Chapter Text
Tokyo Jujutsu Technical High School, April 14, 2005
Standing tall with his back straight, Suguru tries not to look nervous as Yaga Masamichi introduces him to the now three person first year class. Much better than last year, according to Yaga, at least. “This is Geto Suguru, he’s a curse manipulator and the last addition to our line up of first years.” Says Yaga’s booming voice, sort of obnoxiously intense in a way Suguru has to prepare himself to hear every time he opens his mouth.
Suguru bows respectfully to the two sitting students in the classroom. Yaga hadn’t bothered to give him a rundown before his arrival, only that he’d figure it out. Whatever that meant. Both of them look disinterested. The white haired one who looks like someone Suguru should know, like some sort of celebrity, just huffs and looks away—annoyed. The brown haired one looks like your average high school girl, she wears an apathetic look with a lollipop in her mouth. She hands one to the white haired boy to have a lollipop for himself.
“Thank you for having me, I hope we can get along.” Suguru says, curt and polite in the way he speaks, just like his mother taught him. He tries to shake off the country twang to his voice, but somewhat fails, making it sound forced and awkward. Not that the two freshmen care anyway, they look normal and disinterested, not special or weird like him.
He knows he shouldn't underestimate them, they’re jujutsu sorcerers just like he is now, but somehow they look unreasonably normal to him. Setting aside the fact that Jujutsu High’s freshman class of 2005 is only three students.
Yaga sighs at their reactions, or rather, lack thereof, and decides to introduce them to Suguru. “White haired brat is Gojo Satoru, he’s from one of the big three clans.” Yaga says, gesturing to Satoru with a faint smile. “Try not to piss him off.” He adds, and Suguru thinks inevitably, he will. He can already tell he will without sparing Satoru much of a look.
“This is Ieiri Shoko, she’s currently in the medical field here at Jujutsu Tech, if something ever happens to you, she’ll patch you up.” Yaga explains, gesturing to Shoko now. She glances at Suguru, her eyes sparkle in slight interest but the rest of her face doesn’t show it. He tries not to think about it.
“Now that we have a full class, we’ve been tasked to handle a mission in Kawasaki, Geto included.” Yaga says, patting Suguru on the back in lieu of encouragement. It doesn’t feel very encouraging, though, only patronizing. Like he’s stupid, not enough. Like he’ll fail before he’s even given the chance to fly.
“You kiddin’?” Asks Satoru, raising a brow as he stares at Suguru through tinted lenses. He can see the hint of bright blue behind the filters, a stark contrast to his white hair and porcelain skin. He looks like an angel, but his mouth is foul and cocky. Suguru already doesn’t like him. “This guy looks like he’ll puke his guts out at the sight of a curse. Has he even seen one?”
Suguru scowls, the insult cuts deep. He’s sure he looks weird, a little distant and awkward, the countryside does that to people, but he’s seen curses. He doesn’t need some city kid insulting his intelligence. “I fucking eat them, you dick.” Suguru says before his brain can stop him. So much for being respectful.
Shoko laughs, airy and sweet, a bit deep, too. She gives Suguru an encouraging thumbs up, it seems he’s okay in her book now—for whatever reason. Satoru makes a face at her, then wears a scowl that matches Suguru’s own. They meet each other’s gazes, glaring now. There’s tension in the air and Suguru’s sure they’re about to fight.
Instead, “That’s fuckin’ nasty.” Satoru says, frowning. He tears his eyes away from Suguru, breaking the tension. “But, alright, fine. Let’s see what the new guy can do.” He says with a shrug before giving Suguru a challenging glance. He’s convinced Suguru will cower, he doesn’t like that.
Suguru smirks, his teeth flashing confidently. “You’ll see, cityboy.”
Shoko raises a curious brow, but says nothing as the four of them leave the classroom for the train station.
Yaga pats Suguru on the back again at the train station, leaning close to his ear. “Didn’t I tell you not to pick a fight?” He grumbles, but no real bite to his words
Suguru frowns, putting on his goody-two shoes act for Yaga. “Sorry, Sensei. I just didn’t like that he underestimated me.” A half-truth. He also just didn’t like Gojo Satoru. He’s a pretentious, rich dickhead with a chip on his shoulder that’s bigger than his head. He lacks social cues or any form of awareness. His only redeeming quality is that he makes Suguru want to prove him wrong. And, he’s pretty. Suguru will give him that.
“Just don’t piss off his clan, kid.” Yaga says, meaning: don’t piss off his clan AND make me lose my job. Suguru gets the memo.
Suguru nods as they board the train, Satoru is yapping to Shoko about.. Digimon, or something—Suguru isn’t sure—before Shoko makes a beeline for a window seat. Satoru goes to sit next to her, but she stops him. “Yo, Suguru, right? C’mere.” She says, and Suguru has a feeling she’s planning something. In an effort not to piss another classmate off, though, he opts to sit down next to her. Satoru scowls at this, almost looking jealous, as he sits next to Yaga.
“So, Suguru, I’m from the countryside too!” She beams at him, not looking at all as disinterested as she looked forty minutes ago. The train announces its next destination, cutting the rest of Shoko’s sentence short. She groans, getting annoyed at the announcement. “That’s neat,” He offers, raising a brow as he tries to figure her out.
What is your motive, Ieiri Shoko? Why are you playing nice? He wonders.
“Don’t pretend to be interested.” She huffs, “Look, I really just wanted to say you have balls for talking back to Gojo. Most people don’t like him because of his attitude. I don’t like him because of his attitude.”
“Is that why you wanted me to sit next to you for the next 50 minutes?” Suguru asks, raising a brow.
“Yeah, and he ends up yapping to me the whole way there. At least you look like you have the social skills to know when to shut the fuck up.” Shoko says with a chuckle, then she adds, “Plus, I wanna get to know you.”
Suguru shrugs, he’ll throw her a bone. He has to make friends eventually. “Yeah, I do.” He says simply, glancing at Satoru in the seat across from them. He’s still glaring at Suguru, but he looks less mad and more calculating. Analyzing, even.
“What type of music d’you listen to, Geto?” Shoko asks, pulling out her MP3 player and fishing her headphones from her pockets.
“Nu-Metal, mostly. Maximum the Hormone, RIZE, Gun Dog, y’know.” Suguru says, listing off the bands at the top of his head. Shoko looks through her MP3 player to see if she has any of the artists listed downloaded. Lucky for them, she has some Gun Dog songs as well as Maximum the Hormone. There were also some Vkei albums like Dir En Grey’s VULGAR and Moi Dix Mois’s Dix Infernal. Suguru and Shoko begin to bond over their love for alternative music, sharing headphones the whole train ride to Kawasaki.
By the time they arrived at the place where the curse was sighted, Suguru and Shoko talked like they’ve been friends for years instead of just met the same day. “Yeah, I really like this one. I’m learning the tabs right now.” Suguru says as they walk to the place. It’s a large, abandoned warehouse that looks like it’s been shut down for years now. It stinks, really badly. The stench of death lingers around the building, clinging to it like a vice.
“Man, you should teach me how to play!” Shoko grins, all bright eyed like the teenager she is, like the teenagers they are. Suguru chuckles, before blushing bashfully. “Maybe, I dunno. I’m not that great.” He says, biting his lip with a hint of nervousness. He hasn’t met someone that’s been actually interested in anything he has to say for years . He’s always been an outcast.
“Alright, Suguru, Satoru, Survey the area and take care of the curses. This is your first mission, Suguru, so be careful. Curses in the country have nothing on curses here.” Yaga warns, allowing the two boys to go in freely. “Shoko’s here for medical assistance, but let’s hope you won’t need it.” He says as he and Shoko sit off to the side of the building.
“Oh, and Gojo? Don’t forget the veil.” Yaga calls out, making Satoru stop in his tracks. He definitely already forgot about the veil.
“Fuck.” He mumbles, holding up a handsign unfamiliar to Suguru as he mumbles, “Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure.” He chants under his breath, covering the building in a black veil.
Suguru realizes he is way out of his depth, but tries not to let it show as the two of them enter the building. As soon as he steps into the building, he’s greeted with an even stronger stench than outside. Dread, blood, death . Suguru shudders as the smell fills his senses.
“You nervous, country boy?” Satoru asks, cocking a brow with a smug ass look that Suguru desperately wants to punt off his face.
“Fuck no. It just reeks.” Suguru responds with a roll of his eyes. Satoru is incredibly annoying and all he wants to do is get this over with. So, he turns to the left to look in his own direction. “Let’s meet up on the roof when we’re done scouring the area.” He adds, confident both he and Satoru can hold their own. Satoru only responds with a cocky chuckle, dashing up the stairs.
Suguru may be somewhat new to the world of curses, with no one to teach or relate to him, but he knows he’s strong. He doesn’t need to prove that to Satoru, or Yaga, or Shoko, and yet…
He senses the first curse, a weak one, likely Grade 3 or so. He scrunches his nose, getting into a fighting stance. It hasn’t sensed him yet, so Suguru has the advantage.
The curse is an ugly thing, as they usually are, all teeth and slimy. It has six eyes and two mouths, somehow it has two different tones of voice, too. It warbles out broken sentences, barely even legible. The curse moans out, grinding its teeth as it turns and senses Suguru. Before it can move, though, Suguru lands a swift kick to its side, making it choke and cry out.
Suguru holds out his hand, absorbing the curse with little to no effort. “Fucking gross.” He mumbles as it turns into a tacky, squishy orb of cursed energy. Suguru opens his mouth and swallows the curse, trying not to gag as it burns his throat.
He hears the sounds of broken concrete and manic laughter, likely Satoru toying with whatever curse he’s found. Suguru rolls his eyes as he continues further down the hallway.
He reaches a dead end, hearing shuffling in a room nearby. It’s a storage room, blood splattered on the ground with vomit stains on the floor. Suguru purses his lips, fighting the urge to purge the curse he just absorbed from his system. He summons two curses. One to scour the rest of the area, a harmless looking fox spirit—one of Suguru’s personal favorites and a snake-like curse with one eye, when it bites its target, they’re given a lethal poison that’s enough to kill an elephant, maybe. Suguru isn’t too sure.
The fox curse runs off, going to the upper floors, nine tails bouncing as it runs. Suguru walks further in the room, his snake curse in front of him moving cautiously.
There’s another curse, likely grade 2 or so if Suguru is to guess, human-like and mumbling illegibly to itself. Its skin looks dry and rotting, its face obscured by its own detached hands, with hands protruding from its black hair and limbs, gripping onto it tight. It looks zombie-like, close to rotting away as it’s wails and mumbles are muffled by its detached hands.
As soon as it notices Suguru, it attacks. Suguru barely has time to think or dodge, its attacks ruthless and unrelenting. Suguru scowls, realizing he’ll have to put some actual effort into fighting the curse
His snake curse lunges, biting the zombie curse and poisoning it. That doesn’t do much, though, as it becomes apparent that it's immune to poison. “Well, shit.” Suguru mumbles to himself, summoning another offensive curse—a chimera like curse, with claws that can cut through almost anything. Suguru barely remembers how he got this curse—camping, maybe? His snake curse disappears into the misty, dark fog of his technique, leaving only the chimera curse.
This curse, the zombie one, is strong and Suguru wants it. He isn’t one to usually want curses, or like them, but here he is, getting excited over a fight. The curse nicks him on the cheek, drawing blood. He lets out a laugh, wiping away the blood and staining his hand red. In terms of hand-to-hand combat, he’s good, but this curse moves faster than his human eyes can anticipate. He could try to hold out his hand and absorb it, but it’d be easier to wear it down and then consume it.
Huffing out a sigh, he gets into a fighting stance and prepares to attack again, dodging the curses' own attacks just barely. His chimera curse breathes out fire, lighting the zombie-hand curse (Suguru doesn’t know what to call it) on fire.
As it burns, the rancid smell of burning flesh fills Suguru’s nostrils. He scowls at the scent, holding his hand out to absorb the curse. It swirls into a slimy ball, glistening in the (very little) sunlight the building gets. Abruptly, Suguru hears a whistle behind him, followed by loud clapping.
“Whew, that was a pretty nasty curse, huh?” Satoru says, tipping his glasses down to look at Suguru past the lenses, cerulean eyes on full display for him Suguru rolls his eyes, looking down at the curse. It feels weird absorbing it now, with Satoru right there to judge him. He still sounds patronizing and not at all impressed by Suguru’s abilities, which makes him not want to absorb the curse even more.
“Go on, Suguru~ I won’t judge.” Satoru says, a mirthful lilt to his voice as he holds his hands up in defense. “Seriously.” He adds for emphasis, the teasing tone gone from his voice. Confused by the sudden change in attitude, Suguru decides to take a chance. He swallows the curse in front of Satoru.
Then, he promptly throws up stomach acid on the ground, causing Satoru to try not to laugh.
At least he tries.
Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu High School, August 28, 2005
Four months later, Suguru finds himself in the halls of Kyoto Jujutsu High, much to his chagrin, he doesn’t so much enjoy anyone there. Utahime is the only student he really knows and well, Utahime is…
Satoru, who he’s become closer with recently, groans next to him. Kyoto, somehow, won at the last exchange event, so now, it’s time for Satoru and Suguru to pull their weight, even as first years.
To be fair, they don’t even have second years. Only third year students are Mei Mei and Kusakabe.
“You know they’re gonna lose, right?” Satoru asks, whistling as he strolls through the halls of Kyoto Jujutsu High. Their footsteps are heard throughout the hall, ricocheting off dust filled corridors. Suguru chuckles, “Have some faith in them.” He says, insincere in nature. He’s just as bad as Satoru. He snickers at the thought.
Satoru only laughs, punching Suguru lightly in his arm. Suguru can feel Infinity buzz ever so slightly against the fabric of his uniform. Suguru wonders if Satoru ever turns it off.
“Faith? We’ll wipe the floor with their asses.” Satoru boasts, fishing a lollipop out of his pocket. Shoko seems to have started his sweets habit, since she quit smoking, she always has lollipops on hand. Apparently it helps, Suguru doesn’t know much about it. Satoru began snagging lollipops from her since they met in their last year of middle school. Suguru didn’t even know they knew each other prior to Jujutsu High.
“Yeah,” Suguru agrees, unable to fight off the grin forming on his lips. He’s just as fired up as Satoru is. “We will.” They walk to the training grounds side by side, no planning or anything. They got this, they know they do. They’re the strongest.
The training grounds are buzzing with cicadas and bright with greenery. Satoru and Suguru eye Kusakabe and Mei Mei, who seem to be waiting for them. “Yo.” Kusakabe greets the two of them. He looks like the last thing he wants to do is be here.
Mei Mei smiles at them, like a cat, she also doesn’t particularly wish to be here, but she’s getting paid, so she pretends that she cares.
“Mei~” Satoru says with an excited lilt, “Atsuya~” He says their names childishly, making Kusakabe scowl. Suguru nods curtly in their direction, polite and wordless.
Yaga’s voice booms through the loud speaker: “Rules are simple. Team battle on the first day, individual battles on the second. All jujutsu is permitted, including cursed tools. Just don’t kill each other.” Yaga gruffly explains, voice booming throughout the training grounds.
An adult with medium length brown hair and piercing brown eyes makes an appearance next, Suguru can gather enough that it’s a faculty member. To which school, though? Suguru isn’t quite sure.
“My name is Nakamura Asahi, I’ll be your proctor, I guess. We’re splitting you in teams of two so get a partner and stick with them.” Asahi announces, folding his arms over his chest. He doesn’t seem very interested, but then again, neither does anyone here.
Naturall, Suguru and Satoru join forces while Mei Mei and Kusakabe team up. The Kyoto students Suguru hasn’t bothered to know the name of also split up into two, they’re lucky they have the same amount of students this year.
“Whoever you wish to fight is up to you, I’m just here to make sure you don’t kill each other. Fight until the other team is incapacitated, though.” Asahi says with a shrug, walking backward until he hits the wall of a building.
All the students deadpan, this isn’t much of an event, more so a test of their skills, it seems.
Satoru turns to Suguru, tapping his chin to pretend to think. “None of these people are strong.” He mumbles, close enough to Suguru’s ear that he can feel his breath fan against him. Satoru sighs dramatically, boredom written all over his features.
Yeah, Satpru’s definitely skipping the individual battles tomorrow. Which means Suguru will too. He doesn’t stray too far from Satoru anymore (and vice versa), they’re practically attached at the hip now.
Two students walk forward, tapping Suguru’s shoulder. He tries to hide his scowl at the feeling of being touched by strangers, but fails miserably.
“Hi, sorry. Could we, um..” A shy, sweet looking girl mumbles. Next to her is a pretentious looking guy.
“We wanna fight.” Is all the guy next to her says, finishing her sentence for her. Suguru already doesn’t like him.
Satoru looks like he’s seething at the sight of the guy in front of him, his fists clenched at his sides and teeth bared like he’s ready to bite. “The fuck are you doing here?” Satoru barks, glaring daggers at the guy.
“Is that any way to speak to a fellow clan heir, Gojo-san?” Comes a calm response, but Suguru can read between the lines and tell its venomous in nature.
“Fuck you, Naoya.” Satoru spats, then says, “Y’know what Suguru? I think I’ll enjoy beating his ass.” Suguru gives him a puzzled look but shrugs nonetheless.
“You got the country bumpkin on a leash already? Hell, he looks like a girl, no wonder you made him your bi—” Naoya’s cut off by a punch to the throat, causing him to stagger back and literally choke on his words.
The timid girl from before yelps in surprise, getting into a nervous fighting stance as she stares at Suguru. “I’m not that strong…I really shouldn’t even be here butIhadnochoicebuttojoinI’msorry!” She sputters out, face red hot with embarrassment. Suguru feels kind of bad for her. “I’m Nitta Akari.” She mumbles as she catches her breath.
“Hey, it’s chill.” Suguru says with a shrug, easing the tension in her shoulders. He gets in a fighting stance too, his eyes flickering to Satoru’s and Noaya’s fight.
Yeah, there’s no doubt in his mind that they’ll wipe the floor with them.
Tokyo Jujutsu Technical High School, October 23, 2005
“You’re a buddhist, right?” Satoru asks as he lazes on Suguru’s bed. Suguru raises a brow, oiling up his ear to slide his gauge out. Satoru watches with rapt attention, completely invested in Suguru's ministrations, the gentleness of it, the dedication.
“Uh, no .” Suguru answers, sliding in the sized up gauge with little to no problem. He gives Satoru a confused look, tilting his head in a ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ way. His hair is still wet from his shower, dripping onto his black tanktop and dampening his neckline. “What makes you think that?” He asks, genuinely curious as he oils up his fingers again. He lubes up the gauge and slides it out.
“Gauges, I dunno. And you’re always going on and on about morals and principles.” Satoru says with a huff, rolling onto his stomach on the bed. He looks like a cat. Suguru thinks absentmindedly.
“I just like having rules, things that make sense, morals.” Suguru says, lubing up his stretched hole before sliding the other sized up gauge in. “Makes it easier to make decisions, have something to live by, y’know?”
Satoru shakes his head, “I’d just ask you.” He says with a shrug, as if it’s that simple. He pulls out his DS, seemingly out of thin air, flipping it open right onto his last saved progress on Pokémon Emerald.
“That isn’t a healthy way to live, Satoru.” Suguru says with a roll of his eyes, looking in the mirror at his desk. His hair is longer than it was in April, reaching just barely past his shoulders now. He looks at his gauges, smiling as he enjoys the way they look. He thinks he’s finally liking his appearance a bit more.
Now it’s Satoru’s turn to roll his eyes, pretty sea blue swirling with the motion. The Pokémon battle music sounds from the DS, just barely lulled by the fan Suguru has on his desk. Satoru hums in thought, clicking buttons as he strategizes his next move. “Suguru, being a jujutsu sorcerer isn’t a healthy way to live either, but we’re still here.”
Suguru can’t argue with that, so he just offers a relenting sigh. Satoru seems pleased, snickering as he beats a gym leader and decides that’s enough Pokémon for today. “Hey, lemme play Four Swords.” Suguru says, getting up to plop on his bed. Satoru makes a face, but hands him the device nonetheless. His back is pressed against Satoru’s side as he lays on his stomach, kicking his socked feet in the air.
Suguru opens up Four Swords, grinning as he sees their shared save file. He clicks on it, seeing their progress. He begins to explore through Vaati’s palace, getting through the puzzles Satoru struggled with last time he played.
“Suguru, what are you doing for winter break?” Satoru asks, tilting his head to the side to stare at Suguru.
The black haired man shrugs, trying and struggling to focus on both Satoru and his game. “Probably goin’ home. Why?” He asks, raising a brow inquisitively but his eyes are still glued to the DS screens.
“Can I come with?” Satoru asks, pout ready at his lips in case of rejection. Suguru just shrugs, though. Still not looking at him.
“Dunno, ask my mom.” He mumbles, completely enthralled in his game. Satoru grumbles, grabbing Suguru’s phone from his pocket. He turns it on, putting in the passcode (their birth years, ‘89 and ‘90), and calls his mom.
It rings once, before it picks up. “Hey, ma! S’toru, put it on speaker.” He greets, whispering the last bit to Satoru. His voice is slightly strained. He doesn’t want to talk to his mom, nor does he want to go home.
“ Sugu-chan, you’re calling me? What a surprise! ” His mom says on the other line, staticy from his shitty phone speaker. Satoru told him he definitely got sand in it, Shoko thinks it’s from water.
“Yeah, uhhh ‘Toru wants to come home with me. Issat alright?” He asks, accent coming out even more, Satoru looks geeked.
“ Innat that mean lil rich boy you was tellin’ me about? ” His mom asks, brow raised even if Suguru can’t see it. He can tell she’s confused, especially because back in March, he yapped to her about how fucking mean Satoru was, or, is .
He’s still mean, just not to him. “He’s real sweet when he wants to be, ma.” Suguru offers, shrugging. It’s also a means of a warning to Satoru: don’t be an ass to my mom. He hopes the white haired beauty listens.
“ Dudn’t seem like much of a problem. ” His mom says, “ He as crazy as you? ” She asks, jokingly. Mostly jokingly, at least. Suguru knows there’s a real question between the lines: does he see the same shit you do?
“Crazier, Ma. Real pretty, too.” He says, smirking at Satoru, who gawks at him like he grew another head, feigning offense. “Think it makes up for ‘is meanness.”
“ Mmh, he your friend now? ” She asks, another thinly veiled real question hidden by a not so real one. She’s asking if he likes him. Likes him , likes him.
Suguru flips the DS closed when he dies, frowning because he knows he only did because he’s distracted, and hands it to Satoru in exchange for his phone.
“I dunno, I’ll ask ‘im. ‘Toru, are we friends?” Suguru’s words are calculated, he knows how to get his mom to shut up, essentially. He’s telling her she’s on speaker and he won’t answer her real question with a real answer.
“Yeah, I’d say so. I’m wearing your sh—“ Suguru covers his mouth, lest he give his mom something to latch onto, something to hang over his head.
“Yeah ma, my phone’s gonna die. Me 'n Satoru will see you for break.” He mumbles, hanging up before she can even register his words. Huffing out a loud sigh, he sets his phone on his nightstand and leans all the way back against Satoru, back to back.
“What was that about?” Satoru asks, because Suguru knew he would. Putting more of his weight on Satoru’s back, who purrs at the feeling of being crushed (for some reason), his lip tuts out in a slight pout.
“She’s tryna get an answer out of me.” Suguru answers, eyes glued to the ceiling. “Manipulative as shit. ‘S where I get it from.” He adds, giving Satoru a better idea of his homelife.
He doesn’t talk about home much.
“Hm…is she really gonna be okay with me coming?” Satoru asks, shoving his face in the mattress, breathing in Suguru’s scent.
“Yeah, if she wasn’t, she would’ve said no.” Suguru says, sitting up. He cracks his neck and back, letting out a sigh of relief.
“You miss Iwate?” Asks Satoru, voice full of curiosity. This is the most he’s asked about Suguru’s home since the beginning of the year, and even then, it was snide comments and feigned interest.
“Nah. Takizawa sucks ass.” Suguru says, sulking. It’s their first break of the year where they have to go home, or well, somewhere that isn’t Jujutsu High. “Wish I could just get an apartment or something.”
“ We could?” Comes Satoru’s response, shit eating grin on his face as he waits for Suguru’s reaction.
Immediately, Suguru shakes his head. “Hell no. You’re gross. And, we can barely take care of ourselves, we’re only fifteen.” He reasons, making Satoru pout at him.
Puppy dog eyes never work on Suguru, all he does is roll his eyes and chuckle.
“Stop pouting.” Suguru tuts, waving his finger. “I think about it in our third or fourth year, yeah?”
Satoru grins like he’s won 1 million yen, not that he needs it, but it’s a fair comparison. Suguru ruffles his white locks with a matching grin.
He desperately hopes winter break will go well.
Geto Residence, Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture, December 24-January 1, 2005
Their first stop, as soon as they get off the train, is the Geto’s residence in a village not too far from a station. It looks a little barren, save for some wheat fields and local farmers. There’s a basketball field, too, that looks a little out of place, but the government at least tried to make the village look kid friendly.
It was anything but, for Suguru.
Satoru next to him tries not to wear a look of pure horror and disgust at the sight of the village. The holes in the wooden walls, the straw roofs. He knows how it looks, he lived here long enough to hate it.
“Man, it sure is...” Satoru attempts to be nice, respectful, but it falls flat when he notices the lack of life in the village. “Yeah, no. It’s shit.”
Suguru chuckles, rolling his shoulders back. The bags he’s been forced to carry (Satoru’s) are heavy as hell .
They walk up to Suguru’s house, watching as he unlocks the door unceremoniously. “Who the f— oh . ‘S you.” Suguru’s dad says, bat in his hand as he “fends off” any intruders.
“Thanks, Dad .” Suguru says sarcastically, ushering his father out of his and Satoru’s way. His dad scoffs, frown immediately etched onto his features. “Not at all surprised you forgot I was coming home today.” He mumbles under his breath.
His room is down a hallway, so he takes all the bags with him with Satoru following him like a lost dog. “You sure—“ He starts, biting his lip nervously. Satoru’s never nervous.
“Yes, stop being so scared. They’re just country folk.” He says with a shrug, “You tryna make a good impression or somethin’?” Suguru asks, raising a curious brow.
Satoru flushes, looking away from Suguru. He doesn’t answer, so that means he is. They reach his bedroom, all untouched and riddled with books. Suguru has three bookshelves in his room, tall, almost to the ceiling. His bookshelves are organized by genre, sort of, then by alphabetical order of the titles. God , Suguru’s missed his room.
He’s got a telescope by his desk, covered by a thin sheet to avoid dust. Satoru walks around, staring intently at the books. He seems to discern that they’re organized by fiction, non-fiction, and education/informative literature. “No wonder you’re so principled.” He mutters under his breath, thumbing over the philosophy books Suguru has on one bookshelf.
Suguru sets the luggage and bags by the closet, huffing as he sits on his bed. He’s got navy blue star bedding that probably hasn’t seen a washer since April. “Let’s go back out there, I gotta introduce you.” Suguru says, getting up (albeit, reluctantly).
They walk back into the front room, illuminated by shitty dim lights that Suguru’s sure his father said he’d fix before he left, it seems he either never did or their wiring is just shit. Suguru bets on the former.
His mom smiles at him, all teeth and a splitting image of himself. “Sugu-chan, how was tha trip?” She asks, country drawl thicker in her voice in person than over the phone.
Suguru shrugs, “It was alright, ‘Toru here was sleep the whole time.” He says, his own country drawl bleeding into his voice no matter how long he’s been in the city.
“Hello, Geto-san.” Satoru greets, stuffy and formal like he’s got a stick up his ass. No, that won’t do at all. Suguru slaps him on the back encouragingly, hopefully getting the awkward air out of the room.
“Don’t be so formal, hun.” Suguru’s mom says with a grin, Suguru’s dad nods. He’s more of the silent type, that’s one thing Suguru definitely gets from his dad (and his goody-two shoesness).
“This is Satoru, the mean rich boy I was tellin’ you about, Dad.” Suguru says, gesturing toward Satoru. Purple eyes fall on Satoru, calculating and piercing, like they’re trying to figure him out. Eerily similar to Suguru himself, he’s sure.
“Nice to meet you, sir.” He says, bowing. This is probably the most Suguru’s seen Satoru act respectful.
“‘Ru, I’m makin’ dinner, try n help me, would’ya? Let ‘Toru n Pa get to know each other.” Suguru’s mom, Geto Mayumi, calls him over. He scowls at her, but never opens his mouth to complain.
That leaves Satoru with his father, Shigeru, and lord knows how that will go.
Suguru shudders at the thought of it going bad, instead focusing on helping his mom cut up vegetables. He knows this’ll be a long ten days.
Later that night, after the Geto’s poke and prod at Satoru, the two boys sit in his room and contemplate what to do.
“Isn’t today like a romantic holiday or somethin’? Why didn’t you spend it with Shoko?” Suguru asks, abruptly. Surprised by his own curiosity.
Satoru gawks at him like he’s crazy, eyebrows raised in shock. “Shoko? Be serious, Suguru.”
“I am!” Suguru defends, holding his hands up. They’re laying down side by side, arms pressed against each other in the small, twin sized bed. “Neither of you talk about dating so I assumed—“
“Ugh, Suguru you’re an idiot. Shoko’s a lesbian and I am the most obvious fag you’ll ever meet.” Satoru says, rolling his cerulean eyes. His sunglasses are off now that they’re in the comfort of Suguru’s room, which were a subject of a lot of questioning from Suguru’s parents. Nosy , just like he is.
“I thought I was the most obvious fag you’ll ever meet.” Suguru mumbles with a shrug, causing Satoru to shoot up at stare at him with wide, blue eyes.
“You’re gay?” He asks, brows raised and mouth gaping.
Suguru face palms, they both assumed each other was straight. “Yeah.” He says, chuckling.
“Wait, wait. Now I gotta know, do you like anyone?” Satoru asks, getting into his face—too close for him to not notice the way Suguru’s face heats up at the question.
“Back up, asshole! And to answer your question, I dunno. I’ve never had a crush before.” Suguru says, lying straight through his teeth. He pushes Satoru’s face away with his hand, causing the older boy to lick his palm.
Suguru pulls his hand away in disgust, wiping Satoru’s spit on its owner’s shirt. “Let’s go play basketball outside.”
“It’s cold, Satoru.”
“Pleaaaaseeee…” Satoru begs, whining and rolling around on the bed, elbowing Suguru in the process.
“Alright, alright. But, you never answered my question,” Suguru says with a huff, getting up from his bed. “Why me, why here?”
Satoru looks up at him on the mattress, beautiful blue eyes glowing in the darkness. “I’d rather spend it with you, duh.” Satoru says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
Maybe it is. Maybe Suguru is an idiot.
“That’s kinda gay.” Suguru says, instead of what he really wishes he could say.
“Not if I say no homo.” Satoru jokes as he gets up.
They played basketball that night until 4am, passed out on the court like drunkards. On the bright side, no one uses the court, but they still got an earful from Suguru’s mom about it, nagging about them getting sick and whatnot. They did it again the next night, just to be somewhat rebellious.
By December 30th, both boys are bored. Astronomically bored. Suguru and Satoru have to fight the urge to start a food fight or spar with each other, both things they could do at the dorms, both things they can’t in a house full of non-sorcerers in a village full of non-sorcerers.
“Ma, can ‘Toru n I go out to the city today?” Suguru asks as his mom finishes up the dishes.
Mayumi sighs, then puts her hand on her hip. “Y’re fifteen, I suppose I have no reason ta say no. Jus’ be safe and be back before supper.” She says, drying off a dish.
“Yay!” Satoru cheers, all of his zapped out energy returning to him in an instant. “Thank you, ma’am.” He says, politely, grin on his lips.
Suguru looks at him like he’s hung the stars, he knows because his mom is looking at him with a knowing look. He ignores her prying eyes, instead turning his attention to thanking her. “Thanks, Ma.” Suguru says, smiling at her.
Being at home with Satoru makes being at home bearable for Suguru. He thinks, otherwise, he would’ve already pulled his hair out. Or, he would’ve just called Satoru every night.
They shuffle out of the stuffy house, shoving each other back and forth as they walk to the train station. “Can we go to the movies, Suguru. Can weee? Pleaaaaseeee ?” Satoru asks, whining and pleading as they board the train.
Suguru rolls his eyes, taking the window seat. “I wouldn’t say no to that, no need to beg.” He says, searching his pockets for the iPod Satoru bought him after he found out he didn’t have one. ‘I just use a CD player.’ Suguru had said, making Satoru immediately drag him out to the city to buy him an iPod (much to Suguru’s protests).
He plugs in his earbuds, giving one to Satoru, who’s still cackling from his words about his begging. “Stop laughing, stupid. Pick somethin’ to listen to.”
Satoru settles on Sign by Mr. Children, making Suguru laugh. “Cheesy.” He jabs, no heat to his words, playing with Satoru’s fingers.
Upon reaching the station, Satoru gets the two of them Sprite from the vending machine. Despite Satoru preferring Cola, he tries to get Sprite when he’s with Suguru. It’s something Suguru’s noticed, he finds it sweet.
Handing him the Sprite, Satoru hums in thought. “I dunno what movie I wanna see.” He says with a huff. Morioka is bustling with life, tohoku dialect flowing from people’s lips, some thicker than others, but still has the same familiarity Suguru’s missed.
“I think Hard Lesbian is still—“
“Hell no, also that was released in February, idiot.”
“Okay, fine. Always is playing, I think.” Satoru says, sighing dramatically. He takes a gulp of his soda as they sit on a bench, close enough that their hands could touch. They don’t, of course.
Suguru takes a sip of his sprite, humming in thought. “Is it any good?” He asks, taking another sip.
Satoru lets out a burp, loud and obnoxious, just like he is. “Fuck if I know, wanna see?” He asks, grinning from ear to ear.
Suguru has no choice but to say yes when he sees a smile like that.
They find the nearest movie theater—Forum Morioka. It’s around 5:50 pm, they have some time until the movie starts, so Satoru goes to 7/11 to get snacks to sneak into the showing.
Shoving snacks into their pockets, the two boys pay for their tickets and leave, bouncing on their heels as they walk. The theater isn’t that full, especially considering the movie came out in November and it’s already December.
Satoru shoves gummy bears in his mouth, drinking on his Sprite from earlier that he somehow smuggled in with their snacks. Suguru had to gulp his down in one go.
They both get comfortable, leaning into the chairs as the movie begins. Satoru starts to play with the rips on Suguru’s jeans absentmindedly, Suguru swats his hand away.
Satoru pays more attention to the movie than Suguru does, which is saying something considering he has the worst attention span known to mankind. Suguru spent the majority of the movie staring at Satoru.
The projected movie casts Satoru in a soft, white hue, his eyes sparkling beneath his tinted sunglasses, his lips parted and glossy as he stares with rapt concentration.
“Suguru, did you see that?” Satoru asks, beaming at him.
“Hm?” Suguru mumbles, reaction delayed. He looks at the screen and realizes he’s been spacing out, he doesn’t know what the movie is even about now. “Uhh no, ‘Toru, got distracted.” He says, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. He cannot admit to his friend that he missed half the movie because he was staring at him.
“ Suguruuu , pay attention.” Satoru chides, hitting Suguru on his knee lightly. Suguru twirls his hair beneath his fingers, long locks soft to the touch. He’s been wearing it down more often than not now that he’s home.
Suguru sighs and mumbles an apology under his breath, eyes pulled away from Satoru and now staring at the movie screen. He tries not to think about how beautiful Satoru is, only to fail miserably.
“Satoru.” Suguru whispers, voice almost a purr. He always says Satoru’s full name like this, soft at the edges and smile evident in his tone. He turns his head to look at Satoru again, only to find Satoru’s already looking at him. Suguru really wants to kiss him. Like, really , really wants to kiss him.
“Yes?” Satoru tones, tilting his head inquisitively.
Before Suguru’s brain can catch up with his mouth, he mumbles. “I really wanna kiss you.” His fingers twitch in his lap as he fights the urge to cup Satoru’s cheek.
Satoru’s face flushes, normally pale cheeks now bright red. He licks his lips, staring at Suguru’s own. “Really?” He breaths, voice barely above a whisper.
Their words are drowned out by the movie, lulled and unintelligible. Despite the darkness of the theater, save for the screen, Satoru can be seen taking off his sunglasses now.
“I really wanna kiss you, too.” Satoru mumbles, inching closer to Suguru. Their faces are inches away, close enough that Suguru’s sure Satoru can see the blush that’s tinging his tan cheeks.
Suguru wants to—he wants . It turns into he’s going to and before he can think better of it, he pulls Satoru into a kiss.
It’s chaste and as sweet as the gloss that’s adorned on Satoru’s lips. Suguru pulls away, his cheeks red hot and hands trembling against the skin of Satoru’s neck. He lets his hands fall down to his lap, nervously picking at the skin around his cuticles.
Satoru looks like a deer in headlights, eyes wide and mouth agape. He touches his lips with his fingers, then his reddened cheeks. Suguru promptly looks at the movie, avoiding all eye contact with Satoru, lest he make it awkward.
They don’t talk about it the next day. In fact, they don’t avoid each other or make it weird—they act like everything is normal, like nothing happened.
And Suguru hates it.
He can’t stand not knowing what Satoru is thinking, not knowing if it was the wrong move, not knowing if Satoru liked it. Not to mention that he’s plagued with a replay of the kiss in his mind every time he looks at Satoru. His head throbs and his heart races just thinking about it.
He isn’t even sure why he did it, either, besides the fact that he wanted it. He wanted it so bad that his brain shut off right after the kiss. So, here they are, laying in Suguru’s childhood bedroom at 10:00.
“Let’s play basketball tonight after your mom makes toshikoshi, Suguru.” Satoru suggests, thumbing through a book Suguru was reading earlier that day. Suguru hums, soft and deep, as he thinks on it.
“Okay.” He says, shrugging. It’s their last day together at his house and Suguru’s nervous. He’s overthinking everything now, desperate not to make Satoru uncomfortable more than he already has.
Mayumi calls for them to eat around 11:00, offering for them to stay in the living room and watch omisoka TV programs. Shigeru sits at the table with Satoru, listening to him yap away about something. “‘Toru and I’re gonna play ball tonight, Ma.” Suguru says to her as he sits down. His mom makes a face, but opts to not say anything as she sits the bowls down in front of them.
The toshikoshi soba is hot, burning Satoru’s tongue as soon as he tries to shove the noodles in his mouth. Mayumi chuckles at his enthusiasm, then gives Suguru a look as he pokes and prods at his noodles.
He hasn’t absorbed any curses in awhile, but his appetite is still shit. His mom has started to catch on, even now. Satoru slurps his noodles up happily, complimenting his mom as he does every meal.
Mayumi gives Suguru a look again, and this time he knows it means: Eat what I fucking cooked, don’t be ungrateful. He forces the noodles down his throat. They’re good, he knows that, but he still finds himself cringing at the texture, temperature, and anything else his brain finds wrong with it.
Still, to avoid an earful from his mom, he forces it all down. He’d rather throw it up later than hear her belittle him. She does every time she cooks and he can’t force it down, he hates it.
As soon as he gets the chance, he gets up from the table and cleans his dish. He watches as Satoru charms his parents even more, frowning at their reactions to everything he says.
They don’t do that to him. They don’t laugh softly when he opens his mouth, or compliment him on his strengths, or tell him they’re proud of him.
They can do it for Satoru, though—apparently.
Satoru finishes soon after him, he cleans his dish too, leaving no further cleaning for Mayumi. Somehow, Satoru obtained better manners since coming to Iwate. Suguru hopes it was his influence, at least. Maybe he’ll take the manners with him when they go back to Tokyo.
“Alright, we’re off to the court, we’ll be back at a decent hour, Ma, promise.” Suguru says, giving his mom a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
He can’t wait for them to get out of Iwate, he can’t wait to be back in Tokyo. He feels like he’s suffocating.
Satoru gives him a bright smile, though, and that makes this worth it. “Liar.”
“ Never .” Suguru says, pretending to be offended at the accusation. The white haired boy only laughs, tipping his head back slightly as his hand covers his mouth.
They reach the basketball court, chuckling and shoving each other as they arrive. Suguru grabs the ball on the court and makes a free throw.
He misses the rim. At least he never claimed to be good at basketball.
Satoru pulls out his iPod from his shorts pocket, putting it on shuffle and placing it on the ground with their jackets.
They played a few rounds, so far, the score’s 3 wins for Suguru and 4 for Satoru, their win scores almost neck and neck. “Suguru, hey, it’s 11:50.” Satoru says after a break, showing him the time on his iPod.
“What do you wanna do as soon as it hits midnight?” Suguru asks, wiping sweat from his forehead. He knows he should be cold, it’s on average 4°C, after all. However, he’s hot from all the moving around he’s been doing. Satoru’s in the same boat, at least.
“Dunno. Spending it with you is enough, I think.” Satoru says with a shrug, pushing his white locks out of his face.
“That’s so—” Suguru starts, only to get cut off by Satoru grabbing him by his tank top and kissing him. It’s rough, unexpected, but Suguru melts into it. Satoru’s grip slackens on Suguru’s shirt, only clutching the fabric gently now.
Suguru feels Satoru wrap his arms around his neck, pulling him even closer. The kiss is deepened, soft noises leaving Satoru’s lips as he feels Suguru’s hands find purchase in his white locks.
Suguru pulls away, a string of saliva connecting their lips. His heart races in his chest, cheeks flushed. He chuckles, shaking his head. “Cheesy.” He says, finishing his sentence from before.
Satrou only grins, pulling Suguru in for another kiss. Consequences be damned. He thinks as he smiles into the kiss.
The trip turned out to be better than he expected.
Tokyo Jujutsu Technical High School, March 23, 2006
They don’t talk about the kiss— again . Nor do they bring up that it turned into a makeout session. Nor do they tell Shoko. It’s their weird, barely kept hidden, secret.
It’s their last day of school anyway, it’s not worth it to talk about it now—it’s been two months and twenty-two days. Not that Suguru’s been counting, or anything.
He doesn’t know how to bring it up, and he thinks Satoru’s avoiding it all together, without avoiding him.
They’re normal again, somewhat.
No, that’s a lie. They kiss now. Pecks here and there, especially when they steal from Yaga’s liquor cabinet. Shoko still doesn’t know, Suguru doesn’t know how they haven’t been caught.
It’s fun, though, despite the unknowingness to it. Suguru still hates not knowing, though.
Which leads them to where they are now, holding hands on Satoru’s bed as they drink out of Yaga’s stolen liquor bottle. Satoru’s already tipsy and Suguru knows he won’t be too far from it after a couple more swigs.
“Suguru, your lips.. are so softttt..” Satoru mumbles into Suguru’s shoulders, playing with the hem of his shorts
Suguru pulls his hair out of its bun, raising his brow slightly. “Where’d that come from?” He asks with a chuckle, “D’you like kissing me that much?”
Saturu rolls his eyes lazily, barely hiding a blush with his hand. “No.” He huffs, avoiding Suguru’s gaze.
Suguru only kisses his forehead, leaning against Satoru’s weight at his side. His iPod blares low music not too far away from them on Satoru’s desk.
“Hey, ‘toru. Dance with me.” Suguru says, getting up and grabbing Satoru by his hand. The white haired boy yelps upon being forced to stand up, blinking for a moment.
“What do you know about dancing, country boy?” Satoru says with a playful scoff, stretching his lazy limbs.
Suguru laughs, airy and sweet, as he pulls Satoru into an embrace. “You’ll be surprised how much I know, cityboy.” Suguru teases, then adds, “Or should I say trust fund baby?”
“Fuck off .” Satoru groans, tilting his head back dramatically. Suguru only snickers, intertwining their fingers. He can see Satoru’s cheeks blush a pretty red from embarrassment.
Suguru twirls Satoru around, stumbling a bit from the alcohol. On wobbly feet, Satoru offers him a sweet laugh and beaming smile. Suguru can’t get enough.
“You’re adorable, Sa-to-ru. ” Suguru teases, his hands resting on Satoru’s hips now, just swaying with him. They’re both uncoordinated and wobbly, but Suguru can’t find it in himself to care.
He pulls Satoru in for a kiss, smiling softly as dainty hands find their way in his inky black locks. “I think I like kissing you too much.” Suguru admits against his lips, panting as they pull further apart.
Satoru avoids his gaze and Suguru thinks he might’ve ruined the sweet moment with his words. “I think I do, too.” Satoru mumbles, licking his lips nervously.
“I’m not sure what I should do about it, what we should do about it.” Suguru mumbles nervously, fidgeting with Satoru’s fingers.
“I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” Satoru admits, frowning slightly.
“Me neither.” Says Suguru, letting out a small sigh.
Maybe we shouldn’t do this. He thinks, letting go of Satoru’s hands. They plop back onto the bed, wordlessly ending whatever weird more-than-friends-but-not-a-relationship thing they have going on. It’s for the best, anyway, Suguru reasons.
They kiss one last time, slow and passionate in nature, Suguru doesn’t want to pull away. He doesn’t think he can. Satoru frowns into the kiss, leaning into Suguru’s touch as calloused hands cup his cheek.
It’s for closure, Suguru reasons, so neither of them want to kiss again. He’s not sure if that’s logical, but he’s never said he’s one that always thinks with his head.
I’ll see you next year , the kiss says. I love you , the kiss says. I don’t want to be the one to ruin us , the kiss says.
Satoru pulls away, pupils dilated and lips kiss-swollen. Suguru tries to swallow the fact that he’ll probably never see that sight again—he frowns. They lay down on their back on Satoru’s bed, neither boy commenting on anything. Only laying in silence with Suguru smiling softly as he feels Satoru’s hand lace with his.
He doesn’t say anything.