Chapter Text
Oh. She’s dead. Satoru hadn’t registered it. The high of finally mastering RCT, of killing Toji Fushiguro had been addicting. At the time, it had felt like the world was within his grasp. Now he was staring at the lifeless corpse of the girl who had, in a way, pushed him to master reverse cursed technique. He felt sick to his stomach, in a way not even the Six Eyes had done when he was young and couldn’t control them.
He laid Riko Amanai on the ground, cupping the back of her neck with his hand, as if he was still afraid of hurting her. Hurting her more. He thought bitterly. All that big talk about fighting even Tengen just to keep her happy, and he’d gotten both of them killed against a man who didn’t even have cursed energy.
Distantly, he thought of Suguru. Well, as distant as Suguru could ever be from his mind. I failed you too, Sugu. Both failing to protect him when it counted, and failing to uphold Suguru’s morals. It was an unspoken secret between the two of them that Satoru wasn’t a man of many morals. That his moral compass was essentially, whatever Suguru told him was good. The strong exist to protect the weak. A bitter smile emerged from his lips. Not strong enough, it seemed. He’d known that Suguru was going through something too, but the high of his awakening and the shame of knowing he’d failed had made trying to open his mouth and talk to his best friend an obstacle even the Limitless couldn’t help him clear.
Slowly, pathetically, he moved a hand to the wound in Amanai’s head. He couldn’t output RCT. Even after his awakening, even after failing to save her, he still couldn’t help anyone. The wound in her head, the perfectly cylindrical hole where the bullet had caved her skull in remained there. Flecks of dried blood stained her dark hair. Come on, just this once. He’d seen Shoko use RCT on others, the faint glow of transparent cursed energy that surrounded her hand when she healed others. His hand stubbornly refused. He could feel the positive energy pulsing beneath his skin, removing all blemishes on him, but it remained there. Isolated from the rest of the world. Useless.
He slammed his fist into the concrete next to Amanai. “Please!” He screamed. There was no one else in the courtyard. Suguru had stayed behind with the cultists of the Time Vessel Association for some godforsaken reason. The concrete cracked from the force of the blow. “I’ll do anything, I’ll give up my cursed energy, I’ll give up my six eyes, anything!” He panted. Lowering his head to touch Amanai’s forehead ever so gently, he whispered. “Just bring her back.”
“You two were the only people to treat me like a person, did you know?” He kept his head lowered. Amanai’s cold, unseeing eyes gave no reaction. “You and Suguru.” His lips curved upwards slightly almost against his will. “Shoko tries, I know she does and I love her for it, but when she looks at me the first thing she sees is still the blue eyes and the infinity. You didn’t. You saw me, just like he did.” He raised his head slightly, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Please. If I’m supposed to be limitless, then can’t you just let me do this one thing?” He didn’t even know who he was talking to, his cursed energy, his Six Eyes, the universe? “This might be the first thing I’ve actually given a shit about my whole life.” He was laughing now, tears flowing freely from his glowing blue eyes as he shook on the floor. “And it’s because of you, some weakling girl who doesn’t even have a cursed technique.” He looked up. “Is there anything, some kind of technique, some kind of-” death binding vow.
The words rang through his head as if they were physically there, as if his Six Eyes had deposited the information into his brain. He froze, genuinely taken aback. Would it work? Amanai had been dead for less than a day. “I’m the Six Eyes, fate literally made me to protect the Star Plasma Vessel right?” The words were stuttered, almost incoherent. “Besides, I’m the fucking strongest, surely my life is worth more some nothing girl, right?” The contradiction did not go unnoticed, but he didn’t fucking care. It might work. It might save this weak, pathetic little girl that he loved with all his heart, and goddamn it if tearing the world apart would save her he just might.
~
Should we kill them all, Suguru? Satoru’s words echoed in his mind. A month ago. A week ago. Hell, twenty four hours ago, his answer would have been a resounding no. He would have beaten some sense into Satoru for even suggesting such a thing. Now the only thing he could think of was Toji Fushiguro’s stupid smirk as he slashed through Suguru’s chest, the sound of the bullet as it passed clean through Riko’s head, small bits of brain matter trailing it as the bang echoed around the Tomb of the Star. After all that? He’d told him that their deaths would be meaningless. But that had been instinct, muscle memory of one and a half years spent reining in the Satoru Gojo. He’d asked himself that question, staring at the cult as they celebrated the death of a fourteen year old girl, and found that he could not bring himself to utter the word no.
A ring from his phone jolted him out of his thoughts. He took it out of his pocket, surprised it was still intact. Of course Toji Fushiguro hadn’t gone after their phones of all things. He’d been after Riko. Hands trembling, he took out the small device and flipped it open. It was Satoru. Isn’t he just outside? He accepted the call.
“Yo, ‘Sugu.” His voice was calming. Even at his most energetic, at his most chaotic, Satoru’s voice had somehow always managed to ground him. This wasn't energetic. It was quiet. Satoru was never quiet. Even when he had been plotting mass murder, he’d kept the smile. The fake one he only ever dropped whenever he was with people he trusted. That had been Shoko, the first years, and him. Riko might have made that list too, if she’d lived long enough-
“Yeah, ‘Toru?” He whispered back gently, forcing himself not to think of Riko, because if he thought of her he would think of her death, and if he thought of her death he would think of Toji, and just the thought of that disgusting-
“I uh, I wanted to thank you.” the voice sounded tinny and far away, even though it was coming clearly through the speaker. What? Satoru Gojo didn’t thank people. Anything he was given was his birthright as the Six Eyes, any favor done unto him was the duty of lesser people to someone as important as him.
“For what, Satoru?” his voice dropped even lower. Right, Satoru’s hurting too. The thought, atrocious as it was, was comforting. His ‘Toru was still here. His ‘Toru still needed him. His ‘Toru wasn’t buried once more under the weight of the Six Eyes and a completed Limitless.
“Well, uh, everything.” he replied abashed. “Y’know, morals and all that garbage.” Suguru sighed. Yeah, of course. Gojo’s moral compass really just points to me. “I uh, I want you to keep doing that, okay?”
“What are you talking about, ‘Toru? And why are you calling me, you’re right outside.” Suguru began moving towards the courtyard.
“Uh, it’s just, I’ve been thinking. And Riko was weak.” Suguru paused in his tracks. What the fuck is he talking about? “She was weak, but you helped me realize it’s not about how many curses they can kill. It’s about them. The people, whether or not they have cursed energy. They could all be as amazing as our girl, and even if they’re not, there’ll always be the potential for someone like her to exist, and that’s worth protecting.” A chuckle sounded from the other end of the line. “Maybe I’m just rambling. “Anyways, I, uh, also wanted to ask a favor from you, okay?”
“What do you want, Satoru?”
“Toji,” he physically flinched at the name, caught off guard as he was. “Before he died. He mentioned he had a son he was about to sell to the Zenin Clan. Guess he was an even worse guy than I first thought, huh?” Satoru laughed. He fucking laughed on the other end of the line.
Suguru resisted the urge to snap his phone in half. “Why are you telling me this?”
Satoru’s voice turned serious. “You know what the Zenin are like. They’ll rip that boy apart while he can still be broken, while he’s still weak. Protect him. Please.”
“Why are you asking me to do that ‘Toru, just do it yourself.”
“Promise me, ‘Sugu.” There was genuine worry in his voice. He was afraid Geto genuinely wouldn’t save the kid.
“I promise ‘Toru, now just tell me what’s going on!” Suguru muttered “Fuck it.” and burst out the door.
There he was, kneeling next to Riko Amanai’s lifeless body, the phone still pressed against his ear as if he was expecting something. He turned. His eyes were filled with tears. Suguru had never seen it before.
“Oh, hey, Sugu.” Satoru smiled, but this time it was genuine. One of the biggest, most authentic smiles Geto had ever seen from him.
“Satoru, what did you do?” He demanded.
“Death binding vow.” The white haired fool said casually.
“You idiot!” Geto screeched. “Death binding vow for what?”
“No spoilers.* Gojo smirked. Then, his voice got quieter. “Remember your own words, okay Suguru? The strong exist to protect the weak.”
No no no no no. This could not be happening. Those thirty seconds when he’d first fought Toji, where he’d been forced to come to the conclusion that Gojo was dead, had nearly broken him then and there.
“You’re the strongest now, Suguru,* Gojo pressed on. *So protect her, would you?” Suguru reached out, clasping Satoru, his ‘Toru’s hands with his own.
“What are you talking about, please Satoru, don’t leave me too.”
Satoru’s breathing had grown shallow. “Sorry, but I’ve always been a little selfish.” He closed his eyes, and still clasping Suguru’s hands, murmured out his last words. “I-I love you, Sugu-.” His grip slackened.
How long Geto stood there for, he didn’t know. But just as he felt the scream about to tear it’s way out of his throat, about to summon Rainbow Dragon to rip straight through that room full of disgusting cultists-
“Geto-sama?” He froze. It couldn’t be. The bullet had gone straight through her skull. He’d watched it happen. But slowly sitting up, rubbing her now unnaturally glowing blue eyes, was Riko Amanai.