Work Text:
Blue irises stared up at him unblinking.
Even after all these years Yuuji hadn’t managed to describe the exact shade of blue it was.
Cerulean. Azure. Aquamarine.
Countless shades existed in the world and Yuuji remembers being young once, a phone in hand while he searched for them all while mesmerized by the concept of the internet and how deep it could take him to an endless tour of hues. Those late night searches while the world slept. While his eyes were tired from the bright screen and he was pretty sure he started hallucinating blue in everything the very next day.
Yet, those specific irises were still undefined no matter how much he searched. The ends of the internet could not describe the mirage that his teacher's eyes were.
One second you see something that makes sense to your mind and the next it changes into something that feels like a trick to your eyes.
Also there was this hollowness in trying to confine those shades to something discernable. He felt a sense of wrongness when he tried to narrow down something that held so much vastness.
Complimentary to their name, the six eyes which could see anything and everything were a puzzle who Yuuji never forgot wanting to solve. (or specifically guess the color of.)
It was only when he lived a few more years and the wisdom gathered in him did he find something that could explain those colors without turning them into something confined like a single world.
Yes, maybe they were multiple shades of blue to describe one pair of eyes but Yuuji came up with emotions to describe them.
That epiphany when he realized those eyes shined differently depending on what the owner expressed in them.
The gem like shine that felt like blue sparkles when the man was elated to try anything sweet.
The cold fury of blue when anger was the emotion that drove the gear in that head specifically when faced with the treachery of Jujutsu Society.
The blue of contentment when he stayed solemnly in one corner while Yuuji, Nobara and Megumi were busy with their endless squabble on simple everyday things.
That quiet longing of blue when he thought no one was looking and Yuuji can guess now it was for lost comrades the strongest sorcerer mourned.
The blazing pride of blue when the students he nurtured flourished on even the simplest things while that wide grin stayed in place.
And now the most similar copy of those irises stare up at him and Yuuji is once more baffled at how there is something new in that blue he never learnt to name.
Yet he also remembers however much they shine or glow or express; the person who he remembered holding them took his last breath right in front of him. Went down with everything he had and then all his students including Yuuji were left to take on his legacy.
If he was twenty and still mourning the man, then maybe Yuuji would have jumped towards the kid at the first chance he got. A hug a cry or anything to feed his delusions. That cold greed that prevented you from accepting what everyone around him had already done.
But the color and the shine is where the similarities end for now. Yuuji senses no cursed energy that tell him this is the six eyes while it looks the exact same.
Or maybe, at eighty his mind had gotten old enough to feed him street delusions. Though last he checked, his therapist never recommended pills for schizophrenia.
And no psychological research on illusions ever damaged the version of the grief you remembered. In front of him there was no towering frame. Instead it is replaced by a shorter stature that barely reached Yuuji’s waist.
No sharp jawline or any defining cheekbones that the teacher had. Only soft baby fat that added to the unruly mop of Snow White hair.
A mini version of his deceased teacher—Gojo Satoru was holding a staring contest with Yuuji right now.
Also, said mini-Gojo had zero cursed energy in him at all.
Suddenly Yuuji remembers one more question about those blue irises he had wanted to ask.
Did they shine because they held cursed energy or was it just a trick of the light?
Because emotions were a thing he created to explain them. He never thought hard about the physics involved in it.
He had later seen many blue-eyed people. Foreigners wore those irises prominently but even under the shine of the sun, they never sparkled the same.
That was how Yuuji managed to discern reality from the lost. He had learned to remember his teacher from the special nature of those irises after all.
Still he has to recheck him memories though. The length of his life has made faces blurrier and all Yuuji has right now are photo albums and blurry visions as keepsake.
When your lifespan has crossed a certain threshold, you tend to forget a lot of things.
Names. Faces. People.
Yuuji had tried to hold on to that part of his life desperately once. The fading visage of his companions who had already reached the afterlife was not easy to digest.
Though time numbed you too much. He got used to the idea of lost memories.
Still in all and everyone there was this gaze he could remember clear as day no matter the degradation of his memory.
Just that the gaze alongside the features and hair brought back to him the exact image but older of the man he knew.
Who was surely not he kid in front of him, was he?
A reincarnation of Gojo?
It was a curious thought though he had become wise enough to know never to chase after such curiosities by now.
Oh well. Did it matter if the child and the man shared the same soul?
Yuuji broke eye contact as he decidedly turned around ready to leave the kid behind.
It wasn’t like he the kid shared the memories Yuuji did.
That was a lookalike. A soul that found life again and a new life never held in to the strings of the past.
He was ready to take the next step forward—
"Yuuji”, the kids voice reached his ears. Yuuji froze, his feet hanging midair as the word registered in his head.
The boy had called out his name.
Something bloomed in his chest and Yuuji could not make himself move. (Who was he kidding? He was way too familiar with hope.)
The kid suddenly came beside him circling him with a light smile. Or a mischievous one Yuuji would have noticed if he was able to see clearly as is vision was starting to blur.
“You really are Yuuji”, the eyes crinkled into half-moons as they looked as Yuuji with an emotion that couldn’t be faked.
Recognition and a sort of gentle fondness.
The newest shade Yuuji would now add to his dictionaries of ' Gojo's irises and their variations.'
For a moment Yuuji wanted to deny it. Let it be a cruel joke.
Or maybe a dream meant to haunt him later on for however long it stayed in his mind.
He was pretty sure his hood covered up most of his face and now the lookalike kid was calling out his name as if he recognized him.
The child was in front of him again now and beaming like meeting him was a joy he would never forget before continuing on with the words—
“I may not have the six eyes now but I can still tell my favorite student- “, the boy stilled and his eyes looked at seeing something decisive before the bright smile came back, "You really are Yuuji.”
Then little palms came beside his large hands before patting them lightly.
“Only my Yuuji can be such a crybaby. Now now stop crying. Sensei is here.” The little boy said as if trying to soothe the humongous adult thrice his size.
And it was only then doing Yuuji realize the warmth on his cheek.
A few blinks and the tears were falling as if his own body was no longer listening to him.
“Sensei”, he rasped in shallow breaths as the stream of tears rolled down unrepentant.
“Now now I am here”, the little boy hugged his waist rubbing circles on his lower back as he soothed Yuuji.
Yuuji was really an idiot. Crying at meeting his ex-teacher again. Or more specifically his supposed reincarnation.
Trying to walk away because he was a coward who would rather avoid the truth right in front of him then face the memories.
Funny how that was working out for him right now. Crying as if he is the child while the actual child in front of him acted more like the adult.
Still he couldn’t stop himself from relenting by leaning into the comfort of those little arms as they barely circled around him.
Maybe it was the soothing words or the little back rubs or the warm hug. Moments later only little sniffles remained alongside his red rimmed eyes.
And as he looked down at the small figure before him, Yuuji realized that some bonds weren’t tied to the past. Some could begin again, fragile and bright, like a single star reflected in endless blue.