OUTCAST ── .✦ satosugu

02 TIMELESS

The years passed like a slow, aching storm in the small community village in Tokyo. Winters continued to jolt, and summers were still draining. But as the snow started to melt and the bevies of birds returned by spring, every year became less and less terrifying.

After being homeschooled until 15, which felt like an eternity, high school finally started. It was a real school, with loud and crowded hallways, with school bell screeches tinkling in your ear at recess, but most importantly - real, true to self teenagers, and not maids and clan members.

It was so strange to be surrounded by so many people, however, the most abnormal part about it was how normal it was for everybody else. 

On the first day at Jujutsu High, the sensation of freedom was completely foreign, yet it felt more like home than home did. Find friends who feel homely, Satoru thought to himself while entering his classroom.

He skimmed through the room to find an empty seat. There were tall girls with fair hair chatting loudly in the back, boys - brawny and slim, sitting on the desks, a pair of twins, and a thick cigarette smoke filling the air. 

He took a seat and dabbled nervously on the desk with his fingers, looking around at the crowd. His head reeled and shook in a tic and his eyes twitched at the lights fixated on the ceiling that absorbed him whole. 

A tall guy with strange-looking bangs of dim hair approached the seat next to him, which also happened to be empty. He leaned over, a thick strand of his hair hanging loosely next to his cheek.

"Do you mind if I seat here?" he placed his palm on the empty desk. "Are you keeping it for a friend?"

Startled, Gojo responded: "No, no, you can sit."

"Thanks." he smiled politely and sat down. He cupped his chin in his palm and turned to Gojo. "What's your name?"

"Satoru." His voice carried a heavy weight of nervousness, making it sound uneasy. "Gojo."

The boy's eyes widened and he let go of the hold of his chin. "Gojo? You're from the Gojo clan?"

"Yeah." he furtively scanned his face for his reaction.

"That's cool; you're definitely making it past the overture then. Might want to stick together."

"What?"

"The test rounds? There's like 30 people in this class right now, but just a few make it after the first week. What I'm saying's that you're definitely staying here."

"I didn't know that." he looked down at his slender fingers, clasped together. "So how do you plan on making it past the overture then?"

"They always need cursed spirit manipulation." he sighed "I have it, and I control it pretty well." He then proceeded to finally sit in a position where he would not be completely washed out by the light stuck above him to the ceiling. "You're not very chatty, are you?" he said then smiled, now the quality of his features beautifully clear.

"I'm not really used to all this."

"To what? To people?"

Silence fell. Suguru carried on. "Don't worry about that, most of the people here aren't." he leaned back in his chair "They ace hunting down curses but can't keep a simple conversation going. Besides, I'm not either."

The chaos between the students vanished . The oak door at the entrance slid open, revealing a tall-muscular man with an imposing voice that silenced the whole class.

"No smoking in my class." he reproached harshly and opened a window for fresh air.

The day went by quickly. It was something he'd never felt before - a feeling which enabled him to catch the very first glimpse of youth.