*** CONTAINS MANGA SPOILERS***
*** ♪*ﾟ (rough translation of the song Perfume by Eito) ♪*ﾟ ***
The rhythmic whisking of cake batter blended perfectly into the lulling tick tock of the pendulum clock. Behind the counter, puffs of steam rose from the coffee machine as the aroma of roasted coffee beans waltzed into his nostrils.
Geto soothed the crease on his sleeve, he couldn't really remember when he was last dressed in 'normal clothing'. Not to mention that he had sworn himself off everything, including food, touched by those filthy monkeys ages ago.
Yet he had to make today exceptional.
The bronze bell at the door jingled, the ravenette jolted uptight, his heart pumped to an accelerating beat. Geto lifted his head, only to have the spark of anticipation in his dark eyes dwindle instantly.
It was just another monkey.
♪*ﾟ
Suddenly in the middle of the night,
a LINE from you popped up on my screen.
'Are you free to hang out?'
We've lost touch for about three years,
so why at this moment, out of the blue?
♪*ﾟ
"Here's your croissant and-" the mannered smile of the middle-aged shop keeper lit up as a bolt of familiarity struck. She rubbed her chin, fumbling through her memories, "Hey, young man, I don't mean to pry but... did you... did you use to come here with your girlfriend?"
"Yea, it's been about three years right?" Geto feigned a friendly smile when disgust crawled under his skin instinctively.
"No wonder! I knew I've seen you before! Eh... You used to tie up all your hair, didn't you? And your girlfriend had light purple hair, right? Say... is your girlfriend coming later? It's been a while since I've last seen the two of you around."
"Well, you see," without batting an eye, the lie he had practiced countless times rolled off his tongue naturally, "I moved to another city after graduation, so we sort of grew apart."
"O-Oh, I see, sorry for bringing it up."
Geto willed himself to chuckle, but much like the peeling paint at the corner, the mirth in his laugh was faded, "No worries, it's fine."
His smile dropped the second that monkey turned around to tend to other customers.
♪*ﾟ
Back in the days, we felt like we could accomplish anything.
Together, we visited the seaside and spent time snapping the moments away.
♪*ﾟ
Time seemed to rewind as the tiny jug of evaporated milk rolled off the ice cubes in the coffee. Geto's gaze travelled to the window beside him, falling upon the crystal clear waves crashing onto the shore nearby.
The silhouette of what they used to be danced into reality.
The soft white sand glowed under the blazing summer sun, mischief gleamed in her silver eyes as they splashed each other with all their might. She laughed, and he felt like the luckiest man on earth.
Fanned by the gentle breezes, her lavender hair blended into the magical pinks and oranges of the sunset. She grinned, and his face was all flustered behind the camera.
Fingers entangled, they chattered and bantered on the blue, cushioned seats. The train sped pass the shimmering sea as she snoozed on his shoulder.
Blinking, he stared at the faint reflection of himself on the glass.
♪*ﾟ
Now take a good look at what I've become,
a man who is nothing but garbage.
Whether it's hurting others or making them burst into tears,
I feel devoid of emotions.
♪*ﾟ
The past three years did not slip away in a blink of an eye, nor did it tick away slowly in the speed of a turtle.
Things like violence, blood and death no longer keep him awake at night.
Not even the blood-curdling screams of the foolish villagers, the desperate begs of the filthy rich, the heart-stopping cries of his own parents could ripple his numbness.
Those were nothing but insignificant sacrifices for the vision of a greater, superior world he sees.
Geto sunk back into his chair.
Nothing, hollow, empty.
His smitten, idealistic self was simply not here anymore.
♪*ﾟ
It's not like I want to be with you again,
but whenever I'm next to you
I can't help to imagine.
It's because of your Dolce&Gabbana,
it's all because of the smell of your perfume.
♪*ﾟ
The bells at the door jingled yet again.
His heart skipped a beat the moment he lifted his head. A more than familiar fragrance tickled his nose, it smelled of citrus, wood and the ocean.
Geto opened his mouth without knowing what to say,
"Hey there."
♪*ﾟ
Seeing you now, where should I start?
"You've gotten cute."
It's all but exchanging empty pleasantries.
What happened? It's surprising,
how you're lighting the cigarette skilfully.
I'm not sad, really, I'm not sad at all.
How you've changed shouldn't come as a surprise.
♪*ﾟ
Extinguishing the half-smoked cigarette in the transparent ashtray, the girl opposite to him pursed her lips gave a curt dip of her head. She fiddled with her fingers under the table, unsure of what to say either.
He couldn't help but notice how she had changed, the corner of his smile twitched.
Instead of the wild and striking lavender, her now shoulder-length hair boasts of an ombré from brown to blonde. The subtle yet pungent note of tobacco on her fingertips was unfamiliar and foreign, he felt like he could probably never get used to that.
"I like your hairstyle, it's cute," swallowing the lump in his throat, Geto forced himself to speak up. After all, he had been absent from her side for three years, not three months, nor three days. It wasn't a habit of time to wait for anyone, it was only normal for her to have changed.
She studied his face for a few minutes, her eyes lingered on his ears, "You've gotten new earrings."
"Oh? You can tell?"
"Yea."
Only the clattering of utensils were left as he munched into his croissant and she dug into her matcha pound cake.
♪*ﾟ
Now take a good look at what I've become,
a man who is nothing but a shell.
Even if I am hated for being a fraud,
not a single tear slides down my cheek.
♪*ﾟ
What happened to the silly teases they used to trade?
What happened to the endless topics they used to chat about?
What happened to the childish rock-paper-scissors they used to play whilst waiting for the food?
An invisible knife twisted in his gut, Geto failed to expect the sudden stab of melancholy, how long had he been devoid of such emotions?
Surely, he felt absolutely nothing when luring those greedy millionaires into his carefully woven manoeuvres, nor did he felt anything when murdering those monkeys he didn't see fit.
He wasn't used to the sorrow prickling at his heart right now.
♪*ﾟ
It's not like I want to be with you again,
but when I'm next to you
I can't help to imagine.
It's because of your Dolce&Gabbana,
it's all because of the smell of your perfume.
It's not like my heart yearns for the long-gone romance between us.
It's because of your Dolce&Gabbana,
that perfume of yours jog back all our memories.
♪*ﾟ
They somehow ended up strolling on the beach after splitting the bill.
Walking side by side, Geto kept his eyes glued to the sand, the faint scent of her perfume had to the most painful reminder.
He used to entwine their fingers while the ebbing waves stroked their toes, they used to finish a mountain of shaved ice together while joking about anything and everything, he used to pepper kisses on the top of her head while inhaling her pleasant scent.
The good old days had sailed into the wind, to a far-away place out of their reaches.
♪*ﾟ
Back when we didn't have a thing,
back when we'd laugh without a care.
I never really wanted to go back
but when I look into your eyes,
I start to think otherwise.
♪*ﾟ
"I'm leaving to teach at Kyoto next month," she blurted out all of a sudden.
The last time they talked, she never mentioned about taking an interest in education, "You've become a teacher?"
"Yea, well... I've been teaching for around a year now, it's a long story. But anyways, it turns out I have a half brother back in Kyoto, I want to step in before it's too late," she paused for a moment, "Or rather... what I want is to step in before the small ones are corrupted by life."
Geto took a good look at her, responsibility was written on her expression. Was she unknowingly referring to being unable to 'rescue' him? Seriousness dominated her silver eyes, the carefree gleam only existed in his memories.
"I see, that's nice. Have you told Satoru, Shoko and Nanami?"
"Only Shoko... I don't want Gojo to overdramatise the whole situation. And you probably don't know about this but Nanami had left to join your everyday company so yea... we're still in touch but don't see each other that often now."
Yes, they were all grown up now. Whatever they all were back in the days shouldn't matter, yet he couldn't bring himself to agree with that statement.
♪*ﾟ
It's not like I want to be with you again,
but when I'm next to you
I can't help but remember.
It's because of Dolce&Gabbana,
it's all because of the smell of your perfume.
♪*ﾟ
"It's getting late, shall I walk you to the train station?"
"No thanks, I'll get going by myself."
They stood facing each other under the setting sun.
"Thanks for today, Suguru," she mumbled, it costed her all the courage she could muster to utter the next word, "G-Goodbye."
Finally, she said his name.
Finally, a proper farewell.
"Goodbye, Yuki."
Geto watched as she put on her heels at the edge of the beach, as she wiped away a tear on the pavement, as her shoulder was tapped by an awfully familiar guy with white hair.
♪*ﾟ
It's not like I am falling in love once more,
even if you're still such an amazing person.
The same thing is probably going to happen if I do so,
I'd end up being dumped once again.
♪*ﾟ
Geto smiled defeatedly.
The handsome, young head of the Gojo clan and the runaway princess of the Kamo clan. Guess it wasn't surprising that he used to feel out of place whenever the three of them hung out.
"Sorry, Suguru... I don't understand the world you see. I know those people were wrong but... I'm not in place to judge what you have done or ask you to turn yourself in, but I will not follow you, I will not leave jujutsu high."
In the stories he told Mimiko and Nanako, the princess always ends up with the prince.
Perhaps he had been out of the picture from the very beginning, perhaps they were meant to part ways at some point, perhaps this was the best for the both of them.
Goodbye.
Hi, it's ravenlatte ('･ω･') thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the one shot (ﾉ｡>∀<｡)ﾉ ♡
In my opinion, the personalities of Geto and Gojo are the most complicated and hardest to capture ( ಠωಠ)
Since I have limited time jujutsu kaisen fanfic ideas keep popping up at times, I'd try my best to shorten them into one shots (kind of?) (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
Anyways, thanks for reading again and please feel free to comment, stay safe and healthy (*'˘'*)♡