Chapter Text
The late afternoon was setting in for the day around 5 o’clock. Satoru had considered skipping school today too, but Shoko had somehow convinced him that today would be interesting. In truth, that’s what she said every day. Satoru simply indulged because he enjoyed their banter. He was willing to waste time if it meant he could crack a few jokes here and there. He was already placed in all advanced classes, yet he still found himself bored due to knowing everything there was to know about each subject already. Then again, he wasn’t sure if he actually did understand it or if it was just his keen memory.
“Did you hear about the transfer student coming in tomorrow?” Shoko asked nonchalantly as they grabbed their belongings. They were the only ones left in class at this point.
“Nope,” Satoru answered. “You know I don’t keep up with that stuff. I didn’t think you did either.” He slung his bag over his shoulder, double checking to make sure he didn’t leave anything behind. Shoko was already halfway to the door by the time he finished scanning his surroundings. The golden sunlight felt warm on his skin.
“Apparently, he was a heartthrob at his old school. I just wanted to warn you in case he steals all your attention,” Shoko teased.
That piqued Satoru’s attention enough. A grin formed on his lips. “As if!”
“I’m serious,” Shoko says, but her tone betrays only amusement. “If you start sulking about it, don’t complain to me.”
Satoru laughed. “If he’s even close to as charming as I am, then I might have some fun around here. I’m sure we’d get along, and if we don’t, then it’ll be a worthwhile contest.”
Shoko shrugged. “If you say so.”
They both parted ways as soon as they left school grounds. Satoru was strangely excited to meet this so-called heartthrob. It might spice up his senior year.
Satoru already had all of his extracurricular credits, but he enjoyed playing basketball enough to put it on his schedule this year. He didn’t intend on playing as seriously as any of the other athletes, but it’s not as if they cared why he was still on the team. Many of them thought that Satoru was cocky and arrogant. Of course they weren’t entirely wrong, but Satoru’s natural talent in the sport was enough to keep their mouths shut.
He passed the ball to another one of his teammates during practice, easily maneuvering past his opponents and tricking them enough to make an opening for the ball to return to him before he dunked it into the hoop. Of course, the other assorted team groaned, but so did his own teammates. Satoru wasn’t surprised in the least bit though. He was used to their scoffs and dismissive attitudes. It just proved to him that he was better, and that’s all that mattered.
As much as he enjoyed playing the sport, he couldn’t help getting tired of his teammates. They always seemed to lack coordination with him. Or maybe it was just that Satoru lacked coordination with them. But ultimately, Satoru proved himself to be a better strategist on his own than with a group. Hell, he could probably play a game on his own against another school’s team. That’s just how good he was. As infuriating as it was for his teammates, it was the truth. He left them all in the dust to reach the top.
He scored another point easily, earning another chorus of complaints that were getting drowned out by his boredom. He didn’t care anymore. He just wanted something to excite him.
As if a deity above was listening to Satoru’s wishes, the sound of the gym doors opening and closing caught everyone’s attention. At first, Satoru only bothered to give a quick glance, but after noticing that the person at the door was an unfamiliar face, he paused.
It was a student Satoru assumed was a senior or junior. He had sharp features that would have scared off everyone if it wasn’t for the friendly smile. While Satoru considered himself the most attractive guy at school, he could not deny that the angular jaw, narrowed eyes, and toned body of this newcomer belonged on a model of some kind. The t-shirt he wore hugged his body in all the right places, accentuating his muscles for all of them to see. His jet black hair that Satoru would kill to run his fingers through was tied in a bun, leaving some loose strands in front of his face while also showing off his piercings.
Satoru was more than intrigued to say the very least.
“Sorry for being late, Coach! The office had to fix my schedule!”
When the stranger spoke up, Satoru was caught off guard by how soft his voice turned out to be. Of course, he was projecting his voice throughout the gym as well, so Satoru wondered if this new kid’s voice sounded gentler when he was speaking one on one with someone.
The coach waved a hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it, Suguru. They’re just practicing.”
Suguru, huh. Satoru would have to file that name away in his mind. He smirked and passed the ball to Suguru who had caught it with incredible reflexes. Satoru whistled, finding it impressive.
“Why don’t you play a quick game with us?” Satoru asked, wanting to see what could come out of it. He had intended to tease the guy by intimidating him, but Suguru seemed unbothered.
Suguru’s friendly smile remained bright as he replied, “Sure, why not?”
They shuffled their teams, settling on two with Satoru and Suguru on opposing sides. Satoru thought he’d be nice and let Suguru’s team be the offense this time. However, much to his surprise, Suguru’s light hearted demeanor turned into a cool, almost deadly expression. Before Satoru could even process it, Suguru started moving with an intensity that caught him off guard, and before he knew it, Suguru had somehow already made it past him.
Satoru wasn’t the type to let a victory be that simple though, so he intercepted the ball before it could reach the hoop. Something about it was electrifying. The fact that Suguru nearly scored against Satoru was enough to fire him up. A wide grin that must have surely looked insane to everyone else appeared on Satoru’s face. He, once again, showed off his own incredible speed and dexterity, but this time, it wasn’t to reinforce that he was the best. No, this time it was because he’d finally met someone interesting enough to remember.
Suguru was quick to block Satoru from making any passes or throws. Each trick Satoru tried seemed to only perplex Suguru briefly before he caught on. Suguru managed to recover the ball mid-dribble and didn’t waste a single second going back to the other side of the court. Normally, Satoru wouldn’t dare hesitate to strike back, but he was so thoroughly impressed by how focused Suguru was, he couldn’t help but stop to admire him. At this point in the match, it was only Satoru and Suguru as everyone else had stepped back to watch. Satoru often thought that the rest of the team would hesitate far too often during games. Once they had the ball, they would let their guard down, allowing the other team to steal it back. But not Suguru. No, Suguru was different. He didn’t stop to assess what would be the next best move. He simply went where his body pulled him with a strangely elegant form. Despite being the same height as Satoru, he was as fast as a rabbit on its feet. Of course, Satoru could be equally as fast, but he couldn’t believe that someone other than him could achieve such a feat.
When Suguru’s toss made it into the hoop, the only sound resonating through the gym was the ball hitting the ground. The sound echoed, but the players remained silent for a brief few seconds.
Then, Suguru’s team erupted into excited yelling. Finally, someone had made it past Gojo Satoru, and Satoru couldn’t even be mad at that. No, instead, he felt his heart pound against his chest. Maybe it was due to the excessive movement, but he had never felt this way before.
Everyone on Suguru’s team patted him on the back, exclaiming about how they couldn’t wait for him to be officially on the team. Suguru laughed, somewhat out of breath. He was good natured about it too.
“It’s just a fluke guys, come on,” Suguru chuckled. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
Oh he was way more humble than Satoru ever was. He grinned as he made his way over to Suguru, slinging an arm over his shoulder.
“Come on now, don’t be so modest!” Satoru said. “You beat me which not a lot of people can say!”
Satoru noticed the way Suguru tensed up for a fraction of a second at his touch, but Suguru’s expression was just as it was before. He seemed to relax quickly as if the stiffness was less of a conscious decision and more of a past habit that hadn’t completely gone away.
“Is that so?” Suguru humored Satoru. “I was a little nervous, you know.”
Satoru ignored the other teammate who chimed in with “Satoru, don’t you think you could’ve taken it easy on him for a first game?”
Satoru only focused on Suguru and his dark eyes. “I look forward to more matches with you.”
Part of Satoru was teasing, but some part of him also felt genuine.
“Likewise…?” Suguru trailed off.
“Satoru. Gojo Satoru.”
Suguru nodded. “Geto Suguru. I look forward to more matches as well.”
“Speaking of matches, we have time for a rematch if you’re up for it.” Satoru suggested, a sly smile gracing his features.
“I guess I might as well.”
Their rematch lasted much longer than the initial game, but Satoru didn’t mind. If anything, he liked the challenge. Something he noticed though was the way Suguru tried to coordinate with his team more this time around. Satoru was somewhat disappointed to see Suguru holding himself back, and when Satoru taunted him in the middle of it all, Suguru only laughed and responded,
“Basketball is a team sport, isn’t it?”
But something about that response felt insincere, and Satoru found himself disappointed when he scored a point because Suguru wasn’t putting his all into it. Satoru was annoyed that Suguru was clearly hindering himself, and he could tell that the latter felt burdened by this too.
Satoru frowned. Suguru was like him, but if he had refused to be freed from this arbitrary cage. He wondered if Suguru was taught to do it or if he inflicted that upon himself as some sort of punishment for being better.
Then again, this was just a game of basketball. Satoru smirked in Suguru’s direction. “Come on, I know you can do better than that. What’s holding you back? You’re not gonna let yourself be dragged down by everyone else, are you?”
Suguru froze in place, sending an icy glare to the white haired man. Satoru realized that maybe his playful jest might’ve hit a nerve because the next thing he knew, Suguru was up in his face, his lips only a couple inches away from Satoru’s.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
With that, he walked past Satoru on his way to the locker room.
“Way to go, Gojo. Way to make him feel welcomed,” some other student muttered. Satoru paid it no mind.
No, rather he was wondering why Suguru went into the locker room when there was easily 20 minutes left before class ended.