「

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god

」

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"i don't blame you, you know?"

gojō satoru kept his hands in his pockets whilst standing directly in front of fujihara akina, his head tilted back as he gazed at her through the lenses of his sunglasses.

"for staring at me all the time"

"you are nice to look at," akina agreed without a second thought,

"but that's not why i was staring, you have sugar on your cheek"

he frowned, inconspicuously peeking at his reflection through a nearby window as he lifted his fingers up to dust away the residue from his earlier snack.

slightly embarrassed, gojō quickly walked towards the counter to purchase two train tickets, approaching the young woman behind the glass barrier.

with a simple greeting and the casual way he told her that her smile could be one of the seven wonders, gojō caused the ticket lady's skin to burn a bright red while she stuttered out something along the lines of a thank you.

he turned around holding up the two tickets in front of his face as he walked back towards where akina stood.

"she forgot to ask me to pay"

akina glanced behind him, noticing the ticket girl still in a daze from the compliment she had just received, now beginning to hold up the line in front of her.

"okay, let's go"

akina reached out to grab her ticket when gojō pouted slightly, moving his hands out of her reach.

"you're not even a little bit impressed?"

gojō's whining, anything but endearing, caused akina to purse her lips slightly.

"not really"

gojo opened his mouth to respond with another sly remark, but stopped himself at at the sound of the train loudly approaching the platform.

he let akina walk in front of him, the two of them entering the crowd already present inside the carriage. holding on to the handrail next to her, akina averted her eyes to look out the window, sighing as she watched the plain scene pass her by.

"so will you help me, mr gojō?"

he blinked, turning to face her before his lips quirked up once more. stretching out his arm, he wrapped it around her shoulders loosely.

"of course! i'm not one to say no to a pretty girl"

akina nodded before turning back to face the window while gojō's arm fell slack at her complete disregard to his sugar coated words.

"and why do you keep calling me mister? how old do you think i am anyway?"

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on august 8th, 1999, fujihara akina celebrated her seventh birthday. observing her household on that evening, one would find it hard to believe that it was even a child's birthday at all.

she greeted each guest at her front door, accepting their insincere wishes and gifts. their words, while being directed towards her, were simply a means to fill the silence between them as their eyes searched for her brother, fujihara azeru.

azeru's expeditious growth in the mastery of the fujihara clan's inherited technique was a widely discussed topic amongst the more influential sorcerers. at a mere nine years old, azeru had grown to be a powerful cursed user.

naturally, akina resented him. holding his head high, azeru paraded his talent, feeding into the hungry eyes that followed his every move.

akina angrily held onto the present she was just handed, a large red bow wrapped around the middle, watching the people who had given her the most artificial smiles run at the chance to meet her brother.

the wrapping paper had proven to be far to delicate for the force she held the gift with, small tears appearing at her fingertips as she irritably walked into her room before shutting the door loudly.

the noise of the unwelcome guests in her home subsided, only a muted muffle of conversation managing to slip through the gaps of her room.

"this party sucks, huh?"

akina turned around in alarm, her back against the door as she ignored the handle poking into her, now noticing an older boy already laying comfortably on her bed. his hands were occupied with a dainty snow globe that had been situated on her bedside table.

"it's my party"

akina replied to him, a spiteful taste spreading across her tongue the moment the words escaped her. she violently tore the wrapping paper off the box as she moved to sit on the floor.

"easy, psycho"

the boy raised an eyebrow at her aggressive movements towards the innocent item on her lap causing her to glare at him.

"it's not fair, i hate my birthday"

"what's not fair is an annoying little brat coming in here to cry about her birthday"

akina narrowed her eyes, watching him set the snow globe aside, back to where he found it. moving to sit upright, his arms stretched out above his head as he let out a silent yawn.

"who even are you?" akina asked, her displeasure evident across her features.

the boy tilted his head sideways, cracking his neck as he stared at akina strangely, surprised that she didn't already know who she was.

"i'm toji ze-"

he paused, distracted as he pointed towards her.

"hey, what's that shit on your hands?"

akina looked down, noticing the intricate markings forming, moving to cover the back of her hands, travelling up and around each of her fingers.

a small smile appeared at her lips as she moved to stand up, admiring the design painted on her skin while toji watched the light pattern curling around her hands with confusion.

"what are you so happy about, crazy?"

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fujihara akina, even years later, couldn't forget, as much as she desired to, the hatred and anger that spewed out of her parents mouths the moment they had discovered she had inherited their cursed technique.

in just over 400 years, akina had become the third woman in the world to obtain the fujihara clan's technique. her power ignited outrage amongst the other families, insisting that only the men were expected to carry such a prestigious power.

she didn't particularly like the disgusted stares she'd receive from her relatives, or the insulting comments thrown at her. some even suggesting, while in her presence, that she be disposed of as an honour killing. her mother instantly dismissed the idea, claiming she would never treat her own daughter like that.

though akina believed she avoided the idea of killing her because she didn't want her hands to get dirty.

the interest of her clan now stumbled onto akina, deserting azeru in the process. she carefully held their attention in the palms of her hands, doing anything in her power to keep it in her possession.

azeru, whether he chose to admit it or not, also shared the sense of competition with akina, although two years older than her, now with her ability to harness her cursed technique, he desired the attention he had always adored to be rightfully returned to him.

"the world needs to be cleansed"

azeru insisted that those who didn't have cursed energy simply held humanity back from advancing, ultimately keeping sorcerers under the control of weaker beings. he explained his way of thinking the day he was told he would be their uncle's successor, next in line to become the head of the fujihara clan.

akina looked to him blankly, taking his words with little acknowledgement. he continued speaking, eyes trailing the sparse clouds littering the sky with a determination that was difficult to shatter.

the sun smiled down at azeru, admired even by the stars in the sky, he captivated the world.

"you hardly count, but you are still a sorcerer,"

the unknowingly vindictive sentiment struck akina harshly. she kept her mouth shut and her eyes forward.

"a very weak one though, so make sure to stay out of my way"

his plan after becoming the head of the clan had remained confidential, though akina paid him no mind. a mistake on her part, she had realised far too late.

azeru started to walk away, the sunlight seemingly chasing after him to bask in his presence. his being was surrounded by an air of purity that outrightly juxtaposed his purposefully malicious words.

akina came to a stand still in the middle of the garden. staring at the back of azeru's head, she imagined herself defeating him a hundred and one different ways, bringing him to the state of mediocrity he always put her in.

but as she looked down at her hands, covered in the black material of her gloves, she knew these daydreams were far from reality.

they were a gift from her sister. akina disliked wearing them, her parents strictly ordering her to never remove them, especially when in public. akina had never been more disappointed opening a birthday present than the day she opened a small white box only to find a pair of simple gloves.

clearly favoured over akina for being the first born, with her untainted skin, fujihara aiya relished in being her parents prized treasure.

"god, can you cover that up, you look completely defiled"

the pair of disregarded gloves were pushed into akina's chest, her older sister's eyes watchfully observing their surroundings to ensure there were no onlookers.

"you never say anything about azeru's hands"

akina mumbled under her breath, reluctantly tugging the black material over her hands. aiya gave her a stern stare that always tended to render her silent.

akina scowled, turning her head to the side to which aiya responded by smacking the back of her head.

"just shut up and behave"

this had become a routinely measure, both sisters bickering unnecessarily right before they were to make an appearance for aiya's potential suitors. while akina had absolutely no interest in impressing anyone, aiya found it came easily to her, that is, to project her image of complete innocence and desirability.

her hair always carried a style that would suggest that she belonged on a cover of a magazine. akina had always seen her apply her makeup at home, yet she managed to wear it in such a way that the boys she visited could never tell, praising her for her naturally luminous beauty.

the manner in which she spoke to her sister was of no indication to how she acted around others, perfectly balancing how much she spoke, not too much that she'd seem abrasive or obnoxious, but not too little either so that she'd seem reclusive or outcasted.

as much as she despised her sister, akina would never undermine her intelligence. manipulating her outward appearance and behaviour to appeal to the regressive male gaze, aiya may have looked like she had never had a cohesive thought, but her every move was calculated.

"you look like you crawled out of a grave, how can you leave the house like that?"

aiya pulled out a small tube from her bag before grabbing the top of akina's head, yanking her hair closer to then lightly spread some of the product under her eyes.

akina shoved her away, causing the concealer to smudge along her cheek.

"i don't want to go"

aiya scoffed, staying in her spot as she crossed her arms.

"and i don't care, stop complaining"

akina stilled her movements with disinclination. revisiting a common place in her mind, she was met with the image of gojō satoru.

she felt as though she could see him, sharing his appearance with a celestial body, towering over the earth with amusement in his eyes while he reached down to pick up and set down different people as if he were playing a game of chess.

gojō satoru waited for no one, akina learned.

his life was what he made it, playing by only his rules. the world, controlled by his every decision, simply played his game.

aiya nudged her shoulder, a little too roughly for akina's liking, to bring her back to reality while their parents rang the doorbell of the home in front of them.

"don't hurt yourself thinking too hard"

akina had been used to both aiya and azeru speaking to her as if she were undeserving of her position as their sister, though the initial heartache of her older siblings treating her as less than the dirt they'd find under their shoes had affected her more than she'd like, she found over time it became easier for her to avoid them getting on her nerves.

but as of now, it hadn't been even 10 minutes since they had been welcomed inside and naoya zenin was already irritating akina to no end.

his eyes hadn't left her from the moment she entered his house. now sitting across from where she stood stiffly, his elbow rested against the arm rest while his chin sat in his palm.

"what are you waiting for?" his question was directed to akina while he stared at her intently.

aiya had excused herself to the bathroom and her parents were seated in the kitchen with the other adults, leaving akina on her own.

"i'm waiting to go home" akina answered flatly, so i never have to see you again. though that part of her sentence remained safely in her own thoughts.

"you should be offering me something to eat or drink," naoya scoffed with annoyance crossing his features,

"women like you are such a waste"

akina's eyes widened at his candid words.

"you want something to eat?"

she glared at him, crossing her arms as she fell to the open seat behind her, as if to spite the boy before her, showing that she had no intention of serving him.

"go get it yourself"

though naoya kept his relaxed demeanour, his eyes revealed the steadily brewing anger within him.

"you would make an awful wife," naoya eyed her posture that exuded complete distaste with her surroundings,

"i should kill you right now"

akina shrugged slightly, not finding his threats to be any worse than what her brother and sister would tell her, now fixating her gaze out the window to ignore the boy in front of her.

"and you'd make a terrible husband," akina told him as she tilted her head to the side with faux concern, thinking of what her next words should be to anger him the most,

"you're not even head of your clan"

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akina heard a small commotion beside her. the train jostled slightly causing her to sway, her face close to colliding with gojō's back.

gojō, meanwhile, was leaning down towards the man seated near where they stood, eyeing him with condescension.

the train came to a halt, and the doors opened. gojō swiftly plucked the phone from the man's hands before tossing it without care out of the train. the smashed pieces scattered across the platform like a small firework.

gojō then pushed him off with an undertone of disgust as the man hastily stumbled out of the train, embarrassment creeping across his face.

the door shut again, and akina stared at gojō in surprise. he scoffed, still staring at the man through the window, before shaking his head slightly and adjusting his glasses.

"what was that?"

akina asked him quietly, but firmly, her expression revealing anything but the confusion she felt.

"you didn't see?"

gojō asked genuinely, looking taken aback, before leaning forwards, his face closely beside her own while he turned to whisper in her ear.

"he was looking up your skirt"

gojō leaned back to return to his original position, watching akina's reaction carefully. she simply stared back at him, seemingly frozen in time.

"oh," akina nodded slowly, unconsciously flattening the back of her skirt,

"thank you then"

gojō smiled, then averted his gaze to his phone again. akina stared at him for a moment more.

"what? i got something on my face again?"

gojō's hand shot up, covering the bottom half of his face quickly.

akina found a small delight in watching gojō become frantic over his appearance in front of her. though nothing was blemishing his face at this point in time, she gestured vaguely to his features.

"yes, right there"

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