Binding Vow

I felt Gojo's finger on my cheek. "How do you feel, curse? Tell me."

His command soothed the unbearable pain in my body, and I opened my mouth.

"Master," I said, "Tell me how I can serve."

Gojo smiled. "Good. Very good. That's what I like to hear."

"Stand up." I obeyed his order mechanically and waited for his next command.

"Tatsuya, despite being a disgusting old man, your work never ceases to surprise me," Gojo marveled.

"Hurry up, Gojo. That worm won't last that long against him," Tatsuya replied from behind the door screen.

"No need to rush," Gojo said, putting his glasses back on. "You old geezers are more in a hurry than me."

"Curse," Gojo called. "You will agree to the Binding Vow by the terms I set."

"Yes, Master," I replied.

"The first condition is that you will abide by the rules of the sorcerer society," Gojo stated.

I nodded.

"Second, you will obey all commands I, Gojo Satoru, give to you, and in exchange, you will be allowed to stay at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Is that clear?"

"Ye-"

"Hold on!" A voice interrupted me. "You forgot a condition, Gojo."

"I did?" Gojo asked though he clearly knew the answer. "I guess I did. Remind me what it was again?"

"Nanashi must vow that it will obey one command the higher-ups give, and that command cannot be overridden by your authority as its master. This is what we agreed to."

"Ah, right," Gojo said. "Heard that, curse? The third condition is that you must obey one command the old geezers give, and that command cannot be overridden by my authority as your master through this Binding Vow. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master," I repeated emotionlessly.

"Okay." Gojo gestured with his hand. "Vow now."

Whatever happens next, just know that I'm on your side. Trust me.

Gojo had said those words before all of this had happened, but I didn't know if I could trust him. My instincts told me that those words weren't a lie, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. The coldness in his eyes were real, too. The Cursed Worm in my brain was real, too. Can I trust him? Why is he on their side now?

"Hurry up. I'm ordering you to vow now," Gojo repeated, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.

The burn in my body intensified as I hesitated again. He said before that he wasn't going to use a Binding Vow before. He said that it wasn't enough to get what he wanted. So why now?

"I said now!" Gojo ordered.

I closed my eyes and searched for something within the depths of my soul. It was there. My eyes fluttered open, and I steeled my heart.

Gojo Satoru. This trust is in return for the trust you've shown me.

I gave way to the burning sensation, and the words came tumbling out of my mouth. "I accept the terms of the Binding Vow, and I accept Gojo Satoru as my master."

Something bounded itself around my soul the moment those words left my lips. The vow had been formed.

The higher-ups gave a collective sigh of relief. Gojo seemed to have relaxed too as he snapped his fingers at me. My throat reflexively contracted, and I spat out the Crest Worm. Gojo smashed it underneath his boot immediately.

"We're done here, correct?" Gojo questioned. "You guys are taking away my dessert time, and I'm not too happy about it."

"Yes, Gojo, we're done here. You may go."

"Tch." Gojo adjusted his sunglasses. "I don't need you to dismiss me." He turned to me and removed my chains. "We're leaving now, curse." I numbly followed after the man as we left the room.

After walking a short distance, Gojo sighed loudly. "Gahhh! Those old geezers really piss me off. I hate having to talk to them."

Gojo took off his sunglasses and put on his blindfold. "Man, I've got to be careful that I don't end up like them in the future."

He looked at me and smiled warmly. "I would never let them imprison you for their own greed." His hand reached for my head, but I stepped away.

Gojo's smile faltered. "Hey, what's wrong, little curse?"

I ignored the man and walked as fast I could away from him. Did he really think he could get over this with just fun and games?

"Hey, hey, hey! Are you throwing a tantrum or something?" Gojo called after me. "Didn't I solve the problem for you? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Are you angry?" Taking long strides, Gojo caught up next to the boy. "Come on, I can explain what happened. Don't be so stubborn."

Rey continued to ignore Gojo and kept his head down as they walked down the path. Gojo frowned internally, unsure of what to do. He hadn't seen the curse so upset before.

"Rey, stop walking. Listen to me," Gojo said. He reached for the boy's shoulder, but Rey shook his hand off. The boy turned and faced Gojo, his eyes blazing from hurt and betrayal.

"Is that an order, Master?" Rey spat. "If it is, then I'll have no choice but to obey."

Gojo's features softened, and he slowly withdrew his hand. He kneeled down eye-level to Rey and sighed. "No, that's not an order, Rey. I've said this already, don't ever call me Master. I don't want to be your master. Everything I did back there was so that I could get the higher-ups off your back. That's it."

"Are you sure, Master?" Rey questioned. "I thought 'that's what you liked to hear.'"

"It was all an act, Rey," Gojo explained patiently. "You know, it's like in the movies when the hero has to act like they don't love the princess in order to protect them. I didn't mean anything I said back there. You should know that."

"I'm not your princess, and you're no hero." I clenched my hands together, my body trembling. Of course I knew that, but why does my heart hurt so much?

"I had to keep you in the dark because I was afraid you wouldn't be willing to go through with the plan," Gojo continued. "I thought that it would never work taking into consideration your hatred towards Tatsuya and the Crest Worms..."

"You were afraid that if that plan of yours didn't work, you would lose an important piece on your chessboard, right?" I snarled. "That's why you couldn't risk telling me."

Gojo said nothing, but his silence told me everything.

"Why don't you understand, Gojo-sensei?" I shouted. I shook my right hand at the man. "Then what was this contract for in the first place? Didn't you say you wanted to trust me? Didn't you say you wanted me to trust you?"

"I did," Gojo admitted.

"Well, I did trust you! I trusted you the entire time I was in there. I could have done exactly as you said and kill every single person in there if I wanted to. But I didn't! Because I trusted you!" I spat. "You say all the time that you trust me, and you weren't lying. But now I don't know if you really do. Please tell me, Gojo-sensei! Why can't you... what's stopping you from trusting me?"

Shaken by my outburst, Gojo opened his mouth and then closed it as if he was unsure how to reply.

"I was scared, Gojo-sensei. I was scared that you broke your vow. I don't trust easily, and I thought I trusted the wrong man." My voice broke. "I thought that our contract was over. I thought..." that I would have to kill you.

"I-" Gojo broke off and shook his head. He look me squarely in the eye and spoke, "Rey, I didn't know that's what you were thinking. If I had known, I wouldn't have used such a method. I do admit that I didn't tell you because of selfish reasons, but I was also afraid that if I told you my plan, you would lose your trust in me. That anger you have towards those who hurt you, it's not something a few words can pacify."

"I think I can differentiate when I should let loose and when I'm supposed to keep a cool head, Gojo-sensei," I said steely.

"You're right," Gojo admitted. "I was the one who didn't trust you, Rey. I'm s-"

"No, don't apologize." I stopped Gojo from continuing. I heaved a long sigh, my anger spent, and looked at the man again. "You don't need to apologize, and I don't want your apology."

"But, Rey..."

"I said I don't need you to say you're sorry." I put a finger on Gojo's chest. "You made it clear from the very beginning that you would use me and you wouldn't apologize for doing so. So, you did nothing wrong. I'm the one at fault for throwing a tantrum."

"I did say that, but I never meant it that way," Gojo tried to explain.

I shook my head. "No, I know what you meant. I've told you already, you don't need to lie in front of me. You don't owe me an explanation either, Sensei. I agreed to this contract on my own terms, and I'm glad to know that you value me enough to apologize to me. That makes me happy I chose you as my Master."

"But, don't go back on your word, Gojo-sensei. It's not in your character to apologize, and I don't want a Master who breaks their word. So, please don't apologize," I pleaded.

Gojo studied me for a very long time before he nodded. "Okay, I won't. If that is what you want."

"Listen, what I said was just me telling you my thoughts. You don't need to explain yourself to me because you are my Master. I chose you for the person you are, and I accept that. I know you trust me," I said. "But I do want something else from you."

"What is it?" Gojo asked.

"Please," my voice turned soft, "please, next time, give me a heads-up, will you? Don't leave me in the dark again, please."

"Of course," Gojo smiled. "Of course I can do that, Rey."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." I spread out my arms and looked at Gojo. Gojo stared back confused. "Hmm?"

"Hug. Give me a hug," I said.

Gojo stared at me for such a long time that I slightly lowered my arms. Perhaps it was too much, after all that would require turning off his Infinity, something Gojo hasn't done before.

"Please?" I asked uncertainly. Gojo studied me before he let out a short chuckle.

"Come here, my little curse." Gojo leaned forward and brought me into his embrace. He was warm and soft. This was what I've always imagined a hug to be like. I brought my arms closer around his wide back and closed my eyes, snuggling into his chest. "I'm still mad, Gojo-sensei. You have to cheer me up."

"Okay, okay," Gojo agreed. "We still have an hour left before the night market closes. I'll get you whatever you want there."

"You better."

This was the first time I had let the foreign emotions in my body gotten a better of me, and I didn't know why I had said all of those words. Yet, those words felt so real, and they were all true. I knew they weren't lies. And most important of all, I didn't think I was afraid of this change that I couldn't understand. I wanted to change.