Chapter Text
The early morning sun warmed Satoru's skin as he sat on top of the roof of the temple. His feet dangled over the edge, the crisp air biting at his ankles, as his eyes drifted to the sky, hues of blue painted over the heavens as white clouds dotted sparingly. The heavens called to him, a whisper that glided over his ears and down his throat. A whisper that he yearned to answer but felt himself pull back.
The pull of duty chained him–responsibilities and expectations placed onto him like a weight that made him stagger.
His eyes shifted to the earth below, green and brown greeted him, it all seemed too ugly to him. The earth was no match to the beauty of the heavens–the limitless possibilities.
Regardless, he was not to touch the earth. He was forbidden for his feet to touch the ground, to let his toes feel the soil underneath. It would be unbecoming of him, a being that belonged to the skies–someone who must drift with the wind and move the earth around him.
From birth he was told that it was ugly.
And that was what he believed.
Satoru turned his head to the skies once more, a yearning churned deep in his gut.
“Satoru! Where are you?”
He whipped his head around–toward the voice that called to him. His mother.
He raised himself up from the roof and lowered himself to the ground like a gentle, summer breeze.
If he was forbidden to touch the earth, then why was he also forbidden to be set free to the heavens?
—
Gojou Satoru had been a divine being since birth. With hair that shimmered like snow and eyes that seemed to reflect the sky, his parents were told that he would do great things with his life.
But most unusual of all, and what made the midwife scream when she first held him and made his parents gasp as well, was the green tint to his skin that faded away as the days passed.
This was the tell-tale sign of a human possessing the likeness of the god of wind, Fūten.
In fact, it was not unusual for a human to be blessed with one of the abilities of the gods, but it was definitely unheard of one being in a rundown temple deep in the forests of rural Japan.
News of his birth spread far and wide.
His parents and the few monks who tended to the temple worked on restoring it. It soon became a well-known destination and a place of worship of Gojou Satoru, the boy who is one with the wind.
Satoru liked to think he was well acquainted with heaven.
He could touch the skies and never set a foot on Earth. He watched from above where no one could ever touch him.
Gojou Satoru commanded the heavens, and he drank in the plentiful worship from the humans below. In turn he did what he was supposed to and what was expected of him.
He was the marvel of his town, letting those who came to wonder at his beauty and took in the compliments that were thrown at him by the villagers everytime they came to pray or leave an offering.
However, Satoru was no god, no matter how close he was to the heavens above and how intimately intertwined with the winds he was that graced the earth.
He was the bridge between the earth and the heavens; he was the messenger, and since he was the closest thing to a god, he quickly became the subject of worship in his town.
He had a direct connection to Fūten, just like him he could control the winds. He was no god, but it was even possible for him to become one.
His family never let him touch the earth, to let him feel the soil under his feet. Whenever he walked, he always floated a couple centimeters off the ground.
In their grand temple that honored their god, with delicate stone paths lined with lanterns leading the way. A white Torii gate stood at the entrance, greeting those who wandered.
It was one day, when Satoru was sitting on top of the stone pedestal, bored out of his mind and rather annoyed to have so many people staring at him. He played with the sleeves of his kimono that were patterned with dragonflies all over the fabric.
He saw a shadow of a figure who walked outside the temple.
There was a man who wandered, dressed in priest robes with long hair, the color ink flowing down his back. Satoru almost paid him no mind until he noticed his stretched ears were still adorned with ebony.
So he was a fake priest—one who had not let go of his material desires.
Satoru was intrigued.
Their temple didn't have very many monks, but he must have been one of them. He wore their traditional robes with sleeves that swayed as he walked. His movements were graceful and calculated as if he planned out his every step.
The man's head turned just slightly, sharp eyes meeting his. Goosebumps littered his arms from the eye contact.
Just as the man was out of his view, Satoru was straining his head to look after him, but he caught himself when he realized there was an audience.
Later in the day, when the sun dipped into the horizon, he was eating dinner when he decided to finally voice his question.
"Mother, who is the monk with the long hair?"
His mother laid her chopsticks on top of her bowl as he pondered over his question.
"Ah, you must mean Suguru. He's been with us since he was a child."
Confusion flooded Satoru. He'd never seen him before today and he would have remembered such a face if he had.
"How come I've never seen him before?"
His mother resumed eating. "He mainly keeps to himself and maintains the gardens. He's quite a hard worker but he's not much for conversation."
Satoru felt his face burning. He'd lived for twenty years, but because of the abilities he possessed, he was often kept in the dark of the temple's inner workings. His parents would excuse it by saying he has much more important duties and he must not worry himself over such small things.
Yet all Satoru did was sit pretty on a pedestal in the middle of a room, accept offerings, and occasionally used his own abilities to help.
He gritted his teeth and kept quiet.
That night, when the temple went to sleep, he climbed the roof and pushed off. He commanded the air and flew into the night.
Their temple was massive with many intertwining paths and lanterns lining their way.
It made for a beautiful sight from above. Seeing emerald green meeting amber. He wondered if Getou was the one who lit them.
The breeze is gentle on his skin. Flight was something humans could never experience, at least not in the way Satoru could.
He spread his arms out and let himself drift, his hair whipped around him and his legs dangled below him.
He felt free.
His parents could never restrain him no matter how hard they tried. After all, how could they when Satoru had all these abilities?
He'd finally reached the monk's quarters. With his eyes, he saw Getou kneeling among the large stone lanterns and lighting them.
Satoru made no move to descend, but he wanted to observe him.
He made sure he was high enough to go unnoticed. Another one of his abilities is his keen vision. No matter how high he flew into the sky, his vision was sharp enough to still make out faces from the heavens.
When Suguru walked to the next lantern, Satoru noticed once again just how elegant his gait was. He never paid attention to the way people walked or how they carried themselves, but there was something about Suguru that caught his attention.
No human could carry such an elegance. They were often clumsy and their steps too heavy. There was very little confidence in how they carried themselves.
But Suguru, Suguru carried himself like a god.
Yet he was as human as everyone else. He sensed no kind of abilities in him. He was almost disappointed. Surely this man couldn't be any ordinary man.
Satoru waved his hand, manipulating the air around him and sent a breeze towards Suguru, ruffling his hair and making his sleeves billow around him.
He was beautiful, Satoru thought.
How, for so long, was Satoru kept in the dark about his existence?
Satoru gritted his teeth. Just how much more would be missed out on if his existence was only constrained to the distance.
If he had all this power, why couldn't he see the world?
Enough was enough. He would find a way. After all, how could his parents contain him anyways? He was far too powerful.
It was one thing, to fly in the cover of night when everyone was asleep, but that meant he would miss out on interactions such as these.
He found humans to often be weak and not worth his time, but maybe, just maybe that was not the case with certain people.
He flew back to the temple, his mind in disarray.
The next morning, when Satoru was once again sitting on his pedestal, worshiped by those who stopped by, he couldn't help but be a bit distracted.
His eyes shifted to the entrance every so often in hopes to spot a certain monk.
However, that day, he didn't see him.
Nor the next day.
Or the next.
Three days later, Satoru was frustrated, pacing back and forth in his room.
It would make sense that Suguru would be elusive. After all, that one day was the first he ever saw of him. So what was so special about that day, for him to make himself known to Satoru.
On that night, he once again took to the skies, keeping himself hidden as his eyes trailed along the paths.
There he saw him, tending to the gardens.
It was rather late to do some gardening but maybe he preferred the night.
He floated in the air, eyes trained on how he gracefully moved between the flowers.
The distant thought came to him that maybe he should just drop down and talk to him.
But there was no fun in that. He wanted to observe him for now, ignoring the fear that stuck between his ribs.
A part of him wanted Suguru to come talk to him. But he doubted that would happen, after all, to everyone else, Satoru was untouchable.
He suddenly became depressed.
He sighed and turned back to fly towards the temple.
Satoru was nothing if not determined.
He would find a way to connect with Suguru.
—
It was one of those rare days of freedom where Satoru ventured into the night and walked along a deserted path, away from the temple and away from his duties. He allowed himself to just be. Blades of grass swayed gently in the wood and the full moon lit the ground in a soft haze, Satoru felt himself relax just a bit.
He suddenly sensed a presence behind him. He spun forward, arm reaching out to grab the blade flying towards him.
His hand squeezed around the sharp edge with no blood to spill.
"Oh? What's this?"
His eyes trailed up a long arm to a man in a priest's robes and long black hair. He'd seen him before, at the temple. It was none other than Getou Suguru—the man he had his eye on these past couple of days.
"Ah, I've seen you before! Trying to kill me? An admirable ambition."
Getou snarled.
Satoru smiled. "Did you really think you could kill a god?"
"With a diamond dagger, yes."
"Well, do you see me dead?"
"It was said that one could kill those who carry Fūten's abilities with a diamond dagger."
"Well, they're wrong. Why would you want to kill me anyway?"
"Because you're not a god worthy to be worshiped. There has been no rain and crops are suffering from droughts. Wind would be greatly beneficial, yet the person who can do it chooses not to. Yet the people here still worship you, offering food and drink to your altar. It's pathetic."
Satoru stilled. Well then. His mouth stretched into a smile once again, his chest filling with mirth.
Finally, they meet.
The monk seemed confused and his eyes widened.
"I like you." Satoru stated, plain and simple.
Getou let go of his dagger in shock. "W-what? How could you say such a thing? I tried to kill you."
"That's why I like you. Not very many humans are bold enough to kill a god. You've impressed me."
"So will you actually do your job?"
"What's your name?" Satoru asks even though he already knew. He wanted him to hear it from him.
"Getou Suguru. I believe you have already seen me on the temple grounds."
"I have." Satoru purred.
Getou's eyebrows lifted in surprise.
"So, will you answer or not?"
"Suguru, you must know I am not all seeing. Yes I possess these abilities but I am not omniscient."
Suguru paused when he heard Satoru use his given name, he saw anger wash over his face before he schooled his expression.
Oh how proper. He'd love to see him be angry one day.
"What do you mean?" Suguru asked.
Satoru sighed. "As I said, I don't know what's happening around the country at all. I cannot travel far or I'd never hear the end of it from my mother. And when I do travel, well, it's not exactly to check on the wellbeing of other people,"He shrugged, "you must know that even though I'm a being of worship at our temple, I'm not allowed to actually do much. As mother said, it's to protect me."
"Protect you from what?"
"Not 'what' Suguru, but 'whom.'"
Suguru rolled his eyes. "Okay, whom then?"
The corner of Satoru's mouth stretched into a wide smile, or rather a leer.
"Well, Suguru, from people like you!"
Suguru's eyes widened, the realization hitting him then.
"Oh."
"There you go!"
Suguru stood, silent and unmoving. His eyebrows creased as they furrowed, there was a darkness that surrounded him. An anger that was ever present.
"Gojou-sama, that was not all."
Now Gojou was the one who was confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I told you what is happening currently. As of now, there are very little winds moving across the country. However, it was not like that in the past."
Suguru opened his eyes and the glare he leveled him took Satoru aback. The anger that shone in his eyes was strong, it choked him as if it was the very knife that Suguru held in his hand. Only this time, it felt like he successfully dug the blade deep into his skin.
His demeanor was completely different from when he first approached him–an anger that always took home in Suguru's body finally reared its head. And from the very little Satoru knew about him, he knew he was a well composed man. So to see Suguru’s hurt, wild eyes in front of him, burned into his soul.
"Do you seriously not know?" Suguru's voice rose. "Do you not know what you did 20 years ago?"
Suguru's voice neared yelling. Satoru was a baby at that time so of course he had no idea what he did, but he wouldn't voice that yet, not when Suguru really looked like he was one move from actually killing him.
Satoru decided to play it safe. "I'm sorry, I don't know."
Suguru's eyes shot open. Okay, so he got the opposite result.
"I'll tell you what you did. When you were born, there was a catastrophic event. There was a typhoon that brought so much destruction, leaving very little behind. There was also an unknown illness that left death in its wake. My parents were among those who died. You killed them, Gojou. Who else other than the incarnation of Fūten."
Satoru stood still, body overtaken with shock. His mind was empty save for the words that Suguru had spoken repeating back in his head.
For the first time, Satoru was truly speechless.
Was this something he'd really done? Was he capable of such destruction?
He was never able to control the winds at such a magnitude.
An uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. It wasn't just because of Suguru's devastation, but something else. There was something that wasn't quite clicking.
Suguru was shaking with anger. His hands were clenched at his side, his knuckles turning a stark white against the dark blue of his robes. Satoru could hear the way Suguru's teeth clenched, the painful sound of bone running against bone.
Satoru couldn't feel. He was never faced with such a situation and he was at a loss of what to do. What could he do?
He was used to worship—people bowing down at his feet, reverent eyes gazing up at him. He was never faced with someone whose eyes gleamed with such vitriol when facing Satoru.
All Satoru could do was stand, facing in front of a man who's mouth curled up in a snarl.
Satoru wanted to help but how could he when he couldn't even remember?
Satoru wanted to run away but was that really a solution?
He felt stuck.
There was an errant thought that suddenly stook out to him. Was Suguru telling the truth?
But seeing such a display of emotion from someone who always seemed calm and collected, then that meant there had to be truth to his words?
So what should he do now?
Suguru suddenly took a deep breath, the sound pulling Satoru out of his thoughts.
He broke the tense silence. "It's no use. There's no use in killing you when you can't even remember what happened. Are you seriously not aware of what you're capable of?" Suguru spat.
"...no." This was the weakest he'd ever heard his voice. He hated it.
Suguru scoffed. "Then what kind of god even are you?"
Satoru wanted to interrupt to say he's not really a god, but even he didn't want to admit that.
Suguru turned away, his robes swishing around him in that elegant way Satoru had come to associate him with.
Even when Suguru's form was just but a small point in his vision, he still found himself standing still in the field.
Maybe, just maybe his parents knew something.
He finally willed himself to move, pushing himself off the ground and moved through the air back to the temple.
Satoru never had so many questions.
He just hoped his parents had the key to answering them.
—------------
He flew back to the temple as dawn was breaking across the sky. He didn't have it in him to enjoy how the sun's rays peaked over the horizon and illuminated the dew droplets hanging into the grass.
He felt empty.
He wasn't sure how to feel.
He wandered back to his room, slid under the covers as if he was there sleeping in his futon the entire time, waiting for his mother to wake him up.
Breakfast was a quiet affair. He was mindlessly shoveling rice into his mouth as his parents ate peacefully.
Maybe now was the time.
There was a knot in his throat that he tried to swallow down, a bubbling in his stomach that made him want to throw up the rice he just ate.
"Mother, father, I have something to ask you."
His mother set down her chopsticks, dark blue eyes looking at him in question. "What is it Satoru?"
"After I was born, was there a catastrophic typhoon?"
His father paused, his chopsticks hovering in front of his mouth as his eyes widened.
His mother's eyebrows drew together. "Now why would you ask such a thing? No such thing happened here. This part of Japan experiences no such disasters."
Satoru mulled his next words over in his head. He didn't want to bring up Suguru's name. He had to be tactful about this. Not only could Suguru be punished, but it would also expose Satoru for escaping his parents' watchful gaze.
"It was something I've overheard. From one of the people who came to the temple."
A pit formed in his stomach when he saw his mother's gaze harden and his father's looking off to the side.
His mother waved her hand dismissively. "They were most likely talking about something else or from a story they heard. I told you Satoru, no such disaster happened here. The winds are calm and they've always remained that way."
Satoru wanted to argue that it's not natural for winds to only be calm. But then her words caught up to him.
Satoru was no human. He could see through human actions plain as day, no matter how hard someone would try to hide them.
His parents were no different. They were lying to him.
A part of him wandered, who should he really believe? Suguru—someone who he only just found out existed but whose anger felt real and palpable.
Or his parents—who kept him on a tight leash, expecting him to play god while restricting him from actually being one, whose words did not reflect their actions.
Deep in his heart, the answer was clear as day. He knew who he should believe.
Satoru did his duties that day but with a slight lack of the luster he usually had. He made sure to still put on enough of a performance so as to not come across as suspicious to his parents, but everything felt dull around him.
He watched the shadows grow and fade as the sun moved across the sky, counting the hours in his head as the sun finally dipped into the horizon and darkness blanketed the earth.
He ate his dinner as usual and went to bed. The same routine he had for twenty years.
That was until he finally heard his parents footsteps retreat back to their own bedroom and he pulled the covers off his body as he kept out the window in silence.
It was a perk. Since his feet never touched the ground, he didn't make a sound.
He immediately took to the skies, eyes watchful as he scanned the ground.
The lanterns were almost fully lit up, all he had to do was follow them until he found the figure who stood next to an unlit one.
There. Even from high above, he could see the blue robes that blended with the darkness around him. But the gold of the gesa glowed under the soft, amber light of the lanterns.
Getou Suguru was truly beautiful.
He lowered himself until he was right behind, but before he did so, he made sure that there was no one nearby. There wasn't, thankfully. It seemed that Suguru was the only monk awake at this time.
But it came to no surprise to Satoru, with the way Suguru moved naturally under the darkness of the sky, to him, he was a creature of the night.
"Suguru~"
Suguru jumped, eyes widening before he spun around as saw it was Satoru. His face immediately darkened, mouth set in a grimace.
He waved the stick that held a flame, letting the air dowse the flame.
"What are you doing here?"
Satoru lets his smile fall. "We should talk."
Suguru scoffed. "There's nothing to talk about."
It was in this moment that Satoru realized something. He'd never really had a one on one conversation like this with another person. Sure he had his parents, but that was different. And sure, he talked to his worshippers everyday, but that was the thing. He was a god in their eyes and therefore it was difficult to ever have a down to earth, so to speak, conversation like this.
Satoru felt out of his depth here, but he really could not let himself back down now. Not when there was someone he harmed through his own actions.
He needed answers, answers that his parents were clearly unable to give.
So he took a deep breath. "I tried talking to my parents," he began and he saw the way Suguru's eyes minutely widened. "Of course they denied such a catastrophe ever happened. They acted all weird about it too. No one around me ever talked about it. I'm not entirely sure why they would hide such a thing from me…"
"They didn't want to tarnish the image they had of you." Suguru spoke, eyes burning into his.
Well, when he put it that way, it made sense.
Satoru had all the pieces, but he never had the courage to fit them together.
"My parents…they always tried to make me this holy being. 'Never touch the ground for you are above the people of this Earth' that was something they constantly told me when I was younger. They molded me into this being. But truly, I do wonder if my parents knew who Fūten was. I feel like, after all these years, I couldn't face my parents' treatment of me. I just wanted to hide and go about my life, no matter how wrong it felt. But now, I would like to change that."
He was surprised that after all this, Suguru was still listening. Satoru felt he was babbling and made no sense, feelings and thoughts resurfaced. But he steeled himself. This wasn't about him.
"Getou, could you tell me what happened?"
"Why? Are you going to apologize and use it for your own self satisfaction?"
"No. I've harmed people through my own abilities. I want to know so I can prevent such a thing from happening again."
A heavy silence passed between them as Suguru mulled over his words.
"Alright then. Let's find somewhere else to sit."
As they walked through stoney paths and lit lanterns, he was surprised to hear Suguru speak to him again.
"You know, I've always thought you were arrogant."
"And do you still think that?"
Suguru turned his head to the side to briefly make eye contact with him. "I still think you're arrogant somewhat, but not in the way I thought. Since you have Fūten's abilities and you see numerous worshippers everyday, I thought that would get to your head."
Satoru shrugged. "Well I can't say that it doesn't feel great to do things other humans cannot, but truthfully, seeing so many worshippers for so long is boring. They're boring. All they do is talk about the same things and the same problems."
"See, that's what I mean."
Satoru thought that Suguru was mad over what he said, but the serene look on his face meant that he must have been teasing him.
They finally reached a lake hidden among the trees, and Suguru took them to a large rook that looked out at the calm waters.
Once they sat down, Suguru began to retell the story.
"I was a baby too. When it happened. You and I are born in the same year. But I was a couple months older than you. So this story was told to me by the only relative I had left: my aunt. At first, no one knew exactly the cause of this event, but as weeks passed and news of your birth spread, it wasn't hard to connect the two together."
"So what exactly happened? On that day?" Satoru asked tentatively.
"That day, dark storm clouds covered the sky. The ocean's waters became unsuitable for passage by boat. Many were stranded or simply killed by destructive winds and waves. The winds were so strong that it destroyed houses and trees and crops. Many were without homes and even food. And to make things worse, a mysterious illness overtook the town. Many fell ill, and when no cure was found, they died. My parents were among those who died. My aunt, the only one who managed to survive, took care of me until I was old enough to fend for my own."
Satoru swallowed around the lump in his throat. He wanted to apologize, but he knew Suguru wouldn't accept it. If he were in his position, would he accept it? He sighed. Probably not.
"You know, what always confused me about my parents was that they always preached about what a benevolent god Fūten was. I thought that was odd. It wasn't until I was eighteen, when I met the god of poisons, Sukuna, who laughed in my face when he heard me say that. Because after all, Fūten was not only just a kami, but an oni as well."
"Your parents never told you?" Suguru said in disbelief.
Satoru could only shake his head.
"Well it is known that Fūten is neither good nor evil. But truthfully, I've only ever seen him as an oni. I don't think I can ever really see him as a kami."
Satoru shrugged. "I don't fault you for that."
"Your powers," Suguru paused, "Since that day, they have been very calm."
"I think that's because my parents have controlled the use of my powers and kept me to the temple. I've never really experienced much outside of the few times I would sneak off."
"So you think, if some big event were to happen to you, you would lose control?"
"I think so, I never really learned how to control my abilities, but I also don't know what I am truly capable of. As much as I hate to admit it." He sprawled himself over the rock, making sure to keep a distance between his body and the stony surface of it.
Suguru titled his head to the sky, silent for a moment.
"Maybe you just need to practice controlling your abilities. Have you done something that makes you feel a stronger emotion…"Suguru seemed to be thinking out loud.
Suguru turned to him. "I can teach you martial arts."
He moved off the rock, stretching his hands into the air.
"You want me to train in martial arts? How will that trigger my powers?"
"Well, first of all, you look like you've never trained a day in your life. Secondly," Suguru’s mouth stretched into a smile, one corner of his lips turned upward sharply, showing a hint of teeth. A shiver crawled up Satoru’s spine. Something about his smile irked him. "You seem like the type who doesn't like to lose."
"You sound sure like you're going to beat me."
Suguru turned his back to him, his robes swished around him, the sound of fabric cutting into the air rang in his ears. "I know I'll win."
"Why do you want to help me? Don't you hate me?" Satoru got up too, letting himself hover a couple inches over the ground.
Suguru rolled his eyes at him, knowing full well he was showing off.
"I do. But if I help you control your abilities, then that kind of catastrophic event won't happen again."
—-
It was odd. Having the very object of his affections, who also happened to hate him, invite him the next night to help him train.
Satoru still felt conflicted.
But he decided to not think about it and go along with it. He briefly wondered if Suguru would try to kill him again, but he put that thought away, knowing full well that won't happen.
It wasn’t like he could actually kill him anyways.
The same routine continued. He went to bed, waiting to hear his parents footsteps retreat back to their room, and then leaving his room to fly to the spot Suguru told him to meet him at.
It surprised him when he saw Suguru, who wore a hakama and had his hair tied into a bun save for the bangs that still hung in his face.
Even if the man hated his very being, he was still the most handsome man Satoru had ever seen.
He was also dressed in hakama, and he lowered himself to stand right in front of Suguru. They were in a clearing surrounded by trees. It was a secluded place, perfect for them not to get caught.
Suguru walked up to him. "Before we start, let me ask you this."
Satoru nodded at him for him to continue.
"Why didn't you leave? You have the power to go anywhere you want. So why stay with the very people who control you?"
The question made him pause. It rattled him to his very core. Because it was a question he was never allowed to ask himself. He vaguely knew he could just up and leave, but for some reason it felt unattainable.
Why?
Why couldn’t he leave?
He thought it was because he loved being worshiped. But truthfully, it was just routine at this point.
He wasn't free. He was never free.
So why?
Gojou-
Gojou-sama
"Satoru!"
Suguru's hand on his shoulder burned through the fabric and it shook him awake.
He stared blankly into concerned eyes.
Suguru suddenly seemed a lot closer than before.
"Oh." Was all Satoru could say.
He suddenly felt so vulnerable.
"Look, Gojou-sama, I'm not criticizing you at all. I was just wondering. Forget what I asked you. Let's just start."
Satoru moved to give Suguru distance. He suddenly felt unsure of himself, his footsteps were hesitant.
He was never trained, and he knew Suguru was truthful when he spoke of his confidence in winning.
But he could never let the other man know that.
So Satoru did what he did best. He pretended.
He turned back around to face Suguru, who already moved in a wide stance with his knees bent. He looked stable as if he were a rock who could not be dared to move.
His arms were close to his sides and his eyes burned into the center of Satoru’s chest.
Why wasn’t he looking him in the eye…?
Satoru wasn’t stupid to move first because he knew that was what he was expecting, yet Suguru didn’t move a muscle.
Satoru blinked and then he observed. He looked for any sort of unbalance in his form; he looked for any tell that he was about to move, but his muscles were still and relaxed. Nothing about him told Satoru of his next move.
Even his very energy was calm and sure.
Satoru gritted his teeth, but he kept his expression neutral.
Suguru was clearly doing the very same thing Satoru was doing. They were observing each other.
He could feel his agitation rise. He was beginning to feel frustrated, clearly out of his depth, so he began to move slowly, circling Suguru.
Of course, Suguru was watching his every move, but when he moved behind him, he didn’t turn to face him.
Why?
Shouldn’t he be watching him?
Why did he leave his back unguarded?
But once again, nothing about Suguru’s body or form told him of his next move.
Satoru raised his arm and breathed in. May as well strike now.
But the next few seconds were a blur because as soon as his arm was about to make contact with Suguru’s back, the man turned around, grabbed his arm, pulling him in while he sweeped a leg under Satoru, making him lose his balance.
Satoru felt his head bounce from the ground, even though it never even touched the earth, the movement disarming him.
Satoru opened his eyes to see Suguru above him, the sleeve and pants of his hakama swayed in the wind and in that moment, he looked like a god.
Suguru reached out a hand to Satoru, and he took it, feeling the man pulling him up to his feet, the contact burned his skin.
Once they were both upright, Satoru found himself face to face with Suguru. What caught his eye was the hint of a smug smile on Suguru’s face on his otherwise serene expression.
Satoru felt that his pride was wounded, but he found that he could not hold onto that feeling for long when he was captivated by the look on Suguru’s face.
Maybe he could forgive Suguru for overpowering him. Just for now.