GTJ
"Gojo-san. Hey, Gojo-san. Are you awake?" Juri softly spoke while gently shaking the mound of blankets she knew Gojo was underneath. She sat patiently by the bed for a couple of seconds but didn't hear anything coming from the blanket monster that lived within, which immediately caused her to frown. She then grabbed the top of the covers and moved them down very slowly until she saw peaks of his stark white hair. "You have to get ready. We're meeting the last first-year today. We have to go to Harajuku to pick her up. Remember?" she asked again.
At long last, the covers began to move and Gojo's white hair shifted a bit to where she could see a shinning glimmer of indescribably beautiful blue eyes underneath. He wasn't saying anything and only silently stared up at her with extreme sleepiness still lingering in his gaze. Juri didn't care if he was looking at her or looking through her. She was just pleased to know that he was at least awake.
Gojo continued to stare up at her for a couple more seconds before rolling back over and mumbling something incohesive under his breath.
Juri cocked her head to the side before sighing deeply. She reached her hand up and pressed it against his head. "Ok. Will you wake up if I make you something here? Something like souffle pancakes?" she asked while running her fingers through his white hair. "I can make them sweet, too." She moved closed to the edge of the bed and waited for another mumble or groan, and after getting that, Juri swiftly got up and walked out of the bedroom.
"Wait a moment. You actually understood what he said?" Yurei said inside her head.
"Hm. Somewhat. I'm pretty sure he said breakfast though," Juri said while gently closing the door behind her. "I plan on making them sweet with strawberry syrup. Maybe that will motivate him to get up faster."
"Don't you think you're spoiling him a bit too much?"
"Perhaps…but I don't really see the harm in making breakfast." She shrugged innocently while stepping into the kitchen and grabbing her white and blue apron. "Besides, I love cooking. It's a great skill to have."
"My point went right over your head, did it. What I meant to say was that you're too kind. You need to be a little more assertive."
Juri stiffened up after hearing that, but only for a second before getting back to work and grabbing all the ingredients she needed. It wasn't a difficult thing to prepare, and luckily, she had experience in making it quite a few times already because of Gojo. She used this exact method a couple of times to get him out of bed, which usually worked most of the time because of his sweet tooth. Juri learned very quickly that Gojo couldn't go a day without eating something that had sugar in it.
"Ah, I guess that's always been my problem, but…being kind isn't a bad thing either." Juri gave a half-smile while swiftly beating the egg whites into meringue.
"If only the world thought the same way you did…then maybe things like Curses wouldn't be so prevalent."
"There's no such thing as a perfect world, but the least we can do is try and make it a bit more bearable for those around us," Juri sighed softly while simultaneously pushing the prepared batter away and getting a pan and stove ready. She was about to drop some of the batter onto the pan when she felt a weight on her shoulder and arms around her waist. Juri frowned for a moment before turning her head to the side and seeing short white hair and a tall frame. "Oh, Gojo-san. You're awake," she chimed brightly.
"What are you doing having deep conversations with your invisible friend. Isn't it too early for that?" Gojo muttered into her shoulder, clearly still half asleep from what Juri could tell. Still, she was pleased to know that the promise of food was enough to get him up. "Do you guys always have weird conversations when I'm not around? Like you did the other day in Yuji's room."
Juri stiffened and stood like a cold stone statue for a second until Gojo released her and stepped away fully. She turned around and stared right up at his face. Reading it quite easily. He didn't look angry, nor less concerned. Just confused and still very tired.
"Oh…you heard us," Juri said rather flatly, not really sure how she should respond, much less explain herself.
Gojo cocked a brow at her lack of reaction. He thought she would be more surprised to find out that he heard her. "Of course I did. Who do you think I am?"
"GTG?" Juri answered without much thought.
"Exactly. And didn't we already talk about this? And here I thought you had more fate in me." He groaned and walked off while rubbing the back of his head. Really, he didn't understand why Juri and Yurei even had to have a conversation like that. He wasn't worried about Sukuna at all. So why were they?
Gojo would've kept on walking if he didn't hear the stove turning off behind him, following with Juri's unbelievably gentle voice speaking out to him. "Satoru…let's talk for a moment."
This caused Gojo to stop mid-stride and look back over to Juri. Even though her lips were curled into a gentle smile, the look in her eyes was serious and unwavering, which honestly gave him some whiplash. When was the last time he heard her use his first name? Months ago? Maybe a year? Juri had made it a habit of hers that she would only ever use his first name when she wanted him to pay attention and really take her seriously.
Gojo sucked in a deep breath and groaned. "Alright. What is it?" he said and swiftly turned back around. He knew better than to ignore this side of her. If he did then he might end up getting the silent treatment for the next week. Which has happened before.
Juri kept her face very relaxed, but her voice had a strictness to it that he wasn't used to hearing. "Sukuna might not be a concern to you…but it is to me," she began by speaking very clear and firm. "Him and Yurei have been at each other's throats for years. He's going to attack us regardless of any situation because that's just his nature. It won't change. It has no reason to change. And right now…his host is Yuji. Do you really expect me or even Yurei to fight him to the death…just to destroy Sukuna? I'm not risking Yuji's life just to save my own," she declared.
Gojo couldn't help himself and frown. "Really? You know…listening to you talk this way sometimes is really depressing. Do you really value your own life?" he said dryly.
Juri looked somewhat offended that he would even ask her that. She wondered if he was even taking her seriously. "Were you not listening? Of course, I do. Just as much as anyone else."
"Can't you try and be a little more selfish sometimes?" he groaned. It may not look like it, but he really was taking her seriously and considering her worries. He just couldn't understand why though. To him, it sounded like she had resolved herself to a fate that was probably not going to happen. "You gotta try your hardest to stay alive for as long as you can, ok? Not just for your sake, but for the kids' sake as well. I can't always be here, so you're gonna have to step in when I'm gone. Make sure they keep a healthy mindset and stay on the right path. It's only going to get ugly from here on out for them…so they're gonna need their compassionate Kocho-sensei with them."
Juri blinked. "GTJ?" she dared say and watched as Gojo's lips turn up in a cocky smirk.
"Great Teacher Juri. Exactly. So try and keep that in mind next time you say crap like that." He walked up to her and flicked his finger against her forehead. Not hard at all but with just enough strength to leave a faint red mark. "Ok?"
Juri immediately brought her hands up to her forehead and could feel her face begin to heat up and glow red. She looked up at him, not knowing what to say, and only nodded shyly in response. She dropped her head very slowly and suddenly began to make a gesture with them.
Gojo blinked. "Hm? What is it?"
"Come here. Bend down a little," she said while continuing to gesture.
Gojo cocked a brow but did as he was told and hunched down closer to her level. "You're not gonna do anything weird, are you-" He couldn't even finish his sentence when she reached her hands up to the sides of his face and kissed his forehead. Gojo froze the instant he felt the warmth and could even smell the strong scent of peppermint coming from her skin. A totally intoxicating smell, he now realized.
Juri pulled away and saw the look of genuine astonishment across his handsome face. "What's with that look? You act as if you've never been shown an ounce of affection a day in your life," she said, breaking out into a smile that made her face glow with delight.
Gojo ran his hand over his forehead but couldn't feel anything, yet he could still feel the warmth she left behind. It wasn't the first time she had done something like that. Something so simple like a kiss on the forehead, but no matter how many times she had done it…he just couldn't get used to it. It baffled him every time and left him speechless and even somewhat greedy for more.
"I've been meaning to ask. Why are there only three people in the first-year class?" Itadori asked while waiting outside Harajuku station with Fushiguro.
"Well, have you ever seen anyone who can see Curses?" Fushiguro pointed out while simultaneously looking around for Gojo and Juri.
"I guess not."
"That's how rare jujutsu sorcerers are. That unless you're a special case like Kocho-sensei was. She wasn't able to see them at all until she met the Yurei three years ago," Fushiguro said when he suddenly felt a cold presence manifest behind him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He immediately whipped his head around and found himself frozen, staring right into the scarlet gaze of the Yurei herself.
"And that was when she got caught up in all this madness," The Cursed Spirit hissed before gesturing behind herself. She vanished in an instant and reveal Gojo and Juri walking out of the station and waving over to them.
"Thanks for waiting," Gojo called out. They walked over and quickly took notice of Itadori's uniform. "Oh, the uniform made it on time."
"Does it fit?" Juri asked.
Itadori smiled and nodded. "Yup, it fits just fine. But ain't it a little different from Fushiguro's. It even has a hoodie," he said while gesturing to the red hood.
"They're customizable. You can put in a request and have some touch-ups done on it," Gojo explained
"But I didn't put in a request though."
"That's because I was the one who put it in."
Itadori pondered on it for a while. Humming to himself and looking down at his black and red uniform.
Juri cocked her head to the side and noticed him silently thinking things over. "Do you not like it?
"No, it's fine. The hoodie's not bad."
"More importantly, why are we meeting up in Harajuku?" Fushiguro chimed in.
Gojo shrugged. "She said she wanted to meet up here," he specified
"Then I suppose we just gotta look for the uniform and the emblem on the button," Juri said while signaling to her brass button on her black coat.
She assumed that it wouldn't be difficult to spot a jujutsu sorcerer. Since oftentimes than not they displayed a certain demeanor that made them stand out in a crowd. The search only lasted a few seconds though when Juri heard what sounded like commotion coming from across the street. Her eyes caught sight of a young woman with shoulder-length orange hair trying to corner a man about a modeling agency he was promoting to others. She seemed quite forceful about it too and the man was obviously quite terrified of her.
"I…I think that's her," Juri spoke with a puzzled look on her face.
"Hey, over here!" Gojo called out and grabbed her attention.
As the young girl approached, Juri stepped back and felt somewhat intimidated. It was clear she was a confident person who was also comfortable in her own skin, and as Juri pondered this, she recollected the time Yurei advised her to be more assertive. Could this have been what she meant?
The new student dropped her hand on her hip and turned to the boys. "Kugisaki Nobara. Looks like I'm the only girl in your little group of boys," she said with half-lidded, uninterested eyes.
"I'm Itadori Yuji. I'm from Sendai."
"Fushiguro Megumi."
The boys when on to introduce themselves but Kugisaki kept her mouth shut and narrowed her eyes. She stared long and intensely at them like she was analyzing what could be seen at a surface level, and by the look on her face, she had already come up with a disapproving first impression.
"Oh. I know what she's doing," Yurei muttered. "This girl is judging them hard right now."
"That's somewhat worrying," Juri whispered. "I hope they can all get along."
Kugisaki sighed after a moment of complete judgmental silence, looking totally disappointed with her classmates. "Ahhh. Looks like an unfortunate situation. Why does this always happen?"
Fushiguro's face momentarily turned up into a crude scowl. He bit down on his tongue though and turned to Gojo. "Are we going somewhere after this?"
Gojo snickered to himself, almost deviantly. "I've finally gathered all three of my students. And on top of that, two of them are from the countryside. Of course we'd go…sightseeing in Tokyo."
Kugisaki and Itadori brightened up in an instant and their eyes glittered with delight. Like children, they started jumping around and bickering over where to go first, almost as though they had reverted to childhood.
"Disneyland! I wanna go to Disneyland," Kugisaki exclaimed excitedly.
"You dummy. Disneyland is in Shiba. Let's go to Chinatown, Sensei!" Itadori corrected.
"Chinatown is in Yokohama, you know!"
"Yokohama is in Tokyo, you know."
As the students bounced and bickered for a full minute, Gojo raised his hand to silence them. "Alright settle down. I'll announce where we'll be going. We're going to see...Roppongi."
Once again, the kids became giddy with delight. Fushiguro and Juri, on the other hand, looked much more dazed and confused at their childish antics than anything.
"Nevermind. They'll get along just fine."