"The honoured one"
Gojo Satoru was four when he first heard this word. Honoured – whispered harshly and low behind the fragile thin paper sliding doors, yet with an undeniable weight behind it. The little boy stood outside the hall - the place where he can find his ancestor's painting hanging up on the wall, Michizane Sugawara.
"Mama," little Satoru tugged at his mother's yukata as they walked hand in hand. The little boy was dressed in his traditional clothing as he overheard the whispers going on in the main hall. "What does honoured mean?'' asked the striking boy, small and curious with his big eyes bright as the summer skies and hair as white as snow.
"It means you are special.''
"What does special mean?"
"It means that you are different."
The little boy was quiet for a while. "Why am I different?"
"Because," Mama stopped, lowering herself down to speak evenly to her son. "You were born with two special gifts that no one else has."
"Is that why people look at me on the streets all the time? "Even without his powers being fully manifested yet, the little boy was already the centre of attention.
"Yes," the parent smiled brightly, reminding the young boy of spring. The young boy in front of her was not only the sole born son of the oldest and most respected sorcerer linages, but the first in centuries to be blessed with extraordinary gifts. He is destined.
"Is that why I can see things people can't? And know when someone or curses are around me?''
"That's right son," Mama held his hand, bringing him out to the pond in their traditional Japanese garden. "Heavens favoured you," whispered mama, standing beside her son. "That's why you are here."
Satoru looked into the crystal-clear water, his blue eyes reflected perfectly back at him, sparkling like diamonds.
Sharp like the clearest summer skies, blue like the day of the coldest winter. Eyes that hold immense power never seen in this lifetime. "And when you grow older, Satoru", mother and child stood in front of the pond, staring at their reflections. "You will grow up to do things no one else can."
"Not even the old man in the painting can?" asked the little boy, "Otousan said he was the strongest."
Mama smiled.
"Not even him."
You are the flower that bloomed in four hundred years.
"Gojo"
At the mention of the name, all backs in the room straightened. Every single person who has ever been legitimately considered a contributor to the sorcery world sat at the table. "Gojo" was a family name. Now it almost always referred to one specific person. They will never admit it, but 15-year-old Gojo Satoru was already fast regarded as the most formidable sorcery of their century.
"Do you think you can handle him Yaga?'' asked Yoshinobu Gakuganji, the old man tapped his hands. Tokyo was the best school to place the new student in, and even though Kyoto had initially wanted him on their tuft, the young man's attitude made the senior reconsider. "It seems like he has never heard of the word "humble". "
Principal Yaga placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully. "No matter what, he is still a dumb 15-year-old boy. How tough can it be?'' He contemplated silently. Just a child and they're already afraid of him?
Yoshinobu scoffed. "The Goju family commends respect just by their lineage, the first sorcerer in six generations to be born with both Limitless and Six eyes- which we all considered to be extinct - yet this child doesn't even know the meaning of respect! He can't even be bothered to use honorifics when I paid them a visit. "
"He and Suguru Geto are the two strongest individuals we have seen in a while. I expect them to either get along well – or try to destroy each other." Yaga paused, giving a reassuring answer. "Well, knowing they are the only two students of their year, I expect the former. "
With a heavy thud, the old man slams the ground with his stick.
"Never underestimate a 15-year-old's arrogance."
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Fuck this
Gojo stared out the window. The first day of high school was boring already, and there weren't even any cute girls around. He yawned loudly.
What could they possibly teach me that I can't already beat them at?
"And lastly, "Principal Yaga's voice cut across the room. "Our last student, and your last batchmate ...Suguru Geto. "
"YOU ARE WAY OUT OF LINE THIS TIME, GOJ0 SATORU."
Suguru Geto winced, Principal Yaga's booming voice could nearly reach Kyoto.
"JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE STRONG, DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN DISRESPECT THE INSTITUTION LIKE THIS. A SCHOOL IS A PLACE FOR LEARNING, IMPROVING – NOT FOR PULLING CHILDISH PRANKS."
"I'm sorry Principal Yaga," The white-haired student rolled his eyes, not even bothering to hide the utter disdain with his sunglasses. "I was mistaken to make the school the target of my domain expansion and caused havoc."
Geto scoffed. Gojo could at least try to sound sincere in his apology.
"I will repent by removing myself from your line of sight now."
"YOU – "
A moment later, the tall Tokyo Jujutsu High student sauntered casually out the wooden doors, leaving his principal on the brink of considering his suspension.
"You could at least sound sincere," Geto told him, arms folded as they sat down the flight of stairs leading out of the school.
"They wanted to see what I can do," Gojo shrugged, stretching his arms as he yawned. "So, I showed it to them."
The other student pursed his lips. "Don't you think you're taking things too lightly?"
Gojo focused on him, his luminous eye peering behind the tinted lens.
"What do you mean?"
"Everyone who can't see curse thinks being a sorcerer means you're invincible," Geto lamented, referring to the mass public who aren't sorcerers. "But we know the truth."
Gojo raised his eyebrows.
"That you and me, "Geto pointed to the space in between them. "We're the true strong sorcerers around. No one else even comes close."
Silently, Gojo watched the clouds passing in front of him.
"You've got that right," the student finally draws out his breath, feeling the pointlessness of being the most powerful being around, yet unable to do anything. "Say Geto…" The young man tugged at his uniform. "What's your goal in being a sorcerer? "
"Me?" his best friend pondered for a moment.
"I want to create a just world."
Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am The Honored One
Satoru stood in front of his friend, battered and bloodied.
His best friend.
How did things come to this?
"I trust you. A man with principles like you won't kill young sorcerers without a reason."
"Trust? I don't think I had any of that left."
Do you have no regrets?
Never in this life that Gojo Satoru imagine the monster he will kill to ensure the world's safety would be his closest friend.
This was it.
Gojo leaned in, sharing his final last words.
"You will always be my best friend. "
In one swift movement, Gojo let go of his regrets.
.
.
.
On a clear day, Gojo and Principal Yaga stood side by side, putting their hands together for the deceased.
Suguru Geto
"It's a shame thing came to this," said Principal Yaga mournfully. He knew the two of them were as thick as thieves. While the higher ups had their reservations, he knew the sorcery world was pinning their hopes on them. "Geto would have changed the world in another way if he had not gone down this path."
Gojo was silent.
"Well, I supposed I had failed in my role as well," lamented the older man. "If I have done my job right as principal, I could have educated Geto correctly and taught him the right things instead." He sighed loudly. "Instead of saving the innocent, we took more lives."
Principal Yaga lit a cigarette. He thought about Maki, Toge and Panda. Even with the strongest on their side, they couldn't stop this from happening. "What are you going to do about the new kid now?"
"What am I going to do?" Gojo started, sounding not like his usual arrogant self. "I'm going to educate the new generation of sorcerers."
"Well, what is this meeting for? " asked the teacher, standing in front of the conservatory members - he was an imposing presence, the youngest in the room. An emergency meeting was called. The tall male adjusted his sunglasses – it was well beyond school hours and late into the night.
"It has come to our attention that you have made a certain decision without our agreement. That decision has raised concerns among us here."
"Oh," Gojo realised. "Are you referring to enrolling Itadori Yuji? I thought we had already been through this. Don't tell me you don't see it as the obvious choice?"
No one moved.
Surely, they can't be all idiots to think letting him die is the right choice.
"Sakuna has housed himself in him, using Itadori as a living vessel. It is obvious that the best choice is to enrol him on the school grounds to keep watch on him. This is unprecedented, and honestly, I think they are more benefits to keeping him around."
"You know the rules, Gojo," Yoshinobu stated bluntly. "Itadori was meant to be executed."
"Well- "
"We closed one eye when you sent Yuta Okkutsu to train in Africa with Miguel, knowing full well what had happened on the day of the attack," Yoshinobu commented. "This is the last trick you will pull without us knowing."
The teacher paused, knowing full well it was futile to argue.
If that's the case, did they call a meeting just to tell me that?
"Well, if it has already been made, I'll be taking my leave."
"Satoru," Yoshinobu's called out, old and steady. "Do you think you are worthy of Limitless and Six Eyes?"
Gojo froze, taken aback by the question.
"Everyone here is serious about the potential dangers we face and keeping the world as we know safe, yet it seems like you are the only one treating this like child's play. Before you think you can single-handedly save the world, we ask you not to destroy it first."
Grey-blue eyes peek behind the dark-tinted lenses, shining furiously. "This is a serious issue to me."
"Do you think you are making the right choices on behalf of the sorcery world, or for yourself?"
"I – "
"The world is bigger than you, Gojo." Yoshinobu spat, unintimated by the blazing gaze. "You placed a very real and dangerous threat right in the heart of the sorcery world. This bomb that can go off at any moment. Six eyes or not- it seems that you are having difficulty noticing that."
"I understand," said Gojo with nuclear-like control. "But I think this is the right choice. And whether I'm wrong, time has yet to tell. And if there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."
Swiftly, he started moving, but one final thought was on his mind.
He stopped. "I alone am the one with the Six Eyes and Limitless. No one else is better than me," declared the male teacher, loud and clear – a fact uncontested and unchallenged. "The decisions I made will always be for the better of the world." With nothing else to say, the tall figure leaves the room.
Damn old geezers
Wordlessly, Gojo walks back, his snow-white hair the only glaring spot in the night.
He understands now.
The honoured one stands alone.