Chapter Text
KNOCK! KNOCK!
A slow knock on the shoji door before someone asked for permission to enter
"Mother, can I come in?"
The Mistress of the House of Gojo sprained her head to peep at the entrance. The silhouette of her 9-year-old son was reflected on the door, awaiting for her approval
She chuckled. "Yes, you may!"
Satoru helped himself into the room before closing it back
"Did you finish your tutor early?", she asked, curious
"I did. I memorized the whole module in three hours"
"That's impressive!", the mother couldn't keep the surprises to herself
Satoru skipped his way to the corner of the room and settled next to his mother on the tatami mat. "Are you arranging flowers again?"
"I am", Madam Gojo cut at the end of the rose stems before neatly placing them in a vase filled with fresh water
The Young Master pondered. At times, his naughty fingers ran over the soft buds on the table. He stole a glance at his mother to see if she noticed. Of course she did. She spared him a glare, only to laugh later on. As long as he did not harm the flowers
"I have never seen these flowers", Satoru caressed the white petals with his knuckles. "Are they new?"
The Madam nodded. "I might be exaggerating. But.. your father bought it for me", her cheeks had turned red from being shy. She quickly shoved the thought off and turned her head to her son. "Do you know what is the name of these flowers?"
Satoru shook his head. "No idea"
Madam Gojo placed the rose and scissors down to take the whole bunch of flowers in her hand. "They are called Edelweiss. These flowers can thrive in harsh weather and conditions. They mostly grow at the top of the mountains. In flower language, Edelweiss symbolises purity, strength and resilience. It's really hard to get these, though. I'm so thankful for your father"
Satoru blinked up at his mother as he listened to the long, boring explanation. The only reason he paid attention was because Satoru knew how much his mother loved flowers, and she always knew the 'meaning' behind each of them
Whatever made his mother happy would bring the same, or twice happiness to Satoru
"Anyway, the Edelweiss truly reminds me of someone"
Satoru frowned. "Who?"
"You", his mother grinned. "When you were born, your father and I decided on the Flower of Eternity to be your birth flower", Madam Gojo separated the stalks from each other, placing them one by one on the table as she added. "I understand, my dear. You must feel burdened by the expectations people are putting on you. However, being born with such power could also be a blessing", she smiled. "So remember this, Satoru. Whatever life throws at you, be strong, be resilient, just like these flowers", Madam Gojo held out the last stalk of Edelweiss to Satoru. "Just like Edelweiss"
Satoru gazed down at the flower that had been tucked in the palm of his hand. "Do I have to always be strong and resilient.. like Edelweiss?"
His mother gave her most tender smile as she nodded her head
"As you can see here.. for the shape, it's spiky and quite irregular", the medical professional explained the results of the ultrasound image to Satoru, pointing at the screen with a mere penlight
Satoru stared blankly at the space between the monitor and his doctor. He was not focusing on his words as they fell onto deaf ears
About two months ago, Satoru felt like something was stuck in his throat. One morning, he saw a bulge forming, as if he had the second Adam's apple. When the lump kept growing to the point it was making him uncomfortable, Satoru made one of the biggest decisions yet to get himself checked
"This could be a bad sign, Gojo-san"
Satoru snapped out of his loaded thoughts. From the moment he came into this very room and sat in front of an unfamiliar doctor, his mind was all over the place
"At this point, it's better to get a biopsy", that was the conclusion he came to. "That way, we can confirm whether it's cancerous or not, then we will move to the next treatment plan-"
"Wait, doctor", he felt the need to interfere. "Wait...", Satoru closed his eyes, breathing calmly. "I- uhm... Can I get a second opinion?"
The doctor hummed. "Sure, if that can make you feel better"
Satoru left the hospital with an envelope crumpled in his hand
"Are we heading home, Gojo-san?", the chauffeur asked
"No. Take me to the school"
"Yes, Gojo-san", the car was put into drive and set off to Jujutsu Tech
Satoru pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He scrolled until his thumb stopped at Shoko's name before giving a call to his old friend
After a few beeps, she picked up. "Gojo, I was going to call you first!", an enthusiastic voice greeted Satoru from the other side. "We are celebrating Christmas Eve at the school. Come here, let's celebrate your second revival anniversary! Everyone is here"
Satoru chuckled. That friend of his was probably drunk already
"I'm on my way", he said flatly
"That's great. We can hold for another minute and wait for you"
"There's- there's no need actually"
"Hmm? Why?"
Satoru pinched the sides of his forehead, sighing. "I- I need to talk to you.. about something. In person"
"Oh.. okay", Shoko suddenly went quiet, as if she was getting the seriousness in Satoru's request. "Come to my office then"
"Alright, I will see you in a bit"
////////////////////
Shoko was already in her chair when Satoru came in. He sat across from her, and she sprang up from her chair to make coffee for both of them
"Are you not joining us for the party? The students would be happy to have you", she added sugar cubes into their mugs, stirring with a spoon
Satoru glanced over at his hand watch. "Yeah, maybe I can make time. But I need to talk to you first"
"It's really serious then", chuckled. Shoko carried the mugs to the table and sat back down. "What is it? Are you getting married?"
Satoru scoffed. "I wish it was half good as that", bitter
Shoko's eyes lingered to the side before she quickly looked back at Satoru. "What is it then?", she gently blew at the surface of the hot coffee and took a sip while Satoru didn't bother to touch his
Satoru huffed a big sigh in front of Shoko, making her frown. "Shoko, I...", he clenched his eyes tightly, forcing the gritty saliva down his throat as he tried to mouth the next words. "I may- have cancer"
Shoko withrew the mug from her mouth. "Canc- what? What do you mean?", she put her coffee down and fixed her posture. Concerns and questions were plastered on her face
"You heard me...", he put the envelope on the table. "I may or may not have cancer", Satoru managed a bashful laugh. "I felt lump in my throat not long ago. It kept growing so I went to get an ultrasound of it. The doctor said it's a tumor, and the shape isn't good"
Shoko took the ultrasound image out, taking a look for herself. "Is it cancer?"
Satoru shook his head. "I haven't done the biopsy"
"Why not?", Shoko snapped. "That was the next step in the procedure. You said the tumor had been growing, then it will continue to grow. In such cases, it's a battle against time. The faster we move, the less its risk"
Satoru clucked his tongue. "I- I just want a second opinion"
Shoko snorted. "What opinion? You can go to hundreds of hospitals and all ultrasound, CT, MRI results will show the same image - the tumor is already there!", Shoko threw her head back, breathing sharply. She bit the lower lip hard out of frustration. "I'm not mad at you, you know?", her voice softened again
Satoru nodded. "I know"
"Gojo...", paused
There was a long silence between the two friends. The quietness that was somehow brimming with understanding of each other's thoughts and feelings
"Are you... scared-"
BUMP!
The floor shook when something heavy fell from a height, catching both Satoru and Shoko off guards
"Itadori, stop bumping into things!", Nobara shrieked from behind the curtain
"Ah, sorry sorry. I really didn't see that", Yuji apologized
Satoru cannot take his eyes off the moving curtain
"Uhm.. do you think we are caught?", Panda asked
"Of course we are, you dumb", Maki scoffed
"Shāke"
"Let's open this up. There's no point hiding anymore"
Satoru's eyes widened in surprise when he caught a voice he knows, the familiar clacking of her boots when she stepped forward and pulled the curtains off
No no no
Please not
Utahime stood there with the students, cramping inside the treatment room since God knew when
"Everyone is here, for real", Satoru muttered
"Haa~", Shoko face-palmed
"Gojo-sensei, hi!", Yuji did not miss the opportunity to say hello to their former teacher
"Uhm.. we knew you were coming and got excited. When Ieiri-san said you wanted to see her in private, we insisted on coming along and hiding to surprise you", Yuta told with a sly grin. But he guessed, they were the ones catching all the surprises
"Is it true?", Megumi came forward to confront the teacher. "Do you.. really have cancer?"
Satoru's mouth slightly parted, but he couldn't utter a word for Megumi
"Well, kids... I think we all should leave them alone to talk", Utahime interrupted
All of the students turned to the teacher with the urge to resist. But her gesture was soft yet firm, giving them no second option
"Let's go", Utahime nudged at Megumi, shaking her head towards the door. They left one by one and she was the last
"Utahime", Satoru called
She stopped before the door and looked over her shoulder at him
"Tell the kids not to worry about me", he squeezed his hands under the table. "Nothing is confirmed. It's probably nothing"
Utahime pressed her mouth together, then nodded. "Of course. It's probably nothing", she repeated Satoru's words to console him, perhaps to make herself feel better too
Utahime stepped out of the room and pulled the door behind her
"Did Gojo-sensei say something to you?"
"Is he okay?"
"Sensei, is it true?"
"Gojo-sensei is sick?"
Utahime was bombarded with questions from the students
"Everyone, listen to me. I know how you feel at the moment. But if we are worried, know that Gojo is a hundred times more nervous than we are. So here's my advice. If you meet him at the party later, do not bring up the topic first"
"But, sensei-"
"Let's wait until he is ready to talk to us about it. Remember, we shouldn't be a part of their conversation in the first place. Gojo doesn't want us to know. At least, let's try to pretend like we don't know", Utahime wasn't sure if her sentences were clear or she was blabbering, or if they make any sense at all. She was trying her best to keep her composure even though her heart was beating out of her chest. "Gojo said it himself, it's nothing. Besides, he came all the way here to see Shoko. They will figure out something for sure". Utahime took one, two steps forward. Her hand landed on Yuta's shoulder, lightly tapping. "Go wait in the classroom first"
Yuta nodded back. "Let's go", he mouthed to his friends, taking their leaves in a group
Yuji and Nobawa followed suit, leaving Megumi behind who seemed reluctant to go
"Megumi...", her voice was coaxing
The boy tutted in despair. His walk was heavy as he marched down the corridor behind his classmates
Utahime slumped against the wall, letting it catch her weight. She nearly lost all her strength in her body but quickly pulled herself back together. She also rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes briefly
CLICK!
The lock turned and the door flung open. Satoru stepped out by himself and caught Utahime standing outside in the hallway
"You- you are still here", he choked out
Utahime bobbed her head twice. Satoru let out a relieved sigh, smiling in her way. He went to stand next to her, leaning on the wall too
After a good minute of silence, Satoru spoke. "I decided to do a biopsy"
"Hmm, I heard", Utahime didn't mean to continue eavesdropping, but the conversation taking place inside the room happened to be loud enough for her to capture them word by word. "Don't worry too much. It's probably benign"
"Yup, Shoko said the same thing"
"Well, I should be going", Utahime straightened her back and slightly shifted to face Gojo. "You will join the party too, right?"
Satoru reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, since the kids saw me. And Shoko insisted I should celebrate my rebirthday"
Utahime gasped. "Oh yeah, it's the second year, right?", she laughed it off. "That's great. Oh, don't worry about the students. They won't ask you questions"
He cocked a brow. "They won't?"
"Yeah, I made sure of it"
Satoru scoffed at the answer
"Well then, uhm... I'll see you there", she pointed to the direction she was heading and got approval from Satoru to leave
"Utahime"
Her heels rooted to the floor as she twisted her body around
"Thank you"
Satoru didn't say for what, and Utahime didn't ask too. It was a wordless exchange, but they both understood the silence more than words could ever convey
"Tell Shoko to hurry. The kids are waiting", Utahime reminded him before walking off
"Right behind you", he nodded back
Satoru and Shoko joined the party almost immediately after Utahime arrived. The chit-chat flowed naturally without anyone bringing up the taboo topic, with gift exchange session, and not to forget the cake!
That night, Satoru was able to put his wary thoughts past him to indulge in the moment, albeit only for a little while
tbc...