『

if we live, we live for the lord; and if we die, we die for the lord. so, whether we live or die, we belong to the lord.

』

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akina slowly rubbed her eyes, sitting up as she heard a loud clatter. she looked around for a moment, seeing that she was in a large but empty bed, plain white sheets, white quilts, and white pillows.

she stood up, walking over to the large window, pushing the sheer curtains to the side to see the view of the neat garden below, across the street, a few children were at the park, playing energetically on the playground.

eventually leaving the room after completing her morning routine, akina walked down the stairs, entering the large kitchen to see gojō satoru scraping something out of a pan and into the bin.

"satoru?"

gojō looked up, a smile across his face at the very sight of her.

"good morning" he grinned, leaning across the island counter, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"why were you trying to cook?" she gave him an accusatory look though she had a faint smile on her lips, "nanami's still avoiding your calls from last time you gave him food poisoning"

"he's exaggerating," gojō waved it off, "and i thought i'd make breakfast for our anniversary"

akina crossed her arms watching gojō give her his most tempting smile before returning to open the fridge again.

akina quickly put her hand on his, stopping his movements.

"satoru, i know you're the greatest," she gently pulled his hand away from the fridge door, "but not at cooking"

gojō frowned, dropping her hand before quickly resting his arms against the counter, trapping her between them. he dropped his head to her shoulder, turning slightly to place a light kiss to the base her neck while his arms wrapped around her body.

"you're always so mean to me," he mumbled against her before lifting his head up, meeting her gaze.

"i know" akina looked up at him with a grin, leaning in a bit closer until she was just one movement away from connecting their lips.

gojō's cheeks dusted pink at their proximity and how unfazed akina seemed to be. he leaned in when he felt akina's hand rest at the side of his face, using her thumb to press against his lips, keeping him away from her.

akina let out a small yelp, feeling his teeth nip at her finger as she quickly pulled her hand away, glaring at him.

"so annoying"

gojō laughed, interlocking their fingers together, lifting their hands up for him to place a kiss on the shiny ring on her finger.

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the only thing on akina's mind was that she needed to find gojō satoru.

waking up, realising she'd lost consciousness from blood loss, only to find the last few moments she felt truly content were only figments of her dreams. akina wasn't all too surprised that she longed for gojō satoru, even in her subconscious, her thoughts were nothing without him.

akina never found it particularly appealing to have a husband, to live like her own mother and be tied down to a single man, she thought it'd be more of a punishment if anything.

but for some reason, akina felt comforted, knowing that it'd be gojō satoru taking care of her, living with her, placing the superficial symbol of his love on her ring finger just to show off to everyone that he loved her, and only her.

pulling a handful of tissues from the box in her hand, she stood up, checking if shoko had returned. seeing that it was still quiet in the room, she stood up slowly, heading straight for the door.

hoping it hadn't been too long since he left, akina believed she would be able to find him eventually.

her head felt completely disoriented, her whole view of the world distorted as she tried to calm the dizzy feeling by pressing her palm to her forehead.

she entered the building within the veiled area cautiously, glancing around for any semblance of gojō, her initial hope slowly waning.

she turned the corner when she came across a familiar figure, her entire being frozen at the sight.

"looking for satoru?"

akina stood entirely still, watching getō suguru take a step closer to her, smiling maniacally at her confounded daze.

she was brought back to her senses, getō's laugh intruding her ears, she hadn't exactly missed the sound.

she noticed he looked far too relaxed, calm almost, holding a disregard for the world devastation he was causing.

"i thought you said you'd never leave me," geto shook his head, still smiling, "i guess that's just too bad"

his smile fell, noticing akina move to raise her hands making him roll his eyes.

"don't even bother," he waved her off, "you're far too weak right now"

"i'm not-" akina felt her anger flare up once more when getō cut her off.

"where'd you get that?" he tapped his the corner of his own mouth, referring to the long cut along the side of akina's face, "azeru?"

"i killed him" akina told him, making him look more amused.

"as expected, of course," getō nodded thoughtfully, looking off to the side, "he couldn't even expand his domain"

geto then turned back to face akina.

"but he was working on something else," he continued, stepping even closer, reaching out to grasp akina's chin to turn her head to the side, "creating a kind of poisonous glass"

akina jerked her face out of his hold, glaring at him.

"so, you can try find satoru if you want, i won't stop you," he raised his hands up in defence,

"but you're already dying, akina"

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something tugged at gojō's heart the moment he left akina. at first he ignored it, the pressing need to save others, the innocent civilians, his worldly duty as the gojō satoru, he continued forward.

his mind simply couldn't be free of her. his thoughts revolved around her like no other, looking out at the distant sunset, he was reminded of how she bloomed when drenched in its light, to him, akina was a flower, wild and beautiful.

happiness wasn't eternal, gojō knew that, but how he wished it was. not for his own self satisfaction, no, he didn't feel selfish in this moment. he only desired it for fujihara akina, graced with having been witness to her rare expressions of happiness, her beguiling smile and rosy cheeks, gojō satoru found it was truly a sight for sore eyes.

he wasn't sure when, but his motive had switched to finding akina, his legs moving without him even needing to think about, his mind only wondering why he ever thought he could leave akina behind.

he would've walked right past her if it weren't for his frantic eyes. his gaze finally fell to her form, slumped over on the ground, blood having spilled from her mouth, staining her skin and the floor beneath her.

gojō was silent, falling to his knees before her, leaning over immediately to reach out and gently turn her to face him.

his heart pounded loudly, unable to form a cohesive thought, he felt helpless, even with being granted all the power in the world, he couldn't do anything.

he didn't feel relief seeing akina's eyes still slightly open, fluttering shut every now and then.

"satoru," akina shut her eyes, ignoring the taste of blood along her tongue, "you found me"

she found it easier to breathe, knowing that gojō was with her, she never wished for anything more.

"i'll-" gojō tried to calm the waver in his voice, placing his hand over hers, more so for himself, "i'll take you back to shoko"

gojō 's mouth ran dry at the sight of her, akina's eyes had been closed for just a moment too long for him.

his eyes glazed over, shutting them to prevent his tears from spilling, slowly leaning his forehead against hers.

"akina?" he spoke softly to her, "i love you, okay?"

his fingers trembled watching the faint smile cross akina's lips. he reached down for her hand, placing it over his own overwhelmed heart, keeping his eyes shut to live in his own lie, even if it was only for a moment longer.

"come on, just look at me," he continued quietly, "please?"

he opened his eyes to look at her face once more. he waited for her to call him stupid, for her skin to bloom a subtle pink, for her to say his name in a way that made his heart full every time he heard it leave her lips.

gojō satoru had tasted the ripe, heart shaped fruit of love, having watched it grow on its peach coloured leaves over time, from the moment he set eyes on her.

it's nectar was sweet, far too sweet, gojō was lucky he had an affinity for saccharine delights. having savoured it, he found the spell of its enchantment kept him pining for fujihara akina like no other.

"i'll take you to shoko and everything will be fine, okay?" he wanted to reassure his own frenzied mind.

gojō intertwined their fingers tightly, it felt cold against his own palm.

he had it, a taste of his forbidden fruit, yet still he wondered whether it was worth all that was
happening now.

slowly, gojō satoru fell. watching the heavens from which he came, sink further and further into the sky. his solace, his paradise, his garden of eden.

"satoru,"

he turned around and getō suguru grinned. gojō felt conflicted in letting akina's hand go, as though doing so would solidify her eternal rest.

his heart was torn to pieces, his best friend, someone who he loved dearly, stood before him in a wicked light, a vile aura that made him believe it just couldn't be his suguru.

in an instant he was trapped, unable to move as he was confined from all angles, getō only shook his head.

"you should know best," he spoke before moving his hands once more, completely sealing gojō satoru into the prison realm,

"love is the most twisted curse of them all"

gojō shut his eyes, leaving soils of the earth behind, unavoidably so, he fell from grace.

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