Chapter Text
“You’re late as usual,” he mumbled, sliding down the wall as he clutched his shoulder, the blood pooling beneath his robes. The December air was crisp, biting at Suguru’s skin mercilessly.
There he was, standing right in front of him with an undeniable ache in his crystal eyes.
“So you’ll be the one at my end, huh?” Suguru murmured, his voice raspy.
“How’s my family doing?”
“Each of them managed to get away,” Satoru quipped back, a strange edge to his voice. “Kyoto was your doing too, right?”
“As sharp as always. Unlike you, I’m a kind person,” he winced, as he pressed up against the marble of the concrete wall behind him. “You sent those two here knowing I would defeat them, just to trigger Okkotsu’s growth.”
“It’s called trust.” Satoru spoke almost immediately. “A person with beliefs like yours wouldn’t kill a young sorcerer without reason.”
Suguru’s eyes widened at the statement, vulnerability seeping through the cracks of his facade. A smile crept up to his face, softening the edges of his tired eyes.
“Trust, huh? To think you still felt that connection with me.”
Satoru’s gaze remained unwavering. His breath shuddered, his hand trembling.
Satoru Gojo was no stupid man. He was the strongest, a labelled prodigy. A man born to shoulder every burden by himself, and that’s why it was obligatory upon him to remain perceptive and conscious regarding all that he encompassed. So how dare he still trust him? How could he, after ten years and an eternity of unforgivable betrayal, still label Suguru worthy of being a trusted friend?
They were each other’s first blue spring, the kind that blooms only once, reckless and blinding, when the world still feels conquerable. And somehow in a play of fate they became each other’s last too. In that brief season where strength was a far fetched dream and the act of rebellion came easy, Satoru finally got to enjoy being the teenager he deserved to be.
But the thing about Blue Springs is that they don’t last. They only teach you what you’ll spend the rest of your life mourning.
Suguru was Satoru’s moral compass. He shaped that man in a way no tragedy ever could. And it broke Satoru in an agonising way.
Begrudgingly, the days drag on, passing by in a blur of dullness. The weight, the regret, the swirling thought of “what if’s” pooling beneath the surface of Satoru’s composure, poisoning the air within his lungs. His shame piling up over the years,.
Satoru couldn’t shoulder the weight of that guilt, no matter how harshly the title of the “The Strongest” loomed over him.
But even so, under the blindfold, Satoru’s eyes had always been tracing the outlines of Suguru’s soul.
“So.. do you have any last words?” Satoru broke the silence, almost hesitantly. His heart beating painfully beneath his ribs.
“I just couldn’t wear a heartfelt smile in this world,” A lie. All Suguru had ever done was lie, constantly, over and over again. It slipped easily past his lips, detangling itself from the raging conflicts between his heart and mind, with no sense of belonging. He lied to convince himself that the selfish negativity he was consuming was all worth it. That in the end, all that mattered was the power that had been stripped away from its rightful owners—the Jujutsu Sorcerers. And that is what Suguru fought for. To prevent young sorcerers from sharing the same fate as his comrades.
Ever since he had left the comforting warmth of his house, the first real smile that bloomed on Suguru’s face was when he found his people.
But Suguru is a mortal man, and at the end of it all— a human. So he did what he deemed necessary, lie to himself.
“Suguru,” A voice cut through the air, falling as softly as snow, settling deep within his core.
“I love you, got that?” His voice cracked as he exhaled slowly.
The air stilled.
The words didn’t hit as hard as Suguru had anticipated. Satoru Gojo’s love was pure, cradling Suguru’s name gently between every syllable. A love that deeply embedded itself into their hearts, connecting it through every proof of life. The strings that bind the two souls together, are the same strings that sewed their broken hearts, labelling it as one, irregardless of how goresome it may be.
By what turn of fate had it led to this? Their love was supposed to remain pure—How had it twisted into a curse over the passage of time?
Suguru let out a soft chuckle, his eyes crinkling as his face warmed up, “Atleast curse me a little at my end, won’t you?”
Tears pricked at Satoru’s eyes, as he held up his hand. Suguru was glowing. He looked so happy and just like the old Suguru he knew.
Suguru’s ember began flickering out, before he managed to mumble out a strained inclination.
“I just really wish I could have changed this world for the better. I’m sorry, Satoru.”
➤𝟕𝟗𝟒 𝐁𝐂𝐄
Yuzuki waddled through the dark hallways, echoing with the cries of a baby. Although the frantic noises disturbed her, she still wanted to satisfy her curiosity.
For some reason, all the men and maidens had been rushing towards a room. She felt a little sad that Asahi left her so abruptly, during a small tea party they were holding.
She peaks through the large wooden door, unable to see the source of the persistent noise as it was hidden by a group of people surrounding it. Unable to get the answer she was looking for, she tries to sneak into the room, before a familiar voice bursts through the disturbed air.
“It’s.. a boy! Congratulations, my lady!” Asahi’s voice cheered. Small and muffled cries of happiness emerged from the limited number of maidens.
The mother gazed tenderly upon her boy, a beacon of light, a blessing to cherish. A tired smile crept its way up to her face, glowing despite her disheveled state. She trailed her finger lightly across her baby’s face.
And thus, this event marked the birth of a future pinnacle of jujutsu sorcery, Suguru Gensai.