Convergence

Part 3 : chapter 1

End of September 2007:

Utahime reread the sentence that was in front of her eyes, but she still didn't understand it.

It was as if the words had lost their actual meaning and were nothing more than syllables randomly aligned on white paper.

"Suguru Geto, 18 years old, a third-year student at Jujustu High in Tokyo, is sentenced by the Supreme Exorcism Court for the following crimes: massacre of 213 non-exorcists in XX village, murder of his parents, and non-cooperation with law enforcement. As a result, Suguru Geto is officially sentenced to death by the Supreme Exorcism Court (...)"

This couldn't be possible.

It had to be a different Suguru Geto?...

But the age and the class matched with the Suguru she knew.

One of Utahime's colleagues had shown her this before the start of their 'teaching pedagogy for exorcists' class.

Everyone had been talking about this matter since that morning; about the prodigy student who had turned into a monster.

So the past was just repeating itself....? Suguru had fallen, just like Kashimo did two years ago.

Utahime immediately thought of Satoru. He must be devastated. Shoko had told her that the two boys had become inseparable in these recent years. They were truly platonic soulmates. They never went anywhere without each other. For Satoru, Suguru was what the moon is to the sun. For Suguru, Satoru was what the day is to the night. Together, they were the strongest. Together they were invincible.

Moreover, saddly, this news came almost a month after the death of their younger friend Yu Haibara... 

Utahime's heart tightened. She thought of her two classmates Ryo and Riko, who also died during her last year of high school. Her life had continued, while theirs had not. They were forever eighteen. Like Haibara.

In the following days, Utahime couldn't stop thinking of Satoru.

She couldn't imagine the pain and despair he must be in. For a year, since the incident at the Hamamatsu manor, she hadn't had any news from him. And she hadn't reached out either. Why would she have? She was the one who asked him to break up. And, from what she had heard from Shoko, Satoru was happy with Suguru and his new other friends. That was all that mattered for Utahime.!

Sometimes Utahime wondered if Satoru had found someone else in his life. She never dared to ask Shoko. It was like revealing her feelings. Admitting that she hadn't forgotten him. Something she categorically refused to admit. She was the one who asked Satoru to end their relationship, so she had to take full responsibility of her actions; she was now twenty years old, she was an adult. Satoru had the right to flirt and fell in love again, right?

And his strange declaration when they were in the Hamamatsu train station, that could mean everything and nothing at the same time..? It must have been just something he said to make himself look interesting... Like many things Satoru Gojo does...

That didn't stop Utahime from worrying about Satoru. Every night, she had a strange dream where Satoru was in front of her eyes but it wasn't him. It was his body, but it wasn't him. His eyes had lost the sparkle she knew so well.  He was no longer Satoru Gojo.

......................

Early October 2007

Utahime: "Shoko? What's going on? Are you done with classes already?"

Shoko: "Hey Utahime! I think you need to come to Tokyo quickly."

Utahime: "Why??!"

Shoko: "I just met Suguru in Shinjuku (...) And Gojo is coming soon."