behind her ears while he let his other hand run down her arm, falling to rest at her waist.

"i don't want to ruin what we have now," he told her quietly, "is that what you want?"

akina shook her head slowly, compelled to do so, given that the only other option getō had given her was to state that she wanted to destroy their relationship.

"so, we're just friends," he whispered, bringing his thumb up to slightly tug her bottom lip down,

"really good friends"

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akina found that she was beginning to question how many times she'd put up with being hurt just for getō suguru.

sometimes he'd say harsh things about her, reduce her self-esteem to almost nothing, but then sprinkle in a couple of loving words to make her feel good again.

he had also started to make more acquaintances outside of his usual friends. more girl acquaintances, to be specific. they were always a bit too touchy with him, though akina couldn't exactly say anything about it. getō wasn't her boyfriend after all.

even so, akina's jealousy became untameable, appearing often, and when it did, it rendered her completely unwilling to listen to reason. she paid close attention, noting that these girls he spent time with often had features similar to her own, only the slightest bit different.

sometime they had the exact same hair colour, though akina's was a bit shorter in length, it made her wonder whether getō would prefer her to grow it out. often times the girls were a bit shorter than her, even in their heeled shoes, akina thought maybe getō didn't like when girls were taller than average, like she was.

nitpicking the finer details of what made akina lesser than those she compared herself to, she had fallen into the self-loathing habit of dissecting why she simply wasn't enough for getō suguru.

eventually, she'd come to realise, after spending far too long with getō, that she'd not only be hurt by what he was doing, but also by what she was doing to herself.

her mother had even pointed it out once, noticing the growing number of times akina would return from their garden, fingers completely covered in small scratches from the thorns of the flowers.

"you're making a mess" she scolded her, the blood trickled down her hands, though akina seemed unbothered.

she shrugged in response, standing up straighter as she backed away from the neat hedges, momentarily glancing at getō and azeru who sat inside.

"you need to stop," her mother noticed her eyes follow to where the boys were seated, recognising the self inflicted injuries as a familiar habit of her own, "it's not good for you"

"it's just a few thorns," akina brushed off, eyeing her mother's serious expression strangely, "it doesn't even hurt that much"

her mother's stare hardened at the obvious lie akina had told, her stiff posture indicating how she had tried to ignore what she'd done to herself.

"i'm not talking about that," she briefly looked back at getō before turning back to her daughter,

"i know you're doing this on purpose"

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she didn't speak to her mother after their conversation, though her words lingered on her mind, and akina wondered how she knew exactly what she was doing.

she had slowly stopped being careless when tending to the garden, noticing the cuts on her hands fade over time.

akina had tried to distance herself from getō, realising the time she spent away from him actually had her feeling less on edge, the distance allowing her to understand how much being with him made her self hatred explode.

he had obviously noticed how she was often busy whenever he visited, she stopped coming to him to help her with her injuries, and he could barely remember the last time she asked him for a kiss.

akina, more than anything, felt angry. like she'd wasted such a part of her life simply waiting for someone who didn't care about her in the slightest.

she was furious that she'd been used by him, hating him for ever making her feel like she had to appease his needs. hating how she hadn't even been able to stand up for herself, how she'd allowed him to reduce her to nothing, only to beg him to whisper his lies to quell her insecurity.

it was during this time, akina had first heard of gojō satoru, truly acting as her saviour from her miserable life so far.

she had been dragged to one of her relatives homes, the adults all discussed how the gojō clan had been heading toward the path of losing their high status.

akina busied herself in the kitchen with aiya, as per her parents instructions, heating some water to serve everyone tea to drink.

she listened over to their conversation, gojō satoru had mastered the six eyes and limitless technique.

she knew of the gojō clan, of course, but had never heard of satoru himself.

she learned that,

1. gojō satoru was three years older than her

2. gojō satoru had no respect for the higher ups

3. gojō satoru was too arrogant for his own good (her cousin's words)

and finally,

4. gojō satoru was all that fujihara akina dreamed of being, as a sorcerer, and as a person.

"move out of the way," aiya pushed akina to the side, reaching to pour the water into the small cups, "it'll get cold"

"do you know gojō satoru?" akina asked quietly, rubbing her shoulder.

"of course i do," aiya scoffed,

"everyone knows who he is"

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