CHAPTER 2: Farewell

She had dreamed so much of having him close to her, but she never imagined it would be like that. Her dream had come true in the most fateful way.

The fight with the king of curses was proof of Satoru Gojo's talent and strength. Everyone had been amazed by his versatility and control of the cursed energy; he did things they never thought possible. Although at the beginning of the domain battle he seemed overwhelmed, once he recovered, he showed great superiority even in that three versus one situation. Why now was he lying on that stretcher bathed in blood?

As soon as Sukuna focused his attention on Kashimo, Yuji hid his cursed energy completely and left before anyone could stop him, along with Kashimo, taking advantage of his speed and strength. He rushed to pick up his teacher's body. When he arrived to the building, Yuta and Shoko were already waiting for him. To everyone's surprise, they witnessed how the cursed energy was restoring Gojo's arms, although it was almost imperceptibly. Therefore, they decided to take him to that room to speed up his recovery, while Hakari told them that Kashimo had explained to him, that for the users of the reverse cursed technique, it was mandatory to destroy the head to kill them; although it was creepy to see the shattered body of his teacher acting all by itself.

Shortly after, Yuta came out with a dark look and he informed them that Shoko was finishing his healing and would let them know of Gojo's condition. Then he shot a glance at Maki and they both left to join Kusakabe, Hana and Takaba. Only a few of them stayed waiting at the door, as the others had to leave to carry out the plan they hadn't thought they would have to use, while preparing to take part if necessary. Before leaving with Yuta, Kusakabe called Miwa aside and ordered her not to move from that place unless she was in danger. Yuji refused to return to watch the fight with the others saying that he would go once he had news. Choso stayed with him to give him comfort along with Panda and Toge. Momo wanted to stay with her, but she was called to help MeiMei.

Toge and Panda looked at each other and at times looked at her out of the corner of their eyes as if wondering what she was doing there. No one said a word until Shoko came out after a few minutes. His recovery had been quick as Satoru's body had already been healing on its own and with her and Yuta's help the process sped up. However, they did not know if Satoru would come back to normal, as his brain had been severely damaged by constantly destroying and regenerating itself in the domain fight. At this point, it was likely that his body had only reacted automatically by clinging to life. If his brain had not been able to recover with the black flash, it could be possible that at that moment they only had the empty shell of Satoru Gojo.

Everyone was taken aback. Shoko put a hand on Yuji's shoulder, who was looking at the floor with shiny eyes and his hands clenched into fists. —It wasn't in vain, if he's as stubborn as always, maybe he'll come back to us... thank you for bringing him. —Yuji just nodded, turned to see Choso and the others to return to the broadcast room and prepare for the fight.

Shoko sighed as she rolled up her sleeves, she looked tired. Miwa held back her tears and approached her. —Excuse me Shoko san, can I help her with something so you can rest? They might need you at any time.

Shoko turned to look at her with a sad look. —I wanted to clean Satoru's body a little bit... he's a mess, but you're right, maybe I should rest a little. We don't know if Kashimo and the others will need help soon. Do you think you can help me with that? There are some bandages and towels inside.

—Of course, Shoko san, no worries, I can do it. —She got a lump in her throat and said in a low voice. —Thank you so much for healing him, you are very talented. —She's not like her that can't even serve as a decoy.

Shoko has heard some of Kusakabe's comments about her and knows the risk she's taking by being there without a solid defense. Her offer was timely, she needs to recover to return with Yuji and the others, it will also help to keep her busy until her teacher returns; she can notice her sad face. —We are all gifted, but we have different talents. I could never win a hand-to-hand fight, but I can help healing their wounds. Only those who carry a great responsibility or great courage would dare to be here. Thanks for helping me with him, I'll leave him to you.

Miwa looks at her surprised, if only she knew that she was completely useless. She sees Shoko leave with her pack of cigarettes in her hand and turns to open the door even though she is not ready to see him. Satoru is lying on a stretcher next to the wall close to some chairs and her eyes were filled with tears once again.

Before approaching him, she decided to prepare a container with water and took a couple of towels. Then, she slowly approached and sat next to him. She sees his relaxed face; it seems as if he were just sleeping if it weren't for the blood on his face and his whole body. Only a slight vibration remains of the strong warm energy that she once felt embracing her. His relaxed expression and dull body make him look much younger and weaker, the absence of his cheerful and confident attitude has only left behind a helpless young man, a fallen tree. Her hand caresses his face before she can realize it and she tucked his hair behind his ears.

To think that just a few hours ago she was dazzled by his presence, his bright and determined gaze; the power of his technique that even kept his students away from him until Itadori asked him to deactivate it, and his smile and confidence before leaving. How she would have liked to be with them so she could say goodbye, give him a pat on the back and give him encouraging words! Instead she was cleaning his wounds while she prayed for him to come back to his senses.

She took a deep breath to give herself strength and hold back her tears. She didn't want to think of anything and wanted to keep her mind clear. He would return once again; the worst had already happened and now he was there with her. She started by cleaning his arms, but since he felt cold, she brought warm water to clean him. She continued with his abdomen, she saw his chest moving very slowly. She hesitated a little to lift his shirt and did not dare to do it with his pants. Since she couldn't move him, she put her hands along her sides. His abs and muscles were lax but he was still cold, so she looked for some blankets to help him warm up. She was going to finish with his face, she saw his long, thick eyelashes and she reached out with her hand to caressed his hair, realizing how soft it was just like his face when she touched it, gently wiping away the blood on his lips. Suddenly, the tears that she had been holding back all that time began to fall as she realized he was even colder despite the covers and the warm water, the heat of his energy was fainting, despair overcame her and she lay down on his chest, where she heard his heartbeat so low and slow as if it were saying goodbye.

Tears were not enough, sobs followed as she hugged Satoru's body and caressed his hair while begging him not to leave —...don't go, please, don't go, you are incredible, you can't leave without seeing your students win the battle, you can't let those guys win... please, we... —suddenly she remembered all those times when she saw him alone, how badly some teachers spoke of him, the nostalgia in his eyes when he saw his students and she realized that he had no one to stay for, his family had not visited him, his students would mourn him for a few months and then they'll continue with their lives. However, there was someone who would never be the same if he died: her —...I, I need you, please... I want to hear your stories and your laugh, I want to be part of your dreams... please, if you stay I will never leave you, I will always be by your side, please... don't go, you have to live and be happy... don't go, please...

His heartbeats kept fading away. If this was the last time she would see him, at least this time she would say goodbye to him. If everything went wrong and Sukuna achieved his goal, perhaps she would be able to see him again and hear his voice again.

She raised her head, wiping away her tears, caressed Satoru's face once more with both hands, and gently leaned down to touch his lips with hers in a soft kiss, her hair falling to the sides of his face, embracing that moment. When she touched him, she felt an electricity running through her body and something warm surrounding her, her heart began to beat fast while thousands of memories from long time ago came to her mind, memories of another life.

Meanwhile Satoru's mind, on the verge of reality and dreams, had one last thought... "I hope this was not just my imagination...".

Notes:

This is a mini chapter.

I didn't know how to portrait their farewell, so I had to look for inspiration in some sad scenes. I'm sorry if I couldn't do it sad enough or if on the contrary it was too sad.

If that cat wasn't afraid of success he'd give us such a love story, but unfortunately his beloved one is fraudkuna.

I hope it doesn't take long to translate the following chapters. Do not copy if you don't want the hungry dog curse over you.

I apologise for the mistakes, please remember english is not my main language, if there's any mistake or recommendation please let me respectfully know.

Thank you for reading :D