Chapter Text
“Utahime!”
There was a pause before Utahime tilted her head towards the side, having been in the midst of returning back to the school after a visit to the town. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was, shock filling her system before her face turned into a fierce, angry scowl. She ignored how Gojo waved cheerfully at her from afar, his signature dark shades reflecting the light of the sun. Whipping her face away, her hair flying over her shoulder, she stormed off so that she didn’t have to see him.
“Hey, wait up!”
She ignored him in favor of walking faster, but Gojo with his damn long legs easily caught up with her.
“Why are you mad?”
“I’m not mad.” she said through gritted teeth.
“Of course not. I haven’t done anything.”
“Argh, I hate it when you say that!” she couldn’t help but snap and knew she’d blown it when Gojo’s smile seemed to grow.
“Aw, c’mon, it’s been awhile since we’ve last seen each other.” he cajoled.
“What do you want, Gojo?” she turned the corner of the street, away from the pedestrians and towards the quiet path that would lead back to the school. “Kyoto is a long way from Tokyo.”
“I was just in the area because of a mission. Finished it up pretty quickly.” he said with half a shrug. “You know, being considered the strongest and all that, so a lot of the missions have been piling up.”
Utahime’s scowl deepened. “I’ve heard.”
“Impressed?” Gojo teased. “It’s okay. Not everyone can be blessed like me. I’m so popular these days that they’re always calling me. It’s such a hassle, but they can’t help it, because-.”
“Gojo, how many missions have you exactly taken this past month... no, this past week?” she couldn’t help but demand before immediately regretting it. Utahime stifled her lip, especially when she saw the look of surprise in Gojo’s eyes, before walking faster. She hurried to the nearest alleyway, to the abandoned market, that would take her to the shortcut back to the school. It was emptier here and the seals in the area prevented cursed spirits from making a nasty surprise.
“Jealous?” she heard Gojo call out from behind her and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
As if she’d be jealous of that buffoon.
“Aw, c’mon, I can’t help it that I’m so great,” again, Gojo easily caught up with her and Utahime resisted the urge to smack him. She’d heard all about his Infinity barrier from Shoko and knew that trying to hit him would do nothing but stress her out even more.
“That’s not the point, you moron.”
“Calling people names isn’t nice, you know.” he retorted easily.
“Just go away. Fly off to your next mission already.” Utahime snapped.
Gojo pouted. “After I took the trouble of coming all this way to see you.”
“As if it matters,” Utahime continued harshly. “Why should I care about the feelings of a dead man walking?”
“Eh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Gojo began to walk sideways so that he could see her face as they walked. “I can heal myself, you know. It’s not easy to kill me.”
“That’s not what I heard.” damn him and his long legs! Why was it so impossible to walk faster than him?!
The idiot!
The fool!
The stupid, foolish, idiot!
“Utahime-.”
“You almost died.” his voice cracked through the guard she’d been so desperately trying to hold. Seeing his face, hearing his voice, and then remembering everything that had almost happened. That did happen. Her voice came out quieter this time, raspy and thick. Utahime made sure her eyes were glued to the ground, grateful for the fact that Gojo was behind her and unable to see her face. “No... you did die... you were basically dead.”
The marketplace they stood in the middle was empty, completely abandoned during the past recession. However, the silence seemed to stab her a million times and she hated the tension, the awkwardness she’d feel whenever she was around him. It made her remember how much it had torn her apart when she’d heard everything from Shoko... of the failed mission with the star plasma vessel... of how Gojo had inherited the title of “ The Strongest ”... the betrayal that also eventually followed... and the mountain of missions Gojo started to undertake like a man possessed.
“But I’m alive.” Gojo spoke, his voice low and unreadable. “And being in that position was actually a good thing because it let me progress to the next level. I’m now-.”
“The strongest...” Utahime tried to unclench her fists, but found it to be impossible. “...I know...”
“So-.”
“I heard...” she interrupted him sharply before her voice softened. “I heard what happened... with Geto...”
The tension seemed to spike and Utahime ignored how the hair on the back of her neck rose in warning. The topic was still too sensitive to Gojo. She’d heard rumors about how Gojo’s presence seemed to darken whenever someone even uttered that name. The only ones safe from a painful prank or training session were Shoko and Yaga-sensei.
It was only after a few painful moments when she realized that Gojo wasn’t going to do anything that she allowed herself to breathe.
“...what about it?”
“It’s not about it,” she spoke quietly. “It’s what you’re doing because of it.”
“I’m not doing anything different.”
Rage spiked through her and Utahime flipped her head around, eyes blazing with anger. “Anything different? Are you kidding me? Do you know how many missions you’re taking right now, Gojo?”
“I’m fine.” he easily waved away her concern, looking completely unmoved while staring at her with such icy cold blue eyes. “I haven’t failed a single mission and there’s barely any damage amongst both sorcerers and civilians.”
“Failure isn’t the problem here! I don’t care how many techniques you know that can heal you! I don’t care how many different ways you know how to destroy a cursed spirit. What you’re doing is basically... basically...”
“...inhuman?” he finished for her. “Of course. I’m the strongest. I’m sure someone as weak as you can’t understand, but-.”
SLAP!
Utahime’s hand stung, but it probably didn’t hurt as much as the currently reddening skin of Gojo’s cheek. She really didn’t think she’d make an impact with his Infinity, but maybe Gojo had had his guard down... maybe it was because of what they were talking about... or maybe because it was her and that’s how little he thought of her... but still, there was a sense of vicious satisfaction and grief over the fact that she was finally able to hit him. Especially now.
“Strength comes in many ways, you moron!” she yelled. “And yes, you’re Gojo Satoru. The almighty, the all-powerful being that almost no one can take down. But you’re still human at the end of the day! So don’t you dare... dare brush off you nearly dying as it being nothing.”
Crap. She could feel her eyes misting and she quickly turned away, unwilling to let Gojo of all people know that she was tearing up. He would never let her live it down, especially since he was always teasing her about it, mockingly asking her if she was crying because she was scared. Utahime cursed herself even further as she heard how her voice cracked.
“You... are not alone... you idiot...” she whispered raspily. “So stop acting like it.”
A few tears slipped from the corner of her eye and her wrist twitched as she resisted the instinct to reach up to brush it away.
“You still bleed... and you still hurt...”
Ah fuck it. Utahime began wiping the tears away, knowing if she allowed them to continue, she might end up fully crying in a few seconds.
“A-And I may not be as strong as you, but I sure as hell can be useful when needed. So-.”
A hand landed on her shoulder and she almost hiccupped her words. Instead, she was silenced as Gojo firmly squeezed her shoulder.
“I’m sorry.”
Utahime quickly wiped her tears away, frustrated by how they refused to stop. “You better be, you stupid moron.”
“...but... I don’t know... what else to do...” he murmured so quietly that she almost didn't hear.
She tilted her head towards his direction in surprise. “What do you mean?”
Gojo stared at her before his hand reached out and brushed a few of her tears away. Utahime’s eyes widened when he cupped her face for a moment before pulling his hand away. He looked to the side, an unreadable look on his face. “Geto thinks the only way to get rid of cursed spirits is to get rid of all the non-shamans.”
Utahime looked at Gojo in shock. “That’s insane.”
“I know,” Gojo frowned. “But the thing is... when I told him that something like that was impossible, he told me... that if it was me, it wouldn’t be impossible. That because I’m Gojo Satoru, I should be able to do it. So it’s not that it’s impossible... it is possible...”
“Gojo...”
“I’m not going to start going on a rampage, Utahime,” he reassured. “Not even close to it. But it made me realize... power... like mine... it’s not everything. It can even be meaningless.”
“...you can’t save people who don’t want to be saved.” she solemnly concluded for him and almost jumped when Gojo’s eyes turned to her, a flicker of surprise in the icy blue depths. “What?”
He looked away. “No... it’s just... that’s what I had thought as well. There’s no point in me trying to talk it out with him when he’s determined to go down this path.”
“Then why all these missions, Gojo? Are you trying to destroy cursed spirits faster than Geto can kill all non-shamans?” she inquired snippily with an arched brow, still feeling a bit miffed about how he’d been treating himself the past few weeks.
“You know, it’s quite touching how much you care for me, Utahime,” he mocked and then chuckled when she tried to hit him, only to feel the resistance of the barrier around him. Gojo stuck out his tongue at her. “Sorry, you only get one freebie per lifetime.”
“Moron,” she snarled. “I don’t know why I even bothered.”
“And if you must know, no. I admit, I might have been... er... overeager with my missions, but you can’t blame me either. Nanami left to be some boring salary man and we don’t have enough man-power as it is! Not to mention, what about you? I know you’re weak, but it’s not like you’re useless in a mission! Why the heck are you chaining yourself down to be a teacher?” he griped, side stepping as Utahime attempted to smack him again.
“I’ll have you know that being a teacher is very important,” Utahime aimed a kick for his stomach, but Gojo easily pivoted away again. Huffing, she turned away with her arms crossed. “Like you said, we don’t have enough man-power, so it’s important that there’s someone to guide the next generation so that they’re stronger than us and more prepared for what’s ahead. We won’t always be alive to do the work, Gojo.”
Gojo rolled his eyes under his sunglasses. “Of course not, Utahime. I may be all powerful, but I’m not immortal. Though I have thought about... wait...”
“What?” Utahime narrowed her eyes in suspicion as Gojo froze.
A mischievous smile began to unfurl on Gojo’s lips. “Well, that’s a promising idea now.”
Dread began to fill her. It was never a good thing (especially for her) when Gojo smiled like that. “What are you thinking now, you idiot?”
“I was just thinking about a change in career for myself.”
The dread within her intensified and Utahime looked at Gojo in horror. “What? No. Don’t say it. Don’t say it, you moron!”
“I’m going to become a teacher too!” Gojo said cheerfully. “Don’t worry. You can keep the lame Kyoto division. I’ll take the Tokyo one.”
“Gojo!”
“And I already have a potential candidate for my new batch of hatchlings. Utahime, I’m such a genius!” Gojo continued, his eyes nearly sparkling while Utahime nearly whimpered in horror of the future that awaited her. “My precious students! The future! The ones who will change the world and help me clean up the nasty counsel and elders!”
Shit! Shit! Gojo as a teacher? As in they were going to see each other more now? Faculty often worked hand in hand together, especially due to the frequent joint missions and exchanges that took place between the Kyoto and Tokyo divisions. Before, she’d only see Gojo whenever she or he ended up in each other’s city’s, but this meant they’d be talking to each other and seeing each other a lot more frequently.
“Let’s work hard together, partner,” Gojo held out a hand for her and Utahime could only stare at him in horror.
“THAT’S SENPAI TO YOU!”