Where Our Blue Meets - Gojo Satoru x OC

Chapter 25

It felt as if time had completely stopped. Her hand froze mid-air, the cup trembling in her grip, as her mind raced, trying to process Utahime's words. 

"I must have misunderstood," she tried to gaslight herself into thinking she had hallucinated what she has just heard. "There's just no way this is real. There is no way".

Utahime frowned as she did not get any reply from her friend, but Eliana was paralyzed, unable to find the words to articulate the whirlwind of emotions raging inside her. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over as the full magnitude of Utahime's revelation hit her like a bullet. 

- "Eliana? Are you okay-"

That is when she saw her friend's trembling lips and widened eyes, that Utahime realized. She brought her hand to her mouth, only understanding know the huge mistake she had just made.

- "Eliana... Please don't tell me you didn't know..."

But Eliana couldn't reply, her throat constricting as tears started to stream down her cheeks. 

- "I... I have to go," she managed to stutter as she shakily stoop up, desperately going for her door's handle, despite her trembling limbs.

Pushing past Utahime, Eliana stumbled out into the hallway, her vision blurred with tears. She barely paid attention to the confused looks from passing students as she made her way outside, her feet moving on autopilot.

The cool night air hit her like a slap in the face, as she stumbled towards the forest, her body wracked with sobs.

She ran. And ran. Before being forced to stop against a tree, tears streaming down her cheeks as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the ground, her body wracked with convulsions. Then, overwhelmed by her emotions, she sank to her knees, and just let it out.

Suguru. Her Suguru. She knew his path had diverged from hers and the other sorcerers, when he committed those atrocious crimes years ago... And he left. And never came back.

But him being... dead? How did this even possibly happen. How did no one even thought of maybe telling her?

He was her best friend. Her confident. And she loved him. So damn much.

He was like her brother. 

Tears continued to stream down her cheeks, as she felt a deep sense of guilt gnawing at her, wondering if there was anything she could have done to prevent his death. If only she had been there, if only she had known..She had been so caught up in her own world, so focused on her own journey, that she hadn't even realized heard about...

- "Eli? What the-"

She looked up and her teary eyes met with Gojo's, who stood right in front of her, his expression filled with worry. The man had followed her out there, alerted by the noise coming from the room next to his, and the sobs emanating from the corridor.

Without a word, he knelt down beside her, wrapping his arms around her trembling form.

- "It's okay", he murmured softly, as he held her tightly against his chest. "You're not alone. I'm here."

Eliana didn't push him away. They sat there in silence, as she uncontrollably sobbed in the man's embrace.

"He must know what happened," she thought between two sobs. "But why... why wouldn't he tell me"

But in that very moment, she didn't want to know the details of her friend's death. The news of his passing were already enough, and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle any additional details. Instead, she just sat there, her face buried in Gojo's shoulder, his presence somewhat comforting. She had not expected to find herself in his arms again. Well, as least not under such circumstances.

For what felt like an eternity, they just sat there, in the darkness, the white haired sorcerer never letting go of his embrace over the girl. And eventually, Eliana's sobs subsided into quiet sniffles, but still, neither of them spoke. There were no words that could adequately express the depth of their shared grief.

Eventually, Gojo gently pulled away, his hands lingering on her shoulders as he met her tear-stained gaze.

- "Come on, let's get you back upstairs, you're freezing," he said softly.

As the first light of dawn began to filter through the trees, the white haired man helped Eliana up to her feet, his strong arms supporting her as they made their way back to the dorms. The walk back was quiet, the only sound breaking the silence being the soft rustle of leaves beneath their feet.

Gojo brought the girl back into her room, and tucked her into bed.

- "I think Utahime left this for you," he said as his eyes met with a small paper note on her desk. 

Eliana simply nodded, looking at the ceiling absently. The man then proceeded to turn of the light, but as he was about to step out of the room, Eliana spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper.

- "Satoru... Please stay ?"

The man's heart skipped a beat as he realized that for the first time since the girl had been back, she had called him by his first name. 

He nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, and sat on her bed next to her, gently stroking her hair. He had never intended to leave her in the first place. Not right now, and not ever. 

- "Of course Eli. Always."

He sat there in silence, and Eliana eventually drifted into sleep, her breathing becoming more steady and her features slowly relaxing.

Seeing her in this state broke him, but he knew that she would have to learn the truth eventually. He had wanted to tell her. Hell, ever since she had been back, he had wanted to tell her. But he was simply never able to bring himself to do it. He couldn't bear to see her in this state. 

But when he heard the sobs coming from the corridors, and Utahime standing in the door frame, her eyes filled with regret and guilt, he knew.

And whatever tension or inexplicable feeling there was going on between them two at that moment, he knew that he had to be there for her. 

Even though she couldn't be there for him, when it happened, the year before.