Old Beats | Gojo Satoru x Reader

XV

As the sun set over the city, the sky was painted with a beautiful blend of orange and pink hues, mixing with the remaining light of the day. You were sitting in the backyard of the house, surrounded by trees and dried flowers, with Suguru by your side.

The warm light gently touched the sharp features of his face, creating deep shadows along his jawline and highlighting his cheekbones. The scene felt like something from your dreams, or more accurately, your nightmares. You found it hard to believe that it was actually happening.

After the initial shock, Suguru had stayed by your side until you slowly opened up your heart. You had wished many times to reconnect with your friend, and now that he was right in front of you, you couldn't bring yourself to turn him away.

The hours had flown by as you talked, the conversation flowing easily until the sun began to set. You even allowed yourselves to joke and reminisce about your teenage years in school. You covered your mouth with your hand to hold back a laugh, but a sense of guilt dampened your good mood.

"I feel like I shouldn't be doing this," you said suddenly. Geto tilted his head and looked at you, puzzled, so you added, "Laughing about school with you. After all, I work there, and you are..."

He nodded slowly, understanding what you meant. "A traitor."

"Exactly."

The man placed his palms on the grass and leaned his head back to gaze at the sky. "Speaking of school," he said, "are you happy there?"

You shrugged. "Happier than I could be anywhere else."

He locked eyes with you and studied you carefully in a way that felt extremely familiar. Suguru always seemed to know something more than you, as if he was always one step ahead.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

It felt more like a statement than a question, causing you to doubt your own thoughts. "Well, yeah, I guess..." you hesitated, growing annoyed with yourself. "I mean, I trained for this, and the best thing I can do for the world is take care of the little ones. And I'm with Gojo."

"Are you still friends?" Geto asked, and when you nodded, he chuckled softly. "Of course you are."

You elbowed Suguru's arm and added, annoyed, "Of course we are."

Geto lifted his head to the sky again and fell silent for a few seconds. "Then I guess it doesn't make much sense what I wanted to ask you," he said.

You turned to Geto with a furrowed brow, unsure where he was leading the conversation. "What do you mean?"

Silence settled over the patio, and you suddenly became acutely aware of the gentle breeze causing your skin to prickle. Geto continued to stare at the sky, biting his lower lip and furrowing his brow as if making a great effort.

"I know what you're going to say, but I have to try anyway," he finally said, his eyes still fixed on the sky.

He took a deep breath and looked into your eyes. "Come with me."

A gust of wind swept across the patio, rustling the branches and leaves of the trees.

"Leave the school and come live with me," he added in almost a whisper. "This system doesn't make sense, and the only thing waiting for you at the end of the road is a meaningless death."

Your heart pounded in your chest as Geto's words echoed in your mind. He was asking you to leave everything behind as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"You can't ask me that," you whispered.

Finally, Geto looked away, his eyes seeking comfort in some distant point of the patio. You wrapped your arms around your knees, shivering as a chill ran through your body. Darn breeze, you should have grabbed your uniform jacket.

"Why now?" you asked him. "After all this time?"

"I already proposed it to you. It was you guys who didn't want to come," Geto said, looking at you with a knowing expression.

The tone of the conversation was friendly, but each word he said felt like a direct stab to your heart.

"There are many reasons," he added. "But deep down, it's because I've realized how quickly time passes, and I don't want to spend another year without you. I've let too many slip away."

Your stomach churned as if you were falling into a deep pit. You didn't want to spend another second of your life without Geto in it, especially after finding him again. You knew that when you had to go back home, it would be much harder than before to endure his absence.

But what he was asking you was too much.

Leaving with him meant sacrificing your life and everything you had built so far. The school, the kids, your friends, Gojo... come to think of it, what did Geto even do? He hadn't explained it properly. You only knew what you had read in reports, which was very limited information. The only thing you were certain about was that Geto had killed non-sorcerers.

"I-I..." You stumbled over your words as they came to your mind in a chaotic rhythm. "I can't do this. I can't."

Geto snorted.

"I'm sorry," you continued, feeling the need to fill the silence in any way possible. "I can't leave the school. I can't leave Gojo alone."

"But Gojo will be fine, won't he? With or without you," he asked in his gentle and calm voice, as if he wasn't probing an old wound. "But you are exposed. Tell me, where is he now? If something had happened to you, would he have arrived in time?"

He was right, and you both knew it. Gojo was untouchable and would be fine in any circumstance, but you wouldn't be. Even so...

"I don't know, Suguru..."

"Think about it," he said. "And in two weeks, you tell me what you want to do."

He put his hand in a pocket of his clothes and rummaged until he found a folded paper, which he handed to you between his index and ring fingers. You picked it up, not very convinced, and unfolded it. There was an address and a time.

"If you don't show up, I'll understand that you don't want to know anything else about me, and I won't bother you again," you appreciated Suguru looking at the sky because you were sure your face betrayed the pain his words had caused you. "Oh, and one last thing, y/n."

"Tell me," you whispered, with a heavy heart.

"You have to promise me that you won't say anything about what happened today to Gojo," he said. "And it has to be a binding vow, or I won't be able to show up for our appointment in two weeks."

At that moment, you were sure Suguru could say the worst insult with the sweetest voice in the world.

"I promise," you whispered.

Two days later.

Report from the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College.

First grade sorceress, y/n l/n, has gone missing.

Her absence was reported this afternoon by her second-year students who had a class with her. When she didn't show up for her teaching post, the second-year students notified the director of the Tokyo College, who initiated a search to locate her.

(Report pending update.)