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It was a quiet Monday night. Despite the cold weather in the Tochigi prefecture, it was nice out. The chilly air brustled past trees whose leaves were turning colours and falling off. The sun was gone, the moon out instead. The pavement underneath Satoru was illuminated with the help of the flickering street lights. If he breathed out harshly enough, his breath would be visible.
“We could’ve come here when it wasn’t as cold,” Suguru muttered annoyedly, turtling his head deeper into the tall collar of his jacket. Satoru resisted the urge to coo at the sight.
He smiled instead, “There wasn’t a guarantee he’d be at the fight club that early.”
Suguru frowned. Satoru could tell based on his eyebrows. “Do you know if he has another place to stay other than Gachinko?” He pushed his head out momentarily to blow hot air into his cold hands.
Satoru stuffed his hands deeper into his pocket, “Nope! Honestly, this is just a hope he’s there past the hours of the club.”
Suguru grumbled something under his breath but Satoru ignored him, continuing to walk down the sidewalk. The trees were lessening the further they walked, and more tall buildings appeared instead. The gravel and small rocks beneath his shoes crunched with every step.
Truth be told, Satoru was strangely nervous. It had been over a year since he’d seen his old students. When Hakari had been expelled, he’d fought tooth and nail with the Higher-Ups to reconsider, but to no avail. They could be weirdly stubborn when they wanted to. Those feelings of guilt worsened when he walked into Hakari’s room, only to see it empty. Not only him, but his classmate had left with him. Two empty rooms were an awful lot for Jujutsu High.
And so there he was, a year later, with Suguru by his side as they made their way to an old and abandoned parking garage.
“Is it weird I feel nervous about this?” Satoru couldn’t help but ask, the confession bubbling out of his mouth without really meaning to.
Suguru shrugged, “Is it weird you’re nervous? Yeah. Is it weird you’re nervous about this?” He smiled. Satoru could tell by his eyes, “Nah.”
Satoru nodded slowly, exhaling. “I haven’t seen them in over a year.”
“So you’ve told me.”
“Even Shoko didn’t wanna come with.”
“She told me she wasn’t really close to either of them.”
Satoru shook his head. His hands were getting sweaty in his coat pockets, “I think she was close to Hakari’s classmate. Maybe. I don’t know.”
Suguru simply nodded in understanding but remained silent. The wind continued to blow as they approached the building. There were pieces of cement and sides of the building that had fallen apart, but there didn’t seem to be anyone. Satoru sighed, continuing to walk down the trail.
“What are you planning on asking them?” Suguru asked.
They were in front of the entrance. It was empty, with no bodyguards or anyone to welcome them in. It was a Monday night, and the fight club wasn’t open until Tuesday afternoon. It was eerily quiet, a few taunt and loose wires hanging out the ceiling. Any flashy commercial neon signs were long worn out and didn’t even glitch anymore. There were two pulses of faint cursed aura ahead of them.
Satoru shrugged again, “Apologize.” Was all he said.
Figuring he wasn’t going to get any more answers anytime soon, Suguru remained quiet for the rest of the way.
As the two men reached the top of the building, the wind flailed wildly around them. The cursed auras grew stronger once they reached the top of the steps.
“You think we gotta knock or are our auras a strong enough invite?”
Satoru rolled his eyes. “I think we'll give them a heart attack. I'll knock, stay behind me and shut up. Don't speak, they don't know you personally.”
“Should've brought Shoko.”
“Don't I know it.”
Satoru lifted his hand, pounding the side of his fist against the door. Suguru, surprisingly, remained quiet with his head and gaze somewhat low.
After a few moments of quiet, the doorknob turned and opened. A recognizable face with long hair and piercings appeared in the doorway. They glanced over at Suguru for a few seconds before looking back at Satoru.
“Hey there-” He paused, “Uh-”
They raised a manicured hand and pointed at themselves, “Kirara now. Who’s the other guy with you?”
“Oh!” Satoru turned around, “That’s Geto Suguru, another teacher at Jujutsu High. Just started this year.”
A look of recognition passed by their face, “Oh, I’ve heard of you.” A smile made its way by their lips, their piercings making a small noise against their teeth. They moved away from the door and walked back into the room.
Satoru walked in after them with Suguru trailing after him. The room was small but spacious enough for all four of them to fit without making it awkward. Satoru was weirdly scared of being awkward, which was unusual for him. He knew they’d kick both of them out without a second thought if he said anything wrong. But he wanted to know how they were doing. He still cared for them, he really did.
On the couch was Hakari. He was slouched on it, a can of soda on his knee with his hand holding onto it. Kirara made their way next to him, crossing their legs.
“You changed your hair,” Satoru pointed out, grabbing two chairs nearby and setting out one for Suguru.
Hakari smirked, placing a hand on top of his newly dyed hair, “Yeah, wanted something new.”
Satoru nodded, sitting down and crossing his legs. “How long has it been? Two, three years?”
“It’s a new school year, right?” Kirara mentioned, “Did you get any new students?”
Satoru nodded once again, smiling at the thought of his first years, “Yeah, three of ‘em. But, uh, I’m not here to talk about them,”
“If you’re here on some mission the Higher-Ups gave you,” Hakari interrupted, raising the can, “Then you can take your leave now. We’re not interested.”
Suguru couldn’t help but snort at that, while Satoru rolled his eyes, “Hey, between us,” Satoru leaned over and placed his elbows on his knees, “I’d kill ‘em the second I got the chance. I just came here to talk to you guys.”
“Why’d you bring him and not Shoko?” Kirara asked, their starry eyes not leaving Suguru.
He shrugged, “Shoko was busy, and couldn’t make it. But she does miss you and wishes you the best.”
They seemed pleased at that response, simply nodding and settling back into a relaxed posture. Satoru wished Shoko could’ve come with them, knowing how Kirara adored Shoko. He didn’t know the specifics, but before Hakari and Kirara left, they spoke to Shoko about something that made their bond even stronger before leaving Jujutsu High.
“What do you wanna talk about? Weird to have the Strongest Duo here at Gachinko. And I doubt you’re here to participate in the fight club.” Hakari asked.
Satoru sighed, his fingers reaching up to play with the edge of his blindfold. Embarrassment began to creep up his throat, “I… wanted to apologize.”
The room seemed to freeze for a moment. Both the ex-students' faces contorted into something of confusion and slight curiosity. It wasn’t often the strongest jujutsu sorcerers of modern history would travel all the way to apologize in person.
“Apologize for what?”
“It’s been what, two almost three years since you guys left, right? And… I don’t know, I wish I fought harder for you guys. It was unfair that you two were kicked out for basically no reason, and I’m sorry for not being the teacher you needed before.”
The room fell into a heavy silence, broken only by the distant hum of the wind outside. Kirara and Hakari exchanged glances, their expressions unreadable. Hakari slowly placed the now empty can of soda back on the table in front of the couch. Satoru felt a knot tighten in his stomach, unsure of how his former students would react to his apology. He felt something kick and his chair, and from his Six Eyes, watched Suguru place his leg back in its original position. Satoru took a deep breath in.
Hakari rubbed his hands together in what Satoru remembered was a self-soothing habit, his gaze fixed on him. “So, what's the real reason for this sudden regret, hm? Feeling guilty?”
Suguru, who had been observing quietly, chuckled. “Of course he'd be suspicious.” Satoru barely stopped himself from Purple Hollowing the fucker out of the room.
He scratched his head nervously, a sheepish grin on his face. He sighed, “I don’t know… I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I just… I saw your empty rooms, and it just hit me how much I failed as a teacher back then. And selfishly, it's been eating at me of all things.”
Kirara leaned forward, their piercing gaze fixed on Satoru. “Why now, though? Why didn't you come looking for us earlier?”
Satoru hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I guess... I needed time to understand my own mistakes. And I was afraid you wouldn't want to see me. Considering how you guys left,” He couldn’t help but smile at the memory. Images and thoughts of graffiti and arguments passed through his mind quickly.
Hakari scoffed, a smirk playing on his lips. “Well, you're not wrong about that. We didn't exactly part on good terms, you know?”
Satoru nodded, acknowledging the truth in Hakari's words. “I know. And I can't change the past, but I wanna apologize and hope for your understanding. And, you know, help you guys now in any way I can.”
The room lapsed into another uneasy silence before Kirara sighed, breaking the tension, “Look, Gojo, we've moved on from Jujutsu High and all the mess that world gave us. We've found our own place here. Why stir up all this shit now?”
Satoru took a deep breath. “Because you deserve an apology, and I need to make things right, at least in my own way. I care about both of you still, and I wanna know how you've been. I wanna mend whatever I can.”
Hakari glanced at Kirara, who nodded in agreement. “Fine, apology accepted. But let's not dwell on it. We're doing fine here, and we've got our own lives.”
Satoru smiled, grateful for their understanding. “Thank you. And I'm genuinely happy to see you both doing well. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to reach out, yeah?”
The two of them nodded and the knot in the pit of Satoru’s stomach began to unravel as he stood up, “And just to let you two know, the barrier at Jujutsu High would never push you guys away. You’re welcome to visit whenever.”
Suguru stood up with him and mentioned, “I’m sure Shoko would be happy to see you guys again,” But maintained eye contact with Kirara with a smile.
At that, Kirara smiled widely. Their star pupils somehow shined brighter as Hakari chuckled. A familiar feeling of soft nostalgia hit Satoru and he couldn’t help but smile sadly. He truly did miss the two of them.
“We’ll leave you two now. It was nice catching up. Please don’t be a stranger.”
Suguru was right behind him as he waved bye to the two. The door closed gently behind them.
“That wasn’t that bad,” Suguru mentioned, burrowing his face back into his collar and stuffing his hands in his pocket.
Satoru hummed, glancing up at the moon in the sky, “Yeah, that wasn’t that bad.”
“You think they’ll visit anytime soon?”
“Nah, not soon, but hopefully eventually.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, they got a whole business to run.”
“Hm, I guess so.”
They continued their descent back down the old parking lot. The pavement crunched beneath their feet and curses slinked away at the duo’s auras. Suguru spoke lowly about his impression of the two old students. Satoru nodded and listened, feeling lighter in the abandoned parking garage, beneath the flickering lights and the moonlit night.
The empty rooms at Jujutsu High were a thing of the past, and Satoru's mind felt uncharacteristically weightless, as if a heavy burden had been replaced with newfound comfort.
Bonus:
Kirara paused their movement. They looked around the room momentarily before glancing out the window.
“Hakari!” They whispered urgently, their eyes narrowing as they glanced over at him, “Do you feel that?”
He paused from taking a sip from his can of soda, bringing his hand back down to his knee, “Don’t you remember that aura?”
They didn't seem to have, “I can sense two people but I don't see anyone. Shit, they might be invisible.” They stood up quickly, holding their arm out to him, “You stay here. I'll-”
“Woah, woah, sweetheart. That's Gojo.” He said quietly, smiling as he calmly brought them back down to the couch.
“W-What’s Gojo-sensei doing here? I can't recognize the other aura with him.” They glanced up at him with a confused expression, their tongue poking at their inner cheek.
Hakari simply shrugged, trying not to smile at Kirara’s slip-up and usage of the honorific. He leaned back and tilted his head to look at the window, “Beats me. But we can't really do anything to stop him from it, can we?”
They nodded with a small smile, a hint of teeth showing through. “I guess not… We’re not gonna have to fight them, right?”
“Jesus- of course not. It’s still Gojo. He’s not gonna hurt us.” He turned on his seat, placing a hand on their back, “Here, how ‘bout you go and size them up at the door? Get a vibe check and you can decide if you wanna let them in or not.”
A visible weight seemed to leave their shoulders as they nodded, “Yeah, that sounds good. Okay.”
A knock was heard from the door. Hakari smiled at them and gave a small peck on their forehead as they made their way to the door.