Ieiri Shoko could usually tell just by looking at a person for a while.
A face that was lying.
A face that was enduring.
A face right on the verge of exploding in anger.
A face pretending to be composed when it had already reached its limit.
Unexpectedly, people ruined their expressions before they even ruined their health.
Therefore, the profession of a doctor was ultimately similar to the job of reading faces.
That day was no different.
Before the sun had completely set, two sets of footsteps approached the medical office. One was light and brazen, while the other was quiet yet held a strangely massive presence.
She could tell who was coming even before the door opened.
Shoko rolled up the sleeves of her white coat once and spoke.
"Close the door and come in."
The moment the door opened, Gojo Satoru began grumbling.
"This makes no sense. Why are you examining a perfectly healthy person again?"
"When the words 'perfectly healthy' come out of your mouth, the credibility drops."
Shoko didn't even look at Gojo, keeping her eyes fixed on the person behind him.
Yuji entered the room. His face was the same as usual. Eyes that were appropriately indifferent, looking somewhat bored, with only a trace of where words he wanted to ask had once lingered.
Gojo sat down carelessly in a chair.
"My body is practically perfect now, you know?"
Shoko gave a curt reply.
"That's for me to confirm."
"Don't you trust me?"
"Not at all."
As Gojo burst into laughter, Shoko finally nodded her chin toward Yuji.
"You sit, too."
Yuji sat in the opposite chair without saying much. Seeing that, Gojo smirked.
"Wow, this kid listens better than I do."
Shoko spoke without hesitation.
"Anyone is better than you."
"That's hurtful."
"If you have the stamina to feel hurt, I can add more tests to your check-up."
Gojo let out a mock sigh.
During that brief skirmish, Shoko was already scanning the two of them.
Gojo was fine.
In fact, he was significantly better than fine. After awakening Reverse Cursed Technique, the flow within his body had become far more stable, and the post-recovery tremors were settling faster than before. However, he still had a habit of pulling too much output when pushing himself—something even he might not notice yet.
The problem was Yuji. On the outside, he looked fine. That was the real problem.
Shoko decided to deal with Gojo first. The faster she finished him, the less he'd keep his loud mouth running.
"Hand."
Gojo grinned and reached out.
"Dr. Shoko, you're way too cold."
"I'm only kind to patients."
"Wow. So I don't even get treated like a patient?"
Instead of replying, Shoko placed her fingers on his wrist. Reading the flow of Cursed Energy was a routine task for her. The rhythm of his pulse, the tension in his muscles, and even the way his Reverse Cursed Technique circulated—the map formed in her mind.
Gojo couldn't stay still.
"But you know..."
Without looking up, Shoko said,
"Shut up."
"I haven't even said it yet?"
"You were going to."
Gojo laughed. That laugh was irritably light as always.
"Amanai was looking for Yuji the moment she saw me today."
Shoko's fingertips stopped for a split second. Then they immediately resumed their original rhythm.
"And?"
"No, why is that your only reaction?"
"What did you expect?"
Gojo wore an exaggerated expression.
"Something like, 'Oh my, really?'"
Only then did Shoko raise her eyes to look at Gojo.
"Satoru."
"Yeah."
"If you keep your trap shut, I'll be done twice as fast."
Gojo eventually laughed and held up his hands in a gesture resembling surrender.
Shoko finished the examination and let go of his hand.
"You're fine."
"See?"
"But your control is still shaky. Just because you can use Reverse Cursed Technique now doesn't mean you should push forward like a mindless brute."
Gojo curled his lips into a smirk.
"Who's doing that?"
Instead of replying, Shoko turned toward Yuji.
"Now you."
Yuji just sat there. Shoko watched him quietly for a moment.
"Hand."
Yuji reached out his hand without a word.
Rather than being cold, it was a strangely dry hand. It wasn't a hand filled with tension, nor was it a hand covered in rough scars, but it was an odd hand that didn't seem to suit the concept of 'rest.'
Shoko took his wrist and lowered her gaze slightly. For a brief moment, her brow furrowed infinitesimally.
The Cursed Energy itself was stable. It was too stable.
Normal people show signs of wavering when fatigue builds up. Whether it's the breath, the pulse, or a microscopic tremor. But Yuji was far too organized. It was as if the circuit that processed fatigue and stress had been filtered out entirely.
Shoko asked quietly,
"When did you last sleep?"
Gojo laughed immediately from the side.
"Oh, I've been wondering the same thing."
Yuji replied,
"A little."
Shoko's face clearly showed she didn't like that answer.
"Define 'a little' in hours."
"About two hours."
Gojo immediately interjected.
"Whoa, that's not enough."
This time, Shoko openly scowled.
"Why?"
Yuji was calm.
"I just couldn't sleep."
"Why couldn't you?"
"Just because."
Shoko was silent for a while.
The medical office was quiet. Outside the window, the evening light slanted further, casting thin shadows of the trees onto the glass pane.
Even Gojo didn't dare crack a joke this time.
He knew how to distinguish between when Shoko was truly annoyed and when she was just snapping at him out of habit.
Without letting go of his wrist, Shoko spoke in a low voice.
"I hate the phrase 'just because' the most."
Yuji lowered his gaze slightly.
With just that short reaction, Shoko knew the previous answer wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.
Being unable to sleep was a result. Not the cause.
He was tired. But he wouldn't admit he was tired.
His body was fine. But that 'fine-ness' was what was so abnormal.
Shoko let go of his hand and spoke.
"Lie down."
Gojo laughed immediately.
"Whoa, that sounds a bit naughty—"
Shoko turned her head instantly.
"Get out."
Gojo's face became even more amused.
"Why? I'm just—"
"Satoru."
Her voice was truly cold this time. Gojo raised both hands.
"Alright, alright. I'll go. You're being especially cranky today, Shoko."
He got up from his chair and walked toward the door, turning back once at the threshold. His look as he scanned both Yuji and Shoko was strangely suspicious.
"But if you take too long, I'll get the wrong idea, okay?"
Shoko pretended to reach for a metal ashtray instead of bandages from a drawer.
Gojo immediately shut the door and left. Only after the door closed did the air in the room feel a bit more relaxed.
Shoko looked at Yuji again.
"I mean it, lie down."
Yuji walked to the examination bed without a word and leaned back. He didn't lie down completely, but kept his upper body halfway propped up.
Shoko approached him and asked,
"Is it because of Suguru?"
The question was too direct.
Yuji looked up a beat late.
But he didn't deny it.
Shoko accepted that silence for what it was.
"Everyone knows."
Yuji's eyes wavered very slightly.
"What?"
"That you've been even quieter lately."
Shoko continued calmly.
"Satoru might brush it off thinking that's just how you are, but I won't."
Yuji remained silent.
Instead of sitting on the edge of the bed, Shoko stood and looked down at him. It was a distance where she looked like a doctor, yet also like an old acquaintance.
"Ever since we were at the Tombs of the Star Corridor, you haven't been completely 'fine' once."
"I'm fine."
"Liar."
"..."
"I'm not talking about your body."
Shoko placed her hand gently on Yuji's chest.
Yuji couldn't respond to those words and that gesture.
Shoko didn't wait for the silence to break. If she waited, this man would only hide deeper.
"You look too experienced at this."
"At what?"
"At enduring and holding everything in alone until it kills you."
Shoko's voice was low, and it wasn't unnecessarily sentimental. That made it sound all the more precise.
"Normal people show it when they're shaken. They get angry, they can't sleep, they talk nonsense, or they lean on someone."
Yuji blinked slowly. Shoko kept speaking.
"But you filter all of it out. Even if you're shaken, you pretend not to be; even if you can't sleep, you wear a face that says you're fine, and you never lean on anyone."
A breeze brushed past the window. The edge of the curtain fluttered slightly.
Shoko stopped speaking and let out a breath like a sigh.
"People like that are usually the type who are used to getting back up alone, even after they've completely crumbled once."
Yuji still didn't reply. However, that silence wasn't necessarily a lack of feeling.
Shoko knew. This man became even quieter when she struck a nerve than when he was truly indifferent.
She asked a bit more softly this time,
"You've thought about killing Suguru, haven't you?"
It was a bullseye.
Yuji opened his eyes very slowly. Shoko met his gaze head-on.
"Even though it hasn't happened yet, you're already seeing that possibility."
"..."
"And if it becomes real, you're planning to do it yourself."
Silence.
Shoko knew that even for her, saying those words wasn't easy.
Geto was her friend. He was Satoru's friend, her friend, and someone Riko had already grown used to.
Asking if he intended to kill him was ultimately a way of confirming just how cold-blooded Yuji could be.
After a long time, Yuji finally spoke.
"If it's necessary. That 'necessity' applies to everyone equally. Satoru… is no exception either."
It was the first long answer he'd given.
Shoko bowed her head slightly.
It was the answer she expected. Yet, hearing it for real left a sour taste in her mouth.
She tapped her fingertip against the metal railing of the bed.
"Satoru won't be able to do it."
Yuji didn't answer.
"Neither will I."
Still silence.
"And Riko won't be able to, either."
Shoko spoke without taking her eyes off Yuji.
"You're likely the only one who can."
It wasn't a compliment. It wasn't a duty. It was just a fact that she hated immensely.
Yuji stared at the ceiling for a while.
The ceiling of the medical office looked a bit whiter and a bit colder than those in other classrooms. As he stared blankly, he felt his gaze sliding toward somewhere far away.
"So?"
Shoko asked. Yuji answered slowly.
"I'm thinking about it in advance."
"About what?"
"About how much I can discard."
Shoko couldn't say anything for a long time after hearing that. It was so clinical that it was actually cruel.
This man didn't lack emotions. On the contrary, he knew too much. To avoid hesitating when the moment to discard something eventually arrived, he was pre-emptively cutting it away within himself.
Shoko suddenly felt exhausted.
And at the same time, she felt a strange anger.
"That's a habit of yours, isn't it?"
Yuji shifted his gaze. Shoko spoke without changing her expression.
"Sorting things out in advance. Cutting things away before they hurt. Giving up beforehand so you won't be as shaken later."
"Just… what the hell happened to make you like this? Why are you trying to shoulder it all alone…"
Yuji let out a small breath.
Seeing that reaction, which looked like an admission, made Shoko even more annoyed.
She picked up a thin file from beside the bed and tossed it lightly onto his chest. It didn't hit him hard, but it made a distinct sound.
Yuji looked down at it.
"What are you doing?"
"Correcting a patient."
"I'm not a patient."
"Right now, you are."
Shoko spoke very coldly.
"A man who sleeps only two hours and insists he's fine is a patient in a doctor's eyes."
Yuji was silent. Shoko lowered her voice this time.
"Don't think about shouldering everything alone."
"I don't."
"Those words… were a lie, just like earlier."
Yuji picked up the file and then put it back down.
Then he asked very softly,
"Then what should I do?"
It was just one sentence, but Shoko didn't miss it.
When this man asked, "What should I do?" it meant he was already halfway to his limit.
Shoko thought for a moment before saying something surprisingly simple.
"Talk."
Yuji raised his head.
"To who?"
"To anyone."
Shoko shrugged.
"Talk to Satoru, talk to me, talk to Riko."
At the mention of the last name, Yuji's eyes wavered ever so slightly. Seeing that, Shoko spoke without moving her lips much.
"Why? Is that name the most uncomfortable?"
"It's not that."
"Yes, it is."
Yuji exhaled a breath that wasn't quite a sigh. Shoko didn't let the opportunity pass.
"You sometimes look your weakest in front of Riko."
This time, Yuji really looked at Shoko.
In that gaze, there was a bit of wariness and even a faint trace of bewilderment.
Shoko thought to herself.
Exactly. She gave a smile that was softer than usual.
"I mean it in a good way."
"..."
"You hardly change at all in front of most people. But you're just a tiny bit different in front of Riko."
Yuji couldn't deny it right away. That silence was his answer.
Shoko didn't push further. Instead, she stood up and turned off the medical light switch. As the brightness dimmed, the medical office felt a bit more comfortable.
"Sleep today."
She added something Yuji hadn't even asked.
"Seriously."
"And if I don't?"
"I'll drug you to sleep if I have to."
That was half-joke and half-serious. Shoko walked toward the door and stopped once more. Without looking back, she spoke.
"Yuji."
He gave a short reply.
"Yeah?"
Shoko spoke very plainly.
"If Suguru really starts to break, you'll be the first to notice."
Silence.
"Don't make that decision alone when the time comes."
Shoko's voice was quiet as she rested her hand on the medical room door handle.
"No matter how strong you are, that's not the kind of thing you should take responsibility for all by yourself."
The door closed.
Yuji sat there for a while.
It was silent.
From the hallway, he could faintly hear Gojo's voice annoying someone else in the distance. It was highly likely to be Utahime.
The sound was annoyingly loud, but strangely, it made the place feel less lonely.
Yuji slowly leaned his back against the bed.
The ceiling was white.
The faint scent of medicine unique to medical rooms lingered.
I'll drug you to sleep if I have to.
Don't make that decision alone.
You look weak in front of Riko.
Each and every sentence was bothersome. And yet, that bother didn't feel bad.
Yuji closed his eyes.
He didn't know if sleep would actually come or not.
Even though I have a body that doesn't strictly need sleep anymore.
But at the very least, he wasn't as hyper-aware as he had been just moments ago. He felt as if a single string somewhere inside his body, which had been pulled taut for far too long, had slackened just a tiny bit.
That night, a breeze passed by the window of the medical office.
And for a rare moment, Yuji slept a little without any dreams.
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