Trapped Behind Words: InuOkko

Chapter 20: Together

When Toge rose from his slumber, his eyes opened. There was an unfamiliar weight on his forehead, matched by the same pressure on his heart from the very first time he remembered. How could Gojo and Itadori go through the same process so many times? How could they relive a day of such importance repeatedly until the memories of their encounters blurred? Perhaps they had grown accustomed to the sensation of duplicate memory.

Gojo had entrusted Toge with a task, but its significance was starting to waver. What would happen if Toge pretended to have forgotten? Was it possible? It meant recreating a day he hadn't bothered to remember initially. That was the trouble of unexpectedly falling for someone. Before meeting Yuta, it was just an average Tuesday without a reason to remember.

Seeing those beautiful sapphires that Yuta called eyes would surely break Toge. How could he conscientiously pursue a man he knew intimate details about? It was like being a stalker for some random idol. But it was different; Toge wanted Yuta more than he wanted life itself.

Maybe they could run away together? While there was no guarantee Gojo wouldn't reset time again, there was a chance that the memories of the past were due to each person's proximity to the machine. However, that didn't make sense considering Yuta and himself were in the same room when it first happened. Kugisaki remained a wildcard in the matter.

Toge groaned, "Gojo's mess, not mine."

As directed, Toge messaged Maki, "Hey, just letting you know that I heard a rumor Geto was snooping around."

And as usual, Maki responded without requesting further information, "Damn it. Thanks."

There was a key detail in Gojo's plan that had been quite interesting. Someone else was involved in the conception of the terrible time machine-an engineer or inventor of some kind. No one Toge personally knew fit the bill. Lying in bed, sulking in thought, wasn't going to do him much good.

Gojo was the most powerful man in the world. In some capacity, Gojo could control time. Whether or not the man was being benevolent or malicious was still up in the air. Neither was preferable to Inumaki Toge. He didn't want to be complicit in someone else's cosmic crimes, if those were to exist.

Toge threw himself out of bed and slipped into an outfit similar to the one he had worn the second go-round. Again, he hadn't committed to memory what he had worn or done. He recalled working on his TTS program, but that labor seemed pointless if Gojo was going to reset time again. Tinkering with the code he remembered did prove beneficial, though. The project had made leaps and bounds in a matter of hours, so maybe it would have been a good idea to work on it.

Toge glanced at his phone tossed on the comforter as he pulled a shirt over his head. Yuta wouldn't message him again until they swapped numbers. Toge sighed, digging through the closet for the pants he had worn.

He walked back to his phone, which vibrated as he picked it up. Toge's eyes widened as he rapidly unlocked the screen. When he saw who it was, he sighed partially from relief but also dread.

Fushiguro Megumi had messaged, "Inumaki, do you think you're free soon?"

Toge let out a half-laugh, replying, "Did you remember something?"

Megumi's response was quick, "So it isn't just me? Good. I didn't know who else to ask but you or Maki, and if Maki remembered, she would have messaged both of us. She doesn't have any other friends."

"We should talk, come to my place but be discreet. I have business tonight if everything goes as planned again. Sooner is better than later," Toge texted back, more eager for the day to start.