Chapter Eight

Satoru never liked it when Keiko walked behind or in front of him. Unless the road was too narrow for two people to stand side by side, he would always ask her to be right next to him, not even a step lesser. The fact that he didn't care when it was someone else used to be ridiculed by their school friends. Is Keiko your personal aide? they would ask, associating it to his upbringing as a young lord in a conservative household. It wasn't a secret that the Gojou family's heir apparent grew up shielded by maidservants and elite jujutsu sorcerers.

Although Keiko didn't mind being with Satoru any time of the day, those words got to Satoru's head at some point. It's because I want to always see your face. You're my other half, Keiko. Do you also see me that way? He had looked right into her eyes when they were alone in the fourth-year's classroom, waiting for Shouko to go back from the restroom so they could watch a movie together in Shibuya. She remembered it was the first installment of Iron Man. So many fans were upset for having it released in Japan five months after the worldwide debut.

What did an eighteen-year-old guy know about having his other half? Even the sixteen-year-old Keiko thought Satoru might have only been caught in the moment because they talked about those who couldn't stop suggesting them to marry each other prior to the conversation. Her immature brain and racing heartbeat couldn't process anything, so she only smiled and nodded as she had no clue about what else to do. It was the only moment in their high school life when she thought he was about to confess his feelings to her.

Perhaps she should have asked him more questions on that afternoon because all she could think about on their way back to the cafeteria was how she would lose her will to live in a world without him. He had taken a detour so they could speak longer. It was lovely. He then talked about the registered special grade curse that had gone missing for three months and was spotted again in Shinjuku, which was why he immediately got called lest it disappeared again. It was intriguing, but she kept wishing for time to go faster.

What was the everything that he would tell her? Would he touch her in ways that friends shouldn't do to one another? Why should they wait if he could just pull her aside and kiss her lips under the maple trees enveloping the night? Nobody else would be here to witness it, and the moon was bright enough to adorn the moment. In all honesty, she didn't need anything grand if it was with him. Anything he did to her would always be eternalized in the back of her mind.

Five minutes ago, she believed it was the right choice to talk things through after her accession. She couldn't afford to break her concentration around the cursed spirits that she would definitely face, but the anticipation was too agonizing. She couldn't stop wondering and imagining the future. It must be the pleasant evening's fault. The cold, gentle wind and mellifluous crickets sound made her want to hide under a blanket with Satoru and talk about the day they met.

"You aren't listening to me, are you?" Satoru asked once they left the front area of the school ground, startling Keiko a bit.

"Huh? I am," she said, being a complete idiot because she couldn't hide the agitation in her voice. Why would she bother lying to someone who could describe the sadness she felt when she didn't even realize it herself?

"Really?" He smirked. "Then tell me the first name of the auxiliary manager who was waiting for me in the building."

She went quiet, swearing that it began with "Mi". Was it Miyoko? Minako? Mitsuko? "Uh… Michiko?" she hesitantly answered.

"Yes, right. Our empress consort, huh?" he asked before laughing. "It's Himari, and I've said it probably five times now. How could it turn to be Michiko? The names are nothing alike."

"Oh…" She clasped her hands in front of her pelvis. "I'm sorry…"

"Something's bothering you again?" he guessed, lowering his sunglasses to show his blue eyes. "Or do you get hypnotized by my handsome face? If you wish for it, I can remove my sunglasses until we arrive at the cafeteria so you can get a better look at me."

It was during a time like this that she wondered if she would have loved him the same way if they hadn't been schoolmates. He could have stopped at "something's bothering you again" but his pomposity told him that it was acceptable to go on about how he was more graceful than the wildflowers growing on the roadsides they were passing by. The worst part must be how she couldn't deny it, just like every time he called himself the strongest person alive, because he wasn't wrong at all.

"Come on, it isn't something shameful to admit. I can't get enough of your face either," he said, putting the sunglasses back on his high nose bridge.

"Just… continue with your story," she muttered, looking away to hide her rosy cheeks. The streetlights illuminating them would only make her appear redder than normal, and she didn't want to please his ego even further.

He had too much fun laughing at her reaction before stroking her head a few times—something that she would force him to stop doing soon, especially when the students were around—and picking up where he left off. Exorcising the curse only took him seconds, but he had to shatter half of the dilapidated apartment near Shinjuku Station to make it happen. It was a failed construction project that people had visited to do some test of courage, hence the accumulation of fear. He was late only because he was held by the team who needed to write down a detailed report about the case.

The story was nothing extraordinary. Him finishing a job without a single scratch on his body was like somebody breathing oxygen in the morning and drinking water during breakfast; it was an everyday occurrence that would be weirder if it didn't go that way. He was the only sorcerer that she knew who kept taking perilous missions and never failed any of them. Even the higher-ups advised sorcerers to run away if the cursed spirit's grade or ability turned out to be higher than predicted, but such a thing didn't exist in Gojou Satoru's life rules.

It should be about twenty minutes since Keiko left the cafeteria, and more people had assembled inside by the time they got back. There were Kiyotaka, Masamichi, Atsuya, four people in black suits who she had never seen before, and Kento who sat next to Shouko, both having a can of beer in their hands. Her ears heard all the teasing thrown at her decision to leave her own party to be with Satoru, but her focus was fixated on Kento, who had his on her as well.

If it weren't for his blonde hair, she would have thought that she had mistaken him for somebody else. He was tall like always—only shorter than Satoru by a few centimeters—but his build was bulkier than the other men present in this place. It wouldn't happen without lifting some weights. The straight thin hair he used to have was slicked back now, making him look neater and more like an adult. But why did he look so worn out? He was only a year older than her, but people would believe it if he said he was thirty-five instead.

"Shiraishi-sensei, can we start? I'm suffering right here!" Yuuji exclaimed while swinging a pair of chopsticks in the air. His friends looked at Keiko with the same dreary eyes. It made her feel like the most horrible human being for tormenting their stomachs, but she also had to hold back her laughter because they looked like they would wail if she wanted to spend another minute giving an opening speech about this gathering.

"Suit yourself! I'm sorry to make you wait!" she shouted so the entire room could hear her. The permission was enough to make the kids frantically divide themselves into two groups like they would die if they didn't eat soon. The staff did the same thing, but of course, with more dignity.

Satoru dragged Kiyotaka to sit with Shouko, Kento, and Atsuya. The scene caused Keiko to feel all sorts of feelings because everything was just like the reenactment of her first few weeks in this school. Satoru who dropped too many noodles into the pot before he even took a seat, Kento who called him reckless and unmethodical, Kiyotaka who tried to stop them from quarreling, Atsuya who stayed silent yet seemed annoyed by them, Shouko who giggled softly—was it not a sad yet beautiful sight? If only more old friends could join them.

When Keiko was about to head toward the table, Masamichi pulled her into his group of auxiliary managers and windows and introduced them to each other. Only one of them was an adorable young manager with round cheeks who just graduated from the school last year. Like the students, she claimed to have heard a hundred tales of Shiraishi Keiko's life; some were depicted to be more spectacular than the reality. Satoru must have been under some sort of hallucinogen when he called her as one of the most terrifying sorcerers one could meet.

"Shiraishi-san… I'm very sorry if this is too intrusive, but I keep hearing people talk about it. By chance, do you happen to be in a relationship with Gojou-san?" the young manager asked what seemed to be a mandatory question for everyone who had just met Keiko.

As usual, Keiko shook her head. "No, I'm—"

"Stop that. Satoru will never look at someone else but her. You should give up," Masamichi interrupted.

"What? Yaga-san, why would you say that?" The manager became panicky as she waved both of her hands in front of her chest. "Shiraishi-san, please don't mind him. Gojou-san and I… There's nothing between us! I'm only nineteen! He's way too old for me, I swear!"

The way the manager phrased her sentences irked Keiko. If nothing was going on between them, then why would she even bother mentioning it, even bringing up the age difference between her and Satoru? She made it seem like she had spent some alone with Satoru as more than a sorcerer and his assistant. Fortunately, if there was one thing that Keiko was sure about in this world, it was that Satoru would never hurt her on purpose. He would never play with other girls' hearts behind her back.

"I'm hungry, so can I go back?" Keiko responded, forcing out a smile.

"Shiraishi-san, are you mad at me…?" the manager nervously asked before shooting a glare at Masamichi. "Yaga-san, it's all your fault! Please do something about this!"

No. I'm not mad at anyone, but please stay away from Gojou Satoru. Just like what Yaga-san said, he's mine, was what Keiko would have blurted out if she were ten years younger and had had no empathy toward someone who must have regretted ever speaking of Satoru. It wasn't Keiko's first experience meeting with a girl who had a crush on him, and it surely wouldn't be the last. Akin to this manager, many of them were prettier and probably even kinder than her, but she was the one who grew up together with him. Nobody could strip eleven years off their history.

"Don't worry. I have faith in him. Please enjoy the shabu-shabu," Keiko chose to say as she smiled one more time. While "I have faith in him" might give it away that she was very protective of Satoru, at least she was subtle about it. Most importantly, she acted her age and didn't hurt anyone in the process. Without waiting for a response, she turned around and went to where she belonged the most.

Satoru never liked her sitting beside him at the dinner table for the very same purpose as demanding her to walk by his side; he wanted to be able to see her. Everyone seemed to remember that since it was the seat prepared for her, just between Shouko and Atsuya. It was entertaining to watch Satoru and Kento keep debating about which mushroom they should put inside, yet they still sat next to each other. The best way to describe them was two brothers who fought over the most nonsensical thing in the world, such as which person could drink more broth.

"Nanami-senpai. I'm glad you could make it here," Keiko greeted the man as soon as she sat down.

"Glad to have you back, Shiraishi." He gave a mild smile that wouldn't be noticeable at first glance as she picked a piece of meat from the pot and placed it on his bowl of soup. The view across from Keiko's seat was comical. There were Kiyotaka and Kento who seemed so stressed-out like they hadn't seen daylight in months, while Satoru's face was soft like a newborn baby despite him being the oldest among them.

"I was surprised when Shouko-senpai told me that you're a sorcerer again," Keiko continued, watching Shouko take her empty bowl and fill it with all kinds of stuff. She couldn't believe that Shouko would still treat her like a little sister after all these years whenever they ate out with other people.

"The same thing could be said to you. Finally, after almost seven years," Kento said.

"Haha. We should take on some missions together. Just like the good old days."

"Sure. Why not—"

"Keiko, you never said that to me!" Satoru yelped before choking on the big piece of napa cabbage he just swallowed. He coughed like an idiot, and Kiyotaka had to give him his glass of iced green tea or some sort—when did the drink even appear? It was noisy until the students from the other tables had to take several glances and check if their teacher would survive the next few seconds. Wouldn't it be tragic if the strongest man alive died from choking on a soft boiled cabbage?

"Are you good, Senpai?" Keiko asked after a while.

"Uh, yes," Satoru said after consuming half of his tea. Kiyotaka rubbed his back a few times to alleviate his short-lived misery, while Kento gave him a look of "Is this guy almost pushing thirty? I can't believe it".

"You're a special grade sorcerer. It won't be effective for us to work together," Keiko explained before Satoru asked her again. She knew he would and probably choke again for the second time.

"You can exorcise a special grade curse, Keiko! Believe in yourself more!" Satoru pointed his chopsticks toward the woman. It was rude for him to do that to anyone, but a brash man like him would never care about any cultural taboos unless they would actually kill people. It should also be the reason nobody at the table scolded him about it.

"Special grade vengeful spirit. Not your typical curses," Keiko corrected him.

"Oh. Now that I think of it." Atsuya put more raw beef into the pot. "I wonder if Shiraishi could do something about the special grade curse spirits that—"

"What's with the discussion about work? I want to relax. Stop talking. Start eating," Shouko raised her voice, but the timing was awful that Keiko could tell she was doing it on purpose to stop Atsuya from disclosing a secret. The way everyone slowed down their hands and pretended not to hear anything only strengthened her suspicion.

"What special grade cursed spirits?" Keiko asked, staring at Atsuya before glancing at Shouko. "You're all hiding something from me. What is it?"

"Gojou-san?" Kento initiated, and Satoru chuckled awkwardly. As someone who had memorized most of his ways of behaving, Keiko knew it was the kind of laugh he would do whenever he was exposed. Like that one time when Shouko received an expensive leather wallet for her birthday. For days, Satoru didn't want to admit that it was from him until Shouko showed a copy of the receipt she obtained from the store.

"All right." Satoru placed his chopsticks on the chopsticks rest. "Nanami brought Yuuji out on a mission a few weeks ago. They met with an unregistered curse spirit. He could talk and think like a normal human being, so Kusakabe must have thought that you could do something with your Heavenly Eyes. That's it."

Keiko frowned, feeling incredibly unsatisfied with the story she heard. "That didn't sound threatening at all. We've seen worse. Why were you trying to hide it from me, then?"

"Lately, there's been a surge in cursed spirits' activities. We don't want you to get terrified and decide not to become a sorceress," Satoru explained softer.

Keiko waited for the continuation, but she scrunched up her nose when there was nothing more from him. "That's all?" she squeaked.

"Yes," he affirmed, looking like a lost puppy who would run away and hide under the table if she berated him. She didn't know if it was hilarious or pathetic, but she would never do that to him.

"I'm not changing my mind," she declared. "I know what happened to me back then was terrible. I'm thankful that all of you care about my well-being, but now that I'm here, it'll terrify me more if you don't believe in me."

"No, Keiko. We do believe in you. Very much," Shouko said before looking at everyone around her. "Guys, I'm serious. Let's stop talking and start eating, okay? We can talk about other things. This evening should be fun, right?"

Yeses could be heard throughout the table before they continued to enjoy the shabu-shabu. Keiko's fingers might have actively used the chopsticks to pick her food, but her eyes and mind lingered on Satoru, who acted as if the revelation before never took place. Although it wasn't surprising coming from a carefree individual like him, Keiko somehow couldn't fully believe in his story. In the six or seven years of her absence, there must be worse things than Kento and Yuuji who accidentally met an unregistered special grade curse.

Don't overthink. He would never do anything to harm me, she told herself over and over again. Soon enough, her doubts vanished when Satoru talked about last summer when he went to Hokkaido to tag along with Kento for no good reason except that he got too bored in Tokyo. The reminiscence didn't do him any good because Kento retaliated by saying that he should have spent the week visiting Keiko instead. Atsuya cackled like Kento just won him the award for shutting Satoru's mouth with only one sentence.

"Keiko, forgive me! It wasn't like I didn't think of you, but I got too excited when I heard about the solo mission assigned to Nanami! It had also been a while since I went to Hokkaido!" Satoru shouted.

"I see. So, there was a moment in your life when Nanami-senpai was more important than me?" Keiko played along with the rest, making Satoru whimper in despair.

"Keiko…" he mewled. "Do you think I want to have children with Nanami instead of you?"

Total silence was what came after his random query. Alongside the stifled laughs at the table, Keiko wanted to bury her head somewhere else so she could forget that Satoru had stated that in front of their friends. It was a win for Kento and everyone else before, but Keiko was going to boil faster than the fresh mushroom thrown by Kiyotaka inside the shabu-shabu pot. It was good that the kids and staff didn't seem to hear Satoru well since he didn't speak as loud as when he begged for pure mercy from her.

"That was the most disgusting thing I was forced to hear, Gojou-san. Please don't drag me into your domestic drama," Kento stated before he stood up. "I'm going to get more beer from the kitchen."

Shouko coughed twice, seemingly to relieve herself from holding back her guffawing. "Please just bring them all out. I might need three more cans."

"I'm coming with you, Nanami-senpai. I need to warm up the dashi," Keiko said, leaving the chair and running after Kento as fast as she could.

The kitchen was colder than before, and it must be because there were only two people inside. Keiko went to check the pot that had gotten lukewarm. On the countertop beside it, lied a bowl of dried green tea leaves. The students must have been the ones brewing the tea—most likely sencha—when she was gone to meet Satoru. Quickly, she turned on the stove to reheat the broth before jumping to help Nanami take the cans out of the fridge. Only six of them were left, which meant that they needed to buy more or let the guests drink something else.

"Nanami-senpai, how are you? You look exhausted. Do you sleep and eat well? Where do you live?" she playfully asked the man after they were done placing everything on the countertop.

"I'm good," he said, ignoring the rest of her questions. It was all too familiar. He had always been discreet about what came out of his mouth.

"Where do you live now?" she tried again, hoping it would work.

"In Edogawa." For some reason, he refused to make eye contact with her and opted to stare at the floor.

"Oh, it's beautiful there," she gushed.

"More like it's cheap there."

She chuckled. "Understandable. Do you live with your family?"

"No. Alone."

"Oh. You used to live with them when you went to university."

"I moved out after I graduated."

"Oh… Do you still read a lot of books?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I keep buying them, especially from fairs and festivals, but I've only had time to read one every few months or so. A lot of them are unfinished."

"I think it's because we're getting older." She leaned against the stove that wasn't on. "I definitely don't read as much as I used to. Even Satoru-senpai doesn't play games as much as he used to. Whenever I'm free, I just want to lay on my bed and watch cat videos on my phone. It's sad."

"Yes. I agree," he said.

"Can I—" She hesitated for a brief moment. "Can I go to your place to borrow some of your books?"

Finally, he met her eyes. "As long as Gojou-san is okay with that."

"Come on. We aren't even dating," she laughed out her words before smirking when she got another topic. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No." His answer was the quickest so far. It was amusing.

"Have you had one?" she continued.

"Only once."

"When?"

"Second or third year of university."

"Oh… Why did you break up?" She immediately closed her lips when she noticed the aggravation across his face. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer—"

"I didn't love her." Much to her surprise, he was honest about it. "She was the one who asked me out first, and I just couldn't get serious with her. We only dated for about three months before she broke up with me."

"I see…" she muttered before heaving a sigh. "I'm sorry. Even if you didn't love her, I shouldn't have asked. It's been a while since we last spoke, and I just… I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Shiraishi. How about—ah, why do I bother asking?" He folded his hands and, following her stance, leaned against the fridge behind him. "It's always been that man for you."

She huffed. "Probably."

"Why haven't you two gotten together?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. He just never asked me out."

"Why?"

"How am I supposed to answer that? You're his good friend. You must be the one knowing a thing or two about that matter."

"I'm not Getou-san."

She chuckled again, looking up at the dark wooden ceiling. "Getou-senpai, huh?"

"Though I assume it could be because you're a delicate creature in his eyes," he said. "Even somebody who's practically invincible can get scared of losing someone he loves. Even worse, hurting that person when he's the one missing."

"Aren't we all scared of that?" She glanced back down at him. "An airplane could fall and kill all of us tonight. Only Satoru-senpai would survive it."

"It's my personal opinion, so don't take it too deeply," he began, straightening his back like he was ready to run away from this room if something happened to any of them. "A few times, Gojou-san made jokes about how if he was a little smarter, then you wouldn't have lost your mind and left Tokyo. I think there's a part of him that still can't forgive himself for not being able to save you sooner. He's very selfish, isn't he? He dreads putting you in danger, yet he's also the happiest when you moved back here."

It was all too familiar. Kento was another person she would run to every time she needed guidance from someone who wouldn't choose anyone's side just to please their hearts. Everyone must have learned her pattern. When Satoru was away, she would go to Shouko. When Shouko was busy working at the health center, she would go to Kiyotaka. When Kiyotaka was being a pacifist, she would get pissed and went to Kento, who always knew exactly what to say. It happened again tonight, but she didn't want to talk about any of these.

"Enough about myself," Keiko said, gripping the edge of the stove behind her with both hands. "Why made you become a sorcerer again?"

"Being a corporate slave is more useless than being a sorcerer," Kento firmly stated.

"I see." Keiko laughed before stirring the pot next to her and turning off the stove, putting an end to this mad conversation. She didn't want to break down crying and spoil the night, and she knew that she almost did it.

There won't be any new chapter for a week because I need to do something else. Please take care of yourself!