It was late.
You were nodding off in a perpetual loop of falling asleep, only to be woken up again by the bumpy road. Though this wasn't your ideal scenario, this was the situation you had to deal with until your destination.
After all the paperwork was sorted, you finally had the proper clearance to rest at the Gojo Clan for the remainder of your recovery. Satoru's father sent for one of the Gojo Clan staff to pick you up, so here you were in the back of an SUV tightly wrapped in some assortment of miscellaneous blankets. But no matter how many you had, you still felt eerily cold.
Satoru was beside you. His piercing blue eyes flickered out the window to assess every nook and cranny you passed, or at least whatever the street lights illuminated. You weren't really sure what he was looking for, but you could tell he was over exerting his six-eyes.
"Satoru..." you gently pulled his shirt down. This seemed to snap the boy out of his trance from whatever he was up to. Though as he turned around to meet your gaze his eyes softened as you came into view. Nothing could rob him from the joys of seeing how adorably sleep deprived you were.
You plucked his black circular sunglasses from the neck of his shirt, lazily opening them up with whatever little hand eye coordination you could muster. In a yawn, you pressed them up to the bridge of his nose. "Rest."
Here you were telling him to rest, when you're two steps from passing out yourself!
"I can rest when we're there." The white haired sorcerer countered. "Besides, one of us should keep our eyes open. You never know what type of people lurk around at this hour."
Even though a non-sleep deprived version of yourself would probably agree, you huffed out in protest. It seemed that wasn't a good enough answer for you. So you unbuckled your seatbelt before scooching up right next to him, plopping your head on his lap. "Then help me rest."
A soft chuckle left his lips. "Y/n, please. Just let me-"
"If it's not in me, it's on me?" You mumbled, vaguely distinguishable. "That's what you said way back when, right? Then why can't we have this?"
In a sigh of defeat, Satoru stroked his fingers through your hair. "I guess I did say that. You sure as hell are my only weakness. You know that, right?"
You awkwardly pressed your lips together before closing your eyes. Rolling on your side, you faced away from him. Though Satoru was finally closing his eyes, you couldn't shake the feeling that there was something weird going on. Ever since Toji Fushiguro, you've gotten that vibe more often. But even now there were things he wasn't telling you. A reason he wants to be on guard.
"Why didn't you want to talk about leaving Jujutsu Society now?" You asked with mild curiosity. You had a sneaking suspicion his non response was intentional earlier, so you wanted to see if he would respond now that you two are in a more intimate setting. "Was there someone watching us? Is that why you're keeping an eye out?"
Satoru was eerily silent.
"Satoru?"
Turning your head back to look at him, he was biting his lip. And catching you peeking at him didn't help. In an awkward jumble, he shot his eyes around the car before realizing he'd been caught red-handed.
"You keep surprising me, you know that right?" Satoru finally huffed, closing his eyes. Though he still seemed a bit jitterish, he was finally responding at the very least. "To pick that up as the reason I've been eating through my technique all night. If you were my student, I'd give you full marks!"
Looking down at you, he continued stroking his fingers through your hair. You were about to rule it all out as him trying to distract you from answering the question before he continued. "But you're my girlfriend. And you deserve the full truth."
Taking a pause, he took in a sharp breath. "I don't think it's possible anymore."
You looked up at him confused. Though, it looked like he expected that reaction from you. And so, he finally spoke.
"You'd probably have a difficult time retiring as a Jujutsu sorcerer, on two fronts." He explained. "One you have the Higher-ups, who would strongly discourage someone of your caliber from leaving. It's not every day we get someone with the capabilities of being a special, nor one who improved so quickly. On the other front, there's politics. Even if you retire, a technique is still a technique. Retirement won't stop clans from trying to get in your pants, and now that they've taken notice of you it's all too late."
Satoru tutted at his words as you winced. So it was your fault.
"You remember the contract they made you sign on your first day?" Satoru continued. "You know? That dumbass piece of paper my clan had to sit through years of discussions with the government to make Jujutsu Sorcery legal?"
You nodded. That really took years of meetings to make? He wasn't lying about the bureaucracy earlier, huh...
"If you 'retire,' and make one little slip up using your technique, I'd bet they'd label you a curse user just so they could throw you in jail. Hell, knowing those geezers they'd send a curse just to frame you! And then low and behold the highest bidding clan comes to swoop you out of prison just to tie you down for their own twisted bloodline." Satoru grumbled. "You're just an accessory for them. Another cursed tool for their warehouse."
Your head fell back down as you faced away from him. "So you're making sure we're not followed... to run away?"
"Not exactly." Satoru answered. "They're watching us like a hawk right now, as per the conditions that they slapped us with in the negotiations. But I'm more focused on figuring out just how they're doing it. If we need to run one day, I want to make sure we can. Change our names, fly abroad, and leave this hellhole behind where the only thing that can find us is the wind on our backs."
You squeezed Satoru's leg. To love you this much to go through all this trouble, sometimes you had a hard time digesting it yourself. Satoru Gojo, the boy born with it all, was willing to give it all up for you. Even after you've messed it all up he didn't blame you or throw you under the rug. He was wholly focused on you and your wellbeing. But this couldn't be healthy.
"I don't understand why they're watching us to begin with." You frowned. "We're just going to the Gojo Clan, right? Isn't it weird they don't have more faith in one of the big three?"
"Not exactly." Satoru muttered ambiguously. "There's something else, but you'll see soon. I can't say much on it, but..."
You could tell he was having a difficult time explaining it, so you just nodded. It was late for the both of you, and you were sure he was probably exhausted after dealing with the Higher-ups all day. Even after all of that, he's put a lot of thought into everything. You were raised in Jujutsu Society, but Satoru was raised by it. So, this was more of his reality than it's ever been yours. You have no reason not to trust his word right now.
In a big yawn, you tried to shield your eyes from the onslaught of streetlights pressing through the windows. But having noticed your attempts, you felt Satoru's hands take your place as a wash of black coated your vision.
"You should rest up. Your body needs it." Satoru whispered over your limp body, relaxing his lap for your head. And with a tap to your forehead, you were out cold.
•~•
You've been out for a while. A good hour or so, for anyone who's keeping track. But Satoru wasn't, his eyes leisurely scanning the car. Your soft snores filled his lap as he leaned back into his seat. One arm was leaned against the car seat head, and the other was delicately wrapped around you. Just this setting alone was enough to make him smile.
After going through so much emotional turmoil the past month with the Star Plasma Vessel Mission and the real possibility of your impending death, he was finally in a spot where he could be comfortable. Although the attention from other clans wasn't welcome, he could deal with it as long as you stay safe and alive. And with your quick progress, soon you won't even need him to protect you anymore!
Stroking his fingers through your tufts of hair, his eyes softened as your snores continued to fill the vehicle like a lullaby of sorts. But like most lullabies, they have a distinct end. Rudely cutting off your performance was the intrusive ring of a cell phone.
Rolling his eyes, he reached into his pocket to tell off whoever was interrupting this lovely moment. But it wasn't his. Glancing over to you, he realized it was coming from your phone - meaning there were a lot more possibilities for who it could be. The typical rule of thumb was to not go through your significant other's phone without consent, but since when was Satoru Gojo a man who played by the rules? And besides, your phone was a special case amongst Jujutsu Sorcerers. This could be a life or death phone call, so he slid your phone out of your pocket to answer.
It was Gojo-Sensei?
"Yello!" Satoru abruptly picked up, "This is good-looking guy Gojo Satoru here, filling in for the lovely Y/n L/n's voicemail! Don't get too starstruck and forget your message, nay?"
"Where's Y/n?" Gojo-Sensei asked. So he wanted to get straight to the point.
In a brief tsk, Satoru furrowed his brows. It's always Y/n this, or Y/n that, and no one ever wants to just chat with him! Not that he's one to talk. He'd rather chat with you too.
"Sorry, sorry. But the princess is in another castle." Satoru yawned, stretching his hands up above his head. But realizing that wasn't a good answer for his insistent older self, he continued. "She's sleeping on my lap. Super cute, right? I can send you a photo if you're curious - you see when she falls asleep her nose does this thing where it flares up and-"
"She's alive, right?"
"..."
An awkward silence filled the line as the air went stale. But, Satoru was able to gulp down enough of the build up in his throat to respond. "Yes, she's alive."
So that's what he was calling about.
"She's alive and well, might I add." Satoru continued. "She's gotten a lot stronger. I don't know where she was in that timeline, but she's on track to be a true special grade. With any estimates, I'd put her at a generous first grade right now."
That seemed to ease off the tension in Satoru's white haired counterpart for now as a small hum of approval came from the future line.
"Are you in a car right now?" Sensei asked. It seems like he picked up on the ambient sounds outside of the car. Nevertheless, he'd expect nothing less from the future version of himself.
"Yeah," Satoru confirmed. "We're being escorted by the clan. Something wrong with that?"
"No..." Sensei grumbled. Both Satoru's understood how unconvincing that was.
"Can I know what happened to her?" Satoru finally butted through before another akward silence could come to pass. The words were soft, almost leaving his lips in a whisper. "I know I killed her, but I don't know what led up to it. It's been killing me this whole time not knowing. I'm scared I... I..."
Sensei closed his eyes in a sigh. "From what I know, you didn't kill her. You killed her body, but not her. Her soul was long gone."
"...huh?" Your body, but not your soul? Is there even a difference?
"I'd imagine if you're still in favor with the Gojo clan, you'd know Toji is still alive." Sensei stated. "He was the one who killed Y/n in his second assassination attempt."
Satoru's head was spinning. But before he could fall down a pipeline of unanswered questions, Sensei continued to explain away how he understood the events played out in the alternate timeline. From the thing that took over your body, to the pact that would inevitably kill Suguru, Gojo-Sensei held back no punches. "... and the events were all sparked the night before her birthday."
Satoru felt a sudden urge to vomit as soon as Gojo-Sensei concluded. Looking down at your resting body was difficult as he held his hands over his mouth to not wake you.
"That's tonight, is it not?" Sensei asked.
"... what did I do the night before her birthday?"
With how unsteady his stomach felt, this was probably a terrible question to ask. But it's one he needed the answer to. Some place deep down, he knew it had to be his fault all along.
"You kidnapped her." Sensei was blunt. As Satoru's gaze shot an uncertain flash, the white haired teacher continued. "Apparently you went rogue, and the Higher-ups were sending her to Hokkaido to keep her away. You intercepted it, kidnapped her, and tried to forcefully marry her with the Okiku ring."
Satoru was too speechless to react.
The more sensei divulged, the more disconnected Satoru felt. Did he seriously go off the handle like that? And he did all of that to you? He did feel unsteady after the whole Toji situation, but after he received the call from that timeline's Satoru he was deterred from ever leaving your side. If he never got that phone call, all of this would have happened.
"Why... why did you tell me this?" Satoru was doing his best to contain his trembling, but was failing miserably. Luckily you were passed out cold, since that would be the only explanation to why you haven't woken up yet.
"Because I can feel it." Sensei smiled. "You've changed."