The Strongest | ɢᴏᴊᴏ ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ

Chapter 34

Gojo laughs, and I recognize it as the kind of laugh he's always had when I make fun of him, and he wants to show me how ridiculous it was of me to say that. Even before this whole friendship mission, he's had this laugh. Especially then. "I'm sure you still had more fun than I did, though," he says, and all the laughter is gone from his voice, which makes me frown.

"Why? What happened?" I put the phone on speaker and lay it on my pillow so I don't have to use my arm anymore. "Utahime said she saw you leave pretty early this morning."

"Did you ask about me?"

I blush even though that's not even what happened. "No, it just came up."

Gojo chuckles. "Sure," he says, and I narrow my eyes. "I was told to take care of a site in Osaka, and it had to be fast, so I did that this morning. I came back and was sent to the Kyogamisaki Lighthouse, where apparently people tell themselves stories about how there's a sea witch who eats people, so I took care of the curse there that eats people."

I smile a little at his attempt to make this seem lighter than it is. Of course, Gojo doesn't have to travel distances like a normal person does, but it's still a three-hour drive from Osaka to the lighthouse. He was sent from one coast to the other, and I can't imagine that this didn't put a strain on him.

To my absolute mortification, he continues, "When I came back to Kyoto to tell Gakuganji that I was done, he told me that Mei Mei needed help in Okayama." Another three hours by car. "When I got there, she'd already taken care of everything and told me I shouldn't have come."

My jaw drops. When Utahime said that Gakuganji was "tough on him," that was a real understatement. He's not "tough on" Gojo. He's an asshole. Just because Gojo doesn't like to listen and rather plays by his own rules, that's no reason to work him to the bone like this. I do realize the irony in this: I would have done the same thing if I were in the position to do that, but now I know better.

Now I know that Gojo doesn't deserve to be treated like a lifeless instrument. He's a human being who can get tired too, even though he doesn't show it, and he gets exhausted, too, even though he tries to hide it. He deserves a break just like the rest of us. We go out on missions, we come back, and that's it. There's nothing after that if not absolutely necessary. I can't imagine the amount of time Gojo spent today by traveling, let alone by fighting and exorcizing curses left and right.

I don't even know what to reply to that. Do I say what I'm thinking and curse out Gakuganji? Or should I tell him to suck it up? To keep fighting? I want to give him some encouraging words, but is that what he wants to hear?

Luckily, I don't have to say anything at all when Gojo says, "I came back to the school just before I got your message. That brightened my entire day."

Shit, now I feel even worse. That asshole. No, I'm the asshole here. I ignored his messages and calls and got annoyed with him for bothering me when all he really wanted was to talk to me after a hard day.

"Couldn't you have just... not gone? What is he going to do about it?" I ask. "You never listen to what they're saying anyway." I try to laugh, but it doesn't seem to catch on.

"I can't do that this time."

I frown. "Why not?"

Gojo sighs into the phone, and my stomach tightens. What's going through his mind? "Because I don't want them to keep me here any longer than I have to."

Shit. Shit, shit! I think I'm going to tear up. He never said that this was about me. He never said that he doesn't want to be kept away from me any longer than he has to. I don't seem to want to understand that I might be the last thing on his list. Shoko is here, too, and he certainly likes her better than me. And Yaga is way nicer than that old fart Gakuganji. This isn't about me.

After a long silence, I say, "Gojo."

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

I smile. Ten days ago, he would have replied with a stupid comment or a sassy remark. Today, he replies with a calm voice, a "sure" that makes my insides crumble into a pile of ash. When I close my eyes, it feels as if he's right next to me, and it makes me smile even more.

"Why are you suddenly so nice to me?"

There's a smile in his voice when he answers, "I didn't realize I was."

Four weeks of rolling my eyes at every word he says has made this become a habit of mine. "You know what I mean," I argue and try not to let myself get too annoyed. I just want an answer. I need to know if I'm imagining things, if my feelings are changing the way I see things, or if he really means something. "You're at least nicer than... before."

"Before?"

Oh, now he's just being an ass. "You know exactly what I mean," I grunt. The weekend, you asshole. The weekend. "Forget it."

Gojo chuckles once. Just once before he replies with a smile, "Because you made me feel not as miserable as I thought I would be that weekend."

Despite the words being less friendly than I'd hoped, I can't help but grin because I know that he's not telling me everything. That's one thing I've learned about him, at least. "And maybe someday you'll tell me the truth," I say.

He laughs. "Maybe I will."