Remember Me? | ɢᴏᴊᴏ ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ

INTERLUDE

Ever since she left this morning, Satoru has been terribly on edge. He went through the motions of his day, the mundane daily life having arrived back way too soon, but he barely paid any real attention to what he was doing as he went along. People were talking to him, and he was talking back, but the words left his mouth without him having to think about them. He ate and drank and went to the toilet, all on autopilot.

He couldn't stop thinking about her. Not for the whole day, and not now as he sits down for dinner in the kitchen. He prefers eating in here rather than in the dining room because, at least this way, he can keep his chef some company. And Satoru has company as well, unlike in the cold and empty dining room.

Satoru loves her. He came to that terrifying realization last night when she gave him those words. But he knows that this wasn't the moment he fell. It might have been when he got his memory back to find that she had locked him up but never hurt him beyond a few pokes with her knives. He also didn't miss the fact that his memory didn't come back after stories about his parents or his life. He remembered everything with a blinding headache after she told him about a time when they both nearly killed each other.

It had been just another day, really, that day at the pizza place. But (y/n) and Satoru had been sitting on top of each other for hours on end, and their animosity had reached an all-time high. Even Suguru had gotten involved, which he usually refrained from doing. "Get along or kill each other right in this damn bathroom," he had said, thinking that neither of them would have the guts to go for the latter. They did.

But now, looking back on the past nineteen days, Satoru knows the exact moment he fell in love with her without even realizing it then. It was when they were lying in the sand, both looking up at the stars, and she asked him to tell her something about himself. No one has ever asked him something like this. Not even Suguru, although he knew everything about Satoru without him even having to tell him. But no one has ever shown such an interest in Satoru as a person before, beyond his abilities as a Jujutsu sorcerer.

The fact that his cursed technique stuttered and gave in to her touch was proof enough that his heart had changed. Her cursed technique gave up, too, and Satoru knew even before she did that she had fallen for him, too.

He still can't believe that he let her go. He shouldn't have let her go. He should have wrapped his arms around her a little tighter, should have held her a little longer. He should have told her not to go. The revolution can wait, he should have said. Humor your parents and your cousin just for one more night. But he didn't. Because he knows that this is important. Not just for her, no. For everyone.

That doesn't make it any easier to sit here and wait. Just wait. He called for a meeting after dinner. She should have arrived home by now, and she should be speaking to her parents soon. He will speak to his clan soon, too, and tell them of his plans for the future.

Satoru has never been one to be nervous over silly things like meetings or leading. He's been doing it ever since he was a little child. But this, he feels, is different. This is something none of his ancestors ever dared to do. They've always seen her clan as a threat, and for good reason, too. But they've never had the connection Satoru and (y/n) have. They've never been able to bury their hatred and let love bloom from the grave. They've never been able to reach out their hands and just hold onto each other. He will now. Him and (y/n), they will now. They will end this fight, this war for the throne, once and for all.

His hands are shaking when he enters the grand room they hold meetings in. Everyone is present. Every important person who has something to say is here. And Satoru takes a deep breath. All eyes are on him, and his eyes are hidden behind his blindfold. He doesn't usually show his eyes. In the past week with her, he's left his eyes out in the open more than in the past fifteen years. She loves his eyes, he knows. He can see her heartbeat quicken every time she sees them, and he can see the faint hint of a blush on her cheeks. She can never fool him into thinking that she doesn't care; not when he can so clearly see her physical reaction to his every movement.

He's thinking about her again. He needs to stop. Satoru clears his throat - his people think it's to gain their attention, but he's really just trying to pull himself together. He looks around the long table at the faces of the people who follow him without question. They will follow him now, too, but it most likely won't be without question. He knows this. There will be questions.

"There has been a change of circumstances," Satoru starts. His voice is firm and business-like, and it brings a silence with it in which everyone tenses a little. He's had the whole day to prepare for this, and he has, but now that he actually has to do it...

"The (y/ln) clan is no longer our enemy."

He finally says those words and watches the effect it has on his people. They frown, they scoff, they straighten in their seats. They look mortified, somewhere between believing him to have lost his mind and not wanting to accept it if he hasn't.

"They're our ally, and (y/n) and I will rule together."

Satoru wants to smile and let them know that things will be okay, but he can't. He doesn't know if things will be okay. Just because it's working out for him and (y/n) so far doesn't mean that it will work out for their clans as well. He's not worried about his future with her, though. He was serious when he said that he would marry her, and he will. And her body betrayed her, letting him know that she, too, wants to. And they will.

But his clan doesn't love her the way he loves her. His clan hates her the way he hated her. Until twenty days ago, she was their enemy, and he was her clan's. They spilled too much blood on either side to just sweep it under the rug and move on. These are two clans who are very much entangled with each other in blood. They caused pain and destruction on either side, and uniting them isn't going to be easy. Work needs to be done. On both sides. But he's willing to put the work in. He's willing to make his clan see that this decision is a good one.