Beta-reader: Biabialex
2000 July 11
Yaga Masamichi was a large man and even as he sat on the ground, he towered over her. The man gave Emi a limp wave as he watched her get closer.
"Nice to see you, Yaga-san." The girl greeted, quickly checking for the man's reaction when she approached. After what happened last time, Emi was not sure if he liked it when she entrusted Suguru with the only jujutsu sorcerer she was close with and whom she considered their future teacher. She thought it would be nice if they got acquainted earlier. "Why did you call me here?"
"You really are the type to leave out information. You should have told me the boy was a grade one sorcerer at the least and a special grade at best." Masamichi stood up, lifting the girl to her feet as he placed her over his shoulders. He thought of how she called for his help right away and reconsidered his previous impression of the little girl once again. "That boy should not be left alone, or else it's easy to get influenced by the people around him."
"It was supposed to be a surprise. I know you like talented people." Emi quietly laughed as she sat on the man's shoulder, recalling the conversation they had a couple of months ago.
Emi met the older man back when she was searching for a jujutsu psychologist. Initially, she did not get her hopes up considering sorcerers rarely find civilian jobs. Eventually, she found information from one of the Gojo family aides, who told her they found one. However, that person decided to leave his jujutsu-shi life for good, and the only way to contact that person would be through his best friend, Yaga Masamichi.
Masamichi was about 28-30 years old and decided to teach in Jujutsu High to help future sorcerers.
Perhaps because he was younger, the man was not wearing his signature sunglasses. Instead, he had the side of his face shaved with two lines that went around his head. Masamichi wore the regular uniform of teachers in Jujutsu High, the zipped up long black jacket, with his goatee, completing his look. They had known each other for a few months now. And at first, it took her a long time to register that he was an easygoing person since his face showed the opposite.
On the bright side, the man's intention was very easy to read. For him, everything was black and white, with a bit of flair on the side—referring to his small capacity to empathize with sorcerers and non-sorcerer's alike. However, it seemed he was way more intelligent, albeit he hid it under his utilitarian attitude. He tended to judge people on the basis if they were contributing to the greater good, oddly alike with Suguru.
That made the two of them a good pair.
Masamichi brought them to her house where he carefully brought down Emi from his shoulder as he respectfully removed his shoes upon entry. Emi. "Ojiichan! Yaga-san's here!" She called out in a loud drawl, copying the man's action.
It took a moment before they saw Tadashi's figure in the hallway accompanied by the sounds of footsteps along the wooden floor. "Saa, Yaga-san. You should have notified us earlier. We didn't prepare anything for you!"
"Ah, there's no need, Tadashi-san." Masamichi scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed by the older man's hospitality. Emi eyed the large man on her right as she prevented herself from laughing. The latter noticed this and nudged her using his elbow, forcefully moving her sideways with the coordination of a two-year-old.
Emi was amazed that her grandfather always seemed to forget who his grandchild was whenever Masamichi was around. Perhaps it was because he mentioned they had the same affinity, but the little girl refused to believe that. If she were to guess, it was just that the two's personalities were so identical that even she was surprised when they first met. It contributed to her friendship with the man, who did not treat her like an ordinary nine-year-old.
Their relationship was more of a comrade-type rather than an older brother and younger sister relationship. Their banters were nothing a child could connect with, except for Satoru, of course, who could inexplicably assimilate with her personality. Emi brought Yaga back home when he was coincidentally around the area exorcising. They talked about his psychologist friend who turned out to be a psychiatrist—people could not differentiate the two—and discussed how she could meet the person.
Masamichi agreed to convince his friend after learning her circumstances. He and Tadashi met after that when the former came back from the Gojo compound.
"What are you doing these days, Yaga-san?" Tadashi asked with a curious look, lifting the edge of his lips the girl belatedly realized he had never done before.
"Ah, I'm teaching a kid and bringing him around to gather experience. Emi-chan introduced him to me." Masamichi peered at the girl, using the action of drinking the glass of water as a cover. "Although, it might take a few years before I can teach him in Jujutsu High."
"From a non-sorcerer family?" The older man inquired as he directed his eyes to his granddaughter, surprised at his girl's activities beyond being an aide.
"Yes, he could be counted as scouted."
Emi seemed to be uncomfortable at her grandfather's inquiring look and elaborated. "He is a friend, Ojiichan." The little girl seemed to notice the malicious intent in his eyes.
"That's good," her grandfather expressed.
Masamichi almost choked on the water he was drinking when he noticed this interaction, forcing Emi to smile with faux-confidence as she changed the topic. "Speaking of, Yaga-san told me he would stay around the area for the meantime. He was stationed here to exorcise some high-level courses."
"Ah—"The large man, who was now in the line of fire, stiffly smiled as he stuttered, "Y-yes. Recently, there was a rise in cases of curse sightings, so the Gojo family asked for help."
"I've heard that Kunitaro-sama asked the Tokyo Jujutsu High for help. Make sure to visit us when you're not busy, Yaga-san. As I've told you, we need to talk more often since I feel like I have an affinity with you." Tadashi brightly smiled as he held the man's resting hand on the table; some sparkle seemed to appear in his eyes.
"Y-yes, Tadashi-san." Masamichi managed to reply, purely out of politeness, as he mentally noted not to mess with the girl unconsciously or consciously; otherwise, he would expect himself to be thrown into these kinds of situations.
Tadashi reacted positively to his answer, nodding good-naturedly. "Ah, have I told you that one time where I went to the countryside to scout a bright young man?"
Emi decided to excuse herself before she got involved in Masamichi's bad fortune—anyone knew that when her grandfather started rambling, no one would be able to stop him. Not even the stern-faced future Tokyo Jujutsu High School Principal. "Ojiichan, I'll drop by the Gojo compound for a moment," she mentioned, ignoring the large man's silent call for help.
"Then make sure to come back before dinner—" her grandfather said in between his ramblings. "—you should have been there because I tell you..."
Emi wished Masamichi the best as she exited the living room with cat-like reflexes. She was glad she now had someone to use as a shield whenever Tadashi reminisced about his glory days.
2000 July 30
Emi clutched her aching ribs as she dropped to her knees, hovering over the white-haired boy who had fallen over after drinking a couple of cups of sake. The girl tried to stop the laughter from escaping her mouth. Thankfully, they decided to experiment after school, or else their classmates would see the boy's sorry figure.
The Gojo Satoru had no alcohol tolerance. Indeed, no one could have it all.
"…zunda, mochi, dango.." Satoru lay on the training grounds with blank eyes, listing all the sweet things he liked under the influence of alcohol. "…Emi?"
"Y-yeah, pfft!" Emi found the situation extremely amusing as she tried to act normally. "A-ah, m-maybe I should have given you-u food before those shots of s-sake," she belatedly realized, sitting beside the white-haired boy after he called for her. Fuck, she'd die laughing.
"Emi-chan?"
The little girl mustered up her concentration as she exhaled in one breath. "Y-yeah, yeah. We'll get you those sweet things." She felt an acute pain in her chest as she carried Satoru on her back, taking it upon herself to make the boy sober up a little.
It was Friday, the last day of school. As it is, Satoru suggested they try one of his grandfather's alcoholic drinks out of curiosity. Emi agreed right away because of what better way to release her stress than drink some sake? Grabbing a bottle from the Gojo family storage, the two went to the training grounds to try it. The girl had a pretty decent estimation of her alcohol tolerance, and along with her grandfather's urging to sip some when her father was looking (he indulged her to that degree , she could never ask for another Tadashi in this life), she knew she could take a couple of cups or more before being light-headed.
Satoru had never tried nor cared about it. That was until the girl told him how Tadashi would usually give her some whenever he was drinking. Showing interest, the white-haired boy dragged her back to the compound after school, bringing them to the current situation.
"That's why you didn't like alcohol," Emi muttered with wonder under her breath, recalling that there was that sort of information in the Jujutsu Kaisen fanbook. She thought it was because alcohol would disrupt his thinking, but she didn't realize it would be this embarrassing for him. Feeling a little sorry, she carefully brought down the boy on the bed.
The little girl made sure he was sitting up as she went out again to get a pitcher of water. Going back, she saw the slumped figure of Satoru by the door. "Ruru?"
Satoru did not react to her voice; placing the pitcher and glass on the nearest table, she kneeled in front of him. Emi touched both of his cheeks as she raised his head, surprised that it was wet. The white-haired boy was crying, his face red as he bit his lips when he looked straight into her eyes. Emi did not realize he was that type of drunk. At the very least, she guessed he would be the type who would spout some political stuff.
Wiping the tears from his face, she hugged the boy and patted his back.
"Hey," she whispered quietly into his ear. "Why are you crying, Ruru?"
The boy hugged her tighter then cried louder. Emi did not know what to do; this was her first time seeing Satoru like this, her previous amusement rapidly turned into growing concern while she consoled him. After a while, he finally stopped crying and lay limply on her shoulders. She guessed he must have fallen asleep as she carefully loosened their hug, helping the boy to sleep.
Emi breathed out heavily, running a hand through her fringed white hair and feeling frustration build upon her chest. She thought she should ask the boy after the boy woke up.
2000 July 31
"…you truly did not remember?"
"I remember you carrying me on your back but after that? Nothing at all." Satoru swished the cursed short sword, replying to her after recovering from his embarrassment earlier.
Emi was back on the Gojo family training grounds at dawn for her regular training. Satoru, who remembered the things he did while drunk, reddened with embarrassment, followed by an announcement that he would never drink alcohol again. The girl did not doubt that; that was awfully entertaining for her if not for what the white-haired boy did before she went home. Rather, she could not make fun of it considering the heaviness in her chest did not disappear after she slept it off. Deciding to tire herself out to relieve it, the nine-year-old girl asked the boy for a spar.
"Well, never mind," Emi concluded mentally, him forgetting about it was a good thing after all it would also be hard for her to discuss what happened last night.
Usually, her schedule was pretty hectic. Emi had to take care of the things assigned to her, mainly answering correspondence via flip phone, which thank kami they made available for her, scheduling Satoru's monthly vacation, and finally taking care of his hidden bodyguards in case there were assassination attempts on his life. It was no secret that the birth of the white-haired boy changed the jujutsu world; even powerful curses could feel the status quo shift the moment his head crowned during delivery.
The girl also needed to go back to Koichi once a month lest he would worry and check from Suguru from time to time to see if his training was going well.
So far, Geto was doing well, and after receiving payment from the curses he exorcised previously, he and his mother could hold out for a while. Although it seemed his Kaa-san's health was not doing well, Emi needed to offer the best help she could.
"What are you thinking?" Satoru appeared behind her, blowing in her ear to catch her attention. "You've been spacing out for a while."
Emi rolled her eyes, rubbing her ear when she felt she lost a little bit of her hearing. "I was thinking of the things I needed to do."
"Then I guess there's a lot? Do you think we could go to the beach for our summer vacation?" The white-haired boy stabbed the short sword on the ground as he placed a hand on his hip. "You should rest when you can, you know."
"Who do you think my source of stress is?" The girl complained, walking behind Satoru, leaning on his back using her forehead. The boy grew a few inches taller during the recent school break, effectively becoming a head taller than her.
"Touché." Satoru was aware of how the Gojo family trained their assistants; sadly, he did not have a say in it, seeing that if Emi did not do well, she might distance herself from the family. It was harsh, but the same thing also applied to him—if he was not born with the Six Eyes, he needed to prove himself using hard work instead of talent.
Emi groaned in pain when the boy turned around, accidentally hitting her bruised shoulder. "Say, why do we work hard to live? It doesn't seem that appealing in the first place." The girl thought about her previous life and the current one, blatantly aware of how privileged she was compared to others but complained nonetheless.
"You say those things, but you still do your work well, Emi-chan." Satoru pointed out her contradiction while he checked the girl's shoulder. Noticing a white patch on her skin, he looked at her, alarmed. "What is this?"
The little girl followed her gaze and waved her hand lazily. "Ah, that's normal. I have piebaldism." Emi noticed his dark expression then explained, amusement in her voice. "You haven't seen my torso, have you? It's not evident because my clothes usually cover the affected parts. But I have white spots on my whole back, plus, the white fringe on my hair—" she pointed at her forehead, "—it's because I inherited it from my mother."
"Then show me," he ordered with a commanding voice, unlike a child his age.
"Are you crazy?" Emi backed away from him in surprise, showing him would mean she needed to strip, which was something not even friends did. "Get your head together, Gojo," she warned, nudging him a little.
"Too bad." Satoru closed his eyes, putting his hands on his pocket. "Kidding aside, this was the first time I saw that," he said when he realized Emi would put him on a chokehold if he continued joking around. The boy examined the patch of white skin closer, amazed that it was not harmful.
Emi wriggled under his hold as she lazily huffed, explaining, "Well, this is the first time I wore a sleeveless top."
The little girl avoided showing too much skin as much as possible to prevent possible taunting of other children. Emi was not the one to shy away from confrontation, but it would be best if she could avoid it as much as possible. Being stressed about work about one thing but being depressed because of unnecessary harassment was another. Moreover, she was still not used to seeing this version of her considering she had no skin disorders in her previous life.
Satoru nodded absently at her clarification as they continued their training.
2000 August 21
Emi glanced at the girl beside Tomita Osamu, Masamichi's psychiatrist friend, and blinked, her hand twitching beside her as she asked, "…and this is?"
"Ah, this is my apprentice, Ieiri Shoko." Dr. Tomita did not notice the oddness of the girl's action as he placed his hand on his apprentice's, introducing her.
As she thought. She would never forget that familiar mole under the slanted eyes. Ieiri Shoko was a brunette, and as a child, she had that resting bitch face that seemed to tell the person she was talking to scram. Emi was unsure if that was her true personality, but it appeared her master was too easygoing for her to obtain the same behavior. The girl doubted if the jujutsu sorcerer world was really that small for her to meet these big shots during their early years. Well, that made sense—with Gojo and Geto, there was only one way to have a medic in their class; Masamichi must have known Shoko prior to the manga.
Emi decided to act like this was her first time meeting the would-be Jujutsu High doctor, exchanging formal greetings with the girl.
With a curious glance towards Shoko, the nine-year-old followed Dr. Tomita to his office, where they would finalize their initial consultation. Truthfully, she had the urge earlier to bolt from the place and never return, but she knew better as a former medical practitioner. Her nightmares were getting worse, and with her constant work, she felt her sanity was slipping. Thankfully, Emi was not the type to bottle up her feelings; otherwise, her turning insane would be the least of her problems.
They talked about her diagnosis and medications that could probably help reduce her anxiety and stress. During their conversation, Dr. Tomita showed his extreme disapproval of how the jujutsu world dealt with children. Trauma after the battle was usually written off as not important and mental health checks were more or less non-existent. Adults were not doing any better as they continued exorcising at the cost of their sanity—how could they be role models for future generations?
It was an endless cycle of trauma and abuse, so as a psychiatrist, Dr. Tomita decided to distance himself.
Emi decided to bring up the idea of offering his services to other people, too, perhaps to Satoru and Suguru.
"I can take that, and I wouldn't say no to people who needed help. It's just that the atmosphere in the community gives me unnecessary stress—the higher-ups in particular. They're too traditional." The older man complained, dropping his paperwork at his glass table with a thud as his apprentice beside him sent him a critical glare.
Emi thought that was good, keeping their conversation in her mind. "Then how about Ieiri-san? Will she also continue to study psychiatry or psychology?"
"I haven't decided about what I want to do yet." The girl admitted, grabbing the folders from Dr. Tomita's table to arrange them on the other side of the room. "But I'm starting to like human anatomy and physiology, so maybe something like that."
"That would be a good start," she agreed, thinking of how she decided to go another route this time. The 'her' before specialized in neurology, and although she regained her knowledge until now (somehow), it would be challenging to continue to med school while being a jujutsu sorcerer at the same time. Internal medicine did not sound bad, but pathology piqued her interests too.
"Is Emi-chan planning to continue to med school as well?" Dr. Tomita asked her as he stood up to send her out, one hand clutching his aching back.
Shoko directed an inquisitive glance her way, finishing her task quickly so she could follow her master. "We might as well enter the same school together, Tokunaga-san."
"You can call me Emi. It's perfectly fine." The girl blithely allowed her, showing a toothy grin as she walked to the door. "I'm thinking about it, but Jujutsu High is not really a good school that Universities will consider when looking at your college applications. So either I become a doctor or not at all."
"Then, Emi-chan, that's a good perspective." Shoko agreed, deeply thinking about her future as she opened the door.
Dr. Tomita, who was walking behind them, was intrigued about a child's mindset, so he asked, "Do primary school students really think about their future like this?" He said, fascination on his face. "I remember when I was your age, I wanted to be a superhero."
"You're old." The two girls deadpanned in unison, looking at each other, then chuckled.
Emi preferred if she could be a doctor again. It was a job she had gone through once and something she would not hesitate to do once more. Although she had to focus on being a competent jujutsu sorcerer for now, if not, her hard work so far would be all for naught. In truth, she would admit she used work as a distraction to get over her death from her past life—which proved to be effective—anyhow, she was doing fine now. She had a lot of time to think during the nine years that she stayed here.
Previous Emi was not the current Emi. The two had different motivations, family, friends, and hopefully, life expectancy. Because again, kami forbade her from dying again at the age of 35. Dying once was her bottom line; if she died at the same time too in this life, her next reincarnation would not be pretty. She would commit suicide and would not entertain the same bullshit anymore.
Why would they drop a retired workaholic in this kind of setting in the first place? If they enjoyed watching her suffer then, they were into some hardcore shit, and that thing was unfixable.
The girl tilted her head, a little distracted, then disappeared from the spot she was standing on.
2001 January 05
The rest of the year went by quickly as Emi and her family welcomed the new millennium. New year celebrations increased joy and lessened negative feelings, creating fewer curses hence the jujutsu sorcerers also joined the festivities. Thanks to the help of the Jujutsu High Schools from Tokyo and Kyoto as well as other parts of the three prominent families—they managed to control the cursed spirit population. However, they entrusted the communication with the other known jujutsu families to the girl since she was the only one who could and was willing to do it. That was because she had no blood relations with the Gojo family and no prestigious sorcerer pride to boot.
There were a lot of hiccups, so she had to employ her experience with interpersonal relations to mend broken relationships. Notably, the relationship with the Zenin family, who were known to be assholes. They promote marriage between family members then get confused when the newly born kid has some problems. They were a mess, and that came from Emi, who was a complete outsider.
The little girl was not surprised that the first Ten Shadows Technique (十種影法術, Tokusa no Kage Bōjutsu) user was born outside of the clan.
"Emi-chan, wrap yourself up more." Koichi croaked affably because of the cold, going back inside the house to grab a couple of sets of jackets for his daughter.
Emi kept the complaint in her heart as she watched her father disappear through the door. The girl visited her father back in Tokyo to celebrate the rest of her winter vacation. The school would resume again next week, so she decided to accompany her father in the meantime, visiting Suguru occasionally. On the other hand, Satoru decided to hibernate for the rest of the break and did not even beg to come with her like last time. It was out of character for him, hence she ensured they would stay in contact by texting. The girl wished the internet would become much more popular faster considering she could not deal with this slow communication.
Koichi came back holding a bundle of jackets in his arms. The little girl wore a blank expression as her father spun her around many times, wrapping her up well so she would not get sick like last time. In her defense, it was Satoru's fault he dragged her outside with nothing but pajamas and one thin parka.
Emi rubbed her eyes as Koichi dragged her to the nearest mall. The older man had a lot of energy for someone working a nine to five desk job; the girl even had to double-check the amount of cursed energy in his body. With a sigh of relief, she confirmed he was like any other average person. It would be the end of her world if her father suddenly decided to exorcise curses with his aching back and stiff bones. That would be instant death. The best age to train for jujutsu was from childhood to teenage years, after all.
"Ah, Emi-chan!" The girl smiled back at the older woman who called out to her in the crowd.
"Suzume-san," she replied, dimly recalling the woman's name as she slipped through the crowd. "Did you bring Suguru-kun with you?"
A head popped out behind the woman. "Ah, here he is." The woman sighed in relief, grateful she did not lose her son in the horde of people.
Suzume, who was unconscious when Emi dealt with his husband, happily welcomed her whenever she visited the Geto household. The woman was too nice. It must be since she was the first friend Suguru brought home; she was worried her son was becoming an outcast in school. Contrary to her belief, the boy was actually popular in school, way more famous than Satoru, although it must be because he did not treat anyone as his friend. If she had the time, maybe Emi would tell her that.
"Hi, Emi-chan." Suguru greeted, completely separating himself from his mother. "Are you with Koichi-san?"
"Ah, he is with—"Emi turned around in an attempt to find her father, but she could not find him anywhere, so she continued, "—he's somewhere out there." The girl reminded herself to find him later. "What are you doing here, Suzume-san? Are you trying to buy something for your home?"
"I'm here to buy clothes for Suguru-kun!" Suzume replied fervently as she pulled his son closer to her, dragging him away from the crowd. "You know, the scholarship Yaga-san offered really helped us financially."
Ah, that scholarship. Masamichi decided to disguise Suguru's monthly salary as a stipend to prevent Suzume from being suspicious. That was a large amount of money, so the woman would be too hesitant to accept it if they used a donation as a cover. It was good that she would take anything related to her son. Moreover, she seemed more thoughtful than your usual housewife. The only thing Emi questioned about her was her taste in men.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before deciding to continue shopping separately. Suguru, who listened attentively, held her hand as they said goodbye. "Then I'll see one of these days, Emi-chan."
Emi's smile widened, finding the boy cute. "See you then," she replied, then patted his head.
It took her a long time to find her father. Koichi was mad, but he decided to spare her his usual lecture when she saw his daughter's freezing figure. He grabbed a string from his pocket and tried the other end to his belt and the other to Emi's hand. The little girl felt the incredulity of the situation. She doubted anyone could kidnap her, after all, she could quickly disarm an adult man. But she decided to keep that to herself as the older man pulled her to the different sections of the department store.
They got home just before sundown. The little girl was the one who removed the items they bought when she heard her phone's notification go off.
From Ruru ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔ っ : I burned my food :(( What are you gonna eat for dinner?
Emi laughed out loud when she saw another update from the white-haired boy. Seeing that they were far away from each other, Satoru took the liberty of informing his daily life after he obtained a phone. Even the times he needed to relieve himself were added to their text messages to the point that Emi wanted to block him from her contacts completely.
To Ruru ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ : We will have shrimp. Stop eating fried eggs and let the Gojo head chef cook.
The little girl stared at her phone thoughtfully as she hit send, then with a bit of hesitation, she decided to type again.
To Ruru ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔ っ : Dumbass.
Emi's lip raised in a curve as she closed her phone, continuing her after-shopping inventory.
2001 May 14
"Wow, this is fun." Shoko grabbed the heavy set of books with faux-enthusiasm after receiving it from Emi.
The now eleven-year-old girl shrugged casually, sitting on the tatami with a bored expression. "You should study the basics. Going straight to human anatomy and physiology would make you go crazy."
Shoko visited her when she mentioned the girl could borrow her books. It was no problem considering Emi already finished reading those textbooks, and she had tons more. Somehow, she could see herself in Ieiri Shoko, and it was nice that they had more or less the same view in life. Furthermore, the girl liked her too, so it was a win-win situation. She did not know where their friendship started, though. Maybe it was because they wanted to practice medicine, or was it because they were both burdened with work?
"Emi-chan, I tell you. It would help if you stopped being too nice. The Gojo family just snatched you on a whim when your work ethic was something hard to come by. Besides, you're a powerful jujutsu sorcerer. Anyone would want you on their side, so you should be treated with more care if they want to keep you." The brunette started to complain on her behalf while playing with the lollipop in her mouth.
Emi's work was commendable even by other people's standards. Even more so now that people realized she was only eleven years old—she was such an excellent seedling to nurture. Her popularity started when she contacted other jujutsu sorcerer families to ask for assistance in exorcising the growing numbers of cursed spirits. She also had to connect with some aspiring researchers to understand this weird phenomenon. It was great that the Gojo family was a wealthy one, so she had free rein on using their resources.
"It's not something I have a choice on. You know that." Emi reminded her, ignoring the girl's growing anger. "Secretariat work is something I needed to do since I am being sponsored." If not for her skill in managing Satoru's affairs plus taking care of his daily living, she doubted the Gojo family would give her the resources she had now.
Shoko rolled her eyes, tiredness showing in her actions. "If only I can be like you. It's sad I only have my reverse cursed technique."
"What do you mean? I use those in attacking too," she replied, remembering all those times she detonated a couple of disgusting curses by over-applying treatment.
Shoko, who was previously lying on the floor miserably, jerked in surprise. "What do I mean? Exactly what I meant! No one had done that until now. Quick, tell me how you did that!" She quickly closed their distance, her face a few centimeters away from Emi after being overcome with excitement.
"That's not how you ask nicely." Emi struggled to push her face away from her own, wishing she never mentioned the topic. "I got it, I got it! Just get away from me. I'll teach you, okay?"
Shoko smiled triumphantly, glad that she asked the white-haired boy what Emi hated the most earlier. "Then I guess I should thank that Gojo-boy for telling me you hate physical touch."
"That's terribly manipulative of you, Shoko-chan." Emi wiped her face with a disgusted look as she defended herself, "And I do not hate physical touch. That's because you have to ask before you do it. Nicely, if I may add." Grabbing the girl's shoulders in front of her, she looked at her straight in the eyes seriously. "We are friends, but this is a little too close for comfort."
"Sorry," the girl replied apologetically, scratching her cheeks as she kowtowed. "I was too excited, Emi-chan." Shoko laughed a little embarrassed, reminding herself never to do that again.
Emi hated getting in contact with people she was not close with. She was sure she would get the hang around with Shoko, but not for now. The girl was familiar with the latter's personality and decided to forgive her quickly. However, she was a little hesitant to get close to her after.
They talked for a bit until Shoko decided to go home. Checking one last time if her friend was out of her sight was the only time Emi came back inside her house. She entered her room, where a letter from the researcher pinpointed the sources of the curses. Earlier after opening it, she realized the sudden influx was not because of increased negative emotions. Rather, it was because some curse users decided to wreak havoc in the community.
Storing the letter aside, she told herself she needed to caution Satoru the next time they would see each other.
Ieiri Shoko
Birthday : November 7, 1989
Hobby/Special Skill : Alcohol
Favorite food : Alcohol
Least favorite food: Sweet things
Cause of stress : Night shifts
Innate Technique:
Reverse cursed technique
Skills:
N/A
A/N
Shoko appears! I had a little fun writing those text messages and tbh, is that really a Gojo thing to do? But fuck that he's a child he'd be ooc-ing by the time we get to canon because why not? Emi would gaslight every moment, gatekeep every day, girlboss beyond words! Quick thank you for the people to followed and favorited especially to Kagome89 in AO3 for sharing her ideas!