Waiting

The day after returning from Tokyo, Suguru Geto spent the entire morning at the training grounds.

He simply stood there, watching Yu Haibara and Kento Nanami spar.

Suguru Geto kept both hands in his pockets, his scarf wrapped twice around his neck. The wind swept through and tousled his hair, but he left it alone.

During one of Haibara's attacks, Nanami's counter struck his wrist. His wooden sword flew from his hand, landed on the ground, and rolled twice. He shook out his hand, bent down to retrieve the sword, then turned and spotted Suguru Geto. He smiled.

"Geto, what brings you here?"

"Just came to watch," Suguru Geto said.

Haibara ran over. "You're back from Tokyo? Did the association give you any trouble?"

"No. They just ran some tests."

"What kind of tests?"

"A physical examination, cursed energy tests, and a domain demonstration."

Haibara's eyes widened a little. "A domain demonstration? You showed them your domain?"

"I did."

"How did they react?"

Suguru Geto thought for a moment. "They didn't say much. Just said that was enough."

Haibara fell silent for a few seconds, then lowered his head and looked at the wooden sword in his hand.

"Geto," he said, "are they trying to lock you up?"

"They won't," Suguru Geto said.

"Really?"

"Really."

Haibara lifted his head, looked into Suguru Geto's eyes, then nodded and ran back to the center of the training grounds. Kento Nanami stood there with his wooden sword in hand, watching Haibara return without any expression. He didn't ask what Suguru Geto had said. He simply raised his sword and took a defensive stance, and the two resumed sparring.

That afternoon, Suguru Geto went to the cafeteria.

It wasn't mealtime, and the cafeteria was empty except for Shoko, who sat in her usual spot by the window. She wore a white lab coat, a cigarette between her lips, with a cup of coffee that had already gone cold in front of her. When she saw Suguru Geto enter, she stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and gestured with her chin at the seat across from her.

Suguru Geto sat down.

"When will the evaluation results come out?" Shoko asked.

"Within two weeks."

"What do you think they'll decide?"

Suguru Geto looked out the window at the athletic field. No one was there. The snow had been cleared away, exposing the gray concrete beneath.

"I don't know," he said.

Shoko lifted her coffee cup, took a sip, and frowned.

"Geto," she said, "your total cursed energy has increased by a hundred and fifty percent. Do you know what that means?"

"It means I've gotten stronger."

"It's not just that." Shoko's voice was very quiet. "It means the egg inside you is remodeling your cursed energy core. The nature of your cursed energy has changed. Natural growth couldn't happen this fast."

Suguru Geto said nothing.

"The association knows that too," Shoko continued. "They've seen the data. Just because they aren't taking you into custody now doesn't mean they won't later. They're waiting for the right moment."

Suguru Geto turned to look at her.

"Shoko, what do you think I should do?"

Shoko was silent for a few seconds.

"I don't know," she said. "But you can't keep shouldering this alone."

"I'm not shouldering it alone," he said.

"You are." Shoko's voice was level, but Suguru Geto heard what lay beneath that calm. "Ever since you came back from Zama, you haven't told anyone what that egg inside you actually makes you feel. You've only told us how big it is and how much it's grown. Nothing else. Satoru Gojo doesn't ask, and neither do I, but that doesn't mean we don't want to know."

Suguru Geto looked into her eyes.

She was waiting for him to speak.

Suguru Geto opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk. He simply didn't know where to begin. There was no way to put what the egg made him feel into words.

"Shoko," he said, "once I've figured it out, I'll tell you."

Shoko stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded. She picked up her cold coffee, drained it in one gulp, stood, and buttoned her lab coat.

Suguru Geto sat alone in the cafeteria, looking out the window. He stayed there for a long time.

Toward evening, Satoru Gojo found him at the athletic field.

Suguru Geto sat on a bench beside the track, both hands in his pockets. Satoru Gojo sat down beside him. He said nothing, simply sitting there.

The two were silent for a long time.

"Satoru," Suguru Geto said, "Shoko said I'm shouldering this alone."

Satoru Gojo didn't answer.

"She's right," Suguru Geto said. "I have been."

"Geto," Satoru Gojo said, "why won't you tell us?"

Suguru Geto thought for a moment.

"Because I don't know how to tell you," he said.

Satoru Gojo took off his sunglasses. "Geto," he said, "when will that egg inside you hatch?"

Suguru Geto's heart gave a sudden thump.

"I don't know," he said.

"Are you afraid of it hatching?"

Suguru Geto thought for a moment.

"No," he said. "But I'm afraid that once it hatches, I won't be me anymore."

Satoru Gojo tapped his fingers lightly against his knee twice.

"Geto," he said, "do you know how I recognize you?"

Suguru Geto looked at him.

"It's not your face, your voice, or your cursed energy," Satoru Gojo said. "The Six Eyes can see a lot of things, but all those things can change. Your face can change, your voice can change, and your cursed energy can change too."

He paused.

"The only thing that doesn't change is what's in your eyes when you look at me."

Suguru Geto's throat tightened.

"What's in my eyes?"

"Light," Satoru Gojo said. "It's been there since I first met you at Jujutsu High. After Zama, after something new appeared inside you, that light was still there."

Satoru Gojo turned and looked into Suguru Geto's eyes.

"So no matter what comes out when that egg inside you hatches, no matter what you become, as long as that light is still there, you're still you."

Suguru Geto looked at him for a long time.

He said nothing. He simply sat on that bench in the gathering dusk, shoulder to shoulder with his closest friend, watching the sky turn from blue to black.