The Strongest | ɢᴏᴊᴏ ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ

Chapter 20

We haven't said more than three words during the whole breakfast. I think we're trying not to give ourselves something we'd miss. We shouldn't have done that in the first place. We should have done our job, exorcized the curses, and then just ignored each other. Breakfasts and dinners together weren't necessary. But how were we supposed to know it would work? Who would have thought we could argue and get along at the same time?

Yesterday morning, Gojo teased me about the silence we had had two days ago, but now he's not even doing that. He's not even smiling. I mean, I've seen him angry plenty of times (mostly it was my fault), but I've never seen him look so... downbeat. It's making me uneasy to see him like that, but I don't know what to say or do to change that. I don't even know why he's like this. Is it because we're going back? Because if it is, I can offer him nothing but lies to cheer him up.

Just when I think I should say something, Gojo's phone vibrates on the table, and we both look at it for a second before Gojo picks up. He puts the phone to his ear, then frowns and puts it back on the table, tapping the speaker button.

"Are you both here?" Yaga's voice comes through the phone's speakers, surprising me.

I look up at Gojo as we both say "yes," and he shrugs, obviously just as confused as I am.

"Good," our boss says. "I have another job for you." Those words are all that was needed to make Gojo's face light up and me nervous. "Three children have gone missing at a high school close by. I need you to go over there and take care of the situation."

Gojo leans in closer to the phone when he whines, "Sir, this wasn't the deal." I frown at him because fuck the deal, but Gojo gives me a wide grin and puts a finger to his lips to silence me.

"Satoru," Yaga snaps. "You're in the area, and you have nothing else to do."

"We were meant to go back today!" Gojo argues.

I can hear the exasperation in my boss's voice. "Are you two still not getting along?"

"How do you expect us to when he's making it so hard for me?" I ask, playing along.

Yaga gives a groan through the speaker, and I can imagine him rubbing his forehead the way he tends to do when Gojo and I piss him off. "Then this is an order: go to the school and do your job, and when you come here after dinner at the hotel, I want you both to at least be civil with each other."

Even though I haven't thought it possible, Gojo's grin widens even more. I'm sure if he wouldn't be wearing the blindfold, his eyes would be sparkling at me right now, wide and round with excitement.

"I can't afford to have you take any more days off, so this is the last warning I'm giving you," Yaga continues, but I'm not even really listening. "Do you understand me?"

Gojo grunts, his smile is firmly in place as he keeps looking at me. "Fine," he says in the same way he said to me a few days ago. "I'm not promising anything."

"Satoru -" is the last thing we hear before Gojo presses a button and hangs up.

We don't say anything for a few seconds, mainly because that would mean we'd have to admit that we're happy about getting more time. We both realize that after dinner, it's definitely the end, but I don't care. After dinner is better than after breakfast. After dinner gives us twelve more hours. After dinner is not so bad.

Neither of us even gets the chance to say something when my phone vibrates, too. I grin as I show him who's calling, then pick up. "Hey, Shoko," I say, trying to sound annoyed because surely, she's calling because of Yaga.

"You're staying longer?" Her voice is shrill and somewhere between excited and unbelieving.

I hide a grin even though she can't see me, but I know that she'd be able to hear it. "Yeah," I sigh. "We have to."

She's silent for a moment. "You're having fun, aren't you?"

My face turns redder than it's been all weekend. I'm so glad Gojo can't hear her. "Trust me, I'm not," I lie through my teeth while watching Gojo finish his breakfast. "Listen, we have to get going."

There's a chuckle on the other end of the line. "Well, hurry up, then. And tell me everything when you get back here."

Before hanging up, I promise her not to tell her everything, and Gojo snorts. We hurry upstairs, only for me to get my knives, which I left in my room because I'd thought I wouldn't need them today. Turns out I was wrong. Gojo waits for me in the hallway, and when I come back out of my room, I'm hit with such a strong sense of deja-vu that it stops me in my tracks.

He looks down at me and frowns behind his blindfold. "Everything okay?"

Well, that ends the deja-vu. I nod. "Yes. Let's go."

He takes hold of my shoulder and does that thing again where he moves us from one place to another in just a few seconds. It's still weird, but now that I know what I'm getting myself into, it's less awful. I guess that's a pretty fitting metaphor for this weekend, and I hate it. Damn Yaga and his stupid mission. What even was that? A mission of friendship? Oh, come on.

Gojo is casting the curtain while I'm fuming in silence about my stupid boss. There's no domain here, and no special-grade curse, which is a relief, but we have to find the missing children and get them out of here safe. I just hope we get to it in time. That's the worst part about this job: you can save people, but sometimes you just... can't.

The school is crawling with curses, all lower-grade and not dangerous, which makes this whole thing easier. But nothing is ever easy. We have to scour the school for the children; they're the priority. I look up at Gojo, who's already scanning the hallway ahead of us, his eyes still behind the white fabric.

"No splitting up this time," he says without looking at me. "Follow me."

I'm about to argue when he starts walking, so I shut my mouth and walk after him. We might have had a nice weekend together, but that doesn't mean I'll do what he says without protest. He can't think he can order me around, and I'd obey him wordlessly. That's not going to happen. I'm a damned semi-grade 1 sorcerer, so he's not allowed to treat me like an incompetent little child.

"There's no special grade here, Gojo," I say, but keeping my voice calm. "I can handle these curses." I look around at them, hiding in every corner of the hallway we're passing through. "If we split up, we can find the children faster."

The man opens a door to a classroom, and the curse that jumps at us is exorcized in a flash, and so are the rest of the pack in this room. No children. We leave the room again, and Gojo finally looks at me.

"No," he says. "We won't split up."

It takes all my strength not to groan or roll my eyes. "Come on," I argue. "You know I don't need a guardian."

He sighs and checks the next room. Empty. "I know. But if something happens -"

"If something happens, I'll call," I finish his sentence. "We have to find them before it's too late. Please, Gojo. Trust me just this once."

His shoulders sag as he lets out a breath, and his lips twitch. "Fine. But don't you dare get hurt. And if you find them, shout. I'll come."

I nod, and just because he looks so worried, I reach for his hand. I can see his chest rising and falling more rapidly as he fights for even breaths. There's a smile on my lips that I can't explain as anything other than trying to reassure him that I can handle it. He doesn't need to worry about me - I've taken on worse cursed spirits than this. He would know if we had been friends.

Our fingers are intertwined for just two or three seconds before I step away from him, and my fingers slip out of his grasp. Maybe he should sit down with Nanami, and he could tell him about the curses I've taken on before. Or maybe I should tell him myself. Either way, Gojo will find out how capable I am. I won't let him worry about me anymore.