HEART THIEF || JUJUTSU KAISEN

a cycle that never ends.

Suicide.

That was the first thing that crossed his mind. Suicide, and then murder.

"From what I hear, it was pretty freaky." Geto murmured. Even he sounded unsettled. "He was stuffed into a cabinet in a classroom, dragged there, and his heart was in his hands. Like, literally he was holding his heart. It was perfectly removed, the whole thing was still intact except for the arteries and vessels that were ripped up. I just thought you might want to know first before I leave the city. I don't have any more business here, and I've got family waiting for me."

Without a second thought, Naoko made to follow Geto, but then he glanced over his shoulder and his blood turned to ice.

The look on Gojo's face sent chills down his spine. He was staring directly at him, his gaze unbarred by the glasses dangling at the tips of his fingers. His glare shone with a ferocity that Naoko had never expected could come from him. It wasn't quite want, anger, or even jealousy, but possessiveness.

The way Gojo looked at him, standing wordlessly in the middle of the room, it was pure possessiveness. Like Naoko was a priceless treasure he wouldn't trade for the world.

"I'm going to go." Naoko tried to say, but his words caught in his throat as a deep blush crept up his neck.

Gojo was the type of person who'd been betrayed and walked away from many times in the past, and it turned him into someone who wasn't partial to sharing when he finally got what he wanted.

Fortunately and unfortunately, Naoko just happened to be someone who liked to be wanted.

"Who was that?" Kiyoko suddenly peeked out of the kitchen and the tension between them relaxed, albeit only slightly.

"Just a guy asking for directions to the nearest train station, no one important." Naoko said, tossing a side-eye glance to Gojo on the last word. The white-haired boy pouted grumpily in response. "While on the topic of that, we're gonna head out for a bit alright? We'll be back soon, hopefully."

"We?" The word caught Gojo off guard, and he turned to see Naoko beckoning to him with a tiny warm smile, his subspace already open.

"We're in this together." He said, his outstretched hand meeting Gojo's. "Always."

They made a beeline for the school, where Miyuki was found conversing with Gakuganji in the main courtyard.

"Ah, what impeccable timing." The old woman mused the moment the two boys appeared before them. Her shrewd eyes narrowed when she saw Naoko head towards her with a question, no, an accusation already written all over his face.

"It wasn't me." She said, raising a weathered hand to silence them both. "We don't know who it is, and while I would like nothing more than to have a good laugh and move on with life, Noboyuki was not the only victim. Tachibana was also killed, in the same manner too, not two nights ago."

"Iekami and Tachibana both handle many affairs with the underground, it's not absurd to assume the killing was done out of a personal grudge and not for political reasons." Gakuganji rasped. "However, last night while I was heading towards my office, I saw someone sneaking through the halls. I chased after them, thinking it was simply a guard, but they didn't show themselves when I called out. I have reason to believe the killer was a shaman, and they're still nearby. I managed to follow them in the direction of the armory. I checked the stores earlier this morning, nothing was stolen luckily, but they might've been planning it"

"So what are we gonna do now?" Gojo shrugged carelessly. "Play murder mystery? Are you gonna make me guard the schools and see if I can spot the killer? Good riddance, honestly."