Work Text:
2008, Shibuya.
Satoru Gojo, Shoko Ieiri, and Suguru Geto had just finished a mission not far from Shibuya, more precisely, at a deserted station on the outskirts of the city.
Shoko was taking a break, smoking while leaning against one of the platform pillars. Meanwhile, Geto swallowed the cursed spirit orb he had just obtained. Among the trio, Gojo was the only one still full of energy. He had even bought Geto some milk to help ease the unpleasant taste left behind after swallowing the curse.
“Suguru~! I bought you some milk to help get rid of the taste. You said it tasted bad when you swallowed it, right?”
Gojo handed the milk over right after Geto finished swallowing the orb.
“Ah, thank you, Satoru.”
Geto accepted it with a small smile.
Shoko tapped her cigarette lightly against the pillar.
“Suguru, do you still have a lighter?”
Geto, who had just taken a sip of milk, turned toward her.
“Ah, I do.”
He reached into his pants pocket and handed her the lighter.
After lighting another cigarette, Shoko blew the smoke upward before glancing sideways at Gojo.
“Satoru, you’re so biased. Where’s my black coffee?”
Gojo immediately stuck out his tongue.
“Buy it yourself!”
Before Shoko could flick her cigarette butt directly at his face, Gojo suddenly wrapped both arms around Geto and Shoko’s shoulders with enough force to nearly slam them into each other.
“How about we take a walk around Shibuya? Since we’re already close by.”
Just as Gojo said that, a loud horn echoed in the distance.
The train’s headlights cut through the darkness as it arrived at the station on schedule, heading toward Shibuya. The strong wind from the slowing train gently ruffled the hair of all three of them.
“No way. I want to go back to the dorm and sleep,” Shoko replied immediately, clearly uninterested.
Geto sighed softly and tossed the empty milk carton into a nearby trash can.
“Satoru, we should head back soon. Yaga-sensei is probably already waiting for our mission report.”
Gojo deliberately nudged his shoulder against Geto’s playfully.
“But the train just arrived! And you need some sugar after swallowing that disgusting thing, right?”
Geto fell silent for a moment.
His eyes shifted toward the train doors that had just opened before glancing back at Gojo, who lowered his sunglasses slightly just enough to reveal bright blue eyes filled with expectation.
And just like that, Geto gave in.
“All right,” he said at last while stepping into the train compartment. “But not too late, Satoru.”
Shoko immediately rolled her eyes.
“Suguru, you spoil this idiot way too much.”
She crushed her cigarette beneath her shoe before lazily following after him.
“But since Suguru’s coming, I’m coming too. I’m not taking the train back to Tokyo Jujutsu High alone.”
Then she pointed accusingly at Gojo.
“And remember, Satoru, you’re paying for all my food later.”
-
That night train carried them through the dark outskirts of the city toward the bright heart of Shibuya.
As soon as the train doors opened, the second-year trio was greeted by crowds of people, glowing neon billboards, and faint pop music drifting from nearby record stores.
Gojo walked beside Geto with one arm slung casually around his shoulder while looking around excitedly for somewhere to hang out.
Meanwhile, Shoko stopped at a vending machine to buy black coffee.
She was already getting sleepy, and since Gojo had successfully convinced Geto to walk around Shibuya, she had no choice but to tag along too.
Holding a warm can of coffee, Shoko quickly caught up with her two friends towering above the crowds at Shibuya Crossing.
Even from behind, she could see Gojo’s arm still draped lazily over Geto’s shoulders while he pointed dramatically toward a brightly lit billboard nearby.
“Suguru, look at that! The line at that crepe shop is huge. It must be good!”
Gojo leaned closer to Geto’s ear so he could be heard over the crowded streets.
Geto only smiled faintly, carrying Gojo’s weight against him without complaint.
“Satoru, if we line up there, we won’t get home until morning. Let’s just find somewhere we can sit immediately.”
“Listen to him,” Shoko grumbled while sipping her coffee. “I don’t want to spend all night in Shibuya either.”
Luckily, there was a café mixed with an arcade nearby without much of a line.
Gojo immediately dragged both Geto and Shoko inside.
“My coffee almost spilled!” Shoko snapped.
Geto could only sigh and laugh quietly.
-
Gojo immediately let go of them and rushed toward the register.
“Miss! We’d like arcade tokens! And I want the biggest strawberry parfait you have!”
Then he glanced back toward his friends.
“Suguru! Shoko! Hurry up and order something, too. I’m paying!”
“I’ll just have hot green tea,” Geto replied while sitting near the fighting game machines.
Shoko rubbed at her tired eyes as she walked over slowly.
“I’m not in the mood for actual food. Just get me fries.”
After ordering, Shoko immediately claimed the quietest booth in the farthest corner. She placed her coffee on the table and rested her head against folded arms, ready to fall asleep at any second.
Meanwhile, Gojo had already grabbed a handful of arcade coins.
“Suguru,” he called dramatically, “fight me.”
Geto sighed.
“You sound like a middle schooler.”
“Coward.”
“That’s not going to work on me.”
“It worked earlier.”
“…Fair point.”
The two of them sat down across from each other at the fighting game machine.
The battle quickly became far more intense than necessary.
The sounds of rapid button pressing echoed through the arcade as Gojo loudly complained every five seconds.
“HEY, THAT COMBO WASN’T FAIR.”
“It’s literally part of the game.”
“Suguru, you’re cheating.”
“You’re just bad at this.”
“I’m the strongest.”
“You just lost half your health bar.”
Soon enough, nearby customers started gathering around them.
At first, it was only a few curious teenagers.
The office workers.
Then several other arcade players stopped their own games entirely just to watch.
Somehow, the atmosphere around Gojo and Geto felt less like two high school students playing arcade games and more like a championship tournament.
Gojo leaned aggressively toward the screen, nearly crushing the buttons beneath his hands.
Meanwhile, Geto remained calm the entire time, relaxed even while destroying Gojo in-game.
“Satoru,” Geto said calmly while landing another combo attack, “you rely too much on brute force.”
“That strategy works perfectly in real life!”
“Unfortunately for you, this is a video game.”
“You’re so annoying.”
“And yet you invited me here.”
Gojo clicked his tongue dramatically.
The final round began.
Even Shoko glanced up briefly from her fries after hearing the crowd react loudly behind them.
“Who even are those guys?” someone whispered nearby.
“No clue,” another replied. “But the white-haired one is terrifying.”
Shoko took another sip of coffee.
“You have no idea,” she muttered under her breath.
The final seconds counted down rapidly.
Geto cornered Gojo’s character. Then, suddenly at the last second, Gojo landed a desperate combo attack that barely secured victory.
The machine exploded with flashing lights announcing the winner.
Gojo shot up from his chair immediately.
“YES!”
He pointed dramatically toward Geto.
“Bow before me.”
Geto stared at the screen before sighing.
“You won by one point.”
“A win is still a win.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“And yet,” Gojo replied smugly, “you still hang out with me every day.”
Geto opened his mouth to respond, then paused.
Gojo’s smile faded instantly.
Geto was gently rubbing the bridge of his nose now, breathing slightly unevenly. Even after the milk and sweets, the side effects from swallowing a high-level cursed spirit orb still lingered. The nausea and residual negativity clinging to his body wouldn’t disappear so easily.
Without warning, Gojo dragged his chair closer until their sides pressed together completely.
Geto tensed slightly.
“Satoru, what are—”
“Hold still.”
Gojo’s tone suddenly lost all of its childishness.
Behind dark glasses, his bright blue eyes focused sharply on Geto, carefully reading the unstable flow of cursed energy inside his body through the Six Eyes.
Gojo’s hand moved to the back of Geto’s neck, warm and firm.
“Your cursed energy’s all over the place, Suguru,” he murmured quietly near Geto’s ear. “You pushed yourself too hard earlier. I noticed ever since we were still at the station.”
Geto froze.
No matter how well he hid his discomfort behind smiles and composure, none of it ever worked on Gojo.
This closeness felt strange.
Too warm.
Too familiar.
Geto let out a long breath before finally allowing himself to relax slightly beneath Gojo’s touch.
“I hate the fact that you always notice everything, Satoru.”
“Of course,” Gojo replied immediately, smirking again, though softer this time. “I’m the strongest.”
His thumb slowly brushed against Geto’s hair.
“And you’re my best friend and strongest partner, aren’t you? If you collapse, who’s supposed to stay up here with me?”
Geto laughed quietly.
“How arrogant.”
From the corner booth, Shoko glanced at them briefly while eating fries.
By now, she was completely used to the way Gojo and Geto always ended up trapped inside their own little world that nobody else could enter, not even her.
Shoko rolled her eyes before looking back down at her flip phone.
The screen was filled with messages.
99+ unread texts from Yaga-sensei.
“…Oh.”
“What?” Geto asked.
Shoko silently turned the phone toward them.
The atmosphere shattered immediately.
Gojo’s hand dropped from the back of Geto’s neck at lightning speed.
Both boys stared at the screen in horror.
“We’re screwed,” Geto muttered.
Then he slowly turned toward Gojo.
“Satoru, this is entirely your fault.”
“Huh?! Why me?!” Gojo protested loudly while standing up. “Suguru agreed to come! Shoko was happily eating fries too!”
“I’m literally the kidnapping victim here,” Shoko replied flatly while snapping her phone shut and grabbing her bag.
“The last train leaves in five minutes. If we miss it, Yaga-sensei’s cursed dolls are going to beat us to death.”
Suddenly, Gojo bolted toward the exit together with Geto.
“Shoko, RUN!” Geto shouted while dragging Gojo out of the café.
“HEY! Satoru, you still haven’t paid for my fries!”
Forced to chase after them, Shoko ran behind the two long-legged idiots through the crowded Shibuya sidewalks beneath glittering neon lights.
Gojo’s laughter echoed loudly through the night while the three of them blamed each other the entire way back toward the station.
Yaga-sensei’s anger tomorrow morning was a problem for later.
For now, Geto only cared about the fact that Gojo was still gripping tightly onto the sleeve of his uniform while Shoko continued grumbling behind them.
Later, on the train ride home, Shoko fell asleep almost immediately.
Gojo eventually fell asleep too, his head resting heavily against Geto’s shoulder.
Geto didn’t move away.
This small memory would remain one of the most irreplaceable moments of their youth.
Perhaps,
until that mission was assigned to them.