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Double Time
five
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Satoru isn't handling things well
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Almost five years have passed since you moved to the capital and you had to admit that you still weren't quite used to the fervid lifestyle that came with living in Tokyo. It has gotten a little better with time but some days you still found yourself feeling something of an outsider in a city that still hasn't adopted you as one of its own yet. This gnawing feeling was only ever exacerbated by the fact that you were virtually here alone without family nor really any friends now that your own university friends had moved on, constantly surrounded by strangers already accustomed to the ways of city living.
Today brought you right into the heart of the city, into Marunouchi, Tokyo's financial district. It was on the other side of the university and your flat but it is a journey you have taken many times before, and yet you still managed to miss a key change on the metro this afternoon and was running severely late for an off-campus excursion. The best you could do was text ahead to let them know you were going to be late and whilst you weren't exactly needed for today, it was still a bad look to start making a habit of being late immediately after quitting your job.
Thankfully, it was a direct route after leaving the station and the streets were still fairly empty with rush hour not for another hour. Definitely something you were grateful for as these streets could become seriously thronged as people were getting off work and you always did what you could to avoid these areas. You hurried down the avenue, following along the rows and rows of tall shiny skyscrapers before you finally reached the building you were looking for.
The district housed some of Tokyo's tallest and expensive buildings and this building was no different. A huge set of glass double doors served as an entrance and the whole lobby oozed of extravagance the moment you stepped inside. If the abundant floor to ceiling windows and giant living wall centrepiece weren't already a giveaway for opulence, you next had to go through security which sectioned off the elevator area. You offered the familiar security guard a smile as you flashed the pass you retrieved from your pocket and clipped it onto your pea coat as he buzzed you through the barrier.
Before you had the chance to press the button to call the elevator, the doors opened abruptly revealing a group of men dressed in expensive suits and pointed leather shoes. They began pouring out and you quickly stood out of the way for them, feeling rather uneasy as you subconsciously fiddled with the sleeve of your coat and you could feel their curious gazes on you whilst they walked by.
This was one of those places that certainly made you feel like one… an outsider. Material goods have never been much of an interest to you, but it was to a lot of people in Tokyo and you had unwittingly began to compare yourself to the hundreds of thousands of yen that others wore on their backs. But it was the looks that people gave you that brought the most discomfort, they would stare at you and as consequence you would begin to look for faults in yourself… was it your appearance? Could they tell you weren't from here?
It was unpleasant and especially intimidating to come to Satoru's office and it was probably something you were never going to get used to, but thankfully it won't be much longer until you can stop coming here for good.
Once upstairs, the young receptionist sat at the front of the office greeted you.
"Good afternoon, [l/n]-san. They should be finishing up in there soon then they'll do the office tour," she pointed down the hallway on her right and gave you instructions on how to get to the conference room. "Gojo-san also mentioned that you have some paperwork for him?"
"Oh yes, that's right," you pried your shoulder bag open and pulled out a thin manilla folder. "Here it is. Thank you."
"Not a problem."
You gave her a polite bow before you headed down the hallway, adjusting your badge and coat as you neared the designated room. Being late wasn't something you were used to, you made it a sacred rule of sorts to never be late and never put yourself in a position where you would draw attention to yourself by entering a quiet room and having every pair of eyes turn to you, but you brought this situation on yourself and it was time to face the music. You shifted outside the doors and leaned your ear onto the wooden surface, the session was still ongoing judging from the quiet voices and you gently pulled the door handle to let yourself in.
Inside, Satoru and Maki were standing front of the room speaking to the class, both noticed you come through but it didn't affect their speech as they carried on without issue, and thankfully the class was none the wiser as their attention stayed glued to the speakers. Maki was right in the middle of explaining the prized internship the company offered to one student each year and her own experience so far, going into detail about the rewarding work and how the company were able to flexibly schedule around her studies allowing her to do both without overextending herself. She was stoic as she normally was but she spoke clearly and to the point which made a compelling speech, and the students ate up every word she said as many scribbled down notes.
The Q&A came afterwards and questions were immediately tossed around, most of them directed towards Maki about the application process and few to Satoru about what he looked what he looked for in a candidate and how he goes about the hiring process. They were all great questions and you weren't too surprised to be honest given how coveted the role was, and at this point it was a well-known secret that many students only signed up to Satoru's elective for a chance to add that golden work experience to their CV. Despite how you might feel about Satoru as a person, there was no denying that he was a successful businessman in his own right and he has earned that veneration.
A student then asked a particularly good question about striking the right balance between university work and the internship, your gaze followed the source of the voice on the far left side of the room and your eyes widened ever so slightly when you saw Megumi sat beside the male student who had just spoken.
Everything else seemed to go quiet around you when you saw him and you instinctively gulped as memories from last week rushed back to your mind. Just how freaking messy everything had gotten. With the turmoil in your head, you found some solace simply watching Megumi and how utterly disinterested he was by the entire situation, perhaps even more so than usual as he appeared to be staring out a window without any inclination of listening to the chatter around him.
Your eyes may have lingered on him for a moment longer than you should have and you hadn't even noticed when Nanami appeared by your side.
"Is that the new boyfriend?"
"Oh my god. Don't do that…" you gasped quietly, clutching at your heart as you turned to the blond man. "What are you talking about?"
"He mentioned you found yourself a boyfriend. Is that the one?"
"No, no thanks to him," you said quietly. "Is he really still gossiping behind my back?"
"He just mentioned it in a passing comment," Nanami ended up backtracking when he noticed that you were getting tense and he was relieved that he had the foresight to hide the fact that his boss had actually used the word boy toy rather than boyfriend earlier. That probably would have pushed you over the edge if you were already getting irritated. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."
"No, it's fine…" you sighed. "But why do you care anyway? You're not the type to pry, Nanami-san so please don't start now."
"Just trying to ascertain what actually happened because I'm not sure I believe Gojo-san's version of the events."
"And his version is…?" your eyebrow actually twitched at the thought of Satoru running his mouth on poor Nanami; he was a hundred percent the type to exaggerate and swing the story in his favour, whilst downplaying his own part of the blame. "Actually no, I don't even want to know."
"… I realise I say this almost every time I see you but I do apologise for his behaviour. Gojo-san lives in his own world and he's oblivious to the struggles he put people through."
"Try the hell he puts everyone through," you rolled your eyes. "But I know… don't worry about it Nanami-san. He gives me as much trouble as he does everyone else and soon he'll be solely your problem… so good luck with that."
You offered him a smile and he returned a small one back.
"Yes, best believe I'll need it."
Nanami was one of the handful of Satoru's staff that knew the true nature of your relationship and while you couldn't quite consider him a friend you could reach out to chat with, he was a confidant that you could rely on when it most mattered without fear of being judged. He has helped you out in countless ways over the years, even with problems that were leaning on the personal nature, and you held so much respect for him. It will be a real shame when you lose contact with him as you fundamentally have nothing in common other than Satoru; he was almost like a nice older brother you never had.
"Excuse me," he murmured to you before he held his hand up to Satoru and tapped on his wristwatch. "I'll see you later then, [l/n]-san."
"See ya," you watched him circle back around to the doors.
Unbeknownst to you, Megumi had caught sight of you a few minutes prior and had been watching closely as you spoke with the blond man. So you were shocked when you glanced his way only to meet his dark eyes directly and your gazes held for a tense moment before he turned away first and looked down at his lap in quiet contemplation.
It was the first time you've seen each other since the party and it was just as uncomfortable as you imagined it would be. Forget about speaking with him, just being in his presence felt uneasy but that was pretty much expected given what transpired. Most of the weekend was spent wallowing over the events and to be perfectly honest, you were still in shock over everything, but you felt that you made the right decision even with the revelations and emotional blackmail thrown your way. It won't be long before Satoru will be completely out of your life for good and the most you'll hear about him would be the occasional indecorous gossip whispered by acquaintances. Megumi on the other hand, was an entirely different story…
Friday night was a little blurry but you remembered the end of the evening quite vividly and you knew that you had a lot to clear the air with Megumi, and despite how standoffish he appeared on the outside, he ended up being an open book and you knew that you really only had to approach him to confirm what was on his mind. You had deliberated going back to the house to speak to him, or even getting in touch with Yuuji for his number, but ultimately you ended up deciding against it which was probably for the best for now given the mentality you were in over the weekend; any conversation would have been counterproductive with how hungover and distraught you were.
Holding off the conversation has consequently given you some time to gather your thoughts and you knew what you wanted to say to Megumi. There were things about aspects of your past relationship with Satoru you urgently needed to clarify and of course there were your feelings towards him as well. The feelings you had were recently developed, though you've always known you had some interest towards him, but one thing you knew for sure was that he was the one you wanted at this moment, the only one you wanted and ached for these past few days. Memories of your heated tumble was burnt into your mind. So for the life of you, fuck letting him slip away.
The session wound down after another five minutes and Satoru announced that it was time for the office tour and he directed the students to follow Nanami to be led around the premises. Nanami called out to the students and beckoned them to follow him out of the room. The students shuffled about excitedly as they chittered on about the prospects of working in such a luxurious environment as they slowly piled out the door, a couple greeted you with bright smiles on their way out and you returned the gesture as you said 'hello' back. In the chaos of it all, Megumi must have slipped by right under your nose because it wasn't long until it was only Satoru and Maki left in the room.
"Hi, Gojo-sensei," you gave him a curt nod. "I'm sorry for being late."
"No harm done, [y/n]," he barely looked at you as he quickly glanced over his phone's notifications. He tapped away for a few seconds before letting out a pensive sigh and shoving the phone back into his pocket. "Did you bring the forms?"
"Yes, I left them with Yukimura-san at reception."
"Good," he finally faced you and gave you a soft smile, his usual bright eyes appeared dark under his sunglasses and he looked somewhat unkempt in a casual Friday afternoon at the office kind of way except for the fact that it was Wednesday. The last thing you wanted was to exert too much energy thinking about Satoru, but you had to admit he looked like he was having just as rough of a time as you have and that's saying something. "I'll let you two catch up then. Maki, you can head back after and take your leave. I've got nothing else for you today."
"Thanks, Gojo-sensei," Maki waited as she watched Satoru leave the room and only when he's well out of earshot did she turn to you, an eyebrow raised. "Jesus Christ, [y/n]. What the hell happened?"
"Nice to see you too, Maki," you chuckled dryly at her blunt remarks as you two left the room and trailed after the group in your own pace. While you knew exactly what went down on Friday, you couldn't be sure what she has heard and how best to respond. "I'm not sure I know what you mean?"
"Gojo-sensei. He's been like that all day. The only time he's smiled is when he faked it for the students and just now with you. So what happened? Does it have something to do with that party?"
"Maybe…? I quit last week so I haven't really been following-"
"Wait, you actuallyquit?"
"Yep, so the job's open and it actually pays," you grinned at her. "Interested?"
"They can't pay me enough to do your job. I don't think people realise how easy you make it look but I've seen enough to know the work that goes into taking care of that man-child."
"These past few months have certainly opened your eyes."
"Yes well, I've seen more than I bargained for," she shook her head mirthlessly. "… But hey, [y/n]… I know you're my upperclassman and I hope I'm not being forward but I am around if you need someone to talk to or hell even just to rant."
"Thanks Maki. I appreciate that," you smiled back at her kind offer but you knew full well that there was no way you would be able to take her up on it. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. I'm sure I'll see you around on campus."
Maki headed down a different corridor as you waved her goodbye and she soon disappeared around a corner. The thought that she was willing to reach out to you came as a surprise but it did warm your heart a little. Maki hasn't always been the easiest person to speak to, you had found her kind of intense even back when she was one of your charges, but you had managed to get closer over the past couple of months when you ran into each other and had the opportunities to bond over the horrors of working for Satoru. It was usually just witty banter, comparing battle scars, so you were relatively surprised by her concern earlier and you were grateful that she offered but you don't think it was the best idea; if you were really to start confiding in her, you weren't sure that you won't unwittingly let something slip. Plus, at this stage, you really just wanted to put this chapter to a close and fully move on without holding yourself back.
The group of gone ahead with the tour and you were left by yourself now that Maki had left. From where you were standing, you had some vague idea of the route the students may be taken on and you headed down the hallway hoping to catch up with them soon. As you walked, you passed by a number of display cases holding rare relics and although you were in a rush to join the rest, you did pause to admire some of the new art pieces on display.
You eventually came across an open door that was usually kept locked. The door led into an exhibit room that doubled as a vault, and was usually reserved for viewings with buyers so you were staggered when you heard Nanami's voice coming from inside. How rare that the students got to enter a restricted area on a simple tour.
Nanami was giving the students a brief run-through of the history of the business. The company dealt in antiques and other various artifacts for collectors that could afford them, but perhaps the most well-known fact was the famous first sale being one of Satoru's own prized family heirlooms. It made headlines in Japan at the time as the Gojo family were a reputable dynasty with a prestigious lineage dating back to the feudal era and the current head had just sold a priceless painting to an American billionaire. Thus, Gojo Trading was born and Satoru built the company from ground up, growing the company into a multi-billion yen operation with hundreds of thousands of assets already traded in the short five years since its conception.
This room alone held dozens of one of a kind pieces and no matter what your personal feelings might be towards the man or how awful you generally felt around abundance luxury, standing in here amongst such inexplicable excellence did invoke a deep sense of reverence… and unease, and it slowly dawned on you why Satoru had allowed the students in here. You've only ever been in this room once before this occasion and that first time you were alone with Satoru late in the evening and the two of you had…
Your eyes met with Satoru's across the room and you noticed the subtle smile he was attempting to hide behind the hand on his chin. A frown instantly appeared on your face and your face felt a little hot as you broke the eye contact, and here you were actually feeling a little bad for him earlier. What an idiot you are and perhaps you really did need to paint a giant red flag on him somewhere, if not as a warning to others than to serve as a reminder to yourself that he was diabolical.
Even before things went south between the two, it was no secret that being with Satoru made you feel inferior in more ways than one, and you were naïve enough to believe that things would just miraculously work out despite the odds against you and you have paid the price for your ignorance. But it was time to stop feeling sorry for yourself and time to kick your bad habit for good this time.
The group moved on to the next room and you lumbered along blankly. To be perfectly frank, there wasn't much reason for you to be here other than formality and there was a few bits you had to return to the office, but otherwise you were just following along looking at things you've seen before and listening to stories you already knew.
Not too far from where you were, you noticed Megumi watching you as you two got closer when the crowd converged at the door. His gaze was heavy and this time he didn't turn away.
"Hey," he whispered when you two were finally standing next to each other. "You doing okay?"
"Hi," you murmured back, lowering your head shyly. God, this was tougher than you could ever expect. "Yeah… Uh…"
"Are you free after this?"
"…" you weren't expecting that at all. Megumi had inched towards you a little, lowering his head so that he could see your face better and you instantly went hot at the sudden proximity. "Are you asking me out?"
"Yeah, I guess I am."
"Why?"
"… Because I want to?" his lips twitched ever so slightly and your eyes were instantly drawn to them. "It's alright if you don't want to-"
"No, I do," you blurted, looking back up to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry if I sounded reluctant… I just wasn't sure you'd want to speak to me again much less go somewhere together after Friday."
Megumi stared back at you for a brief moment before he leaned in towards your ear, and your chest tightened when he spoke softly. "Well, I do…"
A small tingle jolted through your body and you felt a little lightheaded. There were definitely things you still had to clear up with Megumi, but he was making it very difficult to stay prudent with the way he was inching closer.
"And don't apologise, [y/n]. Friday was neither of our finest moment. In fact, I…"
His sentence was cut short when the two students directly in front of you glanced over their shoulders with inquiring looks. Megumi and you had been speaking quietly and there was still quite a bit of noise around as you walked to the next location, but the expressions on their faces gave away that they must have heard at least some parts of your conversation but thankfully they turned back away when they were caught looking.
"Maybe we should speak after."
"Yes, you're right," you cleared your throat as you two stepped away from each other. You should have been more concerned with the thought that the two students had overheard your conversation but if anything, you felt more disappointed by the loss of his warmth by your side. Being a student yourself, a relationship with a student wouldn't be breaking any rules after all, and the two of you weren't exactly being discreet at the party when you openly flirted with each other most of the evening for everyone to see.
After days of worrying your head in, you finally got to speak to him and he was the one that initiated the conversation and made clear that he was willing to speak despite knowing your dirty secret. That he wasn't repulsed by it or by you. It felt… nice being able to stand by his side.
The rest of the tour went by uneventfully if not a little awkward. You did your best to listen when Nanami spoke yet another fact you already knew or introduced another area you were already familiar with, but between the repeated information being thrown at you, Megumi standing by your side and the occasional looks Satoru sent your way, it was difficult to concentrate. Actually, it was pretty uncomfortable, and the feeling like you were caught between the two men was an awful reminder of that painful stand-off on Friday night.
Thankfully, it wasn't much longer before the tour concluded at reception and the entire excursion finally came to an end. The students were then dismissed and Megumi waited by the elevators for you while you returned all your passes and said your goodbyes. It was kind of corny but you had gotten Nanami a 'thank you' card, you almost didn't want to hand it over because Satoru was standing nearby, but the gesture brought a genuine smile on the blond man's face. You were pretty satisfied after seeing Nanami's reaction, pleased that you got to say a meaningful goodbye to a kind man that had given you so much support.
"Can I expect a card?" Satoru pouted.
"Ignore him," Nanami stepped forward, blocking the other man slightly. "Take care, [l/n]-san. All the best."
"Thank you, Nanami-san," you smiled back. "I'm off then. I'll see you next week, Gojo-sensei."
You got out of there as quickly as humanly possible, grateful that Nanami stepped in when he did to spare you the unneeded drama that would have ruined an otherwise pleasant goodbye.
Megumi was still waiting for you by the elevators and you greeted him with a smile as he pressed the button. It was just the two of you left on this floor now that all the students have left and it gave you the chance to finally relax a little.
"So, are you hungry? We could probably grab some food for an early dinner…" he said as you entered the lift. "Ginza is close by or Roppongi? Which do you prefer?"
"Um, Roppongi, maybe?" you suggested. It was further away between the two but you much preferred the latter seeing as Satoru saw Ginza as his own personal playground and you'd rather roll over and die than risk running into him.
"Sounds good, I'll call us a car…" he pulled his phone out and tapped away when you arrived on the ground floor and you headed out of the building.
It was getting dark outside now and you were surprised to see that there were still a couple of students wandering about downstairs, they were standing by the road a little further away from the building and Megumi quietly suggested that maybe you should go back inside and wait for them to leave. You were just about to agree with him when the group spotted you and Megumi's expression visibly tightened when a student approached you.
"Hey you two," it was Akira, one of the popular male students. You were fairly certain that he was one of Yuuji's friends as you saw him at the party. "Aren't you coming to Roppongi with us?"
It definitely caught you by surprise and it must have been obvious from your expression because Akira chuckled as he turned to Megumi. "Didn't you tell her, Fushiguro?" Megumi curtly shook his head. "Ah, well the class had planned to go out for food and drinks after. Both Gojo-sensei and you were invited, [y/n]-san."
"Oh, I see. No, I hadn't heard…" you glanced over at Megumi, he looked apathetic to the entire ordeal and you weren't sure how to best approach this situation. Of course you were keen to speak with Megumi alone but it probably wasn't the best idea to turn the rest of the students down for a single student, especially one that you already appeared to favour above the others.
"Is this everyone that's coming?" Megumi spoke up as he glanced around. "It's quite a small group."
"Oh yeah, the rest have already gone ahead. Gojo-sensei said he might stop by later but I don't think he'll show up to be honest," Akira shrugged. "So you two coming? We still got enough space in the uber."
Megumi turned to you with a sigh, silently deferring the decision to you as he was fine either way. This was the second time now, Megumi has left you to make a decision on whether or not to join the group and while he's probably done it out of consideration for you, this time it's only put significant pressure on you.
"Sure, why not?"
So you ended up agreeing to go and Megumi followed suit when you all entered the back of the six-seater vehicle. It was a tight fit with the car at max capacity and there were some large bodies squeezed into the back, but thankfully the journey hadn't been long and Megumi was the one sat beside you and it wasn't so terrible being pushed up against him.
The izakaya the students chose ended up being one of your favourites and you were weren't so sure that you wouldn't have ended up here with Megumi anyway, so you were quite glad that you had chosen to come along to save yourselves the horror of being caught together in your twosome.
A majority of the class were already inside by the time your group of stragglers arrived and they voiced their excitement when they saw you arrive. Their surprise was understandable as you very rarely attended class gatherings even though the students were kind enough to invite you, there was always a bit of a barrier that you weren't so sure you didn't put up yourself; the students weren't actually that much younger than you and you probably had more in common with them than people your age seeing as you were still in your studies.
"So are you two together now?" Akira asked brazenly, you don't think he was necessarily being malicious by putting you on the spot but it certainly felt like it when half a dozen pair of eyes landed on yourself and Megumi. "You two were definitely trying to sneak off on a date earlier, right?"
"Seriously?" a male student exclaimed. "I mean I saw you guys last week but I didn't think it was going to get uh…"
"So what happened last week?" a female student chimed in.
"There was a party and these two were getting real cosy. Flirting and dancing with each other all night. I'm pretty sure they were going to get it on before-"
"No, we're not together," Megumi spoke softly.
"But it seems like things are going pretty well, huh? I have to say, I didn't think you had it in you, Fushiguro."
"Yes, well your comments aren't exactly helping my chances."
"If you really want to better your chances then you should fight Gojo-sensei," Akira laughed. "I'll even help!"
"And me!"
"Stop it, you two. That's not funny," the female student groaned, she appeared close to the pair as she easily reprimanded them into silence. If you remembered correctly, her name was Yuko and you were grateful that she intervened when she did because it was starting to get a little uncomfortable. "Don't listen to their nonsense, and for the record I think you two would make a cute couple."
Her sweet smile proved that she was speaking genuinely but you weren't sure how to respond so you simply forced a smile and internally celebrated when the group's conversation steered into a different topic. Luckily the conversation moved on swiftly and the group quickly forgot about you and Megumi.
"By the way, [l/n]-san…" Yuko pulled you aside to speak to you away from the group. "Is it true that you're quitting the T.A role?"
"Yes, that's true…" as if on cue, the waitress arrived with everyone's drinks. It was obvious that Yuko was expecting you to elaborate on your answer, but instead you reached for the pint and took a hefty sip as you wondered just how on earth did news travel so quickly.
"… Oh well, that's a shame. I was helping to get your help for the last assignment."
"I'll still be working for around a month and I'll always be around campus if you just wanted a chat or anything."
"Thanks, that'd be great," she grinned back. A loud noise behind you caught your attention and you glanced back to see Akira and some of the other boys on the other end of a mess. "Oh god, sorry, [l/n]-san. Please excuse me…"
She rushed off after one final apologetic smile and you suddenly realised that you were sat by yourself. Megumi had disappeared somewhere in the time you spoke with Yuko but you were glad you got to speak to her as you never really had the chance to before and she seemed like an honest and kind person… if not a little scarily so.
"Hey, [l/n]-san!" you glanced over and found another female student hovering by your side, she had two friends with her as they all stared at you expectantly. "We overheard you talking about your job and we were actually thinking about signing up to be the replacement. T.A. Do you know when they'll repost the ad?"
"Sorry, what ad?"
"The ad was on the university vacancy page earlier this week but it looked like it went down last night. Was it a glitch or something?"
"I'm afraid I don't know much about that…Gojo-sensei or someone from his team would usually be in charge of that…" you trailed off, beginning to feel a little uneasy as you took another sip from your glass. "T.A. roles are normally offered to postgrads though… You'll probably have better luck trying for the internship."
"I was thinking about signing up to both but your job with Gojo-sensei just seems so much more personal," she giggled with her friends. "The internship seems so formal but you actually get to spend time with him outside of work environment and didn't you get to go to that gallery opening last year?"
"Oh… yes well, that was one time and they needed extra hands…" you took another large gulp from your pint, finishing it off completely. This was quickly turning into one of those Satoru information gathering sessions that most female students always had as their agenda, and you should have known that this would happen but your guard was down after that pleasant conversation with Yuko had given you a false sense of security. You had forgotten that most female students only wanted to speak to you about one thing and one person only.
"So have you like been to Gojo-sensei's house?"
"Uh, no…" you reached over for Megumi's glass.
.
.
The last thing Satoru wanted to do was to go all the way to Roppongi, see those pesky students of his, and have to plaster on another series of fake smiles. Okay, so there were a couple of kids that were okay and he wouldn't actually mind spending some time with them but the rest left much to be desired, but perhaps what irked him the most was the thought of having to watch you and Megumi together now acting all close and lovey-dovey. It was honestly stupid of him to get upset over something so trivial, and it was straight up hypocritical of him as Nanami had already mentioned far too many times today, but he can't fucking help it.
Yes, it was hypocritical to get upset over seeing you with someone else and he had absolutely no right to. Call it his ego or his pure impertinence for absolutely everything, but Satoru was not the type of man that was used to getting a taste of his own medicine, nor did he enjoy being put in his place. This was slowly eating away at him and he brought it all on himself.
"So why are you here?" Satoru grumbled, shooting a glare over to the blond man sat beside him in the car. "I don't need a babysitter."
"As it so happens, it seems that you do Gojo-san," Nanami didn't even bother turning to him as he simply checked his watch. "Why did you cancel that job listing we posted with the university?"
"Not needed. There's literally only two months left of classes. I'll manage."
"Really?" Nanami glanced at the man from the corner of his eye. He may not like Gojo Satoru as a boss, man or even as a person, but he had to admit that Satoru has seen better days and seeing him this discontent was concerning to say the least. "And you won't get [l/n] involved? I believe you've put her through enough trouble for a lifetime."
"I know, I know," Satoru sighed. "And I won't, geez. You know, it pains me to think that you don't think I'm capable of going to a student function myself."
"This coming from the man that showed up to an unofficial freshman party wasted, supplied alcohol to your students and nearly caused a scene? You don't exactly have the best track record, Gojo-san."
"Well of course it sounds worse if you put it like that… Anyways, I'm just going to pop in to say hi then I'll go after paying their tab. I'm not so keen on seeing her with that expressionless brat anyway…"
The car pulled over and Satoru quickly muttered a thanks before he stepped out of the vehicle. The address that the students left with his receptionist was right in the centre of Roppongi and despite it being a week night, the streets were bustling with life, some were on their way home and others were heading out for after work drinks. It was only when he saw the building ahead did he realise it was one that he and you used to go to frequent quite often back when it was still possible for the two of you to walk around together in public.
It has become increasingly difficult to walk around crowded places in the last year or so, Satoru's family name has always been a well-known one but his face wasn't one that would be recognisable to the public… but it's not for the lack of the press trying. Satoru has been on a couple news segments and have been interviewed for some foreign press, but of recent they started to spread pictures of him in gossip columns and various other media. It started off as minor snippets with a picture here and there but they were hidden away in the back pages; whereas nowadays the articles about him were headline worthy and the biggest pictures were usually printed by some ridiculous gossip tabloids.
Satoru adjusted his sunglasses and tousled his snow white hair as he approached the building. Heads instantly turned his way and it was a natural reaction that he had long gotten used to before even the media began their campaign against him, but it felt different today. The last few days have left Satoru feeling empty, the attention that he used to love basking in felt hollow and the eyes of others felt piercing on his skin. He's found himself shirking away from people and he wanted to hide himself away until the feeling went away.
"Fuck. This seriously blows…"
"What is it?" Nanami asked. "Gojo-san?"
The bar was in view right in front of the two men now and leaving it was Megumi with [y/n]'s arm around his shoulder, you appeared to be intoxicated as you latched onto your companion's arm and whispered something into his ear that made him blush bright red. Tight-lipped, Satoru watched as you two walked down the street towards the car waiting, completely unaware of his presence even when most on the street had turned to stare at him.
"Nanami…" Satoru stuck his hand in his pocket as he turned straight up around. "Go pay for the brats. I'm going home."