Monotonous | Nanami Kento x Reader

27 | Kento | Decisions, Decisions

Kento was a calm person.

But in this instance, that clearly wasn't the case. With a racing heart, his feet carried him away. Away from the bakery and the woman for whom his heart beated for. His hand went to his cheek, feeling the warmth radiate onto his palm. He felt warm to the touch; too warm. Even as the Autumn breeze, slowly cooling as October neared, brushing his face, it couldn't quell his thoughts, filled with the image of her. Her face when he had abrupted left, filled with shock and almost disappointment?

This giddy feeling in his chest was almost addictive, a dear longing he had never felt before. Kento closed his eyes, sighing a deep sigh. 

The unexpected buzzing of his phone broke through his moment of peace. Kento ignored it on the first ring, but when it kept trying to grab his attention, he picked it up. "You keep calling me, Gojo." His tone was blunt, but his face was still flushed as goosebumps littered his skin.

He was glad that man couldn't see how flustered he was.

And to his surprise, Kento glanced to the side, his brown eyes meeting a sparkling, ethereal blue.

He had spoken too soon.

Gojo raised a hand, wiggling a few fingers in a greeting, grinning impishly. "And now I'm here in-person. Isn't this wonderful, Nanamin?" 

"Wonderful for you."

"Aww... you're so mean." A pout formed on the white-haired male as he made his way closer. Still, the corner of his lip quirked into a teasing reminder as sang-singed, "Why can't you treat me like that beautiful H/C  baker, hm?"

Gojo had a resist a devilish chuckle as Kento stiffed. "What? Don't tell me you didn't know... And there I was thinking you'd be able to see me outside, but you must've been too busy flirting with her."

"I was not." Kento could envision Gojo peering in through the bakery front glass with a creepy grin on face like a stalker, and it did not help with the situation.

He was getting upset, and his senior noticed, further pushing his buttons by lifting his blindfold to display those otherworldly eyes. "You don't want to admit it? Who knew you're such a shy man? You can deny it all you want, but my six eyes tell me otherwise.

"You're in love with her, aren't you, Nanami?"

For a second, Gojo thought he wouldn't get an answer because of the intense silence that followed. The world seemed to be holding its breath, the walking passengers quiet and thinning. He had stunned the blond man into silence, he was sure. Then, his eyebrows raised as Kento's tone lowers. 

"Yes."

It was like a weight lifted off his chest. Kento felt so light, yet so heavy at the same time, like an anchor sinking in the depths of an ocean like he had fallen for Y/N so slowly and softly, that he hadn't even noticed. But now that he finally acknowledged it out loud, it was freeing.

Yet again, Gojo had to ruin the moment by annoying him. "Yes what? Specifics, Nanami." 

"Don't push it."

"Sore spot, eh? Alright, calm down before you blow a gasket." Gojo blew a kiss at Kento's unimpressed look. "I'm sure you can guess what I'm here for."

"I've told you my answer--"

Gojo put up a hand, snapping his fingers. "Yeah, yeah, you've made it quite clear of your answer then, but what about now?"

Kento frowned. Here was Gojo again, spouting random words. "Why would my answer change between then and now?"

Hearing this, Gojo smiled a crooked smile, one filled with knowingness.

"Because of her."

That was when Kento realized Gojo hadn't just seen him talking to Y/N, but also saw how--

"You exorcised that cursed spirit lingering on her." Gojo concluded. "It felt good, didn't it? Knowing you helped her, even if you are in--"

"Don't say it--"

"-- in love with her."

It was like salt rubbing in his wounds when it came from his senior, who was often teasing and unserious all the time.

Silence reigned as they each basked in their thoughts. Gojo spoke up again, this time softening his tone.

"You love her, Nanami. I just saw you for two minutes, but that look in your eyes and the way you look at her... it's like you're looking at the most important thing in the world." Then, his tone changed back to teasing. "The exact opposite of how you treat me." 

Gojo had never seen his junior like that before. Usually, Kento sported an loof expression as he distanced himself from others, but even if it was just for a few minutes, at that bakery, Kento resembled a man melting like butter, for he had shown care not out of duty, but from his heart. Of course, Gojo noticed this change in Kento, and it saddened him since it reminded him of his own personal experiences, but he won't ruin it for him.

He cleared his throat, deciding to revert back to the main purpose of his visit. 

"Nanami, you should come back to become a Jujutsu sorceror."

Kento looked at his watch, the minute hand ticking away. He had to go back to work soon, to his salary job. The same job he left the Jujutsu world for. Was it worth it? Even now, it had come back to haunt him, and another hard decision had to be made. A sign escaped the tired man as he looked back up at Gojo. "I'll make a decision soon."

Gojo groaned, but decided not to push it. "Well, hurry up then before we get old."

Before he left, Kento asked. "When's the reunion?"

A sly smile crossed Gojo's lips once again. "Interested in going?"

"Answer my question."

"Next week. You can bring a plus-one. I'm sure you already have someone in mind." With one last wink, Gojo waved goodbye, taking a quick selfie with Kento before the latter could process the bright flash. "Heh... I'll be adding this to my collection."

He left Kento alone with his thoughts. He mulled over these decisions he had to make. He wasn't going to jump into such a decision without weighing the benefits and disadvantages. There was a reason he left in the first place. It was a dangerous field, and everytime he envisioned going back, he saw Y/N, and that cursed spirit spirit on her shoulders. It had already been exorcised, by his own hands, but it didn't help his unease. He made the mistake of assuming it was harmless, but seeing her in the morning, just as tired as he felt and losing a piece of her passion, really put things into perspective.

How he wanted to keep her away from the Jujutsu world, but once exposed, even in a minor, barely noticed incident, it tends to latch on like a leech. For the rest of her life, for better of for worse, Y/N's life is tangled amidst sorcerers and spirits. 

Such a hard decision. Take the chance and risk her falling deeper into the abyss, or keep the status quo and risk her falling anyways.

Still, he had a week. A whole week to make a rough decision.

What would he do til then?