Chapter 8: Volatile
Their fun night couldn't have culminated in a better way. Kasumi feels her heart explode every time she receives an unexpected message from Satoru and, although she wishes she could answer him right away, she decides to leave her cell phone on the table and continue playing with her brothers and Mechamaru. However, she can feel on her fingertips the urgent need to pick up the cell phone and answer him. She glances sideways at the mobile device over and over again. And she only manages to momentarily forget about it during the third round.
Mechamaru is the worst charades player she's ever met. She guesses it's not something he does often, which is why this gesture of complying with her brothers' request feels all the more special to her. She sees him struggling unsuccessfully to act out Planet of the Apes, she laughs out loud. Mechamaru imitates a chimpanzee and she finally manages to guess before Kano does and, when it's her turn, she stands in front of the group and raises her arms, but it seems that none of the three recognize the classic Titanic scene Kasumi is trying to recreate.
In the end, Sochi and Kano end up teaming up and tear Mechamaru and Kasumi apart: seven to two. A total humiliation for an exceptional charades player. However, the defeat doesn't discourage her, they've had so much fun that no one seems to care about the score.
After a couple of hours, Mechamaru gets up to say goodbye. Sochi's bedtime has arrived and the boy struggles to keep his eyes open and groans when he realizes that his new half-machine friend is about to leave. Kasumi is quick to reprimand him and ends up bidding him a cordial farewell. Kano puts the cards away and goes to his room when his older sister reminds him that he should be resting.
As she walks Mechamaru to the door she worries and mentions to him how late it's gotten. And then she remembers that she's speaking to a first-class sorcerer and laughs at her own comment.
"I shouldn't worry about you, it's habit," she apologizes, leaning against the door.
"It was fun," he confesses, standing in front of her.
He does not want to leave. He would like to spend more time with her outside of school. He even goes so far as to think about asking her out just to see her laugh like that again. Kasumi smiles so broadly it takes his breath away.
Hearing him admit that he had a good time is flattering to her coming from such a supremely expressionless face.
"What a relief... It's kind of hard to know what you're thinking."
"I imagine so," he takes a step out and stops, turns his face towards her once more and decides to continue. "If you need anything... call me."
"I will, thank you Mechamaru. We should do this more often."
"Yeah, that would be nice... Bye Miwa."
"Good-bye."
She glances at him, starting his trek back to school and then closes the door. She leans against it and her mind once again has space only for him, only for Gojo Satoru.
She walks wearily to the living room and picks up the plates, the snacks, the glasses. She sweeps up the crumbs that have been scattered on the floor and looks for a blanket to lie down on the sofa, the same way she has done since Kano came home. Since there are only two rooms and she spends most of the year at the Metropolitan College of Magic, she has left them to the boys. She doesn't mind sleeping on the couch, although it gets uncomfortable at times. It will only be a few more days.
She turns off the lights and picks up her cell phone, looks at his message again and, even though it's late she decides to answer it.
'7 pm?'
She is surprised to hear a notification almost immediately.
'Should I bring something?'
'With your presence it's fine.'
She smiles to herself, looks at his smiling photo and bites her lip. She has already thought about the menu and in fact has taken advantage of the previous days to go to the market to check prices and knows exactly what to cook.
'What are you doing?' he asks suddenly.
'Mechamaru just left, we were playing with the boys and now I'm about to go to sleep.'
In his room, Gojo has changed into a baggy white T-shirt and is lying on his bed unable to fall asleep. He was expecting Kasumi to answer his message two hours ago when he sent it. He's even starting to get a little annoyed at the delay. He's been on the verge of calling her when he realized his message had been read. The idea that Isao might be around bothers him, it makes him so uncomfortable that he finds it hard to sleep and that's new. It's not like he sleeps much, in fact, he sleeps less than the average person, luckily five hours a day. And he's never tired.
"Mechamaru?" he wonders quietly in the solitude of his room and comes to laugh at the idea that quickly forms in his mind. Though it's rare that he's wrong about his hunches.
Then he reads the last line and a fleeting memory burns in his thoughts. The night at the hotel still takes its toll on him, a recurring remembrance whose ending is yet to finish.
'Are you wearing those cute shorts you were wearing the other night?'
Kasumi blushes and inspects the surroundings as if expecting one of her siblings to peek through the door, but she's alone. No creak is heard on the wooden floors and she's ashamed of the sensations that instantly awaken on her skin. Despite her demure, her body is impregnated with the memory of that encounter at the hotel and the same warmth that enveloped her that night takes hold of her once again, with embarrassing swiftness.
'A nightgown haha,' she answers embarrassed. It most likely doesn't live up to Satoru's expectations of sensuality.
Satoru vividly remembers the smooth texture of Kasumi's legs and sighs at her response. If it were anyone else, he probably would have already scheduled a little business trip to get that stinging thorn out of the way. But he can't do something like that with Kasumi. This process is slower and more dangerous than he expected. And that's because he slowly realizes that he simply can't stop. She doesn't chase him, she doesn't nag him, she doesn't do anything at all. She seems disinterested at times, and highly open to his company at others.
He doesn't know how to tell Kasumi that he wants to rip off her nightgown and fuck her on that couch until her legs stop responding. That's what he wants to say, but he refrains, he thinks about it, imagines it step by step until it becomes painful.
'It's late, you should go to sleep,' he ends up replying despite the urge in his fingers to say something highly inappropriate.
Kasumi reads his message and thinks she was right, a long nightgown shouldn't stimulate his imagination in the slightest. Maybe she should try a little harder, she thinks and then dismisses out of sheer modesty.
Satoru is at least ten years older than her; he probably has overwhelming experience. It's to be expected from someone so extremely attractive and likable.
She seems so ignorant about the arts of love that she feels defeated in a contest that has, in the end, only just begun.
'Goodnight,' she says goodbye with a smiley emoji and leaves her cell phone on the table.
She crosses her arms over her abdomen and remains static, staring at the ceiling. Then she sighs and again feels prey to the most unpleasant part of her brain.
As inconsistent as he has turned out to be, Kasumi is surprised that Gojo could have any interest in her. She fears she will be a huge disappointment, as she ends up realizing that she feels little next to him. She is younger, inexperienced, weak, lower middle class, average looking... Gojo Satoru, on the other hand, seems to have it all.
She finds it hard to sleep as anxiety crackles from the pit of her stomach to her throat, grabs her with its poisonous claws and squeezes until her heart begins to pump hard. She thinks about it too much, over and over again, feeling less and less worthy of him, what can a little girl offer the most powerful man in the world? What is he doing interested in her?
She can't even give him a passionate night, all she has to offer him is a home-cooked dinner, prepared with the best bargains from the little market two blocks from her house.
Kasumi feels her body shake and tremble, then her mind goes blank. She turns and hugs her pillow, tries not to think at all until the feeling fades, as it always does.
In the morning she feels calmer. The insecurities are gone and she feels like she is starting the day as a blank page. Livelier, happier. She has no room for negative feelings when Gojo Satoru will be home in a few hours.
Revitalized, Kasumi puts on her favorite skirt and a white T-shirt to go shopping. She counts her yen carefully, buys broth, dried wakame seaweed, tofu and onions to make miso soup. Good digestion is important. It pains her a bit to buy the chicken for 800¥, but the evening merits it and she has been saving up to buy some headphones that can ultimately wait a little longer.
She returns with her shopping bag to find Sochi watching cartoons on TV. Kasumi leaves the groceries on the table and Kano appears behind her, stretches his face over his sister's shoulder and browses through her purchases.
"What are we going to eat?"
"It's for dinner, we're having a guest today."
Sochi appears, as if he hasn't been paying attention to the TV at all. He watches his sister putting away all the groceries she's bought with a broad smile.
"Who's coming?" they both ask in unison.
"Is it Cyborg? I'd like to see him, I made him a drawing."
"No, it's not Me-cha-ma-ru," replies Kasumi irritated. "It's Gojo-sensei."
"Gojo-sensei!" Sochi exclaims enthusiastically while Kano pronounces his name with slight contempt.
"What does your sensei have to do at home?"
"Kano, don't be rude. Gojo has been very kind, that's why I invited him to dinner. I expect you to behave yourself, and if you don't, forget about eating teriyaki chicken."
"Teriyaki chicken?! You didn't even cook anything special when I got out of the hospital."
"We had sushi with Gojo-sensei," Sochi adds, which doesn't make it any easier for Kasumi.
"You don't have to get like this over a meal Kano, every year I make something special for your birthday. Only this time I'll cook for him. Are you jealous?"
"Ha! Jealous? Not at all," he turns around, folds his arms and continues mumbling while Kasumi starts preparing the teriyaki sauce for dinner.
"Gojo is awesome," Sochi comments, turning his attention back to his cartoons.
"Shut up, Sochi."
The remaining hours between Gojo Satoru's imminent arrival at the Miwa's residence, Kasumi fills them catching up on her and Mai's homework. She finally manages to get that favor she did him for her birthday off her chest. Then she cleans the house again from corner to corner, cleans the window panes, and goes through all the family photos. And while doing that last, she stops to look at one of the few photos she has of her mother. This one she has framed because it is the only one in which the four of them are together. Sochi was barely two years old and his mother showed no signs of the illness that would consume her shortly after, in just six months. Seeing her, she remembers her with longing, hopes that wherever she has gone she's present and accompanies the three of them, especially her siblings. She feels herself decompaginating the image a bit, the children have dark hair, just like their father's, while their mother has a hazel hue. She's pleased to realize that she has grown to resemble her, they have the same smile and the same nose. The cyan hair and blue eyes are probably the only things that differentiate them.
Kasumi takes a lock escaping from her ponytail; she looks at it sideways. Then she remembers Gojo's harsh words.
"Kasumi, your mother could see the curses, couldn't she? I think something terrible must have happened to her while she was pregnant and you ended up absorbing all those negative feelings."
It's not too hard for her to imagine what might have happened to her, what her father might have done to her. Like the strike of lightning, a memory breaks over her mind with such clarity that it feels more like the present itself. The image of Kano, nine years old, standing between them and his father to prevent them from another blow, of which he himself ends up the victim. Her mother's screams echo over her fragile mind. Kasumi closes her eyes; does the exercise she usually does when she thinks about these things. She takes a deep breath and her mind goes blank. Inhale, count to ten, exhale. Inhale, count to ten, exhale.
She hangs the picture back on the wall and tries to smile again. It's already six o'clock in the evening, Gojo will be here in an hour. She puts on her apron to start cooking and goes out to the kitchen.
He is particularly excited, imagining what will be waiting for him at Kasumi's house. What she will be preparing especially for him. He assumes that, having taken care of two children for so many years, she's used to cooking. Maybe she's even good at it. For some reason he is certain that she does, whatever Kasumi makes has to taste good.
The school is deserted, were it not for the only first-year student, who wanders bored shuffling around the dining hall. Nanami is there, reading a newspaper down to the last page. The rest of the students have gone out to deal with the first curses of the year.
"Hey," he says to Nanami but he ignores him and turns the page. "Hey, hey," he says again and he lifts his face to him. As expressionless as he usually is, Satoru detects the hint of annoyance in him. "Read my horoscope, I want to know what today has in store for me."
"I'm reading something else. Don't bother."
"Oh... C'mon, it's on the last page. Then you can go on reading your boring news. You know? You're the only person I know who still reads the newspaper, it makes you look old. Why don't you read on your cell phone like everyone else?"
"Excessive use of mobile devices damages your eyesight."
"Uhm, it didn't do anything to me. Come on, c' mon. Ito! What's your sign?"
"Eh? Virgo, I think," answers the boy from the other side of the room.
"I'm a Sagittarius. Nanami, what's yours?"
"I'm not interested in those things."
"Well, when's your birthday?" asks Satoru and takes out his cell phone.
"July 3rd."
"Let's see," he answers and starts his web search. "You're cancer! Let's go, now read our horoscopes."
"You already have your cell phone in hand, you look them up."
"No, Nanami, the one in the newspaper is better. I don't trust the ones on the Internet. Please, come on, it's right there on the last page. Hurry up."
Nanami sighs, he knows that Satoru will insist to exhaustion. He dismisses the news he's reading and skips to the last page.
"Virgo," begins with the young Ito Noboyuki. "Changing attitudes about things and getting out of your self-absorption on emotional issues will be very important today because there may be an interesting conversation that will bring you a lot of security. They believe in you and that raises your self-esteem."
"Oh? Ito, do you have low self-esteem?"
"Uhm... I don't think so."
"Oh... Well, you shouldn't. You're a whiny boy, but you have a lot of potential. Believe in yourself, Ito. That's what a good sensei would say, right Nanami?" he laughs. "What does yours say Nanami?"
"I don't believe in these things, Satoru."
"Go on, read it.
"Uhm... cancer..." he continues reading despite his unwillingness. "An energetic regeneration is coming because of Mars' position. This is important today, as you may feel a drop in physical strength. You may need a change of scenery and see other faces," he lifts his chin and looks at Gojo's face with disinterest. "Maybe it's not so wrong after all."
"Eh?" he questions, ignoring Nanami's insinuation. "And what does mine say?"
Nanami looks down and looks for the Sagittarius sign.
"Friendships will mean a lot and will bring you truly pleasant moments even if it's at a distance and not directly. Take great care that they do not deteriorate by forced distances. Leave behind events of the past, as they still have repercussions on your emotional or affective side."
Gojo listens attentively, has his hands on his knees and is leaning forward to the other side of the couch where Nanami is sitting. After meditating for a few seconds, he relaxes and lies back against the couch.
"I don't think that's accurate. I don't have emotional problems," he replies dissatisfied. "Hey, Ito. Wanna train?"
"What? I thought I'd have the day off since everyone's gone."
"No, no, all the more reason you should be training. Your classmates are risking their lives now and you're here having tea and cookies."
"If they are risking their lives, why didn't you go with them, sensei?" answers the young man with wrinkled eyebrows.
"It's what everyone has to do, eventually you will face a curse that's stronger than you. It's fight or die, and I don't want anyone to die so you have no choice but to become stronger."
"He's irresponsible, but he's right, Ito."
"It's easy for him to say... he's the strongest one..."
"Yeah, that's true," Gojo comments with a broad smile.
When the boy finishes his cookies, Gojo takes him to a secluded room where he often fights with his students until they are exhausted, lying on the floor. He glances at the clock from time to time, but after a few hours he realizes he's running late.
It is five o'clock. He was supposed to leave at four in order to arrive in Kyoto at seven, which is the time he set for dinner at Kasumi's house.
"Are we done yet?" sighs Ito, leaning against the wall, drenched in sweat. He sees Gojo put on a black leather jacket.
"You can rest now, but take a shower first. It's not good to stay sweaty for hours," he advises him as he puts away his cell phone and hurries out the door.
The hands of the clock strike seven in the evening. Kasumi is sitting at the table, the three remaining chairs are empty, and the aroma of food wafts through the house. The last few minutes have passed extremely slowly, she has not been able to take her eyes off the clock hanging on the wall. Her exalted heart is pounding loudly inside her chest and she makes an impressive effort to keep it at a normal pace.
The first ten minutes pass, Kano watches her out of the corner of his eye. He and Sochi are playing on the old console while waiting for their guest. Kasumi has forced them both to take a shower and put on clean clothes. This irritates him, especially when half an hour passes and the famous Gojo Satoru doesn't arrive.
"Won't he come?" he asks, feigning disinterest when he sees her glancing at her cell phone.
Kasumi has no message from Gojo.
"Maybe something happened to him. He had a setback..." she answers and then remembers that bad habit of his of being late. "He'll be here soon."
"What a rude guy," Kano mutters. "We should start without him. The food is going to get cold."
Hearing this, Kasumi goes to the kitchen and turns the oven back on to maintain the temperature of the chicken. She puts a little more sauce on it to keep it from drying out and looks at the time once more.
At eight o'clock, Kasumi sits next to her brothers on the couch and watches them play Super Smash Bros.
The doorbell rings, just as hope withers. Kasumi's heart rate shoots up and the trio turns toward the door. But before she can reach the door, Kano is on the move and opens it wide.
"Gojo-sensei!" Kasumi and Sochi exclaim at the same time, with the same degree of excitement.
"You're late," says Kano, who doesn't seem intimidated by the difference in height.
The boy inspects him, standing between him and his home. He looks at the leather jacket, dark denim pants and black shoes. Then he looks him in the face again and finds it strange that someone would wear dark glasses this time of night, even though Sochi mentioned to him that the last time he was here he wore a black bandana over his face.
Kasumi arrives and subtly pushes him by the shoulder to let Gojo pass. He smiles broadly, his teeth perfect and pearly. He lifts a bag as he waves.
"Sorry, I brought ice cream."
Satoru leaves his shoes on the entrance and walks through. He takes a deep breath and fills his lungs with the aroma wafting from the kitchen. He removes his jacket and hangs it on a coat rack by the door.
Kasumi would like to question him about his lateness, or the lack of delicacy he has shown in letting her know he would be late. But she doesn't, not wanting to ruin a moment that could be perfect. She welcomes him in and invites him to take a seat next to the boys.
As he sits, he feels Kano's gaze scanning him. Behind him he manages to see the game paused on the small TV and the two controllers on the floor.
"Super Smash Bros?" he asks with some nostalgia. "I used to have the best score," he adds proudly.
"I have the best score," replies Kano.
"Kano..." Kasumi lets go, gritting her teeth as she arranges the dishes on the table. "Don't be rude to our guest."
"How do you feel after the surgery?" Gojo asks him, sensing his hostility.
"Normal, it's no big deal."
"In a couple of days, they'll be able to take out the stitches," adds Kasumi, while serving a bowl of miso soup as a starter.
"What did you prepare, Kasumi?" Gojo asks her and she blushes almost immediately. Kano observes the embarrassment on his sister's face and listens attentively as the words pile up in her throat. Which is unusual for her.
"Teriyakichicken!" she replies excitedly.
"Kasumi? You call her by her first name? That's strange... She didn't prepare anything special for me when I got out of the hospital," comments Kano again, offended.
"Strange? It's hard to call you all Miwa, if there were more Gojos here you'd probably have to call me Satoru."
"Whatever, it's too strange," he replies, squinting. "You're the first sensei Kasumi has invited home."
"Wow, you're an overprotective little boy."
"Kano," she says again in the same tone, and Gojo feels the kick that the young man receives from under the table. Kano keeps his composure despite the blow he receives. It has hurt him, for a moment his gesture lets it show.
"I'm the man of the house," he says as he sips his miso soup.
"I thought Kasumi was the man of the house. She's the oldest and takes care of you two."
"Are all your sensei this strange, Kasumi? Is it a sorcerer thing? I like Mechamaru better."
"Well, I'm not really her sensei, I'm a sensei," Gojo replies before Kasumi has a chance to answer.
"That's even weirder. If you're not her sensei, what are you doing here?"
"Kano!" Kasumi lets go, resting her fists on the table.
"Don't worry, Kasumi. You see, Kano. I'm a sensei from the Sister College Kasumi goes to. Besides, I doubt you'd want to have dinner with the Kyoto College people. You wouldn't prefer Gakuyanshi, he smells old."
"Gojo-sensei is awesome, Kano. Stop teasing him," Sochi says and takes a long sip of his soup to leave the empty bowl on the table.
"He brought you junk food! Of course you're going to think he's all that!"
Kasumi is about to get up from the table to pull her brother's ear, but Gojo pulls something out of his pocket and she stops herself.
"I almost forgot," he says and pulls out a Castell 9000 pencil case.
Kano looks at the pencils. At first his eyes widen with enthusiasm, then he notices his own expression and tries to look disinterested.
"You think you're going to buy me with that?"
"Did I?"
"Uhm..."
"Well, I think I'll keep them. I don't think you deserve them. I'l just throw them in the trash."
"Hey, no!"
"Ah... Are you going to behave, you manipulative midget?"
"Who are you calling a midget? I'm taller than Kasumi."
"You're still a midget to me, what are you? 5'5"? You're still 10 inchees short for me to think you're tall."
"Give me a couple of years, I'm only fifteen. How old are you? 50?"
"wenty-nine, and for your age I was already 5'9"."
"Stop arguing!" Kasumi interrupts and they both turn to look at her.
She couldn't be more embarrassed. Her cheeks are on fire and she hasn't taken a sip of her soup, her brow is furrowed as never before. Satoru and Kano smile, and as the older one puts away the box of pencils he leans slightly towards Cano and whispers to him.
"I'll give them to you after dinner if you behave yourself."
"Manipulator," the young man replies, straining a smile.
"Kano, help me lift the table and bring the chicken."
Kasumi stands up. Gojo looks at her out of the corner of his eye and pities the boy for the reprimand he is probably going to get in the kitchen. The young man reluctantly gets up, picks up the silverware and leaves after his sister. Satoru has to stifle a chuckle as he hears the whispers from the other side of the wall, fortunately he's not going to get reprimanded today.
"Do you want to play Super Smash Bros with me after dinner?"
"Only if you don't leave anything on your plate," Gojo replies in a sterner tone than usual, as he assumes this is something someone his age should say. The boy nods enthusiastically and he smiles to himself.
Kasumi and her brother return shortly after. Kano has the same face that Ito usually has after their training together. Kasumi instead forces her best smile as she brings the teriyaki chicken casserole between two mittens. She places it in the middle of the table and serves the bowls.
"Ah!" he exclaims with a smile, similar to the one Sochi has.
The first bite is delicious, Satoru closes his eyes and tastes while Kasumi watches him expectantly.
"It's delicious," he tells her, she nods and blushes again.
Kano continues to watch them, first one and then the other. Gojo doesn't escape his scrutiny for a second and gives up on the idea he's been pondering since he saw Kasumi's skirt. If he gets a hand on her the boy will notice, so he reaches a foot smoothly under the table and brushes against her leg. He doesn't expect Kasumi to choke on a piece of chicken. She picks up a glass of water and drinks in embarrassment. Then she laughs nervously and gestures with her hand not to pay too much attention to her.
Satoru completely gives up his ideas when he sees the way her hands shake. He assumes that the presence of her brothers makes her much more nervous than usual.
The bowls of chicken and rice are completely empty in less than fifteen minutes. Gojo offers to pick up the dishes, but Kasumi insists that he take a seat and Sochi takes this opportunity to insist that he play a game on his small retro console.
They both sit down in front of the TV and Satoru stretches his fingers as if preparing for a fight.
By the time Kano and Kasumi return with the ice cream Gojo bought, they are both on level four, completely engrossed in the TV. They take small pauses and pass control to the other two every time one of them dies. Gojo takes these short moments when he hands over the controller to Kano to finish his ice cream and even asks for a second bowl. And when he returns the bowl, he takes the chance to caress Kasumi's fingers in the most discreet way possible.
That gesture is enough to weaken Kasumi's knees, who trembles as she leaves the room. She pours a second portion of ice cream for Satoru and returns, as decorous as possible.
After a couple of hours, just like the night before when Machamaru was there, Sochi starts to nod off. He is unable to recognize his tiredness when there is a guest. So, Kasumi is forced to accompany him to his room, and after tucking him in and turning off the light, Gojo assumes it's time to leave. He discreetly hands the drawing pencils to Kano and gets to see a slight blush on his cheeks as he blurts out a reluctant thank you.
He stands up, puts on his jacket and looks at the time on his cell phone ignoring most of the messages waiting for him.
"Gojo-sensei," Kasumi says as she sees him by the door, "can I walk you to the train station?"
"Huh? At this hour?" Kano reproaches her, but she ignores him completely. She can't take her eyes off him; she just waits for Satoru's answer.
"Sure," he answers, holding back the twisted smile that his face is about to show.
"Kano! Don't open the door for anyone!" she says before putting on a light denim jacket.
The door closes quickly before Kano can continue reprimanding Kasumi. On the other side, Gojo watches Kasumi, she sinks her face against her chest and tries unsuccessfully to contain her smile. And at that moment, while the two of them are alone, Gojo notices something that disturbs him. He stares at the ground until he catches Kasumi's attention and turns around in search of what has captured his gaze.
"Again? I'll have to complain to the janitor."
"Yes, you should," replies Satoru in a terse tone and starts walking towards the exit.
As they walk down the sidewalk, Satoru picks up his cell phone and begins to type.
'Ijichi, I need another confidential favor,' he immediately sends. Dreading having to make a third visit to Isao Miwa's horrifying residence.
"Thank you for coming," Kasumi says shyly.
"You can call me Satoru... Gojo-sensei has its charm, but I can sacrifice it for you."
"Okay... Satoru," she pronounces with a bit of shame.
"I have plenty of time until the last train," he comments as he sees a deserted playground and Kasumi gets the message.
They both walk to the swings and sit down. Kasumi gently swings and gazes at the stars. Few people wander around the neighborhood and this is the first time she feels completely free to be around him.
"I was thinking about what you said the other day," Kasumi turns her face to Satoru's, he doesn't seem to understand what she means and watches her expectantly. "About my hair, and about my mom..."
"Oh... I've thought about it too. I think the color of your eyes also comes from the cursed energy. You're the only one in your family with blue eyes, right?"
"Yes..." she replies flattered to be in Satoru's thoughts. "I've thought about that too... The truth is, my father was an abusive man and mom had to deal with him for many years. For some reason she received him after every single mistreatment..."
"Maybe she was afraid of him," Gojo assumes and looks at the stars.
"Maybe, I was afraid of him too. I think I still am, but I try not to think about it."
"I have another theory about you."
"What is it? Wait... I don't know what you're going to say so let me prepare myself to hear something harsh."
Kasumi laughs as she says this, while Satoru still has a blank expression on his face.
"I think you're like a bottle."
"A bottle?"
"I think you've gotten used to dealing with negative emotions, so much so that you ignore them. You repress them so much that you've bottled up your cursed energy. You don't channel it, like other people do: you ignore it. You'll never progress if you keep doing the same thing. And if you keep doing that you'll probably explode at some point and you won't be able to control the cursed energy when it leaves your body."
"I guess that might be true..."
"You should transfer schools; I can help you with that."
"What? No, I couldn't."
"Why not? We can get a place for your siblings if that's what you're worried about."
"I couldn't, Utahime-sensei would object. Besides, I wouldn't want to take the boys out of school. They have friends here, and I know how hard it is to attend a new school where you don't know anyone. They need stability, especially Kano. I know he seems like a tough kid, but he's been through a lot and just wants to take care of Sochi and me."
"It's a pity. On the other hand, though, it's good for me that you're not my student. Then I won't have to avoid these kinds of extracurricular activities."
In short, he succeeds in embarrassing her again. But this time, Kasumi takes the reins after having meditated so much on her own insecurities. She stands up and Gojo watches her stand in front of him.
"Satoru..." she utters a second time. There is embarrassment and devotion in her tone. "Are you really interested in me?"
Kasumi has both arms intertwined behind her back. Her shy face makes him smile. What is there about Kasumi that he couldn't like?
"Very interested."
His answer silences all the negative voices that haunt her in every corner, every time she feels lost in Gojo's absence.
She leans in and deposits a soft kiss on his lips.
He receives it, sitting on the swing, his hands relaxed between his legs. He closes his eyes and lets that kiss find him. It's nice and warm, and tender, and sincere.
Kasumi feels a wave of warmth emanating from her body, like flames shooting from her skin. Something vibrates inside her.
And that' s because love is the most volatile kind of cursed energy.
Notes: Hello! I took the my last weekend completely free from work to write this chapter, since yesterday was a holiday in my country. To all those who commented on the subject, I tested negative for covid-19.
I wanted to mention something that I never get to say, because I always forget. But every location I mention in this story is real. The karaoke bar, the hotel, the hospital. I'm very thorough with those things, I think they give realism to the story and even if nobody notices, I like to keep that kind of details.
I hope this chapter finds you in good health. Thank you very much to euridecee who takes a few moments of her time to leave a comment, it really makes me happy to know that there are people interested in this ship. Sending you all a big hug from Argentina!