Hold me like water

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/51444628.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: M/M
Fandoms: 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga), 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime)
Relationships: Getou Suguru/Gojo Satoru, Getou Suguru & Gojo Satoru & Ieiri Shoko
Characters: Gojo Satoru, Getou Suguru, Ieiri Shoko, Haibara Yu (Jujutsu Kaisen),
Nanami Kento, Yaga Masamichi, Mei Mei (Jujutsu Kaisen), Hasaba
Nanako, Hasaba Mimiko, Fushiguro Megumi, Fushiguro Tsumiki
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Lovers, Angst,
Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Self-Esteem Issues, Friendship, Love, Fix-It
of Sorts, Anxiety, Blood and Injury, Minor Character Death, Eating
Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Body horror? Curses
are gross, First Kiss, Consensual Underage Sex, Explicit Sexual Content,
Hand Jobs, Dirty Talk, Non-Sexual Intimacy, horny teenagers being
horny, Shower Sex, Intercrural Sex, Blow Jobs, Praise Kink, Panic
Attacks, genocidal ideation, Child Abuse, Violence, Communication,
First Time, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Emotional Sex, they're switches
but for now, Top Getou Suguru, Bottom Gojo Satoru, Creampie, Light
Dom/sub, Subdrop, Aftercare, Fluff, POV Alternating, Eventual Happy
Ending
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2023-11-11 Updated: 2024-02-12 Words: 53,500 Chapters:
15/16
 Hold me like water
by stillnotovermylordsixth

Summary

Months after their failed mission, Satoru notices Suguru is pulling away from everybody,
especially him. Despite the awkwardness, Suguru agrees to go out as a trio for Shoko’s
birthday.

When a fun night of drinking and a little bit of fortune telling reveals a horrific vision of
Suguru’s death at his hands, Satoru takes it upon himself to change their tragic fate at all
costs.

Notes

Title comes from Hozier's Who We Are, which had me crying over stsg for weeks T_T

Posted this to celebrate my 5 year anniversary of writing :) Hope you enjoy!

See the end of the work for more notes

 Chapter 1
Chapter Notes

Please keep in mind that this fic is not canon compliant, so don't stress too much about
how Gojo only lives X number of years in canon because it won't be relevant.
(Personally, I'm a 'Gojo's coming back' girlie til the manga ends, but that's neither here
nor there ;P)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Satoru inhaled deeply, allowing the cold night air to rid his nostrils of the mixture of sweat,
booze and cheap cologne they’d been accosted by in the club. His ears rang with the echoes
of a booming bass. Not even a minute after stepping out, Shoko had a lit cigarette between
her fingers.

“Share,” Suguru said, extending a hand toward her.

“Birthday girls don’t share,” she replied through a puff of smoke. But despite her declaration,
she did not argue when Suguru took the cigarette from her hand.

Satoru watched him take a long drag and sigh it out, shoulders sagging as though he’d been
released from invisible bindings. Though his outfit was not much different from the uniform
he wore on a daily basis, he wore his hair down, which framed his face in a very attractive
way. It had made it difficult for Satoru to keep his eyes off him all night.

Suguru handed the cigarette back to Shoko as the trio walked away from the club. “Where
to?”

Shoko led the way, easily slipping between groups of people crowding around the many bars
and restaurants of Roppongi.

“You know where!” she called out over her shoulder.

“Karaoke!” Satoru sang as Suguru sighed the same word.

Satoru laughed and threw an arm over Suguru’s shoulders. “Come on, Suguru. I know it’s
past your bedtime but you gotta live a little!”

Suguru shoved him off. “I’m not drunk enough to sing.”

“There’s an easy solution for that.”

They followed Shoko through the crowds for a while until she came to a sudden stop in front
of a shop that was definitely not a karaoke bar. Unlike every other establishment around, this
one lacked the flashing lights and was free of a line to enter. Satoru took in Shoko’s
mischievous grin and followed her gaze up to the aesthetically displeasing sign that read:

Psychic Love Money Accurate Fortune Readings

No Refunds

“You’re not serious,” Suguru groaned. “This is obviously a scam.”

Satoru knew as soon as Shoko met his gaze that she’d do it for the sake of birthday
entertainment, even if it was a scam. He was up for anything so he grinned and nodded in
silent agreement with her. Suguru sighed and leaned on the wall before taking out a smoke of
his own. “Fine. Count me out.”

“You’re so boring!”

“Lame!”

“What are you gonna ask about, anyway?” he mumbled, lighting up the cigarette between his
lips.

“Obviously love!” Shoko huffed. “Gotta make sure the person I love is absolutely obsessed
with me.”

Suguru snorted and looked at Satoru, awaiting his answer. Satoru hadn’t thought that far
ahead, and was really only going along with it for Shoko’s sake. He shrugged and replied,
“Sure. Same.”

Suguru cocked a brow at that, but said nothing.

Shoko yanked the door open and a string of bells rattled above her head. “I’m going first.
You losers wait here,” she said before disappearing inside.

Satoru joined Suguru against the wall and watched him smoke from the corner of his eye.
Red and blue neon lights cast harsh shadows over his cheeks in a way he found disturbing.
The combined laughter, music and chaos of traffic in the atmosphere was not enough to ease
the awkwardness of the silence between them. Minutes passed without a single word spoken.

It had been close to three months since they’d failed their mission and neither of them had
mentioned it at all. It often felt like a seriously fucked up dream to Satoru; like Riko and
Kuroi and Toji had been nothing but figments of his imagination. Like his spectacular failure,
brush with death and consequent enlightenment had all taken place in someone else’s body,
someone else’s mind.

It wasn’t until he looked at Suguru and the changes he’d undergone that he was forced to face
the reality of what had happened.

“You keep staring,” Suguru finally said. “Something on your mind?”

Satoru didn’t know where to begin. This was the first time they’d been alone together in what
felt like ages. For the past eight weeks, Suguru had been actively avoiding him. It had been a
gradual distancing.

At first, Satoru hadn’t thought much of him rejecting his invitations to hang out. It was
normal, what with the number of missions increasing in the fall months. But after a while,
Suguru had no longer been up for any games–physical or virtual–and had come up with all
sorts of excuses to get out of accompanying Satoru anywhere, even to share a meal. It was
true that they’d both been insanely busy, but Satoru had seen so little of him since Riko’s
death that it was hard to believe their rooms were right next to each other.

It seemed the only reason Suguru had decided to join them for Shoko’s birthday was because
she had threatened to forget what vital organs were supposed to look like the next time she
healed his life-threatening injuries.

Suguru lifted a brow expectantly.

“Not really,” Satoru lied, averting his gaze. Drunken partiers acting a mess all around them
did not allow for the best setting to have the conversation they needed to have. More time
passed in awkward silence until Suguru spoke again.

“I thought you gave up drinking.”

It was true Satoru had decided to quit alcohol to maximize the effectiveness of his cursed
technique, but he could handle a shot or three every once in a blue moon. Besides, the subtle
disapproval in Suguru’s voice rubbed him the wrong way.

He shrugged and replied nonchalantly, “And I thought you hated smoking, but here we are.”

Suguru frowned, but before he could open his mouth to respond, the door to the psychic’s
shop swung open with a loud rattle. Satoru glared at him a second longer, then turned his
attention to Shoko, who did not look like she was having fun. He was a bit confused by that
and something in her expression made him apprehensive to tease her, but not for long.

“Op! Guess someone’s gonna be alone forever!”

For a second, she appeared almost sickly, which took Satoru by surprise. But the moment
passed so fast, he wasn’t sure he’d seen it right. Schooling her expression again, she finally
stepped outside. “It’s all bullshit anyway. Let’s get out of here.”

“I told you,” Suguru gloated.

Satoru, however, was more intrigued than ever. What could’ve possibly transpired behind
that door to change Shoko’s demeanor about the silly little psychic reading in such a dramatic
way? “Hold on, hold on! It’s my turn now!”

Both of his friends rolled their eyes.

“It’s stupid,” Shoko insisted. “Let’s just go!”

“Nah nah nah, what about my love life?”

“Do what you want,” Shoko said, weaving her arm into Suguru’s elbow to pull him in the
direction they’d been heading originally. “We’re getting fucked up at karaoke.”

Suguru allowed himself to be dragged away, but looked back at Satoru with equal parts hope
and disappointment. “Satoru, seriously?”

“Don’t sing Rihanna without me!” he shouted back before entering the fortune teller’s den.
As soon as the door shut, the noise outside completely disappeared.

Upon first impression, Satoru thought: cozy .

In direct contrast to the neon-bathed street, the interior of the shop was warmly lit by antique
lamps with beaded shades while the walls were lined floor to ceiling with trinkets and vials of
all shapes and sizes. Many strange items were imbued with cursed energy, and he could not
imagine the purpose of most of them. The sparkling clutter gave the feeling of having been
transported into a Miyazaki film.

Behind the counter sat a frail looking old woman in a colorful sweater. She took a sip from
her teacup and greeted him with a smile.

“Good evening, Gojo-san.”

Satoru did not react to her recognition. It was not uncommon for sorcerers to recognize
members of the three most distinguished clans in the jujutsu world. This was especially true
of the one Gojo child who’d had a massive bounty on his head from the moment he was
born.

He covered the entire distance of the shop in four strides and leaned over the counter.

“You’ve been expecting me?”

“Not before five minutes ago, no.”

Satoru lifted a brow. Had Shoko told her he’d be coming in next?

Unlikely, given how adamant she’d been about leaving. Had the old woman perhaps seen
something while consulting with Shoko that also pertained to him?

“How’s this all work, then?” he asked, uncaring if it made him sound irreverent. “Does your
cursed technique form illusions that you sell as truth?”

They’d have to be damned good illusions for someone as tough as Shoko to be shaken up by
them.

She continued to smile softly.

“Nothing quite so sinister, Gojo-san. I don’t form illusions. I merely transport a person’s
mind to the very moment they wish to know about. ‘Will grandma’s surgery be successful?’
for example, or ‘will my husband cheat on me someday?’ I take the energy they’re willing to
provide and offer the most accurate glimpse into the truth their hearts yearn for.”

Satoru’s Six Eyes confirmed that she was not lying. However, there was more to it.

“You use life energy.”

“Three year’s worth of life energy for one minute of truth, to be precise. That is the price of
seeking what is not meant to be sought. That, and 7000 yen per vision. No refunds.”

Satoru smirked. If he understood correctly, the woman’s cursed technique was one that
funneled a person’s consciousness into the gaps of the space-time continuum. It required a
steep sacrifice because of the amount of energy it took to propel one through time and space.

She poured and set a cup of tea in front of him.

Satoru studied the teacup closely. What he’d originally thought of as a simple porcelain
design of white and golden stripes turned out to have an additional detail. Etched upon its
body were minuscule golden numbers that ranged from one through five, with the
bottommost number being five.

“One full teacup for a five minute glimpse of the truth,” she explained, “would, of course,
reduce your lifetime by fifteen years.”

She tilted her head with curiosity. “What do you wish to see?”

Satoru thought for a moment then blurted out: “What song will my friends be singing when I
meet up with them at karaoke tonight?”

The woman blinked repeatedly, stunned. “That…is not what I was expecting,” she admitted
with a soft laugh.

“Gotta see how accurate you are.”

“Fair enough.” She gestured to the tea. “Drink the amount of time you wish to witness.”

Satoru slowly brought the cup to his lips and took a small sip. The tea left a bitter aftertaste
on his tongue but was otherwise unremarkable. He set the cup back on its saucer to reveal
he’d drank to the first line.

“One minute, three years,” she said, with a glance that seemed to question his decision.

When he gave a stiff nod, she placed her hands around his teacup and closed her eyes. As
soon as her cursed energy poured forth, the rising steam from the tea became denser. It rose
and swirled around the shop until it fully enveloped Satoru in a thick fog.

After a moment, the fog gave way to a series of forms that merged and took the shape of a
long, red hallway lined with doors on either side. Satoru immediately recognized it as
Shoko’s favorite karaoke place.
In a surreal out-of-body moment of watching from the sidelines, he followed his future self as
he walked down the hall and paused at the third door on the right with a large 5 printed on it.
The music pumping through the LED-lit threshold was muffled but still easily recognizable.

This time, please someone come and rescue me

'Cause you on my mind, it's got me losing it

I'm lost, you got me looking for the rest of me

Love is testing me, but still I'm losing it

“She did not,” present Satoru grumbled to himself, while his double stood with his hand on
the doorknob, shaking his head. When he finally opened the door, Shoko’s voice emerged
like a smack to the face.

“Satoruuu!” she shouted into the microphone, then laughed while jumping on the table.
“What took you so long?!”

Satoru scanned the small room and found it littered with bottles and snack food, some of
which had been kicked to the floor by Shoko’s rowdy ass.

“Where’s Suguru?” he heard his future self ask.

Shoko giggled, then the scene dissolved into a swirl of mist that circled rapidly around Satoru
until he was standing back in the shop. The woman smiled up at him, pleased with herself.

“Satisfied?”

“We’ll see,” Satoru said, and handed her the cash before making his way out.

He checked his phone for the room number Shoko had sent him even though he already knew
what it would be.

Room 5.

The bustling crowds delayed him more than he’d expected, but nearly half an hour later, he
was walking through the same red hallway, hearing the same muffled music behind the third
room to the right.

This time, please someone come and rescue me

'Cause you on my mind, it's got me losing it

I'm lost, you got me looking for the rest of me

Love is testing me, but still I'm losing it

Shoko had gone and sang Rihanna without him. He shook his head at her betrayal and
opened the door.
Shoko jumped on the table and shouted his name into the mic. “What took you so long?!”

Satoru looked at the mess of empty bottles and food. The scene was identical to what the old
woman had shown him. Her visions were exceptionally precise.

Suguru and his beautiful hair were nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Suguru?” he asked.

Shoko giggled and swayed on the table while pointing to her shoes. “Down there.”

Satoru frowned and squatted down to take a look. Beneath the table, Suguru lay on his side
with his face on the filthy floor.

“He’s such a lightweight,” Shoko scoffed. “Now come sing with me! Come on!”

Satoru sighed. It really wasn’t like Suguru to get blackout drunk. He worried this was
somehow tied to his avoidant behavior of the past few months.

“Maybe we should call it a night,” he said, dragging Suguru out from under the table. He
brushed dirt off Suguru’s cheek and shook food crumbs out of his hair. Suguru blinked at
him, unseeing, before going back to sleep.

“Come on! It’s my birthday!” Shoko pouted.

Satoru picked Suguru up and stuffed him into the booth. Then he walked over to take the
microphone from Shoko’s hand. “One song should be enough to show you how it’s done.”

Six songs later, Satoru dragged his friends out of the bar and made sure they got home in one
piece. Then he returned to the shop, where the woman was handing change back to a girl
around Satoru’s age. The psychic smiled at his entrance.

“Welcome back.”

The girl stared at Satoru with wide eyes and turned a bright shade of pink before hurrying out
to join her friends outside.

“Have you decided what it is you truly wish to know?” the psychic inquired as Satoru arrived
at the counter.

He felt uncomfortable admitting that he’d known all along. From the moment he realized this
was no con artist guessing and speaking vague sentiments to calm people’s deepest fears,
he’d known what mattered most to him about the future.

Satoru placed the cash on the counter and she poured him a fresh cup of tea. He took a deep
breath and drank it all, uncaring that it scalded his tongue. Fifteen years of his life for a five
minute vision.

“Will Suguru be happy someday?”

The woman’s eyes widened marginally as she placed her hands around the teacup. She said,
“That Suguru must truly be loved.”

Before Satoru could inquire about her statement, a trace of steam from his cup floated
upward until he was flooded once again by heavy fog.

“Five minutes,” her disembodied voice said, just as Satoru’s reality shifted into what looked
like the destruction left after an earthquake. The sun lay low in the sky and the remaining
buildings cast long shadows across the devastation.

He saw himself in a slightly older body, between five to ten years older, perhaps. He did not
appear all that different, except that his facial features were sharper.

But he hadn’t asked about himself.

Confused, Satoru watched as his older self hopped through the rubble of what he eventually
realized was part of Jujutsu High that had been razed to the ground. Apparently, there had
been an attack massive enough to break through Master Tengen’s protective barriers.

After a while, Older Satoru came upon a set of structures that was still standing and formed a
dark alleyway. From the darkness he could hear the sound of heavy footsteps, something
dragging against the wall, and the muttering of a familiar voice.

His heart hammered painfully when an older Suguru’s bloodied form appeared shortly after.
His long hair stuck in clumps to his face and he was missing an arm. His unhinged smile fell
as soon as he spotted Older Satoru. Despite that, his tone was gentle when he slid down the
wall.

“Late as usual, Satoru.”

Given Older Satoru’s lack of urgency, Satoru quickly understood that he was not there to help
the fallen man. His stomach turned.

What the hell is going on?!

The brief conversation that followed was a blur of things Satoru could not fully understand.
From what he could gather, it seemed Suguru had been responsible for a series of attacks and
civilian murders. They spoke of trust, which Suguru appeared to find amusing.

“I didn’t realize that kind of thing still existed between us,” he said with a grin.

“Any last words?” Satoru’s older counterpart asked.

Suguru sighed, and his grin disappeared. “No matter what, I’ll always hate those monkeys.
But it’s not like I hate anyone at Jujutsu High. It’s just that in this world…I couldn’t truly be
happy from the bottom of my heart.”

Satoru felt a weight upon his lungs that made breathing difficult.

How did we get here?

Older Satoru stepped closer and crouched down before his former friend. “Suguru,” he said
softly. “I will always love you.”

Satoru’s eyes widened as big as Suguru’s did at the confession, and Suguru let out a small
laugh.

“I can’t believe you’d make me blush before you kill me,” he said fondly. And sure enough,
his cheeks had turned a warmer shade. “You should at least curse me at the end.”

Older Satoru sighed and said nothing else. He slowly stood and looked upon him for a
moment. Then he delivered the killing blow.

It was so fast. One second Suguru existed, and the next he did not.

Distraught, Satoru cried out, but no sound emerged. He was nothing but a consciousness,
after all.

So why did it feel like he was physically being torn apart?

Older Satoru stood for what felt like an eternity but could not have been more than a minute.
He knelt down beside Suguru and took him into his arms.

Satoru watched his future self cradle the broken body of the man he loved. He pushed the
hair out of Suguru’s face and tenderly touched his cheek. Then he leaned down to press a
lingering kiss to his forehead. Older Satoru’s lips were stained red when he straightened
again.

The world around Satoru dissolved into mist and he closed his eyes to settle the nausea that
threatened to overtake him. A soft voice brought him back to reality.

“I am sorry, Gojo-san.”

He opened his eyes. For the first time tonight, the woman before him was not smiling. Her
expression was sympathetic and her words sounded sincere, but Satoru had no use for them.

He turned away and walked to the door.

“Before you go, I must warn you,” she said, hurrying around the counter to Satoru’s side.
Satoru paused.

“Revealing details of the events you’ve seen with anyone will only ensure that they happen.”

Satoru swallowed hard. Of course he wouldn’t be able to discuss this with Suguru. Fate was
treacherous that way. This would be another thing to add to the list of things driving a wedge
between them. Still, a flicker of hope emerged in his chest.

“You’re saying there’s a possibility they won’t happen.”

She pursed her lips and hesitated, appearing to mull over her response before speaking again.
 “For centuries, it was considered impossible for a child to be born with two of the most
powerful innate gifts known to the jujutsu world. Until it was not.”

Satoru looked at her a moment longer before offering a curt nod and taking his leave.

Outside, the world continued on as it had minutes ago, with crowds of people gathered to
enjoy themselves around bars and restaurants. But this time, the air felt too stale, the lights
too bright to handle without his sunglasses.

As much as he wanted to deny the vision, brush it off as bullshit the way Shoko had with
whatever she’d witnessed, deep down he knew: The current path of their timeline would lead
to Suguru’s demise.

But how could that be? What could possibly have happened for Suguru to become a mass
murderer?

How could it be that Satoru would be the one to end his best friend’s life?

He would find out and force a different outcome.

Whatever it took, he would succeed. There was no other option he was willing to live with.
Suguru’s bloodstained face appeared again in his mind’s eye.

“You should at least curse me at the end.”

The world spun around him like he’d gone binge drinking. He held onto a light post and
vomited on the sidewalk.

Chapter End Notes

Comments are very encouraging and much appreciated :) Please be kind and let me
know what you think! <3
 Chapter 2
Chapter Notes

Just to reiterate, the psychic’s visions require 3 years of the client’s life for every 1
minute of time in the vision. Satoru has had two visions.

The first was 1 minute = 3 years

The second was 5 minutes =15 years

He’s given up 18 years so far

Sorry if that was confusing!

Suguru held no emotional ties to any of the cursed spirits in his inventory.

At least that was true of all but one, and for one reason in particular; the Rainbow Dragon
spirit was his favorite because it seemed to be especially fond of Satoru.

Though he supposed it was possible that that observation was just him projecting his own
feelings onto it.

There were times after training when Suguru would loosen the control he had over Rainbow
Dragon and it would proceed to chase Satoru around like a playful dog. This was one of those
times.

Suguru laughed, watching Satoru fake desperation as he hopped from one shingled building
to another, huffing and puffing as if truly struggling to get away. After a while, Rainbow
Dragon got close enough to almost nibble on Satoru’s leg, but Satoru slipped away at the last
second, bounced onto its head and did a series of cartwheels across its spine.

He gave a triumphant shout while Rainbow Dragon roared and wriggled, trying to shake him
off. Suguru laughed harder.

Then there was a tearing sound he associated with only the most unpleasant things and
Satoru’s shout was cut short. For a moment, Suguru matched his expression of confusion as
they both stared at the bloody blade protruding from Satoru’s chest. Confusion turned to
horror when it registered in Suguru’s mind that Satoru’s defenses had been down. He’d been
stabbed.

In the same moment, Rainbow Dragon howled and was effectively sliced in half from head to
tail.

It dissipated into the wind like it had never existed.

Satoru coughed blood, his eyes wide with shock.

“S-Suguru…”

Suguru shouted his name but nothing came out of his mouth. He tried to run to him but his
feet were blocks of stone. He looked down at them, urging them to move, but they refused to
budge. When he turned back, Satoru was gone. Instead, he was met face to face with Toji’s
vile grin.

“Killed by a monkey,” he sneered, and ran a sword through his stomach. Toji’s deranged
laughter combined with the loudest applause Suguru had ever heard echoed in his ears as he
was sliced in half.

Suguru’s eyes snapped open.

He gasped for breath as his heart beat at a reckless pace. Just as he had almost every night in
the past eight weeks, he awoke soaked in cold sweat. This morning had the bonus annoyance
of a dry mouth and dull headache. He covered his eyes against the sunlight sneaking through
his blinds and groaned.

Why had he drunk so much last night?

He’d agreed to go out because he owed Shoko his life and she deserved to have a time
reserved solely for herself, where she wasn’t expected to be the only factor separating her
peers from death. But he’d been dreading it from the moment he’d said yes.

It wasn’t that he’d been avoiding his friends…but maybe he had been a little. Especially
Satoru.

The failure of their last mission together had changed them both, but while Satoru had
emerged as a more powerful and confident version of himself, the opposite had been true for
Suguru. From the moment he opened the doors of that damned basement and saw Satoru
standing there, a serene expression on his face as he gazed upon Riko’s body in his arms,
Suguru had known his life would never be the same. His relief at seeing him alive had been
overshadowed by fear and reverence at this otherworldly being wearing his best friend’s face.
He understood from that moment that they would never be equals again; he’d been far
surpassed.

It became clear to him in the weeks afterward that Satoru felt the same way. Before, Suguru
would train with him, and they’d be on par in hand to hand combat and even while using
their cursed techniques. They’d exchange constructive criticism and bounce ideas off each
other to improve strategies. But Satoru had no use for him anymore. He no longer asked for
his thoughts on the few occasions they had been in the same training space together; he’d
been too focused on strengthening parts of himself Suguru had no access to. It did not take
long for Suguru to realize that none of his strengths mattered when Satoru was working on
mastering the impossible.

In Satoru he’d found the closest thing to home he’d known in a long time. His parents had
only loved him until he turned five years old. He could still remember the look of disgust on
his father’s face and the way his mother had wept the day they found out he could see things
they could not. They’d merely tolerated his presence after that. The day Suguru had left his
town, he’d gained more acceptance than he’d ever had.

Being with Satoru was like looking in a mirror and finding the reflection beautiful for the
first time. He missed spending time with him and making him laugh. He missed listening to
the absurdities that came out of his mouth, the casual affection he so easily bestowed upon
him in the form of clinging embraces and playing with his hair.

Now, above anything else, Suguru felt anxious. He felt anxious being away from him almost
as much as he did with him around. He didn’t know how to be in Satoru’s presence anymore,
not without feeling like he had to prove he was worth his time.

When it came to what had happened to Riko and Kuroi, he was not free of guilt. In fact, it ate
at him more than his sense of inferiority. He’d offered a girl hope and failed to deliver on his
arrogant promises. How could he ever forgive himself for that?

The truth was, Suguru had become a version of himself he could no longer recognize. A
version he disliked very much. He wasn’t sure how much more of this self imposed isolation
he could handle, but he was also unwilling to burden anyone else with the turmoil in his
mind. After all, if Satoru could be fine after everything they went through, it could only mean
Suguru was the broken one. There was something wrong with him and he didn’t know if it
was possible to fix it.

His stomach growled, but he did not have the energy to face anyone in the dining hall.
Reluctantly, he reached into his bedside drawer for a hydration pack and ripped it open. For
now, it would have to do.

Satoru awoke earlier than usual and knocked on Suguru’s door.

Nothing.

He’d stayed up most of the night replaying what he’d seen with the psychic, imagining all
sorts of scenarios that could lead to Suguru’s current fate. There wasn’t much Satoru could
realistically see himself killing Suguru for and he would drive himself mad considering the
possibilities.

But if he were able to talk to him, even without revealing what he knew of their future,
maybe he could understand why Suguru had been pulling away in the first place. Maybe this
rift between them that he’d assumed would mend itself on its own, in fact required action
from him. He knew Suguru well enough to know there was a legitimate reason behind
everything he did, so if he was avoiding him, it only made sense that it was because of
something Satoru had done.

He only wished he knew what that was.

After a while, he knocked again and listened for movement from inside but still, nothing.
Given how out of it Suguru had been last night, he’d figured it would have taken him some
time to recover from his hangover. Then again, it was starting to become a habit to be wrong
about Suguru.

It was still so early, had he gone on another mission already?

He called Suguru’s phone and heard no ringing on the other side. The call went to voicemail.

His stomach rumbled and he sighed. It was unlikely, but maybe he’d bump into Suguru on
the way to the dining hall.

He made his way across the school and just as he thought, Suguru was nowhere to be found.
However, he did find Shoko halfway through her breakfast cigarette.

“Hey. You seen Suguru?” he asked, plopping down beside her on the steps to the dining hall.

“Nah.”

Shoko did not look at him, but Satoru was taken aback by the exhaustion written all over her
face. The bags under her eyes did not belong to a teen hung over from partying too hard but
to a person who’d seen some shit that had kept them up for days.

He was reminded of the expression she wore the night before, right after she’d emerged from
the psychic’s shop.

“Last night, with the psychic,” he began cautiously, lest he speak what had to be left
unspoken. “You saw something bad about Suguru, didn’t you?”

Shoko’s shoulders stiffened but still, she did not look at him. “About both of you, actually.”

“And if you tell anyone, it’ll definitely come true.”

Shoko finally met his gaze.

“You…saw it?”

“If we’re talking about the same thing.”

Shoko pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then said, “I’m talking about the end.”

Satoru confirmed with a solemn nod. “How much did you see?”

Shoko frowned and took a long drag of her cigarette. “One minute. You?”

“Five.”

Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. “Five minutes! Satoru, what the hell?! That’s fifteen
years of your life you just threw away!”

“Eighteen, actually. I did a trial run to see how accurate she really was.”
“What is wrong with you?!”

“So, what, you just believed her because she’s a nice old lady?”

“I said it was bullshit! Besides, aren’t you supposed to see it all with your Six Eyes?”

“They don’t tell me everything ,” he muttered defensively.

“How fucking useless, then.”

“And you don’t actually think it’s fake. Otherwise, you would’ve told us what you saw right
away.”

Shoko glared at him for a moment before letting out a tired breath. “I don’t play with stuff
like that.”

When she did not elaborate further, they sat in silence, listening to the far away sounds of
birds chirping in the trees. Satoru thought some more and realized something didn’t add up.

“There’s one thing I don’t get,” he said, studying her face intently. “You said you were going
to find out about your love life, so why did you see something about Suguru and me? What
do we have to do with—?”

“You really are incredibly dense,” Shoko interrupted with an eye roll.

Then it clicked for Satoru as he recalled the psychic’s strange comment:

“That Suguru must truly be loved.”

“Oh. Oooooh! Um, that’s cool. I guess he’d be flattered?“

“Will you shut up?” she groaned, tossing her cigarette butt at him.

“You know, you’re more like an annoying little sister to him. To both of us, really—“

“I am older than you freaks!”

“I said what I said.”

“I hate you so much,” Shoko said, rubbing her hands across her reddened face. Satoru
couldn’t say he’d ever seen her turn that shade before. He found it hilarious. But just as she
got to her feet to stomp her way upstairs, he reigned back the amusement. There was
something important they needed to discuss.

“Shoko,” he said seriously, “we need to go back.”

Shoko paused and turned to look at him like he’d lost his mind. “What?”

“We need to find out where it all goes wrong and change Suguru’s fate.”

She scoffed, staring at him incredulously. “I’m not going back there.”
Satoru’s heart dropped. “Huh? Why not?”

Shoko stepped back down to meet him at eye level. “You don’t get it, do you? I’ve already
given up three years. Three years of a sorcerer’s life. We don’t live very long as it is, you
know that.”

Her voice betrayed a hint of pain but remained firm. “I can’t give up more of my life for the
very slim chance of changing the future.”

Satoru scowled, never breaking eye contact. “You’re giving up on him.”

“Don’t fucking put words in my mouth,” she snapped. “We’re not all indestructible like you.”

Her words stung more than he’d expected them to. If he’d learned anything from the last
mission he had with Suguru, it was that he was far from indestructible. He’d failed when he’d
thought it was impossible for him to fail and it had cost two lives and the closeness with his
best friend. It made him question everything he’d known about himself, and while he’d
gained a sort of enlightenment over his cursed technique that had brought temporary serenity,
he was still angry. Once the peaceful high of understanding his connection to the universe
had passed, he regretted not slaughtering that basement full of cult members celebrating
Riko’s death.

Before receiving the cold shoulder, he’d unknowingly relied on Suguru to guide his moral
compass, to keep him from doing things he’d later regret. But now, he’d been forced to face
the ugliness that brewed within himself, and that shit was uncomfortable.

He stood and turned away from her to head into the building.

“Well, I’m going back.”

She scoffed, following after him. “Seriously? Eighteen years wasn’t enough for you?”

Satoru paused so she could catch up and he could glare down at her.

“I guess our definitions of love are very different.”

Her face scrunched with disbelief.

“You prick!” she called after him as he took two steps at a time. “I never said I wouldn’t
help!”

Satoru lifted a brow and looked over his shoulder, waiting for her to elaborate.

She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “If there’s a glimpse of hope that you can do
this, I will help you. Just not by gambling with my life, alright? So stop being so dramatic.”

Satoru snorted and hopped a few steps down to hug her tight. “You’re so cute when you’re
angry.”
“Bitch,” she grumbled and he ruffled her hair to make it staticky. Shoko did not struggle, but
she did steal his sunglasses to place over her own eyes. Her tone changed to something
lighter when she asked:

“Did you just admit to being in love with Suguru?”

Satoru froze, then released her with a shove.

“I’m starving. There better be something amazing today!”

“Aww, now he’s shy!” she crooned and let out a cackle when he increased his pace up the
stairs. “Come on, you can’t hide things from your annoying little sister!”

“Go home Shoko, you’re still drunk!”

Breakfast was quick because Satoru already had a list of missions to get through today.
Shoko teased him about his silly little confession half the time and he teased her back for the
very same thing. Just as they were about to part ways at the bottom of the stairs, a loud,
friendly voice called out from afar.

“Ieiri-san! Gojo-san!”

“Yo,” Satoru waved as Haibara ran up to them from the direction of his dorm. He carried a
plastic bag full of items that swung around as he ran. When he reached them, he was out of
breath.

“Haibara,” Shoko greeted fondly. “No injuries today?”

“Well, the day just started!” Haibara said with a laugh. “But here, I’ve been meaning to give
you some souvenirs from our last mission in Okayama.”

He handed the bag over to her but Satoru snatched it.

“Heck yeah! What’d you bring?”

“Well, Geto-san mentioned you enjoyed sweet things so I brought some kibidango. I wasn’t
sure what Ieiri-san would like so I brought some iced coffee and savory treats, too.”

Sure enough, Satoru registered the regional treats and felt a bittersweet feeling swirl in his
chest. Had Suguru told Haibara about his sweet tooth before or after the shit storm?

Shoko snatched the bag back and thanked Haibara.

“Where’s Nanami?” she asked, given how rare it was to see one of them without the other.

“Still sleeping, I think. He threw his phone at me when I tried to wake him, so…” he trailed
off, scratching his head.

Satoru laughed. “Sounds like a Nanami thing to do.”

Haibara grinned. “Oh! Could you please get some of the kibidango to Geto-san? I promised
I’d bring him some but I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Satoru hid the prickle of worry behind a wide grin and replied, “Sure.”

It was late at night when Suguru returned from the last of his missions. The process of
absorbing new cursed spirits always left him feeling like he needed to scrub himself from the
inside out. Showers were nowhere near enough to make him feel clean but it was the closest
he would ever get. And after absorbing four new curses today, he was in desperate need of
one.

When he arrived at his dorm room, there was a small plastic bag tied up with a knot and on it
sat a sticky note bearing Satoru’s barely legible script. He picked it up and squinted to make
out what it said.

From Haibara

He smiled. He hadn’t expected his underclassman to actually bring something back from a
mission because who did that? Who wanted to remember the shitty things they did on a daily
basis, even if it was in a part of the country they did not frequent often?

Haibara was simply too sweet of a human to do this kind of thing for a living.

“Hey.”

Suguru’s smile faded. He hadn’t even noticed when Satoru appeared outside the neighboring
door. Had he been standing there the whole time? If so, Suguru’s senses were dulling by the
minute.

“Hey,” he replied, and Satoru took that as an invitation to get closer.

“The sweets are pretty good,” he said with a small smile.

Suguru offered the bag back. “You can have the rest, if you want.”

“I’m good.”

Suguru nodded, unsure of what else to say as he entered his room.

“Well, good night then,” he muttered, and closed the door.

He’d almost closed it completely when Satoru’s hand shot out to stop him. “Suguru.”

While Suguru was taken aback by the action, there wasn’t much force behind it. Satoru’s
voice was also lacking in aggression. Still, Suguru hid his expression behind the door,
unwilling to have that piercing gaze on him again. When he didn’t respond, Satoru continued.

“I’m sorry.”
Suguru’s eyes widened. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard those words come out
of Satoru’s mouth. “Sorry?” he parroted, dumbstruck.

“I hurt you, right? I don’t know how, exactly. I say stupid shit all the time, but maybe it was
something I did. Anyway, I know I hurt you somehow and I’m sorry.”

Suguru’s throat constricted. He was a terrible friend, wasn’t he? Making Satoru think he’d
done something wrong when it was his own brain that wouldn’t give him a moment’s peace.

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

Suguru wished he could tell him about the torment his mind had been putting him through
since Riko died, but the thoughts were too overwhelming to fit into words.

“I’ve just been busy.”

“Suguru.” Satoru’s tone revealed he didn’t buy his statement for a second, but he didn’t say
that. Instead, the fingers still wrapped around the door clenched tighter and he asked, “Are
you okay?”

The tightness in Suguru’s throat spread to his chest, making it hard to breathe. He was
dangerously close to losing it just hearing the concern in Satoru’s voice. Tears threatened to
make it past his lashes as he looked at Satoru’s knuckles turning white. He reached out
tentatively. Maybe if he couldn’t say it out loud, his touch would be able to communicate
how lost he felt, how much he missed the way things were before.

Just as Suguru was about to reach Satoru’s hand, his fingers slowed to a stop against his will.

He pulled away as if he were burned.

Satoru’s Infinity was on.

Of course it was. How could Suguru forget that he kept it on all the time now? Apparently,
not only were his senses losing their edge, but his memory was failing him too. He was so
stupid.

And the most humiliating thing of all was that he knew Satoru had felt his attempt. He could
feel when things approached his Infinity, even if he couldn’t yet distinguish between
harmless and harmful objects a hundred percent of the time.

“Suguru?”

He forced steadiness into his voice.

“I’m fine, Satoru. Please let go.”

After a long moment of silence, Satoru slowly released his hold on the door, Suguru shut it
and listened for the sounds of the neighboring door opening and closing again. It did not
happen until nearly five minutes later. When it did, Suguru finally released a shaky breath
and nibbled on his bottom lip until the tears stopped falling.
 Chapter 3
Chapter Notes

🤓
Disclaimer: Author is only pretending to know about cursed technique nonsense, please
don't expect accuracy

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Days later, Satoru returned to the psychic’s shop.

She agreed to help him find the moments in their current timeline that would influence
Suguru to go down the wrong path, but only under one condition. Given that he’d already
offered eighteen years of his lifetime prior to this visit and he seemed eager to recklessly
offer many more in his pursuit of knowledge, she set a limit for him. She would not allow
him to go past twelve additional years.

Despite Satoru’s offers to pay multiple times her usual fee per vision, she refused.

Therefore, he decided to divide the twelve years he was allowed to use into four visions of a
minute long each.

All four visions had something in common. Though Satoru could not be certain of when
exactly they were to take place, the visions featured a Suguru who resembled his present day
friend more than the older man he’d witnessed die at Older Satoru’s hands. But if the length
of Suguru’s hair could be something to go by, then that meant it was possible the visions were
to take place within a year, two at most.

In the first vision, Suguru stood in a packed train. He held onto the strap from the overhead
grab rail, head down and shoulders slumped. Satoru was alarmed by his gaunt appearance. It
was as though every ounce of fat had disappeared from his face, and the bags under his eyes
revealed he was not getting enough sleep.

Satoru was particularly disturbed by Suguru’s dissociated state. It was so obvious that his
physical and mental health were declining…

Had the people around him not noticed the signs?

Had Satoru himself not noticed?

The second vision was more disturbing than the first. It featured a blonde woman whom
Satoru recognized as Yuki Tsukumo. He vaguely recalled Yaga sensei introducing them when
he first started at Jujutsu High. She was a special grade sorcerer and all Satoru could
remember about her was that she spent her time abroad without taking any missions.
In this vision, Satoru heard only part of their conversation. He witnessed the moment
Suguru’s eyes widened when she revealed that non-sorcerers were the ones responsible for
most of the curses born into the world. And as she explained further, Satoru could see a
terrible idea formulating behind Suguru’s eyes, one that he voiced almost accidentally.

“Then why not just kill every non-sorcerer?”

Satoru was dumbfounded by the absurdity of what he was suggesting, but unexpectedly,
Tsukumo did not outright reject the idea. Instead, she validated it, though she admitted it
would take a crazier person than herself to pull it off.

Then she asked, “Do you hate non-sorcerers, Geto?”

Suguru was quiet for a moment, but just as he was about to respond, the vision dissolved into
thin air.

Satoru was afraid to hear Suguru’s answer. The conversation had taken place at Jujutsu High,
but he could not tell when it happened. Of one thing he was certain, though: he would have to
keep Suguru from reaching the conclusion he did, even if it meant preventing the
conversation from happening in the first place.

However, because she was such an elusive figure, he could not predict the next time Yuki
Tsukumo would be visiting Jujutsu High. He would have to stay alert.

The third vision took place at the Jujutsu High morgue.

Suguru stood alone over a body covered by a bloody sheet. Satoru could not see who it was,
but from the way the sheet fell below the corpse’s waist, he could tell that all that remained of
the person was their top half.

Suguru stood, stone-faced, for so long that Satoru worried the entire vision would pass
without a hint as to who lay on the embalming table. But then, Suguru placed a hand over the
corpse’s covered forehead and spoke softly:

“I told you, you were too kind to be a sorcerer.”

And though the vision faded away, Satoru’s heart sank as he understood immediately.

Haibara.

If anyone in the entire school could be described as kind it would be him. He was thoughtful
and generous and perpetually optimistic. Satoru thought he was fun to be around, though he
didn’t know much about him personally. That said, Satoru didn’t think he’d be any more
affected by Haibara’s death than by that of his other colleagues.

But it was obvious that for Suguru, Haibara’s death would have a devastating impact. If
Satoru had witnessed this moment as one of the events that would trigger Suguru’s
breakdown, it was because he held Haibara in special regard. Either that, or maybe Haibara
represented something larger to him. Something that was destroyed by the life they’d chosen
to live.
Regardless of the truth, Satoru would have to find a way to prevent Haibara’s death.

The final vision contained more images that left Satoru’s heart unsettled.

He watched as Suguru was led into a dark, musty room by a man and a woman. Suguru froze
when his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

“What is this?” he demanded.

Before him was a homemade jail cell holding two small girls. Beaten to the point of
wheezing with every breath, they trembled as they held each other.

“What do you mean?” The man barked defensively. “They’re the cause of all this!”

“No, they are not.”

“Those two are using their weird powers to attack the villagers!”

Suguru’s voice was strained as he responded. “I’ve already dealt with the cause of the
incident.”

Ignoring him, the woman screeched, “My grandson was nearly killed by these two!”

The little girls managed to raise their voices. “That was because—“

“Shut up, you monsters!” she snapped. “We should’ve killed you when you were born!”

Satoru’s attention never wavered from Suguru. It was evident in the tension of his shoulders
and clenched fists that he was fighting to suppress his rage. He took a deep breath and
unclenched his fist, releasing a small curse that was only visible to the girls. They cowered
when they saw it, but it only squeaked, “It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay.”

Then the vision ended and Satoru was left with more questions than answers.

He assumed Suguru freed the girls but what happened afterward? Did Suguru do something
to the couple? Where was that place? Violence toward sorcerer children was common in rural
areas, so it must have been a small town but that did not narrow the options down much.
Also, why had this case in particular affected Suguru so much?

It wasn’t that Satoru was unaffected by violence against innocents but it was something they
witnessed fairly regularly as sorcerers, so it made him wonder if there was something about
this case that struck a nerve with Suguru.

In any case, Satoru planned to watch over him as much as possible and for that, he would
need help.

Shoko nearly burst a blood vessel when she found out how much of his lifetime he’d paid to
see into Suguru’s future but once her anger subsided, she listened to what he had in mind.
Though he gave her no specifics, she agreed to keep a close eye on Suguru whenever Satoru
was away, as well as to listen for any news concerning Yuki Tsukumo.
Of Mei Mei he asked that she keep a crow on Suguru during all of his missions. She agreed
without asking questions as long as Satoru kept her bank account full.

Lastly, he asked Yaga sensei to assign him more missions, even redirecting missions intended
for his underclassmen his way, under the pretense of training his body to use reverse cursed
technique, or RCT, more effectively in challenging situations.

Yaga sensei was skeptical of Satoru’s intentions at first, and warned him against the
arrogance that had put him in danger months before. But after a while longer of incessant
pestering, Satoru managed to convince him to send the most difficult missions, even if below
grade one, his way whenever possible.

Winter came and went in a blur of activity. The number of cases increased significantly due
to a rise in seasonal blues, but Suguru had expected that.

What he had not anticipated was hardly seeing Satoru’s face without having to go out of his
way to avoid him. It was strange. Satoru had been busier than usual, even more than Suguru
himself. Given how awkwardly the last time they’d spoken had ended, part of Suguru was
convinced that Satoru wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He didn’t know whether he
felt more saddened or relieved by the idea.

Before he knew it a new year arrived, and with it, the heaviest snow he’d seen in years.

One morning, while getting dressed, he received a call from Yaga sensei who told him to stay
in.

“What?” Suguru grumbled, unsure he’d heard that right.

“I said you should take the day off. Satoru’s got it covered.”

“Oh.”

Yaga sensei ended the call and Suguru stared at his phone blankly for a moment. That had
never happened before.

Was he falling so far behind that Satoru was taking his missions now?

He shook his uniform off and crawled back under the covers. As warmth enveloped his tired
body, he considered that perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing that he didn’t have to swallow
curses today. One day of not having to taste the waste products of humanity sounded
wonderful, actually.

Sleep took him not long after.

A knock at his door woke him again and when he checked the time, he discovered he’d slept
through the afternoon. But he felt refreshed, so he didn’t mind having lost most of the day.
When he opened the door, he was confused to find a small crowd staring back at him.
Specifically, there was a bundled-up Shoko standing between Haibara and Nanami, and they
all wore shiny party hats. Shoko held a small white cake with a few lit candles in her hands.
Haibara shot a confetti cannon in the air and whooped.

“Happy birthday, Geto-san!”

Stunned, Suguru stared at the dripping candles for a moment before it clicked. He’d seriously
gone and forgotten his own birthday.

“Damn, have you been sleeping all day?” Shoko asked. “Blow the candles already!”

He managed a smile and stepped forward to do just that. She and Haibara cheered while
Nanami clapped with a slightly less annoyed expression on his face. It brought a laugh out of
Suguru to see him do that while wearing a party hat.

“Thank you,” he said, taking the cake from Shoko.

“The cake’s from Satoru,” she informed him. “He said sorry he couldn’t be here but dinner is
also on him, so let’s go! What do you wanna eat?”

Suguru blinked, speechless, as the pieces of the puzzle came together. Satoru had taken his
missions for the day because it was his birthday. He’d remembered while Suguru himself had
forgotten.

“Dinner! Hurry up, let’s go!” Shoko urged. “What are we eating?”

Yakiniku for dinner was something Suguru had not done in months, and during that time, his
appetite had decreased significantly. Therefore, while he ate his fill and enjoyed every bite,
the ones who put away the greatest portions of meat were Haibara and Nanami.

The atmosphere was warm and pleasant, not just from the grill at their table but from
Haibara’s lighthearted conversation. Suguru enjoyed listening to his corny jokes and to his
retelling of the adventures he and Nanami had experienced recently while on missions out of
the city.

“Makes me want to explore even farther away! Like the Philippines or Malaysia,” he said,
then turned to Nanami. “What about you, Kento? Wouldn’t you like to visit Denmark and see
your grandpa’s hometown?”

Nanami shrugged and finished chewing his food before replying simply, “Malaysia sounds
nice.”

Suguru smiled. He’d never given the idea of traveling outside the country much thought.
Perhaps it was his sense of duty that tied him down to reality. Sorcerers worked all the time
because there were curses present all the time. If they traveled, it was strictly for work.
Suguru had already accepted the fact that travel for pleasure was a luxury reserved for non
sorcerers. Whether they deserved that luxury was another matter entirely.

Regardless, he was glad to hear his underclassmen held such hopes still.
“Maybe you guys can go for a few days soon,” Shoko suggested, much to Suguru’s surprise.
He stared at her. She knew what he knew about the endless stream of missions they had to
deal with, so what on earth did she mean by that?

Haibara hummed, deep in thought. “Well, we have had more free time lately…”

Suguru’s brows raised. “You have?”

Nanami frowned, as if confused by his reaction. His gaze flickered to Shoko, then back to
Suguru. “Gojo-san has been handling more of our missions these past few weeks,” he
informed him.

“Really?”

Shoko met his scrutiny with a scowl of her own. “Don’t ask me, I’m not his keeper.”

“He’s endurance training his reverse cursed technique,” Haibara said, matter-of-factly. “So
we’re getting the simplest missions at the moment. It’s actually kinda boring, to be honest.
But if Gojo-san will be stronger for it in the end, it’s for the best, right?”

“Right,” Suguru muttered, unconvinced. He gave Shoko a light shove with his shoulder.
“Join me for a smoke?”

Shoko rolled her eyes, but took his cue and scooted out of the booth. As they headed to the
exit, Suguru overheard Haibara stage whisper, “Did I say something wrong?”

Nanami’s voice remained at its normal volume. “Just shut up and eat.”

Outside the establishment, Suguru lit Shoko’s cigarette, then his own before asking, “How
long has that been going on?”

“Couple months.”

And there was the answer as to why he had not seen much of Satoru. If he was being honest
with himself, it made more sense than his original theory of Satoru finally growing sick of
him. He could see why Satoru would want to train his body to run reverse cursed technique
for longer periods of time. What he had in mind probably involved perpetually forming fresh
brain tissue in order to use his cursed technique without fatiguing. But Suguru had never
heard of anyone ever pulling off using RCT for extended periods of time without rest. It still
required intensive focus and energy, after all.

“Is it possible to use reverse cursed technique so often without repercussions?”

“In theory.”

Suguru narrowed his eyes. “You were the one who said it’s incredibly draining to use.”

Shoko remained nonchalant. “It is. But I also don’t have the outrageous amounts of cursed
energy Satoru does.”
He took a drag and allowed the smoke to marinate his lungs as he considered Satoru’s
actions. Pushing himself to his limits was nothing new. He’d done the same during the
mission to retrieve Riko. Suguru had seen firsthand how much strain he could tolerate and
still claim to be fine. But that was before he could use RCT, so maybe this instance was
different. Maybe Satoru could employ RCT without any side effects. But Suguru could not
shake the feeling that at least in its current trial, the application of Satoru’s plan was not as
ideal as he would like to make it seem.

Shoko eyed him for a moment. “I know you did not bring me out here to ask about reverse
cursed technique. You could’ve done that in there. So what did you really want to ask?”

Suguru hesitated, and tried not to make it obvious that he was avoiding her gaze when he
asked, “Is he alright?”

Shoko snorted. “I swear, boys are so stupid. You literally live next to each other! Ask him
yourself!”

The next morning, Suguru knocked on Satoru’s door, half expecting him to be gone already.
But that was not the case.

Satoru opened the door, still in his winter sleepwear. He smiled at Suguru, hair sticking out in
all directions.

“Oh, hey.”

“Hey,” Suguru said, and handed him the credit card they'd used for yakiniku the night before.
“Thanks for yesterday. You didn’t have to do all that.”

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

Would’ve been better with you around, Suguru didn’t say.

“Yeah. We went sledding down the mountain after dinner and Haibara broke his nose.”

“Ah! I always miss the good stuff!”

“He wanted Shoko to make his nose bigger when she fixed it. Said he’d look tougher that
way.”

Satoru laughed, and Suguru smiled. He’d really missed that sound.

Still, something weighed on his mind and kept him from joining in. Satoru doing these things
for him made him feel guilty about not doing anything for Satoru‘s birthday in December.
Truth was, Suguru’s days had all blurred into a monotonous routine and he’d completely lost
track of time being stuck in his head. But he knew that was a lame excuse for being a crappy
friend.

“I, um," he scratched his neck awkwardly. "I’m sorry I missed your birthday."
 “Eh, it’s fine,” Satoru brushed it off with a wave of his hand. “You know I don’t celebrate it
anyway.”

The statement made Suguru feel worse. Though he knew almost nothing about the Gojo clan,
he was aware that Satoru was not close to anyone in his family. No one ever called or
checked up on him, and special occasions were no exception. Suguru supposed that because
Satoru was the most powerful member the clan had seen in centuries, they all assumed he
was fine all the time, unless proven otherwise.

With an ache in his heart, Suguru realized he’d fallen so deep in his own despair following
the events with Toji and Riko that he’d completely neglected the one person who’d brought
joy back into his life.

Why couldn’t he do anything right?

“Wanna split the cake?” he asked.

As expected, Satoru’s eyes lit up. “Hell yeah!”

So they did. Suguru cut the cake in half and watched Satoru shovel his piece into his mouth
as if he’d not had a meal in days. He managed to take a few bites before the sweetness of the
frosting became overwhelming and he gave Satoru the rest. And while the interaction took
place mostly in silence, it did not feel as heavy as it had the night after Shoko’s birthday.

Suguru studied Satoru for a minute. On the outside, he seemed fine. He looked exactly as he
did on any other day. So maybe Suguru was wrong to worry about him. He was the strongest
sorcerer alive, after all.

But there was something, even if Suguru couldn’t quite put his finger on it. If he did not
watch Satoru directly and only glanced at him from the periphery of his vision, he found that
something in the outline of Satoru’s frame held too much tension. Focusing his gaze again
would only cause the image to elude him. It wasn’t something he could describe other than a
hunch; but the observation nagged at his gut, insisting something was wrong.

Chapter End Notes

That’s 30 years, Satoru… 😬

 Chapter 4

The rest of February melted away with the snow and spring arrived with flurries of cherry
blossoms.

Though there was a small reprieve in the workload, Satoru still did not see Suguru as often as
he wanted to. However, things between them had significantly thawed out since Suguru’s
birthday. In fact, Satoru was relieved to discover how simple it was to fall back into the
normal dynamic of their friendship. They did not hang out much because they rarely had rest
periods at the same time, but they texted again. Satoru made it a point to send him pictures of
the ugliest bugs he could find, claiming they reminded him of his face, while Suguru sent him
a collection of middle fingers from different angles and settings. Some of those middle
fingers were downright artistic and Satoru saved them all to his phone’s gallery.

Mei-san reported nothing out of the ordinary with Suguru’s missions, though she did increase
her pay rate every few weeks, claiming the task was so boring she could hardly stay awake.

Shoko’s updates were not much different. There was no news about Yuki Tsukumo around
the teachers. Not a peep. Her whereabouts at any point in time remained a mystery.

While that worried Satoru to a certain extent, he could recognize that things were looking up.
Suguru did not seem to be in the same mental state he had been right after their last mission
together. As for Satoru, regardless of his true motive behind helping his underclassmen with
their missions, he had definitely improved his use of reverse cursed technique for longer
periods of time. Soon, he would be able to sustain Infinity for an indefinite amount of time
without growing exhausted.

That was, if he could figure out how to counteract the tight back muscles and annoying
headaches he’d developed since increasing his use of RCT. In theory, applying the technique
to himself should have gotten rid of any ailments, but this was different. According to Shoko,
RCT had its limits. It was meant to be used on damaged tissues for maximum effect. Muscle
stiffness was not necessarily an indicator of unhealthy tissue, which was why Satoru could
not find relief by simply using the technique on himself.

“Could be stress-related,” Shoko suggested when he mentioned the issue showed no signs of
improvement after a couple weeks, and Satoru had to laugh at that. He’d dealt with real stress
before—literal life or death situations—without any of these annoying symptoms.

“Everything is fine right now. Great, even,” he said, thinking of Suguru. “Why would I be
stressed?”

“Maybe because nothing has changed and you know it.”

Satoru understood what she meant. None of the visions he’d witnessed had happened yet, so
how could things possibly be different? But he could feel it. Suguru was doing better. There
was no way he’d go down the road that led him away from Satoru. Maybe the older Satoru
he’d witnessed kill Suguru had ignored the many signs that indicated his best friend was in
distress, but he wouldn’t. He had it all under control.

He booped her on the nose and smiled.

“You’re wrong.”

She tried to smack his hand away but was too slow.

“Don’t get cocky,” she warned with her best older sister voice.

Only two months later, Shoko’s words took on a prophetic nature when, just as he finished
the last mission of the day, Satoru received a text from her that made a pit form in his
stomach.

Tsukumo is here, asking for you two

Hurriedly, he answered back.

Distract her

With his pulse pounding violently at his temple, he rushed back to Jujutsu High and searched
for Suguru. It did not take long to find him stepping out of the community showers in baggy
sweats, loose hair soaking his white t-shirt. He carried a wet towel and a duffel bag over his
shoulder.

“Suguru!” He called brightly, and rushed to his side.

Startled, Suguru blinked at him for a moment. “Hey. I thought you’d be gone all day.”

“Nope! All done. And I just thought of a way you can make it up to me for missing my
birthday.”

Suguru raised an eyebrow and continued walking back to his room. “Six months later? That's
way past the statute of limitations.”

“Aw come on, don’t be that way!” Satoru whined. “Pleeeaase??”

Suguru paused, and Satoru put on the most pitiful kicked puppy face he could muster.

“Gross,” Suguru muttered and walked past him.

Satoru quickly realized he’d get nowhere with an act. In order to get Suguru out of there, he’d
have to speak with some degree of honesty.

Just as Suguru was about to enter his room, Satoru called out to him again in a more solemn
tone.

“Suguru, wait.”
Suguru hesitated with his hand on the doorknob, so Satoru continued:

“Look, I need a break, okay? Just…an hour, half an hour even, away from this place. Come
with me, yeah?”

Suguru’s face revealed that he was shocked by the admission, but his expression softened and
he sighed. “Fine. Give me a minute.”

Somehow, Satoru convinced him to ride a bike with him. Or more specifically, to pedal the
bike while Satoru sat behind him, facing backwards, all the way into town.

The breeze moving through his hair tickled his scalp. He took a deep breath and rested his
back against Suguru, tilting his head toward the sky and just letting it hang there. The
sunlight created a dancing pattern of spots through his eyelids as they rode through the tree-
lined road. And for the first time in months, he felt the unbearable tension in his shoulders
relax.

“Where do you want to go?” Suguru asked as they entered downtown.

“I want ice cream. Mint chocolate with gummy bears, chocolate syrup and rainbow
sprinkles.”

Suguru humphed and continued pedaling.

Without asking again, he rode for several blocks, past three different ice cream shops until
they reached the one he knew was Satoru’s favorite. Suguru remembered at one point Satoru
had claimed the ingredients were fresher and the product creamier as a result. Personally,
Suguru could not distinguish between day-old and hours-old ice cream, but he obliged.

Satoru waited outside with the bike while Suguru went inside and ordered.

Satoru beamed brighter than the sun when he received his saccharine health hazard. As for
himself, Suguru stuck to a plain strawberry scoop. After devouring their ice cream, they took
a longer bike ride to the park.

Suguru sat, forearms resting on his knees, on a hill that overlooked the bay. The sunset dyed
the water orange and yellow while simultaneously leeching color from the city skyline. Next
to him lay Satoru, sprawled out on the grass. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes were closed.

While Suguru had noticed some of the strain he’d been under, he had not expected him to
come out and ask for a break. Satoru was not one to give in to his exhaustion, though perhaps
he’d learned not to let it get to a point where it could be used against him. Still, Suguru was
curious.

“Satoru.”

“Hm?”
“Why are you doing so much?”

Satoru opened his eyes and stared at the sky. “I’m not doing that much. Things have slowed
down.”

Suguru did not appreciate having his observations dismissed.

“Don’t do that,” he said seriously, and Satoru finally turned to meet his gaze. “Don’t act like
you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Satoru seemed to consider his words for a moment, then simply replied, “I need to get
stronger.”

Suguru could understand that. He’d spent months thinking about his own failure as a sorcerer,
considering how he could have protected them all had he been faster, stronger, more agile.
But he also knew there were limits to how much he could grow. In contrast, he doubted
Satoru believed limits existed for himself.

“Don’t you think you’re overdoing it?”

Satoru blinked, and Suguru could almost see the memory behind his eyes of the last time
he’d asked him the same thing in Okinawa.

“This is different.”

“How so?”

Satoru’s confident expression faltered, and Suguru did not know what to do with that.

“How is it different?” he pushed when it became apparent Satoru had no intention of

responding.

Satoru’s jaw clenched and unclenched. His eyes remained fixed on Suguru.

“I just…”

Suguru frowned. It was so unlike Satoru to be indecisive, but he could practically see his
brain scrambling to choose his words wisely. In the end, he said:

“I know what’ll happen if I fail.”

Suguru’s frown deepened. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. Satoru had been perfectly
aware of what would happen if they failed to deliver Riko to Master Tengen. That’s why he’d
pushed himself past his limits in the first place.

He plopped his elbow down to bridge the distance between them.

“What do you mean?”

Satoru looked conflicted as he studied Suguru’s face. He leaned a little closer and spoke in a
low voice.

“Suguru.”

His fingers brushed over Suguru’s knuckles and stayed there. A strange sensation ran along
the length of Suguru’s spine at the realization that there was no Infinity between them, just
the warmth of Satoru’s fingertips on his skin. Satoru’s eyes flickered between both of his as
he continued.

“Could you trust me, just this once, without me telling you everything?”

Suguru's brows pinched together and a spark of hurt ignited in his chest. “You’re hiding
something from me?”

“I swear, I’ll tell you everything someday. But I can’t right now.”

That made absolutely no sense to Suguru. Unless Satoru had made some kind of binding vow
with an unknown entity, he had no legitimate reason to keep him in the dark about something
important.

“Why can’t you tell me?” he demanded, and tried to pull away.

Satoru’s hand wrapped around his, urging him to stay.

“Please. Trust me.”

Suguru observed raw fear in Satoru’s eyes and it gave him pause. It was something he'd only
witnessed once in person then dozens of times afterward in his recurring nightmare. He
couldn’t help but wonder what kind of thing would be able to inspire such terror, now that
Toji was dead.

He sighed, and relaxed his hand in Satoru's.

“You know I do.”

Satoru’s eyes softened, and he finally smiled.

His lips looked incredibly soft as they pulled up at the corners and Suguru found himself
studying his face in a way he hadn’t considered necessary before.

There was something in the depths of his eyes that tugged on him like gravity, drawing him
closer. For the first time ever, he noticed the faintest freckles sprinkled over his nose. Had
those always been there? The moment Satoru stopped breathing, Suguru realized he’d been
holding his breath, too. His heart hammered wildly.

Satoru’s gaze pierced into him to the point that his mind went blank.

“You, um…” he gulped, grasping at something to say. Like a saving grace, he spotted a blade
of grass stuck in Satoru’s hair and tugged at it. “Grass,” he concluded stupidly.
Satoru’s eyes widened, and his freckles grew darker with his reddening cheeks. Before
Suguru could consider what such a reaction meant, Satoru sat up and ruffled the debris out of
his own hair. Then he cleared his throat and said in a rush:

“Do you think you could train with me again?”

Suguru sat up, too, surprised. “Really?”

Satoru nodded, avoiding his gaze.

“What are you working on?”

“A few things. Mostly, um,” he paused when Suguru pulled at a leaf that was still stuck on
his head. He sounded strangely out of breath when he continued. “Uh, distinguishing between
neutral and harmful stimuli without looking. Poisonous things, too, ideally.”

Suguru sat in silence for a bit. For a while now, he’d convinced himself that he had nothing
left to offer Satoru as a training partner. But maybe that wasn’t entirely true. He mentally
reviewed his inventory of cursed spirits before replying.

“I’ve got a few poisonous curses you could start with.”

Satoru’s cheeks were not yet back to their usual paleness when he met his eyes again, but he
was smiling.

“You read my mind,” he said.

Hours after Satoru received the message from Shoko informing him that Tsukumo had taken
off, he and Suguru returned to the dorms.

During their time away, they’d grabbed some yakitori among other snacks to munch on, then
spent quite a bit of time at the arcade, possibly more than they had since they were first years.
Had they not been bound for early missions the next day, they would’ve stayed later into the
night.

As soon as they returned, Suguru went to take another shower after the extended work out of
being Satoru’s impromptu chauffeur.

While he was away, Satoru called Shoko.

“Hey,” he said when she picked up.

“Did you have a nice date?” she teased.

Satoru’s face grew warm as his mind traveled to the strangely tense moment back in the park.
He couldn’t remember a time when Suguru had stared at him so intensely. It’d made his heart
stumble all over itself.
He ignored the comment and asked about Tsukumo.

“How'd you keep her distracted?”

“I didn’t have to try very hard. She loves to talk. And she’s actually very fucking cool. You’d
love her.”

Satoru cocked a brow, intrigued. “What did you talk about?”

“We discussed our views on the jujutsu world. She and Yaga sensei have actually been
advocating for improved conditions for sorcerers and students for years but the higher ups
keep blowing them off.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, among other things, she thinks they should implement extended rest periods and
provide mental health resources. Which I totally agree with. She’s even gathered tons of
research to back up her ideas, but you know how the old dickheads are.”

Satoru knew. The higher ups responded to only two things: money and violence. Though it
could often be neither if the person communicating was considered an outsider of some sort.

Satoru wondered if that had anything to do with what she wanted to talk to Suguru and him
about.

“Is she working on something now?” he asked.

“Yeah. She’s searching for a way to eliminate curses altogether.”

He frowned. That was part of the conversation he’d seen Tsukumo have with Suguru in the
psychic’s vision.

“How?”

“Ideally?” He heard the click of a lighter and Shoko’s deep inhale before she responded.
“Teaching every human to control their cursed energy to keep it from leaking out in such
massive amounts. Providing such education in schools and prisons, rehabilitation centers—
you name it.”

“That’s ambitious.”

“She’d have to get the government on board with revealing cursed energy to the masses,
which would be a feat on its own. And once that happened, it would take decades, multiple
generations to be educated before things started to change. We probably wouldn’t see the
effects in our lifetime. But…you know…”

“It could work,” Satoru finished for her. Because it was true. He’d never considered the
possibility of tackling the root cause of the shit storm the jujutsu world was in before because
it was difficult to think of overturning the current system when he was too busy cleaning up
said shit storm.
But if there was a way for future sorcerers to not have to endure the same trials he and his
friends had, it was ultimately a goal worth pursuing.

He was also interested in Tsukumo’s ideas on improving their lives in the present.

“Tell me more about the research she presented to the higher ups.”

For the next two weeks, Suguru trained with Satoru whenever they had a chance. In addition
to strengthening Satoru’s Infinity, they also focused on hand-to-hand combat.

Suguru felt refreshed every time they sparred, like the stiffness that had been weighing his
body down was finally loosening up. He and Satoru started sharing meals again after training.

And while the workload eventually increased, his nightmares became few and far between.

For the first time since the failed mission, he felt lighter in his body and mind.

He also began to spend more time in the library. There was so much he and Satoru did not
understand about reverse cursed technique. Even Shoko, though she had the practical
knowledge down, was unable to provide much insight into the possibilities of RCT use
beyond the scope of her current abilities. Therefore, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to go back
and review the basics of cursed energy.

Occasionally, Satoru would join him and fall asleep beside the piles of books and scrolls
Suguru was looking through. Tonight was one of those evenings.

Satoru slept hunched over the table, head pillowed on his arms, his face tilted toward him.
His soft, rhythmic breathing provided a sort of white noise that helped Suguru focus.

By the light of a lamp, Suguru purposely kept his eyes away from him. He wasn’t sure what
had gotten into him lately, but It was too easy to find more details in Satoru’s face that he
hadn’t been privy to before. He was serious about soaking up as much information as he
could to help Satoru, and could not afford to be distracted.

Hours passed and Suguru read until he could no longer register the meaning behind the words
on a page. Reluctantly, he gathered the materials before him to return them to their respective
shelves. As he did so, his attention was briefly captured by a set of four books. The set was
not particularly eye-catching in any way, but he was surprised to recognize the name etched
along the spine of each book.

Yuki Tsukumo.

That was strange, given how most of the authors of the research within the Jujutsu High
library were all deceased. But he’d heard her name mentioned before in talks about special
grade sorcerers, and as far as he knew, she was still alive.

The first title read Cursed Energy Origins in Modern Japanese Society. Suguru tilted his head
with curiosity. Most of the material he’d come across in regards to the origin of curses tended
to focus on historical documents dating back to the Heian era. He was very interested in
reading a fresh insight that could potentially apply better to the current situation they were
dealing with as modern sorcerers.

He made a mental note to look over the set next time he returned to the library.
 Chapter 5
Chapter Notes

Early posting in honor of the best boy. Happy birthday, Gojo! 🎂🥳🎉

Satoru pushed his half-eaten breakfast tray aside, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temple.

The dining hall was empty but for the staff speaking quietly in the kitchen. Most of the
ambient noise came from the chorus of cicadas outside, whose incessant buzz only served to
exacerbate his headache. Over-the-counter painkillers had had little to no effect lately, and
another of Shoko’s examinations had yielded nothing out of the ordinary. He was starting to
get even more annoyed by the dull ache that faded but never really went away.

Moments later, loud footsteps approached his table, then there was a soft thunk in front of
him.

He opened his eyes to find a steaming mug before him. Its scent was sweet and warm. He
gazed up to find Haibara smiling down at him, holding a mug of his own.

“It’s chamomile and honey,” he said, and took the chair in front of him. Belatedly, he asked,
“Oh! Is it alright if I sit here?”

Satoru grinned and nodded. Despite the fact that it was a hot morning, the tea was pleasant as
it warmed his throat.

“Do you make it a habit to bring tea to all your upperclassmen?” he asked playfully.

Haibara shook his head. “I don’t, but you looked stressed, Gojo-san. Is something wrong?”

“Nah. Just a headache.”

“Oh. Hmm. Have you tried trigger point release?”

Satoru cocked a brow. “Huh?”

“Yeah, here.” Haibara stood. “Is it alright if I touch your head?”

“Go for it.”

Haibara went behind him and gently placed his hands on his head. “It might be a little
uncomfortable but let me know if you feel a sharp pain,” he said as his thumbs worked their
way down.
Satoru relaxed his neck enough for Haibara to move his head forward and side to side. His
thumbs continued to move down without any discomfort until Satoru felt a slightly sharper
pain in one of the spots Haibara's left thumb pressed on at the base of his skull.

“There,” he said, following his instruction.

“I’m going to apply some more pressure. Try to endure it.”

Satoru would have classified the pressure as closer to discomfort than pain, but he did as he
was told. Haibara continued to apply pressure on the same spot until Satoru realized his head
felt lighter.

“Woah.”

“Let’s try the other side now,” Haibara said, and repeated the steps on the right side of his
head. Satoru let out another sound of amazement when he experienced greater relief across
his forehead and temples. Haibara stretched his neck some more to release further tension
before finally letting go of his head.

“There,” he said, and took his seat again. “Did that help some?”

“It did,” Satoru said, bending his neck left and right. He was impressed by how easily
Haibara had managed to get his headache to calm down. “Where’d you learn how to do
that?”

“My mom’s a massage therapist. She’d do that for me when I got too tense.”

Satoru nodded. “Well, thanks.”

Haibara beamed. “Glad I could help!”

For a while, they sat and drank their tea in comfortable silence. Satoru couldn’t help but
wonder about Haibara’s motives for staying at Jujutsu High when he could potentially thrive
somewhere else.

“Hey, Haibara.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever considered becoming a massage therapist? Why do you want to be a
sorcerer?”

Haibara laughed and scratched the back of his head. “I feel like I just had the same
conversation with Geto-san recently.”

That caught Satoru off guard, but Haibara continued.

“I know I probably don’t seem like a good fit to be exorcizing curses. And I know I’ll never
reach the level you and Geto-san are at. But I don’t mind. Work as a sorcerer is not something
just anybody can do, so I feel it’s important for me to do it.”
Satoru was surprised by the strength of his conviction. Regardless of the fact that there was
only so much he’d realistically be able to achieve, Haibara believed in his contribution to the
jujutsu world enough to stay. Satoru could respect that.

He nodded, and did not press the issue further.

After finishing their tea, he and Haibara made their way down the dining hall steps, joking
about lighter subjects. Once they reached the bottom, it was time to part ways to reach their
respective dorms.

“Do you have a mission later?” Satoru asked.

“I do! About an hour away, but should be pretty quick.”

Satoru nodded as Haibara took his leave. “Good luck.”

Haibara’s face lit up. “Thank you, Gojo-san. I’ll bring back a souvenir!”

Satoru grinned. “Make it sweet!”

Suguru closed the final volume of Yuki Tsukumo’s research and let out a heavy sigh.

Her work truly was extraordinary. He’d learned much more about the intricacies of cursed
energy production and Master Tengen’s barriers. Apart from conducting studies on cursed
energy origins in Japan, she’d also studied clans from Brazil, Algeria, India and New Zealand
who had found ways to suppress cursed energy to near null amounts in non-sorcerers by
employing a wide range of techniques.

While it wasn’t exactly what he’d been looking for to help Satoru, Suguru’s mind churned
with the possible applications of such techniques to their own plight. Perhaps someday, it
could be possible for other sorcerers and himself to not be overwhelmed by the constant
stream of cursed spirits.

He glanced at Satoru, who sat beside him asleep with his arms crossed and chin tucked over
his chest. If they could find a way to get non-sorcerer’s energy levels under control, maybe
Satoru wouldn’t have to wear himself out, either.

It was late. He gathered the set and just as he stood to put it away, Satoru woke with a start.

“Hey. You’re done?”

“Yeah. Just putting this away.”

“Mm.” Satoru stretched his arms over his head and did a double take when he saw the books
in Suguru’s arms. “What—?“ he gaped for a second, as if his brain needed to be reset. “What
are you—?“
Satoru’s funky ringtone blared and they both jumped a little. Satoru continued to look
troubled, though Suguru could not understand why. Then he frowned down at his phone.

“It’s Yaga.”

Answering the call, Satoru said, “Yo sensei, shouldn’t you be in REM sleep right now?”

Suguru rolled his eyes at his disrespectful words as he carried the set of books to their shelf.
Satoru’s voice went from annoyance to disbelief.

“What, now?”

Suguru watched as the color drained from his face and he just sat there, stunned. Suguru
frowned, suddenly on edge by his reaction. After a minute of instructions Suguru could not
hear well, Satoru’s response was solemn.

“Got it.”

He hung up the phone and stood.

“I-uh,” he pursed his lips, as if struggling to get the words out, “gotta go to Kamakura.”

“What, on a mission? Right now?”

“Yeah.”

Suguru noted that he seemed to be purposely avoiding his gaze. He stepped closer to Satoru.

“What’s wrong?”

Satoru hesitated before meeting his eyes again. “It’s Haibara.”

A pit formed in Suguru’s stomach just as Satoru confirmed what he already knew based on
his body language alone.

“He’s dead.”

Suguru arrived at the morgue to find Shoko fixing Nanami up, or attempting to.

Blood poured from lacerations across his face and chest. His eyes were wild and his bloody
hands shook uncontrollably. He stood from the treatment table where Shoko was working and
she chastised him.

“I told you to sit still. I can’t heal your wounds otherwise.”

With that, Nanami pushed her hands away, grabbed the bloody jacket next to him and made
his way to the exit.
“Nanami! Stop being unreasonable!” she called after him, and Suguru considered stopping
him forcibly. But when he met the wild grief in his eyes, it occurred to him that in an
alternate universe where he had to switch places with Nanami and Satoru was the one lying
in pieces on the table instead of Haibara, Suguru would have lost his mind. Sitting still for
treatment would not have been an option for him, either.

So he let him go.

Shoko cursed and made to go after him herself.

Suguru caught her arm and said, “Don’t.”

Shoko glared at him. “You fucking serious? If he doesn’t get treated right now, he’ll end up
just like him.” She gestured in Haibara’s direction and pulled out of his grasp. Suguru let her
go.

Without them, the morgue became eerily silent. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as
Suguru made his way to his friend’s body. The damage was extensive. In fact, all that
remained of Haibara was his top half, and even that was covered in deep lacerations.

Suguru felt numb, as cold as the embalming table holding what was left of his friend. It was
so surreal. Death had turned Haibara's skin gray and his face lacked any of the distinguishing
markers of joy that had made him who he was.

The last time they'd spoken, Haibara had talked about a movie he’d wanted to go watch at
midnight showing. He’d wanted to take his little sister, who was a huge fan of that particular
superhero franchise. But that wouldn’t be happening now.

Unable to see him that way, lest he forget what he looked like when he lived, Suguru found a
sheet and covered Haibara with it.

It was unbelievable that his enthusiasm for life had been extinguished in seconds. Suguru
couldn’t fathom how someone as bright as him could be gone completely from their plane of
existence.

He placed a hand over his friend’s covered forehead and spoke softly:

“I told you, you were too kind to be a sorcerer.”

A knot formed in his throat as he thought of the fact that he’d never get to hear Haibara’s
voice again. He’d never hear about his adventures, his jokes or his laughter ever again. It was
all gone.

Shoko’s voice cut through his thoughts and he swallowed back his tears.

“Fucking idiot wants to bleed out, then fucking let him. Not my goddamn problem.”

She snapped off her bloody gloves and tossed them in the bin. When she saw him again, she
signaled for him to follow her outside.
Suguru followed without a word.

They smoked in silence under the moonlight. Suguru watched her from the corner of his eye.
Though her eyes were glassy, her hand was remarkably steady as she smoked and muttered
curses under her breath.

It wasn’t until Suguru placed a hand on her shoulder that her tears finally fell in silence. But
that didn’t last long. She sighed heavily and tossed her cigarette away.

“You better go get him,” she said, pulling away. “He can’t be walking around with those
wounds.”

Suguru’s nose was nowhere near as good as Satoru’s but the scent of blood was so strong he
was able to follow it fairly easily. The path led from Nanami and Haibara’s dorm building
into the woods surrounding Jujutsu High.

Suguru found Nanami sitting by a tree, drinking from a bottle of scotch. He still held the
bloody uniform jacket in his hand. Suguru did not need to inspect him to notice he was still
bleeding profusely.

Nanami was entirely unbothered by Suguru catching him underage drinking, and only tilted
his head in his direction before taking another swig. Suguru knew it was probably a terrible
idea for him to be drinking and thinning his blood out while his wounds were still open, but
he wasn’t there to judge. Instead, he took a seat beside him and stretched his hand out.
Nanami handed him the bottle and he took a swig. He grimaced at the disgusting burn down
his throat and handed the bottle back.

For a while, they drank in silence until the bottle started to feel a little light.

“It was supposed to be an easy one,” Nanami said under his breath. “But it was a fucking
deity.”

Suguru's lips were as numb as his mind.

“Satoru’s taken over,” he muttered. “You need to get treated.”

“Can’t we just give them all to him at this point?” Nanami snapped, then handed Suguru the
bloody jacket.

“It's Haibara's. He still had the souvenirs.”

Suguru inspected the jacket’s pockets and found two small candy bags. His stomach turned
uncomfortably.

Nanami continued. “I’m so fucking sick of it. All this death, for what? You know it’s never
going to stop, right? We’re disposable fucking puppets for the ones in power. We’ll just keep
dying and they’ll keep finding fresh meat to replace us.”

Suguru did not know what to say so he remained quiet.

“Why are we doing this? There’s no end to it. There’s no fucking end.” Nanami’s agitated
voice broke at the end and he covered his head with his arms as if bracing for destruction. He
sniffled.

Suguru’s heart ached, and all he could think to say was:

“It will end. I swear it will.”

Nanami’s body shook as he sobbed and Suguru sat with him, rubbing his back. It was not
until Nanami was falling asleep that he said, “You need to get those wounds sealed.”

“What’s the fucking point?” Nanami grumbled.

But he did not fight when Suguru wrapped an arm around his waist and hoisted him onto a
curse that flew them to the infirmary. He was barely conscious when Suguru handed him over
to Shoko and left.

It pissed Satoru off, how easily he exorcised the curse that took Haibara’s life. Despite it
being a special grade, the fight it put up was feeble compared to the rage with which he
delivered its end.

The rage had not dissipated by the time he got back on campus. His hands shook just thinking
about how only hours before, Haibara had accompanied him, helped with his headache, and
laughed at his stupid jokes. It wasn’t fair.

When he arrived at the dorm building and turned into the hallway that led to his room, he was
surprised to find Suguru sitting on the floor by his door, forearms resting on his knees,
waiting for him. His head hung forward and his eyes were closed.

Satoru approached him quietly and settled beside him. For a moment, he only studied his
face. While his features appeared peaceful in sleep, the skin around his eyes was red and
swollen. The strong scent of alcohol emanated from his lips. Satoru’s chest felt heavy at the
sight of his pain. Without thinking, he reached forward and tentatively brushed his knuckles
along Suguru’s cheekbone. Suguru’s eyes slowly blinked open and Satoru pulled his hand
away.

Suguru’s bleary gaze stayed on him for a bit, but if he'd noticed what Satoru had done, he
said nothing. Instead, he reached into his jacket pocket and handed him a plastic-wrapped
object.

“That’s for you,” Suguru said softly.

Satoru accepted it and looked down to find a colorful bag of traditional hard candies of
various shapes and sizes. Closer inspection revealed that the bottom of the bag had specks of
dried blood on it.

Satoru’s heart clenched and his fist tightened around the bag.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said, avoiding Suguru’s eyes. "I swear, I tried..."

Suguru studied him for a moment, then his eyes widened, almost in slow motion. When he
finally spoke, his voice was slightly slurred. “Is that why...you were taking their missions?”

A knot formed in Satoru’s throat and he couldn't bring himself to face him. He’d been aware
of the future catastrophe that would befall Haibara and still failed to protect him. His eyes
burned with furious tears.

“I should’ve done more.”

“You couldn’t have known…this would be above his grade,” Suguru responded, his words
dragging on his tongue as though they were heavy. “It was…mislabeled.”

Logically, Satoru understood that, but it didn’t relieve much of his guilt. He could have tried
convincing Haibara to quit being a sorcerer. It was possible that being brutally honest with
him about him not belonging there might have saved his life.

His train of thought was derailed by Suguru pulling him into a hug.

He froze, eyes wide. This was the first time Suguru had initiated physical contact with him
that was not strictly for training purposes. It was not very comfortable to hug while sitting
down, with their bodies twisted awkwardly and their legs getting in the way, but Satoru did
not want to let go.

He hurt for the bright young man whose future hopes and dreams were so violently snuffed
out. But most selfishly, he worried about the repercussions his failure to save him would have
on Suguru’s future.

He tightened his hold around Suguru’s neck.

“Suguru…”

I can’t lose you, he desperately wanted to say, but the words refused to come out.

“It’s not your fault,” Suguru soothed, and Satoru did not know how to respond. He felt awful
being comforted after his second greatest failure of the year but he also couldn’t bring
himself to pull away. He shut his eyes and held onto Suguru until he lost track of time.

Eventually, Suguru’s arms relaxed around him and the deep, steady breathing against his neck
revealed that he’d fallen asleep again.

Satoru patted him on the back to wake him. “Suguru. Let’s get some sleep.”

Suguru sighed and Satoru helped him up. When his knees buckled, Satoru steadied him with
an arm around his waist. Together, they made it into Suguru’s room and Satoru helped him
remove his shoes, free his hair from the bun on his head and get into bed.

Just as he was about to take his leave, Suguru grasped his hand. Satoru turned back to meet
his unfocused gaze.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Suguru murmured, and a tear rolled down the side of his face. Satoru
was taken aback.

The bed sank to one side as he sat beside him.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked, and gently brushed the moisture from his eye.

Suguru leaned into his touch and his eyes blinked heavily, as though struggling to stay open.

“Go to sleep,” Satoru whispered, tracing the edge of Suguru’s cheekbone until his eyes
finally remained closed.

Satoru could not imagine Suguru remembering any of this in the morning, and part of him
was a little sad about it. Personally, he wanted to memorize the tranquility of his features as
he slept and the softness of his cheek in his palm. Despite how much he was hurting, just
looking at Suguru like this made his heart feel incredibly warm.

He fixed the covers over Suguru’s chest and went back to his room. It was almost dawn by
the time his head hit the pillow, so he knew he’d be getting no sleep at all.
 Chapter 6

Nanami quit a month after Haibara’s death.

Suguru did not hold resentment towards him when the workload multiplied for those who
remained. On the contrary, he was glad someone had managed to escape the endless cycle of
curse production and exorcism. He knew, however, that it was only a matter of time before
more young sorcerers were recruited to die for nothing, and that made him feel sicker than
the cursed spirits he absorbed.

No matter what he did throughout the day, Nanami’s words replayed in his mind.

“There’s no fucking end to it.”

And as true as that was in the present moment, deep down, he believed there could be a
different way. If Yuki Tsukumo’s research was any indication, the life of a sorcerer could get
better. Unfortunately, the techniques outlined in her studies that were used to suppress cursed
energy in non-sorcerers took decades to implement. Suguru was not sure he and his
remaining colleagues could afford to wait that long.

A significant detail that had stood out to him when reading her work was her assertion that
most curses, with some exceptions, were born of non-sorcerers. It was such an obvious
statement that he hadn’t stopped to think about before. Because they were unaware of the
cursed energy they produced, they were incapable of controlling its output.

Prior to reading that, he’d always considered non-sorcerers the weakest of humanity, the ones
who were in constant need of protection. But if he was being honest with himself, was it not
those same non-sorcerers who were generating the entities that were causing the brutal deaths
of his colleagues? And who was protecting them?

Most days, he stopped himself from following that train of thought because it often led him
to the scariest question of all: What is it all for?

If he wasn’t enduring insane work hours without rest and swallowing the most disgusting
pieces of filth for the sake of protecting non-sorcerers, then what was he doing it for?

Who was he doing it for?

He’d had the same thought long before Haibara died, when he’d walked into that room full of
non-sorcerers celebrating Riko’s death. Were these the monsters he was meant to protect?

“Should we kill them all?” Satoru had asked, and Suguru’s heart had really wanted to say yes.

But the idea had frightened him. Not because he would feel bad about it later–-though that
sentiment in itself was worth exploring–-but because he knew Satoru would. If he’d
encouraged him to take such drastic measures when he was in an altered state of mind,
wouldn’t Satoru hate him for it later? So he’d swallowed the flicker of doubt, along with his
murderous desires to keep Satoru from doing something he would later regret.

Some days, it was hard to eat. Absorbing curses had always left him full and he’d had to
learn to push past the discomfort to actually attain the nutrients his body required. But with
the quantity of curses consumed per day increasing, along with his growing lack of purpose,
he was struggling to find even a hint of an appetite.

Shortly after Haibara’s death, Suguru’s nightmares returned in full force.

Added to the recurring dream of Toji was another in which he’d walk into the morgue to find
Satoru’s corpse where Haibara’s had been. Most of the time, he lay in pieces, unrecognizable
but for his white hair. Sometimes, all that was left of his face were his eyes, wide open and
judging.

Despite the frequency of his nightmares, Suguru had not grown accustomed to waking up in a
cold sweat after only a couple hours of sleep. When they happened, he did not try to go back
to sleep. One rough awakening a night was more than enough for his pathetic heart.

Satoru developed an eye twitch.

Just like his headaches, it was more annoying than anything else. Most of the time, it went
away after a while. But when it stuck around, it was hard to ignore.

Especially when he was trying to focus on the research Yuki Tsukumo had gathered to
support her ideas before the elders to improve sorcerer quality of life. He violently rubbed his
eye despite being aware that it wouldn’t improve the situation. Sure enough, the twitch
persisted.

The weeks after Haibara died and Nanami quit had been the busiest to date. His training
sessions with Suguru had been put on hold simply because there weren’t enough hours in the
day. Still, he purposely made time to share a meal with him at least twice a week. He highly
suspected that Suguru was not eating anything of nutritious value whenever he ate alone.
During the meals they did share, he’d noticed how little he ate. And when asked about his
evident loss of appetite, Suguru would deny it, evade the question or simply ignore his
concerns, until it became something of a point of contention between them.

It wasn’t like Satoru had two functioning eyes that could see Suguru’s very obvious weight
loss! While Suguru's baggy clothes were able to hide his body well, his cheekbones and
jawline were getting sharper, and the bags under his eyes only worsened by the day.

It wasn’t like Satoru was losing sleep and developing a fucking twitch over the fact that he
could see the psychic’s vision overlapping with reality!

He could, however, also recognize that pressing the issue would only push Suguru away and
that was the last thing he wanted. So he conceded that Suguru would eat when and if he was
hungry, and Suguru reluctantly agreed to add at least one meal replacement shake a day to his
diet, if only to boost his protein and calorie intake.

Satoru knew he was ill-equipped to help Suguru on his own. But there was something he
could do to get him the help he needed, and it all started with Tsukumo’s work.

Her list of demands for sorcerer (including students of all grade levels) quality of life
improvement involved the following:

Annual salary increase of 50%

Four days off per month (not including guaranteed weekends off)
Access to mental health resources, including trauma-informed therapists, all services
paid by the school
Access to medical treatment, including medical emergencies and rehabilitation, all
services paid by the school
Reverse cursed technique users are not to be the sole providers of care for medical
emergencies, they will receive as much time off as everyone else
Underage students will not be eligible for promotion to grade 2 or higher, no matter
how talented or well connected they are

Among the many sources used to back up these demands, Satoru’s attention was captured by
a set of studies that indicated that injury and death were ten times more likely to occur when
sorcerers were chronically exhausted. To mitigate that, the study recommended consistent
rest periods, specifically ten days a month. Satoru scoffed when he read that. Since he’d
started taking missions at Jujutsu High, not even weekends off had been guaranteed at all. He
could not fathom taking that much time to rest, but he could see how that could be beneficial
for his colleagues.

Yet another study recommended consistent visits to trauma-informed therapists who were
certified in CPT, CBT and EMDR for treatment, as there were a plethora of mental health
issues that could contribute to chronic exhaustion.

The second set of reports he found interesting were the ones she wanted to use as a basis to
deny underage students the ability to attain grade 2 or higher. His initial reaction to the idea
had been to think it stupid. Why deny anybody the chance to reach their highest potential,
especially when the current sorcerers who were grade 2 and above were so short-staffed and
overworked? But then he read about the exploitation of labor when it came to minors who
were at those levels, and couldn’t help but relate. One of the studies showed that a great
percentage of these students were promoted before they met all requirements due to
shortages, which often led to severe injury or death. And another had found that sorcerers
who’d attained those levels as minors had significantly higher rates of depression and suicide
than their peers who had stayed grade 3 and below.

Satoru continued reading into the night instead of trying to get some sleep.

In the morning, he called Yaga-sensei to meet up with him in his office later that day.

…
Two weeks later

Rain pounded like rocks against the windows of the long corridor Suguru walked through. It
was dark, except for the faint light of a single streetlamp seeping through the windows.

With a steady step, he passed by multiple locked classrooms, not unlike those at Jujutsu High.
An infestation of grade 3 and grade 4 curses crawled along the ceiling of the hallway. He
wasted no time absorbing the ones he deemed too weak and simply destroyed them.

The major prize would be in the second floor girl’s bathroom, where three second-year
students had been found crushed to death yesterday. Suguru had been told to expect a grade 2
cursed spirit, though based on the damage he’d seen in the pictures of the scene, he was
convinced it had to be the work of a grade 1 curse.

The stairs were darker still as he ascended, but his eyes had grown accustomed to the
darkness.

The second floor corridor had an even bigger swarm of curses slithering over every surface,
including some grade 2’s. He deployed a few cursed spirits to swiftly tame them and save
them for later consumption. The weaker curses that carpeted the ground scattered away in
fear, creating a path to the girl’s bathroom.

Suguru pushed the door open and slipped inside.

The small high windows rattled with the force of the storm. The air held the putrid stench of
a cursed spirit that had recently fed.

Suguru scanned the room. To the left were three broken mirrors and cracked washbasins, and
to the right, a row of five bathroom stalls. A flash of lightning illuminated the shattered
pieces of mirror on the floor, along with the streaks of blood that remained on the wall and
stall doors. Thunder roared shortly after.

Silently, he walked to the stall at the end, where he could feel the greatest concentration of
cursed energy. When he pushed the door in, the creature on the other side did not respond.

It was smaller than he expected, barely tall enough to reach his chest as it hunched in the
corner. It was bony and scaly, with a matted head of long, dark hair. Suguru was wary of its
seemingly pathetic state, but extended his hand out to prepare it for absorption.

In that moment, something resembling two eyes and a mouth emerged from the curse’s back.
The "face" smiled as it produced a garbled feminine voice.

“L-Let’s go home, nee-chan.”

Suguru froze, eyes wide. His heart hammered wildly against his ribcage.

In his mind’s eye, he saw Riko’s tear-stained face smiling back at him as he extended his
hand toward her.

“Riko, let’s go home.”

This meant that his reaction time was delayed when a massive tail-like extremity struck out
and slammed him against the wall. It had the speed of a grade 1.

His ears rang after his head hit the tile, but he had enough sense to use a spirit to drag him out
of the bathroom and away from its reach. An ear-piercing screech informed him the grade 1
was following.

Though Suguru’s eyesight had grown blurry, he caught a glimpse of its hideous body as it
crept toward him. Multiple arms and legs sprouted from its torso, while its skin bubbled up to
form more faces identical to the one that had smiled at him. A long, reptilian tail dragged
behind it.

Suguru's temple felt like it was about to split open and his sight distorted. He attempted to
shake the dizziness out of his head, and his vision briefly returned to normal just in time to
dispatch another series of curses. The grade 1 cursed spirit screamed just as his balance failed
him.

Satoru was riding the final train back to school when he received a message.

Mei: looks like your bf got his ass handed to him

Satoru frowned as his heart rate sped up. Before he could type out a reply, another message
came in.

Mei: he’s heading back with Yamada now

Yamada was one of their four assistant managers. Relieved that at least someone was there to
help Suguru get home, the tension in Satoru’s shoulders eased some. Still, the entire way
back, his mind crafted all sorts of scenarios in which Suguru could find himself in a pinch
against a grade 1 or 2 curse. Most of them were highly unlikely. Suguru was too powerful for
that.

When he got to Jujutsu High, he resisted the urge to head straight to the infirmary. Suguru
might find it odd that he already knew about him being injured before he even stepped foot
on school grounds. Not to mention, it could be embarrassing for him to be seen that way by
more eyes than were absolutely necessary, so Satoru forced himself to wait in his room with a
movie to distract him from his gnawing worry. And when his stomach started rumbling an
hour later, he decided to prepare some instant ramen.

Then he heard Suguru inserting the key into his room’s door knob and he jumped to his feet.
He made it out the door before Suguru could unlock his own.

The first thing Satoru noticed were the bandages around the top of his head. Those were
usually left on when Shoko wasn’t around to heal with reverse cursed technique. She was
constantly being moved around to wherever she was needed most between the Kyoto and
Tokyo branches, which meant someone in Kyoto was likely in worse condition than Suguru
was.
The second thing Satoru noticed was how slowly he was moving. Like he couldn’t quite
control his body without thinking about it.

Suguru looked up and offered a mirthless grin.

“Hey.”

Satoru feigned nonchalance when he said, “Heeyy. You good? What happened?”

Suguru’s smile faded as he turned his attention back to unlocking the door. “I don’t wanna
talk about it.”

“Alright...are you hungry?”

Suguru hesitated, and for a second Satoru worried he’d said the wrong thing. But then Suguru
replied, “The dining hall’s closed.”

“I got ramen. Was about to start watching another movie.”

Suguru seemed to think it through before meeting his gaze again and asking, “What movie?”

Satoru grinned, internally ecstatic that Suguru was actually considering spending time with
him despite having had a rough night.

“Your pick?”

Suguru shrugged and finally opened the door.

“Fine. Let me change first.”

Satoru prepared the cups of spicy ramen while Suguru changed. He reappeared shortly
afterward in a loose tee and shorts, with his hair loose around the bandages. He walked past
Satoru and went straight to the box of DVDs stored under the bed to pick one out. He chose
Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

They ate together on Satoru’s bed, exchanging occasional commentary about the movie’s
production. After Satoru had finished, Suguru gave him what was left of his cup, which was
about half. Satoru devoured it without commenting.

He did not notice when Suguru fell asleep until he made an observation about the practical
effects that had been used on the T-1000 and Suguru didn't reply. He'd fallen asleep where he
lay stretched out beside him with his arms behind his head. Satoru did not even consider
waking him. His bed was big enough for both of them.

He watched the movie to the end then turned the TV off. He tossed a blanket over Suguru and
went to take care of his nightly routine.

When he returned from the community showers, Suguru had turned on his side and wrapped
the blanket around himself. His sleeping face, which had been peaceful before, now showed
signs of distress. His brow pinched in the middle while the corners of his mouth turned down.
Satoru turned the light off and slipped into the covers beside him. He fell asleep wondering
what Suguru could be dreaming about to make him look so upset.

He was not sure how much time passed when he was awakened by the sound of labored
breathing. At first, he forgot he'd fallen asleep with someone beside him and was instantly on
high alert. But when he saw Suguru, he took a calming breath.

Suguru looked ill.

Though his body trembled slightly, his face and neck were drenched in sweat. His breath
came and went in uneven spurts while his hands clenched into fists. Satoru worried that
perhaps this was more than a nightmare.

Was Suguru having some kind of fit due to his injuries?

He reached out and shook him by the shoulder.

“Suguru?”

Suguru shrunk into himself with a wounded cry and Satoru was stunned. He thought he'd
known Suguru like the back of his hand, but the truth was, he’d only ever seen Suguru at his
strongest. The night Haibara died, he’d witnessed him at a low point but even then, Suguru
had stayed strong and tried to comfort him despite being unaware of how deep Satoru’s guilt
truly ran.

But he’d never seen Suguru like this. It made his chest feel tight and before he could think
too much about it, he wrapped his arms around his quivering frame and tilted his face toward
his ear. He spoke firmly.

“Suguru.”

Suguru gasped and froze for a second. Slowly, his arms returned the embrace as he took
shaky breaths. He was awake.

“Hey,” Satoru said, softer. “Are you okay?”

Without letting go, he felt Suguru nod in confirmation.

“Was it a nightmare?”

After a brief hesitation, Suguru nodded again.

Satoru could feel Suguru’s heart racing against his chest. “What did you see?”

This time, the silence was longer before Suguru’s voice came out in a whisper.

“You.”

Satoru couldn’t control the chuckle that escaped from his throat.
“Ouch. Is my face that terrifying?”

“You die…every time…”

Satoru’s smile faded with the realization those four simple words brought. The bags under
Suguru’s eyes made sense if he was having nightmares on a regular basis. Also, he could be
jumping to conclusions but…was it possible that Suguru was just as terrified of losing him as
he was?

He thought of easing his worries with a cocky retort, something like, 'as if anyone could
touch me' or 'I’m practically invincible', but he knew that wasn’t entirely true. Suguru had
witnessed with his own eyes how Toji had broken through his lowered guard. And while he
hadn’t been there to witness Satoru's near death experience, he’d still been affected by
Satoru’s failure. He’d trusted in his seemingly impenetrable defenses and suffered a terrible
loss as a result.

So instead of dismissing his legitimate fear, Satoru held him tighter.

“I’m right here, we're okay,” he soothed, stroking his hair.

To Satoru’s absolute shock, he heard a sniffle.

“Today, I…” Suguru’s voice broke a little and he took a deep breath before continuing. “I
thought I saw Riko.”

Satoru’s eyes widened.

“You…”

“She wanted to go home, Satoru,” Suguru’s voice quivered, but he spoke faster, as though
trying to pour the emotions out before he could close up again. “Before he killed her, I gave
her the choice we’d talked about and she chose to go home with Kuroi and her friends. You
didn’t see the way she cried, the way she smiled when she thought we were going back.” At
this, a sob escaped Suguru’s throat and his voice lowered. “I fucked up. I fucked up so bad.”

“No,” Satoru countered, shaking his head. “It was my fault. I was the one who failed.”

But it was like Suguru couldn’t hear him anymore.

“I’m so…weak,” he spit the last word out with disdain. “I can’t even take on a grade 1
without getting knocked out. All because it…it smiled just like her.”

Understanding flooded Satoru’s mind. It made sense now, how a curse of that level had
managed to overpower Suguru for a moment. But it was also clear that they saw the same
event differently.

“That’s not it. You defeated a grade 1 despite having a head injury. Suguru…you’ve never
been weak.”

Suguru seemed to absorb that for a moment, then he said. “I’ll never catch up to you.”
Satoru pulled away from their embrace only far enough to see his face and frowned. Suguru’s
eyes overflowed with tears and avoided him at all costs.

“You don’t understand, do you?” Satoru said quietly, pulse beating in his temple as he
prepared to admit something he’d never admitted to another soul before. “You’re the reason I
am where I am. I can’t be the strongest without you.”

Suguru closed his eyes, as if in deeper pain. “That’s not true.”

Satoru brought a hand up to rest upon Suguru’s cheek.

“Listen. Look at me.”

He waited, tracing the edge of Suguru’s jaw with his thumb until he reluctantly met his gaze.

“Before I met you, I didn’t care. About anyone or anything. I didn’t give a shit about curses
or the fact that they were killing non-sorcerers by the thousands. I came here because it’s
what I was bred to do. I didn’t care. But now…I want to make a difference for the better.
Because of you…” he hesitated briefly before concluding with the rest of the truth. “For
you.”

Suguru’s expression finally changed to something softer. Satoru could see the conflict in his
eyes as he tried to decide whether to believe him or not.

Satoru smiled and softly laid his forehead on his.

“Suguru,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way, noses grazing against each other. He didn’t
care if they stayed like that forever. He wasn’t sure who finally tilted their face just enough to
meet the other, but suddenly there were soft lips against his own, moving like a gentle caress,
and his heart nearly exploded.

But he survived by holding Suguru’s face and seeking more of the delicious pressure against
his mouth. Fingers tangled in his hair, providing the sweetest hint of pain over his scalp as his
breath became Suguru’s breath.
 Chapter 7
Chapter Notes

This chapter contains some spice. If it’s not your thing, feel free to skip the section
divided by horizontal lines. You won’t miss any major plot points ;)

The rest of Suguru’s tears slid down the sides of his face as Satoru’s mouth moved on his.

The nightmare he’d been stuck in had been a particularly grisly one, and he’d been startled
awake by Satoru’s voice in his ear. Disoriented, he’d forgotten where he was for a moment,
and the arms around him had felt suffocating at first. But the scent of Satoru’s shampoo had
invaded his nose and soothed him back to reality. Satoru’s steady heartbeat against his chest
had provided further reassurance that he was safe and that Satoru was safe. Perhaps if he
hadn’t been wrapped in such a solid embrace, with fingers brushing through his hair, he
wouldn’t have let himself break apart the way he had. But he was glad he had.

Not only did his chest feel lighter now that the sorrow he’d experienced in his dream had
faded, but he’d learned something about Satoru that made his heart flutter. And that was that
Satoru did not think less of him since gaining his great awakening. He saw him as someone
to be admired despite being aware of their difference in strength. The sudden high from such
a revelation was dizzying.

His lips parted and he pulled Satoru closer to deepen the kiss. He didn’t know what he was
doing, as it was his first time kissing anyone, so he went with what intuitively felt good.

He tugged at Satoru’s hair and there was a soft moan he wasn’t expecting. It melted him from
the inside until his belly was a pool of desire that ached for more, more, more. More pressure,
more heat. More of Satoru’s touch as his hand slid under his shirt, and moved along his back.
More of his uneven breaths as he explored Suguru’s mouth with his tongue. He tasted good.
He tasted so so good.

They kissed and kissed until they were mostly panting into each other’s mouths. He
suspected it was Satoru’s first time as well, given that his enthusiasm would cause their teeth
to clash often. But he didn’t care.

At some point, Satoru parted from his mouth, breathing hard. It was too dark to see his face
very clearly, but Suguru could hear the smile in his voice.

“Are you hard?” he teased, and pressed his palm down on Suguru’s cock over his shorts.
Suguru snorted as he nudged Satoru’s erection with his thigh. “You say that like you’re not.”

Satoru huffed out a laugh and brought his lips close enough to brush over his. “Well…do you
wanna come?”

Suguru’s breath stuttered as the pool of heat at his navel spread. He nodded, and Satoru
kissed him again. His hand continued to move over Suguru’s clothes as his mouth descended
on his neck.

Suguru closed his eyes and tilted his head back. His skin broke out in goosebumps at every
point of contact he had with Satoru. He sighed and buried his fingers in Satoru’s hair as wet
heat traveled slowly down his jugular vein.

He gasped when he felt Satoru grasp him, unaware of when his hand had slipped beneath his
shorts. Then he was being stroked with the perfect amount of pressure but painfully slowly,
which made him groan for more.

“Fuck,” Satoru huffed, and increased the pace until Suguru couldn’t hold back anymore. It
was so much stimulation in such a short amount of time that the surge of pleasure had him
twitching and muffling his moans against Satoru’s lips. He came hard, coating his shirt and
Satoru’s fingers with every spasm.

Satoru kissed him until he stopped panting, then wiped his hand on the sheets.

“That was hot,” he said, amusement dripping from his voice. “Kinda fast, though.”

“Shut up,” Suguru grumbled, still catching his breath.

“You won’t get me that fast,” Satoru said, self-assured.

“Oh yeah?”

Suguru easily flipped their positions and slipped under Satoru’s boxers to grab his cock. The
skin was hot, but not as much as the precum that leaked onto his thumb. Satoru shrugged,
obviously feigning nonchalance. Suguru accepted the challenge with a grin and circled the
head of his cock with his thumb.

Satoru lay back, resting his head on his hands. He hummed like he had not a care in the
world.

Suguru began to stroke him from base to head and leaned into his ear.

“Ever thought about being inside me?” he whispered, and internally celebrated when he
received a shaky breath. “‘Cause I’ve thought about being inside you more times than I can
count.”

Satoru shuddered and his hips began to rock in tandem with the hand around his cock. If the
soft grunts he made were any indication, Suguru could tell he was getting close. He pumped
harder and brushed his lips over the shell of Satoru’s ear. “Always wondered what you’d
sound like when I made you come.”
Satoru cursed and came all over himself. Spurts of cum landed on his cheek and his chin.
Some even made it into his hair. He stayed on his back for a long time, staring up at the
ceiling, panting in a daze. Suguru wiped his hand on Satoru’s shirt with a smug grin.

“You were saying?”

“So not fair,” Satoru groaned and rolled back onto him.

“No set rules,” Suguru pointed out, grimacing when Satoru rubbed his face against him to
smear him with cum.

Satoru responded to his comment with a disapproving grunt, which Suguru took as a win.

He didn’t particularly care about his clothes being stained by their combined cum, but after a
while, the stickiness had dried uncomfortably on his skin.

“I should go change,” he said, but Satoru refused to get off him.

“Nah, stay with me.”

“It feels gross.”

“Please?” Satoru asked, nuzzling into his neck. “I’ve missed you.”

Suguru paused, confused by the statement. “But I’ve been here.”

Satoru sighed, “That’s not what I meant.”

After contemplating for a moment, Suguru understood what he meant.

Because he missed his old self, too. The one who hadn’t witnessed the things he’d witnessed
in the past year. He missed knowing what was right and what was wrong. He missed being
the one with all the answers, including what his purpose in life was.

“Fine,” he conceded, and lay splayed out like a starfish while Satoru’s weight held him down.
It was not the most comfortable position he’d ever been in.

But when Satoru caressed his cheek, he closed his eyes and just listened to him breathe. The
tickle of each warm breath along his throat got him thinking about how sensitive Satoru’s
sense of smell was. If he was comfortable being this close to Suguru without him washing
any of the day’s grime off, did that mean he didn’t mind his scent? He smiled.

“Suguru.”

“Mm?”

“Why did it take us so long to talk about Riko?”

Suguru paused. Truth was, if he hadn’t had a nightmare while sleeping in Satoru’s bed, he
probably never would have had the courage to talk about her death.

“It’s not an easy topic to bring up over lunch,” he concluded.

Satoru nodded, and his voice lowered to just above a whisper. “I’m sorry I let you down back
then. I should’ve listened to you when we were in Okinawa.”

Suguru’s eyes widened, and he was too shocked to reply.

“You could tell I was pushing myself too hard but I didn’t want to admit it.”

Could it be that Satoru wasn’t as unbothered by recollections of that mission as Suguru had
originally thought? Was he, like Suguru, also haunted by regret?

He placed a hand on Satoru’s back.

“I know you were doing it to be kind to Riko,” he said.

“And she ended up dead because of it.”

Suguru frowned, but Satoru went on before he could counter that statement.

“I was kind to Haibara, too, instead of being honest with him. We all knew he didn’t belong
here.”

“That’s not—why are you—” Suguru shook his head, thrown off by his mentioning of
Haibara and unable to keep up with his line of thinking. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” Satoru sighed, and it was one of the saddest sounds Suguru had ever heard him
make. “Sometimes, when I think I’m doing the right thing…I end up making things worse.”

They lay in silence for a moment, while Suguru processed his words. Then he wrapped his
arms around him and spoke softly. “Haibara died because of an administrative error. And
Riko died because we were not prepared to handle someone like Toji. No one we’d fought
before had ever come close to his level. We didn’t even know a tool that could cut through
your Infinity existed. Neither of their deaths were your fault.”

Satoru did not respond for a long time. Then he said, “Do you think maybe over time, I’ll
believe it too?”

That hurt Suguru's heart. He shut his eyes and leaned his head against Satoru’s. “You trust
me, don’t you?”

Satoru nodded.

“Then believe what I say,” he murmured, drawing figures along the nape of Satoru’s neck
with his fingertips.
Satoru released another heavy sigh that warmed Suguru’s neck some more. Suguru could feel
his lips at his pulse point for a moment, then Satoru readjusted on top of him and took his
mouth in a soft kiss.

Again, they kissed for so long that Suguru lost track of time. This time, however, they lacked
the urgency they’d had before. His limbs felt heavy now that his initial desire had been
satiated, but he did not stop exploring Satoru’s skin. He smiled when he felt gooseflesh rise
along the areas he touched.

In a dreamlike state, Suguru savored the slower pace, along with the only sound in the room
of lips catching on each other over and over again.

Satoru was awakened by the blast of his phone’s ringtone on the bedside table.

Beside him, Suguru frowned with his eyes still closed and turned onto his side, away from
the noise.

Satoru groggily answered the phone. “Yo.”

“Satoru,” Yaga sensei said, “I have news regarding the request you submitted to the Council.”

Satoru sat up, instantly alert. “What is it?”

“It’s currently under review and they’re going to vote on it at next week’s meeting.”

Satoru’s eyes narrowed. He could already picture the Council of Elders denying the proposed
amendment to sorcerer contracts yet again. Two weeks ago, he’d met up with Yaga sensei to
draft and submit the request, though he’d been warned that it had been attempted numerous
times before, to no avail.

He glanced down at Suguru, who continued to sleep beside him. Gently so as not to wake
him, he brushed his fingers through his hair.

“I need to be there,” he replied.

There was silence at the other end. Then Yaga sensei’s voice became solemn. “Satoru. Tread
very carefully. You do not want these people as your enemies.”

Satoru scoffed. “They’re the ones who don’t want me as an enemy.”

“Satoru.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be civil. I just need to get my point across.” He twirled a strand of inky
black hair between his fingers. “We need this.”

After receiving an additional mission that had not originally been planned for today, he hung
up. It was almost time to go, but he wanted to feel Suguru’s warmth against him again. So he
scooted in and wrapped an arm around his waist before breathing in some more of his
intoxicating scent.

“What was that about?” Suguru asked, and Satoru jumped a little.

“I thought you were asleep.”

“With your loud-ass voice?”

Satoru snickered. “Fair. Here, I wanna show you something.”

He went to his desk, grabbed the research articles he’d been poring over a few weeks before
and presented them to him.

“All this material was gathered by special grade sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo. She’s been
advocating for improvements to sorcerer quality of life for years.”

He went on to explain what he’d learned from the data collected and about the proposed
amendment to their contracts that would provide them access to medical and mental health
resources, among other things. He told Suguru about how this had been in the works for a
long time, but was yet to be approved by the corrupt higher ups.

Suguru listened attentively without interrupting. When Satoru was done, he asked, “How are
you going to convince them?”

Satoru shrugged.

“Well, you know, I can be a very persuasive person,” he said with a mischievous wink.

Suguru raised an eyebrow. “So, threats of violence?”

“Threats, vows, pinky promises. Whatever you wanna call ‘em.”

“Satoru.”

“Come on!” Satoru laughed, settling beside him. He shoved Suguru’s shoulder with his own.
“This could be good, right? Tell me you think so, too.”

Suguru sighed and finally offered a smile. “Yes, this could be good.”

“Really?”

“Of course. If adopted, this could improve and potentially save sorcerers' lives.”

Satoru’s smile faded when he heard the apprehension in his voice. “But?”

“You’re going to make yourself a target if that’s the way you go about it.”

Satoru rolled his eyes.

“Should I have a friendly discussion with them then? So they can tell me to fuck off right
after? Come on, Suguru. I’ve been a target all my life. What’s a few more names added to the
list of people who want me dead?”

“Not to mention…”

Satoru groaned, and fell back dramatically. “Another ‘but’?!”

“No amount of therapy is going to stop us from dying in droves,” Suguru said solemnly. “It
doesn’t address the root of the problem and that is, that we sorcerers are not the ones
responsible for the majority of curses born into the world. Non-sorcerers are.”

Satoru stiffened as he continued.

“In order to make a lasting change, we have to get their cursed energy under control.”

“What are you suggesting?” Satoru asked, concerned about where the conversation was
headed.

Suguru hesitated, but ultimately responded, “There are options. I’ve also read some of
Tsukumo’s work. She found clans in different countries who managed to successfully teach
non-sorcerers how to suppress their cursed energy. But most of the techniques would take too
long to implement.”

Satoru sat up again. “Well, this amendment could help us in the meantime, while we work
towards that.”

“In the meantime, we continue dying to protect them.”

Satoru was taken aback by the resentment in his tone. His stomach clenched uneasily.
“Suguru…you’re not seriously considering…”

“What?” Suguru snapped. “The quickest option?”

Satoru stared at him, stunned. Was he seriously saying what he thought he was saying?

Suguru clenched and relaxed his jaw, then turned his gaze down. “I’m not saying it’s what I
would do. I'm just saying it’s an option.”

“You said so yourself,” Satoru reminded him. “We are sorcerers to protect the weak.”

When Suguru did not respond, he took his hand and went on. “I know it feels like it could
never happen in our lifetime, if we did it the other way. But I believe it can. We’re not the
only ones who want things to change. But even if it were. You and me. We can change the
system together.”

Their gazes met again and Suguru’s eyes softened. “You really think so?”

“Yes. I do.”
The beginnings of a smile formed on Suguru’s face. He squeezed his hand. “I’d love to see it.
Really.”

Satoru’s heart filled with relief. He leaned his head against Suguru quietly for a while until
Suguru broke the silence. “You have to go soon, right?”

“Mm.”

Suguru stood from the bed and stretched. He screwed up his face and held his bandaged head.

“How’re you feeling?” Satoru asked, “Do you need to see Shoko?”

Suguru grabbed his phone from the bedside table and slowly made his way to the door. “I’ll
see her when she comes back from Kyoto. Yaga told me to rest for now.”

Satoru followed him. “You want me to bring you something from the dining hall?”

Suguru paused halfway out the door and looked back at him with amusement written all over
his face. “Is this the ‘caring boyfriend’ version of Satoru Gojo?”

Satoru grimaced like he’d smelled something foul. “Ugh. Fuck off and starve for all I care.”

Suguru chuckled, then shoved him against the wall and kissed him. His hands on Satoru’s
face were just as gentle as his lips, and Satoru forgot he was supposed to be acting disgusted.

The kiss did not last nearly long enough. Suguru pulled away, grinning.

“It’s cute,” he said smugly and walked away.

Satoru glared at him as he returned to his room, if only to keep up the act. Inside, he was
trying not to melt into a puddle of feelings.
 Chapter 8
Chapter Notes

More self indulgent smut between the horizontal lines in this one ;) skip if it's not your
thing.

Over the next week, Satoru experienced more pleasure with Suguru than he had in months by
himself.

For a long time, he'd been aware that his feelings for Suguru went beyond those of a
friendship. But he hadn’t maintained hope for the idea that Suguru would someday share
similar feelings for him, and much less that he’d be eager to join him in expressing them
physically. It seemed, though, that their first intimate encounter had sparked an
inextinguishable flame within both of them, and he could think of nothing else.

Physical affection with Suguru became a balm to his heart. Every single hurt that had ever
plagued him simply ceased to exist when Suguru touched him. When Suguru kissed him after
a long day of missions, it was the equivalent of diving into a warm bubble bath. Even his
headaches magically disappeared. It was absolute bliss, comparable only to the enlightenment
he’d experienced in his dying moments a year ago.

For the time being, they’d stuck to getting each other off with their hands as it was the fastest
and only way they were familiar with. But Satoru wanted to try more. He wanted to try
everything with Suguru, even things he’d never considered before.

So when Suguru texted him one night asking for help in the showers, Satoru jumped at the
opportunity. He was there in less than two minutes, ready to assist.

The shower was already running when he arrived. He could hear it as he stripped in the
locker room, and once again he was grateful they had the entire dorm building to themselves.

The shower room was thick with steam by the time he walked out. Suguru stood beneath the
stream with his back to him, and Satoru took a moment to appreciate the view.

While it was clear now that Suguru had definitely lost weight, his back remained broad and
enticing. It consisted of lean muscle that dipped down past his slender waist to form another
generous mass that Satoru wanted to smack hard.

He went up to him and did just that. The smack rang loud enough to echo, but Suguru didn’t
flinch. He merely turned his unimpressed gaze upon him.

“Got that out of your system?” he asked.

“Not really,” Satoru snickered, and smacked the other cheek just as hard. “Damn, they’re so
round!”

“Do you have any self-control?”

Satoru hugged him from behind and kissed his shoulder. “Not when it comes to you.”

Water sprayed into his face and threatened to drown him while he nipped at Suguru’s neck
but he didn’t care. Despite Suguru’s nonchalant attitude when Satoru had arrived, the way his
body responded to his touch was eager and immediate. Satoru spent a significant amount of
time on his chest, exploring the shape of his nipples for the first time. And when Suguru was
panting and steadily stroking himself, Satoru slid a hand lower on his tight abdomen to stop
his hand.

“You said you needed help with something,” he murmured, taking Suguru’s hand away from
his cock to place it against the wall and hold it there.

“What do you think?” Suguru asked, sarcastically.

Satoru peered down at Suguru’s swollen cock and hummed.

“I think I want to use my mouth.”

Suguru went still. “You do?”

Satoru grinned at the surprise in his tone.

“Yeah,” he said, and pressed his own erection against Suguru’s ass. “But I wanna get you
dirty, first.”

The shower valve squeaked as he shut the water off, and Suguru’s fingers twitched against
the wall. Satoru tended to get cold as soon as he turned the shower off, but despite the lack of
hot water, the cloud of steam that had gathered around them kept him warm. He suspected the
wild pounding of his heart and the heat of desire also played a part in that.

He ground his hips into Suguru and felt him tense.

For the first time since they’d started, Suguru's voice sounded hesitant. “You’re, uh…you’re
not…”

Satoru stopped the motion of his hips and only held him. He wanted to smack himself for
making him feel uncomfortable. “Sorry. No, I won’t put it in. I just wanna imagine what it’d
feel like. Is that alright with you?”

Suguru let out a breath and relaxed in his arms. “Yes.”

Satoru smiled and squeezed him tight before releasing him to guide his cock between his
cheeks. “I bet you’d feel amazing around my cock,” he said, breathing unsteadily as he
watched Suguru’s perfect ass hug the shaft. “So hot and tight. Just like that.”
He thrusted slowly, watching as the head of his cock disappeared into Suguru's crack before
reappearing again. It felt incredible.

“You like that, huh?” Suguru said, in a tone that warned of mischief. “How about this?”

He reached back to guide Satoru’s cock between his legs, and Satoru gasped at the sensation
of being fully encased in tight, wet flesh. He rocked his hips and felt Suguru’s thighs tighten
around him.

“Fuck, Suguru,” he moaned into his hair as Suguru rocked back against him. “Fuck, don’t
stop.”

He shut his eyes and continued with long, hard strokes, imagining he really was inside
Suguru. The mounting pleasure left him breathless as his hips slapped obscenely against
Suguru’s ass.

"Tighter," he pleaded, and Suguru did as he asked, making him whimper when the coaxing
sensation around his cock intensified. Then he heard Suguru speak, and knew it was over for
him.

“Get it all over me,” he groaned. “Get me dirty like you wanted.”

Satoru cursed and came all over his thighs and between his ass cheeks. His mind went blank
with the ecstasy of it, but his mouth kept running.

“Goddamn. You’re so…you’re so fucking—ngh—”

Suguru turned around and shut him up with his mouth, kissing him like they’d been apart for
years. Satoru welcomed his enthusiastic affection and reciprocated it. After a while, though,
he remembered he’d come here on a mission.

Still breathing hard, he pulled away from Suguru’s lips but kept his hands on his skin the
entire time he lowered himself onto his knees.

He held Suguru’s gaze as he brushed his lips against the hot skin of his cock and licked along
the shaft. Suguru shivered, and Satoru grinned. He teased the tip with his tongue until Suguru
tugged at his hair a little.

“Please,” he said, eyes glazed with desire. “Please, Satoru.”

Satisfied by his pleading, Satoru finally took him into his mouth and savored the stuttered
breath Suguru released. It was a strange sensation, the weight of a cock on his tongue, but not
unpleasant. Though he was a bit disappointed to taste nothing as he sucked. He’d hoped to
learn what Suguru tasted like, to engrain the information in his brain next to his delicious
scent.

Suguru rocked into him, moaning softly. His brows pinched together, intensifying his gaze as
he held Satoru’s cheek for a moment and gruffly said, “Suck a little harder for me.”
Satoru would have handed over his Six Eyes on a silver platter if he'd asked at that moment,
with that same tone. So he complied with a hum, hollowing his cheeks out around him harder
than before. Saliva poured down his mouth and saturated Suguru’s cock, allowing for the
lewd sounds of his work to echo all around the tiled walls. He relished the way Suguru’s hold
on his hair tightened.

“Ah, Satoru,” he groaned, caressing his face. “So good. You’re doing so good.”

Satoru’s cock twitched with renewed interest. Never in his wildest dreams would he have
imagined how much he’d enjoy giving Suguru head. Every sound that came out of Suguru’s
mouth only served to multiply his own pleasure tenfold. He needed more.

So he relaxed his tongue completely and took him into his throat.

Suguru closed his eyes and moaned louder. His gentle rocking became something rougher,
and Satoru kneaded his ass encouragingly before exploring further. His fingers slid over the
cum that still coated the inside of Suguru’s cheeks and he could not think of anything more
arousing. He groaned as his own cock grew harder.

Over the past week, he'd fantasized so many times about doing this to Suguru, but none of
those fantasies could compare to the very real stretch of Suguru’s cock down his throat. The
desperation of his hips as he slammed into him, begging for release. Satoru closed his eyes
and stroked himself to the glorious feeling of Suguru using him for pleasure. And just when
he was about to run out of air, Suguru gasped.

“I’m coming. I’m coming, Satoru—”

He made to pull out, but Satoru held him in place, tears and snot running down his face as he
endured the lack of air.

Amidst breathy moans and jerking hips, heat spilled down Satoru’s throat. As he swallowed,
he realized he could taste Suguru now, and that was enough to send him over the edge too.

Satoru's second orgasm was messier than the first, given that in the heat of the moment, he
forgot to hold his breath and began to choke. Suguru pulled out to let him breathe and Satoru
stayed on his hands and knees, coughing and gasping as he tried to recover.

Suguru crouched beside him with a concerned look on his face. "You okay?"

Satoru shook his head and whined. "I have cum in my lungs! What do you think?"

Suguru smacked his back and laughed harder than Satoru had heard him laugh in a while.

Eventually, he grabbed Satoru's chin and pulled him in for a kiss. “I can't believe you did that.
It felt amazing."

“Glad I could help,” Satoru replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Suguru helped him to his feet and they turned the hot water back on. Satoru held on to him as
they gently swayed back and forth, lips colliding like they were only getting started.
…

Suguru had been distracted lately.

Not during missions—he didn’t want a repeat of that humiliating night—but at any other
time, he’d felt his focus shift from whatever was in front of him back to Satoru.

All he could see in his mind was Satoru laughing and playing with his hair. Satoru setting one
of the pictures of Suguru's middle finger as his wallpaper. Satoru slurping on his ramen.
Satoru slurping on his cock.

That image in particular… Would he ever be able to get it out of his head?

What was wrong with him? Was this normal?

He didn’t know what to do with the flood of new feelings he now carried around on a daily
basis. One moment he and Satoru had been regular friends, and the next, they’d been unable
to keep their hands off each other. Moments separated by the very emotionally charged kiss
that had changed it all.

It was the sex. That had to be it, because Suguru felt like someone else had taken over his
body. Someone happy. It had to be all those chemicals released during and after sex.

Except, deep down, he knew there was more to it. Prior to that first kiss, he’d held very little
interest in sex with anyone. It’d sounded burdensome, like a performance he’d have to put on
to become acceptable in someone else’s eyes. But he didn’t feel that way when he did things
with Satoru.

There was so much joy involved whenever he participated in intimate acts with his best
friend. It didn’t feel forced when it was with the person who’d accepted him from the
beginning and thought no less of him after he’d broken down in his presence. Suguru didn’t
want to fight the part of him that sought to give and receive pleasure from the person who
meant so much to him.

Most importantly, that fateful night had marked an end to his isolation. He had someone to
share the burdens of his heart with, and that meant more to him than anything physical they
could ever do.

On his way to his next mission, he stopped by a convenience store and bought some onigiri
for lunch as well as some pastries for Satoru. As he was walking out, he noticed something
strange. Something that failed to blend in despite how hard it tried to.

Crows were not a rare sight in the city, but they were never that uncannily still.

He pretended not to be disturbed by it and went on his way. But it followed.

He noticed it again at the next location and an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach.
While he was waiting for Yamada to pick him up after completing his mission, he dialed
Mei-san’s number.

“Well, well,” she said, as soon as she answered the phone. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Why are you following me?” he asked, skipping the pleasantries.

She did not sound the least bit surprised by the question.

“Because Satoru is paying me to, of course.”

Suguru’s heart dropped.

“What? Why?”

“You’d have to ask him. Though, if I were to guess…maybe he’s worried about you getting
into a tight spot. You know,” she lowered her voice into a whisper for dramatic effect,
“again.”

Suguru did not need to ask what she meant by that. The shame of the mistake he’d made that
rainy night washed over him and heat flooded his face. His jaw clenched.

“How long has he been paying you?” he asked, dreading the answer.

“Hmm. Let’s see…Shoko’s birthday is coming up soon, so…almost a year! I’m honestly
disappointed it took you so long to notice.”

Suguru’s pulse pounded in his head as he tried to process that information. He barely
managed to keep his voice steady when he spoke again.

“Don’t tell him I know.”

Mei-san hummed, as if considering his request. “Normally that would cost you, but I’ll let it
slide this time.” She sounded genuinely excited when she said, “Can’t wait to see how this
plays out!”

Suguru hung up.

With shaky hands, he lit a cigarette and tried to calm the violent pounding of his heart. His
mind was spiraling with jumbled thoughts, all of them tinged with shame and distrust.

Almost a year.

Satoru had been keeping tabs on him for almost an entire year, watching him like a child who
was unable to cross the street alone.

Regardless of his reasoning, he’d purposely kept Suguru in the dark about it, and that hurt
more than he ever thought such a small detail could hurt.
With a pit in his stomach, he recalled the words Satoru had spoken so softly just before their
first kiss.

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

He felt sick.

The night Mei-san had spoken of, Satoru had pretended not to know about his injury. But in
reality, he’d known all along. He’d been waiting for him.

Suguru thought of the past week and of every warm feeling he’d experienced during that
time.

Had any of it been real?

Satoru had known Suguru was in an emotionally fragile state, that when it came to their
techniques, Suguru would never be able to keep up. Maybe he’d also figured Suguru would
fuck up eventually.

Was he playing some sort of twisted game where he could manipulate anyone below him as
he wished?

Was that why, when they’d spoken about methods for dealing with non-sorcerers’ cursed
energy, he’d discouraged any ideas that did not align with his own plans?

The more Suguru thought about it, the stupider he felt. Fury rose like bile in his throat.

At that moment, his phone buzzed with a text message. It was Satoru.

Come over when you’re done

Suguru took a series of deep breaths to keep his rage from boiling over, then sent a quick
reply.

On my way
 Chapter 9

Satoru knew it was too soon for… that.

He wasn’t going to ask Suguru if he wanted to try penetrative sex yet, but he figured it
wouldn’t hurt to talk about it. After all, he was curious about where Suguru stood when it
came to that. If he took into consideration the way Suguru had initially frozen up when they
were in the showers and Satoru had pressed up on him, he could interpret that as Suguru
being uncomfortable with being the receiver in their dynamic. Though he could also interpret
that reaction as Suguru being uncomfortable with doing it in the shower without prior
conversation.

It also wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. The stuff Satoru had bought at the convenience store
earlier that day sat in his bedside drawer away from view, but he knew he’d think about it
every time Suguru spent time in his bed.

How could he not? His mind had little room for anything else these past few days.

Before that first night and before Suguru had whispered those filthy things into his ear, he’d
never considered bottoming if he were to become sexually active. It sounded terrifying,
potentially painful and definitely not fun. But the moment Suguru had suggested it, whether
he’d meant it or not, Satoru had been unable to stop thinking about it.

Maybe the act didn’t have to be any of those unpleasant things.

Sure, it would entail doing things he wasn’t particularly fond of, like letting his guard down
and giving up control, but if he could do that around anyone in the world, it would be Suguru.
Deep down he knew, no matter how inexperienced they both were in that area, Suguru would
make sure he was taken care of.

That’s what Satoru would do if their roles were reversed. And he wanted to do that too. He
couldn’t decide which turned him on most, the thought of taking Suguru’s perfect ass or
taking his perfect cock…

A knock on the door pulled him from his dirty thoughts and he sprung to his feet.

He opened the door and smiled when he saw Suguru standing there.

“Hey,” he said, and pulled him inside. He shut the door and leaned in to kiss him, but his lips
landed on Suguru’s cheek. He slowly pulled away to study him when he realized Suguru had
turned his face to avoid him.

That’s when he noticed that Suguru’s expression was devoid of emotion. Satoru frowned,
suddenly concerned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Suguru turned his gaze on him and Satoru felt a chill run down his spine. He’d seen that look
before. It was the same hollow stare Suguru’s older self had turned on Older Satoru just
before his execution. His stomach clenched uncomfortably.

“Suguru?”

Suguru remained quiet for an unnerving amount of time, just watching him. When he finally
spoke, his voice was just as cold as his expression.

“You paid Mei to follow me this whole time.”

Satoru tensed and took a step back. His pulse skyrocketed as he shaped and reshaped the
right words in his mouth. With difficulty, he finally said, “Yes. But please, let me explain.”

Suguru’s gaze dropped to the floor and his jaw clenched. Satoru watched him try to keep his
emotions from emerging to the surface. But despite his best attempts, the calmness in his
voice held a note of resentment when he spoke again.

“You expect me to believe anything you say after you’ve lied to me for months?”

“I didn’t—“

“Did you have a good laugh at my expense? ‘Poor Suguru, too fucked up in the head to
notice what’s going on around him’.”

Satoru was perplexed. “What are you talking about?”

“You pretended not to know what happened last week when I got injured.”

Satoru winced as a flood of guilt rushed over him. “I know I was wrong to do that but I didn’t
want to embarrass you—“

A fire flashed in Suguru’s eyes as he finally snapped. “Well, aren’t you fucking considerate!”

Satoru froze, eyes wide.

“Suguru, I…” He struggled to gather his thoughts as fear wrapped a cold hand around his
throat. “I know you’re gonna think what I’m saying is absurd but it’s the truth. The psychic
we visited on Shoko’s birthday had a cursed technique that allows people to witness certain
moments of the future. She showed me visions of your future that…didn’t end well. Things I
didn’t want to happen.”

Suguru scowled. “That is absurd.”

“Shoko saw it too.”

Something that looked like hurt flashed in Suguru’s eyes before he scoffed. “She was in on it
too, huh?”

“It wasn’t like that. I’m telling you it was a vision.”

Suguru crossed his arms over his chest, clearly unconvinced. “And what exactly was in this
horrible vision?”

“I…” Satoru closed his eyes and sighed, already aware of the negative way in which his
words would be taken. “I can’t tell you.”

Suguru let out a bitter laugh.

“I’m serious,” Satoru said, irritated by Suguru’s incredulity. “The psychic warned that sharing
any details about the visions would make them come true.”

“Assuming any of that were true,” Suguru said, expression darkening, “what right do you
have to change anything about my future without my consent?”

“It’s bad, Suguru!” Satoru shouted, exasperated. “For both of us!”

A sinister smile appeared on Suguru’s face. “Oh, I believe it’s bad for you. You want to
control everything and everyone so badly, just because you can.”

“That’s not true. I’m trying to protect you!”

“And who asked you to do that? I sure as hell never did!”

“You didn’t have to! Because I…because…” Satoru hesitated, suddenly afraid of speaking
the words he’d held close to his chest for over a year. This was the worst possible moment to
open his heart.

Suguru got in his face. “Spit it out, Satoru! It’s because next to you, I’m weak, isn’t it?!”

Fury rose in Satoru’s throat and he shouted back. “It’s because I love you, okay? Fuck!”

He caught a glimpse of Suguru flinching, his eyes growing wide with shock. But Satoru
turned away before he could see any more. Blood rushed to his face as a cocktail of fear,
anger, and embarrassment flooded his veins. He’d fucked up and said it. The words he’d been
saving for a special moment, he’d instead used as a weapon to get Suguru to back off,
diminishing their value. He ran a hand through his hair and took a calming breath. Behind
him, there was nothing but silence.

After a moment he turned back, remorseful.

“That’s not how I wanted to–”

“You don’t know what love is,” Suguru bit back, not looking at him anymore. “You don’t
even care about what I want. All you care about is getting your way.”

Satoru’s heart dropped. His voice came out rough through the knot forming in his throat.
“What?”

Suguru stepped closer, watching him intently. “Everything you do is always better, isn’t it?
That’s why you won’t even consider my ideas.”
Satoru was so confused. It almost felt like they were engaging in different conversations that
had nothing to do with each other. “What are you talking about?” he demanded. “I’ve never
dismissed anything you have to say!”

“I’m talking about those goddamned monkeys!”

Satoru’s blood ran cold.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me. All you want to do is protect them at any cost. At the cost of all our lives!
Why, Satoru? Why do you care about them so much? They don’t give a shit about you!”

Satoru took a few more steps back in a daze as he recalled the last time he’d heard that word
come out of Suguru’s mouth.

“No matter what, I’ll always hate those monkeys.”

He could sense that this was the beginning of the end. No matter how hard he tried, Suguru
was like water cupped within his hands, slipping through his fingers drop by drop.

Satoru’s heart began to pound in his ears, making everything else sound like he was stuck in a
fishbowl. The backs of his knees found the edge of his bed and he sat heavily.

Suguru approached him with searing fury in his eyes. “You were just waiting for me to fuck
up, weren’t you? Knew I’d break eventually. How convenient that you were there to pick up
the pieces.”

Satoru tried to calm his racing heart with deep breaths but found that the air around him had
grown too thick to take in. His chest grew tight and painful with every breath.

“I will forge my own path without you,” Suguru said, his voice eerily soft as he looked down
on him with a blank expression. “You can stay the strongest alone, since it’s how you exist
best.”

Before Satoru could form another word, Suguru turned away from him and walked out the
door.

Incredulous, Satoru let out a shuddering breath and began to run reverse cursed technique on
himself. There had to be something wrong with his heart and lungs because this was unlike
anything he’d experienced before. He was used to being in control of matter itself but now
the world was caving in around him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

His hands began to shake when reverse cursed technique did not work and his breathing
became more shallow.

Fuck, fuck, fuck

He took his phone out of his pocket with some difficulty and called Shoko. He couldn’t
understand what he was doing wrong with RCT, and knew only the expert would be able to
help him now.

She did not pick up the first time so he tried a second and a third, until she finally did.

“You better be dying right now,” she snapped, and Satoru could hear the chatter of people in
the background. “I had to walk out of my movie!”

“Help me…please,” Satoru managed through gasps for air.

Her tone immediately changed to one of concern. “What’s going on? Where are you?”

Satoru squeezed his eyes. “I argued with Suguru and…and…can’t breathe, my chest hurts…”
He tugged on his hair and pressed the phone harder into his ear to stifle the violent shaking of
his hands. “RCT won’t work…”

Shoko was quiet for a second before she spoke again. “Satoru, listen. I think you’re having a
panic attack and it’s not something you can fix with RCT.”

Satoru was flabbergasted. “What?”

“I need you to name three objects around your room.”

“Huh?!”

“Satoru, do as I say. Three objects, go!”

“Uh…” Satoru looked around and listed the first things he saw. “Chair…TV…slippers…”

“Okay. Now I want you to move three different parts of your body and tell me what they
are.”

Satoru frowned at the nonsensical directions, but ultimately did as she asked.

“Last thing: List three things you can hear right now.”

Satoru took a moment to listen. There was nothing around him, but he could hear a lot
through the phone. “You, smoking. Someone laughing and…traffic.”

“Good. You can breathe now, right?”

Satoru’s eyes widened as it dawned on him that she was right. His hands, too, had stopped
shaking. But the relief was short-lived as his mind revisited Suguru’s last words before he
left.

“I fucked up, Shoko,” he whispered, and tears sprung up in his eyes as he replayed the vision
of Suguru’s death. He covered his eyes with his hand, but the image of Suguru’s mangled
body remained. His voice broke when he finally spoke again. “I’m going to lose him.”

“Just breathe,” Shoko said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. “Tell me what happened.”

…
Suguru walked for a long time.

He didn’t care where he ended up, all he wanted was to get as far from Jujutsu High as
possible.

So he walked around the city, trying not to think about how much he was hurting. Much of
his anger had faded after confronting Satoru and what was left of it was mostly aimed at
himself for lashing out the way he had. He’d meant to hurt Satoru, there was no doubt about
that. He knew he’d managed it, but it didn’t ease any of the pain he still felt as a result of
Satoru’s deception. If anything, he felt worse because now he also had to carry the image of
the last expression he’d seen on Satoru’s face.

It had been a mixture of terror and grief, similar to what he’d encountered on Nanami’s face
the night Haibara died. But he didn’t want to think about that. He wanted to wallow in his
own misery. Was he not allowed to have that?

Despite the conflicting feelings in his chest, Suguru had meant what he said and did not plan
to apologize for it.

He continued walking, ignoring his buzzing phone without checking who was calling, and
lost himself in a crowd. His resentment towards non-sorcerers only grew the longer he
walked among them. There were so many of them, just going about their lives, oozing more
cursed energy from their bodies than sweat. If they’d all decided to start shitting on the floor
simultaneously he would’ve found them less disgusting.

That said, he hadn’t meant to let it slip in front of Satoru how little he thought of them.

Monkeys

It was a word that had been swirling around in his brain whenever he thought of them.
Selfish, filthy creatures who ran on instinct alone. They did not deserve to be on the same
level as those who sacrificed their lives to clean up after them.

After a while, the buzz of neon lights, traffic and chattering got to be too much.

He chose a random wall to lean on and took a cigarette out. He thought about the night of
Shoko’s birthday and how tiring it had been to pretend he was having fun. That’s why he’d
drunk enough to forget how he made it home.

Back then, when he’d felt Satoru’s gaze linger on him so obviously, he’d held a hope that
maybe…

He’d been so naïve. What was obvious now was that Satoru had been keeping an eye on him
since then, preparing for the moment he could exploit his weaknesses.

To think, Suguru had only been thinking about how beautiful he looked dancing with Shoko.

At the last club they’d gone to, Suguru had left to get some drinks as an excuse to get off the
dance floor for a bit. So even after he’d obtained them, he’d watched from afar.
Satoru already stood out because of his hair and height, but the way his body moved and the
smile on his face made him truly dazzling. Suguru wasn’t the only one watching, entranced.
So many women around him stopped what they were doing and focused on the spectacle that
was Satoru.

But all of a sudden, Satoru’s smile had faded and he’d stopped mid-song to look around the
club. It was only when he’d found Suguru’s gaze among the crowd of observers that the
brightness had returned to his face and he’d extended his hand to beckon him over.

The smile on his face had done something to Suguru’s heart, despite how much he’d
distanced himself from him in the wake of Riko’s death. And because he’d always been weak
for Satoru, he’d done as he asked, and crossed an entire mob of tightly packed people to
reach him.

In fact, Suguru would have crossed the light-years of an entire galaxy, had Satoru asked.
He’d truly been so stupid.

One cigarette wasn’t enough to soothe him this time, so he grabbed a second and just as he
was about to light it, he heard a familiar voice beside him.

“Need a light?” Shoko asked, as her lighter clicked.

A fresh brew of anger seeped into his chest at her mere presence. She’d been lying to him just
as much as Satoru yet here she was, pretending nothing was wrong. He ignored the flame
she’d presented and lit the cigarette with his own lighter.

“Petty,” she said, amused.

His eyes narrowed. “Did Mei tell you where I was?”

She snorted. “Believe it or not, I’m not as obsessed with you as Satoru is. I just happened to
miss the first movie I was gonna watch in theaters for the first time in months. So I had some
dinner instead. And I was calling to see where you were since Satoru’s freaking out and since
you weren’t answering your phone, I was just gonna assume you were dead and head home
but look at you! Alive and well!”

Suguru sighed. “What do you want, Shoko?”

She shrugged. “I’m not here to convince you about the vision. Just saying if you don’t
believe us, you should go see it with your own eyes.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because no matter how angry you are right now, I know you care about Satoru and he’s
been making himself sick for months worrying about you. I only saw that one vision, but he
saw multiple. I don’t even know what he saw but he just called me having a whole ass panic
attack because you left.”

Suguru frowned. That did not sound like Satoru at all. It seemed more likely that this was his
way of emotionally manipulating him into going back.
“I’m sure he did,” he muttered bitterly.

“Look,” Shoko said, sounding tired. “Best case scenario for you, it’s all bullshit and we’ve
been conspiring behind your back to, I don’t know, laugh at you or something? And you can
justify your righteous anger and we can all go our separate ways. Unless…” she tilted her
head like a curious cat. “You’re afraid to be proven wrong?”

Suguru resisted the urge to roll his eyes to the back of his head and stared blankly instead.
“You really think that’s going to work on me?”

She stuck her hands in her coat pockets and smiled lazily. “Yes. I really do.”

Suguru watched her walk away, fully convinced that he was not going to give in to their
game. Then she paused and called back over her shoulder. “Ask her about the last time you’ll
see Satoru.”

He frowned as her form disappeared among the crowd.

It was all so absurd. He remembered the place and the entire thing had screamed SCAM! So
he didn’t understand why his friends, who were neither gullible nor stupid could believe
something like that.

"Unless…you’re afraid to be proven wrong?”

He groaned and rubbed his tired eyes.

Was he seriously considering it?

“Ask her about the last time you’ll see Satoru.”

He was angry and hurt. He’d meant it when he said he would find his own way away from
Satoru and his moral high ground. But he hadn’t given much thought to the actual leaving.
Was that truly what he wanted? To be at odds with Satoru permanently and never again see
him as a friend?

What about the monkeys he could stand less and less every day? Was he supposed to eat their
filth for the rest of his life and be happy? On the other hand…did he hate them enough to
annihilate them all?

He was aware that if he were to accept that responsibility and start by killing just one, there
would be no going back.

Satoru was the closest thing to family he had, but their feelings for each other were too
different. It didn’t matter how much Suguru loved Satoru because Satoru would never love
him back the same way. Sure, he’d said the words, but he’d used them as a way to throw
Suguru off in their argument. What Satoru really wanted was someone to control and maybe
fuck around with when he felt like it.

His words were empty if Suguru couldn’t trust him, and he didn’t know if he could ever bring
himself to wholeheartedly trust him again.
It was too much to think about while being this physically and emotionally drained. He
decided it was time to get some rest, but at the same time, he did not want to return to Jujutsu
High just yet. Even if he didn’t see Satoru again tonight, he wasn’t ready to be in such close
proximity to him.

So he didn’t go back. Instead, he went to the closest manga cafe and used his fake ID to rent
a private cubicle for the night. And although he’d told himself he wouldn’t ruminate on
anything else concerning Satoru tonight, he found himself doing just that against his will.

Shoko had claimed Satoru had been making himself sick with worry for months, but Suguru
hadn’t perceived anything different about him. Well…

Unless he included that observation he’d made when they’d shared Suguru’s birthday cake
and there was that strange tension in Satoru’s body that reminded him of a rubber band about
to snap. Was it possible that he’d sensed what Shoko had been talking about?

It was all speculation, though. His brain could just be working overtime trying to make pieces
fit into a puzzle they did not belong to. He closed his eyes and hoped in vain for a few hours
of dreamless sleep.
 Chapter 10
Chapter Notes

i may have cried a few times while writing this chapter T_T

Satoru stood beside Yaga sensei in the middle of the conference chamber, surrounded by the
Council of Elders.

The cowards all hid behind cursed energy-infused paper screens; another pointless facade
they'd clung to for decades in order to intimidate anyone on the floor. But Satoru was
unperturbed. He knew exactly who they were and which clans they belonged to. All of them
equally worthless trash.

Yaga had told him to keep his mouth shut the entire time they were there and Satoru had
complied, though not out of any real obedience. In truth, while Satoru’s body was physically
there, his mind was not.

He could hear Yaga’s articulate defense of the amendment, but it seemed far away, like he
was standing at the entrance of a cave trying to make out a conversation that was happening
within.

His mind had been in turmoil since Suguru left, and the fact that he had not returned to the
dorms last night had not helped matters.

Prior to last night, Satoru had been unfamiliar with the feeling of panic. Not even Toji
catching him off guard with the Inverted Spear of Heaven through the throat had made him
feel the horrible dread he’d felt in his soul when Suguru had stormed out of his room. It was a
loss of control he never wanted to experience again, but the feeling was not entirely gone.
Panic lingered in his heart, sticky and stubborn like a residue, threatening to bring him to his
knees at any moment.

Especially when he thought of the events he’d witnessed through the fortune teller's visions
and how he’d managed to fail at changing their effects on Suguru. He’d kept Suguru from
having a conversation with Tsukumo, but Suguru had still found her research and arrived at
the same dangerous conclusion regarding non-sorcerers. Satoru had failed to prevent
Haibara’s death and as a result, failed to keep Suguru’s overall health from declining. And
now, it was only a matter of time before the final vision came true: the one with the
imprisoned children. While he hadn’t witnessed what Suguru had decided to do with the non-
sorcerers in the village, he could infer it was not going to be good, if the consequences of this
event had led to Suguru becoming an enemy of Jujutsu High.
Because the event was to take place in a rural area, Satoru had asked Mei-san to continue
watching Suguru only during his missions out in the countryside.

“What you’re doing is unsustainable,” Shoko had warned after she’d talked him through his
first panic attack. “Reverse cursed technique may help you regenerate in order to sustain
Limitless indefinitely, but it won’t help with the anxiety you keep ignoring. It’s not
something you can fix with cursed energy, and Suguru’s fate is not something you can mold
to your will.”

But Satoru had to try. Even if Suguru hated him for attempting to exert such control over his
future, he was willing to risk it all to keep him from going down the path where only
destruction awaited.

Which was why, when the Council ultimately voted unanimously against the proposition for
the nth time and Yaga told him it was time to go, Satoru smiled and said, “No.”

Yaga cocked a brow and his tone held a warning. “Satoru.”

“Sensei, I said I had a message to deliver to the Council and I’m gonna do just that.”

“Satoru Gojo, you are not authorized to speak before the Council,” a gruff voice interjected.

Satoru let out a humorless chuckle. “Funny, I don’t remember asking for permission.”

“Masamichi, control your student.”

“You all seem to be in a hurry to get out of here, so I’ll get to the point,” Satoru said, turning
slowly in a circle to ensure they knew he was addressing them all. “The amendment will
pass, and that’s not a request.”

Murmurs of incredulity and derision made their way around the room. One of the elders let
out a barking laugh and asked disdainfully, “I take it you will handle the missions of twenty
other sorcerers while they’re off on vacation?”

Satoru shrugged. “I could handle your job, too, while I’m at it.”

The amusement disappeared from the elder’s voice as he snapped at Yaga. “Masamichi!
What is the meaning of this?”

Yaga stood behind Satoru with his arms crossed. He gave a tired sigh but said nothing else.

"Since you require clarification," Satoru said, hands in his pockets as he stepped closer to the
paper screen. “It means that if you don’t meet our demands, I will personally take all of your
heads.”

A cacophony of furious protests erupted, and the screens fell away as a swarm of cursed
energy attacks rained upon Yaga and himself. Satoru deflected them so easily he got a little
bored after a while.

“How dare you!”

"Masamichi—!"

“This is outrageous!”

“You arrogant child!”

The attacks multiplied in strength, to no avail. Satoru crossed his arms over his chest and
rolled his eyes. “Are you done yet?”

“Satoru Gojo, you and your clan won’t get away with this—this is a declaration of war!”

Satoru shrugged again. “If that’s what you wanna call it, sure. But I’d leave my clan and
everyone at Jujutsu High out of it, if I were you. Because if you so much as sneeze in their
direction, I will annihilate you and every last member of your clans.” He couldn’t quite stifle
the twisted smile that tugged at his lips. He supposed it was a little thrilling to think of a
world without them in it. “Won’t be much of a war then, huh?”

The head of the Kamo clan pointed furiously at him. “The threats you make to the Council
are truly grave and will not go unpunished—“

“I think,” Satoru interrupted loudly, “you should really try to stay in my good graces, old
man.”

He took another look at the fuming faces around him and smirked.

“You fossils think this world belongs to you, but your time is up. I know you don’t believe
me when I say I’ll erase you and everyone you hold dear from the face of the earth, but I've
been itching to get my hands dirty. So please! I beg you to give me a reason!”

Incredulous silence descended upon the chamber for a long moment before Kamo spoke
again.

“You have lost your mind…”

Satoru snorted. “Therapy doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?” He laughed and clapped his
hands once. The sound reverberated throughout the chamber. “Alright! I'll let you figure the
details out now, but don’t take too long. I expect to hear good news soon!”

Once they were on their way back to Jujutsu High, he briefly released Infinity to allow Yaga
to smack him in the back of the head and scold him for being reckless. As expected, the
smack arrived with bruising force, but unexpectedly, the scolding never did.

Suguru stood before the familiar shop and eyed the sign with reluctance.

Psychic Love Money Accurate Fortune Readings

No Refunds
It took every ounce of his will not to walk away from such a ridiculous place.

Over the past three days, he’d managed to avoid Satoru and focus only on his missions. But
between missions, he’d done some thinking.

From the moment Shoko and Satoru had stumbled upon the fortune teller’s shop, he’d
experienced an aversion for it, but why was that?

At first, he’d been convinced that the reason for it was because it was a scam. He was
repulsed by dishonesty in all its forms and conning people out of their money with false hope
was one of them. But even after learning that the psychic employed a cursed technique to see
into the future and that both Satoru and Shoko vouched for its validity, Suguru had felt
repulsed by the thought of participating in the fortune readings. So there had to be more to it.

Reluctantly, he’d questioned himself further and after much uncomfortable introspection,
he’d arrived at the conclusion that his aversion was not for anything the psychic did but for
the future itself.

As a sorcerer, he’d long ago accepted that the future held nothing good for him. There could
only be more of what he’d already witnessed: pain, injury and death. There was no point in
hoping for more. Just as he’d given up on the idea of traveling for pleasure the way Haibara
had dreamt of doing someday, he’d also given up on experiencing any sort of light amidst the
darkness of jujutsu life.

But then…Satoru had shattered that particular belief when he’d introduced fun and joy into
his life. And though their heightened intimacy had only lasted a few days, it was the happiest
Suguru had ever been. More than learning what he and Satoru enjoyed in a physical sense,
he’d learned that there was value in seeking comfort and pleasure. Those sentiments provided
hope for better things in the future and ultimately made life worth living.

He sighed and pulled the door open before he could change his mind again. The jingle of
overhead bells and the bitter scent of tea welcomed him. The place was covered in trinkets
from floor to ceiling but he was uninterested in them. He was only here for the main
attraction, and she happened to be sitting behind the counter, eating cookies.

“Good evening. Welcome,” the old woman greeted, wiping her lips with a napkin. “How may
I—“

She froze mid sentence and her eyes widened when she met his gaze. Suguru understood at
that moment that she recognized him.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked.

A smile warmed her expression and she gave a small nod. “How may I help you?”

He hesitated, and recalled what Shoko had told him to ask.

“I’d like you to show me the last time I’ll see Satoru.”

“I see. And have your friends explained how this works?”

Suguru shook his head.

“The price for seeking details of the future is three year’s worth of life energy for every
minute you spend in the vision. That, and 7000 yen per vision. No refunds.”

She filled a teacup with a striped design on its body and placed it in front of him.

“One full teacup would get you five minutes of truth and reduce your lifetime by fifteen
years.”

Suguru frowned down at the steaming cup. That seemed like a steep price to pay, especially
considering the dangerous life he lived. He took his wallet out and handed her the cash.

She accepted it and asked, “How long would you like the vision to be?”

Suguru considered his options for a moment. Part of him feared that a one minute vision
would not provide enough context for him to understand what was going on and that would
be a waste. But handing over nine years of his life for a three minute vision was way too
risky.

“Two minutes,” he decided.

“That will be six years of your lifetime,” she said, and when he nodded in confirmation, she
gestured toward the teacup. “Go on.”

Suguru raised the teacup to his lips and drank, careful not to go too far. When he set it down,
the old woman cupped her hands around it. In an instant, the steam floating from the tea
swirled and surrounded him until the world around him disappeared and he emerged into
another moment in time.

He had little time to take in his surroundings or to appreciate how sharp and realistic the
vision was. There was so much destruction, he figured he’d landed in a war-torn country until
he recognized the remaining shingled buildings as those standing on Jujutsu High grounds.

An attack?

His attention was immediately drawn to the only two figures in the vision. At first, he could
only stand there stunned and unable to take his eyes off of the older version of Satoru. He
was just as beautiful as his current self, though his face lacked the softer edges Suguru was
used to. Above all else, this man exuded power. His eyes, especially, lacked any warmth
when he spoke.

“Any last words?” he asked, and Suguru was taken aback when he recognized the person on
the ground as a bloody, mutilated version of himself.

The older Suguru sighed, and the grin that had hung from his lips only moments before
disappeared. “No matter what, I’ll always hate those monkeys,” he said, and Suguru’s pulse
sped up. Now that he thought about it, the strangely horrified expression on Satoru’s face
during their argument had appeared right after he’d used that derogatory term.
“But it’s not like I hate anyone at Jujutsu High,” his older counterpart continued. “It’s just
that in this world…I couldn’t truly be happy from the bottom of my heart.”

Suguru held his breath and watched as Satoru closed the distance between them and crouched
down before the broken man. His eyes softened as he said, “Suguru…I will always love
you.”

Suguru mirrored the baffled expression on his older self’s face.

There was no way…

How could he say that when it wasn’t true? It wasn’t true, it wasn’t true!

His mind raced to deny it at all costs, but the pain in Satoru’s eyes sliced through the most
stubborn of his doubts.

How could it not be true?

The older Suguru chuckled and his cheeks reddened.

“I can’t believe you’d make me blush before you kill me,” he said, fondly. “You should at
least curse me at the end.”

Satoru sighed and rose to his feet. Their gazes met for what felt like an eternity, a silent
exchange of regrets and goodbyes. Then he raised his hand and painlessly ended Suguru’s
life.

Suguru gasped at the sight of his body dropping like any other inanimate object. His heart
thrashed against his chest as he watched blood pool on the ground.

Satoru stood frozen for a while, before he lowered himself to the floor and took his former
friend into his arms.

Suguru continued to stand there, stupefied, before he forced his legs to carry him closer to the
scene. Slowly, he crouched down beside Satoru. His chest ached when Satoru gently pushed
the hair out of the dead man’s face and touched his cheek like it was something precious.

Suguru’s eyes prickled with moisture as he watched him lean down and kiss his forehead. It
was such a tender gesture that his heart felt like it was being sliced into pieces.

How could this be their end?

He was unable to stop the tears that fell on his cheeks when Satoru lifted his face again.
Though no sound came from him, his eyes were no dryer than Suguru’s, and his lips were
stained with blood. On his entire body was written the very definition of agony and Suguru
couldn’t take it anymore.

He reached out to touch him, to provide a semblance of comfort, though he knew it would
never reach him. Sure enough, as soon as his hand made contact, the vision around him
dissolved into nothing and he reappeared in the psychic’s shop.
He was crouching still, his extended hand tingling with the phantom sensation of Satoru’s
cheek.

The psychic hurried around the counter to his side. “Are you alright, dear?” she asked,
placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I know that must have been quite a shock.”

Suguru focused on taking grounding breaths for a moment. Then he wiped his eyes and stood
back up. “I’m fine.”

She watched him closely before saying, “Do keep in mind that if you discuss the details of
your vision, they will happen no matter what.”

A memory of last spring emerged in his mind's eye. A flutter of cherry blossoms across the
sunset. Satoru’s warm fingers resting on his skin.

“Could you trust me, just this once, without me telling you everything?”

Suguru’s stomach turned when he recalled that Shoko had mentioned Satoru had witnessed
multiple visions.

“I need you to answer a question for me,” he said in a hushed voice. “How many years did
Satoru spend on these visions?”

The woman looked uncomfortable, and she averted her gaze. “Perhaps that is something you
should ask him directly—“

“Please,” Suguru said, reaching for his wallet again. “I’ll pay whatever you want, I just—”

She frowned and rejected his money with a wave. Before speaking again, her eyes softened
when they met his. “He was truly desperate to find a way to help you. Overall, he offered
thirty years.”

The revelation was like a knee to the gut, and Suguru lost his breath.

He'd hesitated to give up more than six years, but thirty?

Thirty years was insane.

How could Satoru do something so stupid?

Why would he go so far?

“Suguru…I will always..."

It wasn’t true, it wasn’t true!

But how could it not be true?

The old woman took his hand in both of hers, and Suguru blinked down at her. He hadn’t
realized how cold he’d become until her hands warmed his.
“Suguru," she said softly. "I know things may seem hopeless at the moment. But you must
not forget how much your friends love you."

He held his breath, speechless, as fresh tears stung his eyes. "One of them in particular has
demonstrated what he's willing to give up to save you,” she continued, and gave his hand a
light squeeze. “Now it's up to you to decide what you're willing to give up to save yourself.”

Suguru was in a numb haze the entire way back to Jujutsu High. But as soon as he stepped
through the threshold of his dorm room and shut the door, he allowed the feelings he’d been
suppressing to rise to the surface. An overwhelming wave of sadness, anger and shame
crashed into him and took the very strength from his legs. So he curled up on the step that
divided the genkan from the rest of his room and cried.

Last spring, he’d claimed that he trusted Satoru but he’d proven himself wrong. It was true
that Satoru had kept something from him, but he'd sworn to tell him everything some day and
now he understood why that was. Satoru could not have given him a valid explanation for
why he was monitoring his movements without revealing details about the vision he was
trying to prevent. But Suguru had taken his omissions as personal offenses. The story he'd
told himself for months was that he was inferior to Satoru in every way, and he’d projected
those feelings onto him.

But the truth was that for as long as their friendship had existed, Satoru had never looked
down on him. He’d often sought his company and his opinions, and even gone so far as to
express his admiration for him. Clearly, Satoru was trying all he could to keep himself from
killing him someday. In the end, Suguru had done something bad enough to force his hand,
and he could only imagine it had something to do with his hatred of non-sorcerers and the
destruction of Jujutsu High. But Satoru had given up thirty years of his life for a glimpse into
the future to prevent any of it from coming to pass.

In more ways than he could comprehend, Satoru had expressed his love.

And what had Suguru done at the very first instance of his insecurity being triggered? He’d
thrown it all back in Satoru’s face, accusing him of being selfish and controlling. Of not
knowing what love was.

“You can stay the strongest alone, since it’s how you exist best.”

Suguru wished he could travel to the past so he could beat himself to a pulp.

How could he say something so awful to someone who had spent most of his life alone?
Someone who maybe didn’t know what love was because he’d never received it before, but
was trying so hard to provide it for Suguru in the ways that made sense to him?

He’d offered a large chunk of his life for what was practically an impossible mission because
it wasn’t up to him to change Suguru’s fate. He couldn’t change what Suguru held at his core.
Only Suguru could make that choice every day, to behave in a way that would bring him
closer to Satoru instead of further away.
But could he do that? Could he abandon the idea of removing the plague of mankind in favor
of Satoru’s much slower process? Wouldn’t he resent Satoru someday for thrusting this
choice upon him, whether intentionally or not?

But he was being foolish, wasn’t he? He already knew where his current plan ultimately led.
What point was there in attempting it if he was never going to accomplish what he set out to
do anyway? How could he justify making Satoru go through the ordeal of killing him over a
futile pursuit?

He chewed on his lower lip as bitter tears continued to pour down his face.

He was so tired of protecting people who did not deserve to be protected, and of watching his
colleagues die pointless deaths. Tired of the endless cycle of curse production and exorcism.
Tired of the elders and the jujutsu system as a whole.

But he was more tired of having nothing positive in his life. Nothing to dream about or to
look forward to.

He sighed and wiped his face with his sleeve. The choice was simple, really. He knew what
he had to do.

All he needed now was the courage to face Satoru again.

 Chapter 11

Satoru was awakened by the blare of his ringtone.

“It was approved,” Yaga sensei said in lieu of greeting, and Satoru shot up in bed.

“It was?”

“They know Tsukumo has been gathering foreign allies for years,” Yaga revealed, “but none
of them had been able to apply the amount of pressure necessary for a change like this.”

Satoru snorted. Of course the old bastards had only responded when facing an imminent
massacre. Part of him was relieved he wouldn’t have to go through with his threat while the
other was a little disappointed.

“Satoru,” Yaga said somberly, “I know you pushed for this to help your colleagues but don’t
forget the benefits apply to you too. Don’t let them go to waste.”

Satoru chuckled. “Are you giving me the green light to take a week-long vacation?”

“Do as you will.”

Satoru was taken aback by his response, and was momentarily speechless.

“I’m sure I don’t have to remind you to keep your guard up. As we speak, they’re doubling
their efforts to find a method that will nullify your technique. It’s only a matter of time before
they find another Inverted Spear of Heaven.”

Satoru hummed with contempt. It was not entirely out of the realm of possibility for the
higher ups to find another method to nullify Infinity, but that only meant he could not afford
to rely on it as heavily as he had in the past. He had to focus on strengthening every other
aspect of Limitless, including his slowly blossoming version of domain expansion.

“Got it,” he said simply, and was about to hang up when Yaga spoke again.

“Satoru…”

He hesitated, listening to a full ten seconds of silence before Yaga went on.

“...Thank you.”

His eyes widened. That was the first time he’d ever received explicit gratitude from Yaga, but
before he could respond, Yaga hung up.

He snickered. It must have taken a lot of pride swallowing for the old man to direct those two
words at him. He could definitely get used to that.
Just as he was about to set his phone down to get dressed, he noticed he had three new text
notifications from last night. His pulse spiked when he saw Suguru’s name attached to them.

hey

let’s talk after missions tomorrow

sleep well

Reading those simple messages had his heart climbing into his throat. He wanted so badly to
call him just to hear his voice, to tell him how much he missed him and needed him close.
But he managed to control himself enough to send a cool, simple reply.

ok

He waited with bated breath for another message to come in but after five minutes that felt
like thirty, there was nothing.

Satoru tried not to let his spirit fall. This was a good thing. Suguru was willing to talk to him
again, which was more progress than he’d expected in such a short amount of time. This was
good! He could work with this! He should be happy!

He was happy!

Just as he shut his eyes in defeat, his phone came alive with two pings that rang out in quick
succession.

text me when you’re done

be safe

Satoru let out an incredulous laugh and held the phone to his chest as his heart soared. He’d
convinced himself the rift between them had become irreparable, but if this wasn’t a sign of
hope, he didn’t know what was.

The site of Suguru’s final mission of the day was a mountain village in such a remote area
that it took a thirty minute hike through dense forest on top of an hour-long drive to get there.
The forest was thick enough to block much of the afternoon sunlight for most of the trip until
he arrived at the clearing that revealed the village itself. Overall, there were around twenty
homes with a few miscellaneous buildings that included a meeting hall, a school and a
medical clinic.

As he scanned the area, he noticed there was a single windowless building that was in worse
condition than the rest. Interestingly enough, that was the one spot where he could sense the
most cursed energy apart from the cursed spirits that lurked in the shadows.

He stored that observation in the back of his mind and went about exterminating the myriad
of grade 1 and 2 curses that had been terrorizing the villagers for months. Most of the spirits
were brainless creatures, but the most vicious showed signs of intelligence, and he suspected
those were the ones responsible for the grave injuries three of the villagers had suffered in the
worst incident to date.

After ingesting the ones he’d found potentially useful and eliminating the rest, he arrived at
the seemingly abandoned building and stood at the entrance for a moment. The waves of
cursed energy that emanated from within were overwhelming in their might but also unlike
the uncontrolled, filthy energy that oozed from non-sorcerers. Suguru recognized this as
distinctly sorcerer energy; it reminded him of the way cursed energy had felt in his body as a
child during his first failed attempts to harness it.

He scowled as he realized that, just as it had occurred in his case, the energy’s overwhelming
quality was due to its being saturated in despair. He tried the door, but it was locked.

“Nothing to see here,” called a hoarse voice from behind him.

Suguru turned to find a pair of villagers, an old woman and a stocky middle-aged man,
hurriedly advancing toward him.

“You’re that kid from the temple, right? They mentioned someone would be coming this
week,” the woman said, narrowing her eyes. The hoarse voice belonged to her.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” asked the man with a glare. “We don’t need novices
getting themselves killed around here.”

Suguru smiled dryly. “I’ve taken care of the problem but I need to check this building, just to
be thorough.”

“No need for that,” the man said with a dismissive wave. “There’s nothing there, so get
going.”

Suguru’s smile remained unperturbed. “I was not aware I was speaking to fellow experts. I
take it you won’t require assistance when the monsters return because they were not
eliminated properly?”

The man’s face turned beet red as he stepped into Suguru’s personal space. “You arrogant
little—“

“It’s fine,” the woman snapped, stopping the man with a hand on his shoulder. “He’s
eliminating the monsters, after all,” she said, and exchanged a meaningful glance with him
before gesturing toward the door. “Open it.”

The man let out an indignant huff, but eventually pulled a key from his jacket pocket and did
as she ordered.

As soon as the door creaked open, Suguru heard a soft whimper from inside and the waves of
despair intensified. Given that there were no windows at all, the only light came from the
entrance and two sad little candles that probably wouldn’t last another hour. When the
woman shut the door again, Suguru's eyes took some time to adjust to the darkness, but once
they did and he was able to recognize what he was looking at, he froze. Before him stood a
prison cell that held two trembling figures.

He was able to make out further details when the man lit an oil lamp. The figures were two
small girls huddled together for warmth. They wore filthy summer dresses and sandals
despite it being close to winter. While they both appeared to have been beaten severely, the
girl with the darkest hair had an eye that was swollen shut. Suguru could hear them both
wheezing with every breath they took.

“What is this?” he demanded, trying to keep his voice even despite his blood simmering in
his veins.

“What do you mean?” the man asked with a scoff. “They’re the cause of all this!”

“No, they are not.”

The man was relentless. “Those two are using their weird powers to attack the villagers!”

Suguru’s hands clenched into fists and his response came out strained as he reminded the
stupid fucking monkey: “I’ve already dealt with the cause of the incident.”

The woman pointed a claw-like finger at the girls and raised her voice. “My grandson was
nearly killed by these two!”

Upon hearing the accusation, the children flinched and spoke up. “That was because—“

“Shut up you monsters!” she screeched. “We should’ve killed you when you were born!”

Suguru shut his eyes and rubbed his temple as it throbbed with rage. His jaw clenched when
memories he’d long suppressed began to flood the darkness behind his eyelids.

Murmurs at the market as his mother tugged him by the hand hard enough to hurt.

He’s such a creep.

Mommy said he’s wrong in the head.

Don’t go near him, what if it’s contagious!

That poor woman. I would’ve smothered him in his sleep .

His father’s tirades whenever he came home from school black and blue. Why can’t you just
pretend to be normal? Don’t you see you’re killing your mother?

The kids at school beating him in front of teachers who never did anything to stop it.

Haven’t learned your lesson yet, freak?

Go kill yourself!
Suguru opened his eyes and unclenched his fist to release a small curse that was only visible
to the girls. They gasped and cowered when they saw it, but it only squeaked, “It’ll be okay,
it’ll be okay.”

“Release them,” he ordered.

“What!”

“Like hell we will!”

Suguru generously gave them a second chance. “I said release them. Now.”

The woman was aghast. “You have no right to tell us what to do with those animals,” she
hissed. “Now get out of here!”

Suguru ignored her and employed a curse to rip the cell door from its hinges.

“How dare you?!” she shrieked, and the man ran at him.

Suguru didn’t spare him a glance as one of his spirits flung him across the room. The old
woman screamed and lunged at Suguru too, but he easily sidestepped her attack and she lost
her footing, tumbling to the ground. There was a crack of bone breaking when she landed and
he stared blankly at her, unmoved by her wails of pain.

Instead, he took a few steps and crouched before the girls. “Hi, I’m Suguru,” he said with a
soft smile. “What are your names?”

The girls exchanged a glance before the blond opened her mouth. “I’m–”

She was interrupted by the man behind Suguru bellowing, “You piece of shit!” and hurling
the oil lamp in their direction. The girls screamed but Suguru reacted quickly, sheltering the
girls and himself with a powerful curse. The oil lamp crashed and shattered against its thick
hide, spreading fire along every surface the oil touched and beyond.

Another curse grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

Suguru removed his uniform jacket and draped it over the girls. “I’ll be right back,” he said
and stood. The thick-skinned curse expanded, forming a dome around the girls. Suguru had
chosen it specifically, not only to protect them from physical harm, but also to shield them
from what he was about to do.

The fire continued to spread across the rotten beams that made up the walls and roof, but
Suguru barely felt the heat. He held the real fire within, his chest alight with a twisted
excitement as he slowly approached the man. The bastard choked and squirmed under the
curse’s iron grip, eyes bulging in horror. The entire time, the woman had not stopped
screaming. Suguru had another spirit drag her behind him. She clawed at the floor, trying to
get away, but she was no match for a grade 2 curse. It flung her against the wall beside the
choking man.
The curse in charge of squeezing his neck released him, and he landed in a gasping heap
beside her.

“Please!” she begged. “Please don’t hurt us! We’ve done nothing wrong!”

Suguru let out a bark of laughter. “You’ve done nothing wrong?” he sneered, eyes ablaze
with disgust. “You really are worse than shit.”

The curse shoved her head into the ground hard enough to break a few facial bones. She
blubbered unintelligibly as it scraped her face across the splintered floor.

“Worse than the maggots that feed on shit.”

The man threw himself at his feet and grasped his leg.

“S-stop!” he wheezed, looking up at him like a petrified rat. “Please! Leave us alone!”

Suguru was repulsed. He had the curse pry the man’s fingers off him, crushing every bone in
his hands as it went. The man fell back, screaming and writhing in pain.

He glowered down at the pair, nowhere near moved by their pathetic groveling. In fact, he
was quite looking forward to watching them burn alive.

“You don’t deserve the air you breathe.”

Eager to make it back to Jujutsu High, Satoru sped through most of his missions. The last one
took place at a national park that was primarily known for being a dumping ground used by
numerous organized crime syndicates. The curses produced as a result of the terror
experienced by victims and by those who found their bodies had lingered and multiplied for
decades. For that reason, Satoru now found himself exorcizing dozens of grade 1 curses at a
time. But it was child’s play.

In fact, since he was in a relatively good mood, he was having a little fun allowing the curses
to fight their hardest to survive before striking them down. He was in the middle of playing a
deadly game of tag with one of them when he received a call from Mei-san.

“Yo!” he answered, not even a little out of breath.

Mei-san was quiet for a second then she snorted. “What are you doing?” she asked,
amusement coloring her voice.

“My job?”

“You sound cheerful. Almost like you’re having fun.”

Satoru hummed and crushed one of the curses he caught with the heel of his foot.

“Maybe a little,” he admitted.

“Well, sorry to cut it short,” she said, not sounding sorry at all, “but you might wanna check
what your boyfriend’s up to.”

Satoru froze. “What do you mean?”

“Not sure what’s going on exactly. He went into a shack with two villagers and a fire started
but they haven’t come out yet.”

The description injected a shot of panic into Satoru's veins. “Tell me where he is."

In a matter of seconds, before Mei-san had finished giving him the information, he’d
eliminated the five remaining grade 1 curses and started in the direction of the village.

It was a half an hour drive south of the national park, but Satoru knew that waiting for a cab
or one of the assistant managers would take much longer. In addition to strengthening RCT
and attuning Infinity, he’d been training his ability to bend space in order to teleport from one
point to another. For now, he could only do so in bouts of short distances–-less than a
kilometer at a time. But between those bouts and his running, he knew he could make it in a
fraction of the time.

He smelled the smoke a few kilometers before he saw it. With adrenaline as his driving force,
he reached the outskirts of the village in less than ten minutes.

He tried to keep a level head but it was easier said than done. He could not afford to have a
panic attack when he was trying to stop Suguru from committing the biggest mistake of his
life but he could also feel his blood pressure rising uncontrollably. Because he was unable to
run RCT and Limitless simultaneously, the teleportation was draining his energy quickly.

While following the trail that led directly to the village, he managed to keep himself
composed until he heard the voice he’d been longing to hear for days.

“...I’ll try my best to stay.”

Satoru’s heart hammered wildly as he took in and tried to make sense of the scene before
him. Two of Suguru’s cursed spirits floated in front of him, and at first glance, it appeared as
though he was speaking to them. But Satoru knew Suguru did not use such a soft tone with
cursed spirits. He would never pat a creature he found disgusting so affectionately over the
head.

In an instant it became apparent to Satoru that the flying curse held two small girls wrapped
in both Suguru’s jacket and a long, furry curse. His mouth opened and closed in shock when
he recognized them as the children from the final vision. It was too late.

He was too late.

Whatever horrible thing Suguru had decided to do…it had happened already…

Suguru’s head snapped in his direction when he sensed him.

“Satoru,” he said, expression mirroring the shock Satoru felt at his core. “What are you doing
here?”

Satoru was breathing heavily from both exertion and fear. His eyes were wide and pleading
as he approached him.

“Suguru,” he said, taking Suguru’s face in his trembling hands. “What…what did you do?”

Beside them the girls made soft, frightened sounds. One of them sounded like she was about
to cry.

Suguru’s startled gaze flickered between each of Satoru’s eyes then down to his lips. It
lingered there for a moment, during which Satoru felt a spark of hope that all was not lost.
Suguru had not done something irredeemable and they could go back home like nothing ever
happened. Satoru ached to kiss him; his mouth was right there, so close and tempting, he
could almost taste it. But he somehow managed to rein the desire in. He needed Suguru to
ease his worst fears first.

When Suguru’s lips finally parted to speak, however, his reassuring words were not directed
at him.

“It’s okay, girls. Don’t be scared.”

Satoru’s heart dropped. His jaw clenched as a bitter sense of betrayal washed over him and he
released Suguru’s face. He disregarded the heavy exhaustion in his limbs and folded space
again to enter the village itself.

Before he completed the hand signs, he heard, “Wait, Sato—“ but the sound was cut off along
with the distance between him and the center of the village. The cold grip of terror tightened
around his throat again as he braced himself for what he was about to witness.
 Chapter 12
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

A shield of cursed energy was enough to keep Suguru safe from the effects of the fire, but the
pair of villagers began to suffocate on the billowing smoke.

He smiled as he watched them choke, their eyes red and streaming tears. The fire was getting
closer, and somehow, they found the strength to try to crawl away. The man’s pant leg caught
on fire first. He rolled and kicked in a panic, forgot his hands were mangled when he tried to
use them to put out the fire and shrieked with pain once more. Suguru watched, entertained,
as he flailed wildly and after much effort managed to wiggle out of his trousers and kick them
away.

“Look at you go,” he snickered.

The man appeared to receive a burst of adrenaline-fueled energy and crawled faster, leaving
the old woman behind. Her expression was distraught as she watched him abandon her.

“Oof,” Suguru said, crouching down beside her with a smirk. “Even I think that’s cold.”

The one eye she had left stared at him, horrified, then rolled to the back of her head. She
dropped with a heavy thud.

Suguru’s smile froze on his face as the sound of her body flopping like a sack of potatoes
shook something in his brain. He was immediately dragged back to the vision he’d witnessed
the night before, specifically the moment his own lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

Fuck.

What was he doing?

The image of future Satoru’s despair made a pit form in his stomach. Rage had blinded him
so completely, he’d forgotten everything he’d learned the night before. A fresh bout of shame
bloomed in his gut but despite its intensity, when he tried to move to fix his mistake, his body
refused.

He couldn’t bring himself to save them after what they’d done. He couldn’t do it.

Satoru had held him in his arms and touched his cheek so gently…

Suguru’s hands clenched into fists as he made a second attempt. His chest ignited with an
entirely different kind of flame. This one actually turned against him and burned every time
he thought about saving them. Fuck! He couldn’t! He really couldn’t do it!

Satoru had pressed a final kiss to his forehead.

Suguru’s teeth ground together as angry tears seared his eyes. Why did he have to save
people who deserved to die? It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair! He’d rather be skinned alive than
lift a finger for their sake. Fuck them! Fuck them all!

“Suguru…I will always love you.”

Fuck!

Suguru squeezed his eyes shut and let out a frustrated shout.

It really felt like he might just die if he didn’t finish what he started. But he also knew that
going through with his greatest desire at the moment would only force Satoru to kill him
someday. He would be the reason Satoru’s life was shortened by several decades in vain.

Satoru of the future had loved him despite all the awful things he’d done. Things Suguru
didn’t even know he was capable of yet. He understood that in order for Satoru to continue
holding those feelings for him, a sacrifice of his morals had been necessary to some extent.
Suguru had never been the recipient of unconditional love before, but even he understood that
was the closest he’d ever get.

What kind of monster would he be if he couldn’t sacrifice something in return? As the

fortune teller had said, it was up to him to decide what he was willing to give up to save
himself. And he wanted to live. But ultimately, what mattered most was that he couldn't bear
to be the cause of Satoru’s agony someday. Killing two measly monkeys--or even an entire
village of them--wasn’t worth it.

With a surge of strength and quite a bit of profanity, he broke through the mental manacles
that held him in place. He used a single curse to lift the barely conscious villagers and
squeezed their faces until they resembled bloated fish.

“The girls were never here,” he said, eyes burning with fury. “Say it.”

The woman whimpered in pain while the man spat at him.

The cursed spirit Suguru had employed to crush fingers continued its work on the man’s
forearms until he was thrashing and wailing again.

“They were never here!” the man cried. “They never existed! You saved us! You saved us
from the monsters and the fire! You saved us!”

Suguru smirked. “Not bad.” Then he narrowed his eyes. “If that story changes, I will be back
for you and the rest of the village.”

“Yes! Yes!”

Suguru squeezed the woman’s bloody face harder and despite only being semiconscious, she
gave a weak nod.

With that, he took them out of the burning building and dumped them outside the medical
clinic. Alarmed villagers had begun to approach the burning building. But as soon as they
laid eyes on the wounded pair outside the clinic, some hurried to provide assistance while
others stayed back to extinguish the flames.

Meanwhile, Suguru used a cursed spirit to fly him and the girls into the forest, away from
view. As soon as they were a safe distance away, he hopped off the spirit. This one took a
significant amount of cursed energy to keep in the air, and that amount only multiplied when
the load it had to carry increased. But it was also too cold to have the girls walking around in
dresses and sandals. Therefore, for the rest of the trip back, he decided to let the girls ride
along while he walked. To temporarily ease their freezing limbs, he summoned a particularly
furry curse that resembled an oversized ferret to wrap around them and keep them warm.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed the girls’ facial features were remarkably similar, so he
supposed they were either twins or sisters who were not even a full year apart. While they
both eyed him with suspicion, the blonde displayed more curiosity about the cursed spirit
around them while the brunette held onto her, shivering.

Suguru raised the flying spirit a bit higher so they were at eye level with him.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch your names before,” he said amicably. “Could you tell me again?”

“Nanako,” the blonde said with little hesitation, and when the brunette remained quiet, she
added, “That’s Mimiko.”

“Nice to meet you,” he replied with a nod. “The ugly creatures you see are called curses.
Some of them are meaner than others so try to stay away from them if you can. These won’t
harm you because I control them.”

The ferret curse wiggled around them, and the girls giggled.

“See?” he said, happy to see them at ease as they burrowed themselves into the ferret’s fur.

Nanako perked up and asked, “Can we do that, too?”

Suguru hummed thoughtfully. “For now, I don’t know anyone else who can control them.
Many people who see curses have a special ability that is unique to them so maybe someday
you’ll have an ability that’s even cooler than mine.”

Nanako’s eyes widened. “Really?” she asked, astonished. “So…so does that mean there’s
more people like us?”

“That’s right. I can take you somewhere reserved for people like us. It’s a school where you’ll
learn all about curses. Would you like to come with me?”

Mimiko tugged the back of Nanako’s dress and Nanako leaned closer to her as she whispered
something in her ear. Nanako straightened again and passed the question along.

“If we go to that place, will you be there?”

Suguru paused and considered the question carefully. After what he’d done to the villagers,
he’d have to face severe consequences. It was possible he’d even be expelled from Jujutsu
High, so he couldn’t promise that he’d be there. But that was unlikely given how short-
staffed they were, especially with sorcerers above grade 1. If allowed to stay, he’d be willing
to apply his earnings to the girls’ room and board at Jujutsu High until they were old enough
to decide what they wanted to do. If he wasn’t allowed to do that, he’d find another way, even
if it meant shamelessly asking Satoru for help.

The future was uncertain for the three of them, but of at least one thing, Suguru was sure.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you anymore.”

Nanako’s eyes went wide again, and Mimiko finally emerged from behind her with a wobbly
lower lip. Her brows pinched as she asked in a tiny voice, “Are you…going to leave us?”

Suguru’s heart clenched, but he patted her head and offered what he hoped was a reassuring
smile.

“I promise, I’ll try my best to stay.”

The crowd of villagers in charge of putting out the fire had almost managed to get it under
control when Satoru slipped past them into what remained of the crumbling building. Some
of the men shouted for him to stop, but he ignored them. Cloaked in the safety of Infinity, he
carefully examined the area, fully expecting to find a charred corpse or two.

But he found none.

He did, however, find evidence of a violent scene: bits of blood on the wall and a whole lot of
it on the floor. A few broken teeth, chipped nails and scratches on the floor. It was easy for
special grade sorcerers to hide their residuals--essentially the equivalent of fingerprints for
jujutsu--if they focused hard enough. Both he and Suguru usually did in order to keep their
movements untraceable by less than friendly entities. So the fact that Suguru’s residuals were
splashed all over the scene spoke of an intense, emotional loss of control and Satoru could
only gape at his surroundings for a moment.

If the two villagers he’d seen in the vision were the recipients of such violence and were still
alive, it was entirely possible they wouldn’t be for long. He glanced at the remaining bars of
what used to be a prison for two small children and decided he couldn’t fault Suguru for
losing his shit. What he found more surprising was that he hadn’t finished the job and let the
corpses burn with the rest of the evidence.

Was it possible something had changed his mind halfway through? Satoru couldn’t imagine
what that could be, but it was nothing short of a miracle.

Satoru shut his eyes and took a deep breath. The panic in his veins began to fade. He
supposed it didn’t really matter what had changed Suguru's mind. In the end, he trusted
Suguru’s judgment above anyone else’s and if he’d delivered such punishment upon those
pieces of shit, it was because they’d deserved it. Satoru didn’t care what happened to them
now. What mattered now was that Suguru would face severe consequences if the pair died of
their injuries and his residuals were found at the scene.

He released the breath and focused his cursed energy into the palm of his hand. Within it, a
soft blue orb expanded and immediately began to attract matter to it. Satoru guided it gently
over every piece of evidence that could potentially be used against Suguru. It all groaned and
creaked as it disintegrated until all that remained were ashes and the blackened bones of a
collapsing building.

Satoru stepped out, ignoring the startled crowd of villagers that watched him as he moved in
the direction of the medical clinic. There was another chattering crowd there, too.

Because his appearance was alarming to most people, many of the villagers moved aside
when he entered the clinic. It was small and it only took a few steps into the building to see
rows of empty beds divided by striped curtains. He quickly reached the very end of the rows
to the left, where all the commotion was taking place. Nurses and doctors shouted about
vitals and medications while presumable loved ones stood by the side, arguing and crying.

Satoru recognized the wounded pair from the vision, but just barely. Half of the old woman’s
face had been sliced to a bloody pulp and one of her legs sat at an awkward angle, clearly
broken. Her bloody fingertips revealed she was the owner of the nails he'd found on the
scratched floor. Meanwhile, the man’s condition was not much better. His head bled
profusely while his neck held a dark ring of bruises. But the worst of his injuries were
definitely at his upper extremities, which were completely shattered and purple from the
elbows down. His fingers stuck out in unnatural directions while it appeared his forearms had
been twisted like pretzels. They both wheezed and coughed despite the oxygen that was being
provided via masks and as soon as they saw Satoru in his uniform, they began to flail around
in their beds.

The man shouted, eyes wide with terror. “You–your friend! He saved us! Those monsters–
they caused a fire and–and he saved us!”

Satoru froze, unsure he’d heard correctly. “He saved you?”

“Yes! Yes! He saved us!” he screamed over and over.

It took a moment for Satoru to recover from the shock, but eventually he was able to ask,
“Was there anyone else?”

At this, the woman screeched, “Who else?! There was nobody else!”

Satoru caught the surprise on the surrounding family members’ faces. It was obvious they
were lying. He turned his attention to a bearded man who looked particularly confused and
drilled his eyes into him as he asked. “Was there anyone else?”

The bearded man gulped and turned to the old woman. “Mom, what happened to–-”

“Nobody!” The old woman screeched at her son, “You shut your stupid mouth! There was no
one else!”
Satoru could tell the man was frightened out of his mind. Clearly, he and the rest of the
present family members had known about the two girls being locked up in the cell and were
afraid of getting in trouble for it. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if every single villager was
complicit in their confinement and abuse.

As for the residuals that remained on the ‘victims’ themselves, Satoru was not concerned at
all. Both the man and woman had already secreted enough of their own cursed energy to
cover any traces of Suguru. Satoru would have recognized Suguru's residuals as soon as he
saw the pair, but he’d sensed nothing.

Once more, he fixed his gaze on the bearded man and hardened his tone.

“Answer me. Was there anyone else?”

The man trembled, eyes flickering back to Satoru in an attempt to hold his gaze but he only
succeeded in shrinking further into himself. Ultimately, he dropped his gaze and shook his
head.

Satoru left the village with a nonchalant attitude that disappeared as soon as he found cover
beneath the dense foliage of the surrounding trees. Relief seeped into his bones at first, but a
hint of doubt cut off the steady flow.

Was it possible that Suguru wouldn’t go on a killing spree anymore? Had he truly changed
his mind, or was he never going to go through with it in this particular village? Thinking back
to the actual vision Satoru had witnessed, it occurred to him that he hadn’t actually seen
Suguru murder anyone. The vision had ended before he'd made his choice.

What if this wasn’t the major catalyst he’d assumed it was? What if this was only the
beginning of Suguru gaining a taste for non-sorcerer blood? What if there was another event,
one that involved mass murder, that Satoru was unaware of because the psychic had refused
to accept more of his lifetime payment?

He walked around in a daze, until the relief in his bones felt more like lead. This wasn’t the
end. It made no sense for Suguru to change course out of the blue.

After only a few more steps, his chest began to constrict. He sank onto the gnarly roots of the
closest tree, too heavy to stay on his feet anymore. He’d never get used to the feeling of
helplessness. It was about as pleasant as vomit crawling into the back of his throat.

“You can stay the strongest alone, since it’s how you exist best.”

What if Suguru was right and he was always meant to be alone?

What if none of this was for Suguru’s sake, but his own? What if changing Suguru’s fate had
been a cover for his own struggle against the fate that awaited him?

He’d lived almost the entirety of his life being known as the strongest. Not ‘first and
foremost’ the strongest, but simply the strongest and nothing else. No other characteristics.
He was used to it, had absorbed that identity into every cell of his body. Because who was he
otherwise? And why would he matter?

Only Suguru had bothered to discover the answer to those questions and he was currently
working on leaving Satoru behind to find himself.

When his breath began to grow shallow, he closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands.
Following one of Shoko's grounding exercises, he focused on the sounds around him.

Above him, leaves brushed against each other in an undulating symphony. A small creature
scurried within the tree he rested on, claws scratching at the bark with every jerky movement.
He attempted to take a deep breath and found that it was easier, if a little shaky still. Before
him, he heard the crunch of footsteps coming to a stop. He knew Suguru was being
intentionally loud so as not to startle him, but he’d caught a hint of his scent in the air long
before he heard him.

“Satoru.”

Somehow, despite the biting cold, Suguru’s hands were warm as they gently pulled Satoru’s
hands away from his face. But perhaps anything was warmer than he was, at the moment.

He opened his eyes to find Suguru crouched in front of him, his expression soft as he studied
him quietly.

“Are you okay?”

Satoru bit down on his lower lip to keep it from trembling, but it did nothing to keep the tears
from blurring his vision.

“No,” he said, and forced a weak smile when they began to spill over his cheeks.

Suguru’s eyes widened, and Satoru couldn’t help but laugh at his expression. It occurred to
him that because he’d never cried in front of anyone before, he’d never witnessed a reaction
to his breaking down either. It was kind of funny, how scared Suguru looked. Satoru’s crying
face must be terrifying indeed!

After a moment, Suguru recovered his voice.

“I won’t lie to you,” he said quietly, “I wanted to burn it down. The entire village. And I
would have because I hate them. I hate that they get to live carefree lives after what they’ve
done. And that everyone I care for has to fight to protect people like them. They don’t
deserve it, Satoru. And I stand by that.”

Satoru’s chest ached, but he nodded, partly in understanding and partly in acceptance of his
own defeat. He looked down at their entwined hands and vaguely wondered if this was the
last time they’d hold each other like this. How arrogant of him to think he could’ve done
anything to prevent this. To keep Suguru from feeling the way he did about the world around
him. To keep him from pursuing his goals independently of the affection he held for Satoru.

Suguru sighed and continued in a hushed voice. “But I know about the vision.”
Satoru’s heart stuttered. His eyes snapped up to meet Suguru’s again. The vision? What was
he saying?

“I know what you’ll have to do someday and…I can’t do that to you,” Suguru continued, and
Satoru could only stare as his bewildered brain struggled to process the meaning of his
words.

He held his breath as Suguru got even closer and placed a hand on his cheek. “I’m sorry I
didn’t trust you,” he murmured.

And Satoru felt something inside him snap. He let out an incredulous, shaky laugh. Then he
laughed harder, uncontrollably, until his stomach hurt and he couldn’t catch his breath. Then
his laughter morphed into broken sobs and his stomach still hurt so he curled into himself.
Against his will, he bawled like a child, body heaving as he made sounds that had never
come out of him before.

Suguru took him into his arms, and it only served to make the sounds worse.

“Satoru?” Suguru asked, sounding genuinely alarmed. “I’m sorry, I was awful. Please, I…I’m
so sorry.”

Suguru did not know what to do.

Inside his panicked brain all he could hear was:

No no no no

Don’t break, don’t break

I don’t know what to do

Please don’t break!

Satoru kept crying so hard, all Suguru could do in his utter uselessness was hold him. But
maybe if Infinity hadn’t rejected him already, it was because that was what Satoru needed.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated softly for the dozenth time. “But you’re such an idiot.”

He found Satoru’s face and forced him out of hiding. “Thirty years?” he demanded, feeling
desperately sad. “How could you throw your life away like that?”

“I didn’t—didn’t think it would matter–”

Sadness quickly turned to anger at such stupid words. Did Satoru truly value his own life so
little?

“What the hell does that mean? Of course it matters! Fucking asshole,” Suguru snapped,
shoving him roughly before tugging him back into a hug. “What were you thinking?”
Satoru’s arms wound around him and he sniffled a few times before his voice finally
emerged, subdued.

“The psychic said it was almost impossible to accomplish what I set out to do. So I figured,
in the likely case that I failed…those would be thirty fewer years I’d have to live without
you.”

Suguru stiffened as the words delivered a dagger straight to his heart.

“I can’t lose you,” Satoru managed between sniffly hiccups and the dagger in Suguru’s heart
twisted. He tightened his hold around him.

“You won’t.”

Satoru turned his face, seeking, and his nose grazed along Suguru’s cheek for a moment
before their lips met. Suguru held his face in his hands. Satoru's tear-streaked cheeks were so
cold, but the warmth of his breath reached deep enough to melt the blade embedded in
Suguru’s heart.

“You won’t,” Suguru soothed between achingly soft kisses. “I promise, you won’t.”

And Satoru melted into him, allowing relief to flood him this time because he believed
Suguru. He believed his promises above those of anyone else. Perhaps to an outsider, that
could be considered madness, but Satoru was madly in love. He’d lost his mind for his best
friend long ago.

So he kissed Suguru until his lips hurt, and then some more. And when he’d been drained of
every heavy emotion in his chest, he parted from Suguru’s mouth and buried his face into his
neck. He closed his eyes and allowed his scent to fill and overwhelm him with comfort.

They remained molded together for a long time.

Satoru felt like his insides had been scraped raw with a spoon. If this was what crying did to
someone, he really couldn’t understand why people did it so often. But he did enjoy being
held and having Suguru’s fingers threading through his hair. It was nice. There were probably
health benefits to it. Even if there weren’t, he was sure he could convince Suguru that was the
reason he wanted to partake in it for at least thirty minutes a day from now on.

For now, he had no intentions of letting him go until he got his first full dose, but the sound
of muffled whispers reminded them that they were not alone.

Suguru broke away first and stood.

“Come on,” he said, and offered his hand. Once there was enough distance for Satoru to
study his face clearly, he realized Suguru’s eyes were teary, too. But Suguru smiled
reassuringly and Satoru took his hand.
He followed him a few meters deeper into the forest until they arrived at the bundle of cursed
spirits floating in the air.

Two heads poked out from around a long, furry curse and warily stared at Satoru. Waves of
uncontrolled cursed energy flowed from them almost aggressively.

Suguru’s voice grew softer when he addressed them. “It’s okay, girls. This is Satoru. He’s
my…uh…my friend.”

Satoru stepped forward with a snort and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m his boyfriend.
Who are you?”

The girl with the blond hair lifted an eyebrow and asked Satoru, “Why were you crying?”

Now that he wasn’t trying to intimidate villagers, Satoru smoothly flipped his sunglasses over
his eyes.

“I asked you first.”

The girl’s eyes flickered from him to Suguru and back to him. “I’m Nanako and she’s
Mimiko,” she replied. “Can you see curses too?”

“Yup,” Satoru said, leaning in. “And even with these on,” he tapped his glasses, “I can see
more than you.”

At this, Nanako’s mouth dropped and she stood in an effort to tower over him.

“I can see more than you!” she argued.

“No you can’t.”

“Yes I can!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah-huh!!”

Suguru cleared his throat and shot him a look. Satoru’s mouth was open, ready to continue
arguing for another ten minutes at least, but he huffed and reluctantly shut his mouth.

Nanako sat back down with a smug look on her face.

Suguru almost laughed at the pout on Satoru’s face but was distracted by the feeling of
fingers curling around his. He looked down to find Mimiko had stuck her hand out of the
ferret curse to grab his hand.

Suguru lifted his gaze to meet hers and smiled. His heart filled with a tender warmth when
she quietly smiled back.
 “Let’s go home,” he said, and she nodded.

Suguru led the way out of the forest, keeping her hand in his even after she’d fallen asleep.

Satoru walked on the other side of the curses, occasionally bickering with Nanako in a
hushed voice, as though Suguru wouldn’t be able to hear the ridiculous arguments they were
having. But he did not intervene. Most of the arguments ended with Nanako sticking her
tongue out at Satoru, anyway.

Clearly, Satoru was not above scrunching his face into an ugly imitation of hers and returning
the gesture.

Chapter End Notes

Congratulations! You've survived the angst! Yaaayyy T_T things can finally start to get
better <3

I feel like much of what I’ve set up in this fic has been leading up to this chapter
specifically so I hope I did it justice. Thanks for sticking by for this long :)
 Chapter 13
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Suguru entered the infirmary and sat in the waiting area. When he leaned his head back
against the wall, the fluorescent lights above were too harsh on his eyes so he closed them.
The emotionally heightened events of the day had finally caught up to him and exhaustion
seeped into his bones.

After dropping the girls off with Shoko earlier, he and Satoru had gone to report to Yaga
sensei. Despite Satoru’s apprehension, Suguru had told Yaga the truth of everything that
happened. He was prepared to receive whatever punishment their professor deemed
appropriate, but ultimately, he knew he’d need his help to secure the girls’ safety within
Jujutsu High. In order for that to happen, Suguru believed Yaga needed to know why he’d
acted the way he had and taken the girls from their wretched family. To his surprise, Yaga had
not reacted in the explosive way he’d expected. Instead, he'd remained quiet for an unnerving
amount of time before sighing.

“This is my fault,” he’d muttered, rubbing his forehead. “Too often I forget how young you
two really are.”

Suguru had exchanged a startled glance with Satoru. Was their professor having a stroke?
Could it be a case of spiritual possession? Or maybe it was some kind of trap to get them to
lower their guards before he beat the shit out of them.

“It was only a matter of time before something like this happened,” he'd said in response to
their confusion. “The things you went through after retrieving the Star Plasma Vessel were
out of the realm of normalcy even for more experienced sorcerers. Then you lost a close
friend shortly after. It was wrong of me to assume you'd remain unaffected and for that, I
apologize.”

Even Satoru, with his endless impertinence, had been rendered speechless by his words.

It was standard procedure for investigations to take place after civilians were injured during
any of their missions, and this would be no different. And while Suguru wasn’t suspended
from duty, Yaga strongly encouraged him to take advantage of the rest days they’d recently
been granted. Suguru had learned about the amendment to the sorcerer contracts, made
possible in part by Satoru’s brazen actions. It was technically good news, but something
about it had made him uneasy, though he hadn't been able to put his finger on the why.

Yaga had made it clear that he expected both of them to make the most of their new benefits
as soon as the mental health professionals were hired.

As for the girls, Yaga had agreed to let them stay until a permanent home could be found for
them. Despite Suguru offering to cover their expenses with his own income, Yaga had
reminded him that was not the issue. The Council could be kept in the dark only for so long,
but once they learned of their presence in the school, the girls would be expected to serve
Jujutsu High to remain under their protection. Combatant or non-combatant, as soon as their
techniques emerged, roles would be appointed to them whether they wanted to participate or
not.

“Besides,” Yaga had added, “they need full-time caretakers and age-appropriate schooling,
which are things we cannot offer here. You know this.”

Suguru had known. But that didn’t stop him from feeling disappointed and stupid. Clearly, he
hadn’t thought anything through. In his emotionally volatile state, he’d only been thinking of
getting the girls out of their abusive environment but he hadn’t thought of what was best for
them after that. Now it was entirely possible they’d end up in the foster system with another
non-sorcerer family, going from being mistreated in one way to being mistreated in another.

Perhaps his sullen silence during their walk to the dining hall had been the reason Satoru had
asked if he was alright. But he'd smiled and assured him he was. He didn’t want to burden
Satoru more than he already had. But Satoru wasn’t blind.

“You’re worried about them, aren't you?”

Suguru had dropped the facade faster than he’d intended.

“Yeah,” he'd admitted. “I don’t know if they’ll end up somewhere worse because of me.”

Satoru had been quiet for a long moment before asking, “What if they lived on the estate?”

Suguru had stopped in his tracks. “The estate?”

Satoru had stopped too, and cocked his head with obvious amusement. “You know...the Gojo
estate?” he'd said as if this wasn’t the first time he’d ever mentioned anything regarding his
family or life before Jujutsu High.

When Suguru had only stared back, he'd gone on: “The Council would have no interest in
them so they’d be safe there. They’d have the same sorcerer caretakers I did teaching them to
control their cursed energy, helping them develop their techniques, if they have any. And
personal tutors for every other boring subject.”

Suguru had paused to consider the possibility. In theory, it was the perfect solution. Nanako
and Mimiko would receive the best sorcerer education money could buy without attracting
any unnecessary attention from the elders. They’d be taken care of in every way, at least until
a permanent home was found for them.

“How long do you think they could stay?” he'd asked and Satoru had raised a brow.

“Forever?” he'd said, again, as if Suguru was the one not making any sense. “I thought that
was obvious.”

Suguru had let out an incredulous laugh. “What makes you think that was obvious?!”

Satoru had shrugged. “Well, that's what I meant.”

Suguru had continued walking while Satoru followed. Though he trusted Satoru in every
possible way, he was also skeptical of any group that wielded massive amounts of power, and
that included the Gojo clan.

“And the clan head would agree to take them in out of the goodness of his heart?” he'd asked,
doubtfully.

Satoru had chuckled, and jogged a short distance ahead just so he could block Suguru’s path.

“Silly Suguru,” he'd crooned in a way that made Suguru want to punch him in the nose. “I’m
clan head in all but name, you know. The Gojo clan’s greatest asset. They don’t say no to
me.”

Suguru had glared at him, but there'd been no real animosity behind it. In truth, he was deeply
uncomfortable asking Satoru to take on such a burden by himself. When he’d thought about
asking him for help, it had been more along the lines of dealing with the Council of Elders.
But this…

This felt like too much.

As if reading his mind, Satoru had smiled and leaned into his face.

“You know, the clan could take in fifty kids, cover a lifetime of expenses for each of them
and it still wouldn’t make a dent in the Gojo fortune.”

Suguru had scoffed. He couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to live with the kind of
funds Satoru described.

Satoru’s smile had twisted into a shit-eating grin.

“Sorry to ruin your struggling single dad fantasy or whatever.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Suguru had muttered with faux annoyance, and walked around him.

Satoru had snickered and followed close behind. When they'd reached the bottom of the
dining hall staircase, he'd asked, “So, is that a yes?”

Suguru had paused and stared back at him for a moment. In the dim twilight, his usually pale
face had held warmer tones. Distractingly pretty.

“You’d really do that for them?” he'd asked earnestly, and Satoru had closed the distance
between them to tentatively brush his knuckles against Suguru’s hand.

“I’d do it for you."

Suguru’s heart had simultaneously fluttered and ached as he'd wondered, is there anything he
wouldn’t do for me?

Uncaring that they were in full view of anyone who decided to walk by at the moment, he'd
taken Satoru’s hand and squeezed.
Though he hadn't been hungry at all, he'd managed to eat a banana while accompanying
Satoru as he scarfed down a full meal. Afterwards, he’d decided to go check on the girls
while Satoru went back to the dorms to shower.

“You look like shit. Go to bed already.”

Suguru opened his eyes to find Shoko standing in front of him, looking just as tired as he felt.
He grinned and asked, “How are they?”

She took a seat beside him and crossed her legs. “Dehydrated and malnourished but they’ll be
fine. I’ve healed the worst of their injuries, so they’re not in pain anymore. They were
waiting for you but fell asleep after I read them a book.”

Suguru frowned with disbelief. The image of Shoko reading children a bedtime story felt
strange in his head. Where would she even get a children's book?

“You read them a book?”

“Of embalming procedures, yes.”

Suguru snorted out a laugh and nodded. “Yeah. That’s more like you.”

“So,” she began, eyeing him closely with a smug grin on her face, “I take it you went to the
fortune teller?”

His smile faded a little as he looked down at his hands. “I did.”

“And?” she prompted.

“I’m sorry I was a dick,” he said, meeting her gaze again. “I get that you were only trying to
help.”

She shrugged. “It's not a real apology without snacks to back it up.”

Suguru grinned and nodded. "Noted. Congratulations, by the way.”

“For what?”

“You won’t be the only one keeping us from dying anymore.”

“Ha! That’s right. I get to go on vacation far, far away from here,” she said with a genuine
smile. “All thanks to that dumbass.”

When Suguru only hummed, she continued, “He did it for you, y’know?”

Suguru shook his head. “He did it for all of us.”

“Right,” Shoko snickered, “because he was such a revolutionary before he found out about—
that."
Though she’d caught herself before she could speak any details of the vision, Suguru knew
what she meant. The uneasy feeling returned, but he could identify where it came from now.
Shoko's statement was valid. Satoru himself had admitted that he hadn't cared about anyone
or anything before they'd met. Going up against the Council had only become an option when
he'd realized Suguru was suffering. And while Suguru doubted that had been Shoko's
intention, the understanding only brought another sting of guilt for being the main reason
Satoru put himself in danger before the elders. But he set the discomfort aside for now.

Having thought of the vision that started it all, a question he hadn’t considered before popped
into his head.

“Now that you mention it," he began, "how did you end up seeing the same vision Satoru did
that night?”

A less perceptive observer would have missed the way Shoko’s entire body froze for a
fraction of a second before she responded with a nonchalant, “You expect me to remember
that? It was almost a year ago and I was drunk.”

Suguru cocked a brow. "You weren't that drunk."

"Shitfaced," she insisted.

“Why are you being weird?” he asked, equally curious and amused. He'd caught scent of
something scandalous, and there was no way he was dropping it.

“I’m not being weird.”

He thought for a moment, racking his brain for memories of that night. “You were gonna ask
about your love life…”

He only remembered because at the time, he’d been shocked Satoru had claimed he was
going to ask about the same thing.

Shoko had said something like…she’d said…

“Gotta make sure the person I love is absolutely obsessed with me.”

Did that mean...

Shoko had a thing for...

When the realization clicked in his head, he didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t dare breathe.

Shoko sprung from her chair and pointed a finger directly in his face. “Whatever it is you’re
thinking, you’re wrong. So shut the fuck up.”

He raised his hands innocently. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Whatever your mind is saying, shut it the fuck up!”

Suguru’s eyes widened. In all the years he'd known her, this was the first time he'd seen
Shoko flustered. That could only mean it was true!

His mouth twisted as he struggled to keep the amusement off his face. “Sorry. It's cute.”

Shoko covered her face and groaned like she was in real pain. “Ugh! Get out of here! Just go
to your dumbass boyfriend and never speak of this again.”

When Suguru didn’t flinch at the term 'boyfriend', she dropped her hands and grinned
knowingly. “Wait. It’s official, isn’t it?”

Suguru's entire face grew hot. It wasn't that he was trying to deny it or keep their relationship
a secret, but he wasn’t entirely used to exchanging that term with Satoru yet. It didn’t feel
like enough to describe what Satoru meant to him. Partner, best friend, lover, savior.
Truthfully, no label could ever hold enough meaning to capture Satoru’s importance in his
life. Satoru was just Satoru. But if he wanted to call Suguru his boyfriend, Suguru had no
objections at all.

“Yeah,” he replied simply, and Shoko cheered. “Hell yeah! I win!”

“You win?”

“Mei, Utahime and I had a bet going on to see when you’d finally get together and I was the
closest by far!”

Suguru rubbed a hand over his face. His ears were on fire now, too. “It’s definitely time for
bed,” he muttered.

“With your boyfriend?” she crooned, and Suguru rolled his eyes. She cackled as he stood to
leave, but he paused in his tracks when he remembered something important.

“Hey,” he said seriously, “do you think he’ll keep getting panic attacks?”

Shoko shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Is there something I could do to help, if he does?”

“I taught him some grounding exercises to do when he feels one coming on but I could teach
you too.”

He nodded. “That’d be good. Thanks.”

The memory of Satoru breaking down in his arms was so fresh and painful that Suguru knew
he'd do anything to keep him from reaching that point again. To do that, he had to address the
root of Satoru's anxiety. After learning of all the things Satoru was willing to do for him,
Suguru felt like all he'd done to this point was take and take. But now, as an idea occurred to
him, he hoped Satoru would accept what he was willing to give.

...
Satoru collapsed on his bed with a heavy sigh.

He'd overdone it today with the teleportation. Not to mention, the adrenaline rush he’d
experienced when he’d pictured the worst case scenario had finally caught up to him. He fell
asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

A knock at the door woke him with a start, and when he blearily checked the time on his
phone, he discovered he’d only slept for an hour.

Somehow, he felt worse. His body weighed twice as much while his eyes and head throbbed
in time with his pulse. He dragged his feet to answer the door.

Suguru stood before him in a loose-fitting tee and sweats, fresh out the shower. He offered a
small grin.

“Can we talk?” he asked, and Satoru’s shoulders tensed but he managed to smile back.

Once he shut the door behind Suguru and no more light leaked in from outside, his bedroom
was pitch dark. His Six Eyes allowed him to see almost as clearly in the darkness as he did in
the light, but he could tell Suguru could no longer see anything as he stared in his general
direction instead of directly at him.

“Want me to turn the light on?” he asked, bracing himself for the stab in the eyeballs that
would provide, but Suguru shook his head.

“Your eyes hurt, don't they?”

Satoru blinked at him, surprised. “That obvious, huh?”

“Not really,” Suguru replied, “but my eyes hurt from crying, so I figured it’d be worse for
you.”

Satoru hummed in acknowledgment and reached for Suguru’s hand. Suguru’s fingers curled
around his and he led him through the darkness until they reached the edge of his bed. They
both sat.

“I also get these headaches every now and then,” he admitted. “RCT and painkillers don’t do
much. The only thing that’s helped is this massage Haibara did one time but I haven’t been
able to replicate it myself.”

Suguru’s expression dimmed at the mention of Haibara but he asked, “Want me to try?”

Satoru’s heart warmed at the suggestion.

“Sure,” he said, and proceeded to explain what he remembered of the trigger point release
Haibara had applied to his neck and head.

He remained seated while Suguru stood and took his place behind him. His hands settled on
Satoru’s head, gentle but solid as he pressed on the sharp spots and stretched Satoru's neck.
After only a few minutes, the pain eased significantly.
Satoru sighed and closed his eyes.

"Does that feel okay?" Suguru asked, and Satoru nodded.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked, and Suguru remained silent for a moment.

“I wanted to apologize,” he began softly. “That night…I said some fucked up shit to hurt
you.”

Satoru frowned and began to turn over his shoulder. “It’s fine, you don’t—“

“Just let me say it.”

Satoru reluctantly shut his mouth and turned forward again. Though Haibara had only
massaged his neck and head, Suguru's hands moved lower and proceeded to knead the
tension out of his shoulders as well.

“I felt…and still feel…unworthy of you,” Suguru said in a quiet voice, and Satoru barely
resisted the knee-jerk reaction to argue against such an outrageous statement. But Suguru was
sharing the most vulnerable parts of himself. The worst thing he could do was invalidate his
feelings. So he swallowed the need to be right and listened.

“I think that’s why I said those things. I’m still coming to terms with you surpassing me in
every way. I know it’s something I have to accept if I want to be with you. And I do.” His
hands paused. “I really do...but it still hurts.”

Satoru's chest was heavy with a deep sadness. This entire time, he’d been unaware that
Suguru had been feeling unworthy of being by his side. It broke his heart to think that maybe
his actions while trying to protect him had reinforced the negative beliefs Suguru held about
himself. That he continued to hurt because of Satoru's exponential growth. Though, he
supposed if it had happened the other way around, he'd probably never get over the fact that
Suguru's jujutsu was leagues above his own after having been equals for so long.

He didn't know what to say. Any attempts to reassure him or make him feel better would only
sound patronizing.

Feeling incredibly useless again, he found one of Suguru’s hands by his neck and brought its
palm to his lips. He hoped the gesture would communicate what he verbally could not.

Suguru leaned into his back, encompassing him in warmth.

“I’m sorry for hurting you,” he said into Satoru’s hair.

Satoru sighed and held him close. “It’s okay. Really.”

Suguru’s warmth shifted from his back to his side until it was gone completely and Suguru
was seated beside him. “There’s something else,” he said softly, taking his hand. “I want to
form a binding vow with you.”

Satoru studied him curiously. “What did you have in mind?”

“From this moment on, if I take deliberate action to kill non-sorcerers for any reason, I will
relinquish my cursed technique to you.”

Satoru swallowed hard. Relinquishing a cursed technique was the equivalent of relinquishing
one's soul.

“No," he said. "You get nothing out of that."

“I do. Your peace of mind, hopefully.”

Satoru shook his head. “I don’t want you to do that. I trust you.”

Suguru smiled. “And I believe you, but be honest with yourself. Your mind will never truly
be at ease, will it?”

Satoru pursed his lips. He couldn’t deny that there was truth to what Suguru said. If he was
completely honest with himself, no matter how much he trusted Suguru, there would always
be traces of doubt. If he and Suguru were to have a major disagreement in the future, he knew
the paralyzing fear would rear its ugly head again, making him question if this was the
argument that would take Suguru away from him. As uncomfortable as it was to admit, he
knew he'd worry every time that Suguru had finally decided to enact his plan against non-
sorcerers, despite everything they'd been through.

“Please accept,” Suguru insisted, squeezing his hand with both of his. “I don't..." his voice
trailed off, and the pained expression on his face made Satoru's chest hurt even more. "I have
nothing else to offer you.”

Satoru wanted to blow something up. He couldn’t stand the fact that Suguru felt indebted to
him. After all, the years he’d given up had been for his own selfish reasons more than for
Suguru’s sake. Anything else he'd done for Suguru had been to make him happy, not to hold
some fucked up score over his head.

He knew Suguru couldn’t see him in the darkness, so he leaned forward until their foreheads
touched. “Don't say that. You're already everything to me,” he whispered, tracing Suguru’s
cheekbone with his thumb. “You don’t have to do this. I swear, there’s no debt between us.”

Suguru shut his eyes and released a heavy sigh. “Satoru. Please.”

Satoru Gojo, the most powerful sorcerer in the world, had no defense against the one and
only person who made him weaker than gelatin. Anything he desired, wanted, needed…
Satoru would provide until there was nothing left for him to give. It was a fact of life. Which
meant that if this vow had the potential to soothe the ache in Suguru’s heart to some extent,
the decision was straightforward.

“Fine. I accept,” he murmured, and welcomed the soft pressure upon his lips when Suguru
leaned in to kiss him. Though he’d never created a binding vow before, he understood that
the momentary flare of cursed energy and shock of electricity he felt where Suguru’s mouth
met his was the seal of the vow locking their souls together. He grinned, and tilted his face to
deepen the kiss, unable to think of anything more disgustingly romantic.
Chapter End Notes

our boy is WHIPPED, i tell you!! 🤭

 Chapter 14
Chapter Notes

Happy birthday to my precious Geto! 🎂🥳🎉

Smutty chapter (and lots of cussing!) ahead, please note tags have been added. Skip the
area between horizontal lines if it's not your cup of tea 😊

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Suguru did not want to sleep.

Lying like this, with feather-soft hair occasionally tickling his nose and the rhythm of
Satoru’s breaths matching up with his own was better than any dream he’d ever experienced.
Despite the exhaustion in his bones, he wanted to be present for it. Because he was used to
sleeping alone and required space to spread out comfortably, he wasn’t much of a cuddler.
When they’d slept together before, Satoru had been the one to cling to him until they'd fallen
asleep. The automatic activation of Infinity while he was unconscious had eventually driven
them apart a little, but Suguru hadn't minded it.

Tonight was different, though.

Tonight he craved to feel Satoru’s warmth close to his heart, so he wrapped an arm around his
waist and held him tight. The fact that Infinity remained off even while Satoru was asleep
was also different. It made Suguru wonder if something had shifted in Satoru’s subconscious
after they’d formed the binding vow. Whatever the case was, he was grateful to be able to
weave his fingers between Satoru’s and keep breathing the pleasant scent at the nape of his
neck deep into the night.

They’d talked for a bit longer while Suguru massaged the tension out of Satoru’s back and
Satoru had fallen asleep during a lull in conversation. Suguru was glad his unskilled massage
had eased some of the discomfort he'd been feeling, or at least it had relaxed him enough to
get some sleep. He knew Satoru had overexerted himself today, and while physically he’d
mostly recovered with RCT, the emotional exhaustion was not something he could rush
recovery on.

As determined as Suguru was to stay awake, everything about a sleeping Satoru—from the
sound of his snoring to the limited amount of exposed skin Suguru had access to—was so
soft and comforting that he found himself being dragged under. He’d almost given in to the
heaviness of his eyelids when Satoru began to shift in his sleep and his ass pressed into
Suguru’s hips.

Suguru's heart stuttered and he froze. Heat began to seep below his waist. It had only been a
few days since they’d gotten off together and he’d had no mental space for anything of the
sort, but now, a simple graze against his crotch was enough to awaken the desire for intimacy
once more.

He took deep breaths and thought of unsexy things. Somehow, he managed to steady his heart
and convince his partial erection to calm down. When the urge finally passed, he closed his
eyes and waited for sleep to find him. But just as he was dozing off, it happened again.

This time, though, the way Satoru rubbed his ass against him made it obvious it was
intentional.

Suguru sighed and gave up trying to cool his body’s immediate response.

“Somebody’s horny,” Satoru teased, voice gruff from sleep.

“Are you surprised?”

“Nah,” Satoru said and continued to shamelessly grind against him. His voice lowered when
he asked, “Have you really thought about it before?”

Suguru held him by the hip, struggling to keep his breathing steady. “Thought of what?”

“Fucking me. You said you’d thought about it countless times. Was that all talk?”

The hand resting on Satoru’s hip trailed down the length of his thigh as Suguru replayed the
myriad of Satoru-centered fantasies he’d used to pleasure himself before he’d even accepted
he had romantic feelings for him. “No, it wasn’t,” he admitted, lips grazing Satoru’s earlobe.

Satoru’s voice became breathy when he asked, “You wanna do it?”

Suguru was taken aback. “Right now?”

“Got somewhere else to be?”

Suguru chuckled. “Does that mean your head feels better?”

“Everything feels better.”

“Okay…but we don’t have anything. Not even lube.”

“Says who?”

Suguru blinked, surprised. “You have lube?”

“And condoms. Though I kinda wanna feel you without ‘em the first time, if that's okay with
you.”

Suguru was dumbstruck.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to,” Satoru added. “I didn’t mean to pressure you.”
Suguru tightened his hold around him. “No, I want to. I was just surprised.”

Satoru turned over to face him, though Suguru couldn’t even see the outline of his face. “By
what?”

“I don’t know,” Suguru said, suddenly sheepish. “I was under the impression you wanted to
top since you kept playing with my ass.”

“Well, you do have a nice ass,” Satoru replied, reaching over to grope it as if to prove his
point. “And to be clear, I wanna do that too. I wanna eat your ass and fuck it, then eat it
again.”

Suguru laughed, cheeks burning as he pictured what Satoru described. He heard the grin on
Satoru’s face when he asked, “Would you like that, Suguru?”

Something about the way he said his name made him melt to his core. He smiled when
Satoru’s nose grazed his own. “I would, yeah.”

“Good. But for tonight,” Satoru whispered over his lips, “do you think you could fuck me?”

Suguru’s cock pulsed at the very thought.

“Yeah. But I have one condition,” he said, tracing the shape of Satoru’s lips with his thumb.

Satoru hummed, intrigued.

“If your eyes can take it, keep the lamp on. I want to see you.”

Satoru snorted. “And who could blame you? I’m fucking gorgeous.”

“Yes,” Suguru agreed sincerely, drawing his thumb down to hold Satoru’s chin in place.
“Most gorgeous person I’ve ever seen.”

He took advantage of Satoru’s stunned silence to briefly take his lips again.

Satoru hummed before pulling away to ask, “Does that mean you’ve never looked in a
mirror?”

It wasn’t that Suguru thought himself unattractive by any means, but when set beside the
brightest star in the universe, it was only natural to acknowledge that his own beauty dimmed
in comparison. He was almost certain Satoru was being facetious, but the way he said it truly
sounded like he didn’t share Suguru’s view. The unexpected compliment brought a smile to
his face.

Satoru sat up and reached over to the bedside table where he turned the lamp on. Suguru
squinted against the sudden assault of light while Satoru dug around a drawer for a while.
Then he pulled out a tube of lube and handed it to him with a smirk.

“You’re prepping me, by the way. I have no patience for that.”

“You’ve done it before?”

“Nope. That’s why you’re gonna figure it out.”

Suguru chuckled. He had zero experience with this as well, so it would be a case of the blind
leading the blind. They’d just have to learn and adapt as they went, not unlike the way they’d
worked together in other endeavors. If anything, he was happy that Satoru trusted him with
this too.

“Fine. Any other requests?”

Satoru grinned mischievously. “You can come inside but you’re cleaning up afterwards.”

Suguru groaned as the muscles above his groin clenched. Satoru’s teasing was really going to
be the end of him.

Satoru laughed and tugged him to his parted lips. Kissing him was deliciously fun, a playful
clash of tongues and teeth. It wasn't until Suguru began exploring greater expanses of skin
that the lighthearted nature of their kisses became heavy with arousal. Stripping and tossing
their clothes aside was the quickest part; Suguru wanted to waste no time on that.

But touching Satoru was a different matter. He knew Satoru enjoyed deep pressure on his
skin, so he settled between his legs and took his sweet time allowing his hands to travel over
every rise and fall of muscle along those powerful legs, taking handfuls of his ass and
squeezing before moving higher. Satoru tangled himself around him and locked their lips
together. The heat of his breath was addictive, and Suguru kissed him like he was his only
source of oxygen, savoring the wanton grind of his hips as they left a trail of precum along
his abdomen.

There was a spark of simultaneous pleasure and pain when Satoru pulled his hair and he
groaned. He captured Satoru’s lower lip between his teeth and applied just enough pressure to
make him whine. Satoru’s back arched under his touch and Suguru broke away to catch his
breath.

Satoru gazed up at him, panting, eyes glazed over with lust. A grin tugged at his kiss-swollen
lips.

Fuck. Suguru needed him badly.

It was outrageous, how painfully hard he was from the feverish entwining of their bodies.
From the scent of Satoru’s skin permeating his nostrils and his mouth and everywhere else.
He ached to be buried deep inside him.

At this rate, he wasn’t going to last long but he didn’t care. What mattered most was ensuring
that Satoru felt good through it all. Even if Suguru busted early, he’d make sure to satisfy him
one way or another.

He cradled his cheek and leaned into his lips.

While they kissed, Suguru recalled the incredible sensations he’d experienced when he’d had
his nipples played with in the shower so he slid a hand over Satoru’s chest and captured a
perky nipple between his fingers.

Satoru gasped, and Suguru took the opportunity to leave a slow trail of open-mouthed kisses
along his throat, tasting more of him as he went.

“Do you like it when I touch you here?” he asked, alternating between lightly pinching his
nipple and firmly massaging the area around it.

Satoru shivered and gave a breathy, “Yeah...feels good.”

“What if I use my mouth?”

Before Satoru had a chance to respond, he lowered his face and welcomed the other nipple
into his mouth. Satoru’s head tilted back with a moan that turned to soft little gasps as Suguru
curled his tongue around the tender flesh and sucked.

“Fuck, Suguru. Fuck…hah… ”

While Satoru twitched with pleasure, Suguru’s cock throbbed. It took every ounce of restraint
in his body not to speed things up. He grabbed the lube and squeezed a generous amount onto
his fingers. He wasn’t sure if it was too much, but he figured it was probably better to have
too much than too little. He kept it in his hand for a while and hoped it was warm enough
when he reached between Satoru’s ass cheeks to trace the edge of his rim.

Satoru jumped and let out a startled laugh.

“Fuck, that’s cold,” he said, and Suguru finally pulled his mouth away from his nipple.

“Sorry,” he said, removing his hand. But Satoru shook his head.

“Just keep going.”

So Suguru spread him again and continued to rub without pushing in. Satoru was too tight to
fit even the first knuckle of his pinkie. “You okay?” he asked, monitoring Satoru’s face
closely. Based on the pinch between his brows and the tight set of his mouth, all traces of
pleasure had been replaced by discomfort. But Satoru nodded.

“Try to relax,” Suguru urged, to which Satoru only huffed impatiently.

“How the heck am I supposed to do that? It won’t… unclench.”

Suguru snickered, but continued his gentle prodding nevertheless. After a few minutes of
zero progress though, he realized they were really getting nowhere. He decided it was time to
change tactics.

After obtaining and warming more lube between his fingers, he returned them to Satoru’s
entrance. At the same time, he leaned down to take Satoru’s now-softened cock into his
mouth.
“Damn, that’s hot,” Satoru sighed, sliding a hand into his hair. “I could watch you do that all
day.”

Suguru didn’t break eye contact as he licked and sucked, extremely pleased when he began to
feel Satoru harden on his tongue.

“Shit. Your mouth…feels so good,” Satoru said breathlessly, and rolled his hips along with
the unhurried pace Suguru set, brow furrowed with pleasure.

The distraction seemed to work. Satoru’s body relaxed to the point where the first finger
slipped in without so much as a hitch in breath. The process was slow, but once the second
finger made it inside, Suguru was able to stretch him out better. He wasn’t sure he could
handle more of the erotic scene before his eyes, though. Watching from between Satoru’s legs
as he writhed and moaned thanks to the things he was doing...if it went on for much longer,
Suguru was going to come untouched.

He shut his eyes and swallowed him all the way to the back of his throat when the third
finger entered. Satoru quivered and his fingers tightened around the base of Suguru’s head.

He cursed and moaned, but not as loudly as when Suguru’s fingers curled and pressed into
the subtle mound he’d been grazing for the past few minutes.

Without more warning than a sudden cry of shock, Satoru came into his throat. And he kept
coming too quickly for Suguru to swallow it all down. In no time, his mouth was filled to the
brim. He savored what he could, but gave up trying to keep it all in and just let it spill onto
Satoru’s groin to make more of a mess between his legs. While it happened, he noticed
Satoru’s hole sucking his fingers as deep as they could possibly go, and he took the
opportunity to stretch him further before withdrawing altogether.

He smiled as Satoru, still shaky, did his best to wipe the mess around his mouth with his
hands.

“Sorry, I’m sorry—” he panted, pushing Suguru’s hair out of his face. “I really wasn’t
expecting to—when you did—that. Holy fuck—”

Suguru couldn’t help but laugh. A flustered Satoru was a rare yet adorable sight.

He stopped Satoru's hands and said, “It’s okay. I like it when you lose control."

Satoru blinked at him for a moment, but when another dazzling smile lit up his face, Suguru
had to remind himself to breathe. The deep pink hue that now invaded Satoru from
cheekbones to chest brought out his cute freckles again. And while his hair was a mess, the
shimmer of sweat across his skin made him appear positively radiant. How was it possible for
him to be even prettier after coming?

“Get the fuck over here,” Satoru said, and Suguru crawled his way up his body until their lips
locked again. He relaxed into Satoru’s hold and enjoyed the messiest kiss they’d had to date.

…
Satoru had not expected to come so hard and so suddenly. But Suguru’s fingers had worked
their magic and instead of needing time to recover, he found himself needing to be filled
again.

As they kissed, he became aware of Suguru’s cock leaking onto his stomach. He wrapped a
hand around it and Suguru’s breath shuddered. It was incredibly hot to the touch and harder
than Satoru had ever felt it before. And though it was already soaked in precum, he took the
liberty to coat it in an outrageous amount of lube. Suguru’s expressions through it all were
adorably pained, as though he were struggling to keep his sanity with every stroke of Satoru’s
hand.

When he finally decided to stop torturing him, Satoru guided him to his hole.

The first attempt at pushing inside proved that multiple fingers were not quite enough to
prepare Satoru for the girth they were dealing with.

“Ow, ow, fuck!” Satoru hissed as he felt himself be split apart by just the head.

Suguru stopped. “I can stretch you some more if you’re not ready,” he assured him. But as
much as he tried to hide it, Satoru could hear the strain in his voice.

“No. Just…gimme a sec.”

Suguru kept his hips perfectly still and rested his head beside his. His voice was soft in
Satoru’s ear as he stroked his cheek. "You’re already doing so good,” he soothed. “No need to
rush.”

Satoru shut his eyes as his words warmed him. He so badly wanted Suguru to find pleasure in
him. If only his body would cooperate!

“It might help to tilt your hips a little,” Suguru suggested, and when Satoru nodded in
agreement, he pulled out, yanking a sharp breath from Satoru despite how slowly he went.
Satoru grabbed a pillow and hastily stuffed it under his hips.

When Suguru settled between his legs again, Satoru welcomed the weight and heat of his
body on him. His hands cradled Satoru’s face while they kissed, and Satoru couldn’t help but
melt into his touch. With this new angle, his legs splayed open more comfortably, and
Suguru’s cock had easier access to his entrance. All he wanted was for Suguru to sink inside
already, so he urged him to move and distracted himself from the discomfort by focusing on
the hot exchange happening between their mouths.

And when Suguru finally did sink inside, they gasped in unison.

“Shit,” Suguru said shakily, “you feel…”

He groaned when Satoru pushed him deeper with his legs. Their noses grazed and they
shared hot, heavy breaths while Satoru accommodated his entire length. He was surprised to
find that after Suguru’s cock head pushed past his rim, the stretch was no longer painful. He
only felt full. Deliciously, impossibly full. A new kind of ache tugged at his navel: the need
to be pounded hard.

“Fuck me,” he pleaded, and pulled Suguru into another desperate kiss.

The first few thrusts were slow and shallow. Experimental. With each one, pleasure surged
through Suguru’s body in overwhelming waves. He pulled away from Satoru’s lips to remain
attentive to his expressions. But when Satoru’s face only contorted with pleasure and he
moaned for him to go harder, Suguru finally let himself go. He folded Satoru in half and
fucked him in earnest, driving curses and breathy moans out of him.

It was a testament to the strength of Suguru’s willpower that he didn’t come apart within the
first two minutes of pounding Satoru into the mattress. He’d never felt a sensation as glorious
as the suction of his hole, and hearing Satoru moan his name with tears streaming from the
corners of his eyes was almost enough to drive him insane.

But when Satoru begged, “Suguru please, I want it...want it so bad. Fill me up. Please…” he
finally gave in and came with long grunts of pleasure.

“Yes, fuck!” Satoru cried, meeting every thrust of his hips with his own. “That fucking…
feels so good!”

Nails scratched down Suguru’s back, but he barely felt their burn. He shut his eyes and
allowed himself to be dragged away by the currents of ecstasy. For a few seconds, all he
could feel was Satoru’s rolling hips coaxing everything out of him while his mind ascended
to a higher plane.

Returning to the heightened sensations of his body would have been jarring had Satoru not
been there to soothe him back. Lips pressed softly to his temple while fingers carded through
his hair.

After a time, Satoru asked, “How did it feel?”

He slowly blinked his eyes open and responded honestly, “Better than I imagined.”

Satoru chuckled, hard cock poking Suguru’s stomach. “Well, don’t get too comfortable. I’m
gonna need you to do that again.”

Suguru smiled and buried his face into the side of his neck. Even while soft, it felt so good to
be inside him. Satoru’s hole had tightened again almost back to its original size around his
cock and he couldn’t help but slowly rock into the sensation.

Satoru hummed with amusement. “Guess it’ll be sooner than I expected.”

Suguru groaned when Satoru's hips began to move and encourage his cock to swell. It was
incredible to gradually take up space and push against Satoru’s walls again. He found his lips
and reveled in the enthusiasm with which Satoru devoured him. When he managed to break
away, he was breathless all over again.
“Let me turn you over,” he said, and Satoru’s face lit up.

Suguru pulled out to rearrange their positions and settled between Satoru’s legs. Before doing
anything else, he took a moment to appreciate the view of Satoru bent over on his elbows and
knees. The way his ass spread in the air, just waiting to be taken, had Suguru's cock throbbing
with animalistic hunger. He slid a hand over the small of Satoru’s back and Satoru shuddered.

“Please, Suguru,” he groaned, and Suguru guided his cock to his leaking, puckered hole.
With a single, slow thrust, he buried himself to the hilt. Satoru clawed at the sheets with a
long moan. Suguru held onto his hips and waited for his heaving breaths to settle before
pulling out almost all the way and slamming back in. When Satoru's back arched, he went
faster. The sounds Satoru made as he repeatedly fucked into him from this angle were similar
to the begging he’d heard from him before but much louder and nonsensical, shamelessly
needy.

The glide of his cock was much smoother this time around. With every thrust there was a
lewd, wet smack as cum and lube were displaced, and Suguru could not take his eyes off the
place where their bodies joined.

“Fuck, Satoru…You take me so well,” he groaned.

He loved watching himself be swallowed by Satoru’s ass and the sensation was otherworldly,
but he was determined to delay his impending orgasm until Satoru was satisfied. Relishing
the thrill of being so close to the edge without falling, he fucked him harder than ever before.

Sweat poured down his body when he noticed Satoru’s sounds had become muted. From the
side of his face Suguru could see, Satoru was flushed red and sweaty, gaze a million miles
away.

“Satoru?”

Satoru blinked slowly, his breath growing ragged as his hole clenched tighter around him. He
appeared to be in a fucked out daze, unable to meet Suguru’s gaze at all. Suguru stopped,
startled by the lack of response, and bent down to check on him.

"Satoru?"

Satoru whimpered.

“No, no, no. Don’t stop,” he begged, thighs trembling while his toes curled and relaxed.
“Wanna come with you…in me…”

That was the first time Suguru noticed Satoru was squeezing the base of his own cock
incredibly hard. It looked painful. "But...are you okay?"

Satoru whined louder. "Suguru!"

Suguru stopped hesitating and curled around Satoru, chest flush with his back. "Okay. I got
you.”
…

Satoru didn’t know what was going on with his body, exactly. All he knew was that at some
point, the collision of their bodies had felt so good he couldn’t handle it. His mind had
slipped away from him, leaving his head pleasantly empty of all thoughts. It was a relief
unlike anything he’d experienced before, a different kind of enlightenment.

Suguru’s voice had brought him back a little, but when the pleasure had stopped mere
seconds before reaching ecstasy, Satoru had felt like his world would collapse. He squeezed
himself, refusing to come without Suguru taking him there. Thankfully, Suguru had held him
together in a solid embrace and whispered into his ear.

“Okay. I got you.”

And now he was ramming deep inside, holding onto Satoru’s shoulders to drag him down
into every merciless attack on his prostate. Satoru cried out until he was a moaning,
squirming mess.

He was so delirious from the intensity of it that he forgot he was preventing his own orgasm
until Suguru removed his hand and stroked him with a tight fist. "Let go for me, Satoru."

Every muscle in his body tensed as he spurted out wave after wave of pleasure. Suguru
pounded him through it, hips pumping at an erratic pace as he panted words of praise into
Satoru’s ear.

“That’s it, that's it, Satoru…good boy…so good for me…”

Then Suguru was gasping repeatedly into his hair. The cock inside him pulsed and filled him
with another rush of heat, further enhancing the experience. Satoru wept, euphoric, as his
orgasm reached previously unimaginable heights.

They rode the high together to the very end with Suguru plunging into him slow and deep,
forcing the fluids out of his hole with lewd squelches. Then Satoru was too overwhelmed to
stay on his trembling legs and he collapsed under Suguru’s weight. He closed his teary eyes
and sniffled.

They remained silent for a long time, recovering. Aside from their ragged breaths, the only
sound between them was that of Suguru’s lips as they trailed lazily along Satoru’s shoulder.

“You okay?” he asked, in that overly gentle tone that made Satoru want to break all over
again just so he could hold his pieces together.

“Yeah,” he said, grunting when Suguru pulled out of him again.

Though Suguru only did it to shift into a position where they could face each other, the
emptiness he left behind made Satoru feel unbearably vulnerable, like his skin was made of
exposed nerves.
“Hey,” Suguru said, brushing sweat-sticky hair out of Satoru’s face. “You were gone for a bit
there at the end. Where did you go?”

“Dunno,” he muttered, strangely unable to verbalize further. The connection between his
brain and mouth appeared to be impaired at the moment.

Suguru stiffened. He took Satoru's face into his hands and studied him closer. “Satoru. Did I
hurt you?”

Satoru was surprised by the question. Didn't he know that was the complete opposite of what
had just happened?! He frowned and shook his head.

Suguru’s eyes softened. “Then…what do you need from me right now?”

He didn’t have to think about it. All he needed was to feel Suguru’s warmth around him, keep
his scent in his nose a while longer. He hid his face in the warmth of Suguru’s neck and
managed to speak a single word. “Stay.”

Suguru's arms wrapped around him and a hand cradled the back of his head. “Of course.”

In the quiet minutes that followed, he kept his eyes closed and felt Suguru’s heart thump
against his own. At first, Suguru rubbed gentle circles over his back. Then he used a finger to
draw figures. It took way too long for Satoru to figure out they were dicks. Lots and lots of
dicks. They both laughed.

When Satoru's ability to voice his thoughts returned, he said, “That felt amazing.”

Suguru sounded surprised to hear him speak. “Yeah?”

“Mm.”

“What happened?”

“You fucked my brains out.”

Suguru chuckled. “I guess I did. But really, you had me worried. I thought I hurt you.”

Satoru hummed. “Nah, the opposite. It was so good you knocked my mind into another
dimension.” When Suguru snorted, he shrugged. “Not sure how else to describe it. Coming
down from that high kinda hurt. It was hard to form words.”

“That’s never happened before, right?”

“No. But I’ve also never been fucked within an inch of my life.”

“Dramatic.”

“Ha! Just you wait till I get my hands on that ass.”

Suguru humphed and became thoughtful. “Do you think you could tell me if it happens
again? If you can’t talk, maybe by patting me or changing your cursed energy somehow.”

Satoru snickered. "Already thinking of the next time, you horndog!" But when Suguru
remained serious, he cleared his throat and said, "Yeah. I can do that.”

Suguru kissed the top of his head and sighed into his hair. For some reason, the gesture had
Satoru's cheeks burning more than any of the other things they'd done tonight.

“Good," Suguru said. "Should we get you cleaned up?”

“S’not the worst idea.”

Satoru quickly learned that walking with a tender asshole was extremely uncomfortable. But
he didn’t want to RCT the discomfort away. He wanted to feel the aftermath of what he and
Suguru had done and be reminded of it for days to come. So he hobbled to the showers with
Suguru’s help instead.

In the showers, Suguru took his time carefully washing his body and cleaning him out.
Despite how swollen he was, the combination of hot water and Suguru’s gentle touch was so
soothing that Satoru found himself falling asleep on his feet.

After the second time he snapped awake, Suguru’s arms encircled him from the front.

“Relax,” he said, encouraging him to lean into his chest. “I’ll take care of you.”

Satoru allowed his eyelids to drop with a deep sigh and rested his head in the crook of
Suguru’s neck. Suguru continued his work in silence, and Satoru lost track of time, only
vaguely aware of being guided through the motions of drying his body, dressing, and walking
back to his room.

When he opened his eyes again hours later, a single glance at the sunlight coming in through
the blinds was enough to tell him he’d slept through the morning. Also, that he was not in his
room at all. His vinyl fiberglass blackout shades would never.

He was, in fact, cocooned in the soft covers of Suguru’s bed, alone.

He sat up quickly, forgetting that he’d decided to take the day off, and winced when his body
reminded him he'd decided not to use RCT.

On the bedside table there were several water bottles he couldn’t remember being there the
other times he’d been to Suguru’s room, but he was glad they were there now. He downed
two in one sitting and plopped back down with a groan.

His body ached, but pleasantly so. He turned his face into the pillow and inhaled deeply. He
smiled when the scent of Suguru’s shampoo invaded him. He found a stray hair tie in the
sheets and slipped it onto his wrist. Despite Suguru's absence, being surrounded by his things
was extremely comforting.

His stomach growled as he considered texting him to see where he was.

The door to Suguru’s room opened before he could reach for his phone. The delicious scent
of curry wafted to his nose and he sat up again, like risen from the dead.

“Food!”

Suguru froze at the threshold for a second before grinning and exchanging his shoes for
slippers. He walked over to the bed and sat.

“I figured you’d be hungry,” he said, handing him the box of food in his hands along with a
pair of disposable chopsticks.

The top of the box had a terribly scribbled drawing in marker of a face with spiky hair, large
black holes for eyes and an angry mouth full of pointy teeth.

“It’s a portrait of you,” Suguru informed him.

“I think you may need glasses.”

Suguru chuckled and pointed. “Look, she even signed it for you.”

Satoru squinted at the mess of characters at the very edge and could only make out a single
‘Na’.

“I think she likes you,” Suguru said fondly, and Satoru scoffed.

“Oh, you definitely need glasses.”

He opened the box to find an assortment of noodles and vegetables in addition to curry and
rice. Too ravenous to care that it was cold, he dug in.

Between mouthfuls, he asked, “Why am I in your room?”

Suguru smirked. “Because I had to wash your sheets.”

"Ah." He snorted and kept shoveling food into his mouth until it occurred to him that Suguru
was just sitting there, watching him. He froze and pointed to the half-empty box. “Was I
supposed to share?”

Suguru shook his head. “I had lunch with Shoko and the girls. I wanted to tell them about
living on the estate.”

He hummed and waited for him to go on.

“I think they’re scared,” Suguru concluded after a moment.

“It’s not so bad,” Suguru assured him. “I bet they’ll love the horses.”

Suguru’s eyes widened in stunned silence before he said, “There’s so much I don’t know
about you.”

“You know everything that matters.”

 “Like?”

“Like the kind of sprinkles I like in my ice cream. And that I occasionally adopt stray
sorcerer kids.”

Suguru grinned. “Oh. Is that a new hobby of yours?”

“Yup. Took it up recently to piss my relatives off.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“I'm trying to form a baseball team so if you find any more just let me know. They don't need
much to get my blessing, y'know? At a bare minimum, maybe—" Satoru's eyes widened as
his own stupid joke jogged his memory. "Oh.”

Suguru frowned. “What?”

“Oh. Shit.”

“What?”

“So, uh don't freak out…"

Suguru's eyes narrowed even more. "Satoru. Spit it out."

"...I may have forgotten something important I was supposed to take care of.”

“Something important? Today?”

“More like...a year ago? What time is it?”

“It’s two thirty but—what? A year ago? You’re not making any sense.”

“Oh shit!" Satoru hopped out of bed and stole a pair of socks from Suguru's drawers. "Better
get going. Come on, let's go!”

“Go where? What are you talking about?”

He grabbed Suguru's hand and tugged him to the door. “Hurry, hurry! I’ll explain on the
way!”

Chapter End Notes

Hmmmmmm 🤔 wonder what that could be about…? 😉

 Chapter 15
Chapter Notes

I'm so sorry I keep adding more chapters and dragging the conclusion out, it's just that
more and more scenes come to me while I edit what I already wrote and I can't not share
them with you 😭 At most I can see myself adding two more chapters but let's leave it at
one more for now! hehe

Hope you enjoy! 😊

Suguru slumped beside Satoru on the bus stop bench with a heavy sigh. Across the street
from them was a large elementary school. The bell that signaled the end of the day chimed
over the speakers.

“You’re telling me you forgot about a whole ass kid...for a year?”

Satoru leaned back and stuck his hands in his trouser pockets. He glanced nonchalantly at
him through the side of his sunglasses. “I’m sensing some judgment from you.”

“Some?”

Satoru pouted, looking extremely wronged. “Look, I didn’t completely forget. After shit went
down with Toji I asked Yamada to find out where he lived but it took a while with such
limited information. And when he finally got back to me, he'd only found out where he was
going to school and I was trying to figure out what to do but…I kinda got distracted.”

Perfectly aware of the cause behind Satoru’s distraction, Suguru bit back the snarky remark
he had for that.

“But it’s fine, right? He should be living with his stepmom anyway," Satoru pointed out.

Suguru nodded. At this point, what mattered was reaching the boy before the Zenin clan did.
They would definitely take him away without offering a choice.

Only minutes later, uniformed children of various ages began to file out of the front gate in
droves. Suguru scanned the groups of smaller boys, unsure of what he should be looking for
aside from a five- to six-year-old frame.

“Do you know what he looks like?” he asked.

“Nah,” Satoru said, sitting up attentively. “But I’m sure I can figure it out.”
Suguru glanced over at him. His brilliant blue gaze flickered back and forth over the growing
crowd for a minute before his brows rose high on his forehead.

“Holy shit,” he said under his breath, and Suguru followed his gaze. He could only sense a
trace of sorcerer energy coming from the massive flood of non-sorcerer sludge, but he knew
Satoru could see the difference.

“Where?”

“Blue sweater walking alone,” Satoru said, rising from his seat. “Come on.”

Suguru followed, scanning the crowd again for small boys in blue sweaters. There were
several, but only one of them walked with the obvious purpose of getting out of there quickly.
He did not acknowledge anyone around him.

“I can barely sense him,” Suguru commented, focusing on the spiky back of his head.

“He can control it,” Satoru informed him, sounding much more interested than he had
minutes ago.

Suguru’s eyes widened. He seriously doubted the boy had encountered any other sorcerers to
teach him about cursed energy, much less how to harness it.

“A prodigy,” he murmured. Finding a child with an inherent understanding of the flow of

cursed energy was so rare that Suguru had been convinced Satoru would be the only one he’d
meet in his lifetime.

“The bastard knew what he was doing,” Satoru said, voice laced with bitterness beneath the
amusement. Suguru studied his face as they walked. He was no fan of Toji either, but the
statement sounded strangely personal. He wondered if there was more to it than general
contempt for someone who would sell their own kid, but Satoru’s expression gave nothing
away.

Children dispersed in different directions until only the boy remained. The longer they
walked, the creepier Suguru felt following a lone child home. It occurred to him that he had
no idea what the next course of action would be once they confirmed it was him.

“What’re you gonna say to him?” he asked in a low voice.

“I’ll say ‘Hey kid. Your dad was a piece of shit and I killed him–’”

Suguru winced. "That’s what you’re leading with?”

“Should I lie to him instead?”

“No. But…I don’t know. Maybe give him some context first?”

“I’m sure that’ll make it better.”

For the first time since they’d started on the journey to find the kid did it cross Suguru's mind
that perhaps Satoru was not as unaffected by this meeting as he’d tried to appear. He
supposed it wouldn't be easy to face the surviving family member of someone he’d killed.
Because he’d never encountered a situation in which he’d had to do the same, he understood
it wasn’t his place to impose his opinion on how it should be done, so he held his tongue.

Their shadows grew longer with the setting sun as the roads they wove through grew more
and more narrow. Finally, the boy stopped in front of a dilapidated apartment building and
Satoru called out, “Hey kid! You’re Megumi Fushiguro, right?”

When the boy’s gaze fell on them, Suguru felt himself tense at the same time as Satoru. From
a distance, the only similarity he’d noticed between the boy and Toji was the unruly nature of
his hair but now that they were up close, Suguru recognized the same cobalt green of the eyes
he still saw occasionally in his nightmares. His features as they pinched into a frown were
also eerily similar. He was truly the spitting image of his father.

“Who’re you, and what’s with the faces?” he asked.

Suguru became aware of his own contorted expression when he found the same one reflected
on Satoru’s face. He cleared his throat and forced his features into something more pleasant.

“Sorry, it’s just…you look exactly like your dad,” he said, feeling a little guilty for the
visceral reaction. “I’m Suguru Geto. This is Satoru Gojo. We’re students at Jujutsu High.”

Megumi eyed them suspiciously. “You know my dad?”

“Kinda,” Satoru said, stepping forward. “So by now you’re probably aware of your power
right? That’s called a cursed technique and it typically manifests between the ages of four and
six. You see, your dad was from a scummy but powerful family of sorcerers called the Zenin
clan. And since they were so scummy, he left the family, had you and kept you hidden from
them. But not because he was a great guy or anything. He was actually just waiting to sell
you to them after you developed your cursed technique because they love sorcerers with
quality cursed power.”

Megumi’s scowl did not falter as he took everything in.

Satoru crouched before him. “Anyway, he’s not coming back because I–”

“So what?” Megumi cut him off. “I don’t care where he is or what he’s doing. I haven’t seen
him in years. I don’t even remember what he looks like.”

Satoru’s mouth hung open for a moment, and Megumi’s voice softened marginally. “But I get
the gist of what you’re saying.”

From above, a voice called out. “Megumi, you’re home!”

Suguru looked up to find a young girl in an elementary school uniform waving from the
second floor balcony. Her smile fell when she took in the strangers next to Megumi.

Suguru frowned. There’s two of them?

The expression on Satoru’s face revealed he’d had no idea either. But he recovered quickly
enough.

“Well, if you ever get curious about your dad, just ask,” he said with a shrug. “I think you
might find it interesting.”

Suguru couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief that they wouldn’t be devastating a kid on a
random Thursday evening.

“Who’s that?” The girl shouted, sounding concerned.

“Nobody. Just stay inside,” Megumi responded and waited for her to disappear back into the
apartment before turning back to them.

“Let’s get down to business,” Satoru said breezily, standing to his full height again. “What do
you want to do? Do you want to go to the Zenin clan or stay here with your stepmom?”

Megumi glanced back to the empty balcony. “Tsumiki’s mom hasn’t returned in a while
either,” he said quietly. “I guess they really are done taking care of us.”

Shocked, Suguru couldn’t help but exchange a look with Satoru, who appeared to be equally
stunned by the revelation. Despite that, with only a single glance, Suguru knew they’d come
to the same conclusion: Regardless of how they’d managed to survive this long on their own,
there was no way they could continue to leave these kids alone to fend for themselves.

Satoru gave him a sly grin and whispered. “How about that baseball team?”

Suguru grinned back with a small nod.

Megumi returned his attention to them. “If we go there, will Tsumiki be happy? My answer
depends on that.”

Satoru did not hesitate. “Absolutely not. Anyone without a powerful cursed technique is
miserable there.”

Megumi’s scowl deepened, but for the first time during the entirety of their conversation, he
appeared his age as he shrunk into himself with a pout.

Despite his initial reaction to the boy, Suguru was moved by his concern for his sister.

“There’s another option,” he said, and pointed at Satoru. “He belongs to another powerful
sorcerer clan. They’re also kinda scummy, but–”

“Hey!”

“–at least they won’t mistreat your sister. And they’ll help you master your technique.”

Megumi’s face relaxed a bit, but he kept his distance, gripping the straps of his backpack.
“Why do you want to help us?”
Suguru opened his mouth to say something about how important it was for sorcerers to
protect each other but Satoru cut in.

“Because I’m rich and I feel like it. You got a pen, kid?”

Megumi hesitated before removing his backpack to pull out a purple marker. He handed it to
Satoru who grabbed his skinny little arm and began to write his phone number on his
forearm.

“I have paper,” Megumi muttered with a tone of disapproval.

“Good for you,” Satoru said with a grin and handed the marker back when he finished
writing the number. “Talk it over with your sister and gimme a call if you don’t wanna live in
this shit hole anymore.”

A door opened on the ground floor and Tsumiki stepped out. “Megumi, what’s going on?”
she asked with a frown on her face. As she approached, Suguru could tell they were close in
age, though she stood several inches taller than him. “Who are they?”

“I told you they’re nobodies,” Megumi said with annoyance, and finally turned away from
them to head into the apartment. He grabbed her wrist and tugged her along. “Let’s go
inside.”

After they’d disappeared, Suguru wondered out loud:

“Do you think they’ll call?”

Satoru flashed him a cocky grin. “Of course.”

A week later, Satoru received a call from Megumi while out on a mission. He and Tsumiki
had decided to accept his offer. That same day, he and Suguru helped them move to the Gojo
estate.

Mimiko and Nanako had been staying at Jujutsu High up to that point, but they figured it
would be a good time to move them in, too. Because the four children had limited wardrobes,
Satoru suggested a shopping spree in Roppongi. Shoko agreed to come along to help if he
bought dinner afterwards.

From their first meeting, Tsumiki got along well with the twins and the three became high-
energy bundles of excitement as Shoko and Suguru helped them pick outfits from multiple
boutiques. Satoru found it entertaining to watch them recreate a 90s romcom shopping
montage that was actually a few hours long.

In contrast, Megumi was more reserved in his enthusiasm, and had no opinions on the
shopping assistant’s suggestions for his own clothing. Since he did not seem to care either
way, Satoru took it upon himself to make the selections and invited him to go on a walk while
everyone else continued browsing.
“Have you tried crêpes before?” he asked, and Megumi shook his head.

“I don’t like sweets,” he muttered.

“Let’s get you a savory one, then.”

After choosing a cheese and vegetable combination that Satoru would never touch if his life
was on the line, Megumi ate in silence. Satoru purposely tried to eat his own creamy
chocolate crêpe slower than he usually would. The atmosphere between them was painfully
awkward.

“Are you always this quiet?” Satoru asked as they strolled through the softly lit shopping
center, a bouncy pop song floating in the air.

When Megumi did not respond, Satoru sighed. He wished he’d brought a third person to act
as a buffer. Ideally, it would’ve been Suguru but anyone else would’ve been fine.

Then Megumi asked softly, “Is he dead?” and Satoru froze in his tracks. Megumi paused, too,
and stared up at him expectantly. His gaze had softened a bit since their initial meeting, but
the green of his irises remained sharp despite the warm lighting around them.

Satoru’s mouth went dry as he was mentally transported to the first time he’d seen that
particular shade of green in someone else’s eyes.

Toji Fushiguro had been a formidable opponent, the strongest man Satoru had ever fought.
He couldn’t pretend to understand the reasoning behind his line of work or the intentions
behind wanting to sell his own son to the family he hated so much, but Satoru had witnessed
a strangely soft side to him he hadn’t expected to see in a man so fierce. The softness within
those glazed over eyes during his final moments had only appeared when he’d mentioned
Megumi.

“I thought you didn’t care,” he responded after a while.

Megumi’s frown returned and he turned away from him with a scoff. “Forget it.”

“Yes,” Satoru said before he could take another step. “He’s dead.”

Megumi turned to face him again, wide eyed, and for a terrifying moment, Satoru worried
that he’d burst into tears in the middle of a crowded shopping center. He wasn’t sure what he
was supposed to do if that happened. Dammit! Suguru was good with kids. He definitely
should’ve brought him!

But after a few tense seconds, Megumi only asked, “When?”

Satoru stepped closer. “August of last year.”

Megumi blinked, slowly processing.

“Do you want to know how?”

When Megumi said nothing, Satoru signaled for him to follow. They walked a few meters to
an empty bench and sat.

“Did he do something bad?” Megumi asked after a moment.

Satoru smirked. “What makes you say that?”

Megumi did not answer. Instead, he took a bite of his crêpe and watched the people that
walked by with too much intensity in his eyes. Satoru did the same as he thought of the best
way to provide context, as Suguru had put it.

“His job was to kill sorcerers,” he began, through a mouthful of chocolate. “He could’ve been
a successful multi-millionaire athlete if he wanted to, but he chose that instead.” He finished
chewing before continuing. “Suguru and I had a mission to protect someone who happened to
be the person he was paid to kill–-a girl named Riko. He killed her. So I killed him.”

Megumi stiffened, and he slowly turned to meet Satoru’s gaze, eyes wide as saucers.
“You...killed him?”

Satoru’s stomach turned uncomfortably, but he held his burning gaze regardless. “Yes. His
final words were about you, which is how I learned you existed.”

Megumi’s mouth pinched before he averted his eyes to stare at the floor ahead. Satoru wasn't
sure if this was the moment he'd burst into tears. He couldn’t read him very well.

“Does that change your mind about living at my place?” he wondered out loud. He supposed
it would make sense for that to be the case.

Megumi's mouth opened slightly, but before he could respond, someone above them shouted.

“Megumi!”

They raised their eyes to the floor above, where Tsumiki was waving from the glass railing.
“Megumi, look!” She twirled in her new lilac colored cashmere scarf and matching ankle
boots just as the rest of the group appeared behind her.

Megumi managed a small smile for his sister, and Satoru’s heart clenched. He knew at that
moment that regardless of his feelings toward Satoru, Megumi would choose what made his
sister happiest. Could this boy truly be a descendant of the ruthless Zenin clan?

Suguru approached the railing, too, and when he met Satoru's gaze, Satoru found it difficult
to return his smile.

“What happened to Tsumiki’s mom?” Megumi asked softly, watching as his sister raced the
other two girls to the nearest descending escalator.

“That I don’t know. But I’ll see what I can find out.”

Megumi nodded and stood to meet his sister halfway. She gushed on about the other items
she’d chosen and Megumi gave her the rest of his crêpe when she asked for a taste.
Suguru came over to Satoru and sat beside him. "Well, that was interesting," he said with a
grin, grabbing the crêpe from Satoru’s hand to take a tentative bite. “Everything okay?” he
asked, mid-grimace as he chewed on the overly-sweet treat.

Satoru offered a small grin back. “I told him the truth.”

Suguru’s eyes widened as he glanced over at Megumi. “Oh. How did he take it?”

Satoru shrugged, unsure of what the answer to that was exactly. Or why his chest felt so
heavy. It wasn't like he regretted killing Toji. He’d do it all over again without hesitation. But
hurting Megumi with the truth was something else. Even if he hadn’t had much of a
relationship with his father, it couldn’t be easy to know he’d be housed and fed by his father’s
killer from now on.

Suguru studied him quietly for a moment before reaching over to wrap an arm over his
shoulders.

“It's gonna be okay,” he said, allowing Satoru’s head to rest on his shoulder for a moment
before he ruffled his hair. “Come on, they're waiting for us.”

Suguru kept his arm around his shoulders as they walked over to Shoko and the kids. Satoru
wasn’t sure how Suguru had known that he needed that simple comfort without saying
anything, but he was grateful for it.

The investigation into the village incident determined that Suguru’s negligence had resulted
in unnecessary property damage and injury to civilians. For that reason, he was officially
suspended from duty for two weeks without pay and when he returned to the field, he was to
be supervised by an assistant manager for a month.

Suguru didn’t mind either decision. The punishments were a joke compared to what could
have happened had the villagers died or Satoru not been there to destroy his residuals. So
during the day, he spent some of his time in the library, delving back into the study of cursed
energy he’d put on hold when he’d gotten too busy. He also trained on his own and hung out
with Shoko whenever she was available. His appetite also improved during this time, and he
found that he craved specific foods that he hadn’t wanted to touch in a long time. Dinner with
Satoru became a daily routine.

He made it a point to visit the kids at the Gojo estate to see how they were settling into their
new lives and for the most part, they all seemed to be adapting well. Satoru had been right:
the girls did love the horses.

Megumi was quiet and tended to isolate himself, especially when Satoru was around. Suguru
could understand to a certain extent, why he did.

But on one occasion when Suguru visited without Satoru, he was able to witness the boy’s
impressive manipulation of cursed energy. With only a few days of mentoring by Satoru's
former teachers, it seemed he’d already learned how to summon at least two shikigami with
ease. They were two large, fluffy dogs–-one white and one black–-that kept him company
when the girls were off playing somewhere else.

Within the three hundred acre estate, there was a lake that seemed to be the spot he liked to
frequent most. Suguru found him sitting on the pier just as the final rays of sunlight began to
fade. His dogs formed a furry, protective doughnut around him.

He didn’t react to the sound of Suguru’s footsteps approaching, but the dogs growled.

Suguru was not intimidated by the shikigami but he also did not want to overstep, so he
stayed a few meters behind and calmly asked, “Have you been able to subdue any more of
them?”

While he had not been familiar with the Zenin clan’s Ten Shadows technique, Satoru had
explained how it worked. The Divine Dogs were received automatically, but the other
shikigami had to be summoned through a ritual and defeated in order for the user to gain
control over them. And while Suguru understood there were major differences between his
own technique and the Ten Shadows, he could also recognize that there were similarities.

Megumi eyed him warily before forming a sign with his hands. In the blink of an eye, an
entire colony of rabbits emerged from the shadows and flooded the pier. Some of them
slipped into the water with comedic plops while others landed in Suguru’s arms and on top of
his head. He couldn’t help but laugh at the unexpected cuteness overload.

“Very good,” he said fondly, and Megumi released the seal, causing the bunnies to pop and
disperse into the wind.

“They’re useless,” he muttered, legs swinging off the edge of the pier.

Noting that the dogs had relaxed back into their resting positions, Suguru approached and
took a seat beside him.

“It’s very impressive that you can do that already,” he said, sincerely. “My technique is
similar to yours but I wasn’t able to do much with it until I was fourteen.”

This appeared to pique Megumi’s interest and he turned his eyes on him. “What’s your
technique?”

“Curse manipulation,” Suguru informed him, pulling the same ferret curse he’d used with the
twins out of the ether. Megumi’s eyes widened as he pulled out a few more of all shapes and
sizes and stacked them on the water, one on top of the other, like tetris. “Once I defeat a
curse, I can absorb it and use it as I please.”

Megumi watched in awe as the number of curses on the lake surface increased. “How many
do you have?” he asked.

Suguru hummed, mentally reviewing his inventory. “At the moment, around two thousand.”

Megumi’s jaw dropped, and Suguru chuckled. “It’s good to have a variety. Not all of them are
used offensively.”
“How else do you use them?”

Suguru summoned the flying curse and smiled as it floated beside Megumi. “Why don't you
hop on and see?”

Megumi eyed him for a moment before rising to his feet and tentatively reaching over to
touch the curse.

“It’s alright, it won’t hurt you,” Suguru assured him, and Megumi sat on it. When it rose in
the air, he made a soft sound of surprise before clutching onto its head for stability. Suguru
sent them flying slowly over the lake at first, then faster and higher, above even the tallest
trees. Though there was a significant distance between them at some point, he could’ve
sworn he heard a soft laugh.

When he returned the pair to the pier, Megumi’s hair was in further disarray than usual while
his nose and cheeks were bright pink from the cold. But his eyes were bright with excitement,
and it was the first time Suguru had seen that expression on his face.

“What else?” Megumi asked, and Suguru smiled.

“Some can be used as distractions,” he said, and summoned forth a school of moonfish to
“swim” in a sweeping rush around Megumi. When Megumi shrank away from them with a
giggle, Suguru opened a portal beneath his feet where a toad-like creature swallowed half of
him into its massive mouth. Megumi stared in shock after finding himself waist-deep in a
creature’s slimy maw.

“Others can be used to clean up.”

Suguru dispersed the toad and summoned another monstrous curse to blow away the slime
that remained on Megumi.

Megumi blinked quickly before looking down at his freshly dried clothes.

“Some, like this one,” Suguru explained, bringing forth Toji’s worm, “can be used to store
things.”

The worm opened its mouth and Suguru removed a series of first aid supplies from inside it
to demonstrate before tucking them back inside.

“So you see, there’s no such thing as a useless tool when you’re creative enough to use it.”

Megumi’s eyes widened with understanding and though he did not say anything else, for the
very first time since they’d met, he offered Suguru a genuine smile.
End Notes

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