@dwellingmedic - Tumblr Blog

He rolls his eyes. At least Shoko was feeling like herself enough around him to joke about his and Satoru's relationship.

"You act like you don't want us to be happy or be a part of it. Which- fair. I did fuck that up a long time ago."

Ducking into the shop, he quickly buys the pack and a lighter. Dragging Shoko to one of the many benches overlooking the flora of the ward. Pulling out two cigarettes, putting one between his lips to light it, then offering it to Shoko like this was a perfectly normal thing to do. Some old habit that had been stewing under the surface for years.

Even he was caught off guard by his actions. Staring at the cigarette he had lit, gently smoking between them, pinched between his index and middle finger.

"The offer is because I want you close again. Purely selfish."

"Never said that, I'm just not too keen on waking up to the lovebirds lip smacking on one another in the kitchen at 5am."

Shoko watches as the other takes that cigarette and lights it between his lips before the offering is made. There's pause, not really bothered by the gesture and meeting Suguru's eyes before taking the filtered end between her own lips.

Inhale. Exhale.

Smoke swirls between them before she leaned back completely against the bench, taking the cig between her index and middle finger as the taste of nicotine and menthol soothed over those nerves.

"I will think about it...gotta give me some time to get used to the place, yeah?"

#gallery ;#hallowedpurple #oovertime #max uzumaki

hinamie

at the club w my non-alcoholic sparkling beverage throwing off the white balance of the group shot ✌︎('ω')✌︎

"Oh, I know about Shibuya alright. What a mess."

It wasn't something he liked to think about. The suffocating quiet of the Prison Realm haunted his dreams sometimes still - but that was kept between himself and the dark of his room.

He does break into a smile at her question, hands popped onto his hips.

"My wonderful, strong, competent students worked hard and got me unsealed. I'm honestly really impressed."

The question at least places her before the end of November, because she's surprised he's out. Which means she hasn't been through December and....

"There's a lot to explain. You and Nanami and Geto are all from different places - oh! But, uh, there are some of the students around too."

#hallowedpurple #hallowedpurple 01

Some, but not all of them.

Shoko could finish that easily enough in her mind, and made a mental note to check in with all of them at some point. She thinks back to the device she had on her person, and how quickly Nanami was able to get in touch.

Numbers and contacts were already stored, even for people she had never encountered before.

"Well, I will be sure to thank your students for their hard work."

She moves a little closer in his space, reaching over to test if there was a buzz of Infinity against her fingertips.

"Everything still functional? I've noticed my RCT is a little slower than before since I arrived here."

oovertime

Shoko's sarcastic tone drew a small snort from Nanami. So, she seemed unconcerned--that was good. But her level head was one of her best traits, anyway. He was not surprised.

"I saw that you arrived here, so I wanted to help you get oriented. It was new when I first arrived. Gojo saw me in."

"I figured as much. Suguru took the time to greet me on the first day, turns out he's just a few doors down. Crazy how small the world can be, huh?"

"So, how did you end up here? I just woke up from a nap in a completely new place."

#oovertime #oovertime 01

The moment her hand slipped into his, it felt like a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders. As long as he had his friends, everything was going to be okay. He could do this.

Even if Shoko couldn't hold his gaze, she still accepted him as someone close. He had fucked up, but not beyond repairing their relationship. Which was good. Missing her for so long had made this reunion overwhelming.

Leading her to the little store down from the townhouses was a start. Lighting up a cigarette would ease both of their nerves. She was the only reason he had ever started.

"I can show you around any time you wish."

A tilt of his head toward her.

"I've... also been working on getting my own place. You're welcome to a room... if you want it."

The walk is near silent aside from the scuff of tennis shoes and her own heels against stone pathways. What was there to say? Nothing that hadn't already been shared between Satoru and Suguru.

She was always, always behind.

Shoko's head was throbbing, the beginnings of a migraine probably.

But she was being offered something to quell her own feelings and slip back into that usual state of mind. The thought alone was enough for her to regain the confidence to speak again.

"What, so I can be in observation to your honeymoon?"

"I am a new-and-improved Satoru." The words are accompanied by a bright smile that softens a little when he gets a bit more serious. "But, uh, yeah. I've been avoiding finding a new doc because none of the guys around here are sorcerers. It's kind of a pain to explain all of this."

Ah, she's ahead of him. Dang, he'd been hoping they hadn't run into each other yet.

"Yeah? ...it's been kind of crazy having him here again. Last thing he remembered was in December, y'know?"

He pauses a moment.

"What about you?"

#hallowedpurple #hallowedpurple 01

December.

Right, the Night Parade, and the evening where she had to examine his corpse.

So to her observation, it seemed some people would arrive here from their point of death. Interesting.

Immediately, Shoko's eyes cut to Satoru at his question, it seemed innocent enough, but with the way her friend was carrying himself roused a suspicion in her. Even so, she had no reason not to be truthful with the other.

"Last I remember, I fell asleep in my Lab after pulling an all nighter like usual. I don't think I have to tell you how bad Shibuya was, how did you manage to...get unsealed?"

Shoko and Satoru were too important to let go of a second time. Not when he could start over, or at least move on from how he had betrayed them. He didn't deserve their acceptance. But hell, did he want it. Crave it.

They had too many memories to just toss away when he had this chance to make amends.

"Never again."

His eyes drift down to her fingers as they twitch. A nervous habit. One that dragged out memories of her reaching for a carton, only to flip open the lid and find it empty.

A hand is extended. Something safe. Much safer than trying to ask for a hug.

"Let me buy you a pack. We can share a smoke while we catch up."

Damn her stupid addiction.

The first thing that came to mind was to reject the offering, but after a moment longer of staring at his hand, she sighs, starting to move a little closer to Suguru and slip her own into that grip.

Shoko can't seem to meet his eyes, she had been having trouble with it since the beginning. Those soft mauve pools felt like a cruel joke with how gentle they looked at her, with the same care he had when they were only teenagers.

It really felt like nothing had changed, if just for a moment.

"Yeah. You gotta show me around this place if I'm gonna be living here now."

An excuse to see him more.

@oovertime:

He immediately hits the call icon on the phone, holding it up to his ear. He was pretty certain that Gojo (and possibly Geto) were already on introducing her to the island. Even so. She was good company, and he wanted to make sure she was adjusting well.

The device only rings once before Shoko answers, placing it against her ear while looking over the pristine room she had awoken in.

"Kento. You almost seem excited to hear from me with how quickly you reached out."

#oovertime #oovertime 01

It was deserved. The sting and twist of a knife that her comment had. Inflicting that same deep pain that he had experienced seeing Gojo again. Pain that he couldn't handle at that time. Pain that had made him find out what lies at the bottom of a bottle.

Just more sorrow.

But it was pain he could deal with now. Pain that he knew he could work past instead of spiraling with.

He took a deep breath and shook his head. Thumbing over her hand in his. Maybe now was the perfect time to apologize. It didn't have to wait.

"No. I've started to see- to remember what it meant to protect humanity. There are people here who have shown me their worth despite not being like us."

He hoped she would take him at his word.

"I'm sorry for walking away from it all. You didn't deserve to be left behind. I won't do it again with this new life."

Shoko listens, taking those words in small bites so she avoided getting choked up again.

Even so, there was a part of her that didn't feel like she deserved this apology, it was something that should be reserved for Satoru. But, by the sounds of it they had already made up.

She was a little behind, again.

There was a long pause between the two, weighing her trust in Suguru after all this time, after all the bodies that were left in his wake. How many left blood on her hands while trying to compress wounds? Could she really just act like nothing happened, like Satoru didn't mention being all alone after this man left.

Both were just stupid teenage boys at the time, and yet.

"New life...yeah, sure." Her fingers flex with the itch to pull out a cigarette, something to take the edge off and let her think a little more clearly. Alas, she came here with next to nothing, it seemed.

"You're right that I didn't, and you two better not do it again."

"Okay, okay." She's carefully set back onto her feet, though he seems to check her over a little bit.

"I have been here a while. Since - November? I think? And I've one hundred percent not been to the doctor since then."

He pauses a moment, shifting his weight.

"You just got here then, huh."

#hallowedpurple #hallowedpurple 01

Shoko straightens out her lab coat and meets the usual blocked gaze of that blindfold, tilting that head slightly with the taller checking her over.

"So nothing has changed. You're still the same old Satoru." Hands slip into her pockets at Gojo shifting.

"Yeah, a day or two ago. Already talked with Suguru."

"No! You're just -"

A moment of processing. Processing. Processing..........

"Shoko!!!" Yeah, she's getting scooped up.

#hallowedpurple #hallowedpurple 01 #naoooo release me

"Put me down-"

"Do you need to be looked over? You look like you've been here much longer than I have."

"I should probably go schedule with a doctor sometime.....probably...."

#hallowedpurple #sup #hallowedpurple 01

"What? Don't trust me for your checkups anymore?"

"Yeah, he's here, too."

It was hard to think straight with how loud his heart was beating in his ears. All three of them were back together. He can tell her everything that has happened while being here.

But now wasn't the time. Shoko was in shock just seeing him again. The apology for leaving could wait. It had waited for ten years. What was a few more days? This place needed time to adjust to it.

"Shoko- I've missed you."

Every whiff of cigarette smoke had reminded him of her, and it hurt. But now, she was here, and it didn't have to be a sore memory.

This wasn't a dream.

Her slim fingers brushed across Geto's own, feeling the bone and muscle down to his knuckles and along that palm. Where had she gone in her brief sleep?

Alas it took Shoko a moment to realize the other was speaking to her after the confirmation of Gojo's whereabouts, and those eyes travel back up to meet his, that usual lax expression returning with her surprise having faded. It was a bit frightening to see how quickly she had come to accept the situation, if only because she could linger in the comfort of a familiar face.

"Missed me...should have thought about that all those years ago, huh."

Maybe she was a still bitter.

"Do you...still carry all those ideals that made you leave us behind?"

@dwellingmedic | cont.

He stops just short of his friend. Her expression said a thousand words; her voice, struggling with his name, said even more. There was nothing like seeing a ghost.

One that looked exactly like he did the last time they had ever spoken to each other. Hair freshly cut.

Voice soft, hand held out between them.

"Yeah, it's me. I know... I'm supposed to be dead, but here I'm not anymore. I'm real."

Real, in the flesh.

The vague shape in front of her offers a hand to touch and ground Shoko's mind, and in a small weary noise, she takes it.

Those tired eyes trail up his arm as the contact is made, squinting for a moment as she makes out features that had muddled in the shock that she was experiencing. Slowly, everything was becoming clear again, and Shoko remembered to breathe.

She wasn't even aware she stopped.

"You...does Satoru—is he here too-?!"