like a tall child || jujutsu kaisen

011

The months blurred together, all the same with nothing changed. If you believed you saw Shoko rarely before, now you were lucky to see her at least once a week.

"You're both finally done." Shoko blew out the smoke as she spoke.

"It was hell." You murmured as you looked off into the distance. Despite it being night and the forest too dark to see through you still looked out. The only shape you could make out was the top of the trees being dense.

"How much do you have left?" Satoru asked her. She tapped the end of her cigarette against the railing.

"Two years, give or take." She shrugged her shoulders. Shoko had accepted her path a while ago. She no longer complained about the lack of free time or how overworked she had already been.

"I can't believe you're going to be a doctor." You looked away from the forest.

"Me either, I hate people." She took a drag from the cigarette. You watched as the end of the cigarette turned a reddish color before returning to grey. She did the same as before, blowing out the air to tapping the excess ash off.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that." You knew the comment was supposed to be lighthearted but the implications were far from it. Shoko wasn't going to have the luxury of saving as much as she hoped. More times than not, people came back in body bags, not with cuts or scraps.

"What are you both going to do?" She asked.

"The only thing I have left, being a sorcerer full-time now." You could leave but even then what were you going to do? You'd have to go back to school to even get a job good enough to support yourself.

"What choice do I have?" Even if he wanted to leave this all behind he couldn't. Not with the burden he was born with.

Shoko frowned. She hated where everyone was, she hated how just a few years ago the conversation would've gone easier.

There was an underlying tension whenever you all came together. Granted it was rare these days but it was obvious there was a stain left by Suguru.

There was no ceremony, no special awards, or speech given. You all received a certificate to prove you completed and passed your classes.

No one acknowledged the hard work any of you had put in over the past few years. During your youth, the only time when it was acceptable to explore, do new things and live freely without the added responsibilities of being an adult. All of that had been dedicated to striving for good grades, dodging death, and shouldering the burdens of adulthood.

Four years of your life had gone by quicker than you had ever expected. To make it worse you couldn't wrap your head around all that happened.

"I brought you something." You walked into his room. Satoru looked up watching as you walked in with a bag in hand. You threw yourself onto his bed, he moved his feet letting you position yourself across from him.

You rarely announced yourself, it worked better that way. The less you spoke the better things were. Learning how to exist with Satoru had become challenging.

The years you should've spent getting to know him were in the past. You could never go back and redo them, that alone scared you. But you couldn't focus on changing the past. Not when your future was unclear.

Satoru leaned over grabbing what you had brought from outside. In the bag, you had two sandwiches, both different to fit his taste and yours.

His was a fruit sandwich, strawberries, and kiwis that were sandwiched between the sweet cream. You never had a sweet tooth so you didn't understand his appeal for it.