The Strongest | ɢᴏᴊᴏ ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ

Chapter 30

The day has felt too long and too short at the same time. I spent the whole morning teaching my students, then had a private training session with one of them for an hour after lunch. I escorted my two first-years to their mission and cast the curtain until they were done. Just now, I got out of the shower after helping Shoko clean for an hour or two. It's not a bad punishment, and I think Yaga knows it, which is probably why he gave me the other punishment on top of it.

I fall into bed and take a deep breath. It started to rain an hour ago, and as I close my eyes, I listen to the sound of the raindrops against my window. I hope tomorrow will be cooler; I'm quite sick of the heat. I want to go to sleep, but my phone buzzes, making me open my eyes again. I lift my head off the pillow and reach for my phone on the bedside table. Two messages from my mother and one from... Gojo? I sit up and open it.

"What does he think he's doing?" Gojo texted.

I frown. "What? Who?" is all I reply, even though I can imagine who he's talking about.

Gojo's answer comes immediately, making me smile. What is he doing right now? Is he in bed, too? Was he waiting for me to text?

Yaga

Yaga?

Did Shoko tell
you something?

He can't think that
sending you on
missions alone is a
good idea

I groan and look up at the ceiling for a second to find the strength not to get angry.

How many times do
we have to go through
this?

What?

This is not about
me not trusting you
or thinking you're not
good enough, (y/n). This
is about him sending
a sorcerer out on her own.

Oh, so no one should
be sent on their own
except for you, is that it?

Because you're the only
one who can handle it?

I'm startled when the phone in my hand starts to vibrate again, and the screen goes black for a second. He's calling me? Shit. Maybe I took it too far. No, fuck him. I'm serious. I pick up, ready to shout at him, but he starts to speak first, and his soft tone surprises me so much that I shut my mouth again.

"I'm not saying that," Gojo says carefully. "There should always be a backup there, and Yaga knows this. He knows what can happen when a sorcerer goes out on their own."

I sigh. There it is again: that feeling that he's talking from experience. I really want to ask, but I don't. If I decide to do this, it shouldn't be over the phone.

"Nanami never has backup," I mumble, a bit embarrassed about my outburst.

Gojo sighs, and it turns into a soft chuckle. "Because Nanami has his past, too." That makes me frown. Nanami, too? "Besides, he prefers to work alone. That doesn't mean that he does that all the time. You've been with him on multiple missions, haven't you?"

He's right. Gojo is right, and it annoys me that I have to admit that. "Fine," I resign.

"It -" Gojo stops himself but then changes his mind. "It feels like this is a punishment for me, though."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

There's a short silence and the sound of crumpling sheets, which makes me smile. So he is in bed, too. "It's worse for me here knowing that you might be fighting curses on your own right now."