Ataraxia 平静 | Gojo Satoru

-'๑'-𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗-'๑'-

A week had slipped by since my spat with Gojo, and it felt like the temperature between us had dropped a few degrees lower. Our hallway encounters had turned into a awkward form of silent warfare—a battle of who could out-ignore the other. He practically brushed off my existence, exchanging a mere handful of syllables only when it concerned the students.

It was so off-putting, considering I used to be the queen of the 'avoid Gojo at all costs' game. Now that it was reciprocated, it made me feel odd, inadequate. Like I'd committed some unspoken crime against him.

He'd neatly picked Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the occasional Sunday for training the trio, leaving me with the leftovers. Classic Gojo move, but honestly, I didn't mind. Chilling with Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi had become my weekly highlight. Despite their squabbles, being around them felt like stepping into a warm, grounding space. Plus, the routine missions helped with keeping my skills sharp. Speaking of which. . .

"Your stance is completely off," Geto remarked, fussing with my shoulders and adjusting my leg placement.

I heaved a sigh, utterly bored, my gaze fixated on the ceiling. "Can we call it a day?" I whined, rolling my ankle.

We'd resumed our Cursed Technique training, a throwback to when I was a fledgling exploring the potential of my abilities. His Innate Technique allowed him to absorb and control natural curses and use them for combat, and he insisted on helping me achieve something similar through my Shadow Manipulation.

Months of solitary, grueling training had eventually helped me master Shadow Constructs—molding shadows into solid forms, summoning weapons like blades, tendrils, or shields. It also granted me the ability to create realistic illusions of myself. But what Geto aimed for was pushing me to manipulate shadows into animated creatures, from little birds to full-blown curses, and bend them to my will.

It was tedious, boring, and frankly not going well.

"Where's your head at?" he scolded, hands on hips, his dark hair loosely tied in a bun, framing his face.

"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow, not meeting his eyes, and draped a towel around my neck.

"Your mind's wandering, Yue. I'm not blind," he noted.

I shrugged. "Guess I didn't sleep well last night." Not exactly a lie.

"Hmm," he hummed, grabbing his water bottle. I watched his Adam's apple rise and fall with his heavy swallowing. A short silence followed before he asked, "Did you talk to Satoru today?"

My brows furrowed. "No, why would I?" I replied nonchalantly.

"For how long are you two going to keep this up? It's been days," he prodded.

"We've got a solid seven-year streak, so it can't be that bad," I said sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes. "You're acting like children."

"I've got nothing to say to him. And he's not exactly breaking the silence."

"Your stubbornness is going to put me in an early grave," he muttered, rubbing the space between his eyebrows.

"Why are you so worked up about this?" I leaned against a hip.

"Because," he groaned, "I'm tired of my best friends treating each other like the plague."

"I thought you'd gotten used to it."

"Yue," he warned, and I rolled my eyes, shifting my gaze away. "What about the kids? Hmm?" he pressed. "How does this look to them? Seeing you two act so immaturely and ignore them?"

I pursed my lips at his words.

"You're supposed to work together, help them, teach them the importance of teamwork," he emphasized.

"Right, Gojo Satoru, the infamous team player," I scoffed bitterly. "The only person he cares for is himself. And you, I suppose."

"You know that's not true," he countered, and I gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"Sure," I deadpanned walking past him to pick up my discarded hoodie, "Besides, I don't even know where he is. Probably a hundred miles away, signing autographs for his adoring fangirls—"

"Yo."

My heart nearly flatlined as I snapped my eyes to the gym entrance. Gojo strolled in, all casual and carefree, accompanied by Shoko, who greeted us with a mellow 'hello', glued to her phone. He was wearing a dark grey compression shirt, coupled with white bontan pants twins to Geto's. I quickly averted my gaze from his chiseled physique, the fabric smoothly outlining the ripples of bulging muscles.

"Suguru," he drawled, approaching his buddy without even a glance in my direction, "Yaga wants us to clear the area for the Exchange Event. Wanna have a little sparring match?"

My eyes widened. I'd completely forgotten about the upcoming Exchange Event with the Kyoto crew tomorrow. Time flies when you're having. . .well, not fun.

"Yue~" Shoko cooed melodically, sidling up to me. "Wanna plan our new winter uniforms?"

I arched a brow, slightly amused. "It's early September, Shoko."

She pouted, all cute and pitiful. "I'm sensitive to the cold, you know that!" I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing. "Pretty please?" she insisted.

"Fine," I relented, and she let out a victory squeal, "But I need to check on Yuji later. He wanted me to help with his mobility stuff."

Shoko nodded eagerly, shoving her phone in my face, displaying a rough design of a dark blue jacket. "Looks cozy," I managed, trying not to go cross-eyed from the screen. She beamed in satisfaction.

"See you later," I waved weakly, walking past the two males.

"Later," Geto smiled at me, while Gojo remained blissfully unaware of my existence.

Trying not to let it bother me, I grabbed Shoko's hand and headed for the exit, casting a last pointed look back at my friend.

I told you.