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"I'm telling you, we should stay awake to see it!"
"It doesn't sound like a good idea to do that when we have a mission first thing in the morning…"
Having heard that, Gojo smiled and accelerated his steps, making Suguru and Shoko roll their eyes. As soon as he was at the end of the hall, he turned and his smile transformed into a smirk as soon as he saw the two boys he had heard.
Said smirk was met with two different reactions. Haibara's face brightened up upon seeing him, eyes glinting excitedly at his senpai. On the other hand, Nanami's contorted weirdly, a lot of emotions seemed to pass through his face before it settled with something similar to annoyance.
Huh. Wonder why that could be.
"Nanami, don't be a spoilsport. What are you, a kid, or an old hag, for you to sleep early before a mission? Ah?"
The blonde's eye twitched, but he managed to keep the rest of his expression mostly intact. "You don't even know what we're talking about, so please refrain from jumping like that to the conversation. Besides, not everyone is a monster like you, some of us need to rest between work."
Gojo opened his mouth to say something else, but at the same time, Ieiri and Geto appeared at his side. "Leave them alone, Satoru." Suguru said, using that usual lecturing tone of his.
"Wh—"
"Ah, Senpai!" This time, it was Haibara who interrupted. "Fancy seeing you all together."
Fancy, huh? It was actually a big surprise, Geto thought, that they were all here. Since Riko's death, they hadn't truly spent much time together. Gojo had been taking a lot of missions lately, and when he wasn't on one, he was training hard by himself. He had already become the strongest, and yet, every time they saw each other Suguru could feel the distance between them growing.
"Actually, I'm going to borrow Satoru for a moment."
They all turned to look at Yaga, walking towards them with that characteristic frown of his.
"I was just joking, you know?" Satoru said, trying to avoid getting in trouble for playing a bit with Nanami.
"I don't know what you're talking about, nor do I think I want to." Their teacher said as he made a gesture with his hand indicating to Gojo that he should follow him. "You have a mission."
The boy made an exaggerated show of acting angry about it, but before Yaga could tell him anything he just shrugged and walked behind him.
"Ah, good luck on your mission, Senpai!"
Satoru just raised his hand in goodbye at Haibara's words, although he probably didn't need such a thing as luck. He soon placed both arms behind his head, a posture he usually took when bored.
Of course, every mission was probably boring for him, now. He was the strongest, after all. Suguru watched him go, seeing him walking away and wondering if he was always meant to stay behind, just able to see Satoru's back.
"What did you want to see, Haibara?" Shoko asked suddenly, not at all interested in Gojo's mission, and too indifferent to notice the face of longing Suguru was still making at him.
"Ah, the sky!" The boy answered excitedly. "The news said that the stars would look great tonight."
Ieiri narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze discreetly moving towards Geto, and he was proud of himself for not flinching. It was stupid, he thought, that a simple word like star could make him tense somehow, but he couldn't help it sometimes. Shoko had noticed, with time, and it was a bit humiliating that she was eyeing him like that.
Fortunately, neither Yui nor Nanami noticed anything, and their conversation continued swiftly. Suguru, however, had a lot of thoughts running through his mind, as if every curse he had ingested over time was whispering in his ear, repeating the name of Riko Amanai.
"What are you doing up here?"
Geto turned to look at him very quickly, though his expression showed no actual surprise. Of course, you would find me. He simply stared at him until Gojo sat next to him, then returned his attention to the sky.
"Nothing. I just wanted some fresh air."
"Hm. That doesn't answer why you're on the roof, though." Gojo noticed. "It's not like you to break the rules."
It's not like you. Huh, wasn't it? Lately, he had been doing a lot of things that didn't feel much like him. In fact, he hadn't been feeling much like himself, and yet, Satoru had just said that with a lot of security, as if he knew him well enough to do that.
He probably did, though. Or at least he used to— everything had changed so much in only a few months, that Suguru wouldn't be surprised if now Gojo couldn't tell who his best friend truly was. And if he were to be sincere, Suguru would admit that he didn't know who he was supposed to be, either.
"I simply felt like it." He finally answered with a shrug.
"Is that so?" Gojo asked, looking up at the sky and trying to see why Suguru was so mesmerized.
Ignoring that, Geto took a quick glance at him from the corner of his eye. "Didn't you have a mission?"
"I finished it quickly. Wasn't even fun."
Of course. Everything was so easy for Gojo, now, that the only thing he had to complain about was that his opponents were too weak for him to have fun.
They stayed silent after that, although it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Suguru had his own thoughts, again, a hundred voices in his head asking if anything could've been different. Riko Amanai had died in the blink of an eye, and while Gojo was still here, at the same time it felt like he wasn't, as if he was slowly banishing. In the months following Riko's death, Geto had felt like some part of him had died, too. And it was weird, to be removed so easily from Satoru's side, to be left in the dark, and have to settle with short moments when he could receive his light.
Noticing that his friend's attention was still in the sky, Geto let his gaze wander to him. Gojo was, in Suguru's honest opinion, just like a star in every sense: he was more powerful than human reasoning could imagine, he shined bright in every single thing he did, and most importantly, even when he was probably the most dangerous person in the world, he nurtured Suguru and filled him with life.
Satoru was just as beautiful as a star, but just like a star, he had become too out of reach for him. If only he could be just as strong, maybe there'd be a difference. If only he could stretch his arm and be able to touch him, maybe he wouldn't feel so lonely…
"Look, a shooting star."
Suguru turned his head quickly, although it was mostly because Gojo's sudden words caught him off guard. Nevertheless, he did manage to see the star crossing the sky at high speed.
"... You can make a wish, I guess." He said, trying to fill in the silence. However, Gojo scoffed at his suggestion.
"It's not actually a star, you know?" He said, in that tone of voice that he liked to use when he was acting like a smartass. "They're meteors. And they won't actually fulfill your dreams."
And, of course, Suguru already knew that. "I know, it was just a joke. I guess every dream you have you can accomplish on your own, anyway. After all, you're Satoru Gojo."
If Suguru could ask for a wish, maybe he'd ask to be like Gojo: If he were the next leader of the Gojo clan, maybe he would be able to change this old system that made them fight. If he had the six eyes, maybe he would be able to protect all his friends without a problem. If he were the strongest, maybe he would be able to get rid of every non-sorcerer that threatened their lives—
"So, what was your wish?"
"Huh?"
He raised his head, looking at Gojo with eyes open wide. For a moment, he wondered if Satoru had read his mind —which, given his crazy improvement, wouldn't be a surprise—, but soon realized he was just asking about the star.
"... Didn't you just say that it is pointless to make a wish to a shooting star?"
"A meteor." Satoru corrected, and Geto raised an eyebrow at that, because he had been the one who called it a shooting star in the first place. "And yes, I think it is stupid, but I wanna know what your wish was."
"I didn't make any wish." He shrugged, returning his face to the ground. "As you said, it is stupid. Besides, even if I had, saying it would automatically invalidate it."
There was a small silence after that, but Suguru could feel the other's eyes over him, so he turned his head to look Gojo in the eye.
And the fucker was chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Geto asked, trying to sound annoyed, although it wasn't very effective, as the white-haired just laughed harder.
"So you do believe in that!" Satoru mocked. "I expected better from you, Suguru."
"I don't." He said, hoping that the heat in his face was anger and not a blush. "It's just what people say."
But Gojo kept laughing. Rolling his eyes, Suguru decided that it would be useless to fight over that, and it would be simpler to just wait for him to forget it.
Eventually, Gojo did stop laughing, and just returned to look at the sky. Suguru, however, was staring just straight ahead, not thinking about anything in particular and about everything at the same time. They should probably go back to their rooms soon…
But before he could suggest that, Satoru spoke. "Well, whatever you wished…"
"I told you I didn't wish anyth—"
"I wish that, too."
Having talked at the same time, it took Geto a few seconds to understand what Satoru had said. When he did, though, it didn't make him any less confused. "Ah?"
"I said, that whatever it is you wished, I wish that as well. It's more likely to become true if we both wish for it, right?"
Suguru opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, speaking incredulously. "You just said that it doesn't work and that it is stupid, so what are you talking about?"
Satoru shrugged. "I know it doesn't work, but that's what they say, right?"
No, actually, I've never heard of such a thing. Geto thought, but for some reason, he couldn't voice that out loud. Maybe it was just his imagination, but for a second he thought he had seen a tint of red in Gojo's cheeks— maybe he was embarrassed for making fun of Geto's words?
"I mean, it doesn't matter if it works or not, right?" Satoru continued, given that Geto had stayed silent. "We are the strongest."
We. We are the strongest. It was true, and at the same time, it was a big lie, because Satoru was the strongest. And just like a shooting star, he had appeared, made Suguru's life better while he was there, only to move on later, leaving him with his wishes unsatisfied.
What was your wish?
Whatever you wished, I wish that, too.
But Satoru had no idea that the only thing Geto wished for was to be able to return to his side. He had always been happy when he was with Gojo, he had always felt like they could do anything when they were together. They had been the strongest duo, ready to go against the whole world, because as long as they had each other everything would work out. If only they hadn't split that day, maybe Riko would still be alive, maybe Geto would still feel alive—
"You know, when I'm with you, I feel like we can do anything."
For a moment, he wondered if he had unconsciously worded his thoughts out loud, but soon realized that Satoru had been the one who spoke. Blue eyes were staring right at him, and a smirk of complicity that he hadn't received in a long time. "We don't need a shooting star, I think that everything can be possible if I'm with you, after all. I guess I was just trying to say that, whatever you wish, you don't have to worry— we'll make it true, together."
Suguru's mouth opened slightly in surprise, but no sound came out of it. Ah, yes, he used to feel like that as well. He never thought that he needed a shooting star, because, from the moment he met Satoru, he already had everything he wanted.
"Hah." He chuckled, closing his eyes at that. Yes, Satoru, who was so dazzling that no one could dare stare at him for long; Satoru, who was so beyond reach; who was so powerful that could bring destruction as well as restore his heart—
"I guess you're right."
Satoru would one day probably disappear from his life, just like a shooting star disappears from the sky. He was already moving too far away, and Suguru knew that the rift between them would only grow bigger with time. But these tender moments, the memories they built together would always be in his heart.
Because even if it wouldn't last, his wish had already become true with those times.