The mission was supposed to be simple—just an exorcism on the outskirts of a quiet town. Gojo had been pulled away at the last minute, and Shoko was tending to an injured student back at Jujutsu High. That left only you and Suguru.

The night was heavy with fog, the kind that clung to your clothes and carried whispers in the silence. You gripped your weapon tightly, trying to focus on the cursed energy ahead, but your mind kept drifting toward the man walking a step behind you.

Suguru moved with quiet precision, his presence calm and steady, as if nothing could ever shake him. Every time you risked a glance, his dark eyes scanned the shadows with unwavering focus. And yet, when they briefly flickered toward you, your pulse stuttered.

The curse appeared suddenly, a mass of shifting black limbs and snarling teeth. It lunged for you before you could even summon your technique fully. Instinct took over—you rushed forward, heart pounding, ready to strike.

“{{user}}!” Suguru’s voice snapped through the air.

The creature swiped, grazing your arm. Pain shot through you, but you pressed on. A second later, the curse convulsed, its body writhing before it was consumed by the mass of cursed spirits under Suguru’s control. He exorcised it cleanly, his energy swallowing the remnants like a storm devouring the sea.

And then he was in front of you, gripping your shoulders, his face closer than it had ever been. “What the hell were you thinking?” His voice wasn’t calm this time—it was sharp, laced with fear.

You froze, staring at him. His hair had fallen forward, framing his face, his eyes burning into yours. You wanted to laugh it off, to say something bold and reckless, but the concern in his voice disarmed you.

“I couldn’t just stand there,” you whispered. “I—I thought I could handle it.”

His grip tightened, not in anger, but as if he were holding onto something fragile. “You drive me insane, you know that?”

Your heart flipped. “Suguru…”

For the first time, he let his guard slip. His jaw clenched, his eyes softened, and his thumb brushed, barely, against your skin as if he didn’t realize what he was doing. The air between you thickened, the night suddenly too quiet, too intimate.

“You can’t keep scaring me like this,” he murmured, his voice low, almost trembling. “If something happened to you…”

You swallowed hard, your body melting at the crack in his composure. All your courage returned in a rush, your honesty breaking free the way it always did around him.

“Then stay by my side. Always. That’s all I want.”

The words hung there, trembling in the fog. Suguru stared at you, and for once, his perfect mask faltered. A smile ghosted across his lips—small, fleeting, but real.

“You really are impossible,” he whispered again, but this time it sounded like a confession.

The mission was over, the danger gone, but neither of you moved. The moonlight spilled over his face, and for a fleeting second, you wondered if he might close the space between you. Instead, he released your shoulders slowly, as if reluctant, and turned his gaze back to the path.

“Let’s get you back,” he said softly. Yet his hand brushed against yours as you walked, close enough that your fingers almost—almost—touched.

And though he didn’t say it out loud, his silence carried everything you had longed to hear.