💧The Temple💧

Going back to fairy tales, marriage was described as a ceremony in which two hearts become one for eternity. It was a concept you adopted as quickly as you lost it. You had every intention and desire to find your one true love, to find your prince charming in a universe you had yet to know, but when you went to your parents to tell them of how you wished to find a lover, they said to you that you already had one.

You were lost, a little stunned, but after your aged brain of a five-year-old managed to process the words, you became excited again. You asked to meet your prince charming, to see him in his glory, so he could swipe you off your feet and lead you to happy endings, only to be shut down again. You were told to contain your excitement, told it wasn’t becoming of a lady, and that your lover-to-be would not appreciate how “energetic” you were being. That was when the suspicion began to take hold. You didn’t understand what you were feeling at the time, but what you did understand was that this wasn’t how any tale you read described finding your true love.

No story you read told of having a lover before you met them. You wanted to ask, to question how you could love someone you had never met, but something about the stale facial expressions of your parents stopped you from doing so. You went to bed that night, questioning everything you knew about love; yet, you still held on to hope. This may not have been the way you had thought it would play out, but you would make it work nonetheless– you were a determined little girl, and nothing would stop you from getting your happy ending…

Until you stopped believing in happy endings.

An affair.

You walked in on your father with a woman you had never met. The exchange was quiet and tense, and before you could do or say anything, your father gave one of the stern, cold glares that told you to do otherwise. So, like any confused child would do, you left without a word, eyes wide, movement stiff, and heading in the direction of the first person you could think of confiding in.

Your twin.

He was in his room, minding his own business, when you entered wordlessly. Unlike the usual banter the two of you would exchange when you were in each other’s presence, he asked you a simple question.

“What’s wrong?”

The floodgates opened, and before you could stop yourself from doing so, you began to cry. It was as if a switch flicked, and your brother was at your side, hugging you and doing everything in his power to calm you down. You were both young and confused, but what both of you knew was that what you had seen from your father was not right, and it crushed all your fantasies. And as much as it hurt you, it hurt your sibling as well. You remembered seeing his face drop at the news, but despite his own internal struggle, he still went to comfort you; however, once you had settled, you could only do the same for him. Your brother looked up to your father; in his eyes, he was a master of his technique that the young boy wished to learn himself, but the man’s selfish actions stripped that away. That day, you both mourned for what you had lost, but even from a young age, the two of you were taught to move on; so, that’s what happened - you both simply… moved on.

When it came to your suitor, you didn’t know how to feel knowing that there was an alternative to the fantasies you indulged in. Your arrangement was as stale as bread left on the kitchen counter for days in your mind. You were determined to still make it work, but you started to feel conflict between the reality you lived in and the fantasies you had once hoped to pursue. It wasn’t until your aunt paid a visit one day that you discovered a new ambition in life.

“A career,” your aunt explained as she told you of her ventures.

You didn’t see her much due to her travels, she described, because of her work in jujutsu sorcery. The words didn’t really translate in your head, and you had heard them multiple times in your household, but no one ever explained them to you. So, what was this jujutsu sorcery? How did it relate to your aunt? Like any curious little girl would, you asked, and she was more than willing to educate. It was a career, one that gave her a purpose to protect those who were unable to defend themselves, especially from things they couldn’t explicitly see. It was noble and righteous, and the moment this line of work was explained to you, you felt the need to pursue it.

You were aware of curses, aware of the occult and arcane that surrounded your lineage and the world beyond; however, you were unaware of the name, and your parents didn’t seem to be keen on explaining it. As far as they were concerned, your primary purpose in life was to marry this boy that they had set you up with– another factor in your life that you were not fully briefed on. Although many things had been kept from you, you harbored no resentment; you were only six years old when you learned this new information, and being young and naïve led you to think everything was perfectly normal in this family dynamic. So, with high optimism, you went to your parents one last time to tell them of your new goals and your renewed determination.

Only to be shut down, again.

“A woman to be a jujutsu sorcerer in the status you will be taking on is unbecoming. I forbid you to take on such a boyish task.”

Words of your mother delivered with the same uninterest as the expression on her face, while your father responded with a stoic and straightforward “no.”

You felt depleted of energy at that point, leaving after bowing with respect toward your parents before making your way to your room. It wasn’t even a week later when you were put into etiquette lessons to learn things as simple as holding a spoon properly– things you adapted to but held no joy in. It was like that for nearly a year before your aunt decided to pay another visit. Aside from your brother, she was the only other light in your life who gave you an ounce of positivity and hope when you were down. It only took a sentence to have you back on your feet.

“They can’t take away what they don’t know you have.”

That night, a spark formed deep within you, and what you had held yourself back from before, you sought yet again. Anything and everything from that moment forward would only be defined by your own determination and fate, and there would be many things to happen from that moment forward. However, one thing was for sure: a condition that was set in stone.

You had to marry Gojo Satoru.