After The Divorce || Nanami Kento || JJK

Pressure

CHAPTER 20

He looked a mess. Strands of blonde hair hanging haphazardly over his eyes. Dark circles under his eyes as he looked at you. Really looked at you and you looked at him.

You longed for how it once was. The days where you'd look out the door waiting for his familiar figure to open the door. You missed when he'd lay on your lap and complain about the hours of needless overtime he's had to work. You missed tying his leapard print ties before pressing a kiss on his cheek every morning. You missed laying beside him on colder nights and talking about your future. A future you'd never come to see.

The air was still, like a pause button had been pressed. Laden with words unspoken, yet, i wanted to hear those words, but at the same time you were too scared to break the fragile barrier you could feel between you.

His tye was leaning to the side, a sign he had been tugging at it, you were too used to seeing it every time he was anxious or stressed, one side of his shirt hanging outwards as he stood frozen by the door.

You couldnt tell when the last time you'd had the chance to really look at him like this was... that night.

That night...

You looked away from him, shattering the fragile moment, turning your face to the wall opposite him, teraing the sight of him from your eyes. Beneath the covers you silently rubbed at your ring finger, which was once covered in a beautiful diamond ring, but now stood empty.

You could feel him, as he walked into the room, then he paused.

You turned your head back to him.

He stood, with his hair obscurring his eyes, staring blankly at the floor before him. He didn't say a word, and yet his posture seemes to say everything.

It was funny, how fast and far you both had sunk. From hours of talking to this strange... nothing. Not knowing what to say.

"Do you regret it?"

Do you regret leaving me?
Do you regret destroying us?
Do you regret giving up on... everything we had?

"I.." For the first time in a long time you heard his voice.

Your heart swelled. You loved this man so much that even his voice alone sent your hearts into loops of joy, but this time, this joy of seeing him was also marred by a sharp feeling of pain.

"I can't" He finished. His voice hoarse, rough. Almost obscurring the words he wanted to say.

Those words were not the ones you wanted to hear.

"Do... Do you not trust me? Is that it? Why-" Your voice becomes choked up in your throat, a burning sensation coming from your heart and a sinking feeling came from your stomach. You recognized this feeling. It was the same feeling you had felt before you passed out and woke up here. But this time.. You realised you had felt it before-

Your breathing turned frantic, it was like instinctively you knew you didnt have much time to speak. "Did I know Gran before his... When did did Gran get his limp?"

He startled, physically you could see the strength sap from the man. He opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. The bubbling in your stomach got worse, as you stared at him. He knew.

Gojo burst into the room, wordlessly grabbing Nanami by the arm and pulling him out of the room. You sat there, in stunned silence, and swallowed all the words that you had wanted to say, a nameless feeling of frustration bubbling in your chest as the tides of pain in your stomach receded gradually with his absence. 

You were glad you hadn't passed out this time as well, but your mind was full with the realization of something else.

There was something wrong with your memories.

NANAMI POV

"Nanami."

I startled from my train of thought. Pulling me to the reality of the chilly hospital air, and the even chillier reality of my situation. I sunk into my chair a bit further. Staring a hole into the floor before me.

"I understand i shouldn't have come-"

Gojo interrrupts me, handing me a cup. I could see the steam flowing out of the top, yet, my fingers couldnt seem to register anything other than the cruel cold. "I understand."

The air falls silent. People passed by, some with smiles on their faces, some with tears. Doctors hurried left and right, ducking into rooms with their clipboard in hand. Everything was moving, having a purpose of some sort. Like the cogs in a well oiled machine, and yet here i sat. Stuck.

"I just needed to see... I needed to see her." I whispered. I wasnt too sure he could even hear me. Shoko had called me to fill me in on everything after i had told her about seeing Y/N. It was just a few hours ago, and now it felt like lifetimes ago. They were both fine... and now.

"We just need to figure out a way to cure the Love Curse. Y/N and Shoko will be fine. I'll get in contact with Gran." Gojo comforts me, smiling palely. "Everything will be fine."

It wouldn't. Both of us knew it. We'd been here before. We knew too well how this would end.

"The seal... It's loosening." My voice sounded weak, unlike my own. I felt hollow. The words i had not said lingering in the air. She's remembering.

Gojo doesn't say a word, but i could see his grip on the handle of the chair strengthen. The metal of the chair blent like paper, but he didnt seem to notice. He stood up.

"I'll fix this." He announced before moving to leave.

My hand shout out before i could stop it, grabbing his wrist. "This isn't your battle to fight, Gojo. The... Suguru wasn't your fault-"

"That's not him." Gojo interjects suddenly, yanking his hand free. Offering no explanation as he disappears into the people walking to and fro, offering no explanation for his words.

His lonely back seemingly shouldering unknown weight.

A/N

HEY!!! (*immediately gets stoned to death*)

My deepest apologies for the long break with no word. I was busy with final exams and graduation! Yup! I'm finally out of high school!

Thank you to everyone who stuck around during this long break! It means so so so much to me.

During this break I took a lot of time to think about the direction of this story and where I want to go with it, while also not going back and changing whole details from the past, which would be unfair to past readers who've come so far. I see myself diverting a lot from established canon (the jjk manga/anime). Please! Do! Not! Stone! Me! For changing certain happenings within the series, okay? So please bear with me if a few things divert from what happens in the series! I have a plan for it okay. Some backstories will be different from the source material and some motives will be different. If I kept everything the same how do I build a story out of it yk?

Thanks again! See you next chapter!