# karāge (唐揚げ) is fried chicken
# gyūdon (牛丼) is rice covered with beef and vegetables
# miso soup or misoshiru (味噌汁) is a traditional soup with basically just miso paste.
# saruwatari (猿渡) means monkey bars.
# yakult (ヤクロト) is a japanese probiotic milk.
# okāsama (お母さま) is a formal way of addressing your mother.
# tekkō (鉄甲) is a type of fist-load weapon
— mikoto's list of nicknames:
# megu-rin (めぐりん）for megumi
# sattsun-sensei (さっつん先生) for satoru
# massan-sensei (まっさん先生) for masamichi
# maki-san (真希さん) for maki
...
X. SHARED DINNER
FUSHIGURO MEGUMI THOUGHT THAT LIVING WITH HIS 'COUSIN' WOULD BE THE SAME AS LIVING WITH HIS BEDRIDDEN SISTER. He learns that it is not quite the case. He also learns the following about Zen'in (You can call me anything you want—like Mikottan!) Mikoto: she is not picky with food and will eat anything that is served in front of her and she eats a lot. She also seems to be fully aware of this because she, herself, assists Megumi in going grocery shopping too many times a week. Mikoto absolutely loathes natto though—that is one thing she refuses to eat. She also takes terribly long showers, and she knows very little about household chores because of her childhood being surrounded by many housekeepers and people who readily do what she asks for them to do. Another is how noisy she is during the night. She claims that she talks to her brothers about her day before she sleeps because that is what they have always done ever since they were children. Megumi decides not to press on it, still uncomfortable with the Cursed Spirits under his house.
What Megumi likes about living with Mikoto is that she serves as a relatively good sparring partner. She is surprisingly flexible and well-versed in hand-to-hand combat and when asked, she just shrugs and says: "My mother always said that I was the weakest among my siblings. I shouldn't rely on them so she made me work on it the most." And in ten fights, Megumi only manages to win less than half of them. However, that does not particularly mean that Mikoto is strong. In contrary, she is the exact opposite of this. She is skilled and makes use of her small abilities.
Mikoto tilts her head up curiously from the couch. Looking at her disturbs Megumi a little, remembering how her brothers had the same eyes and yet Mikoto acts like there is nothing wrong with it. She smiles in greeting. "Megu-rin," she chirps brightly, "Welcome home! How was school?"
Mikoto Fact #25: there is a person from the Zen'in Family who drops by everyday, with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays, and seems to be Mikoto's academic instructor.
Mikoto Fact #26: Mikoto stopped going to school after she got into the 'I lost an arm' incident.
Megumi does not know when he began listing those things at the top of his head but he is glad he keeps track. He has always known that living with someone who is not his sister will be hard and honestly, he is not entirely comfortable having Mikoto around but Mikoto does not push his boundaries and knows their relationship despite seeming too chippy. "What's for dinner, Megu-Megu?" Another fact, one of the first facts that Megumi had listed down, is Mikoto's fondness for nicknames.
"I bought some karāge, and there's left over gyūdon. Can you prepare the miso?" Megumi answers nonchalantly and Mikoto's grin widens, nodding her head.
Mikoto swiftly prepares the miso, being that is the only one she can legitimately cook without messing things up with her erratic behavior. Megumi firmly believes that no one can mess up miso soup and Mikoto proves this by consistently making one with a hitch. He is thankful that he had taught her how to do that, and to cook rice, lest he will be stuck with not only more chores but a grown-child to take care of.
What Megumi relies the most of Mikoto is her eagerness to learn, though that does not necessarily mean that she will he successful in doing so but Megumi is getting really, really unsure of how much stomach medicine she takes everyday just to ease the pain of her overeating and at the same time, her unending hunger. She says she is eating for three people and that her Cursed Technique makes this worse—a child of Zen'in Nagamasa is born hungry, and after Mikoto... 'ate' her siblings, this only became threefold, though Megumi is certain nobody outright tells Mikoto that, no matter how aware she is of her situation. It is a taboo topic after all, for the golden child of the Zen'in Family to have been eaten by the child they thought to be the worst of the three.
Mikoto does not mind though. She always does not mind and instead, focuses on eating her meals and smiling as if nothing bothers her. Megumi hates that smile but he can do nothing about it.
"Megu-rin?"
"What?" Megumi learns to respond to the nickname.
"Seconds, please!"
...
XI. MONKEY BARS
"KAN'I RYŌIKI: SARUWATARI," the moment Mikoto's feet land to the ground, an erect barrier suddenly stands to surround herself and the Cursed Spirit.
With her back turned, the spirit snarls aggressively, its sight taken away by the sheer darkness in the area. She had previously flipped over the relatively large spirit—the type that she specializes in: not too fast and easy to capture with her Cursed Technique, and less probable to force her to use the greater extent of her other Cursed Techniques. The Spirit is as horrid as the last but Mikoto has learned to become somewhat desensitized by its appearance but that does not mean she cannot refuse to look at it. She crouches to the ground, her back still to the Cursed Spirit. She frowns. "Thank you for the food—" She feels a small force push her forward at the impact.
Her bones crackle under her skin as a monstrous figure erupts from her back, her spine intertwining with the monster's. A large mouth gapes open, a flash of green and black eyes seen for a solid moment before a small cloth falls over their eye. Rows of teeth slice through the skin of the enemy, and Mikoto tastes the salty blossoms on her tongue. She licks her lip. "Weird taste," she mumbles, her body getting pulled every now and then with how aggressive her brothers are being.
Her stomach churns.
"Ah, we need to buy Yakult," she grumbles to herself.
She stands up as the enemy falls to the ground, leaving nothing but fading bones. It only takes a mere second for the corpse to completely leave, and yet, the remnants stay within Mikoto's stomach. She pats it gently. "Ah, what if I gain weight, Mikuji, Mikado?" She acts to the air. "Okāsama will get angry, you know."
Her siblings only groan but Mikoto thinks that is enough. The disturbance on her stomach eases a little whenever she hears the voices of her brothers. "What do you think will we have for dinner tonight?" She asks, despite already knowing the answer. Her siblings groan once again making her pout. She turns around, the pull on her skin making her wince a little. She pouts. "Say ka-rā-ge! Karāge!"
Her brothers (never, never monsters; no matter what Family Head Naobito might say, no matter what her esteemed Mother might say—or even that Great-Grand-Uncle Ōgi) open their mouth, the layers upon layers of sharp, red-yellow teeth in plain view along with the split tongue littered with strange markings. They do not look like the brothers she once knew, who had inherited the impeccable looks of the Zen'in Family, but Mikoto has always know her brothers, and she knows every single thing about them. "Ģ̵̳̳̭̭̘̩̫̞͕͆͆̀́̑̀͒̈́̾̇̉͝a̷̢̲͇͔̯̲͎̭͇͊̓̀̽̓̍̕͘̚͝͠͝͝-̴̡̧͈͇̘͇̦̥͎̮̻̖̒̏̓̐͛ǵ̶͍͈̙̲̈́͘a̸̧͙̩̟̘̰̤̞͈͓͋͋̄̎̍͛͗̀̈́̀̀̊͘̕̕͜͜r̶̢̨̢̬̖͕͚͍͓͒̎̏̔̏̐͗̌́͆̚a̵̛̛̙̪̣̩͇̬̳͓̟͔̗̍͒̍̐͌͂̈̓͆̔͋̚͜͜ͅ-̸̞̜̤̯̦̼͔̼̺͉͕̮̙̀͆̅͝͝ͅͅk̴͔̰̳̖͉̟̠̍̒̍̽̍̉̇́̓̎͠ͅé̶̢͉̝̘͖̹͕̳̤̙͛͌͋̊́̂̀̋̔͌͐̌͜͝," he attempts.
Mikoto shakes her head. "It's ka-rā-ge!"
"Ķ̸̟̼̦̖̦͓̝̘̊͛̿͠ā̴̱̟̞̮̒̕k̷̬̬̞̣̓̀̑͌̉̉̃̎̀̑͜͝e̴̹͖͍̰͈̠̥̭̘̽̌͒̽̀͑̔́.̶̢̛̯͇̭͙͙̞̝̙͂͌.̷̢̡̣̣̗̼͉̟̳̝͉̹̐̓̐̔̔́̏̓͋͐̾͆́.̴̧̭̼̭͚̯͉̩̹̗̳̰̹̞̯̿̈́̂́̏̎̀̓̀́͘͝͝͠"
"Ka-rā-ge!"
No matter how many times Mikado and Mikuji try to say the given word, they always somehow manage to stumble on the 'ka' and the 'ga' sounds. She puts both hands on her waist and sighs. Her seemingly disappointed sound earns her a small whine from her brothers. Their head nudges against hers. She resists the urge to shiver against their decaying skin, the strong scent of decomposing flesh hitting her nose no matter how much she tries to not breathe in. They open their mouth and sobs. "Ķ̷̥̟̪̤̣̍͛̀̈́̿̄̃̕o̴̢͉̯̝̦̒̌̉͆̆̈́͗́̊́͗̉͘t̵̡̝̹̥͓̼̭͉̏ỏ̸̰̲̘̠̉̌͗̓́̊.̷̨̩̱͙̲͉̗̭̩̲͙̭̤̙͛͌̔̒͑̂̓̿͂̋͠ͅ.̷̨̛̳̻̰͓̜̻̠̙̭̲̎̀͑̎̀̓̑̂̃̈́̚̕.̸̙͙̣͆͒͌͑̈͘͝͠͠-̸͓͉̦̥̟̫̌̅̽͠s̴̢̭̝̣͉̬̻̲̮̤̹͔̓̒͌́͜å̵̛̭͈͚̯͔̰̼̲̖̿͋͂͆̍̃̋̀d̶̢̢̧̢̮̜̺͇̝̟̙̺͖̥̏̔̃̆͐̒́̓̀͗̕͝?̴̵̛̲̺̺̠̯̱̭̤̯̝͚͕̝̤̟͋̊̈́̅̆̔̆̆͐̑̒͐̔̂̐͠͝ͅ" Their voice is heavy with despair, the spike of Cursed Energy suddenly increasing at an incredible rate. "Ḁ̴̧̆̔͝͝n̸̛͕̪̠̰̩͗͊͒̓̓̍͌͌͘ͅg̴̡̨̝͖̟̱͙͂͗̕͘̚̕̚͝r̸̨̧̛͉̮̝̘̩̞̫̿̓͐̿̄͊̋͌͘͝͝͠ỷ̴͎̥̀̉̈́̔̄̓͑̓̌̏̌?̵͚͓̼̥͔́͐͂͊͌̍͘͠ ̴̛͇̙̅̈̈̍́̏̃͋̾̅̎͌̕͘Ą̸̨͖̪̻͚̠͙̫͍̝̘̭͊͒͑̐̀̑̕͘͜͜n̶̗̹͆g̶̗͔͙̤̦̜̰͕̼͊́͆͆̑̌̉͋͒͘-̴̨̬͈̰̰̰͍̪̫͈̰̋̿͑́̐̈́͐̎̔̉͗y̵̧̲̒̀̾̈́̈́̈̓͐̊͆͂͘?̵̛̳̈́̉̽̿̿̅̈́̿͑̾͝ ̶̪͕̗̹̿̈́͛̈̒̅̈́̐͑̐͗K̵̛̲͋́͝ơ̷̈̎̽͗̽̾͑̔̚ͅt̷̡̲͎̥̥̦͍̳̭̻̘͊̑͗̾͘ō̶̪̐̓̌̾̈̅̽͑͗͑͐̆̌̕͜ͅͅ ̴̨̞̮̭̺̞͕͉̟̦̠̹̩̖͎͐̓̔̀̕̕ḧ̵̛͔̩͓͖̟̰̠͂̄̇̆̾̊̍̏̿̚â̴̡̧̻͈̟͕̱̩̯͇̘̗̓͗̈̽̋̃t̵͎̬̼͉͍̹͒ȩ̸̖̟̲͛̇̃̇̐̐̌́̏̎̕ͅ.̸̱̼̈́̊͌.̴̭̐.̸̡͕̰̲͗̿͆̉̅̔͂̀̀̾́̒̉́̚ ̵̤̤̟̋̐͗̽͜K̴̢̢̖͉͖̰̱͎̯̬͕͊̊̍̍͜ư̵̧̢̖̥͙͚͈͍̯̪̗̎̈́͋̏͒͛̀̈̈́͆͝͝j̶̡̨̳̗̤͇̦̅̎̋̆i̵̫̲̺̠͈͓̬̦͋̐͝ ̴̨̡̨̦͕͕̲͔̯̝͍̗͇͓̯̿́͊͂̇a̵͖̓̋͐͐̉ņ̴͓̞̯̼̘̺̦̰̏͗d̴̢͔̻͇̤̱̦̙̝̼̠̦͖̥̻̆̏͐̑̊̃́̃̍̕̕̚͝ ̶̨̧͎͓̞͓͕̞̻͇̗̪͈̐̌̈́̓̈̀̈́̀͑̅͂͛̂͜͝K̶̡̞̤̲̳̘͓̱͓̙͙̹̩͈̾͐̑ͅa̴͉͎̿̔̋̔͗̊̈́͛̕ḓ̵͚̟̺̗̊̾̇̌̉̀̾̂͝ȍ̶̥͉̖̼̅?̵͉͊̽̏̃̓̾̊̋̅̾̈͝͠" The laughter of bones creak openly, the sickeningly loud grinding sitting right beside Mikoto's ears.
She does not know when the arms appeared, or even if they can appear outside of battle, but multiple arms suddenly poke out of her brothers' form, coming from their stomach and stretching, stretching, stretching so horrifyingly slow that the sound of flesh being ripped is too prominent. Mikoto puts a hand on her brothers' chest, even an inch away will be okay but her brothers' mouth is right in front of her, wide open as if she is about to get consumed and if they do, they would be one again and they would be together forever if so. The elongated nails dig dig dig dig into her skin, blood trickling from the small wounds they gave her. She smiles shakily. "'Kado, 'Kuji?" She calls but her brothers only continue to wail, the voices shifting from young children to the middle schoolers they had originally died as.
The monster-brothers suddenly become an amalgamation of sins, of hunger, of Mama-hating-us-don't-call-her-Mama. The Cursed Energy is heavy with longing, starvation, the need to consume until there is nothing left of the world. Mikoto smiles at them and opens her arms to welcome her dearest, most beloved brothers, each a third of each other. "I'm sorry. Let's take it slow, okay?" Very, very slow. The hands move to her neck: one on her head, another craddling her chin, on her ear, hanging on her hair, and so many arms are enveloping her that she has to resist the urge to throw up at the claustrophobic feelings they induce to her. "Your 'Koto is sorry. I'm not angry. I swear."
When the monster-brothers finally receded into her, her knees collapse. A corpse is heavier than a living body and Mikoto is not only carrying hers, but also two other people. She tries to say that it is not that heavy for her brothers and her have always been one, since the very beginning they were a single being. But her shoulders are Izanami's burden, and her footsteps are the remains of Kagutsuchi upon his execution. She inhales sharply—God of drought, Nagamasa once said, I suppose he had cursed me, and now, this curse will pass unto you. She clasps her hands together as she begs for the hunger to cease.
A hand is suddenly on her shoulders and she flinches away in response to her instincts. "Mikoto-kun," he says her name gravely, "You were late."
Yaga Masamichi does not trust her in the way he does to, say, Cousin Maki whom he will snatch away from the claws of the Family the moment she graduates from her middle school. Is it because she was raised by the Zen'in heavy hand? Because her mother is Zen'in Miwa? Because Zen'in Naobito favors her for the womb in her and the endless possibilities that she may prove to the Family? She reminds herself that the Tōkyō Branch only lets her in because of her Cursed Technique and how much she needs Ieiri Shōko's healing. At the end, she belongs in Kyōto, with the Zen'in Family, with the Family that will never treasure her. And she will do so alone, but not. Whole, but not. Lacking, but not.
Mikoto smiles because Family Head Naobito says it is better when women smile rather than when they frown like that annoying 'Miwa-chan'. She makes sure nobody sees her teeth because then, she will look more demure. (Shame that you eat so crudely.) She smiles, smiles a bit more, but not too much. "Ah, I apologize, Massan," cute, like a child, naïve, like a girl to be taken care, "We lost track of time!"
Ditzy, clumsy, a little slow in the head.
Mikoto's smile wobbles. She misses her brothers so much.
...
XII. GIFT
"COUSIN MAKI!"
Maki has a niece who calls herself cousin from her father's side who she knows many things about but at the same time, Maki concludes, she does not know this cousin of hers. Sure, she knows that Zen'in Mikoto used to be the bully of her younger sister Mai, but at the same time, only the late Mikado actively pushed Mai around while Mikoto and Mikuji laughed behind the sleeves of their kimono. They never really attempted to do anything against Maki, always fled when she arrived to be Mai's savior because Mikado disliked getting into fights with her, despite winning all the time. To be fair, Maki thinks, nobody could beat Mikado. But Mikado is gone, was the first to be gone among the triplets and the weakest is who remains in Tōkyō, with a bright smile and an even brighter persona. Maki wonders if Mikoto has always been like this.
Nobody knew the triplets though. (Nobody liked the twins who found someone like the former Zen'in Tōji as an icon to look up to.) Only vague, indescribable observations—like how Mikuji was the most submissive and silent, the one most vulnerable when alone, and yet surprisingly aggressive in fights, Cousin Miwa's favorite. Mikoto cannot do anything on her own in fights but is perfect to embody an elegant, silent little girl because of her lack of sight, but she had too big of a mouth. Nobody liked her. And then, Mikado.
Now, Mikoto can see, with those wide, mismatched eyes and that eerie, uncomfortable grin. What Maki finds most uncomfortable with Mikoto is how she knows the things she only said to Mikado.
"Maki-san!" Mikoto is suddenly right in front of her, hands beside her back, and head tilted to the side in a faux sense of cutesy charm. Maki cringes away a little. "Congratulations on becoming a first year! We haven't seen each other in a really, really long time—" Since your brothers died, Maki offers silently. "—but Megu-rin and Sattsun-sensei—" Is that supposed to be Megumi and Gojō Satoru-san? "—talk about you a lot, and then Massan-sensei told me that you're a first year now, so my brothers and I—" This time, Maki cannot hide her grimace. "—decided to buy a gift for you!"
Maki sighs and crosses her arms. "Mikoto—"
"Yes?"
"How did you find me?" Though Maki is living in the dorms just as any student will be, Mikoto's movements are still very restricted and monitored. The sweet, little girl from the Zen'in Family, direct daughter of not only Zen'in Miwa but also the Zen'in Nagamasa. Perhaps, the right question is how Mikoto was allowed to find Maki.
Mikoto chuckles sheepishly and rubs the back of her head with practiced ease. "We asked Massan-sensei," she admits. She suddenly pushes a box into Maki's arms. "Here! Here! We had so much to pick from but we settled with this! We had to go all the way to Kyōtō just to pick this up. Okāsama got really mad too!"
Maki accepts the gift reluctantly. The box is fairly light as if there is nothing in it, but with Mikoto's expectant gaze, Maki has no choice but to open the box anyway. The gift, as expected, has many unnecessary designs and even more unnecessary notes placed all over it. She shuffles away the shapes and the paper, and eventually settled to the weapon sitting at the middle of it. "It's a tekkō," Mikoto says excitedly, "Maki-san likes weapons, right? And, and, and—Mikado said that you can pack a punch but Mikuji also said that you prefer long-ranged weapons... We doubt there will be a time when Maki-san gets unarmed by someone but just in case you know! Do you like it? Do you—"
"I do," Maki breathes out, genuinely marveling over the fine handicraft, "Where did you get this?" Because Maki highly doubts that the Zen'ins will give money to Mikoto so that she can give a gift to someone who is shunned by the entire Family. Mikoto's money all goes to the Zen'in, specifically her mother, and just gives her what she needs.
Mikoto hesitates. "I—well, when a relative of ours left, he also left behind lots of weapons in the compound," she mumbles, "But don't worry! We made sure we chose the best of the best! And before we left, we made someone take care of them so it's okay, Maki-san! It's of fine quality!"
Maki honestly does not care about that, or from whom Mikoto got the weapon from. Sometimes, she still looks at Mikoto and thinks of how the younger girl had acted back then, when her brothers were still alive, or at least, human. She had been loud-mouthed, a mere side character to her older brother, sitting right beside Mikuji as they cackle ar whatever devilry Mikado did.
Maki sighs. "Do you want to get lunch?
"Really!"
Maki regrets that not a while later.
...
XIII. HUNGRY BEASTS
GOJŌ SATORU IS, ADMITTEDLY, AN ASSHOLE AMONG ALL ASSHOLES. He knows he must appear like a smug, arrogant sorcerer to others but at least he embodies it. He knows he is the strongest and he does not dare to make himself look like anything else. Satoru is not one to lie. Actually, he is a very truthful man, caring little about how people may react to this. Shōko says that it was because of how he was raised—spoiled because of his eyes, pampered because of his eyes, worshipped because of his eyes. Satoru was born the strongest of all sorcerers. He was fated to be the best and once, he had someone to accompany him, and yet now, here he is, stuck but still, the strongest.
Special Grade Sorcerer Zen'in Nagamasa is older than Satoru by not that many years but Satoru obviously started earlier than the man, much, much earlier. Because unlike Nagamasa, Satoru was born to be great. He was born to be a Special Grade Sorcerer and born to be the savior of the sorcerers, and by extension, the world. In layman's term, Satoru rarely worked hard for anything. He rarely became desperate and rarely ever wanted something, completely the opposite of Zen'in Nagamasa who is the personification of hunger, desperation, want—Satoru and Nagamasa never got along because of this. Nagamasa is a man who naturally takes. It is his nature, after all.
One of the first times Satoru had encountered him was when he was on a mission with Getou Suguru, when PURPLE was yet out of his reach. Nagamasa, whose mission intertwined with theirs, not only finished off the Cursed Spirit they were targeting but also somehow, managed to put down the Spirit that Suguru had been manipulating. "Oh, I was hungry," was all the man had said, as if the arm of the Cursed Spirit had not been in his mouth just moments later. (Suguru hated Nagamasa. He hated him with all his heart. He hated him so much that Satoru learned to hate Nagamasa too. It was only natural, after all, to side with your friend instead of with someone you do not know.) Nagamasa left that day, walking away knowing that he is Getou Suguru's biggest enemy, the one who can put down any Cursed Spirit that Getou Suguru will throw at him—if Satoru is the savior and the balance between black and white, then Nagamasa, in his gluttonous glory, must be black. Plain, deep, and blindingly black.
Nobody likes Zen'in Nagamasa. Perhaps, the one who harbors the most resentment towards him aside from Getou Suguru himself, is Okkotsu Yūta
For Nagamasa whose Cursed Technique consists of him consuming Cursed Spirits, the higher-ups had been very insistent on him taking out the Special Grade Spirit that clings to Yūta to this very day, regardless of the release of the curse or not. Considering that Satoru will not be doing anything to harm Yūta, then naturally, the next option is a Cursed Spirit's worst enemy—Zen'in Nagamasa. The devoured, the glutton, the black hole—Satoru was born to be a sorcerer while, Nagamasa was built to become one. His starvation, his desperation to survive, and his lack of care for everyone but himself—it is what makes him the type of sorcerer that the higher-ups love.
And that same curse was passed to his children.
"If she isn't careful, your daughter would get eaten by her brothers," Satoru raises an eyebrow behind his sunglasses. The term 'brothers' is obviously being used by Masamichi very loosely. Mikoto's... special 'companions' may be her brothers but they are still Cursed Spirits and it is hard to draw a line between 'controllable' to 'uncontrollable', especially with how all of Nagamasa's children inherited his Cursed Technique. "She already had her arm eaten years ago."
Nagamasa stands at the hallways, eyes as disconnected as always. One hand holds a bag of his food while the other is stuffed in his pocket. "That only happened because her enemy was above her grade," he answers.
"And before that, her brothers died," Satoru decides to chime in, smile reaching ear to ear in attempts to spark something out of Nagamasa. And yet, no reaction comes, just indifference.
"They live with her as Cursed Spirits.
"Cursed Spirits that might kill her anytime," Masamichi refutes.
"Is that how it looks like?"
Rumor has it that Nagamasa was picked up by the Old Man Gakuganji Yoshinobu, himself, and surprisingly, did not kill him on the spot. Satoru does not know the details. He doubts any but the two do, but if Gakuganji personally picked up Nagamasa and did not execute him at sight, then obviously, Nagamasa is protected not only by the Zen'in Family but also the whole Kyōtō branch of sorcerers. Bit that does not mean he can do anything on his own.
Zen'in Nagamasa is a man of very few talents. Despite his hunger and his gluttonous nature, he does not want anything besides to seethe his need. He does not wish for fame, for money, for a life besides what he has right now. He has no ambition. He only married because Zen'in Miwa gave him the chance to. He only had children because it was expected of him as someone who married into the Zen'in Family. Nobody expected him to be a father, and therefore, he does nothing to his children. Even when two of them had turned into Cursed Spirits and the only living one is left, alone, to be played with by the Zen'in Family.
"If Mikado and Mikuji end up as threats," Nagamasa begins, "Then I'll be sent to finish them off, right?
Let the children return to their father, Satoru thinks. "And what of Mikoto then?"
Nagamasa never answers.
...
XIV. PARTNERSHIP
MIKOTO SELDOMLY WORKS ON HER OWN. And in a matter of years living with Megumi, somehow, they become a tag-team of sorts—Gojō had sobbed, saying that his children were growing up so fast and he still remembers that time when they first met (with Mikuji and Mikado right beside her, still capable of wearing their favorite kimono and pronouncing karāge with ease) and Mikoto and her brothers had terrorized Megumi for simply coming into the manor. "And now, you're the bestest of friends!" Megumi tried to deny it as vehemently as possible but Mikoto does not believe him. She just knows that she is Megumi's most favorite cousin. Though she is not sure with Maki-san though, since Maki-san taught them many things about her weapons too.
"Isn't that it, Megu-rin?" Mikoto points at the thermometer box situated at the back of the school. "Weird. Why would they lock Ryōmen Sukuna's finger in a thermometer box?"
Megumi scowls and pulls out his phone. "He's messing with us," he grunts in annoyance.
"Oh! Who are you calling?"
"Gojō-sen—" An upbeat voice suddenly erupts from the cellphone and Mikoto perks up excitedly, and replies as soon as she hears the greeting. "Sattsun-sensei!"
Returning her energy, Gojō mimics her. "Mikoto-chan!"
Megumi pushes Mikoto's face away from his phone and begins walking towards the thermometer box. "Gojō-sensei, are you serious? An outdoor thermometer box?" He exhales in frustration. "You're telling me someone's keeping a Special Grade Cursed Object in a place like this?"
Mikoto follows him behind. Gojō laughs heartly. "Recovering it should be no problem, then!"
Taking it upon herself to check out the box, she opens the doors, unfamiliar with how public schools work. Her previous middle school never had an outdoor thermometer box, and she is pretty sure Tokyo's Jujutsu High School does not have one too.
Before Megumi can scold her for acting recklessly, Mikoto turns to him. She scratches her cheek. "There's nothing here, Megu-rin."
"What."
"There's nothi—"
Megumi storms to the thermometer box, situating himself right beside Mikoto. "There's nothing here," he grunts to the phone, to which their teacher simply laughs at. Again. As much as Mikoto adores her teacher, he can really be troublesome sometimes. Mikado, admittedly, hates Gojō Satoru. Not that she can blame him, of course. Mikoto is currently alive and well thanks to the strongest sorcerer of the generation. "I'm going to punch you," Megumi adds to the call.
"No going home until it's recovered, okay?"
The call ends as soon as it begins.
Mikoto thinks for a moment. "Do you want me to ask Mikado and Mikuji to sniff it out?" She asks.
"No," Megumi groans against his palm, shaking his head, "That would be too risky. And you can't use your brothers to sniff out things, Mikoto.
"Okay," Mikoto slumps.
Mikoto seldomly works on her own. Very seldomly. Not when she was raised knowing that she could die at any given time because she had been blind in her childhood, and her Cursed Technique served only to bind. Not when there was a high risk of her getting mutilated by, not the enemy, but her own brothers. Shōko-san calls Mikoto her least favorite client, not like Mikoto has been frequenting to her, but Shōko insists that Mikoto had been lucky that her Cursed Technique gives her abilities that can assist to Shōko's healing.
Growing an arm was weird. Very weird. Mikado and Mikuji were both very apologetic, refusing to let go of her, or even sleeping. Mikoto was banned from going on missions for almost half and year, and only relied on her relatives and cousins delivering her small amounts of Cursed Spirits they captured. Zen'in Naoya, her Grand-Uncle, was one of her more frequent visitors, and the only one who gave her adequate amount of Cursed Spirits to feed her brothers with.
But now, with Megumi, Mikoto finds going on missions quite easy. Though, she is not quite certain why she was allowed to go to this particular mission.
She hums to herself. What will happen if Mikado and Mikuji eat Sukuna's finger?
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mikoto fact no. 33 — mikoto grew up surrounded by relatives so whenever someone introduces themselves to her, she assumes that it's okay to call them by their given name which is a big no. her mother can't beat it out of her but mikoto likes giving nicknames. (as someone japanese, if a fellow-japanese person called me abruptly by my given name, i would be very uncomfortable, ngl. gojou canonically doesn't care about those kinds of things, so i suppose that's one of the reasons why mikoto and him get along well. he probably gives him nickname advices too)
mikoto fact no. 41 — mikoto thinks it's inappropriate of her to give maki a nickname so she's staying as maki-san.
thank you for the reviews !!! i would love to hear more from you :D someone asked me about love interest in another site. should i add a love interest? also, what do you want to see more? and from mikoto, too! her mother? naobito's relationship with her? more childhood memories? toji? like that hehe : thank you again!