~ Chapter 15 ~

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The black-haired girl stood outside of her fiancee's dorm room with every intention of knocking, but she was having trouble bringing herself to do so. Sachiko could hear the laughter of Satoru and Suguru as they made fun of whatever movie they decided to watch. Her heart twisted as she fought with the doubts inside her head. This was why she hated being alone. Would he care or even listen, or would he tell her to go away? She rubbed her hands together as she kept her head down, trying to convince herself to tap the door. 

"Why am I useless?" She whispered to herself as she sighed, combing her fingers through her hair. Sachiko shook her head as she huffed and turned away from the door. She wasn't going to ruin his night with her family drama. As she started to walk away, she heard the door creak open, revealing Satoru. He had his glasses on and a loose shirt, his hair dishevelled from lying on the bed. He looked at her surprised while she looked startled, as though she was a wild beast that had wandered onto the road. "Satoru, what are you doing here?" 

"I live here, Sachiko. Why are you standing outside my door like a creep? You know you can just come in." He said casually as he scratched the back of his head and leant it to the side. She glanced into the room, and Suguru, who looked equally uncaring, greeted her with a small wave and a smile. Satoru glanced between the two and raised an eyebrow when Sachiko didn't even acknowledge him. He stepped forward and reached out for her, but she stepped back slightly, causing him to miss her arm. "Are you alright?" 

"Yes, of course. I needed to talk to you about something, but it can wait until the morning." She said, her fake smile returning, which earned a grimace and a stern look from the white-haired boy. Sachiko glanced at Suguru again, then turned back to Satoru as she raised her eyebrows twice. She needed to speak in private. Tonight was not the right moment. Despite Suguru's knowledge of her life, Sachiko is unwilling to speak about her past or family outside the Gojo clan. "I will see you in the morning, Satoru." 

"Goodnight," He said, frowning as she walked around the corner. Satoru closed the door and crashed back into the bed as he let out a long sigh. Suguru paused the movie and glanced at his best friend, "Why are women so confusing?" The black-haired boy laughed heartily while Satoru hit him with a pillow. 

"They're not confusing. You're just an oblivious asshole," Suguru said firmly, with humour lacing his voice. Satoru grumbled at him to turn the movie back on, but he was distracted for the rest of the night. It wasn't often she went cold like this. The last time was after she visited the Chiyo estate and found out their family's origins. He was unsettled until he stood at her door the next morning. 

Sachiko was slow to open the door. She had had trouble sleeping. Dark circles sat under her red, puffy eyes, her ordinarily perfect hair was tousled in every direction, and her sleepwear was twisted. She let out a loud yawn as she walked back into her room and rubbed her eyes. She crawled back into her bed while Satoru joined her on the sheets. They both lay side by side for a moment before the girl let out a long sigh. 

"I met my brothers last night." She whispered just enough for Satoru to catch. His eyes widened as he glanced at her, surprised. He didn't know whether to believe her or not. It was never mentioned that she had siblings. She glanced at him, trying to read his reaction, before reaching for a picture on her bedside table. She handed it to Satoru, and he looked at the photo. The woman and the man were Sachiko's parents; she looked like the perfect combination of them both, with a skew towards her mother. Then there was a baby and two boys. He guessed this was the family portrait taken only a few days after her birth, as she was taken at such a young age. 

Sachiko recounted the event of last night. Satoru had mixed feelings about the whole ideal. This meant the Chiyo and Gojo family had taken more from the girl. Then, she went out alone even after stating she was spending time with her classmates. She put herself in a situation where she could be stalked and followed unknowingly by two strangers. He turned his head to the side so he could see her, she watched him curious as to what his reaction would be. He realised she had been nervous to tell him, so he decided not to push his luck.  "I think it's fantastic that they have returned to your life. I'm glad they were willing to rescue you from me, but they should know I'm the best." 

"It seems so strange. I would be lying if I told you I don't think about what could have been, but I've been happy with my life since joining your family." She said as she rolled over to face him. She tucked her hands under her head as her eyes followed his features as she spoke. Sachiko reached out and placed her hand on his chin. She began to rub it gently with her thumb, feeling the light stubble that was beginning to come through. "But I did have to go through the Chiyo family to get to you. I guess it was worth it." 

"What do you mean, guess? I'm a pretty good catch." Satoru joked, which earned a small smile. Sachiko giggled as she nodded before shifting over to nuzzle her face into the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arm around her waist as she melted into him, using his warmth to lull herself back to sleep. Satoru just smiled as he rested his chin against her head. 

As lunch arrived, the pair finally exited Sachiko's room in search of food. Sachiko's appearance had finally been restored to her usual manicured self. Satoru never understood how she had so much energy to ensure she was in a perfect state, but she had told him it was a significant part of her training growing up. She would end up in the white room for a few hours if she had failed. She was a slow learner. 

As they approached the gates to enter the town, they passed Nanami and Yu. Sachiko smiled brightly at them, but it wasn't reciprocated; instead, a glare was sent in Satoru's direction. Nanami looked away awkwardly, while Yu seemed irritated. Sachiko looked at them, confused. Not only had she been blown off without notice, but now they were glaring at their seniors. "Where were you guys yesterday?" 

"Sachiko, we know the Gojo family brought you. We can't understand why you didn't trust us enough to tell us such a big secret." Yu said, then, without a word, he moved on. Sachiko looked at them horrified, Nanami's eyes flashed with guilt but he put his head down and followed behind the other boy. Sachiko and Satoru's gazes followed them as they stormed away. They each shared a look before tears started to roll down Sachiko's cheeks. 

"Hey! Stop there, you two!" Satoru barked as his face contorted in anger at the sight of Sachiko's tears. The two first years stopped in their tracks at the anger filled voice, they turned back to the pair and notice the girl trying to wipe her tears away. Satoru walked up to them slowly, with a grimace on his face. "This was Sachiko's secret to keep; you both were not entitled to know everything about her life. She has constantly been known as a Chiyo child or my fiancee; she wanted some normalcy. If you, too, had just been good friends and waited it out, she would tell you, but instead, you are making yourself look like whining babies."

"Why are you letting her marry you? She was brought for you like a bar of chocolate from the store,"  Yu demanded, not backing down from the argument with his senior. Nanami and Sachiko just watched on silently as the pair had a go at each other. Nanami didn't see the point in ignoring the girl, and Sachiko knew better than to get involved in Satoru's arguments. "You preach that you hate the higher-ups and Jujutsu traditions. Yet, you are letting this happen." 

"I was just a kid when this all went down. I fell in love with her,, so why wouldn't I want to get married to her?" Satoru said as his voice quieted down. He regained his composure, which made Yu back off a bit. Both sides' shoulders relaxing. Sachiko walked up to Satoru and grabbed his arm gently as she stared at Yu. The tears were still rolling down her face, but she had managed to stop more from coming out. "The moment I graduate, I'll be the head of the Gojo clan. So be it if she chooses to leave instead of being with me. I'll be happy that she finally made a major decision about her life."

Nanami glanced between the couple, and he, for once, felt a small level of respect for Satoru Gojo. He looked to Yu, "I think we owe them an apology, Yu. It seems we presumed the worst," Nanami turned back to the couple and gave a small bow as he said sorry. Sachiko smiled and reached her arm around to pull her friend into a hug. Nanami went stiff for a second before he allowed her to embrace him while Yu apologised to them both over and over. Satoru smiled, but he leaned closer to Yu's face so only they could hear his next words. 

"I'm aware of your little crush on Sachiko. I don't blame you. My Fiancee is beautiful, but let's shove those feelings back down." Satoru said, Yu nodded not daring to look at his senior's face as his own heated up from embarrassment. "Good." The white hair boy said as he stood up straight, he glanced at Sachiko who was joking around with Nanami. With that, Satoru and Sachiko felt a new sense of freedom. They no longer had a reason to sneak around. 

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