Fifth Floor –
A pleasant melody drifted through the corridors of the fifth floor.
The piano's sound was beautiful, yet beneath its elegance lay traces of sadness, loneliness, and lingering regret. The melody echoed through the room and hallway, drawing the attention of many third-year students who had already returned to their classrooms.
One after another, curious students peeked their heads out of their classroom doors.
The music continued for several minutes.
Then, gradually, the melody softened.
The final notes lingered in the air before slowly fading away.
Silence returned to the corridor.
Inside the piano room.
Gojo Satoru lowered his hands from the keyboard after pressing the final key.
The room remained quiet.
Everyone was still immersed in the world created by the music.
To his right, Touma Kazusa stood with her arms folded, eyes closed. She was still savoring the emotions contained within the performance, the emotion still there even though she had already heard it before.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
"Waaah..."
A soft sob suddenly broke the silence.
Everyone turned toward the source of the sound.
Yuigahama Yui stood there with tears in her eyes. Her pale peach-colored eyes had already become watery, and her cheeks were slightly red as she struggled to hold back her emotions.
"Gojo-sensei..." She sniffled, making others feel pity towards her, "Do you... have some kind of sad past?"
The question immediately filled Gojo Satoru's face with confusion.
"...Huh?" A giant question mark practically appeared over his head.
What sad past? What is this girl imagining now?
As far as Gojo can think about 'He' didn't have any sad past while living as Gojo, while there was the Upper-rank peoples talk about traditions and the Gojo family wanting to get a hold of other top families. He had lived a good enough live...he can't really say about how he was before though....he just can't remember it...
While Gojo was thinking about his past, Yuigahama rubbed her eyes making them slightly red.
"I heard that musicians always put their own experiences and feelings into their music. Especially sad memories. That's how many famous piano pieces are created."
'Oh that, I made it up.' Gojo commented inwardly.
Yukinoshita Yukino looked at the white-haired teacher with a complicated expression.
Since meeting him, her impression of Gojo Satoru had always been rather fixed.
Frivolous.
Annoying.
Black-hearted.
Immature.
A troublesome adult who never acted his age.
Yet after listening to this performance...That impression had changed slightly.
Only slightly.
Just a little....
Hikigaya Hachiman scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
He knew almost nothing about classical music.
Still...Even he could tell the piece had carried powerful emotions.
The room silent feel heavy.
Several pairs of eyes landed on Gojo Satoru with hidden and unhidden emotions.
Faced with such gazes, Gojo felt that refusing to say anything would almost be disappointing and also because he feels that they would think he is just saying them to make them feel better....
So he casually placed his fingers on the piano keys again. He pressed a few random notes. Then he spoke in a calm voice.
"Actually, it's nothing special. When I was around your age, I had a very good friend." His tone remained casual. "We were the kind of people who could do anything together."
"For a while..." A faint smile appeared on his lips. "But later, because of various reasons, we ended up walking different paths."
The room grew quieter.
Yuigahama unconsciously held her breath.
As Gojo continued.
"I became a teacher and he became..." Gojo paused. "...a very troublesome guy."
Touma Kazusa raised an eyebrow.
Yukino narrowed her eyes.
Somehow, that description sounded strangely personal.
Gojo shrugged.
"Anyway, he got involved in some dangerous things. He even kidnapped my students at one point."
"..."
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
Gojo stopped speaking.
Yukino seemed to understand something and chose not to ask further.
However—A certain dumpling had no such restraint.
"And then, Gojo-sensei?" Yuigahama asked carefully.
The moment those words left her mouth, Yukino immediately turned toward her.
Her expression practically screamed: "Why would you ask that?"
"Huh? What?" Yuigahama blinked.
Yukino sighed internally. This girl really had no sense of danger.
Meanwhile, Gojo shoved his hands into his pockets.
Then, with a perfectly calm expression, he answered.
"He died."
It was as if a bolt from the blue struck Yuigahama Yui's mind, after a few seconds of being dazed, she said anxiously.
"Gojo-sensei, I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!I didn't mean to bring up bad memories! I shouldn't have asked! I'm sorry!"
Seeing her panic, Gojo nearly laughed.
Yukino bit her lower lip slightly. A trace of sympathy appeared in her eyes.
So that was it. Maybe that was why Gojo Satoru always acted so carefree. Perhaps he was hiding pain behind his smile.
{T/N: Yea... No 🙂}
Touma Kazusa lowered her gaze.
She suddenly understood why this piano piece contained such complicated emotions.
Loneliness.
Regret.
Distance.
Longing...
The piece suddenly felt much more meaningful.
Even Hikigaya Hachiman, who usually remained detached from everything, quietly looked away. His eyes slightly daze as he took a deep breath.
For some reason, he felt a little emotional.
Meanwhile—The culprit behind all of this observed everyone silently, hidding his amused gaze.
"..." Gojo Satoru almost burst out laughing.
'Sorry, Yui-san~'
He apologized internally.
What he had just described wasn't entirely false. But it definitely wasn't the tragedy everyone was imagining.
After all— Geto Suguru was still alive. Very much alive.
Somewhere, probably causing trouble. The memory of his old friend surfaced in his mind.
"We are the strongest."
The familiar words echoed in his thoughts.
Come to think of it...how long had it been?
Suguru.
Nanami.
Mei Mei.
Utahime...
And everyone else.
If he really disappeared for this long, those idiots were probably searching the entire world for him by now. Too bad, he isn't in the same world as there anymore. His control of his cursed energy loosened slightly before he control it again.
It is what it is.... He can't do anything really even though he had become this much stronger he is still very far from being able to crossed through the world barrier....and able to travel in the space.
Gojo looked out the window, mostly up in the space. He didn't even know where the JJK world is and how to find it...
His thoughts drifted away.
Unfortunately—The others completely misunderstood the gesture.
In their eyes, Gojo was gazing into the distance while remembering a deceased friend.
The atmosphere became even heavier.
At that moment—
Ding!
The school bell rang.
It was time for the class.
...
Yuigahama wiped her tears and reluctantly returned to her classroom.
She looked completely drained.
Naturally, her condition didn't go unnoticed by her friends.
"Yumiko." Ebina Hina nudged the girl beside her. "Look at Yui."
Miura Yumiko glanced over.
Immediately, her eyebrows furrowed.
Yuigahama looked unusually depressed.
"What happened?"
Ebina shrugged. "I heard she went to see Yukinoshita during lunch."
"Yukinoshita?" Miura frowned deepen in displeasure, "What does that woman have to do with this?"
"No idea." Ebina shook her head. "I'll ask her after class."
Miura crossed her arms.
If someone had upset her friend, she wasn't planning to ignore it. Not at all.
...
Meanwhile, in Class 1-F,
Gojo Satoru was completely unaware of the misunderstanding he had created.
Or perhaps—He simply didn't care.
The white-haired teacher sat comfortably on his seat. His legs rested casually on the desk.
One hand held a smartphone.
The other supported his chin.
He was happily watching Tik-Tok.
The students below chatted quietly among themselves. Nobody seemed concerned at his behavior during class.
After all, this was normal for class-F
Every student in the class already knew that it was Gojo Satoru's routine teaching habits.
The first twenty minutes of the afternoon class?
Free time.
Teacher and students alike relaxed.
Then, after twenty minutes—
Gojo would somehow switch into teaching mode and explain the topic with ridiculous efficiency.
Strangely enough, the results were excellent.
Everyone's grades had improved significantly compare to the average just pass.
Even the students who originally hated studying had begun making progress due to this strange but effective method.
Which only made the situation more absurd.
A teacher who spent class watching videos.
Yet somehow produced the best results.
The students had long since given up trying to understand him, they all felt that hitting their head against the wall would provide more result that this...
...
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Bonus Chapter:-
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6 Bonus Chapter at 150 powerstone
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Word Count — 1,452