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I wake up to the sun shining on my face. I sit up groggily and check the time: 10:53 AM.
Shit. I overslept.
Still barely awake, I brush my teeth and put on my uniform at the same time. I must’ve forgotten to set my alarm after I got back last night—though I guess it’d be more accurate to say this morning. Maybe I should’ve just stayed up, but I guess I was too tired to even consider that as an option.
I’m out the door in record time, but I still walk to class; I’m late anyway and I’ve only got one classmate. I let out an involuntary sigh.
Guess I should go give him some company.
I quicken my pace towards the classroom.
“Good morning…” I say tentatively, sliding the wooden doors open. Hm? “Where’s Gojo?”
“Satoru went home yesterday afternoon,” Yaga says, arching an eyebrow. “He should be back tomorrow morning. He didn’t tell you?”
He never tells me anything, I think, surprising myself with the thought.
“...So there’s no class today?”
“No, but. Shoko. You’re late because you stayed up looking after a patient again, didn’t you? You’ve been doing that too often recently. It’s good that you have such a strong sense of responsibility, but you’re still a growing child. Leave the overnights to the adults and get some proper sleep.”
“Yes sir,” I reply. Not a chance. There’s no one else here who can use reverse cursed technique on other people—it’s safest if I’m there to keep an eye on them.
I stifle another sigh welling up. It’s probably incomparable to Gojo’s, but I still bear a heavy burden.
Ah, what a pain.
“I’m going back to sleep then. Call me if anything happens.”
“...Sure. Rest well, Shoko.”
I don’t.
It’s 1:05 AM and I’m grabbing a coffee from the vending machine when I hear footsteps coming my way. Nanami doesn’t stay up past 10pm, so there’s only one person who it could be.
“Welcome back, Young Master,” I say, doing a curtsy. Gojo scowls.
“Shut up. It’s gross when you do it.”
“Then I shall heed the Young Master’s word.” I step aside so Gojo can use the machine, but he doesn’t move. He doesn’t say anything either, which is weird for him, so I crack open my coffee, take a couple sips, and wait.
I’m really not made for this.
I’ve been with the two of them long enough to know exactly what Geto would do in this situation, but it’s too big a leap to go from saying a few comforting words sarcastically to patting his head and offering genuine words of affirmation. I don’t know what to say and I don’t think Gojo would want that from me either.
It doesn’t feel good watching Gojo sulk like this either though, so I guess I’ll… try something .
“So, what’s wrong?”
Gojo looks at me with a confused face, but it changes to a smirk pretty quickly.
“...It’s kind of gross when you do this too.”
I’m about to rebuke, but he answers my question nonetheless.
“Got chewed out for letting Suguru go. That’s all. Bad look for the family, irresponsible, yada yada. Y’know,” he says. His tone is lighthearted, but there’s a look of resentment in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. Not that I don’t get where it’s coming from, though.
“Want me to sock ‘em for you?”
He laughs. A real one. Good .
“Shoko, you couldn’t even hurt Utahime with one of your punches.”
“Don’t drag Utahime-senpai into this, scumbag, or you’ll be the one getting socked.” I take another swig of my coffee. I’m almost done, which means I won’t have an excuse to stay here anymore.
Gojo gives me one though.
“Can I ask you for some advice?”
“...Sure. I can’t guarantee it’ll be good but I’ll hear you out.”
“I’m thinking of going to find Zenin Toji’s kid.”
Zenin Toji. The sorcerer killer who beat both Geto and Gojo to a pulp last year. I’m personally not a fan of the guy who put my friends in a near-death state, but if that’s what Gojo wants, then that’s his prerogative. And, well, the kid has nothing to do with that either.
“That’ll put you on bad terms with the Zenin family, won’t it?"
“Oh, we’re already on terrible terms, so it’s fine. What’s one more piece of wood in the fire?” Gojo replies flippantly. Not like the Zenin family could do anything about it, I guess. Not with Gojo as their opponent.
“Go for it, then. I’ll get you some books on how to raise children.” I’m mostly joking, but at the same time, taking a kid under your wing is no joke. Especially not when you’re really still a kid yourself too. “I doubt I’d be any help with taking care of them, but I’ll listen to your complaints. Oh, and let me know if they can use reverse cursed technique—I could use the help.”
“Yeah, that’s obvious enough,” Gojo says, pointing at the circles under my eyes without a hint of delicacy. “There’s no other reason for you to be chugging coffee at this hour. You should try like, sleeping.”
“That’s rich, coming from you. I don’t know what you’re up to these days, but I always see light coming from under your door, and if I’m seeing it, you know it’s some ungodly hour,” I say, exasperated.
But I’m not really upset. It’s weird to see Gojo express any sort of concern for others, but recently it feels like he’s been trying harder to, well, care about other people.
“You wouldn’t see it if you were asleep,” he rebukes. What a cheap argument.
If he’s making an effort, then maybe I should too. To tell the truth, I don’t care about the politics of the jujutsu world. If a fight breaks out between the Gojo and Zenin families, I’m not taking sides. It’s a pain to get involved or draw any attention to myself. I’m really only here because I got scouted and healing is something only I can do, but if we’re just talking about my classmate and friend Gojo Satoru, then I’m not heartless enough to ignore what he’s going through.
Even if he doesn’t want to share it with me.
“...Gojo.”
He meets my eyes. He looks tired.
“Let me know when you’re gonna be gone for a while.”
I’m expecting him to reply with something like “Shoko-chan, are you getting lonely~?” or something along those lines. And he does, but…
“...So you get lonely too, Shoko?” He says, looking out the window into the darkness.
He sounds a little surprised and I can’t blame him. This is probably the first time I’ve made a request like this and it’s incredibly out of character for me. But he’s smiling, just a little, so I know that I made the right move. I give him a slight shrug and a noncommittal hum.
“Okay. I will.”
While I’ve still got him in this quiet state and the embarrassment hasn’t caught up to me yet, I add one more thing.
“If you ever need a place to rest, come by the infirmary. I’ll keep a bed open for you.”
“Save the beds for the actual patients!” He says, ruffling my hair. I usually hated when Geto did it, but I can’t deny that the familiar sensation is somewhat comforting. “Just a chair is enough.”
“Don’t complain if it’s uncomfortable.”
“Now that’s something I can’t promise.”
Our eyes meet again when he lifts his hand off my head. He still looks tired, but, and maybe I’m imagining it, his expression looks a little lighter.
We head back to our rooms and bid each other good night, knowing full well that neither of us was going to have one.
In my room, I open my window and light a smoke, exhaling into the cold night. The pages in the textbooks I’ve got open flutter as the wind blows through the room, but I’ll worry about finding where I was later.
“You’ve left quite the mess behind, Geto,” I mutter with a sigh.
If you’ve decided your way of life, then I guess I will too.
Geto.
I can’t become you, and honestly, I don’t want to. But I’ll pick up the pieces you left behind and care for them, give them someone to lean on, so that one day, the two of you can stand strong and face each other again.
I can’t help but laugh quietly to myself.
“You two idiots really are a pain in the ass.”