Right Where You Left Me
A canon event-based, Geto Suguru x reader.
Summary: In the summer of 2007, it's revealed that Suguru Geto, special-grade sorcerer, has committed a mass murder and has turned to evil, hence sentenced to death. At first refusing to believe this, you set out on a mission to bring the love of your life home.
Word count: 2.3k words
Song inspiration: Right Where You Left Me by Taylor Swift
You stared, and so did Satoru beside you, as you heard Principal Yaga announce Suguru Geto’s death sentence.
You saw his lips form the words, you heard the words, but they didn’t make any sense to you.
Suguru, killing an entire village, and leaving his residuals behind? Did he want to get caught?
You didn’t believe that.
This is all messed up. It’s like saying the Sun crashed into the Earth.
Suguru Geto, the first true friend you ever made. The one who was always there to help you at your lowest. Who remembered the smallest things about you, and on every mission would know how to cheer you up.
Your friend who was there in your smiles and sadness. Your one friend who always had your back and saved your life more than you can ever count.
And the friend you fell in love with.
It’s impossible to think he’d ever go that far. And even if he did, it’s your job to bring him back.
As Satoru fought against his mentor in defence of his fallen friend, you knew only one thing: you needed to bring him back. And fight for him.
*******
“Suguru?”
Somewhere in Tokyo, in a dark street, the addressed sorcerer paused in his tracks upon hearing his name in that familiar voice. The voice he could never ignore.
He turned around slowly, his sunken eyes greeting your red ones, a ghost of a smile haunting his tired face. “Hello, y/n.”
“Suguru, wait. I need to talk to you.” You skid to a halt, five steps away from him.
“I am here. Go on.”
“Where have you been this entire time? I’ve been so terrified for you.”
“You’ll be even more terrified if you knew what I’ve done.” He raised an eyebrow. “Though, I don’t buy it. You must have heard me and Satoru five minutes ago.”
“You don’t mean it though, right?” You wait for an answer, breathless. “Is this true? Tell me this is all just one big lie.”
He didn’t reply. Only the corners of his eyes crinkled into a sad smile.
“You can’t…you couldn’t have done this. No, no, no, no. This is all messed up.” You shake your head frantically.
“Y/N, it’s true. Every single word. And…I am no longer a sorcerer.”
“But everyone claims you’re bad. Satoru told me you were sentenced to death. I know you had a reason for killing them all.”
“You just said that I’m ‘bad’. Won’t you be punished for that?”
“I don’t give a damn. I know you’re good in there. Come back. We can help repeal the sentence.”
He laughed hollowly. “You know as well as I do that even if they wanted to, they can’t kill me. The only one who can is Satoru, and he’s bound to kill me on first sight by law. I don’t want to make this harder for him than it already is.”
“I know. I know you’re not running away because of the sentence. But please, come home. Don’t go yet.”
“Y/n, there is nothing left for me here.”
“Not even me? Or Satoru?” You spread your hands with frustrated desperation. “You can’t just leave us like that!”
“Y/N, I cannot come back. I cannot come to what you call ‘home’. I am now an outcast, and no matter how much I try, I will be a threat to society. But I do not regret what I have done. If given the chance, I will do it again.”
You watch stunned, as he closes the gap between you, his eyes begging you to understand.
“Suguru, this is not you. You have an entire future back here. We were supposed to be together. You can’t just- throw it all away!”
“Oh, in fact, this is the freest version of myself I have ever been,” his face held a manic glow as he spread his arms. “And I’d rather die than struggle for a future where I am supposed to work for people who fail to appreciate us putting our lives on the line for those worthless, ungrateful monkeys!”
You stilled, recognizing the name he just used. “Does this have something to do…with Riko Amanai?”
“Yeah. She’s one of the reasons, actually. We’re taught to be slaughter pigs for people who condemn us to death when we try to use our gifts to save their sorry hides. Don’t you see? The actual reason we are in this mess is the non-sorcerers.”
“Do you realize what you’re even saying?” Your eyes split wide in horror, trying to maintain your composure as you see the love of your life fall apart right in front of you.
“That’s what I get to hear when I try to bring change to a society that needs it. I’ve never been more certain of anything I’ve ever said. Those curses emerge from their negativity, and we have to clean it up. For what? NOTHING! I have had enough of friends dying, and I will not take this shit anymore. The only way we can actually be feared and respected, like we should be, is by killing all the non-sorcerers.”
“WHAT? Suguru, no!”
“Satoru has to be the strongest for us to prevail. He has to clear up all missions and troubles others can’t handle, and it’s all their fault. Just because everyone is too much of a coward to do anything, I’ll take the first step, and show to you all that I was right!”
His purple eyes seemed to catch fire in the low light.
“I will make a world, where we don’t have to be the strongest. Where he won’t have to be the strongest anymore. And where we can be proud of being a sorcerer.”
“Suguru…you’re doing all this for Satoru, right? But what good will this all be when he’s separated from his best friend?” you try to reason. “He needs you. If you leave him, a new world will matter nothing to him. At least, for his sake, stay. You don’t even know if you’ll live long enough to see that new sunrise. You will become his enemy. He will be forced to kill you. Spare him this pain, please. To him, to me, nothing matters more than you. Please, stay.”
“You know I cannot say yes to what you’re saying, y/n.” He said, sadness in his eyes. “If you really care that much about me, let me go make a world where I can be truly happy. I can’t wear a heartfelt smile in this life anymore. And as for Satoru opposing me, he won’t if you stand with me. Tell me. Would you run with me if I told you to? Or would you stay back where you belong?”
You just stood there, bound by allegiance, tears in your eyes.
“If you two would be with me, I could fight against anyone. But I think I chose this path alone, and I will cross it alone.” He turned his back on you. “It was nice seeing you one last time, y/n. Know I never hated you. Goodbye.”
You snapped back to reality as you see his retreating form and manage to scream. “Suguru, please, don’t do this. I can’t let you go.”
“Who told you to hold on to me?”
His voice held a bite as you took a step back.
“You can’t follow me, nor can I follow you. Your ideals and mine clash. You’re bound to kill me by law. You won’t do that either. You won’t let me go either. What do you want me to do? Stay for a worthless cause?”
“Were we so worthless too?” You yell. “You didn’t even tell us what was going on. I came to you every single goddamned day to ask what is going on inside you. Did you ever trust me?”
“Well, telling you now didn’t change the outcome did it?”
“What’s wrong with you? You’re ready to go fight for us, but you’re not willing to come back with us. You don’t want to stay with us, when you’re all we have. You will even take a death sentence to go make this world you wanted?”
“Not everything revolves around you, y/n. Some things need to be felt, to be understood. Was it really so hard to see I was spiralling? I don’t need anyone anymore. If you’re coming with me, fine. And if you don’t, then this discussion’s over.”
As he turns to walk ahead, you call out one more time. It can’t end like this.
“Is it really so easy to leave everything behind? All these years of training, learning, going through hell, and you’re gonna throw it away for a society’s ideals?” Seeing he didn’t stop, you run forward and hold his arm, and when he turns his head to meet your gaze, you draw his hand to the space above your heart, nearly about to fall to your knees in desperation. “Suguru, look at me. Don’t do this to me. Please.”
After a moment of hesitation you wrap your arms around him, and with a shuddering breath, close the embrace while you shut your eyes, hoping he’ll come around.
His eyes were emotionless as he looked at you. Five seconds, ten, twenty-
“Y/N.”
You open your eyes, lashes heavy with tears, slowly loosening the hug to look at his face.
“Y/N, don’t…do this. It…doesn’t sit right with me to see you begging.”
“Then please, come home. Trust me, we’ll figure something out. Satoru might be angry, but he misses you. Suguru. Jujutsu High, oh damn it, life isn’t life without you.”
“Y/N, do I not have a right to be happy? Must I crush all my joy to exceed others’ expectations?”
“Why are you not happy with us? Suguru, I did not walk here to return home as a failure. You can tell me.”
You cup his face with your hands. “What are we doing wrong? You think it’s easy for you to just throw it all to hell and pretend none of it – none of us – ever happened. And you expect us to continue living as if you leaving has no impact on us. Have you ever thought what would it be for me if you actually left? Do you really think we care so less for you?”
“If you really cared, you would let me go. Or join me.”
“The two kids you saved, are they really worth so much you’d give everything up? You have a gift. You can save so many more children like them.”
“That gift didn’t help me in saving Riko Amanai, and you can’t even begin to know what my gift feels like. Absorbing negativities off other monkeys, who can’t even fight for themselves.”
“How about you bring them here? We can help you raise them.”
“That’s my entire point. Those girls will only suffer in this society. They’ve already suffered more than their age, and they’re better off far away from it. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Don’t you care for your friends anymore? For me?”
“Y/N, trust me, there are more important things in my life to worry about. You’re definitely not one of them.”
You stare at him, failing to register whatever he said. “What?”
“I don’t know who gave you the impression that I cared too, but I’ve got much more to do instead of focus on fantasies that can never happen, not in this lifetime. And even so, love will not give you a surviving chance in this world.”
As your hand falls from his, he turns around and walks away, the alleyway echoing with the sound of you falling to your knees and crying.
After walking for ten minutes, your sobs ebbing away and away, he finally sighed and let a tear drop.
He meant what he had said. He wasn’t worrying about you because he knew that anywhere was safer for you than with him, and with Gojo around, you would be. He wanted you to be safer and happier. You deserve someone better than he could ever be.
You should never have been given the choice. He dragged you into this, and he knew you cared for him. And to be honest, he cared too. He had the choice of being selfish and selfless.
He loved you even. And he loved you so much, that he was ready to pay the greatest sacrifice love demands. To be selfless. To let go.
He couldn’t bring it in himself to say goodbye to you, and tell you that all those years meant nothing, when they were all he had.
So he made you hate him, broke your heart before leaving, so that hating him, and forgetting him becomes easier for you. If you hate him, you’ll stop caring, you’ll move on to someone better and won’t waste your life waiting for him, staring at the door in dying hopes that one day he’ll return for what could have been, and you’ll forget that someone named Geto Suguru ever lived, and loved you.
He knew, that if given the choice, you would not hesitate to prioritize being with him than your safety. And should anything happen to you, he’ll lose all the will to live.
At least, as long as you’re still breathing, he was going to fight for a better world. And about you being happy, well, wounds do heal with time. You’ll learn to forget him and fix your heart, and when you do, he’ll also learn to live with a broken one.
As much as his heart rebelled against the idea of erasing himself from your life, he had to make this choice.
For you.
He knew he’d never forget you. Even death won’t part your love from his soul.
What he didn’t know, was that he had failed in making you hate him. You won’t ever stop loving him, because, how can you hate someone you’ve dreamt of your entire life?
What he didn’t know, was that you won’t ever forget him either.
Author's note: Hello again, Zoya here! This is my second contribution to the writing event hosted by @dragonscribble. The prompt I had chosen for this one was 'Trust me, there are more important things in my life to worry about. You’re definitely not one of them' with reader x Geto Suguru. Thank you so much for this wonderful event, and a huge thank you for all who read it! It means the entire world to me <3
Collage made by me, and divider credits to @saradika
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