Talking with Gojo.

It was quite cloudy today. Not some harmless gray clouds but rather looming, menacing dark ones. The weather forecast had announced a clear sky with a light breeze, but the air was also dry as fuck.

Keito sighed, leaning his cheek on his fist. He vaguely heard Gojo-sensei talk about something, but his mind was elsewhere at the present. It was probably interesting, much like every other lesson Gojo himself teached, but his heart wasn't in it.

Last night, after Nobara and him left Shoko's infirmary, they had a talk in the dorms. Nobara insisted that she wasn't against what they had done, but that she wanted some time alone to think about it.

But afterwards, they started to argue about what had happened with Maki. While she was still on his side, she criticized him for agreeing to Maki's spar and for not deescalating the situation. He wouldn't recognize that he had been in the wrong, and it turned into a argument where they both went their separate ways before sleeping.

Adding to that, he couldn't help but think of the gentle nurse. His mind played back every minute spent in her presence, watching her smile and her figure, and he wanted to punch himself for not taking advantage of the situation.

He tried to rationalize it to himself while he attempted to sleep; it wasn't yet the right time, it was too late, a Domain Expansion would have been noticed, perhaps she had an anti-domain technique, he didn't know if Reverse Cursed Technique could mess up the process.

But the truth was that it wouldn't have stopped him had it been anyone else other than Shoko Ieiri. She had a presence, a charm, that he couldn't have noticed the first time he had briefly met her. Without even meaning to, she had successfully cowed him.

It brought back issues he had buried deep, deep in his heart. Growing up on the other side of the country, abandoned at birth by his mother and raised by his father. He hadn't talked about this to anyone here.

Yazawa Kumi was a stern, no-nonsense father that was barely home taking care of his son. His wife's departure had profoundly hurt him, and he was not adequate to raise a child in good and healthy conditions.

Thus, ever since he was a child, Keito spent most of his time hanging out in the streets of his hometown and playing around until sunset. He had met a lot of good and bad people, done a lot of good and bad things, but he looked back on those days fondly.

But he had always dreamed of having a mother to raise him. The mothers of his friends always told him that they thought of him as their son, but they couldn't compare to an actual mother.

His wish for such a mother was rekindled last night when he was in Shoko's presence. Having a nice, beautiful older woman taking care of him, even if just to heal him, was much more than he had gotten in his entire life.

Just thinking about her made him all flustered. He could vision Shoko laying him down on his bed, slowly and sensually stroking his hard cock as she softly whispered-

"BAAAH!" Gojo yelled, suddenly appearing in front of him and bringing him back from his musings. Keito almost fell from his chair from the shock, but he just stood up and yelped.

Gojo chuckled, and Keito noticed that there was no one else inside of the room except the two of them. Where did the three others go?

"If you're wondering, your classmates have just left since it's lunchtime." Gojo explained, taking a chair and putting it in front of Keito's desk. He sat on it and crossed his legs, looking at him through his blindfold, "I've noticed that you seemed elsewhere today. Do you want to talk about it?"

Keito remained silent, staring at a spot on his desk. His face was stuck on a frown. Gojo understood that he shouldn't try to push him, and settled on something else, "I see. Did you at least listen somewhat to what I talked about today?"

"No."

"I explained what I think is the best way to progress as a sorcerer. Are you interested in hearing about it?" Gojo asked with a smile, already knowing what the answer would be. The Strongest Sorcerer telling you what he thinks is the most optimal way to progress, who would refuse?

"Yes."

"I'll be brief then. The best way to progress as a sorcerer is to be selfish. Unimaginably so. Holding on to your desires, doing everything to fulfill them, that is the key to reaching heights you could have never imagined."

"Full confidence in yourself and your abilities, being capable of taking risks when it's necessary, never compromising on your ambition : that's the mindset of a winner."

"Sure, some people might call me a monster for that since that goes against what most people are taught about selfishness and selflessness. But I'm so far up that I can't hear them."

"Try to remember this down the line. I know you've got potential, I'd hate to see it go to waste." Gojo concluded his speech, and Keito just stood up from his seat. Gojo could tell that something about his student had changed.

"Gojo-sensei, thank you. I've taken to heart what you just said. I think it's exactly what I needed to hear." Keito said, smiling from ear to ear. The clouds outside had dispersed and the Sun was back in town.

Walking out of the classroom, Keito said something as he closed the door behind him, "I'll do what I want to, and if people have a problem with that, I couldn't care less."