The Waning (GojoHime) - Part 2

The Strongest Duo, Part I

In the Year 2005

One look at his future classmate slouching disrespectfully in his chair and Gojo knew with the kind of certainty not often experienced by a teenage brain: This was what his life lacked.

"Hey," the tall guy's inviting grin revealed a row of angular white teeth, "you must be that prodigy from the Gojo Clan everybody is talking about? I'm stoked we're in the same year. I'm Geto. Geto Suguru."

Disorderly man-bun. Pierced (gigantic) earlobes. The lingering scent of cigarette smoke hanging around him. A "fuck-it-all" attitude to die for. Gojo felt a wave of excitement wash over him that left him a little giddy. Maybe he had been wrong? School wouldn't be a drag. School would set him free.

"Yes, I have the Six Eyes. I'm Gojo Satoru."

Geto took his feet off the desk and sat up straight. "Let me see them?"

Gojo removed his black sunglasses and blinked his eyes at him. It was frankly awkward but when Geto's jaw dropped and pure awe spread on his face, Gojo felt elated.

"Wow! The girls must love you. Don't keep all of them for yourself, okay?"

Their laughs mixed well together, even though Gojo's was a little forced. The sad truth was, there were zero girls in Gojo Satoru's life, courtesy of his overprotective relatives whose only goal was to make sure the Clan stayed insanely rich and insanely influential, which happened to require that the orphaned heir was kept safe from the droves of assassins out to get him.

Believe it or not, girls could be assassins. Hence, no girls around Gojo the Precious Heir. No nobody. Just training, training, training.

How pathetic was it when getting the necessary "polishing" of your powers to become deployable as a proper Jujutsu Sorcerer was the first time you got away from your family?

"I'm big on sharing," Gojo boasted, deciding on the spot that it was going to be the truth. He wanted this person to be his friend. Whatever it took.

"Thanks, man," Geto's grin was contagious. "I thought school would be a pain in the ass. Guess I was wrong."

His aunts had repeatedly warned him about associating with the likes of Geto Suguru at "that school". They knew Jujutsu Tech accepted Sorcerers with no pedigree based on -gasp!- mere talent. Not that they hadn't tried to intervene and create an elite college only for the old blood but they had failed. It was simply unsustainable: Unless the Big Three started to produce at least twenty babies a year each, all with sufficient talent to become active Sorcerers within a few weeks after their births, the Society would have no other choice but to take what they could get. Including talents from the streets.

"I bet you have tons of money," there was the awe again. "My family has nothing. They're not even Sorcerers?"

"Really?" Gojo needed to sit down. Wasn't this super rare?! He only knew about this type of Sorcerer from comic books and TV series where newly awakened Sorcerers usually went crazy because they couldn't bear the truth about the world. His excitement increased. "But... do they know what you... can do?"

Geto's features hardened. "Not really. They think this is a school for "the gifted", as in...," he made a rude sign for 'lunatic' with his hand. "They were glad to get rid of me."

They had that in common. Should he tell him he was sorry? Gojo tried to read Geto's facial cues. Or maybe Geto felt like him? That getting away from your family was the best thing ever to have happened in his life?

"So... can you see through clothes with them?" Geto pointed at Gojo's eyes.

"Yeah," Gojo shrugged, touching his sunglasses, "but I can't really see anything."

It was hard to explain what he saw. A mess, most of the time. That's what the world was, a mess. At times, he thought it was beautiful. Most days, it took a lot of effort to sort through the swirling colors that assaulted his senses like noise. Often, his head hurt.

Looking at Geto was quite painful, actually. His cursed energy was grating, a bit like nails on a blackboard but without the sound.

"Maybe that makes no sense," Gojo added somewhat meekly.

"I eat curses. They all taste like ancient vomit rolled in feces. Does that make sense?"

They laughed again. Gojo stole a glance at Geto over the rim of his glasses. So that's what he was seeing? The cursed energy of someone who ingested curses for later use?

"Does it hurt?" Gojo blurted out. It sure looked like it.

"Not anymore," Geto shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm kinda used to it? But yeah. You? Is that why you wear sunglasses?"

Gojo nodded briskly. His biggest problem was that he simply couldn't master the Six Eyes to their full extent because he couldn't get them to work in full sync with the Limitless. It drove him crazy with impatience! And because nobody else in the world had the Six Eyes or knew enough about them, there was nobody who could teach him. One further reason why they had agreed to send him to school: at least there were tons of specialists here who had all kinds of experience with unlocking potential and hone powers.

"I bet you had the best martial arts teachers in the world," Geto mused. "Do you think they will let us fight each other? I want to become a very good Sorcerer. One of the best. The best!"

"We can be the best together!" Gojo exclaimed. The strongest duo.

"I'd like that, man," Geto grinned. "A lot."

"... so it must be this one," a female said, resolutely sliding open the door to the classroom.

"Thank you, Senpai," another female answered. "I am so grateful for your help. I would have been late on my first day without you!"

"Ugh," a girl with long black hair tied with two white ribbons stepped inside, letting her eyes sweep over Gojo with a sort of disdain he had not known existed for someone as precious and important as him. "I guess your classmates are here already. Unfortunately, they're boys."

A tomboyish girl with brown shoulder-long hair walked in behind her, blinking her eyes at them. A little smile curved her lips.

"Cute," Geto whispered.

Gojo had to agree - but he seemed to have lost the ability to speak? His mouth had gotten so dry he had to swallow a few times. And why did his head feel like someone had hit it with a boulder?

"Bye. Good luck on your first day, Shoko," the apparition smiled and Gojo felt his heart jump frantically in his chest. What was this? Advanced sorcery? Something that could get to him this easily? "Don't let them bully you. I'm always there if you need my help."

Another glance full of distrust swept over him. It felt like a caress. Something he hadn't even known he craved with an intensity that hurt.

Don't go! He wanted to shout when she walked away. Look at me!

But he was struck mute. The woman was gone. The world felt empty because of it.

"I'm Ieiri Shōko," the new girl introduced herself with a small bow. "Pleased to meet you. What are your specialties? What grade types are you?"

"Grade 1," Geto looked at her with interest. "I can manipulate cursed spirits. He's a Special Grade. And I will become one too."

"Wow," the girl looked suitably impressed and at the same time didn't seem to give a rat's ass about anything. "You two can do all the fighting then, I'm just going to be a doctor."

She laughed and sauntered over to the desk to the right of Geto. "So what's today's schedule?"

"Don't care," Geto grinned and inhaled appreciatively. "You're a smoker too?"

"Yeah," the girl grinned back. "Bad habit, but hey... it's more likely that a curse will get us before we die of lung cancer."