Chapter 108: Letting Go of Everything
Rin gritted his teeth, using his last ounce of strength to drag Suguru Geto to the wall, letting him barely sit up against the mottled surface.
He then slid down the wall, collapsing beside Suguru Geto with his head drooping, blood still flowing down his jawline and dripping onto his clothes, blooming into dark, dull flowers.
"So, when did you make this decision?"
His voice was very soft, carrying the hoarseness of having just experienced intense pain.
Seeing that Rin finally stopped struggling, Suguru Geto's tense nerves relaxed, and his emotions returned to calm.
He rested his head against the cold wall and slowly closed his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyelids. After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice as light as the wind:
"It was that night you tried to persuade me."
"At that time, I really thought about giving up."
He paused, his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible exhaustion:
"Just like you said, end all of this, take Nanako and Mimiko, leave Japan, and find a place where no one knows us to live on."
"But I can't do it. There is too much on my shoulders—the ordinary people I've hurt, the people who follow me, and my former beliefs. It's so much that I simply can't stop."
"But I am also too tired."
Suguru Geto's voice was full of relief:
"I know that only death can completely end all of this."
Rin sat to the side, head bowed, no one able to see his expression.
After a few seconds, he suddenly let out a dry, bitter laugh, blood still gushing from his nasal cavity:
"So you came here just to seek death? No wonder you didn't want me to deal with Yuta Okkotsu; were you afraid I would kill him?"
"That is one reason."
Suguru Geto chuckled softly and shook his head slightly:
"But most importantly, I don't want to drag you into this."
He turned to look at Rin, his gaze so gentle it could drip water, landing on the other's blood-stained face with eyes full of heartache:
"You are clean, Rin."
"I don't want you to become like me, a Curse User that everyone wants to beat."
"A better future awaits you. Just consider this the last good deed I do for this world before I die."
"In my plan, I will lose to Yuta Okkotsu, and everyone will be able to retreat safely."
"And you."
Suguru Geto's voice paused, his fingertips gently brushing Rin's hair, carrying a slightly cool temperature:
"I knew you would try everything to get here."
"I originally anticipated that without Miguel's black rope to hold him back, you would definitely lose to Gojo Satoru."
"But he would absolutely never take your life. I trust him on this, just as he trusts that I wouldn't kill the two students he sent."
When mentioning Gojo Satoru, a hint of pride appeared on Suguru Geto's face, as if he were talking about something worth showing off:
"I originally thought that the one waiting for me here at the end would be Gojo Satoru. I didn't expect you to actually be able to make it... You're really amazing, Rin."
Facing this praise filled with gratification, Rin had no reaction; he neither looked up nor responded. The aura around him was as heavy as a stagnant pool of water, with only the constantly dripping blood proving he was still conscious.
Suguru Geto didn't mind his silence. He raised his hand to form Finger Seals, black-red Cursed Energy condensing in his palm, gradually forming two lustrous, round beads.
One emitted an eerie pink light; it was the Special Grade Imaginary Cursed Spirit, Tamamo-no-Mae.
The other was completely pitch black, carrying a familiar, goofy air; it was the Cursed Spirit that Suguru Geto had always kept by his side, Choubou.
With his remaining left hand, he carefully handed the two cursed spirit orbs to Rin, his fingertips trembling slightly from weakness.
Rin's gaze finally moved, landing on the two orbs, a ripple appearing in his calm eyes.
He remembered that he had indeed pestered Suguru Geto before, wanting to borrow Choubou to play with for a few days. He hadn't expected the other to have kept it in mind all this time.
"How about it? You like it, right?"
Suguru Geto's voice carried a hint of lightness, like he was giving a gift to a junior:
"I originally wanted to entrust Gojo Satoru to help give it to you. Now that I can give it to you myself, it can be considered fulfilling a regret."
Suguru Geto's left hand was still trembling slightly, the two cursed spirit orbs emitting a faint light in his palm, like two fragile stars.
Rin stared at that hand for a long time—so long that the sunset at the alley entrance sank a few more degrees—before slowly raising his hand. The moment his fingertips touched the orbs, the familiar temperature of Cursed Energy was transmitted.
He didn't immediately pull his hand back; he just gripped the cursed spirit orbs in his palm, his knuckles turning white from the force.
Silence spread through the alley, with only the faint sound of wind blowing across the wall and the blood continuously dripping from his nasal cavity, hitting the ground with a "drip-drop" sound.
"Have you ever thought about what will happen to everyone after you die? What about Nanako and Mimiko?"
Rin's voice was very soft, but it carried a heavy weight, as if pressing down on countless unspoken questions.
Hearing this, Suguru Geto tugged the corner of his mouth into a bitter smile, the smile full of guilt, which finally turned into just three words:
"I'm sorry."
No excuses, no explanations, just the simplest apology.
Rin looked at his pale profile, feeling not a shred of anger in his heart.
He knew it too well; Suguru Geto wasn't being selfish; he truly couldn't hold on anymore.
Those beliefs he carried, those paths of no return, had long since pressed him until he couldn't breathe. For him, death was a release, not an escape.
"I have made arrangements for everyone's affairs."
Suguru Geto leaned against the wall, his voice becoming increasingly weak:
"I left several wills in the meditation room. I will entrust someone to send Nanako and Mimiko abroad. The money left behind is enough for them to live a life of comfort without worries, and they won't need to touch Jujutsu matters again."
He paused, remembering the companions who followed him, his tone carrying a bit more relief:
"Miguel and Larue, they have their own paths; I don't need to worry about them."
"Negi and Manami, without me, will also find new directions..."
"Then what about me?"
Rin suddenly interrupted him, his voice not loud, but like a thunderclap, exploding in the empty alley.
He raised his head, the undried moisture still in his eyes, mixed with blood stains, appearing particularly glaring.
He stared fixedly at Suguru Geto, asking word by word:
"Without you, where do I go?"
Suguru Geto's body stiffened suddenly, as if this sentence had pierced the softest part of him.
He dared not look into Rin's eyes, only able to turn his head, his gaze falling into the shadows at the alley entrance, his voice so low it was like talking to himself:
"I will entrust Gojo Satoru... he will take you to Jujutsu High to continue your schooling."
"Only there can you live well, without having to get involved in the muddy waters of Curse Users, without having to carry all of this..."
"That is not the place I want to go."
Rin's voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling:
"You know clearly that I don't get along with Jujutsu High; if I stay there, I'm like an outsider."
Suguru Geto's Adam's apple moved; he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't.
He knew what Rin meant. Jujutsu High could be home to any normal Jujutsu Sorcerer, but it was never Rin's home.
But all he could do was entrust Rin to the person he trusted most; only in this way could he leave in peace.
"Be good, Rin."
Suguru Geto finally turned his head, his eyes full of pleading:
"Stay at Jujutsu High, go to school properly, like an ordinary student... Don't follow the path I walked anymore, okay?"
Rin did not answer, only gripping the cursed spirit orbs in his palm tighter.
The sunset light sank completely, and the night began to shroud the entire alley. The light of the two orbs became increasingly clear in his palm, like the last bit of unspoken attachment Suguru Geto left in this world.
He wanted to give Rin a "safe home," but he forgot that Rin's home had always been only by his side.