Where Our Blue Meets - Gojo Satoru x OC

Chapter 39

As she had figured, the grade-2 curse did not pose much of a problem, and she got rid of it quite rapidly. She was up in the mountains, in a remote area of the Kanagawa prefecture. Ijichi had been nice enough to drive her all the way to the bottom of the mountain, and she had made the rest of her way up to the village on her own. 

The place did look deserted, as she didn't run into any villagers on her way up there. The atmosphere was eerily quiet, and the place was rather... peaceful, the only sound being the rustling of leaves and the occasional birdcall. 

After getting rid of the curse, she took a moment to catch her breath, finding a flat rock to sit on. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water, taking a long sip as she tried to calm her racing heart. In normal times, it wouldn't have taken her that much energy, but she was still hungover from the day before, and she had only slept a couple hours, after all. 

But as she was about to get up and leave, she felt a sort of... presence lurking behind her. And before she could even react, a familiar voice broke the silence.

- "Yo, Eli. It's been a while." 

She froze, her heart skipping a beat. 

That voice... it couldn't be. 

Slowly, she turned around, her eyes wide with disbelief. Was she dreaming? Because this couldn't possibly be real... or could it? 

In front of her, a few feet away, stood a figure she had thought she would never see again in her life. A figure she had thought to be dead. 

She blinked, her mind racing to make sense of what she was seeing. How could this be possible? She had mourned his death, had come to terms with the fact that he was gone. And yet, there he was, standing before her, looking very much alive. Hell, he looked almost exactly as she remembered him, calm, composed, with that same enigmatic smile playing on his lips.

So that note she had found on the ground wasn't a stupid prank after all. 

- "...How?" she stammered, her voice trembling. "I thought you-" 

But she didn't take the time to finish her sentence. Before she knew it, she had thrown her arms around him, holding onto him tightly as if she was afraid he might disappear again. 

- "Suguru", she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "I can't believe it's really you."

For a moment, he stood still, seemingly taken aback by her sudden embrace, but he eventually wrapped his arms around her, holding her just as tightly.

- "It's me, Eli", he murmured, with that soft and reassuring voice of his. "I'm here."

For a while, they simply stood there, in each other's arms, neither of them wanting to let go visibly. Eliana felt tears streaming down her cheeks, but she didn't care. She was overwhelmed by a rush of relief, joy, and lingering disbelief at the same time. 

Eventually, she pulled back slightly, just enough to look up at him, her hands still gripping his arms firmly. 

- "But how?" she asked again, her voice steadier now, though her eyes were still watery. "How are you here, alive? Where... have you been all this time? Why didn't you tell us..."

Suguru sighed, a shadow passing over his face.

- "I didn't have a choice", he said quietly, his gaze dropping to the ground. "There were things I needed to do, things you wouldn't understand. But I'm here now. And there's so much I need to tell you."

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. 

- "Then start talking." 

- "It's a long story, and not all of it is pleasant", he admitted, looking down. "I promise I'll explain everything, but right now, we need to move. It's not safe here."

- "Not safe? What do you mean? Is someone after you? Because I already got rid of the curse if that's what you're worried about..."

He shook his head, his expression grim.

- "There are... people who won't be happy to see me back, so there are a few things I need to set right before I... make my grand return, we could say."

- "We should at least contact Satoru and tell him you're-"

At the mention of the white haired sorcerer, Suguru's eyes widened, and he gripped her arm firmly before she could get her phone from her bag. 

- "No, Eli, we cannot... involve Satoru. Not yet, at least. There are things you don't know, things I need to explain before we tell him. But not here. Not now."

Eliana's brow furrowed in confusion and concern.

- "But Suguru, Satoru would want to know about you being... alive... If you're in danger, he needs to know, he will know what to do..."

- "I know, but trust me on this. Satoru finding out I'm alive right now would complicate everything. I promise I'll explain everything to you, but we need to get to a safe place first."

Eliana hesitated. She was to be done with her mission soon, and Yaga or Nanami would call her if she didn't report in time. And Gojo... Well, considering how worried he had been lately, he would straight up start panicking. Plus Ijichi was waiting for her at the bottom of the hill... 

But at the same time... She hadn't seen Suguru in over 10 years. Her best friend, who she thought to be gone, and then dead... was asking for her help. He had to be her priority right now. The others would understand, eventually. 

Right now, whatever Suguru had to tell her was more important. So reluctantly, she turned her phone off, and put it back in her bag. 

- "Alright", she said, her voice firm. "Lead the way."

Suguru smiled. 

- "Thank you Eli, I know I could count on you. I will explain everything once we get to a... safer place." 

The girl nodded, but before she started following him, there was one question that was bothering her... It might have seemed insignificant, but it still nagged at her. From the moment she saw him, it was the first thing she noticed. 

- "Uh, Suguru... By the way, I wanted to ask you..."

The man turned around slightly, an eyebrow raised, waiting for her to continue. 

- "How did you get those scars on your forehead?"