𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 // 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐮 𝐆𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

22

CHAPTER 22 — GUILT

No. It.. It was my fault, Satoru. I'm sorry.

❝MY POOR Y/N! IT'S NOT YOUR FAUUULLLTTTT!❞

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You helped Ijichi carry Yuji's dead body towards the mortuary, where you called Shoko to inspect it. As Ijichi was speaking rather quickly to himself out of stress, you were lost in a trance, thinking about how Gojo would respond or react to Yuji's dead body. The mission was a success— but at what cost? It doesn't quite feel like a succeeded mission if one of your students, who you failed to protect, didn't make it out alive. You knew it was a bad idea to let them tag along.

You stared at Yuji's dead body with a straight face, thought deep down you felt extreme guilt for being incapable or protecting him. You let out a short sigh as you covered his body with a blanket.

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You heard the door slide open abruptly, revealing Gojo who then walked inside the room. His stare immediately landed on you and your guilty expression, and he tensed up before looking at the body who was on the cold metal surface.

"G- Gojo-san!" Ijichi yelped and bowed frantically.

"Satoru.." you mumbled, looking at him for a few seconds before averting your gaze to not make eye contact.

"..What happened, Y/N, Ijichi?" He asked, removing his gaze off the body and walking towards you.

"If you encounter it, you either run or you die," Ijichi quoted himself, "I warned them that fighting was absolutely not an option..!"

"It was intentional," Gojo said after a few seconds.

"Huh?" Ijichi looked up, shocked, "Wh- What do you mean?"

"The enemy was a Special Grade," Gojo went to scratch the back of his head, "Sending first-years to rescue five who weren't even confirmed alive should be out of the question. Besides, I was the one who forced the issue and got Yuji's execution suspended. Some higher-ups didn't like that and used the Special Grade to tactfully dispose of him in my absence."

"No," you interrupted him hesitantly, "It.. It was my fault, Satoru. I'm sorry."

"How would it be your fault?" Gojo questioned.

"I couldn't do anything when Yuji couldn't swap back with Sukuna, and Sukuna ripped his heart out to intentionally kill Yuji when he would swap back. I should have come for their rescue earlier.. maybe then all this could be avoided. I was too focused on getting Nobara out of the small domain she was in.."

"It wasn't your fault," Gojo said matter-of-factly, "If you were fighting for Nobara, and didn't have the time to get to Yuji, then it couldn't be helped. It was bound to happen in every case."

"But even so," you mumbled, "I told them that they could go because they sent me as well, but they insisted on going so I let them tag along... I shouldn't have done so."

"Yeah?" Gojo hummed, "Well, the higher-ups would always find a new way to dispatch the first years on even harder missions. Thank God the other two didn't get killed, otherwise it would just make it harder for us, like killing three birds with one stone."