Chapter Text
-Satoru Gojo POV-
Where had it all gone wrong?
Could all of this have been avoided?
He heard a loud laugh, taunting him, lightning striking outside, shining brightly when thunder cracked loudly as Satoru Gojo’s vision slowly began to blur, becoming hazy and unfocused. Someone grabbed the collar of Satoru’s white shirt, hard, clicking their tongue against the roof of their mouth mockingly as they pulled Satoru upwards from where he had been slumped against the walls of the Gojo estate to look them in the eyes.
Ryomen Sukuna. The name that he had thought would be the one of his lover, his one and only, and now, it was the name of his murderer.
Sukuna’s laugh was dark and bitter as he pulled Satoru close to his face, bending down and pressing their lips together hard. This wasn’t a real kiss, Satoru thought as he felt Ryomen Sukuna’s tongue slip into his mouth. It was more like a perversion of something that was supposed to be between two people who wanted one another. All those kisses from Ryomen had been almost as disgusting as this one now that Satoru thought properly about it, but this one was probably the worst. It was almost painful and taunting and was more about showing who was in control rather than any form of want or desire or lust or, hell, love.
It was Ryomen Sukuna showing off now. Showing how Satoru had been such an idiot and rubbing it in his face. Sukuna smirked, pulling away with a harsh laugh,
“Did you really think that I would ever love someone like you? How pathetic. You were just my little whore, willing to do my dirty work, willing to whatever just for a little bit of affection. God, it repulsed me so much every single time I had to kiss you or touch you, Satoru Gojo. I had to make myself imagine someone else. At least you were a useful whore, I suppose. Thanks to you, I now have control of the kingdom, my birthright. If it hadn’t been for you, I would never have gotten that bastard, Suguru Geto, out of the way. Now all that’s left is for the poison to finish taking full effect, and I’ll finally have everything I ever wanted. My lover, my kingdom, and no fool pining over me. God, you’re so fucking stupid. See you in hell, Satoru Gojo, but seeing how we are now, I have the strangest feeling I won’t be, thankfully.”
Sukuna stood up, letting go of Satoru’s collar and letting the white haired man crumple to the ground, the light slowly fading from his vision as Ryomen Sukuna rearranged his own suit jacket, still laughing. He was saying something to that damn lover of his, Uraume, but Satoru couldn’t make out exactly what it was and
Satoru instead felt his heart slowly grow still. The two lovers left the room, leaving Satoru to meet his end alone.
Breathe in and-
The last breath that he took never came back out.
He wondered if it was more so from the shock of the betrayal that he should have seen coming or rather just the poison. Maybe it was the fact that his heart was so broken that it no longer desired to live. While his mind might fight against it, raging, wishing he could fight back, his heart had given up, giving out.
It was all over.
He had been played for a fool and now he would have died like a fool. The Gojo family died out with someone who had been played for love. His parents had been right not to trust him with the family fortune and instead give it to his distant cousin, Yuta. Satoru Gojo could not be trusted to do anything right. He had been conned by the person that he thought that he would love forever.
He’d been caught, hook, line, and sinker. Pathetic.
If he could do it all again…he would have never made the same mistakes. He would never have fallen for someone like Ryomen Sukuna. Satoru would have ended their engagement long before the events that had occurred happened. He would do anything to have a second chance to make things right. He would never have fallen for any man. Satoru Gojo would never have given up his heart if he could change all these things.
Why did he have to suffer? What had he done wrong? Why was he being punished for having loved? He had been a fool in love and he would never let such a ridiculous notion entrap his heart again. If only he could do it all again…
“Satoru.”
Satoru’s eyes shot open wide. Where was he? The room was completely black and empty. He looked around for the source of the voice but saw nothingness instead.
Was this the afterlife?
“Satoru Gojo. You say that you’ll do anything to relive your life. To make a different choice and get revenge on all those who wronged you? So be it. I’ll offer you the chance to start again and get all the things that you desire. However, if you fall in love with anyone and act upon these feelings, you will forfeit your life. Do you accept these terms?”
Satoru’s bright blue eyes widened as he continued to look around. This wasn’t possible, was it? A second chance just for the price of never falling in love with anyone again? That would be child’s play. Satoru Gojo’s heart was like ice now. He couldn’t love again.
Instead, he would fix everything this time around. He would make everything right and get his revenge against Ryomen Sukuna. This time, it was his turn to be in charge,
“I accept.”
The voice seemed to laugh softly, almost as if they knew something that Satoru didn’t which irked him slightly,
“So be it then. Make the right choices and you shall be rewarded. A wrong choice will be faced with great punishment and penance. It is your turn to be in charge, Satoru Gojo, and to make the decisions. Good luck.”
The nothingness slowly seemed to rapidly disappear as he started trying to respond, but instead Satoru found himself sitting in his childhood room. The sun was streaming through the blinds, birds singing loudly outside, the sun illuminating his room and almost making it too bright.
Satoru turned away and saw all his old books. He used to hate studying, but now, seeing them was almost like a relief.
He’d really gone back in time to his childhood room. Satoru raced to a mirror to look at himself in the reflection, studying his appearance. Bright blue eyes were reflected back at him. His hair was still the same white color. He looked almost the exact same as he had looked mere moments earlier except for the fact that the bags under his eyes were gone.
How long had those dark circles plagued him for? Years, probably since he’d fallen for Ryomen Sukuna.
Forget about Sukuna. Thinking about Ryomen Sukuna would be an absolutely terrible idea right now.
Satoru gauged his age to be about eighteen, meaning that he had gone back in time roughly ten years. He tried to remember what had happened in his eighteenth year.
This was the year that he had gotten engaged to Ryomen Sukuna.
That was his first task.
Satoru Gojo had to break off his engagement to Ryomen Sukuna.
That wouldn’t be too difficult. Ryomen Sukuna had always lusted after one of the other nobles, one of the name Uraume. Satoru had had his undercover spies dig up as much information as they could about Uraume, during Satoru’s continuous fits of jealousy, but all of them continued to go missing, meaning that Uraume wasn’t very stupid. Quite the opposite in fact.
Uraume was a known genius.
Satoru fished a notebook out of his vanity’s drawer and a pen and began writing down the little that he did know about Uraume.
Uraume was of short stature, with a short bob and gray-red hair. They had always seemed to be very faithful to Ryomen Sukuna, and the one time that Satoru had managed to corner them, all they had talked about was how amazing and lovely Ryomen Sukuna was, leaving Satoru furious, jealous, and disappointed.
Even now, the thought of this embarrassment and humiliation of his still stung.
How annoying.
Satoru hummed softly. It would also be good of him to write down the major events that had happened during his past life so that he could keep track of them. At least some of them would be useful to remember as they would probably happen again.
Around this time there had been a royal ball held. Satoru attended it in his past life, hoping to catch a few glimpses of his newly announced fiance. At that ball, that was when Satoru Gojo had fallen for Ryomen Sukuna.
Why had that ball even been hosted in the first place?
Satoru thought and thought, tapping the pen against his lips nervously. The war had recently ended, so most likely it was to celebrate Prince Suguru Geto coming home.
If Uraume had been a puzzle to Satoru Gojo, then Suguru Geto was an enigma. The prince was hardly ever seen; in Satoru’s first life, he hadn’t even bothered to attend the royal ball that had been held in his favor. From the few portraits that Satoru had seen of Suguru Geto, the prince was tall and handsome, with long dark hair, and golden eyes that seemed to almost pierce through one's soul. Many said that he rivaled the Duke, Ryomen Sukuna’s own looks, and although, back then Satoru had staunchly denied it, he’d still found the royal prince to be obscenely attractive.
However, there was one fatal flaw to the beautiful prince who otherwise would have been swarmed by people constantly. While many people enjoyed the thought of being with someone so mysterious and elusive, Suguru Geto was just too secretive. Nobody knew anything about him. He lived far away from the royal family and hardly ever went to the capital. In his few public appearances, he only wore black lace gloves and refused to let anyone touch him. People gave him a wide berth wherever he walked. If someone even looked his way, making the mistake of doing such a thing, Suguru Geto would instantly look like someone had committed a crime. (Such things were always reported in the tabloids, something Satoru had always enjoyed reading in his past life because of the positive depictions and occasional portrait of Ryomen Sukuna.) He was known to be a very skilled fighter, which would have caused almost anyone to become immensely beloved by the kingdom’s people, but because of his cold nature, he was instead known as the demon prince. To Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto almost seemed like a demon. The way that the prince was so handsome but so cold and disgusted by everyone gave him such a menacing aura.
Satoru hummed softly as he continued to write down all he could remember about the key players and events. There was so much that had happened in those ten years, and so much that he would have to avoid during this time.
Satoru smiled as he started listing off his new plan. He would start off by breaking off his engagement with Ryomen Sukuna at the ball tonight, finally getting rid of him. Then, he would convince his parents to send him away to one of their estates and hope that they would forget about him. Hopefully, if everything went according to plan, Satoru Gojo would be able to live the sweet life for the rest of his days. He’d be frolicking in an idyllic summer paradise all year long if he succeeded.
Failure was no longer an option for him.
He would succeed in this life and never rely on someone else ever again.
He, Satoru Gojo, would never fall in love again.