Chapter 56 : Silent Reverberations
Courtyard — Morning Mist
It had rained overnight. The stones glistened under a gray sky, and puddles reflected the warped shape of Jujutsu High's courtyard. The world felt quiet, like it was holding its breath.
Gojo stood in the middle of the field where they once sparred together. His blindfold was loose around his neck, but he wasn't using his Six Eyes. Not today.
His hands were in his pockets, and his head tilted to the side as if listening for something that never came.
Footsteps.
Geto approached from the side, umbrella closed and dripping. He didn't say anything right away. Just stood beside Gojo in the wet grass.
"She's really gone," Gojo said eventually.
"Yeah," Geto replied. "And Kishibe nearly died trying to stop it."
They fell into silence again. The rain had left the air thick with earth and ozone.
"Do you feel different?" Gojo asked.
Geto looked at him.
"You're asking if I've changed?"
"No," Gojo said. "I know you have. I meant… does it hurt?"
Geto didn't answer. Instead, he turned his eyes toward the dormitory windows.
---
Kishibe's Room — Afternoon
The room stank of cheap liquor and antiseptic.
Kishibe lay in bed, one arm bandaged up to the shoulder, eyes staring at the ceiling like he was watching something the rest of the world couldn't see. An open bottle lay on the floor beside him, half-spilled.
There was a knock.
Kishibe didn't respond.
Shoko entered anyway. She didn't speak. Just walked over and opened the curtains.
"Still alive?" she said quietly.
He let out a grunt that might've been a yes.
She sat in the chair beside him, leaning forward on her knees.
"You scared me," she whispered.
Kishibe didn't look at her.
"You scared me, dammit."
He slowly turned his head. His eyes were bloodshot, not from crying, but from too much drinking and not enough sleep.
"I should've stopped him," he muttered.
"You did stop him," Shoko said. "Just not in time."
Kishibe's mouth twisted. "Not good enough."
"No," she said. "But you were there. And you didn't run."
He didn't reply.
---
Nanami and Haibara — Training Hall
The two younger students faced each other across the floor, sparring slowly, not really focused on technique.
"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Haibara asked, panting.
Nanami adjusted his stance. "Kishibe-senpai?"
"Yeah. He looked… different. Not just hurt. Like something in him cracked."
Nanami stayed quiet for a moment.
"He fought even when he couldn't stand. There's a cost to that."
Haibara looked down. "But he came back."
"Did he?" Nanami asked softly.
---
Geto — Alone
He walked the long corridors of the school, listening to his own footsteps.
The walls whispered of a world that used children as shields and called it heroism.
He thought of Riko.
Of Kishibe.
Of the silence Gojo now carried like a cloak.
In the garden behind the shrine, Geto sat alone.
He summoned a small curse—barely more than a shadow—and let it crawl across his hand.
He didn't banish it.
He simply watched.
The first seeds of doubt were already blooming.