Chapter 59 : No Light in the Mirror

Shinjuku — Early Morning

Geto walked alone.

The city hadn't changed. Neon signs flickered above ramen shops. Delivery bikes zipped by. Students laughed in front of arcades. The noise of normal life rang in his ears like an insult.

In his pocket, he carried a prayer bead Riko had once admired.

He gripped it until the string snapped.

A cursed spirit drifted lazily across the rooftop above. He saw it. Ignored it.

The creature hissed.

He didn't move.

He wasn't sure if he still wanted to.

---

Flashback — The Cremation

They burned her quietly.

Riko's body was returned to the school under a veil of silence. No ceremony. No public mourning. Just a closed room, a sealed urn, and three broken boys who had to pretend they were still whole.

Geto had watched the flames rise, eyes unblinking.

Gojo hadn't spoken.

Kishibe had only said, "She was just a kid."

The silence after that lasted hours.

---

Back to Present — Shinjuku Alleys

Geto passed an alleyway where a cursed spirit hovered near a girl.

The girl had bruises on her arm and walked with a limp.

The spirit was feeding off it.

Geto watched. Just for a moment.

He summoned a small, flickering cursed creature and snapped it into place like a trap. The spirit vanished into smoke.

The girl never noticed.

And Geto didn't feel better.

---

Evening — Jujutsu High Rooftop

Gojo joined him as the sun dipped behind the trees. Both men leaned on the railing, watching the horizon.

"She would've liked the sky tonight," Geto said.

Gojo didn't answer.

"I keep asking myself what we were protecting," Geto continued. "And who decides it's worth it."

Gojo turned to him. "We do."

"No," Geto whispered. "We just enforce it."

The wind picked up. Neither of them spoke for a long time.

---

Late Night — Star Plasma Shrine Ruins

Geto stood alone at the site where Riko was killed.

The tiles were still bloodstained.

He knelt, placing the broken prayer bead on the ground. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I thought we could change something. I thought I could save you."

A flicker of cursed energy stirred behind him. He ignored it.

"There's no point saving people," he said finally. "Not if the world doesn't want to be saved."

He stood.

Turned away.

Did not look back.