August 5th
Xavier approved my request, which means I'll be going with the others on the next mutant rescue operation.
Nobody seems suspicious, and that's good.
I've been thinking through every possible outcome, because the Sentinel needs to slash my eyes without crushing my skull or taking my head off.
It needs to damage my eyes badly enough to explain the bandages, and after that I'll let Jean examine me.
If she can't restore my sight, even better.
I'll spend the next few days recovering, and once the physical damage heals, I'll claim Six Eyes.
Then the blindness becomes the perfect excuse for covering my eyes.
I don't like planning to get hurt, but I like having unexplained powers even less.
---
August 8th
The rescue operation started this morning, and we were sent to extract a group of mutants from a facility that had been attacked by a Sentinel.
The operation was going smoothly until another one arrived, and everything turned chaotic almost immediately.
People were running while the Sentinel tore through the outer structure, and the others engaged it while the evacuation continued.
I stayed close and waited.
Then I saw the opening.
The Sentinel swung at me, and I could have moved.
I didn't.
Its claws tore across my eyes, and pain exploded through my face before everything went completely white.
I hit the ground and kept my hands over my face while I could hear everyone shouting around me.
Jean was among the first to reach me, and I didn't need to pretend very hard because I couldn't see anything.
They got me out of the fight, while the Sentinel was dealt with afterward.
Nobody questioned how I got injured, because I was standing between a Sentinel and a group of people it was trying to kill.
That's enough of a reason.
---
August 9th
Jean examined my eyes today, and the damage is real, more real than I intended, honestly.
She checked everything she could before shaking her head and telling me, "I can't do anything about your vision. I don't have the ability to repair this kind of damage."
She paused before adding that if I took care of my eyes properly, there was a good chance I wouldn't be left with visible scars.
That's exactly what I needed to hear.
She wrapped my eyes in bandages and gave me instructions for recovery, including rest, darkness, and no unnecessary strain.
Nobody suspects anything.
Underneath the bandages, I'm already feeling cursed energy moving through the damage, although I'm not healing yet because I need to let the injury exist for a while.
The story has to become believable.
---
August 11th
The healing has started, slowly and carefully, and Gojo's physique is doing most of the work.
The damage is repairing itself without leaving the kind of scars Jean was worried about.
My vision hasn't returned yet, and I'm keeping it that way, at least as far as everyone else knows.
I can still sense light, movement, and shapes, but I'm not opening my eyes.
The bandages have become part of my daily life now, and people ask how I'm doing.
I tell them I'm recovering, because that's all they need to know.
Six Eyes is still untouched, and I can feel it waiting.
---
August 13th
My eyes are healed completely, with no scars, no permanent damage, and no trace of what happened.
I can see again, and the difference is almost absurd because Gojo's physique really is something else.
But I'm still keeping the bandages on because there's no reason to suddenly announce that my sight has returned.
Besides, I haven't claimed Six Eyes yet.
I need one more step, and tonight I think I'll do it.
---
August 14th
I claimed Six Eyes today, and that was a mistake.
Not claiming it, but the timing.
The moment it entered me, my perception exploded and everything became too much.
The room, the walls, the floor, the air, every trace of cursed energy, every tiny movement, and every fluctuation suddenly became impossible to ignore.
I could perceive things I didn't even have words for, and my brain felt like it was being forced to process an entire world at once.
I nearly ripped the bandages off, but I didn't.
Instead, I stayed still and focused on shutting everything out.
It took hours before I could control the flood, and even now my head feels like it's overheating.
I'm also starving, but not normal hungry.
I'm starving in a way that feels completely different from ordinary hunger.
I ate everything in my room and then ordered more, mostly sweets, including chocolate, candy, and anything with sugar.
My body keeps demanding more, and the moment I eat something sweet, the mental pressure eases.
Maybe this is one of the costs of Six Eyes.
Whatever it is, I need to figure out how to manage it.
---
August 15th
Sugar.
A lot of sugar.
I've gone through an embarrassing amount of it today, including chocolate bars, candy, and pastries, because anything sweet seems to help with the pressure in my head.
The moment I eat something sugary, the mental strain eases, not completely but enough to make the difference noticeable.
Six Eyes is still overwhelming whenever I let it process too much information, so I've started learning how to filter what I perceive.
It's getting easier, although it's definitely not easy.
Jean came by again and checked my eyes through the bandages before asking if my vision was improving.
I told her I could make out light and shapes, which is technically true because I can see far more than that.
Nobody needs to know.
She said I was recovering well, with no scarring and no complications.
The lie is holding.
---
August 16th
I can see perfectly now, and Six Eyes has completely changed how I perceive the world.
I understand why Gojo hides his eyes, because it's not just about looking mysterious.
It's practical.
Without something covering them, I'm constantly taking in information I don't need, and the bandages help, even though they aren't enough.
I've also discovered that keeping sugar nearby makes the sensory strain easier to manage, so apparently I'm going to become the guy who eats an unreasonable amount of sweets.
It could be worse.
---
August 20th
The Six Eyes are becoming easier to control, and although the sensory overload isn't gone, I can filter more of it now.
The sugar helps a lot, so I've started keeping chocolate and candy in my room because I don't want to explain why I'm constantly eating them.
Blue is stable, Collapse is stable, and Six Eyes is mine.
Nobody knows what actually happened.
Everyone thinks I lost my sight during the Sentinel attack, while Jean thinks I'm recovering.
The bandages make sense, and nobody questions them.
For once, everything is lining up exactly the way I need it to.
I still need something better than bandages eventually, something I can wear every day that keeps Six Eyes under control without making me look like I'm permanently injured.
I'll figure that part out later.
For now, I'm just going to eat another chocolate bar and enjoy being able to see.