Chapter Text
The aroma of freshly brewed tea drifted through the cool room. Two teacups sat on the table, one for Yuji and the other for Geto, who had just made it.
"I never expected you’d be assigned to the same mission as me. Is that why you didn’t seem surprised when I turned down your request for help this summer?" Geto sat in the chair across from Yuji, gazing out at the countryside view outside his window.
Two weeks had passed since the chimera incident, and Gojo had fully mastered the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Summer vacation had finally arrived. Just as Yuji had requested, Gojo and Shoko had headed off to Sendai, while Geto took on the summer mission he had agreed upon with the higher-ups.
However, the moment Geto reached the village, he crossed paths with Yuji. He was completely stunned, half-convinced he was hallucinating; in truth, he had been secretly hoping he could spend his summer with Yuji.
Geto had noticed that Yuji and Satoru were growing closer, even sharing some unspoken understanding that left him out of the loop. It frustrated him, fueling a quiet desperation to keep improving so he wouldn't be left behind in Satoru’s dust.
Yuji took a slow sip of his tea and replied calmly, "Geto-san, you must already know that the higher-ups treat me as a special case."
Geto smiled, taking a sip of his own tea. "I do. But Satoru warned me not to pry into it."
"Aren't you curious?" Yuji wondered if Geto simply didn't care about his identity, or if he just genuinely respected his privacy.
"I am curious, but is knowing the truth more important than the bond we share right now? Though, if you ever want to tell me, Yuji, I'm all ears." Geto set his teacup down, pointing casually to his own narrow eyes.
"I’m not like Satoru, Yuji. I can't look at someone and see right through everything. So, I choose to trust what I hear and feel for myself," he explained, ensuring Yuji didn't feel forced to share any secrets.
So, that’s why you built that genocidal ideology... Yuji could feel more than ever that Geto’s headspace was slipping. He was on the verge of defecting again, but Yuji felt like he was missing a vital piece of the puzzle.
"Geto-san, what do you really think about Jujutsu sorcerers?" Yuji asked, finally giving voice to the question that had been weighing on his mind.
Geto raised an eyebrow, visibly caught off guard by the sudden philosophical turn.
"Jujutsu sorcerers are those who exorcise curses." The answer came out like a textbook definition, lacking any real heart.
"What does being a sorcerer actually feel like to you, Geto-san?" Yuji pushed further, desperate to unearth the man's true thoughts. He needed to find the root cause of Geto’s eventual defection.
Geto’s narrow eyes sharpened. "Yuji, why are you asking me this?" He found it strange, given that Yuji usually seemed entirely indifferent to anything concerning him.
Was Yuji finally starting to care about him? Perhaps it was just wishful thinking.
Yuji’s eyes went completely hollow, filled with the same profound confusion he had felt in the future when he had lost everything. "What is the point of us being sorcerers? Who are we even doing this for, Geto-san?"
Geto’s pupils trembled. That single question echoed the silent doubts he had buried deep within his soul.
Yuji turned his gaze to the window, staring up at the beautiful blue sky.
He blinked, as if the vibrant blue were fading back into the grim, ash-gray skies of his future.
In that future, after everyone had left him, he had lost his reason to keep saving people. He had constantly asked himself what the point of all that suffering was.
Yet, he had kept moving forward because he wanted to build the world his lost friends had hoped for. A world without curses.
Was that even possible?
Yuji realized he might have fallen down the same dark path as Geto if he hadn't met the entity that offered him Time Reverse. That entity had stopped him from tearing the world apart by giving him a new purpose: to rewrite the past.
Reflecting on his journey, he shared his thoughts with Geto. "That’s what I used to think about constantly, before I met you guys."
"What?" Geto felt a sudden warmth blossom in his chest.
"You guys gave me a reason to finish what I started. Everything I do now is because I want to, not because I have to," Yuji said, offering a genuine, heartfelt smile. It was a lingering scrap of his true emotion, and he wanted to share it.
Initially, Yuji had operated like a machine executing a program, changing the past was just a task.
But after knowing the three of them and growing closer, he finally remembered why he had fought so hard before losing the people he loved. The regret, the pain, and the longing.
Geto stared, utterly transfixed by Yuji’s smile, and something shattered inside him. It was the crushing weight of the confusion he had carried as a sorcerer.
He had been forcing himself to find reasons to justify his actions, just to give his life meaning. But that meaning had been slowly slipping away, leaving him unanchored.
Why am I a sorcerer? Who am I doing this for?
Those two questions had haunted Geto until he met Yuji. They had driven him to dangerous extremes because he was trying to force a purpose onto his duties.
But now, Yuji’s words gave him a new direction, shattering his radical thoughts entirely.
"Yuji, I think I understand now why Satoru never asks why he’s a sorcerer." Geto realized his perspective was vastly different from Yuji's; he tended to base everything on external validation and calculations.
However, he and Yuji shared a fundamental trait: they both wanted what was best for others.
That was completely different from Satoru, who did things purely because he wanted to, driven entirely by his own whims and desires without a single care for how the world responded.
Yuji nodded, entirely unsurprised by Geto’s thoughts naturally drifting back to Gojo. They were two halves of a whole; their connection was far deeper than Yuji had ever realized.
Perhaps that was why the future Gojo-sensei always carried the ghost of his best friend with him, choosing never to let anyone that close again.
Yuji remained quiet, letting Geto get lost in his new realization. He wasn't entirely sure if this would completely prevent Geto's defection, but he had done his part by sharing his perspective on the world. The rest was entirely up to Geto.
Shoko had recently rented a house right next to the Itadori family residence.
Yuji had given her the address of the people they needed to watch over, specifically, the house where the woman they saw that night was supposed to be living.
However, Yuji couldn't reveal the woman's true identity, only asking them to keep a strict eye out in case she returned and put the baby in danger.
Meanwhile, Gojo bought an apartment near Shoko's place.
They planned to use the classic "new neighbors moving in" excuse to pay the Itadori household a visit.
The two sat in a nearby cafe, debating the best way to introduce themselves to the family.
"In that case, wouldn't it just be easier if we pretended to be a couple, Shoko?" Gojo announced with a laugh.
"What?!" Shoko froze, a sudden blush flaring across her cheeks. Her heart skipped a beat, and she desperately forced herself to calm down.
"I want to see the baby, so what excuse makes more sense than a couple dropping by to greet their nice neighbors?" Gojo had seen similar customs in his clan when he was a kid.
Members of other families would visit to see him, and they always came in pairs. He figured it was a foolproof plan.
A vein throbbed at Shoko’s temple, and she immediately stomped on the annoying brat's foot.
"Ow!" Gojo had intentionally left Infinity off, so he felt the full force of the stomp. "Shoko, what was that for?"
Shoko couldn't tell if the guy in front of him was just incredibly dense or playing with her on purpose.
Gojo loved teasing everyone, making it virtually impossible to tell what he actually thought or felt about women.
In fact, he seemed utterly hopeless with women, preferring to stick close to the guys. For some reason, that last thought felt a bit too real.
Shoko remembered just how clingy the lunatic was when it came to Yuji. If he wasn't bound by Yuji’s request and his own burning curiosity, Gojo probably would have flown straight to Yuji’s side by now.
"Sigh..." Shoko shook off the mental image and focused back on their goal. "We can just be honest with them, right? The Itadori family needs to be on high alert regarding that woman."
It was a much better plan. It was far safer if the Itadori family was fully aware of the danger so they could protect the baby.
For some reason, Gojo always tried to overcomplicate things and take the hardest route possible.
"Hmm..." Gojo adjusted his glasses, mulling over the option for a few minutes.
Eventually, he realized Shoko’s idea was practical; it really was better if the family actively kept the woman away from the child.
He snapped his fingers. "Alright, let’s do it your way."
.....
And so, to make a long story short, they finally met Itadori Wasuke, the baby's grandfather.
Shoko began a textbook explanation, claiming they were investigating a dangerous woman who might be targeting the area.
"I don't know where that damn woman is! Get lost! Leave my grandson alone!" The old man tried to slam the door in their faces, but Gojo held it open with a single hand.
"Hold on. That woman took your son, and I think you know exactly how dangerous she is," Gojo interrupted, widening the gap in the closing door.
Before Wasuke could snap back, a soft thud echoed behind him, followed by a tiny voice calling out, "Ji-chan."
Wasuke immediately let go of the door and rushed toward the toddler. "Hey, don't run around! Come here, come here, I’m right here."
A tiny, adorable child with pink hair tumbled straight into his grandfather's arms. The toddler's light brown eyes blinked at the two strangers, staring with innocent curiosity.
Meanwhile, Shoko and Gojo froze at the threshold.
Shoko felt like she was seeing things; the child looked exactly like a miniature version of Yuji. She quickly glanced at the lunatic beside her, who was staring intensely at the boy.
Oh no, this idiot... Shoko tried to pull him back, but she was too late. Gojo had already moved, crouching down in front of the toddler.
"Hey there, kiddo. What’s your name?" Gojo suppressed his grin, trying to act normal despite the absolute euphoria rushing through him.
"Uh." Amazingly, the little boy wasn't afraid of him at all.
"What do you think you're doing? I didn't give you permission to enter! Get out! Leave my grandson be. Come on, Yuji, go to your room," Wasuke barked, standing up with the child in his arms and glaring at Gojo.
But the man he was glaring at looked like he had just achieved pure enlightenment.
"Wow, even the name is identical," the lunatic murmured.
The words sent a shiver down Wasuke's spine; he held his grandson tighter and hurried into the back room.
.....
Wasuke was ultimately forced to let the two uninvited guests inside, driven by his own desperation to know what had happened to his missing son.
Gojo wore a massive grin that clearly irritated both Shoko and Wasuke.
"Hello, Old Man. I'm Gojo Satoru." The Six Eyes instantly picked up the fact that the old man in front of him wasn't an ordinary human.
Wasuke’s face shifted the moment he heard the name. Anyone in the Jujutsu world knew who the bearer of the Six Eyes was.
Only normal humans were oblivious. The reaction meant the old man was highly likely a sorcerer himself, just like his son.
"I don't know who you are, but I want to know how you met my son. Where did you see him?" Wasuke feigned ignorance.
Gojo rested his chin in his hand, his eyes glinting. "Your son and daughter-in-law nearly killed me two weeks ago."
The old man froze, then exploded in a fury. "Bullshit! My son would never do that! Besides, there's no way a guy like you could be killed that easily!"
Wasuke stopped mid-sentence, realizing he had just slipped up and revealed his hand.
Gojo chuckled. "Right, I’m not that easy to kill. That’s why I’m still standing here, breathing and kicking. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to catch your son and his wife. They slipped away."
The implication was clear: two highly dangerous individuals were out there, and they could easily come back for the child.
Wasuke couldn't believe his son had strayed so far down a dark path because of that wretched woman.
He looked deeply resistant, but he knew the lunatic in front of him had no reason to lie about an assassination attempt on his own life.
Wasuke’s hands shook as the weight of the situation crashed down on him. If his son was entirely under that woman's thumb, his grandson was in grave danger.
"Old Man, I’ve got a proposition. I bet that woman is going to target your grandson to keep your son in line. So, let me take care of the kid for his own safety." Gojo threw out the bait, but the old man slapped it down instantly.
"In your dreams! My grandson stays with me! He’s not being raised by some freak like you. Keep him out of your twisted world!" Wasuke rejected it flatly.
If anything happened, he would protect his grandson himself rather than hand him over to a lunatic who was clearly far more dangerous than anyone else.
Gojo sighed and shook his head, pivoting his approach. "Alright, fine. Then how about I deploy my own operatives to assist with security, and I’ll drop by occasionally to check on him? Deal?"
"What is your actual angle here?" Wasuke didn't trust that someone would go through all this trouble just to protect a child they didn't even know.
"My angle, of course, is to catch that woman the moment she shows her face around your grandson," Gojo answered smoothly, entirely confident he had hidden his true motives.
Wasuke knew that meant his grandson was essentially being used as bait. But even without their protection, the boy was already a target and in constant danger.
Even if he despised the thought of dragging his grandson into that corrupt Jujutsu world, the child's survival now depended on the people from it. The moral bankruptcy of the woman who stole his son couldn't be trusted.
His son was already a lost cause. His innocent grandson was the only family he had left, and the poor kid shouldn't have to suffer for the sins of his parents.
After a long, heavy silence, with the two strangers patiently waiting for his verdict, Wasuke finally gave his consent, on the absolute condition that he remained by his grandson's side, no matter what.
***