10. The Photo Album
Gojo entered that luxurious room, turned on some lights and went directly to the room that he had at his disposal
He put all the things he bought on that coffee table that adorned that part of the room
First I take out a liter of snow and devour it as if there were no tomorrow
While eating that cold sweet, Gojo set his sights on that album
"It's the almost six years of Yoshio's life summed up in all this little treasure of mine…"
Gojo once again remembered Umeko's words
He swallowed hard, took out that blue lollipop and finally decided to open that album
"Well, mother-in-law, what are you trying to tell me?" Gojo said, opening that first page.
And there it was...
That first ultrasound Utahime had
It was dated December 27, 2018, and in it, you could see a very small thing, more specifically a black ball about four weeks pregnant.
Gojo's hands began to tremble... that even that palette he was holding let it fall on that expensive chair
"My son..." Gojo said with a brittle voice.
At that time and by the date marked on that ultrasound
He guessed that baby was created the nights following the whole incident in Shibuya...
Those nights after the tragedy, Gojo made love to Utahime because he really felt a horrible feeling of desolation being inside that cube
The simple idea that maybe he was never going to get out of there again or that she could have died in that fight... made him want to make her his once again and there was the result of those nights
"I don't know if I should keep looking," Gojo said doubtfully as he held that page
But Gojo's curiosity was bigger at this point
"Damn kuchiyose miko, seriously mother-in-law you are a witch" he said with a slight smile
Gojo understood at that moment why Umeko told him that this was her treasure...
"Let's see... you were hiding me li-ar Utahime" Gojo had the courage to turn that page
And there were more ultrasounds of her son growing in Utahime's womb.
He saw an ultrasound from her first trimester of pregnancy, he also saw one from when Yoshio was around six months old because of how formed he looked
He look at that page where it said the sex of his baby and how his grandmother had put cute cutouts that said "It's a boy" around those echoes
He turned that page over and looked at some photos of Utahime with her bulging belly of about seven months... she looked beautiful
Gojo giggled lightly... he always wanted to know what Utahime would look like pregnant and there was that answer as he looked at the pictures that had been taken of her being pregnant.
"What did she feel when she found out she was pregnant?" What was it like for her to feel Yoshio's kicks and movements inside her womb? Will she have had many cravings? Did she eat well? Did she drink alcohol? Did she sleep well? What did she work for in that state? Who took care of her? Did another man caress her belly?
Gojo's mind began to fill with a thousand questions at the same time he saw all those photos
That made his heart skip a beat, he felt a strange joy at seeing his son's first months... but a part of him still felt that rage
"Why does she enjoy all this and I don't?" She took away my right to live this stage of Yoshio "- said the most furious part of his conscience
And so he kept looking at the contents of that album
He flipped through the following pages a few more times, flipping through an occasional photo of Utahime with her huge belly and in her maternity clothes...
Until Gojo stopped a little in the photos of that baby showers that someone could have organized for her and watched with jealousy how Shoko appeared in those photographs caressing that belly
"Traitor... damn daughter of..." Gojo blurted out.
Shoko sneezed at her work...—"Achu!"—
"Perhaps it is the sleepless one and that it is barely two in the morning..."— the doctor said to herself, giving herself courage and drinking more coffee to continue with her guard
Gojo kept looking at those photos that began to make him more "jealous"
"She was very happy with our son... while I was suffering abroad at that time... seriously, Utahime, you're a liar, you're a... Agh!" Gojo said annoyed
He decided to put some sweets in his mouth to remove that bitter taste that was beginning to form because of his courage.
He took a breath and moved on to the most important date
August 17, 2019...
"Welcome Yoshio" it said with a beautiful calligraphy at the top and in the center of all that page was the first photo of his newborn son
He was a beautiful baby, his cheeks were as rosy as a peach and his jet-black hair was abundant.
Gojo shed tears when he saw that first photo of his baby
"Of what I missed because they took me away from you brat..." He said with a broken heart looking at that photograph
I even look at the copy of the birth record that Umeko took out to keep in that album
I even look at the footprint of his son's little foot
Gojo's hand trembled when caressing that copy, apparently Yoshio it had been a very small baby
If he had carried it in his arms, it was very possible that it would have fit in the palm of his hand
"What would it have felt like to hug you as a baby?" Gojo questioned with a slight smile when he remembered that he was carrying Yoshio on his shoulders that afternoon.
But that anger returned to him stronger than ever when he saw the data of that record
Mother's name: Utahime Iori
Father's name: No data...
Gojo snorted furiously...
"How come there's no data?" OF COURSE HE HAS A FATHER AND THAT FATHER IS ME, THE GREAT GOJO SATORU!-" He said furiously hitting that album
He wanted to tear up that damn page and all the pictures that followed
He look at a photo of Utahime lying in the hospital bed next to her newborn
The photos continued to show her breastfeeding her baby.
There was one where Umeko and Mamoru carried their newborn grandson
There was even a photo of Shoko carrying her nephew and in the other hand she was carrying a bottle celebrating that
There was another photo where Utahime and Umeko bathed that baby
Another where Yoshio wore his first baby kimono
There were even several photos where those five left as a family outside that sanctuary... a "family" from which he was excluded for almost six years
"This is a terrible mockery!" he said furiously.
Seeing Utahime carrying Yoshio very happy, that was driving him crazy with fury
"WHAT'S MORE! WHY DID UTAHIME CHOOSE THAT NAME FOR MY SON? WHAT THE HELL DOES IT MEAN YOSHIO?"—He said taking the edges of that album that he was going to break with force.
His hands trembled as he continued to turn those leaves over.
Gojo quickly pass the photos of the first years of his son's life
"WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN YOUR FIRST WORD?"
"AT HOW MANY MONTHS DID YOU START TO CRAWL?"
"HOW WERE YOUR FIRST STEPS? WITH WHOM DO I WALK? WITH WHOM DO I RUN?"
"WHY DID YOU HIDE ALL THIS FROM ME UTAHIME?! WHY? DID YOSHIO TELL ANOTHER MAN DAD? " he stood up very annoyed
He couldn't keep looking at those pictures
He was so blinded by Anger that he grabbed that album hard and his fingers did some damage to that paste
"Why did you do this to me Utahime?!" Damn you! damn everyone! THAT UMEKO HAS GIVEN ME THIS IS A MOCKING TOWARDS ME! DAMNED WITCH!" He shouted with such fury that his voice resounded in that room.
And with such force he threw that album towards that glass of his window... on the way all those photos and memories flew out
Gojo looked like a hurricane destroying everything in its path
He threw all the food they had bought on the ground with force
He lifted that coffee table as if it weighed nothing and crashed it to the ground, breaking that glass that adorned it
But his destruction and his anger did not calm down there
He hit that chair hard
He was furious that he had slept with Utahime and all the sweet words that were said when they last made love when they created that being
"Did you never love me? Is that why you did this to me? Was this his revenge against me? the sorcerer thought at that moment
That chair was turned upside down
He threw everything in his path, cursing with hatred what they had done to him... hide the existence of his son
Gojo destroy the pillows making all those feathers fly and that mattress I take out of its place
In every blow he gave and everything he threw, he cursed that family... he was letting himself be carried away by his impulsive anger
But suddenly, Gojo reacted to that bad behavior
"Can I be considered a bad father for this?" Is that why Utahime didn't tell me about Yoshio? Is all this my fault? He said he did it for me, was he referring to my behavior?" Gojo questioned with tears in his eyes
Seeing him cry... it was hard to digest
"Yoshio..." he said knowing that what he did that afternoon was wrong
At that moment, Gojo sat on the floor, leaning against the back of the bed.
Tightly holding that stuffed bear with gloves that always stole from Yaga and cursed not having that man anymore at that time to give him advice
Now he was the "child" who needed a father... Just like his son needed him...
Gojo spent almost an hour crying and hugging that stuffed animal...
He tried to calm down and thought that his impulsive behavior with Utahime in that tea room could have made Yoshio scared of him.
"I'm not a monster... the bad thing about being impulsive is that everyone thinks you're a bad person after the chaos you make..." he said quietly as he reached for the photo closest to him with one hand
It was a photo of Utahime with Yoshio, about four years old, he was smiling in front of the camera with that purple hakama and his white t-shirt
It seemed that day they were preparing him to start being an apprentice priest
At that moment, Umeko's words crossed her mind again.
"I ask you to accept this apology from my daughter and from the entire Iori family for hiding all this from you for six years..."
"We did it solely to protect Yoshio... if we had revealed it to you at the time or if the previous higher-ups had found out... it was very obvious that they would have killed my daughter and my grandson at that moment... just I hope your hard heart understands Gojo Satoru..."
That kicked his pride and he began to feel regret and more when he remembered how he yelled at Utahime...
He even remembered what she said through tears
"I had my reasons for not telling you... and one of them was the fact of how you are Gojo... at that time you were an exile"
"I also did it to protect him..."
"Yes, I'm a bad father and son-in-law for insulting them both like that..." Gojo began to say, still taking that stuffed animal.
He was realizing the truth
"Utahime did it to protect Yoshio... not only did he protect him from me... she protect Yoshio from those damn big shots..." he said looking up at the ceiling
At that time I was grateful that all those old people were already dead... especially the former director Yoshinobu Gakuganji
Gojo began to feel bad about all this... although he was still within his rights to be furious with Utahime for hiding the truth from him.
Now he tried to look at it a little differently
At that moment The word "protect" echoed in his mind...
They protected Yoshio for five years and maybe now it was his turn to protect his son.
"But, will I be able to fulfill the role of father well?"— he questioned himself even in tears
Maybe there was only one way to answer that question
So he desperately look for his cell phone
After finding it among the broken wood and despite the fact that the clock already marked 04:51 am
He started calling the only person who might be able to help him at this crossroads about what to do with Yoshio.
"Come on, answer, answer!" Gojo said desperately into that speaker as he walked from one side to the other.
And after trying several times
Finally someone answered that cell phone
"Megumi-chan!" Was I a bad father figure for you? - asked that sorcerer without further ado