If I Had More Time (A StSg fanfic)

Chapter 3 - Fragile Truce.

"How would you describe Gojo Satoru?"

The question was asked by Geto Suguru to almost every student he could speak to. Before the two had even been paired up on the same mission, Geto went around collecting his peers' opinions on Gojo.

"An annoyance to Jujutsu Society!" Utahime Iori had placed her hands on her hips with gentle force, but her voice was aggressive at the subject of Gojo. She was the first person that Geto questioned about Gojo, so her response surprised him a bit.

"A prideful bastard. A rich, prideful bastard, that is." Geto had caught Mei Mei on her way out to a mission that she had been assigned to. She had bribed the higher-ups for more yen for her services, and because Mei Mei is a reliable grade 1 sorcerer, they obliged. At the beginning of their conversation, Geto had been swindled into sending her 1,000 yen to question her about Gojo.

"He's a sweet tooth-having, whiny teenager who thinks he's above everyone else because he's the Gojo clan's prized possession." Nanami Kento sighed, leaning his back against one of the classroom window frames. His eyes were focused on whatever he saw outside, but they turned in the direction of Geto before he spoke again. "But then again, he is the strongest out of all of us."

"He's a dick. Total douchebag. But he's surprisingly a supportive friend when you need it." Shoko puffed on a cigarette in the courtyard, then smiled slightly at Geto when he offered her another one. She thanked him and placed it on the metal round table on her left. "You have to give it to the guy. He may be hard to deal with, but he does care."

"He's super funny! Though most don't seem to acknowledge that." Haibara Yu chewed bubble gum, smiling afterward at the thought of Gojo. It had always been clear that Haibara looked up to Gojo. Haibara was the only person that Geto questioned who had something genuinely positive to say about Gojo Satoru.

He had asked all of his peers before he was tasked to work with Gojo on a mission on the outskirts of Shibuya. Geto now stood beside Gojo as the two were being scolded inside Yaga Masamichi's office. The atmosphere was tense, both boys had scratches on their faces from the other. They faced Principal Yaga's stern gaze together, both ready to hear what he had to say.

"You two are supposed to be working together, not fighting each other. You're embarrassing us, fighting each other with that uniform on." Said Yaga, his voice was filled with nothing but disappointment. "Then let us take the uniform off and fight." Gojo shrugged, causing both males to shoot annoyed glares at him.

"Are you fucking stupid?" It was a genuine question because he wasn't sure if Gojo had problems comprehending. Yaga took a deep breath and then resumed his speech. "Effective immediately, you both are suspended from missions for the next three days. Use this time to think and reflect on what you've done."

Geto and Gojo exchanged glances, neither willing to speak. The punishment was severe, and even though Geto didn't start anything, he knew he deserved it as well. As the pair left Yaga's office, they ran into Shoko Ieiri, who was less than pleased with them.

"You idiots," she scolded, her arms crossed. Geto rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, while Gojo stared at his friend blankly. "You're supposed to be teammates. Do you know how reckless it was to start a fight in the middle of a mission?" Geto lowered his gaze, feeling the weight of her words, while Gojo simply shrugged. "It wasn't my fault," he muttered, but Shoko wasn't having it.

Maybe he truly is stupid. Geto thought to himself, glaring at Gojo's face. It bore an expression that he couldn't name, however, Shoko ripped his attention away from Gojo's face. "I don't care whose fault it was. You're both responsible. Grow up, Gojo," she snapped before turning on her heel and walking away, leaving the boys in a strained silence.

Geto knew that the entire ordeal was stupid, yet he didn't feel responsible enough to initiate an apology to Gojo. Especially when he felt Gojo was overreacting to his comments. For the next three days, the tension between Gojo and Geto remained thick. They avoided each other as much as possible, but the small school made that difficult. Gojo spent most of his time sulking in his room, thinking about the fight and his anger towards Geto.

He could still hear Yaga and Shoko's words echoing in his mind. Those three days were torture for the silver-haired teen because they forced him to rethink his actions to Geto that afternoon. However, he was very unaware that the feeling he had been experiencing was guilt. On the third day, Gojo finally decided to attempt reconciliation. He found Geto sitting in the courtyard, reading a book. Taking a deep breath, he approached him, trying to keep his annoyance in check.

"Hey," Gojo grabbed Geto's attention by speaking, his voice begrudgingly calm. He spoke quietly, viewing the orange sunset in the distance for a moment. Geto looked up to see a figuratively tall Gojo staring down at him, and he raised an eyebrow. He wore a white T-shirt and fluffy baby-blue pajama pants with a lollipop print on them that complemented his silver hair. Because the boys were suspended from missions for the time being, they weren't required to wear their uniforms around campus.

But Geto had felt uneasy without wearing the navy blue leathered clothing around, so he wore his baggy pants and a white button-down shirt. Geto wasn't happy to see Gojo, especially since the two had been ignoring each other ever since their fight. "What do you want, Gojo?" He shut his book gently, yet it still sounded as if he slammed it. Assuming that the black-haired teen slammed his book with frustration, Gojo pressed his lips together firmly.

It took everything within him to stay focused on the reason why he came to Geto in the first place. He took a deep breath as he pushed his large ego to the side for once. Gojo lifted his left arm and began scratching the prickly hairs that slept at the back of his head, feeling awkward. "I uh, wanted to say sorry. For, you know. The fight." The teenager watched Geto's face eagerly, he made eye contact with him for the second time. Geto Suguru stared at Gojo for about thirty seconds, then scoffed loudly.

"Who took over your brain?" Geto asked, an amused smile forming on his face slowly. "What?" Gojo found Geto's response confusing. Geto sighed, his fingers playing with the ends of his book cover. "Do you mean that?" Geto wondered out loud but also tested his classmate's sincerity. "...Yes, I do," Gojo said, his voice filled with obvious impatience. Though he had apologized, he still felt as if he weren't entirely at fault. "But you were out of line too," Gojo added, moving his arms to fold into each other.

"Oh I might have been, but you threw the first punch." Geto stood up after sighing gently, being on a level with Gojo. The silver-haired teen grits his teeth and barks back instantly. "Well, you provoked me!" Gojo's irritation flared back up once he raised the base in his voice. Geto narrowed his eyes at Gojo's lack of responsibility. "And you let yourself get provoked. If you can't control your temper, how do you expect to be a reliable sorcerer?" His voice was steady, versus Gojo's irritated voice.

Gojo's fists clenched, his fingertips stabbing his tanned palms. "Don't lecture me, Geto," Gojo said strongly. "Then stop acting like a child." Geto shot back, his volume increasing a bit more. The tension between the two was back to the way it had been three days ago, but this time Gojo learned from his past mistakes. So he sighed and then asked calmly, "Look. I already said sorry, so what else do you want from me?" Geto glared at Gojo for a moment, pondering if he should just let everything go.

It was obvious that Gojo didn't know how to apologize properly and Geto contemplated milking him for more. But he chose not to for the sake of keeping good terms with Principal Yaga. "Nothing, I accept your apology. Thank you, Gojo." Geto shook his head and sat down on the bench again, preparing to continue reading his book. He watched as Gojo nodded and walked away, he seemed headed in the direction of the dormitories. "Gojo Satoru is someone that I need to avoid from here on end." Geto thought as he returned to his book. "He'll cause nothing but trouble for me."

He was unaware then of how important Gojo Satoru would be to his life.

***Author's note:
This chapter had to be released early due to my birthday being on July 3rd! Because it was released a day early, chapter 4 won't be published until July 6th. After that, it should be updated every 3 days as it's supposed to. Thank you for reading <3