Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

KINZOKU MIKAZUKI WAITED FOR A BREATH, steadying her heartbeat while still clutching the phone in her hand. There was great turmoil in her a mind, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that threatened to spill from their cozy hole, like a wave surging towards the already cracked walls of a damn. Maybe that’s why she didn’t notice when her companion’s soft snores turned into slow breaths, whatever sleep the stranger from the previous night had gotten quickly leaving her as the ruckus Mikazuki had been making finally came to a halt.

“Trouble in paradise, love?”

Mikazuki was startled by the voice, putting the phone away before turning to gawk at the no longer sleeping form still laid on the bed. The woman smiled, strands of auburn hair framing her face while the gesture illuminated her whole expression. She wasn’t soft by any means, yet there was nothing particularly threatening about her either – a neutral sorceress in a sea of scavengers, all looking for an advantage, all craving for the greatest power the world had ever seen. This woman, whoever, didn’t want anything beyond her station of position. She was contempt with her place in the world, a fact that was visible within the quiet gleam of her pretty eyes.

“No need to stare at me like that, I wasn’t eavesdropping.” The woman said, her tone languid and tired before rolling over so she could sit up, blanket wrapped around her naked body. “But my words mean little to you, right?” She looked at Mikazuki, breath caught in her lungs while she waited for a response.

The Kinzoku swallowed, feeling like a deer in headlights, her mind and thoughts open to be read by this complete stranger. For a moment, she was reminded of Yashiro and the way he could so easily read her, but the thought faded just as quickly as it had come, a sense of unease settling in her bones instead.

“Tell me,” The woman interrupted, her tone harsh and biting. “did you know who I was when you picked me up at the club?”

This time, Mikazuki didn’t startle, steeling her gaze and matching the sorceress’ irate tone while keeping her voice sharp.

“Did you?” A question for a question, no answer in sight as the two women stared at one another, the silence between them hanging in the air.

It was easy to blame someone else for her troubles; Mikazuki had done so many times, now. Whatever guilt she felt earlier about sleeping with Lea’s sister was completely gone, evaporated into the air like it never existed in the first place. She’d imagined her to be soft, fragile – but this woman was neither. She could see herself reflected in her, like a mirror that didn’t quite match. The Kinzoku wasn’t delusional enough to pretend she’d made this sorceress do anything against her will, especially when, even in their position, she still looked at her with those hungry eyes.

“My aunt won’t shut up about you.” The woman began, no hint of embarrassment as the covers slid down her body, revealing her perfect pale skin covered in moles and sun marks. “And you… well, you’re hard to miss.” She gestured to the grey hair, to the scars littered across her body and the unmistakable golden glow of her stare.

Mikazuki crossed her arms, feeling observed. She’d spent half of her life being treated like a sample under a microscope, both by her clan and by The Magistrate, yet there was something about it that always made her skin crawl, no matter how many times it happened. It was like being under trial, judged by over fifty people – none of which truly knew her – all over again.

“The heiress to the Kinzoku Clan.”

The stranger popped her lips as she said her name, testing it out despite her atrocious Japanese pronunciation. She didn’t butcher it, though, probably because she was far too familiar with it to do so. After all, this was her, the object of her aunt’s obsession. She’d heard so much about this woman: so many tales of her cruelty, of all the horrible acts she had committed, both against the world of mortals and the institution of The Magistrate.

And yet, Kinzoku Mikazuki was nothing but a woman. Because that’s what she was in that moment, a simple woman with her hair up and an unpleasant expression on her face. She wasn’t a warrior, an evil sorceress or an exiled shaman. Just a woman.

Mikazuki stilled, the blood in her veins running cold.

“Who are you?” The special-grade asked, no longer concerned about the stranger’s stark nakedness not her own state of half-undress.

She had bigger things to worry about, like why this woman managed to irk her so much, crawl under her skin like she was about to make it her home. The woman – this stranger who felt less and less like an unknown one-night stand and more and more like a carefully set trap – swallowed, pushing a stray hair out of her face before a placid smile settled on her lips. There truly was little resemblance between this woman and her aunt; Léa Dubois.

While Léa was tall, gracious, thin and soon-to-be grey-haired, this woman was spirited, filled with life, her curves sinful, her eyes cautious yet also brimming with lust for adventure. They both shared the same hair, the same eyes, but the intentions behind those were starkly different, day and night, moon and sun. Léa, being the colder, older one, might have been the moon. And her, the naked stranger, certainly made an intriguing and enticing sun.

“Ah,” The woman popped her tongue again, amusement flickering in her gaze. “We were in such a rush last night, we never got to introduce ourselves, did we?” She asked, tilting her gaze while the French accent lingered in the air at the end of her sentence.

The Kinzoku did not move, no longer feeling vulnerable under this stranger’s gaze. This woman might be her enemy’s family, but there was something distinctly safe about the way she laid her eyes on Mikazuki. Not safe in the sense that she was tame, but safe in the sense that her aunt’s ire hadn’t marred her yet. She was untainted by Léa’s hatred. What a curious thing, to find someone so close to the Frenchwoman yet with such distance within the same family.

“You know my name.” Mikazuki licked her lips, hands clammy with sweat as gold gathered around her arms in a warm liquid blanket. “Now tell me yours before I feel compelled to take it from you.”

The woman in front of her remained unfazed, and as she pulled a shirt over her head and massaged her head, the sorceress couldn’t help but envy that expression. It wasn’t stoic or unfeeling like she was used to from Léa, who liked to pretend to be unaffected when she clearly was not – it was an entirely different affair, like it wasn’t an act at all, but a genuine reaction.

“Rumours are true, then.” The woman said, clicking her tongue as an amused chuckle fell from her lips. “You are quick on your threats.” She huffed out a laugh, putting on her panties before turning to stare at Mikazuki once again. “You needn’t worry about me, love. My aunt and I are not – and have never been – in good terms.”

Mikazuki’s expression didn’t change.

“Your name.” She pressed, the words sounding an awful lot like a threat rather than a simple request.

The woman bowed her head, still amused but also weary not to push any more buttons. Her hair fell on her face, framing it for a brief moment before she straightened her back and held the special-grade’s gaze.

“Sophie Dubois, first-grade sorceress.” The name sounded familiar, but nothing constant enough to make Mikazuki recognize it. “I work mainly in Occitaine, but from time to time I have business to tend to here; in Japan.”

The Kinzoku held the woman’s gaze, almost as if taking her in for the first time. In a sense, she was. Last night; she’d been watching her from the perspective of a lustful, wanton mind. Today, though, she was seeing her fully for the first time, not as a hot piece of ass, but as a fully-fledged fellow sorcerer. It hit her then, just how different Sophie and Léa were.

As far as Mikazuki knew, Léa’s work kept her mostly around Paris and its alentours, but her niece seemed to have settled down as far as possible while not leaving her territory outright. Occitaine was in the southern parts of France, near the Spanish border and bathed in the Mediterranean sea. In other words, it was a world’s away from Lea’s holly ivory tower and her vice-like grip.

“Now,” Sophie’s voice interrupted her daydreaming, her tone as certain and bold as it had been the night before. “as riveting as this conversation is, I believe you have somewhere to be.” She narrowed her eyes, a knowing look crossing her features. “And so do I, so…” She kissed the air, already dressed and in a hurry before waltzing through the door. “Goodbye, love. We should do this again sometime.”