10 years ago, cont.

Whack!

I slowly woke up to sounds of a person getting beaten. It echoed in the air, singing the pain of the person. My eyelids were still pretty heavy but I wasn't tired anymore. "Mmm...?" Why was the ground so cold? It felt like ice. When I tried moving my arms, I felt them restricted behind my back and tied by ropes but not my legs. "What...!" Instantly, my eyes shot open, adjusting my vision to be crystal clear. I remembered helping a lost child and I was suddenly kidnapped in the dark. The last word I called out was 'Satoru'. Where was he?

Feeling my heart race in unease, I slowly rotated my head around to view this place. This wasn't home at all; I was in a warehouse. The lights were dimmed and the area was spacious. The child that I led was one of the bad guys this whole time... I was deceived from the beginning. They used a child to get to me because nobody would suspect a child to be doing the devil's bidding.

"Oh, the little girl has finally awoken!" Somebody announced in the big room, and I pushed myself to sit up, having my head hung low. My body felt extremely heavy as well as my head. It's like waking up to a big illness. "We've been awhile. I never thought beating this guy up would be so tiring."

Beating who up? What did they want from me?

Lifting the hefty weight of my head, I looked in the direction of where the person was talking. There were about five people standing with the speaker. From a distance in the dimmed light, I spotted a person laying on the ground. Even if I didn't have any light source I knew who it already was... The white signature hair was none other than Gojo! His pure white hair can be seen anywhere and under bad lighting.

"S-SATORU!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, in hopes that he heard me if he was still conscious. Was he alive? How badly beaten was he?

For some reason, my gut feelings were overriding my internal questions. He was dying. This was all my fault. I was already reminded that people are out to kill me. That's why they sheltered me for my entire life, yet I still wanted to leave the house no matter what. My selfish desires will only kill people who are close to me.

"He's probably bleeding to death right now." Hearing those words, I wanted to throw up and cry. My whole body was trembling in fear. Gojo's dying because of me. "That bastard used that barrier of his at first, but we threatened him to turn it off or else we'll slice your throat! Ahaha!" They were crazy. Their sadistic laugh multiplied, ringing loudly in my ear. It was like an endless tunnel—there was no way out.

"Why is my life so important that someone has to die?!" My voice cracked under all the pressure.

"Because you're one special person. If someone gets in the way, of course, we have to kill them. Your dead body will make us rich... Richer than Gojo Satoru's dead body." My breath hitched in fear. Maybe I would've listened to my parents and elders, then I wouldn't be in this mess and Gojo wouldn't also be dying either. This happened because of me. If I could turn back time then I would. "Alright boys, let's take her!" He announced to his pals, and they started to approach me.

My golden eyes shifted from Gojo's motionless body to the group of men. I can't let Gojo die because of me. I know Gojo resisted each punch and kick so they wouldn't kill me in my sleep. I need to compromise with them, in order to save Gojo in return. "If I am going to die, let me see him before I disappear from the face of the Earth! That's all I want..." Despite the trembles in my words, I kept a strong face.

"Sure. We'll be good little angels for a second and let you say your goodbyes to him. Either way, you're going to see each other in the grave."

One of the men lifted me up by the arm and dragged me towards the bleeding Gojo. My legs had no muscles or strength at all to walk on its own. This felt too surreal. Inching closer to him, my heart was pounding harder and harder in my chest. The daunting feeling if he's dead or on the verge of dying scared me. Gojo laid flat on his back as a medium-sized pool of blood came out from him. Blood and bruises covered his pretty face and soaked his white hair. The man dropped me right next to Gojo, then he took a step back from us.

I haven't even known Gojo long, but my lips were trembling by the sight of him. Letting our foreheads touch, I whispered out his name. "Satoru... You're in this mess because of me. I don't know if you can hear me, but I will save you. I have the power to do that..." I closed my eyes and hesitantly collected myself because the bad guys were looking at us. "Being gifted by the gods, I have divine curse and one of it is healing."

If he fought for my life, I'm going to fight for him. I had no choice but to use the curse eyes of petrification. Narrowing my eyes at everyone, I removed the veil which allowed me to switch my curse technique on. I immobilized them in their place. "I will not allow any of you to live. I'm a person who has no intention of harming humans, but this condition has changed." They couldn't move their body at all because of the pressure and fear I drilled into them. It's like they were forced to keep a building from collapsing on top of them.

Turning my attention back to Gojo, I used my forehead to initiate a quick healing process. It's not going to fully heal him but partially since I didn't have the time in the world to do it. The transfer of divine cursed energy followed through him like a raging stream. "Come on, come on...!" I prayed that he wasn't gone. It'd be my fault if he actually died. I don't know if I could live on knowing about that.

Five minutes passed—what felt like an eternity—Gojo gasped loudly. I had no time to explain the full details to him so I gave him a short summary. "Kill them. They're stuck under my cursed eyes, and you're not fully healed either so don't over do it."

"Thanks, and you don't have to tell me twice." I heard him getting up to beat some ass.

However for me, my side effect started to kick in. Depending how I used the cursed eyes of petrification, I temporarily become blind. It can last for a few minutes to a whole day. For it to last a whole day, I have to keep on repeatedly using it. My vision grew dark as I blocked out the noises made by Gojo. Closing my eyes, I solely concentrated on recovering from my side effect. This disadvantage did help me develop a good hearing sense when I'm unable to use my eyes.

Shing!

The rope around my wrist fell to the ground. "Ena—" Feeling his presence right behind me, I wasted no time to hug him. I buried my face in his chest, whereas my arms loosely wrapped around him.

"I'm sorry about this... I'm really stupid and naive. I allowed myself to be tricked by a child. I should've searched for you first, and—" suddenly, my lips were clamped shut by his hand.

"Look at me, Ena."

Gently moving his hand off my mouth, I spoke to him about my scary side effect. "Ummm... I really can't. I'm currently dealing with my blindness from using my cursed eyes. This usually never happens because blindness only occurs when I use it more than once. Maybe it's because I used it against a group of people? I don't really know, but I should be getting my sight back in a few minutes."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Let me take you home first, then we can finish our conversation." Gojo's arms scooped me off my feet and held me close to him. "Are you secured and ready?"

"Yes,"

When we got home, my vision came back to me and my parents and elders came rushing outside. It was still night time, I'm guessing it was early in the morning. The house workers took Gojo away to tend his wounds, and I was left behind with my parents and elders. I knew I was going to be punished for letting Gojo get hurt and for me letting this happen.

"The basement now, Ena." The elders commanded as chills ran down my spine. The horrifying memory flooded my head. It was a terrible tsunami, crushing everything in its path. I recalled the ruthless punishment tearing me apart, just standing in place. "Ena." They warned me, not wanting to repeat themselves.

"Y-yes..." I meekly choked as I followed their request. I didn't have Gojo to save me like last time. They only let me off the hook because of him. It's crazy how they're still trying to punish me despite being a young adult now. I shouldn't even go through this, but if I protest then it'll get worse. I'm not trying to make my punishment equal to death; I'll deal with it and keep my mouth shut.

The basement had torches on the concrete walls. It was a big and sound-proof space for all my torture to happen. They gashed me when I was a child, and they stopped doing it once I became a teenager. I knew the consequences for my action and behavior, so they expected me not to go against them. Too bad I had no battle scars because they would quickly heal it up like nothing ever happened. My lineage may be from the gift of god, but my treatment isn't something that should be done. It's going against the holy nature.

"Head maid, strip her off to her garments and whip her five hundred times. Make sure she knows her lesson. I cannot overlook it this time, especially when Gojo Satoru got critically injured because of her carelessness. We didn't raise a child to be weak!" The house workers were afraid of the higher ups. They've seen bad things that can never leave their memories. It burned in their brain and they have to carry on with their life as if it never happened.

"Yes, elders." The head maid's face was filled with confliction as she approached me and slowly took off my attire.

Thump!

Each article of my kimono fell.

"I'm sorry...!" She whispered close to my ear. The head maid had it worse. She saw all of their tyrannical behavior placed upon me or other servants, including herself. The head maid was always the one to assist my punishment because the elders trusted her to not let any words expose this horrendous act.

"Just do it. Don't stop until you reach the number. I don't need you to get punished for faltering..." Regardless of what the head maid does to me, I'll always forgive her. She never wanted to do this in the first place. I'll accept my punishment so no servants can get this.

Once I was left in my underlayer, I moved to the middle of the room and the head maid strapped my hands in the hanging rope. Gravity allowed my hands to fall, which locked the rope around my wrists. This was going to make my arms tired and sore for keeping it in the air for a while. Then she tied a blindfold around my eyes to keep everyone safe if I were to use my cursed eyes. My vision was back to black again.

"Give her five hundred!"

The head maid grabbed the usual leather horse whip and began whacking against my back.

Slash!

The whiplash burned every piece of me. It stung and ache when she forcefully attacked the same area. The energized leather caused my skin to flame up and become numb. Tears streamed down my face. There was only so much I could take before breaking down in excruciating pain.

"That's only two hundred! Keep going!"

I kept my eyes and mouth shut from the constant whipping. If I were to make a sound, the elders would add more counts. This was unbearable, I'd rather die than be in this situation. Death seemed so much easier than living.

"Don't let your energy leak out! I sense it! We taught you better than this! Give me it!"

"AH!" My first scream which I tried holding in slipped out of me when one of the elders whipped my legs. My whole body almost dropped if it weren't for the rope keeping me up.

"I know the head maid went easy on you. She whipped you every two seconds, letting you recover. But for me, I'll make sure you'll be knocked unconscious. That's a fair punishment for everything you've caused! It's twice the count now! Stuff her mouth!"

The elder's constant attack was half a second. They whipped from my legs to my back. The torment felt so long and tiring as the rope dug into my wrists. My mind was shutting down, trying to protect me from this traumatic experience once again. The whipping sound drowned out as I failed to stay conscious from the poisonous attack.

The next day later, I woke up in my room. "I'm alive..." I mumbled in misery. Last night's memory came flooding into me, causing tears to slip at the corners of my eyes. "I want to die..." I bit my lips, slowly turning to my side and muffle my cries. They may have healed the wounds, but they can't erase what's been ingrained in my head. I will never forget this, and I will never forgive them. They mask all their bad doings because we can heal, because we're gifted, because of any inexcusable bullshit to justify themselves. I'm forced to live in constant perfection and obedience in order to survive another day. My life sucks.

Knock knock knock

My whole body jolted from the knocking on my door. Quickly, I wiped away my tears and kept my back facing the sliding door. "W-who is it?"

"Satoru,"

I totally forgot he was still here. My head's been preoccupied with my depression in this house. I know he wouldn't have heard anything from the basement since it's tucked away. "Come in,"

The door slid to the side and his body sat behind me. "I wanted to see you before I left to hunt some spirits. I was going to ask you to join, but after what happened, maybe next time. You've been through a lot." His big hand lightly messed my black hair up. Gojo only wanted to lighten up my mood but it didn't help. My tears formed again and dripped to the side. He wasn't wrong that I've been through a lot because it's true. I've been through too much that I couldn't pull myself together.

Breathing from my mouth, I didn't want him to catch on that I cried a bit from the hint of my sniffling nose. "Satoru... Forget my promise. I don't want to see the world..." It's to protect myself from future torture.

"Is it because of what happened? That's totally normal when you're the most wanted person. I'll always protect you, Ena." My heart squeezed to where I stopped breathing for a second. Gojo can't protect me from my household. He may be the most powerful sorcerer, but the arrogance of the elders was something else.

"But you almost died because of me. Everything happened because of me. If I listened and stayed at home, then—" Suddenly, my whole body was flipped on my back and Gojo straddled me. His left forearm laid flat next to my head and his other hand cupped my cheek. His thumb grazed my soft skin while his eyes were watered in unease.

"Why are you crying?" His voice was delicate and airy like the summer breeze at a meadow.

"I-I'm not crying." I didn't want to tell him. I want to hide the truth from him.

"Yes you are. There's no point in lying to me when I see your eyes and nose red." I'll tell him part of my truth, I suppose.

I casted my eyes away. I couldn't look at him for what I'm going to tell him. "You were dying because of me, Satoru. Are you not mad that you almost died? My life is just like any other life. It's okay if I died—"

"Ena," Gojo interrupted me, changing our position that now we're sitting up. I still couldn't look at him until he lifted my chin up. "Look at me. Why are you contradicting yourself? First, you talked about maybe it would've been better if you stayed at home and now, you say your life doesn't matter?"

"I... I don't know." I looked down. "My feelings are complicated." If I leave I will die either way—at home or outside. If I stay I will slowly die under their rules. There's no escape but Gojo. He's my only access to true freedom, yet I'm afraid to tell him.

Gojo breathed out lightly from his mouth. "I'm still keeping my promise no matter what—"

I instinctively grabbed his shirt without thinking and sunk my fingers in the fabric. "No!" I dared not to look at him with my trembling eyes.

Out of nowhere, my body collapsed into his as he hugged me tightly. His chin sat on top of my shoulder. "You're scared, I understand. I was scared too when I couldn't find you. Images played in my head, making me worry for your life over mine. I know people target me, but I can't let them target you. You're one annoying girl I can't lose."

"Hey!" I hit his chest, pulling back from me. "You're calling me annoying? I think you need to check your ears!"

"There's my princess that I know!"

"You ruined this sentimental moment so you can get a reaction from me again?!"

"Who knows?"