ᴀʟʟᴇɢᴇᴅʟʏ ☀︎︎ ɢᴇᴛᴏ s. x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ☀︎︎

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɴɪɴᴇ

16 May 2005
Approximately 7:45 P.M.
Tokyo, Japan

“Do you always sit outside by yourself?”

You jumped in surprise, looking behind you at the approaching figure. Geto grinned down at you.

“Only when I’m celebrating,” You replied, sarcasm lacing your voice.

You were sitting in one of the many chairs circling around the fire burning in the back of the dorms. It was always burning, a symbol of the school’s never-ending fire. Literally and figuratively. Geto sat beside you, watching as you poked the fire with a long stick you found on the ground. Your legs were folded under you, cheek pressed against your fist.

“You know, normal people celebrate with their friends,” Geto said.

“I did that. I’m celebrating with my father, can’t you see?” You pointed to a stickman you made out of pure boredom sitting in the chair across from you.

“Y/n…you hoped someone would come didn’t you?”

“Yes, I made that for twenty minutes,” You said, causing both of you to laugh quietly.

“Are you okay?” He asked after a moment, your laughter dying out.

“Yeah...I just...I dunno. I really want to tell my parents, but...I don’t want it to seem like I’m seeking for attention. I just want them to be proud of me, you know?” You sighed, picking at the tip of your converse. “I want them to know that going to this school wasn’t a waste of time and that I’m actually accomplishing something. I want them to know that I’m saving people’s lives and not being delusional like my mother thinks.”

“Listen, Y/n,” Geto said, a soft smile on his face. “You don’t have to have the approval of others to do what you want to do. I know you want your parents to support you, but it’s nothing to get so depressed over. All of us are really proud of you. Hell, Satoru’s working harder so he can catch up now. I don’t know if it counts, but we’re proud of you.”

You smiled. “Thanks, Sugar.”

“So, are you just gonna sit here and watch the fire all night?” He asked. You shrugged.

“Maybe,” You said, your smile lingering on your lips. “Something wrong with that?”

“Well,” The man drug out, extending his legs out. “I wouldn’t want you to be alone. And besides, what fun is it to sit by a fire without….these?”

You watched as he held a bag up, taking out chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers. His lips spread into a smile as he saw your eyes light up. He chuckled.

“More food? You must be popular with the girls back home, huh?” You teased. Geto chuckled.

“I didn’t really have an interest in love,” He replied. “What about you?”

“I wasn’t allowed to date in middle school,” You said, sticking a marshmallow on a stick. “Everyone was scared of me. I only had one friend.”

“Why was everyone afraid of you? Were you that scary in middle school?” Geto chuckled. You shook your head with a light laugh.

“No, everyone in Nikko was wary of the police. It’s a small town that had lots of officers, so the city was always crawling with them. It’s just a thing in rural towns like that,” You explained, taking the chocolate from the male. “If you had any kind of relationship with a police officer, you were immediately made an outcast.”

“Is that why you hate police officers?” Geto asked, his gaze focused on something else. Because of this, he missed the way you seemed to almost...flinch.

“P-partly.”

Geto flicked his eyes to you. He could see the hesitation in your face and knew. He wouldn’t press any further than this.

You jumped when you felt something hit your cheek. Looking over, Geto grinned and flicked another wood chip at you.

“Hey! What the hell you asshole?” You laughed, flicking it back.

“Sorry. I just wanted to see you smile again.”

Your eyes widened slightly. Your face rose with heat, cheeks flushing with warmth. Geto chuckled and looked away. From the crackling fire, the amber light illuminated his features. The soft curving of his cheeks; the sharp angle of his jawline; his thin eyebrows and angular nose; his coal-black eyes and pink lips.

He was pretty, you thought to yourself, breaking your gaze away before he could notice you staring. You wondered why he hadn’t been interested in love before. He was sweet and attractive enough to get himself a nice girlfriend. Maybe he was too focused on wanting to be a sorcerer.

“Geto, can I ask you something?” You said suddenly, making him look over at you with surprise.

“Sure.”

“Why are we doing this?”

Geto frowned. “What do you mean?”

You pulled your legs to your chest, resting your chin on your knees. “What are we even sorcerers for? It just seems like no matter how hard we try…”

“Y/n, you need to leave, right now!”

“Ira-sensei! I-I’m scared! What’s going on?!”

“You have to go now,”

He knelt in front of you, calloused hands cupping your cheeks. He smiled, shiny white teeth contrasting against the black hair that hung in front of his face. The rain pelted above you, and you could hear the footsteps sploshing through the mud, running towards you. Your eyes were wide, hot tears sliding down your cheeks.

“The rings don’t fit me,” You whimpered. “You can’t go yet.”

“I know,” He said, smoothing your dripping hair down before tugging the hood of your rain jacket up. “But you must go. They’ve come for me. You’ll be killed too if you don’t run now.”

“W-We can go together!” You said, grabbing his hands, tugging him with you. “Y-You and I can escape, Ira-sensei!”

He took his hands back. “It’s okay, Y/n. Go. You’re running out of time. You have to go now before you die as well. You cannot leave your parents alone. You have to save others too.”

“B-But...the...rings...don’t...fit…”

“No matter what we do; what we try; what we act upon, nothing can save the people we care about the most. It’s something you can’t circumvent, no matter how hard you try. You’ll always see the people around you fall to ashes.”

Geto saw the far-away look in your eyes. The tug of your lips as you frowned, and the furrow of your brows. He sighed.

“I honestly don’t know,” He replied after a moment.

“Then...whaddaya say we find the answer?”

You turned to look at him, eyes shifting with different emotions. Determination. Fear. Sadness. Nostalgia. Geto couldn’t pin one down at the same time.

“I’m sick of seeing people die at the hands of curses and pigs. I want to make a world where everyone can live safely. Will you help me, Sugar?”

“Yeah. I’ll help you in any way that I can, Y/n.”